Open Mind, Insert Thought » Music

Children’s songs

Administrator — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:48:49 +0000

Thinking it’s time to start writing some parody children’s songs (everybody needs a hobby). Not sure what the theme will be, but I’ve got my first one:

“Dragon, the Magic Puffer Fish”

Dragon, the magic puffer fish
Swam in the sea
And stunned his friends
With neurotoxins
Until he became sushi

Oh yeah, these’ll be big…

Dani Plays Hendrix-Style

Administrator — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:54:39 +0000

We were watching the tribute to The Who on Sunday morning. Pearl Jam was playing “Love, Reign o’er Me,” which prompted Dani to grab her ukulele. Apparently moved by the whole British Invasion thing that was happening on screen, she started playing with her teeth. Nice tip of the hat to Hendrix (who, yes, was American but was playing and living in the UK and by most accounts is included as part of the whole British Invasion phenomenon).

Soul Patch “Sooner or Later” Album Release Party

Administrator — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:38:21 +0000

Let’s see – June seems like a pretty quiet month for me. Selling my house, renting a place up in the city, moving up to the city, quitting Yahoo!, securing life insurance (apparently Yahoo! cuts you off the day you leave – heads up woulda been great) – oh yeah, and starting a new job as VP of Product Management at Zynga. Yeah, I can definitely squeeze in an album release party. So I will!!

I play bass and sing in an insanely tight band known as Soul Patch. Seriously, we’re good. Following a brief hiatus after our first album (what’s seven years among friends?), we finally released our sophomore effort at the beginning of 2008. Feels like a great reason to party, so we’re going to put in a rare live appearance. Here are the details in case you happen to be in Colorado (or are such a devoted fan that you’d make the trip):

Soul Patch Summer Soulstice Concert
June 21 at 9:30
Redfish Brewhouse
2027 13th Street
Boulder, CO 80302

I’ve been practicing playing and singing at the same time (two things that I was thankfully able to do separately in the studio), and now I’m remembering just exactly how hard some of our music is to play. That’s also probably why we’re so damned funky and fun. In my (clearly) humble opinion, it’s absolutely worth checking us out.

And, if you simply can’t make the trip out to Colorado, we’ll forgive you if you buy our stuff on iTunes or Amazon. Go ahead, give us a listen.

Martin Logan Clarities out, Linn Tukans in

Administrator — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:36:45 +0000

As a musician with a pretty good set of ears (I’ve been recording and mastering music for about 20 years), it was with a heavy heart that I packed up my prized Martin Logan electrostatic speakers for a few months (years?). You see, these free-standing speakers are tall enough to come up to my chest and have a magnificent sound. They also have a bunch of cords at ground level, and those are simply too enticing for our little crawler. Dani is incredibly mobile now, and she loves to grab and pull cords. So, they had to go.

In their place, I mounted my Linn Tukans. These are "bookshelf" speakers, only 12" tall. I bought them the first time we lived out here in the Bay Area, and I have been carting them around ever since. I’m pleased to say that I forgot how good these sound. Even without a subwoofer (also out of the question given our little crawling cord-puller), they sound deep and rich. They are mounted on either side of the new 52" Sharp LCD, and aside from the fact that they represent the only visible cables in the entire setup (a small bit of wire between the TV and each speaker), I’m pretty happy.

I’ll miss my Martin Logans, but am having fun rediscovering these speakers that I bought almost a decade ago.

There, that’s your audio geekiness for the weekend.

Amy Winehouse – good songs, bad sound

Administrator — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:15:46 +0000

I broke down and bought Back to Black over the weekend. What a strange reaction – I really enjoy the songs, the performances and the instrumentation, but I *hate* the sound. I have to imagine that what I’m hearing was done on purpose. The album sounds like you are listening to old 45s through crap speakers. But, honestly, the attempt to recreate a Mowtown sound is incredibly distracting. The album is chock full of what we would now consider bad EQ work, clipping, and distortion. Perhaps one could call it "wall of unpleasant noise." May I get a properly mastered and engineered version of this album, please?

Thank God for Jack White

Administrator — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 07:20:15 +0000

Icky Thump has been in heavy rotation on my iPod. Some of the album is so-so, and honestly I forgive the White Stripes for that because the title track is freakin’ awesome. I mean, let’s be honest – Meg’s not a conservatory-trained percussionist and Jack is not necessarily a virtuoso. But my God do they find IT when they play.

In my mind I can see clearly Jack’s furiously switching between his guitar and that wierd, monophonic synth while Meg pounds on her drumset with a shaker and a drumstick in one hand. These two have saved rock and roll. I can’t believe what a fan of Lo Fi this conservatory-trained boy is turning out to be.