Haven’t been here in so long, the cobwebs have cobwebs :3
Lots of things have changed since my last post. I’ve changed jobs again but I’m still looking for something better. I commute out of town for work now, which is a lot of driving. Hopefully, if I get this job I’m applying for, I’ll be moving! It will probably change the scope and tenor of the composition project, since I won’t be near a piano for awhile. LICL is now 4 years old! I can’t believe it. I, myself, am getting closer to 30, but to most people I still look like a 22 year old. I’m still working on INITIUM with my friend in Canada. We’re in the process of revamping and will have a brand new version of Book 2 coming out soon! I’ll post a link here, so you all can check it out. And as always you can find me on tumblr or on FB.
Though you all might be interested in this article. Sorry I’ve been off the radar recently. Hope you guys have had a great holiday so far and a happy New Year!
Seems like I’m getting more forgetful these days. Or could be stress-related, not really sure. Anyway, I’m still working on revamping my composition project. Might change the name, but haven’t made up my mind yet. I’ve decided that I’m going to use at least three different instruments, piano, guitar, and ukelele instead of just piano. I may also use another instrument but still working that out. I’ll probably write a few study pieces just to get my brain going and then work from there. Hopefully once I get going, I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do. Still looking for more work, but nothing yet. I’m trying to get out of retail entirely, it seems to be a dead end for me.
Can’t believe I’ve fallen off the radar for so long. I certainly hadn’t planned on it. I just wanted to let you all know that I’m going to revamp my current composition project. I’m still working out the details and all but I will tell what the name is. It will be called J. Matmos. I promise to tell you guys more soon. Sorry it’s been so quiet. Work is ok, but I’m still pretty poor. I’m trying to get into the civil service right now, so cross your fingers for me!
Happy Friday to you all. This week has been pretty low key for me, minus work. Out of my two work days this week, the first one was a disaster. Everything that could have gone wrong did. Thankfully, the next day went a little bit better but there were still some lingering issues that were out of my control. Hopefully I will be better prepared to work and succeed next time. The rest of the week went okay for me. Spent time with friends and played a little piano, although this time it wasn’t for myself. A friend of mine has asked me to teach him how to play and to learn three songs for him. One of them is this Friday’s Song of the Week:
I don’t general listen to this type of music but since my friend wanted to learn how to play, I decided to find out more about Zedd. Per Wikipedia, Zedd is Russian-German music producer and DJ who plays primarily house music. He is classically trained and both of his parents are musicians. Zedd is currently signed to Interscope Records. I posted the accoustic version of “Clarity” because I like the piano part but you can here the original version here.
Things have been pretty busy in my world. My sick relative that I mentioned in a previous post passed away last month on the 22nd. It was really hard on everyone in my family because she was a big part of our lives. I’ve also been working a little bit more and playing a little piano. Last night, I went on a 90s R&B binge, listening to all of the songs that I heard while riding on the school bus or on the radio. One song particular has been stuck in my head from last night until this afternoon:
I had already written Friday’s post in my head yesterday afternoon and then completely forgot to post last night! So much has been going on lately. I’m still in training for my new part-time job in merchandising and I am doing pretty well. It looks like I will be pretty busy in the coming months, as I have been given additional responsibilities at work, but I feel that I am up to the task. My family and I are also dealing with a sick elderly relative as well, making sure they have everything they need, etc. If you’ve ever had to deal with aging family members, then you know what I am talking about. I’m also making tentative plans to go out of town on a day trip. Right now I’m trying to decide where to go and what to see. And I’m sure you all have heard about the events in Boston and Texas, as well as the earthquake in the Sichuan province in China. Some of you may remember that there was another earthquake in the same region in 2008. Makes you wonder what’s really going on in the world today. I can only hope that justice is served in the appropriate way, without condemning huge swaths of people based on their ethnicity and religion.
I love listening to Nina Simone sing this song. I had a hard time deciding if I should post this one or Oleta Adams’ version (which is excellent BTW). After a little Googling, I found out that this song was written by Bernard Ighner for Quincy Jones’ 1974 album, Body Heat. It has been covered by many artists over the years. Nina Simone’s version appears on the 1978 album, Baltimore. I’m not that familiar with Simone’s work but this one will always be my favorite.
Hey there! Happy Friday to you all. Hope your week went well. The last two weeks have been pretty good for me. Last week, I had dinner with friends at Buffalo Wild Wings and had an excellent time catching up with everyone. I was also able to see another friend of mine that Saturday who had been seriously ill for several weeks. She has gotten better but isn’t completely healed up yet. This week had gone by so fast, I barely know where today went. I did training for my new part-time job yesterday and on Monday. My supervisor is really nice and helpful. I have more training to do, but I think I will be able to get through it ok. I also did some work for my other merchandising job this week. Tomorrow, I have to attend a funeral for a cousin but hopefully the rest of my weekend will be fun. This Monday was also the premiere of Book 2 of INITIUM! If you haven’t seen it, check it out and let me know what you think. Ashley did an awesome job on the artwork and the plot continues to thicken.
Although things have gotten better for me, I’m still trying make progress with my music and on my writing but I feel stuck. It seems like all my motivation had gone out the window. I feel like I need a change of scenery or something. So let me ask you all, how do you find your motivation and what do you do when you feel stuck? Let me know in the comments!
There isn’t anyone I can think of that I love to listen to more than Jeff Buckley (although Jim Morrison is pretty close too, along with David Gilmour). He is definitely my all-time favorite musician and singer. He has such a unique voice and a style of playing the guitar that it’s hard to make comparisons with other artists. The only person that I can think of who comes close is Chris Cornell, especially on his Euphoria Morning album (which is awesome). “Everybody Here Wants You” comes from the Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk, which was released after his death in 1997. It would have been his second studio album, if he had been able to finish it. Most people really like his debut album, Grace, which is beautiful in its own right, but I’ve always loved the Sketches album more. It doesn’t have that studio finish to it. It’s weird and imperfect but amazing nonetheless. This song is probably my favorite Jeff Buckley song. It says everything you’ve ever wanted to say to someone you really care about and want to be with. I doubt I will ever get tired of listening to this song.
“We All Fall in Love Sometimes” is a song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, which appears on the 1975 album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Originally recorded for WFMU in 1992, Buckley’s version of the song had been floating around the internet for quite some time. It’s a beautiful song and Buckley really makes you feel the meaning that John and Taupin were trying to convey in the lyrics. This verse really stick out to me the most:
Did we? didn’t we? should we? could we?
I’m not sure but sometimes we’re so blind
Struggling through the day
When even your best friends say
Don’t you find?
We all fall in love sometimes
*runs and jumps into post* Hey! Hope your Friday has been good to you so far.
The beginning of last week was terrible for me. One of my close relatives was hospitalized and my family and I were afraid that this person wasn’t going to make it. Thankful that wasn’t the case but it brought on the realization that this person that I love dearly will not always be around. I also got another job! I will be doing merchandising part-time for a national brand. I can’t wait to get started with training. This past week has been much quieter but still a little stressful. I have lots of things on my mind. It seems as though things are looking up for me. I’m grateful that I have been able to survive so far. And I also played a little piano today lol. I’m so rusty, it’s embarrassing. I’m going to get back into practicing again, so that I can complete the work that I started almost 2 years ago. Time sure does fly.
I became a fan of Porcelain Raft after hearing about them on Pitchfork last year (maybe?). I really liked the simplicity of the songs and the earnestness of the lyrics. They seemed to strike something deep in me. My favorite Porcelain Raft song is “Everything From Your Hands” but this song is definitely a close second. I never did get around to buy the debut album, “Strange Weekend” but I mean to remedy that as soon as possible. If you liked stripped down music, with an unusually bent to it, Porcelain Raft is definitely worth checking out. And the MVs for the songs are pretty cool too.
I remember when I first found “On An Island” at the local library. I was blown away at Gilmour’s artistry. The guitar parts, the lyrics, it was fucking beautiful. I remember listening to this album over and over and over again until I went out and got my own copy of it and listened to it on my mp3 player over and over again. If I ever do a top 10 list on this blog, this album would definitely be in the top 5. It’s hard to pick a favorite song, since every song on this album is amazing but this song along with “Red Sky At Night” and “Smile” are definitely my favorites. Hopefully Gilmour will put out another album one of these days.
Hope you have a nice weekend and thanks for tuning in!
PS. INITIUM Book 2 is coming out April 1! I’ll post a link on here so that you can check it out.
LostInCompositionLand 