Remix Manifesto

The documentary we saw in class was very interesting and made me think about the different points and arguments raised by this issue, it also made me think about how downloading music is maybe the most common "crime" committed by people in the nation (possibly only second to jaywalking) and the enormous wave of fear that paralyzed most people downloading music illegally until the companies decided it wasn't worth the price to take all the people to court. Adding to the challenge of trying to stop illegal downloads is that the sheer number of people downloading music illegally makes it almost impossible to effectively combat it. My problem with the companies' efforts to prevent illegal downloading is that it's not so much an act of protection of the artists as much as a protection of their pockets (and to a much lesser extent the artist's). Truly, it also hurts the artist in the loss of a potential listener that may download a few songs illegally to get a preview but then go back and buy a whole album.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/music_industry sort of relates

https://beta.indabamusic.com/opportunities/cazzette-weapon-remix-contest/details
They're highly encouraging people to make remixes/mashups of their songs

In class we listened to some Led Zeppelin, the majority of their songs had a slower downtempo sound to it which didn't seem to impair the use of heavy guitars which kept most of the songs from getting boring although some songs were ridiculously slow and long and didn't seem to be going anywhere .  The lyrics weren't the worst ever, but they definitely weren't the best. Needless to say I wouldn't mind just listening to the instrumental if they also made it slightly shorter. Overall, Led Zeppelin wasn't bad at all.

The Jalapeno Heads

I was on youtube the other day when I somehow ended up on a random band's clearly self-directed music video which gave me the slightest reminder of a (much better) band that was shown to me by my older brother who knew them as they were in the same grade at Anderson a while back, just thought I'd use this blog to show one of the more successful bands Hailing from Anderson.
Here's their videos from a while back, and yes the lead singer is also the drummer and characteristic of their early work, some of their songs get a bit repetitive.

Humorous video, aren't taking the video too seriously
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCJslAqy5ZE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sV3pbRcJsI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM0N0Q5Gn_k

I know, who uses myspace anymore? -other songs
http://www.myspace.com/thejalapenoheads/music/songs?filter=popular

Woodstock quick thought and comparison

Based off what I've seen from the film the festival seemed like a cool place to be in terms of everything being relaxed with a more mellow atmosphere and while it wasn't exactly the most hygienic or most pleasant place in the world (heavy body odor from people who didn't bathe, those who did, did so in ponds) though there were portable bathrooms some chose not to use them so there was a pretty high chance of  stepping in feces while walking around and not being able to really watch out because of the mud especially if your were barefoot you could catch some serious infections. Even with the failing hygienic standards and weak infrastructure (didn't expect so many to come, the army eventually lent aid) it seems like a much better festival to be at in terms of listening to music than others we have today such as Acl granted either one is extremely crowded, the bathrooms are both nasty (but of course Acl beats Woodstock in terms of basic hygiene and infrastructure) Woodstock is much better in terms of people being there to actually listen to music and not just get drunk and high like a majority of people at Acl and other "big" festivals today (yes I do realize people also got high at Woodstock, but it wasn't the sole focus). Overall Woodstock seems like the best place to be at if you actually enjoy listening to music (if you're worried about crowds you're kinda screwed for both).

In class we finished up Woodstock with none other than the great Jimi Hendrix and his performance which is the one you know about when anything related with Woodstock comes  up even if you are barely know anything about the festival. Jimi Hendrix (and his glowing aura of cool) at Woodstock and his rendition of the national anthem brought more to life with a guitar than most singers with full orchestral accompaniment can even come close to and ever will, complete with whistling and exploding bombs and sirens (American and British, yes they sound different) and other sounds from the battlefield played out on a guitar to bring a new perspective to the anthem while flawlessly transitioning to the rest of his equally great songs. The only bad thing is that the recording equipment used by the crew mashed a lot of the sound together comes off as white noise at times.

Here it is:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ALNd3kIH0

In class we listened to some bands that sounded a lot like The Beatles such as Of Montreal with Gronlandic Edit which brings me to a band that can sound almost exactly like The Beatles but is also more than capable of producing their own unique sound, this band called The Draytones first caught my ears with a song  that sounded very much like The Beatles that led me to check what Beatles song it was only to find it was by a completely different band.  My only concern is that they sound so much alike that it leads one to think they might just making their music a carbon copy of theirs (yes there is a difference between being influenced by a band and copying their sound). The way I found this problem to be countered was when looked further into their music and found that they were capable of  creating their own sound and an Argentine-latin influence can be heard in these songs (as the guitarist is from Argentina).

First one I heard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjK3hnDBl8k

This is where they sounded almost too much like them, (vocals, background harmonies, guitars)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=L0LvqufMK6I&NR=1

A few slightly more "original" sounds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=MqhRnlnBx_Q&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=SKPHJTYsbw8&NR=1

Of Montreal- Gronlandic Edit (heads up: super trippy video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HBfgQvM7wtE#!

In class we watched Woodstock (film) which was a documentary on the festival that is immortalized through many different forms including this one which covered not just the performances, but also the thoughts and feelings of various concertgoers, artist and various personnel on various subjects ranging from the festival and the performances to the Vietnam war. So far the performance I found most interesting and crazy was Joe Cocker and the Grease Band. What was was crazy was watching Joe completely tripping out while performing and I'm almost positive he thought he was playing guitar when there was nothing there resulting in the most epic air guitar ever and on-stage seizures. So far I've enjoyed the film and the perspective it gives from the people at the time.