Balls to the Wall

Dear Ball Cancer,





You fuck’n tool.

Bula! ...or is it the aurora borealis.

Fiji is down another $100 from LAX. I know. Broken record on the Fiji subect. To go, or not to go. Quite the trite problem to have. It isn't. Just another distraction. The top destination at the moment is now Iceland. In November, northern lights are to be enjoyed - along with geothermal spas at Blue Lagoon, fresh seafood, snowmobiling, drinking wine and relaxing. I would have thought November would be a highly undesirable time to go that far north, but Iceland stays relatively habitable, even in Winter. The thought of soaking in a geothermal pool during a blizzard, sounds enlightening.

If I had more patience for anything other than getting through completing the music sitting on my brain I would take the time to bone up on my html skills, and find a better way to blog. Blogger blows for trying to set up a nice looking format with pictures, paragraphs, and AUDIO WIDGETS that play mp3's - which was my main interest in blogging. An audio blog is what I was looking to create mostly, and I don't want them to live visibly on my main website. I have always enjoyed doing stream-of-consciousness type composing. A music blog would be a perfect place for them to live without persecution. And since there is the idea of an unknown audience, it generates an interest in exploration of reaction.

So, if any of you top bloggers out there happen to view this thought, send me some ideas, pointers, random thoughts - I will repay you with some ear candy.

Roller Coasters

In all the years I have been going to Magic Mountain, never was it such a kick in the pants as now. Man they got some serious roller coaster going on these days. I hadn't been in about 6-7 years, and I wasn't bored. First of all, ride X2 at night. Incredible. Tatsu was the next major kick in the pants. You ride on your belly, like your flying. Plus, an inverted loop? Are you kidding me that's brilliant! I thought my head was going to explode. Deja-vu is a good time, kinda of a better version of Free Fall, which is gone. Scream is even better. Scream I couldn't see the tracks, so I had to just give myself to being thrown in whatever direction the coaster was going without knowing which way was next. Good old Collosus is still a bitchen coaster. Batman rocks. Goliath has a first drop that I really didn't expect. Whoa that's a long drop. Good times!

Music

I still sketch and compose with pencil, paper, rulers, and ink. I do not fear technology, I couldn't even if I wanted to-it is a part of what I do. I have had my fill of computers, cables, upgrades, the latest and greatest, and various other bank account disasters. But music performed by a human with above average talent and passion is not to be replaced. Ever.

Computer music has it's place, I just don't appreciate the attempt to sell it as a replacement for the centuries of music that have always been performed and composed by a human, with a soul and fallability. This huge push towards the stiff, pretentious digital world becomes freakish. As an orchestrator you dread the "electronic" composer (whatever) that knows the right people and gets the job with a budget for live players. They simply rely too heavily on the piece of false security called a computer. Media Ventures London Phil string samples sound great, especially since they were recorded with huge string sections - but leave it at that, please. Having a few strings at a recording session is not going to magically pull it off.


Video games are fine, I'll play when the moment presents itself, but I don't want to see computer animation take over. It feels cold. Characters that don't really have any issues. They never experienced life, or death. I dig the logic involved with such evolutionary tools, computers and electronics, but I fail to see the utter urgency involved. Creepy to see so many people use video game characters to identify with. You start to get a feel for which illustration translates in to which personality. The music really became uninteresting in a hurry. Video game themes drive me up the wall. This is an instance where I am all for songs instead of score. Movie themes lose value for me as soon as the movie part of it all begins. I couldn't think of a reason to ever listen to video game music unless I was playing the game. I will not be spending any money to hear the L.A. Phil doing an evening of gaming music. The whole thought makes me nauseous. I really will not be showing up for an evening of film music either. It just isn't interesting anymore when I already know what a film score really is. I will not go in to it this posting, but I strongly disagree with everything that goes down with scoring. Musicians ripping off musicians, composers ripping off composers, my all time worst finding - orchestrators ripping off other orchestrators. That's one hell of a payoff for an individual that takes the time and discipline needed to learn such a craft. What exactly does it mean when all the seasoned individuals choose to no longer support the younger up and comers?



Who in the music community really strives to aid composers, composition, and musical art? "



Money can't buy happiness, but neither can poverty"
Leo Rosten (1908 - )