Great working music from one of my favorite creative design-oriented blogs:

This late-summer concoction wraps electronica, techno, synth pop, and dash of sultry boogie-woogie into a dreamy, magic carpet ride. We nicked the title from a favorite Chuck Close quote, “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

via 99% Music Mix I: Inspiration Is For Amateurs :: Articles :: The 99 Percent.

it’s unclear whether The 69 Eyes take themselves seriously… but it’s emo-metal from Helsinki… so it’s pretty much awesome either way. if you count HIM among your guilty pleasures, you’ll like The 69 Eyes too. if you need a quick primer, buy their best-of album titled Framed in Blood.

and finally our friends to the north have produced something definitely worth listening to in 3 Inches of Blood. if you’re not familiar with them, their Advance and Vanquish album covers the important metal topics (orcs, medieval war, naval power, and futuristic robots). their new songs sound cool, but they’re a bit more prog than previous albums i think. prog rock pretty much started in the great white north with rush, so why not have some prog metal from 3 Inches? one song actually reminded me of mastodon’s blood mountain album – if you discount the vocals. which isn’t a bad impression to make. i only wish they had gotten more songs in.. they were the opening act and only did 7. (and this was the band I most wanted to see)

next week – Killswitch Engage and Dragonforce!

Bolded lines are the ones where I _really_ like the song itself or the line.

How many do you know? Did I miss any wicked awesome songs?

In the year four thousand fifty five, Wykydtron came to life
Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world, She took the midnight train goin anywhere
Mama take this badge from me, I can’t use it anymore
Here in your bedroom, I can turn my head off
Im broke but Im happy, Im poor but Im kind
I want you to know that Im happy for you, I wish nothing but the best for you both
On the floor of Tokyo, Or down in London town to go, go
Hey little sister what have you done, Hey little sister who’s the only one

Has he lost his mind?, Can he see or is he blind?
You wake up late for school – man you don’t wanna go
Whenever i’m alone with you you make me feel Like i am home again
Someone told me long ago theres a calm before the storm, I know; its been comin for some time
I want you to want me. I need you to need me. Id love you to love me.
A long december and theres reason to believe, Maybe this year will be better than the last
I am colorblind, Coffee black and egg white
Well i woke in mid-afternoon cause that’s when it all hurts the most
Words like violence, Break the silence
I took my love and I took it down, I climbed a mountain and I turned around
A long, long time ago… I can still remember How that music used to make me smile.
Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity, To seize everything you ever wanted, one moment, Would you capture it or just let it slip?
You put yourself in stupid places, Yes I think you know its true
So denied, so I lied, Are you the now or never kind?
Saturday night burns a redness on my face, I tasted you tasted me you were never my taste
One thousand faces all look the same, They’re all so boring mild and tame
I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rhines, But the lack thereof would leave me empty inside
Yo listen up, Heres the story about a little guy that lives in a blue world
Ends, some people will rob their mother, For the ends, rats snitch on one another
Awake on my airplane, Awake on my airplane, My skin is bare
I cant stand to fly, Im not that naive, Im just out to find The better part of me
Well I guess it would be nice, If I could touch your body
We call them cool, Those hearts that have no scars to show, The ones that never do let go, And risk the tables being turned.
At first I was afraid I was petrified, Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side
The power of love is a curious thing, Make a one man weep, make another man sing
What is love? Oh baby, don’t hurt me, Don’t hurt me no more
Love’s the funeral of hearts, And an ode for cruelty, When angels cry blood, On flowers of evil in bloom
White man came across the sea, He brought us pain and misery
I can’t tolerate your sadness, cause it’s me you’re drowning
We ain’t going to the town, We’re going to the city
So the beast resides in me, Deep down I always knew, I never really did fit in, So diverse from all of you
I met her in a club down in old soho, Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola
I walked across an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I see trees of green, red roses too, I see em bloom, for me and for you
Got a picture of you I carry in my heart, Close my eyes to see it when the world gets dark
Mama told me when I was young, Come sit beside me, my only son
Lashing out the action, returning the reaction, Weak are ripped and torn away, Hypnotizing power, crushing all that cower
I dont want you and I dont need you, Dont bother to resist, Ill beat you, Its not your fault that youre always wrong
Sometimes i feel i’ve got to, Run away, i’ve got to, Get away.
Sweet dreams are made of these, Who am i to disagree?
I hurt myself today, To see if i still feel
What else should I be, All apologies, What else should I say, Everyone is gay
She eyes me like a pisces when I am weak, Ive been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
Rape me, Rape me my friend, Rape me, Rape me again
Like the latest fashion, Like a spreading disease
I wrote her off for the tenth time today, And practiced all the things I would say
I walked around my good intentions, And found that there were none
Do you worry that youre not liked, How long till you break, Youre happy cause you smile, But how much can you fake
Its just one of those days, When you dont wanna wake up
My words are weapons, in which i murder you with, Please don’t be scared; please do not turn your head
Magic people, voodoo people, The voodoo, who-do-what-you-dont-dare-to-people
Met a girl, thought she was grand, Fell in love found out first hand, Went well for a week or two, Then it all came unglued
Fitter, happier, more productive, comfortable, not drinking too much, Regular exercise at the gym, 3 days a week
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night. The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago, Turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Theres a ska band on my street, a little ska band, Everybody thinks theyre so fuckin neat.
Disarm you with a smile, And cut you like you want me to
My reflection, dirty mirror, There’s no connection to myself, I’m your lover, i’m your zero
I’ll sing it one last time for you, then we really have to go
The world is a vampire, sent to drain, Secret destroyers, hold you up to the flames
All around me are familiar faces, Worn out places, worn out faces, Bright and early for their daily races, Going nowhere, going nowhere
I’m only pretty sure that I cant take anymore, Before you take a swing
I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend
Im your only friend, Im not your only friend, But Im a little glowing friend
I could never sleep my way to the top, ’cause my alarm clock always wakes me right up
Is it getting better, Or do you feel the same, Will it make it easier on you, Now you got someone to blame?
Im not afraid of anything in this world, Theres nothing you can throw at me that I havent already heard
I want to run, I want to hide, I want to tear down the walls, That hold me inside
You dont know how you met me, You dont know why, you cant turn around and say good-bye
Whats with these homies dissing my girl? Why do they gotta front?
6 am day after christmas, I throw some clothes on in The dark
Good morning, son. I am a bird Wearing a brown polyester shirt
Took half your face and both your eyes. It left you nothing but paralyzed. And mushroom clouds, they left behind our cities crumbling, but I don’t mind.
I’ve got a secret. A terrible secret. And if I told you would you promise to keep it secret?
Call off the execution i won’t be here, beware of those who say the end is near, got us a new religion have no fear
Oh yeah. All right.

These five covers I like better than the version from the original artist.

Cake – I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
The original version of this song is just so… boring. Cake’s rendition is catchy, and though it is pretty much word-for-word the same, changing one little word in there totally gives this cover so much more emotion than Gloria Gaynor did. If I’m in this situation, I’m not gonna change the “stupid lock”, I’m gonna change the “Fucking lock” (with a capital F).

Marilyn Manson – Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
When I first heard this cover, coupled with the music video, I was totally sold on it. I’m not a huge Marilyn Manson fan – I like Sweet Dreams, The Beautiful People, and Disposable Teens – but this cover really makes the song so much more _real_. In the same way that Cake sells I Will Survive, I really believe that Marilyn Manson knows all about Tainted Love.

Guns ‘n Roses – Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan)
Let Bob Dylan write the songs and GnR can perform them, if you ask me. Even if you have issues with Axl’s whining voice, you have to admit that it works here (and also on Civil War). Not to mention that this song is pefect for arena-rock sing-alongs. “Knock-Knock-Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, yea-ah-ahahaa”

Jack Black – Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye)
High Fidelity was a great movie. This song, performed by Jack Black, was the perfect ending. Jack Black has that ability to be both unctuous and charming at the same time. Kind of like how John Travolta can play a bad guy who everyone loves. So yeah, this cover makes my top five list every time.

Johnny Cash – Hurt (Nine Inch Nails)
This song confused me for a while. Johnny Cash covering Nine Inch Nails? whaaaa? But alas, it was true. Though I think that the subtext between the two artists is night and day. Reznor was singing about drugs, Cash was singing about the end of his life – looking back. It’s amazing how the same exact words from two different men are totally different. If this song doesn’t cause you chills, you’re not listening to it.

So what makes these five covers unique over all the others? In these covers, the cover artist really sells the song. I find this interesting because they didn’t write it. You’d think that the author of the lyrics and music would be the most in touch with it, but sometimes someone else’s poetry can reach out and touch you, and I assume that is what happened to these cover artists. They felt the need to record their version, and in my opinion, they were each hugely successful.

Sure, I owned some actual CDs but those were from my pre-Internet2-connection days at Tech. Looking back, I didn’t think anybody saw downloading music as “illegal”. The excuses for downloading music instead of buying it – “I don’t want all the whole album, just one track”, “$16 CDs are way overpriced and I’m not going to pay that much” – were more like explanations since there wasn’t anything wrong with it. Certainly it wasn’t like pirating software – that was bad and even though everyone did it, pirating a $600 copy of Photoshop just felt different than downloading a song.

So what changed? I discovered the value of Intellectual Property and I realized why copyright law was kind of a big deal… thanks to photography.

Before 2003 I was a photo hobbyist. I took pictures for fun, for myself and for the GT newspaper and yearbook. Towards the end of 2003 I crossed the line between hobbyist and semi-professional photographer. That is to say, I started getting paid and making real money from my pictures. In 2004 and 2005 more than half of my (admittedly meager) income was derived from picture sales. When Georgia Tech went to the Final Four in spring 2004 I was there, and I made several thousand dollars from pictures I made at that event.

I licensed a single picture from the Final Four for more than $1000 to be used on the cover of a commemorative DVD. Suddenly, the intangible protection of copyright had value to me. Lots of value.

Now, in 2006, I don’t do nearly as much photography and I have a “real” job that pays the bills. But I still license my pictures from time to time and I now buy all my music too. iTunes solved the “I only want one track off the album” complaint rather perfectly. Want just 1/10th of the album? Fine, that’ll be $1. Not unreasonable at all. Of course, if you don’t have an iPod, you’re SOL. (More about DRM and formats next time)

In fact it’s so easy to buy music from iTunes that you can end up spending way more than you realize. Looking at my account information I was trying to figure out how much I’ve spent on music through iTunes. (They very intelligently don’t display a running total of your purchases, but instead only list 15 purchases at a time which doesn’t look frightening at all.) After pulling out the calculator and manually adding up 6 (six!) pages of iTunes purchases, I got the grand total of $489 since 6/04. How many songs did that get me? 617. Most of those purchases were albums instead of single songs – sometime I’ll lament the loss of The Album – and even if an album is 12 or 14 songs, it still costs $10. So, on iTunes I’ve paid about $0.80 per song. That’s .80 dollars, not .80 cents.

I enjoy paying for my music now. Yes, I ENJOY paying for my music. I value it more, listen to it more and only buy music that I actually like instead of doing the grab-bag thing.

So, that is why I pay for music. Stay tuned for Part 2 (DRM, digital ownership).

For a good independent music download
site, go check out Magnatune.

Magnatune is a record company with the motto “We are not evil” (sound familiar?). Basically, they have mostly new and independent artists and when you buy an album you pick how much you want to pay, starting at $5 and going up to $18. Half of all sales go directly to the artist. And you can download uncompressed, non-DRM’d WAV files if you want. Oh, and they encourage you to give the songs you bought to 3 other people. No, you won’t find Audioslave on their site, but they do have some good stuff (I bought albums by Utopia Banished and Nova Express). Rock on.