My top 10 albums of 2009

What a fantastic year for music. In my humble opinion, besides 2005, this has been the strongest year for music this decade.

Here's my top 10:

1. Merriweather Post Pavilon/ Animal Collective
2. Manners/ Passion Pit
3. Telekinesis!/ Telekinesis!
4. My Maudlin Career/ Camera Obscura
5. Blue Lights on the Runway/ Bell X1
6.Fantasies/ Metric
7.Patchworks/ Chuck Morgan
8.Monsters of Folk/ Monsters of Folk
9.Two Dancers/ Wild Beasts
10. I And Love And You/ The Avett Brothers


Keep in mind I have yet to listen to the new Wilco album (or a bunch of other potentially fantastic albums)

The Ancient Tapes- "Thinking About Thought"

One thing for sure is true about Drew Miller- he is getting better at composing and arranging his music. In his most mature release yet, Thinking About Thought, he channels Brian Eno and early Sigur Ros and brings a completely experimental yet accessible album. You could hear glimpses of this record with United States of a Virus - E.P., which came out earlier this year, but this album is a bit more cohesive and seems to have more direction than that record. How can any generative music have any direction, you may ask? Well, it's simple really. Each song tells a story. In my opinion, that's the only way this music works. Miller's earlier songs didn't tell stories as coherently as the songs on Thinking About Thought. It's open to interpretation, of course, but I believe every song on the album has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every song builds up to a climax of some sort, and it's obvious that Miller just didn't throw a bunch a cool sounds together- he obviously put a lot of work into this one. Stand out tracks for me were "Snowbank," which definitely reminded me of Brian Eno's most recent stuff, and "Internal Youth," which certainly channels both Sigur Ros and mum. He lives in the Denver area, but maybe he should move to Iceland? In conclusion, this is The Ancient Tapes at its best- so far. Download the album for free right here.

If you download our song, "I'm Boring," for free, I will love you forever and ever

My band, Electric Needle Room, is participating in another contest through Microsoft and Reverbnation. The winning band gets over $500! How do we win, you may ask? Well all we have to do to win the contest is get people to download our new song "I'm Boring."

The more downloads, the better chance we have to win. Please help us! Simply click this link and download our song (and heck, while you're at it, listen to it!). That's it! Do you already own the song? Well download it again anyway! And tell your friends to also do so!

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

Electric Needle Room - "It Just Came Out That Way EP" download it for free

That is correct. Our new EP, It Just Came Out That Way, is now available, and for free. So now you have no more excuses. Download it here right now. Just do it.

It Just Came Out That Way EP
Electric Needle Room

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Daniel, Matt, and Steven collaborate on an upcoming EP

On November 13th, DL Diedrich, with Matt and Steven Beat, will release a new EP entitled "Strangestthing"

It is being released by Daniel's label, Hell-o Ferocious Records

Ch-ch-ch-check it out!

Hello-o Ferocious Records myspace page

Shane Eddy, R.I.P.

Today I lost a friend. I have never lost someone as close to me as Shane was, so this is a weird feeling. I knew this day would come- that someone closer to me than a distant relative would pass, but still, I am in shock. Shane's passing is a surprise because he was only in his early thirties and apparently died from complications to the flu. When I talked to him a few days ago, he sounded completely fine.

Shane used to work with me while I was a valet manager at Lakeside Hospital. We used to talk every day about the Cleveland Indians, the New York Giants, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his three favorite teams. He was a small man- probably 5'6 and 100 pounds, but he was one of the hardest workers I had ever known. He was also one of the most reliable workers I had ever known. He rarely complained, but when he did he made sure he had bit his tongue as long as he could first. He was a bit of an introvert, but once the shyness wore off, he would always give the warmest of greetings and open right up.

Shane lived a rough life. Apparently he moved out of his mother's house when he was 15 and soon survived by getting a job with a local horse racing owner. He loved horses, even after they injured him by kicking him or running over his foot. He worked in the horse racing industry for several years until he became a valet at Lakeside Hospital.

When I first met Shane in 2008, I thought he was a little rough around the edges, but once I got to know him I quickly noticed how he was an incredibly good person. After I quit working at Lakeside last July, we still kept in touch. Last Thursday I talked to him for a good hour about how much Missouri's football team is overrated and his future plans to go back to school.

Shane was a one-of-a-kind person. He had a good heart. I will cherish the moments we shared. I will miss him very much.

"My Socks Never Match" now available on Amazon.com

From time to time, I get people who ask for Electric Needle Room's first album, My Socks Never Match.

Well, it's long out of print, but you can now download it from Amazon.

Click here to purchase on Amazon for the low price of $6.99

A Transitional Period

Today I am sitting in an empty house. Shannon and the cats are gone, as are most of the furniture and things. It's sort of depressing. We have lived in this house for over three years, and we are sad to be leaving.
My life has gone through some big changes recently. I quit my job at Towne Park (formerly Avascend and before that formerly AVP) after working there for well over four years, and it still feels weird not to park cars for elderly patients everyday. Now I am student teaching at Westside Middle School, and, while I thoroughly enjoy it, am still trying to adjust to new the schedule.
The biggest and most difficult change in my life is the fact that I will be away from Shannon for over four months while I am student teaching in Omaha and she is living next door to her parents down in Bonner Springs. She is just three hours away, but we only get to see each other on the weekends and it will certainly be hard. My hope is that we both stay busy enough during the week that we won't miss each other as much.
So this weekend we moved out of our house. Next weekend, I will be moving in with a friend and fellow student teacher, and because I only get one room there I had to ship most of my stuff with Shannon's parents to store in their basement.
I graduate in December and then will most likely have a difficult time finding a teaching job, because apparently everyone in the world wants to teach social studies. That's okay, I can substitute in the mean time, and at least then I will be with Shannon everyday. Oh, and the cats! Man it's quiet without them here.

New indie pop 4-track EP available from Bubblegum Records

Pop! Vol. 1. 4 track e.p. now available from Bubblegum Records

Featuring...
1. snye - Goodbye Polar Boy
2. Electric Needle Room - Oleaver’s Pub Won’t Let Us Play There Anymore
3. Your Elders - Your Elders
4. Mammoth Life - Bicycle Rider

Now available here

Our Colorado Trip

I hadn't been to Colorado in 11 years, so I was pretty excited to get back there. Shannon and I left early last Sunday, and drove for 10 hours over some extremely boring landscape in central and western Nebraska. Occasionally there would be random hills, but mostly it was just a long drive.
One thing I loved about driving to Colorado as a kid was the fact that you would see an endless, barren, and flat landscape for miles, and then all of a sudden these mountains would pop out in the distance. Well, that didn't happen for us this time because it was raining as we approached Denver. We didn't see the mountains, in fact, until we arrived in the city.
Shannon and I determined on this trip that we loved Colorado Springs and Estes Park the most of all the cities we visited. Among the additional cities we hung out in (not just drove through) were Fort Collins, Denver, Woodland Park, Cripple Creek, Manitou Springs, Divide (where our cabin was), and Boulder. We were both disappointed how you couldn't see mountains very well in Fort Collins and Denver, but other than that they were nice cities.
The reason for the trip was my mom's 50th birthday, which we celebrated by renting a cabin in the mountains (elevation 9,500 feet) for a few days. The cabin had a great view, but it was kind of smelly and dirty. Overall, we enjoyed it- it even had a hot tub which we used the last night of our stay there.
One day we went hiking in nearby Mueller State Park. The views were spectacular, but wildlife was scarce. We didn't see one bear, not one elk, not one moose. We did see some foxes and mule deer, in town.
Other highlights include taking a cog rail up to the top of Pikes Peak...

Visiting the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi Indians...

Losing all our money in Cripple Creek...

Getting family portraits at Garden of the Gods...

Visiting the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park...

Surprising my mom with a 50th birthday party at the cabin...

Seven Falls...




We had a great time and ultimately decided that we want to live in Colorado someday (somehow, some way). I miss the mountains already.

The Nebraska Pop Festival

Here are a list of bands and times they are playing:

Thursday August 27th @ Barley Street. Start time 7:00PM with end time at 1:00AM

1. The Argyle Wishlist (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
2. The Sleepover (Lincoln, Nebraska)
3. Magic Crayon (United Kingdom)
4. Honey and Darling (Omaha, Nebraska)
5. The Tinycakes (Chicago, Illinois)
6. Pennyhawk (Ames, Iowa) *

Friday August 28th @ The Waiting Room. Start time 7:00PM with end time at 1:00AM (ALL AGES SHOW)

1. Spiders For Love (Omaha, Nebraska)
2. Transmittens (Lawrence, Kansas)
3. Mr. and Mrs. Muffins (Jakarta Indonesia & Seattle, Washington)
4. Talking Mountain (Omaha, Nebraska)
5. Poland (Seattle, Washington)
6. Strega (NYC, New York)

Saturday August 29th @ The Waiting Room. Start time 7:00PM with end time at 1:00AM (ALL AGES SHOW)

1. Electric Needle Room (Omaha, Nebraska)
2. Jam on Bread (Manchester, United Kingdom)
3. Labrador w/ special guest Dereck Higgins on bass(Copenhagen, Denmark)
4. Mammoth Life (Lawrence Kansas)
5. Thunder Power (Omaha, Nebraska)
6. Cleemann w/ special guest Dereck Higgins on bass (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Sunday August 30th @ The Waiting Room. Start time 7:00PM with end time at 1:00AM (ALL AGES SHOW)

1. Sweet Pea (Omaha, Nebraska)
2. Probably My Son (Dallas, Texas)
3. Cowboy Indian Bear (Lawrence, Kansas)
4. At Land (Omaha, Nebraska)
5. The Mother Z's (Chicago, Illinois)
6. Darren Keen (Omaha, Nebraska)

* = newly added

Casual Music Fans vs. Passionate Music Fans

There are two different kinds of music fans: Casual and Passionate

Casual fans make up the majority of music fans. They usually follow trends, and hardly ever go out of their way to discover new bands. Most often, they find out about new music from commercial radio stations, television shows, or movie soundtracks.

When they are teenagers, social pressure often dictates what they listen to. For example, if most of their friends are listening to Green Day, then it’s highly likely they are also listening to Green Day. They never go to live shows by themselves. Usually at least one friend would have to show interest in going to a show before they decide they want to go also. The typical casual fan’s interest in music peaks when they are in high school and college. This is when they are downloading the most songs and going to the most shows.

Speaking of downloading, that is the primary way in which they acquire music. For them, buying vinyl records or even CDs is just unheard of. They couldn’t care less that a WAV file sounds much better than an mp3 or that nothing quite sounds as pure as a recording on vinyl.

A causal fan never goes to a local band’s show unless they know someone either in the band or a friend of the band. They generally assume that most local bands remain “local” because they just aren’t good enough.

When a casual fan has a favorite song, they will listen to that song hundreds of times, yet still not become sick of it. In addition, if they hear a mediocre song hundreds of times, they will mostly likely grow to like it (as long as they can sing along to it), even if they first hated it.

When a casual fan gets older, they stop listening to music as much. They stop going to shows almost completely, except for the occasional arena show. They dump much of the music they listened to while they were younger, telling others that they’ve “outgrown” it. By the time they are in their thirties, they are listening to talk radio more than music on their way to work each day. Casual music fans are rarely musicians, but when they are, they usually give up playing instruments by this time.

***

Passionate music fans are the minority. Most are borderline obsessive compulsive when it comes to their personal collection. They can talk about music for hours at a time, often having conversations that seem pointless to casual fans. A casual fan wonders “who gives a crap?” when passionate fans argue who was more influential: The Pixies or Nirvana?

Passionate fans sometimes follow trends, but usually go out of their way to discover new music. They’d prefer that their favorite bands never get too big, for two main reasons:
a) so they can go to their shows without crowds or expensive tickets
b) so they can appear more hip or cool to others for liking such obscure (yet critically-acclaimed) music
They most often find out about new music from word of mouth, music magazines, and, most importantly, the internet. Web sites like Pitchfork and the Hype Machine are integral in finding out about the latest, greatest stuff before their friends do.

When they are teenagers, passionate fans most likely begin in the “casual fan” category, but then break out in reaction to societal pressure. When they find their niche, they cling to it like family and often become very narrow-minded with their tastes. For example, fans of death metal in high school generally share disdain for country.

This generally changes in college, however, as passionate fans begin to branch out to many genres of music, finding the universal appeal of qualities such as melody, harmony, and complex rhythm structures. A passionate fan generally doesn’t care if they are the only one in their group of friends that likes a certain band or artist. They’ll even go to live shows by themselves.

The passionate fan’s interest in music peaks usually in their twenties, but even after they settle down and start a family their interest never declines much. They never stop acquiring music, and often end up with a ridiculously large collection of CDs, vinyl records, and even obsolete formats like cassettes and 8-track tapes.

If a passionate fan likes a band, they will tell the whole world about it (as if the whole world really cared). They go to countless local shows, often treating local bands like rock stars before hype takes over. Because most passionate fans are musicians themselves, they empathize with other musicians trying to make a living doing what they love, while simultaneously envying other musicians when they achieve any sort of success that exceeds their own.

Most passionate fans eventually become disillusioned about mainstream music due to its appearance as a product, something meant to be consumed for profit without any regard for artistic integrity. Because of this, they are often called music snobs or elitists. By the time they are in their thirties, they are annoying casual fans due to their “childish obsessions.”

***

While there are many differences between casual fans and passionate fans, most of us come to like music a certain way. We are not born into this world with Godspeed You! Black Emperor blaring on our headphones. Our environment mostly controls our destiny, beginning with our parents. I think the natural inclination for kids is to rebel against their parents. Therefore, if your parents listened to New Order, it is simply not cool for you to listen to New Order. Instead, maybe some AC/DC or Black Flag will do.

Another obvious influence is friends. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure, especially during the tween stage, when kids often will stick their tongues in toasters if all their friends are doing it. The tween stage is critical- this is often when kids begin to find their own identity separate from their parents and/or siblings (although older siblings usually do tend to remain influential throughout the teenage years). Disney knows this. They have capitalized on it well.

Nearly all of us are introduced to music through mass media. Most kids aren’t going to check out Daytrotter or a college radio station on their own. There’s a transitional stage to get to that point because the more experimental the music is, the harder it is to get into it. Before I liked Sonic Youth, I had to like Weezer, and before I liked Weezer, I had to like Hootie and the Blowfish.

By the time we are in high school, we think we’ve got it all figured out. Both casual and passionate fans completely disregard entire genres, simplifying kinds of music into neat categories. Going to live shows is mostly a social activity for teens. Songs are downloaded mostly on impulse. It is also during this stage when passionate fans and casual fans begin to materialize into two distinct groups. Sometimes, one may not become a passionate fan until much later in life, but usually by the time one is in their twenties, they are on a direct track and usually don’t even think about getting off that track.

The Wire - More real than reality television

I finished watching HBO's The Wire over the weekend, and I think it's safe for me to say it's my favorite television series of all time. I bought myself the entire series (the box set) last Christmas, and did something I rarely do- sat down and watched every second of every episode in order from beginning to end. That's some 3600 minutes. I was glued to the television the entire time. If I was interuppted, I would promptly pause the DVD player so that I wouldn't miss a moment. I had never seen anything quite like it.

What makes The Wire different from practically every other TV show is the fact that it is realistic. I mean, truly realistic. If I ever ran into one of the actors who played these complex characters I would call them by their character's name, not their real name, because that's how genuine each and every one of them was when they played their role. Even minor characters who only had a few scenes were impressive. In fact, I know now that many of the minor characters were just regular people from Balitmore who wanted to be part of history. The show isn't just about good guys vs. bad guys. It's about the good and bad in everyone. No character is purely good, although there are at least a couple who I would say are purely evil. It's about how everything- from the police department, to the local government, to the schools, to the media, to the ports, to the people actually living and dying on the streets, are connected. These are all real people just trying to survive.

My friend and I were talking about how the show never won an Emmy, or never received high ratings when it was on the air. While I've never read a bad review of the show, many of my friends and relatives have never even heard of the show. I remember reading a review of it in Entertainment Weekly in 2006, where they called it "the greatest show on television." At the time, I thought "what's this show?" but I know I wanted to eventually check it out because I'd never seen a review so positive before. I eventually began watching clips of the show on Youtube, and soon realized that this was something different. This show is bigger now than it ever was when it was on the air, and I think that's mostly based on word of mouth. In 100 years, I feel that people will still be talking about it(if people are still around then) and even lumping it in the same category as classic works by Shakespeare and the Beatles.

I think the main reason why this show was never that popular is because it is too realistic. Ignorance is bliss. People rather turn on their TV sets or go to the movie theatre to escape reality, not encounter it. Reality TV? Everyone knows it's about as fake as fictional TV or even much of our so-called "news." People don't want to know the truth, because that means they might actually have to do something about it. But they have themselves to worry about already.

This show has changed my life and opened up my eyes. I now have a mission to let as many people as possible know about this wonderful series.

A really negative review of Electric Needle Room gets reviewed by me

First off, here's the review...

Electric Needle Room - Safe, Effective and Fun
By: Alex Young

Anything to do with rock and roll should never be described as safe. The quirky and quiet rock of Electric Needle Room is written by the brothers Matt and Steven Beat who could use a serious lesson on how to tune their guitars before trying to write more songs. The tune “If You’re Happy, I’m Happy” sounds like a teenager learning to sing while waiting for their balls to drop, complete with their voice cracking like a used record. The tune “Love is Not About Teeth” has sappy lyrics that sound like something out of a teen’s diary while the lead vocalist ‘attempts’ to belt out lyrics such as “Love is not about teeth/it’s about lips”. You can tell that the Beat brothers are struggling to be themselves, but should seriously step up their game considering Safe, Effective and Fun is their fourth album. After comparing themselves to The Faint and Crystal Castles for having programmed drums, the Beach Boys for vocal harmonies (see the comment about the song ‘If You’re Happy, I’m Happy’) it’s hard not to see this endeavor as falling short. It’s also difficult to sit through the album knowing that the musicians have a lot of heart and are putting forth the effort, but it doesn’t yield any effective results. A listener can map out everywhere the song is about to go within the first thirty seconds. Electric Needle Room deserves an ‘A’ for effort, but unfortunately gets an ‘F” for delivery. Not to sound too harsh, but the Beat Bros. should consider change the name of the album from Safe, Effective and Fun to Lame, Weak and Boring. I hope the boys have a lot more to offer live than they have on this album. No joke.

www.myspace.com/electricneedleroom

Now, I am used to negative reviews. I appreciate people's honesty. I'd rather have someone give us direct, honest, criticism than kiss our butts and tell us we're the greatest pop band this side of the Mississippi. However, this review is the harshest review we have ever received. It is downright mean at times. If you are dealing with an obscure band like mine, why even bother reviewing an album if you have nothing good to say about it?

I am grateful that Alex reviewed the album, but I am dissapointed that he didn't really listen to it much. If you are one of those reading this that actually has listened to the album more than once (and all the way through), you can clearly tell Alex superficially listened to the album, and perhaps was in a bad mood while he did so. He briefly mentioned two songs, but seemingly took the lyrics in "Love is Not About Teeth" seriously. How can lyrics that were meant to be funny be sappy? Also, how the heck does Alex know that we are "trying to be ourselves?" How does he know we put a lot of effort into this thing? I honestly think Alex thought up the "Lame, Weak, and Boring" punch line as soon as he read the title, before even listening to the record. He made up his mind very early that he didn't like the record, and I have a feeling he skipped over many songs to hurry up and write a review. The review also appears to be written in a rush- it's poorly organized, hard to read, and even has typos.

The one thing I agree with Alex about is the fact that our guitars were not tuned perfectly. I almost prefer slightly out of tune instruments that give each song a slightly different sound and gives each a more unique character.

Look, I've been on the other end. I used to review records for different websites and the KU magazine, and at times I gave negative reviews. But I at least showed some sense of integrity in my writing style. I gave specific criticism, not generic name-calling in describing the music. Most importantly, I listened to the whole record, at least twice but often three or four times.

Alex, if you're going to do something, do it right, or don't do it all.

Finally, you're probably assuming I'm writing this just to vent and express my frusturations with getting a bad review. That is partially true. But it's also to stress that I get all sorts of criticism about our music, and I have learned to handle it in very positive ways. Bad reviews like this only motivate me to work harder with my music, and my music has made leaps and bounds since even 2-3 years ago.

Ultimately, you create anything for your own self satisfaction. For me, part of that satisfaction is in getting my music out there for many to hear. I always expect many people to not like my music, but as long as they give it a real chance I don't get upset when they don't like it. I do get upset when people dismiss it quickly without giving it a real chance. How many of you reading this have listened to the same ENR song more than once?

School's out for the summer

I made it. It was the semester of doom but I made it out alive. It feels good to have a little free time. I recorded last night for the first time in months. I have also been booking ENR for a few shows over the summer. It will be nice to get back to music-making.

I also have a goal this summer of writing a screenplay for a movie I have been wanting to produce for a long time. It will be based on all of my experiences as a valet manager at a hospital. Maybe I'll have it done by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Crane Coffee is actually paying me to help them book shows over the summer. What a sweet gig that is.

It looks to be a fun summer, and I hope time will slow down a little bit now.

How much is one trillion dollars?

A co-worker and I today figured out that if a person had one trillion dollars (hypothetically, of course), and they decided to give it away to someone, but give it to them one dollar at a time, taking about one second per time, and sleeping 8 hours a day (because you gotta have your sleep), then it would take that person between 47,000 to 48,000 years to give away all that money.

But I think the average person only lives to be seventy-something so maybe that wouldn't work out?

More facts for you (from www.letfreedomringusa.com):

"A stack of one trillion one-dollar bills would reach 68,000 miles in space. If you spent $1 million dollars a day from the day Jesus was born until now, you would only have spent about three quarters of a trillion.


If you laid one trillion one-dollar bills end to end, it would make a chain from the earth to the moon 200 times. One trillion dollars would stretch nearly from the earth to the sun. It would take a jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills behind it, four years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills. A million seconds is 11.5 days. A billion seconds is 32 years. A trillion seconds is 32,000 years.


Record Spending In The Budget: The budget increases spending to $3.9 trillion in 2009, or 27% of GDP – the highest level since World War II.

Historically High Deficits For The Next Ten Years: the budget promises historically high deficits stretching out until 2019, when the budget deficit will stand at $712 billion.

A Record Deficit In 2009: The budget would produce a $1.75 trillion deficit, or 12.3percent of GDP, in 2009. This deficit level is more than three times the previous record deficit.

$24 Billion Spent A Day: Over the first fifty days of the new Administration, approximately $24 billon has been spent a day, most of it with borrowed money.

Doubling The National Debt Over The Next Eight Years: The budget doubles the national debt over the next eight years."

Okay, so when are we spending too much? Is there really a limit? Why can't we just spend a zillion dollars? We're the richest (supposedly) freaking country in the world. There's a problem with that however- the Federal Reserve knows it is taking a huge risk because any time you print money, you have to back it up with something of value. The problem now is that the value of all of our goods and services is currently going down and is not projected to go up any time soon. The gamble is spending all this money to get these goods and services to go back up in value.

But what if they don't.

In addition, we are borrowing billions from China (not to mention countless other countries). What if they decide to stop loaning us money? Who says China will need us much longer when their economy is caught up with ours?

News flash: China's economy expanded by 6.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009. That's right. While our economy is shrinking, their's is expanding.

Jake Russell Band - "Turning to Dandelions"

The Jake Russell Band is weird, and I think they are darn proud of that fact. On their latest, Turning to Dandelions, they seem to be at their most weirdest yet. There are no boundaries on this album. One song, the epic title track, goes on for over 16 minutes, but it's hypnotic enough that you barely notice this fact. What drives the band is Jake Russell's voice. He sings out of tune often on purpose, but he does so in such a warm and charming way. He's like a quirkier Stephen Malkmus. The arrangements are often soft and acoustic-based, and Josh Koleszar's guitar and accordion playing that compliment the arrangements often offer more beautiful and unique melodies than anything Pavement ever did. My favorite track by far is "Candide’s Blue Period," a great indie pop tune with minimalist drums that fit the mood of the song just right. I wish all of the tracks had drums, but unfortunately only some of them do. Another strength of the album is Jake's lyrics, which are conversational, insightful, and just plain refreshing compared to most bands out their today. Overall, it's safe to say that there is no band out there that sounds like the Jake Russell Band. They are doing their own thing, and while sometimes their music might be slightly hard to digest, you absolutely have to admire what they are doing.

Almost done

The semester of madness is almost over. One more month.

What can be done to slow or even stop gang violence?

First of all, you have to look at the root of why and how gangs form. Every human being has a tendency to join groups. We like belonging to something bigger. We need social interaction. We need others to love and for them to love us- we need a family. Many of these young kids who join gangs do not feel like they have a family of their own. Many feel like outsiders who feel like they need to belong. This is how gangs recruit so many young people.

Crime is most commonly linked to people who are either poor or are facing hard times. Economic hardship inevitably linked to gang crime. Selling illegal drugs or weapons are booming and prosperous businesses in many cities. The demand is quite for drugs in a society that is impoverished, and in a society dominated by gangs, security is a necessity in order to survive, so guns of course sell well.

An entire industry has sprouted in large part due to our laws. It's easier to get an illegal weapon or an illegal drug than it is to get legal ones. Many of these gang members actually work hard within this industry. Imagine if all drugs were legal. How would this change the game? What would be the point of buying drugs from a dealing gang member when you could purchase it from the government. In no way am I promoting the legalization of drugs, but that makes you at least think about the concepts of supply and demand. Gangs would not thrive without the illegal drug trade. So ending the drug trade somehow would probably help stop gang violence.

Gang violence only comes after gangs have matured to a point where respect, pride, revenge, and competition become major factors within their society. There was a great quote from this police office in an article I recently read. He said that the shootings were always about three things: drugs, money, guns, and respect. In my opinion, if you take drugs out of the picture, the other three will not exist.

UNO Mavradio's Website

www.unomavradio.com

What I Have Accomplished over Winter "Vacation"

Well classes start up again next week at UNO. I've really just started to get used to not having to worry about classes. Oh well. One more semester. And then student teaching! I can't wait to get started with that. 

Anyway, over my "break" (I still worked full-time and the holidays were still a busy time of course) I accomplished a bit. I recorded again. Got a couple songs done for the Felt Show and Daniel Lewis Diedrich and I got some stuff of his recorded. Other than that, I finally converted all of my CDs to digital files on our computer. Ok, you may not understand...this is a process that has taken 3.5 years to complete...pretty much as long as Shannon and I have been married. It feels pretty good.  I have a total of 16, 814 songs, or 44.6 days, of songs on our computer. I could listen to my Ipod for 44.6 days straight and not hear the exact same song. Pretty amazing, eh?

Anyway, I will wrap this up while I watch the Arizona Cardinals- the ultimate underdog- who I am rooting to beat the Carolina Panthers.

Until next time.

The Untitled Record "Silent Film Soundtrack"

The second full-length album from Colorado native Drew Miller, aka The Untitled Record, hints at the heavily ambient sounds often heard by artists such as Brian Eno or Boards of Canada. Each song on the album, cleverly titled "Silent Film Soundtrack, has a mystic feel to it. As I listened to it I often was overwhelmed with a calming, almost hypnotic feeling. I probably would not advise listening to this record while driving, because it'd probably put you to sleep.

  

Not that "Silent Film Soundtrack" is boring. Quite the opposite really, for there are a lot of interesting things going on in each song that can be missed if only listened to casually. For example, in one of my favorite tracks, "Sea of Chaos," there are many so sounds loaded into the song that I've never quite heard anything like before. At only a minute and a half, you have to listen to the song multiple times to get it all in. "Sunset Lagoon" features a snarling beat with ringing sounds that all sit nicely on top of each other in pure ambience confusion. Another one of my favorites, "Soundwave Information," recalls early Moby, with striking piano chords hovering over gentle strings and hypnotic beats.