Glenn Beck Needs to Shut Up When It Comes to Music

Glenn Beck apparently stays up at night worrying that our nation is hopeless against that "horror show" Glee.

Granted, I despise Glee as well. But for different reasons. Beck says it lacks moral values and that the entire show is "propaganda," particularly their version of the My Chemical Romance song "Sing," which begs the people who watch the show/listen to the song.

"It's an anthem saying 'Join us'. How can you and I possibly win against that?"

What is there to win against? Yes, Glee does have some pretty non-conservative plot lines. A pregnant high schooler, an openly gay couple, divorced parents, premarital sex. But is it really propaganda?

Propaganda, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, is chiefly derogatory information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

So is Glee propaganda? Eh, not really. Maybe it's propaganda for equality, but I don't see what Beck is getting at. Gerard Way, the singer from My Chemical Romance, has responded to Beck's claim with this:

"I think the word Glenn Beck was looking for was 'subversion' not 'propaganda', because I don't know what it would be considered propaganda for truth? I can't tell what he's angrier about - the fact that it's how I feel about the persistent sterilization of our culture or the fact that it's on network television for everyone to hear."

Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Beck has taken a song and decided what it was about: he labeled Muse's performance at the Grammy's of their song "Uprising" as a "call for revolution" as well as expressing his love for the band back in '09. They proceeded to ask him to retract his comments about the band, as they don't approve of his general opinion.

Cover Songs, My Conundrum.

This is a video of Miley Cyrus covering "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the Nirvana classic that arguably changed everything about the music industry.

Sweet Jesus, is this even legal?

Ok, that might be a little harsh. Now, instead of complaining about her covering this, I'm going to do something a little bit unlike my usual blogging self and play devil's advocate.

I think Cobain would love this shit. Here's why:

Cobain knew he wrote a couple of pop songs (including this one) and, as far as I know, didn't have any pretentions or delusions about it. He was ok with it- hey, it's a great hook. Who wouldn't be happy with a hook as great as this one? Miley's got some pretty catchy hooks as well ("Party In the USA," anyone?). Cobain knew how to sell a song, just as I'm sure Miley does by now. I mean, c'mon- she's 18 years old and has sold just as many (if not more?) records as Cobain.

Plus, Miley's dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, managed to do with one song ("Achy Breaky Heart") what Cobain was trying to do with several albums- piss off the entire world.

I also have to mention that Cobain loved the song "Achy Breaky Heart," Miley's dad's only real claim to fame. Apparently, in fact, Cobain and Cyrus were pretty good friends. They hung out and bonded over their young daughters, who played together as children.

This begs the question: are there songs that are "taboo" to cover? As a musician, I say yes. Some songs are absolutely brilliant and should be "untouchable." I feel this way about a large portion of the Lennon/McCartney songbook as well as songs like "Seven Nation Army" and "Smoke On The Water," or pretty much anything by AC/DC (sorry, there's no lightning bolt key on my computer). These songs are all either classics or completely overdone, or both.

But as an avid music listener, I think you should be able to cover pretty much anything you want. Take Franz Ferdinand's new "Covers EP," which they released for Record Store Day. They had released covers by LCD Soundsystem, Britney Spears, and Blondie as b-sides to records, so they just released this EP full of several artists (including LCD Soundsystem and Debbie Harry of Blondie) doing renditions of Franz tunes. I think it's cool to do cover songs as long as you do a good job with it. Unfortunately a lot of people don't get exposed to cover songs and whatnot unless it's a shitty version on American Idol or America's Got Talent or something.

Granted, this could be looked at by Adorno as the problem with pop music- simply rehashing the same songs, over and over again. So how do you make it different?

Well, you make it different. You create something new out of something old. You change the song just enough in order to make it yours, but not enough to make an entirely new piece of material (because, well, it's not making something entirely new, you're using someone else's ideas and changing them a bit).

So I'm a little stuck in the middle here (ha, band humor).

Rock & Roll and the Government Shutdown

Well, crisis averted, I suppose. The government shutdown didn't happen due to some late-night proceedings (which still have yet to be released...) on Friday night, and now thousands of government workers will continue to get paid and the we're still in massive debt.

I was alerted to this video by Ben Swank's Twitter, @VietnamSummer, on Friday. Me being a self-professed White Stripes super-fan, I kind of freaked out. Here's the video:

I had never thought of "Effect & Cause" as being a protest song, more of just a song about a relationship with some problems. But Congresswoman Donna Edwards makes me realize that it can really be put into practically any context- "you can't take the effect & make it the cause."

The New Grammys

So, as well all know, the Grammys kind of suck nowadays.

Seriously, though. The show is far too long, there's way too many awards, and the awards have pretty much become a joke. Essentially, winning a Grammy nowadays doesn't really mean a whole lot- it just points out that, yes, your music was popular last year and yes, you made a lot of money off of it. That's why it was such a huge surprise that Arcade Fire won album of the year this year- they're on a small label (Merge), and although they were a pretty big act last year, headlining festivals and the like, they definitely didn't sell anywhere near as many records as Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, their big-name contenders for Album of the Year (some people still have no idea who Arcade Fire is). Most years, the "album of the year" Grammy goes to whoever sat on top of the charts for the longest amount of time that year.

So the Grammys are undergoing a "radical change" this year. They organizers are cutting 31 categories, cutting the awards from 109 to 78, with many categories being merged and several being cut completely. The main goal is for the ceremony to go "gender blind"- there will no longer be "Best Female Pop Vocal" and "Best Male Pop Vocal" awards, just "Best Pop Vocal." They are also starting with 40 contenders per award now instead of 25. Grammy President Neil Portnow says that these radical changes are a way to "up the game for what it means to win a Grammy."

Some people are up in arms about this. "Oh, that's not fair! There has to be different categories for male and female singers!" Well, not necessarily. A good singer is a good singer- it really doesn't matter what gender you are. Why not have just one award? It makes things easier and really does make it mean more when you win one of these awards. The Grammys used to be a really big deal- now they're almost laughed at.

Another big change is the dropping of several categories, like Best Zydeco and Best Hawaiian album are gone (they were actually the most recent additions, too), having been consolidated with a couple of other awards into "Best Regional Roots Album."

Is it wrong to consolidate all of these genres into one category? It depends on how you look at it, really, and I'm not really sure if I agree with all of this or not. The male/female thing is totally fine in my opinion- I've actually thought they should consolidate those awards for quite some time. But getting rid of entire genre categories is a different story.

Let me know what you think of all of this in the comments, I'd love to have a discussion about this.

This Is Just Disheartening, or The Joys of Record Store Day

Just when I thought things were going to start getting better in the music industry, this happens.

Mercury, a music label in the UK, is stopping the physical release of vinyl singles in the coming months (real meaning: anything that hasn't already been made/planned won't be released as a vinyl single). Apparently, physical singles count for less than 1% of all single sales weekly, with digital sales being the obvious main source of all of those millions of sales. Unfortunately for music fans in the UK, this means that artists like Arcade Fire, The Killers, and U2 will no longer be able to release vinyl singles, save for "rare occasions." Which sucks, because that pretty much means no more cool b-sides.

I'm assuming that those "rare occasions" will probably be the most wonderful day of the year. No, I'm not talking about Friday or Christmas (please watch the video that's linked, it's honestly one of the best mashups I've ever heard). I'm talking about Record Store Day (which might as well be christmas for a music geek like myself), and it's coming up on April 16th.

Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 and is quickly becoming a really big deal in the industry. Tons of artists release limited edition 7", 10", and 12" inch vinyl that is exclusively sold at independent music stores. This years releases range from a new single by The Flaming Lips to a re-release of Nirvana's "Hormoaning" EP. (You can see the full list of releases here.) Most independent music stores have huge events planned for the day, often involving live music and DJ sets, giveaways, etc. Last year, my brother and I got tons of cool stuff- a Them Crooked Vultures 10" picture disc, a pink Phoenix single, the Dessert Sessions on Vinyl, a Black Keys 12" single, a Queens of the Stone Age EP 10" picture disc, and more.

Record Store Day is what the industry needs, but every single day instead of the second Saturday in April. And not only because vinyl just sounds so much better, but because it's tangible. It proves you bought something, that you supported an artist, that you love what you've just spend a decent money on (because believe me, it's an addiction...our total last year ended up coming out to just short of $100 bucks). Plus, everything's special. Most of the releases are extremely limited- often only having a total release of 1000 copies (some are less limited with 5000 or 10,000 copies).

So, even though the bastards at Mercury aren't going to put out physical singles anymore, supporting record stores has actually never been easier. So go out on April 16th! I promise you'll come away with something incredible.

Glee and the Entitled Bastards Behind It.

I know I just posted about Dave Grohl recently, but this needs to be talked about.

So to be honest, I was a pretty big fan of Glee the first season. Though it was a kind of clichéd story, it had its moments and could be pretty funny while still pulling at your heartstrings. The songs that the writers picked fit quite well into the story, and the songs they sang were either classic or well known by almost everyone. The creators were ecstatic, as they had a huge hit- I personally know way too many people that watch that show religiously.

But this season has been rather different. I watched the first few episodes of the season, and it honestly just...well, it sucked. The episodes are written around what major artists' music the creators can get their hands on instead of putting songs in that are relevant to the story line- so there's not much of a story going on this semester other than the "Let's get to nationals!" thing from last season.

What bothers me the most is the sense of entitlement the bastards behind the music have. Recently, Ryan Murphy, the creator of Glee, wanted to use Guns 'N Roses in an episode. When Slash said no, Murphy ripped into Slash, calling him a "washed up old rockstar" (quite the opposite, in my opinion). Nearly the same thing happened with Kings of Leon (who I can't find myself getting into anymore), whom Murphy called "snot

ty little assholes" for not wanting their music on the show.

So when Murphy asked Dave Grohl if he could use the Foo Fighters song "Times Like These" on the show, Dave declined. Murphy was, according to Grohl, "offended that [Foo Fighters] weren't begging to be on his fucking show."

Dave's remark is the best thing I've heard in a while: "You shouldn't have do do fucking Glee. Fuck that guy for thinking everybody should want to do that show."

And to be completely honest, you shouldn't. It's complete bullshit that Murphy thinks every single artist should want to be on his show. Why is he so entitled? Is it because Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber wanted to be on the show? I mean, they're the biggest pop stars in the world! Every artist and band should aspire to be like them, right?

No. Artists should be able to do what they want with their music, especially if they don't want it to be on some shitty, clichéd musical TV show about high school.

Artists Who Hate Their Albums

Oh, the music industry.

Let's start with Lupe Fiasco, shall we?

I read this article last week after a close friend of mine was telling me how excited she was about Lupe's new album "L.A.S.E.R.S." In order for Atlantic records to release his record, he was "forced to create" songs that he didn't like- namely, the lead single "The Show Goes On."

“That was one of those records the record company gave me, [they even gave me] stuff they wanted me to rap about. … At that point, I was just drained. I was like, ‘Whatever. Another song, another day, another dollar.” said Fiasco. “I had to do ‘Show Goes On,’ that was like the big chip on the table. I had to do it and it had to be the first single if the record was going to come out.”

That's some of the biggest bullshit I've heard in a long time- from both ends of the argument, really. Record companies obviously don't care about the artist anymore if this is happening- they merely care about how much money they're going to make off of a particular record and artist. This is why we don't see any conscious hip-hop in the mainstream- because even though these huge labels have the power to promote records that bring out issues within society, the labels push the bullshit "gansta rap" that sells to suburban teenagers, with their black Escalades and their houses that all look the same.

And, on top of that, there's Nick Valensi's (he plays guitar) comments on how "awful" the making of the new Strokes album was, which is really unfortunate in my opinion. His issues really have more to do with how the album was actually made than how it sounds, but he did say that that he feels like they have a better album in them, and that he wants it to come out soon (which, again, would be rad. I do love The Strokes).

What's the point of releasing an album you don't completely love? As a musician, I know that I wouldn't release a record to the public unless I knew that I enjoyed every single song on the record. If you don't love it, that means you're not putting much effort into it, and that means it's not going to be your best work.

On a nicer, unrelated note: The Beach Boys are releasing "The Smile Sessions" sometime this year, a 44- year old unfinished album that was shelved. Should be pretty neat.

One last thing- a bit of shameless self-promotion. My band with my brother and Pat Testa, Cute Machines has a free show Tuesday night at Café Prytania for WestFest, which is a bunch of free shows for bands headed to SXSW. It's FREE and it's going to be totally rad, so you should show up. Doors are at 9, music starts at 10, and you'll be home by midnight so you can get some sleep before class on Wednesday morning.

Fuck the Police.

Fuck the police.

No, but seriously.

Today on the Peace Quad was the SGA Battle of the Bands. Thanks to some technical difficulties and some people being late, the whole event (which was supposed to be over by 2:00 pm because that's when classes start again) was running behind by about 30 minutes. So when Naughty Professor, the last band to perform, finally went on at about 1:57 this afternoon, they were already aware that they had to play quick due to classes and such. But at 2:00, some self-righteous cop shows up and threatens jail time to all of those involved if they didn't stop playing, walking up on stage right in the middle of Naughty Professor's first song.

Jail time. For playing music. In New Orleans, one of the most musical cities in the world.

I've never understood those "disturbing the peace" laws. Music doesn't "disturb the peace." Why do I need a "noise" permit? What if I'm not making "noise"? What if what I'm making is music, loud and raucous (as it should be). If anything, the cops that show up to tell me that I'm "disturbing the peace" are the ones who are actually at fault- they're the ones who are threatening us with jail time for being original, creative, and ourselves.

Why can you arrest me for being loud late at night?

To keep me quiet.

Because maybe it's not just a house party where we're all just chilling out and having a nice time listening to our friends play some music. Maybe I'm not just making music. Maybe I'm starting a revolution. Maybe I'm sticking it to the man. Maybe I'm pointing out the shit in society. Maybe I'm everything you're against. Maybe I'm not obedient.

We Need A Revolution

I found this image today while browsing reddit.com and found it to be extremely relevant to everything we have been talking about in class lately. it takes a minute to see it, but the way the money is folded allows for the phrase "We Need A Revolution" to be spelled out by the letters on the dollar.

It amazes me how split the party system supposedly is. In reality, everyone is going for the same goal- more money in their pockets and their bank accounts.

One thing I've really noticed lately is that even though there are massive protests going on throughout the world (Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Wisconsin...), there's really not any protest music coming out of it- or at least mainstream protest music. But it's also ridiculous to think of any major acts these days writing protest music. Picture this: Katy Perry, in the middle of her current "California Dreams Tour," dropping everything to record a song in protest of the Libyan or Egyptian (or Wisconsonian) government.

I would laugh. Not because of the idea of it, but because I can't take most of pop music seriously anymore, and a Katy Perry protest song (the song that I'm getting in my brain would be something along the lines of the backing music of "California Gurls" plus the lyrical equivalent of "Maggie's Farm") would honestly be downright laughable.

The idea of somebody who actually makes an impact on music these days putting something out that even mentions any form of protest is insane. I'd love to see Britney or Katy Perry or Justin Timberlake or whatever come out with something, anything revolutionary, but it would most definitely not get any airplay (if it even were to get released as a single).

I swear to god, if I ever find out that somebody has made a synth-pop mashup of "Maggie's Farm..."

Godlike Genius

Well, the new Foo Fighters single dropped this week. And, according to NME, Dave Grohl is officially a Godlike Genius.

Grohl is one of those guys who, in all honesty, deserves everything he's got. But if it weren't for some stupid shit when Nirvana was just starting to get big, Dave would definitely not be where he is right now. His band, Scream, had split up due to a the departure of their bass player, and he had just been to a Melvins concert with Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic and started to get to know the two of them. Kurt and Krist loved Dave's style of drumming and needed a new drummer, so after an audition, they added him as a full-time member to the now infamous lineup of Nirvana, the band that changed rock music forever.

With the music industry in the state it is, it's very refreshing to see an artist who loves what he does but can have a sense of humor about all of it. Dave is another one of those guys who takes what he does seriously but obviously thoroughly enjoys himself, like in the "Fresh Pots!" video from when Them Crooked Vultures were in the studio or his commentary on seeing Jake Shears' nutsack at a Scissor Sisters show.

Stop The Hate!

So last night was incredible. And no, i'm not talking about the Krewe du Vieux parade in the quarter. I'm talking about Marleyfest 2011, the best example of a community of musicians I have ever experienced

So a couple of weeks ago, people who obviously hate everything about life did a terrible thing and stole several thousand dollars worth of instruments, personal belongings, and money from the van of the wonderful gentlemen in New Grass Countr

y Club while they were out gigging in Shreveport. So, as any wonderful community should do, the guys in Sun Hotel, Native America, Habitat, and Caddywhompus organized an amazing evening in order to stop the hate that those bastards in Shreveport so willingly shelled out on New Grass. It was 5 bucks to get in for tons of awesome music and tons of love, the obvious opposite of hate. There's even a "Stop the Hate" EP, made up of songs from all of the bands that played (plus Vox and the Hound). They even made "Stop the Hate" t-shirts (or they'd tag the shirt you were wearing).

This really ranks up there in coolest concerts i have ever been to. There was so much love and friendship, and it was really an enjoyable night. Sure, I ended up missing most of Krewe du Vieux, but that's alright- I'm part of a community, and people in a community help each other out. New Orleans is the only city i can think of that has such a wonderful group of musicians that honestly want to help each other out. Back home in St. Louis, people go to a show to see their friend's band and leave directly after. Here, people show up early and they stay late. They put on benefit shows for people whose priceless gear got stolen by some bastards out in Shreveport. They come to your shows, and you go to theirs. Bands care about each other like the members of a family cares for one another, and it's a wonderful thing to see somebody in your family start to make it big.

So thank you, New Orleans, for helping to stop the hate.

And the Oscar goes to.....

So, the Academy Award Nominations were released today, and none other than Trent Reznor is nominated for "Best Original Score" for his work on "The Social Network." I really hope he wins. Mr. Reznor has been one of my most influential musicians, and his score was truly brilliant.

Reznor's band Nine Inch Nails (NIN) was a ground-breaking band throughout the late 80s, the 90s, and most of the noughties (which, I just recently found out, is what the decade of 2000-2009 is called). Reznor released the iconic album "Pretty Hate Machine" in 1989, which features thick, prominent synths, drum machines, effected vocals and heavy bass, perfectly splicing together the synthy style of the 80s as well as the grungy guitars that were beginning to emerge in the late 80s and early 90s. Songs like "Head Like a Hole" and "Terrible Lie" have become classics, as have songs like "Closer" and "The Hand that Feeds," from the albums "The Downward Spiral" and "With Teeth," respectively. Reznor's lyrics are often commentary against authority and the political state of the United States, even going so far as to call out George W. Bush in the song "Capital G."

The last thing I have to say about this: I really hope that the man who once sang "I want to fuck you like an animal" gets the Oscar for Best Original Score this year, he deserves it.

The Risin' of the Moon

So last week in class we listened to Sinead O'Connor's rendition of "The Foggy Dew," an Irish folk song about the 1916 Easter Rising. It's kind of funny that that was on of our examples, because Ireland is now going through quite a bit of political turmoil.

The Easter Rising was a failed insurrection during Easter Week 1916 by the Irish Republicans who wished to put an end to British rule in Ireland, and was the largest uprising since the rebellion of 1798. The Irish Republicans' citizen army unfortunately failed to take back Dublin Castle, the center of British government in Ireland. Throughout the week the Irish citizens were unable to push back against the returning British forces due to ammunition that never arrived and hundreds of casualties. After several days, the leaders of the rebellion were forced to surrender after continuous shelling to their headquarters caused a collapse.

Ireland has once again fallen victim to political turmoil. The government has accepted a $113 billion dollar bailout plan from the EU, as the country is near bankrupt. Prime minister Cowen stepped down over the weekend as head of his party, Fianna Fail, but has said he will stay on as prime minister until the elections on March 11 (which may be moved to February 25th). Recently, six government ministers resigned within 24 hours of each other. Many Irish politicians are under the impression that Cowen's party will fall apart, and even the head of Sinn Fein, the political power in charge of Northern Ireland, is planning on entering himself into this issue in Ireland.

It's been very interesting for me to keep up with all of this. Though I have never been to Ireland, I have wanted to go for a very long time and I very much so enjoy keeping up with what's going on over there. Every few months or so you hear about another bombing in Belfast or another problem within the government, and I often think about how Ireland has never really been peaceful. Looking back at its history, Ireland has almost always been controlled by another nation (usually the Brits), and when they're not under empirical control, they're battling with each other over who should be in power. The idea of almost eternal political unrest is absolutely baffling to me, and I know that I personally would not be able to live under conditions like that.

I've been interested in Irish music since my brother started playing fiddle with the Irish Arts of St. Louis, getting lessons at folk music shop near my house back at home, but it wasn't until last year when I took an Irish Literature class that I realized a very large majority of Irish music is in protest. For example, "The Rising of the Moon" is about the rebellion against the Brits in 1798.

here's a portion of the lyrics:

There beside the singing river that dark mass of men were seen
Far above their shining weapons on their own immortal ring.

Death to every fallen traitor forward strike the marchin' tune
And hurrah my boys, for freedom! Tis the rising of the moon.

How well they fought for poor old Ireland, and full bitter, was their fate
Oh what glorious pride and sorrow fills the name of ninety-eight.

Yet thank God while hearts are beating, each man bears a burning wound
We will follow in their footsteps, at the rising of the moon.

what is wrong with you people?

since i'm a musician i like to keep up with what's going on at the NAMM conference each year, and this website usually does a really good job. so whist reading the various news postings, i found this insane article. apparently, several contestants on the popular show "american idol" (more affectionately known in my household as "american asshole") have never heard a song by the beatles.

i have no words.

look, the beatles defined music how it is now- there is no doubt about that. they did EVERYTHING. i mean, jesus! look at their catalog, and you've got everything from 12 bar blues to early metal (helter skelter, anyone?). how can someone have never heard one of their songs? or even a cover of one of their songs? and with movies like "across the universe" which are based around their music and "nowhere boy," the upcoming movie about john lennon- the beatles are everywhere. it just doesn't make sense to me how somebody could have gone 17 or 18 years without listening to them.

and i haven't even gotten to talking about the show.

the people who have come out of american idol (asshole?) are some of the worst excuses for a music "idol" you can ask for. granted, there are a few exceptions. carrie underwood has garnered quite a bit of success, as has kelly clarkson and chris daughtry (who didn't even win!). but who remembers ruben studdard? fantasia barrino? christ, who even won last year?
this show was designed to help find the next big recording artist, but it's turned into nothing but a popularity contest for who's more attractive.

but isn't that what everything is in life? that's a bit off topic, i suppose.

i love this website for what they're doing. these guys successfully sabotage the machine that is american idol (seriously. they've gotten people into the top three before). remember scott savol? taylor hicks- who actually won his year- was the vote for the worst candidate. isn't that awesome?

-gsm

fender and gibson and unemployment! oh my!

i was reading this article last night and just thought to post about it now.

a lot of major guitar companies like fender, gibson, and ibanez have factories in south korea, as well as other countries in asia, because it's cheaper to make their instruments over there. my fender mustang, for example, is a CIJ model- "crafted in japan." in 2007, fender and gibson both laid off several hundred of their factory employees who manufactured parts for their guitars at the cort and cor-tek factories in south korea. but they didn't just lay them off: apparently, these factory employees were "padlocked out of their factories" and "forced to sign resignation papers" after they tried to form a union back in 2007. tom morello, guitarist from rage against the machine, has met with these workers and will most likely be present at a press conference that's happening today at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) conference in California, where workers will be present to help explain the situation. If their story is true, then what these companies have done violates south korea's national labor relations commission, citing "illegal dismissal." Workers have also said that these companies used "intimidation and violence to secure forced resignations from the workers to deny them unemployment benefits and to retaliate against the union through hired thugs".

the whole thing infuriates me. what, were these factories not making your instruments cheaply enough, fender? were you not making enough money off of your ridiculously over priced guitars, gibson? granted, i've never liked gibson much, so i'm on the koreans' side. but i always thought fender was the "good brand." i mean, sure, they use cheap labor in asia to make their instruments, but gibson gets into some trouble. just more than a year ago, gibson was being investigated by the US police for using illegal wood from south america in their guitars.

good luck to you, tom morello. if i can find info of what happens at that press conference today, i'll post a link here.

-gsm

i see what you did there.

well good afternoon, everybody. welcome to stereo putrid, my blog for my class "protest and pop music" that i'm taking this semester. let's get to know each other, shall we?

i'm sam, and music is what i do. i've been in several bands, varying from an acoustic duo to a blues-rock trio to my current venture, cute machines, a dance punk band i've formed here at loyola with my twin brother, collin, and my roommate, pat testa. i care a lot about how things sound- i'm the one in the band who tells everybody to stop when one thing is just a little bit off- slightly out of tune, the synth arpeggiator is off tempo, or the drum track (ah, the joys of a drum machine...) just doesn't sound how it's supposed to. i play guitar, and my setup consists of a lot of shitty gear that, for some reason, sounds amazing when put together in the sequence i use it in. go figure?

for christmas this year, i got a new crosley record player, which excites me quite a bit. not to sound like a hipster or anything (although you could probably argue that i'm quite the hipster), but i love vinyl. the idea of music being consumed only digitally in the future bothers me- i rarely just download music, because i love the idea of having a physical, tangible copy of it. i don't know why, but that's how i feel about it.

i'll listen to almost anything, but my favorites (right now, anyway) are beck, the white stripes, the black keys, the dead weather, eagles of death metal, the raconteurs, the kills, spoon, muse, metric, the greenhornes, and the kooks.

politically speaking, i don't really know where i am- i'm pretty moderate. i find myself to be pretty liberal with some issues, but also fairly conservative about other topics. i enjoy a good argument, even though most of my friends say i always lose.

i'm really looking forward to posting here this semester.

-gsm