The War at Home – Lyrics

A band that I should have on here soon with an interview is an avant-garde group of youngsters who call themselves “Intro5pect”. I came across their LP named “RealPolitik”, with a song entitled ‘The War at Home’, featuring guest vocalist STZA from Chocking Victim and Leftover Crack. The song is tough and energetic, but the lyrics impressed me the most, so I’ve added them below for you to read. You can click here to listen to the entire song. Cheers….

The war at home, the war’s abroad
All soaked in blood and lies and fraud
The genocide that we ignore is right outside your fu**ing door
Conquistadors across the seas have come ashore to spread disease
Imprisoned in suburban homes you will rot sick and die alone

BBC The Office – David Brent Charity Dance

Before Hollywood butchered yet another original and once entertaining show, there was BBC’s ‘The Office’, which was the original and independently filmed U.K. series starring comedian Ricky Gervais as David Brent. This video below is a clip from the episode when they have a charity event in the office and David Brent gets all jealous that his boss is a better dancer than he is (so he does his own ridiculous dance). This is a funny one, so check it out. And thanks again to Hollywood for ruining this classic with their weak attempt at an American spin-off. El terrible.

5 Expressions People Use (That I Hate)

A list of 5 phrases/or expressions that I just realized how much I hate:
(But if you ever hear me using this lingo, you’re not allowed to make fun of me)

1. “Competitive Pricing” – What on earth does this actually mean? Competitive compared to what? The next option for extortion?
2. “Analyst” - Companies often attach this one liner to a job title, but my question is….what are they analyzing? I have yet to see anyone with the word “analyst” on their business card who actually analyzed anything besides a cappuccino. The most they have done for me is analyzed the on/off switch on my computer.
3. “I’m in the Industry” – Oh yeah, that is meaningful! What does this even mean anyway? Oh you are “in the industry”, so that basically means that you’ve by chance ended up working at some random place for a certain amount of time that happens to specialize in something that is in a certain “industry”. Wow, you are in an industry? Congratulations. But on second thought, everything can be diced into an industry, so shut up about your industry! (childish, I know)
4. “Let’s Circle Back” - You may not have heard this one yet, but trust me, you will soon! It is the answer to “let’s revisit that”. Basically, if a co-worker or friend wants to get back to you on something, they will say “let’s circle back on that”. I say…eeeeh? Is this an elaborate excuse to procrastinate and not do any actual work? And what are we circling back on? And why a circle? Why not a triangle or a square?
5. Saying the word “Look” before you make a point – This really bothers me. Can’t people make their point without adding the word “look” before it, as if it makes the point more valid. Look here, it makes you sound corny, it does not make your statement any more valid or factual. Oops, I just did it….

How to Record and Produce Your Own Music

Making your own music is not as hard as you think it is. Especially if you’re the type of person who enjoys creating songs in your head or hear pop songs on the radio and know that you could write a better tune in your sleep.

Several years ago, the recording industry was a lot more exclusive and secretive when it came to recording techniques and modern software (mainly because of cost). But just like with the video and internet revolution, things have changed globally and the playing field has been leveled again. These days, you can download a simple music production program with the click of a button, then compose/record your own music, and transfer the tunes to a CD or online mp3 file for your friends to enjoy. This can literally be done in record time. No more taking several months to push out a full-length record, and how about making a record within weeks or even days? The overall quality and originality of the music is up to you, but here are a few tips to get you started for an affordable price:

There are 3 high-quality and trusted programs that I either use or have used in the past. All of these come highly recommended and have slight differences, mainly when it comes to interface style, filter types, and recording options. I would highly recommend visiting each site and viewing any tutorial videos available to see which ones fit better for your knowledge level. Recording music is easily learn able and trust me you can do it! Believe it or not, you do not need to know how to read or write music, or even play a musical instrument. You can actually choose several “loops” or “samples” that are already available to you, and formulate a song by simply using your mouse. And I know you are very comfortable with using the mouse, right?

Ok, so if you are serious about making your own music or simply want to get started one day, check out the following programs and download the FREE trial versions available in some cases.

1. Steinberg Sequel for beginners $99 MSRP (free Trial Version Available)

2. Digidisign Protools $200-400 Professional

3. FL Studio $99-360 MSRP Depending on bundle (free Trial Version Available)

Note: I don’t record on MAC right now, but I hear that Garage Band is great as a starter program too.

 

Checklist for DIY Recording:

1. Get good microphones& a variety for what you are trying to record. This meaning that even though you can get away with using one mic for everything, it is probably not a great idea. There are different mics that work better for different recording purposes, for example vocals vs. horns vs. drums, etc.
2. Make sure you have backup Cords, connections, and various interface connectors. Get as many backup connectors as possible for your mics, USB connectors, power outlets, etc. because with recording it is just like anything else, whatever can happen, will happen without a doubt.
3. Don’t start using a full copy of any music production software unless you have a computer or notebook that can handle the space/memory required for it. You will be surprised how much memory and space is spent with the several filters, sound effects, tracks, and additional plug-ins that all work together just to make a song come together. Check the manuals for required specs, but I recommend being safe and using a computer that has at the very least 2GB of RAM and is not junked up with tons of other programs that you plan to run at the same time.
4. Always back up your music in as MANY PLACES AS POSSIBLE. I personally like to use at least 2 outside, removable drives that are intended to store and backup my songs just in case something goes hay wire on my main PC.
5. Get inspired to make some unique music and don’t just start throwin a bunch of existing samples together. This may be fine when figuring out the programs, but I find that it is much better to really focus on the goal or the style you are looking to achieve before investing time into the rigorous editing process.
6. Learn the interface qurks before you start recording, editing, and especially MIXING. There are always at least a few short comings with music programs that can make you start from scratch and will have you wishing that you took the time to really learn the product.
7. Learn how to mix sound levels for the final cut of your songs. This is learnable, but it changes from program to program, song to song, and artist to artist…so needless to say, it is quite a skill to achieve really good mixing and production that really stands out above the rest.
8. Don’t over think a song…if in doubt, just do the oppostite of what you think is expected in a song. Using the pop formula for a song format that has “worked” before, is not necessarily going to work for your songs.