My Life On Cruise Control - Part One

I made an incredible discovery this past Friday. On my drive down to Michigan, I finally used the cruise control for my car. What a revelation! I felt like I was playing a video game. A four - hour drive seemed to take so much less time and when I reached my destination and exited the car, I could actually walk! No leg stiffness at all. I believe this incredible invention and my subsequent use will allow me to enjoy road trips for a long, long time.
I felt a little like Vince Vaughn's character in "The Watch" and my favourite scene with the Russian dolls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x6_94sZYOc .

Living Well Is The Best Revenge : That's The Point

It's funny how my perception of success has changed after 2 years of fruitless searching for gainful employment. Living in a metropolis like Toronto, jobless, and savings tapped-out, I was "lucky"  to land a part-time job with a television series. Working three days a week, my salary is barely half of what I made before being laid off. But somehow, I feel I haven't been happier. I'm working in an industry I love, and the part-time status allows me more time to work on my homework; yep, I'm taking courses and working on completing a writing certificate.
Living well is most definitely a state of mind. Some need a whole lot of money and material goods to fill up their empty lives. I learned that I can thrive on very little without compromising who I am or giving up things I really enjoy.
Oh, and who is my revenge directed at? They're really not important - that's the point I'm making.

Music Review - The Inaugural

As noted in my previous post, I am not a music critic. That being said, I am open to posting music reviews for those who wish to send me a sample of their offerings.

For my first review, I have chosen to contribute my two pennies worth (before you know it, this expression will have no meaning - at least here in Canada, where the lovely penny is in the midst of being removed from circulation) and share with you my impression of the latest release by Derek Webb. Notwithstanding, the title of his album Ctrl, is bad. I am not a big fan of this text-inspired trend in naming things - songs, albums etc. The content of the album however, is really good. I have a hard time describing anything specific about what it is I like about it but recently, I heard "Seven Bridges Road" by the Eagles, and realized that this song makes me think about Derek Webb's album Ctrl. Perhaps it's the simplicity of the guitar and the soothing quality of his voice throughout (?). There's a feeling I get ("when I look to the west") with this album that also brings to mind Sufjan Stevens and his album Chicago; the choir used on some of the songs on Ctrl, is a beautiful touch but it makes me ponder the fact that this would be a difficult album to perform live - unless the arrangements were changed. Luckily, the songs are good enough to be performed solo - a testament to the artistry of Derek Webb.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed "discovering" a new artist whose music fits nicely on my iPod playlist. I hope others feel the same.

Artist: Derek Webb     Album: Ctrl

Track Listing:
And See The Flaming Skies
A City With No Name
Can't Sleep
Blocks
Pressing On The Bruise
Attonitos Gloria
I Feel Everything
Reanimate
A Real Ghost
Around Every Corner

I Am Not A Music Critic

I love music. I review music. But I am not a music critic. Mostly, because I don't have the musical chops to be able to judge another musician. What I do is report on my personal reaction to the enjoyability of the music I review. It is incredibly subjective. Although I do believe I possess a certain degree of discerning taste and a real desire to be fair. So if any of my reviews seem harsh, it is only because I feel strongly about the subject. Same with anything I may highly praise. Beware the review that lacks colour - I never strive for mediocrity and if my feelings are thus reflected, your album sucks - really badly.
Oh yeah, don't forget - it's only my opinion...

"Concussion wave of a nearby bullet"

Burn Notice fans hear this - Nate Westen's official autopsy report claims that Nate died from "the concussion wave of a nearby bullet." In other words, there was only one shot fired by the sniper - at Anson Fullerton (season 6 episode 6). The exiting bullet created a shock wave that caused massive internal bleeding for Nate Westen. He was NOT killed by a bullet. The passing bullet then traveled through a wall that was situated behind Nate; leaving a significantly gaping hole. Interesting, but unfortunately impossible. No matter the caliber, there exists no legitimate evidence that this phenomena can occur. Damn, the Burn Notice folks are usually better than that.
If Tom Card gave Madeline Westen this information (autopsy report - season 6 episode 10) are we to assume that Michael Westen knows this as well? This information makes Nate's death a potential accident and not the murder that we have been led to believe.
What do you think?

Movie Music Misuse

I just have to say that I think music in movies and television is extremely important. No better way to enhance emotion; a tool used by the director to increase the audience's appreciation of the moving image on screen.
Great examples: "500 Days of Summer", "Reservoir Dogs", "Garden State" - just to name a few.
Unfortunately sometimes, the director is way off and misuses the music. A glaring example is a movie I recently watched, "Hope Springs." David Frankel directed this sweet coming of middle-age film with two very competent(read: enormously gifted), actors - Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. As if these two need some sappy old Annie Lennox song to help convey their emotional turmoil to the audience. Mr. Frankel, no music or sound at all was needed throughout most of this movie. If you think that the writing and acting was not strong enough to get the message across (and it seems you did), then you completely wasted the talent of two of Hollywood's finest. I felt a little embarrassed when the manipulative music came on during some of these emotional scenes - as if I needed to be told what sort of emotion I should be feeling! The music did the opposite of what it should have - I felt distanced. Hard to imagine that Mr. Frankel also directed "The Devil Wears Prada," but I guess the genre was easier to work with.
Here's hoping that the misuse of music in movies (and TV) is kept to a minimum - better yet, hire me as your music supervisor and I'll guarantee that this horrible faux pas never happens.

TV Music - Indie Band Contingency Plan

Indie bands have increasingly become the go to guys for television music supervisors . Always eager to promote their music and always willing to negotiate a good deal; they also allow for greater flexibility with licensing turn around time. Smaller labels can license a song within hours - you're lucky to get a major label to grant a license in a few weeks! Smaller budgets for cable programming and well, lower television budgets in general, has made indie band music licensing a far more attractive alternative.
There is no better way to receive broad exposure than to license your song to a show with say, 5million viewers per week. A recent example is the song "Broken" by  S. Carey used in an episode of Burn Notice. Actually, not just any episode - one that was heavily promoted with the death of a main character. Thus, pulling in a captivated 5million viewers who heard the song play out during said death and throughout the final 3 minutes of the show. You couldn't ask for better exposure. I liked the song enough to look it up and discover who S. Carey is (drummer, collaborator of Bon Iver) and ultimately buy his album on iTunes.
I also noticed this past season (third) of The Good Wife, that the music selections became more eclectic and also took centre stage played through the last minutes of certain episodes. Not sure if they hired a new music supervisor, but for sure, their musical taste changed - for the better; playing Beach House's "Real Love" in the final moments of their season finale.
Gone are the days when shows like er played songs like Don Henley's "I'm taking you home" during the final scene when George Clooney returns as Doug Ross to reunite with Julianna Margulie's Carol Hathaway. Too expensive, too much time to secure licensing. Although, surprisingly, Coldplay has recently begun to license their music in earnest. When they were still relatively new, they had a policy of not licensing their music. I guess poor sales of their latest album made them change their minds on that.
Long live indie music!