Harman's Room

Selections from The Academy Is…’s Down & Out

I don’t ever want to see you again, my friend. This is the end.
Out of the house, she grabs the keys, runs for the hills and doesn’t leave a letter.
That way the impact will be much better.
Away from the man that she’s grown so fearful of, so fearful of.

Why, oh why, do you wear sunglasses in the home
when the sun went down about an hour ago?
Life should not be that way.

Always up or down, never down and out.
Dream of demons while you sleep
That make you stutter when you speak.

Some things are far too good to go ahead and let go.

Always up or down, never down and out.
Dream of demons while you sleep that make you stutter when you speak.
Speak now or forever hold your peace in pieces.

::sigh::

There, I said it. I don’t like everything Apple’s ever done, and this is a very notable example. The Apple Genius which Steve Jobs touted as so great during its Let’s Rock event just a few weeks ago is a nice feature for iTunes, but nothing they should have used every new device to demo for quite a few reasons.

iTunes Music Store Only

If you lack any AC/DC, or The Beatles (no one has them, right?) then I guess your library will sound just fine. But if you like local bands, or in general don’t purchase all your music through iTunes, you’re never going to see any information for some of your songs. But that doesn’t mean you stole music at all. I have plenty of discs I physically own but which aren’t available for purchase on iTunes, therefore you couldn’t possibly want to listen to them. So this begs the question, how is Apple doing this Genius thing? Are they listening to tracks and making keywords and rankings for certain songs in a variety of categories like Pandora? Or do they have software which analyzes sound? Because if it’s the latter, there’s just no excuse. Oh, and even better, try finding songs that sound like “Back in Black” by AC/DC and iTunes will tell you to Update Genius, and not alert you that it won’t ever find anything for that song because it’s not in iTunes. Lame.

Horrible Settings

And by horrible, I mean there hardly are any. You can refresh your playlist. You can change the number of songs you have (not to a number, or a duration, but one of four preset and poorly chosen numbers) or you can burn the playlist to a disc, and since you cannot limit the genius to a duration of 74 or 80 minutes, you likely won’t be able to fit it all on one CD. Have fun! This is really the flaw of the system, a complete and total lack of settings. How hard would it have been to create a combination of Smart Genius Playlists (which would obviously require a better name. Let me have a playlist of 20 songs which aren’t live that sound like this song! Let me have 80 minutes of songs sounding like a given track which are all rated four or five stars. Let me have a playlist of tracks I’ve listened to more than 10 times which I’ve never skipped that sound like a given song. Let me decide that no matter how much a song may sound just like another, I don’t want it on this playlist. Give me 100 songs that sound alike and let me decide which ones go on the mix. Please! Lamer.

Not Very Bright.

Though this happens more on my iPhone which only has about 800 songs, my 12000 song library produces results like this too. It’s hard to tout a service as one which helps you to discover new music when some of the nice information it tells you is that Aerosmith sounds like Aerosmith (sounds like Aerosmith, actually–they made this mix two times, plus it was based off “Sweet Emotion”) and three songs by The Who appear on this playlist as well. Sometimes the songs they give you are off the same album. Really, Apple? I had no idea that an artist will sound like himself at the same point in time in his career. Damned impressive. Lamest.

I know it’s a first release but for something they think is cool enough to put on older iPods (classics at least will be getting a little brainier [but not much--see above]) it sure needs some of the traditional Apple polish. I look forward to some more options and features in the future.

I’ve been dealing a lot with music lately. My philosophies and just enjoying listening and trying to make music. I downloaded about 15 songs for Rock Band last night. I listened to three new albums yesterday and may do the same again today. Piper At The Gates of Dawn was very good, as was Atom Heart Mother. And Ummagumma was one of the hardest albums to get through that I’ve ever heard. But I found some wisdom in If which is one of the more profound songs I’ve heard in a while.

If I were a swan, I’d be gone.
If I were a train, I’d be late.
And if I were a good man,
I’d talk with you
More often than I do.

How true it is… And then there was a very nice compliment paid to me last night, and it revealed my philosophy on music. Happy reading for today.

In a place you only dream of
Where your soul is always free
Silver stages, golden curtains
Filled my head, plain as can be

As a rainbow grew around the sun
All the stars I’ve love who died
Came from somewhere beyond the scene you see
These lovely people played just for me

Now if I let you see this place
Where stories all ring true
Will you let me past your face
To see what’s really you

It’s not for me I ask these questions
As though I were a king
For you have to love, believe and feel
Before the burst of tambourines take you there

Psyche! Okay, I have a lot, but can you even have too much? No, of course not. Until my harddrive runs out of space (buy a new one) or Last.fm says so (they won’t) you absolutely can’t. I’ve always been too systematic with my approach to music, even for my own tastes, but you know what? It works. I download every album by Bruce Springsteen, categorize them all, prune out the crap (live albums, greatest hits, etc.) and then listen 5-10 (or -15? -20? depends if it’s amazing [TWTI&TESS; Darkness...]) times and then move on, in chronological order.

I’ve also broken down a lot of mental walls that keep me from listening to a certain something. It’s helped me immensely and I’m loving it. I finally added Country to my iTunes as a genre (though it’s only populated by AK, AK&US, Butch Hancock and Virginia Coalition for the time being; I look to expand that) and crossed the 10k song mark yesterday, only to prune my library for today back down to 9.8k. I’ll work on it.

For now, I’ve downloaded an absolutely massive amount of music to tack onto the tons of things I still haven’t listened to. Recently, I added the majority of the music put out by Michael Jackson (post Motown Records, when he got good,) Aerosmith (even the new stuff,) all eight albums by Metallica, Viva la Vida, The Yardbirds, Django Reinhardt and as much CCR as I can find. Soon will be

1. Del Amitri
2. CCR – Willy…, Pendulum, Mardi Gras
3. Zep – How The West Was Won
4. The Doors (summore)
5. The Who (summore)

I’ve also finally decided I’d had enough of plastic guitars. I purchased an Epiphone Les Paul Special II. I hope I’m dedicated enough to actually play and learn. It should be interesting, what with me knowing little to nothing about music, you know.

A few quotes:

“If you can count to 4, you can play Free Bird.” — Ronnie Van Zant

“Ultimately, I wanted Zeppelin to be a marriage of blues, hard rock and acoustic music topped with heavy choruses” — Jimmy Page

“Everyone has been talkin’
Lord, I still think they’re talkin’ trite
Oh sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet
Babe I can’t take too much of that
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Show me the way
I wanna make love to you little girl
Twenty five hours a day
Oh, that’s all I want!”

–Robert Plant, D&C, How The West Was Won

It’s hard to put together a mixed tape. And really hard to do what I’m trying to do. I’ll be sure to document and release as much of the progress as I can on here, for the world to see, where it belongs, as public aurally as it is platonically, historically and romantically. For now, you only need to know three things:

Pressure Suit
Back Home
Eyes Open

Soon. Very Soon.

Hey, hey, baby, when you walk that way
Watch your honey drip
Can’t keep away

Need a woman gonna hold my hand
Won’t tell me no lies, make me a happy man

Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back, let me get it back
Baby, where I come from
It’s been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time, yes it has

It’s been a long time since the book of love
I can’t count the tears of a life with no love
Carry me back, carry me back, carry me back
Baby, where I come from, whoa whoa whoa-oh-oh
It’s been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time

Oh, seems so long since we walked in the moonlight
Makin’ vows that just can’t work right
Ah yeah, open your arms, opens your arms, open your arms
Baby, let my love come running in, let it
It’s been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time

It’s been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time

The queen of light took her bow
And then she turned to go
The prince of peace embraced the gloom
And walked the night alone

Whoa now, oh now, oh now, qhoa
Whoa now, oh now, oh now
Bring it, bring it, bring it, bring it
Bring it, bring it, bring it
Bring it, bring it, bring it
Bring it, bring ahhh

There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven

There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder

There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving

Why don’t you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see
And baby, baby, baby, do you like it?
There you sit, sittin’ spare like a book on a shelf rustin’
Ah, not tryin’ to fight it
You really don’t care if they’re comin’, whoa-oh-oh
I know that it’s all a state of mind, ooh

If you go down in the streets today, baby, you better
You better open your eyes, whoa-oh yeah
Folk down there really don’t care, really don’t care, don’t care, really don’t
Which, which way the pressure lies
So I’ve decided what I’m gonna do now
So I’m packin’ my bags for the misty mountains, where the spirits go now
Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
I really don’t know
I really don’t know

Oh, baby, it’s cryin’ time
Oh, baby, I’ve got to fly
Got to try to find a way
Got to try to get away
‘Cause you know I gotta get away from you, babe

Oh, baby, the river’s red
Ah, baby, in my head
There’s a funny feelin’ goin’ on
I don’t think I can hold out long

And when the owls cry in the night
Oh, baby, baby, when the pines begin to cry
Baby, baby, baby, how do you feel?
If the river runs dry, baby, how do you feel?

Crazy baby, the rainbow’s end
Mmm baby, it’s just a den for those who hide
Who hide their love to depths of life
And ruin dreams that we all knew so, babe

Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Goin’ to California with an achin’ in my heart
Someone told me there’s a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair

To find a queen without a king
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings, la la la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin’ to find a woman who’s never, never, never been born

If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break
If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break
When the levee breaks, I’ll have no place to stay

Mean old levee, taught me to weep and moan, whoa
Mean old levee, taught me to weep and moan
It’s got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home
Oh well, oh well, oh well

Don’t it make you feel bad
When you’re tryin’ to find your way home
You don’t know which way to go?
If you’re goin’ down south
They got no work to do
If you’re going down to Chicago

Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good
No, cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move, ooh

All last night, sat on the levee and moaned
All last night, sat on the levee and moaned
Thinkin’ ’bout my baby and my happy home

I listened to IV for the first time ever today. And the second. And the third.

And the fifth.

And the eighth.

And the twelfth.

And the fifteenth.

I’m thoroughly impressed with the album in every single way, especially vocally.

Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good,
Now, cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.

Maybe it was just good timing. The levee broke.

Today was an okay, lazy day. I woke up and could hardly talk, barely breathe and with a pounding headache. Wrote a letter to Silverpoint to let them know I was not really able to head into work, took a shot of NyQuil and went back to bed. When I woke up a few hours later, I came to my computer and Tried to get my iPod Classic to work now that iTunes 7.6 and iPod 1.1 Software was out.

It worked! I now have 7,049 Songs on my iPod as well as some Videos, Pictures and Phase, a game I think is well worth the $5. It’s from Harmonix (Guitar Hero 1, 2; Rock Band) and MTV, and makes a game out of your songs! Press Left, Center and Right or slide back and forth to play your songs. It’s quite fun!

I made myself some Pasta and have been downing more meds throughout the day. My nose is probably in the worst shape; it’s starting to crack from being so dried out. I’ll continue with my treatment of Vick’s Cream mustaches and Aloe (not together, of course).

Oh, and thanks to Jen (happy birthday,) Rachel, Pat and Allison for being there for me this morning. I don’t know how this is happening, but I think the people I call my best friends seem to like leaving me. Rather, I think I somehow manage to make every single Best (Female) Friend I’ve ever had desert me at some point. There is still one person I can count on to be there forever, no matter what. Though, I suppose I said that about everyone else, too. We shall see as the months and years go on. Wish me luck?

Okay, I really need to do this more–post, I mean. I’ll try. Promise.

Top 5 musical guilty pleasures:

• 5) Cheyenne Kimball – Hanging On
• 4) Kansas – Carry On, My Wayward Son*
• 3) Simon & Garfunkel – 59th Street Bridge Song
• 2) The Teriyaki Boyz – Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious)^
• 1) Fall Out Boy – A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More “Touch Me”

*Thank you Harmonix and Guitar Hero II
^Thank you, Bill <3

Things have been mediocre. Good concert this weekend though. Hope to speak with you again, soon!