I Gotta Be Me #3 - Thoughts on Cinema

Have you ever taken a look at a list of the top ten movies at the current box office? If you have and you consider movies an art form rather than disposable entertainment, you must feel as disheartened as I do sometimes about the state of our culture. I would say on average that maybe 3 or 4 of the top 10 movies are actually worth paying money to see at the theater, for those of us who actually care about movies. The rest are usually either big, dumb action movies, romances built almost entirely on treacle, or comedies that seem to cater to undiscriminating 12 year olds, yet are marketed to adults. Rare are the films that are actually challenging, original, intelligent, with memorable stories and interesting characters. A few years ago, I actually overheard a couple of teenage girls lauding the classic film Citizen Kane at my local library. Maybe we yet have hope. Last week, on the blog, I wrote that I would only review contemporary films from now on. I have changed my mind and have decided that if I so choose to, I will review films from any and all eras, and any and all genres. I watch movies from all eras and genres, so I see no good reason to pretend that I watch contemporary films only, certainly not because I might gain more readers(yet lose myself in the process). I watch a lot of contemporary films, but I also love old black and white films, foreign films, silent films, and documentaries. Cinema is one of the great modern art forms:  less subtle and intellectually absorbing than literature, but perhaps even more empathetic and humanistic in its immediacy. To take the potentials of the art form and devolve it into entertainment to be watched today and forgotten tomorrow is to throw part of our cultural heritage into a wastebasket. If you love cinema like I do, avoid bad, even mediocre movies like the plague, because culturally, that's what they are.

I Gotta Be Me #2 - Thoughts on Music

Last week, I said I had decided to review only Electronic Music albums, mainly for marketing purposes, but  after trying that and some serious consideration, I have decided that it just doesn't feel right. It almost feels like selling out, in a way. I have no problems selling my music, as long as it done with honesty and integrity, but trying to pretend I only listen to Electronic Music simply because it is the genre I produce music in just doesn't seem ethical to me. I love all kinds of music and I want to express that fact in my reviews. By only reviewing Electronic Music, I actually may have eventually ended up with more readers that listen almost exclusively to that genre, but they would be very little like me, even though I am a thoroughly dedicated Electronic Musician. In my music writing, I want to impress on people the importance of loving music itself as an art form and not to get too caught up in the wobbly dynamics of genre. If anything, I want to encourage music listeners to keep as  open a mind  as possible, not only in terms of genre, but with many other aspects of music that mainstream music listeners often get hung up on, such as popularity, era, length, and instrumental music. From now on, my reviews will consist of music that I like, regardless of genre or any other generalized concepts. Music is one of the most mysterious, magical, invigorating, types of art there is. To limit its importance by only listening to mainly one genre or only what you hear played on the radio or TV is not only doing yourself a disservice, but the culture at large. Music is the sound of humanity and humanity comes in many different styles and flavors. Enjoy as many of them as you can.

nairboman's insights #5 - I Gotta Be Me

It has been a tumultuous time lately. As time draws near to when I release my music for the first time publicly next month on CDbaby, Itunes, and Amazon, I have noticed myself slipping a little bit in the discipline department. I have spent a little less time marketing and a little bit more time ruminating. The truth is that I am not very fond of sitting in front of a computer hours on end trying to convince people to listen to and invest in my music. It's not that I don't think my music isn't worth it: I definitely do. In fact, I have such faith in the quality of my music that I am convinced that there is a good-size audience out there for it made up of people who are genuinely interested in music that seeks to be innovative. It's the fact that as an artist, I'm no businessman and have very little desire to be. Then again, I always kinda knew when the time came that my focus would turn to getting help from folks in my industry, rather than trying to figure out the ins and outs of marketing all by myself and from a few websites and books. The truth is that after my music is published next month, I will put a considerable amount of effort into trying to procure the services of a manager and a record company, preferably an independent one. Also, I want to contact as many local, state, national, and international similar artists, DJ's, radio stations(online and off), podcasters, journalists, and bloggers that can help. It's a big, wide world out there and spending six hours a day pasted in front of a computer screen posting stuff on social networks is not how I wanna spend most of my working time anymore, out of necessity for both my career and my sanity. I realize that I need to spend time marketing online as an independent artist, but my priorities have to shift a little to fit my needs and personality. I would also like to start playing live this summer from a laptop. The music I am releasing is perfect for clubs and events. Not to mention local marketing - I have a bunch of ideas for that: business cards, bumper stickers, playing my music from a boom box in public places, flyers, free sample CD's. I even have an idea for a sign in my front yard. Wish me luck, everyone. nairboman marketing Phase 2. My Band Profile

Movie Review: The Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the universe shared by 6 films(so far) about superheroes produced by the comic book/film company Marvel. 5 films have led up to the highly anticipated film The Avengers, which brings together characters from the previous five films to form a superhero team(to be released May 4). I will give capsule reviews of the five films here.

9.0/10 Iron Man - Iron Man, the first and best of the MCU films so far has such interesting themes and  compelling character development that is nearly transcends the superhero genre itself. It concerns Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.) a wealthy weapons industrialist who has a change of heart after having his own weapons used against him. While being held captive, he builds a technological suit of metal armor that enables him to fight and defeat his captors singlehandidly. Eventually, he improves the armor and becomes the superhero Iron Man, soon fighting people (one in particular) in his own company that would use his new  technology for greed and violence. Not quite a masterpiece, but not far from it. This is the one that The Avengers has to equal or surpass to be highly respected.

6.5/10 The Incredible Hulk - Marvel has yet to make a really good Hulk movie. Perhaps its simply because they have had him being chased by the military throughout the last two, including this one. We want to see the Hulk as a hero, not on the run all the time. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) spends the movie running from a government who would selfishly take and use the source of the power that turns him into a giant green smashaholic, until the very end when he gets to have an admittedly impressive lengthy battle with his arch nemesis The Abomination. Fairly entertaining, but this is far in quality from Iron Man.

7.0/10 Iron Man 2 - Iron Man 2 lacks the depth and originality of the first film, but it is at least a slight improvement over The Incredible Hulk. This time Stark (with a little help from fellow superhero War Machine) must defend himself from the revenge driven Whiplash (plus some nasty robots), who is certainly a match for our intrepid hero. This movie is pretty much a basic superhero movie that benefits greatly from Downey's still potent performance of the arrogant philanthropist.

7.5/10 Thor - Things get even better with Thor. This film is loosely based on Norse mythology, Thor being the god of thunder. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) develops a particularly captivating character arc in which his character is transformed from an arrogant warrior into an empathetic humanist, even after he finds out his lonely, jealous brother Loki would like nothing better than to kill him and take over their kingdom Asgard. The romantic angle is par for the course, but this is solidly entertaining stuff.

7.5/10 Captain America: The First Avenger - CA is a similarly solid entertainment experience. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a scrawny weakling during the World War 2 era who wants nothing more than to fight for his country. He gets his chance with a serum that makes him into the super soldier hero known as Captain America. While dispatching the nazis, he learns about the nefarious plans of the Red Skull and has to confront and stop him. Good stuff.

Marvel has done an unprecedented job of making all of the pre-Avengers flicks good films, leading up to the Joss Whedon directed The Avengers. I will review The Avengers after I see it, hopefully next month.

Music Review: Autechre - Incunabula(1993)

The debut album of one of the most important Electronic music artists of the past generation, Autechre, Incunabula is more of a collection of early works than a proper album, but because the style is relatively the same throughout the works, it makes perfect sense listened to as an organic album. Autechere are a remarkable duo of electronic musicians(Rob Brown and Sean Booth), not least because of the slow-burning progression of their career from experimental dance floor music(such as this album) to music of such cerebral complexity later in their career that some fans found it incomprehensible(the album Confield). Incunabula (the plural of the latin word incunabulum, which means in the early stages of development) finds them at a fairly accessible period, expertly mixing dance-floor ready beats with cerebral sounds and unconventional structures. Taking a cue from the minimalist art music aesthetic, Autechre gradually builds their tracks up layer by layer, over time, giving them a strange mix of surrealism and detail that no other electronic artists have quite been able to achieve. Over time, their formula has been explored, deepened, and interpolated to such an expert degree that all of their albums have rewards to be found on them if you are open to new ways of musical thinking. Incunabula lays the groundwork for all to follow, but even the groundwork is made with such skill that this is a 90's classic. Don't miss it. Incunabula on amazon

nairboman's insights #4

After getting Bob Baker's book on Guerrilla internet marketing for musicians, I have decided to try a few new things with my blog, change the format up a little and see how it goes. In a way, it is going against what I would prefer to do, but not totally, and if it doesn't go well, I will switch back to the old way. I have decided to continue with the insights weekly posts, because it keeps people interested in my music, marketing, and thoughts concerning those things, up to date. The music reviews will change now to all Electronic Music reviews from the late 60's to the present day. I would prefer to review music from as many different genres as I can, but the fact is that people interested in my music may be more interested in my thoughts and reviews on primarily electronic music, because it is the genre I make music in, myself. I will try that and see what happens and in some ways, it is a good idea even outside of marketing purposes, as it will expose people who already like my writing and music to more quality electronic music(which I think is great), and it will also help me learn even more about it and I realize that learning about your art is a lifetime experience if you truly care about it. If that goes well, I will slowly begin to incorporate some other types of music over time into the reviews. As far as the movie reviews go, I will continue them, but will only review films from the late 60's on, as many people who read the blog are probably more interested in the modern era of films, which I frankly think is a shame, considering there are as many great films from the pre-modern era as after. Again, if that goes well, I will begin to incorporate older films slowly into the reviews. If anyone has any thoughts on these decisions, please leave a comment.

Other than continuing my blog, my goals for the summer are to do a lot of the things mentioned in Bob Barker's brilliantly researched marketing books, get my music on CDbaby next month for sale, play live at clubs and events, market offline locally in my area and nearby, and contact managers, artists, d.j.'s, radio stations, and record companies to seek help and advice. Wish me luck! :)

Movie Review: The Descendants(2011)

8.5/10 It has been a full seven years since Alexander Payne blessed us with one of the best films of the last decade, Sideways. While this offering may not quite be up to that hallowed level, it is a very fine film indeed. George Clooney plays a self-absorbed Hawaiian lawyer whose life is left in shambles after a boating accident leaves his wife in a coma. But things aren't always what they seem, are they? Is the lawyer self-absorbed or just living an empty life? Was his marriage finished and he just didn't know it? Can he and his kids provide each other with the necessary support in this, their time of need? While this movie sounds like a stone cold Hallmark-style drama, it is anything but. There are myriad nuggets of humanistic comedy gold to be mined form this material, as well as an uncompromising look at contemporary family dynamics, that we can all relate to. The character development is particularly rich in this dramedy, especially considering this plot in a film hack's hands could have turned this into a piece of tripe. As it is in Payne's skilled hands, it turns into one of the most realistic and empathetic of family films. The MPAA should be ashamed of themselves for rating movies like this R simply for a smattering of "bad" language. This move is perfect for thoughtful teenagers. Highly recommended.

Music Review: Talking Heads - Remain in Light(1980)

Talking Heads is one of the most important groups in Rock history. This is obvious to anyone that has listened to their first three albums: Talking Heads 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, and Fear of Music. Egregiously lumped in with punk rockers at the time, Talking Heads were more literate,cerebral, and diverse  than most punkers(not to say there isn't great or diverse punk rock music, because there definitely is). But it is with Remain in Light that they made an album that transcends not only the previous limitations of the band itself, but of rock music itself. This has a lot to do with the fact that their producer Brian Eno (a great artist in his own right) was finally fully integrated into the studio band, making this more of an equal collaboration than the previous two produced by him. Eno's experimental presence is sonically evident all over the record, but no more so than the group itself, who also collaborated more equally than ever before, the ipso facto leader David Byrne letting go of his tight grip on the music composition. Adding to this democratic environment are African drumming polyrhythms (beloved by Eno and Byrne) and some of the most provocative psychological-surreal lyrics ever composed (by Byrne) for a rock record (inspired in part by African literature), along with a sample, loop based approach inspired by hip hop and electronic dance music and you have the band's masterpiece. Containing the band's most popular and possibly most definitive song "Once in a Lifetime", "Remain in Light" as a whole is one of the essential purchases for the serious rock music collector.

nairboman's insights #3 - Crossroads

With the arrival of my book by Bob Baker on Guerrilla Music Marketing on the Internet, I find myself at a crossroads. I think I picked the right book to purchase on the this subject, as it covers so much ground I can't easily find all grouped together and explained clearly about on any free internet site. I have taken the next step in my marketing endeavors, but now I have to make a decision about what format to continue publishing my blog in and I need my reader's help in deciding this. The book wisely says that it would be better to concentrate on my music and my genre on my blog for marketing purposes(and in fact, I already knew that). But I do love to write about all kinds of music and all kinds of movies. Should I only talk about electronic music? I mean, I do love it and it might even be good for me and a learning experience to do a blog concentrating on electronic music. Do I separate it into two different blogs: one for general music and one for electronic? And what about movies? Do I stop reviewing movies altogether or start another separate blog for it or keep it part of the regular blog? Another factor is time. I would have more time freed up to do my marketing if I simply concentrated on electronic music and my musical and marketing endeavors to write about for my blog posts. What I also need to know is "what have I written about that you guys and gals have particularly liked reading? My insights, my movie reviews, my music reviews, certain posts?". Please share your thoughts with me about this. Next month I officially release my music through CDbaby, and after I do that, I will be working 6 hours a day on my marketing 5 days a week, but I still might fairly easily have time to publish the same blog with the same amount of content. Tell me what you think about it. :) Bob Baker site

Movie Review: Reds(1981)

10/10 Reds is Warren Beatty's masterpiece. As a director, he has only four films under his belt, but Reds easily trumps the other three  in seriousness, substance, and importance. It concerns the early 20th century journalist/radical revolutionary John Reed and his various relationships and dealings in politics. Reed (Beatty) was a converted socialist who believed that he could make a difference with his journalism and his direct involvement in party politics in both the U.S. and Bolshevik Russia and he was right. His book Ten Days That Shook the World is a classic in political journalism and his direct involvement in the U.S. and Russian socialist parties was ambitious and sincere. This film was obviously a labor of love for Beatty and it shows in every frame on the screen. Only someone obsessively fascinated with this story could have made a film this detailed and emotionally satisfying. At over three hours, never does it feel obligatory or boring. Interspersed with the fictionalization of the story are various short reminiscences of people who knew John Reed personally, and this adds gravity and humanism to an already humanistic story. But as John Reed travels the road of socialism to its logical conclusion in communist Russia, he eventually finds that the authoritarian system there is as insidious and malicious as the capitalism in his native land. Diane Keaton is just as impressive in her role as Reed's wife Louise Bryant, ever suffering and ever caring. Jack Nicholson is strangely enough perfectly suited to the role of  famous playwright Eugene O' Neil, onetime paramour of Bryant and friend of the Reed's. This is a film that almost certainly would not get made today, with the intense vilification of  Socialism in America since even before this film was made. It is, in fact, something of a miracle this film even got made at the time that it did. It treats the subject of socialism fairly and sympathetically while at the same time recognizing that authoritarian systems of all kind, whatever the name, are corrupt by nature. This film is something to be admired and treasured and deserves its place in the world film canon. Essential!

Music Review: Claude Debussy - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and La Mer

Claude Debussy was one of the most innovative composers bridging the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, effectively marking the transition from romanticism to modernism. His music is sensuous and beautiful, while at the same time straying far outside the bounds of traditional harmony, the combination of the two aesthetics demonstrating an elusive, dreamy quality heretofore unknown in art music. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, otherwise known in English as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, was based on an erotic poem by Stephane Mallarme, and is sometimes viewed as a Tone Poem, though it's subtly interweaving, free form textures do not conform to anyone's idea of a story set to music. What it seems to attempt to do instead is to evoke an atmosphere, an environment, in which the listener is invited to lose themselves in a hazy cloud of blurring tonalities and the impression of a lovely afternoon in the forest, amongst the pleasures of nature. In fact, Debussy's music was often labeled impressionism because it seemed to impress images and scenes upon the listener, rather than explicitly evoke them. La Mer is a three part orchestral composition essaying the mysteries, joys, and turbulence of the sea. Debussy here pulls out all the orchestral stops, as he had an intense identification with and admiration of the sea. La Mer's lulls and intensities can seduce any listener into instantly falling in love with the sea, even if they have never seen it, as Debussy hadn't when he started writing it. Although it is not a form of exact programme music, it, like Prelude... before it, is a masterpiece of impressionism. La Mer suggests the sea, the waves, a storm, so masterfully that one sometimes feels as if they were actually experiencing them somehow, while listening. Debussy was one of the most important composers that beget the experimentalism of the 20th century, while still being considered a mainstream composer.

nairboman's insights #2

Above is a video of mine I made a few months ago for my track Acid Trax. The video is minimalist in style and so is the song, really. I didn't have a lot of resources at the time to make a video with any kind of budget. This one was simply made with a photograph I took of myself and then my girlfriend Heather Campbell used a graphics program online to change it to black and white/distorted and we used windows movie maker to make the video of it. It is definitely my goal to make higher quality videos in the future, but I think the videos I made(with my gf's help) are kind of hypnotic in and of themselves. All 5 of them can be viewed here.

I wish I had more to say about my marketing endeavors right now, but the fact is that it has all been internet marketing so far and internet marketing isn't the most exciting thing to talk about. It's basically making profiles and adding content to sites that can help you spread the word about your art. I recently ordered a book by the famous music and book marketing guru Bob Baker about internet marketing. I have been using a book by Catherine Parker about social media marketing and it has been very helpful as well, but I'm hoping that Baker's book will be even more helpful considering it is specifically for music marketing.

Of course, I also wanna do local marketing this month including business cards, flyers, and playing music for folks in public areas, but being low on money might become a problem, though I'm hoping not. Luckily, these things on my list to do are pretty cheap. In May, when my music is finally published through CDbaby, I also want to make it a point to contact more people in the industry, such as artists, managers, D.J.'s, record companies, and possible benefactors(volunteer personal financiers). The fact of the matter is that while I like marketing my music better than any job I've had before(because I confidently believe in my music's value), I would rather be doing creative work and accordingly, would rather someone else do most of the marketing work, so hopefully I can get a manager to help do this eventually, so I can concentrate on more creative endeavors. If you have any suggestions about marketing or any of the things I mention, please leave a comment. I welcome them.