The Raconteurs - Level

Thank god there is a band out like this now.

Minus The Bear - Into The Mirror

Portugal. the Man - Mornings

i love this song.

"America's Best Unknown Band"

A short documentary about The Snake The Cross The Crown, who are said to be the "America's Best Unknown Band."

Brand New - Vices

"Vices" by Brand New off their new album, Daisy.

A Day In The Life

I'm sorry, I just love the Beatles.

Bill Clinton Saves the Day.

Hillary failed, even President Barack Obama failed. But Bill Clinton went to North Korea and brought two women back home safely, surprise? No seriously, it's an amazing story check it out!


http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/05/nkorea.journalists/index.html

as the clouds rolled in

A quick recording of myself playing a song I wrote while looking at the clouds in the morning. Guitar is a little out of tune so bear with it...

The Beatles: Rock Band

So what is it about video games that keeps kids so drawn to them? Is it the fact that they allow us to live out many of our fantasies? Because that is exactly the case for me this time around. This game allows you to not only play all of your favorite Beatles songs but also to follow them around through their career. I predict a big upswing of Beatles fans among young music fans and gamers in the younger generation. Music like the Beatles deserves to be passed along and survive to future generations. Here is the trailer...

Home Project

Here is a free documentary about the miracle of planet Earth. It's called Home and is part of the Home Project to increase awareness. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/homeproject, below is the trailer.

It's all the small things that make me happy...get it?

Blink 182 back together and rocking out on national television. These guys are one of those bands I used to love in my youth, and I am hoping they will change the face of pop punk back to its roots, and veer it away from lame dance emo bands such as metro station, breathe carolina, brokencyde etc etc from popular music. Bring back the skate shoes and atticus t-shirts I say!

oldies but goodies.

No real reason to post this, but come on who does not love this. I don't know how people didn't just bug out when this came out

One Of My Kind

Here is a cool documentary about the story of the formation of the Mystic Valley Band. The project was originally intended to be the solo work of one of my favorite songwriters, Conor Oberst. But the musical creativity embedded in these individuals seemed too eminent to ignore and thus formed Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band.



Conor Oberst Donates Music Video To Charity

fear

I realized today how much fear people live in these days. So many people have such a strong fear of God. People fear judgment day more than death itself and live everyday afraid of what God will approve of. You can read the bible a million times and yet 90% is up to interpretation. It's all just someone's words and they can mean anything depending on your perspective and what content you take them in.

The other thing many people are afraid of is terrorist attacks. The people who claim we need to be aggressive and strong when it comes to military action, are usually just the most afraid and in actuality weaker. They want to show how strong they are but it just makes them appear weak and frantic to me. The truth is we did not get attacked because we were unprepared or unaware, but because we were arrogant and dismissive. Forget the conspiracy aspect, our arrogance made us feel invincible. We are just people, like everyone else in other countries.

notblu

This is the video I was trying to look for when I stumbled across the one below. This guy is amazing, even the concept of wall painted animation is impressive to me. Check out some of his other stuff on youtube when you get a chance, it will be worth it.

Quantic - Not So Blue

I stumbled across this randomly looking for another video, but this one seemed pretty cool also. Apparently, Quantic is the stage name of Will Holland, who is a musician from Worchestershire, England and is now based in Colombia. A pretty intense lifestyle which is reflected in his music I'd say.

Cursive - From The Hips

Gotta love Cursive, especially after this live performance.

Kindle 2.0

Have you ever been reading a book where it talks about environmental issues and you have to pause and think, "well I am reading this in a book, which is produced in large quantities on paper from trees...?" Well get ready to say thank you, Amazon for making a great environmental friendly way to read. Nothing is more important but than knowledge, but our environment should not have to suffer completely. This is an invention where you can read a book or newspaper on an electronic instrument and cut down on the paper waste, no pun intended.

Drake - Lust For Life

I think that young hip hop artists are really starting to realize the potential of hip hop music as an art. It's becoming more than just gutter raps, and really taking on a much more socially acceptable form. Drake is a great example.

matt gauck.

Couple in Chicago

Here is an old 1996 article about a "Couple in Chicago." Mariana Cook interviews an African-American couple living in Chicago, but you will never guess who it is...

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/01/19/090119fa_fact_cook





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Manchester Orchestra "The Only One"

Kevin Devine

If you like indie folk music, you will love Kevin Devine. This song is off of his last album Brother's Blood. Following the tradition of Brooklyn artists, he is a great songwriter and very balanced. He is a timeless act that combines generations of influences and music fans of all ages can enjoy his music.

worst bands i used to love.

im starting a funny list of all the bands I used to be obsessed with, that I can now look back at laugh at. This is my embarassing admission...


1. Limp Bizkit
2. Staind
3. Dashboard Confessional
4. POD
5. Prodigy

i cant think of any more, i think this is funny enough already.

....

Life may be be about the journey, but work is about the results. keep them separate. or don't. fuck it do what you want.

Kid Cudi - Day N Night

Kid Cudi is the future of hip hop, yea I said it. He is on Kanye's label GOOD music, and he sure knows what he is doing. can you not like this song?

Let's hope we never know how accurate this is.

this is an interesting little device I found on the wonders of the internet. It shows you what happens if a nuclear bomb landed in your area. How far would be affected and to what severity. To try it out, go to: http://www.carloslabs.com/projects/200712B/GroundZero.html

Slumdog Millionaire

One of the best movies I have ever seen. You are downright silly to not go see this. It has so much in it, it combines real life tragedy of a third world country, with a quirky romantic story, and artistic indie style of cinematography. Seriously, it is as good as I say.

R&B and Folk Rock.

This is whats been coming up on my iTunes these days. Simple folk rock and some retro modern R&B.

Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down

Asaf Avidan & The Mojos




Raphael Saadiq

Minus the Promo

The intriguing Seattle indie band, Minus the Bear, has posted a Soundwave promo video on YouTube. It's pretty sweet, no one quite makes indie music like these guys, they're so creative and unique. Check it out.

Seven Pounds

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Will Smith shows again how talented he is and complimented by Rosario Dawson, you will not be disappointed. I know the trailer does not tell you much about the story, but it is all you need to know. Go in with a clean head and learn as you watch. It might make you a better person.

If you liked the Pursuit Of Happyness, you will love this. go see it asap.

my view on politics as a whole.

I do not understand economic theories, and I do not understand finance. These subjects are like a different language to me. But I do understand ideology and the nature of Americans. I understand how people think, and how they act even if they don't understand it themselves. I understand that everyone in this country, not just some people, have rights. The biggest problem in our nation is that some people are hesitant to give up their "privileges" and sacrifice anything for the better of many. I understand that the wealthy have worked hard to get where they are, and that they don't see why anyone else can't just do it. That all they need is drive, right? wrong. Some people have barriers that don't exist for others. Whether racial, financial, mental, physical, social, family oriented or emotional, these are the barriers that Americans face everyday. There is no mathematical equation that will solve this, it is not an equation. It's not that everyone is not the same but more that everyone is different. Republican or Democrat, the goal should be to remove as many of these barriers as possible so that more Americans can succeed. It should not be to restore these barriers and keep people behind the fence. The truth is that there are a lot of politicians who do not care about the middle class or the lower class. They do not want anymore people joining them as the elites, they just want to fight to keep their place .

The problem I have with economic formulas, is that it does not take into count the human variable. You cannot just sit back in your chair and assume that a+b=c and that it will help the economy. You have to really dig deep into social issues, because that is what moves Americans and can create real change.

they are not too young to remember.

I have no real experience in this area, but using my own intuition, I decided that the earliest years of raising a child are probably the most important. I have seen some people who take on the attitude that the first couple years will not be remembered by the child and can therefore be sacrificed in some ways that would make it easier to survive. But I think that your child will eventually learn how you felt about it at that time, and unless it sees you devoted to it, it will question your love in some ways. It might think that on some level you did not understand its importance since the beginning, that its something that came with time. I'm just saying this because I know that from the day I was born, my parents did whatever they could and sacrificed themselves instead. This set the foundation for our relationship and it was a positive one. I have a large amount of respect for my parents for how devoted they were to me all my childhood but especially right after my birth. They did not chalk the first couple years up to my lack of memory, and that is love. in its purest form.

Heroes get remembered, Legends never die.

It recently came upon me where my love for the New York Yankees is derivative from. I must admit it has dwindled over the years, but it still remains large enough for me to claim it so. I mean they are this greedy team with no heart, just a bunch of guys who are living for big money. They sell their souls for a plethora of reasons: money, fame, success. I believe it is a real rarity to find a Yankee who is there for the right reasons, yet I still follow them and root for them. I, myself, prefer to choose a more selfless career path along the road of nonprofit and mission driven companies, looking to make change with my life's work and sacrificing the size of my own paycheck. So why do I support this team with completely different ideals then I have myself? I think it's just because they remind me of my childhood. Growing up I idolized the Don Mattingly and Steve Sax's that I saw on TV. They were not even a very good team at the time, but they caught my attention.

Growing up in New York, I was torn between my childhood dreams or being either an artist or a New York Yankee (unfortunately I did neither.) But they remind me of the days I spent playing ball with my father in my tiny yard. They remind me of using stones as bases and transforming every tree into a foul pole. So I don't watch the Yankees to see superstars play and brag, I watch them because for me its a folky game that I can reminisce with. Because for me I don't see big names hitting homeruns and collecting paychecks, for me I see my father and I playing catch in my yard.

other end of the pencil.

you can write by yourself,
or someone can help you.
and it can be beautiful what you wrote,
or maybe even drew.
but for whatever you may have created,
after all the art is through.
its the other end of the pencil,
that decides what is true.

but there will always be subtle reminders,
of what was left behind.

eternal sunshine.

I forgot how much I loved this movie until I downloaded and watched it today. I haven't seen it in a year or so but seeing it again reminded me how much i enjoyed it. I think Jim Carrey's character is awesome and it really takes you into his dark little world. I'm not crazy about Kate Winslet's performance or her character because I think at some parts you could see that it was somewhat unnatural for her. Either way its a dark and twisted love story that really makes you think. I also think that the music in it was really cool and fitting, folky-kind of orchestral music that says "i'm loving and unique but I'm not that confident." If you haven't seen it by now, check it out.

winter thoughts.

It's strange how seasons can control your mental state and outlook on life. I feel like every winter I go through a long dark journey where I self reflect and think about everything I can. I learn a lot about myself and the way my brain works, it almost like its out of my control. I feel like a lot of little thing get thrown my way but rarely work out because its part of this journey or this test. The way the snow covers frozen lakes and hangs in trees is so calming and soothing to me and eases my mind into a state that is hard to reach in other seasons. Even the music I listen to changes to match my state of mind. I always end up listening to really dark and ambient indie bands. It's like I'm battling myself to see what I can handle and how I can grow. maybe this sounds insane.


(This picture is of a half frozen river in Peeksill, NY and I took it from the train.)

let it be.

Something I have noticed recently about people I have had conversations with, is that lots of people have this strong desire to control or supervise people they care about. They are so afraid to let go of one another in fear that they might do something hurtful, so instead they try to direct other's behavior. But the way I see it, is it's much more rational and helpful if you simply give no direction at all. Just let the person act naturally and they will show who they truly are, whether it's a good result or a bad result. It's the only way to truly know who someone is, just simply let them be who they are, let them show you. I'm not saying I don't understand why people have trouble doing this or what makes them want to yell or scream (nor do I want to act like I have never done this myself. But it's definitely a better decision just to simply step back and allow the other person to live without you're supervision.)

There is no blueprint to life that you have to follow, and things will eventually work out if you hold up your end. That's how I live my life, I try to make the right decision always even if I know that no one will find out. It's not worth it to me, because if you do something correct 90% of the time, and then falter the last 10%, those 10% will get exposed and erase all of your previous noble actions. The only person you have control of is yourself, so why worry about controlling things that are out of your control? It does not make sense when you think about it, so just try to hold up your end in life and make the right decisions. Nothing can defeat pure good.