June 13, 2011

Why The Drumset And Laptop Is Our Modern Day Piano

By 1800, the piano had overtaken the harpsichord as THE instrument of choice, after being ushered in by the likes of Haydn and Beethoven. (you've heard of those guys, right?) The piano was EVERYWHERE; new piano works were being churned out every single day, and the dominance of the piano is still reminiscent today in the use of it in many genres, as well as being one of the world's most popular musical instruments. The piano changed everything, and I think for the better.


Remember me, motherfucker?

Fast forward some 200 years. This doesn't sound like anything those cats back in the day would have even thought of, but this is what's rising in the music world:


Tons of electronic shit. It's everywhere. Not just in dance music either; it's in rock, hip-hop, and I even heard some of it in a country tune I heard out of nowhere. (it's ok though; country music still sucks) But think about it; we use laptops and DAW's (digital audio workstation; see: Garageband, Pro Tools, etc) for drums more than ever. With technology, we can emulate any type of drum sound, create any type of drum sound, then take those drum sounds and morph and fuck with them until they're new drum sounds! This wouldn't be possible without the rise of the drumset though.

The drumset was first used in the late 1800's with the popularity of brass bands. When brass bands were asked to perform in a parade, they wanted a single person to cover all the percussion parts at the same time, and thus the drumset was born. From there, it became a pivotal instrument in the rising popularity of jazz and early rock. In the 70's with the beginnings and rise of electronic music, drums are what drove early EDM pieces. Early DJ's would loop drums and use them to put over other tracks in the club to really get that shit going.


Play that funky music, white boy.

From there, the drumset has planted itself in rock, but aside and jazz (and the occasional hip-hop performance), the acoustic drumset has been replaced with sounds from a computer. Unless you're listening to classic rock or maybe an alternative radio station, most of what you're hearing is electronic drum sounds. You honestly think that someone actually played to the Swedish House Mafia tune I played above?

The piano had been ushered in by the big names in classical music after hearing the beauty of the instrument. (remember when I said Haydn and Beethoven earlier? Yeah.) Electronic drum kits were brought in by the sheer enjoyment of trying something new and groundbreaking, and yes, because they also sound fucking awesome. The piano was used everywhere. So are drumkits, acoustic or otherwise.

The point I'm trying to make is this; the piano ran train on any other instrument in its' day (except for maybe the all-too-dominant violin), and the influence of the drumset being transferred into electronic format in our current era is likened to that of the dominance of the piano in the 1800's. It's everywhere. People are doing new things with it everyday. You can't go half an hour without hearing the influence out there somewhere. It's in all genres today in one form of another, and I will debate that point to the very end. (mainly because I know that I'm right in that point) No, the piano and drumsets/drum sounds/laptops/lalala are very different. But the influence that they bring/brought to the table in their respective eras are very similar, and should be taken seriously. With everything changing from one day to the next in a society where you can't afford to miss a beat, what else will the drums do to further their impact on today's music?


The piano; running train on music since the 1800's.

June 2, 2011

Being 21 Sucks

I just turned 21 two weeks ago. It's been fun, but it's been hell. Raging out every night has it's price. Here are my reasons for hating the golden age for future alcoholics:


An accurate representation of my time being 21 years of age.

1) All the minors want you to buy for them. I live with two underagers, and the amount of money I've lost from being given an incorrect amount of money, or the complicated process of sorting out money, is staggering. Plus, you get sick of making multiple runs to your local store to pick up shit.

2) IT IS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE. I went out for the first time to downtown Columbus and checked out the bars there with a party bus of friends. I blew through $70 so fast. This included buying some drinks for a few kids (it was 18+) while they paid me back in cash, and my wallet was STILL empty. Good god. I've never blown through so much money so quick.

3) It gets messy. After your third day of slamming a 12-pack of Dos Equis, the bottles tend to add up a little bit. My house was a disaster, and our beer garden we had growing in our front yard actually got us in trouble. Clean yo shit.


I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I clean up after myself.

4) It's painful. The night of my 21st, I remember 45 minutes into my night, then woke up on a couch at 9a with soaking wet pants. (see: waterfall) The next day we raged out and I woke up with the worst hangover I've had in a while. I've forgotten what sobriety is nowadays, and the awful headache that accompanies that feeling doesn't help.

For all you underagers out there awaiting that glorious day, respect the people buying you your alcohol, because we do a lot to make sure that YOU are our bad decision of the night.

May 28, 2011

Wizards

So. Lemme tell you abut quite the possibly greatest frinking game of all time: Wizards. his shit is the shit; it'll get you drunk and you'll have a lt of fun with it. I'm like 12 beers in along with some Lemon G to pregame.


This sin't the right wizard, goddammit.


Annwyay...

Wizards is a drinking game requiring multiple people. The bjec tof this game is to drink the most. Whever drinks the most gets bragging rights, plus whatever else you might want to award. To playu, you need cans of beer and duct tape. You start by drinking your first beer. Once you're done, you'll tape your next beer on top of that. once done with taht, you tape the next beet on top of that. Soon enough, you have a very large "staff." That is Wizards in the simplest stance. To learn more about the game (including a variation to play the game), check this shit out: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Wisest%20Wizard

Wizards may go hy many names, incluing Wisest Wizards, Wizards of Warcraft, of some other stupif shit involving qitches.
Let me tell you; it's a  great drinking game. This is my 3rd time playing currently: the first timie I finished 11 beers (the prefivious record), but woke up in a bathtub. The second time involved me passing out after 9 beers in about 2 hours. Poor showing.


This is the idea, htu this guy lks like a bitch.


Right now, a friend went home with another frined after 16 beers in. I'm on 12 now, and I'm not tired. I'll be drinking all night to kick his motherfuckin' ass ho.. It's gonna get real. There might b picutures the enxt time I mak e a post, btu we'll see.


This is a better pic of how "wizards' is played, bit these guys still all suck.


Fack da hatahz.

May 26, 2011

No Internet Sucks

So I went from have a decent post every two days to having no new posts in a while. I had moved places and haven't had wi-fi set up.... UNTIL NOW. The "Probably Watching Porn" wi-fi network is up and running. That entire time, though, I was so out of the loop with the world. I'm a huge current events person so I read the headlines a few times a day. It's like the world stopped moving around me and I just focused on sitting on my new badass porch. (which is what it felt like, honestly) But we had no idea what was going on, and we were totally disconnected.

No email. No news. (we don't have cable; it's too nice outside to be sitting inside) No Facebook. The world has relied entirely on internet today. The only interactions people had here were my roommates with their fancy iPhones and their super high-tech 3G connections. Think about it; the internet has become our lives in a lot of ways.


Fuck yeah ClipArt!


The internet connects us all together. Yeah, no shit. People have forgotten what life was before we could see anyone and get anything without leaving our seats, and because of it, the world relies on the internet more than ever. I see this reliability increasing in the future too; the internet is never going to become any less important than it is today. Without it, civilizations today crumble due to the burden of having to actually go out in your car to pay bills and not being able to Tweet about everyfuckingthing that you've done today.

What about the kids? WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS!? They're not going to have the childhood we did. I rode bikes all summer long and got sweet at basketball as a kid. Our kids are going to spend their summers inside sitting on their computers now. At least now, I'm typing this on my porch. Gotta give me some credit. The accessibility of everything today is within a few clicks now; you can do just about everything with a computer nowadays. Why go outside and play when you can kick ass at Call Of Duty and still be entertained? You could Prestige quite a few times if you played all day, all summer.

No, I'm not saying that computers are bad and that the internet is the fall of society as we know it. But go play outside or something. Don't rely on a computer to do everything.

May 16, 2011

Up And Coming: Mac Miller


Mac Miller is hot shit. This 19-year-old is rising up to the occasion and following his dreams in becoming one the game's top dogs. KIDS broke through the scene and has created a huge following for Mac. I was hesitant to listen to him because honestly, how many 19-year-old white rappers actually sound decent? I gave it a listen, was hesitant, listened to KIDS again, and I was hooked. KIDS is currently my second favorite smoking album, personally.

KIDS is full of party anthems and positive messages; "Smoke weed and be happy." Mac touches base with following your dreams and succeeding in life, all while relating to everyone with beats that would make the entire party start rockin' out. It's very well done, and would recommend this to anyone, including those who hate hip-hop.


Um..... follow your dreams?

KIDS was his first mixtape, which was released in August of last year. Best Day Ever is his latest release, and has received a lot of positive exposure for Mac. I haven't listened to it yet, but it'll be done soon. Download Best Day Ever and KIDS by Mac Miller at http://mixtapetorrent.com. (Don't worry; these torrent are legal, as mixtapes are meant to be distributed free, especially on this website.