Trance: The Natural Evolution of Classical Music

Music, like math, seems to run in the family; both of my Grandmothers sang and played the piano.  My dad is a master of the guitar and the cello, which he brings out of the old closets every now and again.  My mom grew up playing the piano and still loves playing the guitar and piano as  hobby.  Growing up, the musical staples in the household were CCR, Johnny Clegg, Eric Clapton, U2,  the Jackson’s in any combination, and the soundtrack to La Bamba.

I picked up the flute when I was in 3rd grade; don’t let anyone tell you differently than this: it’s a difficult instrument!  I went from having a basic flute, to a silver flute, to a flute with open holes called the ‘French Model’. The older I got, the more modified the instrument became but my love for sports and physical competition outweighed my desire to play. (Fun Fact: The bone flute is the oldest recognizable instrument, coming in at 40,000 years old.)  Ironically, after I left the basketball team as a Sophomore I dove right into my music history class and joined the choir.

The more I studied the different periods of classical music, the more I picked apart modern music and saw it in context with society. The music genre says something very specific about the culture and era of the people that both produce it as well as absorbing themselves in it. The first CD I ever bought was Offspring’s Americana, my first mix tape was Hip Hop and R&B with the likes of Next, TQ, Nas, TLC and 2Pac.

By the time I was old enough to both understand what those rap songs were talking about and be annoyed by emo screaming, I’d gravitated towards electronic music and have dabbled in pretty much in subgenre, but Trance was my first love.

There were little to no vocals, and if they did exist there were sweet and delicate; much more pleasing to the ears. In my opinion, modern day trance is the natural evolution of classical music as a genre.  Songs contain harmony, modulation, and thematic development; they more or less follow strophic form and much like with classical composers, modern producers have essentially attained demigod status.

Most of my favorite DJs have a weekly broadcast on Digitally Imported Radio, which covers all genres of Electronic Dance Music – more commonly referred to as EDM.  I could go on and on and on about all of the different trance DJs and what they each bring to the genre, but I’d rather have you listen for yourself.  If you wanted to ask what my favorite trance tracks were, look no further than the Trance Thursday playlist below.  And if you still want more, check the links at the bottom for a few of the DJs and broadcasts I can’t live without.

Tracklist

  1. Lange vs Gareth Emery – This is All Out (Heatbeat vs Lange Edit)
  2. Andain – Promises (Myon & Shange 54 Summer of Love Mix)
  3. Tiesto ft Jes – Everything (Cosmic Gate Remix)
  4. Ørjan Nilsen feat. Neev Kennedy – Anywhere But Here (Radion6 Remix)
  5. First State – Falling (First State’s Stuck Parachute Mix)
  6. Maz Zo & Arty vs Oceanlab – Satellite Dynamics (Mat Zo Remix)

Podcasts:

The Wednesday Watercooler

You’ve been up since 6:30 am and it’s been a long, arduous day.

Maybe you went to the gym before work you little go-getter, you.

Maybe you’re attempting to be frugal and you’re spending your downtime doing daily meal prep so you can save some scrilla.

Maybe you’ve been hitting the snooze button on repeat and have no desire to open your black-out blinds and realize it’s a gorgeous day.

Regardless, the fact of the matter is the world did in fact decide to go on without you; and there’s been some ridiculous stuff going on.  Here are the stories, websites and blogs you should have wasted some time on today….

Education

Too Cool for School: DJ Afrika Bambaataa, one of the founding fathers of Hip Hop, has just accepted a position as a visiting scholar at Cornell.  Fun fact: Cornell has the largest living archives on Hip Hop Culture.  Now that’s something I’d go back to school for.

For-Profit Colleges:  In a recent statement, the Senate has released a dense and critical report on the state of ‘For Profit’ colleges in this country; with the final word being that For Profit Universities have an elevated drop out rate and are far more likely to place a student into debt than a State or Private college.

Entertainment

Checkbook DJs:  We’ve all heard of the “laptop” DJ; they’re great at button pushing and don’t know what beat matching is. Well now, there’s a new breed.  The TOP 100 DJ Poll, once considered the Holy Grail of DJ status, has proven itself to be faulty.  Now, anyone who saw Guetta at the top of the list last year probably has a head start on the sentiment; but consider this new information.  DJ’s are now cheating on their DJ mag poll; buying placement in the magazine and buying votes.

Science + Technology

MarsBeing a science geek growing up wasn’t exactly considered cool; but living in a time where we can go and explore another planet definitely is! Click any of the links below for pictures, articles, etc on the great discoveries happening on the Red Planet.

Obama tells NASA: If Curiosity finds Martians “please let me know.”

Curiosity produces a Panoramic View of Mars

Mars and the Search for Life

Sports

Summer Olympics Roundup: In case you’ve been hiding under a rock these last few weeks, you should be well aware of the Summer Olympics in London.  There was Mean Girl Makayla, and that really gorgeous idiot that can swim; but most of all there were some ridiculous moments during the opening and closing ceremonies for the games.  James Bond and the Queen; Mr. Bean; The Spice Girls; Horrible humor.  It was very, very  British of them. Below you’ll find some of my favorite Olympic inspired blog posts and memes…

The Best of: McKayla is Not Impressed

Peeing in Pools with Ryan Lochte

10 reasons that Ryan Lochte is America’s Sexiest Douchebag

Baseball: The Mariners have pitched a perfect game.  I’m still trying to care about it, but if you like baseball or the Mariners: good for you, Glen Coco.

Quotable

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”

– Hermann Hesse –

tiresome:(via prettypinkshoes)

Tech Tuesdays: Comparing Apples to Ice Cream

Technology and I go way, way back.

From a young age, I was immersed in and surrounded by some of the newest, geekiest tech toys available. My mom would lean towards function over form while my dad was a fan of having the latest and greatest of everything – from new Movie formats, an upgraded OS, the latest in cordless Home Phone and cell phone technology.

I grew up on the Mac II, playing around with MineSweeper, Creative Writer, KidPix, Pipe Dreams and Lemmings when most kids were playing with dolls.At the age of 7, my dad brought home our first – and only – Laser Disc player. In middle school, I was lucky enough to get an iMac. I got my first mp3 player soon after and essentially played hotpotato with various iPods into my college life.  When the iMac was scrapped for parts, I inherited a Mac Sawtooth G4 and after that the shiny new iMac that I have today but I couldn’t fully escape the grasp of the PC.  In college, I honed in on my love of numbers, data and code and eventually switched my major to Statistical Science.  My new coursework relied heavily on applications that were PC only, so eventually I became proficient in both operating systems.

I got my first cell phone before I got my first car; it was an ugly brick of a phone but it did the trick.  It maybe had a game on it, six obnoxious stock ringtones and limited, if any, texting capabilities.  When I was 17 I upgraded to a smaller brick – and slowly, but surely I started climbing that magical cell phone ladder.  In college, I upgraded to an LG Flip Phone that changed color on the front panel; it might not seem so cool now, but back then it was the business. I had a Chocolate until it fell apart on me, literally. I thought about getting an iPhone but I have to be honest – at the time it seemed like a glorified, overpriced iPhone and I wanted nothing to do with it. So when HTC started rolling out Android phones, I was thrilled.  I started with an Incredible, then the Incredible 2 and finally – my precious Rezound. One of the best things about this model is the sleek GUI and design interface.

A few days ago, the Ice Cream Sandwich update was pushed through to my phone; I was stoked! It was honestly like having a brand new phone to play around with.  Here are some of the changes that I noticed, and a helpful little trick.

 The best aspect of the Ice Cream update is the locked dock at the bottom of the screen.  Before the update, I had my favorite applications on the lock menu and the rest posted all over the home screen for easy reference. The new dock not only lets you keep those precious applications at your fingertips, but you can choose between having one or many in one location by simply dragging and dropping one over the other.

Trick: To take screen shots on older HTC models, you either had do download and pay for a 3rd party application or go through the painstaking task of rooting your Droid.  One of the things I absolutely about the Rezound is being able to take screen shots on the fly.  If you didn’t know you had this feature and wanted to test it out, follow these super simple steps:

  1. Go to the main screen of the Rezound
  2. Press gently on the Power Button, holding it halfway down
  3. Tap the Home Icon

Your screen should immediately flash to white and a text box saying “Screenshot saved to Camera shots” will pop up on the bottom of the screen.

Tip:

Toggling this button may seem like a good idea:

I’ll save battery life! My applications will boot faster! WRONG.

I’ve had issues with previous phones and what happened seemed like a horrible flashback: every time I closed out of an application the HTC Menu would reboot.  Being the proud owner of now several HTC phones, I thought I was starting an infinite Boot Loop.

Thank goodness I wasn’t, but I got scared for a second! I’d much rather use this Advanced Task Killer application and save myself the heart attacks.

[My Top 10] Movies In the Next Dimension

Captain EO was one of my favorite movies growing up.  I was maybe 7  years old with golden bouncing curls and a new found love of Michael Jackson.  The Thriller album had just been released and I’m pretty sure I knew the songs on Bad by heart and backwards.  My parents and I were on a vacation to the happiest place on Earth (well, at least in California) and at the time, that cliche couldn’t have been more spoton. Captain EO was awesome.  and one of the first movies to be considered 4D; that is, incorporating live theatrical elements (e.g. smoke, lasers, etc)

In 1952,  Bwana Devil became the first widely viewed color movie in 3D and the first demonstration of a 3D short dates all the way back to 1915.

All around the world, and in my lifetime alone, there have been roughly 215 3D films produced and at least 50 movies have been reformatted from their original 2D version and re-released theatrically.  That’s means at least 20% of the 3D movies contain unoriginal content – and that’s a generous number.  Some love the new format, some hate it – whatever your stance, the truth of the matter is it’s here to stay.

So – what is it that makes a movie worthy of 3D status?
To me, you need flash, glitz, glam, shock and awe.

The genres of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action and Animation are the best starting points; and the more distorted the movie already seems from reality, the better. Movies like Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Harry Potter and Up!  are stellar examples of 3D done right; on the other hand, anything that’s has singing, dancing, killer animals, Saw,or Smurfs might want to rethink their game plan.

Then it makes you think – what movies from your distant, or not so distant, past would you like to see released back into theaters in 3D? Well, I’ve been compiling a list – and I’m actually happy to report that a few of these movies will actually be released.


  10 Movies I’d Re-Release in 3D:

  1. The Matrix
  2. The 5th Element
  3. Solaris
  4. Minority Report
  5. Independence Day (will be released 7.3.13)
  6. Moulin Rouge
  7. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  8. Jurassic Park (will be released 7.19.13)
  9. V for Vendetta
  10. Donnie Darko

Music Monday: Choose Your Own Adventure

Ah, yes – I’m one of those strange, strange people who actually enjoys that first day of the work week.

First, it only happens once a week which is so lovely – I think if we had more of them I might suddenly understand where the rest of you are coming from.

Secondly, that feeling 5 o’clock feeling when the day is done and under your belt; there’s no better day to appreciate that than a Monday.

I usually spend part of my day reminiscing about the good fun I’ve had over the weekend: editing and posting pictures, reaching out to new friends, and tracking down any tonal treasures that got stuck in my head over the weekend.

I’m not sure who came up with the idea that Monday‘s always had to be manic – or that a little mania on Monday was a bad thing;I had an incredibly relaxing weekend (all things considered, being me and all…) and I’m feeling pretty mellow at the moment. But regardless of where your weekend dropped you off, I have some jams, new and old, to pick you up and chill you out.  Each playlist is about half an hour, so why don’t you treat yourself to some fun on your lunch break and take a listen?  After all, it is a Monday – you deserve it!

This one is for the gogetters and anyone looking to pick it up a notch or rock it out:

Tracklist:

  1. Dog Blood – Next Order
  2. Adventure Club ft Kai – Need Your Heart (Candyland Remix)
  3. Sub Focus ft Kenzie May – Falling Down (xKore Remix)
  4. Bingo Players – L’Amour
  5. Zedd ft. Matthew Koma – Spectrum (A-Trak + Clockwork Remix)
  6. Gareth Emery – Tokyo (Pixel Cheese Remix)

And for everyone else – maybe your hangover is too loud today, or you and the snooze button just became best friends this morning; either way, I’m sure you’d love to pull a Grandma’s Boy and take a nap under your desk.  In lieu of doing that, and potentially getting fired – why not listen to this mix and try and make it through the day.

Tracklist:

  1. Finnebassen – Touching Me
  2. Jessie Ware – Running (Disclosure Remix)
  3. Blackmill – Miracle
  4. Sunlounger ft Zara Taylor – Found (Downtempo Edit)
  5. Frank Ocean – Pyramids

Oh Snap: Sunset in Newport Beach

One word I’m not is camerashy.

From a young age, my step mother would show me tricks of the trade on her delectably powerful camera.  In middle school and high school, I managed to always have a disposable camera on me to eat up my surroundings. And, by the time I reached college and the post collegiate world, I managed to upgrade myself to some Canon PowerShot cameras.  And let’s face it, in this modern age even the cameras on our cell phones can far exceed what one can do with a simple point-and-shoot.  Regardless of what I have in my hand, I feel like I capture a lot of stunning moments.

Everyone could use a fun, new hobby and photography is at the top of my list. What I’ve learned about photography over time is that to capture the moment, and this goes for both the photographer and the subject, you yourself need to become part of the moment.  Whether its letting the scene take your breath away before capturing it, or making eye contact – through your eyes not the camera lens – and getting lost in the atmosphere – if you aren’t immersed in the moment, you might take an image, but you won’t get a picture.

The next best thing to taking a good picture is sharing a good picture – and that’s what my Oh Snap! segments are all about: I’ll get to share my favorite pictures, edits, tricks and tips as I go.   I currently bounce between using two different Canon PowerShot cameras, the SD1400IS and Elph 310HS, and my Droid Rezound which came with a stunning 8MP rear camera with 1080p video capture.  I have a few applications on the phone that I adore – and yes, not just Instagram (though it’s perfect for quick editing on the fly) – and with each snap I share, I’ll also let you know how I finagled it.

I spent yesterday down in Newport at a stellar boat party thrown by Harmonic Productions; after it ended, I wound up with a few friends at their hotel room – celebrating the gorgeous weather and a birthday.  As the sun went down, my interest in capturing it piqued – a good sunset can be hard to capture on camera.  I took the picture above using a Droid application called ‘HDR Camera‘ and using the Candy filter to make the pinks in the sunset pop.  Below is a picture I took within seconds of the first, instead for this I captured the picture in the Instagram application; I actually spent about five minutes trying to brighten the picture – by shooting from different camera angles and heights, I managed to make the entire picture brighter without losing the detail in the clouds. Within the app, I used the automatic brightener and the Sierra filter.