Crazy on You

It was this song that inspired me to learn how to play guitar. Does guitar get any better? I am well aware of the wonderful Stevie Ray Vaughn and Erik Clapton, but in my opinion Heart deserves to get just as much respect and credit as the previously mentioned greats.

I remember listening to Dreamboat Annie for the first time, freshman year. I was never well acquainted with 1970's music, but this album blew me away. Chicks that could rock that hard was completely unheard of at that time, but soon after that they were followed by the Runaways and many other female rock bands.

Female artists from my generation sometimes complain about how hard it is for women in the music industry, so I can't imagine how hard it was for them to breakthrough.

Luckily, they did and proved to dudes and chicks alike that they could rock just like the best of them.

My live music experience

I've had a couple of musical experiences this semester, but none of them compared to a performance that I saw in November. At the Korean Undergraduate Student Association assembly I was pleasantly introduced to the Chulhyun gum, which is similar to a steel guitar. The woman that was playing was dressed much like the woman in the picture. Watching her play was more interesting than listening to the instrument (because to be honest, it sounded more like a Kleenex box guitar). It seemed as if it took a lot of precision and a delicate touch to be able to produce a reasonable sound from the very large instrument. I think I really enjoyed watching her play because she seemed to be so invested in her music. I'm assuming that when someone plays that instrument, that it' pretty much a solo performance, with very little accompaniment. Overall, although I wasn't blown away by the sound of the music, I was in awe of the musician's ability to command the audience with her incredible talent and ability to control such a large instrument.

Bad news bears

Nooo!!!!!!!

I was just listening to the RHCP in the car yesterday and thinking that their music was so insane and brilliant that it's utterly indescribable.

We'll miss you, John.

One of my favorite RHCP songs.

Why are concert tickets so expensive?

I recently purchased tickets to one of my favorites, John Mayer. This is my third time seeing him with my best friends. Being on the sappy senior year bandwagon, this will probably be one of our last times together before we graduate, considering that we all go to different schools. The whopping total of our mecca to Mayer-dom?

$105.

Is this the price of an intimate concert amongst some of John's most devoted fans? I think not. It's going to be in St. Pete Times Forum. So I will be sharing him with thousands of other fans.

Let's consider who is taking a piece of the concert ticket pie. The artist, the record company, cost of renting the venue, the crew, and all of the travel expenses. All in all, it seems quite expensive. Yet- $105? I don't think so. There is also the online ticket purchase medium. How much money goes to them seems too difficult to think about.

This article explains some of the reasoning behind the merger between Ticketmaster and Livenation (a.k.a. companies that charge WAY too much for tickets.)

Bar music is bar music for a reason

Being seven months and two weeks into my 21st year of life, I have taken "moderate" advantage of my new-found legal status. Over the past few months, I have become fully aware that at a bar and a club, the combination of music and the people can create an environment that either makes it hard to socialize, even though the whole point of going out is to socialize with new people! Last night, some friends of mine went out to celebrate Christmas break by going out to Ladies Night at a hometown bar. The crowd was quite diverse, including young and old people.

On a scale of one to ten on the bar band scale, I give them an eight. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the band. The Willie Nelson look-alikes (my friend disagreed and argued they were the type to channel more Guns and Roses) had a playlist that varied from classic rock to modern tunes.

The thing about bar bands is that regardless if the music is good or bad, it's loud. So regardless of who you are talking to, it's pretty hard to get a word in. I guess in a way, you are competing with four guys with instruments for one guy at the bar. (Did I just say competing for a guy at the bar? Eeks!) Which leads me to my story of bar music not helping my situation.

It's a simple tale of guy meets girl, they start talking, guy is interested in girl, girl thinks that guy is nice but is in no way interested.

Where is the music to help this situation? Conveniently enough, the bar is suddenly not as loud because the band has taken a break. If we had our conversation in the midst of the bar band, maybe things wouldn't have been as blatantly obviously bad. But, you never know. For now, I am thankful that I was saved by the lack of music.

Jock Jams

This fall, I have really tried to savor every moment of my senior year college football experience. From the walks to the stadium with my roommates, to waiting in anticipation for the Gators to burst onto the field, it has been a wonderful string of Saturdays in The Swamp. Paying more attention to details than other season, my ears began to notice that the music in the stadium, kinda sorta sucks. I know that music is supposed to get the fans and athletes pumped up, but for some reason I don't understand why certain repetitive beats are supposed to get one ready to prepare for battle. In my opinion, this song is pretty much the unofficial stadium song in The Swamp. Catchy it is, but I consider it pretty annoying. My roommate is a big baseball fan and sometimes the Marlins games are on in my living room. Having some of the games in the background, Pit Bull was always playing at the games. As someone passing in and out of my living I was even annoyed, so I can't even imagine what it's like for someone at the game.

What happened to the radio?

Every time I turn on the radio, I usually cringe, or because I am so used to the same song being played over and over again, I usually accept defeat. I will say that sometimes I do enjoy some radio tunes. But, when it comes to listening to the talking heads on the radio talk about the most random and stupid topics, I get deterred (and somewhat scared), to turn on the radio. However, I do enjoy online radio. Web sites, such as Pandora and Grooveshark give people a chance to listen to music that reflect their music taste. I have yet to use Grooveshark, yet I have a friend that swears by it, and after seeing him use it, I really like the ability that it gives you to choose exactly what songs you listen to. The topic of online radio connects with the article we read earlier in the semester about the iPod nation. A nation comprised of people that are dependent on control and individualism. I believe that online radio is one step above the iPod because at least, there is a way to share the music experience with others and explore new music, yet it is controlled by the individual's choice, which can create alienation. Although music is what keeps most people going through the monotonous motions of life, there are times when we can't let the outside world stay outside. For now, I will keep my online radio, car radio and iPod. But, I'll try to take out the earbuds to keep in tune with the my surroundings. Girl on the bus that is talking way too loud on her cell phone, fears about the impending test, the sounds of krishna music on the Plaza- I welcome you into my life.