In the past 24 hours, I have become a torrent of the worst emotions that I have experienced in a long time. On top of this, no one that actually can help me wants to, which makes matters far more difficult. I have had a long term plan of finishing Northeastern today (6/18). I have completed all of my major, core, and elective requirements. But this all totals to just under the 128 credit hours that are required for me to graduate. So the answer lies in paying NEU more money, but this I never would have guessed. On top of this, I am starting my full-time job tomorrow, which I was really hoping to do with my brand new degree. Instead, I'll be working full time while taking irrelevant classes on nights and weekends. Or so I thought until this morning when I was told that these classes would not satisfy my requirements until I was petitioned into them, which turns out to be an arduous process that may not be feasibly completed in time. Regardless, my summer is gone. The cape is gone. The time I thought I'd be able to put into making music will instead be spent in a classroom in my off time. Nothing depresses me more than seeing my creativity go to waste.
I'm going home by myself this weekend to "get away from it all" and it's the only thing I'm truly excited about right now. I haven't seen my parents in a minute, and my brother has a new girlfriend (sans cocaine nosejob) who seems delightful. I'm looking forward to meeting her and bro-ing down with them.
Face1 emails me bangers every day and each one is going to fuck your face in stereo on our upcoming EP. Due to the fore mentioned school issue, I'm putting HM3.1 on hold and concentrating on the EP as my music outlet for now. More on that when my head clears.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I'd just like to begin this by pointing out that today is Tupac's birthday.
This means nothing to me. I hate Tupac. I always have and always will consider him a reason why hip hop is in the weird state it is currently in. He was a racist, sexist, unstable drug user who tried to solve all of his problems with violence, which is why he may be dead. And somehow, like all of these other dead hip hop "martyrs", he still manages to put out more music after his apparent death than when he was alive. Do yourself a favor and Google Tupac sightings.
In other news, an 88 year old woman accidentally drives over a 4 year old girl as she is walking across a crosswalk. The driver faces 2.5 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. People, this is a problem. This is the 4th time this month. We cannot incarcerate elders. The solution is obviously regular driving tests once a person is over a certain age. Why is no one doing anything?
On a lighter note, I am working on an EP with a dope producer named Face1. It's going great, we're a couple songs in after just a few weeks. The beats, quality, and productivity are going worlds better than the last collab project I tried to work on (huh huh).
HM3.1 is coming along good too. I've been working on it slowly, but consistently. Ive been really busy with school which is done in 3 days. Once I start work I am going to have a lot more time to put towards music in the evenings. I'm thinking probably the fall.
This means nothing to me. I hate Tupac. I always have and always will consider him a reason why hip hop is in the weird state it is currently in. He was a racist, sexist, unstable drug user who tried to solve all of his problems with violence, which is why he may be dead. And somehow, like all of these other dead hip hop "martyrs", he still manages to put out more music after his apparent death than when he was alive. Do yourself a favor and Google Tupac sightings.
In other news, an 88 year old woman accidentally drives over a 4 year old girl as she is walking across a crosswalk. The driver faces 2.5 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. People, this is a problem. This is the 4th time this month. We cannot incarcerate elders. The solution is obviously regular driving tests once a person is over a certain age. Why is no one doing anything?
On a lighter note, I am working on an EP with a dope producer named Face1. It's going great, we're a couple songs in after just a few weeks. The beats, quality, and productivity are going worlds better than the last collab project I tried to work on (huh huh).
HM3.1 is coming along good too. I've been working on it slowly, but consistently. Ive been really busy with school which is done in 3 days. Once I start work I am going to have a lot more time to put towards music in the evenings. I'm thinking probably the fall.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
As of right now, I resent Stanley Kubrick as a director on the basis of me hating every single one of his films (except for two earlier works I have not seen). In the past few days, I have both read and seen the two versions. The book (Burgess) is a timeless classic with so many subtle qualities that make it so extraordinary. The movie completely defiled the story. Kubrick gets way too much credit. Yes this film is "fuckeddd up" as most say, but crediting Kubrick for its bizarre nature is like crediting Basquiat for inventing graffiti. Kubrick did not depict this story any better than an average director could with an enormous budget and ten years to spend it. I also think he was on downers, because his films are simply too long.
***
Today I was selling a film camera on Craigslist. Traditionally, when CLing an item, I use a T stop on the Orange as a meeting spot because it is so close. I arranged to meet a guy who sounded nice on the phone. I met him, showed him the camera, he seemed please, and he handed me the money. He was indeed a very nice, inconspicuous looking businessman. OUT OF NOWHERE, 3 undercover DTs whip out their badge and tell us we're under arrest (suspicion of larceny). They immediately drag us to opposite sides of the terminal for a little game of good cop/bad cop. I got the bad one first who immediately began drilling me about what I was selling insinuating that I was a theif trying to move stolen property on CL for money. After the interrogation, I had a nice little chit-chat with the good cop who told me that I looked like a good kid that went to NEU and that he'd HATE to see that change. Then the bad cop came over, handed me my money, and said "Sorry, people always come in here with 8 or 10 stolen phones and try to sell them, but you're obviously not a criminal, have a nice day." Thank you very much BPD, I'll have another.
***
Two weeks left and I finish my degree. I start full time the day after at Metropolis and I'm psyched! My classes are A LOT of work (well just my SSP class) and I'm really looking forward to not reading 8 hours a day.
***
So I've been "tweeting" a lot recently. Does that make me any better than you? I'm not entirely sure, I'll let you decide that for now. Other than that, remember the time Amanda Gordon from GDRHS tried to spread a rumor that I was fat with the only evidence being this picture?:
***
Today I was selling a film camera on Craigslist. Traditionally, when CLing an item, I use a T stop on the Orange as a meeting spot because it is so close. I arranged to meet a guy who sounded nice on the phone. I met him, showed him the camera, he seemed please, and he handed me the money. He was indeed a very nice, inconspicuous looking businessman. OUT OF NOWHERE, 3 undercover DTs whip out their badge and tell us we're under arrest (suspicion of larceny). They immediately drag us to opposite sides of the terminal for a little game of good cop/bad cop. I got the bad one first who immediately began drilling me about what I was selling insinuating that I was a theif trying to move stolen property on CL for money. After the interrogation, I had a nice little chit-chat with the good cop who told me that I looked like a good kid that went to NEU and that he'd HATE to see that change. Then the bad cop came over, handed me my money, and said "Sorry, people always come in here with 8 or 10 stolen phones and try to sell them, but you're obviously not a criminal, have a nice day." Thank you very much BPD, I'll have another.
***
Two weeks left and I finish my degree. I start full time the day after at Metropolis and I'm psyched! My classes are A LOT of work (well just my SSP class) and I'm really looking forward to not reading 8 hours a day.
***
So I've been "tweeting" a lot recently. Does that make me any better than you? I'm not entirely sure, I'll let you decide that for now. Other than that, remember the time Amanda Gordon from GDRHS tried to spread a rumor that I was fat with the only evidence being this picture?:
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Last night was an awful night. Sauce came home with debilitating sharp chest pains. She's not a pussy either, you could tell she was in a lot of pain. She was also having trouble breathing. We decided it would be safest to go to the emergency room. In the end, everything was okay, most importantly Sauce, who was thoroughly evaluated and treated. Up until last night, I thought the purpose of an ER was to wait for four hours so some asshole could hand you some Motrin and tell you fuck off. Thankfully I was wrong.
The ER is always a trip. Especially this one in Roxbury. The majority of the people in there were obviously hypochondriac regulars. Some were homeless. This one dude was a homeless man who flipped out because the hospital had confiscated his booze. He was yelling at the entire waiting room and telling us we were all "fuckin punks who took his bottle". Another considerate woman was carrying around a sample of bloody urine in a clear container. Once we got called into the bowels of the hospital, we were placed next to a convict who was double cuffed to his medical bed surrounded by three cops. He was making a scene too. I don't know how people work in that environment. I would lose all respect for humans if I had to work around the scum of the earth everyday.
There was one point where I got really upset because I think it is so ridiculous that these deranged homeless addicts can mouth off to the wrong person, get their faces smashed in, get treated for free compliments of our tax dollars, spend a night in the hospital and then get released onto the street the next day so they can scurry off to their drug dealer. These people who have either lost or never had an appreciation for themselves or humanity waste the time, money, and energy of others. FOR NOTHING. Chances are they'll be back within a week, yet again depriving actual tax payers of the services they are entitled to.
Not to say these people don't deserve help. Everyone does. But this is not the way to do it. If our tax dollars weren't being pissed away on such a short-run solution, perhaps more money could go towards hospitals and clinics that were made to treat these kinds of people.
***
Today I took my Soviet Secret Police midterm. I think I could have certainly secured an A if I had spent another 20 minutes reviewing my notes, but there was too much distraction. I'm confident that I passed though, which is all that really matters. I just need to get out of school. The majority of material on the test was fortunately the documentation I read and re-read over again. A couple more weeks and Ill be able to tell you every known fact about the USSR's fascinating history of espionage, terror, and bloodshed.
***
Early Adopted came up with the great idea of starting a record label. Given Boston's current "every emcee for themselves" attitude towards hip hop right now, I think this is a good idea for us. The label will start off with Early, Defiance, LN, myself, and another dude from Salem on the roster. We're all different artists, and together, will each have something different to bring to the table. I'm really excited, but Label or not, I'm just thrilled to be getting down with real people in a city full of haters.
Oh, and I'm doing a song with Mac Lethal.
The ER is always a trip. Especially this one in Roxbury. The majority of the people in there were obviously hypochondriac regulars. Some were homeless. This one dude was a homeless man who flipped out because the hospital had confiscated his booze. He was yelling at the entire waiting room and telling us we were all "fuckin punks who took his bottle". Another considerate woman was carrying around a sample of bloody urine in a clear container. Once we got called into the bowels of the hospital, we were placed next to a convict who was double cuffed to his medical bed surrounded by three cops. He was making a scene too. I don't know how people work in that environment. I would lose all respect for humans if I had to work around the scum of the earth everyday.
There was one point where I got really upset because I think it is so ridiculous that these deranged homeless addicts can mouth off to the wrong person, get their faces smashed in, get treated for free compliments of our tax dollars, spend a night in the hospital and then get released onto the street the next day so they can scurry off to their drug dealer. These people who have either lost or never had an appreciation for themselves or humanity waste the time, money, and energy of others. FOR NOTHING. Chances are they'll be back within a week, yet again depriving actual tax payers of the services they are entitled to.
Not to say these people don't deserve help. Everyone does. But this is not the way to do it. If our tax dollars weren't being pissed away on such a short-run solution, perhaps more money could go towards hospitals and clinics that were made to treat these kinds of people.
***
Today I took my Soviet Secret Police midterm. I think I could have certainly secured an A if I had spent another 20 minutes reviewing my notes, but there was too much distraction. I'm confident that I passed though, which is all that really matters. I just need to get out of school. The majority of material on the test was fortunately the documentation I read and re-read over again. A couple more weeks and Ill be able to tell you every known fact about the USSR's fascinating history of espionage, terror, and bloodshed.
***
Early Adopted came up with the great idea of starting a record label. Given Boston's current "every emcee for themselves" attitude towards hip hop right now, I think this is a good idea for us. The label will start off with Early, Defiance, LN, myself, and another dude from Salem on the roster. We're all different artists, and together, will each have something different to bring to the table. I'm really excited, but Label or not, I'm just thrilled to be getting down with real people in a city full of haters.
Oh, and I'm doing a song with Mac Lethal.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
If you were to take a film that was the complete opposite to Tokyo Drift in every possible way, then added Glenn Close and Michael Douglass, you get a frustratingly uncomfortable, skin-crawling, 2 hours of film hell called Fatal Attraction.
Dante didn't have the balls to go to the tenth ring of hell which is the bottom of Satan's outhouse lore. Here, he stores his excrement and an extra copy of Fatal Attraction on Blu-Ray.
Now, where were we? Oh yes, my love affair with recently declassified Soviet documents that have poor English translations. Be right back.
Dante didn't have the balls to go to the tenth ring of hell which is the bottom of Satan's outhouse lore. Here, he stores his excrement and an extra copy of Fatal Attraction on Blu-Ray.
Now, where were we? Oh yes, my love affair with recently declassified Soviet documents that have poor English translations. Be right back.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
This time last year I was sitting in the Christian Science Center park by the reflecting pool in the sun writing HM2.1. I was about halfway through the album in May. I didn't get a chance to sit in the science center and veg out this year until the other day. They didn't fill up the reflecting pool until last week which really makes the whole experience for me. A lot has changed in a year. Between the life I live, the things I create, the people I surround myself with, and the things I have accomplished, I'm a completely different human being. Jake 22.0. I was thinking about how much I would change if I could go back a couple years and then I stopped thinking about it because I try not to live in the past.
I don't have any shows planned at the moment, and it kind of feels good to have the down time to be writing and preparing new music. I'm in my last semester which is a summer session of two classes. One is on the Soviet Secret Police and the state of the USSR in the 20th century. It is by far the most interesting class I have ever taken (funny how things work out). The class requires me to read hundreds of pages every week which kind of sucks because of how time consuming it can be. But the material is incredibly interesting and has actually changed my life and perspectives on government and society which up until recently, I was more or less apathetic about.
Once I finish this semester (mid-June), I start full time at Metropolis which I'm pumped about. I can't wait to be back on a 9-5 schedule and out of school. I did the 5 year program in 3.5! Working is going to be a breath of fresh air for me because I'll be doing what I love during the day and then I'll be able to come home and focus on something else without distractions. I was able to write more music working full time than I was going to school full time. Probably because I felt more obligated to be studying. What a role model.
HM3.1 is coming good. I have like 30 beats I'm "writing" to. I like producing so much more than writing. I've been meaning to focus more on writing lately to catch up. I don't even know how far I am at this point. Maybe close to done, maybe not even started. Every time I lay something down I get a better idea and I pursue it. I'm not ready to draw the line and move on yet because I feel like I'm on to something. But when it is done, I think I'll have a much better idea of where to go next.
I've also been mixing and scratching on a new set of turntables that I got. I managed to pick up a KP3 for cheap on craigslist and have been incorporating that into the mix. My goal is to have a seamless integration with my studio setup so that I can add cuts and effects to my sessions.
Propellerhead (Reason) has announced a new addition to their repertoire. It's called Record and it's basically a Reason-like interface with a live sound element. I think the two can be rewired together. In my opinion, this is going to be a curve ball in the pro-audio world. The industry is pretty comfortable with Protools and Logic now and a major reason for that is because of the third party plugins. Coming from someone who uses both Reason and Protools, I can see the pros and cons. I've downloaded thousands of dollars worth of plugins for PT and most of them are useless. The good ones I have are amazing though and I wouldn't know what to do without them. But on the other hand, Reason is a self-contained program (and Record will be as well). This allows the program to run a hundred times smoother on your machine. It is a very noticeable difference. And at the same time, Reason has all of the crap (built in plugs) you could ever need. That is why I think this could be revolutionary. And hopefully down the line, it will snuff out all of those third parties putting out overpriced plugs that suck. Bottom line, I'm pumped to sell my MBox and kiss Digidesign goodbye.
One of my favorite emcees (and best friends) Early Adopted recently finished up his solo album and it was sent out a couple weeks ago to be pressed. I'm really excited about it. Of all of the artists I have ever met, I have seen NONE grind harder than this kid. Between setting up shows, being in Loud Neighbors, managing his solo act, hitting up every open mic possible, and not taking an ounce of bullshit from anyone, this kid makes it happen. He is one of the realest heads I have ever met. He couldn't be more down to earth, he's got a real open mind, and he is really talented. His entire album is a masterpiece of REAL music. He doesn't front one bit. Go to his myspace and preorder his album, you won't be disappointed. $10 is nothing compared to how much time, money, and effort went into making this happen.
Recently, through a mutual friend, Seana and I have met another couple that lives upstairs in our Building. Kelsey and Zivi live on the fifth floor and have quickly become great friends of ours over the past couple weeks. They are both wonderful people that have we have a lot in common with and whose company we have thoroughly enjoyed. Kelsey is an amazing photographer. She goes to school at NEU but is from Oklahoma. Zivi is an array of majors at NEU from Maine. He is in a 3 piece rock trio called Eroica. You can pick up their CD at Newbs. I recommend you do so. Together, the four of us will become an unstoppable force of double dating trouble coming to a city near you.
Other than that, here's what you are sleeping on this month:
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
A.M. Architect - Road to the Sun
Blood Rainbow - Smelteries of Damnation
Cage - Depart from Me (for a good laugh)
Early Adopted - Let's Be Honest
Gorod - Process of a New Decline
Lady Sovereign - Jigsaw (dont' hate)
I don't have any shows planned at the moment, and it kind of feels good to have the down time to be writing and preparing new music. I'm in my last semester which is a summer session of two classes. One is on the Soviet Secret Police and the state of the USSR in the 20th century. It is by far the most interesting class I have ever taken (funny how things work out). The class requires me to read hundreds of pages every week which kind of sucks because of how time consuming it can be. But the material is incredibly interesting and has actually changed my life and perspectives on government and society which up until recently, I was more or less apathetic about.
Once I finish this semester (mid-June), I start full time at Metropolis which I'm pumped about. I can't wait to be back on a 9-5 schedule and out of school. I did the 5 year program in 3.5! Working is going to be a breath of fresh air for me because I'll be doing what I love during the day and then I'll be able to come home and focus on something else without distractions. I was able to write more music working full time than I was going to school full time. Probably because I felt more obligated to be studying. What a role model.
HM3.1 is coming good. I have like 30 beats I'm "writing" to. I like producing so much more than writing. I've been meaning to focus more on writing lately to catch up. I don't even know how far I am at this point. Maybe close to done, maybe not even started. Every time I lay something down I get a better idea and I pursue it. I'm not ready to draw the line and move on yet because I feel like I'm on to something. But when it is done, I think I'll have a much better idea of where to go next.
I've also been mixing and scratching on a new set of turntables that I got. I managed to pick up a KP3 for cheap on craigslist and have been incorporating that into the mix. My goal is to have a seamless integration with my studio setup so that I can add cuts and effects to my sessions.
Propellerhead (Reason) has announced a new addition to their repertoire. It's called Record and it's basically a Reason-like interface with a live sound element. I think the two can be rewired together. In my opinion, this is going to be a curve ball in the pro-audio world. The industry is pretty comfortable with Protools and Logic now and a major reason for that is because of the third party plugins. Coming from someone who uses both Reason and Protools, I can see the pros and cons. I've downloaded thousands of dollars worth of plugins for PT and most of them are useless. The good ones I have are amazing though and I wouldn't know what to do without them. But on the other hand, Reason is a self-contained program (and Record will be as well). This allows the program to run a hundred times smoother on your machine. It is a very noticeable difference. And at the same time, Reason has all of the crap (built in plugs) you could ever need. That is why I think this could be revolutionary. And hopefully down the line, it will snuff out all of those third parties putting out overpriced plugs that suck. Bottom line, I'm pumped to sell my MBox and kiss Digidesign goodbye.
One of my favorite emcees (and best friends) Early Adopted recently finished up his solo album and it was sent out a couple weeks ago to be pressed. I'm really excited about it. Of all of the artists I have ever met, I have seen NONE grind harder than this kid. Between setting up shows, being in Loud Neighbors, managing his solo act, hitting up every open mic possible, and not taking an ounce of bullshit from anyone, this kid makes it happen. He is one of the realest heads I have ever met. He couldn't be more down to earth, he's got a real open mind, and he is really talented. His entire album is a masterpiece of REAL music. He doesn't front one bit. Go to his myspace and preorder his album, you won't be disappointed. $10 is nothing compared to how much time, money, and effort went into making this happen.
Recently, through a mutual friend, Seana and I have met another couple that lives upstairs in our Building. Kelsey and Zivi live on the fifth floor and have quickly become great friends of ours over the past couple weeks. They are both wonderful people that have we have a lot in common with and whose company we have thoroughly enjoyed. Kelsey is an amazing photographer. She goes to school at NEU but is from Oklahoma. Zivi is an array of majors at NEU from Maine. He is in a 3 piece rock trio called Eroica. You can pick up their CD at Newbs. I recommend you do so. Together, the four of us will become an unstoppable force of double dating trouble coming to a city near you.
Other than that, here's what you are sleeping on this month:
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
A.M. Architect - Road to the Sun
Blood Rainbow - Smelteries of Damnation
Cage - Depart from Me (for a good laugh)
Early Adopted - Let's Be Honest
Gorod - Process of a New Decline
Lady Sovereign - Jigsaw (dont' hate)
Friday, March 27, 2009
New blog!
This is the personal blog of REDLIST. Here I will express my personal views on life, music, and anything else that I care to touch upon. I created this blog as a separate outlet from my redlist music blog. I ideally would like to keep that blog music related. So lets get it on.
This is the personal blog of REDLIST. Here I will express my personal views on life, music, and anything else that I care to touch upon. I created this blog as a separate outlet from my redlist music blog. I ideally would like to keep that blog music related. So lets get it on.
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