My First Time Drumming in a Band

This is the story of what it was like for me to drum in a band for the first time, under absolutely worst case conditions.

May's Musical Musings

TURN DOWN FOR WHAT!!
Four words, out of the 12 total words in the whole song.  But man do those four words stick in your head.  I first heard this song at the UFC event I attended here in Cincinnati, played between fights over the incredible U.S. Bank Arena sound system.  I leaned over to my friend Chris and asked "What is he saying in this song?"  He had to repeat it several times before I understood it.  Then I noted it in my cell phone so I could look it up to download when I got home.

The video for it is partially obscene and partially hilarious.  You absolutely MUST listen to this song with a system that has good bass, otherwise it just doesn't do it justice.  I had to look up the lyrics though, to understand what the heck Lil Jon is singing/rapping about.  You can read the complete lyrics here, but the 12 total words consist of:

Fire up that loud
Another round of shots...
Turn down for what?

"Fire up that loud" means to light a joint.
The meaning of "Another round of shots" is pretty obvious.
And "turn down for what" means this.

It's a great song musically (man is that beat catchy), but the lyrics basically mean to get drunk and high, and let absolutely nothing stop you from continuing to do so.  From a Christian (or even responsible adult) perspective, I wrestle with whether to turn it up and just enjoy it (just party music at its finest, and therefore OK to listen to?), or to avoid it because it's morally corrupt garbage?  My tendency is to crank it up, but not without at least a little deliberation/hesitation.

LORD GIVE ME A SIGN
UFC fighter Chris Cariaso walked out to the ring to this song.  It had hard hitting bass and a catchy hypnotic rhythm.  The chorus sounded like it could be a Christian song, but it was hard to tell in the short duration that it played during his walkout.  When I looked it up and downloaded it, I was surprised to learn that it was DMX who wrote it.  Not only that, but the lytics quite accurately captured the spiritual walk, struggles, and theology of Christianity.  Now this is music I can crank up without question - a sound I can fully enjoy and lyrics I can fully appreciate.

DARK HORSE
I can't help but think this song is catchy and sexy.  It's also a bit ironic though, if you think about the lyrics.  Here is the chorus:

So you wanna play with magic

Boy, you should know what you're falling for

Baby do you dare to do this?

Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse

Are you ready for, ready for

A perfect storm, perfect storm

Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine

There’s no going back

Wait a minute though, isn't Katy Perry in an unofficial competition with Taylor Swift for the largest number of guys dated or in a serious relationship with?  So how does the whole "once you're mine there's no going back" statement work?  Was she just expressing wishful thinking, or maybe threatening the next guy who ponders leaving her with drastic action if he should become the next on the list?  Either way it seems ironic to me.

I Like It, I Love It

I've had this song in my head for about three days now -

I Like It, I Love It
by
Lyrics Born

The video isn't anything special (female objectification warning), but at least you can hear the song.

Every time that I get up on the microphone,

I gotta dedicate a rhyme to you girl C’mon...

Multimedia Musing

I recently finished two new books. You can read the reviews for them here.

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Music I'm currently inspired by and listening to, sometimes loudly and repeatedly:

Given Up by Linkin Park = I first heard this song on the trailer for the movie Crank 2. It's one of those songs that you just can't turn up loud enough. I love it! (Warning : a few f-bombs are dropped)

Gravity by Sara Barellis = This song reminds me a bit of Kissing You by Des'ree (from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack). It's one of those songs that you want complete silence around you so you can really soak it up, and during her high note about 3/4 of the way though it will probably give you chills.

Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie = This is a peppy, fun song. The video is pretty darned cool too, made using stop motion animation. I'm dissapointed not to find the mp3 on Amazon.com yet though.

Musical Musing

The song of the day (since it's 9/11) is Courtesy of the Red, White And Blue by Toby Keith. Makes me want to up and join the armed forces, or at least have more appreciation for and pride in our country.

The current nostalgic song I'm grooving to is Principal's Office by Young M.C. With its catchy music and great lyrics, it represents the old school rap that actually tells a story, instead of the artist just bragging about himself (I have lots of money. You know you want me. Blah, blah, blah).

The song of the week/month is Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath. The melody isn't quite as catchy as I'm Not Who I Was (also by him), but it's still really good music and the words are maybe better.

I really like hard songs that have a soft spot in the middle. Great examples of this are:

• Red - Breathe Into Me
• Chad Kroeger - Hero
• Foo Fighters - The Pretender

They get the blood pumping and testosterone boosting, then give you a moment to catch your breath, right before kicking it up again.

A Conquered Quest

Amanda and I were on a date recently (a month or 2 ago?) in my 300Z. We were parking the car at a store when a song came on the radio. We both liked it from the onset, so we turned it up and sat there grooving to it in the parking lot until it was finished.

When we got home, I looked for the song by searching for what lyrics I could remember (which has worked for me many times before), but with no luck. Since then I have been hoping that it would come on the radio again so I could get the title, artist, or at least more lyrics so I could buy the mp3 from Amazon. But it's been absent from the airwaves, at least when I've been listening - until Tuesday night.

I was working on our car in the garage when the song came on the radio. I promptly ran upstairs, checked the radio station's website, and viola! Since buying this song I must have listened to it about 100 times. It just hasn't gotten old.

The lyrics are very cryptic and catchy, although depressing ("into the ocean, end it all"), but it's one of those tunes that just resonates with me musically. It sounds very similar vocally and stylistically to Peter Gabriel, with a good variety of sounds and instruments, interesting percussion, and great underlying bass.

The song is Into the Ocean, by Blue October.

Cranking This!

My current favorite songs:

• Travis Barker remix of Crank That (Soulja boy)
  For an awesome video of his drumming, check out the link below:
  http://www.craveonline.com/videos/music/00007651/travis_barker_on_drums.html
  
  
• Foo Fighters - The Pretender
  

Honorable Mention go to

• Chris Brown - Kiss Kiss
  
  
• Santana (feat. Chad Kroeger) - Into the Night

Audio Opposites

While I was in Florida, my brother and I went to a Jaguars vs Raiders (pro football) game in Jacksonville. The tickets were a Christmas present from him (thanks again Steve).

On the way there, we were listening to country music in his pickup. The words to a particular song really got my attention, and it occurred to me that much of the message of country music is completely opposite of rap music's. Country songs often promote God, family values, being content with what you have, and appreciation of the little things in life despite the annoyances and frustrations.

The song was Lucky Man by Montgomery Gentry (link is to an mp3). Besides Lucky Man, other examples that I can think of off the top of my head (with links to the lyrics) are:
Phil Vassar - Just Another Day in Paradise
Martina McBride - I Have Been Blessed
Montgomery Gentry - Something to be Proud of
Lonestar - My Front Porch Looking In
Craig Morgan - That's What I Love About Sunday

In sharp contrast, rap music usually promotes drinking, drugs, womanizing, partying, a heavy emphasis on money and wealth, etc. Admittedly, I can't help but appreciate the rough attitude and catchy bass beats, but the lyrics and message usually suck! As an example, check out the lyrics to the current number one hip-hop song.

I'm not trying to knock all songs that are about sex or having fun at clubs, especially since I like them too, if they're catchy enough (Low is pretty damn catchy - I downloaded it). I'm just noting the contrast between the two and encouraging any readers to give country a try once in a while. The positive message alone is worth it, and the ratio of good songs (catchy music, good lyrics) to annoying ones is probably about the same as hip-hop's.