Strewn From Ethereal Chords

Hey y'all out there in LJ-land,

I just thought I would take this time to see how everyone is doing and ask if anyone was interested in a new job opening that just became available in my company - Cherry Lane Music Publishing I am speaking from experience here when I say this place ROCKS (literally, we're a music company!) Our staff is second to none, we have regular luncheons and company events, not to mention we're the leading independent music publishing company in the U.S. If you're at all interested in the music biz (and let me tell ya it's hard to get your foot in the door) do peruse the following:

( Job Opening: Music Administration Assistant )

And hey all the recent grads totally have that Bachelor's degree requirement nailed! Let me know if this sounds like somethin' you want to know more about.

Just give me the Word.

Well almost anyway. Live is coming back to Starland, yet again, but I'm not complaining. This year's affair goes like this:

Live
Starland Ballroom
Sayreville, NJ
Thu, 06/07/07

TICKETS

As per usual they are a bit pricey ($38 before charges), but it's Live annual area event and they always put on one helluva show. believeinlife and I are in, but will probably wait a few weeks to purchase tickets since this show tends to not sell out right away (but probably will eventually). I can update again when we actually buy the tix.

For now though, as a gage of initial interest, who's in?

Just give me the word (or several of them if you're verbose) and we'll get this organized. I know a bunch'ya missed out last time, so don't be shy! Everyone should experience Live at some point in their Lives (unintended pun?). Just ask anyone who has :) Trust me you won't be disappointed.

With much gratitude and appreciation to musicwmnvla for creating the feed, Above the Din is now syndicated on LJ!

Check it out:

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/above_the_din/

And don't forget to add us to your friends page!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, take a peek and satisfy your curiousity :P

That's the newest, greatest, freshest music journalism blog on the Internets available right here, right now. (I can't totally back that up)

Be a part of history (technically everything is a part of history) and get in well the gettin' good:

AtD: Written by music lovers, for music lovers

Thank you for your patronage! I now return you to your regularly scheduled LJ programming (drama, whining, bitching, kvetching, smart-alecking...)

Love and Cookies!

- Coz

Hey all,

First up a big debt of gratitude to everyone who commented on my previous post with suggestions and encouragement. I really appreciate it! You guys are all awesome :) I can't wait to talk more about what's going on, but it's still being figured out. I imagine within the next couple of weeks I'll have some compelling things to write about.

Next up, I wanted to shout out one of my other brand new projects - a music news/journalism blog. I administrate and contribute to the site along with a host of other contributors you might know...plantingseeds, doughnutman, totheliving (who is also an editor), and believeinlife who is primarily an editor. Go take a look and support your friends:

Above The Din: We Know Music.

You can even sign up for the site with your prefered e-mail address (or news reader). We're just starting out, so we'd love all the early support you can give!

That's http://abovethedin.blogspot.com

Thanks everyone!

Catch you again real soon.

It's been awhile, but now I have some pretty exciting stuff to talk about. After the collapse of my last job (see back LJ) I decided it was time to change gears. Well it looks like it's starting to pay off. I now have two different 'ventures' which present great opportunities and long-term potential. Although I have not officially acquired a full-time salaried employment with benefits, there are now some tremendously significant inroads for me. I would love to go into more detail as to what these are, but at this time it's best to keep things under wraps. I am not trying to be coy or mysterious here, I just don't want to get too prematurely optimistic, jinx myself, or jeopardize sensitive components.

For right now I would like to ask everyone here for a small favor. One of my current projects concerns marketing and promoting small/independant/unknown music. What I ask is if people could reply back with any resources (particularly websites, but magazines, books, media, organizations, people, etc. all work) relating to music (i.e. MySpace, PureVolume, Mog, but obviously I already know these...don't most people?). So if you could respond with any music related websites or outlets, basically a place to be heard and spread the word, that would be awesome. Thanks for all your help. I love you guys!!

I'll be in touch again soon. This could be the start of something big and I will definitely keep everyone informed as things develop in the future.

Alright after this I'll take a break from politics, but I wanted to highlight the signifigance of this just completed election first.

By know the world knows that the Democrats have taken control of the the U.S. Congress, wresting 6 Senate seats from Republicans (PA, OH, RI, MO, MT, and VA) and as of right now 29 House seats (10 are still being disputed), and 6 Governorships, including just the second African-American elected to that role - Deval Patrick in Massachusetts.

That makes the current breakdown of power as follows: Senate 51-49, House 229-196, and Governorships 28-22.

And of course we will have a new Secretary of Defense in the next few weeks.

But there is so much more to the story than just this. Let's dig a little deeper:

- Nancy Pelosi, as the presumed next Speaker of the House, will become the most powerful woman in the history of the United States.

* The first Muslim was elected to Congress. (as a Democrat). It's about time that the makeup of the Congress more accurately reflect the makeup of the country. We're making pivotal gains but we have a considerably long way to go. Let's keep finding strong women and minority candidates who will change the conversation in Washington.


- South Dakota, by a large margin, rejected their barbaric abortion ban. The people have spoken and what they're saying is that a women has the right to make her own choices concerning HER body and HER life.

(Additionally 5 states passed increases to their minimum wages, and Missouri passed a landmark stem cell funding bill)

- The Dems also sweeped into power in state legislature's all across the U.S. This is so vitally important because the state legislatures are the breeding grounds for the next generation of representatives, senators, and governors, further solidfying the future potential of our party to expand and grow.

- Youth turnout was the biggest it has been in 20 years Note this particularly poignant statistic, "Rock the Vote, a youth-and-civics group, said young voters favored Democrats by a 22-point margin, nearly three times the margin Democrats earned among other age groups and dealing a potentially decisive blow to Republicans in tight races."

Never for a moment doubt the ability of young people to affect change at the top levels of government. When we show up, old rich white neo-conservative evangelical christian gay-hating women oppressing (insert other assholic adjectives here) be damned. This is OUR government and it is PEOPLE-POWERED. We are the fuel. And this is just the begining of the movement. We have a lot of work to do and there will be many challanges ahead. We can and ought to celebrate these victories now, but we mustn't get too proud or complacent. There is too much to do. If you haven't already joined the tide, there is no better time than now. If you have, then now is an optimal time to step up your involvement. Seize this moment, it is the turning point and you don't want to get left behind. We are change, change is here, and it will only get stronger when you join in. Will you be a part of Democracy today?

Let's do this. We're less than 24 hours away from a new government. Now is the time to step it up like we never have before. Here is everything you need for today:

Find your polling place online.

No matter what, be aware of:

1) If you're a registered voter, do not leave your polling location without voting. Every registered voter is entitled to cast a provisional ballot.

2) If you're in line before the poll's closing time, you are entitled to vote.

3) You're entitled to view a sample ballot at the polling place before voting.

4) If you experience any problems voting or observe any irregularities, immediately call 1-888-DEM-VOTE to report the incident. In addition to providing your polling place information, by calling 1-888-DEM-VOTE you can record a complaint or speak with an election protection monitor. The line is available in English and Spanish.

Become familiar, print out copies/fliers, use the following as a handy resource at the polls today Democratic Party Voter Protection Guide .

Have a video camera? Then please Video The Vote .

Have a cell phone? Then join the Immediate Response Network to protect the election by texting "JOIN" to 30644.

Even more on Protecting the Election.

And even more you can do before results come pouring in:

Last Minute Volunteering

Do More Than Vote!

Call voters in the most competitive districts and encourage them to get out and vote!. All you need is a cell phone and a computer. MoveOn will provide full instructions and assistance to you.

Of utmost importance today will be convincing friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to vote today. To dispel the myth that Democrats are no better than Republicans or that they have no plan, just point them here: The Democratic Agenda .

For all results tonight, you have multiple options. I personally recommend DailyKos which has a top bar for results by race type and region. You can also handpick and customize 20 of your own races on CNN: Just go here, create an account, and pick any 20 contests you want to keep track of tonight . I might also try some LiveBlogging around 9:00 on this very LJ.

So here's a quick summary:

HOW AND WHERE TO VOTE:

* Get your polling place at 1-866-MY-VOTE-1.
* Don't forget your ID.
* Not on the list? Demand a provisional ballot.
* Verify the paper record if voting by machine.
* Need legal help? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.


Please repost and spread the word far and wide!!!

So like hi and stuff. How are you? Is life swell? Not much going on here. Though I heard about something happening next week which I understand could have a major impact on all of our lives. Something about Ballads...Like this one:

The Ballad of George W. Bush

"GWB your days of unchecked power are numbered
Since your administration will soon be encumbered
Yes it is true
Your party will lose
And your agenda will be torn asunder"

Let's do this! (Aww but ma! I don't like politics! I am going to stop reading this entry now and go back to Facebook [note: Some non-Drew people insert MySpace here]) WAAAAAAAAAIT! Just give me a minute here, please :) No big speech but you everyone should know what is at stake on November 7th:

The War in Iraq, Minimum Wage, Stem Cell Research, GLBT Equality, Reproductive Rights, Immigration, Presidential Accountability, Internet Neutrality (laymans: keeping corporate interests OFF the 'Net), Torture, Human Rights, Iran and North Korea, National Morality and Standing in the world, Darfur, Global Warming, Advancement of Science, Healthcare! Just to name a few...

Now if NONE of these things really apply to you...well what are you some kind of monk? This is it folks. This election is NO LESS SIGNIFICANT than the presidential election of 2004! (How can I possibly say that? Because in theory...the legislative branch is 1/3rd share of an equal government and it is what is on the line here).

(But even if I vote, it's not like it will be counted, it's not like it matters!) FALSE! EVERY house seat comes up every 2 years and there are a slew of Senate, Governership, Secretary of State, and other local elections in every single state. As for your vote not getting counted:

See TrueMajority's Election Preparedness Kit to ensure smooth sailing next Tuesday

While you're at it, you can also You can also join the Immediate Response Network and sign up to receive text messages to your cell phone to protect the election!

Two small steps, one really giant leap for Democracy! That's it folks. Just go vote. It's that simple. Tuesday. November 7. Are you ready to be a part of the solution and turn this country around? I sure as hell am!

Note: Predictions and Summaries and all that good stuff coming next time, so stay tuned for that!

Holy shit I am back! Albeit briefly :P But for a good purpose! Since my LJ time is so limited these days (I do apologize if I have missed an important entry of yours, or 20 for that matter...but then again if it is really that important to you and we're friends, you should be telling me in person :P) I thought it best to make this a special entry. Sure, there is so much I could talk about right now, like how our mighty Republic has rolled back to the pre-Magna Carta days of no Habeus Corpeus, or the official launch of the Nintendo Wii on November 19, the awesomeness of Heavy Metal Cellists or finally the enjoyment of actually worthwhile TV like NBC's new dramas - Heroes and Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. And now I didn't just cleverly work them into this post anyway.

Rather, I want to bring back the lyrics project started all the way back in January of 2006 and continues...Now (at long last)

First for any newbies out there that might be reading this here's a quick heads up on what this is all about. You like music, in fact you probably love an awful lot of it. Well, we all do so why not capture those timeless words that so richly, poignantly, and accurately reflect our lives at any given time. From this I hope to create a sort of "time capsule" of lyrics which we can all look back on and remember that this music and these lyrics defined who we were, who we are, and who we are yet becoming, and spoke volumes about our lives through each experience, and each moment we shared.

Now, Whew! I have some serious catching up to do! So here is the thing, if I took the time to organize all the lyrics I would never actually get to posting this thing. So for the time being I am going to refer everyone to:

http://animamusika.livejournal.com/85515.html

which recounts the progress thus far.

For simplicity's sake (and thanks to LJ tagging features) all the posts will be tagged with "Lyrics of Our Lives" as well as "LooLvX" where X is the current iteration of the project (e.g. this is 4) and LooL is not some horrible AIM slang but rather...well I hope you can figure this one out for yourselves.

I will however summarize the most recent additions-

( v3.0 adds )

And with that it's time for v4.0! So without further adieu let's get to it. I do hope to keep this alive for a long time and expand and flesh it out even more. Stay tuned and keep on listenin'

- Coz

Few notices and updates:

LJ is blocked at work now (which is when I usually checked it) so I have been majorly out of the loop as far as people's lives go, since as we all know LJ is the primary source for personal information. Pshaw, who needs the telephone or actual human contact when you can have an online journal! So if I am ignorantly unaware or haven't shown you the love, it's not intentional. I am going to need to make a new LJ schedule :P

Thankfully believeinlife has been my word on the street. So a big, belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to starryskies. I am also looking forward to your LJ's 5th anniversary, since I have never celebrated a blog's birthday before :) It should rock. Also geekyfruitdork I was elated to hear that you got your loan and everything worked out :)

Meanwhile since I am on a minor LJ mini-hiatus, please feel encouraged to tell me all about your life in the comments (since those get e-mailed to me and I can check my e-mail at work). What happened to you recently that I simply must know? What's going down (or up)? What's your favorite non-mammal? How many licks of a tootsie-roll pop does it take to get to the center? (and fuck Mr. Owl for always claiming to answer the question and then just eating my lollipop!) Let me know, I want to hear it all!

And now time for the greatest music video ever...at least in recent memory:



Oh yeah and,

What is SO funny about Peace, Love, and Understanding?

Since we all know how depressing it can be to consistently read the news (yet those masochistic of us seem to keep doing it anyway) I thought I would share some positive, although not yet completely ideal, stories with you:

FDA increases access to Plan B (a.k.a. The Morning-After Pill). It's a good start but we need to do away with these wholly unnecessary age restrictions and limitations, but we're getting there.

A new way to create stem cells
avoids destroying embryos. You would think this would finally quell the proposterous conservative 'pro-life' arguments against a science which undoubtably Jesus himself would have supported. But of course that's not the case. Did we really think it was going to be that easy? (Not all of us have magical 'God' disease curing fingers after all, what are we supposed to do?)

And of course the most talked about news story of the day (judging by LJ and co-workers) - Pluto still a dog, no longer a planet. Truly this is a sad, sad day for extremely distant celestial bodies. My condolensces to what Scarface probably would have called, "my little friend." Always pickin' on the wee ones aren't ya IAU. So THIS is why I took so much shit in grade school?

This calls for a celebration/mourning. The 'Pluto is no longer a planet rewriting scholastic acronyms and mnemonic devices everywhere' party is coming to a galaxy near you soon. Don't miss it.

Just for fun, anyone want to come up with their own (new) acronym/story for the now 8 classic planets?

This is too important to not mention here and to not talk about today, tomorrow, and onwards. With the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina fast approaching, and the voices of the ongoing suffering in New Orleans no longer being well represented by the mainstream media, nor fresh in the minds and hearts of the public consciousness, nor actively being debated in the poltical discouse; acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee brings us an original HBO Documentary event: When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.

Watch it. If you don't have access to HBO, see it with friends or family, or make a note to rent or buy it when it comes out on DVD. Talk about it. Be moved and compelled. Take action. It is nothing short of our humanistic responsibility to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves right now, just as a parent needs to attend to their young. A lifeline has been thrown to us, will you take it and extend your hand, or will you brush it away like so many of those goals and desires that get shuffled off for some distraction, some minutae, something seemingly urgent at the time, yet what could be more urgent than saving lives?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Also please hop on over to Darfur Scores to find out how the government has responded to the genocide in the Sudan, localized to your state and district. Then read up about it and see what you can do to bring peace to this ravaged region. So much more needs to be done here as well. We cannot wait any longer.


Take a minute to save the world today. One act by itself cannot heal or pacify or aid...but one act by all whom are capable to act, together cannot not HEAL THE WORLD!

Please play your part in the world's hope and healing today.

Thank you for listening.

- Coz

Slithery Snakes
A muthafuckin' plane
Sam Jackson kicks ass

A bunch of are going to see "Pacific Air Flight 121" tonight, if you happen to be around the Drew/Madison area and would be interested in such an event then please feel free to join us (Hit up the cell/e-mail/leave a comment).

The ironies for this movie never run out. How great is the acronym! I can see the headlines on Monday. SoaP cleans up at box office. Considering this is a somewhat gory film, I think this is just fabulous.

Snakes and Little Miss Sunshine. You can't get much different than that. I may have the unique distinction of seeing the worst movie and the best movie of the year in the same weekend.

I am completely looking forward to it.

The tally of planets in our solar system would jump instantly to a dozen under a highly controversial new definition proposed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU)

"LiveJournal," was directly referenced by The Monarch in last night's Venture Brothers episode on Adult Swim.

I love the Venture Brothers.

That is all.

Just as Al Gore has said that he "used to be the next President of the United States," in turn Senator Joseph I. Liberman used to be the next Vice-President. If things played out just a little differently in Florida in 2000, Mr. Lierbman would be happily serving as the nation's second in charge. Instead, last night, Joe lost the Democratic primary just to be able to run for re-election on his supposed party's ticket in November. How the mighty have fallen. Now you might be wondering why I in addition to the rest of the major news media are making such a big deal out of this. Who cares about some local election in CT (besides of course Connecticutians?) Well I care. Simply put, I care because to me this signals the arrival of a new tidal wave in the Progressive movement. One which is just getting started yet is already thoroughly riveting. You might ask; Why should you care? To that I plainly say that if you're one of the millions angry at George W. Bush and this age of ultra-neoconservatism, then you ought to care deeply.

You see this wasn't just an ordinary victory by a progressive champion. This was the dethroning of an 18 year entrenched politician whose seeming invincibility just dwindled away. And that means it can happen to anyone. No longer should any incumbent (Democrat or Republican) feel so secure, so relaxed in their position of power, that their abuse of it go unanswered. The message from last night's primary is clear - you can and will be held accountable. You can and will have to answer to the people, you can and will be defeated if you've lost that sense of why you were put there to do your job in the first place. This victory saw a true Bush ally, in Lieberman, have to pay the price for his egregious representation of his state and his party. And now it happens that neither is no longer true. Make no mistake about it. This was a shot at George W. Bush himself and his deceitful war of choice. The message could not be clearer. No longer will blind allegiance to a destructive and failing idealogy be tolerated. In Lamont's success we can begin to see the changing of the guard. People-power did it, you and me, and countless citizens citizens everywhere whose repeated calls on this administration's irresponsibility and incompetance can no longer be ignored or passed over.

There's a lot of talk about the role of the left-wing blogosphere in spearheading this achievement. No doubt they played a pivotal role. But this isn't something which rests on just one factor or cause. It's everybody pitching in and doing their part. Yes the bloggers did their part brilliantly, and should not be underestimated. It's only going to get larger. But if there is just one single thing that this significant step forward leaves you with, let it be this: Apathy only maintains the status quo. First we have to believe. Yes the disenfranchisement after the last 3 elections had left us frazzled and scattered. But we're building ever higher and this machine is becoming a monster. Lamont covered over 40 points in the polls in less than a month. It's not that we can do it, we ARE doing it. When you believe, when you know it's possible, then you only need but stand up and declare you want your country back. Get it on this avalanche of political reformation and revolution. The time is NOW! The midterms elections are 3 months away, can you smell our triumph?

In conclusion Ned Lamont went up against the establishment, the near-impossible, against all odds. He took on a one-time hugely popular Democrat and he reminded him what this is all about. Stand with Bush and fall without dignity.

Markos from DailyKos sums it all up much better than I could right here Check it out, and be counted this fall!

Let's see if this YouTube embed function really works...

A conversation I recently had with a buddy of mine spurred some lively debate on the most important songs of all time (past 1950). Now I think it's imperative to define important and place it in it's proper context here:

Social Importance: A song that dramatically influenced the fabric of society in some way so as to be a vehicle of change, be associated with a particular movement or event, or inspire a ripple in the (pre-formed) social construct

Musical Importance: A song that stands out from it's predecessors and contempories in such a way as to redefine a genre, create a genre, bring about a paradigm shift in musical thinking and performance, or otherwise revolutionize the sonic landscape which it was born from.

Using this criteria we came up with some very different answers. I'll let him fill in his own, but here are some of mine (in random order for right now):

John Lennon - Imagine
Elvis Pressley - Jailhouse Rock
Bill Haley and the Comets - Rock Around the Clock
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
The Clash - London Calling
The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop
Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone
Pete Seeger - We Will Overcome
Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused
Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues

That's just a sampling, there's more to come. (Note Daniel I specifically tried to list different songs than you, not because I don't agree with your choices, but for the sake of diverse and unique lists, I think it's more interesting if I go a different way with this).

So let's open up the floor. Let's go for it peoples. The most essential, timeless, important, vintage, eternal, fundamental songs of our age. What do you have to say?

Let's have some fun :)

On November 22nd, 2006 Warner Brothers will release The Fountain the latest from Pi and Requiem for a Dream director, Darren Aronofsky.

This man should need no introduction. If you haven't seen his previous works, do yourself a favor and acquire them right now. Although his movies are not the easiest to digest, I will not hesitate to say that Darren Aronofsky is the most compelling, challenging, and dynamic visual storyteller in the business today (imho).

See for yourself. Check out the new trailer for The Fountain (starring Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz) and if you like what you see then be sure and peek the graphic novel which is already available.

Some other cool bits on this flick:

- Mayan Mysticism was the main cultural influence for The Fountain, particularly the Mayan Mystic Tree.
- 20 of the 70 extras cast as Mayan warriors were actually Mayan, flown in from Guatemala.
- Instead using computer generated special effects in the film, Aronofsky wanted to use methods that would keep the film from looking dated. The director hired Peter Parks, a specialist in macro photography who works with photographing undersea microorganisms, to produce visual effects, such as filming chemical reactions in petri dishes, to help the film stand the test of time
- In addition to Clint Mansell reprising his role as composer for The Fountain after scoring for Aronofsky's film, Pi, the string quartet Kronos Quartet and Scottish post-rock band Mogwai will be contributing to the film score.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_fountain

Let's not forget that Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet were responsible for the unforgettably intense score from Requiem for a Dream, you remember Lux Aeterna right? (P.S. it was remixed for the final Two Towers trailer). Check out the previous link for a musical taste from The Fountain as well.

Finally, just in case you missed the trailer link above (or it doesn't work) and are curious about the goings on with the film as it approaches it release date, head on over to the The Fountain Blog

Personally this is by far and away my most anticipated film of 2006. The combination of the graphic novel and the freakin' trailer started to whirl some emotions for goodness sake. I full well expect this one to be talked about and remembered for some time.

Ya know I really ought to do more of these things. Music is my religion after all :P Anywho onto the goods.

I just thought ya'll might like to know that you can check out the new Audioslave single, 'Original Fire' by clickin' on the linkey-link. Their next studio effort "Revelations" will be released September 5th. Check out audioslave.com for the album cover and more tidbits. It also has also recently been reported that Chris Cornell is penning the next James Bond theme song and working on a solo album.

What happens when Amy Lee gets less Moody? (The cleverest of you ought to catch the double-entrende). Well Amy Lee asks people to 'Call Me When You're Sober' and maybe you can find out. Then again if any of you had Amy Lee's actual phone number you would probably also have Amy Lee's restraining order. Same deal as above with the song behind the link, only a partial though. Check out evanescence.com for more including details of the video premiere and album art. Quite an interesting title for the new single I must say especially given the recent news that she has broken up with Seether's Shaun Morgan and he has in fact just entered rehab. Btw did anyone else think Amy Lee was asian when they first heard her name?

And to close tonight I think I am also going to bring back music trivia, as it seems appropriate at this time and place, but we're going to do one off questions for music-related posts (which of course is most of them).

Q: This Canadian-born singer-songwritter just had a biopic made about him called "I'm Your Man" starring the likes of U2. He wrote the oft-covered original version of 'Hallelujah' and does anyone remember his 'Famous Blue Raincoat' (Who is he)? [3 points]