I'm worried that I'm growing up in a generation that will one day no longer make eye contact.

Don't get me wrong; I feel privileged to be a Millennial. I think we're one of the most important generations in some time (check out NPR's TED Radio Hour “The Next Greatest Generation?”).

I feel that way for a plethora of reasons. We Millennials are right on the cusp of an extremely pertinent time in history, having been born before the internet and smartphones, but young enough to embrace these new amazing tools to use to our advantage. We aren't too old to know how to use them, nor too young to be used by them, being that we remember a time when there was no internet, no smart phones, and no GPS. A time before Twitter, before Instagram, before Myspace, Facebook, MyFace or SpaceBook...

And oh, what a precious time. Precious, you say?

Yes, precious. And not in a creepy, Gollum-y way.

So I've had a crazy week. As I sit and write this in the wonderfully nostalgic and popular Jake'sBrewbar in Littleton, Colorado (a coffee/pubhouse where one can easily imagine the ghosts of C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Williams and the Inklings meeting in a corner, reading aloud segments of their masterpieces to each other over a delicious pint and pipe), I think back to only a few weeks ago.

I was hustling to produce some new videos for the First Friday art event put on by Converge Denver, the singular and uniquely wonderful co-working space where I'm a member. I was a featured artist, and I had to quickly put together two videos: one introducing my band Torgo! (originally from West Texas) to the Denver community, and one premiering my latest film, a science fiction concept called “Tachyon”.

Being a film maker and musician, my livelihood requires the use of modern technology. I edit everything on fancy editing software and back it all up to a big, multi-drive system. I used my “smartphone” (ironic quotes because that phone was more of an idiot) to establish meetings, setup shoots in my calendar, take notes for film/music ideas, and everything in between. Grover, my blue Subaru Forrester, would get me to and from said meetings/shoots.

But something happened that changed everything for me, temporarily.

My computer crashed, completely. Dead.

The next day, my phone died. Forever. And I was glad to be rid of it. Never, ever buy a MotoX. Don't do it. Save yourself the permanent headache it will inevitably cause.

As I curiously stared at it, smashed into pieces on my kitchen counter, my first thought was “That looks cool, I should take a picture of it with my phone...wait...”

My friend Jana at Converge laughed and told me, “Look out, it always comes in threes.” My response was, “Well, it's either my car next, or my sweet dog Lokibear, and I'm not anywhere close to being ready to lose my little furry best friend.”

I guess it was a self-fulfilled prophecy, because a few days later, my blue metallic friend (named after a famous furry little friend) crapped out, and Grover is currently in the car shop.

Today, a few hours ago, my beloved iPod Classic, my last and only working electronic device that keeps me going every day and inspires me with my collection of over 40,000 songs, committed a tragic and untimely suicide.

As a result, I found myself completely and utterly UNPLUGGED. No internet. No phone calls. No texting. Even...gasp...no Facebook or Twitter!

No computer for a while put my job at jeopardy, being that I need it to edit the videos I shoot for my clients. To put it simply, I found myself somewhat shipwrecked.

It's actually pretty serious, because it's not cheap to live in Denver, and without a job to make money, I can't pay my rent! As I'm sure you are aware, replacing these dead devices isn't cheap...especially the car.

I got my computer's hard drive replaced, allowing me to get back to work, and write this very article. So that's a huge step. However, I still have no phone, car, or (tear) iPod. A musician without his iPod is like a Pirate Captain without his trusty eyeglass. Or sword. Or ship. Hence: shipwrecked.

But through this experience, something new has occurred that I'm beginning to notice.

I'm more present.

A conversation with a friend, such as I just had here at Jake's with Ryan, a super-talented Cinematographer I frequently have the pleasure of working with, isn't interrupted by a vibrating device in my pocket, crying for my attention. I'm not worried about battery life. I've stopped habitually checking my pocket for texts or facebook updates.

I'm actually here, in the present, for now. My face isn't buried in a device every time I'm bored, or every time there's a lull in the conversation. My mind doesn't drift to where else I think I should be, or what's going on online, or where I think I need to be next. I'm living in the moment, engaging with the people I'm currently with, and making eye contact with them.

I'm biking more. I was already an avid biker; I always take my beautiful red Schwinn Cruiser, Bernie (named after both SynthWizard Bernie Worrell and GrooveMaster David Byrne) anywhere within 10 miles as a rule. Why wouldn't I in a city as beautiful as Denver? But right now I have no choice but to bike everywhere. It's a perfect excuse.

By doing so, I feel more centered, more connected to my surroundings, and more in tune with the Spirit of Creativity. Were I just driving everywhere in Grover, I'd be prone to outbursts of anger due to traffic, prone to wasting money on gas, and even likely prone to potential death due to an accident resulting from checking my phone when I should be focused on the road. How often do you do that in a day? I must confess, before last week, I probably did that a few times a day. Stoplights were just too long, so I had to check my phone. What was I thinking? I wasn't. I was on auto-pilot.

All this to say, I've found great Peace in this transitional period without electronic technology. After a moment of freaking out, I went on a bike ride and instantly found deep Joy in the beauty laying just “out my backdoor”. I'm now doing it every day. I'm even running again. But I used to run with my phone, in case someone needed me.
 Now I don't even think about it. 

Phones, the internet, and vehicles aren't the bad guy here. Technology isn't the enemy. The internet has connected us all in a way that was unfathomable 20 years ago. GPS helps me, a directionally- challenged right-brainer, to find where the Hell I'm going. My phone allows family, friends and co- workers to contact me in a heartbeat, from anywhere in the world.

But with this power comes great responsibility, right Peter Parker?

The internet is easily addictive, and we waste entire percentages of our lives on it, doing nothing more than checking to see how many “likes” or “friends” we have, looking for affirmation in the wrong places. Not having GPS has caused me to actually figure out my surroundings and where I'm going, using my real BRAIN, rather than my phone-brain, as my band/roommates jokingly refer to it. And for the time being, a text from a family member, friend or co-worker doesn't take me out of the present moment, the most important moment we can possibly have.

Continuing the pirate metaphor, lately I've been thinking of our phones like giant anchors we're all dragging around the world, tethered to our pockets by chains. The chain is our inability to stop checking our phones obsessively and habitually, like someone with a bad drug habit.

These great technologies will only get more and more powerful as the ever-imminent Singularity approaches exponentially. (Watch a terrific documentary, “Transcendent Man”, for more on that subject...that's for another article).

Should we all tune-out, shut down, and go on auto-pilot, these incredible tools of smart-phones, the internet, Social Media, and even automobiles can easily lead us to a world where, ironically, we are less-connected than ever, and ignorant of the beauty that surrounds us, and the very people right in front of us.

There's a new EP out by a band I've followed for over 10 years now, Mates of State. They're a beautiful, energetic, hip married couple that somehow has managed to stay relevant through the years of the ever- changing music industry, even through having children (they come on tour with a babysitter), and even through this constantly fluctuating, attention deficit world we live in. Their newest single has a great lyric that I feel succinctly sums up what I'm trying to say here:

“Beautiful kids, you're always staring into cracked screens. Could this be the last time you will get to know me? It's the Modern Age. Why'd we kill the books now? You should stare into my eyes more.”

If I've learned anything in this short (but seemingly endless) time of being “unplugged”, it's this:

Rather than letting these great tools use us, and therefore ultimately becoming tools ourselves, let's use these tools carefully and thoughtfully. Be a tool-user, not just some tool.

And make eye-contact with the person in front of you!

Deep down, that's what they want more than anything else; to be known. Show them that you know them, do that simple but terrifying thing, and stare into their eyes more. 

First blog posting in over a year. Looks like my last one was a random posting about an actor I thought would be perfect to play Brian Wilson in a biopic. Hah.
 
I just did a piece for an Art Gallery last Saturday night.


Restorative Ambience (CLICK HERE)

 I've never been involved with a gallery before (apart from frequent visits to museums). This was something that just kind of happened, and I put together an installation that I thought would be a good experiment and experience for me. 

I put together an audio-visual piece somewhat inspired by the Museum of Outdoor Arts "Color of Sound" exhibit last year in Englewood.

In my installation, you walked into a room set up like a mini-theatre, with chairs facing a projection on a wall. I made a one-hour long ambient album with my great friend Judd Siewert, and put together a series of colorful animated visual loops and some nature scenes to accompany the music. The video and music looped constantly so that at any given point in the album someone could walk in and immerse themselves in the sounds, visuals and general ambience I tried to create.

But the piece is really about the music.

Here's the write-up I did for it.

Restorative Ambience

by Blake Talley

Artist's Statement: This piece is a sonic/visual experience that can be enjoyed however you wish.

I'm primarily a film-maker and actor, but I have been passionate about creating and devouring music as long as I can remember. My intention in creating this comes from a pretty personal place.

I've never made an album like this; typically the music I make consists of a far more structured form of songwriting for indie bands (with verses, chorus', bridges, hooks, lyrics, etc) or for a score for one of my films. This is my first ambient album.

Ambient music first really appeared (at least as far as putting a name to the genre is concerned) in the late 70's and 80's. The musicians used mostly synthesizers and electronic instruments to create their soundscapes. I have been a synthesizer enthusiast since I was young, and this album resonates with the sounds of that era of early analog synth's. Sonically speaking, if I could trace the influence for the sound of this album back to any one artist it would probably be Vangelis, the Greek composer who is most widely known for his scores in films like Chariots of Fire, Bladerunner, and Carl Sagan's famous Cosmos TV series from the 80's. I love this era in both music and film.

Spiritually speaking, making this album is a small step forward for my journey in responding to something that has been on my heart for a long time. I have always had a disliking for modern worship music; growing up in a number of different church atmospheres, I've always responded negatively to almost every form of church-based musical worship I've encountered, from standing in rows of pews in a hyper-conservative small Texan church while singing old Hymns in unison with organ accompaniment, to standing in huge amphitheatres in mega-churches surrounded by crowds of people raising their hands in praise as a contemporary rock band loudly strums their guitars and the lead guitarist (who thinks he's U2's “The Edge”) sends a reverberating solo through the ceiling...all fully equipped with the spectacle of a modern rock concert; lights, smoke machines, and multiple camera angles to project it all for the crowd. 

This was never worship for me, and I am on a long journey of finding what musical worship is. I've gone through various stages of guilt, feeling that I am wrong for not feeling what all the people around me seem to be feeling. I've never doubted that the Lord does great work through that music, and that those people truly are worshipping, but I've never been able to find authenticity in it for myself, probably because I simply don't like the music. Part of my struggle through this even included the Lord asking me to play drums in different contemporary worship bands at churches, and even for big events like Promise Keepers; this kept me humble, and taught me service. But it still wasn't the whole picture for me as far as worshipping with music was concerned, and last year the Lord asked me to quit my drumming gig for a local church, and said, very clearly, “Sing to me a New Song”.

This piece isn't necessarily that song, but it is a step forward. If nothing else, I want to create an environment where you can sit and immerse yourself in the music and sonic landscapes in a way that might lead you to a personal space with God for a bit. If not, just zone out, watch the colours and visuals, or close your eyes, or fall asleep.

One question I often ponder about God and Art is this: If I believe in Absolute Truth in life, do I believe in Absolute Truth in Art? Is there absolutely “good art”, and absolutely “bad art”? If so, can I bring life into the world through the art that I make, and can God use that art to redeem, point to Christ, and ultimately restore?

Music and Visuals by Blake Talley, Music produced and mixed by Judson Siewert

Track Synopsis

1. Float

For the opening track, I just wanted to make a bed of synthesized texture for the listener to lay on and relax in for a while. Often when I try to enter a place of personal worship with the Lord, it takes a while for me to come down from my angst-filled mentality and edginess, and I end up just sitting and staring into space for a while. If I sit long enough, not focusing on anything in particular, I might begin to relax into the Lord's presence, escape for a while, and just float.

For the visual portion, I chose layers of deep blue, images of clouds, slowly dripping water, and momentary glimpses of an ocean at night, transitioning into a violet sunset.

2. Light

This is the shortest track. It could possibly symbolise the first glimpse into presence with the Lord. In my quiet time, I have momentary awakenings of pure Joy; these are the times I know I'm simply sitting in the presence of the Lord.

(I say “possibly symbolise” because all art isn't necessarily symbolic; I made this track without any real theme or motif, it just sort of happened when I found a voice I liked in my producer Judd's soundbank. Of course, after the fact I can now apply metaphor to it, but it isn't necessary, as Art is very subjective).

I chose a violet/pinkish sky fading in and out to give the impression of laying on the ground, staring up at the sky and opening/closing the eyes, waking up to a beautiful scene.

3. Cave

For me, this song represents getting to a very deep place with the Lord, sometimes dark, sometimes bright and beautiful. I think that parts of life, and parts of the mind, are like a deep cave that you enter, with some trepidation, only to find that God takes you through to reveal Truth's about Himself.

I used warmer tones, yellows, oranges and reds, to suggest a warm cave. Some of the visuals make me think of the light of a fire on a cavern wall. At the end of the song, I used animations of light to represent leaving the cave, and end with a calm view of a forest outside a cave wall. I imagine that caving is both terrifying and spectacular, just like parts of our walk with Christ.

4. Melancholy

This is the hardest track for me to describe. I don't really have any definitive answers for what this song represents, but I have questions that inspired the creation of the song. Often worship music is hyper-positive, joyful, optimistic...and that's okay, but can we worship God through deep sadness? Why does the modern church often neglect this emotion during worship? Is it okay to feel melancholy in the presence of the Lord?

I chose images suggesting slowly falling rain, and deep blue, slowly moving clouds. I love rainy weather, and this track to me is peaceful, although sad.

5. Cosmos

This is probably my favourite of the music I made for this art gallery. The music for me creates imagery of floating in space, gazing in wonder at God's unfathomable creation, most of which we can barely glimpse even through our greatest telescopes and technology.

I used animated representations of exploding supernovae for the visual portion, and images of nebulae to give the viewer the impression of slowly floating through the universe. I love the exploding stars coinciding with deep synthesizer bass notes, and Judd's beautiful guitar dissonance slowly fading in. I also love the theme of life through death, God's trademark, suggested by the supernovae and nebulae imagery; when a star explodes, apparently the shockwaves can trigger the formation of new stars, and the space-junk or remnants of nebulae are known to form new stars and planets.

6. Breathe

As in “Float”, I just wanted to give the listener a chance to relax, find peace, and breathe.

I used no visuals for this track, but there is the sound of my breathing under the music; I hope it isn't creepy.

7. Life

To end this audio/visual experiment, I chose a soft synth pad and played very simple, repetitious chords that nearly lulled me to sleep while playing them. I looked for a while with Judd to find the right voice; one of the last ones we found was titled “C.S. Lewis' Mars”, and it was perfect. It was just icing on the cake that I knew the voicing title was undoubtedly referring to my favourite book of all time, Out of the Silent Planet, in which a man is sent against his will via spacecraft to Mars, or Malacandra, where he finds that God has created life on other planets as well; but some haven't fallen like Earth, the

Silent Planet.

I chose all green imagery to represent life, and used a backing sound effect track of nature that I have used in some of my short films. I ended with a beautiful still shot that I found of a green river somewhere in Japan.

Thanks for taking the time to read a little about my process in making this music. It's not the kind of music I want to make full time, and not the kind of worship music I would necessarily want to mass produce, but a big step toward my personal journey of finding new music to worship the Lord with. As a film-maker, I create opportunities for escapism; a short time to step away from the stresses we create in our realities. With this music, I hope that at the very least I created a space for someone to just chill out, relax, and escape from their problems for a bit; at the most, I hope it can help someone step into the presence of God.

Brian Wilson Biopic: Cast.

I'm having a hard time staying focused on editing this project I shot for Bricks 4 Kidz up at their Copper Mountain location...and I can't get my mind off something I realised today.

I was watching just about the stupidest movie I've seen lately (Gentleman Broncos...thanks, Ike) and it hit me like a ton of bricks; the lead kid, Michael Angarano (on right) is basically a dead ringer for a young Brian Wilson. It made me want to make a Beach Boys biopic so bad. I would kill to write/direct a Beach Boys biopic that concentrated on Brian Wilson's melancholic spirit and beautiful love songs, and his deterioration leading up to and climaxing at the Pet Sounds era. Anyways. That's about it. I'm such a geek.

Brian Wilson                                                                                                                             Michael Angarano

PERFECT CASTING!

Retro Indie

           Happy Valentines Day.

Seeing as I haven't written a blog since my rant about the new Tron film, I figured it was time to do so.

I have other, lengthier blogs in the works, but in the meantime I thought I'd post a nice, simple one.

Starting yesterday (and completed this morning) I made a 2-Disc Mixtape (I like the contradiction there...let's still call them mixtapes).

If anyone wants a copy of these CD's, just ask me. Message me here, on FB, or e-mail me at oblterate@gmail.com and I'd be happy to get one to you! 

The theme is Retro Indie music; music that is by modern bands but sounds like a throwback to another decade. This mixtape mainly consists of songs that sound like they could have come out in the 60's or 70's era of bubblegum pop, psychadelic rock, or bachelor pad music. However, there are a few songs that are more of a throwback to 50's and early 60's doo-wop rock & roll, and one or two that are more late 70's funk.

I'd like to do an entire double-disc mixtape just for modern indie bands doing late 70's and 80's power pop and synth-funk throwback. There's only a little taste of that on these CD's.

The 2-part mixtape is comprised of 40 songs and 17 different groups, with Stereolab, Camura Obscura, The Clientele, and The Walkmen dominating the list.

Stereolab

Camera Obscura

I believe that Stereolab is god of this genre, however, The Clientele and Camera Obscura are both 2nd place. They have made an entire career out of this beautiful, retro sound.

The Clientele

In my opinion, Camera Obscura and 
The Clientele are a perfect match...if they were a girl and a boy, respectively, they would live happily ever after. They should totally tour together; I'd go out of my way to see that tour.

I spent some time with the track order flow, giving good, lengthy instrumental breaks between groupings of lyrical and melodic tracks. My favourite section is the first 7 songs of Part 2: These songs break my heart. Jennifer and Julia by The Clientele and James by Camera Obscura are perfect companions as far as lost love and broken hearts are concerned. I Love You by The Bees is my all time favourite love song.

Part 1 starts and ends with 2 different versions of my favourite song by one of my all time favourite bands, Stereolab. The song is "Naught More Terrific Than Man".

Part 2, although it begins with lovesick, brokenhearted, emotional, beautiful mellow and soothing tracks, it picks up halfway through and transitions into more upbeat tracks, eventually leading to wonderful, classic Indie rock anthems that I believe have a grounding in 60's pop/rock: Wake Up by The Arcade Fire and Last Night by The Strokes.

Here's a track listing of the 2 albums.

Retro Indie Part 1:

Retro Indie Part 2:

Well, that's how I've spent my first few hours of the day!

If you don't have any of this music, download it, or, if you know me, I'll gladly make you a copy. It's all very good stuff.

-Blakestone

Tron: Legacy...a brief review, and a general rant.

My desktop background from about a year ago. Sorry...you can't beat the original.

I'll ignore story in this review because, unfortunately, no one who goes to see this movie is seeing it for it's script structure or storyline. I didn't have a huge problem with the story, actually. I don't think anyone is arguing that the original film isn't 10 times better (except for the fool that my friends and I heard as we left the theatre uttering the phrase "man, that was better than the original"), but they didn't remake it for story's sake. The plot was actually pretty inspired as far as "sequels that should have been made well over 2 decades ago" are concerned.

What people are going to see this film for is it's visual appeal. Of course, uberfans like myself will see it no matter what. As for the score, Daft Punk was the perfect choice. Their synthesized, arpeggiated, pulsating score is the best thing this film has going for it other than Jeff Bridges return to the role of Flynn. 
Now for my real complaints.

Technically...the uncanny valley rears it's ugly head again, this time in the form of 'videogame cutscene Jeff Bridges'. Nope...It didn't work. The visual effects team that worked on Benjamin Button still has a long way to go before 70 year old Harrison Ford will be able to play himself at 30 again without freaking out the majority of film goers. If you are unfamiliar with the term "uncanny valley" as it relates to film (don't worry...even one of my very intelligent film teachers didn't know what I was talking about until I showed her), here is a good website. The short clip from 30 Rock on this page explains it all. 

Uncanny Valley

It's time for the 3-D fad to die...again. It was a gimmick in the 50's and it had to die...it was a fun little gimmick again in the 80's, and it had to die. It's a gimmick again now, and it must...MUST die. 
All you get with 3-D today is a good amount of F Stops down with the glasses and an overall image that's harder to focus on. Why even get the exposure right in the first place if the glasses are just going to ruin the DP's hard work?

At least this time, with Tron: Legacy, they gave us a disclaimer at the beginning, stating that a lot of the film would be in 2-D...a point which I took advantage of by taking off the glasses when they did nothing but darken the image significantly.

Now for my brief rant concerning this issue.

At this point I'm just so annoyed that they haven't yet figured out how to simply brighten the image so that you don't lose overall exposure from using the glasses. I really don't care for the fad at all; I don't think the film gains a single thing by adding dimension like that. I personally believe it will die out within the next few years. I say they should have separation and people should be able to choose between going to a 3-D movie theatre and a normal movie theatre. 3-D is one thing if it takes us in the direction of holographic entertainment (think TNG holodecks)...it's another thing if the industry is just taking advantage of everyone's consumerist mindset. My slight fear is that if this is the direction cinema is headed, then everything I'm learning at film school will be obsolete in the next 2 decades. However, I try to balance out that thought process by realising that that's as silly a thing for me to fear as it was for people to fear that still photography would be completely replaced by movies when they first became popular. 2-D film making will always be around in some form. 
I do hope that isn't an overly optimistic statement.

Say what you will about Avatar (I personally only needed to see it once), but this time last year I heard James Cameron state in an interview with NPR that he made sure Avatar's 3-D version was literally only 3 or 4 dollars more worth it. I remember very clearly that they brightened the overall image, therefore not sacrificing exposure. I also remember it being very appropriate and tasteful as far as the depth and dimension was concerned. They didn't try to stick anything in your face for shock value. It was simply a film with 3 dimensions instead of 2. The question, to me, is whether or not a film is made "better" because of it. 

James Cameron on NPR


NPR on the 3-D fad


Another short and interesting NPR article on 3-D

So why make movies in 3-D at all? Obviously, as my film school friend Cody Short pointed out, the whole point is money...and that's it. I can proudly say, however, that I personally haven't ever felt ripped off by a 3-D movie because I always think ahead and buy a cheaper ticket to a different movie, only to grab a pair of 3-D glasses from the 3-D glasses bin and walk into the correct theatre, or use the kiosk and buy a "senior" discounted ticket (which they never, EVER check for). I won't sneak into movies unpaid for, but I won't let them completely rip me off.

Yes...I am a huge Tron fan, so I feel that I have a right to complain. I showed up in my over sized, glow-in-the dark Tron t-shirt. Overall with Tron: Legacy, I felt just about the same as I felt leaving Indy 4, which most fans don't really count as part of the trilogy. Star Wars prequels, Indy 4, Tron 2....these are all just fun little fan flicks that have no real place in the franchises other than 90 minute homages, as far as I'm concerned.

 
I wish I could end this review on a positive note, but I have no choice. Of course I am well aware that the majority of people...probably a good 95%, will not care nor even think about any of these things when they go to see Tron: Legacy, or the new worthless Harry Potter movie, or those miserable, unmentionable insults to C.S. Lewis' works of art. They'll just go to be "entertained" for 90 minutes, mindlessly throwing their money straight into the machine, unaware or choosing to ignore that they are being duped, taken advantage of, and taken for a fool. Unfortunately, ignorance is bliss for the masses, and those who actually care are the ones who lose the most in the end.

The Futureheads

About 6 years ago I stood in line at La Zona Rosa in Austin, Texas with my older brother Trevor.

The line was all the way down the street a number of blocks. The venue was jam packed.

It was SXSW (South by Southwest, the biggest and best music festival in the world...ahem) and the band we were waiting to see was The Futureheads.

I was their biggest fan. Completely obsessed; an obsession which still lasts today. However, at the time, all they had was their self-titled debut album: The Futureheads. I also had a pretty good handful of B-sides and rarities. 

That album changed my life. I couldn't get enough of their Sunderland, England fast-paced energetic 4-part harmonies and overlapped vocal layerings, their aggressive post-punk scratchy Gang of Four guitars and their powerful, driving drum beats. I listened to that album every day.

On this particular day, I waited in line with probably hundreds of others to see The Futureheads at this tiny little place (where I also saw a number of amazing shows, including Modest Mouse and others). 

But it wouldn't happen...a person came up to the people right in front of me and my brother and....cut us off. The venue was too packed; we couldn't see the band. Me, my brother and the 60+ people behind us were devastated. All we got in compensation were some Futureheads stickers (one of which is on my current car's back windshield....I had enough so that all 3 cars I've owned have had a Futureheads sticker on them). But that didn't make up for the loss.

Instead, we went and saw Robert Plant. That was okay....it wasn't 1970, and it wasn't Led Zeppelin. In fact, even if it HAD been 1970 Led Zeppelin, it only would have barely made up for missing The Futureheads at that point in their career.

Their sophomore effort, News and Tributes, was polished, mature and more laid back than their previous. I have friends who like it the most. I love it to death...but it doesn't beat the first one.

Their next two are....eh. They chose a simpler route. 

They still haven't come back to their early peak.

BUT

Last night, I saw them at The Bluebird here in Denver. There were less than 50 people at maximum in the tiny little venue the whole night...there was only a handful when the first band played. As I stood there and watched the opening band (some pop/punk piece, not great) with my friend Michael from Film School, two people walk past that I immediately recognized. It was Barry and Ross, the two guitarists/vocalists of the group. The drummer walked up as well. They stood right next to us and watched the band. I had to shake their hands, yelling over the music "I love your music very much". It was worth it.

Here they are:

The second band is something I have to mention. I hadn't heard of them...Young the Giant. Their album comes out in 2 weeks.

Young the Giant

Phenomenal! They were really, really good! I haven't heard something at a show that I liked that much on first listen since Tacks the Boy Disaster opened for Midlake in 2007 at The Granada in Dallas. 

BLOWN AWAY. They sounded like The Walkmen meets Fleet Foxes meets Grizzly Bear meets The Strokes early stuff. Really great combination of sounds...nothing very original, mind you, but a beautiful smörgåsbord of styles blended together to perfection. I got to meet those guys, too. And I did what pisses most musicians off (who have an ego, anyways) and said "So do you listen to The Walkmen? I could tell." Yes, he did, and yes, he loves them, and Grizzly Bear. I knew it. Still cool.

Okay so The Futureheads came on stage. 

High energy from start to finish, as is to be expected.

They played a lot of songs from ALL FOUR OF THEIR ALBUMS! That was cool. I knew them all. But no one danced more, jumped higher or screamed louder than me when they played their second song of the night, my personal favourite Futureheads song: Meantime. I was ecstatic...I didn't expect that. Oftentimes when I see a band I love dearly they don't play my favourite song.

Meantime

 

They played a handful of songs from their debut: Meantime, Decent Days and Nights, First Day (which was awesome live, with the speeding up etc.), Hounds of Love (they asked the audience to sing along, splitting the crown in half for the "AH- OH OH" portion and I jumped in before they pointed at us and sang along where the vocal part starts on the actual album...Barry looked at me and made a face, then said "Not yet!". That was funny) and ended with, to my utter surprise, the favourite of me and my high school friends, the closer on their debut, Man Ray. That was awesome live. I remember sitting in the backseat of my friend Grant's Honda with the windows rolled down and all our friends packed in the car, driving on the way to Sonic or Wendy's during the lunch hour and screaming at the top of our lungs along to the chorus "Touch yourself, touch yourself, touch each other Black and White!". 

Who knows what that means, but it was incredible. 

Wonderful, exciting memories are tied to this band.

I have many memories of driving down Texas highways in my jeep with the windows rolled down (or unzipped, rather) and The Futureheads blasting through my stereo, accompanied by me singing/screaming every word of the album along from start to finish. When I worked for KVII TV, I drove the News Units around Texas doing the very same thing. I love The Futureheads.

Torgo! even did an early song that was basically an homage to their sound...Naughty Android. I felt it was the best song on our first album.

So to wrap this up, meeting The Futureheads wasn't quite like my experience in meeting The Walkmen; that time, we were in Oklahoma City to see Grant and saw The Walkmen(a band that has really made me a lot of who I am today) at a tiny little auditorium that looked identical to the one in the high school in the Buddy Holly movie...in fact it looked identical to my middle school's auditorium in Pampa Texas. We stood right against the stage and were within touching distance to Hamilton, the lead singer. 

It was unbelievable...the music was perfect. I have never been so absorbed by their music before. After the show, I bought a poster and Ike and I searched for their green room...we found them down some stairs and a hallway in a little room, sitting there at a table with a group of people. We had them all sign the poster, talked to them about mastering our album at The Lodge in New York City (which we eventually were unable to afford, but it was where they had their album mastered) and we told them about our Torgo!. Then we stood by the stage as they packed up their equipment and talked about everything from their guitar tone, our favourite songs by them (We've Been Had), and Myley Cyrus (thanks, Ike. We can always count on you to make the conversation a little stupider). Like The Futureheads last night, they were very, very kind in person. They totally carried a cool conversation with us. It was awesome.

Btw, we also ran into Grizzly Bear after the Beach House show that same weekend in Oklahoma. They were in the alley as we left the venue. Ed Drost was super nice...we told them how amazing Veckatamist is. Ike was wearing a Michael Jackson Thriller T-shirt that Ed Drost commented on. Hah. Again, thanks Ike.

As for The Futureheads, I didn't have to go creeping around to find them. They walked right up.

And the poster I bought was already signed. Hah!

-Blakestone

The 15th

I think Alex started this? I'm very late in doing it.

 

The idea is, in fifteen minutes, to come up with fifteen albums that have had some sort of profound impact on you, and to place them hereabouts in the form of a note, titled using the number 15 (as a song title, I assume?)

DISCLAIMER: I did not mention The Walkmen because my love affair with them involves every one of their albums. It's not fair just to pick one...but You & Me would probably be the album....We've Been Had, the song.

1. Midlake-Bamnan and Slivercork/Van Occupanther.

Bamnan...Completely in love with that sound....what I wanted to sound like forever for a while. Never gets old.

Van Occupanther...this album grew on my like a disease. I'm completely engrossed in it, still. I was expecting Banman but I got something deeper. I adore this album. So much. It's the ultimate 70's folk rock album of all time.

2. Talking Heads-Speaking in Tongues

Able to listen to/dance to this album for weeks straight. Probably my favourite album ever.

3. The Beach Boys - Today!

B Side is the most beautiful Beach Boys music in the world. Absolutely gorgeous and melancholy Brian Wilson ballads. Quite often, I like to put this record on and sing along to every word from start to finish. Most played band in my last.fm account since 2006.

4. Yes - Close to the Edge

Changed my life. Haven't been able to stop listening to this for a large portion of my life. It grows on me more every listen...and I'm probably on listen 500 now.

5. Stereolab - Dots and Loops

Listening to it right now. 2nd most played band in my last.fm account since 2006, and probably mostly because of this album. Space Age Bachelor Pad Music....bouncy, fun, exciting, loungy, perfect. This album consistently sounds fresh to me.

6. Styx - The Grand Illusion

Because. It made me me.

7. Weezer - The Blue Album

Because I haven't been able to stop loving this album since childhood, and because no matter how disgusting and terrible and nasty and ungodly and putrid and fecal Weezer's music has become, it can't stop me from loving their debut.

8. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Changed my life in high school. Dark Side of Oz....done it 3 times....beautiful. This album is timeless, and mind blowing.

9. Fleet Floxes - Fleet Floxes

Because just listen to it.

10. Parliament - Mothership Connection

Probably in my top 5 of all time. Like Talking Heads, Beach Boys and Stereolab, Parliament is a band I am always in the mood for, that I never, ever tire of. I can put it on at any given time and be in the mood for it. This album particularly. Obsessed with it. "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR RADIO".

11. Tortoise - TNT

Everything I said for Dots and Loops as far as constantly listening to that album....same here. I can't get enough of this album...again, I feel that it is always fresh, like every time I listen to it is the first time.

12. Grandaddy - Sumday

One of the most under-rated albums of all time. I adore EVERY SONG on this album. It is so bleak but optimistic, so honest and simple yet frightening and complex. It means so much to me. Invokes wonderful memories of snow and mountains, as do Midlake and Fleet Foxes.

13. The Futureheads - The Futureheads

The best, most aggressive, energetic, honest, authentic post-punk revival album of all time. They started it all. I can sing along to every song at the top of my lungs; it's exhausting, but somehow when I get to Man Ray and it's all over...it's been totally worth it. I love to drive down Texas highways, roll down the windows and shout along to this fascinating band.

14. Man Man - Six Demon Bag

When this album is on, my energy automatically rises 100%...which can be quite frightening on any given day when my energy is already quite high. Best live show I've ever seen...twice. And I've seen quite a lot. At their shows....I lose it. Both times, I danced insanely from start to finish, screaming along with them. It possesses me. Ask Sunil. He was there.

15. Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost

My most listened to album of all time according to Last.Fm and iTunes. You can do anything with this album.

It's perfect for any occasion.

There are so many albums I didn't mention...(Chromeo, M83, Explosions in the Sky, Octopus Project, Radiohead, Iron & Wine, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, Mew, Aphex Twin....So many, but these came to mind first.

Favourites not mentioned: Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites, Grizzly Bear - Veckatamist, Octopus Project - all of them, M83 - Dead Cities, etc., The Cranberries - No Need to Argue, Hot Chip - The Warning,  and more and more and more and more.



Nick and the Nintendo: A travesty

Friday, May 14, 2010 at 4:53pm

Haven't written one of these in a while, but I thought tonight's anecdote deserved to be told in some fashion.

I ate dinner with my family tonight (Uncle and Aunt, aunt is my mom's sister...they have 3 adopted kiddos.)

The oldest, Nicklaus, is like...13. 

He's the hispanic looking kid that stars in my latest short film,

Teleport 

The tale I'm gonna tell is about him.

I visited my hometown, Amarillo, last weekend and brought back with me my humble collection of classic consoles and games....my Super NES game collection (about 20 games I guess, not too many...my SNES broke down last year and I bought a new one here in Denver back in January at a place called BuyBack Games...but I had neither games nor a TV to play it with), a Sega Genesis and a Sega Genesis 3 (with a handful of games, including Primal Rage, NBA Jam, Sonic, etc.), and my original Nintendo (along with about 10 games including Mario/Duck Hunt with the original gun controller, of course).

After dinner with my family, I am usually dragged downstairs by one or more of the kids to the cold basement of the house to play with their Wii (that sounds really bad reading that back). Needless to say, after about 5 months of living here and eating dinner with the family once a week, I am tired of playing the old version of Medal of Honor for Wii, and even tired of MarioKart and Super Smash Bros (the only game I consistently want to play, which, for some reason, they never want to play.) SOOOOOO....

I remembered that I had my classic console collection (nice alliteration, eh?) in the trunk of my car still. I sat down the wii-mote (I still think I sound like a retarded kid with a speech impediment when I say that out loud) and declared unto the children:

"Children....I have brought something wonderful back from Amarillo with me."

Children: What is it?

Me: A Nintendo.

Nick: We have a nintendo.

Me: No, child. A real Nintendo.

Nick: A Nintendo Wii?

Me: No....no, a Nintendo.

Nick: (without looking up from his game). Oh like a Nintendo Gamecube.

Me: (at this point, I'm quite surprised that he isn't comprehending what I'm saying).

Nick. Not a Gamecube. A Nintendo.

Nick: What do you mean.....

(Pause. His eyes widen as he realizes something).

You mean...a Nintendo 64?!!

Me: (longer pause).

No, Nick. Not a Nintendo 64. I would have said 'Nintendo 64' if I had brought a Nintendo 64.

I'm talking about a Nintendo.

Nick: ...I don't get it.

Me: Wow.

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

(switching back from semi-present tense dialogue to past tense narrative...or whatever).

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

So I ran upstairs to go outside to my car and retrieve my gamestuffs. In passing Uncle Mike, I quickly said, "It's time to educate your son."

When I came back inside, I sat the bag of gaming goodness down on the dining room table. The kids looked in confusion as I proudly pulled the bulky box (oooh...double-alliteration, I'm on a roll) from the bag, setting down the original, classic Nintendo in all it's retro glory.

Caroline: What's that.

Me: It's....it's a Nintendo.

Caroline: Weird.

Me: Uh...yeah I guess so.

----------

We brought the games downstairs. It took me a while, but I set up the Nintendo and got it going on the right channel. At this point, Nick was off somewhere else being annoying, and Payton was downstairs, farting as usual and making the cold basement a colder, smellier basement.

----------

Me: Okay. Pick up the controller.

Payton: Which one is it? The gun? I want the gun.

Me: Yeah, okay, but you have to select Duck Hunt first and you have to choose what version you're gonna play.

Payton: Which one is the controller?

Me: Really? The one right there.

Payton: (picks up the unplugged, sega controller.) This one?

Me: No...no, Payton. That one. The one that looks like a candy bar.

Payton: Oh. Weird.

(pause).

Payton: I want to play the one with the gun. Do I get to kill people? Let me play the one that kills people.

Me: Uh...yeah okay. You don't get to kill "people", though.

Payton: Why not?

Me: Cuz you kill ducks.

Payton: What? Why?

Me: Cuz it's called Duck Hunt.

Payton: Oh.

----------

After about 2 rounds, Payton got tired and angry that he couldn't shoot the "stupid dumb annoying dog" and gave up. Caroline seemed upset because she said the dog wasn't realistic and sounded funny.

----------

Me: You sound funny.

Caroline: Let's play Mario!

Me: Okay.

Payton: Is it two-player?

Me: Yes.

----------

I set up the game and we started to play.

----------

Payton: I thought you said this was two-player.

Me: It is. You have to wait until Caroline dies. Then you're Luigi, and you get to play.

Payton: What? I have to wait?

Me: Yes. You have to wait.

Payton: (looks at me with a blank but saddened expression) Oh.

Caroline: Wait....you can't go backwards?!! I didn't get the mushroom thingy!

Me: Uh...yeah. You have to keep going forward.

Caroline: What?

---------

Five minutes went by and the kids started complaining that this was boring. I tried reasoning with them, explaining that there would be no "Mario Kart" or "Smash Brothers" without this game, that this was the first game with Mario (except for original Donkey Kong, but I didn't say that because that would just have confused them), and that I was playing this game before they were even a figment of their birth mother's imaginations. That made me feel old and grouchy, and I had a flash-forward to a future, unpleasant parenthood in the 2020s.

After this, we tried Marble Madness. They hated that one, and Caroline said the music was dumb and cheesy. That hurt pretty bad. I changed it to Master Blaster. Surely Payton would get into this one. Alas...he did not. Caroline complained that it was stupid that the car could jump, because cars can't jump. I told her that her back hand spring was stupid.

Finally, I gave up on the good old Nintendo and convinced the kids that the Sega was amazing, that it had even better graphics, and that their minds would be blown by Sonic. They skeptically agreed that I could set it up. Five minutes later, I had Mortal Combat going. Nicklaus came back downstairs and Payton went up to do homework. Nicklaus beat me at Mortal Kombat 4 times, all the while complaining that it looked stupid. Caroline kept wanting us to pick the girl. We finally did, just to make her happy, but everyone knows that Sonya sucks. She's so damn slow.

We eventually switched to Jurassic Park (not the impossible-to-beat top-down/3d-when-you're-in-the-buildings one for SNES, but the side scroller action one where you can be the Raptor or Grant.) Nick was the Raptor. He kept falling into the pit of sharp things and dying. He got bored after about 3 minutes.

I told them that we could play my favourite game. I put in Primal Rage. Nick had seen this one before because I had at one point taken the kids (along with Jordan) to Nickel-a-Play, a Denver version of Buffalo Nickel (you Amarskrillites will appreciate that reference...except at Nickel-a-play there are more games and all of them are free after you pay like a $4 admission fee. Awesome). So anyways, I cheated and was Vertigo (because I had to win back my honor from being brutally beaten by a first-timer at Mortal Kombat). Nick was Blizzard, and I ate him to death until his heart and brain exploded in a glorious gush of guts. (again with the alliteration....ooh boy I should win a prize.)

Anyways. That lasted 5 minutes. The kids were ready to stop, until I said, "Okay....surely you guys know Sonic." They did not. I loaded up Sonic 1, and started playing, showing them how cool it was that you could rush through the game and get all the rings and spin like a ball and stuff. They just stared. Caroline finally broke the silence.

---------

Caroline: Is that it?

Me: What? What do you mean.

Caroline: You just run?

Me: Uh...yeah.

Caroline: So you just run through?

Me: ...yeah....Yeah but you get the rings.

Caroline: ...uh huh....

Me: No...like, see, you get the rings. Like you go really fast, like a rollercoaster. And you get the rings and get them all and you win, see I just got to a checkpoint....see....

Nick: This is dumb.

Me: You're an inbred.

Nick: I'm going upstairs to play my Nintendo DS.

Me: Yeah okay whatever. Go feed your digital puppies. I'm gonna kill Dr. Eggman.

----------

Tonight....I felt old. And lonely. And cold. And those kids....those kids fart so much.

Classsic Nostalgia

• • 
    

    Em Elliott
    

    Oh, dear Blake Talley, thank you for lighting up my exam-studying night with this amazing story! You are my hero. I ran down the hall with my laptop and read the entire thing to my housemate Bekah who loves video games like none other. She ...would like me to inform you that if you are ever inclined to visit Virginia, she will abolutely play original Nintendo with you, especially because she was banned from playing it when she was four because she stepped on and broke her family's Nintendo.
    
    Anyway, have a great night, and quit feeling old because that makes me super old.
    
    And if you breath through your mouth, you don't smell the farts...just don't think about the fact that you're eating them instead :)

    
    

    May 13 at 10:40pm
  • 
    

    Dafydd Vaid YEAH!!!! You are on Facebook FIRE!!!
    
    When are we going to see each other again, Blake?
    
    Tell more stories!
    

    May 13 at 11:32pm
  • 
    

    Kody Miller So, so sad....
    

    May 14 at 12:16am
  • 
    

    Jordan Bailey
    

    This sounds about right for your cousins. It's hard to get people excited about old school video games if they are used to the modern stuff... or maybe if they don't have nostalgic ties to it already.
    
    Also... when you are double-alliteratin...g... you are on a "roll," not a "role." And it's 2020s, not 2020's... unless it is possessive. :) Love you.

    
    

    May 14 at 12:21am
  • 
    

    David Twiss i'M CRYING INSIDE!
    

    May 14 at 12:37am
  • 
    

    Blake Talley Yeah I can't believe I said "role" haha.
    
    Thanks Emily that's awesome!! I'm really glad to brighten your day.
    
    Dafydd...why yes....yes, I am. Thank you.
    

    May 14 at 1:35am
  • 
    

    Blake Talley K, I fixed my grammar issues. Thanks for looking out for me, babe.
    
    Dudes....we are so close to beating Sagat in Street Fighter 2. It's really, really hard.
    
    And then we still have M. Bison. SAhheesh.
    

    May 14 at 1:36am
  • 
    

    Blake Talley Oh, and Dafydd.....come see me in Denver!!
    
    David....don't cry!! Kody....yeah I know.
    

    May 14 at 2:00am
  • 
    

    Joshua Green Be still and know that a special circle of heaven awaits us, brother. One adorned with "Candy Bar-Controllers" and jumping cars. And the only way to get around there is by side-scrolling.
    

    May 14 at 2:35a
  • 
    

    Cyndie Merillat Koetting
    

    Damn that made me laugh...
    
    inbred...
    
    digital puppies...
    ...
    Did you have to explain that too? If so,please make that the next installment of Blake and the Farting Kids...See More

    
    

    May 14 at 7:59am
  • 
    

    Blake Talley Hahah
    

    May 14 at 11:03am
  • 
    

    Kris Hounshell Collins loved it. and jordan, you capture my heart with your correct grammar and punctuation. i might have to adopt you now. just forgive me for no caps. i identify with ee cummings.
    

    May 14 at 11:08am
  • 
    

    Dafydd Vaid
    

    I was really hoping that when I clicked "see more" on Cyndie Merillat Koetting's status that
    
    inbred...
    
    digital puppies...
    ...
    was going to turn into a poem. You let me down, stranger.
    
    Hey, Braxtol. I think I might be moving to Philly. But. I wanna come to Denver. That's where I first America-ed.See More

    
    

    May 14 at 1:11pm
  • 
    

    McKay Moran Yes, child. A REAL Nintendo. (favorite part #1)
    Digital puppies. (favorite part #2)
    

    May 14 at 1:59pm
  • 
    

    Hägen Hall Blake!!!! I have a real Nintendo too!!!!!
    

    May 14 at 4:41pm
  • 
    

    Blake Talley
    

    Hahaha what? America-ed?
    
    Are you moving for that girl? Don't do that, Daf!!!!
    
    and I feel like you and Cyndie may have met at one point.
    ...
    HAGEN!!! AWESOME!!!
    
    I'm editing this note and adding one part that I remembered today while playing Super Mario Brothers 2...alone...in my room....on a friday.....
    
    I'm going to hit downtown tonight just so I feel better about myself. I don't know what I'll do, since I don't know anybody, but I'm going just the same. I love downtown Denver.See More

    
    

    May 14 at 4:51pm
  • 
    

    Dafydd Vaid I don't know no Cyndie. Unless she's one of those news-chum of yours that I got ass-of-myself-makingly drunk around or something...
    

    May 14 at 5:15pm
  • 
    

    Dafydd Vaid America-ed. I immigrated, remember?
    
    And as for this lady of mine, I'm not giving up on my dreams or anything. We both left the same college, and we're both going to go back to school next year. Same plans. Good times. Good lovin'.
    

    May 14 at 5:22pm
  • 
    

    Brolin McKay Beavith, thith ith incredible.
    

    May 14 at 8:53pm
  • 
    

    Luis Lujan Hahaha. What to say? You ask those kids if there are any games NOW that have a gun shaped controller, and then before they have a chance to answer, you say, "No, there aren't any, shut up!"
    

    May 14 at 10:52pm
  • 
    

    Cyndie Merillat Koetting
    

    Dafydd...Ask and ye shall receive! (the no caps version is a gift for kris)
    
    inbred...
    
    digital puppies...
    ...
    is it possible for digital puppies to be inbred...
    
    the thought infiltrates my mind as i travel to the nintendo...
    
    i listen to the farting children and contemplate the need to feed animals that only exist due to the electronic age...
    
    i ponder their death...will it hurt when i cease to feed and water these ridiculous virtual animals...
    
    the smile that crosses my face is manicial in nature...
    
    the farting children will mourn the death of their digital pets, and that satisfies me for the briefest of moments...
    
    i am content as i wander off to kill dr. eggman.See More

    
    

    May 15 at 12:25am
  • 
    

    Blake Talley
    

    That's good Davth. Good. Weird, making your name into Davth made me think of Darth Vader.
    
    Good times keep goin goin got to escape now.
    
    Man I had an awesome night tonight. You wouldn't believe what I bought.
    ...
    Brolin don't call me Beavis, Butthead.
    
    Hahahaha Luis absolutely correct!!
    
    WOW Cyndie you win. Amazing. My great friend Cyndie just wrote a poem for my great friend Dafydd based on an experience I had involving Nintendo. This is a great day. Night. Day.

    
    

    May 15 at 1:48am
  • 
    

    Dafydd Vaid Great friend status. It tastes good. Tastes like gingersnaps soaked in gatorade. Thanks for the poem, Crocodiledundee Meerkat Cutlery.
    

    May 15 at 3:42am
  • 
    

    Cyndie Merillat Koetting hahaha ty.
    
    I meant maniacal...spelling error...sigh
    

    May 15 at 7:40am
  • 
    

    Blake Talley maniacal is a tough one.
    

    May 15 at 1:24pm
  • 
    

    Nathan Hand Great story! Perhaps they would have enjoyed the Atari more. "RiverRaid" was my favorite on that. Also, please note that I do get on Facebook sometimes!
    

    May 19 at 10:15pm
  • 
    

    Blake Talley hahahaha awesome.