If this clip makes you mad, you’ll understand what kind of mood I’m in.

To really get your blood pressure up, read this: http://www.cosellout.com/?p=6

Survey the damage here:

A great article from Hypebot reminds us that sites like Myspace and Ticketmaster have their own interests at heart.  And this includes keeping records of your fans and turning them into saleable marketing lists.  Your fan data is valuable and each one is a potential customer (for someone else);  -never forget this!

Read it HERE.

Great post, Bruce!  Keep up the good work!

I barely have time to deal with the pinball machine I teach in.

Really.

VIsit it here.

There are links on Ovidiu’s site of even more members of this hog-wild guitar cyberfraternity.  A lot of good folks have taken the time to write/notate/record a lot of great information and you should take advantage of this fact.

If you’re still uninspired, then check out Ukulelehunt.com;  there’s a great new post about the five steps to becoming a legendary blues uke player.

He’s got a new book out.  You’ll save $2 if you buy today.  

Yes, Virginia, you can play slide on a Uke. I know you want to.

Visit http://www.morecowbell.dj/ and upload any song.

Then add more cowbell. And Christopher Walken.

Amazing!
(thanks to listenerd)

 http://pribek.net/2008/09/07/god-is-a-song-plugger/#comment-6974

Jack-”I appreciate you taking time to see me God”.

God-”I see all”.

Jack-”Uhmmm…well…as you know, I have this great new ballad. It would be perfect for Jessica Simpson”.

God places the hand lettered, mastered demo in to the portable CD player sitting amidst the stacks of hand lettered, mastered demo CDs, on top of his His mahogany desk, presses play and closes his eyes. After fifteen seconds, barely making it through the intro and well before the first hook, God abruptly presses stop and says in a tone that is serious yet somehow conveys empathy in the face of failure and says; “I’m not feeling it”.

 

In other news,  I found this crazy band:

Does it remind anyone of the  ”Dani California” video  from the RHCP?

My IP must be blocking Jack Pribek’s site ’cause I can’t get it at home without firing up the laptop and stealing my neighbor’s wireless signal.  Jack, you’re making me do unethical things to read your blog. 

If you’re wondering where all the posts have been going, take a look at the theory, aural skills and audio principles blogs I started this Fall.  I’m trying to make this technology educationally productive, so if you’re thinking that my main site has been neglected a bit,  you’re probably right.

DM Mobile blog has new studio pix up!

Protooler continues to inspire and teach great tips!  Where does he get all this time to figure things out?  I can’t even keep my office clean…

Guitarflame is talking Music Theory!  Ovidiu is not as mean as his post suggests.  Go there and learn some real-world stuff.

Song FU #2 Round #2 challenge is up:

Your challenge is to choose a famous inventor and craft a song proposing a “dance craze” based on either the inventor or one of his/her most well known inventions. For an idea of what we’re looking for, here’s a song proposing the ill-fated “Lurch”…

Thanks to everyone who voted for Paul and Storm.  Your check is in the mail.

See what I’m fired up about?  This is a very creative way to hone your songwriting skills.  Think about the team mixing contests on the Womb boards (mixerman.net);  –this is great stuff!!  Taking tests on “The Craft of Lyric Writing” is not in the same ballpark!

You are in control of your own education!  In my class, I try to build a supportive environment that protects egos and encourages experimentation.  While these Internet contests are not for the faint-of-heart, they may well be the future “sorting-machine” type of education that is missing from many curriculi and that helped create our past generations of winners.

Now, how can I convince you that you’re good enough to be a winner?  That’s tough, but Louis Schmier is one of those people I visit for inspiration.  In a recent blog post, he shared this poem;

We can see dandelions as a weed that invades the pristine beauty of our gardens.  Or, we can see it as a beautiful flower or a fluffy white ball to wish upon or as a source of nourishing food and drink.

We can see a mud puddle and see only dirty shoes, soiled clothes, and stained carpets.  Or, we can see it as a pool to stomp in, splash around in, and have fun.

We can feel a wind and worry about how it will muss our hair or toss leaves on our manicured lawns.  Or, we can close our eyes, let it massage our face, and imagine we’re soaring on an updraft like an eagle.

We can see a rain storm and see only that we will be drenched, depressed by the grayness, and that the warm rays of the sun will disappear.   Or, we can sing and play in the rain as if it was a water fountain, realize the raindrops are nourishing our gardens, and think warmly of the sun that still shines above the gray clouds.

and then Louis added:

Now, just replace “dandelion” and “mud puddle” with “student.” /…/  Seeing the good side or being able to discover and savor things to be grateful for, doesn’t reduce or erase the inconveniences or discomforts or headaches or disappointments. But, it can change dramatically how we choose to deal with them and what impact they will have on our ability to persist, persevere, and feel accomplished, satisfied, fulfilled, and happy.

Thank God for people like Louis.  We love ya, dude!

Make it a good one-

-J

This is a flickr-style video I made this weekend for Jack Pribek’s “Market Street” (available at www.pribek.net). It’s nothing fancy, just a few random pics I pulled from the Creative Commons search at Flickr. If you’ve got Windows Movie Maker or IMovie, you could do much better than this. If you’re up to the challenge, post a link to yours in the comments section.

This semester I’ll be adding Theory and Aural Skills pages to the blog;  I’m hoping this will be less confusing than starting 2 additional blogs, but for you old-timers, it means you’ll have to sift through some occasional posts about building fundamental skills.  Relax.  It’ll be good for you!

Syllabi are on the way and I should have my class schedule ironed out tomorrow.  I’m expecting everyone to have the first chapters in our texts read… so log off and get busy!

Make it a good day!

P.S.   If you’ve missed my blogrolls, I have a tiny tidbit;  Joel Falconer’s excellent post on Songwriter resources.  Thanks to Oliver Chesler’s Wire-to-the-ear for this jewel!

http://audiotuts.com/resources/50-great-lyric-writing-resources/