anatomy of a favorite band

Posted on by Ehren
Reply
… or, alternatively, I explain in long-winded detail my music tastes.
Note: I started writing this post waaaaay back in September. I came across it while cleaning up in my stunted posts and decided to finish it. Lucky you! Thanks for reading. – ES

Music is a funny thing. It’s almost like politics, in the way that so many people are so deeply passionate about it. And like politics, which I do my very best to avoid in this here blog, music strikes a nerve because it really is an extension of a persona. Here, let me try to demonstrate, using my musical timeline as an example:

1980-1992: What is ‘music’?

Ah, them 80′s. Hey, remember them? Because I sure as fuck do. Well, most of them anyway. Starting when I was the tender age of zero, my dad played album rock stuff wherever he could. If it was on the freeform KQRS, it got played. This probably played a large factor in later listening habits. Anyhoo, as I grew up, I started listening to the top-40 radio stations (at that time, WLOL and KDWB) and all these weird-ass trends started to take place, like new wave and Prince. Back then, I listened to it all but like most kids at that age was pretty unaware and/or oblivious to who actually made music. Nevertheless, all these nameless dudes and in some cases chicks helped to provide a soundtrack to my childhood (thanks, Roxette and Timmy T.!). Once I hit them awkward preteen years though, it started to matter more: I remember agonizing over what to put on a mixtape for the first girl I crushed on, even though I don’t remember her name. Um, Mr. Big made it on there. (cough)

’93-’03: I live in the past
For Christmas in 1993 I got two things that probably had some effect on my life: I got my first CD boom box and Aerosmith’s Get a Grip to play on it. I remember asking for the latter, because of Alicia Silverstone in the videos, but I soon wore out that CD and had to buy a second one to replace it. In short order, Aerosmith had officially become my favorite band. I started with their then-recent stuff, but as I dived into their back catalog I heard all these songs that I first heard on KQ back in the day, which in turn led me into exploring classic rock. I slowly abandoned top-40 music, leaving it almost completely behind me by 1996 or so, when I found my new favorite band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. These guys jumpstarted my affinity for classic rock, and by the time I graduated from high school I listened to classic rock almost exclusively, leaving me oblivious to ridiculous trends like boy bands and Christina Aguilera. So, I guess it wasn’t all bad…

2004+: I embrace new music again

I wasn’t always stuck on the old-skool, though: I definitely bought everything the Dave Matthews Band released, but I still listened to mostly pre-1990 stuff. But then in the fall of 2001, I discovered John Mayer purely by happenstance, and he quickly became me new favorite artist. Also, because of the influence of his music on me, I began listening to current mainstream music again. Mostly Cities 97 fare at first, I started to branch out and listen to different genres of music entirely, exploring at various times bluegrass and folk, modern classical, and the not-really-a-genre “indie” scene. Now though, I think I have learned to appreciate almost anything of value out there. No, I won’t be actively listening to the Pussycat Dolls anytime soon, but I can now enjoy a finely-crafted pop song, underground rap, and even the occasional Rascal Flatts.
Now, what does this say as an extension of my persona, as I alluded to earlier? I’ll be honest with you, I’m not exactly sure. But I think the fact that I am able to take most everything in while rejecting a minimal amount says something good about me. At least I hope it does.

bo-ring!

Posted on by Ehren
1
Oh hey. Yeah I haven’t been around so much, sorry. I was busy working, schooling and getting engaged. Anyhoo, enough with the chitchat and on to the blog post!
I’ve been browsing these internets a long time. And one thing I’ve noticed in said internets is that while most sites in general are either visually interesting or informative, sites that specifically focus on PCs or Windows are usually giant bags of hurt that fulfill neither niche. Examples, you say? Alright then, Chester, please to consider:

1) PC World. Taking visual cues from (or giving them to) sister publication Macworld results in a mixed bag for IDG flagship PC World. Do they even publish a magazine? I’ve never seen it on newsstands. Anyway, on both sites there is a clean banner up top with a search box and the omnipresent strip Flash ad, but the similarities end there. There is one column in the middle of the page for them to pimp news, which can’t be customized. AWFUL. If you want people to come to your site first for news you need to be able to let them streamline the flow so they can see what they want to. Also on PCW.com there is one of those ridiculous sidebars that should never be used. Lesson to web developers: If you have more than like seven sections on your site that won’t fit in horizontal navigation, try eliminating some sections. There is no reason that someone should have to scroll down below the e-fold to get to a section that might contain what they came to your site for. What is this, a news site or a link farm?
2) Computer Shopper. Speaking of link farms, there really isn’t a way to dignify what Computer Shopper does to the internet. If you have never seen the dead-tree version, it’s basically a giant catalog of vendors and parts, like Newegg with a cover charge and longer lead time. And in the end, that’s really all CS.com is. You can try to dress it up with how-to videos, but at the end of the day all it is is a link farm. Ups to them though for not pretending like they are anything different. Fun side note: check out what is the most popular item on their website! That’s right, iWork ’09, an Apple product. But even this site isn’t that bad, compared to…
3) PC Magazine. God, this site is a verifiable treasure trove of how-not-tos. If you were looking for a website that replicated the feeling of wandering aimlessly in OfficeMax then PCmag.com is the place for you, my friend. Everything about it screams boring and desperate, from the myriad advertising links on the top, bottom, left and right of the site, the tiny print of the leads for articles, the countless sections in the top navigation, right down to a prominent section of free downloadable whitepapers. Oh man, whitepapers! Now that will keep people coming back! Another trouble spot: John C. Dvorak. The only tech columnist known to man that actually hates all technology, who also happens to write the back page column for PC Mag. Dudes, really. This would be the same as Us Weekly putting George F. Will on their back page to cover all of whatever fashion no-nos happen to occur in Hollywood.
Now, do you wanna know how it’s done? Go to wired.com right now. That is the way to do it: big type for the headlines, no summaries, and five easy sections so you can go where you want to right off the bat. It truly is the way the internet was supposed to be done.

now playing on iTunes: PMB “Flooding”

retooling

Posted on by Ehren
1

I have owned the newdeep.net domain name since April 2005. Three and a half years now. And how long has there actually been a website there? Probably about 10% of that.

Well, that changes today. After being a blog aggregator, discussion board, file-hosting site, HTML test bed, ES.com redirect, nuclear power technician and 400 error, I am pleased to announce that NDDN will be my professional home for the foreseeable future. This means that my graphic art and my non-site-related written material will be going here, as well as portfolios and potential client material.

But don’t worry! I’ll continue to post here every other month, just like I have in the past.

Kidding.

Well, not really.

now playing on iTunes/iPod: silence

mornings, I goddamn hate you

Posted on by Ehren
Reply

This whole before-8 thing is gonna take some hardcore getting used to. I’ve been spoiled by so many “early” shifts beginning at 9:30a that getting up at a quarter of six to get ready for school is a major pain. Even when I was at Century, my earliest class was at 9:30. Let me tell you, the world looks a helluva lot different when the sun isn’t quite up. I do believe that I will be taking some pictures late next week.

now playing on iTunes/iPod: silence

back to school

Posted on by Ehren
Reply

I am sitting in my Web design class right now, surrounded by Macs.  I am also largely surrounded by people who have no idea how to use one.  Which means we are going through Mac tutorials!  This should be the easiest class ever.

now playing on iPod: silence

oh hi

Posted on by Ehren
Reply

It’s been a while. Working on an extremely long feature-type blog post that I will finish soon. Lots of stuff going down right now; I will start actually blogging about what is going on a little later.

Stay tuned. And follow me on Twitter!

now playing on iPod: Dave Matthews Band “Ants Marching”

Coolvetica, I goddamn hate you

Posted on by Ehren
Reply

Helvetica the typeface was created in 1957 from sheer awesome.  In fact, it contained so much awesome that it was used on subway signs, in corporate logos, on television, in the Mac and iPod GUIs, and even on the goddamn Space Shuttle!  In 2007, to celebrate the font’s 50th anniversary, Helvetica the documentary was released to attempt to explain its awesomeness.  The film opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews, and spawned a related exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art entitled “50 Years of Helvetica” that showed how one minimalist typeface was able to permeate life on this earth.  Whew.  That’s a lot of responsibility for one little font.

I first became aware of Coolvetica in 2004, being used as the titles for a travesty of a TV show called Wife Swap.  I tool a look at the odd lowercase ‘t’ and thought to myself, “That looks awful.”  Then that Godawful capital G popped up and I threw up in my mouth a little.  Who would do such things to Helvetica?  That’s like giving Larry King another hunchback, or making every Russian wear one of those red forehead spots like Gorbachev.  Then it started popping up more and more, being used on signage at my local mall and on covers of books.  Horrified, I did a little Googling and found that the font in question was created by Ray Larabie, the same “genius” that created ripoff homage fonts designed to ape corporate logos, like Pricedown, Crackman and Crystal Radio Kit.  Look, Larabie, I gots enough problems with awful foundry-designed fonts appearing everywhere, like Arial and such.  And the less said about Comic Sans, the better.  There is, however, one thing that Larabie did that I like: he named one of his abominations Libel Suit.  Fitting, because I think Larabie should be hit with one for calling any of these trainwrecks “fonts.”
And that, Coolvetica, is why I goddamn hate you.
Now playing on iPod: PMB “You and I”

as it turns out…

Posted on by Ehren
1
…television has always been awful.  Check out this hideous open from sometime in the 1970s:
AWFUL.  The theme song sucks, the stage is black with hints of orange and yellow, and all the kids are barefoot.  Two words: not awesome.  Though it did spark a bit of nostalgia in me, since the giant ZOOM letters reminded me of my dad’s old Maxell cassettes he always had lying around:
Ahh, memories.  And yes, I’m old.

now playing on iTunes/iPod: silence

in the money

Posted on by Ehren
Reply

This past Saturday’s Powerball jackpot was estimated at just a shade over $180 million. Upon hearing this, I excitedly licked my chops and promptly forgot about buying a ticket. Then, en route to church Sunday morning, I saw the giant billboard that denoted the new, paltry $10 million prize. I was fully expecting the monies, like in previous Powerball payouts, to go to one of this country’s many “hick” states which would then be spent on meth, store-bought moonshine and a new NASCAR racing team, but the Star Tribune and several television stations started reporting Sunday night that the buyer was actually from here! Wow, imagine the excitement.

Again I forgot about it, until today when the winners came forward. And after reading the story and seeing them on the news, I must say that I think they are the most deserving couple so far. An excerpt:

“I guess there was divine intervention,” Paul Rosenau said. “This happened for a reason.”

[...]

As for what they’ll do with the money, Sue Rosenau has ideas of a trip to Hawaii while Paul Rosenau spoke of philanthropic plans, including giving money for research toward the disorder that took their granddaughter’s life.

Good on you, guys.

In a loosely related story, Strib sports columnist Patrick Reusse took Minnesota sports fans to task for treating former Wild majority owner Bob Naegle like a deity while vilifying Twins owner (and 2008 Forbes Magazine Richest Man in Pro Sports) Carl Pohlad. Now I’m not a fan of either; Pohlad has pulled his share of dick moves on the Twins fan base (see 2001 contraction attempt) but he seems to be at least trying to make sonething happen now while also keeping the team in the black. My favorite part of the article though is in the comments, where illiterate and belligerent hockey fans try to defend their patron saint and then get collectively ripped to shreds by a guy called ‘cartwa’:

You can rip the Twins, Vikings, T-wolves, and gophers but you cant rip the Wild. It isnt fair. It is much like ripping on the kids on the short bus. Wild fans can barely read and logic is something they just dont understand. Expecting them to grasp reality would be way too much to ask. Keep in mind that these are the same fans that think mullets are cool and that wearing an oversized jersey with jeans and tennis shoes is styish. Wild fans think nothing of having their winter sport championship in June. Wild fans dont find anything odd about having teams in hockey hotbeads like Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix, Charlotte or Florida (twice). Wild fans actually wait in line to purchase $85.00 game tickets and then never complain when their team musters only a handful of shots. Wild fans are so loyal that the mere attempt to open their eyes generates 80 plus comments that are so creative, you question our public school system. My favorite is the post that simply says “Reusse, you are an idiot.” Please Mr Reusse, please dont rip the Wild.

Thanks for the humorous yet astute characterization of Wild fans, my friend.

now playing on iPod: Josh Kelley “Travelin’”

[Photo courtesy roadsidenut and Flickr]

May day

Posted on by Ehren
Reply

I think this is the unofficial start of spring. Sure as hell doesn’t feel like it though.

Alyssa and I finally booked our trip to New York City a couple weeks ago. It should be good times; I’m pretty excited. We have already planned quite a few things to do during that span. It also gives me a chance to test out my camera in a tourist setting rather than just family functions and city randomness. If any of you guys have any ideas though for us, please let me know.

now playing on iTunes/iPod: silence