I was burning the midnight oil last night and I came across this video by the wonderful Juilen Baker, whom I had not heard before. While listening to her gorgeous voice singing some heart melting sad songs, I started to peruse the comments, as I often do. Most of the time when I do this I come across the way to common troll comments that unravel into arguments that don't even pertain to the subject of the video, or XYZ brought me here, or the snobbish "I have been listening since day one and therefore I am superior and can say they sold out." comment. Every once in a while there is a thought provoking gem hidden in the mass of garbage. A comment that makes me stop and say "Shit! This person is spot on." So instead of writing what I think for a change, I am just going to post said comment I read, and very much agree with. This was written in response to someone saying they don't understand how people can say today's music sucks, when there is great stuff like this out there.
"That sentiment when I hear it is typically followed up by a comment about how music was so much better in (insert era here). Honestly, It's nothing but apathy. Mainstream popular music, the kind that is spoonfed to the slobbering masses on the radio each day, the kind that is played in rotations so tight they give off gravity, has ALWAYS sucked. At least when people said music sucks 30 years ago, they had the excuse of poor access to the any sort of alternative to the mainstream. Today, with the ease with which we can access the internet, and the wonderful curation of quality music that goes on every day not just online, but at places with NPR, and KCRW, there is no excuse for stating that music sucks these days. If anything, music is more alive now that it ever has been. The access that artists have to produce high quality music is nearly unfettered. The ease with which they can then distribute that music is unsurpassed. We, as the listeners have the widest selection of music available to us that we have ever had, and there's more being made every single day that we can literally watch being made in real time thanks to artists who even stream from the studio(sometimes their bedrooms). I will say though, (as if I haven't already said enough) that today's pop music is so watered down and over produced that it's arguably worse than it's ever been. I know pop music sets a really low bar, but as I spend nearly 8 hours each day trying not to listen to the radio at work that is blaring whatever station my coworkers put on, something like Jammin' 94.5 or Earbleedin' 10pleasefuckingkillme, it's the most vapid and vacuous dribble I've ever heard in my nearly 40 years on this planet. I can almost feel brain cells killing themselves just so they don't have to try to process what they're hearing. This though. I love this. I adore this. Thirteen minutes and five seconds of this heals every wound inflicted on my psyche by 40 hours a week of commercial radio."
I first head of this band from a skateboarding video. I can't remember which one. I think the original song I hear was "I Woke Up This Morning" from their 2002 album Electric Sweat. This band is pure rock and roll energy. The songs remind me of riding a roller coaster. It's fast, loud, and crazy. It might be a little dangerous, and when you get done you might have a case of whiplash, but your adrenaline will be so jacked that you want to do it 10 more times.
I have always loved the name Ruby. Partly because that was my grandmothers name. I have always said that if I had a baby daughter I would name her after my Grandmother. This song by the indie pop band Apples In Stereo hearkens back to the 60's poppy sound. It's good mood music for sure. I remember not too long before she passed I played a bunch of songs for her that I liked. She told me that she really liked most of them. Of course, I stayed away from the hardcore screaming stuff. I think that if I had the chance to play this song for my grandmother, she would have really liked it.
Last night I watched the movie Ex Machina. I don't want to give too much of it away but I really feel that the film posed some thought provoking questions about future technology, albeit technology which we may not see for quite sometime. If you haven't seen it, or maybe passed of off as another popcorn sci-fi movie (as I almost did), I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you are a fan of the genre. If you are one to pick apart a movie because it's not realistic, than this probably is not for you (I mean there is a reason it's called science FICTION). However, I think it does a much better job of exploring the real world based effects of artificial intelligence than movies like Terminator (Skynet) or the 2001 Spielberg movie A.I. The premise is based on the creation of artificial intelligence by a mad scientist of sorts, and the use of a human subject as a testing ground to see if the A.I. passes as a sentient being. The movie is pretty great at creating a thrilling paranoia and yet leaves a sense of wonder and fascination. The ending is definitely one that will leave you thinking.
