10.29.07

World Champions

Red Sox sweep the Rockies to win their second World Series in 4 years. A long season comes to a close with a relatively quickly. The Sox were dominant in the post-season and as amazing as the Rockies' run was, they were no match for this powerhouse. The win felt good, but honestly not nearly as good as 2004, when the team concluded 86 winless years. That was as good as it gets. I don't like feeling spoiled, and I hate to seem like I don't appreciate it, but I know that the more we win, the less excited we get. Nothing will ever top that original World Series because it changed our attitude 180 degrees; from perennial losers to top dogs. The same thing happened in 2001 with the Patriots, and after two more Championships, we begin to expect it. I will say that the Pats look better than they ever have before, beating the Redskins 52-7 yesterday (why are they still called the Redskins?) to improve to 8-0 and setting up a showdown with the also undefeated Colts next weekend. If they beat the Colts, I would say there is a very distinct possibility that they will not lose a game this season and will perhaps conclude the best football season in the history of the NFL. That would certainly be better that just another boring old Super Bowl victory...

10.27.07

Intel Inside

I just bought a new MacBook Pro and am loving it. Do you notice a difference in my blogging? Probably not. But I notice a huge difference in my music making with Ableton Live. I have been using a Mac G4 tower for the past seven years and it has served me exceptionally well, but given the improvements in computing over the last decade, it was time to move on and send my big boy to pasture at my parents house (where it is needed only, I believe, to check fantasy sports). How long will this baby last before becoming an obsolete relic?

Halloween

That wonderful dress-up holiday is approaching and this weekend seems to be the time to celebrate. We went out dancing last night (I dressed as a toilet paper dispenser/asswipe) and have more party plans for tonight, but the big night is looming on Tuesday the 30th, when I am going to see Chromeo at a New York magazine party. I can't wait to see what kind of a bash they throw. I read about them in the latest Future Music magazine and was totally amped to hear them on MySpace. Sort of completely a joke and sort of completely serious (Listen to "Momma's Boy"), I have a feeling there will be some ridiculous and dramatic dancing at the event.

10.22.07

Top of Their Game

Boston sports is crazytown right now. The Red Sox just won the ALCS in seven games over the Indians (they're still called the Indians? with that ridiculous cartoon emblem? why?) and go on to the World Series to face the Colorado Rockies, a team that has won an absurd 21 of its last 22 games. The Patriots look like the best team to ever play the game, with complete and utter thrashings of every opponent; just when you think they can't be any better, Tom Brady tosses 6 TDs. Mind-blowing. The Celtics have one of the most exciting lineups to ever grace the parquet, and don't forget about The Boston College Eagles of Chestnut Hill, currently ranked #2 in the football polls. I could see myself never living another day in Beantown but I know I will die hard with the teams every season for the rest of my days. I was swept up in that city's athletic emotion at a very young age and believe my brain has been permanently washed in the excitement.

And of brains... I just finished a great book called "This Is Your Brain On Music" (a reference to the old PSA "This Is Your Brain On Drugs", which discusses the way our brains process music and how they develop from our earliest experiences, when the author claims, all our senses mesh into one undifferentiable psychadelic union; how we create and prune neural pathways based on what we see, hear, taste, smell and feel. Why have humans been obsessed with music from the beginning of our evolution? The answer may be simply because so many different parts of our brains respond actively to the organized sound and are stimulated simultaneously in a way that nothing else is capable of. Beyond the science, I know only that I love music and have a passion for making it, with a desire to spread this love to humans of any age. Today, I was fortunate to meet a ten-day old baby and play music with him for 45 minutes. I would love to know what his experience felt like...

10.14.07

Radiohead.

They did it. Radiohead managed to make an incredible new album with barely a media note and have a digital download scheme that involves paying what you want. I paid .02 pence (in GB Pounds) plus the standard .45 pence downloading fee for a grand total of .47 pence. (About $1). The pre-order discbox costs 40 GBP (About $80). I have no idea what this album would be worth to you, but I personally guarantee a $1 investment. Ideally it would be completely free, but if these are the rules they are playing by, I'm game. Seriously the album is both worthless and priceless, and I am simply blown away. Enjoy.

10.04.07

Narda and Phil

I spent last weeekend in L.A. and was honored to be a part of Malakzad/Schmid wedding as groomsman for the amazing Phil Schmid. The wedding was a major historical event, I think, with 350 people at the Ritz for a beautiful Persian ceremony with dinner and dancing to the Iranian group, Black Cats. I would never have imagined that I would ever write this on the blog but... the floral arrangements were absolutely stunning. Flowers are truly nature's love and as a wedding symbol, they are up there with Rings. Congratulations you two on becoming one.

As an added bonus I flew jetBlue out to Burbank, which in itself is a great experience; FLYING across the entire country and watching it pass below you, from the stacks of humanity in New York, across the vast farmland, over the Rocky Mountain High, to the canyon scars ripping through the southwest, this country is a wonder. If that wasn't enough to satisfy me, I was able to watch "Once" again on my personal TV. Still Powerful. I bought the soundtrack today and unsurprisingly, it is beautiful.