I can’t decide if I like it or not. It sounds very much like an album MIA would put out if she were American (more so than her first album). Highlights are desperate youth, this isn’t our parade, and riot’s over.

i’m sure jack white’s a nice guy. my friends who’ve worked with him seem to like him enough. i’m not judging his personal life, just what i’ve observed in the professional setting as a musician, and my frustrations with it

i don’t really like jack white’s music all that much. not that he’s terrible, but he’s decent at best. however, it’s frustrating because of how high of a pedestal everyone puts him on nowadays. for instance, he’s not much of a guitar player, but he’s hailed as one of the best guitar players for playing sloppily. so does that mean if i record some sloppy riffs, i’m a genius? 

however, i do (begrudgingly) like some of his solo work. i think because this is his work and not another person or a collaboration, he’s put more heart into it. you can tell he’s not bullshitting his solo work.

some of what frustrates me are the releases he puts out on third man, such as the band mildred and the mice. the single i like my mice dead is absolutely horrible, but if you go on itunes and youtube everyone’s freaking out and saying jack white has struck gold. i find it hard to believe that this is the kind of record he wants to put out. all the song is random brash guitar chords with karen elson in a wig (supposedly) shouting “i like my mice dead” and meowing. a ten year old could do that. in fact, inexperienced preteen punk songwriters do do that. it’s not good, yet somehow people eat that shit up out of jack white’s hand just cause it’s jack white so it must be good.

or let’s say the black belles. now, i will admit i like a few songs by them, but from what i’ve heard from numerous sources the members were each handpicked by jack white and taught how to play their instruments. they weren’t really discovered together as an all girl goth garage band. also, one of my bass players saw them live at a show when they first started, and he said they were absolutely terrible. he also said you could tell they were way more concerned with their imagery than they were with their music. 

another thing that frustrates me about both mildred and the mice and the black belles is the fact that neither acts are real acts. as i mentioned, rumor has it that mildred is just karen elson in a wig and i already mentioned the formation of the black belles. people say jack white’s known to tell tall tales and what not, i guess it goes back to his obsession with american root stories. however, him putting these bands together and creating a backstory for them and trying to pass them off as completely real is the exact same thing major labels have done in the past. people say they hate major labels and pop music for doing shit like this, but then somehow it’s okay when jack white does it cause it’s jack white. there’s a huge double standard here. 

i would respect jack white more if he would claim these bands to be fake and he’s using them more or less to tell a story or as another musical outlet. but to completely pass it off as real, though it may kill some imagery if he didn’t, ultimately angers people as you’re lying to them about what’s fake and what’s real. this is especially detrimental for a guy who claims that things these days don’t have much soul or aren’t genuine. 

which brings me to my next frustration is that he claims that technology doesn’t allow people to be creative. while, i think it’s awesome he’s doing things to keep vinyl alive, i simply just don’t agree with his statement and i think it’s a little hypocritical of him to say that, especially when you take a look at his pedalboard(s). that’s technology right there. a lot of it. 

and this is another thing i hate about attitudes nowadays in music. people get so offended by programs and electronic/digital keyboards and claim it’s not real music cause those are all machines. however, i would challenge those people to do what any of these composers do and do it well. it’s not that easy. i know for sure, i can’t do it (which is why i stick to my guitar and keyboard), but i respect it. and another thing, so what if it’s being made from a machine? it doesn’t make it any less their song if they composed and controlled the program that way. everyone approaches music and writes differently. plus, not all machines are mechanical. i would even argue that guitars and pianos could be in a category of machines. 

you can still be creative with technology. just in different ways than you would with just a guitar. 

anywho, i know people who read this will probably be mad at me (especially if they’re big jack white/ third man records fan). i was a fan of jack white for a month when i was 18, than i came to my senses. no, i am not jealous of jack white, though i know some of you guys will probably accuse me of that. besides, i did state, i do like some of his work. if i were offered a record deal by him, i don’t know if i’d take it or not. though, the only way i’d probably be offered one is if i became a rising weird and unusual (or folky/roots/southern punk) artist/musician and he wanted to add me to his weird collection of unusual musicians. 

anywho, these are just my opinions, and i understand that you might see some of my own hypocrisy that i forgot to address. again, there’s a reason i’m on here anonymously. 

i’ve been doing something different with writing music lately, and a little back to my original concepts of writing. i use to not be able to mass write, and then i did it, now i’m not doing that anymore. reasons being, i want each song to be unique and special. i want each song i write to have it’s own identity. if i like the song idea, but hate the way it’s going, i wanna fix it so i do like it (even if i don’t end up using it). i want each song i write to be special to me and not like another. 

i feel like this could be an analogy for God creating each individual human being. we’re all different, but special to God, and he knows us all by name.

to go (sneak) to a show and just have fun, despite everyone around me being overly pretentious. it was nice to just let loose, head bang, attempt a one man mosh, and shout lyrics even though everyone around me gave me disapproving glares and told me to stop. not my fault you don’t like the band you’re watching, you don’t have to stay. i’m having fun, don’t stop me. it’s a rock show, don’t just stand there. 

blueskyhardrock:

This one is for our artist buddies out there!

Vinny Ribas is the founder and CEO of Blue Sky sister company Indie Connect, a global business club for serious independent artists, songwriters, musicians and music professionals.

Indie Connect helps its members increase their chances of success by providing practical career direction and education, combined with live and online industry networking opportunities.

During his 40+ year career, Vinny has been a full time musician, an artist manager, a booking agent, songwriter and the Entertainment Director for the NV State Fair.

He is a published author and popular speaker at music industry conferences, and now here are his 12 steps to a long + promising career in indie music…

Read More

this is great. still trying to break out of my awkward box of timidness. though i feel i’m more a mixture of timidness and laziness

i listened to a song i wrote when i was 15/16 years old. wow…

it’s not bad for my skill level at that point in my life, but it’s remarkable how much i’ve changed as a person and a writer since then. actually, there’s still one song i wrote when i was around that age that i still like.