Month: January 2022

ENJOYING THIS LIVE STREAMING THING

Unfortunately the only way to put a video of mine on this site is to upload it to YouTube, which seems silly, since this audio file actually expires in less than 24 hours, but just posting about it on social media ain’t the answer!

So if you read this blog – I make up these tones and sounds in real time, and stream them on Blast Radio, live to the world. To listen to you need to download the Blast Radio app, but I promise it’s pretty nice. Get it here.

On tonight’s broadcast I had four listeners, which is more than I had a week ago when I started doing this. So I’m just putting this here as a small piece of history. Not really aiming for the stars with this, after all, but I enjoy making these, so if you like them, tune in. Listen here while it’s still live.

Yes, I have downloaded archived copies of each stream, and will be putting them on Bandcamp in a bit. Stay tuned.

I’m going to do a live stream this Friday, January 14th at 9pm ET on both Blast Radio (audio only) and Mix Cloud which will have a video element – bookmark this page here.

My latest mix (#20) was live streamed last Friday. Click below to listen..

I’ve watched a lot of people get into the live streaming thing, mostly on Twitch, or Instagram Live, neither of which I enjoy. Right now Blast Radio and Mixcloud do the job, but my ultimate set up would be something I control, on my own domain name, on my own website.

But that’s a project for another evening.

ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE

Cancelled my co-working spot because, well, COVID. We’re heading towards 30,000 new cases per day. My friend’s uncle is in the ICU with COVID, and had to wait six hours for a hospital bed. Just gonna lay low a bit, I think.

Made a for-real website for Goodnight, Metal Friend using Notion and Super, and I love it. Been streaming live on Blast Radio. Been doing some live stream office hours for HEAVY METAL EMAIL. Trying to find a use for Ghost.

FIVE TOPICS I CAN TALK ABOUT FOR 30 MINUTES

  1. Email Marketing – I mean, it’s a major part of what I do for a living with CLOSE MONDAYS, and I started a newsletter called HEAVY METAL EMAIL for “metal folks who want to start an email list.” So yeah, I could talk for an hour about this.
  2. Running – though I’ve only been running nearly every other day (or so) since July of 2016, ran a bunch of races, got advice some great people, coached by the great Grayson Murphy in 2019 / 2020 for a marathon that I never ran because of COVID!
  3. Bikes – I left my Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment in August of 2010 with a messenger bag and some clothes taped to my handle bars. Rode all the way to Rutherford, NJ. Then kept going, crashing on friend’s couches, all the way to Albuquerque, NM (via a lot of buses). Also traveled by Brompton and train from Miami, FL to Portland, ME. That’s just scratching the surface.
  4. Music blogging – I’m where I’m at in life right now because I started a music blog in 2001, so heck yeah, I can riff on writing, friendships, interviews, gossip, life before social media, all that good stuff.
  5. Growing up in the 80s – the movies, buying a Poison record at a drugstore, the bikes, the toys, the technology… my goodness, what a time to have lived.

CREATED FOR MYSELF

Found this quote from an artist today while sourcing tracks for an upcoming Goodnight, Metal Friend mix:

“These tracks were originally created as a source of inspiration for both myself and meditative purposes.”

Ran Kirlian

For myself. And meditative purposes.

As I recklessly pay for hosting and domain names and set up a newsletter for Goodnight, Metal Friend, I think that’s the biggest part.

I love my new site (see it here). It makes my eyes light up, seeing all the mixes I’ve produced over nearly two years.

The newsletter on Substack will be partly meditative, too. A log of the journey, seeing where all this goes.

Putting this out into the world doesn’t feel like obligation, like a regimented “content creation” schedule that I must adhere to. The easiest “posting schedule” or whatever is simply sharing what you make every now and again.

A lot of people won’t get it. Some people might. In the end, it’s for me.

THE MATRIX MIRRORED

I started to watch Matrix Resurrections and the Matrix at the same time, like a totally normal person. I had two windows open, and tried to sync them up, but just started skipping ahead to notable moments.

“I think we can handle one little girl.”
“No lieutenant, your men are already dead.”
During the entire scene (from the original, and watching in real time with Resurrections), these line up pretty much perfect.
“Maybe you know him by his real name… Neo.”

So then Bugs runs away from the agents, and then it cuts to the “old” Matrix code, as the camera pulls out to Thomas (bottom), staring ahead with dead eyes.

The next scene in the original Matrix (after the whole “white rabbit tattoo” thing), is DRAGULA (top)! Again, Thomas sort of staring off into space.

Original Matrix, Neo on the left.
Matrix Resurrection: Thomas on the right.

OLD – METACORTEX (what a silly name that the Matrix programmers would use) NEW – SIMULATTE (what a silly name that the Matrix programmers would use)

Next scene… Original Matrix, Thomas on the left.
Matrix Resurrection: Thomas on the right.

The look of someone who’s about to talk to someone they’ve never talked to before.
OLD: Morpheus
NEW: “Trinity”

So the next major moment (save for Thomas trying to get to the scaffolding, the Modal 101: File Purged) is… this.

Exact opposites again!

OLD: Agents entering the room, Thomas to the right and sitting.
NEW: Thomas entering the room (not sitting), Smith on the right.

This is as far as I got on a Sunday night, just sort of clicking ahead here and there. These shots don’t seem coincidental. Perhaps a play on the “mirror image” concept?

I’m sure there’s more shots down the road that are similar, like with Morpheus fighting Neo, the first stand off with Agent Smith after he’s been freed (again).