Please, Ladies, Gents, None at a Time!
While we’re on the subject of things I don’t know when or if I’ll ever get around to doing…
In case anyone didn’t get the memo, I’m no longer accepting cover song requests! (which may not seem like a big serious problem worth posting about, but it’s getting a little out of hand is all. I’m trying to cut out the unecessaries from my life).
Until I figure out an awesome evil scheme to become rich as a human jukebox, covers just aren’t on the table right now (unless on a given day I feel like it, in which case I’m going to play a song I feel like playing!)
…and she felt a little lighter still.
Ways I’m Full Of Shit (installment the first)
In the spirit of acknowledging how full of shit we all are (not to dwell on it, but it can be self-educational), I must apologize for the fact that I’ve totally dropped the ball on that godstar portrait project I was going on about here and there last year. I doubt anyone who sent in photos, etc. has been holding his/her breath on it (they’ve more likely forgotten about it entirely), especially since most who ’signed on’ have known me a little while - long enough to begin to suspect I’m a bit of a flake at times. But still, I feel a little bad about it.
The lesson for me here is: Hey, priorities inevitably shift around, especially when it comes to creative, self-initiated projects that you’ve thought up on various whims, in various moods. Nothing unusual or wrong with that. But - note to self - keep your damned mouth shut about it, particularly if it’s going to involve other people, until you’re actually in the midst of DOING it and/or are pretty darn sure you’re going to follow through.
Okay, so that said, I still really do want to pursue the godstar portraits project, I just have no idea when.
…and suddenly she felt a little lighter.
Keeping Your Spark Lit
A wee niblet of good advice from Mr. Handy:
Little reminder about how to keep your spark lit without feeling overwhelmed, even though I’ve pontificated on this at greater length in my big ol’ SERIES: Forget that you have “work to do”. Just turn on the freaking software that you use, load something in, and listen to it. That’s your only requirement. It’s as easy as sitting around listening to iTunes, only instead of clicking on the iTunes icon, you click on the Tracktion icon. Or the Audacity icon. Or Logic, or Audition, or Pro Tools, or whatever you use. Don’t worry about getting work done; just go in like you’re there to listen. Be curious about it. The initiative to start monkeying with it will come on its own, and even if it doesn’t come immediately, that’s fine. You’re visiting that realm — that’s the most important thing!
Why I Am Sad About The YouTube
Youtube kind of changed my life in a way, so I’ve been pretty grateful for it over the past year and a bit, and still am, though more reluctantly now. It remains my number one source of blog traffic and musical exposure. Which is annoying at this particular ‘juncture’ because I’d really like to go the way I did with Myspace and boycott those m—–f—ers.
I’m just very sad for my friend and very angry at Google. Youtube (Google) is screwing people over who don’t, by any means, deserve to be getting screwed over. My pal Doron (a long time Youtube performer of wonderful music), just got screwed royally.
I’m aware that Google getting their asses sued left and right by the copyright police, but I’m also aware that Google have the power to fight back, unlike we little people. I’m also aware that those other bastards don’t go around pretending they’re not bastards and spouting some ‘motto’ like, “Don’t Be Evil.” It’s sure nice to know that “Don’t Be Evil” doesn’t extend to not passing the brunt of your legal problems (unecessarily) down to your users.
Sure, they now have to make people take down copyrighted material in order to cover their own asses — sucky, but fair enough. That, however absolutely does not excuse them permanently deleting entire accounts over (in many cases unintended, in many cases questionable) copyright infringements when they can easily just suspend the accounts until the problem videos are taken down. That’d be the “un-evil” thing to do.
But I’ve figured out what they really mean by “Don’t Be Evil”. They don’t mean they won’t be evil (if that were the case, their slogan would read more like, “Hey, We’re Not Evil.”). No, they’re telling you not to be evil …(do as they say, not as they do)… for example, don’t use their services in the ways they were really set up to be used (I mean come on), and which made them super-ridiculously successful in the first place.
But this is all pointless ranting (though it sure feels good). They’re Google, they can do whatever they want now that they’re the big internet monopoly-monster, at least to us non-billionaires they can.
GETTING TO THE POINT — Please check out Doron’s brief video about all this (under his new account, of course): Why Cougarman7 (Doron Diamond) Disappeared. Also, check out his other videos because they’re great! I’ve featured his guitar tutorials here many times. He’s one of the best I know doing this sort of thing, plus he’s a delighful person!
If you’re a former subscriber of his (I know our subscriberships overlapped quite a bit), please resubscribe. Because that’s the most tragic thing of all, losing connection with all the fans he’s deservedly earned over the nearly 2 years he’s been posting videos. The videos themselves, he can re-upload, but all the wonderful comments he’s recieved over the years are gone and his fanbase could take a long time to rebuild. Don’t let that happen. Show him you’re a tiger. Show him you care.
[And a note to fellow Youtube posters: You might want to back up your account. From what I’m hearing and reading, it’s becoming quite common practice at Youtube to delete accounts without warning for even minor infringements (as in Doron’s case). What I’m doing is archiving all my important Youtube pages using Furl (which is a bookmarking site like del.icio.us, but with an archiving feature so you’re actually saving the full content of the webpage, not just the URL). If you have a lot of subscribers that you don’t want to lose touch with, you may want to save them and look into a Contact Management System (not to be confused with Content Management System, though those are good too), particularly if you’re a band/musician. I’ve been meaning to do this for some time, but Doron’s misfortune (unfortunately) pushes it to the top of the list.
Anyway, nuf said. Good luck, and may none of you (nor I) ever have to see this in realtime:
[Mixtape 4 of 4] :: Dream Songs
Dream Songs Volume 2 :: Side [Sorry dudes. All mixtapes are temporarily out of commission until I find a way to not have them use up all of my allotted monthly bandwidth within a matter of days!]
1. Belle & Sebastian - You Made Me Forget My Dreams
2. Jerry Lee Lewis (?) - I’ll See You In My Dreams
3. Jesca Hoop - Dreams in the Hollow
4. Kimya Dawson - Red, White & Blue Dream
5. The Mamas & The Papas - California Dreaming
6. MIND WEBS (radio program, 30m) - A Dream at Noon Day
7. PJ Harvey - Horses In My Dreams
8. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (live)