Today, I found myself.. (Day 305)

Today, I found myself uncovering the ugly, playing with great interest as well as anxiously waiting for Jobs. What a rollercoaster of a day!

Today, I found myself.. (Day 280)

Today, I found myself hitting myself awake and that I should get a grip to make things better, even if they already are.

Epic.

Today, I found myself.. (Day 155)

Today, I found myself getting my jam on under the onslaught of ringing cymbals and crashing rides. 

Today, I found myself.. (Day 147)

Today, I found myself locked in a heart shaped box with sheer awesomeness.

HSB: Nirvana

Today, I found myself.. (Day 146)

Today, I found myself reinventing the urge to create and express.

B.Jovi

This is but a Tribute

Evidently, I'm an avid Beatles fan. A fanboy, if you may. Though I will not get the privilege to watch these guys perform live (1963, good times), recent happenings in the past week revitalizes such hopes.

The Beatles: Rock Bank

Well alright, maybe I'm pushing it a little; this is no way in comparison to watching The Beatles live back in the 60s, but hey, not too shabby I guess?

I'm sure there will be mixed reviews about the game, about how commercialism has pervaded the music scene and how legends as such have become representation of such a practice.

Good and bad, I suppose. Though I'm very much in support of the game in itself as to me, its a good platform for family fun, as well as the opportunity for people to learn and more importantly, appreciate the true beauty of true music.

Call me a nut but the game may as well be educational as it brings players through the ups and downs of an influential 4; something the people of today should be aware of.

Enough said, this post is not a pitch nor are they paying me for free advertisement but the game looks really good and if anyone out there intend to purchase a copy, PLEASE, please contact me as I would be really interested to share in the fun!

The Fab Four.

As seen above, I've created a poll. Partly to commemorate the release of Beatles Rock Band and partly cause I'm curious to know of your response: which is your favorite Beatles studio album cover.

Feel free to drop a vote, or two, and spread the love around (cause love is all you need!).

As for myself, I'll reveal my favorite album cover at a later date. Really psyched to see all your reactions.

As of current times, all I would hope for is to go to a Paul McCartney concert. Seriously, I mean its the closest you can get to an actual Beatles concert now.

Surely you can not doubt the impact and influence that these guys made on pop culture and more importantly, the entire music landscape.

Sellout concerts, number one album sales and the will to express ideas freely, now that's truly the mark of legends.

As for me, the Fab Four will always yield a standing ovation deep in me, be it 20, 30 or 50 years down the road.

True Musicians.

The Beatles, true icons of past, present and future.

*Photos from Wikipedia and Last.fm. Disclaimer: the owner of the blog is in no way affiliated with The Beatles Rock Band or Apple Corps. Content and the poll on this blog is strictly a personal expression and appreciation of what true music stood for.

----------------
Now playing: The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby
via FoxyTunes

Today, I found myself.. (Day 96)

Today, I found myself peculiarly marked as I wished that the calendar said "1963".

Photo credits: flickr user.
Photo belongs to its respective owner.

Today, I found myself.. (Day 93)

Today, I found myself happy and finding a new sound.

Today, I found myself.. (Day 75)

Today, I found myself a precious break to keep me in check.

Today, I found myself.. (Day 69)

Today, I found myself relaxing in a room of my future.

Today, I found myself.. (Day 57)

Today, I found myself woken up to the sound of music before a busy day at work.

i(am)Here

A little something happened on a certain weekend, during a certain time, at a certain place...

Its like telling the world that you've just bought an Apple product and you're loving it (which is largely true).

This is it.

I totally dig the packaging; its really attractive. Two separate boxes overlapping one another, in sleek black finishing, of course.

The iPhone 3G. And its finally within my possession. *inserts evil laughter here*

*

Well yea, a couple of days back, I took action and purchased the new Apple iPhone 3G. Loads of consideration were put into this consumer purchase process before I made my decision; some of you guys might recall my dilemma which I brought up, a couple a posts back.

Trust me, it was a largely intensive and volatile process as I had to carefully weigh the pros and cons of the purchase as compared to other products of either the same function and use.

It wasn't easy.

But in the end, I decided to pursue the trends of tomorrow and also due to the added fact of the new semester's workload, I'm sure the iPhone will fulfill whatever tasks its entrusted with and in doing so, maximizing its potential for use and improvement of efficiency.

Ta-dah!

My purpose of this post is mainly to help potential iPhone users, or rather, to warn them of the limitations as well as the (huge) benefits of the iPhone. Though I've been doing a little product research about the iPhone for about 3 months prior to my purchase, I was in for big "surprises" (good and bad) upon my first use of the beautifully crafted device.

Here's why;

Awesome-ness

Need I say more? I'm sure you've been hearing a steady flow of praises about this new product from Apple. From a marketing perspective, Apple has always been at the forefront of branding and positioning, whats more, with their avid use of awareness creation in their promotional tactics, Apple has established itself on a steady foothold in today's technology market.

And the iPhone 3G, doesn't by any means, undermine that fact. But in actual reality, has further consolidated Apple's world dominance on the technological market.

With its sleek appearance, sensitive (but durable) touch screen feature, this device will win tech geeks, as well as babes alike, over in a jiffy.

It isn't all looks though; the iPhone function as well as it looks. With awesome built in features, like the conventional iPod, the ever helpful Google maps, Photo viewer as well as the ever helpful Notepad, it pretty much speaks out for itself.

Its simply:
- an iPod (awesome music player)
- a Street directory
- a photo album
- an organizer
- a mobile device
- a web browser
- a mini computer
- a very sophisticated device

And I've not even started on apps yet.

The presence of the app store is what makes your iPhone different from your Uncle's business mobile device. Apps can do ANYTHING (okay almost anything, think logically). From being a lightsaber (from the app "Lightsaber Unleashed", Star War fans will understand what I'm ranting on about), to having a mobile online chat with your contacts, apps top this crown of gold with beautiful gems.

The iPhone is after all, a mobile device, and does not disappoint. I particularly enjoy the text message interface, which is in the form of a continuous chat orientation, which I'm sure, will be a huge hit to the next generation who are more obsessed in texting on their mobile devices rather than actually talking.

The iPhone is also very interactive. So interactive that I'm surprised that it actually can't talk. Every flick of the finger, tap of the thumb or swipe across the screen results in instant reaction from the iPhone. The brightness of the iPhone is also determined by the light intensity of your surroundings and you can't say that's not awesome.

It makes us wonder if technology can someday, take over the role of humans.

Why it blows (skip this part if you're a delusional Apple fan).

My first problem when I got my iPhone really got me on the nerves. Sure the package and everything else were perfect BUT the instruction manual, if it can be considered one, was really just a piece of "something that told me nothing useful".

For instance (and this was my second problem), I discovered that all my SIM contacts weren't in my iPhone. I looked through the product package and "instruction manual" in hopes of finding possible solutions but were largely in vain. The internet wasn't too helpful.

After a couple of taps and flicks on the iPhone, I finally found out why my SIM contacts weren't in the phone; they weren't imported from my SIM card, yet. Note that the manual or troubleshooting guides weren't able to offer me the solution.

Then comes the issue of the much talked about Battery life of the iPhone. Though this isn't a major issue for me as yet (probably due to my new battery), I foresee the limitations of the iPhone's battery, accredited due to its numerous functions.

Typing has also been a hassle for me though I'm slowly getting the hang of typing via tapping. For conventional cellphone users, it may take awhile to get used to tapping on the iPhone's screen for both speed and precision.

Don't have a stable internet connection? Well that will reduce your iPhone to a simple, "not-so-cool" device. Simply because a load of the iPhone's functions (ie. Maps, App store, Youtube, Safari and more) are internet intensive.

Think of an iPhone without the internet as say, Slash without his guitar or Ronaldo without his soccer boots.

Probably one of the most taxing problems (to me at least), is the absence of the Apple itunes store in the country that I'm living in; Singapore. This means that one of the most important feature of the iPhone, the itunes feature, is rendered totally obsolete until Apple decides to open a store locally.

For now, the app store is the only salvation to this problem.

Technology has its improvements, and thus humans must do the same.

All in all, I feel that the pros outweigh the cons, which is why I decided to purchase the iPhone as compared to the iPod touch or another Sony Phone.

Alright, that's all for this post I guess. Time to go get my accessories now the iPhone feels naked and unprotected. Remember to check back for updates, as well as articles and stay golden, my readers.

Cya'll later.

*Disclaimer. The owner of this blog and its management team holds no relation to the Apple corporation and does not get paid for promoting or analyzing its product(s). All Apple brand names and products belongs solely to the manufacturer and producers.*

The Much Awaited... Modern Minds and Pastimes Tour, The Click Five, a special low-down

Banners and posters all around; People gathered in the stadium; Nervy anticipations and excited faces everywhere.

Yes, this is it, the moment you've been waiting for...

"GET READY TO ROCK with THE CLICK FIVE"

The queue outside the Singapore Indoor Stadium lengthened slowly but it was still early in the night and after a quick dinner (Subway Club, foot-long), you and two of your friends decides to join in the queue to enter the concert.

Indeed, you feel excited, though you're not a major fan of The Click Five, a Boston, Massachusetts based pop-rock band, the hype of the entire event has clearly gotten to you.

The queue snailed and after around 15mins, the three of you are finally in the stadium, much to the discomfort of standing outdoors.

Impressive.

Through only half of the indoor stadium was used for the event, you're clearly awed by the sight and the set; a huge white canvas spread of the stage, clearly of purpose later on.

Coincidentally, another group of your friends are also in attendance at the concert. Both parties eventually meet up and you take the chance to catch up on them.

You soon begin to observe the surroundings and since you and the rest of your friends stood not more than five rows from the front, the view was pretty much okay.

Your attention soon switches to something red and shiny behind the huge white canvas that was supposed to "cover" the stage.

You smiled to yourself. Indeed, that's Joey's drumset. And being a drummer yourself, you gain a sense of urgency to pay special attention to the drumset.


Many people around you are also taking pictures with their mobile phones or digital cameras; all of them eager to take back memories in the form of pictures.


A quick time check revealed 8:25, and as if on queue, the lights in the stadium dimmed and screams erupted, piecing your delicate eardrums.


Yes, as you thought to yourself. And so it begins.


Everyone waiting intensely as a projection introducing the band was flashed on the huge white canvas that was covering the stage.



"Joey Zehr"


"Ethan Mentzer"


"Ben Romans"


"Joe Guese"


"Kyle Patrick"


"ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?"


You cheer, along with thousands of other screaming fans in the stadium. At a time, it felt as if the stadium was about to give way.


A countdown appeared on the screen.



"10


9


8


7


6


5


4


3


2


1"


Silhouettes appear on the white canvas.


A flash of blinding light shines at your eyes as the canvas drops, revealing the band, The Click Five, not more then 20meters away.

Everyone around you erupts as they catch a glimpse of the very band that they're here to watch perform.

You're rooted to the spot for about 2 seconds as you look at the band themselves. The piecing screams around you however, eludes your senses and you know you'll have to do only one thing: jump to the music.

They played "Flipside" as a show-starter, its fast paced and catchy tune a perfect way to start the concert.

As the concert went on, many songs that are familiar to you were played. From the high energy "Just The Girl" to the emotional piece "Empty" and even a new acoustic piece that wasn't released in the album.

Throughout the duration of the songs, you find yourself more and more active. So high in fact that you feel your kneels feeling numb by the mini interval of the concert.

Distinct pieces like "Happy Birthday" got the crowd singing as well.

"Yea Yea woah-oh!". You soon get addicted to the song and join the crowd in the sing-along and since it was Kyle's birthday a couple of days back, everyone was even more hyped up.

The individual solos were incredible and you were awed by each everyone's solos, especially Ethan and Joey's. You felt that Ben's solo was really over the top as he paced from one end of the stage to another and even rolled on the floor.

Their hit single, "Jenny" and other tunes like "I'm Getting Over You (acoustic)", "All I Need Is You", "Catch Your Wave", "Addicted to Me", "Long Way to Go" and of course, "Empty", together with a couple of new songs were all belted out in the duration.

They ended the concert with "Headlight Disco" and by then, your throat's sore from shouting and you literally cannot jump or stand properly, being clearly on the high.

And as soon as the crowd dissipates, you and the rest of your friends regrouped. (you guys were so carried away during the concert that some of you got separated from each other) You rushed towards the stage to get a better front row picture of the stage as the staff clears the mess away and people start leaving the stadium, clearly satisfied with the performance.

As your group slowly walks towards the exit, discussions about the concert started. You're personally disappointed that "Mary Jane" and "The Reason Why" were not played but other then that, all of you agrees it was a totally rad concert.

Slumped against one of the walls outside the stadium, one of your friends suddenly received a call from another friend of his that apparently, caught Kyle Patrick's guitar pick when he threw it.

The excitement grew as both groups met up.



The pick had the words "Kyle Patrick" printed on one side and "The Click Five" printed on the other. Obviously the group felt envious.

Your group soon parted with the other, leaving you with your friends.

Perhaps curiosity got the better of you as you saw a section of the car park outside barricaded. Somehow or another, your group of friends decided to "wait for the Click
Five to take the bus and go off" thus the group of you waited and waited... and waited...

A really small group gathered there as well; majority of the crowd gave up on waiting as it was getting late. You were persuaded to leave due to the time but a friend insisted the group to stay.

At around 11:45PM, a man wearing a brown vest dressed in all black came out of the side entrance to the carpark area. Screams from fans around the area filled the quiet night sky. You spun around and saw non-other then Joey Zehr, exiting the building, making his way towards the bus dragging a luggage behind as he made his way.

Intuitively, you climbed on the barricade and shouted "Joey! Can I have a Picture or an Autograph?"

For a moment, everyone around you felt disappointed as Joey boarded the bus without a second glance. However he re-appeared as soon as he left his luggage on board and walked towards the mob of you around the barricade area.



You and your friends, in a desperate bid for autographs, scrambled whatever bits of paper you had. Tickets, Scraps of paper, Subway Menus and even Shirts. You exchanged a handshake with him together with a couple of words. As strange as it might seem, your heart's actually thumping with excitement.

Another friend of yours even managed to hug him, before being shoved away.



You're contented with the entire experience and you know its something you'll remember for a long long time to come...



*Apologies about the blur-ed images. My camera wasn't too clear and the lightings were substantially too bright (not to mention all the jumping). Feel free to comment about this entry.

"Yea Yea Woah-Oh"

Commercialism; The Bane Of Art?

I would like to start this post off with a re-cap and update on the latest that's been going on in my life.

*scroll down right to the article if you're uninterested. (I would if i were you. lol.)

Firstly, i spend the last couple of days at my school's orientation; the School Of Business Management (aka. SBM) at Nanyang Polytechnic (aka. NYP) where I enrolled in Diploma for Media Studies and Management.

The past two days were memorable. My social circle expanded as I met new people and naturally, made new friends in the process. With that, through various games, cheers, tours around the school and the time spent together, my class and I bonded well.

MS0801, you guys are great!
We're easily the best OG!

The grand finale was simply epic; everyone was freaking high and dancing around. Evidently, everyone had their fair share of fun. Now let us work hard together and strive for the best academically! And once again, cheers to the new friends I made during the past 2 days or so. You guys are simply awesome.


That's that.
Well, as you're able to tell, I've been pretty busy for the past couple of days socialising amongst my new mates. Though this is no excuse, I didn't really think of topics to write about during the duration of the orientation.

However, at the band meeting held today, I chanced upon an interesting piece of argumentative topic that our Bassist had to complete for his GP (General Paper).

"Commercialism distorts the value of art" Discuss

The title caught my eye like a light in the dark and obviously, I wanted to give it a shot. He (the Bassist) was more than happy to let me help him complete his piece of homework. But seriously dude, you owe me lunch or something lol.

In the case of an argumentative topic such as this, I feel that the topic itself has to be carefully and extensively scrutinized, word for word for one small misconception or misinterpretation will mean that the article will render utterly useless.

In this case, the word "Commercialism" would be properly defined as an adjective which means something that is "organized principally for financial gain" (as cited from dictionary.com). The keyword here is "financial gain", take note of it.

The word "distorts" means to ruin, destroy, defame or strip of the true meaning and beauty in this case or art; general degradation in this case.

However, there is a choke hold in this notion in the phrase "value of art" partly because the phrase is vague and that there are many degrees of definition to it. It also largely depends one's point of view on the phrase. To some the "value" of art might be its material price, the person who draws it or how old it is for example and to others, this "value" might refer to the quality or the technique used in the art.

We stand before another grey-area for the definition of the word "art" is vague. A sane and logical definition in this context would probably be "The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a medium" (as cited from dictionary.com again). The definition itself is vague as there are many grey-areas in between however, in this case, it isn't needed to fully define the term "art" or segregate it for we are able to treat it as a generalisation.

The next step is probably to piece the pieces together and formulate a simple yet effective definition of the entire notion. From my perspective, all it means is that the title is asking if one agrees or disagrees that the act of Commercialism of Art is only in the interest of financial gain and in doing so, defeating the true purpose of Art, thus degrading it to a level.


Commercialism of Art is something that has been done for quite a period of time in our modern society. This is evident on three fronts of art, which I will be focusing on in this article; Audio, Visual and Physical.

Audio art basically refers to Music, songs and various auditory related mediums. Commercialism is especially evident in this aspect largely due to the fact that there are many different genres and classifications for audio art. Music, itself has different genres. From Rock to Blues, R&B to Jazz; the list goes on.
Commercialism has indeed affected music in a way as there are certain segregation from the genres. The Rock genre, for instance, has a sub genre classified as "indie rock". No, Indie Rock has nothing to do with Bollywood or Indian films; its defined as an artist or a band that is unaffiliated with a larger or more commercial organization. It basically means that its a certain type of music that is uncommercialised.
In comparison, many die hard Rock fans will tell you that they prefer Indie Rock to their mainstream counter parts.

Why is this so?

Content. The content of mainstream music as compared to indie music is largely different probably due to the fact that mainstream music is controlled by a certain authority in terms of content. Instrumental-wise, the unique sound of the indie music scene is the missing ingredient that fans are looking for. Many feel that by commercialising, the true essence of music is lost as is it replaced by the need for more money.

But is this true?

I personally feel that obviously, there's a difference between commercialised and uncommercialised music, but not all artists or bands lose the "essence" of music as they make the transition from indie to mainstream. Only a number of them will suffer a distortion in terms of their artistic value and in fact to some, mainstream music would appear more appealing as indie music doesn't cover a wide spectrum of thought in their content; it caters to only a limited capacity.

Let us move on to the aspect of Visual art-form. When we say visual art, things like paintings and drawings and sketches comes to mind. Commercialism is actually the key in marketing and that is especially prominent in the field of visual art.
Not alot of people enjoy works of visual art as it is often concluded that it takes a certain degree of understanding and appreciation to fully immerse oneself in visual art. And it is due to that fact which makes commercialism an advantage in this aspect.

Through commercialism, the masses will be able to be exposed to various works of art and henceforth, develop and cultivate an interest and appreciation for it. They will begin to understand the true meaning of a particular piece of work and the complexity behind it.

But how about the quality? Will it be compromised in anyway?

No. In this case commercialism, as mentioned, is an advantage. We see examples like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and controversial piece "The Last Supper", or Vincent Van Gogh's beautiful piece "Starry Night" or even Michelangelo's "The Creation Of Adam", all of them awesome and intricate pieces of art that have undergone commercialism to a certain extent; they are now world famous pieces of art.
The point here is that the beauty of visual art pieces such those mentioned above isn't in anyway compromised as these works of art are not fabricated solely for the purpose of commercialism and therefore in this case, commercialism is considered an advantage.

Physical art basically refers to various landscapes, structures and revolves around the beauty of the natural environment. Places like Mount Everest, The Great Pyramid Of Giza, The Great Wall of China, Easter Island Statues, Aztec Ruins, The Stonehenge and The Col0sseum are just some of the beautiful examples of physical art we have on Earth.

The effect of commercialism on physical art pieces such as those mentioned however, isn't that beautiful. Commercialism means promotion and financial gain (as mention earlier) and in this case, tourism comes into play due to the fact that it is a major source of income to many countries and businesses.
Having tourists in the area would mean destruction or degeneration in the quality of these physical art pieces. Pollution will soon follow due to the fact that with the arrival of tourist; relevant infrastructure would have to be built to accommodate.

Clearly, physical art will not benefit much from commercialism as it will lead to distortion and over time, complete destruction. The value will drop and eventually perish. This is a case whereby commercialism will not benefit the value of art as only financial gains are thought of and as a result, the quality will deteriorate.

Like a coin with two different sides, an advantage and a disadvantage is obvious in the topic of Commercialism and the effects it has on the value of art.

However, I personally feel that Commercialism doesn't distort the value of art and thus disagree with the notion. Yes, the fact that Commercialism might bring harm and pollution to various art forms (like physical art), Commercialism is also a boon in certain aspects. Commercialism doesn't defeat the whole purpose of art but more rather, refines it into a modern context; to increase exposure and audience.

Thus i conclude that Commercialism is not the bane of Art.