The Music Industry

I think there is a problem in the music industry. I will admit that I am a little biased in my opinions. I do not enjoy most all-female bands, and I don't like most kids singers. Of course there are exceptions. I believe that the industry is still focusing on marketability over quality music. Who can blame them though, they want money to stay afloat. I just hate seeing quality bands stay underground because they don't appeal to certain audiences. Its true about the industry as well, when they say you have to know somebody. Will Smith's kids get to much of a leg up. First there was karate kid for his son, now his daughter is a ghetto chick, on Jay-Z's Roc Nation... WHYY!!!! I don't understand. This song is so repetitive, and the "Whip My Hair" part makes me want to pull my hair out. I'll never understand some things.

On a contradictory note. Dr Dres future first single (apparantly.. who knows with him..) called Kush has just been posted on his website. Its actually very decent. I do like some rappers, and him I like. I don't like the drug references, but his flow, and beats are rather catchy. Plus it has snoop dogg. Snoop Doggs timbre is off the wall.

I also just downloaded the new My Chemical Romance. Insanely good. Check it out!!

Night And Day/ An Original Piece

An Original Piece By Spencer Jones.

Imagine a world where the sun rises from the efforts of workers in the night. They come in darkness and leave in day. At night, they will not rest until the sun rises.

This is their world.

If the quality is not good on this blog, click on the link, the youtube version for sure is high quality. When I first watched this on the blog, the pictures were very pixelated.. so the link may be better.

Rememberance Day. Looking Back on the Past Bit in Music.

This is going to be another slam blog of everything that is good in the music world. On September 28th Jimmy Eat World released their new album Invented. I myself had pre-ordered a copy of the deluxe edition (with four bonus tracks). Oddly enough, through a string of circumstances I did not recieve it until late october. Anyways, when I listened to this album, it transported me to another world. Jim Adkins takes his lyrical prowress to a whole new level on this disc. Each song is an individual story, a piece of someones life. What I like about this concept is that its just a slice of someones life. That is all we really remember about someone. We only remember certain things, and never the whole picture. Humans are funny like that. Adkins writes little stories about people, and does it with such effect to make any teenager, or adult blush. The whole album is a standout to me. Songs like "Cut" and "littlething" are catchy sing alongs, where "Invented" and "Mixtape" are more atmospheric building songs. A little bit of something for everyone.






What else have I been listening to. A Day to Remember ("Popcore"-Pop punk-Hardcore) is a band that has always got my head banging along. They are currently about to release their new album What Seperates Me From You. This album is going to be big for them. Each song is consistant, with a never stop rocking feel to it. The album only has 10 songs, so each song is full quality, and keeps rolling to the end. The energy is felt the whole way throughout. Standout tracks include "All I Want"and "All Signs Point to Lauderdale". Its a great album who just want to have some fun, with a very high quality modern pop punk/hardcore album. With a scene that does not have much substance left. These guys have some heart left. Its good to hear.




Whats the deal with Love the Way You Lie (Part 2). I hate this thing in the music industry where they get one big hit, and they have to sell and exploit is muc has they can. Originally it was in overplaying it on the radio. Now they have to do this thing where they make sequels. There is Airplanes pt 1 and 2. Love the Way You 1 and 2. Its just really corny. There are already 200 remixes for every pop song, why do they have to make sequels now.. I guess its all about the money.

I must say though that Rihanna's new album is very decent though. She has one heck of a set of pipes on her. She can belt out notes very well. I would recommend that album. Another thing. All Of The Lights- Kanye West feat (200 other well known people) came out. Its amazing as well. I love Rihanna's voice in it. heck, even Kanye doesn't ruin the massive feel to it. He just builds to it. He gives a nice shout out to Michael Jackson. Speaking of him.. his new song "Breaking News" came out. Its alright, but it will never beat his past works. Whether or not it is his voice I can not say, his timbre is not entirely known to me. Perhaps there was some vocal modulation, but I can not be sure. Its a decet song.. and always could be worse.

I have been going a bit back in time. I have been enjoying the song "Crying Lightning" by the Arctic Monkeys. Amazing Queens of the Stone Age feel. Also Daft Punk ad the Tron album is coming out soon. The Tron album is unremarkable, and more of a movie feel (no vocals), but it reminded me of all their past great work. "One More Time" and the Alive 2007 album. They are great- great music and great get-ups. Check them out if you haven't yet. On my to do list next is my own song, which I will hopefully post soon!!!

Cerebral Palsy, A Modern Issue. Intervew with Lianne Nicholson

Running a little late for my interview with the esteemed Lianne Nicholson, I walk into the room slightly flustered. I sit down on the chair that is uncomfortably close to her, and apologize for being late. I notice that she does not notice how close I am to her, and I move back slightly. This draws my attention.

S: Sorry about that, I noticed you didn't move at all. Does it not bother you having someone invade your personal space?

L: Oh no, not at all. I'm used to it with my brothers always trying to bug me.

S: Is this a normal thing that your brothers like to do to you?

L: Yeah, they are always trying to get on my bad side.

S: So I will try to keep this nice and straightforward, but away from your work. As we know, you are an esteemed movie director, but what other hobbies and interests do you have?

L: Well, I like to read, build model cars, configure puzzles, draw cartoon characters.

S: Why puzzles? It seems odd that you would be one to do that. I myself am not very good at them, and never quite liked them.

L: Well, my mom was always big into them, and my interest sort of just stemmed from it.

S: So you must be pretty close to your mom I take it. What do your parents do for a living?

L: My mom works as a cashier at Bargain Shop, and my Father- well I don't know exactly what he does.

S: So you're not as close to him as your mom?

L: No, not really. I still blame him for the divorce of my parents.

S: I am so sorry to hear that. So you have how many brothers and are they younger than you?

L: I have two brothers, and they are both younger than me. They live with my mom and I just outside of town.

S: I guess that explains why they like to bug you! So what do you want to do as a career, besides the movie business?

L: I want to be a prosthetics and orthotics engineer.

S: What made you want to do this sort of work?

L: Well, my one brother, who has Cerebral Palsy, has to have braces on his legs to allow him to stand. I want to partake in a job that allows people to use their limbs to the extent they should always have been able to. I would feel very good fixing the mobility of the disabled.

S: That is a very noble goal for you. I think that sounds great. Has it been hard to live and deal with a brother with such a debilitating disease?

L: Absolutely, it is very draining. There are certain things that are just very hard to do with him, and you have to help him out. You just learn to cope with it. I like to help out though, because it helps the family.

S: Absolutely. So what would you tell someone who is in a similar situation if they were feeling down about having a sibling with a debilitating disease?

L: I would tell them to ask their parents if they can help out. They could help out by carrying or moving the child. Things like this just happen, and they should just try and help out. Your parents are under a lot of stress, and you have to realize this. Don't get frustrated, it is not their fault, and just do your best to help out.

S: It sounds like you are a great influence for your family and for anyone really. That is some very good advice. Have you tried spreading it around?

L: I did a speech about my brother when I was in elementary school. I went for a day when I was in a wheelchair for an entire day. It was definitely an experience. It created a whole new understanding for me. Simple things like getting water was difficult. You had to put it on your lap, pour it, and so on. It just brought my understanding to a whole new level. I just didn't understand concepts before, but now I do.

S: I think that is a very powerful thing to do for your brother. What made you decide to spread the message to the kids in elementary school?

L: Some kids would make fun of him for being in a wheelchair and I wanted to let them all understand why he was the way he was. That it was not his fault at all.

S: That is an awful thing. I don't like how people can laugh and make fun of someone who has a disease that is out of their control. So I can see that your very protective of your brother.

L: Absolutely, and my mom is as well. We would protect both of my brothers with our lives. We care so much about them, if anyone tried to mess with them, they would have to deal with us.

S: You seem to have your head on straight about this. You are a great sister, and they are lucky brothers to have you. You put up with a lot, and I guess that's how you learned to cope with personal space invasions. So if you were going to leave one impression on the world, what would it be?

L: I just want the world to remember me as someone who helped others to live the way they always should be able to. I want people to live life to their full potential with my help.

S: I am sure you will help many people! Thank you so much for your time!

Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders affecting body movement and muscle co-ordination. There are thousands of people in Canada with this disorder. To learn more visit http://www.ofcp.ca.

The Most Scarring Video of All Time

This song should have been posted on Halloween because it is possible the most scarring video I have ever watched. What it encompasses can only be watched and not described. I believe that a video has the ability to ruin a song for a person, and this does just that.

Queens of the Stone Age, on their album Era Vulgaris, which came out in 2007, was a big hit with songs like "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu" and "3's and 7's" (Yes from Guitar Hero III). This song was actually the lead single. Its video which has mutiliation and cannibalism in it, is hard to watch. I the time I watched this video I stayed glued to the television. Not from enjoyment, but from fear, I could not get away from the screen. Its basic idea is what scared me. As I am posting this, I most likely won't even watch the video again. The feel that this song gives me is one that is very disgusting. QOTSA wanted to go for a controversial, gross feeling, and they definitely pulled it off. Enjoy the vulgarity of the day.

Reflecting into the Past: The Great Depression

Reflection Magazine- 10/31/10

Interview written and recorded by Chapin Waite and Spencer Jones

When looking back on the past few years, we will always remember the economic downturn that has hit our country. We will remember the havoc, media coverage on this recession, the focus on the politics and the crime. We will remember the pictures of all the houses in the United States for sale, with no one buying them. What we experienced, to us, will always be remembered as the worst possible thing that could happen. We are an egocentric species with the focus only on ourselves. If we compared our present to the past, we would consider ourselves to be lucky. Our recession could have been a depression, but it was not. Let us look back to the 1930's.

The Great Depression was occurring, this was a time period where, in Canada alone, 27% of people were unemployed. This was astonishing. Those with jobs were lucky, and even then, they may not have been making very much money. These times seem to have been forgotten in the midst of the current economical crisis. Robert "Bruce" Gordon, a survivor of the Great Depression and now 80 years old, was interviewed by Reflection Magazine to give the people of today a different viewpoint of how things were in comparison to now and what the recession could have been like.

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In the Great Depression, in terms of finances, what would your family have been considered?

My family during the Depression would have been considered poor. My parents did not work at the time and we lived off of welfare. We did not have very much and made do with what we had. For example, we had meat only once a week. My father had his own vegetable garden and we had a chicken which we used for eggs. We were considered very poor.

Where did you live? What sort of house?

I lived on Curry Avenue in Windsor. Our house was very plain, a simple wooden house. It had no basement. The house was heated with what was called a "Quebec" heater, which was essentially a stove in the living room.

What was the job status on both of your parents? What did they do?

My mother never worked, staying at home to take care of us. My father was unemployed but was trained as a cabinet maker, which is equivalent to today's carpenter. There were no odd jobs for him when he was unemployed. He would do his best to find work, but it was extremely hard. Often, he would pick and peel potatoes for the government and would receive some in compensation. He would do this for our food. For fuel for our house, he would walk along the railroad tracks and pick up fallen coal. The welfare payments were not enough to let us have enough coal, so this was a good way to help us keep warm during the winter.

What did your family have to do to get by with what they had?

We had to "tighten" our belts. We only ate basic meals and spent no money on entertainment. We did not go to the show, or buy pop and ice cream. These were rare treats that we were very excited and grateful for when we received. My mother made clothes for us, and we always repaired them. Our clothes would be patched and we would use things until no longer possible. Everything was passed down. For soap we would take the scraps and melt them together so that no soap was wasted and a new bar could be made. Special times, such as Christmas, was the hardest. Our stockings were filled with fruit and other food items we rarely got. My father, the night before Christmas would steal trees and set them up so that we would always have a Christmas tree.

What sorts of things did your family do for entertainment?

Our only form of entertainment was the radio. All kinds of shows were on the radio. Soap operas were on during the day. They were originally called soap operas because they were sponsored by soap companies like Proctor & Gamble. My mother listened to these during the day. At night there were entertainment shows like Jack Benny and Bob Hope. We listened to kids shows like Little Orphan Annie and the Lone Ranger. On occasion we went to the show, which was 10 cents, but this was very rare.

Did you go to school? Were your friends in the same financial situation as yourself?

The majority of my schoolmates were in the same boat as my family. We were all working class, and therefore had very little. There were always a few that were kids of a lawyer or a doctor, but mostly the kids were in the same boat.

Was there a definite class society in place at the time? Could you not do certain things due to your social and economic status?

No question about it, there was a class society in place at the time. People with money could still live the good life of the twenties. They could go to golf clubs and go to sporting events, places that required money. Us, who were in the working class could not. In terms of payment, for the working class, there were no credit cards. Grocery stores had in place methods where you could set up an account and pay when you got the money. They had to do this, or they themselves would go out of business. For Christmas you could pick an item in advance and pay it off over time, this was called the layaway plan. In terms of class society though, there definitely was one.

What do you think of the current economic situation in the world?

Right now it is bad, but not as bad as the recession. Things are getting better, but it's going slowly. The fear is that some country may try to get out too quickly and we may go into a depression. Another issue is devaluation. There is the paranoia that countries may devalue their money, and race to the bottom. When a country's money is cheap, wages will also go down. Right now , however, things are not near as bad as the depression.

What do you think of today's youth and the debt situation?

The youth of today do not understand the use of money. They feel they need to spend everything they have, and have no limitations to their excesses. They have lived in a time when everything has been given to them. The mental state of mind right now is that they can still live like they are rich. This is how we got in this situation in the first place. The key is to not exceed your means.

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What was hoped to be gained from this interview is that you can never forget the past. We must learn from past mistakes and never make them again. In the present, even though things may seem bleak, times are still good in comparison to what could be and we must strive and discipline ourselves to not let things get to where they were before. After all, the only way the depression ended was through the Second World War.