For reference, any post labeled "TT" stands for Top Tracks. These posts go into some of my absolute favorite pieces of music and why I like them as well as how I came to find them. None of these tracks will have links to the track but I'll try to make sure they're relatively easy to find on the internet.
'Cybernetic Mariachi' is a track by A_Rival on his album 8-Bit Pimp. What strikes me most about the song is the use of 8-bit sound to augment a relatively good standalone song. However, if that were the only thing that struck me, it'd be a pretty lame song as all the tracks on the album incorporate 8-bit sound. Besides the nostalgic effect 8-bit sound has on me as a child of the 90s, the lyrics just work. While comedic, they fit the style and overall texture of the song in a perfect manner.
While I'm not a huge fan of hip-hop and rap music in general, I find that given the right circumstances, all styles are interesting. 'Cybernetic Mariachi' is a perfect example of blending two usually disparate styles into something much greater than the sum of its parts. I came across the song and album as part of the game music bundle, not to be confused with the Humble Bundle, and fell in love with it. Check both of those out if you're a fan of video games or music and I hope you enjoyed this post. Also, if you like the track, think about buying it from A_Rival at his site, the album is $3 for a digital download, $12 for a physical disc. FYI, you can actually listen to this track for free from his site, as well as the entire album it comes from.
See ya next month, this is the last post for the month.
--CsMiREK
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Musical Discovery - Ellie Goulding
To start off musical discovery, I wanted to highlight a relatively well known artist. As I continue onwards, I am likely to go further into the obscure. Regardless, this post is about the UK singer Ellie Goulding.
Most famous in the US for the song 'Lights', Goulding blends a powerful voice with elements most commonly associated with electronic dance music. What's most interesting to me about Goulding is her ability to sing in multiple musical styles from having a soulful sound to a bright and distinctly pop sound.
The first of the two can be easily heard off her second album Halcyon in the track 'My Blood'. I'll leave it up to you to go search for it online. When you do listen to it, you'll realize what kind of range and depth her voice really has. While I love musicians who can cultivate and master a particular kind of sound I also admire those who can create bridges between multiple styles to create wholly new styles.
For reference, if you want a distinctly more pop sound, listen to her first album Lights. If you have fallen in love with her voice and can take a darker and more mature sound, pick up her second album Halcyon. I hope you enjoyed this segment, the next one's on the punk rock group Rise Against.
--CsMiREK
Most famous in the US for the song 'Lights', Goulding blends a powerful voice with elements most commonly associated with electronic dance music. What's most interesting to me about Goulding is her ability to sing in multiple musical styles from having a soulful sound to a bright and distinctly pop sound.
The first of the two can be easily heard off her second album Halcyon in the track 'My Blood'. I'll leave it up to you to go search for it online. When you do listen to it, you'll realize what kind of range and depth her voice really has. While I love musicians who can cultivate and master a particular kind of sound I also admire those who can create bridges between multiple styles to create wholly new styles.
For reference, if you want a distinctly more pop sound, listen to her first album Lights. If you have fallen in love with her voice and can take a darker and more mature sound, pick up her second album Halcyon. I hope you enjoyed this segment, the next one's on the punk rock group Rise Against.
--CsMiREK
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Failures of Education in the Current Era
As I was browsing the internet, I came to thinking about the state of education in the US. In particular I found that this video on YouTube held many of the same views that I have. To this end, I felt that it would be interesting to explore more into my views of why education fails in the US and perhaps elsewhere in the world, as this is out of my experience I cannot comment well on it.
To keep this post brief, I will touch upon the one thing that I feel is the most important reason as to why our education system has failed. To me, the main reason for our education's failure is our view of intelligence. I'm not quite sure when society began to shift in this way, surely it has been such since before I was born 20 or so years ago, but there is this extreme push towards test results. It seems as though test results are a better indication of intelligence than anything else.
Tests, however are often an incredibly poor indicator of intelligence. For one, most standardized testing can be boiled down to an extremely small handful of types of questions. This means that the most prepared and most studied often are awarded with higher scores than those who are truly intelligent. Arbitrary facts and contrived passages, that are quite frankly dull to the majority of society, constitute what it is to be intelligent in our minds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for gauging mathematical and verbal reasoning. However, the current system is about tricks and strategies that just aren't generalizable to more interesting problems. Not to mention that they only test the lower bound for those that have already learned further. For example, given a high school student who is studying multivariable or multivariate calculus, the SAT/ACT are almost insulting in their simplicity.
It shocks me how many people cannot reason about relatively simple things. For example, most sequences of numbers are relatively easy to understand. Given the numbers 0,1,1,2,4, and 7, it should not be difficult to see that the next number should be 13, the sum of the previous three numbers. By the time you get to 4th or 5th grade, such a thing should be able to be abstracted out. Unfortunately, our schooling system is too focused on rote arithmetic to teach the minor critical thinking skills to find patterns in simple numbers.
To me, intelligence is about understanding what one does not know and getting to knowing those things. Intelligence should not be measured by arbitrary facts. Instead it should be bolstered by those facts to gain new insight into how systems work.
--CsMiREK
To keep this post brief, I will touch upon the one thing that I feel is the most important reason as to why our education system has failed. To me, the main reason for our education's failure is our view of intelligence. I'm not quite sure when society began to shift in this way, surely it has been such since before I was born 20 or so years ago, but there is this extreme push towards test results. It seems as though test results are a better indication of intelligence than anything else.
Tests, however are often an incredibly poor indicator of intelligence. For one, most standardized testing can be boiled down to an extremely small handful of types of questions. This means that the most prepared and most studied often are awarded with higher scores than those who are truly intelligent. Arbitrary facts and contrived passages, that are quite frankly dull to the majority of society, constitute what it is to be intelligent in our minds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for gauging mathematical and verbal reasoning. However, the current system is about tricks and strategies that just aren't generalizable to more interesting problems. Not to mention that they only test the lower bound for those that have already learned further. For example, given a high school student who is studying multivariable or multivariate calculus, the SAT/ACT are almost insulting in their simplicity.
It shocks me how many people cannot reason about relatively simple things. For example, most sequences of numbers are relatively easy to understand. Given the numbers 0,1,1,2,4, and 7, it should not be difficult to see that the next number should be 13, the sum of the previous three numbers. By the time you get to 4th or 5th grade, such a thing should be able to be abstracted out. Unfortunately, our schooling system is too focused on rote arithmetic to teach the minor critical thinking skills to find patterns in simple numbers.
To me, intelligence is about understanding what one does not know and getting to knowing those things. Intelligence should not be measured by arbitrary facts. Instead it should be bolstered by those facts to gain new insight into how systems work.
--CsMiREK
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Musical Discovery - Intro
If you talk to any of my friends, you would learn that I have an avid interest for few things. Among those are music and video games. To better understand just how avid my interest in music is, the current number of pieces of music I have is just under 17000. That much music takes up over 110 GB of space and takes over a month and a half to play end to end. Now while I don't legally own most of it, I do try to get as much as I can legally within my means. (Currently up to a little over 2000 legally owned tracks)
The point of these posts labeled Musical Discovery is to give all my readers a sense of what I like to listen to. It also makes for a good way to get people interested in music that they would never normally hear otherwise. The plan currently is to have at least one or two of these a month, highlighting a different artist in each post. In addition, if you come across any sweet music, leave a comment and I'll look into it. Stay tuned for the first real post in the series coming up soon!
--CsMiREK
The point of these posts labeled Musical Discovery is to give all my readers a sense of what I like to listen to. It also makes for a good way to get people interested in music that they would never normally hear otherwise. The plan currently is to have at least one or two of these a month, highlighting a different artist in each post. In addition, if you come across any sweet music, leave a comment and I'll look into it. Stay tuned for the first real post in the series coming up soon!
--CsMiREK
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The little details
By this point, you might have noticed that I am posting everyday. What you might not know is that I indeed have a planned schedule of updates for this particular blog. Here's a hint, it's not gonna be everyday.
If you look at all, you'll find a bunch of references to all manner of things. Most of these will likely be from TV shows or music but not all of them. If you look even closer you'll discover my update schedule, at least for January. Well good luck in your search in the upcoming months and I hope you enjoy the site and stick with me for some of my upcoming posts.
--CsMiREK
If you look at all, you'll find a bunch of references to all manner of things. Most of these will likely be from TV shows or music but not all of them. If you look even closer you'll discover my update schedule, at least for January. Well good luck in your search in the upcoming months and I hope you enjoy the site and stick with me for some of my upcoming posts.
--CsMiREK
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Onto greener pastures
They grow up so fast don't they? I remember just one year ago, 2012 was just a day old. We learned so much from that chap. Sorry to see 'im leave just as we were getting to know him. Quite rude how we rushed him out the door for little 2013. However, I hope this one's not as much of a jerk as 2012.
Why was he a jerk you say? Well for starters we had to deal with that sham of an election. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-Obama. But honestly, the best the GOP could field was Mitt Romney? I would be more surprised than not if he had won back in November. In the same ring, what the FUCK was this? Maybe at some point I'll go into my personal thoughts on why Congress is broken, but for now, that'll be much more entertaining.
Why was he a jerk you say? Well, a new record was set for the highest amount of money spent at auction for a work of art. Seriously, $120 million dollars for The Scream by Edvard Munch. I'm all for fair spending for art, but the original painter's dead now. The only real reason to buy that painting is for bragging rights. I suppose the rich are free to do as they please but if that money was split a thousand ways that's still almost three times the average salary in the US.
Gang rape/murder in India, the shooting in a freaking SCHOOL in Newtown, CT, a mass shooting in a theater in Aurora, CO. Needless to say, it's been a rough year for a bunch of folks. Don't get me started about the whole "Mayan calendar end of the world" shit.
What angers me most about the majority of these events is that they're purely man made. Even worse, we have the gall to blame others for these twisted stories. For example, why blame the gays? People are people, and while we all choose to label each other this or that, why does blame always end up getting shoved on people who have nothing to do with anything. I'll leave my rant on religion for later, but for now ask yourselves, why do your pastors and ministers who preach loving and understanding push an agenda of bigotry and insanity?
Peace out, enjoy the next year and keep your minds open.
There's only one resolution you should have in 2013: Don't be a dick.
--CsMiREK
Why was he a jerk you say? Well for starters we had to deal with that sham of an election. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-Obama. But honestly, the best the GOP could field was Mitt Romney? I would be more surprised than not if he had won back in November. In the same ring, what the FUCK was this? Maybe at some point I'll go into my personal thoughts on why Congress is broken, but for now, that'll be much more entertaining.
Why was he a jerk you say? Well, a new record was set for the highest amount of money spent at auction for a work of art. Seriously, $120 million dollars for The Scream by Edvard Munch. I'm all for fair spending for art, but the original painter's dead now. The only real reason to buy that painting is for bragging rights. I suppose the rich are free to do as they please but if that money was split a thousand ways that's still almost three times the average salary in the US.
Gang rape/murder in India, the shooting in a freaking SCHOOL in Newtown, CT, a mass shooting in a theater in Aurora, CO. Needless to say, it's been a rough year for a bunch of folks. Don't get me started about the whole "Mayan calendar end of the world" shit.
What angers me most about the majority of these events is that they're purely man made. Even worse, we have the gall to blame others for these twisted stories. For example, why blame the gays? People are people, and while we all choose to label each other this or that, why does blame always end up getting shoved on people who have nothing to do with anything. I'll leave my rant on religion for later, but for now ask yourselves, why do your pastors and ministers who preach loving and understanding push an agenda of bigotry and insanity?
Peace out, enjoy the next year and keep your minds open.
There's only one resolution you should have in 2013: Don't be a dick.
--CsMiREK
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Musicians and Programmers Pt. 1
So here we are, a real post. But what should I talk about? Well, how about I talk about myself a bit. The purpose of this site is to show the world my views and opinions. To do so, you should probably know some stuff about me.
Given that the title of this post is musicians and programmers I guess that must mean I am both a musician and a programmer. Well, if you came to that conclusion, I would surmise that you are at least as smart as a 5th grader. More specifically, I am a cellist and am about to graduate from college with a bachelors in computer science.
What I have realized in my few years in programming is that a LOT of programmers are musicians. This seems strange as in programming, you try to create programs with the "correct" behavior. In this way, programming seems incredibly objective, there is a right answer, get to it. On the other hand, music is highly subjective. It is hard to gauge what "good" music is and there generally isn't an answer at all. To that, I say that you're not asking the right questions about music nor are you asking the right questions about the minds behind the music.
I won't go into why I think so many programmers are musicians in this post, I'll leave that for later. (If you're curious what others think about the subject, see this). However, I want to impart onto you the correct questions to ask yourself for my next post on this topic. First, what makes a "good" program? At the same token, what makes a "good" piece of music? Next, what do programmers aim for to make "good" programs and what do composers aim for to make "good" pieces of music? Lastly, does everyone have a consensus on what constitutes a "good" program?
--CsMiREK
Given that the title of this post is musicians and programmers I guess that must mean I am both a musician and a programmer. Well, if you came to that conclusion, I would surmise that you are at least as smart as a 5th grader. More specifically, I am a cellist and am about to graduate from college with a bachelors in computer science.
What I have realized in my few years in programming is that a LOT of programmers are musicians. This seems strange as in programming, you try to create programs with the "correct" behavior. In this way, programming seems incredibly objective, there is a right answer, get to it. On the other hand, music is highly subjective. It is hard to gauge what "good" music is and there generally isn't an answer at all. To that, I say that you're not asking the right questions about music nor are you asking the right questions about the minds behind the music.
I won't go into why I think so many programmers are musicians in this post, I'll leave that for later. (If you're curious what others think about the subject, see this). However, I want to impart onto you the correct questions to ask yourself for my next post on this topic. First, what makes a "good" program? At the same token, what makes a "good" piece of music? Next, what do programmers aim for to make "good" programs and what do composers aim for to make "good" pieces of music? Lastly, does everyone have a consensus on what constitutes a "good" program?
--CsMiREK
First post (how generic)
Welcome to "The World". Wait wait wait...that's all wrong, let's try this again.
Welcome to The NHK. Whoa whoa whoa...that's even worse, one more try.
Welcome to Chimeric Abstractions. There we go.
I hope you enjoy your stay and enjoy the posts from here.
Onto more interesting and useful posts.
--CsMiREK
Welcome to The NHK. Whoa whoa whoa...that's even worse, one more try.
Welcome to Chimeric Abstractions. There we go.
I hope you enjoy your stay and enjoy the posts from here.
Onto more interesting and useful posts.
--CsMiREK
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