SomeVapourTrails

If you knew...

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:18:05 -0700

If you knew how I missed you,
You would not stay away today.
Don't you know I need you,
Stay here my dear with me.

Companions III

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:32:30 -0700

Songs are like love, few will be enduring, their melody will last even when the music is over, but many will vanish. Here are 5 songs that guided me through life so far are:

1.) Nina Simone - Sinnerman (The lyrics sum up our relationship to God, our belief. We often consider God as a stopgap which will help us when we fail, we expect God to fix the problems we caused and we often forget that we are responsible for the mess. God is often the last resort. The sinner tries to run away from his mess, but it doesn't work, because he can't hide from his own bad conscience. The only prayers that will work are not a communication with an invisible power but a dialog with our heart and soul.)

MP3: Nina_Simone_Sinnerman.mp3

2.) Joni Mitchell - Amelia (We so seldom look on love. We have so many kinds of distractions, it's no surprise that there are so many false alarms. We consider everything as love - sexual pleasure, attraction, same interests. This song is about searching for love, a melancholic retrospect of all the obstacles on this way.)

MP3: 02 Amelia.mp3

3.) Simon & Garfunkel - For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (It's the perfect celebration of love. Longing and fulfillment, dream and reality.)

4.) Trespassers William - Different Stars (Another song that makes me aware of all the longing and the emotions I am able to feel. It almost hurts physically while listening to it. But it's a good pain.)

MP3: trespassers william - different stars.mp3

5.) Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street (The soundtrack of my youth. The reason why I started to love music.)

If I were a song (Companions II)

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:46:12 -0700

If I were a song, it would be a sad one with a hopeful ending. It would be quiet for most of the time with desperate outbursts during the chorus. This song would be gentle, almost minimalistic, full of hints and finally full of love. It's a song to be sung by the person I really love. But whenever this person I love isn't around, here are 5 female voices who are decent temporary substitutes:

5.) PJ Harvey (Her music and voice can be desperate, loud and energetic. But it also offers a lot of vulnerability. I always like this sort of combination.)

4.) Joni Mitchell (In her song "Amelia" she sings "People will tell you where they've gone, they'll tell you where to go, but till you get there yourself you never really know. Where some have found their paradise, other's just come to harm." The low-key longing in her voice makes me shiver.)

3.) Hope Sandoval (She's the lead singer of Mazzy Star. Her dreamy voice guides me for over a decade now. There's a strange coziness in it, no matter how sad the song is.)

2.) Nina Simone (She is beyond description. Her interpretation of "Sinnerman" is the soundtrack for my depressions, her "If you knew" is the musical equivalent for my emotional orgasms.)

1.) Anna-Lynne Williams (Singer of the band Trespassers William, for her solo works she uses the pseudonym Lotte Kestner. Her voice offers sheer beauty, I am drowning in tears and happiness while listening to her.)

My companions (Part 1)

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:07:08 -0700

Sometimes I think that the voices of certain singers are as familiar to me as the voices of my closest friends and family members. Those voices of those singers are my companions through bad times and great times.
I am good in making lists, put order into chaos, but I somehow fail to arrange my personal feelings properly, hiding them in a drawer, neglecting them. Some of those male voices I mention below are sort of keys to my feelings, keys to the heart. They will always guide me through times when I have fits of excessive rationality.

So here's the list:

5) Roy Orbison (I hadn't heard his voice for ages. But when I listened to an old song on the radio, the bright warmth in his voice remembered me that I really enjoyed listening to his songs when I was a teen.)
4) Tom Waits (His voice is not appealing, the stories in his songs often remind me of the ugly sides of life. Nevertheless there is hope in the songs, hope not although but because of all the dark sides!)
3) Johnny Cash (I love his deep voice, powerful and fragile, fierce and affectionate. The two times I had the chance to see him live on stage are among the most impressing moments of music I ever experienced.)
2) Mark Kozelek (I can't even describe what his voice means to me. It is full of mystery and beauty.)
1) Bruce Springsteen (It's not possible for me counting the nights when I listened to Nebraska or to Darkness On The Edge of Town and felt the desire to escape. Now I know I can't run away from myself. The healing power of his voice make my scars less visible.)

Personal 2008 wishlist

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:50:32 -0700

Here are some albums I plan to buy within the next months:

1.) The Horse Flies - Until The Ocean
http://www.myspace.com/thehorseflies

2.) Rapoon - Disappeared
http://www.myspace.com/rapoonband

3.) Violeta Parra - Las Ultimas Composiciones
Samples on Amazon.de

4.) Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
Samples on Amazon.com

5.) Dälek - Abandoned Language
Samples on Amazon.com

6.) Arvo Pärt - I Am The True Vine
Samples on Amazon.com

7.) Kid Koala - Some of My Best Friends Are DJs
Samples on Amazon.com

8.) A Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Samples on Amazon.com

9.) Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw
http://www.myspace.com/tindersticksofficial

10.) Wayne Jackson - The Long Goodbye
http://waynejackson.fuzz.com/

Yes We Can - Guidelines for Virtual Communities

Sat, 17 May 2008 01:59:38 -0700

Based on my observations I reckoned lots of people joining fuzz since the official launch of Blip. That's great, but there's no blessing without a curse. I don't want to bore anyone with statistics, but it seems logical to me that a growing number of users also increases the chances that there are idiots among us who want to annoy others and destroy the community. The bigger fuzz gets the more difficult it is to find those users and keep an eye on them. Disturbing a community is pretty easy, enriching it is way more difficult.

Almost all virtual communities share the same terms of use and offer rules for the communication with each other. I often miss 2 important points.

1.) Being part of a community is not about following rules which consist of dos and don'ts. The crucial point for contributing is a sense for one's own responsibility. If egoism is the mainspring for all your actions, you will never be able to take part in a community successfully. Each and every addition improves the community, an attitude of giving instead of taking will be a benefit for everyone. If each member tries his best to make this community the very best, it will be the perfect place to stay and meet other people. If we all contribute (time, creativity, affection, whatever), we will all be able to receive pleasure and inspiration. Everyone of us is responsible for the community, neither the staff nor the very active members can carry the load.

2.) These days our attention span is short. We are not willing to allow something to grow on us. We join a community, take a short look and move on, if we don't find immediate satisfaction. What remains are orphaned profile pages. Becoming a member of a community and losing interest immediately is a really bad habit. So the very first sign of responsibility is to think twice before joining. We must work hard by contributing, before we should expect something in return.

Hope I clarified my point of view. Thanks for reading this blog!

Wizards of Post-rock

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:00:42 -0700

Yes, I am a Post-rock fan. And of course I may enjoy even average Post-rock tunes. But Pablo Diccie are above average, in every aspect of their songs. They allow their music to develop, starting with a simple melody which becomes a rich sound texture during various changes of pace. Satellite is a perfect example for their composing skills. This track would fit perfectly on a CD of Post-rock cult bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Nevertheless Pablo Diccie don't sound like a clone band. Greensleeves is a good example for their very unique way of interpretation. If they plan to make a CD, I will be among the very persons buying it. No doubt!

Relaxed Beats & Asian Flavor

Thu, 15 May 2008 01:13:28 -0700

I have no idea about the musical background of Slowbirds, nor do I know if it's an artist collective or a single guy. But what I've found out is that this is great ambient stuff with very relaxed beat and a subtle Asian flavor. I really recommend these tracks to everyone who like electronic music!

Advanced listener's treasury - Part 1

Thu, 08 May 2008 01:49:19 -0700

You need to shout these days, ballyhoo everywhere. Some call it marketing, some consider it noise. If you don't take part in this, you often stay below the perception threshold. Let's put a few quiet artists in the spotlight once and for all. Artists who deserve more attention!

Pablo Diccie is an outstanding Post-rock band. Beautiful melodies, nice changes of pace. People who like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono and Explosions in the Sky will love them. Brilliant!

Radia offers dark Dreampop. The voice is highly distinctive accompanied by opulent sound textures. Highly recommended!

Full Time Beret can be described as modern folk music with a twist. It's no groundbreaking approach but really well crafted music. Its simplicity is perfect.

AldornA is an electronic/industrial project that is still searching for its very own sound. Some track are promising and intriguing, some are predictable. You in Yourself and Deep Noise have great potential. I think AldornA could even grow when getting in touch with similar artists here on fuzz.

Thanks for reading the blog and checking out those artists!

An Introduction into Masochism

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:44:16 -0700

Recently I decided to stop feeling sorry for those artists who are not signed by a label. I have no pity on those who fail to accomplish earning money by selling their CDs. They are natural born losers. Evolution tells us that only the smart ones or the tough ones will survive. So if artists with their heads in the clouds have absolutely no idea about how to promote themselves, they are doomed. This is evolution. If you want to help those poor creatures, they usually hide themselves or play dead.

The Internet age offers everyone the option to gain at least 100 fans. Even if the music is crappy or experimental (which often can be the same). Of course you have to sign up at MySpace, upload tracks on fuzz or Last.fm or even make a cheap video and put it on YouTube. You don't have to be Einstein or a marketing wizard to perform those kind of actions. It's no big deal, nevertheless most artists aren't able to understand the fundamentals about spreading music and earning at least a little bit of money.

I give you two examples.

Let's pretend you name a band The Majority. Is it smart to name it The Majority/info here on fuzz and choose the URL Majorityone on MySpace? You can't hide your traces any better. But I really doubt that this may be the intention of The Majority. Remember there is a slight difference between promotion and camouflage!

Another example: Suki Evers is a former member of the band Mazzy Star. Mazzy Star had a pretty decent fan base in the Nineties. Suki Evers is promoting her solo debut Kind of Hazy on MySpace and she received comments from people asking where they can buy her album (which seems to be very promising, give it a try). On Mazzy Star fansites people complained that they never got an answer. The scheduled date for the release is not mentioned anywhere, but the streamable songs are from 2007. How smart is that to disappoint those who want to buy your stuff?

Fuzz offers a nice opportunity to sell your stuff and to actually get some money. I can't understand why artists aren't give it a try, if they can't get a record deal. Well the answer is easy: They may create wonderful tunes but they are failures after all.

Check me out! I need my daily Viagra, Bitch!

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:04:26 -0700

I've learned 3 things while surfing the web in the past few years.

First of all: 99% of all men have an erectile dysfunction, otherwise the whole Viagra spam would not happen.

2. For almost everybody there's nothing better after a bad day to let off steam on the internet by calling people bitches, idiots...

And last but not least number 3:

Check us out means Better run fast!

Examples which proves my last statement:

http://evenme.fuzz.com/
http://maddentheband.fuzz.com/

Oh wait, you have seen nothing yet!

Best comment ever, found here:

MADDEN THE BAND said:
posted on Apr 19 at 3:47 pm
Chris Madden here like your music, reminds me of snow patrol, check out our songs, the songs at the bottom of the list have vocals, say what you think. P.S dont worry about DifferentStars they were at me about "spamming" they don't understand how to promote.

ROCK N ROLL

Once In A Blue Moon

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:08:42 -0700

Once in a blue moon music is more than the essence of composing chords, writing lyrics, playing instruments and reception by listeners. Seldom music not only evokes emotions but also changes your life forever. In this case music isn't customarily setting a mood but moreover creates a significant change in personal perspectives and thoughts. Music seems so much more than a sudden rush of emotions, a lovely disturbance of all senses. Music includes the potential for a whole rearrangement of personal perception. In this case it becomes the catalyst for a change of how the thinking interacts with all senses.

Music - like all sorts of art - is by no means a temporary lapse of reason, a pastime and distraction from everyday life. Basically art and religion derive from the very same longing of getting inspired. We all search for meanings, for explanations and interpretations. We need motivations for daily struggles and insignificant jobs. We want to be assured that we are not alone looking for love, that our questioning of the universe is no waste of time.

Music may initiate a quest for something beyond triviality. Therefore I'll start recommending unique musical approaches in order to tickle your brains and feelings.

Here is the very first CD I want to recommend you:

Sun Kil Moon - April

Explore April.

Sun Kil Moon's songwriter Mark Kozelek has a very distinctive voice, an overwhelming yet subtle warmth in his music accompanied by simply intriguing lyrics. Sit back, relax and listen to his song Lost Verses on his MySpace profile... Enjoy!

Dissecting the darkest side of fuzz

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:03:13 -0700

Manipulation makes the world go round. Media, politics... it's all about that. Some manipulation tactics are illegal, some aren't (mainly those not considered to be a manipulation at all). This blog is about an artist spoofing us by manipulating the charts. I know that another entry is already dealing with this problem, but somehow I thought it makes more sense to write a second one with a clear message: Nuke the bastard!

If I were about to discover fuzz, I would definitely check out the number one artist in the fuzz charts. I would give it a try and listen to the Darkest Side. I would shake my head, wondering why a mediocre grunge singer earned the top spot. I would lose interest in fuzz immediately...

I wonder how often that happened in the past days when Darkest Side became the top artist of the week. An egomaniac with ridiculous press infos on the profile page is not appealing. His manipulation of the charts by a dozen fake accounts is even worse, his behavior seems damaging to the reputation of the fuzz company. If you allow such abuse to happen in the beginning of a growing music community, you will never be able to get it under control later. Actually Mr. Beaman is fooling the company, the users who contribute a lot of intelligent blogs and journals and of course those great artists who offer their masterpieces here on fuzz. There is a huge difference between aggressive promotion and manipulation. Spamming may be annoying, but manipulation can't be accepted.

The problem isn't Mr. Beaman. The real problem is how the fuzz people will handle the abuse. Tolerating his manipulation may frustrate those artists who are really commited to fuzz.

Credibility seems to be a big asset for the fuzz people. Mr. Beaman is harming the credibility and therefore must be banned.

Criticizing the critic for his refusal to deal with criticism

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:53:54 -0700

I read this review today. I really disagree with the tone of this review. Words like nonsense are pure offense if you don't use examples for backing up the opinion. Even worse, the user (who signed up yesterday) doesn't allow comments in his blog. Very bad style! If you criticize someone, you must be open for criticism too. That's fairness.

I think this incident may be helpful. I recommend to allow comments on every review, no matter about the preferred setting of the one who wrote it. An open music network should by no means become a playground for offending reviews without the option to comment the insults.

A note to all spamming wannabe artists: If I ever write a harsh review about your music, I'll definitely be able to back it up... ;)

No Sex please! - In reply to "Write songs before, or after sex?"

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:25:47 -0700

http://lonylove.fuzz.com/blog/entry/Write-songs-before-or-after-sex

Here's a short reply!

Well is there any need to still have sex when you are gifted writing songs? I consider being creative and producing art (music, poetry, paintings, whatever) is more important that having sex. Sex is overrated, even idiots are smart enough for sexual intercourse. These days there is an abuse of sex anyways. Sexy stars on the cover of the Vogue, sexy girls on billboards, Rihanna sexy in her music clips, Evangeline Lilly damn sexy on TV. Want to make a movie? Be sure there is a nude scene in it. Sex sells! Men can't think properly anymore while having hard-ons all the time. In fact I suspect this overwhelming sexiness as a strategy of women for taking over the world. Tits and asses everywhere. Nothing else matters these days. Evolution needs to be redefined: Survival of the sexiest instead of the toughtest people!

Having sex can be a perfect waste of time. It's even necessary if you want to have children, I was told. Nevertheless I think that it's not carnal knowledge that defines us. Otherwise there would no big difference between rabbits and human beings. Sexual relations may be cherry on the cake for lovers, but sex should not interfere with art. Enjoying and producing art is what has the potential of transforming us to better persons. Not sure about sex...

Well I guess my girlfriend is not happy when reading that :)

A re-recycled blog

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:19:54 -0700

Before last.fm banned me because I criticized their sloppy handling of the growing numbers of racists and fascist, I wrote some blogs which may be worth to be re-released here...

Once I wrote a patchwork lyric blog. I tried to take excerpts of song lyrics out of context to create a new text, a story made out of lyrical samples. I doubt that the ways how to tell stories or express emotions are unlimited. So the real challenge for musicians, poets or painters these days is to cobble all different sorts of things together and form a mosaic of thoughts, feelings, sounds, words and pictures. It's way better to recycle brilliant pieces than to create mediocre stuff on your own. So here is a re-recycled blog:

Looking for and finding nothing

All around you people walking
Empty hearts and voices talking
Looking for and finding
Nothing.
Eels - Love of the Loveless

Everybody goes
Leaving those
Who fall behind
Everybody goes
As far as they can
They don't just care
You're a wasted face
you're a sad-eyed lie
You're a holocaust.
Son Volt - Holocaust

Listen here my sister and my brother
What would you care if you lost the other?
I always wonder why did we bother,
Distanced from one, deaf to the other.
R.E.M. - Sweetness Follows

This is a lonely life
Sorrows everywhere you turn
And that's worth something
When you think about it.
Paul Simon - The Coast (Remastered Album Version)

I was burned out from exhaustion buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes and blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile ravaged in the corn
"Come in" she said
"I'll give you shelter from the storm".
Steve Adey – Shelter from the storm

All the stars may shine bright,
All the clouds may be white,
But when you smile,
Oh how I feel so good,
That I can hardly wait
To hold you,
Enfold you,
Never enough,
Render your heart to me.
All mine,
You have to be.
Portishead - All Mine

I gave you my love
But I was living a dream
And living would seem in vain
If I lost you.
Nina Simone - If I Should Lose You

In the morning I'd awake and couldn't remember
What is love and what is hate - the calculations error
Oh-oh-oh-what is love and what is hate
And why does it matter - is to love just a waste
Why does it matter - oh - oh - ooh - ???
The Flaming Lips - In the Morning of the Magicians

In a dream I saw you walkin, with your friends alive and talking - that was you.
Well I saw it in your movement - and even though you never knew it -
Well, I knew, just how sweet it could be - if you'd never left these streets.
You had me worried! So worried - that this would last...
But now I'm learning - learning that this will pass...
My Morning Jacket - Dondante

I took it for love
Or at least something beautiful
Out there in the spotlight
But I turned around suddenly,
Turned around squinting
And saw
That it was headlights.
Great Lake Swimmers - Moving pictures silent films

In my repeated dreams
You stare at me with an empty gaze
You turn your back on me
And you search for more intriguing days.
Ane Brun - Rubber & Soul

Fundamentals about musical consumption and distribution for Dummies...

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:26:56 -0700

We are all here because we want to stream music, discover new artists or promote our music. Being equipped for both, enjoyment and production, we need to be aware about internet fundamentals. I hope after reading my blog you will be enlightened like Saint Paul when arriving Damascus. I will talk very s l o w l y so that everyone will understand it.

First of all: A real music fan should avoid the internet and computers in general. Isn't it funny that the digital age offers us limitations when it comes to sound quality? Distribution and consumption of music was never easier, but the sound quality of mp3 streams is much worse than any vinyl ever was. We may listen to great tunes on fuzz and still there's something missing. The full dimensions of music can't be reduced to a 4Mb-mp3-file. That's the way it is, baby! The direct connection of those who enjoy tunes and the artist who create musical landscapes or intriguing lyrics seems to be a compensation somehow. No blessing without a curse...

Inspired by DifferentStars' blog I wondered why many artist or record labels are unable to deliver accurate informations when distributing their music as mp3s. Often the file name is reduced to the song title or mp3 tags are missing. Making music and being an artist is no excuse for the lack of basic economic skills. For example: Pepsi would not be that successful if they wrote Cola on the beverage bottles without their company name. Even the finest masterpiece will gain no attention when spreading your music turns into a Chinese whisper because of lousy file names or missing mp3 tags. How many anal-retentive freaks like me try to properly tag every goddamn track on their 80gb music-only HD? Not many I guess.

Many music communities (last.fm, iLike) offer the option that information about all songs played in iTunes, winamp, foobar can be send to your own community profile site where you and everybody else can enjoy checking out your listening habits and stuff like weekly stats. Any artist aware of that must have the urge to provide accurate information about himself on the internet in order to develop his name into a trademark! This advice is meant for those newcomers who offer free music downloads on their homepages or on MySpace or even on fuzz.

Due to the fact that distributors and consumers meet on MySpace, fuzz or other communities and forums, musicians should learn how to win a friend. The lack of strategy often ends up in hair-raising tactics. Spamming user profiles and praising your own music as the world's biggest deal since the invention of the wheel always looks stupid. Remember, it's the internet we are talking about. The anonymity on the net and the distance between each other reduces the willingness to act politely and people like me being spammed daily, often react to such behaviour with harsh replies. Hardly anyone likes annoying door-to-door salesmen and that's exactly how many lesser known artists look behave here on fuzz.

I could continue to give wannabe stars good advices but I cannot negate the flaws of music listeners either. My concern is the way we listen to music. The good old days of filesharing are gone forever. Hunting down files on Napster, WinMX or Soulseek was fun and broadened my knowledge of music. Very soon the record labels got suspicious (until today they suspect anyone with a happy face while whistling a song to be a potential criminal filesharer) and soon bands like Metallica proved that music biz these days is all about money and seldom about creating something that affects other people's lives and thoughts. Now good boys like me buy in stores like iTunes, often because the physical CD isn't available or very pricey. And that's the problem. We support huge online stores which torture us with DRM. Simply because it is the easiest way to buy and download stuff. This backing up of major labels and Apple is the problem. Restrictions, no matter if they concern artists or listeners, are always harming. That's why I like the fuzz shop and hope that more artists use that option to sell tracks without DRM.

Another bad listening habit is using mp3 players like winamp or iTunes. Proprietary software and art will never match in my opinion. And this is the reason for this whole blog (an advertisement for a new software if you will): To introduce a player called Songbird. Despite still being a bit buggy it finally offers the perfect interaction of a web browser, a mp3 player, a music collection database and a download tool for websites offering music (only legal downloads of course!!!). Enjoying music or radio or streams on the internet while simultaneously surfing on music communities and getting in touch with users and artists by using a single highly customizable software seems to be a great idea. Forget the crappy winamp browser or the iTunes software package installing Quicktime and Safari! Enjoy a software which connects the dots and allows you to listen, discover and interact altogether. Here the official description of Songbird: "Songbird is a desktop media player mashed-up with the Web. Songbird is committed to playing the music you want, from the sites you want, on the devices you want, challenging the conventions of discovery, purchase, consumption and organization of music on the Internet". Due to the fact that the browser will (and already does) use the same extension firefox users are familar with, I am sure that this media player will be the future of music experience on the net.

Freeing music from ignorant major labels should be considered to be the goal. Music is art, meant to be enjoyable and thought-provoking. Music is dedication. I hope I might delivered some food for thought. Thanks for reading this blog!

For further informations about Songbird please visit:

http://www.songbirdnest.com/

BBCode for Dummies...

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:36:22 -0700

Maybe some people here (newbies or not) may still wonder how to add colors to comments or how to write words bold or underlined. Well no need to be a BBCode wizard if you use Firefox. There are plenty of extensions providing everything you need to spice up your posts.

Download this Firefox add-on:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/128

Simply mark the word or sentence you want to colorize or to be underlined and click on it with the right mouse button. Then you will be able to chose many different settings. Hope this may help some people here on