Gravity

You were probably thinking of Alfonso Cuaron's film, Gravity, weren't you? Although, Cuaron has directed some fantastic movies, including Children of Men and Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too when translated).

However, the "Gravity" that I am talking about is (of all things) from John Mayer. Hey, I'm surprised myself, considering my taste in music. So yeah, he got on my radar and I decided to check out his music. What the hell, why not?

All in all, he's a bit of a hit-or-miss. Some of his work I find to infectious, especially his more mellow, bluesy sound, like "Gravity" and "Daughters"; but his more arena-rock sound, like "Bigger than My Body", feels like it's missing something. I mean, it's not bad, but it doesn't have the same impact as his bluesy songs. Lately, I've been feeling the need to immerse myself in emotional music - it's not that my tastes in music currently don't meet that need; it's more that I'm looking for something that is different, and somewhat unconventional, to my usual tastes. Something to perhaps  change up my routine in a subtle way through music, specifically from someone like John Mayer in this case, is the best way to invoke that subtle change. All said, maybe, I just need some time to come around to Mayer's music. Give the records a few spins - that's usually how I learn to appreciate music from someone new in my collection.

"Nothing Can Stop Me Now..."

Recently, I have become a supporter for a Kickstarter project aptly titled "Nothing Can Stop Me Now", which is a cryptic motif in the music of Nine Inch Nails over the years (clicking the link will take you to the Kickstarter page). I'm proud (and excited) to say that I'm one of the backers of the project, excited to see the results of the project.

Personally, I am a big fan of the music of Nine Inch Nails and take pleasure in not only exploring the architecture of Reznor's music, but also discovering the motifs and themes that are conjured  up in the music, also. Thus, I'm excited to see people's interpretations in a graphic novel format of both classic and modern songs that are taken from the discography of NIN. 

The photo seen here is of The Fragile, the last album that I have bought that completes my NIN collation, excluding EP's, remixes, and other outstanding works, of course. This album was, initially, a difficult album to listen to, considering the fact that I had jumped around from LP to LP inconsistently. In time, I have learned to appreciate that level of detail and production value that went into creating this album, as well as the songs being more easily recognizable than ever before. I can't wait to see the direction that NIN takes in the near future.

A New Year and A New(er) Me... (Pt. II)

Now that I've reflected on my previous resolutions, here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2014! You'll notice that some goals are still the same from last year's and there are some completely new ones for me to accomplish!

2014 Resolutions:

1) Be happier (I've decided that this will always be a life-long resolution for me)

2) Be healthier, physically and mentally (also, another life-long resolution)
    -begin exercising
    -improve diet

3) Read 60% of books in my reading list
    -also, buy at least 10 e-books

4) Complete another CD collection

5) Learn to cook

6) Explore California
    -visit 3 museums
    -go hiking on 3 trails
    -try new food
    -go to 3 new cities

7) Learn a new language

8) Create 2 photo albums
    -one for the family to have
    -one for demonstrating my best photography

9) Find a spiritual calling (of sorts)

10) Learn to dance! (especially like nobody's watching ;-P)