Obi-J

I can crank up the volume.

It’s amazing how little one has to write when said person hasn’t been reading the news. Amy was rather amazed when I had only just heard about Johnny Carson’s death last night or that I was a week late on the news that the reason Brad and Jen broke up was because of, or resulted in, Brad and Angelina. But to be honest, I don’t much care that I’m not reading the news. I still know what’s going on just from chattin it up with friends, or overhearing someone else’s conversation. And if it’s real important, someone will bring it up. Otherwise, I’m just not going to pay attention. My soul loves me better for it.

Mostly I’ve been working and working on projects from learning new software to practicing circus tricks. You’d think this site would be a project, and it is, it’s just not very high up on my priorities right now. There are only 24 hours in a day, and I need about 10 hours for things like sleep, bouncing around on a ball, occassionally spinning the hoop, eating, and just fukkin around to keep me sane. Otherwise I’ve been pluggin away. And believe it or not, I actually like working. Call me crazy, but I’d rather be doing something, almost anything, than watching someone else do something.

One piece of work-related news is that I have been requested to do a report and presentation on some business-type stuff (how educated does that sound), and the best part is I have to go to New York for the meeting to present it. That means I have until the end of February, so I have a month to do the report AND a month to get in touch with all you east coast fools, cuz I’m comin to town!!

My taste in music tends to be out of the ordinary, but not totally obscure, so people often ask "What kind of music is this?".  I’m somewhat of a freak about organization and categorization and so I’m pretty good about being able to slap a genre to whatever I’m listening to, especially dance/electronica/techno/house.  Amy usually calls bullshit when I say something is considered atmospheric drum & bass, or one of the other progressive/hard/melodic sub-genres.  It seems like I’m making shit up and pulling it out of my ass, but really I’m not.  It’s just spending far too much time searching for music and seeing what others have called it already.  A lot of people say they hate ‘house’ or ‘techno’, lumping all DJ music into one marginalized category.  But like pop music, some of it is amazing, and a lot is just plain shit.  So for those who found some music that’s absolutely incredibly, it’s hard to swallow some ignorant schmuck calling it just ‘techno’. 

In the US, there isn’t a mainstream outlet for DJ music, so regular folk don’t have a radio station or MTV to expose them to what’s good.  Aside from TV commercials or placement in a show or movie where the occasional song or artist slips into the mainstream, you have to do some digging to find the gems.  At some point I’d like to make an attempt at creating some sort of guide to help people better understand the various types of electronic music, but for now I’ll give you just a taste.

If you’ve ever been out to a dance club, chances are you’re going to hear house.  The repetitive 4/4 beat (1,2,3,4 -2,2,3,4 – 3,2,3,4 – 4,2,3,4 – etc.) characterizes house.  It’s also one of the easiest structures for DJs to mix records as the beats will line up perfectly assuming it’s been adjusted to the same beats per minute (BPM).  The problem with house is that BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM on every up and down beat gets rather boring real fast.  It’s good once in a while, and provides some great driving energy, but the monotony really needs to be broken up.  Enter the breaks. 

When DJing first came into being in the 70’s, a DJ would take the middle rhythm section that tended to be the funkiest part and typically had no vocals. It was that moment in the song where you either bobbed your head and screamed, "OH YEAH!!" before bustin a move.  So two records and two turntables the DJ could then extend the break, keeping the groove going for infinity.  By taking out the chorus and verse, people were left with some funky beats which dancers loved, and MCs craved for rhyming over.  Today, these breaks are called Old School Breaks, or Classic Breaks.

Part of what make dance music interesting is being suprised by something new.  So producers took the basic idea of classic breaks, utilizing the rhythm structure and minimalized elements, then sped up the BPM from 90 to 130 and layered more synth generated basslines and ancillary elements.  This is what is now known as Nu Skool Breaks, but most simply call it Breaks.  What’s unique is that while the time signature is still 4/4, the beat arrangement is moved around slightly, and that change makes for a much more interesting and appealing sound for both listening and dancing. 

Ok, so maybe you’re sill wondering what the hell I’m talking about.  Better than reading, is listening.  So here’s a mix I downloaded a while back, but is no longer being served, so I’m gonna serve it up.  There are a number of vocal tracks so those of you who like a little humanity in the machine, you’ll like it (trust me, they’re not cheezy vocals).  Anyway, have a listen…

Circuit Breaker – Splitting the Atom (68.9mb, please right-click and "save as")

Honestly, I have no idea what to write at this point.  I’ve been so absorbed with projects that I really haven’t made the effort to do much looking around.  The week before NYE was rather tumultuous for me mentally, having not been successful at a number of tasks.  And let me tell you , I don’t like to talk about my failures.  Not that it was anything serious, but it was mentally draining.

I’m actually looking forward to 2005.  Overall, I plan on simplifying my life, and attempt to stay focused on the vague goals I’ve set for myself, like learning to juggle, taking lots of pictures, learning a few songs on the guitar (I’ve had a guitar for almost 10 years and I don’t think I can actually play a song start to finish).  I also want to lose a little more weight, but mostly get in shape a be healthy.  I’ve actually hit my original go without trying too hard, but now I need to be more diligent with the exercising.  Oh, and this site needs a new look.  I’ve played around with ideas, but nothing’s sticking.  I’m not sure when it’ll happen, but it’ll be obvious when it happens.

So I hope that at the very least this year I can be better at starting what I finish, because doing things half ass just ain’t going to cut it in 2005!.