How To Turn A Piano Into A Drum Set: Part I

First, make a visit to your local hardware store. You're looking for cheap bolts and washers, and maybe some felt weatherseal.

Second, on your way back from the aforementioned hardware store, look on the ground around you for small flat objects, anything that you can stick in between the strings of a piano. Sticks are good, as long as there's not too much loose bark, and little plastic gewgaws are good too.

Third, find a piano! Grand pianos are preferable, but finding someone who'll let you use theirs is hard - "You want to do what!?" Remember, preparing a piano does no harm to it, and is a temporary process!

I'm on step three at the moment...more later.

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Dig:

Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch

BOSTON

is where it's AT!

Spent the weekend out there at Emily's dorm, which is basically a frickin' apartment! 4 doubles in a suite setup, and I mean sweet! (ouch) There's a living room, kitchen, and two bathrooms with ample space for everything. Emily's at Northeastern, by the way. Kickass. Lots of people out there...contrasts sharply with Troy. I'm definitely a big city kid. Dammit.

We just chilled hardcore for most of the weekend - caught her roomie Linda's rugby game today, which was savage! I had no idea. Much more entertaining than football; I actually got into the game and yelled, which is rare with me and sports.

Going further back in time, on Friday me and Lis went into Albany for a bit. Lis is rad - down-to-earth, hilariously irreverent, about half hippie. Reassuring - I was getting worried about people out here!

We went to Bomber's, which apparently has fucking amazing burritos, but I was not hungry. Dumb! I'll be back. Lis showed me around a bit - Albany seems pretty dope. We went and chilled on an awesome sculpture outside the art museum, and then she showed me the biggest balls I've ever seen.

Yup. A statue of a horse. With some guy riding it. With gigantic balls.

Not the guy, the horse.

Anyway, I wanna sleep soon, but first I have a few Type Faces to make - a project for Visual Communications; we're arranging letters to form faces in Illustrator. Somewhat entertaining. Good evening.

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Dig:

Beck - Midnight Vultures

From concept to completion in approximately two hours...

YO THIS THE NEW HOT TRACK!

Kevin for prez, fo' SHO!

Um, OK, so: clarification of the previous post. A friend who is a grad student here at RPI has an FTP, which is full of music. I've been downloading pretty constantly for the past few days - wonderful.

American Analog Set, Amon Tobin, Apples In Stereo, A Tribe Called Quest, Badly Drawn Boy, Beck, Brian Eno (!), Captain Beefheart, Deerhoof, frickin' Devo, Duke Ellington, Echo And The Bunnymen, Fantomas, Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Interpol, Joy Division, Kid Koala, Mission of Burma, Neutral Milk Hotel, Pixies, Ray Charles, and lots of Ween.

Does this dude have awesome taste in music or what? There's so much stuff he has that I've heard of, wanted to hear, and never gotten to for one reason or another, and now I have so much music that it will take me weeks to listen to it all (I mean, technically it's two days worth, but I can't listen constantly...).

Oh, and I also pre-ordered the new Sigur Ros album from Insound, and got two Battles albums, plus Regina Spektor. Soviet Kitsch (which I've been listening to for the past month or two since Emily gave it to me and finally bought) and Songs. She is so incredible (Regina, that is. I mean, Emily is too, but let's not get off-topic here :). Sometimes the cuteness gets to me, but she writes great songs, so it's all good.

Dude. I LOVE music. My media studio class here has been turning me on to some awesome shit, and I've been reading all these essays in our textbook (which is FANTASTIC) about music and thoughts about noise, futurism, etc, etc. Been listening to a lot of the originators of electronic music: guys playing with tape recorders and vinyl in the 50s or some shit. Musique concréte. Pierre Schaeffer, Ussachevsky, Steve Reich, John Cage. Etc, etc.

There's one essay by William Burroughs that totally inspired me - he talks about taking tape recorders and making an army - record everything - play it back - create chaos in the streets - play back sirens and make the cars stop - so so awesome. Good god. I love this school.

The only problem is, I have nobody to play with yet. I mean, the aforementioned grad student (who I will not name because of this lawsuit last year - 29 students at RPI got sued by the RIAA and the MPAA for sharing music and movies) is a good guitarist, and plays awesome stuff, but I don't really connect with him. Mike and Wes and Andy and Aaron, where are you! I miss you! Fuck.

It'll happen. Hope y'all are doing well. Later.

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Dig:

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music For Airports from frickin' 1978!

holy shit, i love music!

riddle me this, batman:

what is the point of having (count 'em) three myspaces, a livejournal, facebook, AND blog?

is the internet a tool of Satan?

why does the post office close just as I get out of classes/work study?

which is more important: a college education or a satisfied soul? I mean, I'm learning so much amazing shit here, but I miss Andy, Wes, Mike, Devon, Aaron, AND DURBAN, and more, and all the music and chill.

I need to find someone with a drumset. And a hookah.