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The Atomic Blog

"Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead." ~Benjamin Disraeli

• Issue #4 - Greetings from Zhuhai (9/29/09) [View | Hide]

  Welcome. Issue number 4 is now in progress (or rather, YOU are now in the progress of reading issue number 4). This issue is going to be short. I started late, and now I suddenly have assignments from classes popping out of every orifice... ok, ew, bad mental image. Unfortunately, my review of the Zune HD is going to have to wait. I haven't received my Zune Original yet due to an unforeseen delay, but here's what it's going to look like if they ever ship it (only, mine is the 32GB version - since I managed to order it before they ran out of blue ones). Thankfully they gave me $15 worth of MS points to smooth things over, so I'm not going to complain... even though I really really want to. Anyway, I should receive it on or before this coming Wednesday - it's being shipped from Zhuhai, China... yay. So for now, on to music. Chances - Five For Fighting First up this week is Five for Fighting's single Chances. I absolutely love the opening of this song. It starts off with a piano riff that continues throughout the track - a signature feature in just about all of his music. The lyrics are thoughtful, but nostalgic almost to the point of being a little irritating. Fortunately, after a couple of plays I start to glaze over the lyrics, so it hasn't been all that much of a problem. I really enjoy this song, I think Ondrasik went in the right direction musically (as he always seems too), but his lyrics have been better. Either way, I'm still a fan though.  - Amazon MP3 Watcha Say - Jason Derulo This song really doesn't start out all that impressively, in my opinion. By the end of the song, however, I was quite surprised that I really had been enjoying myself (my coworkers will testify to catching me bouncing around my cubicle while I listened to it). Watcha Say really has a great beat and utilizes all of the great techniques that hip-hop has acquired throughout it's rise. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Jason Derülo, so I can't compare this single too any of his previous works, but compared to other hip-hop songs I wouldn't say that it stands out all that much. If it hadn't been sandwiched between pop and alternative rock in my shuffle mix, I would have totally missed it.  - Amazon MP3 Bare - Matt Nathanson For those of who don't know who Matt Nathanson is, check out Come On Get Higher, another alt rock song that one could almost completely attribute his current popularity to. Anyway, back to Bare. To describe succinctly: Fun. This song is by no means new, but in a way, I just discovered it. Flipping through old music by my favorite artists does that to me sometimes. From the opener you just want to listen to this song. With it's clever lyrics, and gravitation melody, not to mention the awesome electric guitar motif, it really has the ability to make you want to dance. Yay for rediscovery!  - Amazon MP3 My Heart - Lizz Wright I found this artist purely by accident, but I'm glad I did. Musically, she does tend to stay within the bounds of jazz, but she jumps not infrequently to other styles as her fancy takes her. Unlike her regular jazz/blues feel, My Heart takes a more Latin-pop kind of approach while still retaining is jazzy core. The acoustic guitar is very prevalent and really underscores her wonderfully deep voice. Anyway, I should probably let her song speak for itself:  - Amazon MP3 Ok. That's more than I have time for this time round. College really knows how to suck the life out of you. More next week, as time permits. I may even start early to get more done. If you can't wait till then (haha) or for more updates, follow me on twitter or friend me on facebook.

• Homage to a great man (9/17/09) [View | Hide]

  Our lives are a constant shift, the ebb and flow of a great tide of connections that we make, the relationships we engage in. Two days ago, countless people, old and young, lost one of those connections. Gordon Patterson, Father, Teacher, Friend, became lost to the world in a tragic and unexpected accident. My hand reached down to grasp the door handle. I'd never been in this room before, but passing physics was my motivation. Joining the Science Decathlon qualified as a science related out-of-school activity, and it seemed a more comely option than fiddling with an expensive electron microscope that I was bound to break. Walking in, I was greeted by a couple of familiar faces, but the first person to really strike me sat behind his desk, the light of his monitor reflecting in his glasses. He was grinning. He always grinned. They called him "P", simply "P", and though that may have suggested a slight lack of respect, I preferred to think of the salutation as their way of making him one of them; he was a friend more than a teacher. That was the first time I met Gordon Patterson. He, like every person I've ever met, struggled with my name, but in time the way annunciated the silent "H" in my surname became more of a mark of affection than a mistake. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Oh-Hee-lee." The next year, practicing and competing with him and the team members of the science decathlon has come to stand out as the most memorable time I had at high school. I had never known a teacher to take such interest in every student who graced his classroom floor. Nor had I met a teacher with the ability to reach out to and touch the kinds of students he had been able to touch. He truly was great in that. His patience, happiness, and the love he had for his students showed through every minute I learned from him. There was never a better man to leave a mark on the next generation. Well, Mr Patterson, there's no way I could thank you enough. You touched me too. Your devotion to God inspired me. Being able to see such compassion in a person was humbling, and it's something that I will never be able to forget. My prayers go out to to the Pattersons. May they find peace in God's everlasting love, and the knowledge that one day they will be reunited. For out of every storm, stillness comes. The connection's we have lost will give way to new ones, as we gather to remember him: the man who touched us all. See you soon, P.

• Issue #3 - DJing through a Cataclysm (9/16/09) [View | Hide]

  Foreword: I started writing this last week in a jolly mood, so I'm posting it as is with the recommendations I made and the subjects that I covered. I will however be writing a second post to address news that reached me mere minutes ago. For Gordon. Welcome one and all. Issue number 3 is live! You know, I actually wondered if I'd ever get this far. I normally lose interest by now and just give up, but I'm enjoying this and I guess I'm going to have to get my money's worth this time - the domain name doesn't pay for itself, you know. This week there will obviously be more music. In fact, this time I vow to spend a little more time on each song. Additionally, I want to cover the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm and the announced-to-date content that's currently rocking every geek's socks off. Lastly, I'm going to talk about Zune 4.0, which coincidentally released as I finished writing this (good timing, huh?) so stow your tray tables and move your seat into to the up-right position, 'cause we're about to take off! Cataclysm Ok, I guess I want to get the cataclysm stuff out of the way first. I had to have my piece of this pie, even though it's almost old news. The biggest announcement for me has to be the reworking of Azeroth with the sundering of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. With the creation of Outland and Northrend, the old starting zones have lost their freshness and appeal, the world is static and events seem to have no impact on the game itself, and the difference visually underscores the games age. Fortunately, this is all going to change. Azeroth is going to be revamped using the techniques the developers have picked up on their way to cataclysm, opening the old zones to completely new possibilities and restoring the wonder the game used to have on those now entrenched veterans. This new expansion will draw upon heavy use of the new "Phased Terrain" technology developed for Wrath of the Lich King to produce a far more interactive world that responds to players, allowing them to weave the story and be part of the lore. Now, this really excites me, as I have quite a fondness for the old world. I remember how much I hated Desolace, and in the new expansion, I'll get to see how this zone comes to life in a swathe of flora and hopefully a new (interesting) story line or two. In addition to recreating the old world, Blizzard will also be completely revamping player stats, getting rid of useless stats like spell power and armor piercing, making the game easier to understand for those of us who have a more recreational involvement in the game. This is a nice addition as I've always hated having to have a master's degree in math to play MMORPGs. Classes will also be changing. According to developers, Warlocks will be losing their horrible consumable soulshards in the way that we currently know them, and gaining an interface that works much like the current Death Knight runes... can you say SHAZAM!!!!!!! This is probably the best news I've ever heard as my main is a gnome warlock. Not having to run around using a feeble ability such as Drain Soul just so that I can summon things is going to really make the class a lot more playable and less grindy; something that I hope makes the class more popular among new players. With this expansion I would say that Blizzard is really (and attentively) listening to it's user base, which really instills a lot more comfort in me for the future of WoW and the games that Blizzard may still release. Well, that was what made me most excited. Of course being a worgen (werewolf man thing) will be super cool (just the thing the alliance needs) or even a goblin could be really cool too, so I look forward to that. Go Blizzard! Zune 4.0 I was close to finishing this blog post today, just after updating my zune software to version 4.0 - the much anticipated software release to accompany the new Zune HD device to hit shelves today, so I thought I add a section detailing the changes that have been made since 3.1... and boy are they cool. Short description: SUPER AWESOMENESS INCARNATE! Long description: Upon opening the software for the first time I was greeted by the most mind blowing video ever. Flashing colors, artist pictures, and album art whooshed by in a glorious blaze of visual crack-cocaine, welcoming me to the new age of personal entertainment... wow. After logging in and telling it about my favorite artists I came to this, Zune 4.0's new quickplay screen. Now, this is a really cool throwback to the old quickplay that the zune firmware used to have. It allows you too look at all of your new things, a history of what you have listened to or watched recently, and a pin board that lets you pin your favorite stuff to it. Another thing you may notice on this screen is called the Smart DJ. The little under-pronounced ribbon of artists that floats below the quick play history board is probably the most innovative part of the software. This cool piece of sweetness is an algorithm connected to a zune's back-end database that can gather tracks of the same type based on genre and feel. It automatically puts together all kinds of complementary music from the marketplace with tracks that you already have and makes a playlist that you can then listen to or save. Now, this function isn't just confined to the artist ribbon. You can create a Smart DJ list from any song, album, or artist by right clicking and selecting Play Smart DJ Mix or using the hover-over buttons on the album art. Another cool feature is the toolbar for your windows taskbar. Like the old WMP taskbar you can pause playback and skip forward and backward, which really adds a sense of ominous-ness to the software. Now there's no need to keep the full size application open in the background to play your playlists, just add them to now playing or your quickplay pins and minimize the software. Easy as pie. I will say, though, that for the most part, the 4.0 software is the 3.1 software with a few cool new touches, but it does include some important functionality that makes it feel like a well polished version in its own right. Other new features of the software include managing content by source (i.e. non-protected vs. marketplace), the mini player and a much more in-depth sync interface. Well that's it for Zune for now; I'll make an in-depth post about the Zune HD once my blue zune original is delivered. On to music. Fireflies - Owl City Fireflies is the third single released by Owl City AKA Adam Young and definitely finds it's flow in the electronic world as a light-hearted, trendy track that leaves the listener a little more jovial than it found them, featuring a piano and sparse synth sounds on top of a solid (but not overdone) beat. The lyrics also grab me as "feel-good" featuring lines about lightning bugs and disco balls, but the track never seems to delve into the cheesy. It's definitely a good mix of light-heartedness and rhythm and features a simple yet pleasant melody. In comparison to his previous singles, I think Young did a better job on the attraction factor. Strawberry Avalanche, for instance, had almost the same type of feel, but it didn't make anywhere near as much of an impact on me as Fireflies. - Amazon MP3 Use Somebody - Kings of Leon This song kind of reminds me of a more old school kind of rock. From the opening it sets it's pace as barrage of electric guitars punctuated by the raw, yet somewhat unobtrusive vocals of lead, Caleb Followill. Not being too much of a fan of the old ballad-style rock of Meatloaf and like rock groups, this song could have easily gained immediate dislike from me. Fortunately, this song exhibits enough new technique to free it of the musical feel associated with earlier rock which really allowed me to regard it with more maturity and openness. This song has definitely found it's way onto my playlist and, judging by the number of plays on popular music sites, many other playlists as well. I definitely recommend looking up this track. - Amazon MP3 Soundtrack 2 My Life - Kid Cudi I'm quite sporadic when it comes to listening to Hip Hop. It's not that I don't like it (considering i went through the longest Rihanna phase ever, I'm pretty sure I'm into Hip-Hop) It's just sometimes hard to wade through the enormous amounts of it flooding the market these days. Finding good Hip-Hop is becoming hard. With that said, I was able to chance upon Cudi's new album thanks to a friend, and almost immediately gravitated towards Soundtrack 2 My Life. As with any good hip-hop you're going to stumble upon some questionable language, it goes with the territory, but what I liked about this song was that the profanity was mild and it actually worked. Cudi self-admittedly tries to represent the real, and I think this goes to show that f-bombs are not always necessary to do so. - Amazon MP3 Local Artist of the Week - Morgan Grace I decided to add something cool this time round called Local Artist of the Week. I thought it would be cool to sniff around the local Portland scene and find some great local bands and then feature them, so here's a little run-down of this week’s lucky pick, Morgan Grace. If you've know Morgan Grace, then you know how many levels of punk rock this girl is. Taken from her bio is one sentence I think you'll find describes her perfectly: "I was raised in a small town by two crazy alcoholics who one day took a break from beating the crap out of each other just long enough to buy me a nylon stringed acoustic guitar." Her music, on the other hand, though punk rock-esque, is quite slow and soulful kind of PR... I need a like button on this blog. If you want more info, go to morgangracemusic.com or if you'd like to catch her live (and you like New York), she will be playing at this year's CMJ awards. Well, that's it from me for this week, tune in next Sunday for more cool musicness, and, as ever, follow me on twitter for more updates!

• Issue #2 - Coffee Highs and Sweet PMPs (9/5/09) [View | Hide]

  Wiki-wiki, wah-wah! Here we are with issue number 2! I started writing this on a coffee high, so I'm bound to really annoying this time round. Oh, and if you are reading this, the second issue, and you've read the preceding issues and posts, then I really commend you. You must either have a stalwart interest in the uninteresting, or a blood-thirsty masochistic streak. Either way, yay for you! This time round, there will be more songs, but I've also decided to add a little commentary on the upcoming zune release. It's going to be a big release, so I figured I jot down some features, and summarize what they mean to me as a consumer. Zune HD So, to start with, I'm going to talk about Microsoft Zune and the Zune HD. If you don't already know, the Zune HD is Microsoft's kickass but less expensive alternative to the I-pod Touch, and it becomes available for purchase on September 15th! Along with the usual social features (perhaps improved by release time) like their twitter-esque "Follow Artist", play counts, and music sharing, the Zune HD will be jam packed with cool new capabilites. For example, wi-fi web browsing, HD radio, and multi-touch technology... can you say SWEET!? To me, this is really big, and not just because of the uber-sweet web browsing and in-built HD radio. It's the first generation of zune to break away from the old button and trackpad we've come to love in the I-pod and it's clones. But even though it has, yet again, followed the I-pod in terms of tactile interface design, reviews indicate that Microsoft has really tried to be themselves this time (http://mashable.com/2009/08/14/zune-hd-demo-video/). If you watched that video, you can just see by the glimpses of the UI that this is going to be one sweet PMP to stroll down the street with. Can't wait for September 15th! To find out more, you can listen the super awesome Zune Insider Podcast here or go to their wicked website zune.net for a really cool 3D presentation. Ok, on to music. Swoon - Imogen Heap First up on this weeks music review is Imogen Heap's Swoon on her new album Ellipse. Imogen's music is hard to describe in terms of style. In my opinion, she's a mix of electronic pop and indie rock, but seriously slowed down (compared to regular electronic). Guess I should give that a name... how about  Indietronic Pock? No? Anyway, her style, though very direct in it's presentation, really combines well with her subtle but present vocals, giving her songs amazing appeal. Swoon was one of those songs that really stood out to me on my playlist (more so, in fact, than her current single First Train Home). Imogen's voice is one of those you instantly recognize if you know it, but musically it also intrigued me. From an Enya-like opening to an awesome electronic micro beat, it's one I can definitely listen to at a stretch, so I say go out and give it a listen. -  Amazon MP3 Falling Apart - Matt Nathanson Next up is Matt Nathanson's Falling Apart From his awesome album Some Mad Hope. Now, since Matt is one of my favorite artists, I may sound somewhat biased, but he had to be good to get where he's at with me, right? As usual, Nathanson excels at drawing on the emotional motifs he lyrically portrays, so I believe Falling Apart to be nothing but a success. Unfortunately, although it hasn't reached the same stellar popularity as Come On Get Higher, it definitely deserves it. Falling Apart perfectly blends the major musical currents that Nathanson is notorious for, and really hits the mark within it's niche.  - Amazon MP3 Run This Town - Jay Z feat. Rihanna and Kanye West Run This Town by Jay Z is definitely on of those good-ol' Hip-Hop songs you love just because it exists. Unfortunately, critiquing the song based on standard musical form is quite difficult because Hip-Hop as a musical style (in an effort to break out of the box) is somewhat of an antithesis to more traditional "pop" styles and forms. Nevertheless, the song has a great beat, and memorable lyrics, so I can safely say that I do enjoy it and would be less than surprised to see it hijack many a club DJ's list (and definitely my playlist too).  - Amazon MP3 Black Heart Inertia - Incubus More alternative rock for you with Black Heart Inertia. Incubus should need no introduction. Their world wide presence as an extremely successful rock bands really speaks for itself. In fact, from listening to Black Heart Inertia, it's not hard to see why they are, in fact, so successful. From the get-go, this song grips you with it's interesting opening riff. After a couple of well worded versus and a really cool bridge, it jumps into a chorus that really makes you wanna shake it, so to speak. That and a couple of great guitar improv's really gives you that meaty rock feeling.... whew, really cool! Black Heart Inertia is a really great addition to an already awesome discography for Incubus, so don't be shy, go give it a listen:  - Amazon MP3 Alright, it seems as though I've reached the end of another edition. As ever, if you read this, stay tuned next week for some more musical meanderings, and perhaps a little synopsis of Tale of Two Cities (I'm a quarter of the way through - yay me!) and perhaps a short rundown of the newly announced Cataclysm expansion for the popular online RPG known as World of Warcraft! To be on top of updates to the blog, you can follow me on twitter @AtomicWillow. Happy Labor day everyone!

• Issue #1 (8/31/09) [View | Hide]

  Proper post #1 and all that! Exciting, huh? This time I'm slightly more prepared for this, but don't hold your breath. My little outline is currently a piece of doody, so for the time-being, I'm going to subject all who read this blog to poor content organization and potential confusion... excited now? So this weekend I'd did a little listening, and I came up with a few songs that I think people will enjoy. Unfortunately, I realize that you wont enjoy ALL of them, but I'm sure you'll be interested in at least one of them. Let's dive in shall we (I have no idea where to possibly go at this point, so my much sought after opinion seemed the place to start). Laura Runs - Battlestar Galactica Season 4 OST First up I want to type about a really cool musician/composer named Bear McCreary. More specifically I'm  going to focus on the piece Laura Runs. From the official soundtrack album of the fourth season of the acclaimed Battlestar Galactica, Laura runs (which I'm listening to right now) is a blend of McCreary's signature percussion, moody melody, and stark, sparse harmonies. Interestingly, this piece, like many on the album is one of the few pieces that contain many orchestral elements - something that was once taboo in the musical creation of the series, but now serves to denote the importance and finality of this season. Being one of my most played  songs, I'm obviously going to tell you to go out and buy the CD. However, even from an objective standpoint, I'd be inclined to suggest this CD and this piece to music lovers and fans of the show due to the atmosphere the music is capable of creating. Good stuff! Feel Good Drag - New Surrender Ok, this is little different. Anberlin have to be one of the best alternative rock bands around. Unfortunately, at first listen,  Feel Good Drag comes across as just another alt rock song. It wasn't until my playlist had rotated a couple of times that I actually started to pick up on the sound and remember lyrics and melody. Fortunately, it's one of those songs that doesn't leave a bitter taste, but instead matures with exposure. I find this song a definite departure from their current single Breaking, but, then again, they are known for being somewhat of a chameleon of musical feel, so the contrast wasn't unexpected. - Amazon MP3 Bullet - Jessie James  YEEHAW! Go Jessie James! Mind if I end my review here? no? Fine. Bullet is one of those really spunky, funky, cheery (how British) pop country songs about cowboy boots and girls that cause massive projectile damage to the skulls of unwitting men. Fortunately, Jessie James was able to catch me in the right mood the other night at the grocery store, so I'm singin' nothing but praises for this one (...). Unfortunately, apart from the cheesy gun-slinging metaphors, this song really only has it's production value going for it. However, I believe the catchyness of the tune may be enough to set it soaring, so watch out - the bullet may in fact be headed straight for your head. - Amazon MP3 Ok, well that wore me out. I had so much to talk/type about, too! Next time, hopefully, I'll be able to talk more about podcasts and the juicy stuff happening over at zune, as well as some world of warcraft... It's gonna be ccccuuuurrrraaazzzzaaaayyyyy, so watch this spot! - Tweet me @AtomicWillow

• In the beginning... (8/30/09) [View | Hide]

  God created... oops, wrong publication. In any case, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Tavis AKA the AtomicWillow and this happens to be the first time I've attempted to put pen to virtual paper (unless you count STPBeM, but don't go there) so I'm very excited right now! As the enormously long-winded description alludes to, I'm attempting to centralize the things that make me happy and hopefully write some witty insightful stuff about them. This will hopefully include me actually staying on task, and perhaps even inspire me to hone my researching skills to the paragon of capability. Now, for those of you who don't know me, I should probably outline those interests I kind of hinted at. I haven't got a big list, but I'm sure the one I come up with in the next 30 seconds will offer me enough content opportunity to capitalize on in future posts. In order of enthusiasm: Music - I listen to music constantly. Whether I'm sleeping, commuting, or farming frostweave in Northrend, I ALWAYS have music coming at me from somewhere. Also, I play a bit of piano, which is more of an intermittent interest - I'm afraid I lost my conviction when I realized how old I am relative to my musical ability. Books - Like my grandfather I have become a read-a-holic. Currently I'm trying my hand at some classics. Jane Eyre (which I finished - woot!), Tale of Two Cities, and (hopefully, when I finally finish ToTC) Wuthering heights are all on my short list. Zune - ok, this is massively tied to my interest in music, but the zune experience encompasses a large range of media and socialization that I really can't fit into that category. Notably, podcasts and video, which I really love listening to and watching. I'll definitely be talking about some podcasts on here (if I ever get past this first post).  Gaming - I'm a nerd. I'm also a gnome warlock on Quel'dorei, so if you're an denizen of Azeroth, find me! (Anithrawyn - normally fishing in Dalaran). All things computer and "Cloud" related - I'm an IT person who's studying to become a programmer... need I say more? Ok, now that I've bored you with my big extensive list of interests I'm going to leave you hanging by proposing that I go away for the rest of the weekend and contemplate my first "real" post. Why? Because I'm both vindictive and unprepared :D If you want to know more why don't you follow me on twitter where you'll be even more bored. Just check out @AtomicWillow for more info and a link. Night all!

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JaceCarter

Comment left on: 10/12/09 3:07 PM hey hey, feeling better. i'll hit you up when i get back into town.

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Comment left on: 10/8/09 8:25 PM Yeah I've started to log in less frequently too. What's up?