Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Don't Play the Game

This is the latest song. For something different, I made a music video. I learned three things in the process:

1. The iPod Nano has smooth edges.
2. The iPod Nano is rugged.
3. The iMovie is a very good and quite straightforward movie editor.



(All the non-me footage is from the Prelinger Archives.)

Here's the Bandcamp version, for them as care:

<a href="http://danbandstra.bandcamp.com/track/dont-play-the-game">Don't Play the Game by Dan Bandstra</a>

Monday, May 24, 2010

What Kind of Labor Shall I Find

<a href="http://danbandstra.bandcamp.com/track/what-kind-of-labor-shall-i-find">What Kind of Labor Shall I Find by Dan Bandstra</a>



Yes, I got a new watch. No, the watch alone was not enough to mark me as a nerd.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Magnesium

<a href="http://danbandstra.bandcamp.com/track/magnesium">Magnesium by Dan Bandstra</a>




Songs have to deal with repetition in two ways: First, they are ideally sung and played over and over again, at different times and places. That's the kind of use one tries to design for. Second, there is inevitable repetition within songs. At the very least, the rhythm guitar part and bass (if any) will play the same pattern from one end to the other. That's ok, part of the weave and texture of a song. But when a single lyric or guitar lick is repeated, the effect for me is almost literally ad nauseam, as if I'm about to have a seizure unless I turn the radio off. This by way of apology for the brevity of my songs. I'm just trying to make something that will stand up to a few years of wear and tear.

Image Credit: oldcomputers.net