Further...

My dream is to take this further...
You ask what?
And I say:
Everything.


Jordan

A Summary of the Day's Events....

I've had a pretty sweet (if rather full on) day! My music class has been gearing up for our two concerts next week which means we have to do twice as many practices. So my days are getting pretty full up, what with that and practicing like mad to get these rock songs down. But I think we'll get there. We had a sick practice today, and pretty much almost nailed 'The Pretender' as well as making more progress on 'White Room' and that Tool song. Also I got to use my wah-wah pedal too, which was sweet! It sounds so good, I want to use it all the time!
Apart from practicing, we did a few exercises in interval recognition, and I scored probably the highest marks I've got so far in it this year! Glad to see it's finally sinking in....
I also finally finished off my next track, a demo of a song called 'Breathe' (I posted the lyrics to it awhile ago, so if you search this blog you'll probably find them somewhere). Anyway I haven't recorded any vocals to it yet, mostly because I don't really like the sound of my own voice that much. Hopefully I'll find someone to sing it for me in the near future! But in the meantime it still sounds pretty good instrument-wise! I wrote a sweet solo to go over the end part as well as a lovely little 4 bar interlude in which I played the guitar in a completely different way from how I usually do, and it sounded nice! Plus I used my new found knowledge of piano to shove in a few piano parts which is a bonus!
I'd post it up but I seem to have misplaced my keydrive, so maybe another day. Or maybe I'll stick some vocals on it first (if I can get over my fear of singing haha). We'll see....
Then I went and caught up with Beka at her work. We had a mean chat, and I even got to help her close up shop which was.... interesting. But fun! And since then I've just been hitting the practice pretty hard. Think I'm finally getting the hang of this....
But it'll take some time. Like most good things do!

Anyway I better exit the internet now - still got to do some exercising and hopefully have a play with a few new lyrics before I get some sleep....
Catch you round!

Jordan

Why Blog?

Because I like writing.

&

Because you (hopefully) like reading.

Album Review: Imagine Dragons -Continued Silence EP

Artist: Imagine Dragons
Album: Continued Silence EP
Genre: Indie rock/ Pop
Rating: 4.5/5

I came across this band, and later, this album in quite a roundabout way. It was a late night, and I was hunting for music on Youtube, as I'm prone to do. So I started out listening to some instrumental music, which was pretty good. Then I saw one of those links which said "please go listen to my band ...... we sound like ...... " . So in a moment of spontaneity, I clicked and followed through.
The video was alright, but nothing to amazing. I was scrolling down the comments and waiting for the song to finish when a video in the sidebar caught my eye. The name of the song was "It's Time" and the artist was some band I'd never heard of called Imagine Dragons. My first thoughts were: "That's a FREAKING cool band name!!!" (which it is!). With that in mind, I hit play on the video.

To my surprise, the band actually almost surpassed the awesomeness of their name. "It's Time" was an original song performed live in some studio in the USA. I was instantly drawn to the first few notes on a mandolin and how indie the band looked (I have a weak spot for mandolins and indie bands so this was a winning combination!). Also, the song had some amazing percussion which consisted of the lead singer clapping and stomping on a wooden floor.
The sound was incredible and I was pretty much instantly hooked.

Anyway, so after a little bit more research on the band, I decided to take the plunge and get their album off Itunes. And I can honestly say it was one of the best ten bucks I've ever spent! I don't think I've been this excited about a new band since I saw New Empire for the first time two years ago! But that's another story.
Onto the album!

"Continued Silence" kicks off with a track called Radioactive. The first time I heard this song, I was thinking "What on earth is this?!!!" because, apart from the short intro played on acoustic guitars, it sounds nothing like how an indie rock band is "supposed" to sound like. 30 seconds into the song, a beat kicks in which any dubstep artist would be proud of, and then Dan Reynold's voice comes in over the top, singing in an almost-rap style an anthem-like song about waking up to a new age. It's a powerful message, and a powerful introduction to the album.
Radioactive is followed by Demons. At first I was slightly dubious of a song with such a title, but I was pretty much instantly won over, and it remains one of my favourite from the album, and definitely one of this bands greatest songs to date. It's a slow-burning song, again with a great beat, which is all about failing and how we hide the truth to cover up the darkness inside. The chorus is pretty incredible, with Reynold singing heartfeltedly "When you feel my heat, look into my eyes/ It's where my demons hide/ Don't get to close, it's dark inside/ It's where my demons hide."
The album falters in the middle with two slightly 'weaker' songs, which can't really stand up to the awesomeness of their predecessors. Of the two I probably prefer On top of the world. Though the song is almost to simple, it's catchy tune and Hawaiian vibe can't help but make you smile. The next track, Round and Round pretty much lives up to it's title. It sounds like it's going to get interesting but never quite gets there, and so it seems a little too average in light of the rest of the album. But in saying that, it's not that bad a song. The chorus has some nice harmonies in which almost make it sound like it could be a One Republic tune, and there's an interesting tremolo guitar lick at the end of the song (which unfortunately doesn't last long enough for my liking.) So even though it's not their greatest, it's still a good song and worth checking out.
I was a little bit nervous about the album version of It's Time seeing as the live version is so awesome. Thankfully my doubts were soon stifled, as it sounds pretty close to the one on the Youtube video, the only differences being the percussion is mostly played on the drums, and keyboard and electric guitar parts are added.
The EP finishes on the ballad My Fault. I'd venture, albeit hesitantly, that this is my overall favourite track on the album. Like Demons, it's quite a slow tune, but is more reliant on guitar and a great drum track to move it along. The lyrics are probably the most simple I've heard from Image Dragons so far - the loneliness you feel when you're apart from that special someone. The chorus is just two lines "Is it my fault, is it my fault? We've been missing each other"  but coupled with a great tune, it makes for an amazing statement which touched me in a way which few other tracks on this album did. And on top of that, it's so darn catchy that I've been humming the tune to myself ever since I bought it!
The only problem with it is it finishes too suddenly. That might be just because the chorus is so good you never want it to end, but to me it felt a little to short.
Overall, this album is a great listen. The songs are interesting, radio-friendly, and catchy. The band is exceptionally tight in their performance and undoubtedly talented (check out the above video and another track of theirs called "Clouds" and you'll soon agree), and Dan Reynold's vocals are incredible. The overall style, indie rock with modern beats and folk-sounding lyrics and themes, makes for a diverse and original sound which I haven't heard done this well before. It's fair to say that I'm sort of obsessed with this band now! These songs have been on repeat on my Ipod ever since I bought the album!
The album is not without it's faults, such a faltering stylistically in the middle and the inevitable lack of songs (6 is not enough!); but these are few and far between, and the quality of most of these songs and their production is more than enough to make up for it! Go check these guys out if you haven't already!

Where would you go?

I was watching this movie last night called "Into the Wild". It told the story of a man who got so sick of his parents, corporations and the whole world in general, that he determined to go live a solitary life in Alaska. Apparently it was based on a true story too, which makes it even more amazing.
Absolutely fascinating movie, and like all good movies, really made me think about life. I could see where this guy was coming from. Obviously his circumstances where a lot more dramatic than mine, but I actually understood why he wanted to get away from it all.
The music for the film was also pretty stunning (it was done by a guy called Eddie Vedder, who is also the frontman for the band Pearl Jam). But out of all the songs included on the movie, there was this one which I particularly liked called "Society". It had this line in it which went something like this:


        "Society, you're a crazy breed. I hope you're not lonely without me." 


Out of all the inspirational quotes in the film, this line got me the most. And as I watched the events unfold in the film I got to thinking: Would society really be lonely without me? That is, if I was to leave, would I be missed? Or would the world keep on turning? Like the lead role in the film, I've often felt like an outcast, a loner, just someone who everyone overlooks. Like the kind of person who doesn't quite fit in society....
Another thing that I got thinking about is this: Where would you go? If you weren't held back by any limits which society places on you, and you went somewhere just because you wanted to, where would you go? There's a great scene in the movie where the man gets told that he has to wait 12 years to get a pass to be allowed to paddle down this river. He turns politely to the officer who's told him this and thanks him. Then in the very next scene, he just tosses his canoe into the river and goes for it.
So often we hold ourselves back from all we could be because we're scared of what people will think, what they'll do, or the consequences.
But life itself is about being on the edge....
I don't want to end up in an office in a high rise building in a fancy suit sipping coffee and talking about a report I should have filed. As much as that is a respectable job, and good on the people who do it, to me it's not really  living! We were born to be more than this! The problem with the western world today is it makes everything so BORING! It's almost as if it's designed to suck all the risk, danger, and joy at fulfilling an "impossible" task out of our lives, and replace it with a comfortable, soft bubble.
If I was not restrained by anything, money included, I would hike around Italy. Just with a backpack, and maybe a few friends.
And then maybe I'd visit Alaska.
Where would you go?

A change of tune

This will be my first post for June. 

And my first post having changed my blog address for the first time since I started posting about three years ago.

First of all, I hope the 25+ people who follow aren't too confused about this change. My reasons behind the name change are simple: after three or so years of posting under the same name, stuff just wasn't happening. Like I know all of you were awesome enough to press the follow button, but how often do you actually read this blog? Or comment on it? I don't know, maybe I'm just being over reactive, or maybe blogging's not as popular as it was when I started. Either way, I'm hoping the name change generates some extra traffic and this blog starts becoming more interesting. After all, it's about time it had a revamp. 

So then, why "The Falling Movement"? 

Well, to be honest, it's mostly because I like the way the words flow together. That and I'm slightly obsessed with the idea, and the schematics behind, falling. And I'm not just talking about falling in relation to gravity in motion here (though that itself is a fascinating concept). There are more types of falls than that. 

Another reason for this name change is that I wanted to have something different from Mayday. I mean, none of the past band members post on here anymore. Basically all rights have referred to me, and it was kind of weird posting under a name which I no longer had any affiliation too. 

It's been almost five months since disbanding Mayday - well, technically putting the band on hiatus, but that was pretty much an excuse I made cos at the time I felt terrible about doing it. I'm not afraid to admit it now, because I know the other guys hearts aren't in it any more. It just took me a while to move on. 

Anyway, those five months have been far from wasted. Daniel has put his extra spare time into school and training for soccer. Nate has gone on to start a metal band with some friends of his called Killjoy, who are playing Rockquest next week. 

As for me, most of my time has been spent with my studies. Even though it's weird not being part of a permanent band, I reckon it's been good for me. My guitar skills have improved significantly. I've been exposed and forced to play to a lot of styles I'd never experienced. I know a lot more about the business and technical side of music. I can read sheet music, albeit slowly. I've even started to dabble in playing other instruments such as bass and piano. And it's great learning from and with other musicians - I'm constantly being forced to up my game!

In the space between bands, I've decided to use it as well as I can. As a result, I wrote, played, recorded, and mixed a 3 minute composition called "Exploring" which is posted below from my Youtube channel  And it's not the only one, I have about three or four more rough tracks half - completed to mix up. 

So hence "The Falling Movement Music". A name was needed to put my music out under, and this was what resulted - something I scribbled down at about midnight (when I get some of my best ideas!) after feeling particularly inspired. 

Hope you like the update, and the new name! Once again, it would be good to hear your feedback, especially on the instrumental. After all, this is the first time I've tried something like this! 

Blessings,

Jordan