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So, I find myself liking Britney Spears' new music (Womanizer, Circus, etc) in spite of myself. At first I was upset with myself about this, but they are honestly not bad songs. She may not be a good musician/singer or anything, but everyone knows she sells records and therefore she gets some great producers working on her music. It's intended to be catchy dance music and it is well written to that effect. Also, Guy Sigsworth is one of the producers/writers on that album, and he's one of my favorites if only for his work with Imogen Heap when they were in the band Frou Frou together. Some amazing music came out of that duo.

Actually, I don't like his work on Spears' very much. I was wondering why this was at first, because I normally love his work, and I decided that it must be because Spears does not have a voice that is suited to ballads or slower music in the slightest. She has a voice that is suited to dance music, but she is not a good singer, so slow songs that require alot of emotion or vocal performance are not good songs for her.

While I'm thinking of it, though, I want to talk about Frou Frou. This is a band consisting of Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth, and it is quite amazing. They only made one album and they don't plan to make another, but their album is so good I'm fine with it. It's an excellent techno-pop kind of album. Very ethereal sound, some great vocals from Imogen Heap.

Speaking of which, Heap's new album is supposed to be out soon, and I can't wait! She really is my musical idol, and I have heard samples from the new album on her vlog on youtube. It's going to be quite an amazing album, but unfortunately it's not scheduled for release until March. This wouldn't be a bad thing at all, except that Heap was going to try to make it available in early January, and I really want to hear it!

It is really interesting watching vlogs about her process of writing, though. Makes me think about my own process, really. It also makes me want my own studio, but that's a goal that is not forseeable in the near future. Someday when I am a worl-famous musician (which is totally going to happen), I will be able to afford a top of the line studio in my own house. That day is far away, sadly.

But that's all I really have to talk about, so see you later, internet!

Inauguration

So, our new president was inaugurated yesterday, and I could not be happier! Well, I suppose I could be happier, I mean, if Imogen Heap's new album was out I would be happier but still! I am pretty happy (why isn't it out yet!?). Admittedly, though, when I first started watching, I was unimpressed.

I woke up late yesterday, not having to wake up early due to having only one class at 1:00 in the afternoon. I turned on CNN at about 11:05 or so. One of the first things I saw was Rick Warren, and the sight of him fills me with disgust.

For those not familiar with the controversy, Rick Warren was the person chosen to do the invocation at Obama's inauguration. I, and most of the gay community, had quite a problem with this, as Rick Warren is someone who has equated homosexuality with pedophilia and incest, and I think possibly even rape, though I'm not sure. This is not acceptable. I understand that Obama is trying to reach across the aisle, but I am sure that he could have chosen someone who was loved by the conservative right, and still respected by the other side. Rick Warren's involvement alienates a large portion of Obama's support base. Symbolic decisions are important in active civil rights struggles, and while I still feel he cares about gay rights, Obama is not reflecting this with this decision.

Besides that, prayers at public, non-religious ceremonies weird me out. I know that this is a predominantly Christian nation, but we are not a theocracy, and the inauguration is a celebration of the will of all American citizens, NOT just the Christians. Having something at a public ceremony that is completely not affiliated with a church or any religious organization isn't really fair to those among us who do not pray to that specific deity.

But Rick Warren did about as well as I expected him to; I wasn't really listening to him anyway. I went to lunch after that and got my food just in time to see the majority of Obama's inauguration address, and I must say, it was incredible.

His speech seriously gave me chills at multiple points. I can't say that normally happens, and true, it was probably a function of the temperature of the dining center, but I choose to attribute the chills to the speech, because Obama is just that awesome. I am really happy to have a president who can actually speak publicly, because I feel it is one of the most important traits of a good president. How much influence a president actually has over the system at large can be argued, but one thing that they do have pretty much complete control over is how the rest of the world views us.

Presidents represent us to the rest of the world, and for the last eight years, we have been represented by an old-looking hyper-conservative southern white guy, who is completely and utterly incompetent as a public speaker. My loathing for Bush's speaking ability knows no bounds. Now, however, we have a tall, young, black man with a Muslim sounding name as our commander-in-chief. That is something the rest of the world respects far more. This is aided by the fact that he is a brilliant speaker. Bush had bad ideas, but even his couple good ideas, he could not sell well because he was a complete failure as a public speaker. Obama has good ideas, and he knows how to communicate them. I have the utmost respect for Obama, and while I am sure he won't be able to live up to all the expectations set for him, I think he will do a very good job.

I didn't really watch more of the inauguration after that, but I did hear Aretha Franklin sing. You go girl!

First Entry: Intro/new album

Greetings, internet!  My name is AJ, and this blog is for my English class.  I plan to use it to further my education as a writer (though that is not my focus or anything), and also to share my musical tastes with you all.  I feel that music is a good subject on which to spend my writing talents, as it is my passion in life, and hopefully, shall soon be my major.  So, without further ado, I would like to bring to the attention of my adoring fans a few albums that you all need to hear.

At present, I am listening to an album by BT, someone whom I consider to be possibly the greatest techno/electronica artist the musical world has yet seen.  The album is called This Binary Universe, and it is a brilliant foray into the world of ambient electronica.  In all seriousness, if you have any interest in electronic music at all, you owe it to yourself to purchase this triumph of an album as soon as you possibly can.  Each track takes you on a journey all on its own.  BT proves himself master of the stutter edit, provided his fans were not already aware of this from his earlier albums.  Speaking of which, go buy Emotional Technology as well.  Very different style, but similarly awesome.

That's all for this first in what I hope is a series of similarly enthusiastic journal entries.  I hope you enjoyed reading about this very small facet of my musical tastes.  Until next time, internet!