If you'd still like to...

...you can download the files listed in my last post. The stupid file hosting service I was using had a download limit, and shut off once enough of you downloaded it. So, as I like to be forward-thinking with my use of teh intarwebz, I introduce you to a cool new music-sharing service: Soundcloud.

Below is a player. Each song has a little download button next to it if you'd like to have a copy of the mp3 to put on your ipod or other such device. And remember, the lyrics are in the previous post:

because i love you so much - the Nimbus project

I discovered with my last post that giving you free things to download makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Since I have a certain fondness for warm, fuzzy feelings, I have decided to do a little more.

Back in 2004, a guy I'd met at a church social function befriended me and took me under his wing. We were both kind of loners at the time, and had similar interests, namely music. At the time, I wasn't really into any electronic music at all. (I know, right? Can you believe that?) He had been huge into it for over a decade, and bit by bit he got me hooked. Aaron Jasinski (often referred to on this blog as just "Aaron" or "Jasinski") taught me pretty much everything I know about electronic music, synthesis, sound design and most of my favorite mixing tricks.

We became fast friends, and started doing little projects together. At one point, he told me that he'd always thought it would be fun to produce some hip-hop tracks. It just so happens, I told him, that I rap. We immediately set to work, he with samplers, synths and effects, me with a pen and a pad. The resulting 3 tracks that we came up with were some of my favorite stuff I've ever done.

The first one was a kind of super-produced, nonsensical hip-hop anthem, called "Fastball." The second was a litany of ladies-man braggadocio based on absolutely nothing true, called "Sharpdressed," (as we used a sample from ZZ-Top's "Sharp Dressed Man"). The final one was written in frustration over religious persecution I'd encountered at the community college I was attending at the time. It was called "The Acceptable Intolerance." All three tracks displayed impeccable production skill on Aaron's part. I played a couple synth lines on it, but 99% of the magic you hear is him.

[Note: Aaron's main gig is as a painter and designer, but he moonlights heavily as a musician and remix artist. I mean, he's this good and he's just moonlighting? That's nutty! His art can be seen here and here, his prolific remixes can be heard here, and you can follow him on Twitter here.]

I had been brainstorming a new hip-hop pseudonym for some time, as my old one was a bit outdated, and decided (albeit momentarily) on "Nimbus." I wanted to make a nod to being from Washington, and thought I'd shorten up the scientific name of our state's biggest resource: rain clouds. I've since changed it again. Keep your eyes open for future updates!

Now what you've all been waiting for: You can download a zip file with all three mp3's in it HERE, and below are the lyrics. Keep in mind that the first two are extremely silly. ENJOY!

Track 1 - "Fastball"

VERSE 1:

B-b-b-b-b-b-b-

BLAM! when I light up the microphone and explode

With the beats behind me tappin and beepin like morse code

My brain’s a portal to another dimension so pay close attention

When you’re rollin with the lowered suspension

I’m all up in your area like your zip code

98058’s the life and 425’s the mode

Makin’ wrong what once was right, enemies quick to take flight

When day becomes night, suddenly I’m out of sight

BLAM! BOOM! BLING-BLANG-BLOW!

My rhymes are all up in your face so what you gonna do now?

You’re retreating like a coward from my lyrical attack

My beats are all up on you like the shirt upon your back

I need a drink of water, fire’s getting hotter,

The TV’s showing re-runs of M*A*S*H* with Colonel Potter,

But I’m stuck in one place, yo, rooted like a rose

Pigs flyin’ overhead, ground cold cuz hell FROZE!

HOOK:

Fastball, change-up, throwin’ you a curve

Watch your back cuz in the end you’re gonna get what you deserve

Fastball, change-up, throwin’ you a curve

In the end, y- y- y- you get what you deserve!

VERSE 2:

As my Antarctic flows snowed down, the roads froze

And numbed the nose of every person in the first 5 rows

Ill circulation to the extremities

Scarves and hats and ski jackets hide your identity

You gots to know your enemies;

see the wolves dressed up as sheep

The Adversary has connections that run deep

Get off of my back, my liberty I keep

Awaken from your slumber cuz mentally you’re asleep

BEEP! BEEP! Who you beepin’ at, freak?

Run your ideas through your brain before you speak!

Pull back your mask and expose your scaly skin

Cuz we’re exposin' your nature and we’re in it to win, yo

Life burns with intense ferocity

Fate is not without a sense of reciprocity

But destiny can suddenly throw you a curve

In the end y- y- y- you get what you deserve!

[HOOK]

Track 2 - "Sharpdressed"

Verse 1:

[phone rings]

(Actual phone call): "What up? Oh, just kicking it here in the studio... so, did you wanna come here then?"

Slick with the wardrobe,

talented with the comb,

ladies flocking just as if I was

a walking pheromone.

Never alone for too long

before there's someone on the phone

like a homing beacon

something always makes my presence known

Every word, every gesture

every gaze is efficacious

please excuse me if I am

overly ostentatious

in my All-Stars and my

three-piece suit, you're caught

on the double-windsor

perfect triangle in the knot

IN MY TIE

looking like i'm a groom's best man

LOOKIN' FLY

i don't know why, i'm just a blessed man

I don't have to try hard

or be an obsessed man

it's just that every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man

HOOK:

I'M SMOOTH

like polished marble

I'M SHARP

like an exacto

I CRUISE

from the commencement to the

EX POST FACTO

Playin' for the love of the game

not the glory

girl, why don't you come over here

and tell me your story.

VERSE 2:

I'm just being

honest when I say the way I

play is to have a different

lady every day OF THE

WEEK, hanging on my

arm and on every WORD

I SPEAK, loving all the

charm, IT'S THE CLASS THAT THEY SEEK.

As if the game had cruise control

i hit "resume"

and quickly introduce myself

to every lady in the room

If attention's like sunlight,

I'm kicked back and baskin'

Gentleman or gigolo?

DEPENDS ON WHO YOU'RE ASKIN'!

Some people think I'm insane

most people sayin' I'm vain

Struttin' round with my

momentary main jane

Every time we spin a hook

I get another look

another name in my

little black book

I'm gonna shake your life, girl

you're bound to get SHOOK

I'm prone to stealin' hearts, girl

IT'S BOUND TO GET TOOK

I must confess

I want you to acquiesce, let down your guard

it ain't how much you win, girl

it's how you play your cards!

[HOOK]

"(laughs) ... 98058 ... ok, cool, so I'll see you in a little while, then. ok, i'll talk to you then."

TRACK 3 - The Acceptable Intolerance

Verse One:

Hate, nobody claims to

have, but they partici-

pate, in bigotry with

help, and sanction from the

state, which dictates

what we congratulate

controlling public enmity

determining my fate

The wizard's just a cover

for the man behind the curtain

his voice booms "EQUALITY!"

but what I know for certain

is that it doesn't exist,

The nickel's just been flipped over

vilification again,

history's pattern tripped over

A well-meaning public

has now become the subject

of plans to get them upset

'bout those that rise above it

Everything that's holy's burning!

Gather round the fire!

They conspire against all belief

in something higher

than human desire, then in

every public school require

that all students must admire

their filthy league of liars

the acceptable intolerance

has traveled through the wire

and become the status quo

let's all wallow in mire!

VERSE 2:

"Peace" improperly defined

as "absence of debate"

will only numb the mind

so that it can't equate,

they never tolerate

somebody's sense of self

unless you put your faith

and soul upon the shelf.

They want their thoughts applied

to everyone but them

"everyone's equal"

but dissenter's they condemn

The media is rife

with patronizing views

they want respect

but do their best to clear the pews.

Just look at the news

search for the clues

society's bruise

surrounding abuse

dividing the hues

I lose faith in intentions

'cuz moral dissension

denies intervention

it goes without mention there's unbroken tension

And then they choose what we fight

they cause you to hate

they know what we fear

they know how to bait

With the security of brothers

to the hateful lust for foes

the acceptable intolerance exists

'cuz no one knows.

the best kind of dilemma

So, I hate to write two posts in a month's time on the subject of music gear, but I'm tackling a serious conundrum at the moment. As Tracy Morgan said on 30 Rock, "You've put me in quandary, Jack Donaghy... a quandary!" With great sadness, I learned that SE Electronics, the beneficiary of Communism's hatred toward patents and copyrights, discontinued their wonderful M1C Mini, the knockoff of the Neumann TLM103. I had tried the two of them side by side and had been surprised to discover that on my particular voice, the Mini actually sounded better. Considering that the TLM103 cost $1,100 and the Mini cost $169, it skyrocketed to the top of my google wish list.

Adding insult to injury, I found out that my Mom had ordered the Mini for me, only to discover after the fact that every site that sold it online was out of stock. Bollocks. The upside is that as a result of this misfortune, I get to select something(s) of relatively the same value to take its place. *Kid in a candy shop!*

My first window-shopping stop was FabFilter. I've been eyeballing their plugins for a long time, now and let's just say that there isn't one of their products that I wouldn't mind owning. They're gorgeous sounding and have a fantastic GUI. They have this amazing drag-and-drop modulation interface on most of their products that is cooler than all get out. In talking to my friend and mentor Aaron, I was made to realize that there are none of their products of which I don't already have at least a decent (and in many cases, stellar) equivalent. So, with one last saliva-swallowing look, I moved on.

What my rig has been missing, is a good channel-strip plugin. Yeah, I have Live's Saturator device, and I have some good compressors, not to mention a heavy-duty mastering plugin (Izotope Ozone), but I don't have a nice, all-in-one, warm channel strip. My first thought was of PSP Audio's Vintage Warmer. An exquisitely-crafted analog modeling compressor/limiter, that really is the king of analog/tube emulation. This has come highly recommended to me by friends and teachers. I've used a trial version of it before and love the fatness it added to drums and the overall thickness and warmth it added to mixes. One drawback however is that it's kind of niche plugin and would have very specified uses, perhaps limiting its frequency of use. Considering that I love vintage (I mean 1970s-style vintage) mix sounds, especially on drums, this would be an excellent addition to my rig.

The next contestant is Wave Arts' Track Plug. This has also come highly recommended to me, and on top of all of the praise I've heard heaped upon it, the thing that catches my eye most is its widely-celebrated CPU efficiency. It's system footprint so small, in fact, that it can be used on every track in a mix without much effort on the part of your computer. Now that is an important feature in a channel-strip plugin. Professional reviews have had minimal and insignifcant things to list in the "Cons" column, and heaps to say in the "Pros." Two compressors, a gate, EQ, "clean" and "warm" settings, sidechaining on all of the dynamics sections, and much, much more. Definitely a contender.

Then I got to thinking about my hardware. I had originally wanted that damn SE Mini, so I looked on eBay and found it there. Expecting to find it at some sort of terrible average between its original price and the price of the Neumann, I was pleasantly surprised to find it for $150. By this point, my head is swimming.

You know, I thought to myself, I am not a huge fan of the digital preamps built into my audio interface, and its phantom power is an enormous pain in the ass, so what about some kind of tube pre? I immediately began scouring the internet for tube pre's in my pricepoint. A well acclaimed audio hardware manufacturer, ART Electronics, makes a couple inexpensive ones. I found myself quite taken with their Tube MP Studio V3, and its two-channel equivalent. Having some nice, analog gear in the signal path between your performance and your mix is always a good thing. Especially considering that these both have output protection limiting and, of course, natural tube saturation. The only drawback for this is that I don't record audio as often as I mix, sequence and play with sound. It's just that when I do record, I'm always unsatisfied with the sound of my preamps. (I love my microphones. They are not the bottleneck here.)

So there you have my quandary.

Do I go with the Vintage Warmer, Track Plug, an ART tube preamp, or the microphone I originally asked for?

With this post, I introduce a new label: "your input please?" Anytime you see this, I'm requesting your advice, opinion and expertise. So.... give it to me.

nerdcore for life

So, there is a relatively new genre of music. Actually, it's a subgenre. It's called Nerdcore Hip-hop. My brother recently blogged about it, as there's a documentary being made about it right now. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Nerds rapping. The founder of nerdcore, qua official genre, by the pseudonym of MC Frontalot, describes it as hip-hop that doesn't require you to be cool. Nerdcore is hip-hop that feels totally comfortable discussing computers, science fiction and RPG's, and - as opposed to traditional rap - being incredibly self-deprecatory.
After this most recent* hip-hop project we did, Aaron and I decided it would be fun to do a whole album. I introduced Aaron to Nerdcore staples like MC Frontalot, Optimus Rhyme and MC Chris, and he said, "We have to do this." As the title of my blog denotes, I am all for embracing my nerdity, so we've embarked. Keep your ear to the ground, and check back on the blog regularly for updates and advance leaks.
Oh, and my nerdcore hip-hop name (or rather, my handle)? One and the same with this blog's name: Geek is the New Cool.


*Way back in 2006, Aaron and I made a 3-track hip-hop project, titled "Nimbus." To hear the tracks click here and go to the tracks that start with the word "Nimbus."

contest entry: 'Old Scratch'

My buddy Aaron and I are regular participants (he much more than I) on a remix contest website called Acid Planet. Recently he and I collaborated on an entry for a unique contest. As opposed to a traditional remix contest, the samples are to be extended into a song and then rapped over. Yeah, I know I'm white, but I can bust a pretty decent rhyme, and Aaron's production makes me sound pretty good.

The .zip file you download to get the contest samples was named "scratch," which I assume implies a "scratch track" or to the proverbial, manual turntable-shuttling procedure (i am such a dork). Either way, Jasinski had the idea of making it into a play on words and calling our track "Old Scratch," which (if you were unaware) is a nickname for the devil. Surprisingly enough, I think these are some of the best lyrics I've written in years.

Our entry can be heard HERE. Check it out!

(Also, for a point of reference, check out the provided contest track, and some of the other entries.)

an introduction

Hi, I'm Jake. I play, write, record, mix and consume music in mass quantities. Since my music has been disseminated to numerous websites and is for sale in numerous formats, I figured a blog would be the best way to consolidate and serve as a "central hub" for all of it.
To start off, let me introduce my album, Fragments in Abstract. This was my freshman release, and represents my somewhat recent (from Fall of 2004 onward) fascination with and love for electronic music. About four years ago I became acquainted with a guy who has been a close friend and mentor ever since. Aaron Jasinski (who is somewhat of an internet celebrity if you ever do a google search for his name), exposed me to the immensity number of the sub-genres of electronica and I've been hooked ever since. House, Trip-Hop, Ambient, Downtempo, Electrofunk; they all became like when you make a new friend and already feel like you've been hanging out for years.
So, over the course of the 2004-2008 period, I built up my project studio and created electro-pop music when the inspiration hit me. In 2007, I compiled songs I had been playing with, began mastering, and started getting the red tape ready to do a digital-only independent release. Fragments in Abstract came out in the late Spring / early summer of 2008 and I'm pretty pleased with it. Here it is in its entirety. If you dig it, it's only a $7 purchase:

It's available on iTunes, Amazon Mp3, and CD Baby (this is the one that pays me the highest percentage, as its my distributor), as well as Rhapsody, Napster, Verizon and pretty much any other place that people would purchase download-able music.

Check back on the blog regularly for updates, as I'm always doing something with music.