Autohypnosis

Portishead

2011-10-20T11:20:00.000-05:00

I listen to and am inspired by a lot of music, but thealbum that has most directly influenced Autohypnosis over the past few years isPortishead's self-titled release from 1997.

I was a fan of their single "Sour Times" (fromtheir first album, Dummy) in the mid-'90s,but after that I didn't listen to them for years. It was in 2004 that I gotintroduced to the self-titled album, and I immediately connected with it.

Crashing beats. Dark, moody, mysterious instrumentalmusic. And Beth Gibbons' tortured vocals that are intermittently -- andsometimes simultaneously -- frail and aggressive. These elements combine toform one of the most unique works of music I've ever heard.

I think part of the reason I felt such a strongconnection is that I heard in their music some of the things I hoped toaccomplish with my own, particularly in terms of combining big beats with nuancedbut kind of dirty-sounding instrumental music. After getting a good sampling ofthat album for the first time and feeling very inspired, I quickly came up withthe drum beat that drives my song "The Numbers." (Listen here.)

As the years have passed, that album has remained afavorite to listen to and an inspiration. It's pretty common for artists of anymedium to discover works by others that they feel they're constantly chasing,in terms of trying to achieve that level of greatness. There are a few albumsthat fit that scenario for me, and Portisheadis near the top of the list.

On Tuesday of this week, I got to see Portishead live forthe first time. While they only did two songs from the self-titled album("Over" and "Cowboys"), it was an incredible show, and ithas me reenergized for creating more music.

Listen to song samples and/or buy Portishead.

Nathan

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Listen to every Autohypnosis song and get a freemp3 of "In the Loop": autohypnosis.net

The dialogue (and lack thereof) of "Post-Everything"

2011-09-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Post-Everything by Autohypnosis

One of the most experimental songs I've ever recorded is "Post-Everything," the closing track on Conversation (in) Pieces. It also turned out to be one of my favorites.

Of particular note is the first two and a half minutes of the song, which features a collage of voices speaking over a swelling wall of sound.

I had the album just about wrapped up in terms of recording and editing, but the last remaining puzzle piece was the "Post-Everything" intro. I had recorded several other ideas for it, but none of what I'd come up with felt satisfying.

Then it hit me what the song -- and the album -- needed: other people's voices. When the idea came, it seemed so obvious, especially considering the tone, theme and lyrics of the rest of the album.

So I solicited help from friends and fans who had the ability to record their voices on their computers. A handful of folks signed up, and I sent them each a few lines to read, encouraging them to record each line several times and read them slightly differently each time. I'll be forever grateful to those awesome people who contributed.

It was a detailed and time-consuming but very fun process to edit them all together, and I'm still blown away by the great readings I got. I think the cumulative effect of all those voices coupled with the background sounds is pretty powerful, and I'd be curious to hear what others think.

Nathan

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Listen to every Autohypnosis song and get a free mp3: autohypnosis.net

Some song and performance history

2011-09-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

Autohypnosis performing live in Greensboro, N.C., in 2005.

A bit of Autohypnosis trivia: Some of the songs on Conversation (in) Pieces date back as far as 2003. In fact, more than half of the album was written at the time The Surface was released in March 2006.

A few examples:

I wrote the oldest of the songs, "The Blame," in the spring or summer of 2003. At the time, I was the singer in a rock band called The Big Secret, and we played "The Blame" at a few gigs that summer.
"Recurring Dream" was also written in 2003. That fall, my friend Jason and I traveled from North Carolina to Louisiana to catch a Radiohead concert. The day of the show, I played a stripped-down version of that song for Jason on the piano at my parents' house, which was the first time anyone heard it.
"Thanks a Million," "Sleeper Down" and "Fake It" were all written in 2004, when I was working toward finding a sound that lived somewhere between electronic and rock music.
I wrote both "Electricity" (from The Surface) and "In the Loop" during the summer of 2005. I briefly considered including "In the Loop" on The Surface but ultimately decided it was better suited for a different project (which, of course, turned out to be Conversation (in) Pieces).

In 2005 and 2006, I did solo Autohypnosis live performances in North Carolina. In addition to songs from The Surface, I played "In the Loop," "Sleeper Down," "Fake It" and "Razor-Sharp and Paper-Thin" at various times. I kept a meticulous log of my live set lists, which you can read here.

It's been five years (where did the time go?) since I've performed live. Will there be more Autohypnosis shows? I honestly don't know. One of the hardest decisions I have to make is whether to devote most of my all-too-scant free time to working on new recordings or preparing a live set and trying to book gigs.

Nathan

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Listen to every Autohypnosis song and get a free mp3: autohypnosis.net

PAST /// PRESENT /// FUTURE ::: years and music

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Conversation (in) Pieces took five years to complete, which is a ridiculously long time. But there are a couple main reasons why it was such a lengthy process.

First, during that five-year period, I moved halfway across the country twice -- first from Greensboro, North Carolina (where I wrote 95 percent of the album) to my hometown of Thibodaux, Louisiana (where I recorded the bulk of the album); then from Thibodaux to Los Angeles (where I wrapped up the recording, went through the grueling process of editing all the tracks, and got the album mixed). Moving and settling into a new city is always time-consuming, but it can also be inspiring creatively, and that was the case with both of my moves.

Second, during the time I spent recording and editing Conversation, I was also working on lots of other music (which I continue to refine) that I plan to gradually put out over the next few years. So while I was not happy about having a five-year gap between the first two Autohypnosis releases, I'm planning on making up for that by releasing new material more often.

Nathan

Listen to every Autohypnosis song and get a free mp3: autohypnosis.net

New album + music video + free mp3

2011-08-09T04:17:00.000-05:00

The new Autohypnosis album, Conversation (in) Pieces, is out today.

Visit the official Autohypnosis site at www.autohypnosis.net to listen to the entire album and download a free mp3 of the single "In the Loop."

And here is the brand-new music video for "In the Loop":

New Autohypnosis album available for pre-order

2011-07-25T03:34:00.000-05:00

Hi, everyone. I am very excited to announce that the new Autohypnosis album, Conversation (in) Pieces, is finally finished. It has 15 songs, is more than an hour long and is quite musically diverse.

You can listen to clips of all the songs and learn more about it here:

http://www.autohypnosis.net/preorder

The official release date for it is August 9, but this week only (July 25-29), I am having a special pre-sale in which you can buy the CD very inexpensively (and I'll ship CDs anywhere in the world).

Here's where you can get more details on the pre-sale and place an order:

http://www.autohypnosis.net/preorder

It's taken me a long time to finish this album, but I'm very happy with it, and I hope you all enjoy it.

Thanks a million for your patience,

Nathan

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New Autohypnosis album coming late this summer

2011-06-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

I'm very excited to announce that the audio of the next Autohypnosis album is finished. I'll soon be sending off files to have CDs manufactured, and a release date and more details will be forthcoming. I invite you to sign up for the Autohypnosis mailing list and connect on all the social networks you use: http://autohypnosis.net/connect

"Electricity" used in student-made energy-conservation video

2011-03-05T13:44:00.000-05:00

A team of students from Edgehill Elementary in British Columbia used the Autohypnosis song "Electricity" in a video they made for an energy-conservation campaign/contest (the BC Green Games).

Check it out and vote for them!

http://www.bcgreengames.ca/component/project/?id=377

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T14:57:00.000-05:00

My 2010 roundup of art/media

2010-12-31T04:19:00.000-05:00

MUSIC
It should go without saying that when Duran Duran releases a new album, it's the highlight of the year for me in terms of music. Their new release, "All You Need Is Now," is no exception. I love it even more than I expected to -- it's an instant classic.

The non-Duran music-release high points of 2010 for me are the dreamy-yet-dirty brilliance of "Transit Transit" by Autolux, and "Dark Night of the Soul," an experimental modern blues-rock album by Dangermouse & Sparklehorse (featuring numerous excellent guest musicians, including David Lynch and Nina Persson).

Other notable music releases include the self-titled debut by Chicanery (which I've already written about here), "Metallic Spheres" by The Orb featuring David Gilmour, "Record Collection" by Mark Ronson & The Business Int'l, and self-titled albums by Stone Temple Pilots and Interpol.

In terms of concerts, the unquestionable highlight of the year was seeing Roger Waters perform Pink Floyd's "The Wall" at the Staples Center. Other great shows I saw were unsung rock geniuses Codeseven (opening for Circa Survive), Autolux, Imogen Heap, Spleen United and Thom Yorke (with Autolux as an opener, no less).

MOVIES
I haven't had a whole lot of interest in new movies lately and didn't see many this year. I also missed one or two that I did want to see (notably "Black Swan"). The two worth mentioning that I did catch are "The Social Network," which deserves every accolade it has received and more, and "Inception," which despite its flaws is still an ambitious and fun ride.

BOOKS
The two novels published in 2010 that I'd been highly anticipating -- Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom" and Bret Easton Ellis' "Imperial Bedrooms" -- both turned out to be incredibly enjoyable reads. "Imperial Bedrooms" has its flaws but still has a strong impact, and "Freedom" proves that the big social novel is far from dead.

The true literary highlight of my year, though, was meeting Bret Easton Ellis (my favorite writer) after attending a panel where he was interviewed at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.

Autohypnosis update + art/media I've been consuming

2010-08-30T15:41:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report that the next Autohypnosis album is currently being mixed, and the photography/artwork/design for the CD package is coming together nicely.

I don't have a release date nailed down yet, since the audio has to be completely finished before I can determine that. But one of these days, I really will have some new music out.

To those of you who've been listeners for years, thanks for your patience.

Nathan

What I've been listening to lately:

-- Transit Transit by Autolux
-- Dark Night of the Soul by Dangermouse and Sparklehorse (featuring many great guest musicians)
-- Miles Fisher by Miles Fisher (which is a free download)
-- Past is Prologue by Tycho
-- Wicker Park soundtrack by Cliff Martinez
-- ( ) by Sigur Ros
-- Stone Temple Pilots by Stone Temple Pilots

What I've been reading lately:

-- Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis (twice, actually)
-- Reunion by Alan Lightman (reread)
-- Jealousy by Alain Robbe-Grillet
-- 60 Stories by Donald Barthleme
-- Pricksongs & Descants by Robert Coover
-- Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis (reread)

What I've been watching lately:

-- World's Greatest Dad
-- The Wire (halfway through Season 3)
-- Stella: Live in Boston
-- Following (an older favorite)
-- Anchorman (an older favorite)
-- Inception (only movie I saw in the theater this summer)

Chicanery

2010-05-11T00:45:00.000-05:00

The adjective that won't leave my mind when trying to describe the music of Chicanery is "swirling." Perhaps it's the blades on the "Solid Gold Helicopter" (the title of one of their tracks) that conjure this circular vision. More likely, though, it's the head-spinning combination of the often heavily effected guitar by former Duran Duran, Missing Persons and Frank Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and the bizarre (but in a good way) vocals by singer-songwriter Neil Carlill of Delicatessen.

There's a great diversity to Chicanery's self-titled debut album -- a blending of the organic and the synthesized -- yet it feels cohesive. This is modern psychedelia that actually works, the textures and lyrics as wonderfully askew as the house on the album cover.

Like "Medazzaland" (Duran Duran's most experimental -- and in my opinion, best -- album), the 13-track release draws you into a world that's much like our own, but a bit more dark, twisted and unpredictable. What's more, it doesn't shy away from being funny at times, something that's often lacking in even the best pop music.

Standout tracks for me: "Alien Chant," "Gold Pavilions," "Solid Gold Helicopter."

Have a listen with the music player below.

Chicanery @ Facebook: facebook.com/chicanerymusic
Chicanery @ MySpace: myspace.com/chicanerymusic
Chicanery @ Twitter: twitter.com/chicanerymusic
Chicanery @ YouTube: youtube.com/chicanerymusic

10 great albums you've never heard of

2010-03-02T14:59:00.002-05:00

As a much leaner follow-up to my Top 100 Albums of 2000-2009, I present 10 great albums of the 2000s that you’ve never heard of:

Autolux – "Future Perfect"

Brookville – "Wonderfully Nothing"

The Dial. – "The Dial." [EP]

East Hundred – "East Hundred" [EP]

East Hundred – "Passenger"

Elliott – "Song in the Air"

Engine Down – "Engine Down"

Heavens – "Patent Pending"

Lovedrug – "Pretend You’re Alive"

Slipdisk – "Ruckus"

Buy music, help Haiti victims

2010-01-25T03:01:00.004-05:00

For two weeks beginning today (Jan. 25), when you purchase my CD (or any CD) through CD Baby, $1 for every CD sold will be donated to relief efforts in Haiti.

This is a great way to support the crucial efforts there and get something for yourself in return.

You can buy the debut Autohypnosis CD, "The Surface," through CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/autohypnosis

I also recommend the following bands and artists who sell their music through CD Baby:

East Hundred
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/EastHundred

Slipdisk
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Slipdisk

The Dial.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dial

Zaemon
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Zaemon

Morgan McPherson
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MorganMcPherson

Tami D'Mar
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tamidmar

Warren Cuccurullo
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/WarrenCuccurullo

Songs of Water
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/SongsofWater

R-Three
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RThree

Viva la Venus!
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/VivaLaVenus

Parklife
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/parklife

Emotep
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Emotep

Mindi Abair
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MindiAbair

Stan Harrison
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/StanHarrison

Serious Vanity Records (compilations)
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bangsrock
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bangsgoth

You can get the "Glue" Duran Duran tribute album that I contributed a cover of "Girls on Film" to here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/duran

And you can also get my old CD "Shooting the Decoy" (which I released under my own name in good ol' 2002) here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/nathanstack

Autohypnosis news bits

2010-01-14T00:00:00.001-05:00

First, happy new year, everyone. I'm excited about the prospects for 2010, namely the (eventual) release of the next Autohypnosis album, which I am working hard to finish up.

In the meantime, here are a few Autohypnosis-related things going on that I wanted to bring to people's attention:

For one of the songs on the forthcoming album, I'm inviting fans to literally be a part of the music (although no musical ability is required). It's a spoken word experiment that I'm hoping will add an interesting dimension to my music. I've already received some great submissions from people, but I'd love to have a few more. To get more details about this project and for information on how to be a part of it, read this.
Releasing music is, unfortunately, an expensive endeavor. To help fund the release of the next album, I'm having a sale on the first Autohypnosis release, The Surface. Click here to get it at the best prices ever (and the more copies you buy, the better the price gets).
With us starting a new decade, it was a good time to look back at the previous decade. To read lists of my top albums, films and books of 2000-2009, check out the three posts on this blog that precede this post.
Finally, it's always nice to have fans' help in spreading the word about my music, and that can be done with little time or effort expended. So if you're interested in helping out, here are some quick and easy suggestions:

Add Autohypnosis as a fan/friend/etc. on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, iLike and Purevolume.
Follow/subscribe to Autohypnosis on this blog, Twitter, my MySpace blog and YouTube. You can also join the official Yahoo Group/mailing list.
If you own The Surface, consider adding a brief review of it on CD Baby, Amazon or iTunes.

I wish you all the best for 2010.

Nathan

My top 100 albums of the decade

2009-12-30T01:00:00.004-05:00

The following are my top 100 albums of 2000-2009. The albums are not ranked as a whole (I just wasn't up to that task with a list this long); rather, the list is alphabetized by artist. However, for cases in which an artist has multiple albums listed, I've ranked that artist's releases in descending order (with my favorite first).

I've included genre information with each listing for anyone who's not familiar with these artists or records and might want to check them out. Also, most of them link to pages where you can listen to clips from the albums. There are only three compilations on the list, and I've counted EPs as albums for the purpose of this list because there were some exceptionally good EPs this decade.

I haven't yet gotten to listen to all the music from the '00s that I'd like to, but from what I have heard, these are my favorites. One more disclaimer: The list doesn't take into account many of the great individual songs from the decade aren't on my favorite albums. (That includes, for example, almost all the hip-hop I listened to during the past 10 years.)

This is a big list, and I recognize that most people won't take the time to sift through it all and check out the music they haven't heard. (And, if I haven't made it obvious, the main point of the list is, in fact, to encourage people to explore these albums.) So if you're interested in checking out some music but would prefer a smaller list with more specific recommendations, I encourage you to get in touch with me and tell me the kinds of music you're into/looking for. I'll be more than happy to customize a list for you.

2 Skinnee J's - Volumizer (hip-hop/rock/pop - male vocals)
2 Skinnee J's - Sexy Karate (hip-hop/rock/pop - male vocals)
30 Seconds to Mars - 30 Seconds to Mars (rock - male vocals)
The Album Leaf - Seal Beach EP (ambient - instrumental)
Ambulette - The Lottery [EP] (pop/rock - female vocals)
Autolux - Future Perfect (rock - mostly male vocals, some female vocals)
Angelo Badalamenti - Mulholland Dr. soundtrack (orchestral/jazz/ambient - instrumental)
Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks Season Two Music and More [compilation] (orchestral/jazz/ambient - instrumental)
Bitter:Sweet - The Mating Game (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Björk - Vespertine (electronic/pop - female vocals)
bond - Born (orchestral/classical/electronic - instrumental)
Brookville - Wonderfully Nothing (pop/electronic/rock - male vocals, some instrumentals)
Brookville - Broken Lights (pop/electronic/rock - male vocals)
Brookville - Life in the Shade (pop/rock - male vocals)
BT - This Binary Universe (electronic - instrumental)
Buckethead - Electric Tears (mellow rock - instrumental)
The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (pop - female vocals)
The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity (pop - female vocals)
Codeseven - Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds (rock/ambient - male vocals)
Copeland - Eat. Sleep. Repeat. (pop/rock - male vocals)
Warren Cuccurullo - Trance Formed (ambient - instrumental)
Tim Cullen - Fun Razor (rock/pop - male vocals)
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (pop/rock - male vocals)
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (pop/rock - male vocals)
Denali - Denali (pop/rock - female vocals)
Denali - The Instinct (pop/rock - female vocals)
Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel (electronic/pop - male vocals)
Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe (electronic/pop - male vocals)
The Devils - Dark Circles (electronic/pop - male vocals)
The Dial. - The Dial. [EP] (pop/rock - female vocals)
Duran Duran - Pop Trash (pop/electronic/rock - male vocals)
Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre (electronic/pop - male vocals)
Duran Duran - Astronaut (pop/electronic/rock - male vocals)
East Hundred - East Hundred [EP] (pop/electronic - female vocals)
East Hundred - Passenger (pop/rock - female vocals)
East Hundred - Copper Street Performer [EP] (pop/rock - female vocals)
Elliott - Song in the Air (rock - male vocals)
Engine Down - Enginedown (rock - male vocals)
Engine Down - Demure (rock - male vocals)
Evoka - Cries from the Castlegate Empire (rock/pop - male vocals)
Frou Frou - Details (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Nelly Furtado - Loose (pop/electronic/Latin - female vocals)
Garbage - beautifulgarbage (pop/electronic - female vocals)
Garbage - Bleed Like Me (rock/pop/electronic - female vocals)
David Gilmour - On an Island (rock/pop - male vocals)
Glass Candy - Beat Box (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Juliana Hatfield - How to Walk Away (pop/rock - female vocals)
Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Imogen Heap - Ellipse (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Heavens - Patent Pending (pop/rock - male vocals)
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (rock - male vocals)
Ivy - Long Distance (pop/electronic - female vocals)
Ivy - In the Clear (pop - female vocals)
Ivy - Guestroom (pop - female vocals)
The Jealous Sound - Kill Them with Kindness (rock/pop - male vocals)
Keane - Hopes and Fears (pop/rock/electronic - male vocals)
Keane - Under the Iron Sea (pop/rock/electronic - male vocals)
Keane - Perfect Symmetry (pop/rock/electronic - male vocals)
The Killers - Hot Fuss (rock/pop/electronic - male vocals)
Lady Gaga - The Fame (pop/electronic - female vocals)
Jens Lekman - Oh You're So Silent Jens [compilation] (pop/folk - male vocals)
The Like - Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? (pop/rock - female vocals)
The Lonely Island - Incredibad (comedy/hip-hop/electronic/pop - male vocals)
Lovedrug - Pretend You're Alive (rock/pop - male vocals)
Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Cliff Martinez - Traffic soundtrack (ambient/electronic - instrumental)
Cliff Martinez - Solaris soundtrack (ambient/electronic - instrumental)
Cliff Martinez - Wicker Park soundtrack (ambient/electronic - instrumental)
Matinee Club - The Modern (electronic/pop - female and male vocals)
George Michael - Patience (pop/electronic/R&B - male vocals)
Paco - This Is Where We Live (pop/electronic - female vocals)
Paco - Paco [EP] (pop/electronic - female vocals)
Panic! at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (rock/pop/electronic - male vocals)
A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (rock - male vocals)
Portishead - Third (electronic/experimental - female vocals)
The Postal Service - Give Up (electronic/pop - male vocals)
Radiohead - Kid A (electronic/experimental/rock - male vocals)
Radiohead - In Rainbows (pop/rock/electronic - male vocals)
Radiohead - Amnesiac (electronic/experimental/rock - male vocals)
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (pop/rock/electronic - male vocals)
Saosin - Saosin (rock - male vocals)
Saosin - In Search of Solid Ground (rock - male vocals)
Sigur Rós - ( ) (pop/rock/experimental - male vocals)
Sigur Rós - Takk (pop/rock/experimental - male vocals)
Sigur Rós - Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust (pop/rock/experimental - male vocals)
Silversun Pickups - Swoon (rock - male vocals)
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (rock - male vocals)
Sleepthief - The Dawnseeker (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Sleepthief - Labyrinthine Heart (electronic/pop - female vocals)
Slipdisk - Ruckus (R&B/hip-hop/pop - male vocals)
Britney Spears - Britney (pop - female vocals)
Splender - To Whom It May Concern (rock/pop - male vocals)
Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (pop/electronic - female vocals)
Tool - Lateralus (rock - male vocals)
Weezer - The Green Album (rock/pop - male vocals)
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak (electronic/R&B/hip-hop/pop - male vocals)
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (electronic/pop - male vocals)
Your Vegas - A Town and Two Cities (rock/pop/electronic - male vocals)
Zaemon - Collection [compilation] (rock/funk/pop - male vocals)
Marek Zebrowski and David Lynch - Polish Night Music (ambient - instrumental)

My top single of the decade that's not on any of the above albums is "Nobody Knows" by Simon Le Bon and Nick Wood.

And, finally, here are some of my own personal awards:

Band of the decade: Radiohead
Solo artist of the decade: Imogen Heap
Unsigned* band/artist of the decade: East Hundred

*Meaning a band or artist who's never been signed.

My top 75 films of the decade

2009-12-27T16:12:00.004-05:00

There are plenty of films from this decade that I haven't yet seen but want to. Of those movies I have seen, though, these are my top 75 of 2000-2009 (in alphabetical order):

11:14

21 Grams

Adaptation

AI: Artificial Intelligence

American Psycho

Amores Perros

Anchorman

Auto Focus

Babel

Best in Show

Bully

Casino Royale

Cast Away

Chuck & Buck

City of God

Collateral

Donnie Darko

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Full Frontal

Gran Torino

Half Nelson

A History of Violence

I Heart Huckabees

In Bruges

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

In the Bedroom

Inland Empire

Junebug

Juno

Lions for Lambs

Memento

Michael Clayton

Mulholland Drive

Napoleon Dynamite

No Country for Old Men

Northfork

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Ocean's Eleven

Panic Room

Punch-Drunk Love

Reno 911!: Miami

Requiem for a Dream

Roger Dodger

Snatch

Solaris

Spider

Spy Game

Step Brothers

Stranger Than Fiction

Sunset Strip

Synecdoche, New York

Tape

The Constant Gardener

The Dark Knight

The Departed

The Informers

Gangs of New York

The Piano Teacher

The Pledge

The Prestige

The Road

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Rules of Attraction

The Science of Sleep

The Tailor of Panama

The Way of the Gun

The Wrestler

There Will Be Blood

Traffic

Vanilla Sky

Volver

Waking Life

Wet Hot American Summer

Zodiac

Zoolander

My top 10 books of the decade

2009-12-21T15:52:00.002-05:00

My top 10 books of 2000-2009:

1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3. The Constant Gardener by John le Carré
4. Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo
5. Reunion by Alan Lightman
6. The Good Life by Jay McInerney
7. Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
8. Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis
9. Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
10. My Custom Van by Michael Ian Black

How to win listeners and influence eardrums?

2009-12-02T16:45:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about music publicity and promotion. I make music first and foremost for myself, to satisfy the intangible desire to create something. But like 99 percent of the world's musicians, I want my music to be heard – and the more people who hear it, the better. It would also be nice to make back at least some of the money I put into making music.

I read all the time about how in the age of the Internet and digital music there are so many more opportunities for unsigned bands and artists to get their music heard, make their mark, build a following, etc., etc. Phrases like "you can do it all without a record label" proliferate music-related sites and blogs.

I'll be the first to say that, yes, the Internet and other technology make so many things possible for musicians that weren't a decade ago. I will quickly follow that, though, with a series of emphatic "buts" (not to be confused with emphatic butts, which always have had and still have the power to garner their owners plenty of attention):

But the Internet is so saturated with bands and artists, all competing for listeners' ever-shortening attention spans, that it's just as rare for an unsigned artist to gain a substantial following on their own as it is for them to get signed to a label.
But it doesn't much matter that my music is available through iTunes, Amazon, et al because very few people feel compelled to pay for music anymore, and the music people are inclined to buy is mostly by bands/artists who are on labels.
But it means absolutely nothing that I have more than 4,000 friends on the MySpace profile for my music because, in most cases, you're added to someone's friends list and immediately forgotten. Plus so many of those "friends" are other musicians who obviously only sent me friend requests to build up their own numbers without ever listening to a note of my music.
But the Internet doesn't tend to improve people's tastes or make them more open-minded about different styles of music.
But it still feels like any hard work put toward promoting my music is all for naught. I'm active on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and ... nothin'.

I'm feeling cynical right now, and sometimes the idea of giving up on making music (or at least bothering to share it with the public) has its appeals. But something keeps me going; there is a deep-seated need to create and to share what I've created, to not be completely passive and aimless.

If I'm to carry on with it, though, I need to feel like things are moving forward, like I'm reaching at least a few more people. Stagnancy is not an option – which brings me back to publicity and promotion.

In addition to the caveats listed above, one of the tribulations of the unsigned artist is figuring out how to promote music to potential new listeners without being overly intrusive or off-putting.

Sending messages to random people online saying "Check out my music" is boring, impersonal and absolutely ineffective – I know because I've received countless such messages on MySpace over the years.

It would be awesome if I could end this essay with a proven solution for this quandary, but if I had one I wouldn't have written this in the first place.

So I'm turning to you – "you" being anyone who's reading this; if you've gotten this far into the essay, I'm assuming you have at least some interest in this topic – for answers.

If you're a musician and you've found any particular methods of online promotion to be successful, I'm all ears. Also, have you found any ways to get fans involved in helping you with promotion? That's of particular interest to me, as right now I am my own street team.

If you're a listener (not necessarily of my music), have you ever received any kind of online communication from a band or artist you hadn't heard of that prompted you to check out their music? Lay it on me. Give me all the details, including whether it led you to become a genuine fan and/or buy the artist's music.

Leave me some comments, y'all.

Twitter

2009-06-14T21:16:00.002-05:00

I am on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/autohypnosis

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2006-01-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

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