it's christmas.

yay.

post-genesis (and many more snippets to come)

one step closer to going viral

genesis

*rubs eyes*

need...sleep.

i can't wait until i actually have time to write a worthwhile entry.

HARDCORE STUDYING

YEAH.

sometimes it seems like running away from god is the only way to find him.

christianity is painfully complex.

more lyrics (aka productive procrastinating)

"keep me in mind"

keep me in mind

and i'll do the same for you

we'll hold on together to the past

and never leave it behind

to always connect

even as time divides

keep me in mind

save me a place in your thoughts

'cause spaces for places won't last forever

when you're too busy to care

to always connect

even as time divides

newb attempts at writing lyrics

i'm using blogger as a pseudo-notebook for haphazard poetry.

all these ideas are incomplete.

untitled #1

take off the mask

that you call a face

look inward

to see the filth within you

and dance in it

for you've found what you've been searching

for all your life

you.

untitled #2

finally, i've broken free

away from the ground i will be

and the sky has never seemed so close before

soaring higher through the atmosphere, wanting more

ooooooooooh, ooh-aaaah-ooooh-ooh-ohhhhh-ohhhhhhhh-oooh-ohhhhhhhhhh (x2)

new solo project

gypsy club

note: the picture above doesn't relate to this solo project at all. i posted it b/c i like the giant fake glasses :)

anyway....gypsy club. finally thought of a decent moniker after brainstorming for nearly two weeks. AND no other band/artist uses this name, so there won't be any identity crisis emerging.

i have a vague idea of what musical direction i'd like to take for gypsy club. i won't spill all the details, but i'll mention these few bits:

-i'd like to incorporate both real and MIDI sounds. i've started selling my baseball card collection on ebay, and i'll use the earnings to purchase recording equipment.

-my influences for this project include, but aren't limited to: washed out, toro y moi, neon indian, destro, atlas sound, bjork, no age, and m83.

-i'm hoping to develop gypsy club into something substantial. ideally, i'd like to at least make a 5-6 song EP. who knows, maybe i could play some shows over the summer, although idk to what extent my music can go viral.

-there will be vocals. thanks to technology, i can layer effects on my voice so that i don't have to hear its purest (i.e.- worst) quality in final mixes. also, the musical context for gypsy club requires heavily-effected vocals in the first place. writing lyrics should pose an interesting challenge, since never before have i written any.

that's it for now. i'll continually update on progress.

i'm stoked for this!!! :D

not writing this research paper

currently in dire need of respite...

also, camera obscura was fantastic live. hooray for seeing other music's twitter posts notifying everyone about free in-store concerts an hour before the show!

here's s'more pictures:

i'm starting to have more of those "i'm scared of the future" moments. i lay in bed trying to sleep, but i can't settle myself knowing that the road ahead is completely unsettled, untouched--intangible at the moment. i'm stuck in this little "college bubble," waiting for my turn to pop it, to unleash myself into the outside world. sometimes i'm anxious to escape, and sometimes i wish to never leave.

growing up...it's finally happening. i think everything of it, but i don't know what to really think of everything.

decisions

a bachelor of music with a concentration in technology and a joint mathematics-computer science minor...

...hrm.

college is tiring

coffee still tastes horrible.

27

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ironically, going to nyu has increased my heterosexuality.

lolz.

what i think of during halloween

"happy halloween!!! he-he-he-he-heeeeeeee!!!"

...yeah, idk either.

MIDTERM DOMINATION

you'd think that i would've stopped doing this after high school...

but i can't help it because i've never done so well academically before. therefore, i shall flaunt once again:

Music Theory I: A

Aural Comprehension III: A

Keyboard Harmonization II: A

Fundamentals of Music Technology: A

Writing the Essay (Essay #1): B+

Statistics: B

Electronic Music Synthesis: ?

with the exception of stat, everything here = yum. as for the last one, i'm still waiting to receive that grade since i took the midterm just yesterday. unfortunately, that grade will probably be the one fatal chip on my clean slate. oops.

anyway, here's a new music video from a lo-fi band i recently discovered: no age.

"losing feeling" by no age

cute. hehe.

vinyl worthy #1

logos by atlas sound

yes, i know, the album cover is strange. but it's quite apt since bradford cox is a strange dude in the first place. come to think of it, that's probably why logos is such a fantastic album.

racing, chasing, never pacing, always facing the end

a few days ago, an experienced audio engineer came to my student seminar class to talk about his profession. he said something very provoking:

for every second you don't improve yourself, someone else beats you.

competition is everything these days. so many people are well-qualified for the same job, but only one of them can get it. you can only reach your goal by beating everyone else to it. otherwise, you'll always be straggling behind, constantly trying to catch up to the pack.

if you want to achieve greatness, then you can't stop. for time is always ticking, your competition's always moving--nothing ever stands still.

i don't know if i'm ready to embrace such a monumental dedication. if i were, then i wouldn't be typing this entry (unless expressing my uncertainty helps me put some perspective on my life).

suburbia

even after only about a month and a half, home feels so foreign to me; parsippany has never sounded so tranquil as it does now. my house seems like a mansion, the town looks more spacious than i once perceived it to be, and the air smells wonderfully fresh.

i never realized how much the city life has consumed me. maybe i am changing more than i thought, slowly morphing into an urbanite living in the fast lane.

sitting on the couch in my living room, i feel time slowly trudging along. i want it to speed up, but it doesn't. it just goes at its own pace while i go at mine. the tick-tocks of the analog clock above the television seem to resonate more than they should. and as the morning sun synchronously rises with the steady rotation of the second hand, i sense a difference from night and morning, a difference not readily apparent within the perpetually bustling streets of manhattan.

it's nice to be home again.

19.

why is there no totoro halloween costume?

i don't think i'll ever fulfill my dream of becoming a big, furry forest sprite that flies on a spinning top and rides a nekobus. (another question: why is there no nekobus halloween costume?)

bee booboo bop booboo beep?

it's been two days since my laptop broke.  i feel like i can't function properly.

it's kind of sad to see how much i've been whipped by technology.  it's also kind of scary knowing how much i need technology.

this world is becoming so modern.  we are a society ruled by robots.  SKYNET IS AFTER US!!! (don't know why i'm making a terminator reference, since i'm not particularly fond of the movie series).

on the note of computers, i've realized that i cannot see anything aesthetically appealing about PC's anymore.  Apple's got me trapped under its pearly white whip.  yay?

--

true story (gives me hope)

a few nights ago, i was walking around the city with some friends.  we passed by these three girls waiting at the side of the road, one of whom was extremely drunk and lying in a puddle of dirty rain water.  the other two were trying to get her shoes back on and lift her up, but it was no use.  at this moment, one of my friends went over and bent down to the level of the drunkard, putting her shoes back on even though they'd been drenched in dirty water, and helped her back up.  it's spontaneous acts of kindness like these that GMH.

another reason why steve carell is one of my favorite actors

oh, all the years i've endured without ever watching anchorman......

did someone order one heaping pile of fortuity?

so there's this girl in my writing class. she didn't really catch my eye when i first saw her, but that changed after a few more classes. hopefully this change of mind wasn't caused by my somewhat desperate inclination to find a girlfriend (oh, did i just say that? ahaha, i did!) regardless of why i'm suddenly attracted to her, I'M GOIN' FOR THE GOLD (no, i'm not talking about sex...i'm not like that.)

so far, i've only gotten one chance to talk to her. in fact, that occasion was almost too perfect to be true. here's what happened: the class was peer editing each others' rough drafts for our essays; the teacher let everyone choose editing buddies, and how fortunate was i to be sitting right next to her! so i looked, she looked, and we both gave each other half smiles (which translated to "sure, why not! after all, you're sitting right next to me, and you don't seem like a creep, so i'm fine with you being my peer editing buddy!") then the editing commenced, during which i put up some small talk, just to let her know that i knew how to converse with other human life forms (i.e.- not a shy litto azn [what if she likes shy litto azns? crap]). after we decorated each others' papers with check marks and brackets, the teacher ended the class. as everyone walked out, i made sure to hold the door for her (+1). also, i got onto the same elevator as she did (+1); since everyone from the class crammed into the same elevator, i didn't look like a stalker. and THEN the most opportune moment came: she told me that she was going to the teacher's office to sign up for a writing conference, something i'd yet to do as well, so i nonchalantly told her that i'd tag along (+40398571809743108470750982). and even better: no one else wanted to go, so only us two walked to the teacher's office (+13084791390573901825789312790845713092748190327409827).

as for the conversation during the walk, it was nothing spectacularly mind-blowing; of course, the odds of that happening are usually quite slim. BUT i didn't make myself look silly by saying something dumb or obnoxious, so i'm very glad for that. success!

yep, fortuity tastes gooooooooooood.

it's hard to be humble when you want to be better than the brown noser who always sits in the front, raises his hand after EVERY question asked and steals the spotlight from everyone else in the room, and acts overly extroverted.

brown nosers turn me into a bitch. i don't like brown nosers.

i feel so cool typing this entry in my statistics recitation class.

i'm also happy to say that i aced the quiz that i finished about 15 minutes ago. weeee!!!

ultimate win

one of my suitemates just set up his record player with my roommate's 5.1 surround sound system in the common room. oh, and the record store down the street is having a 99 cent vinyl sale.

:)

--edit 5:33 p.m.--

i've noticed something: in most cases, when you ask someone what music they listen to and they say "everything", they're obliviously lying. because when you ask them what artists they listen to, they'll start saying, "oh, uh, kanye, taylor swift, fall out boy, beyonce...yeah, pretty much everything." and if you were to prod them further, they'd probably list similar artists like the fray, maroon 5, lady gaga, jay-z, etc.

i don't have many pet peeves, but this is one of them.

mainstream music is not "everything." i wish people could realize that and stop telling others that they like "everything." sigh.

random thoughts regarding college (plus some random thoughts in general)

-now i understand the necessity of taking naps.

-three-day weekends reign supreme (although one of my suitemates has four days off...but i'm just glad i have an extra day in the first place)

-NYU dining is legit. i could probably live off that, ramen, and mac+cheese for this semester, seeing that i'm quite frugal with my "going out to eat" money.

-on the topic of frugality, i'm still tempted to drop loads of cash at food stands on st. mark's place. yum overload.

-living with a british person is awesome.

-TOTORO.

-i'd like the drinking age to be lowered to 19. i've had beer before, and i've enjoyed it without getting drunk. it'd be nice if i could legally drink responsibly next month. alas, no.

-debit cards are oh-so convenient.

-electronic music synthesis class is intense.

-yes, that last statement was one of my twitter/facebook status updates.

-the r.a. on my floor is really nice. she bakes for everyone on the floor. how thoughtful.

-i miss my bed.

-and peoples back home, of course.

-there are a lot of shortcuts and bugs in mario kart that i never knew....until i went to college.

-tisch students smoke too much.

-to my surprise, i have yet to be ridiculed for my spongebob stuff. in fact, everyone who's seen my spongebob pj's has thrown around the word "awesome" liberally. ALL HAIL THE MAGIC CONCH. (someone tell vincent wu to make a blog so he can see this)

-salsa dancing is cool. now i can finally learn how to dance.

-my music theory teacher is a madman (in a good way). he constantly breaks out random tunes on the piano while he's teaching. it's amazing to see how music is so deeply rooted in his soul. oh, and he compared counterpoint to laser cats. +1.

-i do not enjoy the writing the essay class.

-i've yet to buy a drink from starbucks this semester.

-walking around the city is fun. and tiring.

-statistics class is boring.

-i recently learned how to use a tape recorder. &imma gon' splice some tape this week.

-post-it notes are necessities in life.

-i'm glad my roommate is a hard worker. his work ethic keeps me motivated to not slack.

-sports lol.

-i bought an nyu bobcat bobblehead. i like bobbleheads.

-i need to find a drum set soon. playing on a practice pad is mad boring.

-i bought a pair of skinny jeans that are skinnier than my last pair. it makes the bottom half of my body feel even more warm and snuggly than before.

-no, i'm not an emo.

-i'm really happy that i'm pursuing music technology. it's a very diverse field that i find extremely interesting. &i'd like to minor in music composition. that'd be sweet.

-i <3 nyu.

college

it's goooooooooooood. :)

classes start this coming tuesday. for once, i'm looking forward to school.

so this is it...

behold, a turning point in my life has arrived.

I hope I'm ready to embrace it.

listen

i heard the music last night.

i was in the bathroom, taking my usual whiz before bedtime. my urine flow gently splashed the toilet water while i habitually sniffed to keep any mucus from dripping out of my nose. simultaneously, a low-pitched humming sound from the light bulbs softly resonated throughout the room.

i cannot describe what i heard as a whole, but i do know that it somehow made sense. that somehow, i heard not just a bunch of random sounds, but a work of art that transcends the theoretical, logical, and creative processes of musical composition.

and i'd thought for the longest time that the concept of "hearing the music" in August Rush was ridiculously far-fetched...or maybe i'm just crazy.

too bad this moment had to come while i was peeing. how silly!

It shouldn't be funny.

I think that people laugh at the sin in this world because they're hesitant to see the reality of things.

Intoxication is a good example. People find humor in watching a drunkard wobble around a room after taking too many shots of tequila. But if you think about it, this scenario is not really a laughing matter; I mean, the drunkard's life is in danger, and his/her life could be lost in a finger snap.

Of course, no one wants to be a killjoy and point out such a hazard. Then it's just best to brush the matter aside by laughing at it.

I often find myself reacting like this. It kills me inside, though, because I know what I'm doing is completely inhumane. If I really cared for that drunkard, I would warn him of his/her recklessness, and that he needs to change his/her ways before something terrible happens.

But I don't want to be the killjoy of the crowd.

One day, I hope I'll have the strength to disregard my outer image and say what my heart has been screaming at me for all these years.

Getting Nowhere

It's pointless to have a blog if you never feel like writing anything.

I should do something about that.

True Story (LML)

Yesterday, I was at at a softball tournament. While I was standing around, waiting to play, a group of pretty good-looking girls walked by me. I overheard one of them say, "Number 15 is cute." I was wearing the number 15 jersey. LML

True Story (MLIA)

Today, I was having an IM conversation with a friend. Midway through our chat, I realized that I'd thought she was someone else. However, she hadn't noticed this, since our conversation had been extremely general up to that point. I continued to chat as if I'd never been stupid enough to confuse her with someone else. MLIA

QT

Last Friday, I was at NYU for orientation. The afternoon sun gently hugged my body with its mid-70 degree-ish heat rays as I walked back to the dorming area to return linens and such (I'd arrived at the university on Thursday and spent the night). Upon opening the door, I found myself being smothered by packs of students carrying blankets and pillows. Slowly but surely, I maneuvered through the cushion-y frenzy to the elevator, where I was met by even more "padded" folks. I noticed that the button for my floor was already pushed, so I stood where I was as the elevator door closed, reluctant to spare myself the effort of reaching over layers of bedroom amenities to press "15". The elevator gradually stopped at what seemed like every other floor, and my standing area became less and less squished. At the 11th floor, everyone in the elevator had left except for me and this other girl--the one who'd pressed "15".

I hadn't noticed her until this moment, since my view was previously blocked by white pillows and dark green blankets. When I glanced over, I remembered seeing her at an information session from yesterday. The students had been given random numbers, which corresponded to assigned tables for seating. My table happened to be right across from hers. I was irritated by this circumstance because I was wanted to meet her; I mean, what guy WOULDN'T want to meet a cute girl? After the session ended, I thought that I'd never see her again.

But fate had its enigmatic way of proving me wrong that Friday afternoon in the elevator. As the door closed for the 1983247039th time, the girl started talking to me. For about 20 seconds, we briefly discussed why the 13th floor did not exist (I guess she didn't know that people are overly superstitious at times.) Then we reached the 15th floor, and as she walked out, she said to me with a somewhat pleasant tone, "Bye." Being the quiet boy that I am, I failed to continue our short conversation, or even ask for her name. And as we parted our separate ways back to our rooms on the 15th floor, I lightly shook my head in disbelief.

I hope that fate will work its magic again during the Fall Semester.

--update 10:13 P.M.--

I've been listening to experimental indie these days. It's pretty weird.

But I like it.

In the past, I only appreciated this kind of music. Now I'm actually embracing it.

I think I've reached a milestone in my musical career. Now I can venture deeper into the depths of creative obscurity with no fear.

On the topic of discovering new music, I'd like to tell you that I'm utterly obsessed with it. It's become one of my favorite hobbies; I could spend hours browsing through sites like Pitchfork, Last FM and Amie Street, searching for inspiration and learning to embrace musical innovation.

I'm tired of the same 'ol song. Sure, I still like my usual preferences--Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Phoenix, Wilco, Spoon, and M. Ward, to name a few. But I want to hear something that defines today's avant-garde. Be it indie, jazz, folk, ambient, electro-pop, shoegaze, trip-hop--whatever it is, I hope that it'd change the way I think about music.

Therefore, I've decided to include a "song of the day"-type section in each of my entries. Not only can I analyze the listening paths that I take in the future, but I can also include you in my musical journey (hah, that sounds mad cheeseball). After all, there's nothing better than sharing some fresh inspiration with others.

So to kick off this first ever "song of the day" thing:

"Useful Chamber" by Dirty Projectors

This song is experimental indie at its finest. The synth noises in the beginning create a wonderful layer of sound that puts you in a mild state of trance. However, this electronic ambience is mixed with other random wailing-like bursts that seem to make the song speak. Add in frontman Dave Longstreth's gentle falsetto (at least I think it's falsetto) to compliment all the other elements, and you've got yourself something magical. And that's only the first half of the song. The rest is just bananas.

If you like "Useful Chamber," listen to the rest of the new Dirty Projectors album, Bitte Orca. It's mind-blowingly amazing.

First

Behold, I'm now a Blogger!

What an exciting day.

--update 1:08 P.M.--

So to kick off this new blog, I'd like to explain a few things.

- My URL address (baseballandapplepie.blogspot.com): This name was inspired by a conversation I had with my friend. One day in high school (high school....hahahaha), we were working on our speeches for Civics class; both of us happened to pick the topic "American exceptionalism." For those of you not familiar with this concept, American exceptionalism is basically the idea that the U.S. is friggin' awesome and superior in every way possible. Anyway, we eventually got distracted and started talking about pie. I mentioned that my favorite flavor is apple, at which point my friend wrote something about apple pie in his speech. "That and baseball--you can't get any more American than that," he told me. Fast forward to this morning, when I was thinking of a blog URL that wasn't already taken (even hiperson3673 wasn't available), I remembered that conversation with my friend, so I typed in "baseballandapplepie." Sure enough, it was available. Yay!!!

- The quote at the top: Clark Terry is a famous jazz trumpet player, probably one of the greatest to every play. I saw him perform at the Blue Note in the city two summers ago with his big band; it was truly an incredible performance. The guy was in his late 80's, yet his playing was like that of a man in his 20's. Never had I seen such musical vivacity in someone who could barely walk around by himself. Anyway (yeah, got a bit sidetracked with an anecdote), the quote reflects Terry's view on developing one's own style: Use the ideas of other musicians to formulate your own. As an aspiring musician, I use this quote as a motto for myself. Therefore, I found it to be a fitting title for my blog.

That's all for now.