Updates from December, 2009 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Eric P. Metze 14:07 on December 1, 2009 Permalink | Comment

    Gaian Soundtrack 

    I’m putting together a collection of Gaian music, and I need everyone’s help. What do I mean by Gaian? Well, anything that is positive or uplifting with an emphasis on taking care of the world or your fellow humans. I’m trying very hard to avoid cheesy music because I want it to be genuinely uplifting without grating on my nerves.

    Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

    • “Within You Without You” by the Beatles
    • “The Warmth” by Incubus
    • “Make You Feel That Way” by Blackalicious
    • “Float On” by Modest Mouse
    • “A Dream” by Common
    • “Bowl of Oranges” by Bright Eyes
    • “The Heart of Life” by John Mayer
    • “I Know I’m Not Alone” by Michael Franti & Spearhead
    • “Meant to Live” by Switchfoot
    • “Hold Me Now” by Polyphonic Spree
    • “I Can Walk on Water” by Basshunter
    • “One” by U2
    • “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley
    • “I Believe” by Joe Satriani
    • “Rooftops” by Lostprophets
    • “If Everyone Cared” by Nickelback
    • “Earth Heals Herself” by Buckethead

    You may see this list and think it has some glaring omissions. There are only a few hip-hop songs, there are zero country songs, and most of them are rock(ish) tunes from the past ten years. Please help me fix that. I don’t want to focus on one particular genre. There is so much good music out there and I know I’m either ignorant of it or it’s just slipping my mind.

     

  • Eric P. Metze 01:27 on September 16, 2008 Permalink | Comment

    Year At Danger 

    An excellent review of the new Iraq documentary, Year At Danger. For operations in Iraq, the National Guard mobilized schoolteachers, police officers, bankers, mechanies…and one filmmaker.

    read more | digg story

     

  • Eric P. Metze 09:04 on June 16, 2007 Permalink | Comment

    Ytsevolution, Baby! 

    Here’s a project I have spent quite some time working on, but not nearly as much time as Dream Theater spent creating the music that went into it. This is a complete album of the nearly two decades of DT’s career. It starts with an intro that includes all of their albums, ends with an outro that includes all of their albums, and has one representative track from each album in between.

    ytsevolution.metzae.net

    This is the updated version that includes a track from their newest album, Systematic Chaos. The entire track list is as follows:

    1. (intro)
    2. The Ytse Jam
    3. Learning to Live
    4. Scarred
    5. Burning My Soul
    6. Beyond This Life
    7. Blind Faith
    8. Endless Sacrifice
    9. Never Enough
    10. The Ministry of Lost Souls
    11. (outro)

    I would recommend you listening to this all at once, if you can. There are no track breaks because it’s supposed to represent the typical length of a musical piece by DT. If you find that you love it and absolutely must have a copy in CD form, let me know. I have to burn special copies because of the tracks.

     

  • Eric P. Metze 19:14 on June 15, 2007 Permalink | Comment

    The Twelve Step Suite by Dream Theater 

    This is a suite of four songs that I mixed together after I realized that they are parts of a larger body of work that Dream Theater is actively working on. Each song is from a different album and will likely be performed as a single piece of music once they have put it all together. The drummer and one of the main creative minds of the band, Mike Portnoy, has created this suite as an homage to the twelve step program from Alcoholic’s Anonymous. Each section is titled after a step in the program.

    I’m only uploading this because there is no mixed version, and I would encourage you to get the albums if you liked them. Then again, if you do know about this suite, chances are you already have the albums.

    [audio:dreamtheater-twelve_step_suite.mp3]

     

  • Eric P. Metze 10:36 on December 14, 2006 Permalink | Comment

    Counting Bodies Like Metzae to the Lullaby of the Pet Drums 

    So, it occurred to me recently that there are four different versions of the same song that I had on my computer, but it’s not immediately obvious that this is the case. I just thought it was so weird that I wanted to share it. And, besides…I wanted to share my remix anyway.

    A Perfect Circle released the following songs (in this order) on their second album, Thirteenth Step:

    [audio:aperfectcircle-pet.mp3]

    [audio:aperfectcircle-lullaby.mp3]

    Then, they released a remix (of sorts) on their third album, eMotive:

    [audio:aperfectcircle-countingbodieslikesheep.mp3]

    So anyway, a while back I created a remix of all three songs, which I’ve given the annoying title “Counting Bodies Like Metzae to the Lullaby of the Pet Drums.”

    [audio:countingbodieslikemetzae.mp3|loop=yes]

    The thing is, I just remembered last night that I’d used all three of those songs to create the remix. I took different sections of every version I could find (even a bit or two from other songs). I sped it up and mixed it all together with an industrial sound and rhythm.

    Geeky things to be aware of…

    • The file is loopable, which is intended to echo the cycle of violence, war, and the propaganda that causes it. It starts and ends with the sound of boots marching, a sound that A Perfect Circle clearly intended to be a part of the Nazi/Hilter/military theme. I just sped it up and slowed it down and made the ends meet.
    • Right around two minutes into the song, listen for the low male voices and eerie sounds. It is the track “Palpatine’s Teachings” from Revenge of the Sith. I didn’t put that there because I’m obsessed with Palpatine (even though I am), but because of how closely the two themes relate to one another, both philosophically and musically. Plus, it sounds creepy and cool.
    • About three minutes into the song, I wanted to emphasize the only “bad” word in the whole song. I pumped up the volume and added an echo for when Maynard says “fuck” because he kind of mumbles it. In the end, though, it made a nice smacking sound that gets the point across just fine. Besides, if you don’t know what he’s saying there, you’re not really listening to the song anyway.

    Tags: A Perfect Circle, , ,  
     

  • Eric P. Metze 16:11 on December 5, 2006 Permalink | Comment

    Symphoniacal 

    This is a musical collage, so to speak, an homage to dark and powerful film scores. It is a single piece of music, with an emphasis on the more powerful or dark moments produced by great musical minds throughout the soundtrack genre. I have not composed any of this music, but I have been editing, expanding, and eliminating sections for several years. It is my hope that each version is better (at least to me) than the previous one.

    Symphoniacal: Sound Occupies Space

    [audio:http://symphoniacal.com/symphoniacal.mp3


    Tags: , , film scores, Hans Zimmer, , soundtracks, , ,  
     

  • Eric P. Metze 10:42 on October 12, 2006 Permalink | Comment

    Stewart-Colbert2008.org Now Online 

    It’s time to change the sheets!

    Let the campaign for a new America begin! It’s not official yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start the groundswell of support. Sure, it’s a bit cynical of us to want a couple of television stars to run the nation, but if an actor can get elected as governor of one of the largest states and if a half-retarded fratboy can get elected president, who says Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are unqualified? Keep checking back and tell everyone you know about this site because there’s no way we’re getting advertising anywhere else.

     

  • Eric P. Metze 09:31 on November 12, 1999 Permalink | Comment

    instruMENTAL Dream Theater 

    This is a piece that I mixed together when I first discovered Cool Edit Pro (which is now called Adobe Audition). It’s a wacky remix/homage/compilation thing that is made of the intense and instrumental moments from Dream Theater’s first few albums. I would like to make another one, but there are twice as many albums and about three times as much music to use now. The thought of doing that is daunting, so I’m leaving this mostly out of posterity.

    [audio:dreamtheater-instrumental.mp3]

     

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