Meme-opolitan

Posted by nicopolitan
January 30, 2009

Ordinarily I don’t get on the meme train but this one from Courtney looked pretty promising since it requires more insight than just replying to a template.  I’ve been getting into a rut with blogging lately — as in, I mostly talk about myself superficially and not enough anymore about the pillars that are holding up my proverbial roof. So this is a good brain-stretch and refresher course about what are things I could be thinking about. Anyway. Allons-y!

A.) Leave me a comment saying, “Interview Me!” or raise your hand or something to that effect
B.) I’ll respond with 5 questions of my choice for you to answer
C.) You update your blog with the answers to the questions
D.) You include “The Rules”/the offer to interview other people
E.) Eat a blueberry… not really.. let’s go, shall we?

1) if you could pick three albums to listen to for the rest of your life, and you could listen to nothing else, which three would they be and why?

  • My Bloody Valentine – Loveless : Was this band named after the movie?  Yes, but the old one.  But anyway, why this?  It’s because sometimes I feel the way a lot of these textures sound.  I don’t understand my feelings very well, like most males, so communicating that in words is not as efficient for me as communicating them as sounds.  I guess this means my emotions are a warm, melodic, blur.
  • Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks : Hey, I like stories and poetry.  Besides, why would anyone have to justify loving Bob Dylan?  You just do.  :)
  • Squarepusher – Hard Normal Daddy : You know the wonder you get from a guitar solo?  As in, “Holy crap, how do they make a guitar sound like that?”  The soaring acrobatics of furious fretwork?  This is like that.  Only, instead of a guitar, imagine it being a computer.  That’s right: “How do you make a computer sound like that?” This is what happens when you give a jazz musician a bunch of drum machines and synthesizers.

2) What is the most ridiculous piece of inspiration you’ve ever had for writing a song/piece of music?

A jalapeno.  Here:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

3) Do you have any long term plans as to your music? How you want it to fit into your life, release plans, a career move… or is it just a hobby?

When I was young, I really thought that taking music seriously was a way to make a living, but Los Angeles pretty much helped to quell that dream and I have a more realistic way to think about surviving as a musician. That is, music is more than a hobby, but it is less than a career aspiration. It keeps me sane.

As far as a release plan, I plan to release everything I write for free under a Creative Commons license. The only thing it has really cost me to make music is time, and if someone is going to take the time to listen to it, then I feel they’ve already paid for it. That’s not really how it works for professional musicians, unfortunately, but I have a whole ‘nother rant about that, as well as some actually pretty well-thought-out ideas about how to make money by releasing free music that I’ve run by industry workers. Foreshadowing: People in the music industry won’t like it, people in the ad industry will love it, musicians will be scared shitless, audiences will eat it up, and it would slowly bring the demise of illegal downloading.

You’re damn right you’re interested. ;)

4) Would you ever consider living anywhere but California? Why or why not?

I’m actually trying to move to Brooklyn, NYC this year. We’ll see how this goes.

And why? Well, have you been to Brooklyn? Yeah. That’s why.

5) Are there any ladies you’re interested in, even peripherally? This can be a singular or plural answer, and can include anything from celebrity crushes to blog crushes to real crushes. List and discuss.

You know what?  I realize I don’t ever talk about who I think is hot, cute, fascinating, pretty, admirable.  And I should probably get to posting about this!

  • “Celebrity” Crushes
    • Cali Lewis : I love her because she knows her shit, is concise about her writing, comes off as nerdy awkward in interviews in a very endearing way, and has this adorable laugh you can see when she posts gag reels.  Alas, she is married.
    • iJustine : Ordinarily I’m not into blondes, but are you seeing my trend of women who know more about me in technology and gadgets?
    • Kim Gordon : Coolest fucking woman alive.  I don’t care how old you think she looks, she is a goddess because of how much beauty she has brought into this world.
  • Blog Crushes
    • Free and Flawed : For the same reason I like Cali Lewis and iJustine, she likes gadgets.  I like gadgets.  I like watching her write about gadgets.  Someday, I’d buy her a gadget.
    • verybadcat : Been reading her for a long time, and because we both live a corporate life, and try to have fruitful lives outside of work, sometimes I feel like we work in the same office.  I dunno, she seems very realistic to me.  And realism is really comforting.
    • Angelaboration : Epicly long posts, it’s reminiscent of Romanticism à la Charlotte Brontë but placed in modern times.  She’s the only one I know that does this so that’s why I stuck around as a reader.  Also she seems to be an alto.  I know no altos (most women I know are sopranos) so this fascinates me.
    • i hate so much… : Ehl. Oh. Ehl.  Holy crap can this girl make me pee my pants.
    • Musicians : Courtney, Chelsea, Laurie, Clover, Karmen, etc.  If you are musically inclined and female, you pretty much already own me.  Though I suppose Karmen is unfair as a blog crush since I now know her in real life.
  • Real Life Crushes
    • I refuse to implicate myself.  But if you’d like to know, how about you email me for the juicy details?  They’re not bad, I just want to be respectful of the people around me in real life.  Hit me up: crushes@nicopolitan.com.

10 Guests On The List

  1. courtney says:

    awh. you crushed me. i was totally not even asking to be crushed. how sweet :)

    love the jalapeno song :) mostly i just like that it’s about a jalapeno. that’s rad.

    (also, i’m using the words “rad” and “radical” way too often for my own liking lately.)

    i’m totally emailing you. not like i’d know them anyway, but i want to hear all about your real life crushes!

    good interview, friend.

  2. courtney says:

    ALSO:

    you’re right. i’m interested.
    talk business to me, baby.

    that is all.

  3. Caffeinatrix says:

    Love me some Squarepusher!

  4. Eric says:

    I’m giving My Bloody Valentine a listen. Been meaning to.

  5. Angela says:

    Nico — Are you on Facebook? Because if so, we should be friends.

  6. Phil says:

    From the summers I spent in Minnesota, I’ve grew to love me some Silver Jews, Wilco, and Magnetic Fields. I mention them now because I have them in rotation on my iTunes, but seriously, I couldn’t live without any of them. Or any of the rest of my music, for that matter.

    Oh, and yeah, as someone who’s heard firsthand Nico’s theories about music licensing and all that, I totally applaud him. I might have been half in the bag at the time since we were at the bar, and consequently may not remember every detail, but it’s awesome enough that I have every intention of having him explain it again. It’ll easily be worth it.

    PS I’m not a big meme fan either, but I will happily be interviewed by you. Bring it on.

  7. verybadcat says:

    Can I just say? I love you.

    If you moved to Brooklyn, well, that would rock. How it’s any better than LA, I’m not sure, but the idea makes me happy.

    Maybe you could interview me? I’d like that….

    I’d also like to hear more about your music biz ideas. We seem to share some insights on that, and I’m surprised, what with you being something of an insider and all.

  8. Jenn says:

    “She likes gadgets. I like gadgets. I like watching her write about gadgets. Someday, I’d buy her a gadget.”

    I’m printing that out, laminating it and will carry it with me at all times. Because one day you’ll ask yourself, “Man, who should I buy a gadget for?” And then I’ll mysteriously pop up with laminated note in hand and say “ME!”

    Also, thank you. This has not only made me blush, but it’s a reminder that my geek blog is suffering. Thanks for the virtual kick in the ass.

  9. nicopolitan says:

    You’re on, Phil!

    I <3 Wilco, too, but they’re only my top 10, as opposed to top 3. So damn hard to pick top artists!

Drop In, Say Hello.