Good TV

I thought this no cable television thing would be difficult once winter hit and winter has hit and it is a little hard. But with the internet and iTunes and DVDs, you really don’t need cable television to watch good television. I’m hooked on two new shows.

The Walking Dead












The Walking Dead is a show about zombies. Well, it’s more than that. I guess it’s more of a look at what we, as humans, would do in a zombie world. How would we react to each other? How would our morals change?

Either way, it’s really cool. It’s about zombies. Let’s face it.

It’s super gory and intense. The characters are a little one note and the dialogue can be a little forced. In a way, it reminds me a lot of Prison Break, if Prison Break had zombies, which I think is why I like it so much. Although, Prison Break was filled with horrible dialogue, stiff acting, and gaping plot holes. Right now, The Walking Dead just has the dialogue to deal with. The acting has been pretty good and no plot holes that I can see. But, we’re only 3 episodes in. I hope it can keep up the fast pace it has set up for itself without becoming too out of control. The third episode was definitely a set up episode and the zombies were kept to a minimum, which was fine. It needed that. And next week looks to be action packed.

Sherlock

Sherlock is a little more high brow than The Walking Dead. Okay, way more high brow. It’s a part of BBC Masterpiece Mystery and has been airing on TPT/PBS. It’s a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes. The acting is superb. The dialogue is witty and smart. The characters are engaging. The stories are intriguing. It’s so very well done.

The only problem is that it only had 3 episodes in its first season. They were 90 minutes long each, but still only 3. That’s the way they do things on the BBC. The next season isn’t planned to hit the states until next fall. It’s going to be a long wait.

If you haven’t seen it, the episodes are streaming on Masterpiece Mystery’s website until December 7th.

Unseasonable

When this stretch of beautiful weather ends, we will all be in for a shock. 67 degrees on November 10th? That just doesn’t happen in Minnesota.

I don’t know if this weather is the cause, but I am feeling super creative lately. I have ideas swimming in my head. Songs are coming out at rapid speed. This is all good because I am currently working with a couple of other musicians scoring a short film by a friend of mine. It’s something I certainly thought I’d never do, so the challenge has been a lot of fun.

My album has barely been out a month and I’m already looking ahead to the next. Although, I’m working with a promotions company to send the album to radio stations across the country, so if all goes well, I’ll be working this album for a while. It’s a good thing I like it and it’s something I’m proud of and eager to promote.

Now, if only I could get some more shows.

Going Nowhere

People say it takes money to make money. And they are correct. Everything that I want to do musically costs a fortune. Everything but writing. I can sit and write all day and it wouldn’t cost me a thing. Except, that writing doesn’t directly bring in any money and, therefore, it would cost me my home if I just sat at home writing all day. And, I really want some more instruments to write with. A piano, an organ, a new electric guitar, etc. All of those things cost money.

But, in order for me to make any money at all doing this music thing, I need money to work on it. I need money so I can stay home and work on it. I need money so I can get CDs printed. I need money so I can pay promoters and booking agents. I need money so I can travel. I need money for a website. I need money for merchandise. I need money for recording. I need money for instruments.

I’ve said that I regret not doing this when I was 20. It’s not because I think of all the possibilities of where I could be now if I just would have started 10 years ago. It’s because at 20, you can live the lifestyle of a struggling artist and it’s okay. Not that I can’t live that way now. But, now I have a mortgage, a car, a “career”. I have to keep up with these things. I can’t throw all of my eggs in this music basket. I don’t have the time to play around with it and I’ve made the choice to own a home, a car, and to work a 9-5 lifestyle to support that. Just because I now know what I want to do with my life, doesn’t mean I can drop everything and do it. I have to work around everything else and it’s incredibly frustrating.

I was invited to go to Nashville for some sort of artist showcase. I would play in front of industry types, they would give me their opinions, I could meet with them and get advice, and then, if they liked me, there’s a chance they would contact me about signing with them. Now, I don’t want to be on some major label. I don’t want to give away a ton of rights, just to sit at the bottom of their to do list only to end up owing them thousands of dollars in the years to come once they’ve tossed me aside, deciding I wasn’t marketable. But, the opportunity to network and meet other musicians and industry folk outside of my little Twin Cities Metro bubble seemed like something I shouldn’t pass up. And, hey! It’s Nashville! I’ve never been and this seemed like a good excuse to go. But, of course, there are conference fees, flights, a hotel room, all costing money that I just can’t justify spending money on at this time. So, then, if I’m not willing to spend money on that, then how much am I willing to do for this?

The bigger question would be: Do I want to make this a job? I know I don’t want to be an administrative assistant forever. That is the one thing I know for sure more than anything. But do I want to turn music into a job? Do I want to turn something I enjoy doing for fun into my sole financial provider? Will it stop being fun then? Do I want that? I know I’m not looking to be a millionaire. I just want to sustain my current lifestyle. I want to make what I’m making now by making music. And that’s not much.

So, then, I can either continue working admin jobs for an amount of money that is not changing my life. Or, I can work hard at something that I do enjoy for a meager amount of money. Would that make me a happier person? Would that be the right choice?

Jenny and Johnny

Back in September, Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice released their album I’m Having Fun Now under the name Jenny and Johnny. I’m a huge Jenny Lewis fan. I think everything she’s done is gold. From Rilo Kiley’s very first album to her last solo release, Acid Tongue (especially Acid Tongue), everything is almost perfect. I’m pretty much indifferent to Johnathan Rice, the musician. He has a few good songs, but nothing that I’ve completely fallen for. And he comes across as kind of a dick.

But, I’m Having Fun Now makes it clear they were born to sing together. In Rilo Kiley, Jenny would sing along with songwriting partner Blake Sennett and vice versa and it was nice and the songs are great, but they didn’t really sing together like Jenny and Johnny do. Their voices blend so beautifully. Their perfect harmonies are set to a sunny California backdrop with some rather biting lyrics. If you know anything about the history of Rilo Kiley, you can’t help but wonder if a lot of these songs are about her former bandmate, Blake. Take “My Pet Snakes” for instance. It certainly sounds like a song directed at someone she’s worked closely with in the past.

Jenny is not the only songwriter on this album. Johnathan has his songs, as well. They split the tracks pretty evenly. He has some good ones on here. “Animal” and “Committed” being the first two to come to mind. The latter took me a while to get into and has now become one of my favorite songs on the album.

The only downside to this album, for me, is that it is pretty negative. Jenny and Johnny and seem to be building a little island for themselves to live on. A lot of these songs appear to be direct attacks of people they used to know. Obviously, I don’t know that for sure. But they sound pretty directed and personal. Or maybe that’s just a testament to their songwriting abilities.

This album will definitely make my top albums of the year. A short collection of simple pop/rock songs. Happy music with sinister lyrics. I’m glad Jenny Lewis is able to explore all aspects of herself musically with all of these different releases she’s been putting out. And, though I do find this collaboration with Johnathan Rice to be highly enjoyable, I do hope she and Blake can set aside their differences and make another great collection of Rilo Kiley songs someday. I think Jenny needs to rock out again.