#smartrock

[hanzdamf]

Not D(e)ad Yet!

“Es ist erst vorbei, wenn es vorbei ist.” Stimmt, Rocky! Zwar hat sich lange nichts getan und auch JUKE u.v.m. sind mittlerweile passé encore, SmartRock hat aber noch Puls. Während die Mi(e)streiter des harten Kerns fröhlich Föhnen -allen voran ‘Uns Olli’ Hartmann mal wieder auf Welttour mit AVANTASIA- leide ich klinisch wie meist in den letzten Jahren... A New Hope in Gestalt von Sebastian Zierof -dem ‘MusicalLindi’ aus “Hinterm’ Horizont” und jetzigen SIGN X Frontler- läßt eine weitere Episode ‘HD’ machbar erscheinen. Die Beste? Wahrscheinlich. Auf jeden Fall jedoch die Letzte! Zunächst soll allerdings re-released werden, weil takedown bei BackstagePro. Dh z Zt nichts als Stream/Download (nur REFORMICULA ‘physisch’/als CD), dh ein neuer ‘Aggregator’ muß gefunden werden. Am besten gleich mit scoop im Gepäck, also neues Material fertigen! Heuer wollen die Digidistrodienste von einem indie natürlich Knete, der sog recoup (heißt ironischerweise auch ‘schadlos halten’) kömmte über Verkaufseinnahmen bzw -beteiligung. Und die Zeiten der rec_prod_for_fun sind lustige Erinnerungen aus einer besseren Ära. Munch my ass. Es bleibt wieder alles an mir hängen. Dem armen, alten, kränklichen “Hanz”. Itzo übet Euch weiterhinnen bedankt in Geduldsamkeit \m/

[mboezi]

The Movies Ruin Everything

Hope you enjoyed the #Oscars last night! "The #Movies Ruin Everything" examines our expectations vs. reality (not just for #Oscars2014).

This song is an examination of expectations vs. reality. Life is playing out on stage, and it often feels like you’re on display. You’re always preparing, practicing, and trying to get it “right.” But how is it that we define what’s “right?”

What we see in the movies (and other media, of course) sets unrealistic expectations for all of us. Then we end up being disappointed that it doesn’t live…

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[mboezi]

Maybe Johnny Rotten Was Wrong

Maybe Johnny Rotten Was Wrong. Or Maybe Johnny Rotten Was Immeasurable. You decide.

What John Lydon did for rock and roll is simply immeasurable. Think back. Disco, funk, jazz fusion—WTF. Even the respectable stuff from that era—soul, glam, and math rock—tended towards a exclusionary, centralized “professionalism.” Too much polish, too much product, too much about the show. After Mr. Lydon and the Pistols knocked it all down, it opened opportunities for musicians of all…

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[controlmouse]

What John Lydon did for rock and roll is simply immeasurable. Think back. Disco, funk, jazz fusion—WTF. Even the respectable stuff from that era—soul, glam, and math rock—tended towards a exclusionary, centralized "professionalism." Too much polish, too much product, too much about the show. After Mr. Lydon and the Pistols knocked it all down, it opened opportunities for musicians of all types. I wanted to examine it from the ashes of all he destroyed.

I'm not about to write off the whole decade; there's some really good stuff that came out of the 70s. The list is long. But for pop and rock royalty of the 70s, their time had come. They had to go. What replaced them, thanks to Mr. Lydon & Co, was what lit the fuse for me. I don't think I would have been interested in music at all if it weren't for Billy Bragg, The Smiths, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads. Bands like Gang of Four, Television, XTC, Hüsker Dü, The Cure, and of course, Joy Division.

What a world that was. I don't think that any "movement" since has lived up to what was going on in the post-punk era. To me, it was an explosion that burned brightly enough to inspire me for decades. Let's relive it here for a moment.

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The iTunes & Spotify Farewell Tour / Control Mouse Music Last chance to download MP3s! This song will removed from iTunes on March 15, 2014: http://bit.ly/cmm-002. For more about why I am removing my music from iTunes and Spotify, please see Opting Out: An Indie Musician's Experience.

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The Selectmen / Maybe Johnny Rotten Was Wrong From the 6-song EP: Introducing The Selectmen

Meet the band: http://selectmen.com/band Album credits: http://selectmen.com/credits “Like” on Facebook: http://facebook.com/selectmen Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/selectmen

℗&© 2012 Control Mouse Music Published by Control Mouse Music, Boston, MA http://controlmousemusic.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is a violation of applicable copyright laws.

[controlmouse]

Sometimes writing comes easy, but usually it's a difficult process for me. I write a draft, edit it, put it away, come back to it, edit some more, rewrite it, and so on. It's a process that lives in the abstract, and I have dozens of pieces that I'm thinking about at any one time. It takes discipline to bring an idea to completion.

Like any artist, I crave the times when the flow takes over. You feel powerful, in control, and inexhaustible. The writing process can almost feel like it takes on a tangible form—almost as if there are real-world, physical manifestations of the abstract writing process.

That's what I was going for with this song. "Stringing words on a clothesline," because they are not ready yet, or "sweeping dust of punctuation," as if there's a need to clean up all the residue from the work of writing. There's a sound to writing, "a chain of eighth notes" that emanates from the keyboard (or a typewriter, if you want to be really romantic about it), or the rhythm of the written phrase read aloud—or both.

Writing is powerful. The best journalists understand that they are literally writing history, in real time. It's true of all writers, in a way. Take your craft seriously. Keep practicing, keep writing, keep improving. You are not just making progress, you are making history.

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The iTunes & Spotify Farewell Tour / Control Mouse Music Last chance to download MP3s! This song will removed from iTunes on March 15, 2014: http://bit.ly/cmm-001. For more about why I am removing my music from iTunes and Spotify, please see Opting Out: An Indie Musician's Experience.

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Michael Boezi / Black & White From the 5-song EP: So Cold

Album credits: http://controlmousemusic.com/daisy “Like” on Facebook: http://facebook.com/controlmouse Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/controlmouse Blog: http://controlmouse.tumblr.com

℗&© 2009 Control Mouse Music Published by Control Mouse Music, Boston, MA http://controlmousemusic.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is a violation of applicable copyright laws.

[mboezi]

On Writing: Stringing Words on a Clothesline

On #Writing: Stringing Words on a Clothesline

Sometimes writing comes easy, but usually it’s a difficult process for me. I write a draft, edit it, put it away, come back to it, edit some more, rewrite it, and so on. It’s a process that lives in the abstract, and I have dozens of pieces that I’m…

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[controlmouse]

Fear is a natural emotion. In fact, it is one of only six human emotions. Fear can be a really healthy thing, especially when it motivates you to push the boundaries and get out of your comfort zone. But what about when your own fear is used against you? When it is amplified with the intent to spur a defensive action?

This kind of manipulation is a staple of modern advertising. They "fill you with fear" in order to "sell you freedom from something." It's so embedded in our culture that it's hard to avoid. I like that this song is aware of—and resents—the manipulation, but kind of gives in anyway.

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The iTunes & Spotify Farewell Tour / Control Mouse Music Last chance to download MP3s! This song will removed from iTunes on March 15, 2014: http://bit.ly/cmm-002. For more about why I am removing my music from iTunes and Spotify, please see Opting Out: An Indie Musician's Experience.

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The Selectmen / Scare Me From the 6-song EP: Introducing The Selectmen

Meet the band: http://selectmen.com/band Album credits: http://selectmen.com/credits “Like” on Facebook: http://facebook.com/selectmen Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/selectmen

℗&© 2012 Control Mouse Music Published by Control Mouse Music, Boston, MA http://controlmousemusic.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is a violation of applicable copyright laws.

[controlmouse]

Let's blame mass production on Johannes Gutenberg. Why not? The concept seems to have its origins there. For all the good that came of it—efficiency and propagation, it led to consumerism and information overload.  Now it's happening again, on a scale that it sure to dwarf the impact of Gutenberg's invention. The Internet is changing everything. We're hip deep in something even more revolutionary than the Gutenberg press. How cool is that? Against the backdrop of history, this will look like it all happened in a flash. I really wanted the song to reflect that, to make a big change at that very moment in history. The one we are living, right now.  The Shift to Digital happens at 2:09. This change is permanent: "It was all for one, now it's one for all—once and for all!"  What used to be, now what is. The lyrics declare that it is a positive change, but the key change is from major to minor. And Andrew is more than happy to supply the chaos that comes with it, in the form of a feedbacky, burn the boats, New World guitar solo.  

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The iTunes & Spotify Farewell Tour / Control Mouse Music Last chance to download MP3s! This song will removed from iTunes on March 15, 2014: http://bit.ly/cmm-002. For more about why I am removing my music from iTunes and Spotify, please see Opting Out: An Indie Musician's Experience.

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The Selectmen / Stupid Gutenberg From the 6-song EP: Introducing The Selectmen

Meet the band: http://selectmen.com/band Album credits: http://selectmen.com/credits “Like” on Facebook: http://facebook.com/selectmen Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/selectmen

℗&© 2012 Control Mouse Music Published by Control Mouse Music, Boston, MA http://controlmousemusic.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is a violation of applicable copyright laws.