Music Today

Composer/producer/singer/rapper Neos's opinion blog on the state of music in today's world. The good and the bad.

[therealneos]

Music Video

Check out my new music video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFTDxZSciiM

[therealneos]

Random Thoughts and New Music

Sorry its been a while since I have posted anything. The college life is a lot of work and combining that with all the music stuff I do, I have hardly any spare time. I thought I would share my excitement with you for all the new music coming out in the coming months. Whether you like pop music or not, you have to admit, Pharrell Williams is a talented dude and he had a gigantic year in 2013. He produced the biggest songs of the year and was also featured on them. He helped with the making of Radioactive, Blurred Lines, Get Lucky (also, he was featured on Blurred Lines and Get Lucky) and so many more songs. While he is still riding on the success of his song "Happy", as it has sat at number one on Itunes for the past week, he is getting ready to drop his album coming out in early March. If this album is anywhere decent, it is going to be huge. Don't get me wrong, "Happy" is a great song, but I know he can do better and I know he will. Another reason to be excited for the coming month of March is the new Shakira album. I am personally not a big fan of her but, it is Shakira and it is going to be a big album. Today, The Fray and Kid Cudi droped their albums. The Fray I feel has become to cliche in the rock pop genre and their music just sounds the same now. Kid Cudi did some interesting spacey stuff in his new album and I am excited to see how the public takes it as it dropped about an hour or two ago. This year may be a huge year for hip hop as well. There are rumors (yes, still just rumors) that the long awaited Detox album from Dr. Dre might drop. As a avid hip hop fan, I can tell you I am ecstatic to hear that album. If that album does drop this year, I can say for certain, it will change music forever. Not only will hip hop feel the effects, all of the music world will feel the effects. I am also dropping my album "Dark Stars" this year and I am super excited to share my music with the world! I can say for certain I am excited to see what music becomes popular this year and what genre will come to the fore front. Last year, the alternative genre became more popular, and this year, what genre will break through? I am excited to see.

[patronustrip]

Let It Go - Frozen - Alex Boyé (Africanized Tribal Cover)

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE SONG IF YOU OPEN THE VIDEO OMG

[therealneos]

My Past Week

My past week has been just total craziness. I mixed 9 songs in total, 8 being mine, and mastered one song. I found out that the person that was supposed to mix 8 of my songs was just not going to do it so the last 3 days have been supper stressful trying to get those mixes done. So I finally have them done and a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Music is one of those things that can make you feel so frustrated and unhappy (to all the people who make or produce music) but in the end it is all worth it. That is exactly how I feel after finishing those mixes. There were times where the EQ just wasn't doing what I wanted it to and the compressor was just being stupid, but now all that hard work and frustration has turned into something beautiful. I feel so relived, but the work still goes on. Musicians are some of the hardest workers in the world, and I am not saying that to sound cocky, but more observant of what I see everyday. I am not putting down any engineers or scientists, but there is no other field in which you could be the most talented person in the world, but still be practically unnoticed. It is not about how talented you are in the music world, its about how hard you work and strive to learn. Its also about who you know in the music world. So, my week is done, and I would like to rest but, maybe I will just record another song because the work keeps going!

[therealneos]

Check out this song I helped mix and master. Amazing song and I am proud to be apart of it.

[therealneos]

Making music and trying to make a living making music

It has been a long week this past week. I worked 5 days at my non-music job, I had to go to Hollywood as I am starting an internship next week, long studio sessions afterwards sleeping in the studio, homework, and the list goes on. For some reason, music majors (I am attending college as a commercial music major) seem to have the most work to do. From going to those late night rehearsals to practicing long hours, being a music major is hard. I see many of my non-music major friends hanging out every day and I am jealous of the amount of relaxation they have in their lives but I know they will never have the joy of making music and working hard that I have. I love making music but today, the chances of me "making it" are slim to none. Chances are that I will be poor while working my butt of everyday. The thing is, I love going against the odds. Even though I am realistic, I know that if I keep working hard, good things will happen. That goes for any line of work today. Many people ask me why I work so hard and some tell me that I just need to relax and party more. But in 5 years when I am making music for the biggest artists in the world, (hopefully) all my hard work will have paid off. Don't set dreams, set goals with the end result in mind.

[kingjaffejoffer]

"No one, except the clever folks over at The Cut, picked up on the fact Pharrell’s over-sized Vivenne Westwood hat was actually an homage to the sartorial style in the 1982 hip-hop video “Buffalo Girls” by Malcolm McLaren and the World’s Famous Supreme Team. The fashion website also pointed out that the tune was adapted from the 1844 song “Buffalo Gals,” which was made famous via Blackface minstrel singer John “Cool White” Hodges and that McLaren’s funky, synthesized version was later sampled in Neenah Cherry’s 1988 hit “Buffalo Stance.”

[therealneos]

Grammy Week

It has been a crazy week for me between NAMM, Musicares, and the Grammy's. Going back and forth between downtown LA and my town of Northridge was both tiring and a lot of gas, but amazing to say the least. The Musicares rehearsals were great seeing Carole King, a legend in the songwriting world. NAMM was mind blowing seeing all of the near gear coming out in 2014. A mod wheel piano, an analog/digital synthesizer, and many more amazing new technologies. Then the Grammys on Sunday. It was amazing to see how music can bring people together like nothing else in the world. Macklemore and his performance was just inspirational to say the least and no matter what your beliefs are, it really brought everything into perspective and brought us together. What I have learned from this crazy week is that music is constantly growing and evolving in new ways, technology wise and musically. Music brings us together in ways that would never be thought possible. And I can say without a shadow of a doubt that music will continue to influence generations of people for many years to come. There is just something amazing that can come out of a few notes and a few words, and the connection is just unexplainable. That is what makes music so great.

[recordingacademy]

[micdotcom]

Grammy Winners 2014: Full List | PolicyMic

[recordingacademy]

[therealneos]

The Genre of Alternative Music Today

What do we think of when we think of the alternative music genre? Do we think of a particular sound or do we just think of music that is different from the some old pop one four five structure? Today, Alternative seems to be forming its own structure and its own sound instead of just being a collection of a bunch of different sounds. Alternative has usually been the "genre" of music that people would classify an album that couldn't fit into an other genre. The Beastie Boys were a great example of this in the 90's and so was REM. Both bands had a completely different sound and many people classify both albums as alternative. Today, I believe we are starting to see alternative form its own unique sound. Yes, there are always the interesting combinations of follk and rock (Mumford and Sons) and other styles (also the Neighbourhood) that will keep the alternative "genre" fresh so to speak, but is alternative starting to get its own sound? If so, will this new "genre" become it's own sub-genre or will alternative become this new sound? Either way is not bad in my opinion, just different. So then you ask, what is the sound of alternative today? Well, I believe the sound has become what Bastille, Ponderosa, Switchfoot and many other bands in the alternative "genre" have. The huge taiko like, drum driven music with a very eerie different lead vocal. Rock music with a more mysterious jungle like vibe. Fresh melodies with sweeping natural reverb. These are just some of the characteristics of what I believe alternative has become. If you want to listen to what I am talking about, just look up Bastille, Ponderosa or Switchfoot (Switchfoots newest album Fading West) and you will hear the sound I described. Like I had said, there will always be the other styles from the likes of The Neighbourhood or Mumford and Sons that will keep alternative music lovers on their toes, but for the Bastille's and Switchfoot's of alternative music, will another genre be formed? I do not have the answer to that question but we will soon see. Forming a new genre is hard and it takes a lot of influence and great band's or artist's to do so. I love alternative music and I love the fresh sound of these bands, but in regards to the future of alternative music, I have no idea. We will just have to see.

[elevtrtrax]

"you learn a lot about people when you listen to the songs that mean something to them.”

We are what we listen to

[simple-planner]

[therealneos]

The music we grow up listening to will influence the music we listen to later in life.

[therealneos]

Music Today

Music today has come a long way from the rustic jazz recording's of the early 1900's and early rock of the mid and late 1900's. Just think, in less then 50 years we have gone from the shout choruses of queen to the love stricken choruses of Justin Bieber. Not to say one is better than the other, but music today has changed drastically from what it was even 20 years ago. One could make an argument that music before 2000 was better than music from the past decade and the opposite argument could be made for today's music. Either way, great music has been made for thousands of years for a wide variety of audiences. I believe that music today is able to appeal to an even wider audience than ever before because of the evolution of different genres. Dubstep, Hip-Hop, Ska, Metal, and so many more genres have revolutionized music. Yes, we all love (or at least most of us) the classic queen and Louis Armstrong, but this blog is going to focus on music we hear today (around 2010 to present day but mostly the past two years). The technology, the social aspect, and everything involving music today. The great Plato once said, "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything" and he could not be more right.