Floating Radio's Blog

If you’re lookin’ for a trance pianist…I’m just sayin’, I got the chops. :P

Current repertoire includes:

-Sun & Moon - Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford

-Love is Not Enough - Above & Beyond feat. Zoe Johnston

-Rebound - Arty & Mat Zo

-Mozart - Mat Zo & Arty

-New Dawn - Oliver Smith

And I’m just sayin’, if you’re lookin’ for someone with EDM chops…I mean, Wolfgang Gartner, deadmau5, Skrillex, Dada Life, Avicii, Afrojack, Feed Me, Porter Robinson, Swedish House Mafia, I can play ‘em all, in various styles, so…

I haven’t posted in a while, but I’m going to make an effort to post this.

Facebook recently launched a new feature they had previously advertised: listening to music with your friends through apps like Spotify, Mog, etc. In the chat window, friends who are listening to music will have the music icon by their online status. Hover over their name to join in, and amazingly, you will both be playing the same song, and wherever your friend left off, you will join in at that exact spot. Once the song ends and a new song plays, yours will do the same.

HOWEVER, should your friend skip to another song, your song will pause, and the connection is broken. Should your friend skip to a different part of the song, your song will continue playing normally. In my opinion, that is a HUGE deal-breaker. Facebook shouldn’t unleash a new feature like this until it is tightly integrated. Cheap programming leads to something that is very half-baked. I’m sure the powers that be will sort out these issues as time moves along, but why suffer from complaints when you can just get it right the first time?

Nonetheless, I feel like this feature has the potential to be huge. The only main problem lies in the fact that most people don’t have a paid Spotify subscription. Still, pretty exciting if you just discovered some songs and want to share LIVE with friends.

1. Alive - Dirty South & Thomas Gold

2. Heart Is King - Axwell

3. Pressure (Alesso Remix) - Nadia Ali, Starkillers, & Alex Kenji

4. Feel So Close (Extended Mix) - Calvin Harris

5. Circles (Eric Prydz Remix) - Digitalism

6. Believe It (Cazzette’s Androids Sound Hot Remix) - Spencer & Hill, Nadia Ali

7. Full Room (Stefano Pain & Marcel Booty Remix) - Allen S

8. Resurrection (Axwell’s Re-Cut Club Version) - Michael Calfan

9. Raise Your Head - Alesso

10. Calling - Alesso & Sebastian Ingrosso

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun (and frustration) all bundled up into one sweet package. A couple of weeks ago I decided to order a MIDI keyboard and MIDI controller…I ended up returning the latter. Needless to say, being able to play notes that sound like they come from deadmau5’ and Skrillex’s songs is pretty f***ing awesome. Although trying to create those sounds is a huge pain in the ass.

I think I finally bypassed the initial learning curve and got a good feel of how to navigate my way around the DAW. My SoundCloud is up and running so I’ll be posting things up whenever they are finished. I have one track still sitting in post-production (although it’s basically done, just need to throw in a few tweaks here and there). It’s not terribly original…in fact it’s the same four-chord progression over and over again. That’s why I’m calling it “Same Chords” (aha, Deadmau5). You’ll be able to hear me experiment with various sounds though. And if you’re gonna spit on it, keep in mind it’s just my second track. Ever.

Peace.

Music is a drug. It can induce limitless emotions and cure depression and sadness. It can pump people up. It helps some study. It can bring up memories of a particular situation. Best of all, it is the universal language of humanity (save for the rarest of exceptions).

Makes me ashamed of soulless music that is floating around these days. I don’t even need to give examples…

But I’ll give one. What the fuck is “I got a hangover, whoa oh oh oh, I’ve been drinking too much fosho.”

-___-

1. What You Know - Two Door Cinema Club

2. I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

3. Mixed Tape - Jack’s Mannequin

4. David - Lady Danville

5. Do You Love Me - Guster

It’s a good break from all that electro house and dubstep. Ha.

Part 1 because I’m pretty sure the list runs deep… (no particular order as well)

1. Big Boss - Doctor P.

Multiple drops line this track by the dubstep doctor. Definitely prefer the one after “get the f*** out” over the one after “here we go!”

2. Blood Red - Feed Me

For 90 seconds, you are treated to a very slow build-up. Then you get a whole freaking measure of silence before the womp-womp bass kicks in over the fat synths. That’s what I call anticipation.

3. A New World - Ford Mustang

Hey look, they even used this this in a UK cereal commercial. The triplet of tom hits before the main part kicks in is just so orgasmic. I can’t help but move to that every time I hear the song.

4. Strobe - Deadmau5

Nearly 7 minutes of music pass by before you are treated to the main drop. And it is so satisfactory and clean. Even better when it’s done live. 

5. Here We Go - Bassnectar

The buildup here is INSANE. Audio levels are pushed to near maximum before the bass drops. It also helps that the vocals scream “GET READY ‘CAUSE HERE WE GO AGAIINNNNNN.”

More coming later… 

As some of you may know, I scooter around campus now. Been doing so since the beginning of summer. Probably the only downside is that I can no longer fold the scooter into its most compact form because the springs and joints have rusted so badly. However, it definitely speeds up transportation significantly. I’ve scooted so much that I’ve burned a hole into the metal brake; I never really knew where the blackened patch on the soles of my Vans came from until I checked my scooter one day. It was an interesting revelation.

One thing about riding a scooter is that eventually the rider will almost always be looking at the ground to check for bumps and other obstacles. Frankly, the scooter feels everything, so even the tiniest of bumps is felt in greater magnitude by the rider. One gets used to it eventually and soon enough develops a good enough peripheral vision such that he/she need not watch the incoming human traffic constantly to avoid hitting people. Unfortunately, that human traffic does not share the same perspective. I once easily maneuvered around a group of people, only to be yelled at: “HEY WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING.”

Seriously, just don’t move out of the way. It makes life so much easier. I’ll move around you. And I guarantee I won’t hit your fat ass.

What does this all have to do with sounds? Well, since a scooter feels everything, the rider hears all the bumps as well. Given that I trained practically 13 years in music, it’s not uncommon for me to seek rhythm in life. Add onto that my inherent affinity for beats, and you can see where all this is going. Not really, I guess. Today I was scooting my way down Westwood. The path from UCLA to Westwood’s heart is entirely downhill; I don’t have to pedal a single time if I don’t have to stop at intersections. As I was going through a segment of Westwood Blvd, I heard a peculiar pattern generated from my scooter’s wheels and the cracks in the ground’s tile layout:

DUH duh duh DUH duh duh DUH duh duh DUH duh duh PAH — PAH —

For those with a musical background, observe that there are sixteen notes here (the — is a rest). Intrigued by the strikingly rhythmic nature of the sounds, I looked down at the tile pattern on the ground. Most of the tiles were relatively large square bricks. Every once in a while, there would be a thick horizontal break in the form of a rectangular concrete piece. The scooter also has two wheels; both contribute to the sound making.

If I ever go down that path for whatever reason again, I’ll be sure to post up a recording. It may not be as I remember it now, but I can assure you it was not irregular.

At the end of summer from now on, I will reset the plays in iTunes. I figure it’s an interesting way to keep track of the change in music taste over the years.

1. Forever - Drake feat. Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, Eminem (38)

2. The Sound of Truth - As I Lay Dying

3. 烟花易冷 - 周杰伦

4. Welcome to heartbreak - Kanye West feat. Kid Cudi

5. 绝对无敌 - 倪子冈

6. Take This Life - In Flames

7. Lung Likes Gallows - Senses Fail

8. OMG - Usher feat. will.i.am

9. Second Heartbeat - Avenged Sevenfold

10. Telephone - Lady Gaga

11. Stockholm Syndrome - Muse

12. Aerials - System of a Down

13. Sexy Bitch - David Guetta feat. Akon

14. Not Afraid - Eminem

15. Power - Kanye West

16. A Milli - Lil Wayne

17. Hash Pipe - Weezer

18. Boten Anna - Basshunter

19. Waking the Demon - Bullet for my Valentine

20. Rude Boy Resort - DJ Schmolli

21. Irony of Dying on Your Birthday - Senses Fail

22. Perfect Situation - Weezer

23. Lying from You - Linkin Park

24. Chop Suey! - System of a Down

25. 嘻哈空姐 - 周杰伦

26. Ride the Wings of Pestilence - From First to Last

27. Numb - Linkin Park

28. How Low - Ludacris

29. Hysteria - Muse

30. Uprising - Muse

31. What You Got - Colby O’Donis feat. Akon

32. Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers

33. White & Nerdy - “Weird Al” Yankovic

34. Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff - Deadmau5

35. TiK ToK - Ke$ha

36. All the Right Moves - OneRepublic

37. Fireflies - Owl City

38. 为爱而生 - 五月天

39. Nothin’ on You - B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars

40. Find Your Love - Drake

41. In the End - Linkin Park

42. Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse

43. Plug in Baby - Muse

44. Best of Me - The Starting Line

45. The Call - Backstreet Boys

46. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

47. Across the Sea - Weezer

48. Superman - 倪子冈

49. Shoot to Thrill - AC/DC

50. Boom Boom Pow - The Black Eyed Peas (18)

I’ll be sure to come back in a year to check this out.

…And the first thing is a Top 10 Playlist! I know you people like this. Or not. Some of these have shown up before.

1. Power (feat. Dwele) - Kanye West

I started listening to this as soon as it got leaked. It’s an O.K. song at first, but it really caught onto me. Now I listen to it like crazy, and a piano project that incorporates this song is in the works. :)

2. Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams) / Airplanes Pt. II (feat. Hayley Williams & Eminem) - B.o.B.

And finally the Facebook statuses have died off, which means this song is good again. Although Part II is so much better in terms of lyrics. And Eminem kills his part.

3. Rude Boy Resort (Rihanna/Papa Roach Mashup) - DJ Schmolli

This song > Rude Boy. If you have never heard it, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNk8r1ylqjU. Your mind will be blown. I wish it got more radio play.

4. Not Afraid - Eminem

Still listening to this after all this time. More than “No Love,” strangely. Something about this one just works.

5. OMG (feat. will.i.am) - Usher

Oh my…….god……..baby let me…….I did it again so Imma let the beat rock……oh my…….god….. Yeah. Hahahaha.

6. Miss Me (feat. Lil Wayne) - Drake

Both Drake and Lil Wayne contribute some awesome verses. Not to mention a great backing beat that’s a departure from the album’s mostly generic beats.

7. On Fire - Lil Wayne

I can’t put my finger on why I like this song. Definitely not Lil Wayne’s vocals. I think it has to do with that sick beat running in the background. Snare and clap clashing…my favorite.

8. The Choice is Yours - Black Sheep

You’ll recognize this song from all the Kia Soul ads with those cute-sy hamsters. “You can get with this, or you can get with that…” That’s all people know anyway but whatever, sick song.

9. Welcome to Paradise - Green Day

Yeah, I know the album came out in 1994, but that doesn’t mean this song has lost any of its awesomeness. It’s still awesome. Very awesome.

10. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas

I only started listening to this again so I can enjoy the sampling of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps.” Shame BEP won’t credit the artists they sample from, cause this song has several sources of inspiration.

Abstract: This post is intended for those who appreciate Lost’s soundtrack music and want to know more about the identities of their favorite themes. Soundtrack junkies are also welcome.

I make a bold statement here. Even though fan reaction was utterly divided on the series finale, I think there is one thing everyone can all agree to: that the soundtrack for the show is phenomenal. I’m not advertising for Michael Giacchino, but as Damon Lindelof mentioned at “Lost Live,” there is such a thing as “Giacchenius.” The show would be incomplete without Giacchino’s soaring score backing each scene up; there are so many themes for every situation that even the most astute need to slow down and listen carefully with their ears. Just about every main character has his or her unique theme, some of which are more detectable and significant than others. It is often difficult to tell a show by its background music, but Lost often makes it extremely easy to do so, whether it’s from recognizing the sweeping string section during memorable moments or the loud brass blast at a climatic segment.

But enough talk. Here are my top ten Lost soundtrack works. They will be listed in season order.

Potential spoilers lie ahead if you haven’t finished all the episodes.

1.       Credit Where Credit is Due (Season 1) – As the camera scans all the survivors of Oceanic 815 on the beach (“Pilot”), we hear this playing in the background. It returns in full force when the survivors of the submarine gaze out at the sea (“What They Died For”) and appears at various times in the series finale (“The End”).

2.       Hollywood and Vines (Season 1) – Also known as the “travel” and “journey” theme of Lost. Usually played while the camera pans from above as the Lostaways traverse the hillside (“Pilot”, “The End”). A segment of it makes an appearance at the end of “Sawyer Jones and the Temple of Doom” of Season 5’s Soundtrack (“Follow the Leader”).

3.       Locke’d Out Again (Season 1) – This is Locke’s main theme (listen to the eight-note piano motif playing in the background starting from 1:23) and plays while Locke bangs on the hatch door after Boone and the plane hit the ground (“Deus Ex Machina”).

4.       Life and Death (Season 1) – It’s the, well, “life and death” theme of the show. It plays in multiple variants and occurs just about every time someone dies (“Do No Harm”, “Through the Looking Glass”, “The Candidate”, etc.). The track is also known as “Ji Yeon” in Season 4 and is fitting as the parents of the titular child eventually die.

5.       Parting Words (Season 1) – We hear this in all its grandness when the survivors push the raft into the sea (“Exodus”).  The music returns when the tail section of the plane meets the rest of the survivors (“Collision”). It is known as “The Gathering” in the Season 2 Soundtrack.

6.       Ocean’s Apart (Season 3) – Juliet’s theme is possibly one of the best character themes in the show, although it first appears in possibly the worst episode of the show (“Stranger in a Strange Land”). The theme is later utilized during the gripping moment between Sawyer and Juliet at the Swan site (“The Incident”) and their reconciliation in the Sideways (“The End”).

7.       Ex Marks the Jack (Season 3) – As the name hints, this is Jack’s theme. While not as memorable as some of the other ones, it is there quite often. The audience gets one last touching reminder of it in the scene where Jack is trudging through the bamboo shoots and is hugging everyone in the Sideways (“The End”).

8.       There’s No Place Like Home (Season 4) – Usually dubbed the “Oceanic Six” theme, it also has a variant in the form of “Landing Party,” although both occur in the same episode (“There’s No Place Like Home”). But wait, it reappears multiple times in the finale during scenes when the people in the Sideways get flashes of their Island life (“The End”).

9.       Follow the Leader (Season 5) – This is quite the epic, and it definitely combines a lot of themes from the show that I haven’t fully figured out yet. But at the same time, it is beautiful and haunting from the start to end. The piece plays in the background as Fake Locke, Ben, and company traverse across the island towards Jacob’s lair (“Follow the Leader”). It is also the first time we are hinted at the main theme for the Man in Black/Smoke Monster (see 5:47 and on). The theme is fully fleshed out in Season 6.

10.   The Tangled Web (Season 5) – Although it was introduced at such a late point in the show, it has become one of the most iconic themes of Lost: We are first treated to Jacob’s theme in the opening minutes of the Season 5 finale (“The Incident”). From there on, we hear it every time Jacob makes an appearance. Eventually, though, it starts to appear after Jack takes on the role (“What They Died For”, “The End”).

So what happened to Season 6, you say? Difficulty arises because there is no concrete soundtrack for the season just yet. But throughout these past episodes, we have been introduced to a whole new plethora of themes that stick in our minds like never before. Here are, in my opinion, the themes we should be looking out for:

1.       The Man in Black Theme – First introduced in “Follow the Leader,” the theme takes John Locke’s original theme and gives it a darker, moodier twist. I have included a link that is basically a cleaned-up audio rip from the show itself. It happens at the beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1brwIVd2dE

2.       The Temple Theme – Although the show spent more time lounging around in the Temple than it should have, at least it gave the Temple one helluva theme. Giacchino performed it at the “Lost Live” event and called it “The Temple of Boom,” which is also part of a track’s name on the Season 5 Soundtrack, “Sawyer Jones and the Temple of Boom,” although the two have no relation whatsoever. Hear Giacchino rehearse it at this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvK7TgA1Rw&

3.       The Sideways Desmond Theme – We hear it when Desmond starts to realize what he must do (“Happily Ever After”). We hear it subsequently as he tries to awaken the people in the Sideways. Follow the link. It happens right away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfTZD9vkiM

4.       The Source Theme – Or the Heart of the Island theme, and we hear it when we see the light at the heart of the island (“Across the Sea”). Hit the link and jump to 1:46 for the actual theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhNyBwIcCn4

5.       Richard Alpert Theme – Our good ol’ eyeliner wearing (he says it’s natural though) immortal gets his own theme in his own episode (“Ab Aeterno”), and we hear it once more when he discovers he has a gray hair (“The End”). The link given plays the theme at the beginning, but a more beautiful version can be found at 2:03.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3DwYJDbt4

6.       The End Theme – Yes, we don’t get this one until the VERY LAST EPISODE, but it was so memorable I found myself humming it nonstop during physics lab. Yes. You hear it to full effect when Fake Locke and Jack are lowering Desmond into the light source and then peer down in a similar fashion to what they did in “Exodus” (“The End”). Link here, and it is just the first segment. I’m trying to find a faster version like the one in the cave, but as of now there isn’t one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6cpGF5Qxcg