Happy Grinding Without Me

As I have much to do today before I head off to work, I don't have the time to leave you with an entry suited for a twisted palette you all possess. So instead, I'll just list some of the notable pieces of music that's been on playback lately on WinAmp. And yes, the entry's title stems from the music.

Enjoy! (If you don't, you can always "complain" about it or something... =P)





CURRENT MUSIC:
Eminem - "Without Me"
The Eminem Show

I've said before that I've always been a rocker at heart, but every once in a while there's an R&B/hip hop/rap artist/group I'll listen to and like. As the evidence here states: Eminem has made my list.

There's an adage out there used by business professionals and crafters alike: the project management triangle. It can be boiled down to a simple "three qualities; two choices" scenario (in business: good, fast, cheap). This can be switched around to fit almost any scenario or topic, and music is no exception.

Since high school I've had a sort-of running joke with hip hop and rap songs that follows the "three qualities; two choices" format: "Hip hop and rap songs can be popular, good and have a deeper meaning behind the lyrics. Pick two."

While most artists out there would have the former two attributed to them, Eminem - in my opinion - is a rarity who branches out to hit all three aspects. He knows he can deliver a message, and while he does it in less-than-tasteful lyrics, he knows this - and he lays down the lines anyway, provoking the responses he want from both fans and haters alike. "Without Me" does just that - it's more of a simple statement that says, "I know I'm controversial, but you know you like it. I sure as hell do."


Flipsyde - "Happy Birthday"
We the People

Now here's a group that I can cite as an example of my running joke in real life. The only reason why the average person would currently know about Flipsyde would be because two of their songs were used as themes for the Olympics:

• "Someday" for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy (used by NBC)
• "Champion" for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China (sponsored by AT&T's Team USA set list)

Granted, yes, Flipsyde's pretty popular regardless, but maybe two of my friends have known of them before they heard me randomly blaring one of their songs one night.

Anyway, "Happy Birthday" is one of those songs that exemplifies my running joke. In my senior year of high school I was part of a group assigned by our ASB to play music out in our quad during lunch on Fridays. Now, for the past three years before my tenure, the committee blared nothing but rap and hip hop because that's what they wanted. Frankly, the school population was pretty sick of not getting a say. So, being the rebellious bastard I am, I polled the crowds who sat outside and as I expected, they wanted rock. I gave it to them (opening with Black Sabbath's "Iron Man") and while the crowd responded with much enthusiasm (people came up to me and my friends, shook hands, gave out heartfelt "thank yous," etc.), ASB didn't.

ASB wanted the committee (and in turn, me) to play more "mainstream" things (i.e.: hip hop), and so after the committee head capitulated and started resuming playing what the crowd didn't want to hear, I decided I'd take a turn at the wheel. I decided to conduct an experiment and made a playlist of songs that I felt as good. One Friday I took the original hip hop-laden CD we were going to play and swapped it out with a modified one I made prior to that day. "Happy Birthday" was among the track listing. As I expected, the crowd didn't respond well to the music, and neither did ASB. When I revealed the playlist and lyrics to the crowd, they were shocked - they took another listen and realized it was actually good music I had given them.

The whole point of this story? Aside from me rambling on because I like listening to myself, "Happy Birthday" is an amazing song. I honestly can't recall many hip hop songs focusing on - of all things - abortion (and the remorse the would-be father feels about it). Give it a listen - I think you'll agree with me.


Frank Klepacki - "Grinder"
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 Original Soundtrack

The whole "archiving my blog" thing can be pretty arduous, but if you have something that can help you with the grind, then you're set. What's funny is that "Grinder" does just that - and what's funnier is that it's called "Grinder."

Like I mentioned before, for those of you who don't know, "Grinder" is well-known as the menu music from Red Alert 2. Opening with cool-sounding Morse code effects (I've yet to figure out what they're tapping out) and then launching you straight into a heavy, bass-driven sound that brings back fond memories for C&C fans and instills into the minds of the musically-inclined the desire to air-guitar and/or headbang along. And don't ask me about the brilliant, unintelligible ramblings the chorus spouts off - nobody knows. Not even Klepacki himself.

Whenever I listen to this piece, my output is increased by like 1000% while the song plays. I could have zero energy at work and this cycles through, and soon afterward I'm rocketing off doing stuff crazy-fast. I could be playing a real-time strategy game and all of a sudden my army production begins to go to immeasurable levels of "oh shit, someone's getting steamrolled somewhere." I could be sitting in a chair feeling all "blah," and then "Grinder pops up and without warning I jump up and air-guitar along.

Klepacki: you are a genius. \m/





Until the 'morrow!