Posted by Michael on May 27, 2009 under Articles | 
It is natural for everyone, especially artistic people to go through highs and lows. The trick is to learn to deal with it. I’ve found many coping mechanisms to help me get through my emotional low points. I’m not in any way a psychologist, but perhaps if you find yourself down in the dumps or depressed, some of these techniques might help you as well.
1. Every Artist Gets This Way.
When I find myself getting down, inevitably these next questions pop into my head with greater frequency: Why am I doing this? Do I really suck? Is it worth it? Am I making a fool of myself? Etc…
Guess what? Every artist goes through this, whether they are a “big success” or not. At least for me, it helps to remember this. Then it also helps to find another artist that I can emotionally unload onto… because they pretty much always breathe a sigh of relief and say “Dude, I thought it was just me!” Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on May 25, 2009 under Reviews |
I was shocked and surprised to discover that a Green Day album had clawed its way into my top ten albums. That Album was American Idiot. So in one sense I had high hopes for their new CD, but in another way, I really didn’t expect something to live up.
My shock… I like the ne album, 21st Century Breakdown, even better than their last one. The first 6 songs are decent, but not stellar and maybe feel like the group is “trying a bit too hard”… but once you get past that, the next ten songs are “all killer, no filler”. They are trying different things on this album. Most noticeably they have discovered piano in a big way, and use it effectively… “Peacemaker” with its mid-eastern musical influences is a big standout, and “21 Guns” deserves to be the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” of this record. (Though I suspect American Radio will stay away from it’s political content.)
In fact, while I think almost song for song this album is better, it isn’t as chock-full of obvious radio hits, again, pretty much because Billy doesn’t hold back on the political content. Despite their upcoming challenges with radio (maybe because of it) They have delivered a mature and thoughtful album that still shows the boys can rock. Production and engineering on this is also amazing, BTW…
Now I have the scary proposition of having to admit that Green Day might be one of my favorite BANDS! I guess I should start checking out some of their catalogue.
