(no subject)
we wrote:
dear assorted members of the weekend,
There is no normal way to start this letter and so we will not attempt to do such a thing in a normal fashion. We are two unfortunate (not in appearances of course) girls. Unfortunate meaning we are not yet of age to actually see most of the bands that we would like to or in a prime location for such a thing either. Occasionally we will get lucky and rejoice yelling things like “Eureka!!” and “Gadzooks!!” but usually we are not so fortunate. This is how we came to our mission. It’s a beautiful mission, if you must know. We are trying to contact all of our favourite bands over “the internets” because it’s a fabulous thing, seeing as that is how we meet each other in the first place. We are excited to see if anyone actually e-mails us back because that would make us ridiculously and fabulously ecstatic, it is more than possible it would get us yelling “Eureka!!” and “Gadzooks!”
Luckily, when it comes to The Weekend, you guys are absolutely brilliant and played free shows in the summer and therefore, nev got to see you this summer. You played really well, were really nice and the new cd is fabulous, of course. We were first introduced to you through the bassist of nev’s “band” (note the quotation marks) maddie, who went to the show this summer and the summer before. We feel its polite to mention those who have helped us discover good bands, as we try to be polite people. Thank you for taking the time to read this or to casually skim through it. It is appreciated. Stay fabulous.
xxx
nev and sarah
p.s. hope this doesn't creep you out too much.
he wrote
Hey Nev and Sara,
Cool, well written letter...Umm, im not really sure how the weekend site
is configured, but I think maybe all the mail sent thru it is being sent
to me (the synth player)...youre probably looking to chat with one of the
other, more 'cool' weekenders so I'll forward yer letter to them.
take care,
Link C.
so we wrote:
YOU ARE A COOL WEEKENDER WITH THE KEYBOARD AND THE HAND MOTIONS AND WHATNOT (sorry for the crazy capitals but you had to know that) We're
not quite sure as to the difference between keyboard and synth, but we are both in agreeance that it's an incredibly cool thing to play.
xxx
nev and sarah
and he wrote back:
Hah, I was just being coy (which means "flirtatiously shy or modest").
Anyhow, youre damn right synth is cool...any chump can play the guitar
(which I do), but it takes fighter pilot-like reflexes and decision making
skills, as well as a knowledge of physics and computer science to operate
these increasingly intelligent machines.
Anyhow, I'll forward your e-mail to the rest of the gang tonight.
If youre on myspace, add me:
http://profiles.myspace.com/users/5668293
Stay alert,
Link C.
then we wrote:
I try to make up reasons to my friend why the drums are harder than the geetar, but yours are much better than mine. I usually end up with “but you have to hit them hard and what if you go deaf? What then? What. Then?” and then she told me that in actuality there are more than six notes on the geetar (my theory made sense, there are only six strings on her guitar why should there be multiple notes per string?) I was flabbergasted by this realization and no longer try to argue. Furthermore, I wish I had fighter pilot-like reflexes.
I am home sick and will add you to myspace now, I’m sure Sarah will later when she gets home. However, I must say we are not quite avid myspace goers, because we find it confusing and are in reality more the “livejournal nerd” types. But anyhoo.
-nev (and sarah if she was here)
p.s. this is what the alphabet would look like if the letters q and r were taken out. (mitch hedberg quote) bye.
and he confusingly wrote:
I've got the next 2 weeks off, so I have taken the time to respond in the
most accurate way possible:
Drums, IMHO, are significantly more difficult than guitar, and reside in a
category distant and unknown from that which the synthesizer occupies.
The key to playing drums is to clear the mind of all traces of that which
we call 'thought', a task which on the surface may seem easy, but is in
fact one of the most arduous processes one could hope to engage. While
drumming, the body is locked in sync via some unknown biological
timepiece, as precise as a cesium clock strapped to the dashboard of some
as yet uninvented vehicle designed to violate the laws of temporal
causality. Perhaps our machine lies within the cerebellum (also called the
'brain stem' or 'reptillian brain'), or perhaps it is simply the output of
the nervous system freed from the constraints of the brain itself.
Whatever the case may be, to access this part of the mind, one must give
up the precious intelligence we take for granted and surrender to its
relentless pattern-making instincts. This, to me, seems a talent quite
beyond any other, even real-time synthesis, and for this reason I have
chosen drums above guitars and synths if we were to place them on a
theoretical heirarchy of difficulty.
Thats not to say that guitars dont also present a difficulty all their own
(despite my earlier comments that anybody can learn to play). All
musicians must access our hypothetical timepiece to one degree or another
(though certainly not at the level required by the drummer). A guitarist
must keep all ten digits moving snake-like across six strings with
frightening accuracy and precision, a skill that takes laser-fine
concentration and the knowledge of the shapes (or chords) required to
produce the specific sounds needed for whatever piece is being created.
There are countless other variables which must be taken into
consideration, but here I will digress lest I continue to analyze the
artist and his machine into bare atoms and vectorless psychological
compounds, a task which can ultimatley be summarized quickly in the
oft-quoted sentiment:
"LIVE TO ROCK, ROCK TO LIVE,"
though we wight surmise from our prespective that "Live", in this
instance, implies not just the act of living in the romantic sense, but
also the biological processes which allow such a thing to exist at all.
And if we were to summarize our question, the question being "which
instrument is more difficult?", we must conclude that each instrument
presents its own challenges seperate and distinct from every other
instrument. To a drummer, the guitar may be foreign and impossible. To a
guitarist, a synthesizer might as well be a particle accelerator. But we
must never forget those unique and gifted individuals whose talent spans
all known vertices and is able to access the subtle minutae of each, and
so in the process shatters the assumption of what the human being is
capable of.
A human being should be able to paint, sew a button, write a song, solve a
mystery, bake a cake, mop a floor, build a house, and take out the trash.
Specialization is for insects.
Cheers,
Link
PS: im sick too...nasty, nasty cough. So bad its kinda freaking me out.
PSS: i aint much of a myspacer either. its prettty addictive, but
increasingly less-so as time goes on. i used to have a livejournal too,
but i deleted it a few weeks ago...i have a typical 'blog' now...
now we have no idea what to write, but link is clearly the coolest synth player evah!11 totes omgz
the weekend, synth player = dude with glasses looking sideways
dear assorted members of the weekend,
There is no normal way to start this letter and so we will not attempt to do such a thing in a normal fashion. We are two unfortunate (not in appearances of course) girls. Unfortunate meaning we are not yet of age to actually see most of the bands that we would like to or in a prime location for such a thing either. Occasionally we will get lucky and rejoice yelling things like “Eureka!!” and “Gadzooks!!” but usually we are not so fortunate. This is how we came to our mission. It’s a beautiful mission, if you must know. We are trying to contact all of our favourite bands over “the internets” because it’s a fabulous thing, seeing as that is how we meet each other in the first place. We are excited to see if anyone actually e-mails us back because that would make us ridiculously and fabulously ecstatic, it is more than possible it would get us yelling “Eureka!!” and “Gadzooks!”
Luckily, when it comes to The Weekend, you guys are absolutely brilliant and played free shows in the summer and therefore, nev got to see you this summer. You played really well, were really nice and the new cd is fabulous, of course. We were first introduced to you through the bassist of nev’s “band” (note the quotation marks) maddie, who went to the show this summer and the summer before. We feel its polite to mention those who have helped us discover good bands, as we try to be polite people. Thank you for taking the time to read this or to casually skim through it. It is appreciated. Stay fabulous.
xxx
nev and sarah
p.s. hope this doesn't creep you out too much.
he wrote
Hey Nev and Sara,
Cool, well written letter...Umm, im not really sure how the weekend site
is configured, but I think maybe all the mail sent thru it is being sent
to me (the synth player)...youre probably looking to chat with one of the
other, more 'cool' weekenders so I'll forward yer letter to them.
take care,
Link C.
so we wrote:
YOU ARE A COOL WEEKENDER WITH THE KEYBOARD AND THE HAND MOTIONS AND WHATNOT (sorry for the crazy capitals but you had to know that) We're
not quite sure as to the difference between keyboard and synth, but we are both in agreeance that it's an incredibly cool thing to play.
xxx
nev and sarah
and he wrote back:
Hah, I was just being coy (which means "flirtatiously shy or modest").
Anyhow, youre damn right synth is cool...any chump can play the guitar
(which I do), but it takes fighter pilot-like reflexes and decision making
skills, as well as a knowledge of physics and computer science to operate
these increasingly intelligent machines.
Anyhow, I'll forward your e-mail to the rest of the gang tonight.
If youre on myspace, add me:
http://profiles.myspace.com/users/5668293
Stay alert,
Link C.
then we wrote:
I try to make up reasons to my friend why the drums are harder than the geetar, but yours are much better than mine. I usually end up with “but you have to hit them hard and what if you go deaf? What then? What. Then?” and then she told me that in actuality there are more than six notes on the geetar (my theory made sense, there are only six strings on her guitar why should there be multiple notes per string?) I was flabbergasted by this realization and no longer try to argue. Furthermore, I wish I had fighter pilot-like reflexes.
I am home sick and will add you to myspace now, I’m sure Sarah will later when she gets home. However, I must say we are not quite avid myspace goers, because we find it confusing and are in reality more the “livejournal nerd” types. But anyhoo.
-nev (and sarah if she was here)
p.s. this is what the alphabet would look like if the letters q and r were taken out. (mitch hedberg quote) bye.
and he confusingly wrote:
I've got the next 2 weeks off, so I have taken the time to respond in the
most accurate way possible:
Drums, IMHO, are significantly more difficult than guitar, and reside in a
category distant and unknown from that which the synthesizer occupies.
The key to playing drums is to clear the mind of all traces of that which
we call 'thought', a task which on the surface may seem easy, but is in
fact one of the most arduous processes one could hope to engage. While
drumming, the body is locked in sync via some unknown biological
timepiece, as precise as a cesium clock strapped to the dashboard of some
as yet uninvented vehicle designed to violate the laws of temporal
causality. Perhaps our machine lies within the cerebellum (also called the
'brain stem' or 'reptillian brain'), or perhaps it is simply the output of
the nervous system freed from the constraints of the brain itself.
Whatever the case may be, to access this part of the mind, one must give
up the precious intelligence we take for granted and surrender to its
relentless pattern-making instincts. This, to me, seems a talent quite
beyond any other, even real-time synthesis, and for this reason I have
chosen drums above guitars and synths if we were to place them on a
theoretical heirarchy of difficulty.
Thats not to say that guitars dont also present a difficulty all their own
(despite my earlier comments that anybody can learn to play). All
musicians must access our hypothetical timepiece to one degree or another
(though certainly not at the level required by the drummer). A guitarist
must keep all ten digits moving snake-like across six strings with
frightening accuracy and precision, a skill that takes laser-fine
concentration and the knowledge of the shapes (or chords) required to
produce the specific sounds needed for whatever piece is being created.
There are countless other variables which must be taken into
consideration, but here I will digress lest I continue to analyze the
artist and his machine into bare atoms and vectorless psychological
compounds, a task which can ultimatley be summarized quickly in the
oft-quoted sentiment:
"LIVE TO ROCK, ROCK TO LIVE,"
though we wight surmise from our prespective that "Live", in this
instance, implies not just the act of living in the romantic sense, but
also the biological processes which allow such a thing to exist at all.
And if we were to summarize our question, the question being "which
instrument is more difficult?", we must conclude that each instrument
presents its own challenges seperate and distinct from every other
instrument. To a drummer, the guitar may be foreign and impossible. To a
guitarist, a synthesizer might as well be a particle accelerator. But we
must never forget those unique and gifted individuals whose talent spans
all known vertices and is able to access the subtle minutae of each, and
so in the process shatters the assumption of what the human being is
capable of.
A human being should be able to paint, sew a button, write a song, solve a
mystery, bake a cake, mop a floor, build a house, and take out the trash.
Specialization is for insects.
Cheers,
Link
PS: im sick too...nasty, nasty cough. So bad its kinda freaking me out.
PSS: i aint much of a myspacer either. its prettty addictive, but
increasingly less-so as time goes on. i used to have a livejournal too,
but i deleted it a few weeks ago...i have a typical 'blog' now...
now we have no idea what to write, but link is clearly the coolest synth player evah!11 totes omgz
the weekend, synth player = dude with glasses looking sideways