Cuban music

This week I listened to a lot of music from Cuba. I have listened before stuff from Buena Vista Social Club and other artists but now it was more methodical (actual LPs) than before where I had just some tracks. This stuff sounds fantastic and I guess it is the best latino music that I have heard; usually I don't dig it that much. I tried some Peruvian one and it was ok. I just know much nicer from those bands singing in public squares back in Europe. But this one was more traditional and less appealing.



Getting back to the issues,
Buena Vista Social Club (4 out of 5)
This album is named after a members-only club that was opened in Havana in pre-Castro times, a period of unbelievable musical activity in Cuba.While bandleader Desi Arnaz became a huge hit in the States, several equally talented musicians never saw success outside their native country, and have had nothing but their music to sustain them during the Castro reign. Ry Cooder went to Cuba to record a musical documentary of these performers. Many of the musicians on this album have been playing for more than a half century, and they sing and play with an obvious love for the material. Cooder could have recorded these songs without paying the musicians a cent; one can imagine them jumping up and grabbing for their instruments at the slightest opportunity, just to play. Most of the songs are a real treasure, traversing a lot of ground in Cuba's musical history.



Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer (5 out of 5)
Picking up where Buena Vista Social Club left off, BVSC Presents Ibrahim Ferrer soothes with the hushed romanticism of Cuba's yesteryear while boasting the talents of one of its greatest singers, Ibrahim Ferrer. Again there's an all-star lineup of musicians led by pianist Rubén González and singer Omara Portuondo creating music at the renowned Egrem studios, whose live room brings the slow lucidity and intense vigor of the Cuban classics to life. --Karen K. Hugg



Ibrahim Ferrer, Buenos Hermanos (4 out of 5)
At 77, Ibrahim Ferrer has lost none of his cheeky charm. Buenos Hermanos lives beautifully up to its title--"Good Brothers"--with those Cuban stalwarts Cachaito Lopez and Chucho Valdes joined by that genius of the electric guitar, Manuel Galban, and with the Blind Boys of Alabama enriching the basic mix.



Ibrahim Ferrer, La Colleccion Cubana (5 out of 5)
I guess that most of the people discovered him through BVSC. This is IH at his best.
A collection of Gems Rarely Heard Outside the Shores of Cuba.These Recordings Come from the Vaults of Cuba's State Owned Egrem Records Label and Are a True Revelation for Anyone who Has Turned on to the Bvsc. (Ferrer's Voice was Even Sampled on the Animated Side Project of Blur's Damon Albarn's Gorillaz' Debut Album)



Cubanisimo, Unblocked (3 out if 5)
This is a good collection of Cuban songs performed by a band of virtuosi fronted by the great trumpet player, Jesus Alemany. It's an excellent introduction to the range of Cuban jazz, as the dance tracks include such rhythms as rumba, cha-cha, son, danzon, and pa'ca. So they say, at least:))..no, I mean it is fine, just less than the previous ones. I hear that other releases are better than this one.



There was another one, by Bayuba Cante but I didn't find it worth mentioning here. Conclusion: good stuff, very entertaining and sounds excellent on powerful soundsystems. Try on!

Just a strange 9.03

Just another day. A bad one though. Felt like every little outside factor was completely against me; thus I stopped trying to impress it and focused on my own stuff. After all there's always so much one can do for himself without carrying about the rest of the world. And, I may add I am pretty good at this although it doesn't strike me as something to be particular proud of.:)). I can believe that next week is the Spring break which will surely fly faster than a humming bird but especially that in exactly one month I'll be older by (another) year. I am quite busy these days and I am pretty sure that this de facto state will continue all semester at (very) least.
But tomorrow is another day and a good one too ! FRIDAY:))) {Thank God} I'll guess i'll try some of that relaxation thing myself; I heard it's quite nice:)

The next hurdle: Econometrics

YES. It is. "A must" for all economists that are taking the path of the grad school. and like most things in this period, it is probably going to be a self-taught class. For me it is hard: no serious background in statistics and econometrics from my previous bachelors in Romania, where Business and Economics become congruent and the emphasis is one the former since: a) it is easier to draw management diagram and matrixes that don't mean much at all empirically b) people are going for the cash vs. the science (in most cases). But, naturally, econometrics is universal, has different names for different fields, etc. and it is also used in the business environment (the smart and big ones, at least; because they care and they can do it).
Getting back to the issues at stake here, a small step for mankind, probably, but a giant one for me, to try and understand so many new concepts (like ergodicity, martingales,etc) and methodological issues (Chow, Wald tests..etc) that are totally new and hard to grasp from a kind of technical grad book like Hayashi (http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/chapters/s6946.pdf). But I guess that is the "fun" in grad school that everyone is talking about. He-he:)
Bottom line: I do appreciate it more now and I think it is interesting to push yourself as far as you can; you gain a lot and it feels good to look back and see your progress in such short time. Felt the same about micro; the neoclassical hardcore stuff. Nowdays the battle is to shift this old paradigm into something more general and updated to our new, conscious realizations of the systems (entropy, underestimated externalities, unlimited growth myth, qualitative growth vs. quantitative one, etc) But that's another topic.

Dreamscapes And Dark Places: Music Videos Spawned from Surrealism

An event of surrealist music video clips here at RPI.
"In the past decade, the structure of the short snappy music video has not only become fodder for the likes of the commercial MTV set, but a goldmine for major artists and film directors to work with – and within – the limitations of the specific structure of the music video clip." (EMPAC)



Overall feeling:
Cool suff, big projection and powerful sound. All you need to dive in this world.



Cookie:
Entr´acte (1924) a 13–minute surreal film by René Clair preceded the 1 hour compilation of music videos. People were inventive even back then with limited shooting techniques.:)

Program:
The Doves-Sky Starts Falling (nice visuals and concept)
Beck-E Pro (a classic by now -- love the ending --)
LCD soundsystem-Tribulations (interesting)
Daedelus-Just Briefly (interesting video, but I was more into the music-it is also a Nija Tune artist)
Múm-Will The Summer Make Good For All of Our Sins? (very strange video and music but worth trying)
Pinback-Fortress (simple, fun and powerful)
Amos Tobin-4 Ton Mantis (one of my favorite artists, strange video though, towards dark, kitschy commercial)
Carpath North-Human (Denmark if i remember right, EXCELLENT)
Ladytron-Destroy Everything You Touch (weak stuff)
Bjork-Triumph of a Heart (funny)
Röyksopp-What Else is There? (hmmm- interesting, but no so good afterall)
Aphex Twin-Come to Daddy (another classic, creepy video from the dark master of techno)
The Arcade Fire-Rebellion (not my type of music + weak visual stuff)
Björk-Hyperballad (nice track, among few that i "get" from her releases:)..)
FC Kahuna-Hayling (excellent)


I would have had some more. There are so many good ones outthere. However it was a good mix!

The Crystal Method- Community Service II

Overview:

The US electronic group The Crystal Method are back with a new release this week, which will be a first for them too: a soundtrack.Until I will get my hands on that one, a couple of words about their previous album: CS II. Althought never a big fan of them, like the case for Chemical Bros too, this one is a good mix of hard break beats, UK style flavors and their own usual Nu skool stuff. It is hard to belief that these guys started in 1993 along with other veterans like The Prodigy, Orbital or the Chem B. but they are still very much alive on the musical scene today (The first movie soundtrack scored by the L.A. DJ duo -The London movie- was slated for release in the US on February 10, 2006 with the soundtrack hitting stores starting tomorrow, the 24th Feb 2006)



Label: Ultra Records
Lenght: 76:39
Track List:
1. The Crystal Method - Intro
2. PMT - Gyromancer (Elite Force Mix)
3. Elite Force - Ghetto Fabulous
4. Hyper - Come With Me
5. The Doors - The Crystal Method vs. The Doors (Roadhouse Blues Remix)
6. Evil Nine - We Have the Energy
7. Dylan Rhymes feat. Kathrine Ellis - Salty (Meat Katie Mix)
8. The Crystal Method - Keep Hope Alive (J.D.S Mix)
9. Koma + Bones - SpeedFreak
10. The Crystal Method feat. Kevin Beber - Kalifornia
11. Uberzone - Octopus
12. UNKLE - Reign (False Prophet Mix)
13. The Crystal Method - Starting Over (Elite Force Mix)
14. The Crystal Method - Bound Too Long (Hyper Mix)
15. New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (The Crystal Method CSII Mix)
16. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 (New Originals 1799 remix)
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--Personal preferences--
Stars: 4 out of 5
Likes: 1,2,4,7,9,11,12,13,14
Neutral: 3,5,8,10,15
Dislikes: 6,
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Currently they are touring the US in support of the album -mostly DJing gigs, though-! With songs from PMT, Elite Force, Meat Katie, Koma & Bones, Dylan Rhymes, Evil Nine, Uberzone, Hyper, UNKLE, and even the Doors and Smashing Pumpkins, this is nothing but pure quality.

Outside review:
PMT start it up with Gyromancer which is remixed and reworked by rising star Elite Force. This dark and dirty track gives the overall feeling of this disc perfectly. Elite Force also steps in to handle duties on the next track "Ghetto Fabulous." The acid-infused breaks are laid over some crunchy drums and funky bass to bring the tempo up a notch. Next up is the crowning moment of the entire CD and it's only in the number four position on the disc. UK native Hyper throws out one of the baddest tracks present in today's breaks scene, "Come with Me." The intoxicating vocals entice patrons to the dance floor while the banging drums and bass guide them there. Stitched to the Hyper track is a Crystal Method original track. The Crystal Method vs. The Doors (Roadhouse Blues Remix) is a breakbeat rendition of the Doors song "Roadhouse Blues." The vocals are nestled upon a bed of hard-pounding bass and they give an old school-meets-nu skool feel to the whole track. Nothing but superb.
Next up is the UK breaksters Evil Nine. In addition to being their DJ touring partners on this tour, they also are some pretty damn awesome producers. "We Have the Energy" has soulful vocals and a dirty grinding bassline. It is a perfect fit for this mix. Further into the mix finds Koma & Bones doing what they do best on "Speedfreak." The pulsating rhythms of this track are combined with a vocal that sounds like a public service announcement, but you can still shake your ass to it. Fellow Californian Uberzone drops his track "Octopus" into the mix. Unfortunately, only two and three quarter minutes of this track are used, but it shows why Uberzone is one of the most in-demand domestic breaks acts today. James Lavelle and Richie File form the ever mysterious group UNKLE; their track "Reign" appears next with the "False Prophet Remix." This track was an instant success after its release last year and it just keeps getting better. TCM drops their version of the New Order song "Bizarre Love Triangle." Their CSII mix is quite a departure from the original, but it is just as danceable as the first one. The vocals are kept intact and married with a funky breakbeat drum pattern and dark synth riffs. Rounding out this mix is Smashing Pumpkins with "1979." The New Originals give it their breaks spin with the 1799 remix. The hook creeps out of nowhere and before you know it your saying to yourself "is that Smashing Pumpkins?" Totally awesome.

The next step - mastering Stata

After the quest in Micro, I still have one more thing to master and that of course is Econometrics, which I guess, every grad student in econ will agree that is considered the main tool but on the other hand, you don't get much from the class(es). Since I only had it once, way way back and in RO, which was very lame, I have a lot to catch up with.



Like for example, the programming. Never did it before. Thus, now I am studying Stata, the most popular program, in order to recuperate in this way too. Of course, the theoretical stuffs are hard to grasp and in need for at vary least 20 hrs a week of study, but I am trying to combine them both to the best of my abilities. Moreover I have to study from books/help files/websites...:))...things that I kind of dislike and don't usually do. But I guess a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Obviously this I am doing it for myself, so I cannot hurt to be a bit better.

The Perfect Weekend

Finally, I got a real break this (long) weekend. Forgot everything else about school and other stuff going on around me and just kick back and relaxed a bit. After all, I deserve this, especially since I didn't get an ease even during the winter hollidays. Since Monday was the President's Day it really was a long weekend.


Me in Albany, Empire State Plaza.

Moreover, I did enjoy the company of my girlfriend and that made all the difference in the world.:). Besides obvious reasons, I did get to do things that otherwise would have lacked from serious incentives like going to classical concerts, mall shopping, sunday mass or walks in the downtown area. Most of these things are characterised by a low frequency and even scarcity in my every day (graduate)life.
This past week, Mozart's birthday attracted some nice events and concerts. We only saw one of it, on Sunday, but it was very nice...Troy Chromatics: New York Philomusica, Andrew Clark, horn soloist, and Robert Levin, piano soloist, appearing in a special program honoring Mozart's 250th (happy) birthday. Both Clark and Levin were great but the latter was trully amazing.


Concert (http://www.troychromaticconcerts.org/)

For the mass, we went to a close catholic church,St Francis De Sales, on Congress St. It was nice but I was surprised to notice the (old) demographics of the people there..which should be disturbing, at least for the people in the parish. Moreover, the church was interesting from the usual catholic style...more toward the simplitude of a lutheran one. The weather was terrible,thus less walks after that, cause the winds (30 to 50 mphs) have not make this easier at all.:))
The mall was OK. Nothing spectacular, like always. I haven't been there since last May but I don't miss it at all. Nothing worthwhile. "Sales" are just PR jokes and almost always I end-up buying stuff that I don't need, or that doesn't fit me perfectly, just to make up for the lost hours looking for something:))
Not the case this time except the obvious dinner at the food court. Anyways, I have so many clothes that I really do not need more just to overcrowd my closet.


Museum in Albany

Last but not least...good healthy food.Romanian, naturally. Except the wine, which was from South Eastern Australia -Black Swan-, a Cabernet Sauvignon, which was vey aromated and reminded me a little of the blackberry wine that I use to purchase back home from local farmers around Christmass. Excelent!:)


Stuffed birds

But the weekend has ended yesterday. :)) All (good) things come to an end, afterall.
Thus, back to work!

Microeconomics related

I did pass the qualifier exam and I am relief (yep, that's the word). I study throughout the break for it and it did pay off so I am glad. Just don't make me do it again!:)))

NEC 3550A does the job

I just bought a DVD burner in order to empty both my laptop and my sparehardrive which are kind of full with various stuffs (I did copied a lot of my CDs there and left them back home). For that I've chosen a NEC Silver IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3550A from Newegg which was about 44 bucks with shipment and all. Indeed I told Santa that I want a Plextor:))...but he said that the budget isn't too convenient nowadays. But NEC's 3550 is excellent. Quiet, fast and cheap. Burned three DVDs since I got it. No problem. Speed is good. I wouldn't know how good but it is burning a DVD in 1hour and 20 minutes..which is quite fast considering the fact that I am using an enclosure on my USB 1.1!! The Shuttle desktop (of my dreams) will probably soon follow (Santa promised that) and then I will enjoy it even more I am sure.

On Career Fairs

Today I participated in a Career Fair organized by our university Career Center. Although I don't need a job yet (and hopefully when I do I will not have to hunt it much:)..) I always like to poke around at this types of manifestations, see what is new, see who's coming and get some discussions towards a possible summer internship or something similar. Although I still don't have a clue towards where I will go after I graduate (and I always felt I do sustain this deficit in deciding even if it's obvious that I can't do this for long) at these career fair I seldom find something interesting. Mainly because our school is a technical one, thus it's logical that most of employers should be looking for engineers or comp science majors. And they do it.
All Fortune 500 companies seem to be interested in attracting almost anything "good" on the market, which puts a smile on my face (even if it's not an objective one) and I got some nice talks with their recruiters. and ...let's not forget about promotional gizmos: Intel has a cool Intel-worker toy in a protective suit holding a centrino laptop (they call it Bunny People without a mention of what happens if there is a crack in your bunny suit..), Microsoft as always--cool toys, but others had some too (saw lights, vents, etc) but I failed to see them all closely.
Conclusion: It was a good day for posting. Bloggs, resumes...whatever makes you happy.