Sonic Pancake: Eyes On Fire

When I was in elementary school I vividly remember my 3rd grade teacher, Mr. Whitaker, teaching us about compound words. Some examples of compound words are: crosswalk, football, keystroke, sidekick and duckpin (awkward)... and that’s just to name a few. At an early age I learned to love words, so we can all blame him for my verbarian rambling and love of the thesaurus. Mr. Whitaker told us that compound words were like pancakes, two delicious morsels stacked upon each other to create a new meaning for awesome.. The term "Pancake Word" stuck with me and now I am throwing it back to you, but lets redefine it shall we.

A Pancake post is an audio post of an original song and then either a remix or cover of the same song stacked neatly on top. You can enjoy the deliciousness of both songs at once, pretty cool? Yes?

So let the Pancake post frenzy begin! 

The first Pancake Post is on Blue Foundation’s song - Eyes on Fire. I’ve chosen this song because I feel like it’s easy to digest, some of it is humiliating (so you’ll chuckle) and it could be neutral ground to start on. When I first heard of Blue Foundation it was due to Pandora. It was several years ago, I was working at the Fireworks Supermarket in Cleveland Tennessee. It was a great job to have during college. I didn’t have to do a lot and I was always a few steps ahead the customer base mentally. I never felt like I was wasting my time in college whenever I sold $300.00 dollars worth of explosives to someone who couldn’t spell their last name, or spent the last 45 minutes laughing over the phrase “flaming balls”. Whenever I closed I was all by myself. Just me, the radio and several thousands of dollars worth of explosives. You’d think I got lots of homework done there, but no, not really. I just browsed the web and hunted for new music. I always felt a small degree of guilt whenever I discovered a band on Pandora. Don’t ask me why, but I felt as though I should know everything their “music genome” project would/should pump out. 

I had no idea Blue Foundation was on the Twilight soundtrack (and the soundtrack is actually really good too *hold your stones*). Let me first off say that I am fairly neutral when it comes the franchise. I've seen the movies, tried reading the books, but my medieval history class got in the way of that. I even redboxed New Moon upon being bored on a rainy day. But being 25 and male, its become apparent that I either should hate Twilight or have a really good excuse for even considering it entertainment. I can't pick a side, but I can say in the truest of spirits, I'd date Kristen Stewart. 

In a heartbeat. 
That lip bite thing she does is so hot ---->
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Moving on...

So here is the original song by Blue Foundation. When it came on Pandora I immediately went to the office. clicked the “thumbs up” button and started to google them. That’s when I discovered that they were on the Twilight soundtrack and I had haven’t felt that conflicted about enjoying a song since Yellow Card’s “Miles Apart”.I love Eyes On Fire because it is extremely simple and there is beauty in it’s simplicity. The guitars are a melodramatic waltz and the structure of the song is haunting. I respect the fact that the band doesn't jump in your face with emotion, rather they let the static and hum exercise the emotional wheels in your mind. One could also appreciate the raw atmosphere the band creates by focusing on the lead singers vocals. The fog of her echoed voice dissipates like dry ice and the bass lights up like hazard lights in the distance. It has a folky artistry that begs the story to the song. So go ahead and take a moment to listen to it.

On to the Remix!

I'm not much of a dancer or clubin' man, but this shit is gold. What's great about this remix is that original feeling of the song is not lost. It’s a great continuation of the story that was built by the original version. It's almost like watching Halloween and Halloween II back to back. You now can't live without the other, and they fit perfectly together. (I might get killed for that comment, sorry horror movie buffs) Nothing is stained, just tweaked for a new perspective. 

Let me know what you think. Be sure to email or comment on what you think would be a good Sonic Pancake. 

I'm all ears.

Pancake Post done!

5 Songs We Use Not to Talk. Pt. 1.

#1 The Daywalker

Shout Out Louds // Very Loud.

“But I wanna change, change the way we always have

And to make different plans and try not to make this sad…”

As I teetered into my room, cane in one hand, cup of coffee in the other, I turned on the light and just stood there for a moment. Whether if it was due to the medication or just because I naturally stop to dwell, I froze and non-verbally judged my room. There were pants, socks, cards, candy wrappers, record sleeves and just random shit… everywhere. It’s one thing to lose your zen in a place that is your own, but it’s another to lose it when you are forced to move back into your parents’ house. Yeah, this was my old room and I moved back there due to medical reasons.

The last time I lived there was about a year ago when I was in transition from one apartment to another. These transitions happened only a few times because once I was 18 I out like a candle. I never tried to stay longer than I had to either, their place just wasn’t where I wanted to be. Being at my parents was always an internal struggle, so whenever I vacated, I did it in a hurry and always left much behind. Transitions, they’re not my favorite card in the deck that life seems to give me often.

"My room’s a fucking mess…" I thought to myself.
I sighed and decided that something must be done. You ever get that wild hair up your ass, the one that says, "Gosh I should clean?” well I did. And the thing is, I rarely clean my room! It always self-implodes hours later, so I preemptively came up with a strike plan; I had to make another mess before I could start cleaning! My mind needed retrospective destruction, so I opened my closest and began to dig through one of the old boxes that I had left in there years ago.

I didn’t exactly know what I was searching for, but I knew there was something in this box that would satisfy. After digging through old hats, Star Wars posters and “How to Learn Japanese” cassette tapes I found it, my old CD wallet, a.k.a. the bible. Back in its heyday the wallet was bursting at the seams. CDs were double stacked on each-other, crammed into those clear cd slips and album art inserts cushioned the back like a stack of pillows. The variety ranged from the Japanese punk boy-bands like Mongol 500 and the Garlic Boys to deep and classic cuts like Johnny Cash’s vault collection and Live’s “Throwing Cooper”. But then I saw them, The Shout Out Louds. Enter the Daywalker…

When I listened to love songs back in 8th grade I was defined by butt-rock, such as Course of Natures “Supercalla”, America Hi-Fi’s “Flavor of the Week”, and even “Hero” from the Spider-Man soundtrack, written by Chad… Kroeger… (Oh, did I ever get saved). I was your “A-typical” 14 year old, with his mind pockmarked by my female colleague’s newest addition, breasts. And I thought breasts loved butt-rock, so my song with my first girlfriend was “Caught in the Sun” by Course of Nature… She broke up with me the day I got out of the hospital, so perhaps that wasn’t the wisest choice. But all that changed when I started to listen to bands like The Shout Louds, Wolf Parade and Green Day (RIP). My perspective on love songs changed, my relationships lasted longer and breasts became more metaphorical foreplay than attack and defend. Love songs, they don’t have to sound like… complete and utter butt-hurt-bull-shit. 

Derp...

I squatted on the floor and shoved the CD into my record player like it was a parrot and begged it to talkback. It came to life, but before it even had the chance to blink or even play the first song I mashed the next button to my favorite track, track two, “Very Loud”. As soon as the rolling drums hit, that’s when it happened, the sweet beast herself, nostalgia. In a constant hum of musical rubble and re-enhanced oblivion I remembered I wasn’t alone.

The static in the air shrank and I heard my friend Amy stir who had been sitting on my bed the whole time. She had been over to help me organize my room, rearrange it, beautify it, etc, but I was lost. As soon as I stepped into the unintentional need for reconnection I unknowingly brought her along with me. Like the good Dr., Amy had unknowingly stepped into my Tardis and was now experiencing a time shift that she couldn’t see or understand, teenage Me.

I tried to explain to her how I moved up and down the genre ladder like a drunk fireman. How the paradigm shift in music was like moving from dove soup to juicy couture and then back. The change affected my relationships, my driving, smoking, etc… but the fragmented rambling, it felt useless. So I just let the song play, over and over again. As it played I could feel her understand what I was trying to say and little by little my secret world, and she was day walking*, just like me. To use the daywalker is to slip into a world that is outside of our time but yet to still common in the present. We are listening to a jogging dream, a bookmark for a reserved seat in a museum, we are vampirically feeding during our nap time, we are not talking. But, just because we are using this song to “not talk” does not mean we are not communicating, in fact for some it may be the most significant moment of that day, week or month. The transformative language of this type of song will happen in movements, just as it did for me. At first I became lost and unaware of my surroundings. I discovered, relapsed into memory and then followed it to wherever it lead me. I honestly could have had this moment with other songs, and that doesn’t make the Shout Out Louds any less significant, but I had it with them and it was destiny. 

So what’s your daywalker? What song do you use not to talk about the past, but to feel it, experience and share it?

“But I wanna smell, smell the way you do

And to wear those clothes, the clothes your friends do

But I always choose another way

So this is why this love can't stay…”

- Shout Out Louds // Very Loud.

Cancer Update Video's

Cancer Update Diaries/vlogs. 

So I've been working on my video blogs (vlogs) and I have decided to post them up on this site.
Video #1 is only on my Facebook page because it was made the day after I got out of hospital, so I just "winged" it.
Most of the time I will try not and make cancer the primary focus of this blog because my cancer does not define me, but right now it's kind of in the drivers seat. The videos contain good music, some cool photos and the story so far on my battle with Multiple Myeloma.

So here they are.

Video #2

Video #3

My name is Brady Effler and I am currently unemployed because I am going through chemo treatments. I was diagnosed with Multiple Meyloma at the end of July 2013, and now I'm fighting the good fight. If you liked what you read, please feel free to donate. I am currently trying to pay off my student loans and other bills (pills, hospital visits, etc...). Anything you give is awesome. Thanks again for reading. I'm not begging, or trying to pull the wool over anyone, just being honest.

Sonic-naut

She's Out There // Honeybus.

Talking about productivity on the internet can be dangerous.
How dangerous? Well, I tell you this because as an artist I think you'll understand...
Cat photos are everywhere and they are the captains of time consumption and productivity.
But I'm going to try and tackle it in the only way I know how; musically! Productivity, what exactly is that? Let's start with an example of what it does not look like.There are some days where I barely get out of bed mentally but my body tends to wonder the apartment floor like some lost soul. I either get stuck to my computer watching cat gifs, or I'm glued to my TV because I am on my latest fix of How I Met Your Mother. But if I'm feeling really lethargic I revitalized my X-box  or Nintendo and I put in an unhealthy amount of hours working my way to becoming the next Sith Lord, Dragon King or Pokè-master. It's safe to say that I am barely productive when these days occur, or at least what I'd like to call "productive". 


The dictionary says:

the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services.

So lets go with the "bringing forth of goods" section of that definition. Therefore, I want to be "sonically productive". To go forth within this techno world as a crusader. I want to discover new worlds, cultures, languages and bring them back for your listening pleasure. When I am being sonically productive I know that I haven't wasted a moment finding out what the hell is out there, and I find my life to be more enjoyable when I am sonically productive. I love it when I find new music that revolutionizes what my ears have been used too.
I am a hunter and gatherer.
I am man, hear me double click!
I peck around till i find little gems, like free bandcamp.com downloads My most recent and proud discovery :) Damn Robot!
<---
I have gathered a couple of sites for you to use, just as I do. So be ready to dive right in.
"Yoo-Hoo shit head!"
:) Happy hunting
<---


1) TasteKid
When you first stumble on this website it will look like a normal search engine, but its not. This site is built kind of like pandora but no audio player. Another exception is that it recommends music, movies, book, television etc... You type in your favorite band, movie, what ever it is and it gives a list of similar bands, movies that you'd be interested in. In the image below I typed in Neutral Milk Hotel into the search bar just for an example.


Granted... I don't think I would have placed Panda Bear or The Antlers in the similar category of like styles... but hey at least its suggesting good stuff!
This is really helpful if you are really trying to zero-in on a musical style or genre. You may have to be careful though, when using this for making mixes, because not every band belongs there. But the cool thing is that you can save your "likes", "dislikes" and "Mehs" on to a profile. Once you save it, that artist or movie no longer pops in the que.

Here is a screen shot of a part of my profile.

I hope you sign up and enjoy collecting as I have done. It's totally worth it.

2) Chart Attack

This is a website that I am still getting used to, but it is full of amazing indie and undiscovered music. You can stream full albums and they also have a sub-group called MP3 round up. It delivers a ton of videos that you'd have to hunt for otherwise on Vimeo or Youtube. They have interviews, artist of the month watch live concerts, like when Bon Iver and Radiohead preformed at Austin City Limits.

What initially attracted me to their website was an article on the "best" time wasting online music creators/generators to which you can find HERE. I definitely recommend Chart Attack when you feel that righteous vibe and need to water that buzz before you get all harsh, dude.

3) Sputnik Music

I absolutely love this review site. It's a lot like punknews.org or pastepunk but associates it's self with more genres. They have 7 different sections: Metal, Punk, Alt/Indie, Rock, Hip-Hop, Pop and Other. Their contributing writers are a lot better than the "hit or miss" that you might find looking else-wear. Sputnik Music also allows their users to write reviews as well, and whats exciting about that is a message board begins to percolate, brewing a decent discussion. Their user reviews also review albums of the past, which is awesome! They have discussion boards, sound-offs and you are able to keep track of reviews that you have liked and disliked. Forward thinking users unite!!!

I usualy hit up this site about twice a day, just to see what's come out that I have missed. So far, I am more glad that I have, than I haven't. Take some time to read their reviews and you won't regret it.
Ever imagine how Taking Back Sunday's - Tell All Your Friends or Pink Floyd's - Darkside of the Moon would be received today?
Well now is your chance.

4) Brain on Fire

Do you love free downloads? I would hope so. Brain on Fire is a Blogspot based site that endorses new music and provides links to Bandcamp.com. Most of these bands will allow you to download their music for free or you can donate how ever much you would like. It's rather simple... You see band, you read "like" bands, track listing, can listen to them right there on the spot or go to their bandcamp site.

Above is a screen shot of Damn Robot!'s little piece, but the most important part for me was the highlighted DOWNLOAD link. I have found many bands to be appealing, ranging from prog-post rock to metal. Now be warned, you might like everything, so use your excellent judgement based on album art...
Last but not the least.

5) 8tracks

The human imagination is an amazing machine of emotion and ingenuity. A girl, dark and beautiful once said to me:
"Brady, mix cd's are you love language, aren't they?". I responded with the most proud and blushed face I could muster and said, "It's how I tell you i love you with out saying I love you. It's how I cry in front of you, it's how I laugh with you, it's how I talk to you... with out even saying a word. Mix cd's are a gateway into our soul."
At 8tracks anyone can make a mix and post it and I love it.
There are tens of thousands of mixes for you to sort through. You'll never get through them all, its impossible... that's why you should listen to mine! (ha... but no please?)

With 8tracks you can create a profile. Once you have done that you can like mixes or just individual tracks. Your profile keeps track of your activity and provides you with a direct youtube link to the songs. You can also follow particular individuals and be notified once they post a new mix. This is a great way to get into the heads of the people around you and also friends of yours.


So now that I have told you some of my secrets, it's time to implement them. Go forth and discover music. Let me know what you find, what you like, what you hate, but most of all tell me that you have been productive. My little sonic-naut :)



My name is Brady Effler and I am currently unemployed because I am going through chemo treatments. I was diagnosed with Multiple Meyloma at the end of July 2013, and now I'm fighting the good fight. If you liked what you read, please feel free to donate. I am currently trying to pay off my student loans and other bills (pills, hospital visits, etc...). Anything you give is awesome. Thanks again for reading. I'm not begging, or trying to pull the wool over anyone, just being honest.