Drums and Music

Hey I'm Spencer Ericksen, and these are my 10 Songs on Repeat. Enjoy. 1) "Tears" by Rush Rush is a band known for complexity. Neil Peart plays long drum solos, on lots of cymbals and drums. Some of his drums are electronic, but most are normal DW drums that are fine tuned by a drum tech who knows how to do that stuff. A song by Rush can have melodies that flow over different meters, and sometimes the lyrics are too sci-fi for casual rock fans. Rush exists in a subcategory of music known as progressive rock music. The name alone sounds kind of niche, but Rush is a hugely popular band in many countries. They are very talented trio of musicians. "Tears" appeals to me largely because of its simplicity. It's a sad song off of their "2112" album. It's a somewhat bleak and introspective song about wanting to connect with someone else. I describe it as a sad song, but it doesn't go as far as despair. Geddy Lee com...

This is Me I enjoy listening to music. My favorite genres right now are rock and jazz. I occasionally listen to hip-hop, but being a practicing member of my religion interferes with me becoming more than a casual fan. Or at least, I think so. I shy away from songs about big pimping. Hip hop has its mad creative and random side too though, and I like that stuff a lot. The best example might be "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" by Snoop Dogg and Gorillaz. I am a Mormon. I served a 2 year mission for my church from July 2011 until July 2013. I was a missionary in Lima, Peru. Above is a picture of me in Chiclayo, Peru, a few years ago. Obviously, were I still a missionary I would be wearing a tie. But since I wasn't, and I was forgetful, I left my tie in Utah before visiting Northern Peru with my mom. I only needed my tie for one day during my family trip: Sunday. Above that is a picture of me and an Idahoan friend freezing in the cold Provo n...

Dear Blog Visitors,    I was initially doing this project as part of a big assignment for a Social Media course that I was taking for my Major, but it has grown into something else. This morning I woke up early (unfortunately), but decided to make the best of it by listening to music on my phone. I used to use my iPod Touch that I bought in 2013, but no mas. Now I use Spotify and Amazon Prime Music.    Here's my verdict on iTunes Music: it's too big for its own good. I remember occasionally using the first iPod I ever really saw: my big brother's iPod video in a thick rubber case for protection. Back then, iTunes better customer retention. They had a great deal for us back in like 2008. They offered us any song we wanted for 99 cents.    The iPods were much better designed than any MP3 player available in those days. The iPod never lost your music initially, it didn't even pause during your songs unless you tapped the play/pause button. Now, three devi...

This quiz will grill you on your Beatles knowledge. Can you get all their lyrics right? Beatles Lyrics Quiz This one is about the QUEEN smash hit song- "Bohemian Rhapsody." I got 100%- see how you do! BoRap Quiz Here are some highlights from Phife Dawg's career. The legendary rapper from the hit group A Tribe Called Quest recently lost his battle with diabetes and died. His influence on hip hop can not be overstated. Phife Dawg

CNN on iTunes I would just like to add that mixtapes are still possible, it's called "burning a CD." You select songs from your iTunes library and put them into a playlist. Then you burn that into a CD. You hand that CD to a friend and wa-la! You have shared a personal mix of music with a friend. All quirky tips aside, it's a great article that captures the excitement of those early iTunes days. Photo Gallery- Ways to Listen to Music I just love this. From cassettes to CDs to vinyls and beyond, it's all basically here. Do you prefer vinyl? Do you think that the digitizing of music has cheapened the process or hurt its sound quality?

Good morning, everyone! Here is a clip from the Late Late Show with James Corden. Bandleader Reggie Watts brings in a very special robot guest for a jam. This video will CHANGE YOUR LLLLLIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFE! BB 8 + The Late Late Night Band

I just found this today- it's just fantastic. Mr. Mooney's hip hop class gets a special visit from Kendrick Lamar. I think the concept of people studying modern text in this way is refreshing. The way that Kendrick relates to the students, who obviously did a great job of analyzing his art, is wonderful. He has respect for them, and they clearly respect him. They went crazy when he promised to return. "These Walls", Live on Ellen This clip is of Kendrick performing his song "These Walls" on the Ellen show. It's just fantastic. The song and performance convey a very positive, creative message. As Kendrick is rapping, there are dancers, and a painter sharing the stage with him. I think that Ellen's comments are very complimentary. She was obviously very excited to talk to him about his career and being a positive entertainer.