Category Archives: music

Musings about music — the minor falls and major lifts

Arsenal Major | A Mixtape by Treavioli

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Artwork for Arsenal Major

ARSENAL MAJOR • A Mixtape by Treavioli
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I created Arsenal Major and Arsenal Minor almost a year ago, but never released them on my blog. I wanted to portray the mindset of a heroine who had been “wild” or “undomesticated,” perhaps there was something unsettled within her. But then she meets someone who challenges the way she thinks and does things. Inner peace through love is what I think it’s about. You may come to a different conclusion.

Feel free to click on the artwork above or you can download here.

Photography by unknown, source is Tumblr.
Design by me.
Track arrangement by me.

Lykke Li—Complaint Department
Björk—Army Of Me (feat. Skunk Anansie) [Sucker Punch Remix]
Clinic—Harmony
Keane—Broken Toy
Rufus Wainwright—Vicious World
Nelly Furtado—I Will Make You Cry (Treavolta Edit)
Lenka—Trouble Is A Friend
Amy Winehouse—You Know I’m No Good (Skeewiff Remix)
Goldfrapp—Felt Mountain
Lykke Li—Little Bit (Aether Remix)
Rufus Wainwright—Rebel Prince
Santigold—I’m A Lady (Diplo Mix feat. Amanda Blank)
Goldfrapp—Utopia

What did you think of Arsenal Major?

Year of Voices: January

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year-of-voices-january

What once were scattered, off-key, and hushed, my voices (heart, body, mind, spirit) are becoming more and more steady and unified this month. After being fired from my full-time job, realizing I had been in a quarter-life crisis, ending a 6-year love saga in November, disappearing into the rainforests of Costa Rica in December, and bouncing around New York earlier this month, I’ve been settling in again at my mom’s spare house here in Dallas/Fort Worth. It began with looking at this house and seeing how it looked and felt like me, broken down, worn out, and falling apart still. Yet it still has a fighting chance to be great.

Life
I originally thought I would stay here for a few weeks, but it’s been over 2 months. It’s been great, however, and my mom is glad someone’s taking care of the house while she’s away. But I have a plan. I’ve decided that I’m moving to Portland in July and studying psychology for a while. Not everything’s solid yet but I have a firm belief that I will get there. It’s been a dream of mine to live in the Northwest for a long time now. It would be great to live in that experience; a dream coming true. Overall, my life is going pretty well and quickly forming into what it should be, thus turning me into who I need to be.

Love
I haven’t been dating. Maybe I have. I can’t tell. I meet up with people thinking they’ve read my OkCupid profile and what I’m looking for (“activity partners, long-distance penpals”). But I always see that disappointed face when I tell them that I want to be single, and I’m only looking for friends. It also sucks because they’re really awesome and interesting enough to probably be more than friends, but I know that I could not give them truly what they’re looking for. I keep in touch with all of them, and they’ve all moved on with their search for love and relationship.

Truth time: I miss Brandon throughout my entire day everyday. At times it gets hard, and I have to chain myself to the toilet to keep myself from driving to see him and throw this whole crazy idea of being a confident, strong, self-trusting individual behind. But it wouldn’t improve our relationship at all. It would make it worse. Every time I see him, I see that he’s trying so hard to cope, and I just want to… be there. But being there makes things worse. It’s a given – this is just a tough, not pretty situation. I’m doing my best to respect distance and his feelings. The muscle still aches.

Design
I feel like I’m getting more and more in tune with my designer prowess again — slowly but surely. With my dual-ownership company taking a backseat, my solo freelance will be taking the wheel. I’m working with one of my long-standing clients and collaborating with a photographer friend of mine on my portfolio site. The design of which is going so well. I’m surprised at how I’ve gotten back on the design saddle; like riding a bike I guess.

Travel
Ending 2011 with Costa Rica and New York was a big finish to a really crappy (yet oddly rewarding) year. Gratefully, New York leaked over considerably into 2012. I remember lying on a friend’s couch in Queens, thinking “I was just in Costa Rica. Now I’m in New York. This is it. My life is traveling.” The moment signified a tremendous turn in my life. The moment also signified that this year will be full of travel. Confirmed: Las Vegas for Bloggers in Sin City, Los Angeles for VidCon — both are repeat cities, but I’m beyond excited to see them again and with new faces to meet.

Food
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more adventurous in trying new foods. To name a few: Vietnamese, Thai, Costa Rican/Tico dishes have graced this tongue. With meeting a new friend, Matt, I’ve discovered new foods in the veganish-vegetarian realm. I quite like shopping at natural/organic food stores than say, Walmart. Don’t think I’ll be converting to full vegetarian anytime soon. I am a Texan after all.

Music
As I mentioned recently, I’m going to be recording a song and producing it on my own as a project for getting comfortable with hearing my voice and not being afraid of instruments. I am ridiculous. But it’s a lifelong fear that I’m trying to eradicate. I believe I have a gift that I’m not letting shine. So, here we go: a Year of Voice.

Chicken List
I think a lot of my Chicken List will be knocked out in 2012. I told you it’s going to be a bold year. My balls are bigger than ever, and I am ready to kick Fear straight dead in his *ss. This month I conquered my fear of singing karaoke. It was relatively painless, and I wasn’t even drunk. I also bought a rock-climbing pass from livingsocial.com.

Do Something Crazy Every Month
While I’ve done a lot of things that could be consider “crazy” in January, my one crazy event was spurred by my spontaneity. On a whim, and with a little added peer pressure from some other bloggers, I registered to attend the Bloggers in Sin City unconference in Las Vegas (duh). And I have been prepping for it ever since! I already have my outfit for Mad Men night, and my flight ticket is bought. I’ve been researching some shows I want to see in Vegas. I was hoping Celine or Bette would be in season, but they’re not. Ah well! Apparently we have to wear wigs to this unconference, so maybe I’ll just be Bette.

Abstinence
Gawd! Even with my new boyfriend, this is rough. This is the hard part of coming out of a relationship where sex was readily available. But! Still going strong.

What to expect for February 2012: February is cleanse month; clearing out my Twitter favs, Tumblr likes, email accounts, more in-house minimalism, doing an actual cleanse with BluePrintCleanse. A trip to Austin to see my friends Linda and Ashley. Reducing debt as much as possible. And rock climbing!

Year of Voices: January (Photos)

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Year of Voices: January (Photos)

Ignore the quality; I took these photos with my iPod Touch and HTC Incredible 2 smart phone.

  1. Uh… yeah, ignore. :]
  2. I bought a “gymbership”! My first time working out.
  3. Matt and I checked out Penne Pomodoro’s in Lakewood/Dallas. Their focaccia bread was delicious!
  4. Matt! He’s been giving me pointers on life in Portland and exposing me to the vegetarian lifestyle. I dig!
  5. Matt and I checked out Starfucker, Painted Palms, and Alexico! I had a great time. Matt not so much.
  6. Meet Matt’s furball, Beth the Catloaf.
  7. Home Improvement: I’ve been making minor improvements outside of the house. Our lamp was not working, so I just replaced the bulb. Now we can see and it keeps robbers away.
  8. After the STRFKR show, we went to Velvet Taco on i75 in Dallas! The Applewood bacon and egg taco (#18) was soooo good. Thanks, Matt!
  9. “I will do whatever it takes.” I have this on my iPod and look at it when I work out to keep me going and motivated. I briefly think about Portland when I read it, too.
  10. Rita Repulsa, we meet again! I was venturing the toy department and thought it was peculiar that she was alive again. I thought we did away with her!
  11. I went on a dinner date with my friend, Chelsey, at Dream Cafe in Uptown Dallas. We gawked at the waiter the entire time. Dreamboat!
  12. Matt was having computer problems, so I took a swing at it. It was my first solo hard drive extraction. I wiped it clean and re-installed a new copy of Windows 7. It was simple.
  13. I’ve been missing meals being made for me lately, so I learned how to make grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches. I also made dinner for my sister one night: Chicken Alfredo with delicious dinner rolls. Of course, all from a bag.
  14. The Dr and I became re-acquainted for like 2 days (that’s how long he lasted). It reminded me of hanging out in Brooklyn. Good times.
  15. BRAVOR volunteered at the North Texas Food Bank with 4 other great folks. All 6 of us sorted 2 pallets/2,105 lbs/1,754 meals-worth of potatoes for North Texas families and individuals.
  16. There was a warm front one day so I got a haircut, grabbed a Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks, and hung out in West Village. It was bliss.
  17. Marlon and I singing some Whitney Houston song, my first ever karaoke performance. :D
  18. Home Improvement: Another light fixture that needed some love. It was so easy. Why did it take us so long to replace those bulbs??
  19. My first ever canoli from Whole Foods. Again, gotta give props to Matt for the support and healthy food education. It was good.
  20. I decided to go on a staycation in Dallas at the Le Meridien (Galleria) for 2 days. It was heaven. I was so surprised by the work desk, and the arrangement, and the hot water (we don’t have hot water due to some electrical issues; I am truly roughing it). It was great time. On the last night, I picked up pizza and a moscato from Whole Foods and watched Submarine (2010). Good movie.
  21. One morning, I woke up in my hotel bed not wanting to move. It felt so great to have my own space and privacy and comfortable bed.
  22. After I checked out at Le Meridien, I went shopping at the Galleria mall across the street. I bought 3 outfits to replace some rags. Trying on new threads was another morale booster.
  23. Stacy and I decided to check out the Gaultier exhibit over the weekend. The lines (yes, lines) were insane, like the outfits and hologram faces on the mannequins, too. Afterwards we went to Carmine’s, a pizza joint near the Arts District that never disappoints. We talked about relationships and how Lenny Kravitz makes us feel naughty. Riding the trolley was a pleasant experience to and from the Arts District.

Overall, January was great, having started with a bang (or, ball drop) in New York surely set the pace. I’m hoping February is just as eventful.

How was your January?

Video: Playing With My Mic and Getting Used to My Voice (Excerpt)

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In this video, I’m tackling John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room.” I’ve decided that it’s the song that I’ll record as my first ever self-produced track. I may decided to choose something less… content-specific. But I think it’s great to practice with, at least. It feels great to let my voice out to play. I might end up doing a 365 to help force me to play and not be afraid to sing.

Video: Year For Fears: Singing Karaoke

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After I schooled Marlon on how to approach a sinewy latino, we headed to the gay sports bar. And there it was… the stage, the mic, the song selections on the table. Marlon had revenge in mind, and I was the target. I have a fear of singing karaoke.

It’s not really a fear. It’s just a case of over-thinking a predetermined situation. The end result is I just back out of the opportunity. One of my chicken list items from the Year For Fears is singing karaoke. Here’s my thought process on karaoke: Karaoke is supposed to be fun and silly. Anytime I am behind a mic, I perform and give it my all. When it comes to karaoke, I always figured I’d freeze up and do what I do best: belt and be emotive and seriously sing my heart to a very confused crowd (“Uh I don’t remember paying for a concert!”).

However, as you can see from the video that didn’t happen. It was so much fun to be silly and chill. And hey, it was still a performance. Now that I’m on the other side of the mic, if you will, I see that performing karaoke actually takes the edge off. Having fun is something that I should infuse with my real performances. Seriously, “Why so serious?”

One less fear in the Year of Voices. :]

Video: Obama, Let’s Stay Together

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Retake

With all the issues and deficits he was given, I think he’s done a great job. Change didn’t happen as fast as many would’ve liked but change is happening. I think a lot of people think, “He’s the president. He can change things at the drop of a dime.” No, that’s a dictator. Our country is a democratic republic democracy, meaning there are many voices and opinions that go into a decision, bill, or law.

Dancing on the Water: Dunes | A Mixtape by Treavioli

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DANCING ON THE WATER: DUNES • A Mixtape by Treavioli
Download

I learned a lot with Dunes. I got to play a bit with Logic Express and some shore soundbites. It’s definitely different than other music arrangement software I’ve used, but definitely cooler. I think programming is really intimidating, especially with the interfaces because there’s a lot going on. I also have no formal training with programming, but I’ve experimented a bit in the past and hoping by practicing with other people’s songs, I’ll get to a point where I can do awesome things with my own. :)

I guess it’s not quite coincidence that my iPod just gets me sometimes. But when I was cruising through Padre Island watching sea gulls fly and the sun shimmer on the horizon, I found it peculiar that these random selections fit remarkably. If you know me or my mixtapes, you know I love encores and companion mixes. Dancing on the Water was very *heavy* on the meaning or portrayal of feeling light and floating. Dancing on the Water: Dunes, an EP, is less about meaning or portrayal but setting the scene. Maybe one day I’ll write a novel about visiting Padre and feeling light, until then enjoy the mix.

Feel free to click on the artwork above or you can download here.

Photography and design by me.
Track arrangement by me.

Empire of the Sun—Standing On The Shore
Coldplay—Strawberry Swing (live)
Solange—Sandcastle Disco
Cut Copy—Saturdays
Cut Copy—Saturdays (Reprise)
Passion Pit—Seaweed Song

What did you think of Dancing on the Water: Dunes?

Svefn-g-englar

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I won’t make pasting song lyrics a habit. But I think it’s interesting when you’re listening to music in a different (or made-up) language. You’re guessing what the words and emotions mean, but you never truly know what the singer is saying. (I guess it’s the same for English.) But I included Sigur Rós’s “Svefn-g-englar” on my Dancing on the Water mixtape, thinking it fit perfectly with its washed-over atmosphere. Jónsi singing, “It’s you, it’s you” always captivated me. Or so I thought that’s what he was singing. Here are the official lyrics:

Svefn-g-englar (Sleepwalkers)
ég er kominn aftur
inn í þig
það er svo gott að vera hér
en stoppa stutt við
ég flýt um í neðarsjávar hýði
á hóteli
beintengdur við rafmagnstöfluna
og nærist
tjú tjú
en biðin gerir mig leiðan
brot hættan sparka frá mér
og kall á – verð að fara – hjálp
ég spring út og friðurinn í loft upp
baðaður nýju ljósi
ég græt og ég græt – aftengdur
ónýttur heili settur á brjóst
og mataður af svefn-g-englum

English translation:

I’m here again
Inside you
It’s so good staying here
But I stay a short while
I float around in underwater hibernation
In a hotel connected to the electricity board and nourishing
Tyoowoohoo
But the wait makes me uneasy — I kick the fragility away
And shout — I have to go — help!
Tyoowoohoo
I explode out and the peace is gone
Bathed in new light
I cry and I cry — disconnected
A ruined brain put on breasts
And fed by sleepwalkers

I love that even though I didn’t know what was being sung, it still fit within the context of Dancing on the Water — the water, peace, light, and life/rebirth. Check it out after the jump or download Dancing on the Water.

Dancing on the Water | A Mixtape by Treavioli

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DANCING ON THE WATER • A Mixtape by Treavioli
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One of my many “endeavors” is music. I love all kinds of music; I’m best described as an audiophile. I used to run a rising-interest blog in the music blogosphere called, My Blue Reflection. I would post about concerts I was going to in the Dallas area, write album reviews, post rare tracks from notable indie artists, and even new bands nobody has ever heard (that eventually became big, well “indie” big). So here I am with my first mixtape on Endeavors. For me, mixtapes are art. I create them as more than just random songs on a CD. I create mixtapes as if I’m telling a story, so in a way they’re like rhythmic novels.

I find Dancing on the Water to be one of my most intimate and rather beautiful mixtapes. It has fun and lackadaisical moments, but then it gets serious and ends with a bang—not a literal bang but a *fireworks*-type of bang. Dancing on the Water is both about a relationship with yourself and another person, perhaps a lover or someone you realize you need. It leads to that moment where you look at someone and realize, “It’s you, the one I’ve been dreaming about and waiting for. It’s you.” It’s also about securing peace within and feeling light; exploring where the water meets the sky — floating, soaring. The general soundscape is dance meets atmospheric.

Feel free to click on the artwork above or you can download here.

Photography and design by me.
Track arrangement by me.

Little Dragon—Runabout
Gorillaz feat. Daley—Doncamatic
The Mary Onettes—Henry
Sigur Rós—Gobbledigook
Glasser—Home
PNAU—Dancing On The Water
Rob Mounsey Project—Floaters
Passion Pit—Sleepyhead (Landau ‘Walk Up’ Remix)
Little Dragon—Feather
Sigur Rós—Svefn-g-englar
Gorillaz feat. Little Dragon—Empire Ants (Club Clique Dancefloor Edit)
Goldfrapp—Rocket
The Mary Onettes—Explosions
Sigur Rós—Festival

What did you think of Dancing on the Water?

Wine and Love #3, or Ennui and Logic

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Wine and Love is a list of things lately that has made me want to turn to drinking and things that have made me fall deeper in love with life. Thanks to Walking With Nora for starting this weekly series.

Wine

  • I’m bored. I’m sad. Ennui.
  • People that don’t know what they want, but when you try to give them direction on what they want, they ignore you.
  • I was in a situation where I was being rational and logical about a friend’s situation, and the friend refused to see anything other than their viewpoint. Said friend continued to wonder why about the situation. Like talking to a wall.
  • No yard sale this weekend. My mom’s house is way out of control. I really hope I thwart the packrat gene.
  • When someone thinks they’re being funny, but they’re really being outright disrespectful.
  • Clients.
  • Disappointed that there are more wines than loves this week. :[

Love

  • My mom seems serious about handing over her car. Hey, that's cool.
  • Trying my hand at housesitting. No leads yet but pretty excited and hopeful.
  • There has been some progress while I'm staying at my mom's house: I'm feeling better, healthier, the house is a little organized, getting things done.
  • Besides today and yesterday I've been pretty cool and active.
  • The wet green grass of the backyard was really nice to wake up to this morning. It had a surreal glow even under an overcast sky.
  • A recent Flash update finally fixed Flash in my Google Chrome browser. It was a really annoying problem. If I wanted to use YouTube or attach a file in Gmail, I had to switch over to Safari or Firefox. Now it's fixed!!
  • The biggest love of today: I played around with Logic Express today. Closer and closer to creating *something*. :]
  • Thus, I finally finished a mix I’ve been working on all year.