Target Financials
consider this conversation, which i’m paraphrasing but using the actual vendor names because it’s simply my experience.
rango: “ok, i’m telling you again. do you have the summary of our last conversation in front of you? just copy and paste it for this week and please have your machines stop calling me”.
eff the man
Target Financials calls me repeatedly morning, noon and night with their stupid robots that take 30 seconds to pick up and their stupid agents that screw my name up every single time. And then ask me the same questions. Every other vendor, they get the message. They offered to put me on a plan. They still call, but you can refer them to your case and they’ll stop for a week or so. Target, no way, those guys are predators.
…
…
target: ring ring. ring ring. ring ring.
My Life as a Musical: Denouement
de·noue·ment [dey-noo-mahn] noun
the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
^^^ in music the denouement is used by composers in a very explicit way: by using dissonance to introduce tension, and then final
this is part of my signature sound, and that of my favorite composers. listen for the resolution at the end of The Mistress. you have to wait for it, it’s most effective if there’s a long suspenseful build up like this solo that splits into two guitars unexpectedly to exaggerate the denouement, a fracture of the mind. at the end it should give you the feeling that despite everything you’ve seen, heard, and felt before it, the turn of events have taken their proper turn and destiny has run its course.
teasing it out is an art, and knowing when to end the tension is a matter of taste and very much related to what’s come before. it can be applied to a one measure burst (guitarists play with this all the time) or an entire movement at the end of a symphony. this was the flagship song on my first album, Etherati, and still one of my most popular today, with signature denouement.
http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/11103838
in another example i’d like to present The Ringmaster, a case of Extreme Denouement(TM). (ed: fire that punk; mgr: i already did). here we present the man in the hat, stage right, presumably the MC or perhaps the ringmaster himself as his theme crosses from Hungary to Russia to the trains that lead to the circus.
the denouement starts from the opening passages as the melody winds its way across measures unexpectedly, seeming to deny the tonic but then resolving it moments later. it suggests the story has already been told. by the time it’s run its course the denouement returns to affirm what you already knew in your gut, the lines of fate had been drawn and pulled taught like a circus tent without any regard for the little clown on the unicycle playing his violin. he was just a distraction. and sure enough the denouement presents itself, so foretold it’s almost a cliche but then the narrative breaks apart the meta shows itself. ringy’s here again, bit of a spectre that guy. it breaks key signature at the very last second. it’s all wrong. tragic mistake or a crack in the matrix? the illustrator’s hand on the canvas? (ed: wtf? mgr: sorry dude, plagus registered the trademark 380ms after rango typed it). Extreme Denouement(TM), with artwork by Seattle photographer and graphic artist Kimmberly Miles, this is The Ringmaster, an operetta for 5 guitars and 3 vocalists since i could not find a drummer and haven’t given Stuart Epps the final mix yet.
http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/9098008
My Life as a Musical: #6 Seattle Metal (with a Bullet)
One of you just became friend number 2,500. I believe it wasTizzy Shearer. Also, I’m #6 Seattle Metal with a bullet:
http://www.reverbnation.com/matthewmeadows
Chasing the #5 slot with Michael Wilton of Queensryche | Seattle, WA who is currently #265 in the US Metal. Pretty sure that’s one dude that doesn’t need to pay for Facebook promotions. I’m way out at #308 but went up 5 spots yesterday alone. I’m not paying for promotions, either.
Rango getting risky dancing on the wire. From Into the Snow II: This is Not Empire.
What’s the change? I’ve started cross-posting over at Matthew Meadows Music <as> Matthew Meadows Music. Normally I share to there from my personal profile page, and it does not end up visible to people in their streams or when they first go to the band page. Posting there directly as M3 also let’s me see how many people view each post, typically in the neighborhood of dozens but sometimes hundreds. Note this is per post on the music page, which only has 1/5 the eyeballs of my personal page (2,000 OF YOU, NO LOVE FOR THE BAND PAGE??), so multiply it sometimes dozens of times a day and yes I’m reaching you with thousands of impressions each day…potentially more than a million eyeballs…and my Klout and similar metrics prove this out.
And if you’ve noticed I’ve been posting copiously, you’re right. Apologies if you have a small number of friends on your feed. Try not to puke, change the channel, and don’t hesitate to unfriend if you’re just getting sick of it. I’m hitting different demographics with different campaigns in different markets and different time zones over the course of the day, 24/7, and signalling to people all over the world. The folks that like Sling Baby are not necessarily the folks that like Texas Dub / The Pope. Mix in the fact that the Aussies and Indonesia are coming home from work a few hours from now, then the UK wakes up…
(etc)
Time for dinner, and then a late shift at the most interesting social network experience in the world, Microsoft FUSE Labs Socl.
<itzgud2berango>
50th Post: Etherati
etherati – people of the ether. from my interview with Aaron Joy:
AJ: Etherati [/eth er ati/], if I’m even pronouncing it correctly, what does it mean?
MATTHEW: Sure. It’s another word that I made up. I’ve been pronouncing it /ee ther ati/.
AJ: Okay.
MATTHEW: But, I’ve heard a lot of people say /eth er ati/.
Matthew Meadows – Etherati Blue
AJ: Well, I’m a bit dyslexic, so, excuse me.
MATTHEW: I’m just happy to hear people say it! It’s surreal to me. But, here is the meaning of the word. The etherati are those figments of memory that you have. The people that are represented by those memories after they’ve died, those are your etherati. So, in my life, I’ve had a handful of people that were very close to me, that I loved deeply, that I’ve lost & I find myself having these haunting conversations with them when I’m all by myself that I can remember in absolute vivid detail. So I came up with this term to kind of describe these kind of ephemeral spirited memories that are … they’re something more than ordinary memories, but there’s not a word in our language that would describe them. Because, when your mind is left to wander you can almost have conversations with these people. So, they are my etherati.
My Life As a Musical: Seattle Wave Radio’s 2012 Jam Competition
So, thanks to the participation of a few close fans I’ve managed to get a spot on stage at the The High Dive on Oct. 19th. This was how the crew at Seattle Wave Radio announced it:
Well listeners: we have a winner! *da da da da da* and the winner is; MATTHEW MEADOWS! Congratulations, Matthew! So all of you out there ~ get ready to have your faces melted at The High Dive on Oct. 19th ’cause that show is gonna ROCK Fremont!!
Thank you to PAULY, Cool Water and Down North for participating. Hope all of you have had a great time listening to some amazing Seattle music!
Agreed, I really enjoyed the show. The play by play was all on Facebook and revealed the joy in the experience of the music. It was all great stuff and my only wish is that more people could have heard it.
With regards to the song I’m playing, Smokehouse, I had the following to say before the broadcast:
http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/14735259
here’s Smokehouse, the song in question, from producer Stuart Epps with support from musician John Marter.
http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/11525528
here’s Smokehouse, the original acoustic demo presented to Stuart. this is somewhat akin to how i’ll play it on the 19th.
http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/11525528
there are extensive Smokehouse Variations present here, a long extend jam captured live busking in downtown Seattle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7hPE3a5Ir
here’s some serious, heart-felt Smokehouse variations, practice with a fussy dobro and excessive Skype & Facebook interruptions, originally written on a piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFt3ft5ykDw
this entire video is laced with imagery and themes from Smokehouse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu61aW2de0s
this video, from Into the Snow II: This is not Empire, features the Smokehouse riff from the infamous Tammie mix (not presented here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDn51_Ltycw
(etc, and so forth)
\m/ (-.-) \m/
full story here:
https://rangothedog.com/2012/06/12/how-a-dog-named-rango-jammed-with-stuart-epps-at-the-smokehouse/
and finally, please
Seattle Music’s 2012 Jam Competition
…i tend to avoid political & religious discussions, i rarely vote, and i don’t have a tv…but i was listening to NPR on the way home and the debates came on. after I got over the shock that Mitt Romney was actually the Republican candidate for president and not just the opening act i heard the following:
Matthew Meadows
“i like coal” – mitt romney
“i also like big bird…” – mitt romney (slams spending on PBS, which he easily could have done without naming a beloved character that 1/2 the listening audience grew up with)
“you spent like 50 years worth of investment on solar & wind in one year” – mitt romney, to obama
“uh-huh” – obama (did he nod & do this \m/? it was radio, dunno)
“if you take out 5 trillion dollars and don’t increase the revenue, you have to take it out of education and (etc)” – obama, as he proceeds to take apart mitt romney’s plan <again>.
…and then there was this:
(nothing)
…mitt romney just let obama make up stuff about gutting education without suggestion there might be other places to come up with the money. it’s as if he wasn’t even listening to the answers.
(palm slap, returns to Rangosphere & straps on Fiona Fender. it’s better not to know)
Now that i’ve got your attention, DON’T FORGET TO LISTEN TO Seattle Music’s broadcast starting at 7:55 — JUST MINUTES FROM NOW — and VOTE FOR YOUR POLITICALLY DISENFRANCHISED BUDDY RANGO as his song Smokehouse goes up for a chance to play live on stage. You have to listen, and they’ll give out a secret word that I cannot repeat here, and then vote.
Operation Rango: October Dawn
Really hard to believe it’s October. It was this time last year as I struggled with the dissolution of my engagement and started to finally live My Life as a Musical that I had a creative supernova.
After months of manic obsession on the guitar that wedged itself between my life and my family, I finally committed to takes of Smokehouse and Tides and came up with lyrics for both. It’s when I started talking about Operation Rango and the Temple of Zither. Today I’ve got 20 videos and more 1,700 pictures in 64 photo albums, and dozens of blog posts – and that’s just what I’ve released. There’s more to come folks, so get your sticky gloves and hold on tight:
iPhone Maps: Epic Fail
Really not surprise at the failure of the IPhone team to deliver a solid mapping application. Why? Mapping is hardcore computer science at its best, and delivering accurate applications that convey everything from your geospatial coordinates as conveyed by satelite imagery to construction information to what’s on the menu nearbye is such an onerous task only a few companies in the world have tried and even come close. On of them is Microsoft, and as a former member of the Bing Maps team I’m pleased to say other device vendors have had the insight to recoginze this difficulty and chosen to go with an embedded solution. Apple should give up being a maps vendor just like they gave up on developing an operating system and just skin somebody else’s solution. They do that better than any company in the world. They gave up on the Mac OS and went with BSD and the world is better for it. They should consider the same type of solution for their mapping application / epic fail. They should consider what Kindle and Nokia already know. They should consider Bing Maps.
Rango-Headshot2
My Life as a Musical: Texas Style
This weekend: Despite enjoying uncanny good fortune at the chance to work with the Microsoft Socl team, my first paycheck won’t be until next Friday, and funds are scarce. As in zero, with an empty fuel tank and sparse cupboards. I wasn’t really sure how the week would transpire, my main concern was actually gas money since I can live a long time on coffee and stale cereal. Loose change? Busking? Not to worry, I reverted to my operating parameters:a) What would Jimi Hendrix do?b) What about kindness?
So, just tend your craft and hope kindness shows its face. (Note that this system is not fail proof, do not try it at home).
This morning: Kindness called. He was on a plane headed for Seattle, and booked a room right next to my house so we could maximize our hang time. Dustin Hicks is not on Facebook because he’s too busy being the top dog in Microsoft Azure sales and tending to his pile of kids, including a brand new baby boy that looks just like him. (“What’s Facebook?” he must wonder, driving his boat around in the Texas sun. “What’s this?” I said when he gave me that device with the pictures of his baby. “An iPad” he said, and I was in awe).
He was conveniently flush with cash from a trip to Las Vegas, and waiting for me in the driveway when I got home. Before he even set his bags down he pulled out his wallet and shared his spoils with me, a non-trivial amount of money that will cover me for gas & groceries for the week. I didn’t even have to ask, and he knows I’m the worst credit risk ever. Or possibly the best, because if I ever have a team and there’s enough money to pay him, he’s already got the job as manager. You see Dustin’s one of my best friends, for nearly 20 years. We programmed at Catapult Systems together, where he used to join us in the storage room for band practice. He turned me on to Megadeth, and I went through a period. He was there for the Sultans of Swing and YYZ. Partly inspired by my lead, he started playing guitar around that time and now picks one up every time he sees it (because that’s what Jimi would do). So he picked up the dobro and noodled on it, and then we got started doing our thing together: (“This is Facebook”, I said and he was in awe at all the pretty colors). We then spent some time watching videos and picking them apart, listening to mixes, and talking about our family lives, and then I took the final round of being in awe.
You see the thing I love the most about Dustin is not is dry wit or effortless generosity. It’s not his formidable technical skills or widely known video game addiction. It’s the way he regards his wife, whom he met in college and fell madly in love with (and is presumably not on Facebook either since she’s busy home schooling 3 and breast feeding 1). She’s radically different from him, the two of them are a matched pair, and now he’s the one inspiring me because they are still solid and he still lights up when he talks about her.
He took me to dinner. We hit my favorite Italian restaurant but the hostess indicated they were closing up, just minutes until the cut-off. I hate to pressure people so I turned around to discuss this information with Dustin and he said “so a table for two then, right?”. They seated us, and we enjoyed a fantastic dinner discussing how best to utilize Azure from Glacier, and coming to quick consensus that it would be “awesome” for him to show in demos.
Don’t let Gravity Bring You Down
can you sing the MTV theme, the guitar riff with the black & white astronaut holding the flag? some computer programmer made that possible in 1982 (or whenever…PLAGUS?). to me, that’s MTV. well, i’m old school, and it took me this entire time to make this, my first legitimate music video with both a studio soundtrack entirely of my own creation and a sequence of video shots that are not only telling you a story of motion, they are integral to the plot of Into the Snow II: This is Not Empire. it’s metalish, distinctly sticky, but slippery in spots. best to bring sticky gloves. now get moving.
“don’t let gravity bring you down” – rango
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDn51_Ltycw&list=PL40E9308436458E44
Rango's Dog House 