Return to the U.S.

With one more exam to go this term, my return to the U.S. is a mere 5 days away. I am excited to be returning after a 6 months absence from American soil.

At the moment, my family is currently residing in Las Vegas, or Sin City, as it were. I have only been there for a couple weeks in January when my family initially moved there. It is a city of grandeur, rampant with casinos, scantily-clad women, and an all-encompassing aroma of cigarettes. I rather enjoyed seeing the city for the first time. With that being said, after speaking with a large handful of people the general consensus is that the timeless city is better for taking a holiday as opposed to actually living there. I would think that the fast paced lifestyle and incessant superficiality takes a toll on a person after a few months. In general, I'd much rather prefer the slower paced, go-with-the-flow pace of life native to Europe.

Las Vegas aside, I have been craving Taco Bell for the past 6 months, and if I can't get any upon my return, there will be blood no doubt. England is severely lacking in Mexican restaurants, good cigars, and sunny weather--all of which can be instantly accessible at my fingertips when I return. Then again, 110 degrees Fahrenheit makes my sour cream skin tingle. Most importantly, I miss the easily accessible gym next to my residence. This term I have been slacking off and these next few weeks back home I am going to exhaust my body, without having to bother with coursework and assignments, and it will be wonderful.



Next stop....Vegas!

My Love

Her smile is a light greater than that of a thousand stars,

It warms the deep, icy caverns of my torn heart,

Her laugh is intoxicating,

I get drunk in love every time my earthly ears are graced

with its heavenly presence.


Her eyes are clairvoyant, haunting,

Cutting through my insides like a diamond saber.

She knows my biggest worries and fears,

And my longing for her love that matches my own,

Kiss for kiss, embrace for embrace.


When I look into her eyes time stops.

The rest of the world ceases to exist,

Like a little child in awe of a shiny coin,

I am entranced.


She is the missing piece in life's puzzle.

Got Caffeine?

Rockstar, Monster, Red bull, AMP, 5 hour energy, coffee--whichever your preference, odds are you drink some form of caffeine on a daily basis. Caffeine is a part of our everyday lives. To some extent one might even say its our human fuel. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day--each day! Just think about that for a second. If every cup of coffee costs 3 USD, then that's over 6 billion dollars a day, just spent on coffee (and that's not even including energy drinks and other caffeine based beverages, so the total spent on caffeine daily is even more)! Personally I enjoy all caffeine based beverages, from coffee to Rockstar energy drinks. I drink coffee in all of its many forms and varieties--hot, iced cold, with cream and sugar, or normally just strong and black with nothing added. I'd even go so far as to say that I'm a caffeine addict. Just for fun though, let's consider a world where caffeine (pause for effect) doesn't exist.

How different would everyone be without their daily cup of happiness? How much more cranky and unpleasant would we be? It's rather frightening to think about, to say the least. I expect that we would find some other source of "liquid energy" of sorts to fill the void and complete their daily rituals. On the other hand, anything taken in excessive amounts can be deadly. When one considers the harmful effects of caffeine on the body, perhaps a world without the energizing substance would profit.

Caffeineinformer.com has said that a Mayo clinic partnered study has revealed that men who consume more than 4 8 fl oz. portions of coffee a day have a 21% increase in all-cause mortality. A more common danger of consuming caffeine is that it can raise your blood pressure (this is especially true for people who suffer from hypertension). Furthermore, women who consume 31 to 250 mg of caffeine a day have been 1.5 times more likely to contract fibrocystic breast disease, while women who drink more than 500 mg a day are 2.3 times more likely. It is also commonly known that caffeine in a person's system before bed can imitate the effects of insomnia. Consuming Caffeine can also increase anxiety and depression-like symptoms.

So while the world may suffer in some senses from the absence of caffeine, it is clear that it will conversely benefit. Regardless, much to our delight (or subconsciously our dismay) we live in a world where caffeine exists. It is apart of most of our everyday lives, and it is rather frightening to consider a world without it.

Making an EDM track: the Basics

EDM, or electronic dance music, is a genre of music I really enjoy. Recently I've discovered a mobile app called Music Maker Jam that allows you to use stock sounds and beats to create your own unique track, for virtually any genre of music. It is very addicting and I've taken to it right away.

For those that don't know, most EDM tracks follow a standard sequence. I listen to this genre quite frequently and this mobile app is a great medium to construct decent original  EDM tracks.

First, you want to start off with a simple beat or sound. Play it on a loop a couple times, adding different elements each sequence, drawing the listeners in.

Add different percussive beats, with a unique musical sound as a recurring underlying basis for your track. As the song progresses, you can feel free to edit and experiment with different variations in the sound, to eliminate extraneous redundancies.

The next addition should be something that is commonly referred to as "the drop". The drop is simply where there is a transition where isolated musical sounds are joined together at once with the percussive elements. Genres like Dubstep, trap, EDM, techno, and even some hip hop all feature drops, more than once in the same track. It keeps things fluid and interesting, building up to a wonderful climax that listeners always enjoy.

I can't share my created tracks on here for some reason, but if you're that curious, download the app, create an account or simply link to Facebook: then follow me, Scott Stanley, and listen to my track Tiger Trapt to get an idea of a generic drop. You'll know the drop when you hear it, it's impossible to miss.

These are just the essentials in creating an EDM track. Feel free to experiment in any way you want. It's all about originality. Try simplifying the ending of the track, digressing back to the first opening sequences. At least, that's what many DJs do with their tracks.

If you end up downloading the app and giving me a follow, listen to Attraction and Escape, my two personal self made EDM tracks.



https://api.jam-community.com/song/detail/ceef94fb-242b-11e6-bd70-0661aaff07f9


https://api.jam-community.com/song/detail/02c195b0-23fb-11e6-bd70-0661aaff07f9

Robot

The absence of emotion,

Coupled with Nothing's bittersweet Sting,

Embrace me.

They wrap their arms around me, with near 

Inaudible whispers.

You are one of Us now....

My blank hallowed mind takes their words

With lackadaisical indifference.

I am a 3-Dimensional being, slowly being eroded

by The coarse, calloused hands of Time,

Into a 1-Dimensional Robot.

Views From the 6

Being the music man that I am, I enjoy listening to anything and everything out there (with the only exception being hardcore screamo). Among other things, I thoroughly enjoy rap and hip hop. When Drake's new album, Views From the 6, dropped on April 25 of this year, I had to give it a listen.

By itself, I would give his new album a 7. He has some really good tracks that feature fresh bars only Drizzy can produce. The more I listen to it the more I appreciate his lines and original mixes. My personal favourites from his new album are 9, Grammy, and Controlla (which is probably the most popular single on the album).

Now, when you compare it to his counterparts: YG, Kcamp, and Kanye West, all of whom released a new album of their own this year, there is no comparison. Views gets a solid 10/10 in this no-contest. People want tracks they can feel, get into, and sing along with. No other new album gives a listener this like Drake's new album. I am actually a fan of YG, and I was pretty disappointed with his new album. A lot of his tracks are just reminiscent of his old hits, and frankly, just doesn't cut it this time. People want new, fresh beats with fresh sounds, and Views does this beautifully. With that being said, it is IMPERATIVE to include tracks that can be compared to an artist's older stuff. After all, its the older stuff that brought you up to where you stand today. In spite of that fact, it is a 50/50 shot to put only new, different stuff in your album in the hopes that you start a new trend or different kind of feel in the hip hop industry.

Take J. Cole's new mixtape that released this year. J. Cole is my favourite hip hop artist. I was very disappointed in his new album. It seems he just got the short end of the stick with this one. He took that 50/50 shot and failed miserably. It's clearly evident he is just trying to hard to produce new, trendy tracks, that sound nothing like J. Cole's traditional stuff. I can't name even one track that I really enjoy listening to from his new album, and it is very sad.

I regress though.

Drake's new album is another great success to add to his already impressive career in the hip hop world. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you enjoy that sort of music.

Broken

My heart, reduced to shreds like wet paper.

My hands, calloused and scarred from my vain efforts.

My eyes, turned stone cold from the icy reality besetting me.

My legs....

I can't feel my legs.


My skin, a living organ one with the earthy ground,

Trampled upon, bruised senselessly, without

question or remorse.


Warm, red blood, oozing out of every orifice of

my body, over the dried blood already scabbing.

Blood, filled with my pain, weaknesses, flaws...


Regrets.


And yet Broken I stand, and Broken I will heal.