CalvinDude.com

Okay, I know it’s been a while. It’s almost 2 weeks into a new year, and no posts from me! What’s up with that? Well, I blame Bush.

Can’t promise this will get any less sporadic, but at least now I’ve posted something in 2010! And I figure, why not post something on music?

I recently got a new VST library that I plugged into Music Creator 5, which I use for most of my composition since buying my new computer back in May. Music Creator is made by Cakewalk, and I’ve always loved their stuff. The new VST is actually not from them, however. I’m using Garritan’s Personal Orchestra library. At some point, I still want to get Dimension Pro from Cakewalk, but since that costs $250 it’s gonna be a while (thanks for all the change, Hope-ama!).

Anyway, if you wanna know what difference the VST makes, I’ve got a rough-cut version of the second movement of my first MIDI symphony uploaded (the downside is that in the near future I plan on doing a better version, so if you view this post in the archives the following vids may not exist anymore—for which you can blame Bush).

First, the regular MIDI version:

And now the updated version (which sound roughly 97.37 x 10⁹² times better, but who’s counting?

There’s still some volume issues I need to fix in the second version, as well as some orchestrations I’ll change a bit (although you may notice that the percussion line is already different, since the new VST is almost, but not quite, exactly unlike the original MIDI line, so I had to redo it). Plus, I’ll work on the other movements and get them cleaned up and more gooderer sounding.

Until then…well, I’ll try to update this blog every once in a while…but that darn Bush guy might prevent me. Just sayin.

There’s something wrong with this…

Oh yes. They sing about Star Wars…with no Star Wars themes.

Over on Big Hollywood, I’ve been reading Jon David’s (note: not his real name) series on dating liberals. He’s one of the funnier writers out there. Apparently, he’s got some musical talent too. After the latest date with a liberal, which you can read about here, he penned a song called American Heart.

The song is actually a little “country” for my tastes. (I don’t hate country, but c’mon—gimme metal or gimme death metal.) Even so, it’s a great song. And since Andrew Breitbart himself said we needed to make this go viral, I hope he doesn’t mind me hot-linking to the Big Hollywood website and telling you to listen to the song :

I felt out of place today
Wandering out across the gray
Horizon fields I used to play
And where I long so much to stay.

But happiness for what was past
Is cursed never to last
It goes by ever so fast
Gone in an instant, in a blast.

I wonder what would be unique
If I could find the words to speak
Of what I tried in my heart to sneak
The days when I would turn my cheek.

I feel for something deep inside
Something I can no longer hide
Yet there’s nothing there I can abide
Though I can’t say I never tried
But all the things that I replied
Had never been truly applied
To all the pain I have supplied.
There’s nothing about which I haven’t lied.

Wandering further from the path
Beyond the fork in the bird bath
Tempting fate and eternal wrath
Perhaps you could try to do the math

You’d see what was calculated
Was just the same as what was fated
Beneath the trees where we all waited
And raged at the one we all so hated.

I feel for something deep inside
Something I can no longer hide
Yet there’s nothing there I can abide
Though I can’t say I never tried
But all the things that I replied
Had never been truly applied
To all the pain I have supplied.
There’s nothing about which I haven’t lied.

So now you see what we all schemed
Isn’t exactly what it first seemed
When we all slept and wearily dreamed
Of worlds held up by what was beamed

Through the nights that ran so cold
Before we found we’d all grown old
And none of us would be so bold
We saw our hand and chose to fold

We told ourselves it was for the best
Another lie, like all the rest
We pretended that we were always blest
But in the end we failed our test.

I feel for something deep inside
Something I can no longer hide
Yet there’s nothing there I can abide
Though I can’t say I never tried
But all the things that I replied
Had never been truly applied
To all the pain I have supplied.
There’s nothing about which I haven’t lied.

And when at last the soil turns
And our heart gives up all it yearns
Our soul inside no longer burns
Because even it finally learns

All passion and no respite
Fills you with emptiness and spite
Until you find you’ve lost the fight
Left alone in the darkest night.

I feel for something deep inside
Something I can no longer hide
Yet there’s nothing there I can abide
Though I can’t say I never tried
But all the things that I replied
Had never been truly applied
To all the pain I have supplied.
There’s nothing about which I haven’t lied.