Author: dj dragonfly

Alt rock and grunge lover.

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Miscellaneous

Music’s Limitless Potential

Close up image of a soundboard
Music production soundboard. Licensed CC0 1.0 Universal

Seriously, how cool is music?

There is so much history, variety and potential that it’s almost impossible to be familiar with everything about it.

Growing up, I honestly didn’t know that there was such a thing as new music.  I grew up listening to the various eclectic collections of my family members and had no comprehension of the fact that people were making new music every single day.  I thought Mozart, Alla Pugacheva and nursery rhymes were the cream of the crop.  

I think I was in second grade when I realized that my friends were listening to and singing songs I have never heard before and finally realized that there was so much more to this hidden world.  

Now as an adult, I love everything about music.  I love that you can pick something for literally any mood.  I love the variety that different cultures have to offer.  I love seeing how music has evolved over time.  

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Categories
Playlists

Covers are Sick

Young man sitting at microphone with acoustic guitar
Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged (1993). Image by Mahesh Sridharan, licensed CC BY 2.0 Generic.

** Image license **

I love a good cover song.  There are so many different avenues an artist can take when they decide to cover a song.  They can try to keep it as similar to the original song as possible or they can go a completely different direction.  Some of my favorite covers have been changed so much that you can clearly see the artist’s personality. 

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Categories
Miscellaneous

Musician’s Block

Balled up paper by a notebook
Discarded ideas on balled up notebook paper. Image by Steve Johnson, licensed CC0.

You’ve hit a wall.  Nothing feels right.  You lost motivation.

That’s okay.  

Writer’s block is a very common occurrence for creators of any kind of art or media.  There’s no reason to get discouraged.  This happens to everyone. 

The real question is what does one do to fix it.  Everyone gets burnt out at some point.  All you have to do really is reignite the spark.  A little can go a long way.  Maybe you need to take a small break and come back with a fresh mind.  Alternatively, you can push through and keep pushing until you break through.  

Take a Break

I think both methods have their pros and cons.  One the hand of the former, a small break could lead to a longer hiatus. Maybe that’s what needs to be done.  Sometimes we aren’t in the right field and need a change of pace.  I know that I’m not very good at knowing when something has run its course but sometimes we are trying to force a puzzle piece into the wrong place. 

However, I do believe in coming back with fresh eyes and a fresh mind.  Taking a small break for a breath of fresh air and some rest, maybe even a change of perspective, can be the difference between a frustrating and painful experience and a pleasant and challenging one.  

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Categories
Miscellaneous

Fatigue and Music

Painting of woman laying her head down
"Tired" (1908) by Mina Arndt. Licensed PDM 1.0 Universal.

Ever wake up after a solid eight hours of sleep, have your coffee or breakfast, start being productive and still can’t shake the feeling of exhaustion?

There’s probably a reason you feel fatigued all the time.  Maybe there’s something bothering you.  Perhaps you’re not taking good care of yourself and need to take a walk or a bath, something to refresh you.  It’s not always clear what causes fatigue and brain fog but I find that music can help me sometimes.  

Being in a funk and always tired can really feel disheartening.  There are a lot of things out of our control and we often can’t change the things that bother us.  I know that I go through phases of pretty bad fatigue.  I wake up after eight hours feeling like I need more sleep.  If I do roll over and get a couple more hours, I feel like a boiled fish. Coffee sometimes helps as well as getting a mini workout in.  

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Categories
Playlists

DJ Dragonfly’s July Favorites

Bee on small white flower
Bee on wildflowers. Image licensed CC0 1.0 Universal.

Once again, we are at the tail end of a month.  I can’t speak for anyone else but for me, July has been on the uphill in comparison to the rest of the summer.  That being said, my music taste for the month has also been altered.  While many of my favorites are still the same from last month, I have accumulated many others.

I think that my favorites from this month are a bit more well-known.  I have some recent releases, classic oldies, and of course some songs from pop culture. My genres also cover a rather broad spectrum.  Anything from classic rock with The Clash to indie with Flipturn and even some songs in other languages.  Some of these songs have explicit content, so fair warning to everyone. 

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Categories
Miscellaneous

GalaxyCon 2025 Review

four young men dressed to match picture they are holding
Four young men dressed as Hank, Bill, Dale and Boomhauer from "King of the Hill." Image provided by Simon Midgette.

For the second time ever, I attended GalaxyCon at the Convention Center in Raleigh.  

The first time I went was last year and I attended Friday and Saturday.  I dressed up as a Sith Lord original character from the Star Wars universe.  My party members were dressed as Johnny Silverhand from “Cyberpunk”, Ace from “One Piece”, Mihawk from “One Piece” and lastly a group of four dressed as Hank, Bill, Dale and Boomhauer from “King of the Hill.”  

This year, fewer of us dressed up but Johnny Silverhand made another appearance. A version of Hatsune Miku and Big Boss from “Metal Gear” were there as well as Granmamare and Fujimoto from “Ponyo.”  We also only went on Friday this year. 

There were many big name artists and celebrities at the convention this year.  Some of my favorites to see even from a distance were William Shatner, Sean Gunn, Gates McFadden, Jackson Rathbone, Brent Spiner, Scott Patterson, and so on.  I never got the timing right to see a couple of the celebrities like Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis or Barry Bostwick.  I was also really disappointed to see that Grant Gustin dropped out of appearing, at least on Friday.  

I even got a fleeting chance to speak with Gates McFadden.  She was walking away from her booth and I didn’t want to disturb her but someone from my party flagged her down for me and she was lovely.  

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Categories
Miscellaneous

AI in Music

Animated robot playing trumpet
Robot playing the trumpet. Image by Marufish, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic.

** Image license **

AI: one of the biggest taboos in the creative world today.  

Whether it is between friends or an ice breaker question from one of my music professors, there is always a question of how we feel about using AI for our music.  

I think that my opinion is very simple.  I do not believe in plagiarizing art even if who you are plagiarizing from isn’t a person.  I do not believe that it is okay for me to ask AI to write me a song with lyrics and melody and everything else and slap my name on it.  

That being said, I do believe that AI is a tool that can be used in the process of making music.  Maybe you find yourself in a rut and have no ideas for lyrics.  I don’t think it’s a bad idea to use AI to help you brainstorm.  

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Categories
Music Education

Cover Bands: Varieties of Setlist

White guitar leaning on red, worn Ibanez amplifier
Guitar and amplifier. Image licensed CC0 1.0 Universal.

There are generally two types of bands: bands that play covers and bands that play originals.  What these types have in common is they both usually start out with covers.  

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Classic Album Review

“Shadowglow” (2022) by Flipturn: A Review

"Shadowglow" album cover
"Shadowglow" (2022) album cover.

Content Warning: This album contains some explicit language.

Most Popular:

Personal Favorites:

  • “Playground”
  • “Sad Disco“
  • “Halfway”
  • “Goddamn”
  • “Burn”
  • “Weepy Woman”

About the Album

Have you ever thought about what the snow melting into spring sounds like?  To me, “Shadowglow” by Flipturn is exactly what that would sound like.  

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Categories
Miscellaneous

I went to Ocracoke Island

Yellow sand dunes by the blue green ocean
Sand dunes of Ocracoke Island, NC. Image licensed PDM 1.0 Universal.

Ocracoke Island – the death place of the one and only Captain Blackbeard.  

I had the privilege of spending the 4th of July week in Ocracoke Island, NC.  There, I got to enjoy the beach, local artisanal shops, tourist trap shops, some of the local restaurants, and even the holiday parade.  

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