WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student RadioAlt rock and grunge lover.
I am willing to bet that many of my readers who love music and love playing music have thought about making music themselves. Some of you are likely to go the solo artist route but many likely have an interest in starting a band.
I know that when I was first musing on the idea, I was daunted by the task of finding members. So, I thought I’d make a guide for people who don’t fully know how to go about doing so.
The leaves are turning, the air is chilling and people are wearing sweaters again. Out with the flip-flops and in with the fuzzy socks, it’s time for Fall.
I love Fall. I love Fall so much I wish it could be Fall all the time. Sadly, that’s not possible here in the great NC. That being said, I have decided to make a playlist full of Fall favorites (not a Halloween playlist) to make the season just right. **Warning: This playlist may contain adult material.**
Summer is officially coming to a close. I can’t speak for everyone but thank goodness. As I have stated previously, Summer is by far not my favorite season. This Summer in particular wasn’t pleasant.
Nevertheless, August has come and gone. We are stepping into the colorful embrace of autumn and with that comes the monthly “DJ Dragonfly’s Favorites.”
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On several occasions I have been asked what kind of music education resources and such NC State has to offer. It would make sense that if I have been asked a handful of times that there are others who are also curious.
I went to San Francisco this Summer. We were there for a week and spent most of our time at Fisherman’s Wharf, but we did explore other areas too.
We arrived at night, late, and made our way to a Victorian Queen Anne style Airbnb apartment with two cats, Charlotte and Hazel. We hadn’t eaten yet and were extremely exhausted. We didn’t get to bed until 3 or 4 a.m. Pacific Time.
We allowed ourselves to sleep in, but ended up waking up around 8 a.m. Me and a couple members of my party decided to mosey down to one of the coffeeshops nearby for some breakfast and coffee. We found one called CoffeeShop about a block away from our apartment. Most of us got coffee or tea of some sort and we got four pastries to take home and share. We got a ham and cheese croissant, a charcoal salmon and cream cheese croissant, a pan au chocolate, and an amaretto apricot cruffin (croissant muffin). My personal favorites were the salmon croissant and the cruffin, both of which we would order again later in the week.
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.