Posted by on Mar 25, 2011 in Art, Design Finds, Inspiration, Music, Personal | 0 comments

Here are some paper miniatures I stumbled on today that I found really impressive. Again, proving that there are people out there way more talented and patient than I am. The color, detail, and compositions are really inspirational. (Here I am talking like an instructor again) (via DesignBoom)

Good old Elvis here looks awesome. I’m not sure if those glasses are accurate though but I know he wore shades a lot. Funny little trivia my momma tells me she brought me along to watch the “Aloha from Hawaii” show at the Neil Blaisedell center. So I can say, “I was there” despite the fact I was no older than Kingston is now. I don’t remember a bit of it.

I’m thankful actually that my mom was keen on music from Elvis and the Beatles. I think it was a lot cooler than say if she was all into those Chinese theatre songs where it sounds like someone’s killing chickens.

While we’re on the subject of music, allow me to digress a little because I’ve been curious — what did you guys think about Bon Jovi’s statement a couple weeks ago about iTunes? Basically saying that he thinks iTunes killed the music industry?

As much as it’s distasteful to me to defend the guy, I think I kinda get what he means. Yes, I get iTunes. I get the fact we can now get the songs we want, when we want it. I get the convenience factor and the cost factor.

But the one experience I kind of really miss is walking into a Tower Records or Amoeba store in San Fran, checking out rows and rows of album covers. There was something tactile about flipping through the cases. And then you’d potentially walk out with a stack of CDs and rush home to listen to them. There was something about that process that made you committed to the music. It’s not just because you spent the money either; these days on iTunes or Amazon you can maybe buy a full album for around $9?  Maybe it was the same back in the days I first bought CDs or Tapes. But what came along with the music back then was the liner notes, the different materials the covers were printed on, the ways each of the different cases enclosed the disk (I had a Slayer album where it was encased in fake liquid blood).

The same thing happens when I visit my Uncle over in Canada. I’d be flipping through his collection of Led Zep, Croce, Dylan, etc…the expectation of pulling out a vinyl disk and dragging a needle over the grooves is a big part of the fun.

Today, I buy digital songs, plop it on my various devices, listen to it once or twice, and that’s about it. I like the music I buy. I like the gadgets I can play them on. But I don’t get the same joy I used to get. In other words, the experience of music came along with a lot more than just the listening part.

I know. I’m just getting old maybe. /sigh.