The SoupASonic

if you happen to catch yourself dancing to this, could you please post a video?

Thanks -- you enjoy. :)

There's one nice thing about having a flu -- immediately, you begin to see the world around you as if from a hidden camera, observing as though you don't exist. It's not the lack of care, it's just a common understanding that I need lots of rest to get better.

Sitting as I were at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, looking at mass-market murals of Orwell, Nabokov, Joyce, Shelley, Woolf and others having coffee on the walls, I couldn't help but notice one thing -- the lighting in their time was different. For some it was candelight, and later, the tinny gold-rose color of the early bulbs, then yellow... And now, permanent noon-light, infinite c-major, that wonderful energy-efficient glow hovers above at all hours, "productive white".

I'd be curious to read magazines from the early era of electricity, articles by those, who wanted to "take back the night", the mystery, the personal time of things and people unobserved, unaccounted.

I'm also infinitely curious as to what might happen in the future, and how this hue may change. In the little that I've experienced of globalization, one motive is persistent -- the yearning desire to spend more time with family, to watch TV and eat, talk, to celebrate every occasion, the little sliver of personal time still left.

I scored my first short film, This Modern Love, in 2000. It was written and directed by Andrew Koenig (who played "Boner" on Growing Pains, and whose father, Walter Koenig, was the legendary "Ensign Pavel Chekov" on Star Trek), and you can screen it online. Andrew had posted an ad on the Hollywood Creative Directory, and I was the first to answer. Despite the distance (Andrew lived in Los Angeles, and I in New York), and my lack of experience, we committed to working together. That year, I posted some flyers at NYU, and scored several more shorts. A few months later, an ad I posted on led to my first feature film score for Michael DiPaolo, which in turn led to two more feature scores, both of which offered much creative freedom and a great education. That year, I also made my 3-minute demo, showcasing a multitude of styles, which you can hear (along with other oldies), here.

For better or worse, the student-film angle of getting into film scoring now seems to be drying up. At best, major film-production sites like Mandy, Film Music Network and the local sections of Craigslist offer 2 to 3 postings a week that are seeking music, and each othese is answered by 300+ applicants. None of these postings (regardless of short film or feature) offer any particular budget for composing/producing/arranging/recording, and many offer none or deferred pay.

Elsewhere, I see many a music supervisor's notice, seeking "upbeat indie-rock and hip-hop", generally with a fee around $1,000 for an all-in all-territories license. Filmmakers have realized that instead of collaborating with a composer, they can simply pad their films with temp music of their dreams, and then license something similar if/when the film gets distribution, or is screened at a festival where music clearances are a pre-requisite. In an era of sluggish CD sales, even a major record label may easily be persuaded to license for a bargain, as any film with distribution is potential exposure and record sales.

Rather than dwell on the negative any longer, I'd like to list a few really great positive items which stem from this:

1) If you're a composer who loves to produce indie-rock or hip-hop, this is the era for you to thrive and change the world of music forever.

2) If you're not into indie-rock or hip-hop, then discover and learn to promote your creative vision. Don't cave into becoming a "chameleon", an all-around immitator, unless of course that is what you like to do best. To be a "chameleon" means that you'll be copying everyone's temp music, and your fee will decrease daily, as there is no shortage of fans and immitators. Your competition will become the big-time music library, with thousands of easily-licenseable and affordable tracks in any genre and tempo.

3) Now is the best time in film-music history to start a band, a record label, and create music you're actually excited about! Your excitement and authenticity will carry far higher than any temp-music replacement.

Have fun.

Today is the rare kind of day, in which all of my so-called meta-careers were in action all at once. It was the kind of day which made me appreciate the varied paths I take, and at the same time jealous of people who sit in offices.

It began at the very reasonable hour of 8:30am with a fiendish rush to prepare sevaral film-demo CDs, while pretending to have a leisurely breakfast with Inna. (Breakfast is holy.) Alas, our new printer does a hackjob at printing double-sided, so everything took 4x longer, and had to be reprinted 10x... I chomped on oatmeal and slurped coffee in between flipping pages.

At 10, I was supposed to have been at a rehearsal by Ensemble 212 for my composition Long Island Sound, which we'll be performing this Saturday evening. With much debt to the printing fracas, I was 20 minutes late. No matter, though, we rehearsed my piece (even though the bass, viola, and percussionists were missing) all the same. It was a weird feeling, playing a piece I wrote 9 years ago, seemingly a world removed from what I'm doing now. The ensemble's bassoonist asked what the piece was about - ABOUT?! -- so now I have to come up with a story, put myself in 9-year-old shoes. I stayed at the rehearsal until 12:45, filling in for the other violist who didn't show up. But then I had to run...

At 12:50, I had to run to a bowmaker, to get my bow rehaired. Hadn't done that for a few months, seeing as I split so few hairs in Hungary.

At 1 and at 2:30, I had two meetings about potential film projects. The first was on a park bench; the second in a trendy cafe in midtown. Both meetings went great. Between meetings, I caught up on email, in the subway. After the meetings, I ran into Chipotle for a salad. Succulent...

At 4, I had to be at a rehearsal in Queens with the wonderfully openminded percussionist Ingrid Gordon and the happy-go-wacky reed performer Demetrius Spaneas, in preparation for a couple of upcoming concerts. I was late to this, too - but it didn't matter. We rehearsed my pieces, experimented with instrumentation, and chatted. For 3 hours, time stopped - well, until I got some frantic emails from London about a transcription project I'm doing, and from an ad agency about a demo.

At 7:20, I was back on the subway, writing emails and trying to keep my back straight. There's nothing quite as fun as taking three trains on the way home, and cursing the MTA while waiting for them. There's nothing quite as delightful as knocking over hipsters who can't hear "Excuse me" because their iPods are too loud. If there is any saving grace in the subway, it's the Chinese cellist who seems to play "Air on the G String" continuously. But he wasn't there today - instead, there was a drummer. Argh.

By 8:30 I was home. Luckilly, at least my home will be quieter, because earlier today, six of these diffusor panels arrived, and I'll be installing them tomorrow. I still have a million things to do - figure out housing in Los Angeles, order plane tickets, clean up, pay bills, and -- oh yes - finish sorting the receipts for taxes.

After a day of this, who'd want to listen to avant-garde music? Certainly not me. All I want is a hot bath and a long sleep.

"OVERSLEPT, SO TIRED. IF LATE, GET FIRED? WHY BOTHER? WHY THE PAIN? JUST GO HOME DO IT AGAIN."

well, that's entertainment! Strike up the Carousel Waltz. :)