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diff --git a/docs/music/band_discovery.md b/docs/music/band_discovery.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..380257a --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/music/band_discovery.md @@ -0,0 +1,328 @@ +# How I Discover a Band + +2024-03-16 + +I listen to 6 bands. By "listening to" a band, I mean I have at least two +albums and regularly put them on, at least once a month. + +An outline of the process of me discovering a band: + +- Listen to one of their songs (usually hit single) +- Ooh I like it +- Listen to other songs +- Hmm some of these are good +- Listen again +- Woah most of these are good +- OK I guess I like the band now + +The process can be modeled as a function of E (how much I enjoy <insert +band name\>) over t (time). E(t) is composed of three stages: + +- Linear growth (t0 to t1, 0 to E1) +- Constant (t1 to t2, E1) +- Logistic growth (t2 to infinity, E follows an S-curve: it first takes + off exponentially but flattens and converges to an asymptote at EM) + + + +If EM is greater than a threshold, I decide that I like the band. As +I discover and/or they release more music, E might grow beyond EM. + +In general, + +- t0: hit single +- t1: hit single on repeat +- t2: I become interested in other songs + +Now, we just need to find these parameters for every band. + +## twenty one pilots + +### t0: July 2016, "Stressed Out" + +That was the time when twenty one pilots were as hot as the sun. "Stressed +Out" and "Heathens" were everywhere. I was on a flight with no headrest +screen, and the only form of entertainment was a tiny overhead TV (boring) +and a headphone jack on the armrest. It let you pick a channel, and +channel 13 was playing Billboard songs which happened to include "Stressed +Out". I thought it sounded special, like "I'm 14 and this is deep" kind of +special (I was, in fact, 13, so this is incredibly on brand). Anyway, as +soon as I landed I streamed it on repeat. + +### t1: August 2016, _Blurryface_ + +Didn't take long to find out that other songs on _Blurryface_ are even +better. My favorites were "Heavydirtysoul", "Ride", and "Lane Boy". +"Polarize", "Hometown" and "Goner" are good as well. + +I listened to _Blurryface_ every week, but not any other album. Once I put +on "Implicit Demand For Proof", but the intro was too long for my liking. + +### t2: August 2017, _Vessel_ + +One summer afternoon I was doing dishes. After a year of listening to one +album, I grew bored. So I put on their 2013 album, _Vessel_. + +Completely honest reaction: my jaws dropped at how good "Ode to Sleep" +was. Then how good "Holding on to You" was. All the way to "Car Radio", +which to this day remains my favorite song. + +"Ode to Sleep" was even special-er. 5:08 long and full of tempo changes, +it was the closest thing to Bohemian Rhapsody tøp have made. (I at that +time had never heard of Bohemian Rhapsody, but I would have enjoyed it.) + +### Soon after t2 + +_Vessel_ got me into the rabbit hole. Very soon I put on _Regional at +Best_, and "Kitchen Sink" became one of my favorites. (Funny because +I literally discovered _Vessel_ at a kitchen sink.) Then _Twenty One +Pilots_ (aka Self-Titled), which I obsessively listened to in June 2018, +even on a trans-Pacific flight. + +Unfortunately that was everything they had made. I downloaded their live +performances, covers, and Tyler Joseph's solo album, _No Phun Intended_. +They have shaped my teenage years. + +### 2018, _Trench_ + +In July 2018 they left hiatus and announced _Trench_, which is my first +experience of anticipating an album and discussing the lore. It dropped on +2018-10-05, a date I will never forget. It remains my favorite record. + +Fav tracks (a tough choice): "Morph", "Chlorine", "Nico And The Niners", +"Bandito" + +Trivia: my previous laptop's hostname is bandito; my current one's is +chlorine. + +### 2021, _Scaled And Icy_ + +One night as I'm about to go to bed, I checked Wikipedia for no reason and +apparently a few days ago tøp had announced a new album. It was totally +a coincidence. + +Later one Thursday afternoon I took sick leave from school, and when I got +home I found the music video for "Shy Away" just dropped. Totally another +coincidence… + +_Scaled And Icy_ (2021) was not as soul-wrenching as _Trench_, because as +Tyler explained, the depressed world does not need yet another depressing +album. They had an online concert which I watched for like $20, which is +heck of a performance. There was 10 times more props, visuals and +choreography than a regular tour. It was flawless (other than Josh +dropping his drumstick at the end of "Car Radio", but he quickly grabbed +another one without missing, quite literally, a beat). + +### 2024, _Clancy_ + +And now in 2024 there's another record in the oven. How did I find out? +Wikipedia! Just need to wait… + +"Overcompensate" is an absolute bop. + +## I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME + +### t0: some time in 2018, "Choke" + +I discovered the music video for "Choke" and thought wow that sounded +cool. + +### t1: some time in 2019, _1981 EP_ + +Later I downloaded _1981 EP_. It was the first time I bought music with +money. I remember the summer when I played this on the bus. + +Now, because they were a new band, there wasn't much backlog discog to +explore. + +### t2: October 2020, _Razzmatazz_ + +It's a really good record and I liked it instantly. In March 2021 I bought +it as a birthday treat to myself. + +Fav tracks: "Leave Me Alone", "Clusterhug", "Razzmatazz" + +### December 2023 + +IDKHOW announced a tour for their upcoming album _GLOOM DIVISION_, and +I got a ticket. The only downside (pun intended; "DOWNSIDE" is a track +title) is it's in Detroit. My advisor had once told me not to go to +Detroit alone. I'm gonna do it anyway hope I don't die lmao + +So the album is out now in February 2024. Fav tracks: "DOWNSIDE", +"INFATUATION", "SIXFT" + +## My Chemical Romance + +### t0: 2020-ish, "This is How I Disappear" + +tøp covered "Cancer", but it doesn't count. My real first exposure to MCR +is either "Welcome to the Black Parade" or "This is How I Disappear" (I +probably found this video: [This Is How I Disappear but it’s just Gerard’s +vocals in a large +cathedral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lITNYUmM50g)). + +Later I added "Cancer", "Mama", and "Sleep" into the list. These songs got +me obsessed — for a little while. I almost never listened to them again. +Until 2021. + +### t1: 2021, _The Black Parade_ + +The summer I graduated high school, I went to a driving school. On my way +home I put on _The Black Parade_ in its entirety and it was better than +I remembered. But still, no progress. + +### t2: 2022, _Three Cheers_ + +Forgot why, but I randomly decided to put on _Three Cheers_. I had already +listened to "Helena" and "The Ghost Of You", but not the rest of the +album. + +It was fire. Even better than _Parade_. Fav: "Helena", "Give 'Em Hell, +Kid", "It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's A Fucking Deathwish", "I Never +Told You What I Do For A Living". + +### August 2022, _Danger Days_ + +I can hardly believe this is the same band that made _Three Cheers_, but +it's fire nevertheless. + +The semester began in September with unpleasant memories, and they got +kinda associated with some of the songs (especially "The Only Hope for Me +is You"), but it is what it is. + +Fav: "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)", "Bulletproof Heart", +"S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W", "Summertime". + +### November-ish 2022, _Bullets_ + +MCR's debut banger. I listened to it in the final exam weeks. After I came +back home, I got covid, but once I awoke I would blast _Bullets_. It was +the record I jammed to when I was learning Haskell. + +Fav: "Drowning Lessons", "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville", "Demolition +Lovers". + +### 2023, _Conventional Weapons_ + +Fav: "Boy Division", "Gun.", "The World Is Ugly". + +And thus I have finished MCR's discography. I wrote a review: [Review of +My Chemical Romance discography](mcr_discog_review.md). + +## Green Day + +### t0 and t1: December 2022, "21 Guns" + +I was preparing for SoulRocker (campus rock show, lots of bands there) and +saw "21 Guns" on the setlist. This seems to be the only song I had +a chance of jamming to, because the rest were either older than my parents +or weeb music. So I checked out Green Day and learned the lyrics to "21 +Guns". + +The performance was a bop, everyone was high af, but nobody's throwing up +their arms into the sky. + +### t2: March 2023, _American Idiot_ + +This is the first time where the hit single did _not_ lure me into its +album. Instead I listened to this popular choice. + +My favorite was "Jesus of Suburbia", which is the Bohemian Rhapsody of +punk rock. Other favs are "Letterbomb", "Wake Me Up When September Ends", +and "Whatsername". + +### March 2023, _21st Century Breakdown_ + +This time I got the album "21 Guns" is from. Honestly, it's not as +consistently good as _Idiot_. I would skip tracks. + +Fav: "21st Century Breakdown", "Before the Lobotomy". + +I would skip: "Christian's Inferno", "East Jesus Nowhere", and on a bad +day everything after "Restless Heart Syndrome" except "21 Guns". + +### April 2023, _Dookie_ and _Nimrod_ + +They have not grown on me (yet). If I feel like it, I might listen to them +again. + +## Linkin Park + +### t0 and t1: March 2023, "In The End" + +u/SorridoSnake (deleted account) on Reddit posted this on r/sbubby: +[Posting a Sbubby for every lyric of Linkin Park’s “In The End” until +I complete the whole +song](https://www.reddit.com/r/sbubby/comments/1184kep/posting_a_sbubby_for_every_lyric_of_linkin_parks/) + +and I thought hey why not listen to this song + +(I know I am terminally late, I know it's a 2001 song, but this is the +first time I listened to it seriously, like not from a radio or +loudspeakers in some supermarket) + +Once the song finishes I know I have a new band to check out. (Don't ask +why it took a month) + +### t2: April 2023, _Hybrid Theory_ + +This is the first band I listened to with two lead vocalists. I like +Mike's rap lines as much as Chester's screaming. They formed my basic +understanding of rap rock, and later inspired me to make [This Song Will +Uncure Your Depression](uncure-your-depression.md). + +Fav: "Papercut", "In The End", "My December". + +### June 2023, _Meteora_ + +It's as good as _Hybrid_, but I got distracted and never had a "hey what +if" moment to listen to more Linkin Park. + +## Radiohead + +In May 2023, I heard a band cover "Creep" but didn't investigate further, +mistaking Radiohead with Just Another Band Talking About Girls And Stuff. +Big nope in hindsight. + +### t0: January 2024, "My Iron Lung" + +I watched this video titled ["My Iron Lung Looks Just Like Buddy +Holly"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KGRvIFrF3c). It is incredibly +stupidly well-made. I will show the transcript: + +> 0:00 [Depressed Radiohead sounds] BaawwwhDooDeeDoo +> 0:01 [Depressed Radiohead sounds] WawwhDooDeeDoo +> 0:02 [Depressed Radiohead sounds] BowDooDiiOhDaaiiiiiaaaaDo +> 0:05 [Depressed Radiohead sounds] WohhhOoDeeOo +> 0:06 [Depressed Radiohead sounds] HehhOoDeeOo +> 0:07 DADOODADEEDIIIIIEEDOODOO +> 0:10 OOHWEEOOH AILUKJUHSLAIBUDIHAAALIIIIII +> 0:15 OOHWEEOOH AILUKJUHSLAIBUDIHAAALIIIIII BOW +> 0:15 OH OH ANYURMERITAILERMOOOOOR + +Naturally, the words "Depressed Radiohead sounds" caught my attention and +naturally I wanted to hear what the whole song sounded like. It absolutely +rocks. + +This is the first time I discovered a band from a silly video. + +### t1: January 2024, "The Bends" + +Immediately I listened to _The Bends_. Instant favorites are "Planet +Telex", "(Nice Dream)", and "Street Spirit". Very depressed indeed. + +### t2: February 2024, _OK Computer_ and _Kid A_ + +I tried OK Computer but did not find it as good as either _The Bends_ or +_Kid A_. "Paranoid Android" is a banger but the rest sounded awkward, like +early CGI. Especially the synth in "Exit Music" that sounds like it came +straight from a carpenter's workshop. + +_Kid A_ did the trick for me. It's just undisguised EDM and sounds much +more polished. Favorites: "Everything in its Right Place", "The National +Anthem", "Idioteque", "Morning Bell". Love the 10/8 and 5/8 signature. + +Later in March I revisited _OK Computer_ and admitted I was wrong. The +tracks are pretty good actually. Favorites: "Airbag", "Paranoid Android", +"Let Down", "No Surprises". diff --git a/docs/music/img/band_discovery/band.kra b/docs/music/img/band_discovery/band.kra Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c0f762 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/music/img/band_discovery/band.kra diff --git a/docs/music/img/band_discovery/curve.png b/docs/music/img/band_discovery/curve.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..49a97b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/music/img/band_discovery/curve.png diff --git a/docs/music/index.md b/docs/music/index.md index f2020cd..380c0f9 100644 --- a/docs/music/index.md +++ b/docs/music/index.md @@ -97,3 +97,4 @@ is an acoustic cover of "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville". - [Review of My Chemical Romance discography](mcr_discog_review.md) - [Playlist to put on on my deathbed](deathbed_playlist.md) +- [How I Discover a Band](band_discovery.md) |
