http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/entertainment/music/find-awesome-new-music.html http://www.articletrader.com/entertainment/music/find-awesome-new-music.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500
We have the Jane from Boston, who wants to find new music to make her feel good. She is not finding it on the radio. Myspace isn't cutting it for her, as it's more of a hassle to deal with new friend requests from mediocre bands than it is to find good music.

She resorts to her collection of old classics, listening to Dave Matthews Band's "Under the Table and Dreaming" album and 3 Doors Down. Jane thinks, "I'd love to hear a band that took the Dave Matthews Band style and gave it an edgier 3 Doors Down sound. That'd be something I'd want to check out."

Meanwhile, The Break Room from Nashville are struggling, playing in clubs for 15-20 people a night. Those people love the Break Room, and the heck of it is that the Break Room puts on an excellent show. Maybe Nashville isn't the best place for the Break Room's music, which happens to be a marriage of two styles: that of the Dave Matthews Band and 3 Doors Down.

Here's the facts. Almost 300,000,000 people live in the United States. To go platinum in the music business it takes 1,000,000 records sold. So for the Break Room, 97 out of 100 people could hate them. But if the other three bought their album, that's platinum.

Yet Jane is doomed to miss her potential new favorite band, and the Break Room will probably die an artist death from a lackluster career, because they couldn't connect to those 3 people out of a 100 who wanted to hear them.

I have written this article to give you some tips on how you can find the band that is writing music specifically for you to hear.

IT JUST TAKES ASKING...

How many times have you bought a CD and was disappointed when you got home and listened to it? I'll show you a cool technique that will stop this from ever happening again.

This works especially good at Borders Book Store but I've had success with it everywhere. If you ask nicely, they'll almost always let you listen to a CD before you buy it. It's not limited to the ones at the listening pod. Just simply ask an employee if there is any way you can listen to the CD you are tempted to buy. The only time they say no is when they only have one or two copies left.

This is a very convenient way to check out new music and it's better than downloading sample mp3s for many reasons. First, the sound quality is better. Second, it is less time consuming and you don't have to worry about viruses. And lastly, you get the actual listening experience as it's intended to be. This means a more pleasureable experience for you!

Experiment. When was the last time you bought an album just because it had interesting cover art? Probably rarely if ever. Simply check an album out because the man on the cover is handsomely mysterious, or because you wonder if that guy in the clown suit really can play a mean guitar.

It's simple. Just grab a CD that you are contemplating purchasing, ask a worker if you can hear the album first because you aren't sure if you want to buy it, and 95 times out of a 100 your request will be fulfilled. They want you to make purchases at their store that you are happy with, so they are willing to help you out.

FAMILIARITY BREEDS COOL MUSIC

Last time I was at my Dad's house I looked through his CD collection and found the following:

Metallica: Master of Puppets
Cherry Poppin Daddys: Zoot Suit Riot
George Strait: Strait out the Box, box set
Ray Charles: Genuis Loves Company
Straiht Wikid Crew: Kali Yuga Demolition Vol. 1

Wow. I never knew how diverse my Dad's musical tastes were until I actually looked at his CDs. What a cool guy! Everything from metal (metallica) to rap (Straiht Wikid Crew).

The Cherry Popping Daddys were a band I'd heard about for many years but I had never listened to. I was never into the swing/big band style too much. I put it in the CD player and liked it. It made me want to dance. So I went out, bought the album and I'm happy with the choice I made.

Your friends and family have a whole collection of music that you may be unaware of. Browse their music and check out new stuff. See what you like. Find out what you don't like. Don't spend a penny. Be in control of what you decide you should hear as opposed to what is forced upon your ears.

And do the same in return. Let others preview your music collection. This can enrich your appreciation for you favorite musicians when you are able to discuss it with a new fan who happens to be a good friend.

THE LIBRARY IS STILL FREE

It's free and now it's very convenient. It 's the library.

Most towns have their catalog online. I log onto the library's card catalog from home looking for a certain CD. If they have it, I reserve it, and then I go down and pick it up.

Most libraries have inter-loan programs now, which are also searchable online. Because of this I have access to over 40 libraries. I simply reserve the CD I want and select my local library for the pick up location and 2-4 days later they call me and let me know my CD is in. I can't believe how many people don't know about this wonderful service!

The library is your musical friend. If you know this, you have thousands of albums at your finger tips for free.

MYSPACE & Beyond

In space nobody can you hear you scream. In myspace, you can hear anybody scream who has a cheap computer microphone and knows how to upload an mp3.

It's a cesspool of music that isn't so pleasing.

Here is what I like to do to kill the clutter. I find a great band that I already like. I then locate their myspace page. Often times I try myspace.com/bandname first. If I can't find anything there I do a search for them on myspace and they either come up or a fan that is in love with them will come up. I then go to that person's myspace page and 4 times out of 5 that band is in her top 8 friends. Click away.

I like Neutral Milk Hotel. I tried myspace.com/neutralmilkhotel and their page came up. Now here's what I do. I look at Neutral Milk's top 8. Often times these bands have bands they like in their top 8. So I check out THEIR favorite bands. I found a cool band called Donkey Boy on myspace by using this tactic. Who will you find?

CONCLUSION

I know you want to find music you love, and you want to find it quickly and conveniently, without spending a bunch of money. If you follow these tips in this article, I can assure that your life will be enriched with wonderful music with little effort on your part. All glories to you!

All glories to you!

PUBLISHERS: You may freely reprint this article, online or offline, without prior permission. This article must be published "as is" (unedited). If published online, you must also make sure links are hyperlinked. The author of this article retains all rights to this article at all times. contact Jason Fladlien at hose317@hotmail.com for more information.



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Jason Fladlien is a 23 year old Hare Krishna devotee from Iowa City, Iowa. He creates upbeat yet wicked hip hop under the name Straiht Wikid Crew. Visit http://www.kaliyugademolition.com for more details.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/entertainment/music/how-i-changed-my-life-hare-krishna-and-hip-hop.html http://www.articletrader.com/entertainment/music/how-i-changed-my-life-hare-krishna-and-hip-hop.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500 by Jason Fladlien. For more information go to http://www.kaliyugademolition.com

Hare Krishna.

Those two words changed my life and inspired me to create the "Kali Yuga Demolition Vol. 1" CD, an upbeat hip hop album.

I was a 20 year old college drop out. My purpose in life was to see how drunk I could get without killing myself. Or maybe subconsciously I did want to kill myself.

Alcohol was my medication for my daily panic attacks. These panic attacks came from a depression that I had carried with me for 8 years, and had driven me mentally insane.

My whole life was out of balance. It's not normal to walk down the street and have an overwhelming feeling that at any second you could fall off the earth. l was 80 pounds overweight, cynical and spiritually bereft. I choose atheism because I found comfort in believing that soon I wouldn't have to feel at all.

Then by chance I found out about Hare Krishna.

I was online one night researching vegetarianism, killing time while getting drunk. That's when I found a book called the Bhagavad Gita, translated by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

I read the introduction and that was enough.

Srila Prabhupada's writing spoke not to me but to my soul. I felt his self realization in every word. I had never met a self realized soul before, and naively had concluded that none had existed.

Until now.

You could understand my attraction. He said that the perfection in life was to chant Hare Krishna, and I believed him.

I chanted Hare Krishna as strongly as I could. Within three months my panic attacks went away. I had lost 100 pounds by eating a very natural, meatless diet and I had quit drinking.

Most importantly, I found my meaning and purpose in life.

When I was 8, I had a walkman I would rap into. At 12, I was performing rap and dance routines in the stands of local high school football games. By 16 I was writing songs.

But you lack aim in your life, sometimes you don't even realized when you've discovered your passion. As such, I didn't realize how to cultivate my desire of making music from a mere wish to an actual reality. It took self discovery, which I found through Hare Krishna, to help me realign myself with my passion in life.

I decided I would make a hip hop album.

I spent 10 to 14 hours every day working on it. I would rise at 4:30 am every morning and chant Hare Krishna for about an hour. Then I would devote the rest of my day to working on the "Kali Yuga Demolition Vol. 1" CD, stoppinig only to eat or chant Hare Krishna to refresh myself.

And that is how the "Kali Yuga Demolition" CD was created.

I did this rigorous schedule for about 8 months and never felt more fulfillment in my life. You see, there are things in life that are just waiting for you discover them. There is something out there that resonates perfectly with your being and if you find if then you should cherish it and never let it go.

It was the sublime phrase, "Hare Krishna" that did it for me.

I hope my inspiring story will help you search for your meaning and purpose in life as well.

All glories to you!

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Jason Fladlien is a 23 year old Hare Krishna devotee from Iowa City, Iowa. He creates upbeat yet wicked hip hop under the name Straiht Wikid Crew. Visit http://www.kaliyugademolition.com for more details.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/happiness/find-your-passion.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/happiness/find-your-passion.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500
There exists a specific passion for every being on this earth. Yet most of us miss this passion and live a life of mediocrity.

This article will inspire you to search for your passion and find purpose in your life.

HOW PASSION TRANSFORMED MY LIFE

In two years passion changed my life.

I could sit here and tell you how happy I am, and why I smile every morning why I wake up. How my life has infinite meaning and I’m how at ease with my existence. And you may or may not believe that is possible.

But here are some practical results. Six months after I found my passion I lost 100 pounds without even consciously dieting. I went from an alcoholic to complete sobriety without going through any treatment. And I cured myself of the intense panic attacks that were plaguing my life, all without having to take anti depressants. The true anti depressant is passion!

Have you tried to rid yourself of your negative habits? How successful were you? It is hard to be successful if you concentrate on only the problem and not the root of the problem. The root of the problem is a life devoid of passion which is a life without value. A life without value is a breeding ground for negative habits. Conquer those negative habits with passion!

Having a passion in your life creates miracles.

HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR PASSION

Chances are your passion is already in your life waiting for you to find it.

I met a woman recently who wanted to write a book her whole life. Her passion in life is to write. The only problem is she doesn’t realize she NEEDS to write a book. Her life will be unfulfilled until she does so.

If she understood that, she would start writing that book immediately. Even if she only had the time to write a sentence a day that is the start of the journey of achieving her passion.

The fact is she is still in the same position as she was 5 years ago. Had she started only writing one sentence a day then, today she would have 1,825 sentences instead of just the idea that one day she would “like to write a book”.

Transforms your passions from WANTS into NEEDS.

What have you been wanting to do that you’ve been carrying around with your for the last five years? Chances are, THAT is your passion in life.

I wanted to write and produce a record for 12 years before I figured out that I NEEDED to write this record otherwise I would never be satisfied with life.

Embrace that passion, fall in love with it and let it take you away! Your life will become perfect because of it.

Passions enrich Relationships

One thing that I found lacking in my life was my relationships. My father and I hadn’t had the best relationship in the last few years. I take most of the blame for I had made some poor decisions in my life.

My passion literally changed my life in a matter of days. I enjoyed waking up every morning because I knew that I could pursue my passion anew! Having this attitude helps you appreciate your life and loved ones more. I was able to express my love for my Father because I was at ease with my life.

At the same time, my father was happy just to see me happy. My passion in life has enriched my relationship with my father to the point that I now consider him my best friend.

The other great thing about having a passion in life is it inspires others. My father told me something a few months back that I will never forget. He told me that I had become the biggest inspiration in his life over the last year because I was living my life with passion. That met more to me than anything anyone has ever told me.

Have you tried to improve areas of your life with no success? Would you like a more healthy life that’s enriched with great relationships? Find your passion, and automatically all those negative habits in your life will correct themselves if they are in the way of your passion!

Passion is like Bathing – It isn’t permanent

Life is amazingly strange. You can find your passion in life and still struggle. If you’re not careful, your passion can slip away from you.

Once you discover your passion and cultivate it, you must do your best to never let it go.

Put all your eggs in one basket and guard that basket with your life!

Human beings are self doubting creatures by nature. Tiger Woods must pratice daily to eradicate that self doubt. So where does that leave the rest of us?

I have learned to surround myself with positive people who also live their life with passion. I read motivational books and listen to audio programs daily. And most importantly, when I am in doubt I ask my creator for guidance to get the answers I need.

Often times my creator will show me the answers iI need. When you are living a life harmonious with your passion, you are more aware of your connection with your Creator. That fact alone will enrich your life greater than anything in this material world.

FIND YOUR PASSION TODAY!

Dive head first into your passion this instance. You may not be here tomorrow, so go for it today. Take this gift of life and make the most of it.

The only way to do that is to find your passion in life.

All glories to You!

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Jason Fladlien is a 23 year old Hare Krishna devotee from Iowa City, Iowa. He creates upbeat yet wicked hip hop under the name Straiht Wikid Crew. Visit http://www.kaliyugademolition.com for more details.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>