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That Eric Alper

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Astronaut Chris Hadfield on Success and the Meaning of Life

Mar 15, 2015

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sat down with Peter Mansbridge on CBC’s The National to discuss his experience aboard the International Space Station.

Two thoughts stand out – his words on success and his version of the meaning of life:

If you view crossing the finish line as the measure of your life, you’re setting yourself up for a personal disaster. … Commanding a spaceship or doing a spacewalk is a very rare, singular moment-in-time event in the continuum of life. You need to honor the highs and the peaks in the moments — you need to prepare your life for them — but recognize the fact that the preparation for those moments is your life and, in fact, that’s the richness of your life. … The challenge that we set for each other, and the way that we shape ourselves to rise to that challenge, is life.

I’ve had a tremendous privilege of perspective that almost nobody has had. When you talk about the meaning of life, we tend to think about it as life on Earth. To be away from the planet for a long time and to be able to see it constantly out the window allows you a reflection on it that is really hard to get just in regular day-to-day. So I think if there is any sort of meaning of life, it’s got to be very personal. How does the life that you lead affect your own conclusions about what’s important to you?

The Making Of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Mar 15, 2015

“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen is found on their 1975 album A Night at the Opera and every few minutes on the radio. The song has no chorus, instead consisting of several sections: a ballad segment ending with a guitar solo, an operatic passage, and a hard rock section. At the time, it was the most expensive single ever made and sold a gazillion copies since then.

Breaking Bad music supervisor on soundtracks, sync budgets

Mar 15, 2015

From Music Week:

Interviewed by Music Week editor Tim Ingham at AIM’s recent Sync Conference in London, music supervisor extraordinaire Thomas Golubic discusses his job at length – especially his tricky role as a middle-man between labels/publishers attempting to maximise music fees and TV studios trying to minimise music spend. Golubic managed the soundtracks for hit shows Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, The Killing and The Walking Dead – gives his thoughts on all aspects of the modern sync world.

Golubic explains that for Breaking Bad, overseen by Sony Pictures, he managed on a significantly smaller music budget than he did years before on Six Feet Under.

“These are big corporations,” he says. “Some of the companies you deal with are a bit more respectful of the role music has, some are less so. It was a bummer to us all the way through that Sony would not loosen the purse strings [for Breaking Bad]. Even when the show was successful, they still didn’t. But I have to recognise they’re a corporate culture and they operate within certain parameters. And to be honest, most studios are not filled with the bravest people. None of them are going to say: ‘It’s important for us to make music a bigger thing.’ They’re just going to say: ‘Here’s what you have, good luck.’”

“I think the honest truth of it is that music was in a way overvalued in the past,” he says. “If you look at it from a purely economic level, the amount of money music was costing to licence and the amount of extra revenue generated as a result was probably not commensurate. It was a set of rules essentially established by different publishers and labels saying: ‘This is how much it should be.’

“Now, the studios ultimately have the power, and they’re saying, screw that, you only have $20,000 to spend so… you’re going to have to shave everything down. We all have to readjust to the idea that the way this ecosystem is going to work has shifted – the Arctic just got colder.”

Led Zeppelin’s Isolated Vocal, Guitar, Drums and Bass Tracks For “Whole Lotta Love”

Mar 12, 2015

Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” is one of the greatest opening tracks on any album. This one, though, happened to be on one of the greatest rock albums in history – Led Zeppelin II. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold in April 1970, having sold one million copies. As with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was released in the United Kingdom, but singles were released in Germany (where it reached number one), the Netherlands (where it reached number four), Belgium and France.

In 2004, the song was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed “Whole Lotta Love” at number three in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. It was placed 11 on a similar list by Rolling Stone. In 2009 it was named the third greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. In 2014, listeners to BBC Radio 2 voted “Whole Lotta Love” as the greatest guitar riff of all time.

VOCAL only (Robert Plant):

GUITAR only (Jimmy Page)–check out what Page does starting at the 1:54 mark:

SLIDE GUITAR/THEREMIN/MISC. GUITAR overdubs only (Jimmy Page)

DRUMS (John Bonham) starts around :40 mark. Check out the funky words at 3:46…:

BASS (John Paul Jones):

MusiCounts celebrates JUNO Week with nearly $600,000 going to 69 schools nationwide via Band Aid Program

Mar 12, 2015

MusiCounts celebrated JUNO Week by announcing the 2014-2015 recipients of the Band Aid Program via a special presentation at Orchard Park Secondary School in Hamilton. This year, the charity has distributed $595,000 in musical instruments among 69 schools nationwide in support of their individual music programs. SiriusXM Canada announced a contribution of $100,000 to MusiCounts’ Band Aid Program, which brings their total support to date up to over $1.3 million.

“Providing funding for music education is not just about creating the next generation of JUNO Award winning artists, it’s about giving students the tools that will help turn them into creative, and critical thinkers that will achieve success later in life,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “We are tremendously thankful for all of our long-term key partners who make this possible, especially SiriusXM Canada who has been supporting MusiCounts over the past seven years.”

“SiriusXM Canada is pleased to contribute another $100,000 to the Band Aid Grant program through MusiCounts,” said Paul Cunningham, SVP, Sales and Marketing, SiriusXM Canada. “We’re so delighted to bring this news to Hamilton’s Orchard Park Secondary School and we’re looking forward to working with Allan, CARAS and MusiCounts for the remainder of the year to see the success of the program here and at schools across the country.”

As one of the 69 beneficiaries, Orchard Park Secondary School received $10,000 worth of new instruments. At the presentation, the instruments purchased were unveiled to the students by past JUNO Award winner and 2015 nominee Lights, following an acoustic performance of her hits “Running with the Boys,” “Up We Go” and a cover of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” to an excited auditorium. A dedicated supporter of MusiCounts, Lights recently selected the organization as her charity of choice for a campaign with Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. Yesterday, 20% of all yogurt sales from all Menchie’s across Canada were donated to MusiCounts.

“Congratulations on the new instruments, this is really amazing! Being here today brings back so many memories of high school,” says Lights. “One place I always felt at home growing up was in the music room. I was lucky because I had a teacher who really inspired me and made me realize how important it is to have music in your life. Music brings people together, it’s real life magic.”

Over 600 students were in attendance for MusiCounts’ Band Aid presentation today, along with music industry supporters, fellow partners and additional representatives from other Toronto-based schools receiving funding this year.

“Things go better with Coke” – Sixties Coca-Cola Ads

Mar 12, 2015

Infographic: 12 Data-Backed Tips to Increase Your Conversion Rate on Twitter

Mar 12, 2015

By now, most marketers know that Twitter isn’t just a great medium for creating and reinforcing your brand image — it’s also a tool for reaching fans of your business who can become leads (and, ultimately, sales).

But simply knowing that Twitter can make you money isn’t enough: Marketers need to be armed with the best way to execute on this knowledge. Right now, only 34% of marketers use Twitter to successfully generate leads. The problem isn’t understanding how to use Twitter — it’s understanding how to use Twitter to build a business.

So, to help you optimize your Twitter presence to generate leads and sales, HubSpot teamed up with Market Domination Media to create the infographic below. While every business should test what works best for them, you can use these statistics and tips to get started using Twitter..

Rush’s Neil Peart says what a lot of artists are thinking, but rarely talks about

Mar 12, 2015

Rush drummer Neil Peart says he’s in two minds about touring again as he doesn’t want to leave his family for an extended period of time. Nobody’s said it officially yet, but it’s a possibility this current tour might just be Rush’s last. His quote is one sentiment I’ve heard from many artists – both young and vets of the road – family will come first, last and always.

“It’s a true dilemma – there’s no right answer. People say to me, ‘Are you still excited when you go on tour?’ Should I be excited about leaving my family? No, and no one should. It’s as simple as that: if you put aside the fantasy of it, it is what it is and has to be done. And that’s fine and I pour my entire energy and enthusiasm into it, but of course, I’m of two minds about the whole idea.”

And he says the thought of leaving his five-year-old daughter Olivia leaves him with feelings of guilt.

He continues: “I’ve been doing this for 40 years – I know how to compartmentalise, and I can stand missing her, but I can’t stand her missing me and it’s painful and impossible to understand for her. How can a small child process that? And there’s the guilt that comes with that – you fell guilty about it, of course. I’m causing pain.”

Via Prog Magazine

‘Breaking Bad’ Creator: Don’t Throw Pizzas on Walter White’s Home

Mar 12, 2015

From ABC News:

Please, no more unwanted pizza deliveries to Walter White’s home.

That’s the message from “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan, who says some fans of the AMC drama have been throwing pizzas on the roof of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, residence that stood in for the fictional meth dealer’s home.

https://youtu.be/RkTDilC-860

For those of you who didn’t watch the show, there was a memorable scene in which Bryan Cranston’s Walter, frustrated with his wife, tossed a pizza into the air, and it landed on the roof of his house.

Speaking on the official podcast for the “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul,” Gilligan said the woman who owns the home in real life has mentioned the pizza-tossing incidents, and that some fans have been rude to her.

He warned, “There is nothing original or funny or cool about throwing a pizza on this lady’s roof. It’s just not funny, it’s been done before, you’re not the first.”