Audiosketching and Transvestite Tendencies

Hey everyone! I'm back, white, alive, and all those good things. In fact, I'm back, white, alive, and totally rocking out with this hoody, as of Saturday night at the mall.

This hoody is amazing, in my opinion. It represents who I am and what I stand for very simply and accurately. It's got many random colors on it, and they are neon - this fits in well with the tech / raver / alt look that I like to think that I accomodate, and it's by Volcom, so it represents the side of me that would rather be at the skatepark instead of ________ (where the blank represents what I am doing at the time, unless of course I am at the skatepark).

This hoody is also a girl's hoody.

...

Now, before everyone has an absolute riot and decides that I've gone ghey and that I'm a raging transvestite, let me explain myself. Take your sedatives, count to ten, and continue reading when you are ready.

I went to the mall in Traverse City on Saturday night with a group from my college with one intent - to get a new hoody. Since I skate and all (and since I am against most other mall stores, such as American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Aeropostale... but that's another rant for another day, and I fully intend to post my thoughts on the matter, so fear not), the natural place for me to go hoody shopping would be Pac-Sun.

Here's a tip, guys... never go shopping with a group of people who dress "normally" and have very strong personalities and opinions if you like to wear clothing that is "not normal." (The entire concept of "normal" is very subjective to the context in which it is applied. I don't want to venture into that rant... not tonight.)

I walked in to Pac-Sun, found the hoody rack in the guys' section, and started browsing. One hoody in particular screamed, "BUY ME PLZ!" It is the hoody pictured above - the one I now own.

I put it on and started grinning like an idiot as I posed in front of the full-sized wall mirror. Immediately, my shopping companions began to scold me vehemently. Apparently, my tastes in clothing weren't to their liking. After being hassled for a good five minutes, I left the hoody in the store and vowed to come back later on.

About an hour and fifteen minutes later, I made the trek back to Pac-Sun to purchase the garment for which my soul longed. I checked the hoody rack, where it should have been. Guess what? IT WAS NOT THERE. I was a Very Angry Person. I figured that I had missed out on the one piece of clothing in the entire mall for which I had actually made plans to exchange real money that I worked my rear off for last summer. I cornered an associate and, after describing the hoody, asked him if there were any more in the back. He directed me to the girls' hoody rack, where it proudly hung. I figured, "Oh, cool, this is a unisex design and they sold out in the guys' section. Whatev." I purchased it gleefully. Yes, it was an XL (in guys' clothing, I normally wear a M or L), and yes, it was skin-tight, but that was totally beside the point. I was in love, and my love was blinding me from the truth that I would discover later on that night.

I arrived home several hours later and fired up my laptop. I was going to blog about my hoody last night, so I went to Pac-Sun's website to get a link and a picture.

It wasn't in the guys' section.

There was no unisex category.

But, there it was, proudly in amongst the other girls' hoodies that Pac-Sun sells.

So yeah... if you want to get really really technical, I'm a transvestite now. It's not like I can return it - Traverse City is like, two hours away. But even if I could, I don't think I want to. I really like how it fits. It isn't really cut any differently than a guys' hoody, other than that it's a little tighter than your average guys' hoody. But I like the design and I like the coloring; it makes me look slimmer; and there's nothing overtly feminine (read: there's no pink, flowers, or anything of such nature) about the design. Besides, the current trend is for everything to be as close to the other gender as possible. I a) saw this hoody on the guys' rack first, and b) would never have guessed that it's a girls' hoody, so I'm considering myself free and clear of any charges of being ghey.

Whew. Now on to the audiosketching...

I've been producing music for a few years. I don't feel like I have a lot to show for my efforts, either. After a lot of thought and consideration, I have decided that this is because of my tendency to refuse to be a beginner at it anymore, even though I really don't have much idea of what I am doing. So to remedy this, I have decided to do something I call "audiosketching." All I plan to do / have done so far is open up a digital audio workstation (like Reason 4, FL Studio 8, or Ableton Live 7), hook up my MIDI keyboard, get the whole "I am being openminded and I am not going to decide what genre of music to produce before I even hit any keys" vibe going, and let myself fade out of reality and become one with whatever little tune is bouncing around my head.

I have several goals for my audiosketches. For your convenience, here's a list:

• To teach myself how to be a better synth programmer


• To get a sense of accomplishment


• To better acquaint myself with the tools I have available


• To try a lot of different styles so that I broaden my horizons more


• To play / produce what I feel and hear, not what I think I should be making

So far, so good. :D

Today's Audiosketch (Download)



^ Note: For some reason, Google Chrome doesn't like embedded files too well. If you want to listen without downloading, use a browser other than Chrome. *mutters something about a stupid beta*

Feedback and criticism is very appreciated for the audiosketch. Even if you don't know exactly what you are listening to, you can at least tell if you like it or not. :P

Just as a bit of a warning... today's audiosketch is a good example of the genre tech house. (It's also my first time successfully producing any! Yaay!) To some people, it's bleepy and boring and monotonous, but I personally love it to death. (Jay Tripwire and Shlomi Aber are my heroes and I love them very much.)I produced the tune in Reason 4, and I encoded it in .mp3 (and ran it through PSP VintageWarmer) in FL Studio 8.

Wow. I was supposed to be sleeping some two hours ago. 'Night, guys!

-K