Geeking out: Meta, Music and Manga

[jlh]

Meta: I'm a big fan of NPR's On the Media and this week they have a focus on audience responses, with pieces on citizen journalism, video blogger Ze Frank, Henry Jenkins on Snakes on a Plane and HP Fanfiction, and Brooke outing herself as a Trekker, including a discussion of Kirk/Spock by Jenkins and an interview with that woman who went to jury duty in her Federation uniform. Great stuff.

Talking about Snakes on a Plane, Jenkins posits that fan culture may be better at creating college interest and DVD sales than blockbuster openings. If he's right, and it sounds like it to me, this may be where Firefly went wrong. (That, and that the preview screenings were WAY too early for the buzz to be sustainable through the opening weekend; to many of us it seemed like our Browncoat friends had been talking about this movie for the better part of a year.) The movies that pushed up from indie to major market success started small and grew over time and through word of mouth, like Blair Witch Project. I think word of mouth can make you money, but it won't give you a monster opening weekend, mostly because no one has seen the damn movie yet! As the model hopefully moves from blockbuster to the long tail, perhaps we'll see fan groups able to move something from the tail to the middle of the head.

Music: Now that classes have started again, I'm back to sitting my ass down on my chair or couch with my cat in my lap reading, reading, reading. I've decided to reorganize my music, now that I'm playing so much of it off the computer over the Airport and through my stereo (one of my favorite features of the Airport!) and I can see that itunes really rewards long playlists. I'm taking the time now to go through all my music, slowly, as I'm reading, and organize it into chillout music for reading, jazz for writing, and upbeat music for walking around the city. I'm also going to reorganize the ipod to make it more dynamic. There will be a few key artists whose entire catalog will be on the ipod, along with some mixes, but I want to be able to have mostly new music on it to get into on the subway. Oh, and I'm also indulging in my geeky love for 6/8 songs and making a whole mix of THEM.

Manga: I just finished vol 14 of Fruits Basket and, um, wasn't something huge supposed to happen? Are the volumes off from the Japanese ones? My vol 14 ends with chapter 83.

Anyway, in honor of new Furuba, your Shigure/Hanajima drabble:

The card read, "You are strong, and transparent to those who choose to look, but your beautiful fragility is less obvious. Still, glass is too heavy and rigid to truly capture your shining soul. Also, I prefer boots. Good luck Cinderella.”

Hana pulled the thigh-high, platform-heeled, clear vinyl boots from the box. They must have come from a fetish costume shop and would look absurd with her wardrobe of long dark skirts. But with her silly costume? Perhaps she would wear them.

What she couldn’t understand was, why did the gift card have a picture of a black dog? Strange!

Comments

[longtimegone]

Meta - I feel that I should listen to more NPR. Anyway, I find the Snakes on a Plane thing interesting, because it like...seeped into everyone's, even non internet geeks', subconcious. I agree on Firefly. I was wondering (though it was exciting to watch everyone be excited about getting early screening tickets) how anyone who really cared was going to go see it on opening day. I mean, some people caught multiple screenings!

Music - I wish I were more organized with my music. *facedesk* I do have playlists, but they are, like, whatever I'm wanting in one place at that one time. So flighty. I really love your love affair with 6/8 songs.

Manga - I got nothing. :))

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Well, whatever you're wanting in one place at that time works! I just have so much goddamed music—almost 7000 items. Too much for my 20GB ipod, finally. So I need to get cleverer about putting things in the right place. Also, I walk all around the city and I really need a varied walking music mix for my ipod. Never mind a varied chill out music mix for reading so I'm not so tempted to buy every single chill complilation with my birthday money.

Man, loving a time signature is really geeky . . .

[longtimegone]

I have too much music for my nano. Like....way too much. But I don't have anywhere near 7000! That's impressive. :D But you with that city to wander in...

And yes, loving a time signature is incredibly geeky. :)) How did you discover your 6/8 love?

[jlh.livejournal.com]

When I was in junior high and high school and playing music I gratitated toward the 6/8. There are a lot of exercises and little woodwind pieces that are in 6/8. Then I started recognizing it in songs that I was hearing, and I loved them, too. I like the way it's circular, like a waltz, but faster. It's like twirling and skipping in a circle, or driving down a winding country road. (I feel like 4/4 and cut time are like squares, but not in a bad way, and swing or funky 4/4 is like a rhombus. Other time signatures such as 7/4 feel ancient to me, like someone should be doing a very old folk dance. 5/4 is so variable and relatively common that I haven't wrapped my mind around it yet.)

[aegeus.livejournal.com]

No, the site Val downloads off of has the wrong numbering for the volumes. What she wanted you to see actually happens in 17 or 18. I told her this at Otakon, she must just not have told you. I say you take her out back and flog her with pocky. ;)

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Hmm, but she was talking about this almost a year ago, after I'd finished watching the anime and was just making my way through the manga. Was 17 already out at that point? I know that something also just happened recently, which I'm thinking would have been in vol 19 or 20 given where they are in Japan?

[bhanesidhe.livejournal.com]

Must numbers always be my downfall?!
I thought they'd repaired it on the site but there is know way to know now with site being gone and stuff T_T

In that case I honestly don't know which volume it's in, although it's not the thing that happens in 18 and I'll try very hard to stop flailing before I hurt myself.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm up to chapter 83, and Rin just went into the hospital, and Kakeru told Yuki about Machi and their family history, and they cast Cinderella, and Yuki decided he wants Tohru to be his mom. So that's where I am, so I guess that the US is a lot further behind Japan than I'd thought! Alas!

[bhanesidhe.livejournal.com]

Ok, I just checked Wiki and it wasn't 14 but 17, while the one I'm up to now isn't 18 but 21, which is really fucking upsetting.

And DON'T GO NEAR WIKI as they're spoiler crazy, like right from line one! STUPID AMERICANS! *flails*


...yeah, that whole anti-flailing thing did not last long.

[aegeus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've double-checked it and everything. I think I got Val to agree with me also. Val for some reason thought 14 = big thing, 18 = bigger thing/END OF SERIES, when actually it's 17/18 = big thing, 22 = bigger thing/END OF SERIES.

And, I mean, I know what the 'big things' are, and I know the first one isn't until 17 or 18. Anyway, I could do more checking but am off internet for a week. :-/ Talk to you laters!

[bhanesidhe.livejournal.com]

Yes, you did convince me of this thing, but I was drunk and promptly forgot.

'Big Thing' and 'Bigger Thing', *snorts*, yeahh that pretty much sums it Fruits Basket.

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

This reminds me that I need to send you the new Scritti Politti album. I'll download Winzip right now (that's what caused the delay -- I have this new, naked system, grr)

I've just started organizing my iPod, actually, even though I've had it a year almost. It takes so long . . . organizing the ID tags. I have almost 4000 songs on iSlytherin, I'm just dreading the actual tagging work. However, I have also found that I have tons of repeats, so I'm clearing those out as I go. Perhaps that will knock it down to a mere 3000 -.-

Also, GIP! Just for you :D Do you like my new PR icon?

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I love the icon! It's so cool the way they have sort of made her look like the evil Queen with her poisoned apple.

What are you using for the ID tags? I went through and redid all the "genre" for all my music some weeks ago. Bow-Sarah likes to use the user ratings.

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

I thought it was so cute! I made it from a screenshot from the Bravo homepage.

I just make sure my ID tags all match for the basic file information. For Scritti Politti I chose "Britpop" as the genre. However, for, say, OLD Scritti Politti, I would label it "80s Britpop," just to differentiate. I myself don't use the user ratings much, because taste is just so subjective.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Well, Sarah goes in and puts her own user ratings in, and then does a random play of like, all songs with a 4 or higher, or whatever. So you're saying you use the genre to differentiate things. I'm using that though I have a few place where I'm a little stuck, yet I don't want like, 37 labels because then it isn't helpful any more.

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

I agree, actually. I don't use a ton of labels myself. Maybe ten? Or so.

[piperki.livejournal.com]

I am also much with the geeky love for 6/8 songs. You must name your favorites for me.