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I am a Los Angeles-based twentysomething. I have a profession, and I have a secret life in music, and this blog isn't about any of that. I like Blogger because I can't read what you're thinking.

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- A Blog Supreme
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Monday, October 11   >>

IT'S A LITTLE BIT FUNNY

Jonsi's set at Coachella is the reason my current band exists. Everything about Jonsi's sound is the reason my band has its sound. Yes, we ripped it off, and then some. I don't care, that's just the way it works sometimes, and I can sleep well at night knowing I only stole a general aesthetic, as opposed to actual music. Anyway, the Monday following the festival, I wrote all these new songs, with chords I've never used, and progressions I once dared I'd never touch. It was a trip, sort of like being reborn musically. Jonsi's a brilliant dude, nowhere near close to being my favorite artist, and I think that there's something unattainably interesting in being so inspired by a guy who pales in comparison to my own golden list of favored artists.

I was at The Jon's (lead singer's) house. I looked at his bulletin board.
HUGO: You have Jonsi tickets for next Sunday? I'm going, too!

THE JON: You are!?

HUGO: YES!
And, in our minds, we high-fived. But we just smiled and went back to work.

I don't know why I'm telling you this, but it just felt right putting it out there.

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The hardest part about being in a band--and the thing 90% of upcoming bands are totally oblivious to--is making all your songs sound the same, yet also sound absolutely different from each other.

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Sadly, you won't find out who my band is through this blog. I can't risk associating my precious artistic child to my shitty blog. That'd be embarrassing! #seonightmares

It would! Dig harder, kids (even though you won't find anything now).

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Re: aforementioned pop gig that I did as a (paid) favor because of good song selection--Kind of hilarious. 12-piece pop group played last weekend in a club at Universal Citywalk (also known as LA's Taint of Cheap Thrills). Among the tightest groups I've ever played with. Impressive for just two scratchy rehearsals.

The setlist was redonkulous: EWF, Maxwell, Stevie, Aretha, and other jams that would get a wedding party really cracking. A few players I've played with before. One guy played with his shirt off. I wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"I worked hard on my abs! I'm not going to let them hide!"

Fag.

Anyway, it's always interesting playing songs everyone knows. It's almost too easy to get a crowd worked up. But it's also easy to fuck it up since everyone would notice. It also made me realize that I wouldn't mind being in a wedding band. Cushy weekend pay and open bar, all at the cost of some lost dignity and a few lost Saturday nights? I can handle that. One part of me says, "YEAH!" and the other part of me says, "Really, dude? Has it come to this? You asshole."

I agree with both parts of myself.

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I don't know how you hopeful-film directors do it. For music, you just need a few dedicated members and a couple grand to record some shit. To make films, you need entire crews to take on very specific creative responsibilities. Seems like 90% of getting your passion film project completed is finding enough people willing to sacrifice decent pay (if any) for YOUR vision. I'd probably go fucking insane, more so than I already do now.

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Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" starts in 4/4 and goes into 6/8 in the verses and choruses.

FFFFFFF...

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"HOW COME I DON'T GET THE DAY OFF?"

#whitepeopleproblems

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It's a Daft Punk day. And Chromeo day. And Calvin Harris day. Fuck it, today I will dance my way through the day. LOUD MUSIC, ENGAGE.

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This is why I loathe Pitchfork:

On Weezer's "Hurley" --

"You can't deny that Cuomo feels no shame and is making exactly the kind of music he wants, and there's ultimately something disarming about that."

I want Pitchfork to give me a list of artists who make music they don't want to make.

They're so fucking stupid it fucking makes me so fucking mad.

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I also want a list of people at Pitchfork who play an instrument. Any instrument at all.

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People who don't know how to talk about music are obsessed with opining on whatever culture surrounds the music, thinking that it adds any weight to said music's conversation, and that really annoys the fuck out of me. I can't bring myself to talk about the clothes, or people, or attitudes, or scenes around certain music because I really don't give two flaming fucks about it. That's the dead and honest truth, and explains why I purposely distance myself from a kind of "crowd." That's going mega-alt on you, fuckers.

It makes me kind of sick knowing that I will be playing a show with my original music in the very near future, and a sizeable chunk of the crowd will size-up me and my bandmates based on how we're dressed and how we handle ourselves offstage and what kind of drinks we're drinking right after. That's so infuriating. I'd rather you hate my music for it being shitty than hate my music because we're just a bunch of nerdy assholes who don't know how to or really care to go thrift shopping.