cities & water, with music .

A couple of things hit me today as I was working on some things. The first is a Youtube video that I had bookmarked long ago. It was back when I was looking for some serious trance music, and though the connotation of the phrase 'trance music' may yield something absolutely crazy and odd, (I present exhibit a, people dancing under the bridge...)

when instead it is something much more calming, albeit upbeat at the same time. It's hard to describe really. So instead, if you feel so inclined you can just listen to it instead. Trance is a lot like house. Maybe there's more soundscapes. Or pads in general. Who knows; a lot of electronic music has gray lines between genres. It all sort of mixes together in the end. Not to mention people have a tendency to make up their own genre all together. Don't you worry, inspired by dubstep, brostep, twostep, house, and others, pretty soon I'm gonna be making some wafflestep. I have yet to decide what that will be, besides electronic, of course. Anyways, Headstrong feat. Shelley Harland by Helpless and remixed by Aurosonic Progressive is below. Phew... that's a mouthful.

It was then that I realized several things. Firstly, time lapses are probably the coolest things ever. And to create one of so many varied places for a total of almost 5 minutes of time must have taken FOREVER. The fact that is it New York City is just icing on the cake... it's one of my my favorite places and never gets old. There is always something new and exciting to find there every time I go. And it's not just that; walking around there makes you feel like you are a part of something. Something that's way bigger than yourself. I don't know; it's special. I'm sure other cityfolk can relate. That particular video, though, captures the busy essence of everything going on in the city. The taxis and buses, the people walking, the boats going by, the water and the sky changing, and the lights blinking on and off as day turns to night.

It occurred to me that there are quite a few big cities built right on the water, as NYC is. There's something really awesome about being able to look across the water and find that all of a sudden waves turn to concrete and steel, and the high rises seem to emerge right up out of the water. If you walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC, from Manhattan to Brooklyn, you get some of the best views you could ever have of the city. The only place that might be better is from the ferry out to Liberty Island. Even cooler is the fact that sometimes buildings almost seem to become water themselves, as both the ripples of the water below and the dancing sunlight play off the completely glass surfaces, and you end up seeing reflections of the other buildings beside them. It's simply unbelievable. And so I think at this time I'll grace you with a few shots of my own, from the time I've spent in the city.

Taken from the West Side near the Financial District

Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan from the ferry to Liberty Island; Empire State Building on the far left.

And with that, I wonder if I'll ever find the guts to live somewhere where the ocean is not accessible. To have it at my fingertips has been a blessing all my life. And to hear of those who have never seen the shores of America; well, they just haven't lived yet. It's something else. (Don't even get me started on people who have never been to NYC, or those who have never set foot on a plane... insanity).

And on that note, there is one last final fun thought for today (final fun for... whoa alliteration). A friend sent me a link to a StumbleUpon page, which was pretty stinkin' awesome. If you've never been on StumbleUpon before.... well, let's just say it's a great way to waste time. However, if you feel like you'd like to blow some time, and feel like you're musically progressing in your life, then you should check this out. You can even record your little ditties and beats and such, and if you're interested in what I managed to create in however long I spent playing around with this, you can listen here.

On that note, (ooooh, so punny... not intended, actually) I'm gonna call it a night. Lots of media in this one! Pics, photos, songs... enjoy.