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Hello Everyone! Last fall I wrote and recorded a 100% original jingle to be a part of this year’s ‘Do the Jingle’ competition for Safe Auto. Normally I despise competitions based around the online, button mashing, popularity-and-not-talent-based voting system, however I decided to enter because I believed that my jingle was really good and deserved […]
In many ways, 2012 was the most productive year I’ve had so far and furthered my career goals as an artist in many ways: ALBUMS: 2012 saw the recording and release of new works including the wildly popular ’7 Days 2,’ which was recorded and released in a week, ‘the Storm,’ recorded during Hurricane Sandy, […]
Its a holiday miracle!
From 12:00pm EST 12/4/2012 – 12:00am EST 1/1/2013, my ENTIRE catalog is absolutely free for you to download at my website (michaelgraye.bandcamp.com)!!
Visit the site, select “Buy Now,” and input whatever amount you like (0.00$ – x.xx$), and blammo! You can download more than 60 tracks for even as little as a penny. Of course, if you’re feeling generous, any donation would be greatly appreciated!
Why am I giving away my music? As of September 2012, I began working on a brand new enterprise with a music industry indiser, who is helping me create a brand new sound and artist persona. I will be discontinuing the name Michael Graye starting January 1, 2013, at which time all of my artist sites will be taken down. Get these tracks while you can, and PLEASE SHARE WITH FRIENDS!! 
)
I will be setting up a kick starter campaign for costs associated with this “launch” so stay tuned for that as well.
michaelgraye.bandcamp.com
As always, thank you for your unwavering support.
Michael Graye
Photo : Charles Quiles (charlesquiles.com)
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Currently Available at michaelgraye.bandcamp.com :
All 3 7 DAYS albums:
From the very first experiment (including tracks, “the Crime” and “Moving On”) in which I attempted to write and record an album of 7 songs in a week, to the social experiment version “Wake” in which I asked Facebook friends for words (including tracks “Bliss,” and “Animate”) to the final installment, which was recorded during Hurricane Sandy (including tracks “Hurricane” and “Refugee”). Download a truly unique songwriting experience. 21 tracks total.
THE CONTROLLER:
My 3rd full-length electronic album, written as a song cycle about my experiences in New York. Features a collaboration with Corrine Byrne (www.corrinecbyrne.com) and Andrew Sheron (www.andrewsheron.com). The Controller is a dark and personal adventure, in which I must learn what controls me, and in turn, what I have control over. 12 tracks total.
5 EPs / SINGLES:
There Inside: Written and produced with Corrine Byrne, this single has been the most popular on the site! The single features an original song “Beautiful Friend” that was written for Corrine on her birthday. “There Inside” was even in the radio a few times in Massachusetts! 2 tracks.
Machine: Originally written to be a part of a re-release album, I ended up axing them from that album and releasing them separately. 3 tracks.
Control: Features 2 tracks cut from “The Controller.” 3 tracks.
Star of Wonder: A re-working of the classic Christmas Carol. Features Jack Byrne on Guitar and Corrine Byrne on vocals. Single.
To an Angel: Written for my late Grandmother Marianne. Features a string arrangement from Brian Andrews (brianandrewsmusic.com) and vocals from Corrine Byrne. 2 tracks.
2 FULL LENGTH ALBUMS:
NeuroGenic: My 2nd full length electronic release. 10 full tracks.
Mighty Chatter: My electronic debut. 12 tracks.
…of brainwashing. Watch this before you read the post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOnHrAGKwJ4&feature=player_embedded
“The top ten reasons not to vote for Obama,” provided by a child just out of kindergarten. He touts “political viewpoints” as if they’re his own, and brandishes a toy gun at the camera. Of course, when you give a child a toy and parade him around with memorized ideologies, you send mixed signals.
Some thoughts:
1. Children need to be loved and nurtured, not sent on misguided tirades against our current President. So you’re teaching him hatred and giving him a set of principles often associated with treasonous activity. Hitler did the same thing, and he didn’t need youtube.
Having a child sprout the political hatred of the parent to a mass audience should be illegal.
2. Children need well-balanced educations. This is the opposite. If the parents continue to spoon feed him their politics, he’s going to grow up unable form his own opinions.
3. The items on his list seemed to be pulled straight from a Mitt Romney ad. He also does not back up any of his accusations with facts. Where did his parents get their information? We’ll never know. Still, other evidence in the video lead me to believe that I wouldn’t trust their “facts” even if they could back them up. First of all, I could never side with someone that does this to their child, but who also has such a blatant disregard for the environment. Did you see the size of that truck? That should be illegal now too.
ASIDE: I just read a fascinating article on the math of global warming. Even if the numbers were skewed to look more intense, we have 200 years tops before our actions catch up to us in a big way and we no longer have a sustainable planet. *Shrug*
4. How about the scene where he waves around a toy gun? That was fun…I mean, toys are harmless, but when you have your son waving one around while shit-talking the president…excellent choice. Not to mention its only been 11 days since the tragedy in Aurora that left 12 people dead, 58 wounded, and has stirred the nation’s views on gun laws. Great choices and timing.
ASIDE: The sale of guns in Colorado surged after the rampage in the movie theater. People obviously thought that if they had brought their guns to the movies, they could’ve fought back. I’m pretty sure the rage-filled lunatic was wearing body armor. Oops. This is the opposite of the right thing to do. You don’t fight a random act of violence this way. Heck, you can do very little against crazies like this, who slip through a broken system and inflict their pain on others. I think we should work towards stronger gun laws, so that people wouldn’t feel like they needed that extra level of self-protection…but hey, I live in Harlem. I have no idea what it’s like to live in a neighborhood under the constant threat of violence.
In closing, this video disappoints me on so many levels. To quote one of the comments on the youtube page of the video, “This is why America is so sick.” The video was uploaded by the user “patriotupdatereport.” Hatred, Intolerance, Brainwashing, Using your child as a political puppet…what is patriotic about any of that?
The future is in the hands of children. They are born innocent and hate-free. Hate is then taught to them, as is intolerance, racism, and the ability to stare into a camera and lie. It’s funny in a way, because the people that uploaded the video probably thought it would win some people over to their side if they had a child do the “ranting.” Jokes on them because it doesn’t really matter if you vote for Obama or not.
What matters is that you teach your children to love others and to cherish the time they’ve been given. Otherwise, there will just be another generation that lives to put others down and waste the preciousness of life on hatred.
Are we really staging our political battles in fast food restaurants now? Apparently so, as former VP Candidate Sarah Palin, former Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, and others in various political office have decided to visit the Chicken Sandwich retailers en masse to publicly stage support for their franchise-based politics. The really despicable thing here isn’t what COO Dan Cathy said, it’s how we, as a collective society, responded.
How the “debate” started:
COO Dan Cathy stated that supporting marriage equality was akin to “shaking our fists at God” and I paraphrase here. I don’t think what he said is relevant anymore. There are thousands of businesses and businessman who use their profits to support their beliefs, on both sides of various debates. It is, unfortunately, part of our wonderfully capitalistic society. In short, it’s what it means to be American. Puffing our your chest and opening your wallet, logic and reason seem to take no prisoners here.
So a bigot said something against the LGBT community. In the ongoing fight for equality, it seems par for the course to lash out at anyone that still opposes equality, or uses their money to fight for it. These issues do matter, however in the melee between anti and pro, we lose sight of how best to react to and resolve conflict.
After Cathy’s remarks went viral, spurred by the drama-loving media, celebrities, cultural icons, and gay fans of CFA took to twitter to share their disgust with yet another loud-mouthed American businessman with a hateful viewpoint. Did anyone stop to data-check? How many people were actually there when Cathy said those things? Did anyone bother to consider that maybe he was misquoted? Nope. Instead, we were all too eager to fire back at him, crying that hate had no place in mass consumerism. Cathy has supported anti-gay measures in the past, so bring on the effigies, right?
Once many celebs touted their sudden disgust with CFA, it became a fad to do so, and naturally those who were still on CFA’s side, tweeted images of themselves buying sandwiches.
Everyone is to blame for this awful circus, and no one is looking at the big picture.
Some thoughts:
First, we over react way too often, especially to media-based information. We are also too quick to judge, on both sides. Why should anyone care what a greasy sandwich seller thinks anyway? Because he puts money into fighting against equality? He’s not the only one, he’s just the latest to come under fire.
Second, we rely too much on media-based information.This is a hard truth to face, and there is no easy solution to it. We are dependent on the media for our news, but we never scrutinize the facts they lay out for us. We also fan the flames they create, because we continue to buy newspapers, magazines, subscriptions…by doing this, we tell them that we support them no matter what, and they remain unchecked. What if Cathy was misquoted? He has a right to speak his mind, even if it’s horribly ignorant. We have the right to ignore it. We decide to boycott his restaurants, but this ends up hurting local economy. Politicians start blocking petitions to build new restaurants (Chicago was the first to do this), but this is not their place. It’s disgusting politics, and doesn’t solve anything.
Third, Chick-fil-a food is unhealthy and sub-par anyway, so shouldn’t the first argument have been: Why does America rely so heavily on fast food? We are an obese nation, obsessed with easy food, addicted to fat and salt, and now we wage our wars inside chain restaurants. It’s all utterly ridiculous.
We should be a nation that values actually healthy eating, not one that values fast food. Cathy has millions to support anti-gay politics because we collectively line his pockets by eating terribly unhealthy food. The hatred that has been brought out on both sides is unwarranted and does not solve anything. We need a new set of values all around, and instead of being focused on fast food bigotry, we should focus on healthy living that is affordable.
People are upset, because one more guy said it was filthy and sinful to be gay. He happens to own a chain of restaurants that fuel unhealthy lifestyles in America. It’s cyclical American nonsense, but hey it’ll be just another dead story in a week or two.
Final thought: Don’t give up Chick-Fil-A because of their politics. Give them up because honey, you just don’t need the calories.
Any of my friends could tell you that my favorite television show is NBC’s “30 Rock.” The adventures of Liz Lemon & Jack Donaghy have, for at least 4 people myself included, provided a level of escapism like no other comedy on the air. The show is, at its best, a multi-layered pop culture satire that weaves endearing characters and zany off-kilter comedy together in brilliant ways. A few weeks ago, I decided to pay tribute to the show by creating the following list.
This list was created with the help of several IMDB users as a conversation about some of our favorite quotes from the hit television series. I took all the quotes and re-appropriated them as “life lessons” that only “30 Rock” could provide.
“30 Rock,” stars Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Scott Adsit, and Judah Friedlander. All rights are reserved by NBC Universal.
Let us work on our night cheese, and enjoy:
100. Never go with a hippie to a second location
99. Put potato chips on a sandwich
98. Hugging is ethnic
97. Prostitutes work under bridges
96. Smelling like old gym bags and rotting vegetables will guarantee you a seat on the subway
95. Nothing is impossible, except for dinosaurs
94. Choosing is a sin
93. Manatee is the most dangerous game (to hunt)
92. It’s never too late for now
91. It’s still legal to drive when you’re business drunk
90. Sometimes fat suits smell like corn chips
89. Ronald Reagan liked jelly beans
88. The best time to celebrate a co-workers birthday if it falls on the weekend, is the Friday before at lunch
87. Some trees in New York are Jewish
86. Marky Mark hates unicorns
85. Medicine is not a science
84. Humans want food but do not need it
83. Meat keeps the spine straight
82. We have no way of knowing where the heart is. It’s different for every person
81. Bags have genitals
80. Slankets are good for suppressing farts
79. The best way to lose respect as an actor, is to do television
78. You can’t cook with Gatorade
77. Sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if the wrong thing is a whole lot easier. Die werewolf zombie.
76. Some people swear to Kabbalah monster.
75. Crystal meth is a perfectly valid solution to weight loss, but only if you don’t care about tooth retention.
74. Always wear a tuxedo after 6PM, unless you’re a farmer.
73. Don’t think too hard about cupcakes. Sara Lee, frozen, unbelievable.
72. You take a hot dog, stuff it with some jack cheese, fold it in a pizza: you’ve got cheesy blasters!
71. Cleveland is never going to get an IKEA.
70. There are 3 kinds of women in life: uggos, crazies, and bailers
69. If you need to get out of an awkward conversation: stop, drop, and roll
68. The best Indian food restaurant in Boston is called “O’Doyles”
67. Halliburton owns everything
66. Vodka is an excellent substitute for water in an air purifier
65. When a child doesn’t see his father enough, he starts to jump up and down, and then his mood level will drop until he pees himself.
64. Numbers, unlike children, do not lie
63. You should always have a patsy at work (“It was Jorgensen’s fault”)
62. It’s okay to stay at the buffet, even if you have pooped your pants
61. Men need alcohol
60. There ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party, coz a Liz Lemon party is mandatory
59. A McFlurry is the best dessert ever
58. The hill witch will eat your brains if you don’t eat your vegetables
57. You can get coffee in the basement of a K-Mart
56. Trix can cling to the fibers of sleeves
55. Angels can be high-fived, awesomely
54. If your husband says the name of his brother while you’re having sex, that’s a dealbreaker.
53. Flashing your boobs to a security guard will get you into the White House.
52. Squirrels are not afraid of people.
51. Coffee is the devil’s temperature.
50. Being touched by Oprah makes you sacred to women.
49. Gas leaks can cause hallucinations, revelation of secrets, telling of truths, flashbacks, headaches, nostalgia.
48. You must wear blue and yellow on Leap Day
47. Mickey Rourke is a sex maniac
46. Soda can lids are rodent bathrooms
45. Avante Domani means “Remember your Mother” in Spanish
44. Freaky Deakies need love too
43. Sometimes all you need is a 3rd heat
42. Sometimes you have to change things that are perfectly good just to make them your own
41. Relationships are like sharks: If you’re not left with several bite marks after intercourse then something’s wrong
40. This country has 600 million kidneys
39. There are countries that only rich people know about (Grenyarnia, Svenborgia)
38. There are no bad ideas in brainstorming
37. Do not use a simpleton as a therapist, lest you cause a chain reaction of mental anguish
36. A woman’s brain has fewer folds than a man’s
35. Evolution makes men promiscuous even when they’re eighty
34. Wearing Men’s watches is so over. The new thing is to get an Adam’s apple.
33. Money can’t buy happiness. It IS happiness.
32. Learn as little as you can. ‘Cause when you know things, people ask you to do things.
31. Do a sloppy job, and people will leave you alone.
30. Life is about taking control, not being afraid, and never looking back. Like if a Frankenstein is behind you at a sex party.
29. When you have sex in exchange for a business deal, it’s called “being a filthy prostitute”
28. Objects are useful, but you do not LOVE them
27. The only thing that will cure ice cream headaches is sex on a motorcycle
26. Toys come alive when your back is turned
25. Werewolf bar mitzvahs are spooky and scary
24. Kim Jong Il was the greatest waiter of all time
23. When there’s talking in the middle of a song, you know it’s important
22. Bill O’Reilly writes erotic novels
21. Siri is much more than an assistant on your iPhone…
20. Unfortunately there’s no field of medicine that deals with the brain
19. You really should live every week like it’s Shark Week
18. The Pope owns Long John Silvers
17. The marketing holy trinity is made up of: college students, the morbidly obese, and homosexuals
16. Catching a snowflake on your tongue is a signal in Chelsea
15. Heel-toe. Heel-toe.
14. Every time you meet a new person, you should figure out how to fight them
13. The church of Practicology was invented by the alien king living inside of Stan Lee
12. The Japanese Porn Star diet consists of eating only paper, but as much as you want
11. Women past the age of 35 are more likely to get mauled at the zoo than get married
10. You get spanked at Business School for doing a good job
09. Every body needs a little meth
08. Flying is as simple as pressing “take off,” then “auto pilot,” then “land.”
07. Sleeping on Planes exposes you to the possibility of being “incepted”
06. Only Terrorists say “Happy Holidays.”
05. Generation Y never votes. It interferes with talking about themselves all the time.
04. Chances are if you know someone that went to Harvard, they’re smart and superb at masturbation
03. Centipeding means having sex with a hundred women
02. Recent studies have shown that while pregnancy is disgusting, babies do not need tar or nicotine
01. Affirmative action was designed to keep women and minorities in competition with each other to distract us while white dudes inject AIDS into our chicken nuggets.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the list. You can catch 30 Rock on Thursday nights on NBC. The final season begins in October. Rock on!
In an age that brings us closer to the retirement of the “album” concept, it seems that many artists have been focusing on the honing of their “singles” rather than full-fledged albums. Avid music-worshippers will probably never let the “album” die, however mainstream and corporate-backed music will continue to see a drop off in quality […]
