I’m Moving (to a new URL)
Guys, I’ve beefed up my blog a lot in the past couple of months and I will continue doing so. Since my interests and (possibly) talent grew, it’s about the right time for my blog to grow too.
So, please comment on all your old favorite posts and see all new posts here at:
SaraKnee.com
Add it to your bookmarks, RSS reader, or anything else you have to do to remind youself to check out new and fabulous content. Also, fellow bloggers, add it to your blogroll and I’ll do the same.
As for you, WordPress blog, you’ve been swell!
LOVE,
Sara Knee
Filed under: music | Leave a Comment
Tags: new posts, new URL, saraknee.com, wordpress free
Dan Auerbach, Get it?
Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid (Nonesuch)
Andrew Dice Clay has a joke where he makes “Hour Back” the punchline and follows it with “get it?” So when I heard Dan Auerbach, I couldn’t help but recall that hilarious joke. With that said, let’s review his music.
Auerbach is half of the Black Keys and is a fantastic performer and songwriter. With a soulful voice, beautiful harmonies and a guitar that ranges from blues, to country and folk; Auerbach shows more versatility that only peaks through in the blues rock of The Black Keys.
The multiple genres Auerbach covers reminds me of the soundtrack of the Cohen Brothers’ film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. On “I Want Some More,” Auerbach adds more instrumentation and some guitar experimentation. It’s a more uptempo and fun track compared to the opening acoustic tune. “Heartbroken, In Disrepair” follows that trend. While the vocals styling is clearly emotional, they still remain a bit un-enthused, which makes you wonder and want more.
In today’s indie scene, blues rock that is either gimmicky or done right. Auerbach is recognized as an example of the latter. In Keep It Hid, it adds background noise and various other digital altered elements on a few tracks while staying traditional with just his vocals and guitar. “Whispered Words” is one of my favorite tracks, if not for the “cha-cha-cha” guitar work, because of the sensational lyrics.
He did not lose anything by going on his own. He is just branching into other genres. And he is doing it successfully.
Track Listing:
1. Trouble Weighs A Ton
2. I Want Some More
3. Heartbroken, in Disrepair
4. Because I Should
5. Whispered Words
6. Real Desire
7. When the Night Comes
8. Mean Monsoon
9. The Prowl
10. Keep It Hid
11. My Last Mistake
12. When I Left the Room
13. Street Walkin’
14. Goin’ Home
I should also say, I saw the Black Keys live less than 2 weeks ago. They were really fantastic, and without a doubt, I’d gladly see them again. Here is a snippet of their live performance.
Filed under: Album Reviews | 1 Comment
Tags: alt, black keys, blues rock, country, dan auerbach, guitar, solo project, track listing
Radio – Web 2.0wned
I am a DJ for my college radio station, WRHU, 88.7 FM. Clearly, I have a passion for music and communication. Last night, my co-host joined me for a one-night only reunion show (since he graduated last year and hasn’t come to visit). It’s been said that we have real chemistry on air and I knew the show was going to be great when our forces recombined. And, Oh GOODNESS, it was great. No only did we get callers, we got tweeted!
Before and during the show, I tweeted about the possibility of a great show and the in studio antics, such as sing-a-longs and the affects of awesome song. It worked. I have 12 (seriously, 12) new followers on twitter. Along with some contributions via twitter to Sean and my conversation, there were also trans-continental requests and participation! Besides that, it was just plan ol’ fun!
It just shows the power and connectedness of social media. With the help of web streaming the show (wrhu.org) and my excitement and passion for the show, I got interested parties to participate and to engage with me after the event was over. A quick public forum, such as Twitter, made a one-sided, old medium, such as radio, infused and fun for everyone!
I’ve used Twitter for years now, and I’ve always refrained from live tweeting and self promotion because it can be anoying. But last night, I utilitzed the tools in an appropriate way to create a dynamic web 2.0/FM program!
Filed under: music, Thoughts | 2 Comments
Tags: airwave, college radio, fun, new media, old media, radio, sean okane, twitter, wrhu
Do social media stats pay off?
I’ve been wondering about this a lot today.
What am I worth? Sure, if you were to sell my kidneys, that’s a pretty penny. In fact, I’m worth $2,033,200 dollars (according to here.)But, who cares about monetary value anymore? Let’s talk about pretend money. How can I figure out what I’m worth, or what people are worth in general?
I am all about social media. Duh. So in the way of social media, what makes me worth attention in a world where ideas are democratized, and my words are in the same unhyped place as someone with significance?
I have this awful/awesome tendency to quantify the unquantifiable. For example, I tried to graph out how close my boyfriend and I were over the years, to prove the trend that things will get better.
Let’s look at my numerical stats:
- 278 followers on Twitter
- 308 Channel views on YouTube
- 386 Friends on Facebook
- 103 RSS subscriptions (blogs I read)
- 94 connections on LinkedIn
- 3.8 GPA
- Creator and Contributor of BuyorDon’tBuy, a group blog.
- And this blog.
So? Does it even matter? Does this make me marketable? Do numbers, involvement of other people mean something? Now, it’s time for the exciting conclusion.
It depends. Some of those numbers are impressive compared to the less connected. They are unimpressive to heavy influencers. To me, eh, that makes sense for each of those locations. But would those numbers get me? Would I be invited to speak on panels? Write a blog post for a “real” blog? Write a book? Be considered an expert?
That’s the thing, advertisers/marketers/public relationists may think these numbers are worth a campaign. For what it’s worth, (ha) my numbers, your numbers, other people’s numbers can’t and don’t tell the whole story.
At least, it shows I am familiar with these spaces or at least dabble. It shows that I am interested in the spaces. And the words I write show that I am interested/interesting.
I don’t think, in most cases you can really just know who and what something is worth based on his/her/its web-reputation, or body mass. Although, I’ll continue trying to quantify my worth through numbers, any insights I learn will be worthless to many.
So I guess it ain’t all about the Benjamins, after all.
Image source: Polyfaze’s Flickr.
Filed under: Thoughts | 2 Comments
Tags: blog, give me a job, human, new monetary system, reputation economy, social media, worth
Valentine’s Day Mini Mixtape
Now, while I’ve spent most of my life denying that I actually liked Valentine’s Day. I can not deny it anymore. I like it. I want to be a part of it. The music, the colors, the sentiment… I want it all!
Here is a song that’s just lovely.
Favorite Lyrics:
You’re just my good for nothin’ .My sweet hunk o’ trash
Oh, no… With all your chicks… You try to make a flash
Now when you stay out very late, It sure makes me mad to wait how come, baby?
Cus, you come home too tired To raise just one eyelash
Filed under: music | Leave a Comment
Tags: my sweet hunk o trash, valentine
I’m a PR major. I learned to hate and love different aspects of the industry and well, I guess love won out. Although, there are the people who dream of party planning and publist-izing, I stay away from that and made my way into the digital world. Fine, whatever, here’s my point.
Why is everyone all over and upset with PR people. They have a job to do. That’s right, a job! What are a lot of reporters losing? That’s right, jobs! Now while, reporters have no problem getting on their twitters (as I learned from Valleywag) and complaining about how annoying it is for PR people to pitch to them. Talk about annoying. I get it, there is such a thing called a bad pitch. Pitches can be untargeted, mass produced, and at times, annoying. There is also an old way and a new way of doing things. The old way is quickly falling out of favor, and getting publicized.
Doing public relations well is a skill. PR people always had the rep of being annoying. I felt it was part of the relationship between reporters and PR-ers, similar to an old married couple. But now, I feel like the harsh words are part of a trend and the words are becoming more and more sincere. So what’s this new way? Digital? Now, hold up. Not everyone is on the Internet. Newspapers, magazines, outdoors still exists (even though that’s hard to believe). A hybrid model, in my opinion, works best. But I am completely digressing.
Twitter has been a tool for and against PR people. It’s the “the” thing. Reporters, 
clearly, are on it. Companies are on it, contacts are on it, bots and spammers are on it. It’s the cool place for any who have a use for it. It’s easy to do it wrong. It’s easy to complain about things on there.
My latest frustration comes from real world experience. I was sitting in my capstone class discussing what tools we should utlitize to promote awareness of our real-world client. The professor says that social media is hot right now. (Uh duh) That gets peopel talking. The professor says that the organization does not have a website. Immediately 2 reponses come out of from the crowd. First, “set up a blogspot blog!” “yeah, it’s free”, “yeah, it’s social media!”. Wow. Wow. Set up a real website, don’t waste your time or your status on a free, cheap looking blog! Another reponse that came at the mention of social media was “TWITTER!” another free tool that’s easy to use. Sure, that is true. It is social, it is free and it is easy. But, who would man this Twitter account? Who would read the twitter account and participate in the conversation space? Do we need to be in that space? No one, No one, No.
The education on these tools and what PR is in the digital space is lacking. It’s so frustrating for someone like me who lives on this space, not only to get a job, but to really be a part of a community. Not knowing and still promoting and using this tool contributes to the negative twitter feedback we get from potential clients and contacts.
The reputation of PR is changing. Is it getting more popular? Is there a misconception? The people on Twitter are PEOPLE. What is twitter‘s sentiment?
Image sources (respectively): Mallix Flickr, AnitaBruzzese Twitter, Sjcobrien’s Twitter, lhnatko’s Twitter
Filed under: Thoughts | 1 Comment
Tags: annoying, married couple, PR, reporters, reputatio, twitter, valleywag
You know it’s going to be an emotionally trying day when you wake up with a emotionally-trying song already implanted in your head.
That song is “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” by Belle and Sebastian off of the album If You Are Feeling Sinister.
I had to listen to it. I found it on Grooveshark and played it on repeat for the entire 20 minutes I set aside for getting ready for the day.
It could be that I’m suffering from the sniffles and a cold, extremely tired from enjoying 25 cent wings and $2 beers last night, or it’s a combo of those and waking up early.
What ever it is, the song of the day is that. Emo? Crazy? Cranky? Call me what you will, but sometimes a cliche song is just what the doctor ordered (that and probably some vitamin C).
Photo source: JustABigGeek’s Flickr
Filed under: music, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
Tags: belle and sebastian, case of the mondays, cold, get me away from here i'm dying
Calling a Box, Home
In a few short months from now, I’ll be graduating from school and getting my first apartment. Yes, I’ll clearly be making enemies with the neighbors while I blast music from my iPod dock as I move in. But what exactly will I be moving in?
Clearly, clothes and the essentials, but what else? What will make this box-sized apartment a home? I’m more than just a music junkie. I’m also a girl. And I like pretty, cool, interesting things. So here is the first in a series of many of things I wish I could have in my apartment, where ever and whenever that might be.
First:
A magnetic and round chalk board. Something so mundane but still interesting. A place to put my keys, and a place to leave notes for my roommate. Things like “I’m not coming home tonight, don’t be too worried”. source.
Life in this imaginary, dream apartment is gonna be great!
Filed under: Design, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
Tags: accessories, apartment, chalk board, key holder
I love Ratatat and I like Yacht remixes. So it is really no surprise when a short remix (loveeee short remixes) of these two powers came up that I dug it? (And dug it good).
In true fashion, I put the song on repeat for roughly two hours. Now, maybe that’s not your style, but at least check it out. The addition of lyrics also really adds to the song to make it something new but still very Ratatat like.
Link here: Mirando (Yacht Remix) – Ratatat
(Off of the Mirando 12″, XL Records)
Filed under: music | Leave a Comment
Tags: deep voice, Electro, groove, quick pick, ratatat, remix, xl, yacht
I Won’t Lie To You
This comes from a dear friend and co-writer of http://buyordontbuy.com. This is from a very happy-go-lucky sounding band by the name of Let’s Wrestle. The song is “I Won’t Lie To You”.
The video, as you can see above, is fun, quirky and youthful. I miss the days of when I could go to basement shows and church shows get up to the mic and sing with the band with about a dozen other people.
Filed under: music | Leave a Comment
Tags: England, fun. video, I Won't Lie To You, Let's Wrestle, youthful
Saratara Says... 