We at ATWN realize that we may have taken for granted that our readership were aware of the "freegan" movement. It was rude and it would seem that the only way to make it up to you is to a) let Carrie and Fred from Portlandia give you a taste of what the freegan movement is all about and b) give you some more free tunes. Let's get that first part out of the way:
Now, as to that "free" stuff we're always going on about around here. Today's free track comes from Vancouver's own Wake Owl. Now, once again, we find ourselves apologizing but this time it might not be our fault. As we know, international music rights are tricky. We found this track while checking out what iTunes was offering for free this week. Now, this song might be free in the United States (which is where I'm currently typing) and you might live in Canada. Maybe you live in the UK? Whatever. It doesn't matter. You might find that our little nugget of musical goodness isn't actually free in your country. If that's the case, find a friend in the US and have them grab it for you. You do have friends, right? Clicky clicky this link right here and get yourself some love.
Paul Adams spends his time in the wilds of Vermont fighting bears to protect his wife and two kids. He teaches English at a local high school, writes MG/YA stories, embarrasses his family on a regular basis, and lets his geek-flag fly proudly. He dreams of being a member of the Pixies.
We love free music here at ATWN. We're just a bunch of dumpster-diving internet freegans at heart. Lucky for you, we're not interested in serving you a cup of joe with a splash of expired half n' half and a four-day-old donut we found behind some mini-mart. We're music hounds and we want you to beef up your library with a few free tunes. Today's free track comes from Los Angeles' Local Natives. Their first album, Gorilla Manor, introduced listeners to a unique sound that relied heavily on the groups use of vocal harmonies and the wonderful ability to carry a groove. Imagine the offspring of a one-night-stand between Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend and you've probably got a pretty good understanding of what you're getting yourself into. The band released their second album, Hummingbird, on January 29th. Their first single, Breakers, has a beautiful rising build and is driven home by those pre-mentioned harmonies.
If you'd like to get your grubby little hands on this track for the exorbitant price of nothing, swing by the band's website (clicky right here people) and join their mailing list. Poof. You've got a new song.
Paul Adams spends his time in the wilds of Vermont fighting bears to protect his wife and two kids. He teaches English at a local high school, writes MG/YA stories, embarrasses his family on a regular basis, and lets his geek-flag fly proudly. He dreams of being a member of the Pixies.
In the writing/publishing world, like life in general, timing is everything. Unfortunately, in most instances, we don't have much control over the element of time. Let's take a look at a couple of the ways timing is important in the publishing world.
1. Timing in writing: Pacing is a major factor in any and all writing, whether fiction or nonfiction.In fiction though, the entire plot depends on the concept of time - to keep the reading suspenseful one needs to reveal information at a calculated time, to increase tension a writer needs to create conflict which many times includes issues with time, and the climax has to occur at a precise moment.
2. Timing in landing an agent/editor: Anyone who's written a novel or roughed it in the query trenches knows the saying, "It only takes one yes." And it does. But think about all those rejections we get. There are many times a writer gets a no not because of poor writing, but because of bad timing. Maybe that agent or editor all ready has something similar on their list, maybe the manuscript isn't marketable at that time, maybe...You get my point. It's timing.
3. Time you spend on craft: As writers we spend countless hours thinking, preparing (researching, making outlines, making playlists, whatever), writing, editing, revisions, learning, reading. And we all know, the more time we spend doing these things, the better writer we'll become.
4. Time you spend making connections: If you're a writer, you've heard of building a platform, making sure you have a web presence. So we put time into blogs, facebook pages, tweeting, going to writing conferences and time connecting to readers, in an effort to build relationships, to get our name out there. This is not just time consuming.
5. The time you spend dreaming: I really hope you all do this, whatever your goals are. Dreams can motivate you, propel you forward, give you hope. Dreams inspire. This is time well spent.
As writers (or anything we dedicate ourselves to), we often work against the clock. We cram writing in whenever we can, working it in between day jobs and life. We rush here and bust ass to get there, all in a race against time to accomplish EVERYTHING. And let's not forget about looming deadlines. There's never enough time.
Time, or the lack there of, can send us all in tailspin. It's get a pretty bad rap. So, today...let's turn it around. Let's celebrate time and how important it is to us on so many levels. Here's a fun playlist of tracks that have to do with time in some way or another. And some great music videos, too.
Time is On My Side - The Rolling Stones
Times Like These - Foo Fighters
Time to Pretend - MGMT
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day
Time - Hootie and The Blowfish
Good Time - Owl City & Carly Rae Jepson (Don't judge, my kids like it.)
Check out this acoustic version of It's Time by Imagine Dragons
And, as the lyrics by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol say,
"This is your life, this is your TIME."
These are words to remember.
Go do something you've always wanted to do.
Cast fear aside, seize the day,and make your dreams come true.
This is your life. This is your time!
Cheerleader out, yo!
If you haven't watched this video before, you really should indulge. It's funny.
(Why yes. I do have a not so secret obsession crush on Gary Lightbody.)
Have any tracks you recommend that involve the element of time?
Why do they rock your world?
