The ambient, dream-pop score of the 80’s set, White Bird in a Blizzard was created by Robin Guthrie, famously of the (ambient, dream-pop) band, the Cocteau Twins.  Even though I’m playing this chorus, delay and reverb soaked song on a nylon-string guitar, it still sounds […]

“Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” ― Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night At the age of 84, and still producing […]

“The business is on the up and up. But I’ve always said, have a plan and stick to it. Quit while you’re ahead. So, barring any screw-ups, I’m leaving it all behind.” – XXXX (Daniel Craig) Layer Cake One of my favorite movies is the super cool (and surprisingly entrepreneurial) Layer Cake. […]

What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians? A Drummer. What’s the last thing a drummer says in a band? “Hey guys, why don’t we try one of my songs?” Drummers in a nutshell If you have spent any amount of time […]

The guitar I’m using in this video is a 1970 Yamaha G 65-A. This instrument was given to me by a friend of mine — who owns one, and I thought I should have one too. He picked it up in a trade deal in […]

How to play Nightcrawler for classical guitar James Newton Howard’s Nightcrawler score has a bit of everything: gritty, synthesized, edgy, traditional, etc. Above all, the soundtrack sets a tone of unease. The main title track, Nightcrawler, is oddly melodic and tender, given the film’s subject […]

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson How to compete in a saturated market My friend Daniel, who’s an amazing artist and long time reader of Intellimusica, recently posted […]

(Note: this post is an entry to the method section of the blog where I muse on business and philosophy. I am not an expert on personal development, and I’m still a work in progress. However, I just like to write and think out-loud. Take […]

I generally feel that pop-alternative music is starting to sound the same. Popular music has cycled like this forever. What begins as bold, fresh music — eventually becomes unintentionally diluted with similar sounding artists. The only way for an artist to create signal through the […]

Both of my grandfathers passed away when I was young, so my defacto grandfather was actually my wife’s grandfather, who we called Pap. I got know this man very well, and I wrote an entire blog post about him when he passed away last summer. […]

First and foremost, Gustavo Santaolalla is a craftsman of music. Whether it’s Brokeback Mountain, The Last of Us, or The Book of Life — he perfectly adapts his music to every circumstance. I’ve been a fan for a long time. After his score for Babel, […]

“If you believe that you must keep your promises, over-deliver and treat every commitment as though it’s an opportunity for a transformation, the only way you can do this is to turn down most opportunities. No is the foundation that we can build our yes […]