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ba-ka - LiveJournal.com
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On Shure SE310s
Having owned ear buds from Apple, Sony, Panasonic, and Shure (e2c, e3c, SE310), I can very safely say that the Shure SE310s are far, far away the BEST sounding ear buds I've ever owned. Hell, these things give some of the DJ/studio headphones I've used in the past a good run for their money. I'm tempted to get an adapter so I can plug these buds into my DJ mixer at home and see what they sound like at volume.
If you can stomach the cost (you can find them on ebay for upward of $100-$125 lower than the MSRP of $299), they're very much worth the cost of admission.
Now here's hoping this set lasts longer than my last two sets of Shures. E2Cs were accidentally run over by a chair at the office (don't ask). E3Cs were chewed to a million pieces by the puppy. These babies are staying inside their carrying case at all times when they're not in use. Hell, I'd put a lock on the carrying case if I could, just to be safe--I swear my pets have hidden opposable thumbs somewhere.
On the beach
Visited Santa Monica Pier over the weekend. Little kids all around me looked like they were having a blast. I didn't have the heart to tell them that life eventually becomes a big pain in the ass and that they should just stay five year olds forever. :P
On Kids
Ok, if I ever have kids, f*ck the traditional Asian kid thing and piano lessons. They’re going to be like these two absolute bad asses in the making. DJs Sara and Ryusei, aged 8 and 5 respectively. For the non DJs in the house, the techniques they’re showing here are quite advanced and used amazingly fluidly. Also the video definitely isn’t a fake–watching their record and fader hands, it’s absolutely in synch with the audio on the video.
Check em out, they have several videos up on youtube it seems.
Amazing. Thanks to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) unpossibly for the link.
On Illiteracy
I love that mainstream pop culture has reached the point where a drunken slur is acceptable as a song title.
Nelly - Wadsyaname?
Very nice.
On ennui
ISO 1600, 50mm, f/5.6, 3/5 sec
On Photos
ISO 1600, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/3 sec
Not as focused as it could be, but I was fiddling around with the camera last night in full manual mode, including focus. As it were, I was wracking my head to just not end up with a completely black frame as there wasn't a whole lot of light in the room. Compensated by increasing the shutter time, but that made getting a clean shot kinda rough since I reallllly didn't want to go get a tripod (not to mention I'm not sure how one gets a tripod to stay stead on an IKEA couch)
That's the queen of the apartment by the way, Mocha. That cushion is her throne.
--
ISO 200, 38mm, f/5.0, 1/60 sec
And this is the new little ninja in the house--though he thinks he's a Longhorn apparently. This one's also full manual, but decided to use the flash this time rather than just using the ambient light. The pic comes out far less noisy since I was able to drastically reduce my ISO. Still need to develop the instincts of knowing what settings to adjust when.
On .... stuff
Flew out to Vegas this past weekend for a good friend's bachelor party. Bit tame using my own as a measuring stick, but given the bachelor, not too surprising. I had my bag pulled off the conveyor belt and searched at LAX though. I apparently committed a cardinal sin in packing a full tube of toothpaste (!) into my bag. Two generations ago this country was battling fascism on three continents. Fast forward 50 years and we quake in our boots at the thought of an Asian guy packing some toothpaste or hair gel into his bag. Awesome.
Vegas itself was fun though super hot (average was highs at about 110). As I really don't gamble, I mostly occupied myself with browsing at shops, eating fine food, and attempted to catch Blue Man Group and Beatle's LOVE, but had difficulty securing tickets at the last minute for both. Tao @ the Venetian has some amazing appetizers (loved the kobe beef sashimi). Saw Tim Duncan at a steakhouse on Saturday night.
Flew back...and had my bag pulled *again*. This time I knew I was well under TSA limits on the volumes of gels, liquids, creams, etc. that you were allowed to bring on board. My grave sin this time? I didn't pack my container of hair pomade into a quart sized bag along with my toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. I felt a little punchy so I started to give the lady a bit of lip.
"So all gels and creams have to be in a quart sized bag huh?"
"Yes sir"
"Can be a half pint sized bag instead? How bout just a simple sandwich sized bag"
"It must be a quart sized bag sir."
"So no larger or no smaller than a quart"
"Yes"
"So if we use gallon sized do the terrorists win?"
"..."
"What if I wanted to use metric sized bags? Do you think that plays into the terrorists hands or not?"
"..."
"Ok, well do the bags have to be clear?"
"yes sir"
"how about blue and clear? Or I think Glad makes pink and green bags now too"
"they just have to be clear sir"
"how about the seal? do the bags have to be sealable? and if so, should I bring bags with the yellow and blue makes green system or a simple zip pull? Or can the bag just be open"
"I'm not sure that that matters"
"Do you think I should only use freezer safe bags?"
"Sir, I think you need to move along now"
--
In other news, I turn the dirty thirty pretty soon. Decided to buy myself a nice gift to celebrate. I am now entering the world of Digital SLR photography and illustrating just how much of a noob that I am. I'll post some pics later.
Already starting to eye different lenses and I'm fairly sure I've got my first two pieces of glass picked out.
For the photog heads, and I know there's a few of you on here... I bought a Nikon D40x with the kit 18-55 lens. The next two purchases will be the Nikkor 55-200mm zoom and the Sigma 30m 1.4 prime. :)
On Meow Mix 2.0
dj bakasan - Meow Mix 2.0
(Embedded player below or follow the link above to download to your computer, ipod, etc)
I suck. I know. It’s been way over due for a new mix to get posted. Apologies. Between a day job, getting bronchitis, and having actual paid gigs (!), I just hadn’t gotten around to finding some free time to spend to throw down a mix for you all.
Anyhow, here’s a nice hour long mix to start to make up to everyone. Enjoy!
–
Musiq Soulchild - Buddy
Mario Winans - Don’t Want To Know
Nick Cannon - My Wife
Beyonce - Crazy In Love
Pras - Ghetto Superstar (X-Mix)
T Pan - I’m Sprung
Too $hort - Blow The Whistle
Jay-Z - I Just Wanna Love U (Remix Mafia Party Break)
Daddy Yankee - Impacto
DMX - Party Up
Cypress Hill - I Could Just Kill A Man
2Pac - All About You
DJ Felli Fell - Buck In Here
Tony Sunshine - Oh My God
Far-East Movement - Satisfaction
Down - Lean Like A Cholo
Ne-Yo - Because of You
Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (2nd Nature Remix)
T Pain vs Hall & Oats - 80’s Bartender (Victor Menegaux)
Indeep vs Earth Wind and Fire - A Brazillian DJ Saved Me (DJ 2nd Nature)
DJ Khaled - We Takin’ Over
Ying Yang Twins ft Wyclef Jean - Dangerous (Blackline Mix)
Modjo vs Justin Timberlake - I Love A Sexy Lady’s Back (Architect Davey B)
Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back
Rihanna - Please Don’t Stop the Music
Afro-Rican - Give It All You Got
2 Live Crew - Hoochie Mama
Ann Lee - Two Times
Human League - Fascination
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
On bakasan 2.0
For as long as I can remember, I've always been under weight. Any one who knows me though, knows that it's certainly not for lack of an appetite or not loving food. If you know me personally you know I eat and that I love food. *smirk* But one look at my family, on both maternal and paternal sides, shows one very quickly where I get my stature from.
I've never been a gym rat. Frankly, I didn't need to be in the sense that my weight was always under control. And while I enjoy playing sports, I never was so serious about it to feel the need to work out incessantly. I've never had body image issues with my slimmer build either. However, as I've gotten older I can tell that my years of relative neglect to my body has caught up with me. Where as I once could just lace up my shoes and run a few miles after weeks of not running, now I find myself winded after just a few dozen blocks. And I see myself staring at another reality of what I've inherited from my family's genetics aside from the slim build--a history of familial heart problems and strokes.
So I've recently turned over a new leaf.
My diet has never been horrible (relatively speaking) but it's always been far from good also. I'm changing that. I've become far more conscious lately of what I eat, not staring so much at calories or carbs (lucky me) but mostly at protein content, cholesterol, fat, etc. If I'm going to be watching what I ate, I decided I might as well start to become smarter about what and just as importantly, *how* I ate as well. My portions are becoming bigger, I'm supplementing w/ smart snacks throughout the day, adding vitamin and diet supplements into the mix as well. Hey, if I'm going to overhaul my diet, I might as well aim for some gradual but steady muscle weight gain as well, right?
On the exercise front, I'm adopting a new exercise regimen. Mondays, Wednesday, Friday I'm doing weight training (dumb bells at home on a simple incline/decline bench---I've toured around, and not fully satisfied with any of the gyms in the nearby area). Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm playing tennis for a couple of hours with co-workers. Where possible, I'm taking long walks rather than short drives.
All in all, I must say I'm feeling more alive, if not a bit sore on occasion. I think it's worth the effort in the long run. Check up on me in 6 months and we'll see how I'm still doing with it all. Those of you closer to me, please nag me and don't let me fall off the wagon--though I refuse to give up the *occasional* indulgence. I am after all, still a skinny foodie at heart. :)
Enjoy the new mix, I know it's been awhile. Work was hectic. I call it baka 2.0 for a reason. :)
Junior Mafia - Get Money
Lil Kim - Lighters Up
Ludacris - Runaway Love
Arrested Development - Everyday People
Busta Rhymes - Woo Hah!
Fugees - Take It Easy
Killer Mike - ADIDAS
Big Pun - Still Not A Player
Ne-Yo - Sexy Love
Janet Jackson - Enjoy
Method Man ft Mary J Blige - All I Need
Pharcyde - Runnin'
Shabba Ranks - Slow And Sexy
2 Pac ft Ashanti - Pac's Life
Beyonce ft Shakira - Beautiful Life
Maroon 5 vs Young Gunz - Can't Stop Nothing Lasts Forever
De La Soul - All Good
P Diddy ft Nicole Scherzinger - Come To Me
Jiggy - Stop 97
Big Tymers - Oh Yeah
Gwen Stefani - Now That You Got It
On Yelping
So, after much pressure from several of my co-workers and friends, I've finally started scritching yelping.
http://bakasan.yelp.com
Do you yelp? Add me! :)
On baka does bmore (preview)
dj bakasan - baka does b'more
Jay Dabhi - Bmore Nights
Bel Biv Devoe - Poison (Tittsworth Bmore Mix)
PM Dawn - Set Adrift On Memory’s Bliss (Titsworth Neutron Dance)
Beatles - Shhake It Up (Diplo Bmore Mix)
DJ Quixotic - Stand By Me (Nasty Bitch Remix)
Sean Kingston - Beautiful
–
-
I’ve been a big fan of the Bmore sound (aka Baltimore Club, Doo Doo beats) ever since I was first exposed to it maybe 3, 4 years ago by the fairly influential series of LPs put out by a DJ duo named Hollertronix. Anyhow, I got a bit curious and apparently the BMore sound is mostly attributed and traced back as an offshoot of the Miami Bass sound and quite heavily influenced by Luke Skyywalker (and hence why some call the genre “Doo Doo”, i.e. after the track “Doo Doo Brown” by said 2 Live Crew producer).
The sound has been gaining a lot of traction across the country lately, so I’ve started fiddling around w/ the idea of doing a longer set of just B’more tracks. Was just practicing around last night and threw together a few tracks completely off the cuff just to see what I might come up with. Going to go ahead and post this up for now as a bit of a teaser/preview of a longer mix when I have more time to sift through all my B’more records more carefully.
-
Spiffy, LJ lets me embed flash from podbean now!
On CAS
So The Cerritos All Stars picked up some of my mixes and are now adding them to the rotation at their online radio station. That's pretty exciting for me since CAS is one of the greater influences on my DJing from the past 3, 4 years or so.
They're actually based in Southern California, so one of these days I really should try to make my way to their studios and join them for one of their live broadcasts. Maybe they'll even let me throw down a live guest set. The hard part is finding time away from my job to actually get over there. 100 hour work weeks for the win.
http://www.cerritosallstars.com for the curious :) The DJs there are pretty mad skilled.
On baka means idiot
http://bakasan.podbean.com/2007/05/11/dj-bakasan-baka-means-idiot/
Dido - White Flag (Rock-It! Fuel Mix)
Jurassic 5 ft Dave Matthews Band - Work It Out
Headnodic ft Procussions - The Drive
All Natural - Writer's Block
Del Tha FUnkee Homosapien - Thank Youse
DJ Format - Now You
Jurassic 5 - Jurass Finish First
Ugly Duckling - Turn It Up
Young Black Teenagers - Tap The Bottle
112 - Peaches and Cream
Wreckx N Effect - Rump Shaker
JD ft Snoop - We Just Wanna Party Wit You
Musiq - Musiqforthenight
Lumidee ft Tony Sunshine - She's Like The Wind
Cassie - Long Way 2 Go
Mase - Feels So Good
Down - Leak Like A Cholo
Will Smith - Gettin Jiggy With It
Danity Kane - Touching My Body
Gwen Stefani - Holla Back Girl
Ne-Yo - Because of You (Kanye Remix)
Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder
Nelly Futardo - Say It Right
Beatles vs Missy Elliott - Obla Di Obla Da
Nirvana - Come As You Are
Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name
Kelly Clarkson vs Blur - Since Song #2 Been Gone (DJ Steve1der)
--
I should make it a policy to stop mixing when I'm dead tired. This mix was nearly 4 hours of sheer comedy gold. Feeling bad for cutting my mix short last time, I decided to throw down an hour long mix for ya'll. Too bad I didn't find out until the very end that I'd plugged my recording gear into the headphone jack of my laptop and not the microphone input. Strike 1. Correct the wire and determined, I decided to try again. An hour later, guess what, I'd managed to hit the wrong button on my recording software and I have a nice hour long file of dead silence. Strike 2. At this point it's 1:30 AM and I debate whether to give it another try. Figured what the hell... and the result is this mix... not quite an hour... was exhausted. Sue me. :P
So this mix is all about style and defining a signature sound as a DJ. I'm all over the map musically as a bit of an experiment. The mix runs from breakbeats to old school hip hop to mainstream R&B to rock to adult contemporary to funky jazz.
--
I'd gotten into a conversation with someone recently about what defined a DJ's "style". We went back and forth a bit on what constitutes style and what distinguishes one DJ from another (beside just sheer technical ability which is difficult for the laymen to measure anyhow). It basically boiled down to what they played, the way they mix from song to song, and the overall energy they have behind the decks.
At the very end of the conversation, my friend (lives and DJs in Washington DC) said I had a very "West Coast" sound. Probing what that meant, by his count the crux of the West Coast DJ sound was a set that pulls deep from the crates--nothing is really off limits. The mix goes from track to track very quickly, any given song is only playing for a bit more than a minute, probably not more than two. The technical skills are demonstrated throughout in each individual mix. And there's a healthy, healthy love for the use of old school hip hop side by side with newer material.
After hearing this, I guess it fits my overall "sound". As somewhat of a joke though, this mix is me trying to be as West Coast as possible. Whatever that means. :) It's got its rough patches since I was purposely trying to go all over the place genre wise , but ah well. (Jeremy, tell me if I slipped and got a little too East Coast).
--
By request I'm going to start making my posts in a slightly better bitrate than I'd been posting as.
On Chip Says STOP!
http://bakasan.podbean.com/2007/05/08/dj-bakasan-chip-says-stop/
Hahaha, since I’d been busy and neglected posting mixes for a couple weeks there, I had planned to make it up to you all by posting an extra long, hour long mix.. mid way through as I was about to go into a dance hall / reggae mini-set, my cat (Chip) managed to flip the switch to my powerstrip….and thus, ending the set early. ;)
Oh well, maybe next time. Enjoy!
–
Swizz Beats - It’s Me Snitches
Baby - What Happened To That Boy
2Pac - Pac’s Life
Far*East Movement - Boomshake
NORE vs Punjabi MC - Punjabi Mi Canto (DJ Starski)
Busta Rhymes - I Love My Bitch
Diddy ft Nicole Scherzinger - Come To Me
Bubba Sparxxx vs Paperboy - The Ditty Butt (DJ Spryte)
Paper Boy - Ditty
Diddy - Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down
Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours
Yo Yo ft Ice Cube - Bonnie & Clyde Theme
Next vs Color Me Badd - Color Me Too Close (Kevin Scott)
Souls of Mischief - 93 til Infinity
Biggie vs Amy Winehouse - Biggie Winehouse (DJ Riz)
Too $hort - Keep Bouncing
John Farruggio - Iko Iko Reggae
Beenie Man - King of the Dancehall
On Kickin' It Old School (Pt 1)
2Pac - Old School
Warren G - This DJ
Lighter Shade of Brown - Sunday Afternoon
Pharcyde - Runnin’
Nas - If I ruled the world
Notorious BIG - Hypnotize
50 Cent vs DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Candy Shop vs Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble
Public Enemy - Give It Up
NWA - Express Yourself
Mack 10 - Nothing But the Cavi’ Hit
Mista Grimm - Indo Smoke
Ice Cube - You Can Do It
LL Cool J - Pink Cookies In A Plastic Bag
http://bakasan.podbean.com/2007/05/01/dj-bakasan-kickin-it-old-school-pt-1/
http://bakasan.podbean.com/2007/04/14/dj-bakasan-hippos-baboons-oh-my/
Robin Thicke vs Notorious BIG - Lost Without U (DJ JD Remix)
Lil Rob - Summer Nights (Mad Method Mix)
Rihanna ft Jay Z - Umbrella
Fort Minor - Where’d You Go
Game ft Kanye West - Wouldn’t Get Far
Ne-Yo - Sexy Love
Dru Hill - How Deep Is Your Love
Gwen Stefani - Don’t Get It Twisted
Lloyd Banks ft Lil Wayne - You
Deep Side - Let’s Make Love
Akon ft Sean Paul - I Wanna Love You (Sean Paul Remix)
Cassie - Me & U
Red 1 - No Fuss No Fight
T-Pain - I’m Sprung
Rihanna ft Elephant Man - Pon De Replay
Wayne Wonder - Gonna Love Me
Various Artists - Keep Bouncin Party Break
On Confessions
It's been a little over two weeks since I started shifting the bulk of my online blogging over to a separate DJ blog. The goal was to have an area where I could achieve two things--post mixes I do regularly (thereby forcing me to practice and up my skills) and also to help break down what it is that the DJ does and to peel the curtains back a bit. From my perspective, the more an audience understands what it is I do, hopefully the more it is that they can appreciate a good DJ when they hear or experience one.
Looking at the map for the last two weeks though is actually a little bit surprising to me. Aside from posting about my mixes here and also sending an email out to some friends, I haven't really "advertised" the blog per se. People have just managed to stumble around into there and based on some of the feedback, IMs, e-mails that I've gotten it seems as though I am doing *something* right as people seem to be enjoying the flow of music. 150 some unique IP addresses, 5 continents, 11 countries.. not earth shattering numbers, but still kinda cool nonetheless.
As a DJ who frequently doesn't have the time or opportunity to play out as much as I'd like, it's very refreshing and uplifting to have an outlet and a venue of sorts to spin music knowing that there exists an audience out there listening to and enjoying what I and my friends are putting out. Combined with some conversations with other DJs recently, it's certainly sparking the desire within me to actively hunt for a regular residency out here in LA... perhaps with a little bit more confidence building playing to my ethereal audience I'll get the chops to really put myself out there and start trying to get into the graces of any promoter who'd be willing to give me a shot.
Anyhow, I hope those of you who've been listening are enjoying the tunes. There's certainly more to come. Please, please feel free to pass around the URL to anyone who might dig it. And if you haven't checked it out yet, do swing on by my second home on the internet. :)
DJ bakasan
http://bakasan.podbean.com
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