James Dooleys' Awesome Blog!

Running Man

2009-04-23T15:05:00.006-04:00

I have to reiterate just how awesome-cool "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock is.

It's Not The Liquor I Miss

2009-04-23T13:50:00.004-04:00

Just a quick post to tell you about a sweet little song and it's accompanying video by Luke Doucet. The song / video's called "It's Not The Liquor I Miss" and it's from the album "Broken (And Other Rogue States)". Enjoy!

Happy Saturday To You

2009-03-14T13:16:00.004-04:00

Right, a few more recommendations for you...

Field Music is a UK band I found out about because of a track they had on a promo CD that came with a copy of MOJO. The issue was celebrating the Beatles' White Album and featured a CD with covers of all the songs done by different artists. Well, these guys - Field Music - did a version of "Don't Pass Me By" and it was incredible! Leagues apart from the original and popping with little musical nods to the authors. They have an album called Tones Of Town.

The new U2 album - like it or lump it - is out now and I'd say it'll do just fine. A couple of stand out tracks are No Line On The Horizon and Magnificent.

I've gone way back and started listening to the soundtracks from Breakin' (aka Breakdance), Beat Street, and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo!! They could re-package those, release them today, and they'd sell like hot cakes.

The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album "It's Blitz" is out and is terrific. The opener Heads Will Roll is great and could have been from one of the three albums above! It's so 80's it's crazy. Then there's a touching and slightly sentimental track called Little Shadow that is in beautiful contrast to the other tracks.

And last but not least, keeping in the old school vein, I've been doing the running man everywhere I go because I'm rocking out to "It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock. Christ, that is an awesome beat. The original Woo! Yeah! sample is from a song by Lyn Collins called "Think (About It)".

Happy Saturday!

Deadmau5!

2009-03-04T11:42:00.005-05:00

Check out Deadmau5! Especially the track "Hey Baby". If you like a bit of techno, this stuff is quality.

If you like slightly different, quirky and ambient sounding music check out Laura Barrett and the track "Wood Between Worlds". It has a sound that wouldn't be inappropriate in a film score.

And last but definitely not least, I have a renewed appreciation for Aretha Franklin after listening to her 1968 album "Lady Soul". They didn't have Pro Tools or 5.1 surround back then but it beats the majority of todays modern recordings for it's raw soul and warm, analogue sound. Check out "Chain Of Fools' and "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman".

Enjoy!

Reverie Sound Revue

2009-02-04T15:15:00.002-05:00

Just a real quick update to let you know about a new band I recently discovered called Reverie Sound Revue. They have a great, sweet sound - real Saturday afternoon music - and they have a new album out soon.

I've been hearing lots of hype about two other Canadian bands: Stars and Broken Social Scene. Stars don't really do it for me, but BSS have some trippy, nice, groove type stuff. I'd say that if you like Radiohead, you'd like Broken Social Scene.

A funny thing about Broken Social Scene is the incestuous nature of swapping band members around. They sound like a modern day Steely Dan in the way that the same band on stage at any two gigs would consist of different line ups. The singers are interchangeable - sometimes Emily Haines (Metric), sometimes Feist and sometimes Amy Millan.

If you want to get an idea of what Reverie Sound Revue are like, listen to Say Hello To The A.M. and check out their new video for An Anniversary Away.

Timing

2009-01-08T18:09:00.010-05:00

After living in Dublin for ten years, I finally moved back to my hometown of Toronto because I missed being close to my family and plus Toronto's just a damn great city.

My timing couldn't have been better. I packed in a great job as Audio Services Manager at Inflight Dublin and prepared myself for the flood of Sound Engineering job offers I'd have when I got to Pearson International Airport. Turns out, there really is a recession - and it's not just hype! Yipeee!!

Thanks to some freelance post production work and some regular voicover gigs, the situation has a nice silver lining. Speaking of freelance, my cousin posted a short film on his site (Toldyouso Productions blog) and had this to say about my involvement...

"...in post, we had some white noise audio issues to sort out that a one-click fix in Soundtrack Pro amazingly helped out with, but my cousin James Dooley in Ireland deserves praise for coming to the rescue and giving the soundtrack some polish as Sound Editor..."

A quick music recommendation:

Santogold - Real name "Santi White", this girl has stirred up a lot of hype with her self-titled 2008 album. Her sound is a strange mix of modern with retro 80's; check out tracks You'll Find A Way, I'm A Lady and L.E.S. Atistes.

And finally there's this. I saw the picture below on my GPS while in the Beaches "neighbourhood". Who'd want to raise kids there??

more fail, owned and pwned pics and videos

Welcome

2009-01-07T22:48:00.012-05:00

Hello, and welcome to the site!

This is the place to be if you like music.

With no bias for genre - from Classical, Jazz and R&B to Electronic, Dance and Hip-Hop and everything in between - I'll be promoting all the good music I find (old and new) or listen to already, by notable artists that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do.

You'll also find info on sound recording & editing techniques, software and hardware; voiceover recording; and much general weirdness from the web to keep you entertained.

I recommend:

The Bird And The Bee - These guys have only been around a few years now and are getting a lot of much deserved praise for their original sound that combines pop, jazz, latin and dance influences, with a simultaneous blend of ultra-modern and retro styling. New album out late January 2009.
Rilo Kiley - Sweet voice and great melodic and catchy songs. Recent album "Under The Blacklight" is well worth your time. Elvis Costello has noted his admiration for their songwriting skills - high praise indeed!
Ween - Not for the faint of heart, Ween range in style from space rock to hardcore metal and slow jams. If you like every song by an artist to sound different and have lyrics that would make Howard Stern blush, then this is a band for you.
Supergrass - Good, strong, reliable, rock. Their last two albums "Road to Rouen" and "Diamond Hoo Ha" are great. Their eponymous 1999 album is a must have in anyone's music library.
Metric - A bit too edgy for everyone (a good thing in my opinion), but check out tracks Combat Baby, Dead Disco, Monster Hospital and Poster of a Girl. New album due out early 2009.
Ella Fitzgerald - Anything. Seriously, pretty much anything by this remarkable woman will give you shivers it's so good. To avoid quoting the usuals, check out Too Darn Hot, Ace In The Hole and From This Moment On.

So there's a start. I'll keep posting anything notable, new and old and perhaps feature one artist per posting when time permits.

Hope you like - leave feedback!