I wrote most of this song about two years ago. I've always had dreams of the end of the world, I'd be walking on the street and all of the sudden the sky would turn dark and everybody would have a scared look on their faces. In some dreams, there are ships or UFOs flying by as everybody tries to find refuge. Sometimes my dreams are about the rapture. I wanted to write a song about that, and although the lyrics are few on this song, the music will hopefully give you the sense of the end of the world. However, the end of world can be a metaphor so I'll leave this song to your interpretation.
The song itself went though some changes. From the first time I wrote it, I've recorded different versions, but this version is the one I'm most happy with. You can hear the song by selecting it on my music player on Jesseacosta.com.
Recently I wrote a song called "El Aire", which you can hear on my music player here at Jesseacosta.com. Here's the English translation for the English speaking community.
After a 3 month break from producing music, I wrote and produced this song. It was inspired by the passing of a dear friend of mine and a great man; his name was Jerry Salinas. The lyrics were written in Spanish.
Yet another picture from the 4th of July weekend 2009. HDR generated from a single image in Photomatix and then Toned Mapped. Additional editing in Photoshop.
I was surprised when I saw this seagull and I just pointed and clicked the shutter button on my Canon 40D, amazingly enough, the camera focused very quick and at the right time--just see the seagull's form, can't get better than that.
What's the subject here: the ping pong ball, the tiki torch, the person, the Kanye-esque glasses, the reflection on the windows, or the girl's face watching from inside the window. You decide.
Recently I was hired to be the photographer for a corporate event. After taking more than 100 pictures of the people and these girls, the girls asked me if they could take a picture with me (well maybe it was the other way around).
Testing out my new logo. I'm fond of everything Japanese, the initials resemble Japanese writing. Anyway, I enjoyed working on this picture, and I'm learning a lot. I'm still a novice when it comes to photography, but I think I'm in the right path. Constructive criticism is always welcomed.
Here's a photo from 4 or 5 weeks ago. Shot in color, then converted to Black and White, then some other stuff was added. I'm quite proud of the way this photo came out.
"High up above, aliens hover, taking home movies for the folks back home, of all these weird creatures who lock up their spirits drill holes in themselves and live for their secrets." - Subterranean Homesick Alien : Radiohead
I wouldn't change my life for any other. I don't want to be Bill Gates, or Thom Yorke, or anybody else. However I would like to change some aspects of my life but I'm not sure if that's going to be for the better. For example, when everything is going good in my life, my creativity suffers. But the minute things start going bad, my creativity soars. I don't want to be that cliché of a person, you know; the miserable artist. But it just happens that it works that way for me. I've been alright for the last two weeks or so and I haven't been able to be creative like I want to, but now things are getting, well, not alright, and my creativity is just all over the place. I'm glad for that, but is it possible to have a normal life and be creative also? Because if it is, then I don't want to know about it.
P.S. So many things on that list, I miss adding stuff to it.
Not that anybody is reading these posts but in case someone is, let me tell you that I'll be concentrating on music for the next 3 weeks, so this will be my last post until then.
In the mean time, help yourself to the songs on my music player, and the podcasts on my other player down below.
So long!
UPDATE: 8/29 - I decided to concentrate on photography instead of music. I will continue updating the blog about the photos I'm taking. Cheers!
Every day I open my iGoogle and I see San Antonio's 5 day forecast. Usually on Monday and Tuesday it lists Friday or Saturday with a high of 95 degrees, but when it actually gets to those days, it's always 100 or more. I can't wait for the cooler weather to arrive. That's when I'm at my best; when it's cold and, do to the daylight savings time, dark by 6:30 PM.
Last November I posted a post on Ruta Maya, an excellent coffee shop in downtown San Antonio that I visited every week for about 6 weeks. Soon after I wrote that post, the place closed down. They used to be the perfect afternoons; hot coffee, excellent food, nice environment, good conversations, and cold--maybe not cold but cooler weather. I need to find another place like that.
The memories, the memories: they're always with me.
This is just a recap of my weekend for the people that are not following me on Facebook. On Friday I went to The Cove and had a bison burger...again. It was delicious. It was around 7:30 PM and it was HOT! I'm really getting annoyed by San Antonio's heat. If it keeps being this hot, I'll have no choice but to move somewhere else, maybe Oxford England....yeah right. After dinner, I went to the movies, but nothing of interest was showing at the time I got there, so I went back home. Later that night, my friend asked me to go with him to a "hole-in-the-wall" place where his cousin was playing an acoustic set. Turned out that the place was a bar and it was....well...a "hole-in-the-wall" bar. The last two songs from a two person band called Tell The Tale were pretty good. The rest of the bands not so good. My friend's cousin's music was eclectic, interesting stuff, maybe the kind of music that grows on you. After that, I went to my friends house because he forgot that he had picked me up and I didn't say anything. So then after a while he took me home. I went straight to bed after a very long day.
Next morning, I woke up, but was too tired, so I went back to sleep. Then woke up and went to the store to buy some music. I got Sigur Ros' Takk and their latest CD called Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (they're from Iceland).Their music is cool. I started to listen to their album Takk about two months ago, and I've grown to appreciate their music in a special way. A lot has happened to me in the last two months both good and bad, but now every time I hear that album, it will remind me of those times, which is not necessary a bad thing. Nothing much happened on Saturday.
Sunday, I woke up and debated whether to take a shower or not. I decided that due to the San Antonio heat, it would be a good idea to take one, so I did. I was on YouTube trying to find a tutorial on how to properly play Radiohead's House of Cards on the guitar, and I found a very good tutorial. There was just one small problem: I needed a capo. So I went and got one (and a pack of picks) and went through the tutorial and was able to play the song. I first heard this song in October of 2007 when In Rainbows, Radiohead 7th album, came out. I guess I just didn't get the song, or what, but I can say it was my least favorite song from that album. But this song grew on me, and then I finally got it and now it is one of my favorites. The song is sung from the point of view of a man. He's asking a woman to forget her house of cards, which would be another term for a dying relationship, and he'll do the same. Then he goes on to sing "denial, denial," maybe the woman doesn't want to acknowledge that she's living in a house of cards. Anyway, I got to learn the right way of playing the song and I spent the rest of the day practicing it. Maybe I'll make a video of me singing it...nah.
Right now, I'm getting ready to go to sleep after an interesting weekend. My daughter's first day of school is tomorrow...wait it is today, and there are all kinds of emotions going on within me. She's growing up and I'm in "denial, denial" waiting to see what's going to happen to my house of cards.
I wish I had a time-travel machine so I could go back, handle things different, and still have you as a friend. Then again, we're the result of all our decisions whether good or bad--we're accidents waiting to happen. Here's a song by Radiohead that makes me think about someone trying to help a friend, but they're too consumed in their past (or present) that they're not willing to listen. It could be that they're so used to, and to a certain point, comfortable with the way things are, that they miss out on the opportunities that life brings them.
In pitch dark I go walking in your landscape
Broken branches trip me as I speak
Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there
Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there
There's always a siren
Singing you to shipwreck
(Don't reach out, don't reach out
Don't reach out, don't reach out)
Steer away from these rocks
We'd be a walking disaster
(Don't reach out, don't reach out
Don't reach out, don't reach out)
Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there
(There's someone on your shoulder)
(There's someone on your shoulder)
Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there
(There's someone on your shoulder)
(There's someone on your shoulder)
The more you try to erase me The more, the more The more that I appear Oh the more, the more The more I try to erase you The more, the more The more that you appear
Do you know how hard it is to not be able to write what you truly want to write. I think that's the reason my posts haven't been long or with much substance. I'm merely just trying to fill up these posts with nonsense but in fact, I should be writing what I truly want to write...but I can't.
It's almost 7:00 PM. I want to get an early start on this post. I got home about an hour ago, and I have been trying to get some rest. All day I had an allergy headache, so imagine that, plus very little sleep I had last night, plus having a lot on my mind, plus....I don't want to say it.
Well, it's now 7:00 PM and I can't think of anything to say. Plus I'm getting really sleepy, and I need to rest. I leave you with part of the lyrics from Radiohead's song titled No Surprises.
A heart that's full up like a landfill
A job that slowly kills you
Bruises that won't heal
You look so tired, unhappy
Bring down the government
They don't, they don't speak for us
I'll take the quiet life
A handshake of carbon monoxide
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
About an hour into my work day my PC crashed and wasn't able to bring it back to normal. That incident kind of messed up my whole day to the point that I'm a little bit exhausted. Right now I'm listening to Sigur Rós and thinking what to write on this post. I wish I could write everything that I'm thinking, but now's not the time. Eventually I'll write everything I want to say. And just like that, I'm out of words.
Good night.
P.S. In case you're wondering the name of the song I'm listening to, it is "Festival" by Sigur Rós. A very sad and uplifting song.
Do to the nature of my full time job, I pay too much attention to details. However, when my creative side wants to do something, there's a constant struggle between my left and right sides of my brain. The right side wants to create, while the left wants to question everything. Why am I saying all this? Well, because I want to be able to write more posts on this blog, I want to write more music, and be more creative in all aspects of my life. It seems like my left side has a hold on me for now.
I don't know why I wrote this, I guess I want to start by writing little blurbs of information here so that eventually my left side will give up questioning everything and I can start being more creative.
On a side note, since I re-bought my copy of OK Computer on Sunday, I've been listening to it in my car, especially at night. It's amazing what music does to me.
Good night.
P.S. I originally wanted this post to be longer, but my left side of the brain is working overtime tonight.
Today I have been thinking of a Rich Mullins song that starts like this....
Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are...
And they say that one day Joshua
Made the sun stand still in the sky
But I can't even keep these thoughts of you from passing by
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are
We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are
And the Master said their faith was
Gonna make them mountains move
But me, I tremble like a hill on a fault line
Just at the thought of how I lost you
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are
I'm not sure why this song has been on my mind. I guess it's time for me to go to sleep. Good night.
I've been home-alone doing pretty much nothing except thinking. Something new is about to start, I hope for my sake, that it works this time. I'm still confused and consumed with questions. I wonder how long I'm going to feel like this.
For those who care to know about me, I haven't been recording much music. I haven't been taking many pictures. I haven't been writing any stories. I haven't been reading any books. I haven't been dreaming like I used to. I haven't been myself. The only thing I have been doing is not doing anything at all. This is not a cry for attention, but rather a way for me to deal with reality. It only took one wrong move to bring this wall I call my life down to the ground. Now is time to gather the unbroken pieces, and try to rebuild my life again.
The End is Near Words by Jesse Acosta
Hold my hand and don't look back
The machines have flown away
This is not what I had planned
I thought I had it right
It's too late here comes the cold
I'm sorry for your loss
Was that you or was that I
That said "There is no God"?
Here's another song collaboration between my ex-friend Javier Contreras and I. The lyrics and melody were written by my friend, and I did the production and the arrangement. This is a simple song following the rules of a Haiku; a 5-7-5 syllable poem. The cool thing about this song is that the music also follows the rules of the Haiku in measures. For the most part the music is all electronic. The main guitar part was played for one measure then sampled and repeated throughout the rest of the song. There are three main vocal tracks, two playing at the same time, each with different EQ settings, one concentrating on the mid frequencies, and one on the high frequencies. The third vocal track was put though an auto-tuner set to auto tune everything to one note. This made the track sound computerized. Then with automation, I set the auto tune note to different notes at different parts of the song to create a melody while mantaining the computerized sound. The background vocals were reversed.
The main idea was to have fun with the song, experiment with it, and keep it simple. Speaking about experimentation and fun, the clashing sound at the end of the song came by sampling an electric drill while engaging the locking mechanism, then it was pitched down by about 200%. There are more things in there that I won't go into, after all, I don't want to give my producing secrets away. Just kidding about that last part. Why is this song called Sayonara? Well, the idea was that the Hauku originated in Japan, so sayonara was the first thing that popped into my mind. Well, it's 2:10 am and I need to go to sleep. Hope you enjoy the song. I really enjoyed working on it.
I've written a few songs, but I've never written one in Spanish, which is my first language, until now. I present to you Human Logic, my first Spanish song. I'm happy to say that I played all instruments and sang all parts. Also, I produced and mixed the song. Here are the lyrics:
He escrito unas cuantas canciones mas nunca he escrito una cancion en español hasta ahora. Les presento "Human Logic", my primer cancion en español. Me da gusto decir que toqué todos los intrumentos y canté todas la partes. Tambien, produje y mezclé la cancion. Aquí esta la letra:
El hombre "tonto" cree en cosas que no se pueden probar
El hombre "sabio" cree que un mono es su papá
El rico es pobre y el pobre es rey en casa de su Dios
El hombre vivo muere mas el muerto en Cristo vivirá
Ahora es tiempo de vivir tu vida como quieras tú
As always you can listen to the song on the music player on the left of your screen. If you like it and want the MP3, please write a comment and I'll post the link to the song where you can download it.
Puedes escuchar la cancion en el reproductor de MP3 a la izquiera de esta pagina. Si te gusta y quieres el MP3, escribe un commentario y pondre el "link" donde podras descargar la cancion.
I don't know if it was just bad timing, but this birthday kind of sucked. And I'm talking about how I felt turning 33 and not about how other people celebrated my birthday. Every one that celebrated my birthday did a great job, especially my co-workers; who spent extra time photoshopping pictures of me and taped them almost everywhere around the office. I hope how I felt about my birthday this time around wasn't because of the extra number of years--I hope that the true cause was indeed bad timing. To top things off, I got strep throat ON MY BIRTHDAY! And the bad thing is, I have to wait 361 days to see if it was bad timing, or if birthdays are not fun after 32. This year 2009 is a very special one to me. First, I turned 33, the age believed to have been Jesus' age when he was crucified (and resurrected.) Second, it is the 20 anniversary since I left my home country of Mexico and came to live in the U.S. Uh..this is shaping to be a long topic and it's about 3:45 AM and I need to rest. We shall continue this topic later.
Happy Easter!
PS - Sorry for not updating this blog sooner, but I've been working on a lot of things.
A few months back, I asked a couple of my friends a question. Before I asked them the question, I tried to think of some of the most important things in their lives. Some of them were into watching Soccer, some were into girls, another bunch was into going out with friends, and let's get real, to some people there isn't anything more important than sex. So the question was--and we'll be using the one I ended up using the most--if you could only choose one thing to do the rest of your life, what would you choose: sex or music. So if you chose the first option, you will never hear or have anything to do with music. Everything related to music will just be silence. And if you chose music, well...you get the idea.
I wasn't surprised that most of the people responded by not choosing music. But I was surprised that had the question been asked to me, I would have chosen music over anything else. But I guess, people that were into Soccer or something else would have changed the question to say, let's say..."choose between sex or soccer." I found out that by the nature of my question (music vs something else), I had already revealed what music means to me: everything.
What intrigues me most about music, is that it can be interpreted in many ways, well, at least the best songs are. Also, depending on the artist, the music part of the songs sometimes drives the lyrics part of the song to a higher level. For example, the song I'm listening to right now, is called Airbag and it's from a band called Radiohead. The song was written from the point of view of a driver and from the point of view of an airbag. On this song, the music sounds mechanical, in some places it sounds broken. You can almost imagine airbags about to deploy, or a car crash waiting to happen. "In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe," the airbag declares. "In a fast German car I'm amazed that I survived--an airbag saved my life," confesses the driver. Though the true meaning of the song is debatable, my interpretation is that this song is about life, and how in one moment we can lose it. It's about appreciating life. But keep in mind that most songs have different layers, and so does this one I think. Another interpretation could be that we've given too much power to technology that we don't know what it means to live life without it, but then again, technology is there when we need it (airbag) so it's hard to go back to a period before technology.
Just like this song, there are many. And that's why I choose music over anything else. Next time you hear a song, try to find an interpretation. If you can't find one, then you're probably listening to bad music, which unfortunately there is a lot of it out there.
So I ask you this question, what is music to you? If you had to choose one thing to do the rest of your life, what would you choose: _________________ or music?
Hi, two things. First, I've fallen in love with music all over again. This time more as a listener than as a musician. And second, here's a song about growing up and loosing that sense of child-like wonder. The song is called Lily of the Valley and it's by Queen, a band who was ahead of their time, and in my opinion, had the best singer in the world for that style of music.
[image: The Office - Season 9 - "Finale" - Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nuñez,
Kate Flannery, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson and Craig
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