Today my cousin brought over the board game “Settlers of Catan” and at the time of writing this article, we are on our third round. I had mistakenly put my settlements in dead-end spots and became utterly useless. Oh well, it was fun trying to build roads around people.
Well, I’ve been able to enjoy the good HK style cafes annd the peace and quiet here, as the shopping season had already wound down. Did I also mention the full sized HK style bakery buns they have here? Mmmm…..
Last Tuesday was the first time I met a MaryKay saleslady in the country, and I must say their consistency of training their salespeople is quite impressive. From our conversation there seems to be at least 50 Pink Cadillacs in China so if you see one, let me know! Well, not that I am a big follower of cosmetics…
So a quick review of the Shania Up! CD, I must say it’s been sometime since I’ve listened to something so mainstream. The first thing I notice is how polished everything is about this album. Shania does have a great voice and it really comes out sounding realistic and uncluttered. I really like the energy that’s been captured. My favourite song is the ballad “When You Kiss Me”, but not because it’s a sappy love song. I think what really makes this song is how the background vocals are brought into the mix leading into the chorus. It’s tight baby!
A couple of days ago I picked up a copy of Shania Twain’s Up! (The Red Album), and was able to listen to a quick snippet of a few tracks and can’t wait to really dig into it. Now my close friends are probably going to start wondering, “Ivan, when did you start listening to Shania, country, and pop divas?” Well, truthfully this is my first album of hers, but she is a Canadian! But the real reason why I picked it up was that Mutt Lange mixed this album and I’d really like to hear how the songs/parts/lyrics/piece are put together.
I’ve actually picked up quite a few albums recently out of my usual favorite styles, including Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, and Depeche Mode. All this to get an idea of how different genres of music are actually mixed.
I’ve been mixing a small project recently and it’s been super fun. I’ll definitely be lookin’ into more plug-ins than the Protools plug-ins that come by default.
