Daniel Barkowitz | September 24, 2008
"P-sets... er, I mean Presets"
So, sometimes life is serendipitous.
Ask anyone who knows me (well) and they will tell you that I am fan of the thumpa-thumpa. When I can, my office is filled with the kind of music that today you might call Electronica/Dance...
One of my most recent favorite bands has been Daft Punk. I play their music pretty constantly...
Well, a few months ago, one of our student employees in the office commented on the fact that he too liked Daft Punk, and we started to trade stories about our shared taste in music. I was commenting to him that if he liked Daft Punk, he should really check out some of their antecedents (bands like New Order, Kraftwork, and Depeche Mode) and he told me that if I liked Daft Punk, I should really check out some of the descendents (bands like Justice, 65daysofstatic, and the Presets).
When he suggested I check out the Presets, I looked at Youtube and found one of their recent videos and LOVED the music:
So, Monday night I was sitting at home looking through my iTunes account and saw that I had some money left over from a gift card, so I decided to buy the Presets two discs. WOW! Was I impressed. I loved the music, and did a bit more Googling to see what I could find out about them.
Well, it turns out they have a MySpace page, a website, and lots of videos on Youtube. They were even a #1 iTunes selling disc in the dance genre.
As I was searching I found out that they were playing at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston (around the corner from the MIT campus, near BU) on Tuesday night (last night) but that the show was sold out. I was disappointed, but wanted to let the band know that I appreciated what they were doing with their music -- that their music could bring two guys twenty years apart together in their musical passion.
So I wrote the band an email on Monday night, just thanking them for what they had done, and telling them the story of how Tristan introduced me to their music (Tristan is the student employee I mentioned above).
Well, much to my surprise, I received a wonderful note back from the management team for the band letting me know that they liked my email and that two tickets would be waiting at the door under my name. I called Tristan (waking him up at 10:15 or so yesterday) and told him we were going to see the Presets (performing with another band, Cut Copy).
And what a show it was. Through this post I have provided some snapshots I took during the show last night. While I certainly wasn't the oldest guy in the audience, I was probably among the top 10 or so by age, but I felt very much at home. The Presets gave an amazing performance, with a lightshow built into the stage and a very enthusiastic audience.
Thank you to the Presets for the gift of music (and the gift of being able to see them). I bought a poster and it is hanging in the Student Financial Aid area on the 3rd floor of building 11 if you want to see it.
Thanks also to the Presets to introducing me to the music of Cut Copy, another interesting group that will make my list of top bands.
Thanks to my babysitter who agreed last minute to stay late with the kids so I could see the show (my wife is out of town this week).
And, thanks to Tristan for introducing me to the Presets... Anytime you want to make a musical suggestion, I'll listen!
So to your P-set! What kind of music are you passionate about these days? What serves as the soundtrack to your life?
|
The author has filed this entry in the "Boston & Cambridge" section; check it out for further reading on this topic. |
Responses To This Entry:
(Please note that comments are closed after 30 days to reduce spam.)
That was an awesome show, now I'm going to be ruthless enough to email every band I know, tell them something similar to your email, and hope to get free tickets.
Posted by: Tristan on September 24, 2008 11:30 AM
READ IT. @MIT STUFF. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE TO POST IT, BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH FINANCIAL AID WEBSITE HERE IS WHAT SEE WHEN I VISIT THE FINANCIAL AID SITE: " Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /sfs/financial_aid/index.html on this server.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIT Web Server Apache/1.3.26 Mark/1.5 Server at web.mit.edu Port 80"
Posted by: Dimitris(class of 2015??) on September 24, 2008 12:44 PM
It's back up. Some problem internally.... Sorry about that!
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on September 24, 2008 01:46 PM
I'm surprised that someone monitors the Presets' email and responds so quickly (and generously!) Yeah for you!
Where's Snively? Is he missing in action? Gone from the front page - sophomore year must be busy for him!
SNIVELY!!!SNIVELY!!!Where are you????Return to the blogs!!!
Posted by: anon on September 24, 2008 02:45 PM
Today I learnt a new word: Thumpa-Thumpa. I believe that if you appreciate the sound of bass on each beat, which characterizes the thumpa-thumpa music, then you should definitely listen to select songs from the English group Muse, notably titles like New Born and Feeling Good.
However, I surmise that listening to music with a fixed beat has implications on the human brain. I have not yet found any in-depth study on fixed beats but I believe that such music influences people to 'platonify' their lives. The word in quotes has been coined by the epistemologist and philosopher, Nassim Taleb, in his book, The Black Swan. In essence, by platonifying one's thoughts and ideas, one thinks by means of discrete chunks of information. Thumpa-thumpa is probably a platonified type of music which tends to adapt brain pulses to discrete beats. I am a pianist, and in order to refine my music, I try to vary my beats from time to time. I have noticed that varied beats maintained my audience’s attention and concentration on prolonged music, whereas fixed beats tended to make it drowsy.
How far does platonified music influence our thoughts and creativity? I humbly do not have the answer to this question, but I am convinced such music does have an effect on the brain.
Have you witnessed any changes to your body recently?
Posted by: Shailen Sobhee on September 24, 2008 02:50 PM
I happen to think Daft Punk is the shit.
Nice to know there will be other people with good musical taste at MIT.
Also, I'll be sure to check out the Presets.
Posted by: Anonymous on September 24, 2008 04:06 PM
OMG it's happened. Snively is out of the front page. *starts panicking* =(
Posted by: Anonymous on September 24, 2008 06:03 PM
Two things: one, thanks for the musical advice. i downloaded a couple songs by the presets just now and theyre actually fairly decent. and two, if you like that style of Techno-Electronica-Rave type stuff, you should give KMFDM a listen. theyre a pretty good band, if you can get past the fact that half their songs are in german.
Posted by: Anonymous on September 24, 2008 06:14 PM
Thanks for that recommendation. I'll check them out. And to think, it was my post that got Snively off the front page...
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on September 24, 2008 06:20 PM
Daft Punk is MIT.
Posted by: Eric '12 on September 24, 2008 06:44 PM
Awesome. I've been listening to Daft Punk as of late, and I might have to check out this band.
Posted by: Timothy on September 24, 2008 10:20 PM
Soooo, I have an entry written, but it has the potential to make the UAAP complain at me. So, being the forward thinking individual I am, I actually e-mailed them the entry first to ask if I could post it.
See! I'm not just going crazy and posting without regards to others, I'm double checking!
Posted by: Snively on September 25, 2008 02:02 AM
Great article!!! you've totally turned me on to the Presets! what a cool looking venue.
As a fellow Daft Punk fan (fanatic?) I would definitely recommend Ratatat, who i believe opened for them during their live tour last year. Their album "Classics" is a GREAT one to play as background music. :)
and his suggestion of Justice was spot on too! †
Posted by: David on September 26, 2008 12:54 AM
Incubus, Incubus, the muse of my soul .
Posted by: musician on September 26, 2008 10:15 PM
brand new is awesome
though it's rock/alt rather than techno
Posted by: deng on September 28, 2008 07:05 PM
