There have been a lot of rumours circulating the internet about possible new movies going to start going into production in the next few years, the likes of Aliens 5, Stargate and Skyline 2 to name a few. But the one I think everyone is dying to know about is the possibility of a new Matrix trilogy. Of course, these are rumours at the minute. Some have even gone as far to say that Lana and Andy Wachowski have already began the writing process, and that Warner Bros are aiming for a release date of 2017. 
Although Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were not as well received as the first instalment, there is no denying that the whole franchise was a massive success. Who could forget the memorable fight scene from the first movie, or the lobby fight scene were unbelievably no CGI was used at all! I’m sure it will have a massive budget and we could expect more groundbreaking action scenes, if the rumours are true that is. Fingers crossed. Here are some links to amazing facts on the first matrix trilogy. https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/wide-screen/five-things-might-not-know-matrix-trilogy-154234736.html So maybe a prequel to the Matrix? Or just rumours? We will have to wait and see! Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed my post please follow me.
Monthly Archives: June 2014
Iphone Screen Replacement
When I first got my iPhone 4s I was so happy, I actually had a friend phone me and say “welcome to the iphone fraternity!” I was spending hours on it downloading new apps and was amazed at everything it could do. Then that dreaded day came, I dropped it! The screen was cracked, but it still worked. I continued to use it for a while until one day the screen became a blank fuzziness.
I had phone insurance which covered this, but I had to pay an excess of £75. Then a work colleague told me he had a friend who would fix it for £50 and have it back to me the next day. I give it to him and he give me the address of his friends house to pick it up.
The next day I was anxious to get my treasured iphone back but before I left to get it, my girlfriend told me her iphone had suffered the same fate. Not having enough doe to get hers fixed as well I told her I’d ask the fella if he could sort hers next week. When I arrived I was amazed at my shinny new phone. I give him the money and asked if he could do another one next week to which he replied “mate, you could probably do it yourself. I taught myself and now I have 11 phones up there to fix for people.
I thought about what he said on my way home, could I do this? I researched iphone screen repair on youtube and prices for screens on ebay. Now I am not what you would call gifted at repairing things, but I’m nothing if not a trier. I purchased the screen and tools for £14.99 and they came in 2 days. I thought I would attempt this without her knowing, cause she would be sure I’d fail and tell me to give it to someone who knows what they’re doing. I had a laptop in the table, a couple of empty tablet strips to put the small screws in, which turned out to be a great idea, and my tools. I started nervously, pausing at every instruction, following it to the letter and being extremely careful and after an hour it was done!
I couldn’t believe it. I beamed as I give it back to my missus and told her I completed this extremely difficult task ( which it was not! ) by myself. She was as shocked as I was. I had an incredible sense of achievement and then it dawned on me. 11 phones at £50, screens £15, that’s a profit of £35. Multiplied by 11, that’s £385! And surely I would get faster the more I practised? I decided to put my name out there, just friends and family, and it wasn’t long before a few came in. I decided to garage £40, a £25 profit. Though I enjoyed doing this I could see myself going at it seriously and starting up a business, but I enjoyed it as a hobby, and there seemed to be more and more people cropping up offering a cheaper service, same day delivery etc so I left it alone.
But my friends were still amazed that I could do this, they seen it as an impossible task for a regular person. Had I have really tried, set up a website, advertise on the internet, I probably could have done well at it, but I just didn’t have the passion. Here is one of the many videos on youtube showing you how to do this. I am not encouraging anyone to stat taking their iPhones apart as this will void the warranty, this post is just to explain that you really can do anything you set your mind to. Ask me a few years ago could I fix a smashed phone I would have laughed and said yes, maybe after some sort of training school!
Thank you for reading.
Music Tech
Producing music has come a long way from being in the recording studio with a mixing board. There are so many ‘bedroom producers’ out there and creating great work using nothing else but their home computer or laptop. There are even apps that will let you create a masterpiece on your phone while your sitting in work!
The amount of software that’s available is incredible and can range in price anywhere from free to over £500. There’s software for beginners and more complex software for the experienced producer, either way it gives everyone a chance to create a sound of their own and share it through the many avenues the internet has to offer, youtube, soundcloud, reverb etc.
A lot of these company’s will usually allow you to test their software as a free 30 day trial, with limited sounds, loops, drum beats etc, and it lets you get a feel for what would be suited to you before you hand over your money! Check the company’s own website or places like download.com to find these. I personally found that magix music maker was extremely easy to use for beginning and when I got a better understanding of how it all worked I moved on to fruity loops studio, which had a lot more to it including a wider range of plugins and loops. This is also the preferred choice of software for Porter Robinson, and there’s a very good interview with him from Mix Mag below.
http://www.mixmag.net/words/interviews/qa/porter-robinson
I have added a link to the top 10 music production software below. As I’ve said give the free trials a go, play about with them and then make your decision. There are literally thousands of videos on youtube offering support and tutorials. You could become the next Calvin Harris!
http://beat-making-software-review.toptenreviews.com/mobile/
Thank you for reading. I am not an affiliate of any of these software company’s, these are just my views.
Kick
As you may know I am a lover of all music, and I especially love all the hard work and graft that musicians put in to getting their music out there. In the digital age we live in there are so many bands exhausting every avenue the internet has to offer to get their stuff heard, not to mention all the travelling and gigging on top of this. From my previous posts I mentioned a small playlist I have on my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/platinumunsigned of some fantastic artists and up there with the best of them I would have to say is Kick’s Sky And Sea.
Kick are a four piece band from North West London who formed in May 2012. Their track Sky And Sea has already received notable air play on Amazing Radio, as well as having well over 3000 views on youtube, which itself shows these guys…
View original post 178 more words
Bruce Springsteen
If you had asked me in my teens did I listen to Bruce Springsteen I probably wouldn’t even have knew who he was! It wasn’t until in was in my mid 20’s I discovered his music. I remember my girlfriend telling me how much her brother loved Bruce Springsteen, and I had a giggle cause he was a good few years younger than me. When I asked him about why he listened to music that I assumed was what your parents would listen to he just laughed at me and said “you just don’t know what good music is”
I enjoy listening to all types of music, so I decided to have a listen for myself. I got on to iTunes and pick a random assortment of around 20 songs and burnt them on to a cd and put it on in my car on the way to and from…
View original post 245 more words
My gaming
Although I started my gaming in the early 90’s, I have only recently got back into it in the last few years, due to having a young family I had to retire the ps3 for a while.
My earliest memories take me back to Alex The Kidd on the Sega Master System. Myself and a friend would come home from school and head straight up to the room and play till dinner time. Although I did get hours of enjoyment out of this, it wasn’t until the Christmas of 93 when I got the Sega Megadrive that I found my love for video games.
I can remember playing the first Sonic the Hedgehog anytime I was free. I remember running myself a bath the first time I used the cheat, up down left right A B C start, was so excited that a forgot about it and the bathroom was…
View original post 386 more words
Tech and music news
I have been recently trying to connect with the music community through twitter @platunsigned to try and help with promotion for all the great unsigned artists out there. I have compiled an unsigned playlist on my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/platinumunsigned These are great songs and I would love anyone involved in the music industry to have a listen.
There are so many promo company’s, digital labels, management company’s etc out there and I know what I do is small in comparison to these but I enjoy doing it and I know any artists I have been in contact with love that little extra bit of publicity for their music.
I have decided to branch out a bit in other aspects of life and write about other things I enjoy including tech, games, movies, and anything else I find interesting so please have a read at my blog, feel free to chat…
View original post 15 more words
Platinum unsigned playlist
My youtube channel, please check out the great artists on the unsigned playlist, and feel free to comment on my platinum favourites playlist. I will be updating these regularly and added some tech and game news.
Kick
As you may know I am a lover of all music, and I especially love all the hard work and graft that musicians put in to getting their music out there. In the digital age we live in there are so many bands exhausting every avenue the internet has to offer to get their stuff heard, not to mention all the travelling and gigging on top of this. From my previous posts I mentioned a small playlist I have on my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/platinumunsigned of some fantastic artists and up there with the best of them I would have to say is Kick’s Sky And Sea.
Kick are a four piece band from North West London who formed in May 2012. Their track Sky And Sea has already received notable air play on Amazing Radio, as well as having well over 3000 views on youtube, which itself shows these guys are already a well revived band.
For me personally, it is one of those songs I could just listen to over and over again. It is a perfectly structured indie rock track, the production is excellent and the lyrics filter through the instrumentals in a way that makes the song suit any mood, but don’t just take my word for it and have a listen yourself and watch their amazing video for the track;
Kick’s self titled EP is due out in June 2014 and I honestly can’t wait to have a listen. I find the best way to get a real feel for new artists is in my car, on my own on my commute to and from work when I have time to sit back and really take it in. I’m sure it won’t be long until ‘Kick’ is a household name and will be gracing the stages at all the major festivals.
Thanks for reading and I hope to share my views on other topics in the future, and thanks to the guys from Kick!
Bruce Springsteen
If you had asked me in my teens did I listen to Bruce Springsteen I probably wouldn’t even have knew who he was! It wasn’t until in was in my mid 20’s I discovered his music. I remember my girlfriend telling me how much her brother loved Bruce Springsteen, and I had a giggle cause he was a good few years younger than me. When I asked him about why he listened to music that I assumed was what your parents would listen to he just laughed at me and said “you just don’t know what good music is”
I enjoy listening to all types of music, so I decided to have a listen for myself. I got on to iTunes and pick a random assortment of around 20 songs and burnt them on to a cd and put it on in my car on the way to and from work. I was instantly hooked. I would listen to ‘my hometown’ on repeat, and the same with ‘born to run’ , ‘ the river’, Atlantic City, and ‘thunder road’
I then went on to buy his albums, it was great, it was like discovering a whole new form of music. I would tell my friends about what I was now listening to, who again would joke about listening to ‘older peoples music’ and again, just like my girlfriends brother did before, I would say “you just don’t know what good music is”
Then, in 2009, he went on to headline Glastonbury, proof that his music could reach out to any age. It was amazing watching him perform and since then he has made another great fantastic albums.
I would encourage anyone who isn’t familiar with all of his work to do what I did, take the time out and have a listen. There is loads of his music in youtube, and his live shows.
http://m.youtube.com/user/BruceSpringsteen
I have added a couple of links above to have a read or a listen. He has so many amazing songs but after some hard deliberating, here are my top 5
1; born to run
2; thunder road
3; my hometown
4; the wrestler
5; blood brothers
Thank you for taking the time to read my views on one of my favourite artists. Please fell free to leave a comment or share any of your stories with me.
Thanks.
Tech and Music Blog 