I've been programming non-stop for the last few weeks trying to complete a big project. Music helps me think while I'm trapped in front of a computer screen and scratching my brain for creative methods to make X append to Y in database Z. With the right tunes I can approach a programming zen where solutions and the methods to execute them flow as fast as I can type. It's sorta like seeing beyond the matrix, bending the spoon and dodging bullets. Only in my world the matrix is a shopping cart application, the spoon is my sanity and the bullets are my boss.
So the music plays on as my fingers endlessly engage the keyboard. Yet even with a library of 7000+ songs, my music was starting to get stale. Enter the free online music radio, Last.fm.
I have been asked the following by several people, "So Nick, you say your music is beats to ride a bike to. Well, you must ride your bike to some kind of soundtrack too, what is it?"
I have two very important playlists on my iPod, "Intervals" and "Time Trial." Each are used to extract extra effort and adrenaline into my workouts. This is the music that inspires the final sprint, that last 100 feet in the climb and that final rep buried in my legs. The following list is a few random songs from my playlists, links to samples are supplied via Windows Media when available.
Rouleur was featured in the January issue of Bicycling magazine, available now at all newsstands.
THE GIVEN: Trance, dance, mash and electronica groove you up or down as needed pre- or post-ride. THE DIFFERENCE: It's composed by 53x11, cyclist/musician Nick Schaffner, who drives every song at the ideal pedal cadence of 90-120 beats per minute. $12 ($5, download); 53x11.com
Thanks Bicycling!
Several tracks from my new album, Rouleur were featured in the OLN (Outdoor Life Network) coverage of the Tour de Nez bike festival and stage race. The penultimate stage of the race is same exact route I rode to work and back every day for a summer in Tahoe.
If you missed the television broadcast, you can still watch the entire race online (for free) on Cycling.tv.
Thanks to Side Effects Productions for recognizing that the music on Rouleur is truly race ready.
My album, "Rouleur" has found its way onto iTune's music store. Which, is...kinda cool.
It gives anyone the ability to download any one of the ten eclectic tracks for .99, or the entire album for $9.90.
For some reason I am classified under Country. I can't imagine anyone square-dancing or getting drunk and beating their wife to my music, but you can decide for youself.
My album is now available for purchase at CD Baby, the 2nd largest retailer of independent music!
So now ya got three options, download it here for $5.00, buy it direct here for $10.00 or purchase it through a trusted on-line here merchant for $12.00. Now there is no reason or excuse to not own a copy of my album.
Unless that reason or excuse is that you are horrible bastard. Well then, fuck you too you horrible bastard.
Several weeks ago I designed an Anti-Anti-Piracy Seal for creators who aren't concerned with file sharing and federal level copyright infringement. While browsing the Creative Commons (a nonprofit organization that offers a flexible copyright for creative work) website, I found a resource of downloadable logos. One logo, the Share Music License, is in the same vein as my Anti-Anti-Piracy Seal and would look just as good on the back of an album.
For a paltry sum of $5.00, my latest album Rouleur can now be downloaded on-line.
It is available in 192kb MP3, Ogg Vorbis and iTunes AAC formats.
After pulling my hair out all afternoon trying to program a payment and access key system to integrate with Paypal, I am now proud to present the awesomeness that is Rouleur at only 50 cents per song.
Previously released as MP3s, the collected works of 53x11 (Nick Schaffner) have been remixed, remastered and pressed to compact disc. So you may have the tracks, but without this record you are missing the real music.
Romping hoedowns and brooding violence composed on the computer using samples and synthesizers.
Or to summarize the disc in a few words, "Beats to ride a bike with."
This ten track album is only available for purchase at 53x11.com.
In an effort to combat the new Anti-Piracy Seal that has been infecting recent album releases, I have created an alternative logo for artists who aren't concerned with file sharing and federal level copyright infringement.
Free the music, Boycott the Recording Industry Association of America, etc-etc.
The light of the moon guides you through cotton fields to the hand clapping. Around a fire they sit, reeking of the spirit. A stench so powerful you can drink the shine from the humid air. But who forgot the fiddle? Fuck it, may the hoedown begin.
- Shine on the Delta
This track is no longer available to be downloaded for free, it can now be found on the latest 53x11 album, Rouleur
Sometime in the near future, I will be releasing a CD with a high quality re-master and remix of most of the tracks on this website.
What do we get for ten dollars? Everyt'ing you want... Everything? Everyt'ing...
- Love You Long Time
This track is no longer available to be downloaded for free, it can now be found on the latest 53x11 album, Rouleur
For your listening pleasure. Break-beats meet country western - and not in that god-awful Kid Rock way. Guess what...I got a fever. And the only prescription, is more cowbell!
- Down Home Cowboy
This track is no longer available to be downloaded for free, it can now be found on the latest 53x11 album, Rouleur
I have compiled a list of 10 songs (not albums) that I have been listening to quite frequently in the last month.
...I've been making records since you were sucking on your mother's limp dick.
Well, at least since last night anyway. What follows are 3 recordings mixed on my laptop. The musical styles presented range from Jazz to Electric Ecletic-Hetic-What-The-Fucktic. Please be kind by not downloading them too many times.
- And Then IT Came
- Saxy
- The Aliens are Among Us
These tracks are no longer available to be downloaded for free, they can be found on the latest 53x11 album, Rouleur
Leave a comment or drop me a line and let me know what you think.
Your music sucks.
To make it seem like I post actual content on this site every couple of days, I have composed a list of Napster links featuring select songs from various artists. You probably have yet to hear a handful of these songs. It's all primo shit, so download it. I doubt you really have any thing better to do while you are surfing the web for Grandpa Porn.
Enjoy. Thank me with your death.
Have you ever-payed $30 for an album, well I have. If you answered yes, then, was it worth every penny?
If you like the acoustic stylings of Beck, then you must get this record. Kill your parents; hijack a plane to Japan, (its an import from Japan, so it might be hard to come by) pretend you are a retarded kid and ask for money to cure your brain cancer.
If none of those solutions pan-out, kidnap Beck and make him perform the album for you. Don't fear the jail time you might suffer, for that sweet-sweet music will be in your head to keep you company as you are being pounded in the ass. Rock on!
