MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 1:34:14 GMT -5
I don't think I've had a thread of this nature at this forum. So go ahead, ask me anything. Many of you I've known literally for over ten, maybe even 15 years. (Or Bill, since 1998) while some I've known for just a little while and others I don't know at all! If there's anything you've wanted to know about me, ask! No question is off limits - I'll just not answer if I choose not to (Note: idea for this edition stolen from Queenie Lou)
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Post by JessieLou on Nov 30, 2014 8:21:07 GMT -5
Favorite album you've done? Favorite song you've done? Favorite song ever? Why is Lady Gaga your queen now? #Justice4Chantal
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Post by Green Baron on Nov 30, 2014 9:51:26 GMT -5
Why is your name The Max? Are there not allowed to be any other Max's or is max short for maximum. Also, do you ever make any money from The Max Online, and have you ever gotten recognition from anyone well known? Get the f*ck outta here
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 19:26:53 GMT -5
I'm going to apologize now---my answers may be a bit long.... if you want a short version from now on, say so. Otherwise you get novels. Favorite album you've done? I assume you mean favourite album of my own that I've made. lmao. I'm going to go with the clichéd answer of: My most recent one. And my reason for saying that is because I genuinely feel like my most recent album is my absolute best because it's such an improvement on what I've done before. It's the first group of songs I made since I took a Recording Arts program in college so I was actually able to apply things I learned from professionals. On top of that, I actually put effort into following the laws of music as far as melodies are concerned. All of the songs can be written out into sheet music and are all in a specific key. It's such a basic concept but I had never done that before. lmao! The only thing I wish I could really improve upon is both my singing and how my vocals sound. I don't really know how to properly mix vocals and it's really the one weakness I have as a producer. Even if I had a good singer, I don't think I could make them sound as good as a professional producer could because I don't know how. As an aside, I do believe my singing has improved over the years though.... Favorite song you've done? This one is a tough one because I've made quite a few songs over the years that I'm quite proud of. Even today, I think This Life is a great song because it's so simple but is catchy and people actually liked it and listened to it because of that. I've been thinking about redoing it for the last 5 years or so just so I could fix it up and make it sound better with my newfound knowledge of song making. Then there are songs that are more simple in nature, like One True Thing - the only true love song I've written, or Professional Years. But I might have to say the answer to your question is Closet Letter. I wrote the song itself about 3 and a half years ago and sat on it for half a year before I recorded it the first time. Unfortunately, the PC I used to record it crashed so I wasn't able to save the base files that would have allowed me to keep working on it so eventually I re-recorded it again - it was the first song I recorded for this album, and probably the song I worked the most on of any I'd ever recorded. Off and on, I spent hour after hour on it and after about a year and some of tinkering with it, I was satisfied. If I could push any song of mine out there in some capacity right now, it would be that one. I don't think I could ever answer this one. Too private. jk. But I don't think I could because I can't pick just one. I'd thought about making a best-of-all-time chart but it would be impossible because of so many factors. Nostalgic value, emotional value, how good a song is, has it burned out on me, etc, etc, etc. Plus, my opinion of a song can literally change depending on my mood so if I were to pick a song right now, the answer would be different in an hour. Why is Lady Gaga your queen now? This isn't really an arbitrary choice. I was late on the Gaga train too tbh. I was still vaguely following the pop charts in 2009, the way I do now, and knew of Gaga through her #1s Just Dance, Poker Face and LoveGame, but nothing stood out to me about her. I considered her just another pop star. Even her song performances on my chart reflected that. Just Dance didn't make my Top 50, Poker Face peaked at #19 and LoveGame #16, I think. But then a guy I briefly dated back in 2009 was OBSESSED with her. Annoyingly so, tbh. We broke up after a short while but the last day I saw him, I went and bought Gaga's CD. It was more for me to listen to to remember that I had fun with him and enjoyed hanging out with him and stuff. But I only listened to it once or so and it sat for months. For some reason, during Paparazzi's chart run, something clicked with me. I was long familiar with it so it was so random. I didn't see the MTV VMA performance of it and I don't even remember watching the music video of it but that song jumped out at me at some point. It was cleverly written. For the first time, I realized that Gaga herself was doing what pop stars seemed to avoid doing by embracing the cheap, plasticity of fame and money, and doing it in a way that was like 'I'm not going to pretend these things don't matter to me.' She was being real about being fake, if that makes sense. And that was refreshing. Then came Bad Romance and I just became obsessed with that. The Telephone music video was an event. It all went from there. Gaga was probably the first celebrity who interested me as a person. I tend not to care about the personal lives of singers and celebrities but Gaga made her celebrity who she was. It might be all an act but she lived it. Every public appearance, everything she said or did was as Lady Gaga. It was so rock n roll. She was always "on" and she embraced it to such an extent, trying to imagine what she was like at home with the doors and windows locked for me was impossible. I appreciate that she hasn't changed that aspect of her too much, even if she's changed her messaging over the years. She's so passionate, so off-the-wall, I hope she doesn't succumb to public pressure and start being "normal". That would be the most disappointing thing she could do. I still love Chantal and want a new album from her - it's been over FIVE years - but her last album didn't click for me. And even listening to her old albums, I still love them but I think I've outgrown them and that type of music a bit too. But I'll always have a place for Chantal!
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 19:36:07 GMT -5
Why is your name The Max? It was a name people called me that wasn't intentional on my part. It's the strangest thing because back in the day (2000), I had a website called The Max Online, but I always went by Mike B. everywhere. But for some reason, people started calling me The Max. It was gradual and in time, I embraced it. I think it sounds awesome. Has a great ring to it! Are there not allowed to be any other Max's or is max short for maximum. They can if they want but it might get confusing, I think. And yes, actually, "max" was short for 'maximum' when I made my website. I wanted a catchy name for it because MSMO (my stars music online) didn't do it for me anymore lol. So I went with using the word "maximum" to represent my chart in the same way "supreme" is used for gasoline or whatever lol Also, do you ever make any money from The Max Online, and have you ever gotten recognition from anyone well known? No. I've thought about looking into it because my website counter states I get thousands of hits a month. This month is a new record high for me actually. 9500+ visitors and 28,500+ hits. But then I checked google analytics and the numbers were much lower. Something like 1000 hits a month. I'm not sure how much money that would make me but I don't think it would be much. $35 a year or something. I've gotten retweets and responses from artists whose albums I reviewed. The most fun ones are when artists voluntarily post links to my reviews on their own without me posting it on social media at all. Many artists do their own searches or have people on their teams searching the internet for reviews and stories about them so I'm sure my website pops up often when I review albums that aren't super huge. It's unlikely anyone from Taylor Swift's team has read my 1989 review, for example, but it's probable that Brandi Carlile's, or Whitehorse's, or some other lesser-known but still reputable act has.
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 19:37:50 GMT -5
Why is your name The Max? Are there not allowed to be any other Max's or is max short for maximum. Also, do you ever make any money from The Max Online, and have you ever gotten recognition from anyone well known? Get the F*ck outta here Now now. Behave. M4B is like the Switzerland or Finland of music message boards. It's peaceful and neutral on almost all fronts. Whereas Pulse is like the America. (ok, maybe that's ATRL?). Anyway, keep your Pulsisms off of M4B. And where's my question1?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2014 20:23:32 GMT -5
Will you draw my comics for me if I record your albums?
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 21:54:15 GMT -5
Don't mock me!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2014 21:57:23 GMT -5
Don't mock me! That's not what I meant!
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 22:06:55 GMT -5
Don't mock me! That's not what I meant! hahaha! I don't get it. I sometimes used to draw though. I've always wanted to have my own comic.
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 22:09:31 GMT -5
Now now. Behave. M4B is like the Switzerland or Finland of music message boards. It's peaceful and neutral on almost all fronts. Whereas Pulse is like the America. (ok, maybe that's ATRL?). Anyway, keep your Pulsisms off of M4B. And where's my question1? lol this is so true!
I would think that Pulse is kinda like Canada/U.K. as ATRL is more like the U.S. Simply because there seems to be a lot more people on ATRL and Pulse is probably the more advanced and the better forum.
Also btw, good job on all of those views! I'm sure that having the website for such a long time and promoting it on the music forums help, but 10,000 hits and 30,000 visitors a month is not easy to do.
Here are some stats on your website in case you are interested:
www.worthofweb.com/website-value/themaxonline.net
idk how accurate it is, but it's interesting to look at.
I've been on your site before and it's a nice website, and I enjoy reading the things that you write on there.
Wow that's great! Thanks! And what do you like reading on there? I never get any feedback on my site but it'd be nice.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2014 22:09:35 GMT -5
That's not what I meant! hahaha! I don't get it. I sometimes used to draw though. I've always wanted to have my own comic. I wasn't trying to say you weren't good at making albums, if that's what you're thinking. I'm saying I couldn't make an album to save my life.
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 22:10:24 GMT -5
hahaha! I don't get it. I sometimes used to draw though. I've always wanted to have my own comic. I wasn't trying to say you weren't good at making albums, if that's what you're thinking. I'm saying I couldn't make an album to save my life. ahaha! I know. I was kidding with my response. I just like an excuse to use that overly dramatic angry face in sarcastic circumstances.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2014 22:11:59 GMT -5
I wasn't trying to say you weren't good at making albums, if that's what you're thinking. I'm saying I couldn't make an album to save my life. ahaha! I know. I was kidding with my response. I just like an excuse to use that overly dramatic angry face in sarcastic circumstances. That emoticon was what scared the crap out of me and made me feel bad, lol.
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MIKEB
The King Of Rationality
Posts: 4,536
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Post by MIKEB on Nov 30, 2014 22:13:38 GMT -5
ahaha! I know. I was kidding with my response. I just like an excuse to use that overly dramatic angry face in sarcastic circumstances. That emoticon was what scared the crap out of me and made me feel bad, lol. hahaha! Well don't make fun of my ART again! jk. I'm sorry for making you feel bad.
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