ronny.haryan.to

How are those three connected?

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Let’s join the bandwagon. Hey, it’s better than Friendster’s bulletin board.

Total volume of music on my computer

18 GB — 3,596 songs, 11 days, 3 hours and 6 minutes.

Last CD I bought

“Perjalanan Panjang” by Jikustik.

Song currently playing

“Trail Blazer” by Acoustic Alchemy.

Five songs I listen to a lot, or mean a lot to me

Now, this is a challenge. Pick five out of 3,596, yes! I’m going to make it more than five. Sue me.

These are the songs that mean a lot to me:

• “You Never Know” by Jim Brickman and Boney James
• “Above All” by Michael W. Smith
• “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for” by U2
• “Heaven” by Live
• “For the Rest of My Life” by Nelson Rangell
• “Tak Bisa ke Lain Hati” by KLa Project
• “It Never Entered My Mind” by Miles Davis
• “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” by Sting
• “You Don’t Love Me” by The Philosopher Kings
• “Romance d’Amour” (classical Spanish song), this is the first complete song that I could play a guitar with.

These are the songs that I play a lot lately:

• “This is Such A Pity” by Weezer
• “Feel Good, Inc.” by Gorillaz
• “Lonely No More” by Rob Thomas
• “Give a Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls (I like the original Supertramp version, too.)
• “Someday, Someday” by Thirsty Merc

Five people to whom I’m passing the baton

It wouldn’t be fun to pass this to only five people. So if you read this then you’re welcome to post your own. Make sure to trackback here. Have fun!

I’m a really big fan of Acoustic Alchemy, as well as a fan of smooth jazz in general (especially guitars and saxophones). I enjoy all of AA‘s uniquely distinct and beautiful songs. For those of you who don’t know Acoustic Alchemy, their signature is a dual guitar (steel and nylon) setup being played together dominantly in all of their songs. You will find me listening to AA‘s songs very often when I work or study. And even when I take breaks, I usually grab my guitar and play along with Greg (Carmichael) and friends, well… I play their songs and I play along really. I only wish I was half as good as them. Their music is like a relaxing magic to me, I never get bored of the songs and they seem to sound better the more I listen to them, and the best part is that I always feel recharged after listening. Even my dad, who is not really a jazz fan, likes Acoustic Alchemy’s songs.

The latest album from Acoustic Alchemy, “American/English”, was recently released on 29 March 2005. The band’s biography page on their website has some interesting insights about the latest as well as their prior albums, such as this below paragraph:

“Our last album (2003’s Radio Contact) was a bit of a step backwards,” says band manager Stewart Coxhead. “The Beautiful Game and AArt both took the music in very different directions than we had explored in the past, but for Radio Contact we stepped back a bit and did something more familiar. On American/English we realized that the music had to move forward, so the band took some chances and tried some new sounds and ideas.” However, rather than indulging in the piano, keyboard, and horn lines that played prominently in The Beautiful Game and AArt, American/English finds the band using those instruments as textural accompaniments, setting up dramatic surroundings for the dual nylon and steel string guitars that have defined Acoustic Alchemy since the band’s inception two decades ago.

Acoustic Alchemy was originally founded by Nick Webb and Simon Jones, both from England, in the 1980′s. Later on the formation became Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael, which was the formation that were popular and well-known by many people. They released their debut album “Red Dust & Spanish Lace” in 1987. From the beginning their signature has always been the two guitars, and their music is commonly classified as adult contemporary, employing a range of musical flavours from jazz, latin, soft pop and new age. Their 1990 album “Reference Point” was nominated for a Grammy award. Nick Webb passed away from battle with cancer in 1998. Greg Carmichael carried on with Acoustic Alchemy with new members as well as longtime supporting musicians.

(Compiled from Acoustic Alchemy’s website and All Music Guide.)