Life, Liberty, and anything else (but sleep)

wine decanter

2007-06-27T00:47:56Z

Ain't this pretty?

Nambé Tilt Wine Decanter

Who REALLY controls America?

2006-12-15T01:34:10Z

"Who really controls America?" is a question I often ask myself, when I'm trying to decide whether to spend £1.20 on a coffee.

Brought to you by Gordon's Wine Bar in London, dubbed as the oldest wine bar in London.

Shakespeare wuz here

2006-12-15T01:29:57Z

The funniest thing is that my British friends may not find this sign the least bit funny...

... brought to you by the considerate staff of LOCAL HERO, a delightful coffee-shop in the Fulham section of London.

ABSS Five

2006-11-19T20:17:17Z



"ABSS Five" on Google Video
A tiny bit of Googling brought back to me a delightful short film I scored a few years ago called "RED WAGON" - a sort of surreal tale, directed by Alison Marek. Soundtrack features performances by Jeremie Michael on piano (then the music director of "The Fantasticks" in New York) and myself on viola. Enjoy!

Enter.. The SoupASonic!

2006-11-18T11:38:43Z

Dear LJ friends,

Please welcome thesoupasonic!

I've decided to start a more "professional" blog, one which will concentrate more heavily on music, gear, and soup. This blog (WhatMePractice) will continue to serve as a vehicle (ventricle) for more off-topic, embarassing things.

If you want to read the new blog, please add TheSoupASonic to your LJ friends.

See you out there!

-LJova

Pop, Music

2006-11-12T16:26:42Z

Several months ago, my dad wrote me a letter - but it wasn't a usual letter, it was a very nice + wordy letter. Rather than simply sending it to me, he decided to publish it in his new book, and refused to show the letter until he could deliver the whole book to me in person. (The book also has letters to my mom, Rachmaninoff, Thomas Mann, and others.) Finally - weeks after the book was released to the Russian masses, I got my copy. Here's my attempt to respond. (If you want to try an English translation, go right ahead.)

Папуля, спасибо большое за письмо! И спасибо за книжку!
Честно говоря, я слегка волновался, что-бы ты мне написал - ведь ты совсем не хотел это письмо мне показывать до того, как вышла книжка. Но письмо оказалось очень сладким и добрым - то-есть без замечаний по контрапункту и развитию темы -- письмо мне очень напоминает ваши великие тосты, которые вы с мамой произносите практически каждый вечер в Москве.

Ваше поколение пишет книги, а наше пишет блоги - большинство отечества пишет именно на этом сайте, livejournal.com, или "Жизненный Журнал", или просто ЖЖ. Надеюсь, что вскоре после этого письма, ты тоже заведешь здесь блог и будешь часто писать о всем, чем ты увлекаешься. У тебя здесь наверняка много поклонников, новых читателей...

По вашим тостам я очень часто скучаю - известно, что у нас в Америке, так не принято. Все сидят и кушают, иногда беседуют, иногда всликают "как вкусно!"...

Я дико рад за вашу жизнь в Москве, за то как молодо вы выглядите и себя ведете, я завидую вам в том, сколъко вы успеваете, при немыслимых Московских пробках, сложностях, при серой погоде и морозах. У вас может и нету такого "web following" как у меня, у вас нету "друзей" на MySpace, и это наверное к лучшему. У вас зато теплый дом, много фантастических друзей, книг, рояли, пластинки -- а у меня все в моем лаптопе (кроме друзей). Я всем в Америке рассказываю, что мой отец самый известный и лучший телеперсонаж на Русско–говорящей мировой общине, которому за 60.

У нас с тобой действительно много общего, и ты меня многому научил. Например, ты не любишь животных – у меня теперь на них аллергия; ты не любишь попсу – меня от нее тошнит. Ты очень любишь маму – и с этим я согласен.

Но может быть, что на этом наши вкусы слегка разветвляются. Ты не любишь гулять – а я это обожаю. Ты любишь Jay Leno – а я Jon Stewart...

Ты любишь писать крупную форму – оперы, симфонии, мюзиклы, очень часто на классические сюжеты (Орфей, Пенелопа, Король Лир, Мышеловка) –– мне в этот мир очень трудно войти. Я понимаю, что эти сюжеты вечные, но их язык мне сыроват. Мне нравится – но мне это пока далеко.

Ты любишь именно писать – ручкой –– я же обожаю писать наброски ручкой, и сразу–же их записывать на компъютере. Ты – композитор, а я – с детства – музыкальный хулиган. То есть –– музыку писать я умею, и не плохо – но мне это сравнительно скучно. Самое главное для меня это всех опровергать, спорить, добавлять того, чего в музыкальном слове не хватает. Я люблю импровизировать, я ненавижу изо дня в день играть одно и тоже, и не желаю этого моим исполнителям...

Я уже вижу на горизонте громадную тучу –– мои дети скорее всего будут писать мне не письма, не блоги, а какие–нибудь видео послания. И вместо музыкальных эскизов написанных ручкой, они будут делать музыкальные колажи из других сочинений, записей, чего–попало. Я им не завидую, и наверное вскоре мне самому придется где–то заказывать музыкальные тетрадки, ручки...

Ты действительно был –– и есть –– моим лучшим учителем. Ты мне показал как ты пишешь, и как–бы ты переделал мои произведения. Помню, как я сопротивлялся – а теперь я сам делаю те же замечания другим композиторам –– "а вот здесь вот, этот аккорд, почему бы вам здесь не сделать ..." Ты мне показал, что можно себя найти в любом жанре, надо лишь только услышать.. Ты еще меня многому научишь, хотя всего и это – как литературную классику – надо будет перевести на современное дыхание.

Кто знает, что там будет. Дай Бог что–нибудъ хорошое, вкусное, интересное.
Дай Бог, что мы все будем долго вместе, и не только по Skype.

За этот день, я успел по–обедать и написать тебе письмо; ты наверное уже дал 3 интервью по ТВ, сделал 50 звонков и помимо всего написал 2 песни... я спешу на ужин.

Давай писать друг другу по чаще, но не так –– с тостами –– а ближе к делу, к нашей семейной кухне. Береги маму, бабушку, смотри под ноги... до вечера!

обнимаю и целую,
Лева

P.S. Кстати, по делу – на твоем сайте нет ни одной моей фотографии!!

whatmepractice @ 2006-11-04T22:36:00

2006-11-05T00:36:17Z

tips for surviving myspace

2006-10-27T10:07:16Z

This morning, I've finally figured out something to cure one of my recent frustrations - accepting friend requests on MySpace.

Key frustrations:
-- each friend request is an imposition to check out someone else's page.
-- each band page has four songs, or about 15 minutes of music.
-- I get 10-15 of these requests a day.
-- if I skip a day, I get 20-30 requests.
-- if I go away for the weekend, you do the math.
but perhaps the biggest frustrations are:
-- I'd *really* like to listen to everything, and read about all of these wonderful people.
-- I know that once I hit "approve", chances are that I'll never hear this music again.

But life is short, and since there's much to do outside MySpace, here are some tips to surviving the onslaught. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

technical points:
-- I'm on a Mac, and find that the Camino browser works fastest for me.
-- set your browser to open links into tabs. have those links "load in background", if possible.

non-technical:
-- I always do something else - write emails, blog, eat breakfast, wash dishes (quietly), read, do crunches - while surfing MySpace. I have enough capacity to listen to music like this -- if it grabs me, I'll quit what i'm doing and listen attentively.
-- I try to give each band enough time to show me a verse and a chorus. If I like them, I'll stay for more. If I'm really in love, I'll listen to another song.
-- I only comment on bands I like a lot. Relentless commenting used to bring in a lot of add requests from bands and fans whose music I didn't really enjoy. By keeping it somewhat small, my friendbase and my musical tastebuds grow organically.

and finally:
I wrote to Beyonce via MySpace, but she didn't respond. However, my appreciation for her work has not waned a bit. I've written to others, and sometimes they listen, sometimes not. Regardless, I've learned that I'd much rather hear new music from people I admire rather than hear about their day, or how much they enjoyed my counterpoint.

It goes both ways -- my MySpace friends are also overwhelmed with music to listen to. They're grateful for the four tracks I've put up, but I'm only one of the 10,000 bands they're "friends" with... I'd be excited to compare their MySpace wealth with their CD collections, where I'll be lucky if I find even 10 CDs from those MySpace bands.

The real trick on MySpace is how to convert these "friends" into proactive fans, the kind that help set up shows and man merch tables, and bring their friends. These people are jewels, pillars, and our best hope.

See you out there!

for Russians only

2006-10-26T21:44:31Z

If you read or speak Russian, visit here to read something truly wonderful.

Всех Русскоязычных читателей этого ЖЖ, прошу уделить минуту внимания сюда.

notes from gym

2006-10-11T11:50:53Z

I must've spent too much time listening to NPR, and have spent too much time thinking about how to talk about music. In truth, we all pursue something because it is either inspiring or financially rewarding. Trying to make the two meet is the musician's constant struggle. Sometimes it can be magical.

I'm trying to pursue dance music because I see a deep void that needs filling. Yet, I have no desire to learn anything about dance. Part of it is lazyness, and part of it is because traditional dance forms do not inspire me. They don't inspire 99% of the population who try to dance (in an informal way), same way that Mahler symphonies don't really inform 99% of singer-songwriters. For some people, all the distilled danceforms are a charming and fun way to spend time after work; for me they're stale and annoying. Probably for me it's over-saturation -- I've seen, heard and performed far too many waltzes, and far too many choruses of "in the mood".

But whatever it is, all the talking ought to stop. It's taking away from the creation of new music.

best pals 2

2006-09-29T22:51:50Z

best pals 2
Originally uploaded by ljova.

Soce, 'tis for you. :)

xx

best pals :)

2006-09-29T22:50:50Z

best pals :)
Originally uploaded by ljova.

As they say in Atlanta, "she sang that song". :)

oy MySpace - I need new glasses

2006-09-15T11:27:36Z

Guilty - I was swamped with work + moving, and neglected to look through my friend requests on MySpace for about a month. I've received approx. 500 new friend requests, approximately 8% are from people I actually know, or have met. The rest are various bands, and folks of all ages who somehow heard of me through the grapevine. 99% excellent people.

I wish there was some good way to manage all of these wonderful strangers, but alas there's not. I have to add them in, 10 at a time. Which is not terrible, as that way it forces you to take a look at people at least in batches of ten. If someone catches my curiosity, I visit their page.

But then I want to leave a comment, and face the ire of CAPTCHA - the woeful "anti-robot" verification system MySpace uses to make sure I'm not an evil auto-commenter. Every time I have to squint my eyes and take a look at those oddly-shaped letters and numbers, I feel like a 2nd-grader in a writing class, hoping the teacher won't slap me on the wrist for incorrectly typing back a "g" instead of a "y", or a "t" instead of an "r". I literally see CAPTCHA code in my dreams!

For musicians, MySpace is a fact of life. If you're not on MySpace, you don't exist -- but for all the trouble artists go through to set up pages, accept friends, comment, etc. -- I can't say that they get much in return, other than positive praise.

1) For starters, I get ZERO friend data -- I have 5000 MySpace friends, but I have no idea where they live, how old they are, or how often they listen to my music. Do I know how many friends I have in New York? No. Texas? No. Anywhere? not a clue.

2) There's no way to communicate with everyone on my list at once - only through bulletins and event invites. But that is not effective. To send everyone a private message - the equivalent of an email -- takes forever. You can only send 200 messages a day... to reach out to my fanbase, that'd take 25 days!

3) I'm not sure that we get much in return. If 10% of my MySpace friends bought a CD, I'd have to order a new run. I can't say that I've met anyone at my NYC shows who heard the music on MySpace and came explicitly from MySpace.

4) Who needs positive praise? I need negative comments, things that push me harder.

All in all, there are some great folks out there.. if only MySpace were a little more useable.

x

diagnose THIS!

2006-09-13T22:08:58Z

I'd say about one in 20 of my American associates has at one point been diagnosed with ADD.
This is not really a scientific statistic, but needless to say I know a lot of people who have been diagnosed ... with .. something. Sometimes I feel left out of the club. :)

Last night at dinner, I stumbled upon a quasi-thesis, which basically says this:
"Computer use breeds ADD".

To counter my claim, there's an article here which says the opposite.

But from my personal (and non-scientific) experience, I can say with a great degree of certainty that my brain has gotten a lot less focused since the invention of Windows 3.1. That's just about when I started to learn the principles of multitasking.

At the present moment, I have six browser windows open, and about 10 other applications.
While writing this post, I checked email atleast 2-3 times. I listened to one song on MySpace, and listened to others on Last.fm
I'm not trying to be weird - this is just how I work (sometimes - when I'm not billing) :)

But using computers has changed the way I eat dinner, too.
I excuse myself to the bathroom so I can check email on the way (and back).
If the food takes too long to appear, I think "this restaurant is mediocre - let's go somewhere else."
I rarely think "ooh, it's taking a long time because they're really cooking it the right way now."
It's exactly the same way I feel when a web page takes too long - "buy a new computer" is my mantra.

It's hard not to get ADD nowadays. There's email, there's food to eat, there's practicing, composing, loving, reading, MySpace adding, walking, talking... and, oh yes, sleeping - i mean, dreaming up my 5 year plan. Right.

Anyway! I've got to go entertain my fiancee.
(while she calls her mother and I massage my feet.)

there them go, walkin' silly cross the street..

2006-09-09T22:53:18Z

stupidestrians

goes well with "a good driver yield stupidstrians"

:)

beware!

the beat goes on - join us!

2006-09-07T00:47:24Z

follow the adventures of BarmaLjova in BudaPest

at BarmaLjova.blogspot.com!!

we're here

2006-09-02T16:42:07Z

For someone who’s a musician, I’ve been thinking far too much about real estate recently. But it’s inescapable – I’ve moved twice this summer (from my place to Inna’s, and now to Budapest), and am thinking of a long-term place to settle in, to buy, to invest.

We got to Budapest just a little over three days ago, and already it feels like home. We found a dream apartment – a 1-bedroom with a balcony (i.e. what I always wanted) - on a delightful block in the Jewish Quarter. The neighborhood is a dream in itself – it’s a sort of Eastern-European answer to New York’s West Village.

But here’s the thing – it’s actually affordable – to ME, right now! The market value of our Budapest apartment (according to our landlord) is about $90,000. In New York’s West Village, it would be at least $500,000 – or $800,000 if it was a condo, if not more. The taxes here are comparably low, and of course that includes free education, health care, and perhaps even burial. If I played my real-estate cards right, I could move to Budapest now and live a very good life simply from rental income.

Pound for pound, I sincerely wonder what makes life in New York seem better than life in Budapest. The people are just as nice, the food is excellent, and everything else – or so it seems thusfar – is equal or better.

And so begins one of the most enjoyable tests of my life – to see if Inna and I can begin a new life together, in a new city…

…To be updated in December!

sellaband.com -- danger danger!

2006-08-24T13:39:45Z

A friend sent me a link to an article about the new music service SellABand.com.

(from the blurb):

The concept encourages music fans to invest $10 shares in their favorite group, and then aggregates those contributions. Once a group reaches the $50,000 mark, the real action begins, and the band is sent to the studio to begin serious recording. SellaBand noted that it is "not a record company," but rather "a facilitator, bringing artists and fans together, and presenting a new economic model."

At first, I was intrigued, and then I thought - what do THEY (i.e. Sellaband) get out of this? As it turned out, a whole lot more than any band that signs up.
Here's a list of my fears about this site, most of them generated by looking at their FAQ page.

1) If a band raises less than $50,000 and wants an out, can they keep the money they raised? If yes (which is not at all clear now), how much of the money will Sellaband keep for "transaction costs"? I estimate that 90% of the bands which sign up won't be able to reach that goal, so I'm especially curious to see where the money goes.

2) It looks like you have to use the producers they recommend. Score one for creative freedom.

3) (from the

Terms and Conditions): "Once an Artist has officially reached the Goal of $50,000 he/she is obliged to fulfill the recording commitment with SellaBand. Of the $50,000, $30,000 will be used for recording the CD. SellaBand will assign an A&R- manager who will book the producer, studio and mastering facility. The rest of the budget will be used for manufacturing, packaging and posting the 5,000 CDs for your Believers."

That's nice of them. I wonder how much studio time that buys, and at what rate. Basically what this says is that they're guaranteeing their friends at the recording/mastering facility to earn $30,000 (to the nearest penny?!), and to spend another $20,000 on (what is essentially) duplication. (A comparable duplicaton service from Discmakers will cost about $5,000). What if you need MORE studio time, or want to hire a more expensive producer? No dice.

Anotherwords, none of the $50,000 you and your fans raised goes to you. It goes to everyone but you and your band. However:

4) (more from Terms and Conditions):

"As a SellaBand recording artist you are entitled to earn money via the Download Portal. All net advertising revenues generated on www.sellaband.com will be shared equally by Artists, Believers and SellaBand. The income per Artist and their Believers is based on the market share of the artist on the Downloadportal."

Nice recovery... But what is a Downloadportal?! I thought you're going to give away my music for free, and now my only source of revenue is advertising and the Downloadportal?! .. Presumably from selling music by other artists?!

5) $50,000 -- who earns it? You or Sellaband? The company is based in Germany but deals in dollars. What are the specifics with regard to tax?

In short:
1) none of the money goes to you and the band -- until you raise $50,000, and maybe your album gets some airplay. (Did I mention that they take 30% of your publishing?!)

2) you get zero creative control

3) the top artist on Sellaband (a Dutch heavy-metal outfit called Nemesea has raised $4340 in the past 9 days, but has only 347 friends on MySpace.

4) Tell me - how is this different from being at a major label?!

Do the math, check it again, and think for yourself.

check it out!!

2006-08-24T03:57:16Z

What is Ljova listening to?

2006-08-11T18:53:44Z

Lately, most of my new-music listening has come from one source:

the "similar artist" radio for Tin Hat Trio on Last.fm

if you have installed Last.fm, you can listen by clicking this link.

If not, you ought to try it!
95% of what I hear is fantastic and brand new to me.

Buyer Beware

2006-08-10T16:12:31Z

My TiBook (that's Titanium Powerbook for all of you non-Junkies) is growing old fast.

I've been ogling the new MacBook for a few days now, though the real ogle aspect of it appears to be the MagSafe power adapter, and that it runs about twice as fast as the TiBook -- at least in theory.

However, since the new computers run on a new processor, many programs have to be re-written into "Universal Binary" format in order to operate natively in the system.

Fortunately, my main sequencer - MOTU's Digital Performer has been re-coded for Universal Binary; unfortunately it's companion software synth sampler, the MachFive has not. Thus, I wouldn't be able to run all of my samples for at least a few weeks. That's a biggie.

So, for now the ogling continues:

In the meanwhile, I've discovered OpenOffice, a suite similar to Microsoft Office - except it's free, and runs natively both on PowerPC and Intel-based Macs (as well as Windows and most other platforms as well). Since Microsoft has not released any new Mac software since 2004, this is clearly a great alternative.

i'm hip (about the burbs)

2006-08-03T19:09:25Z

I'm no square, but my romance with New York City is growing older every day.

It's a bunch of things. I'm getting older, my time is getting more valuable, and the things I used to love about NYC are getting to be an annoyance.

For example, the subway. I used to love the subway because it was so fast and ran 24-hours a day. Nowadays, I see it as a slow, piss-ridden, rat-filled, awful place. It works fine during rush-hour (if you like riding with big mobs of people), but on off-hours it's as slow as walking. (I've just waited 20 minutes in the 59th street station just to go 2 stops to my house - at 2:15pm).

Then, the apartments. Sure, they're quaint and small, but they're all I need -- or so I thought. These days, it's becoming clear that - as a musician working from home - I need space. I need to put in a quiet-cool airconditioner, so I can record in the summer. I need quiet from my neighbors, and so forth.

Just about the only thing which keeps me in NYC is the Ukranian food, and the musical life..

And then I think about the future with children -- and pardon me for jumping ahead, but as someone who has to move 2-3 times in the next year, I'm thinking of a more permanent solution -- and with children, it all changes. We'll need 2-3x the space, and we'll need good schools which we can afford. With children, it's unlikely that we'll have much time for going to shows... And I'd hate to take my baby into the subway, at least for the first 2-3 years.

Which leads me to the conclusion -- I dream of the suburbs. I dream of a house I can truly call my own (and not deal with a co-op board), a music studio I can set up and not have to move, a parking space I don't have to search for daily, and a stable, more-affordable life.

Sure, Manhattan is exciting -- but it's still "out there" somehow, not inside me. I want my house to be as exciting as the city, if not more. I want my family to grow into its own, not to be so dependent on the city for its artistic impulses. The world of sensations is bigger than the city, and I'm too busy to feel it.

I'm not exactly in a position to keep dreaming that I'll make millions in music and bide my time in a closet-size apartment. I have projects I need to work on, projects which require me to spend more time and develop my resources - things I cannot presently do.

Anyway, back to trying to record 30+ string tracks for a low-budget film, while showing my apt to potential tenants...

Who knows -- maybe I'll learn to cook Thai at home? :)
(ugh, for that I need a proper kitchen!)

"I am Wired"

2006-07-25T22:36:35Z

Hi from San Francisco!
Oh, San Francisco, do I love thee much...

I had lunch at Cafe Gratitude this afternoon, and am thoroughly wired on their cold-processed coffee. So wired, in fact, that I can't think. Word to the wise - don't go there for coffee, it will wreck your head in a really meaningful way.

I have to slow down, I have to slow down, I have to...!
clunk. :)

Nevertheless, the food @Gratitude is excellent and reasonably priced -- and, if you can withstand having your food items named "I am Grateful, I am Wonderful, I am Super, I am Courageous" (etc.) you will enjoy it. .. just mind the coffee.

(The waitress and I had a little chuckle when I ordered the "I am inevitable".) :)

wow. coffee bad... aaargh!

meanwhile, I had an amazing walk on the beach earlier in the morning.

ok, that's it.
off to bed.
:)

thoughts in brief

2006-07-20T17:34:15Z

1) Q: "Oh! You're a Musician! What kind of music do you do??"
Frankly -- everytime this question comes up, I wish the question was "Oh! You're a Musician! What kind of music haven't you done yet?" Maybe I should lie and say "Oh, I do a lot of punk rock and Hawaiian / African music. I write teenpop."

But alas, just because I don't want to hire an undertaker to be the rabbi at my wedding, and just like I can't ask a goat to drive me to Los Angeles, I dispense the the truth. Why won't anyone pay me to do work I haven't done?

2) The other day, Inna and I hung out with some lawyers. Boy are their lives different from musicians. Don't get me started. (not angry, not jealous, just different)

But briefly, on one issue: seniority.
I've realized that music composition is essentially an entry-level job. It's LABOR. You actually have to sit there and write stuff. That's dirty work. Blue collar. Can you believe it?! In the law world, associates do the dirty work and the partners control the macro structure.
So if I ever wanted to make some serious money, I'd have to stop desiring to do the dirty work, and move on to some sort of supervisor-like position. I wouldn't write the Symphony, I would merely sketch the symphony on a monogrammed napkin, and pass it on to a trained monkey. :)

3) The real challenge of life is not to do more -- it's to DO LESS, and feel more in the process.

I know this must make me sound like a lazy, bored, unimpressionable monkey-hater of a person, but in fact it's just the opposite. I've just spent the entire morning answering emails, pitching music to projects, and - as they say on Lifehacker - "putting out fires". I don't feel inspired, in fact quite the opposite - tired. I should be working on a soundtrack and practicing for a recording session.. instead I'm doing email.

I will always live with the guilt that I'll never respond to all of my email (present Inbox stat: 473unread, 751 total), that I won't follow up on all the leads and projects which come my way, and that I won't see my friends as often as we'd like to see each other. It's a heavy kind of guilt, the kind that makes you feel like "you should be doing something" as you're walking in the park on a sunny day, or not catching up on email while at a concert.

For all of the advantages of modern technology, our ancestors had it easier. They couldn't travel as much, communicate as much, and they couldn't afford to eat as much takeout. But for all of these "shortcomings", their feeling for the world looks to be much more sincere and heartfelt. What we do, with our armies of digital cameras and iPods, transatlantic flights -- genre-surfing to the maximum -- life is really something (and somewhere) else.

I wish I could do less. I wish I could turn inward and flesh out the past 27 (almost 28) years of experiences, sensations, ideas, to make them live...

but instead I fly along, with the rest of you, to my 7:30am meeting with the toothbrush.

:)

ness

2006-07-20T05:23:14Z

while I was waiting for the L (as in Looney) train on the way from Pete's Candy Store (where I went to hear Lissa Schneckenberger), I decided to do a little sketching in my notebook.

but instead of musical material, what came was a bunch of "ness"es -- emotions of sort, things which are very "New York" to me, and can create a feel for a musical expression.

here's the list:

agitatedness
loneliness
stretchiness / chickiness / PBRness
machones
loftyness
emptyness
loopy drumminess
fiddleness
old-ness
traditionnness
experi-hipness

not sure how helpful this is to any of you, but there goes.