Dobro Dreamer

Saw the Flaming Lips last night at Free Press Houston's Summerfest

2010-06-07T13:25:00.001-07:00

Such an amazing show. They have some of the best theatrics in modern music. Wayne communicates with the crowd on a level field of mutual respect, while blasting out some of the greatest music you'll ever hear. Absolutely loved it. Can't wait for next year.

New Song: "Morning Farewell"

2010-06-07T13:24:00.001-07:00

Listen

New Song: "Breakdown"

2010-05-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Listen.

I'm thinking about compiling my bootlegs and releasing them all together. I dunno, though.

Ryan Lee Hansson - "Leave Home"

2010-05-14T18:07:00.001-07:00

Listen

Wrote this up in Austin a few weeks ago.

Ryan Lee Hansson - "There's No Water"

2010-05-14T18:06:00.001-07:00

Listen

Yup.

Ryan Lee Hansson - "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (Dylan Cover)

2010-05-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

Listen

Drunk on my birthday.

Ryan Lee Hansson - Gentlemen Jack

2010-05-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

Listen

Little play on "False Hearted Lover".

Birthday

2010-05-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

So my birthday is this Saturday (5.8) and my dad decided it was about time to hand me down my great grandfather's Remington .22. Such an honor! It's from the 30s, possibly even 20s, and needs a little TLC, but I'm gonna get that guy cleaned up and ready for some shootin'! Anyways, heres some pictures:

More BB Gun fun!

2010-05-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

Texas Night Sky Reflection in the Gutter

2010-05-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

Photo by Me.

BB Gun Fun!

2010-05-02T14:35:00.001-07:00

"Talk to a Cloud"

2010-04-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Listen.

'Nother bootleg. Sad song.

M. Ward Cover

2010-04-29T18:57:00.001-07:00

Listen

ATX Spring 2010

2010-04-23T17:07:00.001-07:00

Flikr

Southern Star Brewing

2010-04-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

Much deserved mention in the latest issue of "Southern Living". Best beer around.

Beer, Food, Jams, New Dax Riggs Album and One Hell of a Hangover

2010-04-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Last night my friend Kevin came into town from Austin. He is the bass player for Dax Riggs now and had some time off so decided to come back home. We all got together and his parents' house and got together some grilling with friends. Filled the bucket with Lone Star and Shiner, and got some burgers, shrimp and salmon for the grill. It was amazing. My friend Cameron seasoned the burgers and they came out fantastic....some of the best burgers I've ever had, actually. Kevin did the shrimp directly on the grill, and the salmon wrapped in tin foil. It was spot on.

After we ate it came time, as awlways, for the music. Josh Blevins (Singer/Guitar from The Examples) brought his Dean and a xylophone (which was random) and we played for a couple hours. Did some Dylan and I think it even got to a point where we were doing Oasis covers? It kind of got blurry there. Kevin brought out the mandolin as well, but it wasn't played much. I did a version of peg and awl, Possessed by Paul James style.

After that people started leaving and eventually it was just Kevin and I. We grabbed the last beers and then listened to the new Dax Riggs album in my car. It's not officially out yet so he couldn't give me a copy, but it had some really solid tracks on it. I am going to try and get a single off it which I'll share here and on my tumblr.

That's how we get it done. Good friends, good music, good food, good beer and of course the Houston rain!

Saturday night! Fuck yeah!

2010-04-01T16:07:00.001-07:00

My View on Health Care

2010-03-31T12:48:00.001-07:00

Photo Set: Fitzgerald's Houston, TX 3.27.10

2010-03-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Flikr

Video Set: Fitzgerald's Houston, TX 3.27.10

2010-03-28T17:35:00.001-07:00

Vimeo

Fitz!

2010-03-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

Got a fisheye!

2010-03-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Picture of the group!

Ryan Lee Hansson - My Memories (And then there's you)

2010-03-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

Banjo Day

2010-03-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Just loving spring and being hungover...decided to dust off the banjo. Recorded a little song.

Listen

Possessed by Paul James - "Cold and Blind"

2010-03-09T15:42:00.001-08:00

Everyone needs to own this album. I am not fucking kidding.

New Track

2010-03-06T03:53:00.000-08:00

Raw.

Listen

"The Loved One"

2010-03-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone should see this movie. It's a brilliant satire about organized religion and the funeral industry. How these mega-churches are selling salvation for profit. It's fiction and it was made in 1965...which makes it a;; the better. From what Robert Osborne (TCM) described it, it had a poor reception and suffered terrible reviews. I can only imagine how this was accepted by the mainstream movie goer in '65.

I won't get into the plot, but it's about a British poet who comes to America to stay with his uncle and experience Los Angeles. After a series of events he ends up working at a pet cemetery, which is secretly affiliated to the giant mega-church/funeral home "Whispering Glades". The head preacher and the screw up brother are played by the same actor and show the parallels between the two places.

It was based off a short novel, which I'm sure I'll need to pick up next.

For more info:
Wiki

Show on March 23rd in Houston

2010-03-04T17:02:00.001-08:00

"The Last One"

2010-02-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

So I was drunkenly searching through youtube videos the other night, and stumbled across a clip from this documentary. It's about an Appalachian moonshiner, one of the last, making his final batch. They basically follow him up to his hollow, show him building the still, and narrating the process and his experiences throughout life with moonshine. There are some small interviews and historical clips as well. It was a bit too short, though it did cover basically everything in "Popcorn" Stutton's moonshine process, I just wish there would have been more on the history of whiskey, moonshining and the region. I would have also liked to hear more back-story about "Popcorn" Stutton.

With that being said, the sound of their voices, their passion and the music (which is, of course, Appalachian bluegrass/folk throughout the whole film) captured me and definitely brought me comfort. The message, as is in most Americana, is freedom and tradition. The freedom to make a living. The freedom to do ones passion. The freedom to walk away after a life-time of devotion. The tradition of a people and culture. The tradition of ones own family. The tradition of science, mixed with art. The message of one of the millions of simple individualities that have made up the region, and America as a whole.

I have to say, this doc may have just been a snapshot of beautiful world that isn't often talked about, or even taught, but it does it in the purest way. Pictures, voices, music, history and tradition of the Appalachian people and their ever present role in shaping Americana.

I definitely recommend checking it out, as well as the history of the Appalachian region and it's culture.

IMDB page

"My Heart Ain't Gold"

2010-02-23T19:41:00.001-08:00

Another sample from my next release.

Download

Shiner 101

2010-02-23T18:07:00.001-08:00

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Flikr

2010-02-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

Let's be friends!

Snow? In Houston? That's right.

2010-02-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

Houston, Texas 2/23/10

Nerdiest moment, ever.

2010-02-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

Criterion Collection comes to Hulu!

2010-02-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

If you love movies, you love The Criterion Collection. It's as simple as that. So get excited, because the CC now has a channel on Hulu.

As of right now, it only has the first six features from the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman series, but more should be coming in the near future. Of course, since it's Hulu, it's not available outside the US, which sucks. But come on, free streaming Criterion Collection films! It's tough to complain about that. Your lunch breaks just got a whole lot more sophisticated. [Criterion via Good]

Source

Criterion Collection via Hulu

Instrumental #1

2010-02-19T16:04:00.001-08:00

Self-Portrait

2010-02-19T16:03:00.001-08:00

Official!

2010-02-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

I've finally started on my next release. Which I haven't decided whether or not it'll be an album or an EP...but it's in action.

Got plenty of material, just going to see how the recording process goes. I also have somewhat of a new recording set up. Anyways, here is a single track I've done. Still completely raw:

http://ryanleehansson.tumblr.com/post/364478189/the-recording-has-begun-new-album-or-ep-come

Still doing it bedroom style, and hoping to have others work on it with me. Stay tuned!

- Ryan

"Come and Take It"

2010-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

A concept EP I'm going to put out. A series of songs about Texas. My love for it, my hate for it, my belief in it, my experiences in it and my views for it.

Little demo concept to get an idea:

"Corpus"

"Dallas"

"Houston"

Dax Riggs

2010-01-24T16:19:00.001-08:00

So my buddy Kevin is playing bass for Dax Riggs these days, and my friend Charley is playing drums for him so I went out and saw him at Rudyards (Off Waugh, Houston, TX) last night. Real nice guy. Totally down to earth and soft spoken. Even a little timid. But when he gets on stage his voice in thunderous and his tones are dark. My friend Kevin got me on the list so I didn't have to pay the cover (which was $15, yikes!) and I got to drink free all night. I think I may have had one too many lone stars. It was kind of surreal to see my friends have some sort of "fame". There were people asking for autographs and pictures. I had a short conversation with Dax about music. He told me about his house in Austin and their recording set up. He invited me to come up and stay, smoke and record. So chances are I may head up there next week sometime. It was a great night, though. All the Acid Bath (Dax's old hardcore band) fans were out in full force to support and the place was pretty packed. Show ended around 1-1:30 and we headed to Ruchi's off Kirby for some after hours tacos and margaritas. Headed back to my friend John's house and played some music till about 4 then headed home.

All in all it was a wonderful night! Hope to have more soon.

Dax Riggs' Myspace

Back to Ubuntu

2010-01-16T21:22:00.001-08:00

9.10 is sexy as hell!

China's Invasion of Privacy

2010-01-12T16:53:00.001-08:00

Source

Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something quite different.

First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.

Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.

Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers.

We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of attacks can read this U.S. government report (PDF), Nart Villeneuve's blog and this presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.

We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China's economic reform programs and its citizens' entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.

We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China."

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.

Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer

The Devil's Moan

2010-01-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

New "Official" song.

Listen

Some new ideas/songs

2010-01-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

Listen/Download "Long"

Listen to "Devil Folk"

Download/Listen "Ha Ha Ha"

On Top of Old Smokey

2010-01-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

My grandma used to sing this song to me when I was little. Now, it’s probably been 18 years since I last heard it, let alone read the lyrics…but the context of this song is actually quite adult. Actually, rivals most songwriting of modern musicians to date. Which got me thinking about the way children are raised these days. I mean, I had Raffi as a kid, and Kid Songs and all that crap. Sure. But I never had Hannah Montana or The Jonas Brothers. Or The Wiggles. I’m sure there was an equivalent when I was young, but luckily my parents never exposed me to it.

So parents, when you sing your kids to sleep. Sing them songs of earnest heartbreak and reality. Not bubblegum pop with an “image”.

“On Top of Old Smokey”

On top of Old Smokey,
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover,
For courting too slow.

For courting’s a pleasure,
But parting is grief,
And a false-hearted lover,
Is worse than a thief.

A thief will just rob you,
And take what you have,
But a false-hearted lover,
Will lead you to your grave.

The grave will decay you,
And turn you to dust,
Not one boy in a hundred
A poor girl can trust.

They’ll hug you and kiss you,
And tell you more lies,
Than crossties on a railroad,
Or stars in the sky.

So come ye young maidens,
And listen to me,
Never place your affection
In a green willow tree.

For the leaves they will wither,
The roots they will die,
And you’ll be forsaken,
And never know why.

Golden Arrow Holy Face

2010-01-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

Great songwriter out of Houston. Saw him last night at Mango's and really caught my attention. Plays an archtop and rocks a mean bass voice.

Myspace

You can download his entire album from his Myspace.

2010-01-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

I am leaving. Going out to space. Sorry, darlin'. I don't know if I'll return. You'll just have to pray I do.

I'll miss you.

Love,
Ryan

He'll know all that has spoiled in your heart

2010-01-05T22:34:00.001-08:00

I do not understand why people communicate the way they do. Hiding things and playing games. Tip toeing around each other as not to offend or reveal too much. It's like we all have terrible skeletons in the closet and are ashamed. I think we all suffer from some perversion or massive failure. If we were just honest about them, I have a feeling we'd be better for it. I try to wear my heart on my sleeve like a love sick romantic in motion. I think it breeds hurt. But not just for me. After the initial shock, there is a perfect calm. I think I people watch too much. I think I hook up too often.

Folk

2010-01-03T19:32:00.001-08:00

Hey Limbaugh!

2010-01-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

Source

We never said the quality of health care is poor, it's that the poor can't get quality health care.

You're still not allowed on my death panel, fat man.

Mules vs. Mountain Lions

2010-01-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Source

A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you'll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision.

The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs.. With that, the mule took off and decided HE wanted a piece of that lion. That's when all hell broke loose for the lion

As the lion approached the dogs, the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. Banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, then whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence) and stood there ready to continue his ride as if nothing had just happened.

Happy Hour

2009-12-28T18:56:00.001-08:00

Click and listen.

My Essentials

2009-12-27T13:38:00.001-08:00

Taken on a Fujifilm Instamax Mini.

The Essentials

2009-12-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

Elements of Life

2009-12-27T11:14:00.000-08:00

Fate never called me,
Never wrote;
Never loved me,
My heart it never broke.

Fate never chose me,
Gave me reason to live;
Never kissed me,
Known not to forgive.

Fate isn't real,
To the touch or the eye;
Fate doesn't wait,
'Till you're ready to die.