One of the greatest things about my internship is that I get to hear a lot of new music, much of which is really cool and unique. Take for example, Paolo Nutini, a young Scottish guy who sounds nothing like he looks, haha. His music is part reggae, part R&B, part folk, part blues, and altogether AWESOME.
Another cool discovery: Madeleine Peyroux. Very jazzy/bluesy; I keep reading about her being compared to Billie Holiday. See for yourself:
I really like her voice, and when I found out she did a cover of Smile, I was sold.
Despite his cosmetic weirdness and juvenile playplace and questionable actions (pet chimpanzee?), you can’t deny the fact that Michael Jackson was an incredible performer and an amazing singer…and too young to die.
I heard the news yesterday at NBCU; my supervisor came in to tell me he’d had a heart attack, and then about 20 minutes later he was confirmed dead. It was so sudden and unexpected I didn’t even know how to react. On my way back from work, the radio played I’ll Be There by the Jackson 5 and I was surprised at how sad it made me.
I took this picture outside the UCLA Reagan Center yesterday. In the middle of the crowd there were a bunch of people dancing to Thriller…while others wore homemade t-shirts and held signs and boomboxes. Along with the constant sound of helicopters overhead all evening, it was a very noisy night (Westwood’s been seeing a lot of those lately).
Back in the apartment, the occasional car will drive by with windows rolled down as “Beat It” and “Smooth Criminal” echo down the street. It’s weird to think our generation has never known life without Michael Jackson (in some form or another, haha). R.I.P. Michael, and Farrah, and Ed, who have sadly been overshadowed but will be remembered nonetheless!
How cool is this?? I totally want to do it. We have tons of old photos at home, from San Francisco to Kansas to Vista, dating back to the turn of the century. And at the flea market I could easily find old photos of Los Angeles and try it out here. New goal on my summer list!!
Why yes, it IS Paul McCartney’s birthday. Watch out for a major Macca spam within the next 24 hours!
edit, 12:48 am: Ahhhh I fail; I didn’t make my post in time! I got caught up watching Changeling, which was way longer (and way more disturbing) than I expected. Now I’m feeling too distressed to make a happy entry…but I’ll try to do so by posting some of the most random Paul pics I have:
Olivia and I spent a good part of tonight learning and rehearsing this number:
I’m Lucy and Olivia is Ethel. We are auditioning for Rickys and Freds…meaning if anyone is interested, they get the part, haha. And no, this is for no other reason than our own enjoyment. :P
Sadly, no matter how it turns out, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to beat the amazingness of these guys. Man, I’m so glad YouTube exists.
Today in our last ever Recording Engineering class, we watched a very cool documentary on Les Paul. I must say he is the most badass 94-year-old man on the planet.
Most people, when they hear the name Les Paul, think of the famous Les Paul guitar. And rightfully so. But he was also a pioneer in recording engineering, being the first to use overdubbing and multitracking and delay, all of which are basically essential in the modern studio today. And I think it was awesome that he and his wife were a musical duo who turned their house into a recording studio when no one had ever recorded from home before. Hooray for innovation! Les Paul’s sound is so distinct, I love it. It’s pure electrified-country-jazz-awesomeness. I think one of my new goals in life is to see him live. If he’s lasted this long, he better stick around long enough for me to get to New York and hear him play the Iridium!
So now thanks to YouTube (and Listerine), you can experience some super-amazing guitar playing, along with some authentically cheesy 50s TV. I like to believe this is how Les and Mary really spent their afternoons at home, haha:
I also loved how the DVD we watched was a great documentary not only about Les Paul himself, but the evolution of the studio, live music, and the entertainment industry in general. In it, Les Paul talks about his influences, ranging from Gene Autry to Bing Crosby…and since then he has become a major influence to artists like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and BB King. To me, that is one of the most wonderful things about music. It is the connection between generations of great minds; it’s like there’s some kind of power in it that can bring people together and open up more doors than you even thought possible. So much of the world’s greatest music was created that way. After class, I went to turn on my ipod and had to stop and consider for a moment the thousands of AMAZING songs I literally held in the palm of my hand. It was a little overwhelming, haha.
Anyway, I should stop before I start rambling on forever and get lost in my own world.
One more random thing: YouTube tells me that today is the final broadcast of analog TV signals in the U.S. Crazy! Too bad I can’t experience it here…we have a TV but unfortunately no cable. To make up for it, Olivia and I just signed up for Netflix. I CAN’T WAIT.
So I added that little “tags” list to the left, because I know you care. Nah, mostly it’s for my own benefit (not that I regularly go back and read past entries or anything…), but also if you want to see how many times I’ve rambled on about a certain topic. Of course, the Beatles are currently – and probably indefinitely – in the lead.
Also, I want to tell you (my faithful 3 readers…) that after this week, be ready for a lot more entries. I usually have a ton of things to post, but never get around to it because of schoolwork and drumline and stuff. Plus, summer is usually when I get all obsessed over certain bands, movies, etc. Wheeeee.
And because I don’t want to make this a totally boring post, take a look at this book:
For my musicianship final project, I have to transcribe a relevant solo/cadenza/improvisation and turn it in by tomorrow. By “relevant”, our TA meant it should be for our primary instrument. I took it to mean something I’m currently really into and want to use as an excuse to watch this video multiple times:
I didn’t think transcribing it would be that hard. I WAS WRONG.
My other option was the BD 2000 pit solo – I’d already started transcribing that 5 years ago anyway – but ultimately decided there’d never be any reason for me to play that, and this, on the other hand, I decided I’m going to learn, haha.
This is the intro to the Beatles Rock Band game, which comes out in September (9/9/09 to be exact). Though I have my doubts about the game itself, the intro is effing EPIC:
What an AMAZING depiction of the Beatles’ career, in all of 2 minutes! Whoever made this deserves AT LEAST 10 cookies.
Nikki Collister 