I think I first heard this band two or three years ago. Anyway, I found the playlist they made for imeem quite diverting to listen to at work. Check it ouuuuut. Read More......
Friday, 25 July 2008
The Morning Benders
I think I first heard this band two or three years ago. Anyway, I found the playlist they made for imeem quite diverting to listen to at work. Check it ouuuuut. Read More......
Monday, 21 July 2008
Little Bit
I'm a little bit in love with this video. You may remember Lykke Li from the Hood Internet mixes I posted about. She's pretty amazing, as is evident.
And then I saw this recorded session of "I'm Good, I'm Gone" in the back of a black cab:And now an acoustic version of "Little Bit" played on the street in Stockholm (which looks so beautiful)
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Adventure to the House of Musical Traditions
On Wednesday, me and two cherished high school friends went on an adventure. We drove fourty-five minutes to a music store!
It was a great day overall, starting with a good drive and breakfast at a cafe at which we discussed our futures, and the turning into reality of something we've always dreamed of. That is, opening a bookstore cafe with room for live performances and yoga class. We decided we need to scout Seattle.
Later on was great, too, especially when Jenn, violinist performance major extraordinaire (plus Ethnomusicology), played some Irish tunes with my dad. But of course the big excitement of the day was centered around the House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD.
I went into the music store expecting maybe to come out of there with some bongos or a maraca. I came out of it with a harp, Ravenna 26.
Music stores are pretty magical places. My friend Liz was drawn to a violin while she was there, and is now planning on bringing her own to be assessed and possibly traded. You can unexpectedly fall in love with an instrument and it can end up coming home with you.
For me, the acquisition of a new instrument is like picking up a new language: it's just the beginning, but it holds so many possibilities. Both offer entirely new modes of expression. Maybe it's just me--I love both music and language, partily for this reason--but there is something so stirring, exciting, and ecstatic about that. Definitely romantic, there is a reason why people name their guitars.
We wandered around the store together. Jenn played impressively on a violin, and at one point Liz joined her in song (she's a performance major for voice, doubling with Composition. I love my musical friends), and I was wowed. It was so spontaneous, like we were in a musical. But really we were in a music store, where magic things happen. That was the violin that Liz loved when she played it herself.
We went into the room with harps and dulcimers. I plucked around on a few. And then I met my harp. I sat down on the creaky stool and it was love at first touch. It brought up all of these memories of Scotland, and my flatmate Liz (a different one), who would play her harp to us sometimes. Mostly it was at night after we had been out having fun, and I was exhausted or inebriated. My other flatmates and I would lay around the living room lounging and listening, and her playing was so beautiful I could cry. I'd never heard a harp in person before, it's definitely an entirely different experience. But as soon as I played some notes, I just remembered these times of happiness and peace and beauty. I called up my dad and told him about the harp, and he told me to get it as my birthday gift. He said it was more agreeable to have it in the house than the drum set I had suggested last year.
I'm so in love with this harp. I've been playing it all the time, trying to get into using both hands at once, the left one for chords and the right for melody. Liz told me that it's really hard to make harps sound bad, which is so true. I've never been able to sit down and enjoy playing an instrument for hours without having any knowledge of it. I've always been so aware that I sound bad, and that leads to my awareness of the time I would need to invest in practicing and learning before it will actually sound any good, and that leads to the actual learning and practicing not being fun or satisfying. My harp is instantly gratifying, I can immediately make music without any painful wait or reliance on written songs.
I love it I love it I love it. I don't have a name for it though. I feel like harps are feminine, but as my love I kindof want it to be male. I'm thinking something classy like Hector. Well, we have plently of time to get to know each other.
Read More......
It was a great day overall, starting with a good drive and breakfast at a cafe at which we discussed our futures, and the turning into reality of something we've always dreamed of. That is, opening a bookstore cafe with room for live performances and yoga class. We decided we need to scout Seattle.
Later on was great, too, especially when Jenn, violinist performance major extraordinaire (plus Ethnomusicology), played some Irish tunes with my dad. But of course the big excitement of the day was centered around the House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD.
I went into the music store expecting maybe to come out of there with some bongos or a maraca. I came out of it with a harp, Ravenna 26.
Music stores are pretty magical places. My friend Liz was drawn to a violin while she was there, and is now planning on bringing her own to be assessed and possibly traded. You can unexpectedly fall in love with an instrument and it can end up coming home with you.
For me, the acquisition of a new instrument is like picking up a new language: it's just the beginning, but it holds so many possibilities. Both offer entirely new modes of expression. Maybe it's just me--I love both music and language, partily for this reason--but there is something so stirring, exciting, and ecstatic about that. Definitely romantic, there is a reason why people name their guitars.
We wandered around the store together. Jenn played impressively on a violin, and at one point Liz joined her in song (she's a performance major for voice, doubling with Composition. I love my musical friends), and I was wowed. It was so spontaneous, like we were in a musical. But really we were in a music store, where magic things happen. That was the violin that Liz loved when she played it herself.
We went into the room with harps and dulcimers. I plucked around on a few. And then I met my harp. I sat down on the creaky stool and it was love at first touch. It brought up all of these memories of Scotland, and my flatmate Liz (a different one), who would play her harp to us sometimes. Mostly it was at night after we had been out having fun, and I was exhausted or inebriated. My other flatmates and I would lay around the living room lounging and listening, and her playing was so beautiful I could cry. I'd never heard a harp in person before, it's definitely an entirely different experience. But as soon as I played some notes, I just remembered these times of happiness and peace and beauty. I called up my dad and told him about the harp, and he told me to get it as my birthday gift. He said it was more agreeable to have it in the house than the drum set I had suggested last year.
I'm so in love with this harp. I've been playing it all the time, trying to get into using both hands at once, the left one for chords and the right for melody. Liz told me that it's really hard to make harps sound bad, which is so true. I've never been able to sit down and enjoy playing an instrument for hours without having any knowledge of it. I've always been so aware that I sound bad, and that leads to my awareness of the time I would need to invest in practicing and learning before it will actually sound any good, and that leads to the actual learning and practicing not being fun or satisfying. My harp is instantly gratifying, I can immediately make music without any painful wait or reliance on written songs.
I love it I love it I love it. I don't have a name for it though. I feel like harps are feminine, but as my love I kindof want it to be male. I'm thinking something classy like Hector. Well, we have plently of time to get to know each other.
Read More......
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Finalllmente
OMG New Playlist!! It's pretty calm, felt down on a Monday night. But I woke up feeling better and the playlist is still awesome--that's the real test.
Yes there are two Air songs..probably be the last of my Air obsession for now, so it's going out with a bang. Although remixes totally don't count.
In other news I went to Goodwill last week and I bought 26 dollars worth of VHS movies! Three for two dollars! That's right, baby.
Really digging the Kaki King song on there, maybe I'll review her or something tomorrow. We'll see.
Don't forget you can expand the player to see full titles, and please let me know if anything doesn't work. Read More......
Yes there are two Air songs..probably be the last of my Air obsession for now, so it's going out with a bang. Although remixes totally don't count.
In other news I went to Goodwill last week and I bought 26 dollars worth of VHS movies! Three for two dollars! That's right, baby.
Really digging the Kaki King song on there, maybe I'll review her or something tomorrow. We'll see.
Don't forget you can expand the player to see full titles, and please let me know if anything doesn't work. Read More......
Thursday, 3 July 2008
My Peter & the Wolf Adventure on eBay
I've been sorely disappointing on the posting front on this blog lately, and I apologize to my dear readers. I've got a lot of material sitting around, I just need to knuckle down and post it. Sometimes its hard to keep at it, especially when I write a ton of stuff out and disappears (which happened on the equivalent post to this yesterday). But I think I'm back.
One thing that actually helps with my blog activity is my acquisition of a new television for my room. It's from my grandmother's house that she is moving out of, and as far as I can tell it's the top of the line of circa 1994 TVs---still new looking shiny chrome silver exterior, decent sized screen, impressive weight and bulk due to its oldschool construction, topped with a fabulous VHS player ANNND DVD player! All it needs is a companion Walkman and no one on the block can compete. It took all of my willpower and and brute strength to haul it above my head onto my dresser, but I did it.
I'm rediscovering my VHS movie collection. So people still cling to their tapes and records, but why don't VHS movies get any love? They are awesome, and it's way easier to find good old movies on VHS thanks to the fact that no one wants them and they are all over ebay. There is something very nostalgic about popping in a movie, it reminds me of childhood when I would watch classics like The Little Mermaid, Fantasia and The Pink Panther, on repeat. My rule is you should always watch the previews on VHS, to create an authentic experience, and also because of the fact that often they will blow your mind. Just trust me.
Speaking of childhood classics, I decided to expand my VHS collection with the help of eBay. Last night I had the urge to look up the going rate on Disney's animated rendition of Peter and the Wolf, which I haven't seen since I was eight. I think it might have left a big impression on me, and I remember it being enthralling. I did find many copies, as well as many other treasures.
That's unfortunately what usually happens when I go on eBay. Last year I underwent an eBay recovery period after a serious addiction spring semester sophomore year, perusing shoes and vintage clothing auctions can be a very good method of procrastination. I ended up with several pairs of shoes that don't really fit, one pair awesome red faux leather heels which fit ok (10 bucks), one dress I actually wear (10 bucks), and several shirts I don't. Unfortunately whenever I brag about my savvy shopping on the few things I am able to use, I forget that I probably wasted another 100 bucks on returns and other crap.
Anyway, Wikipedia's article on Peter and the Wolf was quite helpful as I was pointed in the direction of two particularly amazing things I would later find on eBay. It seems like Peter and the Wolf is one of those things that is constantly being redone to introduce to each influx of children, and as a result there are a billion versions. The first that caught my eye, was the one that David Bowie did in the eighties, and then I found a record for sale of the prog-rock version.
Excerpts on youtube:
Bowie
That's as far as I could find on youtube, but Bowie's voice is very expressive.
Brand-X
Sorry, this part of the story is more sad :( You should notice that the guitar is Peter in this version, the Wolf (done by Brian Eno) is the bass, the bird is a synth, and I think you can figure the rest out. The whole thing is on youTube, so enjoy. Read More......
One thing that actually helps with my blog activity is my acquisition of a new television for my room. It's from my grandmother's house that she is moving out of, and as far as I can tell it's the top of the line of circa 1994 TVs---still new looking shiny chrome silver exterior, decent sized screen, impressive weight and bulk due to its oldschool construction, topped with a fabulous VHS player ANNND DVD player! All it needs is a companion Walkman and no one on the block can compete. It took all of my willpower and and brute strength to haul it above my head onto my dresser, but I did it.
I'm rediscovering my VHS movie collection. So people still cling to their tapes and records, but why don't VHS movies get any love? They are awesome, and it's way easier to find good old movies on VHS thanks to the fact that no one wants them and they are all over ebay. There is something very nostalgic about popping in a movie, it reminds me of childhood when I would watch classics like The Little Mermaid, Fantasia and The Pink Panther, on repeat. My rule is you should always watch the previews on VHS, to create an authentic experience, and also because of the fact that often they will blow your mind. Just trust me.
Speaking of childhood classics, I decided to expand my VHS collection with the help of eBay. Last night I had the urge to look up the going rate on Disney's animated rendition of Peter and the Wolf, which I haven't seen since I was eight. I think it might have left a big impression on me, and I remember it being enthralling. I did find many copies, as well as many other treasures.
That's unfortunately what usually happens when I go on eBay. Last year I underwent an eBay recovery period after a serious addiction spring semester sophomore year, perusing shoes and vintage clothing auctions can be a very good method of procrastination. I ended up with several pairs of shoes that don't really fit, one pair awesome red faux leather heels which fit ok (10 bucks), one dress I actually wear (10 bucks), and several shirts I don't. Unfortunately whenever I brag about my savvy shopping on the few things I am able to use, I forget that I probably wasted another 100 bucks on returns and other crap.
Anyway, Wikipedia's article on Peter and the Wolf was quite helpful as I was pointed in the direction of two particularly amazing things I would later find on eBay. It seems like Peter and the Wolf is one of those things that is constantly being redone to introduce to each influx of children, and as a result there are a billion versions. The first that caught my eye, was the one that David Bowie did in the eighties, and then I found a record for sale of the prog-rock version.
Excerpts on youtube:
Bowie
That's as far as I could find on youtube, but Bowie's voice is very expressive.
Brand-X
Sorry, this part of the story is more sad :( You should notice that the guitar is Peter in this version, the Wolf (done by Brian Eno) is the bass, the bird is a synth, and I think you can figure the rest out. The whole thing is on youTube, so enjoy. Read More......
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