August 02, 2005
Better (Cover) Than The Original
Tristan Prettyman's cover of Britney Spears'
Check out her new album, it's prettygood.
June 08, 2005
Trouble
Trouble...
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born
Worry...
Worry, worry, worry, worry
Worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone
We'll I've been...
saved by a woman
I've been...
saved by a woman
I've been...
saved by a woman
She won't let me go
She won't let me go now
She won't let me go
She won't let me go now
That's the way, Trouble, Ray LaMontagne's debut album starts. A new friend introduced Ray to me about a month ago. I have a feeling you haven't yet heard of Mr. LaMontagne, but here are what some others are saying about his music.
His music reminds me a lot of Damien Rice, Donovan Frankenreiter, and maybe a little Jack Johnson. It's been perfect music to listen to during this pain in the ass time in my life, especially with it raining like crazy outside.
Also, I just found out he'll be in Salt Lake July 12. Beauty.
June 07, 2005
Bend And Not Break
I catalog these steps now, decisive and intentioned, precise and patterned specifically to yours.
I'm talented at breathing, especially exhaling, so that my chest will rise and fall with yours.
I'm careful not to wake you, fearing conversation. It's better just to hold you and keep you pacified.
I'm talented with reason, I cover all the angles. I can fail before I ever try.
Try to understand, there is an old mistake that fools will make. And i'm the king of them, pushing everything that's good away. So won't you hold me now? I will not bend, I will not break. Won't, you hold me now? I will not bend, i will not break. Won't you hold me now? For you I rise for you I fall.
I am fairly agile. I can bend and not break. Or I can break and take it with a smile.
I am so resilient. I recover quickly. I'll convince you soon that i'm fine.
May 17, 2005
Me and My Bass Guitar
I wish I could sit at home and play my bass all day long. I have been having so much fun playing it recently. I learned how to play in high school, played a couple of times in college, and a few times since then for friends with bands that had lost their bass player, but I haven't really dedicated much time to it since I bought a guitar a couple of years ago.
Erik (my current roommate) and I have somewhat started a band in the last month or so. We've only practiced twice, but we performed in a talent show at Erik's church.
I just write this to tell everyone who much I'm loving it.
Five extra points if you can name the artist who's song is the title of this post (without using Google.)
May 03, 2005
The Killers
Last night I saw The Killers. They were very good and put on an excellent show. I was very impressed with how well they performed for the crowd. Definitely go see them if you have the chance.
Now that that's out of the way, the best part of last night's show would have to be Tegan and Sara. The last few shows I've gone to I've actually enjoyed the opening band who I'd never heard of prior to seeing them. Last night was no exception. I bought their cd, So Jealous, and took a chance leaving the show during The Killers to see if they were walking around in the lobby, which they were. So, I ended up chatting with Sara for a few minutes and got both of their autographs on my cd. Very cool girl (and very cute). So this morning, I jump on iTunes and what do I see on the banner? None other than Tegan and Sara. They've got an exclusive EP of a live show. I highly recommend checking out the downloads section of their site and if they sound anything like something you'd like, go to iTunes and download their full album.
November 22, 2004
Media Watch
» Rufus Wainwright "Want Two" - This came with a live performance DVD, which is cool. I like this cd so far, but he's "pretty gay" on this, his fourth album.
» Eminem - Excellent cd so far. Although one of his songs features the noises of him puking at the beginning and end and another features belching, farting, and "pooing" noises. This really annoys me. That's the last thing I want to hear.
» The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom - Excellent book. Quick read as are all of Albom's books. If you like Tuesday's With Morrie, you'll love this one. If you haven't read Morrie, go read it. Now.
» What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson - I'm only a few pages into this, but I think its interesting. Bronson traveled around the world talking to other's about the choices they made in life and what made them successful. I decided to pick it up because he didn't interview Fortune 500 CEO's and whatnot. He interviewed regular Joe's who may have done some amazing things.
» The Incredibles - What a great movie! Go see it in the theatre.
» Star Wars Trilogy DVD - I just bought this last week and have watched Episodes IV and V. I've forgotten how much I love these movies.
» Seinfeld DVD's - I may wait for a christmas sale before picking this up.
May 05, 2004
God (Interlude) by Andre 3000
God.
Come in God.
God, come in God.
Damn, you're a girl.
Well, I guess the reason why I'm talking you tonight is because I've been doing a lot of thinking.
I mean, I consider myself a pretty cool guy and I've never cheated on any of my girlfriends.
Except that one time in Japan, but that was just head and head don't count right?
Aw, thanks God, I knew you'd understand.
Well, I just feel like, well to be honest with you, God, I just need a sweet bitch.
You know, somebody not too, not too fast, but not too slow.
Cuz, I don't have it all my damn self! And life ain't easy.
You know, you just want somebody by your side to help smooth that thing out.
You know what I'm talking 'bout?
And at this piont, I mean, I'm not being picky. She doesn't even have to have a big ol' ass, you know. Just something well proportioned to her body, you know a nice little tail. You know.
What?
You say you've got somebody.
Is she cute?
So when do I get to meet her?
Ahh. God, you're the greatest. I guess I'll talk to you later.
Amen.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Alady.
Amen.
I mean, Alady.
April 05, 2004
I'm A N*E*R*D
Saturday night I went to see the Black Eyed Peas and N*E*R*D in concert. I've been a fan of BEP for awhile, and was extremely excited to see them live. With the addition of Fergie, the group has been energized and is as good as ever.
Although I'm a big fan of N*E*R*D, I was a little skeptical about the performance they would give. Lets just say my fears were quelled pretty quickly as this was an awesome show. They seemed to be very appreciative of their fans and welcomed "audience participation." In fact, for the last song they invited all of the fans up who they saw singing every word to every song. This is awesome to me, because it shows that they want to give something back to their fans.
Another great thing about both groups was the bands. Although being hip hop, neither groups used a DJ. It was awesome to hear the sampled music being played live on real instruments.
If this tour comes to your city and you like hip hop, go see them. You won't regret it.
On a sidenote, I love this time of year. Besides the obvious reasons of great weather, BBQ's, and vacations, I love it because it's concert season. Right about this time every year, musicians begin releasing their tour schedules. My schedule is filling up quickly.
April 02, 2004
Nellie McKay
I picked up a music tip from Matt on Ten Years Of My Life. So, I'm passing it on to you. Its Nellie McKay (pronounced "Mc-Kuy" like "guy") and its very different, but very good.
Go over to NPR and check out some of her live stuff in their studio. Its pretty awesome. Her debut CD, Get Away From Me (which is a play on Norah Jones' album Come Away With Me), includes jazz, rap, blues, Latin, rock and more, reflecting her eclectic life -- she was born in London and grew up in Harlem.
Her CD is on iTunes too, so I think I'll be picking it up.
December 16, 2003
My Greatest Accomplishment
One day when I was seventeen I stayed home sick from school. I lay on the couch in misery over something I've since forgotten. As I flipped through channel after channel of daytime soap operas, talk shows and otherwise monotonous drivel, I stumbled upon a program on a public television channel about Jazz music.
The first half of the program discussed the history of jazz*. What started as African-American slaves keeping beats and singing songs in the field to keep their spirits up turned into the only true form of music to be born in the United States. Many of our modern types of music originate with Jazz. It truly is the American sound.
The second half disected the sounds of jazz and focused on the essential parts of the jazz band. They explained that the rhythm section of a band is the drums, the piano and the upright bass. I watched the show intently, enjoying every solo performed by musicians and marveling at the finished product, where all "solos" played in perfect rhythm and harmony to create one piece of music.
It was at this moment that I decided I needed to learn to play the upright bass. The next day at school, I spoke of this to a friend of mine who was in the school orchestra (his father also happened to be the orchestra conductor). He told me that I should talk to his dad, whom I had for concert choir. I pulled him aside after class that day and told him what I had intended. He was thrilled for me to learn an instrument.
You see, my family, although having a keen ear and being able to "carry a tune," is not a musical one. My father played guitar and sang many years ago, but hasn't done so in probably 20 years. My sisters and I took piano for some indistinguishable amount of time when we were very small. Other than that, the only experience I have is singing in choirs, which I did from the age of 15 on. (I joined the choir in 9th grade with a lot of guys because the beautiful girls of the choir stood up in an assembly and asked us to. But that is a completely different post.)
Back to the story:
Arrangements were made, and by the end of the week, I was enrolled in orchestra and had taken one of the school basses home to practice. I played in the school orchestra for the rest of my junior year and all of my senior year in high school. By the time I graduated, I was "First Chair" Bass, meaning, I was the section leader and in charge of all the basses. When I went to college, I even sat in for some time during my freshman year with my college orchestra.
I'm telling this long, drawn out story for a definite reason. Last week, I bought an acoustic guitar. I did this because I decided it was time to regain that feeling that I long for of creating music. I love music. It's a huge part of my day. I listen to it all day while I work. I carry almost 2500 songs with me on my iPod everywhere I go.
There's a great quote by George Eliot that says, "I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas in to my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music." This is me. I love music. I need music.
Music is back in my life. My fingers hurt, my hand is been cramping as I type this sentence, but I love it. To me, there's no greater satisfaction in life than playing music.
What's your greatest accomplishment?
* If there are any historical inaccuracies in this, I apologize. I am going strictly off of memory, which for me, can be a very bad thing.