Music Archives

Roll a D6.

Roll a D6 from Connor Anderson on Vimeo.

Pretty amazing rendition of Parton/Houston classic.

Some have commented that they think he is lip syncing. This video, where he shows some dance moves too, should dispel that.

In honor of this weekend's Zombie Pub Crawl in Minneapolis

Dead Man's Bones (aka Ryan Gosling's band) in conjunction with a children's choir. Really a lot of this is very good in an Arcade Fire sorta way. Check out this video too:

Can't wait for Spike Jonez's take on Where the Wild Things Are

See the trailers and a new featurette at apple.com. And they could not have chosen a better band/song than Arcade Fire's Wake Up to embody youthful enthusiasm and rebellion.

Media Center Creation Project Log #1

Spurred, in part, by a dying Tivo Series 2 and in part by the obsolescence* of a small 2-inch TV Jena had been using as part of her morning rituals, we at the Edwards' household are in the midst of a Media Center creation, or rather coalescence project.

While I didn't quite plan it this way, the first part of the media center is now in place, a 37-inch Samsung LCD. Samsung is a great choice for LCD's as they have great reviews and are generally innovators in their TV production. I briefly flirted with the idea of the LED but the smallest was 40-inches and for this particular room and space we needed it to be no larger than 37-inch. As it turns out, I was able to talk myself out of the more expensive 37-inch model primarily because I really do not like the Auto Motion Plus 120Hz™ feature that is supposed to smooth transitions between frames but ends up making everything look like it is shot on a hand-held HD video camera. Also the higher-end model achieved at least part of its 100,000:1 contrast ratio by shining up the screen surface, which in our house, like in the store, resulted in significantly more glare being produced. In this case, going to the store to see the products in action** also saved me money as I got this TV for just under $800 rather than the $1200 I was ready to spend.

NEXT UP: HD Antenna Selection

* The little LCD TV served us well for over 10 years, but the idea of getting a digital signal converter for it made me throw up in my mouth a little. So I installed a 22-inch LCD upstairs for her and connected the set to a hidden HD antenna with Scott's help.

** I also brought my MacBook Pro and and a Mini Display Port to HDMI Adapter.

Hey Sarah Palin

New Sigur Ros video (NSFW*)

* Safe for work if you work at a cool place.

Remix Nude

Radiohead has released the pieces and parts (or stems) of their song Nude on iTunes iTunes Store URL you can remix the song however you wish and submit it to a contest at RadioheadRemix.com (more than 400 so far). If you buy all 5 stems by the 8th of April you will be given access to download special GarageBand project file to make it easier to get started.

Best band ever

It was hard to take the latest blaspheme hurled in the Beatles direction with American Idol contestants, by and large, butchering Beatles songs for two straight weeks. Sure there were some standouts such as Brooke White's rendition of Let It Be, Carly Smithson's version of Come Together, A Day In the Life and Across the Universe by Michael Johns, and Yesterday by Syesha Mercado but nearly all the other performances were bizarre? What do all those songs have in common? They are good. Hello? Why pick the crappiest Beatles songs to sing? If I Fell, Michelle, I Should Have Know Better, Day Tripper, The Long and Winding Road, She's a Woman, Back in The U.S.S.R., and Eight Days a Week are all terrible.

I've Just Seen A Face (Chikezie) and You Can't Do That (Amanda Overmyer) are two possible exceptions, as I thought they took poor songs and at least made them interesting.

Almost without variance the judges and the call-in voters like performances more if they like the songs being sung. That is why there are cover bands. That is also why, according to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 3000 recorded cover versions.

As I sit in the office today listening to the songs I have heard thousands of time before, I am reminded of how good the Beatles were and how good their music still is. Here are a few achievements, feats, and fact from various Wikipedia entries on the Beatles and their music:

• The Beatles are the best-selling musical group of all time, estimated by EMI to have over one billion discs and tapes sold worldwide.


• The Beatles have notched up the most multi-platinum selling albums for any artist or musical group (thirteen in the U.S. alone).


• The Beatles have a record six diamond-selling albums (10 million copies): Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles, Abbey Road, The Beatles: 1962-1966, The Beatles: 1967-1970, and The Beatles 1.


• The Beatles have had more number one albums than any other group (19 in the U.S. and 15 in the United Kingdom).


• The Beatles spent the highest number of weeks at number one in the albums chart (174 in the UK and 132 in the U.S.).


• The most successful first week of sales for a double album (The Beatles Anthology Volume 1, which sold 855,473 copies in the U.S. from 21 November to 28 November 1995).


• The Beatles have the fastest selling CD of all time with 1. It sold over 13 million copies in four weeks.


• The Beatles have had more number one singles than any other musical group (23 in Australia, 23 in The Netherlands, 22 in Canada, 21 in Norway, 20 in the U.S., and 18 in Sweden). Ironically, the Beatles could easily have had even more number ones, because they were often competing with their own singles.


• In terms of charting positions, Lennon and McCartney are the most successful songwriters in history, with 32 number one singles in the U.S. for McCartney, and 26 for Lennon (23 of which were written together). Lennon was responsible for 29 Number One singles in the UK, and McCartney was responsible for 28 (25 of which were written together).


• During the week of 4 April 1964, The Beatles held twelve positions on Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five positions, which has never been accomplished by any other artist. The songs were "Can't Buy Me Love" , "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me". Furthermore, two Beatles tribute records appeared on the chart: "We Love You Beatles" by The Carefrees (at #42), and "A Letter to the Beatles" by The Four Preps (#85).


• The next week, 11 April 1964, the Beatles held fourteen positions on the Billboard Hot 100.


• With their performance at Shea Stadium in 1965, The Beatles set new world records for concert attendance (55,600) and revenue. This was the first time in the history of popular music anyone had played in a proper stadium as opposed to a theatre or concert hall.


• The Beatles broke television ratings records in the U.S. with their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show with over 70 million people viewing.

More from Wikipedia:

Main entry for The Beatles

List of All Beatles Songs including composer, initial performers etc.

The 1965 Tour (including Shea Stadium show)

Let it Rain

On Monday night Jena and I took my Dad to see Rain: The Beatles Experience, or less cryptically, a Beatles tribute band. Year's ago I had the opportunity to see Paul McCartney in concert thinking that was as close as I would ever come to seeing my favorite band live. Turns out Rain is a hell of a lot closer than I thought possible.

Joey Curatolo is amazing as Paul. There was never a moment when he was off, from melodies and more guttural sounds to the banter between songs. Just about the only flaw I could find was that John played guitar left-handed and so it was a little weird seeing him up there playing with a right-handed guitar. Joe Bithorn (aka George) was also great. George Harrison doesn't get to sings as much but there were still some great songs, with the stand-out being While My Guitar Gently Weeps, in which he is also wonderful during the longest and most difficult guitar solo to appear in a Beatles song. John and Ringo were performed well, but Steve Landes (aka John) and Ralph Castelli (aka Ringo) had perhaps more difficult tasks. John's vocals changed so much from the early years through to the end that I imagine (no pun intended) it would be hard to be dead-on throughout (though he was mostly on - Come Together being perhaps the weakest in the set). As for Ringo, with only one vocal part, and only drums, it is hard to tell how accurate Castelli's renditions are - though there was certainly nothing that came to mind.

Due to the no photography policy at the Orpheum for this show, I only had my little point and shoot with no flash. Needless to say the photos I got were not good. Luckily Flickr user hddod has come through with the wonderful photos included in this post of a show in England.

Sarah Silverman's Tribute to her boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel

Where do we go now?

Perhaps this one of him doing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is more famous/impressive but I just liked the one above because I liked how well farting hand noises can approximate Axel Rose's vocal stylings, plus the guitar solo is pretty amazing/good for duck hunting.

Vita.mn Turns One

After I go down to hear Horst Rechelbacher speak at the Social Capital Collective meeting tonight, I will be headed out to the Vita.mn One Year Anniversary "Concert Event" at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown (Minneapolis). I saw Cloud Cult there months ago and it was a great show so I am excited that they are back. I am also interested to see Doomtree, First Communion After Party and DJ Espada as well. It should be a fun, busy night.

Pleasures of the guilty and not-so-guilty varieties

Last night I watched the last episode of the TV series, The OC and afterward, felt is was time for a more personal diary-like post here on Alt Text; a post where I get to provide a bit of a window into my soul, however embarrassing that may be. It has been a while and that isn't good.

Yesterday, I was quite surprised to hear that the series was ending. Not only that, but the series finale was on that night. Now, I haven't watched The OC in a while - at least two or three seasons - but I will admit that it made its way into, an albeit guilty, region of my heart. Yes, despite being the type of cheesy, teen drama that I so often ridiculed I couldn't stop myself from caring about these (mostly) rich Orange County residents, many with very few redeeming qualities. I could try to play it cool now and say that I like the show for the hot girls and great soundtrack* , but the truth is, it was more than that. Mind you not much more, but in almost every episode I saw, there were moments of honesty and emotion that seemed so very contradictory to the backdrop and to the personalities of the characters.

Like so much of seasons' past, however, the finale had many gag worthy moments, actually many more than the average episode. This is due in part because the show, more even than it usually did, mocks itself mercilessly. The writers and creators of The OC know what it is. They know they aren't creating art. That is part of the reason they ended the show after 5 seasons (undoubtedly another part is ratings drops though I haven't checked into that). They understand that the show is cheesy and, for most viewers over 18 (a vast majority) a guilty pleasure.

In this, the final episode, the ridiculous builds upon the plain stupid toward the crescendo ending that isn't. Part of the plot supposed the viewer feel sorry for this wealthy family because their mansion on the ocean is deemed unsalvageable after an earthquake. They even cut to each family member's face as this news is delivered, creating the ultimate in cheese. Other plot points, try to draw out drama from whether a serial adultery and marry-er decides to marry her second 60 year old, husband, or the guy who player Hercules in that UPN show of the same name. Clichés and inside jokes fly out of the character's mouths for about 40 more minutes until they they settle into a series of flash-forwards to see what becomes of our heroes and heroines. All of this is quite predictable and rather boring until, in classic OC style (if not somewhat predictable as well), in the last scene the troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracks (who is now all growed up) is leaving his job site and sees a kid who was just like himself when The OC began. He knows where he is and he asks him if he needs help. This moment, too, is high on sappiness, but, with the music in the background and the history I have with this show, I can't help but feel good about it and even though I gave up watching years ago, I couldn't help but mourn a little for the loss of The OC. Just knowing it was there has been a comfort to me I guess. Ugh.

Apple just unveiled your next phone/iPod/computer.

iPod, phone, camera, computer running OSX, bluetooth, wifi, and no buttons*. I am glad my Cingular contract is up in May, just in time to pony up for this amazing phone.

UPDATE: Now play around with it on the Official Apple Site.

* A fact that I am sure will get a whole cadre of usability professionals crying foul, but you know what, its all about sexiness and by and large buttons are not sexy.

More fun with streaming media

Bush sings Sunday Bloody Sunday. This is a bit older but still brilliant. (via Brad Frederick's blog)

Bobby Bare Jr. live from the South Dakota State Pen?

Last night's Bobby Bare Jr. show at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis got off to a late start. From the sound of things it sounds like we were lucky the show went on at all.

For a show with 8pm doors, we sure got home late (quarter past 2am). It turns out that was because the headliner, Bobby Bare Jr. and his band (the Young Criminals' Starvation League) were pulled over and detained somewhere in South Dakota (I never like that place :). 3 members of the 5 person ensemble made it to the Minneapolis venue just as the 2nd band (Radio On) was finishing up. Their was even an emergency performance by Michael Morris with a group of people with whom he had never played (including the guitarist from The Pines) to fill the time. Both of these first acts were good. Michael Morris was an unexpected surprise and I was really impressed. I enjoyed Radio On's set but at times front man Dan's antics got a little out of pocket - think a more flamboyant Iggy Pop (is that possible).

Back to Bobby Bare Jr...so he and his band are somewhere along the side of the road in SoDak. All their gear is strewn about the shoulder and police are searching their vehicle. Sure enough, some pot and some cash turn up and two of the members are booked and taken to the jailhouse. Bobby and his bassist and drummer then cruise eastward to Minneapolis just in time to knock out a nice little show. I, for one, didn't mind the lack of the full band. When Bobby Bare Jr. rocks he rocks hard and the 400 Bar is small enough to make that a little unpleasant (I guess I am old). While they did have some rocking numbers, including a couple where the bassist played lead guitar...on his bass, there was a large part of the set where it was just Bobby up on stage with his acoustic guitar. That was sweet. He played some new stuff and some old stuff. There were a couple of covers that were highlights, including Pixies tunes: Where is My Mind and Wave of Mutilation, and Come on Feel the Noise (Quiet Riot?). Know any good lawyers in the middle of South Dakota? I think I know of a couple opportunities for client work.

Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums

I was ready to get behind and support the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Album list, after all the top 10 are hard to argue with. But then I go through the top 20 and 50 and even 100 and I saw no Radiohead! I have to get to 110 to find The Bends and then all the way to 162 to find OK Computer a full 10 spots AFTER the f'ing B-52's, that's right, the B-52's

Flaming Lips circus at the Minnesota State Fair grandstand

From the Flaming Lips concert at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, which rocked! I didn't get any of my own photos of this show so I will send you over to some others posted on Flickr:

Flaming Lips pool

More Cowbell's concert set.

Another set. And another. And one more.

All photos tagged with Flaming Lips

Be sure to check out the gopher mascot dancing with the alien go-go dancers or Wayne in a bubble.

Praise be to Sigur Rós

On Monday night I took in the Sigur Rós show, It was the first time I had seen them live. They put on a good show, the feeling of which, is something akin to going to a new age religious service. For the most part, people are pretty subdued. Everyone is seated, they clap and cheer at the end of songs, and are generally entranced by what happens on stage. Occasionally, the spirit will move someone into the isle in a fit of convulsion and dance. All the while, lead priest in the church of the Victory Rose, Jon Thor Birgisson, wails out in a tongue perhaps only he understands.

It was a good show. The effects were great. I had never seen the screen pulled down in front of the band playing and so the huge silhouettes and the effects projected onto the screen were very cool. Birgisson's voice is amazing.

Having forgotten my camera I was only able to capture a few really bad shots with my camera phone so the best I can do is link to some photos of others (from other concerts) on Flickr.

Set list:

takk...
glósóli
sæglópur
njósnavélin
mílanó
olsen olsen
hoppípolla
með blóðnasir
viðrar vel til loftárása
svo hljótt
heysátan
hafssól
-- encore --
dauðalagið
popplagið

Amina opened the show and was joined by some others (they also ended up playing most of the show with Sigur Rós) and it was very low key but very good. Jena and I remarked that it was like watching a group of pixies playing musical instruments they had found over the years at some woodland retreat somewhere. No we weren't on anything at the time.

Here is a little video taste of what the show was like, though the quality is pretty raw.

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Magazines to which I should probably subscribe

For one reason or another, I have never been much of a consumer of magazines. In many respects I am grateful for this. Time is always an issue and I can rarely get through a full magazine before the next one comes. But I also do not like the waste magazines generate. It is very visible and apparent to me as I retain stacks of magazines and then have to recycle them. That being said, there are a few magazines to which I really ought to be subscribing:

The New Yorker - I am always impressed with the content of this magazine and the esteem that it has throughout my network of friends and beyond. It hits right on most of the issues it tackles, and does so much better than the daily newspapers.

Paste - I love to find new music and film and Paste makes it easy. Not only can I read about a ton of great artists and projects that are just coming out, but I can also see and listen to them thanks the CD or DVD included with every issue. They are right on with my tastes too.

Aperture - The few times I have seen this magazine I was very impressed and since I would like to be a better photographer it would help me out.

National Geographic Traveler - Travel magazines are hard for me. I really feel like I need a good one and this one seems very good (though I am tempted to want the traditional National Geographic instead).

Make - I am curious and love to build stuff (or rip stuff apart. Is there another magazine that is better suited to those types of activities?

Wired - The only magazine on this list that I actually do get. I like it, I really do, but more and more often, I get this type of news via the osmosis known as being online.

These were all listed in the order I would like them. If anyone knows how I can get any of the following delivered free for a year let me know. Anything else missing?

A couple that didn't make the list but were very close were:Dwell, Real Simple mostly just because I don't think I would have time.

Love drunk off my hump

I finally succumbed and put all the recent posts "inline" here on the homepage of Alt Text. While I work through some more kinks regarding how to best post one off links and such (like the one below, feel free to check out some of my latest ratings of some media I have consumed (at right).

I love Defective Yeti and can relate to an entry like this.

Ah, freshness!

A Concert on (Arcade) Fire!

Last Thursday night I went to the Arcade Fire concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis and was rewarded with an excellent show. The opening acts Bell Orchestre and Wolf Parade were very good and am looking forward to listening to each more. But on to the main attraction...

When Arcade Fire took stage they did so with a couple members from Bell Orchestre so there were at times 10 to 12 people up there most of them playing instruments (often switching instruments) or otherwise banging on things with sticks (literally). The sound they produced easily filled the club without sounding overly loud as some shows can. Most AF songs are both boisterous and exuberant at times and then fade to quite melodies and lyrics. Combine this style of song with the great instrumentation and overflowing energy of the band's members (and cohorts) and it makes for a show that is uncontainable on stage and it spills out and infects everyone within earshot with giddy feelings and body movements. I could not find one person who wasn't jamming along with the songs - all the songs. From beginning to end there was not a lull and when it was over most, I believe walked a way with a sense that they had not only seen a great show but greatness growing up before their eyes. The Arcade Fire is for real and I expect nothing less that one I got that night from any of their live performances.

Just about the only bad thing to come from the show is the sense I get now, when listening to their mp3's and cd's is a sense that the sound is too contained and too small. When compared to the big sound from last Thursday night, that is certainly true.

More show info:

The Minneapolis Star Tribune's take on the show.

Here are some great photos of the show.

Upcoming tour dates (most sold out) Try to get tickets if you can!

Feeling Minnesota

Here's a few bits of news and links I have been collecting the past few weeks, relating to my home state of Minnesota. Don't ever say I don't represent!

Semi-weekly link dump

Live From Iraq

Rap group brings realism home regarding war in Iraq in new video (warning: very graphic) - 4th25 (pronounced 4th Quarter) is a rap group comprised of soldiers that recently served in Iraq and now are telling their "soldier stories".

Numa-na Numa-na Numa-na

Since first seeing the video of the "fat kid" grooving to some catchy techno-pop (which admittedly was not long ago) I have been obsessed with finding out more. I wanted to know who this kid was (Gary Brolsma - his site), what that song was (Dragostea Din Tei originally by O-Zone [mp3], later by the Italian group Haiducii [mp3] which is the one used in Gary Brolsma's video.), what the lyrics meant, and why it seems to be such a phenomenon (featured on The Tonight Show, CNN, VH1, Good Morning America, and The New York Times).

It would seem I am not the only one who is fascinated:

A classroom watches and participates in video.

A site with more links than this post.

The online game World of Warcraft apparently has a filmmaker’s guild comprised of people who make films based on "footage" they get "in game". Oh yeah, they did an in-game version of the video.

Napoleon Dynamite dancing to Dragostea Din Tei.

Other stuff:

O-Zone's Video.

Wikipedia Numa Numa page

Badly kept secret

So the, very well spread, rumor is that on Monday Apple is going to hold a press conference to announce iTunes Europe. Where it gets interesting, is that it has also been rumored that Steve Jobs is going to announce that he bought the rights to the Beatles songs and he is going to announce this in London on Monday. I would guess that Apple is really only getting the online distribution rights to the songs, if that. I don't know if Michael Jackson can afford to sell all the rights to the Beatles songs any time soon.

An interesting side note from this Reuters article is that Apple has been embroiled in a legal dispute with management for the Beatles, Apple Corps. since September.

You won't have to guess which side of this I am coming down on. Even if its only Paul and Ringo, I'll take it over Steve.

Do You Realize?

Do you realize
That you have the most beautiful face?
Do you realize
We're floating in space?
Do you realize
That happiness makes you cry?

Do you realize
That everyone you know someday will die?
And instead of saying all of your good-byes
Let them know you realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round.

Do you realize?

- The Flaming Lips, Do You Realize?

While on the subject of Modest Mouse

I should mention that their new album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News is really good. I especially like the tracks: The World at large and Float On (current single).

On another musical side note I really want to get my hands on the new Iron and Wine disc, Our Endless Numbered Days as I have heard good things.

Other bands to checkout: Tullycraft (twee band — full of energy), The Owls (a great group from Minneapolis), Kloey (another local act that is bustin' out), Snow Patrol (reminiscent of some of my favorites, including: Travis, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, The Doves, and even Nick Drake), Guster (even though I can hear these guys on the radio they still don't suck), and Clinic (reminds me of a cross between Radiohead and someone a little less brilliant — which is still very good and great to listen to)

Finally for some good, sweet, artistic expression through song, check out, ultra-indie duo The Sunshine's Beautiful (mp3) and Pure Projection (mp3)

Lost your number?

Live in New York and want an unforgettable telephone number? Possibly named Jenny? Bid on eBay now.

Dear Catastrophe Waitress

On Halloween I went to see Belle & Sebastian with some friends at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. While we were waiting for the show to start in our sweet balcony seats (thanks Anne!) we were looking around for people we knew and cool costumes (Frank of Donnie Darko fame and Popeye I'm talking about you here)

We were all so pumped after the opening act we didn't know if Belle & Sebastian could top it. We didn't even know the band's name until halfway thought the B&S set when they thanked them for playing with them. The Hidden Cameras put on what I now find out was probably one of their tamest shows ever, but for us, was full of energy and fun. I liked every song they played and at points they had everyone up and dancing.

While we didn't see Hiromi there, who do you think strolls in right before Belle & Sebastian take the stage? None other than Trik and Jamie Eversweet (what ever happened to Trik.org! Trik was the one who, by way of Jesse, got me into Belle & Sebastian, and now he was sitting in the balcony right next to us. What are the chances?

This totally sucks

Elliot Smith dies at 34.

Masterful

I liked Radiohead's Hail to the Theif when I heard the unmasterd version a while back - but the mastered version is so much better. I can see why Radiohead was pissed about the leak there was still a lot of work to be put into the final release.

Music make the world's heart beat

I have been playing with HyperScore today and it is pretty amazing. I know there is other "music making" software out there but HyperScore's power is in its simplicity. The interface used to compose complex musical compositions can quickly be mastered by an 8 year old - though it is taking me a bit longer.

HyperScore was developed at MIT and I saw it in action on a PBS show: Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda. I really love that show. It covers such varied topics as Native American diet, to communicating with animals, to wearable computers.

If it wasn't for PBS I may only watch TV for 24 and the Simpsons.

I had nearly given up hope in getting my hands on the unreleased Radiohead album: Hail to the Thief. All my attempts at downloading it had failed with my previous repertoire of file sharing software, then in stepped Hiromi to save the day. He recommended SoulSeek and it worked like a charm.

Radiohead and their record label are understandably pissed off about the theft and subsequent leaking of their latest work. They are such a perfectionist band that having a rough copy of their music out there must trouble them.

Regardless of the purported poor technical quality or unfinishedness of the songs I like the latest work from my favorite band.

Today's Musical Fun Fact: Radiohead began as a band of Oxford students (all current members) named On a Friday.

On another music software-related note: the new WinAmp 3.0 is a step backwards. I am sticking with 2.8 until they fix some of the usability features of it. WinAmp's strength has always been that it wasn't bloated, didn't try to be a media library on your computer and focused on Playing and organizing playlists. Great features like double-clicking to add songs and select all has been replaced with slow-to-render menus and a clunky interface. No thanks.

Hot, sexy teens from Russia waiting for you

I am sure that highly sexualized images of teens scare the dickens out of many parents - and that is just the boy/girl stuff. Now that Russian Electro-Pop artists t.A.T.u. are about to break onto the scene, U.S. parents (i.e. the most puritanical of western countries) will be faced with highly sexualized images of two teen girls who are into each other.

Despite my skepticism at first hearing about this duo (via Idle Words) I have found that their first single All the Things She Said is catchy.

Peter Mulvey

I have been looking for a particular album/artist for a while now and I believe this to be it/him; 10,000 Mornings by folk artist Peter Mulvey. I am very interested in getting a listen of this. Anyone had any experience with this artist/album?

On another music related note, songs in commercials make a huge difference on the impact that these advertising spots have on people. It is, however, very difficult, it seems, to find that perfect song, that is, for everybody except Volkswagen. Everyone knows how successful their first major campaign in 20 years was. It featured music by Trio (Da Da Da) and the Styx (Mr. Roboto) and caught on with Volkswagen's market like wildfire. Subsequent ads created by Arnold Advertising in Boston, featured songs from bands like the Orb, Spiritualized and Fluke, all designed to resonate with people 18 to 34. And they did. Do you remember "What were the skies like when you were little?... Little fluffy clouds."

Volkswagen wasn't done -I was stunned by the beauty of the "Pink Moon" spot for the Cabrio featuring 4 young people driving to a party and then realizing that it wasn't their scene. I have since become a big Nick Drake fan (though I still have not purchased a Cabrio). Volkswagen’s latest spots: "Bubble" featuring the song Mr. Blue Sky by Jeff Lynne (aka ELO or Electric Light Orchestra) and "Squares" featuring a song of the same name by J. Ralph have people stopping what they are doing and watching the screen. They do a great job in cutting through the clutter. A few friends of mine said that that when they first saw the "Bubble" spot they "wanted to see whatever movie that was a trailer for." I don't even need to be in the room to recognize the wordless "Squares" spot, it is just *that* different from everything else out there, reinforcing the Volkswagen message without even the need for the visuals.

Yes ads and music go hand in hand and although the days of the jingle are probably not numbered, the catchy little product focused songs will never endear themselves to the young and free at heart like a great song can. In an article on the AEF's (American Educational Federation) website consumers' preference for "familiar tunes" in commercials is summed up as follows: "Ad agencies increasingly want to use music that sounds pure and does not sound like advertising. The old American jingle -- once a mainstay of advertising -- is largely reviled by the public as ''everything that's wrong, dishonest and insincere'' about advertising..." - Chris Wall, an executive creative director at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

I don't think songs have to be familiar however to be effective. I had never been exposed to the songs of Nick Drake (Pink Moon), ELO (Mr. Blue Sky), or Nico (These Days - in a recent Kmart ad) until I heard them in ads but now have found them to be great artists, in fact some of my favorites. The music simply has to be good, inspiring in some way. Companies like Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, and the Gap know this and so they use music from artists like Stereolab, Fluke, Nick Drake, The Dandy Warhols, Fat Boy Slim, and The Orb.

Note: most VW commercials mentioned above can be found at vw.com/commercials/.

Here are a couple of cases of art following economics:

• Volkswagen is distributing its own CD of a much-requested song called ''Jung at Heart,'' by Master Cylinder, that it commissioned as an original work for a new Jetta commercial. [Driver Gear VW Store]
• Ben Neill, was also commissioned to create a series of new 30-45 second musical pieces for new Volkswagen ads and has now increased their length, added a few more songs and put out a new album fittingly called "Automotive." [Christian Science Monitor]
• There's even a CD that has been put out featuring songs from various recent commercials: As Seen on TV: Songs from Commercials

Oh Ani

Last night I caught the Ani Difranco show at Northrup at the U of MN. I was a little disappointed in the show. Everything Ani sang was good, but she had a broken foot, she only played for an hour, and she didn't play Untouchable Face or Garden of Simple. Her new style, while still good, will take some getting used to.


I was also able to revisit one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the cities, Shuang Cheng. One of these days I will have to stray from the Sesame Chicken however, they have so many seafood dishes to choose from. Consequently, Anne out-ordered us all with her spicy scallop dish.

Tonight I am going with my wife to try a restaurant I have been meaning to go to for quite some time. Aquavit serves Scandinavian food that is actually good. I am looking forward to it.

I really do have love to give; I just don't know where to put it.

Latley I have been feeling very much like William H. Macy's character from Magnolia. Not because I used to be smart but now I's stupid, but rather because I have had the same song on repeat in my car for the last 5 days. Lately, the song, Women's Realm on Belle & Sebastian's Fold Your Hands and Walk Like a Peasant CD. (were you expecting "Dreams" by Gabrielle?) just seems to get me going in the mornings when I am driving to work. And after putting in an underappreciated day's work, it again picks me up on the way home; me singing along at the top of my vocal range.

I have been thinking about taking voice lessons or perhaps having a voice instructor coach me. I don't have any notions that I have a good voice, but I think I could improve it. I would do this for the sole purpose of being able to sing better when I am alone in the car.


The links to the music above are to music downloading site, eMusic.com. There are others like getMusic.com, and , but eMusic.com happens to have a ton of artists that I like. I just hope that of there "over 900 label partners" Matador decides to stick it out as these bands that I love are on it: Belle And Sebastian, Guided By Voices, Mogwai, Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Modest Mouse, and Frank Black.

Other artists you can find at eMusic.com (and download teir whole albums for just $14.95/month) are: Apples in Stereo, The Get Up Kids, NOFX, Rancid, The Promise Ring, Violent Femmes, The Lemonheads, Helmet, They Might Be Giants, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Owls, Skatalites, The Dandy Warhols, and Less Than Jake.

Download and burn two albums per month and you have more than made up for your monthly fee.


"No, it is not dangerous to confuse children with angels." - Quiz Kid Donnie Smith, but in some cases it *is* disturbing.

How to Piss Me Off - 101

Lesson One.

If you are an "older person" - defined here as one who was old enough to see the Beatles perform live and remember it - then you should definitely come up to me as I am looking at a Sgt. Pepper's album cover hanging on the wall and ask me if I "know who those guys are." Variations on this theme could include describing the Beatles to me as if you are describing some ancient herbal remedy that has been passed down for generations in your family or suggesting that the Beatles were their best in the early years. I may not have been born before the Beatles broke up but I can hold my own in Beatles knowledge (primarily as it relates to their works) with anyone.

Ben's Top 6 Beatles Albums:

6. Magical Mystery Tour
5. Let It Be
4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
3. The Beatles (White Album)
2. Revolver
1. Abbey Road

The cast of Red Dragon,

The cast of Red Dragon, the prequel to The Silence oof the Lambs makes me think the movie has a very good chance of being good. Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Mary-Louise Parker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman usually would make for a good flick. I hadn't even heard of this film until I saw a post on my "neighbor's" site, The Hermit's Tower. It is scheduled to open this November


My "neighbor" to the right is moving. Sure she'll still be living in Australia but her site may not be.

Incidentally, all this talk of neighbors (or neighbours if you want to speak English english), is regarding Jish's Webloggers webring that I am a part of.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

We were talking - about the space between us all
And the people - who hide themselves behind a
   wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth - then it's far too late -
   when they pass away.

One of the most overlooked songwriters of this century has passed. Of course he was overlooked only because there were two pretty good songwriters in his group also. I loved his music and how much of his soul he put into it. I am very sad today.

Within You Without You by George Harrison (1967)

We were talking - about the space between us all
And the people - who hide themselves behind a
   wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth - then it's far too late -
   when they pass away.

We were talking - about the love we all could
   share - when we find it
To try our best to hold it there - with our love
With our love - we could save the world - if
   they only knew.

Try to realize it's all within yourself no-one else
   can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
   and life flows on within you and without you.

We were talking - about the love that's gone so
   cold and the people,
Who gain the world and lose their soul -
   they don't know - they can't see - are you one
   of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself - then you
   may find, peace of mind is waiting there -
And the time will come when you see
   we're all one, and life flows on within you and
   without you.

You want it all but you can't have it. It's in your face but you can't grab it.

I saw Fight Club last night, and wasn't really excited to see it. I should have been. It was much better than I thought it would be. It was meant to be a slap in the face for all of us who go through life collecting more and more things. It was supposed to wake us up and tell us that life isn't about that.

The way it brings the viewer to these realizations is what is so unique. Brad Pitt is good at playing, what I can only assume, is himself, but Edward Norton is great. Hell, even Meat Loaf is alright.

What made the experience of Fight Club memorable is the feeling of anarchy and chaos I got immediatly after leaving the theater. Coupled with this was the feeling that I suddenly knew what was important in life and what was not, as if I had just awoken.

I peeled out of the parking lot (part of that anarchy thing...made even more absurd due to the fact that I was driving a corolla) and returned home to lie in bed and think of all I had been doing on a day to day basis and what I should be doing; nothing revolutionary, but something to be reminded of now and again.

I am sure in a couple days I will be back to my designer furniture, townhouse, and khakis awaiting another slap in the face.