More Musicilove and no Richard Armitage again except I’ll bet he’s known some violinists. :D
Found this below while surfing around for the last post about Vitamin String. Actually I found quite a few wonderful talents, but I have to highlight this guy:
Isn’t YouTube something as well. Might give the notion that the web will become the next entertainment platform. ;-)
And here’s one to maybe convince those who aren’t big on Katy Perry:
I’m going to stop now. If you run across anything else of interest, let me know.
In the meantime, I keep a list on Twitter aptly named musicilove. I also use it as a placeholder for talent I’m checking out.
No, this isn’t more about the perception of fans. This is another post in the series of Musicilove and not much related to Richard Armitage except a cello.
Several years ago I stumbled onto Vitamin String Quartet. They are a group of musicians in Los Angeles who have done countless covers of classic rock artists. My first introduction was to their arrangement of a favorite Nirvana song:
I’ve listened to literally hundreds of their covers and love quite a few, but my favorites are from the Gaga album that came out in 2010. Many reading this blog like Lady Gaga’s music, but there are a few of you who have dismissed her because of her silliness and only see something like this in your mind’s eye when her name is mentioned:
Lady Gaga riding a zip line into a show for Good Morning America in Bryant Park in NYC
Don’t let that keep you from listening. Trust me. You’re going to like it:
You can check out their other albums here, and give yourself plenty of time. It’s easy to get lost there. They have everything from 30 Seconds to Mars to Adele to Elton John to Pink Floyd to Metallica, and on and on and on. But they don’t have Britney Spears which is surprising. No problem. YouTube has everything. :D
note: Vitamin String does have one song by Britney. I want an album! LOL!
So I’m up looking at Twitter and realize a band had followed me some days ago. This is not an uncommon occurrence since I like to talk about music, and I try to look at every band that happens to do that or who sends me a message. This morning was a pleasant surprise. Check out Virgin Soldiers, who have some angst going on underneath the harmony:
I don’t know why they took down the video above. I hope it’s not due to legal wrangling within the band. Oh well, I’m replacing it with another one:
By the way, it’s a toss up between ‘Human Race’ and ‘Therapy’ for my favorite.
I chuckled and wondered how they were able to play without laughing:
Here’s their site, and note they have an EP launch coming up this Wednesday, December 28th at The Forum in Tunbridge Wells.
If I were anywhere near Kent, I’d go see them.
Yes, I understand some of you are wondering about an EP launch. I’ve got you covered here. :D
edit: Obviously, some of the videos from Virgin Soldiers have been removed since I wrote this post, but they have added others. To wit:
Who knew the dwarves singing would be absolutely wondrous by evoking such a keen sense of adventure? It’s telling how the song pervades my spirit and immediately demands an identification with 13 guys from a fictional place. At less than one minute, I’m hooked and ready to go with them. Bravo! Peter Jackson and Howard Shore and Tolkien of course! Bravo! But then comes the let down that the wait will be a year. Thankfully, a few things are occurring to alleviate the withdrawal. I’m reading Tolkien. Read The Hobbit again a few months ago, and pictured Richard Armitage marvelously as Thorin. Thank you again, Peter Jackson! I’m also starting the trilogy and heck, I’ve purchased all of Tolkien’s works including the non-fiction (more on that later) and some of it in more than one format. Several are duplicated on my Kindle. Yes, sometimes I really am insane. Oh, and I’ve purchased this as well as reading lots of excellent sites which give literary analysis of Tolkien.
As if that weren’t enough, I’ve downloaded Over the Misty Mountains Cold (a longer version) to my iPod where I will listen to it until I have learned every measure and their dynamics, and hopefully, get tired of it and then grow to love it again before the movie is released. And I found this video of it on YouTube. Phew, is it fun to surf around today! If you haven’t tried it, go for it. Lots of interesting things to read and watch about ‘The Hobbit.’ Good thing I’m on vacation. Just don’t get caught up on stuff like this as I did.
Tolkien obviously loved music, and his passion abounds even now. He’s inspired countless others with his sense of the epic. Here’s another site I found surfing around awhile back. Wonderful! And be sure to check out the last guy on the list. He and his band are an old favorite — Tolkien inspired songs or not. If you don’t know him, check this out, and I’ll stop there as I feel a tangent coming on. Yeah, I know some of you remember that song. :D
In the meantime, here is an mp3 version for those who need a regular fix.
The 21st Century is wonderful! There is no other century where it would be possible for me to easily sign up for a chance to win tickets to a concert on another continent, receive a reply immediately upon winning, and then give the tickets to an online friend (on said continent) to enjoy.
I was able to do just that a few weeks ago, and my friend Sheepa and one of her friends was able to attend a James Rhodes’ concert:
Hey Frenz!!
The show was great! At times I did have to close my eyes since the dark-room-with-two-spotlights-on-James-Rhodes was weirdly blinding.
James was brilliant! He came on stage with his sparkly converses, bowed, took off his glasses and just started playing. Whenever he finished a piece he would get up and talk to us about why he’d played that specific piece, who it was by and how crazy they had been. There was not one talk that didn’t get a laughing response from almost everyone in the crowd! His sense of humour was great and everyone loved him and his music.
I have to say it was the pieces after the interval that really touched me. Where as Chopin’s was all about love Bach’s was about grief and pain. They were both very intense.
The programme…
L V Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C, Op.53 (Waldstein)
M Moszkowski: Etude in F, Op. 72 No. 6
Interval – 20mins
F Chopin: Romance from Piano Concerto No.1 transc. Balakirev for solo piano
J A Bach: Chaconne from Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV.1004 transc. Bausoni for piano
For those not familiar with James Rhodes, I did a piece on him several months back, and it was such a joy to write. If you love classical music and someone who is intelligent and funny, you will enjoy James.
I also asked Sheepa about the age of the crowd and whether she would go see him again:
I did see some people in the audience who would be above 50 yrs of age but the majority of the audience would be around 20 – 35yrs. There was one woman who sat right behind me who was clearly a huge fan, probably mid 20s, couldn’t stop cheering when he finished a piece, he he.
I would definitely go and see him again, as would my friend. We both loved the evening! My friend had heard of him before but I hadn’t.
Thank you for the tickets Frenz! As I said on twitter, there was an empty seat right beside me and I believe you were there in spirit!
Thank you, Sheepa, and I’m so glad you had a great time! Glad I was there in spirit, but wish I had been there in the flesh. Maybe next time around. :D
Another post in the ongoing series about Musicilove.
Yesterday something happened that’s kept a smile on my face since. Imagine me typing this post in a rhythm. It’s the only thing alleviating the urge to get up and dance. LOL! Yep, I’ve been caught in something, and I’m just now figuring out what. Before yesterday I had heard maybe one song by Sugarland and thought it was good but then moved on. Enter Sheepa who came with the ‘Stuck Like Glue’ video, and I’ve become enthralled with watching and listening to Jennifer Nettles and her musical partner, Kristian Bush. These two are so talented that I don’t think they can move without something artistic gushing out. Kristian’s guitar playing is perfect, but Jennifer is a force of nature. If you haven’t already looked at that ‘Stuck Like Glue’ vid, go do it. Watch it more than once; it gets better each time!
As I watched it for about the 20th time, I knew that much energy and joy couldn’t just be that one video, and I’m happy to say it’s not.
Phew! “that girl can sang!” as it’s said in my neck of the woods. And she writes her own music. Yep, this is one talented chick. Sorry, but I can’t help but gush. She has something special, and those who love her saw it long ago:
I’m thankful once again for YouTube, Amazon and emusic. Last night I purchased ‘The Incredible Machine’ album and quite a few other tunes by Sugarland and was listening to all of it within a couple of minutes.
By the way, I wasn’t terribly happy with emusic when I first started with them, but they are steadily improving, and they have given me so much free music, that I’m stunned. Yes, this is a shameless plug. :D
One more ’cause I just can’t get enough:
Of all the musical pieces I’ve posted, this one reminds me of Richard Armitage the most. I realize he may not even like country music, but Jennifer seems so talented and creative and real that I couldn’t help but think of RA.
note: I have only used the word ‘gush’ one other time on this blog.
correction: I’ve only used ‘gush’ in connection with RA, but Jennifer is so talented, I can’t help myself.
I had to get that last post done. Wish you could have heard me laughing while I typed, but I’m glad it’s done.
Lately, I’ve mostly been dwelling on things that are fine and good and true and beautiful when it would have been so easy to focus on things that are not. What a wondrous thing to remember I don’t have to focus on things that don’t edify. It’s strange to make reference to it — even cryptically, and it’s certainly hard for me to take this place seriously. RA Universe doesn’t qualify as serious. Not even close. But I do have to make good on some promises I’ve made in the last year, and I will. But not today.
For SO and I, this sums up the state of our minds the last few weeks:
My brain is definitely out of control, and I mean that in the best way possible. But I’m itching to capture my thoughts, and just when I gave one of my prized possessions to my son. I’ve ordered another one, but it’s not here yet, and I’ve had to resort to pencil and paper when on the road. Painful!! LOL!
Onto some housekeeping of which this blog is in great need. My tags are a mess, but oh, you don’t know the joy of cleaning up a mess until you have to sift through pictures of and words about Richard Armitage. The challenge is to not get sidetracked.
And this is what I’m listening to as I sift:
I’ve probably got more to say about Oscar Peterson, Antonio Carlos Jobim, et al in more detail later. And okay, I threw in ‘How Insensitive’ (aka ‘Insensatez’) but don’t you just love Sting’s funky self?!! Yes, I’ll work him into another post sometime as well. :D
Do we need a picture of RA to go along? Oh yeah.
Manipulation courtesy of a fan, whom I’m not sure wants credit. I’ll have to check. In the meantime, enjoy, and remember you can click on it to enlarge.
edit: just as I thought — she does not want credit. That’s a shame since this is a great manipulation. Oh well, we still get to enjoy it.
What’s the dynamic? A body in motion tends to stay in motion….? Yeah, that’s what’s happening. I got rolling, and I probably won’t stop unless some force acts on me. Unfortunately, none of this is going on in cyber world, but I’ll be back sometime soon.
In the meantime, here comes another post about Musicilove. I was going to post this earlier in the week, but this is a Friday night sound. Anytime I hear Matchbox Twenty or Rob Thomas solo, I’m immediately pumped. That’s the best word to describe this music. It definitely gets me pumped up, and the bass riffs in this first song make me want to dance. Rob Thomas with Matchbox Twenty:
Rob solo:
Rob with Santana:
Heck, all these songs make me want to dance, and I’m putting the Richard Armitage tag on this since I’m assuming he loves all the music I love ;-) and we know he likes to dance. CWS? If the guy has any taste, he likes the same music I do. Imagine me making a creepy cackle while I write this.
Many times I’ve wondered how long this blog’s life would be, and no, I’m not going anywhere. I’m still here and will be here for a while longer. How long I don’t know. As long as I get some fulfillment and fun from it I suppose. But candidly sometimes that fun is hard work. Of course life is full of obstacles, and usually the obstacles involve people or money. Come to think of it they all involve people or money. Now I’m not here to talk about money, and I doubt anyone has ever read my blog expecting me to talk about money. Although truth be told, I could talk about money for quite a while. But I’ll spare you. Today. So people it is.
People are infinitely fascinating even when they’re being a pain in the ass. At least that’s how I choose to see it, and if I didn’t choose to see it that way, I would not have done this blog past a few weeks. I also knew choosing the subject of Richard Armitage for my blog would bring with it an element that is absurd (no offense to Richard), and in case it’s not obvious to some, I’ve used that absurdity to spring myself forward. But sometimes I can’t find the humor in some of these people who are mean. I try never to cave to thoughts like this here (diary entries excepted), but I’ve slipped up a couple of times and day before yesterday was one of those times. I immediately regretted making that post, but after I had a little time to ruminate on it, I decided that it really was something that should have been broached.
On to the point of this piece. Yep, that was all a preface. I’m partial to prefaces lately. :D
If you’re going to blog, you cannot let people get to you — especially if they’re trying to get to you. If they get to you, then they have defeated you. They’ve stopped you. I was reading one well-intentioned commenter’s suggestion about Servetus’ handling of those who object to her blog. It was suggested to use password protection so that only those who really want to read the blog can do so. The commenter did not intend it to be censorship and said as much as a preface to the comment, but really, that’s what it is, and I mean absolutely no aspersion on the one who made the suggestion. It’s just that it’s hard to see it as anything else, and ironically, it would still not serve the purpose of making those who are offended happy as some would probably still read the blog. LOL!
So what’s the answer to all of this — at least in my opinion? It’s two-fold. First, go ahead fearlessly. Go for it, and don’t let someone inhibit you, and believe me, there will be those who will try. It’s a given. Second (and really this should be first), use some wisdom in lieu of locking things down. If you believe you shouldn’t post something, ask yourself why you don’t want to post it, and if someone is manipulating you into not posting, that’s almost never a good reason. Of course if it’s something that you have concluded is not appropriate, don’t post, but know that sometimes you might make a mistake. Scratch that. You will make a mistake, and if you don’t want to ever make a mistake, then don’t blog. In fact, don’t write anything, anywhere or say anything to anyone because at some point you’re going to make a mistake. [note: Mulubinba is excluded from this comment ’cause her decision is not about being manipulated, and I certainly respect it.]
In the meantime, I’m enjoying this song below, and I don’t care that it’s Katy Perry singing. If I was all caught up in who she supposedly is, I would dismiss this song. Her name alone would have the power to preclude me from ever listening to her or considering her music whenever I happen to hear it. Thankfully, I don’t think that way about music, so when I heard this, I liked it. :D
This post is part of the ongoing series of Musicilove and serves the two-fold purpose of acknowledging the passing of Clarence Clemons and introducing you to one of my favorites blogs.
I have been in love with the sax since I was about five years old. It appealed to my cool gene, and eventually I took it up as an instrument. At the time, its case was almost as tall as I was, and I remember lugging it on and off the bus to and from school. That was a pain, but I was determined to learn it and tap into a sound that was only rivaled by the bass for coolness. I did eventually learn to play it, and to play some jazz pieces that I had been dreaming about, e.g., Take Five. But mostly, learning to play it put it in my blood, so that I’ve always felt a keen kinship with sax players. Clarence Clemons was one of those. I don’t know that he was the best sax player I’ve ever heard, but he was certainly one of the most exuberant, and the energy rolling off of him always put a smile on my face every time I got to see him perform. One of my fondest musical memories is attending a show of Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ tour. I have relived that experience countless times and of course Clarence is always there swaying in my head. So I was sad to learn that he passed away.
And then there’s Matt, whose blog I adore. His piece on Clemons is one of the shortest I’ve ever read from him and mostly a quote, so it’s not particularly the one I was going to use to introduce him. But I’m impatient sometimes, and I guess now is one of those times. Yet I know if you love music and thoughtful discussion of same, you will love exploring his blog. I also have an interest in Matt as a homeschooler and in particular as an ‘unschooler.’ I happen to be involved with it myself — having successfully graduated three unschoolers.’ But please don’t think all unschoolers are as crazy as I am. Matt is proof they’re not. :D
Enjoy:
Goodbye, Big Man
By now, I'm sure that you've all seen that Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for the E Street Band, has died. Clemons seemed to be a character out of a storybook — or better yet, a widescreen movie about the triumph of a romantic gang of rock ’n’ roll renegades. Wildly popular among fans of the E Street Band, he was the sort of larger-than-life figure to whom legends accrued. Recognizing this, Clemons and Springsteen did much to play up those legends … Read More
RAFrenzy 