Cheap Souvenirs... and Lissie

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of finally seeing Lissie in concert.  I say "finally" because her last show was canceled due to illness.  So yes, I had been waiting in anticipation for quite awhile.  Not to mention, the show was at Lincoln Hall... one of the best new venues in Chicago.  Acoustically gratifying, aesthetically pleasing, and just the right size so I can see and hear the performer wherever I stand.  Of course, it does help to be on the taller end.

 This is Lissie.  She's rocking the Brady Bunch hipster look.

     When Lissie came onstage, the first thing I asked was, "Is she wearing pants?"  This may seem odd, but I've seen her pull off the oversized flannel shirt look with no pants and no shoes.  It's a Rock Island thing (she's from the Quad Cities).  Or is it an L.A. thing?  She is a transplant.  I think Lissie actually wears really short shorts underneath the oversized shirt.  Regardless, it's a pretty cool look that I, even as a rock star, can't pull off.  I think I need pale/freckled skin and straight, blonde hair.  Seriously.  I've been thinking about it.

    Lissie's following a new musical trend - the no drummer trend.  And by "no drummer," I mean one of her other musicians acts as a drummer.  The bassist sat in a chair and played all the drum parts with his feet, and all the bass parts with, obviously, his hands.  I consider this a musical trend, but that's only because Mumford & Sons has popularized this with their lead singer/guitarist/bass drummist:

Is it too expensive to tour with a drummer?  Or is this the new cool?

Back to Lissie... let me show you the awesome souvenir I got:

Hmm.  It's sideways... but you get the point.

   I think people are stupid.  Why?  Because why would this poster still be up for grabs when I got to the concert?  Elizabeth and I were across the street drinking margaritas and missed the opener.  When we got to the show, there were still free posters on the wall.  People, people... these are FREE!  After the show, the venue is only going to take them down and toss them out.  Why pay for a poster when you can take it off the wall?  This is a once in a lifetime memory.  Maybe I'm a little passionate about the concerts I go to.  The other best "cheap" (aka free) souvenir?  Setlists from the stage:

This is me and the setlist that I took from Kate Nash at Lilith Fair.  I am showing off my Converse because her setlist actually has a footprint on it that matches the bottom of my shoe.  Did I mention the shoes that Kate Nash was wearing that day?  Oh yeah, I have Kate Nash's footprint.  Beat that.

    Maybe I'm a dork.  I don't care.  How do you get these free souvenirs?  Oh, it's very easy.  Walk up to the stage 1 minute after the encore is over (aka the lights go on) when the stage crew is shuffling about, smile, and say, "Hey, can I have that setlist?"  It's all about the smile.

   Back to Lissie... the show was in fact great.  I'd review it, but I want to skip to the end.  She has all this great music, and has become most famous for her cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness."  Elizabeth was a little disgusted with this.  Why is she known for a song that isn't even hers when she has all this other great music?  But alas, the Kid Cudi song doesn't sound like his anymore.  At least, that's my opinion.  Dude, Lissie makes it her own.  Of course, that's what you can read about in my thesis.  Do we really want to get into a whole discussion on the appropriation of the personal narrative, the confessional voice, and authority in general?  Not today.  I have to shower and teach some 6 year olds.  Here's the video for Lissie's cover of "Pursuit of Happiness."  Be your own judge.  Do you like it?  If so, then that's all that really matters:

 

Lip-Smacking

For the past couple of months, I had been using a broken pair of in-ear headphones.  As an avid music lover, this is incomprehensible.  I was missing half of my music (literally, one ear didn't work).  It's just, I didn't want to throw down the $80 for a good pair... and I didn't want to spend a month being indecisive about which brand to purchase.  So what did I do?  I asked my brother for a perfect Christmas present - a new pair of headphones.  He did all the work for me.

I have had two life changing experiences this week: 1) my new Good Year tires and 2) my Klipsch headphones. First of all, I had no idea that my Mazda 3 5-door could actually give those SUV's some competition on the icy roads.  This whole time, I just had to come up with $700 to waste at the Mazda Autobarn.  Yeah, success costs money.  But more importantly, my day was just completely turned upside down by this experience:

+



= Pure Bliss.

Did you enjoy the photograph that accompanies song?  I obviously didn't choose it.  "Kettering," by The Antlers, has been used in a lot of TV shows, commercials, etc.  But trust me, the visual/audio experience does not compare to what I just heard on these headphones.  In order to understand, you probably need an original mp3 (not a burned copy)... or maybe even the real CD!  (what?  I thought those were obsolete...)  And you need to purchase a real pair of headphones.  If you want my recommendation, please refer to the previous picture.

I may or may not be obsessed with the confessional voice.  I devoted an entire year to writing a thesis on this subject.  When I can hear lips smacking into the microphone, I'm intrigued.  Maybe because I can't sing?  Vocalists aren't supposed to do this... yet some deliberately break the rules for certain recording purposes.  Peter Silberman is so close to us, I can hear his lips move accordingly to each word he enunciates.  He then uses his own breath as another instrument at the end of the song.  And to think, it wasn't until I wore these headphones that I heard the actual lip-smacking.

Now I am going to be at my computer the rest of the night because there are thousands of songs ready to be experienced with my new headphones.  That's the wonderful thing about music.  There's something new to discover each time you listen to a song.

Kate Nash Is Real

Sometimes I hear a song and I think, "Damn.  That's what I've been trying to say this whole time."  It works very well for me, considering I can then guide a person to this song and say, "Hey.  This is what I want to tell you."  Is it wrong to not express my own self with my own words?  Maybe.  But when someone else can verbalize my feelings so eloquently in my favorite medium, I just have a lot of gratitude towards them.

Last night, I fell asleep on the couch at 9:45 pm.  I woke up at 1:48 am in a state of frenzy.  I was supposed to watch "The Good Wife," eat some more popcorn, and then continue my work.  Those plans did not work out so well, as I ended up in my bed with thoughts racing at 1.72 million miles per hour:

What was I going to do first thing in the morning?  When was I going to load gear into my car?  Where was I going to watch the Bears game this weekend?  I have to remember to call the dentist.  I need to book a plane ticket to California.  WTF is going on in my life?  Wait a second, I went through a full year of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to stop this.  Let me stop thinking.  Now I have music stuck in my head.  Now, I'm thinking about Kate Nash and I'm thinking about this song:



For those of you concerned, these are the important parts of the Kate Nash rant at the end:

I don't know how all people haven't got mental health problems
thinking is one of those stressful things I've ever come across
and not being able to articulate what I want to say drives me crazy
I think i should try and read more books and learn some new words
my sister used to read the dictionary i'm going to start with that
I'd like to travel I want to see India and the pyramids, a whale and that race with all the bycicles in France
I'm not sure about rivers they scare me
but I love swimming I'm good at it
when I swim I think about numbers, I count the laps......
I like sitting in the park and i like walking through it
I like taking my dogs there and friends and i like being alone
I like flowers and simplicity
I like compassion and thoughtful gifts
I like being able to shout but I wish I could be quiet
but when I'm quiet people think I'm sad and usually i am
sometimes when I'm at a busy trainstation somewhere big with noisy trains like kings cross 
I feel like putting down my bags and shouting out because I have something to say
don't you want to share the guilt?
don't think just try and sleep! 


Damn it.  How did Kate Nash know exactly what I was thinking?  She even told me to stop thinking and to go to sleep!  


She's even so "real," that when I saw her live, she was completely obliterated and nearly knocked all the monitors off the stage.  If we go back to my previous post, well now, that's rock n' roll.  I really wish Kate wasn't always this drunk on stage, because she's got some amazingly depressing lyrics.  Her stage show is all about the crazy shit, but if you want to feel like crap about yourself, just watch this:





Even the cinematography has the outsider looking in effect to accompany the song.  Watching Kate Nash through a monitor on our screen?  Now that's deep.  Deep like the song.  I'll leave you in the shallow end:





Everything's better with a British accent. 

The Life Of A Rock Star

Sex, drugs and rock n' roll.  As a musician... yup, that pretty much summarizes my life.  If you want to understand the rock star lifestyle, just listen to Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" album.  Here's a nice little version of Jackson Browne singing about his cocaine:



If this is true, why is it 2:10 pm and I am panicking about the amount of work I still have left to do?  I thought I'm supposed to sleep until 5 pm, wake up, down some beers, play a show, and party until the sun comes up. Not the case.  I've been up since 8 am to work on my taxes, promote my shows, file papers for my corporation, send out wedding contracts, promote more shows, learn songs for the tomorrow's gig, take decaf coffee breaks, learn songs for Friday's gig, put together some binders full of music, record my expenses, and figure out how the hell I'm going to carry my gear back into my car.  Rock star?  I think not.  I've got to leave in 15 minutes to go teach 10 year olds for five straight hours.

Maybe I'm missing something.

But every now and then, a record player appears... and the musicians get to take a break from work, and we get to enjoy the one thing we love the most: music.  I present to you, part one in a three part series entitled, "THE Record Player."  This was my Christmas gift to myself, and this is how a rock star listens to music (without Jackson Browne's cocaine):

Back to the clap....

I can't believe I forgot to post this before.  If this video of "Rio" by Hey Marseilles doesn't make you smile just a little bit, then you must be a fire hydrant for dogs.  This video was shot in one take.  Ready, set, clap:

Redemption

With the Eagles' playoff game looming around the corner, and the possibility of Michael Vick's miraculous turnaround into an MVP candidate, I can't help but ponder the idea of redemption.  Have we forgotten about Vick's past?  Has he repented, paid his dues to society, and worked to become a better man?  Possibly.  I've never met him personally and can't make a fair judgment.  I do know one thing - he's a damn good football player.  And this leads me to some current trends in music.  At what point do we have to forget about the musicians' past lives and forgive them for their "sins"?  Sometimes it's hard to do this when their current life so closely imitates their past.  Take a look at Drake's video of "Best I Ever Had."  Keep in mind, Drake is "legit."  He has collaborated with Kanye, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Andre 3000, and Jay-Z, to name a few.

 

   Hmmm.  Basketball coach?  High school?  Seems awfully familiar of a Drake that I remember not so long ago in a really spectacular show that I may or may not own on DVD.  Only a couple of years ago, Drake portrayed Jimmy Brooks, an aspiring high school basketball player who was unfortunately shot in the back and therefore paralyzed from the waist down.  Hell, a lot of shit happens at Degrassi High in Toronto.  Here's the best clip I could find of Drake's finer days:



     But now we're supposed to give him street cred as he's singing about bitches and ho's?  I don't know if I can roll with it.  Doesn't he feel a little embarrassed when he's trying to explain this all to Jay-Z?  Just saying.

     And then I think about Miss Mandy Moore:



     Mandy was a record exec's delight.  She was twisted, molded, and crafted like the perfect pop song that is "Candy."  But we must know that something's not right, considering she's the only one not showing off her midriff.  Mandy is too sophisticated for that (hence she married the always classy Ryan Adams).  She dumped all the pop crap, and decided to become a singer-songwriter.  I hate to admit it, but I actually like this song:



   It's a little too well-crafted, a little too predictable, and a little too perfect... but look at the turn-around.  This is like going from dog-fights to MVP quarterback candidacy.

    And while Mandy will never substitute the great Emmylou Harris on the original recording, I would like to give this gift to you (keep in mind it's merely a rehearsal, which makes the imperfection even more perfect):

We've Got The Whole World In Our Hands

    I love Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!  Musically?  Eh, I really only like one song, and I have no idea what the band is singing:

      But as a band name?  Hell yeah!  Who doesn't clap his or her hands and say yeah!  I clap all day long with my students, "Ready... 1, 2, 3, 4...1, 2, 3, 4.  Come on, clap with me!  1, 2, 3, 4."  As a baby, it's fun to learn how to clap.  By the time the kids hit elementary school, it's some scary, foreign thing to do in front of the piano teacher.  They sit there and lightly tap their palms, quietly mumbling to themselves, staring at me blankly.  As an adult, I embrace clapping as the only fun activity I may have for that day.  The rest of the hours can end up being so monotonous.  And this, my friends, is why clapping is so important - not only to music, but to our lives.  Break the monotony and clap!  No, we mustn't just applaud the performers before and after the songs... but we must incorporate clapping INTO the music.  Who doesn't love a good clapping song?  We're done being shy around the piano teacher.  We realize that hell, it's fun to make noise and it's especially fun to make a rhythmic noise inside a song that already has noise.  We become part of the creation.  We become part of the art.  Whoah, a little too deep for me.
      My love for clapping may or may not have started in the classical world.  Steve Reich wanted to create a cyclical rhythmic pattern using the human instrument of... the hands.  His result:

  But really, we can't clap along to this.  We would just mess up the actual piece of art, considering 99% of us can't follow the musical notation one would have to read to keep up.  So instead, I'll start our fun here:

    Honestly, I don't deserve credit for Queen.  I wouldn't have even thought of Queen until it was thrown out into discussion today.  My favorite encounter with clapping?  Definitely The Kills' "At The Back of the Shell." We can't consider this "real" clapping, seeing as it's a computerized, continual rhythmic beat.... but now is not the time for a discussion on authenticity:
     
   Now I'd like to point out a song where the clap solo is so prominent that it has become a part of all audience participation at concerts.  At shows, the band usually stops the music and we all clap along as devoted fans who know exactly where to start.  Here's Rilo Kiley's "With Arms Outstretched."  (Please enjoy the lovely slideshow presented by this YouTuber).  Oh, we get to clap at 3:03:
      
    Hmmm.  I am reminded of this:

    Thanks to the recent movie though, I keep picturing Kristen Stewart in a wig.  I'm very sorry Joan.  Don't we have a similar cut-out and clap in "I Want You To Want Me"?  I'll spare you from that video, considering I'll have to play that at my next cover band gig.
   I'd like to end with my new, favorite example of incorporating the clap into music (yep, interpret that however you'd like).  Sweaty musicians, sweaty crowd, sweaty music?  What's not to love about this clip of Frightened Rabbit?
      
 

"Isms"

      ImpressionISM was a type of music that resulted from the general art sense of the era (if we exclude all of the other "isms" that were revolting here and there).  Even neo-classicISM has the art form of ballet to coincide with it (think Stravinsky).  So I ask you this:  what "ism" are we in?  Janet proposed this question yesterday, but dug even deeper as we analyzed the patriarchal influence of each movement.  All I want to know is, what are we going to call the popular music movement?  And does it coincide with an art movement?  The latter question was blatantly stolen from Janet.  I wish I could call it populism.  Unfortunately, this has a completely different meaning.  Maybe I'll refer to it as popular musicalism.  Maybe there is an actual answer for this question, but I don't want the real answer - I want a made up word.

     In the mean time, I would like to leave you with my band of the day: Deer Tick.  Check out the bass player's rat tail, and tell me you're not immediately in love.

     My brand new record player is still in its box.  I had a wonderful conversation today about all the albums I need to go out and purchase... one of them being Schoolhouse Rock!  What a brilliant suggestion.  Sadly, record stores are closed on New Years Day AND Sundays.  The anticipation of playing my first album on the Pioneer is just building and building and building.  I will gladly take any and all of your suggestions.

2011. Day One.

And so it begins.  Yesterday, I was kidnapped.  Unshowered, unbelted, and unprepared, I went to brunch with one thing on my mind: food.  10 hours later, after 3 mimosas, an endless supply of Amstel Lights, and some random whiskey that was at my seat when I came back from the pool table, I was persuaded to finally start a blog.  Asked why I had never done so before, I simply replied, “I don’t want people to know that I am THAT self-indulgent.”  But honestly, when it comes to music, I am.

my new music buddies

We spent ten hours engulfed in music conversation.  I argued why pop music is the Renaissance of the Renaissance, then rambled about playing Mozart better than Debussy on the piano.  Janet pumped Lionel Richie through the jukebox, and I had to admit that I was too young to recognize the song.  I met my future partner for life… Ted.  We share the same love for Ryan Adams, No Depression, and painstakingly, gut-wrenching, hopelessly romantic, unrequited love, confessional singer-songwriter, alternative country music.  Yes, that’s a new genre that you can find on iTunes.  Someone else actually cared when I got excited about the Norah Jones / Ryan Adams interview about the “Dear John” writing experience!  When Ryan Adams was high as a kite, he could write 5 songs in his sleep.  He thinks it’s easy.  When I wake up, I don’t immediately think, “Hmm.  I’m going to personify Chicago and New York and put the two characters in a tragically beautiful song.”  Case in point:

         But this brings me to the point of the blog.  With an MA in Musicology, I wanted to continue my studies at the PhD level.  Apparently, the 6 schools I applied to didn’t like my ideas.  I wanted to rip apart the “History of Women in Music” books and figure out why the current chapters talk about Annie Lennox (for shaving her head) and not Norah Jones (for not shaving her head).  Academia told me to shove it.  Classical studies, jazz studies, or ethnomusicology… these are my routes.  I want to know who the current bands are, and what they’re doing to further the music trends.  We can make fun of pop music all we want, but Rihanna’s writers aren’t stupid.  They’re well-versed in their craft and highly influenced from the “classics.”  They’ve adapted to what the people want and are obviously succeeding.  So let’s not hate.

            This blog is open for community input.  Music is a media source that everyone shares.  And that’s why I was told to blog… because two people told me they’d read it.  And maybe because we were a little buzzed.  Don’t worry, I remember the project we’re starting:  Silence in pop music.  I challenge anyone to write a pop song that incorporates 15-30 seconds of silence.  Remember though, there is no actual silence in silence, hence the beautiful music that comes with silence.  Imagine being on a dance floor, fist-pumping, hands in the air, and all of a sudden you hear, “Silencio por favor.”  The music stops.  The dance freezes.  We hear the sound of sweat dripping to the floor.  30 seconds later… the dance resumes.  

Here's your influence: