:: Growing up in the 60s, I recall a number of (what at the time seemed like) bizarre, offbeat musical acts, including Mrs Miller, a woman who couldn't keep time or sing on key, yet developed a huge following and sold tons o' records. Feel the groove as she destroys A Hard Day's Night, complete with what can be generously described as a guitar solo, featuring a standout, God-awful sour note in the midst of its execution. Cringe as you listen to the total cremation of the last few bars of the Petula Clark classic, Downtown. And what's with the whistling??
What reminded me of Mrs Miller was an e-mail from Derryl, with a link to the site of the singer named Wing. Wing emigrated to New Zealand from Hong Kong, and notes "I have been learning singing in New Zealand and I do performances in Rest Homes and Hospitals and occasionally promotional concerts as I go along." Recently she released Beatles Classics, featuring their famous, #1 hit, Hine Hine. Er, what? As for her take on the Beatles, here is a 30-second clip of her annihilation of I Want To Hold Your Hand. Her attempt to hit the high note when she sings, "I want to hold your HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND" is sad, and yet in a odd way, comforting. I wonder if she might consider doing a tribute album to McCartney's 70s band, Wings. Wing Sings Wings. It makes sense.
It's a pity that Mrs Miller is no longer with us, because if she and Wing decided to tour, I'd be first in line for tickets. Are Mrs Miller and Wing creators of outsider music? Last year, I bought Innocence and Despair: The Langley Schools Music Project, and loved it. Irwin Chusid, author of Songs in The Key of Z - The Curious Universe of Outsider Music, notes, "Outsider musicians are often termed "bad" or "inept" by listeners who judge them by the standards of mainstream popular music. Yet despite dodgy rhythms and a lack of conventional tunefulness, these often self-taught artists radiate an abundance of earnestness and passion. And believe it or not, they're worth listening to, often outmatching all contenders for inventiveness and originality..." If so, I'd say Mrs Miller and Wing both pass the audition.
This post submitted to Blogcritics.com.
:: As for total weirdness, I just opened Amazon, to check for entries to add to this post (for Blogcritics.com). The page opened with "Hello, Randy...", etc., and featured five products to do with outsider music. OK, is this like, cookie hell? I'm freaking out now.
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (7)show comments right here »
:: Here it is: the new song, with lyrics written by the up-and-coming young wordsmith, eight year old Aidan Murphy of Prince George BC, son of up-and-coming sf writer and good friend, Derryl Murphy, and the music by legend-in-his-own-mind, hack guitarist Randy Reichardt.
Background: Aidan wrote the words, and Derryl posted the lyrics on his site, Cold Ground. The recording was done in the basement of the Wests' house, with Niki doing the engineering and recording on her little digital studio. We recorded it yesterday, it was a lot of fun. The voice and acoustic guitar tracks were done in one take, but the "bass" line (actually an electric guitar with mucho effects) took about 7 or 8 takes.
This isn't the first time I've added music to lyrics written by a young one. There is something inspiring about the creativity of a child, but kid yourself not: it is a lot of fun for me too, to write and construct a melody and chords around the words.
"I'm Going Down In The Middle of Town": lyrics © 2004 Aidan Murphy, music © 2004 Randy Reichardt.
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (2)show comments right here »
:: This one put a smile on my face, for sure! Then check out Alien, The Exorcist, Titanic, and the link is correct, Jaws.
| TrackBack (1):: This week, Family Channel started broadcasting the one and only season of My So-Called Life, the brilliant, inventive show that introduced us to Claire Danes and Jared Leto. Danes went on to win the Golden Globe for her work on the show. ABC, of course, cancelled the series after one year. Network weasels, as Letterman would say. A quick 'net search uncovered a detailed, encyclopedic MSCL site, on which it is noted that 10 years ago today, August 25, 1994, ABC aired the first episode. It remains one of my all-time favorite tv shows.
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (1)show comments right here »
:: My mom is home from the hospital in Winnipeg, resting and recuperating as best she can, trying to regain her energy. It's been a long four months of dealing with various medical problems. Thankfully she is on the mend.
:: On 23rd Avenue, which is the main west-to-east route near my house, a section of the south side has been resurfaced with asphalt. I love driving on it now, it feels like like my car is moving over a pillow.
:: I saw four movies on the weekend, including Festival Express, Control Room, Open Water, and the original Shaft (1971 version). I enjoyed the three new movies, especially Open Water. I think it's a great achievement, given the small crew and the budget of $150,000US. The weekend estimates for the period ending 22 Aug 2004, show Open Water at $10,800,000US, which was an increase of 1,109% over the previous week, bringing it up to $13,900,000 as of yesterday. Not too shabby. I wonder if it might set a record for rate of return compared to cost of production.
:: Earlier this year, I bought a Swiffer WetJet. Today I bought the dry land version, along with the duster. I assembled them, and did some dusting. Life doesn't get much more exciting, does it?
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (2)show comments right here »
:: As posted to Blogcritics.com.
The Village, the new film by M Night Shyamalan, is a bit of a mess. One review I read tagged it as an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. I found the film ultimately disappointing. However, the performances by the cast members are uniformly superb, including Brendan Gleeson (who like Brian Cox, appears to be in every second film these days), despite having very little to do in the film. Leading the way are, ostensibly, the two leads: Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard, daugher of Opie/Richie Cunningham.
There is one scene with these two actors that deserves special mention, however, and I wish to describe it here. Therefore, if you haven't seen the film, please note the following as a spoiler.
After the village is terrorized by Those Who Live In The Woods, Ivy wakes in the middle of the night to find Lucius sitting alone on the front porch of her house. She walks outside and sits with him, and they talk. She asks why he is there, and he tells her that he is there to protect her and her family from the creatures. The conversation continues, but turns suddenly when she asks him, and I paraphrase, "Will you dance with me at our wedding?" Having never confessed his love for her, she can nonetheless sense it to the core of her being. The words finally pour out of him, almost uncontrollably, and he tells her how deeply he cares for her. Before they embrace, overcome by her joy and exhilaration, she looks at him (she can see his colour) and is visibly shaking with emotion. It is one of the best written and best acted love scenes I have watched in a very, very long time. It doesn't redeem the movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a gem of a moment, and I was very moved by the presentation.
Howard, with her soft features and delivery, has lost any anonymity she had before this picture, and is destined for greater glory. Her obvious acting chops should deter anyone from accusing her of using her father's lifelong career in the tv and movie industries as a stepping stone into the business herself - granted, I'm sure it wasn't a deterent, either. Phoenix continues to deliver solid performances with each of his movies.
As for the film, the ending is incredibly absurd, with Shyamalan revealing one of the twists at least 30-40 minute before the final, critical sequence in the movie. The character in question, Ivy, is left to believe she is in danger, but the audience knows this isn't the case, and the tension evaporates.
| TrackBack (0):: My mother is at home tonight. Thank you to everyone who sent good thoughts and prayers, they were a big help. Apparently she developed food poisoning sometime yesterday. I'm hoping, finally, that she can take some time at home, and begin a rest and recovery period.
:: This is way too much fun.
:: Many thanks to all who sent me notes of support regarding my Mom. She was discharged yesterday, but needed to be go back to the hospital this morning in an ambulance, and remains in emergency at the moment, waiting for, yet again, another bed. This is her third trip there since July, and twice in the last few days. I have no other information. I spoke with my Dad, and he's exhausted and hoarse from talking so much. Needless to say, I am frustrated and feeling useless, being 1,500 klicks and two provinces away from Winnipeg.
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (1)show comments right here »
:: One can never have enough good friends - it's a blessing. Case in point: Heavy G came by Saturday morning to examine three Juniper trees in the back yard and make a recommendation re: having the trees removed. A quote received earlier in the week from a tree service came in at $200.00. G was sure we could do it with a chain saw and solid effort. Convinced this could be done, we went to Home Depot and rented an electric chain saw. Once home, G got down to work, only the saw wouldn't cut shyte. Trip #2 to Home Depot revealed that the chain was installed backwards on the bar. D'oh!
We returned with an Echo CS-670, gas-powered saw, and it worked fine for about 2/3 of the work until its chain came off the bar. We tried in vain, for about 45 minutes, to put it back on the bar, and eventually called HD, where the staff told us we needed a special tool to reinstall the chain.
Trip #3 to Home Depot resulted in a third saw, a replacement CS-670, after it was determined that the chain mechanism on the first CS-670 had a flaw of some sort. By now we were on a first name basis with the staff. I thanked Darren and Tyler and Marc, and G and I returned, successfully completing the tree takedowns. I took a turn wielding the machine, hacking away at trunks and branches into smaller, fireplace-friendly sizes. The remaining branches were piled up by the backyard trellis. Trip #4 to Home Depot was to return the saw and peripherals, and the boyz there gave me a 50% discount for the trouble.
In the end, it cost $20.01 to rent, plus a case of Coronas for G, instead of $200 to the tree service. The issue of concern had been grinding the stumps, but because the trees were sitting in a planter about 12-15 inches high, any further work in the planter will begin with fresh soil to fill up the space. The stumps and roots will be a non-issue at that time.
My thanks to Geoff for taking time from his day to help me remove the trees.
:: While typing the above, I received a phone call from Winnipeg, from a friend of my mother's. She is still struggling with her infected shoulder, and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance today because of increasing pain and discomfort. She isn't eating, and has slept a full night for months. This is causing a lot of stress for my father, who at 77, is doing all he can to help her. Please keep my folks in your thoughts and prayers.
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (4)show comments right here »
:: I spent last weekend volunteering, for the 13th year, at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. The lineup this year was very strong, in support of the 25th anniversary, and included Bonnie Bramlett, Rodney Crowell, Ani DiFranco, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Jerry Douglas, Lucky Dube, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Dick Gaughan, The Handsome Family, Wanda Jackson, Natalie Merchant, Earl Scruggs, Martin Simpson, The Strawbs, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, and Hawksley Workman. I am on the Performer Hospitality crew, and had possibly the most enjoyable festival ever, working with my friends on the team, and assisting and working with amazing, friendly performers.
I tend to be restless at the festival, and generally don't like sitting for long periods of time. As a result, I see little of the music, but hear a lot of it, as my work area is backstage.
On Sunday night, August 8th, David Byrne and the Tosca Strings closed out the 25th annual EFMF in grand style. Byrne is in the midst of his My Backwards Life Tour, in support of his new album, Grown Backwards.
Byrne's set featured a number of classic Talking Heads tunes, intermingled with songs from his recent releases. He sang at least one song in Spanish, and accompanied himself on guitar a few times. His percussionist, Mauro Refosco, played many diverse and intriguing beats, and his rhythm section of Graham Hawthorne on drums and Paul Frazier on bass was flawless. Tour photos of the band are here.
The show began with "Road to Nowhere", which Byrne described afterwards as a song he wrote for the Republican National Convention. Despite playing in Canada, the quip drew considerable laughter - it's not like we don't know what's happening below our border! While not familiar with his newer work, I felt the songs he performed from his recent catalogue to be interesting and compelling - I wanted to hear more even though I wasn't familiar with the music
Byrne knows his fans want to hear a selection from the TH catalogue, and while he can't play them all (Burning Down the House, my favorite, wasn't offered), he delivered the aforementioned Road to Nowhere along with And She Was, Izimbra, Life During Wartime, This Must Be The Place, Once In A Lifetime, and of course, Psycho Killer. 27 years later, he made it sound new. As for Once In A Lifetime, I still ask myself, "how do I work this?" I don't have an answer yet.
I enjoy performers who engage themselves with the audience, and Byrne works in this way. He introduced each band member at one point, injected a few comments throughout the set, and thanked the audience, some 10-12,000 strong on the hill, for their support. He seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. The mix was very, very good, thanks to vigilant preparation by his production team and the festival front-of-house team. The sharp and well-defined sounds created by the Toscans often left me with goosebumps.
When a band has many members, the placement of each is a critical component, contributing to the show's success. I have seen many stage arrangements, in which a percussionist or supporting musicians were virtually hidden from site. I appreciated Byrne's choice of layout (as seen here in a picture from the Rome, Italy, performance): he take centre stage, of course, surrounded by his rhythm section, with the strings at stage left, and the cellists on a riser. There is an intangible excitement experienced when watching a string section play in unison, and the audience is given the opportunity to do so here without sacrificing quality or presentation.
The tour continues, with at least 28 more dates in the USA. If it makes it to your town, I hope you get to see it. I would also highly recommend the Edmonton Folk Music Festival to anyone with diverse music interests. The festival, now entering its 26th year, continues to bring to Edmonton each August, musicians who offer a wide selection of styles and genres. Tickets for the next festival should be on sale on June 1, 2005. See you there!
This post is also available at Blogcritics.com.
| TrackBack (0) | Comments (1)show comments right here »
This posting is a community experiment that tests how a meme, represented by this blog posting, spreads across blogspace, physical space and time. It will help to show how ideas travel across blogs in space and time and how blogs are connected. It may also help to show which blogs (and aggregation sites) are most influential in the propagation of memes. The dataset from this experiment will be public, and can be located via Google (or Technorati) by doing a search for the GUID for this meme (below).
The original posting for this experiment is located at: Minding the Planet. (Permalink: http://novaspivack.typepad.com/nova_spivacks_weblog/2004/08/a_sonar_ping_of.html) --- results and comments about the experiment appear at that location.
Please join the test by adding your blog (see instructions, below) and inviting your friends to participate -- the more the better. The data from this test will be public and open; others may use it to visualize and study the connectedness of blogspace and the propagation of memes across blogs.
The GUID for this experiment is: as098398298250swg9e (Note: this replaces the longer, original GUID -- listed below -- which didn't format nicely in narrow column layouts. Those sites still using the longer GUID will still be found in the data set).
The above GUID enables anyone to easily search Google or other search engines for all blogs that participate in this experiment, once they have indexed the sites that participate, which may take several days or weeks. To locate the full data set, just search for the any sites that contain either the short GUID (above) or the long GUID (for your reference, the long GUID is a single 72 character string comprised of the following segments put together with the white-spaces removed:
as098398298250swg9e 98929872525389t9987 898tq98wteqtgaq6201 0920352598gawst -- they are listed here as different segments so that they will format better in narrow column layouts.)
Anyone is free to analyze the data of this experiment. Please publicize your analysis of the data, and/or any comments by adding comments onto the original post (see URL above). (Note: it would be interesting to see a geographic map or a temporal animation, as well as a social network map of the propagation of this meme.)
INSTRUCTIONS
To add your blog to this experiment, copy this entire posting to your blog, and then answer the questions below, substituting your own information, below, where appropriate. Other than answering the questions below, please do not alter the information, layout or format of this post in order to preserve the integrity of the data in this experiment (this will make it easier for searchers and automated bots to find and analyze the results later).
REQUIRED FIELDS (Note: Replace the answers below with your own answers)
(1) I found this experiment at URL: http://alreadygone.blogspot.com/2004/08/testing-meme-propagation-in-blogspace.html
(2) I found it via "Newsreader Software" or "Browsing the Web" or "Searching the Web" or "An E-Mail Message": Browsing the Web
(3) I posted this experiment at URL: http://www.podbaydoor.com/
(4) I posted this on date (day/month/year): 03/08/04
(5) I posted this at time (24 hour time): 20:38:00
(6) My posting location is (city, state, country): Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
OPTIONAL SURVEY FIELDS (Replace the answers below with your own answers):
(7) My blog is hosted by: Moveable Type 2.661
(8) My age is: 53
(9) My gender is: Male
(10) My occupation is: Public Services Librarian (Engineering)
(11) I use the following RSS/Atom reader software: Awazu, Sharpreader
(12) I use the following software to post to my blog: MT, Zempt, w.bloggar
(13) I have been blogging since (day, month, year): 11/07/02
(14) My web browser is: IE 6.0.2880
(15) My operating system is: Windows XP
| TrackBack (0):: Haven't been in much of a writing mood lately. This is a long weekend in Alberta. I saw Ripley's Game last night, on DVD. Directed by Liliana Cavani with a score by Ennio Morricone, it is an overlooked gem of a movie from 2002, starring John Malkovich as Tom Ripley, the character created by Patricia Highsmith, and featured in four movies to date. It's a very good movie, and I have no idea why it didn't receive a wide general release in North America. What a shame.
:: The Stanley Kubrick Exhibition is on in Berlin. Wish I could attend. I've e-mailed to ask about purchasing the catalogue. Available for viewing now, in pdf, is Matthew Modine's Full Metal Diary, written while filming Full Metal Jacket. Included are a number of his photographs from the set.
Upcoming this weekend is the folk music festival. My brother Chris, and friends Tony and his daughter Claire, will be staying at my place while they attend the festival. Chris is also volunteering. Expect little if any blogging this year week. I am otherwise uninspired these days.
show comments right here »