Category Archives: Music

Picking out talent

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I’ve watched a lot of American Idol over the years but other than the season with Carrie Underwood, George never really got into it at all. One thing I always found with that show was that I often managed to pick either the final winner or someone who got down to the last two or three. The talent always seemed to be a bit skewed.

Since the American season of The X Factor started George and I have been watching although I miss some of the performances because I’m still on my way home. We watch it together each week and have been enjoying it tremendously. The talent on that show is huge and although I definitely have my number one favourite singer, there are so many people that are amazing that the winner could be just about anyone at this point.

I’m pretty partial to Melanie Amaro, Rachel Crowe, Astro, The Stereo Hoggs, Stacy Francis, and well, yeah. I like a lot of people. They’re all so mind-blowingly good. Astro in particular bowls me over with how much stage presence he has and how much he already sounds like an established rapper.

However, my choice for who I would like to see win comes down to someone who has an incredible voice but also sings in ways that make me believe I would put her album on my iPod. She’s only 14 years old but she has so much vocal control and personality on stage, and if I were voting I’d be voting for Drew Ryniewicz.

She sounds like a cross between the lead singer of The Cranberries and Sarah McLachlan. I would buy her CD in a heartbeat, she’s amazing.

Are you watching? Who’s your favourite?

Weekend of good times

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This weekend we went to celebrate a friend’s birthday with our usual circle of awesome people. It started after supper and involved a lot of delicious sweet treats which is always a huge hit.

I heart you

The birthday boy got a new guitar as his main gift so that went really well with the live jam that went on down in the basement a little later in the evening. The last time George played anywhere I really wanted to go but didn’t have a babysitter so I missed it. This made up for it.

Strum

Purple Rain

(That would be me in the corner filming some of the music action.)

Quite some time ago George started practicing “Purple Rain” at home. I have always loved Prince and naturally that’s one of my favorite songs that he did (#1 favorite being “Darling Nikki” which is less appropriate for gatherings that include young children). Since I hadn’t been able to hear him do it in a public setting I requested (demanded) that they play it at the party. As a result I got video of an excellent acoustic version of the song and naturally I wanted to share it.

It was a great night. A late night, but great nonetheless. Hayley had too many cupcakes and Breanna barely made it up the stairs before passing out from exhaustion but that aside we all had a great time. Everyone’s birthday should involve a bit of live music.

(Full photo set over here)

Musical collaboration

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For about the past year George has been working on songwriting with another very talented man named James who lives in Florida. They met online through a mutual friend and they both work very well together. They’ve created dozens of incredible songs and they chat on Skype regularly to talk music and shoot the shit too. He’s a great guy.

As always with music, while I like all their songs there are some that I like more than others. I have a handful of favorites but their recent collaboration, called “A Hard Place” just hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s told from the point of view of a Marine who realizes that the only way he’s coming home is in a flag-draped coffin. The song is a letter home to his wife, apologizing for her that he can’t keep his promise of coming back safe and sound and telling her all the things she’ll need to do. It’s a tear jerker and very moving.

George did the music and James wrote the lyrics and did the vocals. He was a Marine himself so he knows of what he speaks in this song. After listening to it a few times I asked if I could make a photo montage video of it. Using attribution licensed photos from Flickr’s Creative Commons section I put this together and wanted to share it with you.

(If you’re one of the many people with someone fighting out there somewhere, please know this song is extremely emotional; I won’t be offended if you choose not to listen or watch the video.)

It’s a beautiful tribute and it pains me to think of how many loved ones have gotten letters much like that one. I hope you enjoy it.

Lyrics in the extended entry:

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The dangers of an iPod and good music

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I have an iPod Touch that I absolutely love. For one thing, as long as there’s an open wireless network in the vicinity I can get online and that’s just cool. For another, I’m able to listen to music when I take the dog for a long walk (or when I do the dishes which is such a frickin’ boring chore without music – I have no dishwasher, sob!).

284/365 - Geeks R Us

There is a downside to the iPod though, or really any kind of mp3 player. See, I love music. Most people do, right? I also love to sing. I can usually carry a tune but I don’t feel like I’m a great singer or anything so I try not to do it too loud when people can hear me. I ALSO love to dance. I can’t remember the last time I was out dancing somewhere, it’s been a long time now, but oh, it’s just fun to dance.

You see where this is going right?

So there I was the other day, out walking the dog and enjoying the day and my music. Finally she had to stop and do her business so while I waited for her to pace back and forth eight hundred times in search of the Perfect Pee Spot (WTF? Why do dogs DO that?!) I was standing still. And the song that came on was awesome.

And I forgot where I was. Which is why I suddenly realized that I was dancing and shaking my ass on the SIDEWALK IN PUBLIC HOLY HELL. Seriously. It wasn’t a brief shuffle, I was DANCING on the sidewalk for a good ten seconds before I noticed what I was doing and that it wasn’t just in my head. I can only be thankful that it was a quiet street but I’m still pretty sure that one person saw me and was doing his best not to laugh out loud at me. Gah.

For the record, I’m a big American Idol dork fan and this year my number one choice was the runner up. I have the studio version of all his songs that he did on the show, and this is what I was dancing to like a fool.

Did I mention the IN PUBLIC ON THE STREET part?! Sigh.

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Fangirl moment

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I apologize for posting two videos in a row, but anyone who has been reading me for awhile knows that I am a huge fan of both American Idol and Canadian Idol. Last year I was cursing the fact that, as a Canadian, I couldn’t vote in support of David Cook.

This year, I found myself initially a bit ambivalent, but I’ve ended up becoming a *huge* Adam Lambert fan. I also really like Danny Gokey quite a lot and would most likely love his music when he puts an album out in the future, but after the past several weeks I fully expect that Adam is going to win this season and after last night’s performance I really think it would be beyond shocking if he doesn’t. Check this out, from last night’s “standards” theme:

As soon as it was over and the judges thew their praises upon him I immediately fired up Skype and started discussing how amazing that was with my fellow Idol fan.

Are you watching? Who are you pulling for?

(I promise I’ll have an actual *content* post up soon!)