Danger Mouse

So I got the Grey Album from your library yesterday, and I listened to it in the car on the way home. I really like it-- the mix of the Beatles plus Jay Z is one I would have never imagined on my own. The way Danger Mouse starts off pretty much each song with some sort of Beatles song, then manipulates it into a rap/hip-hop song takes a lot of talent. I haven't listened to the CD enough yet, but so far I enjoy "Encore." What makes this album even better is that EMI tried to stop the distribution of it (according to Wikipedia) because Danger Mouse used unauthorized cuts of Beatles songs, whereas Jay Z released acapella versions of his songs for the purpose of mixes and mash-ups.

I found The Grey Video which is a music video promoting "Encore"; it's really interesting the way Danger Mouse collaborated and took clips form A Hard Day's Night (which we watched in class so I'm pretty much an expert at this point right).

Also the video is in BLACK and WHITE.... get it?

I also got a quote from Danger Mouse about his work on the album and I think it's really interesting to hear his process:

"A lot of people just assume I took some Beatles and, you know, threw some Jay-Z on top of it or mixed it up or looped it around, but it's really a deconstruction. It's not an easy thing to do. I was obsessed with the whole project, that's all I was trying to do, see if I could do this. Once I got into it, I didn't think about anything but finishing it. I stuck to those two because I thought it would be more challenging and more fun and more of a statement to what you could do with sample alone. It is an art form. It is music. You can do different things, it doesn't have to be just what some people call stealing. It can be a lot more than that."

Free Will vs. Destiny

I believe in the spectrum. I am not a religious person, and the conversation in class greatly described my position. I believe we may or may not have an overall destiny -- that part I am not so sure about. But I do believe in free will, I believe in people's choice and the choices we make shape our future. I like the idea that the choices make with our own free will lead to different paths that all result in the same destiny. So, in the end, we do have a destiny, yet our free will shapes how we get there. Again, destiny is an all encompassing term that does not accurately account for everything we do; the idea of a higher power that has control over everything does not appeal to me because of all the hardships and horrors in the world. It makes no sense to me why those things would be created if we do have someone responsible for the world.

The thought of this confuses me. My opinion may not be very clear or may not make very much sense, but it's as far as I have come to dissecting this question of free will vs. destiny. In any case, I think that this quote by a German philosopher is helpful in realizing the ambiguity of this question. Plus I kind of like it anyway.

“A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants.” 

― Arthur Schopenhauer

Henrietta

I've been listening to "Harlem" by The Fratellis a lot lately. This is the first time I've listened to/heard of The Fratellis and I really want to look up more of their songs. I like the incorporation of trumpets in the background  in addition to the guitar; my favorite part is the very beginning sequence plus the build up to around 0:50 where everything kind of ties together. The lyrics are fun and very different than what I've listened to in the past. My favorite lines are "give us a kiss and maybe we can go out /it's hard to miss you when you follow us about /buy us some shoes and maybe take us for cola." I'm not entirely sure what the song is talking about -- I think it's about a girl who follows the band around...? Regardless, it's a really fun song that I don't get tired of listening to! I also really like when they say "cleaner than fine china." It sounds super cool. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gpMlAiqcjU&sns=em 

Impossible Germany

"Impossible Germany" by Wilco has been on repeat for the past week. My dad showed me the live version not too long ago and I became obsessed with it. I am beyond sad that I missed them at ACL and their show the following Friday at the Moody Theater, but I am determined to see them once they come back to Austin. I'm pretty sure I wrote about Wilco already, but I left this song out and you should definitely give it a listen. The guitar is some of the greatest I have heard when it comes to this soft rock genre, and it has been stuck in my head forever. The guitar solo is so good and it comes in around 4:08. It sounds like two guitars harmonizing; its not too loud or too intense or too in-your-face, its the right amount of volume and perfectly shows off the skill needed to execute this sort of level of playing. It's just really awesome. I'm using the school computer so I can't embed a youtube link, but feel free to give it a shot!

"Help"

We watched the "Help!" Beatles movie in class, and I was confused to say the least. It was extremely hard to follow (for me anyway) but was funny when I was able to decipher the humor. My favorite part was when Paul shrunk down to a tiny little person and just sat in a bowl as the two mad scientists rampaged their home. It was pretty great. After we addressed the Beatles' fascination with India in class, it became apparent that this movie was made in the primal stages of their interest. The different locations and settings during the movie were varied and kept me attentive. Looking back, I probably would have enjoyed it a little more if someone was there to explain it all to me! Nevertheless I can understand how the movie was a huge influence on the people of that time period, considering the never-ending special effects and multiple changes in scenery.

 

I really liked this scene where everyone had to serenade the "man eating" tiger with Beethoven's 9th symphony (or something like that)  in order to save Ringo's life. 

I didn't really follow the skiing scene, but I thought it was funny when someone accidentally won a gold medal. 

This website has a lot of cool stills from the movie!

http://popculturesafari.blogspot.com/2010/07/beatles-help-movie-stills.html 

The Rolling Stones..?!??!

So, I anticipated much more during our investigation of the Rolling Stones. I can't name their songs by heart, but due to their big name and historical image I expected to be at least partially engaged. Following the Beatles is an impossible task, so I think that had some say in conventional hatred amongst our class. However there is still a small sliver of hope left-- my soccer coach is a huge, HUGE Stones fan, and he said he would make me a CD of the "best". This my own effort at appreciating their music, for I have a feeling their first album was not an accurate representation of their entire career. It seemed messy, loud, garage-band-y... not what I would expect from England's Newest Hitmakers. I'm listening to them now, and I feel like their later music becomes more purposeful and articulate. I remain optimistic in my pursuit of the Stones. "Gimme Shelter" is good so far....!!

Lenny Kravitz

I recently have been revisiting a lot of the music I used to listen to in elementary school. This means my music library consisted of whatever my dad was playing in the car, therefore I was exposed to various Rock N Roll, R&B, soft rock, etc. One song that evokes a particular feeling of nostalgia is "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz. It was super great just driving in my car and listening to this song with the volume up. It's not chock full of symbolism or allusions to times of great struggle. Really it is a catchy song with an awesome guitar solo at 3:09, which was the coolest thing ever when I was in fourth grade. What makes this song one of my favorites is the layered guitar sound throughout the whole piece. Kravitz has a unique voice that I think meshes perfectly with the rock n roll genre. I like a couple of his other songs, but in no way do I consider myself a Lenny Kravitz expert. That said, I still think he's a pretty cool guy (he's Jewish and Christian, kind of, and African American and Bahamian with Ukrainian descent).

I chose this video because their outfits and hair are absolutely ridiculous. Oh 1993....