The story of the birth (or renaissance) of my favorite MC, MF DOOM...
Monday, February 23, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Monday, February 09, 2015
Whip(lash) It!
While I haven't seen the movie Whiplash, two articles about it recently caught my attention.
The first is by New Yorker film critic (and apparent jazz aficionado), Richard Brody who writes, "The movie’s very idea of jazz is a grotesque and ludicrous caricature."
The second is an interview with esteemed jazz and studio drummer, Peter Erskine who summarizes it thusly: "I'm disappointed that any viewer of the film will not see the joy of music-making that's almost always a part of large-ensemble rehearsals and performances. Musicians make music because they LOVE music. None of that is really apparent in the film, in my opinion."
Having played in many ensembles over the years, both large and small, I can definitely attest to this idea: music-making SHOULD be fun! And I certainly haven't been doing it for the money - I've been doing it because I LOVE it!
In their respective reviews, both Brody and Erskine call BS on the JK Simmons' teacher/band director character, Terence Fletcher.
According to Erskine:
As someone who dropped out of band his sophomore year of high school partly due to having a "jerk" band director, I completely relate. Zig Kanstul, our band director, would always find new and exciting ways of telling us we were shit musicians. While his opinion was probably right, it didn't make it right to say those things, and it certainly didn't inspire me to be a better trumpet player. Maybe he never heard the expression I tell my students now, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar!"
According to Brody, not only is Fletcher a tyrant that "hazes [Andrew, his student] with petty rules that are meant to teach military-style obedience rather than musical intelligence," he justifies his techniques by embellishing the oft-told story of Charlie Parker getting a cymbal thrown at him to suggest that Joe Jones (the drummer) was trying to decapitate Parker. As Erskine notes:
While this was a pivotal moment for Charlie Parker as a musician, Brody says the movie completely misses the lessons he learned:
Interestingly, Erskine notes that Andrew's "winning" drum solo performance at the end of the movie is very old-fashioned:
Brody also addresses the one line I knew from watching the trailer (and, incidentally has, so far, put me off of seeing the movie): the idea that "the worst thing you can tell a young artist is 'Good job,' because self-satisfaction and complacency are the enemies of artistic progress."
Indeed, as a practicing musician, I know all too well the self-loathing that accompanies a performance I deem personally sub-par. But I also understand that playing music is a journey and that there's always more to learn and improve upon, regardless of how good or bad a performance may be to me or others.
As a teacher, I've often looked to Peter Johnston's book, Choice Words, as a guide for inspiring students through my language to not only take ownership of their learning, but to feel empowered to imagine new possibilities for him or herself as a life-long learner. One of Johnston's mantras is Praise the work, not the student. In other words, teachers should say, "Good job" or "Nice work" because it praises the process and honors their effort, rather than praising the student with, "Good boy/girl," since its opposite implies that the student is somehow a "bad" person.
Ultimately, as Erskine says, a music teacher's job is...
At the end of his piece, Brody makes his strongest criticism: the movie is not even about music - it's about authority:
Ouch! Indeed, Erskine notes:
Sadly, it sounds like these are far from the only shortcomings of the film. From "a drummer crawling out of a major car wreck and then somehow managing to get himself on-stage to play, bleeding and injured," to Flecher testing his student's ability to play a tempo (Erskine: "Give me 4 beats, not just two -- YOU don't even know the tempo with that kind of a count-off, Mr. Band Director."), both Brody and Erskine agree that the movie is desperately lacking.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice!!
The first is by New Yorker film critic (and apparent jazz aficionado), Richard Brody who writes, "The movie’s very idea of jazz is a grotesque and ludicrous caricature."
The second is an interview with esteemed jazz and studio drummer, Peter Erskine who summarizes it thusly: "I'm disappointed that any viewer of the film will not see the joy of music-making that's almost always a part of large-ensemble rehearsals and performances. Musicians make music because they LOVE music. None of that is really apparent in the film, in my opinion."
Having played in many ensembles over the years, both large and small, I can definitely attest to this idea: music-making SHOULD be fun! And I certainly haven't been doing it for the money - I've been doing it because I LOVE it!
In their respective reviews, both Brody and Erskine call BS on the JK Simmons' teacher/band director character, Terence Fletcher.
According to Erskine:
A conductor or bandleader will only get good results if he or she shows as much love or enthusiasm as the discipline or toughness they dole out. Being a jerk is, ultimately, self-defeating in music education: for one thing, the band will not respond well; secondly, such bandleaders are anathema to the other educators who ultimately wind up acting as judges in competitive music festivals -- such bands will never win (the judges will see to that).
As someone who dropped out of band his sophomore year of high school partly due to having a "jerk" band director, I completely relate. Zig Kanstul, our band director, would always find new and exciting ways of telling us we were shit musicians. While his opinion was probably right, it didn't make it right to say those things, and it certainly didn't inspire me to be a better trumpet player. Maybe he never heard the expression I tell my students now, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar!"
According to Brody, not only is Fletcher a tyrant that "hazes [Andrew, his student] with petty rules that are meant to teach military-style obedience rather than musical intelligence," he justifies his techniques by embellishing the oft-told story of Charlie Parker getting a cymbal thrown at him to suggest that Joe Jones (the drummer) was trying to decapitate Parker. As Erskine notes:
The misrepresentation of the Jo Jones throwing the cymbal at Charlie Parker's feet anecdote may well lead people to thinking that Jo Jones did indeed, as JK Simmons' character avers, try to decapitate Charlie Parker at that epochal jam session in Kansas City where a very real Charlie Parker attempted to play some of his double-time / new harmony improvisation and more or less flubbed it. Papa Jo eventually tossed a cymbal towards Charlie Parker's young feet in a "gonging" motion to get him off the bandstand. Jazz masters could be tough, but the movie gets that story all wrong.
While this was a pivotal moment for Charlie Parker as a musician, Brody says the movie completely misses the lessons he learned:
Brody (10/13/14): Here’s what Parker didn’t do in the intervening year: sit alone in his room and work on making his fingers go faster. He played music, thought music, lived music. In “Whiplash,” the young musicians don’t play much music. Andrew isn’t in a band or a combo, doesn’t get together with his fellow-students and jam—not in a park, not in a subway station, not in a café, not even in a basement. He doesn’t study music theory, not alone and not (as Parker did) with his peers. There’s no obsessive comparing of recordings and styles, no sense of a wide-ranging appreciation of jazz history—no Elvin Jones, no Tony Williams, no Max Roach, no Ed Blackwell. In short, the musician’s life is about pure competitive ambition—the concert band and the exposure it provides—and nothing else.
Interestingly, Erskine notes that Andrew's "winning" drum solo performance at the end of the movie is very old-fashioned:
If the film takes place "now," any drummer playing like that at a competitive jazz festival --especially one in New York City -- would get a cymbal thrown at their feet by the ghost of Papa Jo Jones, or I'd do it for him.
Brody also addresses the one line I knew from watching the trailer (and, incidentally has, so far, put me off of seeing the movie): the idea that "the worst thing you can tell a young artist is 'Good job,' because self-satisfaction and complacency are the enemies of artistic progress."
Brody (10/13/14): There’s nothing wrong with “Good job,” because a real artist won’t be gulled or lulled into self-satisfaction by it: real artists are hard on themselves, curious to learn what they don’t know and to push themselves ahead.
Indeed, as a practicing musician, I know all too well the self-loathing that accompanies a performance I deem personally sub-par. But I also understand that playing music is a journey and that there's always more to learn and improve upon, regardless of how good or bad a performance may be to me or others.
As a teacher, I've often looked to Peter Johnston's book, Choice Words, as a guide for inspiring students through my language to not only take ownership of their learning, but to feel empowered to imagine new possibilities for him or herself as a life-long learner. One of Johnston's mantras is Praise the work, not the student. In other words, teachers should say, "Good job" or "Nice work" because it praises the process and honors their effort, rather than praising the student with, "Good boy/girl," since its opposite implies that the student is somehow a "bad" person.
Ultimately, as Erskine says, a music teacher's job is...
To inspire his or her students to get the MOST out of music, by GIVING the most to music. To, yes, inspire and instill a sense of discipline and responsibility, but to show students the rewards of concentration and playing well and working as a team.
At the end of his piece, Brody makes his strongest criticism: the movie is not even about music - it's about authority:
Certainly, the movie isn’t “about” jazz; it’s “about” abuse of power. Fletcher could as easily be demanding sex or extorting money as hurling epithets and administering smacks...
Ouch! Indeed, Erskine notes:
I can't imagine [USC Dean of Music] Rob Cutietta putting up with an ounce of the behavior portrayed in the film. But, like I said: it's fantasy, it's Hollywood.
Sadly, it sounds like these are far from the only shortcomings of the film. From "a drummer crawling out of a major car wreck and then somehow managing to get himself on-stage to play, bleeding and injured," to Flecher testing his student's ability to play a tempo (Erskine: "Give me 4 beats, not just two -- YOU don't even know the tempo with that kind of a count-off, Mr. Band Director."), both Brody and Erskine agree that the movie is desperately lacking.
Brody (10/13/14): There’s nothing in the film to indicate that Andrew has any originality in his music. What he has, and what he ultimately expresses, is chutzpah. That may be very helpful in readying Andrew for a job on television. “Whiplash” honors neither jazz nor cinema; it’s a work of petty didacticism that shows off petty mastery, and it feeds the sort of minor celebrity that Andrew aspires to.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice!!
Friday, January 30, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
The Beastie Boys' "9th Symphony"
I'll never forget my buddy reviewing Paul's Boutique for our high school newspaper and giving it a B- after we listened to it ONCE on my turntable and agreed that, while WAY better than Licenced to Ill, it still wasn't THAT great...
Of course this record would later change my life completely... expanding my taste in music exponentially...
And ever since that "missed connection" that was the first time I heard Paul's Boutique (Seriously, how could I MISS those "Funky Snakefoot" snare rolls that set off the second track, "Shake Your Rump" like a pack of firecrackers??), I've often thought, If only my buddy had kept that original, quad-gatefold pressing of the LP...
Oh well, recently, having thought that I'd seen everything related to my favorite Beastie Boys record, I discovered this: a visual companion to Paul's Boutique!!
Of course this record would later change my life completely... expanding my taste in music exponentially...
And ever since that "missed connection" that was the first time I heard Paul's Boutique (Seriously, how could I MISS those "Funky Snakefoot" snare rolls that set off the second track, "Shake Your Rump" like a pack of firecrackers??), I've often thought, If only my buddy had kept that original, quad-gatefold pressing of the LP...
Oh well, recently, having thought that I'd seen everything related to my favorite Beastie Boys record, I discovered this: a visual companion to Paul's Boutique!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The Bottled Spirits Video Shoot
The Bottled Spirits performing "Blue Line Transit Blues" on the Wardlow Station platform the night of our video shoot.
Video by Roger Klinkers
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Monday, December 29, 2014
Best of 2014
This is pretty cool...
A raving review of Radiohearts' EP, "Nothing at All!"
Also, we're #52 (out of 249) on this best of Oct. 2014 list...
And to top it off, the eponymous song, "Nothing At All" made an end-of-year, 2014 Top Ten List!!
Check out our music here.
Thanks, it's been a great year!!
A raving review of Radiohearts' EP, "Nothing at All!"
Also, we're #52 (out of 249) on this best of Oct. 2014 list...
And to top it off, the eponymous song, "Nothing At All" made an end-of-year, 2014 Top Ten List!!
Check out our music here.
Thanks, it's been a great year!!
Friday, December 26, 2014
ICYMI
THE THINGZ IN THE LA WEEKLY!!
The Thingz
ALEX'S BAR
For more than a decade, The Thingz have been one of Long Beach’s catchiest garage-punk bands, but their music often has been overlooked, perhaps because in their early days it was so supremely and defiantly silly. Back then, just about every song was about food (“Manicotti Massacre”) or the life aquatic (“I’m Glad I’m Not a Mollusk”), but even the trio’s goofiest tendencies were fully powered by Jason Cordero’s relentlessly punishing drums, bassist Kim Morris’ punchy bass lines and the controlled savagery of guitar riffs from her husband, Mike Morris. The Thingz finally come into their own on their new album, Red Future. Most songs clock in at a Ramones-y two minutes or less, yet the group reveals new emotional and sonic range with balefully uplifting anthems such as “Not Mean (Just Soured)” and the unexpectedly rootsy and morbidly poignant “Julia Brown.” — Falling James
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
99% Perspiration
Love the book, Songwriter's on Songwriting, especially this excerpt from Leonard Cohen on the value, and indeed, the intense labor of the creation/revision process...
So true, but what wonderful "work" it is!
My immediate realm of thought is bureaucratic and like a traffic jam. My ordinary state of mind is very much like the waiting room at the DMV… So to penetrate this chattering and this meaningless debate that is occupying most of my attention, I have to come up with something that really speaks to my deepest interests. Otherwise I nod off in one way or another. So to find that song, that urgent song, takes a lot of versions and a lot of work and a lot of sweat.
But why shouldn’t my work be hard? Almost everybody’s work is hard. One is distracted by this notion that there is such a thing as inspiration, that it comes fast and easy. And some people are graced by that style. I’m not. So I have to work as hard as any stiff, to come up with my payload. (emphasis added)
So true, but what wonderful "work" it is!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
You're to Know Your Audience
As a teacher, it's my job to be a grammar snob.
But this article really put my snobbery in perspective for me...
It's all about your audience... who's reading what you're writing...
Know your audience (Especially, if you don't know your 'yours!')
But this article really put my snobbery in perspective for me...
It's all about your audience... who's reading what you're writing...
Know your audience (Especially, if you don't know your 'yours!')
Saturday, November 15, 2014
The Thingz on TV!!
Check out our TV debut from last Friday, November 7!
Gotta admit: I felt a bit like Bobby Brady when the cameras started rolling!
Gotta admit: I felt a bit like Bobby Brady when the cameras started rolling!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Saturday, October 25, 2014
FANCY (Uniform Song)
*UPDATED 12/7/14:
As you may or may not know, LBUSD has a district-wide uniform policy. While most of our students and parents understand the economic and safety implications of this policy and abide by it, some students (and parents) need encouragement...
To that end, I decided that I'd use the 2013 Song of Summer, "Fancy," to encourage compliance...
Here's my version:
First thing first: tuck your shirt in
As you may or may not know, LBUSD has a district-wide uniform policy. While most of our students and parents understand the economic and safety implications of this policy and abide by it, some students (and parents) need encouragement...
To that end, I decided that I'd use the 2013 Song of Summer, "Fancy," to encourage compliance...
Here's my version:
First thing first: tuck your shirt in
Got this gotta go to school for
working
And I’m still in the learning
business
In my uniform I’m ready for my
lessons
You should always come dressed for
success
Don’t worry what to wear so you can
do your best
Khaki pants, khaki skirt, khaki
shorts,
Blue shirt or green – you know
you’ve gotta choice!
Making sure my clothes look great,
never sloppy
Clean top or I’ll put it in the
laundry
Feet together, arms at your side
Can’t hide that Bulldog Pride!
I’m so fancy – you already know
I’m in uniform everyday I show
I’m so fancy – don’t you waste your
dough
Remember every day – dress code!
In case you were wondering, the school I work at, Bret Harte, has a bulldog as a mascot, although I have (and will) change the lyrics for another school/mascot upon request.
Now, if I could only embed the audio somehow... *(FTFY)
Next up, "I'm all about the books, 'bout the books, no TV!" :)
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
The Bottled Spirits at LB Folk Fest
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Roald Dahl Quotes
To commemorate his 98th birthday last week, this website has compiled 13 Roald Dahl quotes*...
I especially like the ones about reading and books... Those'll probably end up in my classroom this year!
*Tip o' the energy dome to Moms for sending the link to me... love you!
I especially like the ones about reading and books... Those'll probably end up in my classroom this year!
*Tip o' the energy dome to Moms for sending the link to me... love you!
Saturday, September 13, 2014
e e cummings
Humanity i love you
because you would rather black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which would be embarrassing for both
parties and because you
unflinchingly applaud all
songs containing the words country home and
mother when sung at the old howard
Humanity i love you because
when you’re hard up you pawn your
intelligence to buy a drink and when
you’re flush pride keeps
you from the pawn shop and
because you are continually committing
nuisances but more
especially in your own house
Humanity i love you because you
are perpetually putting the secret of
life in your pants and forgetting
it’s there and sitting down
on it
and because you are
forever making poems in the lap
of death Humanity
i hate you
because you would rather black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which would be embarrassing for both
parties and because you
unflinchingly applaud all
songs containing the words country home and
mother when sung at the old howard
Humanity i love you because
when you’re hard up you pawn your
intelligence to buy a drink and when
you’re flush pride keeps
you from the pawn shop and
because you are continually committing
nuisances but more
especially in your own house
Humanity i love you because you
are perpetually putting the secret of
life in your pants and forgetting
it’s there and sitting down
on it
and because you are
forever making poems in the lap
of death Humanity
i hate you
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
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