Normally come the end of any holiday, I get bored. The food is eaten, the family is gone, the alcohol is wearing off, and you find yourself at 8:30PM saying, "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now?" But not this past Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving I sat down to watch Spike Lee's new documentary, "Bad 25," about the follow-up to Michael Jackson's monster album, "Thriller." And it was awesome (despite the inclusion of interviews with domestic abuser/all around asshole Chris Brown).
I've always been a Michael Jackson fan. My brother got me into it when I was really young as he was a big fan, and I have good memories of listening to "Thriller" on vinyl (still have it). I loved the documentary/concert film "This Is It" (albeit not the stupid title), and "Bad 25" is just as good. If you didn't get a chance to see it, you have to check it out. As someone who writes and records, I am always interested in the creative process of people who are very successful at it, and the thing that struck me most was not only Michael's monster talent, but also his monster work ethic. Video was shown of the late-night dance and rehearsal sessions he would have with his collaborators, sometimes going until 2 or 3 in the morning after a full day of work, and it just blows you away. And he would use two different recording studios with two separate groups of musicians and engineers to compete against each other in pursuit of the best songs and recordings. Talk about impressive. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you have resources.
I especially enjoyed the interviews with Siedah Garrett, who I crossed paths with in LA in April 2009. I was at a conference and attended an intimate night of performances by a handful of songwriters, and she was one of them. She told the story of how she came to write "Man in the Mirror" with Glen Ballard (which she also told in the documentary), and then she performed the song accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. It was a very special moment that I will remember forever.
In death, lots of artists receive praise and elevation to a level that they do not fully deserve. Michael Jackson is not one of those artists. He really was that good, and this documentary is just more proof of it.
According to imdb.com, the full film is 123 minutes long, but on Thanksgiving it was cut down to about 69 minutes for airing on TV. I can't wait to see the additional 54.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Greatest Thanksgiving Movie
The holiday season is chock full of themed movies. But if you look closely, the vast majority of the great ones center around Christmas. Home Alone - Christmas. The Santa Claus - Christmas. The Polar Express - Christmas. A Christmas Story - Christmas. Miracle on 34th Street - Christmas. Scrooged - Christmas. Elf - Christmas. Die Hard - Christmas. Die Hard 2 - Christmas! I could go on. But as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, it got me thinking: what's the greatest movie about Thanksgiving? The answer is simple: Scent of a Woman.
Let's break it down. At it's most basic level, Scent of a Woman is the story of two people on a road trip who start out as adversaries and end up as friends over the long Thanksgiving weekend. It's basically just one step away from being a classic buddy comedy. Where do they travel? New York City - home of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And even though the parade makes no appearance in the film, location matters. One of the main characters is on break from school, which is something we can all remember fondly from our younger years. One of the main characters drinks alcohol like its water, which obviously reminds us of time spent with our own families (it's not just Christmas get-togethers that need some social lubrication). Need I say more? OK, I will.
Scent of a Woman also features one of the most true-to-life Thanksgiving dinner scenes ever filmed. Who among us hasn't been to a Thanksgiving where an extremely disliked family member shows up unannounced? How often does a drunk uncle dominate the dinner conversation while everyone else sits silently, rolling their eyes? And no holiday meal is complete without one family member physically assaulting another - that's just a universal fact. And the whole movie culminates in a thwarted suicide attempt and one last alcohol-influenced lecture. Plus there's a dance scene! It's pure cinematic gold!
Let's face it: Scent of a Woman is the great American Thanksgiving movie. You may argue for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but Al Pacino didn't win an Oscar for that film, and he's got my response for you right here.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Let's break it down. At it's most basic level, Scent of a Woman is the story of two people on a road trip who start out as adversaries and end up as friends over the long Thanksgiving weekend. It's basically just one step away from being a classic buddy comedy. Where do they travel? New York City - home of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And even though the parade makes no appearance in the film, location matters. One of the main characters is on break from school, which is something we can all remember fondly from our younger years. One of the main characters drinks alcohol like its water, which obviously reminds us of time spent with our own families (it's not just Christmas get-togethers that need some social lubrication). Need I say more? OK, I will.
Scent of a Woman also features one of the most true-to-life Thanksgiving dinner scenes ever filmed. Who among us hasn't been to a Thanksgiving where an extremely disliked family member shows up unannounced? How often does a drunk uncle dominate the dinner conversation while everyone else sits silently, rolling their eyes? And no holiday meal is complete without one family member physically assaulting another - that's just a universal fact. And the whole movie culminates in a thwarted suicide attempt and one last alcohol-influenced lecture. Plus there's a dance scene! It's pure cinematic gold!
Let's face it: Scent of a Woman is the great American Thanksgiving movie. You may argue for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but Al Pacino didn't win an Oscar for that film, and he's got my response for you right here.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Wienermobile
Its the fantasy of many a child: take the hot dog - the ubiquitous and unofficial food of summer; the object of desire at every baseball game; the focus on your plate at every BBQ - and turn it into a car. What more could you ask for than the ability to step inside one of your favorite childhood foods and drive around? Nobody wants a damn Broccoli Van, Apple Car, or Potato Truck, but everybody loves the Wienermobile.
Sometime before noon on Sunday I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw that my friend Meghan had posted a picture of the Wienermobile with the caption, "The wienermobile is in Poughkeepsie!!!" Based on the post, it was headed north on Route 9 and had stopped had at the light at the corner of Route 9 and Spring Rd. when she was able to snap the picture. Good for Meghan seeing it, I thought - and then I was off to do what I had to do.
Fast forward 3 hours or so, when my bandmate/roadtrip buddy/motivator Tony and I pulled into the FDR Presidential Library & Museum to do some filming for one of the two music videos I'm currently working on. We pulled behind the welcome center to park and what do we see? The Wienermobile! It was parked toward the back of the lot toward in the RV parking spaces, so of course we headed over there as soon as we got out of the car. Other visitors and library staff had the same idea, and as one guy mentioned, "All this history and everyone's interested in a giant hot dog." Damn straight, but what are the odds of ever seeing the Wienermobile again? And at a presidential library, no less. As it turns out, the Wienermobile was in town for the grand opening of the new Stop & Shop near the library, so the drivers decided to stop by afterward. I guess in case you ever wondered: yes, Wienermobile drivers are interested in history, too.
And of course I couldn't resist:
Sometime before noon on Sunday I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw that my friend Meghan had posted a picture of the Wienermobile with the caption, "The wienermobile is in Poughkeepsie!!!" Based on the post, it was headed north on Route 9 and had stopped had at the light at the corner of Route 9 and Spring Rd. when she was able to snap the picture. Good for Meghan seeing it, I thought - and then I was off to do what I had to do.
Fast forward 3 hours or so, when my bandmate/roadtrip buddy/motivator Tony and I pulled into the FDR Presidential Library & Museum to do some filming for one of the two music videos I'm currently working on. We pulled behind the welcome center to park and what do we see? The Wienermobile! It was parked toward the back of the lot toward in the RV parking spaces, so of course we headed over there as soon as we got out of the car. Other visitors and library staff had the same idea, and as one guy mentioned, "All this history and everyone's interested in a giant hot dog." Damn straight, but what are the odds of ever seeing the Wienermobile again? And at a presidential library, no less. As it turns out, the Wienermobile was in town for the grand opening of the new Stop & Shop near the library, so the drivers decided to stop by afterward. I guess in case you ever wondered: yes, Wienermobile drivers are interested in history, too.
And of course I couldn't resist:
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
November 6, 2012
Everything you need to know about what to do today: first raise your hand, then help your neighbor.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Henry Rollins & the Spoken Word
As all of us in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are riding out Sandy, I wanted to share a few thoughts on Henry Rollins. Last Thursday night at The Egg in Albany I had the chance to be at one of his spoken word appearances for the 3rd time, and my first time since 2005. Henry's music really isn't my thing, but I have really dug his spoken word since 2002 when a friend of mine let me listen to some of his CDs on the way back from a high school band trip to Virginia Beach. I have such a distinct memory of the bus pulling into the high school parking lot as we were getting back from the trip while I was listening to the track called "Marius" on Think Tank. I was transfixed and I had to wait until that particular story was over before I could be bothered to get off the bus. I was hooked.
A large focus of Henry's non-stop 2 1/2 talk on Thursday was about community - the coming together and connections he made as part of the Washington, DC, punk community back in the 80s, as well as that which our country is capable of and how strong we can be. He touched on the impending election next week, but not in the very specific way that I was expecting, though he did note that it's pretty easy to tell who he is going to be voting for. Instead, he spent a lot of time discussing Lincoln, and the former president's view that the US could not be taken down by outside forces. America's demise, Lincoln argued in a speech well-before the outbreak of the Civil War, could only come about as the result of internal conflicts, and it was a very appropriate topic given the current political climate in the country. In the past week or so, blogger Andrew Sullivan began making the case that the United States of America is in what he calls a Cold Civil War. We very well may be.
But the thing about Henry Rollins that truly strikes me is his range of topics and emotions. He goes from funny to serious in a matter of seconds, and the subject matters transition together seamlessly. So many things are discussed during the time he's onstage that by the time you get to the end of the night you can't possible remember everything that he talked about, or how you so easily got from 8PM to 10:30PM. There is a reason why I keep re-listening to the spoken word CDs of his that I have, and why I keep wanting more - because he says so much that you can't catch everything he says in one shot. And even if you can catch it, its fleeting, and you surely can't truly absorb it all at once. At least I can't. Always engaging, always thoughtful, and always real, Henry's ability to tell a story and entice a reaction is probably what keeps bringing me back, and why I find myself interested in organizations like The Moth.
"Words. Words when spoken out loud for the sake of performance are music. They have rhythm and pitch and timbre and volume. These are the properties of music and music has the ability to find us and move us and lift us up in ways that literal meaning can't." -President Josiah Bartlett, The West Wing, Season 3, Episode 6
If you're interested in listening to some Henry Rollins, I highly recommend starting with Think Tank or A Rollins In The Wry.
A large focus of Henry's non-stop 2 1/2 talk on Thursday was about community - the coming together and connections he made as part of the Washington, DC, punk community back in the 80s, as well as that which our country is capable of and how strong we can be. He touched on the impending election next week, but not in the very specific way that I was expecting, though he did note that it's pretty easy to tell who he is going to be voting for. Instead, he spent a lot of time discussing Lincoln, and the former president's view that the US could not be taken down by outside forces. America's demise, Lincoln argued in a speech well-before the outbreak of the Civil War, could only come about as the result of internal conflicts, and it was a very appropriate topic given the current political climate in the country. In the past week or so, blogger Andrew Sullivan began making the case that the United States of America is in what he calls a Cold Civil War. We very well may be.
But the thing about Henry Rollins that truly strikes me is his range of topics and emotions. He goes from funny to serious in a matter of seconds, and the subject matters transition together seamlessly. So many things are discussed during the time he's onstage that by the time you get to the end of the night you can't possible remember everything that he talked about, or how you so easily got from 8PM to 10:30PM. There is a reason why I keep re-listening to the spoken word CDs of his that I have, and why I keep wanting more - because he says so much that you can't catch everything he says in one shot. And even if you can catch it, its fleeting, and you surely can't truly absorb it all at once. At least I can't. Always engaging, always thoughtful, and always real, Henry's ability to tell a story and entice a reaction is probably what keeps bringing me back, and why I find myself interested in organizations like The Moth.
"Words. Words when spoken out loud for the sake of performance are music. They have rhythm and pitch and timbre and volume. These are the properties of music and music has the ability to find us and move us and lift us up in ways that literal meaning can't." -President Josiah Bartlett, The West Wing, Season 3, Episode 6
If you're interested in listening to some Henry Rollins, I highly recommend starting with Think Tank or A Rollins In The Wry.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Mixing Game
Last week I got the first round of rough mixes from the engineer mixing my album, Tom Rosato (www.stacksofwaxproduction.com). 13 tracks for me to listen to, soak in, and take notes on. Mixing is such a subjective endeavor - what one person thinks sounds best won't be what someone else thinks sounds best. It really is an art. So, the way it works is the songs are mixed initially by Tom, then they are sent to me to compile notes on what changes I think need to be made. Less organ here, more guitar there, etc.
The main objective when it comes to mixing (and mastering, for that matter) is to get the song to sound the best on any kind of speaker. Whether it's a pair of professional JBLs with subwoofers or built-in computer speakers, you want the listener to get the most out of the recording. So, when it comes to listening and taking notes, what speakers am I supposed to listen to the tunes on? Or to put it another way: where do most people listen to music? Where do I most listen to music? The car.
To anyone watching it must have been a little curious for me to get into my car, turn it on, and just sit there for more than an hour. At least from the outside it looked like I was just sitting there. On the inside I was actually listening to each song 3, 4, 5 times, and writing down what I think needs to be improved or changed. I had 13 songs to do this for, so I broke it up into two listening sessions. We all listen to music, but most people don't realize how draining it can be to really listen intently to the same songs over and over in an attempt to hear the instricasies of the arrangement. It's something I experienced in the studio as well, and after a while you just need a break to rest your ears and your mind. But the best part about the whole thing is that a number of songs sounded so good that they didn't need a lot of notes, which is a testament Tom's skill.
Late Sunday night I sent him the notes, and after he makes the changes he is going to send me new rough mixes. Then I will listen again, take more notes, and we will finish up the songs together in the studio. It can often times be a drawn-out process, but one that is absolutely worth the time and the effort. I've been working on this project for almost 2 years, planning it for even longer than that, and it's good to be seeing the finish line. I hope you're as excited for the finish as I am.
The main objective when it comes to mixing (and mastering, for that matter) is to get the song to sound the best on any kind of speaker. Whether it's a pair of professional JBLs with subwoofers or built-in computer speakers, you want the listener to get the most out of the recording. So, when it comes to listening and taking notes, what speakers am I supposed to listen to the tunes on? Or to put it another way: where do most people listen to music? Where do I most listen to music? The car.
To anyone watching it must have been a little curious for me to get into my car, turn it on, and just sit there for more than an hour. At least from the outside it looked like I was just sitting there. On the inside I was actually listening to each song 3, 4, 5 times, and writing down what I think needs to be improved or changed. I had 13 songs to do this for, so I broke it up into two listening sessions. We all listen to music, but most people don't realize how draining it can be to really listen intently to the same songs over and over in an attempt to hear the instricasies of the arrangement. It's something I experienced in the studio as well, and after a while you just need a break to rest your ears and your mind. But the best part about the whole thing is that a number of songs sounded so good that they didn't need a lot of notes, which is a testament Tom's skill.
Late Sunday night I sent him the notes, and after he makes the changes he is going to send me new rough mixes. Then I will listen again, take more notes, and we will finish up the songs together in the studio. It can often times be a drawn-out process, but one that is absolutely worth the time and the effort. I've been working on this project for almost 2 years, planning it for even longer than that, and it's good to be seeing the finish line. I hope you're as excited for the finish as I am.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Saturday Night I Yelled At A Drunk Guy
One of my pet peeves (and I seem to have a lot of them) is having to deal with drunk people when I am stone-cold sober. I enjoy alcoholic beverages as much as the next person, but when I have to engage with people who have had a lot to drink I often times find them nothing but annoying, and sometimes enraging.
Saturday night I was playing Bacchus in New Paltz with In The Pocket. Partway through the 2nd set I noticed a tall guy in a black shirt who was obviously wrecked. He was trying to dance with every girl he could find, and he even gave one girl the full reach-around ass grab. Oh, dude, come on, now. She wasn't very happy about it, and I watched her give him the "This is my personal space, and this is yours" talk. It didn't help much.
Before the 3rd set I used the bathroom. If you're not familiar with the men's room at Bacchus I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say that there's a trough. Well, I walked in to find this drunk guy standing at the trough, but he wasn't standing straight up - he was leaning forward against the wall face first. Apparently the dude (not "The Dude," just this dude) had drank so much that he (at least partially) passed out while standing at the trough. It was impressive, as I had never seen such a thing. He began to come back to reality as I was leaving.
As soon as I came out I went over to some friends to tell them what I had just seen, and mid-story the guy came wandering out of the bathroom doing his best to retain his balance. But as he moved passed my keyboard he somehow decided it would be a good idea for him to stop for a moment and press some of the keys. It. Was. Not. "DO NOT TOUCH MY KEYBOARD!" Even in his advanced state of inebriation he knew that I meant business, and he quickly moved on with a slightly shocked look on his face. My friends were highly amused.
If I don't know you and you've been drinking, please don't touch my equipment. You can be damn sure that I won't touch yours. But it was a great show.
Saturday night I was playing Bacchus in New Paltz with In The Pocket. Partway through the 2nd set I noticed a tall guy in a black shirt who was obviously wrecked. He was trying to dance with every girl he could find, and he even gave one girl the full reach-around ass grab. Oh, dude, come on, now. She wasn't very happy about it, and I watched her give him the "This is my personal space, and this is yours" talk. It didn't help much.
Before the 3rd set I used the bathroom. If you're not familiar with the men's room at Bacchus I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say that there's a trough. Well, I walked in to find this drunk guy standing at the trough, but he wasn't standing straight up - he was leaning forward against the wall face first. Apparently the dude (not "The Dude," just this dude) had drank so much that he (at least partially) passed out while standing at the trough. It was impressive, as I had never seen such a thing. He began to come back to reality as I was leaving.
As soon as I came out I went over to some friends to tell them what I had just seen, and mid-story the guy came wandering out of the bathroom doing his best to retain his balance. But as he moved passed my keyboard he somehow decided it would be a good idea for him to stop for a moment and press some of the keys. It. Was. Not. "DO NOT TOUCH MY KEYBOARD!" Even in his advanced state of inebriation he knew that I meant business, and he quickly moved on with a slightly shocked look on his face. My friends were highly amused.
If I don't know you and you've been drinking, please don't touch my equipment. You can be damn sure that I won't touch yours. But it was a great show.
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