"Murphy was an optimist!"
Lovin’ the black censor bar! May 18, 2009 9:57 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cool Sites, Music, Of Interest, Publishing, Sex, Touchy Subjects, Video , 2commentsWhen I posted I’m moving to France! I saw today’s post in the comments. Btw, if you haven’t watched I’m moving to France!, go do it now and for added fun start both videos at the same time!
Today’s video reminds me of college for some reason. These people are so happy! I bet there’d be no terrorism if more people played with the black censor bar. The guy in the cowboy hat at the end of the video is my new hero!
The BPA - Toe Jam Featuring David Byrne & Dizzee Rascal
Uploaded by TheBrightonPortAuthority - See the latest featured music videos.
(I replaced this fuzzy Youtube video with the much clearer DailyMotion video that appears to actually be placed by The BPA)
This is the "Toe Jam" video by Fatboy Slim featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. I find it altogether too amusing. When I first discovered this one there were just over 6000 views. It’ll be interesting to see how fast those numbers grow.
Update: Some information about this hit video from the Fall of 2008. The Toe Jam song was released July 15, 2008 by The BPA (Brighton Port Authority an alias for musician Norman Cook who is better known as Fatboy Slim. I am becoming a Fatboy Slim fanboy as I was in awe of his Weapons of Choice video featuring Christoper Walken. Toe Jam is a collaboration with David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. The video is directed by Keith Schofield (Keith Haverbrooks, Eric Schoman and Jeff Mayfield). The Toe Jam song lives on the I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
The BPA also ran a contest which ended March 1, 2009 allowing people to download the Toe Jam song and make their own videos as a promotion for their album release. Although the contest has ended, Toe Jam is still available for download.
2commentsAfter the Dogwood Parade There Was Music April 25, 2009 11:24 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Music, Of Interest, Publishing, Video , add a commentWe watched Sarah march in Knoxville’s Dogwood Parade last night. Afterwards we watched Brenden James Wright and The Wrongs (MySpace) play on Market Square.
I was introduced to The Wrongs when my brother-in-law turned Cathy onto Luther Wright and The Wrongs’ (MySpace) Rebuild the Wall
A little sidenote to the architects of Market Square: As much as I miss the old pavalion, the new stage is very nice; however, your permanent poles with the stage lighting block the view of the stage from most seating unless you are positioned directly in the middle of the audience. Couldn’t they have been swung more to the side?
add a commentNothing to see here - go outside April 22, 2009 11:04 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cool Sites, Humor, Music, Of Interest, Publishing, Video , 3commentsWatch this video and then you’ll have no reason to look at anything else on the Internet for at least 24 hours. So yYou are free to go outside and enjoy this beautiful Earth Day! I’m going to get back to work.
Update: That video quit being amusing the second the person was revealed as a registered sex offender.
3commentsMy wife has left me for Steve Jobs March 21, 2009 2:30 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Music, Of Interest, Technology , add a commentAt least today she’s Gone Gone Gone
Now, setting is important. The person discussing private business dealings at the topic of their lungs in a quiet restaurant draws attention to themselves and is far from invisible. The loud talking, me, me, me, attention gather is trying to draw eyes to themselves and is the opposite of invisible.
iPods, MP3 players of all types, and anything that requires we plug wires into our ears also make us invisible. Our body language says, "Don’t talk to me!" Speaking to a person with earphone plugged into their ears might be a waste of time. They may not hear you and the frustration of raising your voice, getting their attention, and repeating yourself multiple times just isn’t worth it. To simply avoid talking to them is less physically exerting and less stressful. So we avoid interrupting people listening to their music or podcasts and they too become invisible. Today my wife joins the invisible people as she listens to loud music and gets things done around the house.
add a commentRIAA take that! Artist pays listeners to download the album! February 19, 2009 8:54 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Bargains, Cool Sites, Music, Of Interest , add a commentThe band Officer Roseland has decided to pay its fans to download their newest album, Stimulus Package. By going to http://www.mystimuluspackage.org/stimulus/ and clicking GIVE Officer Roseland will give $1 to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation then present a download link, or clicking TAKE Officer Roseland will put $1 into a valid PayPal account then present a download link.
Founded in 1996, The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation donates new and refurbished musical instruments to underserved schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide, in an effort to give youngsters the many benefits of music education, help them to be better students and inspire creativity and expression through playing music. [Source, The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation website]
Thanks goes to Ray Camdem for blogging about Officer Roseland.
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Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Blogger Night Success! January 16, 2009 2:18 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, Music, Of Interest, Publishing , 2commentsLast year the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra tried something bold and invited 50 bloggers to come to the symphony for free in exchange for writing about their experiences good or bad. It was the KSO’s first Blogger Night. Noah and I went and really enjoyed ourselves so when Frank Murphy announced that the KSO was doing it again, I was quick to respond. I was so stressed yesterday that I almost canceled but I am glad we went! Last year 27 bloggers responded. This year 43 r.s.v.p.’d (I don’t think all 43 showed up). The KSO is already planning next year’s blogger event as one of their performers is now also a blogger.
Last year I learned that despite having an affinity for the theater and enjoying performances throughout my entire life in places like the New Orleans Saenger Theatre, The Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, The Bijou, The Tennessee Theatre, and The Clarence Brown, to name a few, I have an overwhelming lack of knowledge about orchestra. Last year I found my hands nearly slapping together at the end of a piece but stopped soundlessly when I noticed no one else in the audience clapping. Stephanie Burdette explains:
At the beginning of the concert, the concertmaster will come onstage. The audience claps as a welcome, and as a sign of appreciation to all the musicians. After the orchestra tunes, the conductor and soloist will come onstage. Everyone claps to welcome them, too. The audience doesn’t usually applaud again until the end of the piece, but this can be a little tricky because many pieces seem to end several times — they have several parts, or "movements." These will be listed in your program. Or you can just … wait until people around you begin applauding and then join in…
I was also under the impression that one dressed to the hilt for the symphony and became a little stressed when we discovered all of Noah’s dress clothes were at the grandparent’s house. Stephanie put my mind at ease:
This is usually everyone’s biggest worry, male or female. Here is the thing - there is no dress code. Anything that makes you feel comfortable is fine. Most people will be wearing business clothes or slightly dressy casual clothes, but you’ll see everything from khakis to cocktail dresses. Some people enjoy dressing up and making a special night of it, and you can, too. Still, evening gowns and tuxedos are pretty rare unless you’re attending a fancy gala.
Before the show we ran into some fellow bloggers and chatted in the hall in front of the sponsors poster. In the long list of names for the Diamond Sponsors, I could only read one - ImagePoint. That seemed both sad and ironic. Last year the entrance was crowded, had tables of cheeses and snacks, and drinks flowed from the bar. This year, the corridor seemed oddly vacant. Perhaps I arrived too early and missed the scene, or perhaps the economy has trimmed away at some tradition. The lights flashed, the chimes sounded, and we found our seats.
The symphony’s program opened with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. I was surprised that it was simply 11 strings and that Lucas Richman did not come out to conduct. The piece was beautiful! At the end of that piece, the grand piano was brought onto the stage and the Maestro made his first appearance and didn’t skip a beat even though his microphone was turned off. As truly great performer, the technical faux pas did not fluster Lucas Richman and he continued to address the audience until the sound tech fixed the problem. He even acknowledged the bloggers! He left and returned with piano soloist Navah Perlman and performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 4. After reading Frank Murphy’s review, I realized that she played for 31 minutes without sheet music! And had a cold so the one missed note was easily forgiven. Again, it was a well-executed piece! I was so caught up in the music that time flew by. After a brief intermission we returned to find the grand piano was gone and no longer blocked our view of the energetic conductor Lucas Richman. The KSO performed Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, "Italian" and the Maestro was so into his work that at times he would pop up on his toes as if about to jump into orchestra itself. His full body worked the direction of the score. Several times in the evening I felt as though I had slipped into Fantasia with the two most compelling moments being the first tuning of the evening and the second watching Lucas Richman conduct this Mendelssohn Symphony.
Noah appeared to enjoy the music. I think he may have been uncomfortable about his clothing. At times his finger conducted along with Richman but Noah has a time of evening when he just shuts off. We exceeded that and I wondered if the finger conducting wasn’t an attempt to stay awake. During Mendelssohn, Noah reclined in the seat and closed his eyes. He claims he stayed awake but at one point his head tilted over to me and I had to elbow him before he snored or fell out of his chair. I feared he might be heading toward a migraine. With his interest in percussion, I think Noah would have enjoyed seeing more percussionists. I was surprised that the KSO was so heavily inclined to strings. I only counted two percussionists and I am not really sure about the second. I thought I heard some brass but I had difficulty finding any winds on the stage. My instrument in middle school was the clarinet. I am a very big Pete Fountain fan and would like to see more wind instruments.
Afterwards we met the Maestro, musicians, KSO blogger Katy Gawne, KSO podcaster, and other KSO staff in a reception with wine and cheese and good laughs. I got to talk to both Lucas Richman and Navah Perlman about how much of his gesture and body movements work into conducting and Navah shared just how important the movements are to the musicians and how dramatically different one conductor can be from another. There were so many bloggers and musicians in the reception that I left feeling like I barely got to talk to anyone despite non-stop gabbing.
Stephanie Burdette shared with me information about Family Concerts. Family Concerts is a creation of Lucas Richman’s intended for children 3-8. I laughed at the thought of Evan the Terror sitting still for one hour of classical music in teh Tennessee Theater. "They are not allowed back and someone contact the contractor and see how quickly we can repair that kid’s damage!" After hearing the details, I actually think it would be perfect! After the one hour show, they have an instrument petting zoo for the children to get a closeup experience with the instruments. They also setup a room specifically for the children to do their own performance. This includes a ticket window, costumes for the appropriate jobs, a variety of toy instruments and a conducting opportunity. The children sell tickets to their show and have a blast. For people with transportation issues, I believe she was saying that busing can even be arranged. I think the family has to do this on March 26 at 9:30am!
As we left, I told Noah not to sweat my shoe. During intermission he stepped on my heel and ripped 3/4 of my sole off (I tweeted heal and soul for deeper meaning). To make sure he’d done a good job, he stepped on the same heel again as we entered the Glenn Miller room for the reception. The reception had wine, cheese and water. Noah doesn’t eat cheese and turned down the water and is not old enough for the wine. Lucas Richman’s son did not attend this year. Last year he and Noah played together and I think Noah was looking forward to that. As we left, I inquired, "Did you have a good time?" He responded, "Yes." then paused and added, "And when I threw up, I got it all in the toilet!" After recovering my chin from the floor, I confirmed Noah was okay and that I didn’t have any damage control to do. Don’t worry KSO; that’s just Noah. He was either overtired or stressed out. Nothing contagious. I asked Noah if he would want to go again and he responded yes.
The biggest thing I learned last night is that my iPod is severely in need of some classical music. My special thanks to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for putting on this event! We really did have a great time!
I’ll update this post later with a roundup of bloggers who attended. For additional information, listen to the Mozart-Mendelssohn podcast, Maestro Richman’s interview with pianist Navah Perlman, Read the Program Notes, Read Navah Perlman’s Biography, read the KSO blog, see pictures from last night, and subscribe to the KSO podcast. And if you like theaters, you’ll enjoy Cinema Treasures. Be sure to schedule an evening with the KSO!
2commentsKSO Blogger Night - Tomorrow! January 14, 2009 11:34 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Announcements, Music, Of Interest , add a commentIf you are a blogger and want to experience the wonderful Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, tomorrow night is Blogger Night at the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra! The ability to request tickets ends today at 2pm. (that’s 2 ½ hours from now!) Noah and I participated last year and had a wonderful time. There will be a reception afterward to meet the Maestro and musicians. The KSO simply asks that the bloggers give a review be it good or bad. 50 tickets were available. I do not know how many bloggers responded.
add a commentThe deadline for emailing Stephanie is January 14 at 2:00 p.m. [Source, Frank Murphy, rock me Amadeus]
Straight No Chaser - 12 Days December 17, 2008 8:49 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Holiday, Music, Of Interest, Publishing, Video , add a commentThis is awesome! n.b. At the time of post this, the video had 9,299,104 views. That’s like 3% of everyone in the United States. Scroll down. This first video YouTube removed. The 2nd video is the new one (not as good as the first) and the 3rd video is the one you are here to watch.
Thank you LissaKay for Tweeting it!
Update: I’m so sick of Youtube and its pulling of content. The video above was the original video and had over 10 million views. It’s description had a link to the story of Straight No Chaser and how the video above (no removed due to some claim of copyright b.s.) was put up by Straight No Chaser and quickly rushed to over a million views which spurred a record label to have them do a reunion album which is apparently a fantastic piece. You can purchase it through a link in the description on the above video..oh, no you can’t because that video has been pulled due to a copyright claim by a 3rd party. I was going to buy the CD buy now I doubt I will make the effort to find the website..how’s that for smart marketing Mr. 3rd Party Copyright Gonna Cut The Golden Goose Off At the Neck? Below is the 2008 remake of the performance that made these guys famous; that is until Youtube pulls it. It’s okay but the original had more energy to the show.
p.s. Youtube sucks.
Update: AOL Video still has the original:
Watch more MySpace videos on AOL Video
Update: The name of their new album is Holiday Spirits which can be purchased online at this website.
add a commentThank you Internet! June 4, 2008 12:03 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Music, Of Interest, Publishing, Video , add a commentWell done!
When I posted this he had 1700 some odd views. I bet this one goes super viral! And ends up in a Weezer video! (see also Valleywag.)
Update: You can visit Mikedelic Brownage at MySpace, YouTube, and download tunes from Tailcast.
add a commentReview of the Atomic Horns March 1, 2008 10:11 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Music, Of Interest , 1 comment so farLast night fellow blogger, Barry of Inn of the Last Home, was playing with his band, The Atomic Horns, at Ray’s. Thought I’d drop in at 10pm, enjoy a few tunes and one beer, and be home by 11:30pm. Four beers later, I stroll (not stagger) home at 2am. Still, next time I’m sticking to my one drink limit no matter how many free or unrequested beers the waiter brings.
The Atomic Horns surprised me. I expected to see maybe three musicians on stage. I counted eight! Plus a sound engineer. Later the evening the count rose to 10 musicians. Nothing quite compares to a live band with brass in it! There is a life, a crispness, to real brass that does not convey itself in our compressed mp3 audio. Equally as great were the strings and keyboards. The lead guitar danced on the fret board. Barry and the other keyboardists made me feel like we were standing beside Ray Charles in the music store in The Blues Brothers. Speaking of The Blues Brothers, they made an appearance! But we will get to that. The vocals were fantastic. Each singer nailed the respective cover song and sounded just like the original.
My only complaint with the show was the volume. It seemed to keep creeping up and at times was almost unbearable. Perhaps that’s just my old ears. I had to walk to the other side of the building to give my ears a rest and noticed a couple of people who had been watching the band had moved to the other side of the building to be able to converse. I found it a bit frustrating to only be able to talk to my friends on napkins and between songs. This is a shame because The Atomic Horns have a great show. They do bits. Jake and Elwood came out complete with with handcuffed briefcase holding the sacred microphone. There were other innovative tidbits in front of the stage but I will simply encourage you to see The Atomic Horns to experience them!
I give the show a high recommendation. As a side note, I have to admit being back in a sports bar and grill after all these years was a little weird and funny at the same time. It made for good people watching. I’m happy my bar fly years are long behind me.
1 comment so farToday’s linkbait September 28, 2007 1:35 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, Daily Life, Music , 1 comment so farHow to tell your friends have quit reading your blog. Ahem. And Knoxville’s Youngest Blogger (personally I think he had a better time than his post implies).
1 comment so farI had a blast at the Orchestra! September 27, 2007 11:57 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, Daily Life, Family, Music, Noah, Of Being Dad, Of Interest, Publishing , 5comments
Let me tell you. Maestro Lucas Richman is cool! I mean he’s just fun to be around. Stand beside him and you just feel better. Hug him and you won’t need your Prozac for a year! Top all that off with an energy on the stage that is captivating to watch. (I did joke with him that I thought there were a couple of times he was just plain having fun and perhaps channeling Jack Black.) Today’s featured performer was Jeffrey Biegel. He’s a pleasure also. He has personally worked with two of my heroes, Pete Fountain and Jerry Louis! To be in the same room with such talent as Maestro Lucas Richman and Jeffrey Biegel is very humbling. To banter with them almost felt like a breach of social protocol but we did get to share some laughs.
I have an official review of my evening at the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra to get from mind and paper to blog post but I think I am a bit too tired to be coherent tonight. If you don’t want to wait, in short, if you don’t make time to go see the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, you need to make the the time! I can come up with all sorts of reasons to not go-the kids, money, deadlines, blah blah (just excuses!)-, but honestly, what a great way to spend an evening! Details tomorrow (or maybe Saturday).
Bloggers I saw tonight included Frank Murphy (review), Lissa Kay (review), Rich Hailey, Doug and Faye McDaniel, Byron Chesney (his review), Tish, Craig Thomas and Noah Caldwell. Who did I miss? The bloggers had 50 tickets allocated!
5commentsGetting Cultured Tonight - How many ways? September 27, 2007 3:25 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Music, Noah, Of Being Dad, Of Interest , 3commentsThanks in part to Frank Murphy, Noah and I will be participating in the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s blogger’s night.
Afterwards, thanks to Barry, in response to Cathy, I may be further cultured or drugged or just working.
Noah is particularly interested because of his new found love of percussion. I really hope he gets to interact with some of the percussionists during the post-concert reception. Noah will certainly be the youngest blogger in the crowd but I assure you, he will blog about it! In the realm of "it don’t get smaller than Knoxville" Frank Murphy performs with Einstein Simplified. I was one of the founding members of Einstein Simplified and performed at Manhattan’s for 2 years before life got in the way.
3commentsBecause you should have to chase your music September 1, 2007 11:47 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Gadgets, Music, Of Interest, Robotics, Technology , add a comment
I guess this will be on someone’s Christmas list. via Engadget
add a commentI’ve got a butt! August 31, 2007 9:49 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cool Sites, Daily Life, Family, Music, Of Being Dad, Of Interest , 3commentsUncle Jim has a great song that the children love (and I do too!) called "I’ve Got a Butt" on his Let There Be Fun CD. Go listen to track 8. Hit the XMKids request line at XMFan to get the full song played.
Jim Mayer, aka Uncle Jim, is an award-winning children’s music performer who has been playing children’s music since 2002. The term “Uncle Jim” is not a figurative one; Jim has twenty nieces and nephews and he knows what kids like! [Source]
He’s a Tennessean! Living in Nashville. Now which child needs to join the fanclub?
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