Propellerhead Record

March 11, 2010
This blog is written irregularly for sure, but when almost two weeks go by with no word from me, I am concerned. Where have I been these first few weeks of March, if not dutifully transcribing my every move on the ORG? It turns out I have been in front of my computer for most of that time, playing with a new piece of software that is SO MUCH FUN! I have been a user of Propellerhead's synth rack emulator Reason for a long time; it is an amazing studio tool with unlimited sound synthesizing potential, but it has always…

Music!

February 27, 2010
When I first heard Fela Kuti, I was a senior at Middlebury and it sealed the fact that I needed to visit West Africa as soon as possible, which I did eight months later in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali. Unable to visit Nigeria then, I was transported on Wednesday to Lagos (sort of...) on Broadway and treated to some great Afrobeat courtesy of Antibalas and (an actor portraying) Fela. He was an incredible character and fierce musical guerilla warrior, constantly antagonizing his oppressors and receiving due punishment. The music he created is hypnotic and powerful, wise and inspiring, and…

Copywrong

February 10, 2010
In my music classes, I love to sing an old Australian folk song called Kookaburra: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Merry merry king of the bush is he Laugh Kookaburra Laugh Kookaburra Gay your life must be It's a nice melody and a beautiful round and I had never known who the original writer was until yesterday. Marion Sinclair wrote the song in 1932 and died in 1988, with publishing rights currently held by Larrkin Publishers, who just won a lawsuit against the band Men at Work claiming copyright infringement for a flute solo on their classic 80's…

The Dead Are Alive!

December 9, 2009
I saw Furthur play at Hammerstein last night and was feeling nostalgic for a time before I was born. Grateful Deadians Bob Weir and Phil Lesh led a great Dead cover band through a classic set, drifting from heavy blues to deep funk and utter confusion to euphoric resolution: I: Truckin > Dire Wolf > Doin That Rag > Ramble On Rose > Reuben and Cerise > Looks Like Rain > Cosmic Charlie II: King Solomon's Marbles > He's Gone > New Potato Caboose > The Other One > Days Between > Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain >…

Phish Surprise!

December 3, 2009
Alaina and I were in line to buy tickets to The Road when the call came: would you be interested in seeing Phish at MSG tonight? We quickly postponed our apocalyptic film plans for one of my all-time favorite concert experiences. This was no ordinary ticket miracle-- it was free, courtesy of a friend of a friend at Bank of America and their corporate luxury box, including food and drinks and an amazing view perched near the ceiling. Tempted though I was to call out our hosts on their shameful industry-leading financial support of CO2 coal-burning operations, I opted instead…

Birthday Supergroup

November 24, 2009
As a birthday wish of Anje's, six of her friends assembled a band for her annual party at Monkeytown. We chose a setlist of 70's, 80's and 90's tunes and had an amazing time playing for a raucous crowd. It is rare for me to play the bass these days, but having played every day in high school and college, I was immediately reminded of how much I love this instrument. It is fun to rock. Many Thanks to Anje, Blake, Dan, Zach, Andy, Josh, Graham and Lucas for making this happen. Black or White Sultans of Swing Money For…

Tranny Fun

November 7, 2009
I was de-virginized last night at my first Rocky Horror Picture Show experience and it was, as I had been warned, highly participatory. If you yourself are still a virgin, I will enlighten you: the ridiculous 1975 rock musical B-movie is augmented by a group of live actors who dress (scantily) as the actors and lip-synch the lines while yelling commentary at the screen. Audiences are encouraged to throw stuff, dance and yell at appropriate or inappropriate moments. Before the midnight show at Clearview Cinemas in Chelsea, all the virgins--as in audience members who had never seen the show before--were…

Who Shot Rock n Roll

October 30, 2009
When my mother-in-law said two years ago that she was going to write a book about rock n roll photography I was skeptical; while her knowledge of photography is about as deep as anyone in the world, her familiarity with the subject matter was pretty thin. Last night, all doubts were erased as I attended the opening of her exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum. She has pulled together 175 incredible photos from all aspects and generations of rock n roll and presented them beautifully, with text that demonstrates her complete understanding of rock's cultural power. It is inspiring to see…

Bruce!

October 8, 2009
Giants Stadium was transformed tonight from sports arena into church as Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band took the wrecking ball to the stadium and brought down the house in one of the final concerts to be played there. He opened with a song dedicated to the stadium and its history, then played through four decades of his own musical contributions. He is playing five shows at The Meadowlands and each one features a different album; tonight was "Born To Run", which definitely has a seat among the greatest rock albums of all-time. His music is gloriously uplifting and…

Health Insurance for Earth

October 2, 2009
Right now in Bangkok, a monumental conference is underway, involving delegates from all over the world who have come to discuss nothing less than the future survival of our planet. Climate change is the focus and negotiations have begun on the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol which will be drafted in Copenhagen next month. It is a crucial moment in our planet's history because we have already pushed the limits of our ecosystem's capacity to maintain itself and are bringing it to the brink of being inhospitable. There is no question that without checking our consumption and abuse, the atmosphere…