I received a comment from a kind soul who has also been doing the MySpace Karaoke thing...this anonymous poster let me know that there is a key change option on the recorder. You may recall that I was bitching and moaning about so many of the songs being out of my range. I looked and looked and still could not find a key changer. Finally I spotted it. I had been under the impression that the slide bar on the far right was a music level fader. But lo and behold, it was the ever elusive key changer. So, thank you to whoever it was that clued me in.
Using that handy function I was able to throw down a nice version of the Stone's "Brown Sugar". That one was a lot of fun to do and it doesn't sound half bad...at least in regards to the music/vocal mix. I put in a little quip about how the song is not the most "politically correct" number that Mick Jagger ever wrote. And then, at the end, there's a part about how Jagger is a "chick magnet", and how I can't figure that out, seeing as how "he's not exactly one of the most attractive people in the world." The website is a ton of fun, but it's unbelievable how fast the hours pass when you're on it.
The rest of this day has been spent doing a re-mix of Sigur Ros' "Glosoli" on the Acid 7.0 Music Studio. I had the idea a few months back to merge some of their songs into one...that concept flopped, as it should have been apparent that the time signatures and keys would likely not fit together. The project I'm working on now utilyzes my voice to add slight harmony aspects and ambience to the song. I know that a lot of what the band does is a variation of the same thing, ie. Jonsi's voice is used as an instrument not only in the way you'd expect from a singer, but also in other unorthodox styles, using loops, sequencing, pitch shifting and other methods. I thought perhaps I could work up something that would add to the over-all ethereal quality of the song. So far I'm really happy with it, though it looks like it will turn into a long-term project. It wouldn't be the first time a random idea grew into a time-eating monster.
Wouldn't it be cool if there was a way I could let the band hear it? Maybe see what they think? Oh, I know...that's much too much to wish for. But I'll say this...I would be proud to show it to them. I think I do a good job on it because their music has become a part of me. Just yesterday I was watching the performance of "Untitled 8" from the "Heima" disc. I've heard that song at least a hundred times, and yet it still blows me away. The live version is simply incredible, with the string quartet's sustained notes providing a gorgeous backdrop to the electricity of the band.
Having spent so much time with "Heima" I must say that I am truly impressed with Amiina, the string quartet who have been playing with Sigur Ros for the past few years. They have a couple of albums available, and they are both in prominent postitions on my "wish list".
And I also realized, hearing the seamless merging of strings and electric instruments that these guys have produced sonething that can truly be likened to classical music in all it's grace and subtlety. I have always been a fan of prog-rock and what has always been known as "classical rock"...but when you put all that stuff up against what Sigur Ros is doing you quickly realize that the most it has ever done is try to fuse some generally accepted understanding of what classical music is with the trappings of a rock sound. The result rarely sounds anything like classical music OR rock. Sigur Ros, on the other hand, aren't trying to combine anything. Yet the music they make succeeds in conjuring a classical sensiblility. I could cite several examples here, but I'd rather let you buy the albums and see for yourself (if, that is, you care for such things).
In short, they make the most beautiful music I have ever heard in my 45 years (46 here in about a week).
Okay, that's my monthly Sigur Ros adoration rant.
I wound up not going to OKC last night. The reason I gave Redd was that I couldn't afford the gas to get there. And that is the truth. But I just didn't feel up to the journey. I was tired. I got up too early and by the time 5:00 o'clock came around I didn't have it in me to make the trip. Then he told me that Bobo had cancelled, too. Lisle probably wouldn't be there, either, because he was nursing a banged-up knee. Big D had already renigged, and it was a good bet that the Big Man wouldn't show. I guess we all bailed...and I do feel bad about that...it seems like every time we plan to congregate a few from the old Festive crew, something comes up and the whole thing goes straight down the toilet.
I would really enjoy a full-on Festives reunion. Warty, Redd, Capital, Big D, the Big Man, T-Bone, Gunner, Jack...aww, man, that would be one helluva party, let me assure you of that. But the odds of that happening in any of our lifetimes are as slim as they get. But, oh, the memories. What a phenomenally cool bunch of guys to call friends (did you notice that they all have nicknames? Just like some kind of grade school boys club. Mine, by the way, is Jimbo).
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: "All of This and Nothing" by the Psychedelic Furs. It's one of the best career retrospectives that has ever been released. Of course, they only had a couple of big hits, but whoever assembled this album had a good understanding of what they were about and what songs best conveyed it. I've loved the Furs since the first album...actually, since the first single, which I bought as an import. It came out before the American release of their self-titled debut. "We Love You" b/w "Pulse". I thought both of those songs were awesome. I immediately bought the album when it came out. Every song is great. I liked the way vocalist Richard Butler sounded like a cross between David Bowie and Johnny Rotten. And I also loved the way Duncan Kilburn's alto saxophone set it apart from just about any other band doing this sort of music. I was so disappointed when Kilburn left the band...I really didn't think they had much of a future after that. But they wound up making a couple more excellent albums. For months after "Talk Talk Talk" came out you could see me driving around town in my dad's yellow Ford Maverick singing along to that record from start to finish (then over again). That car didn't even have a stereo in it. I toted a boombox around for the sole purpose of listening to music on the road. There wasn't a single song on that whole album that I didn't love. Especially the side closers, "She Is Mine" and "All of This and Nothing". Those songs alone made it worth all the time and trouble it took to record the vinyl LP onto a TDK cassette tape so I could cruise with it.
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