Paper (left) is growing up.

IT TAKES a village to raise a hound, in a manner of speaking. Huntsman and kennel staff are key in any hound’s development and training, and his interactions with the whippers-in are also educational. And don’t forget the importance of positive peer pressure: his fellow hounds are crucial teachers, too, providing lessons in everything from pack and kennel etiquette to the do’s and don’ts of the hunt field.

Earlier this year, he was “Playper,” always finding some object to carry around in his mouth or some curiosity to tempt the other puppies with. Now, as his first season in the hunt field unfolds, our Paper is showing more maturity. He still gets separated from the pack more than one  would ideally like, but he’s clearly mindful of the Golden Rule huntsman Lilla Mason schooled him on during summer walk: with pack=good, away from pack=bad. Now, when he finds himself out on his own, Paper follows the sound of the huntsman’s horn and voice and makes his way back to the pack.

We can see his maturity in other, more subtle ways, too. Though he’s still a teenager and throws in those joyous leaps now and again, he’s leaner and more professional these days. If we were to sit down for a parent-teacher meeting with Paper’s first-season profs, they’d probably say he needs to apply himself more to the work at hand, but he’s definitely shown some improvement as the season continues.

The hunt met at Foxtrot on Saturday and enjoyed an early run, but warming temperatures and a brisk breeze (which you can hear on the video) played havoc with scent. At least four, and by some counts as many as six coyotes burst out of the Cabin Covert. From our position as car-followers, we could tell for certain that one ran east and at least one ran south. The hounds screamed after the one heading south, but when they lost their coyote nearing the border of a neighboring farm hosting deer hunters, it became necessary to bring the hounds back toward the Cabin Covert again rather than cast them again in an attempt to follow the south-bound coyote; the chance of barreling full tilt into a deer hunter was just too great.

Car-following has its limits, and we experienced those on this run: we could hear the hounds but couldn’t see them from our vantage point. We did hear some beautiful hound music, and there are times I’m just as happy to hear the hounds on a run as I am to see them, but I am disappointed not to have captured that on videotape.

We were able to capture some good examples of hounds feathering when they returned to the Cabin Covert, knowing as they did that a coyote had left there. They clearly found a low spot where the east-bound coyote had crossed when leaving the covert and racing through a field of corn stubble. The hounds that passed that spot feathered and feathered, obviously smelling the last remnants of scent, but in the challenging conditions–an older line on a breezy day as the temperature climbed–it did not, alas, result in a second run.

Middleburg's Red Fox Inn, dating from 1728, is the town's most famous landmark

Half of the houndbloggers are now in Middleburg, Virginia, in the heart of the commonwealth’s hunt country. It is in the nature of houndbloggers that they do not, as a rule, like to be separated from each other, but this is one of the rare cases when we considered that two weeks apart was worth it. Why? Would you be surprised to know that hounds are involved? I’ll be here in Middleburg doing some research at the National Sporting Library, while Christopher (above, the one wearing tweed) stays at home and continues the futile effort to keep the Beagle House hounds off the bed and under control.

I hope to have some interesting things to report on from Middleburg, including the National Sporting Library, some thoughts from local huntsmen, and some photos of a couple of local packs, both foxhounds and beagles. And a real highlight, the December 5 Christmas in Middleburg celebration, when the Middleburg Hunt meets downtown and trots up Washington Street–we’ll try to get photos and, if possible, video of that!

This little fellow greets visitors at the National Sporting Library

Full Cry now linked on Baily’s

One final note of interest: the hound blog is now linked online at Baily’s, the worldwide hunting directory that is based in England! The new online Baily’s site is really excellent. It does require a subscription to access full stories and large photos, but you’ll be glad to know they’re running a special subscription rate of about $25 at the moment; for more information, check the link above (a link to Baily’s is also listed under our “Interesting Places” and “Hound Resources” link lists to the right-hand side of our home page). In the meantime, it doesn’t take a subscription to enjoy the great photos in the Baily’s online gallery or the photo slideshow on their homepage. Tell ‘em the Hound Welfare Fund sent you!

Sådärja, nu är jag hemma från En riktig advent! Nyårsbal med vals, foxtrot & bugg, adventsmässa, glöggmys och tusen grejer till! Vi kan sammanfatta det såhär; helgen har varit fantastisk!

Men nu är jag så himla trött, så jag ska ta och lägga mig i sängen och titta på tv. Det har inte blivit särskilt många timmars sömn i helgen, och ändå sov jag halvvägs både till och från Undersvik. Sista biten på väg hem var galen, ett helt gäng trötta funkisar spårar lätt ur, jag skrattade hela vägen…

Mun ei yleensä tuu kateltuu telkkaria ku iltasin, mut tos joku aika sit (kesk = kauan ennen sikakaranteenia) satuin sit röhnöttää sohvalla jo päiväsaikaan, olisko ollu joku arkikrapula tai vastaava… anyway, nelonen päällä ja ruudusa So you think you can dance (Tanssi jos osaat) -niminen jenkkisarja ja jotenki jäin koukkuun – instant bondaus!

Kysees on siis vähä niinku Idols tai Talent, mut pelkästään tanssijoille: riittää, että osaa tanssia – lajilla ei väliä, tosin sit joutuu kyl adaptoituun itelle vieraisiinkin tyyleihin. Aluks on noloja karsintoja, sit tiukkaakin tiukempi vegasviikko. Ja sieltä sitten karsitaan top 20 varsinaiseen “ohjelmaan” 10 miestä ja 10 naista.

Ite ohjelmassa tanssiparit arvotaan ja joka viikko sit arvotaan parille myös tanssilaji. Siellä on esim moni b-boy ollu paskat housussa ku arpa on osunu vaikka quickstepin kohalle. Siinä on kyl yks perkele tanssilajiks, huhhuh. Hiki kirpoo otsalle pelkästä kattelusta. Ei ne tuomarit sitä turhaan kutsu termillä “kiss of death”

Jumalainen juontaja, Cat Deeley <3

No juu, mut joka viikko kolme vähiten ääniä saanutta paria joutuu tanssiin vielä soolot ja ekana viitenä viikkona tuomaristo päättää ketkä mies ja nainen tippuu pelistä pois. Sit top 10:n kohalla kaikki valta on katsojilla aka jenkkiäänestäjillä, joiden äänet määrää ketkä tipahtaa. Kisassa etsitään siis jenkkilän suosikkitanssijaa, ei niinkään aina “parasta”. Tanssilajeista edustettuna on ollu ainaki hip hop, krump, perus valssit (wiener, hidas ja tavis), tangot (normi ja arkku), foxtrot, samba, salsa, mambo, rumba, broadway, chacha, jive, nykytanssi, jazz, disco, bollywood, paso doble, quicstep, jne jne jne… kaikkee löytyy kyl.

Mut siis ihan loistavaa, meitsi likettää. Täs sarjas on oikeesti lahjakkaita ihmisiä (+ hotteja pimuja, useempi selkeesti päivän_pimu_matskua), ihan parhaat tuomarit, loistavat koreografit ja kakkoskaudesta eteenpäin hoteista hotein juontaja Cat Deeley. Mietin pitkään et mikä tekee tästä niin paljon idolsii hienomman formaatin ja tajusin, ettei täs tuu ollenkaan sitä myötähäpeen ja yleisen vitutuksen tunnetta, ja se jos mikä on priceless! Ja tietty varmaan yks tekijä on sekin et tanssin itekin, niin tää kolahti senkin takia ihan täysillä. On toi tanssi vaan hieno liikuntamuoto ja upee taiteenlaji! <3456677

En tajua miten oon pystynyt missaa ton sarjan näin pitkään. No mut parempi kai myöhään ku ei milloinkaan, nyt oon siis kattellu nettitelkusta ekat viis kautta kokonaan hävyttömän lyhyel aikavälil ja kutoskautta sitä mukaa ku se jenkeis ilmestyy! Oottekos te muut seurannu kyseistä sarjaa?

Täs maistiaisia omalla spoiler-vastuulla:

Lacey & Pasha (hip hop) Hauska.

Heidi & Benji (mambo) Ei tästä setit enää paljo proommaks mee… saati nopeemmaks. Tää sai mut kiinnostuun lattaritansseista! Lähetääks P-man kursseille?

Courtney & Mark (jazz) ja huhhuh ku toi pimu on KUUUUUUUMA!

Anya & Danny (jive) Tää oli se mikä tuli telkusta ku satuin koukuttuun ja voin kertoo et propsit ei tästä koukutuksesta mee Avril Lavignelle (no offence), vaiks se skedetyttö onki.. jokkut ne osaa.

Jeanine & Brandon (paso doble) Jeanine <3

Ashleigh & Jacob (hip hop) Tää on ny viimesimmästä jaksosta mitä oon katellu ja tosi hyvää settii vaikka toi tyttö on ballroom ja jätkä contemporary!

… josko riittäis tältä erää, lisäilen kommentteihin si kiinnostuksen mukaa lisää suosikkeja. Oho, tulipa tästä pitkä… vähemmän kaljaa, enemmän unta. Ny unta palloon ja kuolaa petariin. Öitä tyypeille!

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website.
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Good songs usually present a balance of unique ideas with tried and true techniques. Usually, you’ll want that balanced in favour of the predictability that tried and true offers. A song that is too unique will often leave listeners confused, and boredom quickly sets in. However, the opposite situation of too much predictability also causes boredom. What’s a songwriter to do?

Getting a song out to the listener actually requires two important steps. Step one relates to song structure: you need to write a song that is architecturally strong. Step two relates to song presentation: the way you perform the song can often have as much or more impact on the listener’s reaction as the solidness of the songwriting technique.

Good songs exhibit a rather nebulous quality called momentum. That attribute refers to song energy. Energy keeps listeners interested because when energy slowly builds, it causes the listener to stay with it in much the same way that a good drama keeps people watching by building to a dramatic climax. Good lyrics have a way of forcing the audience to keep listening for “what happens next”. Good chords present tension and resolution at all the right moments in a manner that keeps listeners hooked. Good melodic development, hand-in-hand with instrumentation, usually provides a contour that works with lyric and harmony to entice the listener forward.

Boredom sets in when one of those elements is neglected. Why songs fail can be a complicated issue of one element simply not working well with another. There are things you can do to ensure that your song keeps listeners hooked. Here are some of the regular suspects that keep listeners from connecting positively with your song. Some of the factors relate to song structure, while others relate to the final presentation:

1. Chord Progression with Too Many Chords. A chord progression takes the listener on a journey, and too many chords is like trying to see too many landmarks on that journey. Your brain just can’t process it all. If you find that you’re using 16, 17 or more chords in your song, try to scale back.
2. Chord Progressions that Don’t Offer Resolution. A chord progression is a bit like breathing in the sense that a breath inward causes a “tension” that is resolved with a breath outward. Success is when there is a balance of tension (breathing inward) and release (breathing outward). Good chord progressions offer the sonic version of the same thing. Chord progressions will have moments of tension (dominant chords, suspensions, etc.) and then release (tonic chords or other harmonic resolutions). Check your chord progressions to be sure that moments of creative license are balanced with a good dose of predictable resolution.
3. Instrumentations That are Boring. If your song structure is strong, but you then present the song with a mindless strumming guitar from beginning to end, you could be short-changing your song’s effectiveness. Look for ways to involve other instruments. It’s amazing what simply adding a few french horn notes, a flute solo, or using a different chording instrument can do to the success of your song.
4. Melodies That are Too Flat. Some songs, if the lyric is making an important social or political comment, will do nicely with a flat melody. But if your melody is boring you, it will likely bore the listener as well. Find ways to incorporate leaps into the melodic structure, and do it at moments that support emotion-laden words in your text.
5. Songs That are Too Slow or Too Fast. Experiment with the tempo of your song. You’ll see that tempo has a major impact in the overall effect of your song’s presentation. If it feels that the energy of the song never rises enough to support the lyric, try a faster tempo. If the whole thing sounds energetic but frantic, slow it down just a touch.
6. Songs That are in the Wrong Key. Most singers like to place a song somewhat comfortably within the outer boundaries of their vocal range. But if a lyric is intense, you may be missing an opportunity to support that lyric with the proper intensity in the voice. (Peter Gabriel singing the end of “Supper’s Ready” on their Foxtrot album is a perfect example of how a high tessitura can add to the effectiveness of the voice.

So once you’ve written your song, your job is just beginning. Now you need to ensure that the listener gets the full impact of what you’re tying to communicate to the world.
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Gary Ewer’s songwriting e-books are designed to help unleash the songwriter within you. If you’re struggling, trying to get your songs working, you’re wasting time. These songwriting e-books will get you going in the right direction: CLICK HERE.

Hey There,

Every few years, a band that was popular in the seventies or eighties who had broken up will reunite and go on a tour.   In the tours of this nature that I’ve seen (Yes and REM, specifically), the performances were great.

The one group I would like to see reunite is Genesis.  Now, I know they did reunite a couple of years ago, but it wasn’t the lineup I wanted.  During my favorite era of Genesis’ history, the lineup was Peter Gabriel on Vocals, Steve Hackett on Guitar, Mike Rutherford on Bass, Tony Banks on Keyboards and Phil Collins on Drums.  This era, roughly from 1971-1975, produced my favorite Genesis songs.  That’s not to say that I don’t like their later work, but 1971-1975 is second to none.

It’s that lineup that I wish reunited and toured.  There have been rumors of them reuniting from time to time, but they never actually happened.  If they did actually reunite to play live, this is the set list I would like them to play:

1. Lamb Lies Down on Broadway/Fly on a Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 – These are the first three songs of Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and exemplify this classic era lineup- great musicianship, excellent lyrics, expert use of dramatic dynamics.  Of these, Broadway Melody is my favorite, but instrumental section at the end of Fly on a Windshield is as heavy as they get.

2. Get ‘Em Out By Friday – This is from Foxtrot (1972).  This is an interesting song, about a fictional version of England where the Directors of Genetic Control have decided to make people shorter.  Peter plays a number of characters in this song, which adds to the drama.  Musically, it’s a busy song with some odd time signatures.  For the eight and a half minutes of the song, there aren’t a whole lot of breaks, which keeps you listening.

3. Firth of Fifth -  This is from Selling England By the Pound.  The lyrics aren’t the best, but the instrumental break contains one of Steve Hackett’s most dramatic solos. I get chills every time I hear it.  After he left the band, Mike Rutherford took over the solo.  While still dramatic, it’s not the same when Mike plays it.

4. Dancing with the Moonlight Knight – This is the opening track of Selling England By the Pound (1973).  It begins with Peter singing a cappella, then builds to a fast instrumental break.  The lyrics contain a number of mythological and English references, which I had to look up, but the first two minutes or so are some of the most beautiful singing and musical accompaniment in Genesis’ history.

5. The Musical Box – This song is from Nursery Cryme (1971) and is one of the most famous songs of the Classic Era.  The instrumental break goes from soft to very hard to soft and the last few minutes are pretty dramatic.  Lyrically, this song is pretty strange.  A boy’s soul is trapped in a musical box that plays Old King Cole.  When a girl (the one who actually killed the boy), opens the box, the boy comes back to life, but starts to age rapidly.  He becomes lecherous towards the girl, whose nanny walks in at the end and kills the “old” boy by throwing the musical box at him.  Like I said, it’s weird, but a great song.  In recent years, the band played the ending of the song as part of a medley.

6. More Fool Me – This is from To give Peter a break and let Phil sing, I’d like them to play this song.  It’s a strangely sweet song about a guy whose girlfriend walked out on him.

7. Anyway – This is from disc 2 of Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  By far, my favorite Genesis song of all time.  Lamb was a concept album, but this song also works on it’s own.  It’s mainly about death, or more accurately, waiting for death.  The main character of the album and the song believes he is going to die and has accepted it, so he’s waiting for the end.  This song includes a great guitar solo, great piano playing and an active drum part.  If this song starts to play on my ipod, I’ll usually listen to it twice before moving to the next song.

8. In the Cage – This is from Disc 1 of Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  I like the keyboard solo on this song most of all.  It’s a pretty fast song that is based on a difficult rhythm.

9. Supper’s Ready – This song is pretty much all of Side B From Foxtrot (Horizons, a short acoustic solo by Steve Hackett is also on Side B).  This is Genesis’  longest song  (over 23 minutes).  Over the course of the song, there are a number of different melodies.  Not all of the sections are great, but taken together, the song does a good job of building the drama to a great climax (a section called Apocalypse in 9/8).  One of my favorites, but I don’t always have 23 minutes to listen to a song.  They regularly played this song live, so I know they could play it during a reunion tour.

10. The Knife – This is the only song from the pre-Phil Collins and Steve Hackett lineup, from an album called Trespass.  In contrast to the rest of Trespass, it is a very aggressive song about a violent revolution.  They often used this as a closing number or an encore and I believe it is the perfect way to end the concert.

These 10 songs amount to about an hour and a half of music.  As an encore, I’d have them play Back in NYC (from Lamb Lies Down on Broadway), Watcher of the Skies (from Foxtrot) and I Know What I Like (from Selling England By the Pound).

Students of a new language follow a process in building their fluency from learning one word to reading whole novels.  First they learn vocabulary words that are very important to know right from the start.  Then they use those words to make phrases and sentences, conveying basic thoughts and ideas.  Next, they build phrases and sentences into paragraphs.  Finally, they enhance their skills by adding style, unexpected word play, and the always popular “$50 words.”

The building blocks of partner dance levels can be approached in much the same way:

BEGINNING LEVEL

Rhythm and primary patterns typical of the dance style

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Variations on and combinations of beginning patterns; and secondary patterns not related to primary patterns

ADVANCED LEVEL

Tertiary patterns that are either new patterns or variations on secondary patterns; and musicality

MASTERS LEVEL

Musicality; trick patterns and other cool moves; and understanding song structure

FOR ALL LEVELS

Within each level, there are countless ways to add flavor without challenging your students beyond their abilities.  Try using progressively faster music over the course of a lesson, when appropriate.  (For dances like Rumba and Argentine Tango, change the genre of music — slow rock ballads in place of Latin boleros or slow blues in place of traditional tangos).  Turns, footwork variations, changes of hand hold and embellishments are also very good tools to spice up a class while adding to your students’ growth as dancers.

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body”
Martha Graham

I totally just had the night of my life!

I decided it was about time for me to go learn ballroom and latin dancing.

I went to Arthur Murray in Plano, expecting to get a sales pitch with a few dance moves as a bonus.

Au contraire! I learned the foundation steps for any dance style, danced to a wide variety of music, and met several people who enjoy dancing as I do. Take a look at this list of the different styles I danced…in one night, mind you!…:

• Foxtrot
• Rumba
• Jitterbug
• Cha Cha
• Waltz
• Merengue (with a Conga Line!!! haha)
• Salsa
• East Coast Swing
• Hustle
• Tango

Apparently, I’m a fast learner. They are trying to get me to sign up for a “fast track” type program. I even got a “job offer”!!

I had SO much fun! I can’t wait to go back to learn more!

I’ll keep y’all posted on my future professional dance career.

Genesis (the band!)—Mentioned in conversation the other night over dinner, in a pub playing 80s music (as they always do!).

What do we know about Genesis? Did they do a song called “Domino?”

Genesis are a Grammy Award-winning English rock band formed in 1967, and are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time with approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, including 21.5 million albums sold in the United States. In 1988, the band won the Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video. The longest-tenured members of Genesis are Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks. Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett also played major roles in the band in its early days.

Genesis began as a 1960s pop band playing moody, simple keyboard-driven melodies. During the 1970s, they evolved into a progressive rock band, incorporating complex song structures and elaborate instrumentation, while their concerts became theatrical experiences with innovative stage design, pyrotechnics, elaborate costumes and onstage stories. This second phase was characterised by lengthy performances such as the 23 minute “Supper’s Ready” and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the 1974 concept album. In the 1980s, the band produced accessible pop music based on melodichooks; this change of direction gave them their first number one album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only number one single in the United States, “Invisible Touch“.

Genesis was formed in 1967 when Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks were students at Charterhouse School in Godalming. Formed out of school bands Garden Walland The Anon, Genesis’s original line-up consisted of Peter Gabriel (vocals), Anthony Phillips (guitar), Tony Banks (keyboards), Mike Rutherford (bass & guitar) and Chris Stewart (drums). The group originally formed as a songwriting partnership with no intention of performing, but decided to start playing their own music when they were unable to find anyone else willing to record it. Charterhouse School alumnus Jonathan King hosted a concert at Charterhouse in 1968 while the band was still in school. Following the concert, Gabriel gave King a tape of songs the band had recorded and King thought enough of them to sign them to a recording contract. King was a songwriter and record producer who had a hit single at the time, “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon”. King named the band Genesis (after previously suggesting the name Gabriel’s Angels), recalling that he had “thought it was a good name… it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a new feeling.” The resulting album, From Genesis to Revelation, was released on Decca Records in March 1969.

Trespass was the template for the band’s albums in the 1970s—lengthy, sometimes operatic, pieces, and occasional short, humorous numbers resembling the style of progressive rock bands such as King Crimson, Yes and Gentle Giant. Trespass included progressive rock elements such as elaborate arrangements and time signature changes, as in the nine-minute song “The Knife”.

Collins and Hackett made their studio debut in 1971 on Nursery Cryme, which features the epic “The Musical Box” and Collins’s first lead vocalperformance in “For Absent Friends”, the song was also the first written by new members Collins and Hackett within the band. Two engineers were hired and then quit before John Burns took over during the recording of their next album, and this began a successful three-album collaboration between Burns and the group. Foxtrot was released in October 1972 and contains what has been described as “one of the group’s most accomplished works”, the 23-minute multi-part epic “Supper’s Ready“. Songs such as the Arthur C. Clarke-inspired “Watcher of the Skies” solidified their reputation as songwriters and performers. Gabriel’s flamboyant and theatrical stage presence, which involved numerous and elaborate costumes and surreal spoken song introductions, made the band a popular live act. Genesis Live, was recorded on the Foxtrot tour in 1973, shortly before the band’s upcoming album was released.

Selling England by the Pound was released in November 1973 and was well received by critics and fans. Gabriel insisted on the title, a reference to a current Labour Party slogan, in an effort to counter the impression that Genesis were becoming too US-oriented. The album contains “Firth of Fifth” and “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)”; these songs became part of their live repertoire, with the latter becoming their first charting single, reaching #17 on the UK singles charts.

During this period Hackett became an early user of the electric guitar “tapping” technique, which was later popularized by Eddie Van Halen, as well as “sweep-picking“, which was popularised in the 1980s by Yngwie Malmsteen.These virtuoso guitar techniques were incorporated in the song “Dancing with the Moonlit Knight“. At the same time, the band signed with new manager Tony Smith, who published all subsequent Genesis songs through his company Hit & Run Music Publishing.

In 1974, Genesis recorded a double disc concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway which was released on 18 November. In contrast to the lengthy tracks featured on earlier albums The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a collection of shorter tracks, connected by a number of segues. The story describes the spiritual journey of Rael, a Puerto Rican youth living in New York City, and his quest to establish his freedom and identity. During his adventure, Rael encounters several bizarre characters including the Slippermen and The Lamia, the latter being borrowed from Greek mythology and influenced by a poem by Keats.

The band embarked on a world tour to promote the album, performing it 102 times in its entirety, with Gabriel adding spoken narration. During their live performances, Genesis pioneered the use of lasers and other light effects, most of which were built by the Dutch technician Theo Botschuijver. A customised handheld unit was used to channel laser light, which allowed Gabriel to sweep the audience with various light effects.

Creating the ambitious The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album strained relations between band members, particularly Banks and Gabriel. Gabriel was the lyricist, while the other band members wrote the music, with the exception of “Counting Out Time” and “The Carpet Crawlers“. “The Light Dies Down on Broadway” was co-authored by Banks and Rutherford. The other-worldly, blurbling, sequenced synth sounds and shattering glass loops in the track “The Waiting Room”, as well as the vocal effects in the track “The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging” coined “Enossifications”, were produced by the ambient composer Brian Eno.

During the Lamb tour, Gabriel announced to his bandmates that he had decided to leave the band, citing estrangement from the other members, and the strains of his marriage and the difficult birth of his first child. Nonetheless, he saw his commitment through to the conclusion of the tour, which ended anti-climactically in a cancelled gig at Besançon in Eastern France. In a letter to fans, delivered through the music press at the end of the tour, entitled Out, Angels Out, Gabriel explained that the “…vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. The music had not dried up and I still respect the other musicians, but our roles had set in hard.” Collins later remarked that the other members “…were not stunned by Peter’s departure because we had known about it for quite a while.” The band decided to carry on without Gabriel.

The group auditioned reportedly over 400 lead singers to find a replacement for Gabriel. Phil Collins, who had provided backing vocals, coached prospective replacements. Eventually, the band decided to use Collins as the lead vocalist for 1976’s A Trick of the Tail. The new producer David Hentschel, who had served as engineer on Nursery Cryme, gave the album a clearer-sounding production. Critics noted that Collins sounded “more like Gabriel than Gabriel did”.

Despite the success of the album, the group remained concerned with their live shows, which now lacked Gabriel’s elaborate costume changes and dramatic behaviour. Since Collins required the assistance of a second drummer while he sang, Bill Bruford, drummer for Yes and King Crimson was hired for the 1976 tour. Their first live performance without Peter Gabriel was on 26 March 1976, in London, Ontario, Canada.

Later that year, Genesis recorded Wind & Wuthering, the first of two albums recorded at the Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek in the Netherlands. Released in January 1977, the album took its name from Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, whose last lines—”how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth”—inspired the titles of the seventh and eighth tracks.

For the 1977 Genesis tour, the jazz fusion-trained Chester Thompson—a veteran of Weather Report and Frank Zappa—took on live drumming duties. Collins’s approach to Genesis shows differed from the theatrical performances of Gabriel, and his interpretations of older songs were lighter and more subtle. At the 1982 Milton Keynes reunion show, Gabriel admitted that Collins sang the songs “better”, though never “quite like” him.

Guitarist Hackett had become increasingly disenchanted with the band by the time of Wind & Wuthering’s release, and he felt confined. He was the first member of the band to record a solo album, 1975’s Voyage of the Acolyte, and greatly enjoyed the feelings of control over the recording process that working within a group could not provide. Hackett had asked that a quarter of Wind & Wuthering be allocated to Hackett’s songs, which Collins described as “a dumb way to work in a band context”. While Hackett was given songwriting credits on the two instrumental tracks “Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers…”/”…In That Quiet Earth” , the Hackett/Collins’s “Blood on the Rooftops” was never performed live, and his song “Please Don’t Touch” (which appeared as the title track to his next solo album released in 1978) was rejected by the rest of the band, who opted for the shorter and catchier three-minute instrumental “Wot Gorilla?” which closes Side 1 of the Wind & Wutheringalbum. Hackett left the band following the release of the 1977 Spot the Pigeon EP while the band was in the studio mixing together the live album Seconds Out.

The acclaimed Seconds Out live album was recorded during the 1976 and 1977 tours and was to be Hackett’s final release with Genesis. Rutherford took on guitar duties in the studio, and during live performances alternated guitar and bass with the session musician Daryl Stuermer.

Following the departure of Hackett, Rutherford took on guitar duties in the studio and the band was getting closer to a balance of what each member provided from a creative standpoint. The group decided to continue as a trio, a fact they acknowledged in the title of the 1978 album …And Then There Were Three…. The album was a further move away from lengthy progressive epics, and yielded their first American radio hit, “Follow You, Follow Me“, whose popularity led to …And Then There Were Three… being the band’s first U.S. Platinum-certified album.

After his attempt to save his marriage (which ended in divorce), Collins returned to the UK in August 1979, and found himself in a holding pattern while Banks and Rutherford were working on solo recordings. With time to spare and new equipment in his home, Collins immersed himself in the recording of home demos that would become his first solo album Face Value (released in 1981) and provide two songs for the upcoming Genesis project. In addition, he rejoined Brand X for their 1979 tour, and appeared on their album Product. When the three bandmates came back together to begin recording their next album Duke the product was much more the result of all three working together equally. Duke was the real transition from their 1970s progressive rock sound to the 1980s pop era. The use of a drum machine became a consistent element on subsequent Genesis albums, as well as on Collins’s solo releases. The first Genesis song to feature a drum machine was the Duke track “Duchess“. The more commercial Duke was well received by the mainstream media, and was the band’s first UK number one album, while the tracks “Misunderstanding” and “Turn It On Again” became live performance favourites.

Duke was followed by Abacab, which features a collaboration with the Earth, Wind & Fire horn section on the track “No Reply at All.” Much of the album’s rehearsals took place at The Farm, the band’s newly-built studio in Surrey, and the site where all of their subsequent albums were recorded. The album used a forceful drum sound which used an effect called gated reverb, which uses a live—or artificially reverberated—sound relayed through a noise gate set, which rapidly cuts off when a particular volume threshold is reached. This results in a powerful “live” sounding, yet controlled, drum ambience. The distinctive sound was first developed by Peter Gabriel, Collins, and their co-producer/engineer Hugh Padgham, when Collins was recording the backing track for “Intruder”, the first song on Gabriel’s 1980 solo album. The technique, in addition to Padgham’s production, had been apparent on Face Value (1981), Collins’s debut solo album. The “gated” drum sound would become an audio trademark of future Genesis and Collins albums.

In 1982, the band released the live double album Three Sides Live. The U.S. version contains three sides of live material—hence the album’s title—in addition to a side of studio material. The studio material includes the song “Paperlate“, which again features an Earth, Wind and Fire horn section. In the UK and the rest of Europe, the studio material was replaced by a fourth side of live recordings from previous tours. 1982 closed with a one-off performance alongside Gabriel and Hackett at the Milton Keynes Bowl, under the name Six of the Best. The concert was hastily put together to help raise money for Gabriel’s WOMAD project, which at the time was suffering from considerable financial hardship. Hackett, who arrived late from South Africa, performed the final two songs of the show (“I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” and “The Knife”) with his former bandmates.

1983’s eponymous Genesis album became their third consecutive number one album in the UK. The album includes the radio-friendly tracks “Mama” and “That’s All“, and re-introduced the band’s flair for lengthy pieces in “Home by the Sea“. The track “Just a Job to Do” was later used as the theme song for 1985’s ABC detective drama The Insiders. The album became a worldwide success, although somewhat unusually for a Genesis album, it provides no “extra” material. The sessions from the previous five studio albums dating back to 1976’s A Trick of the Tail had all generated other songs that would be released as B-sides to singles or on EPs.

Genesis’s highest-selling album, Invisible Touch, was released in 1986, at the height of Collins’s popularity as a solo artist. The album yielded five U.S. Top 5 singles: “Throwing It All Away”, “In Too Deep”, “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight“, “Land of Confusion” and “Invisible Touch“. The title track reached #1 in the United States; the only Genesis song to do so; however, it stalled at #15 in the UK. In 1987, Genesis became the first band to sell out four consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium. Genesis were the first band to use Vari*Lite technology, and the Prism sound system, all of which are now standard features of arena rock concerts.

After a hiatus of five years, Genesis reconvened for the 1991 release of We Can’t Dance, which was to be Collins’s last studio album with the group. The album features the hit singles “Jesus He Knows Me“, “I Can’t Dance“, “No Son of Mine“, “Hold on My Heart“, “Tell Me Why” and “Never a Time” (a U.S. release only), as well as lengthy pieces such as “Driving the Last Spike” and “Fading Lights“. The album which was produced by Nick Davis includes “Since I Lost You”, which Collins wrote in memory of Eric Clapton’s son Conor.

After much speculation regarding a reunion, Banks, Collins and Rutherford announced Turn It On Again: The Tour on 7 November 2006; nearly 40 years after the band first formed. The tour took place during Summer 2007, and played twelve countries across Europe, followed by a second leg in North America. The trio had wanted to reunite as a five-piece with Gabriel and Hackett for a live performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. While Gabriel reportedly agreed in principle to perform, he was unable to commit to a date. Collins later observed that “Peter is a little over-cautious about going back to something which fundamentally is just fun.” Hackett agreed to participation, but without Peter joining in on the tour, Phil, Tony and Mike thought that it would be more appropriate to bring back Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer.

Genesis has taken influence from a wide range of music, ranging from classical music to mainstream rock and jazz. Banks drew influence from Alan Price of The Animals, whom he regarded as “[t]he first person who made me aware of the organ in a rock context.” Collins has cited Buddy Rich and the jazz outfits The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report, while Gabriel’s early career with Genesis took influence from Nina Simone and King Crimson.

Albums: (not including extensive live albums and re-recordings)

From Genesis to Revelation • Trespass • Nursery Cryme • Foxtrot • Selling England by the Pound • The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway • A Trick of the Tail • Wind & Wuthering • …And Then There Were Three… •Duke • Abacab • Genesis • Invisible Touch • We Can’t Dance

(All information above from Wikipedia.org)

And yes, to answer the question, there is a 2-part song, called Domino (Part 1 & 2), on the album, Invisible Touch from 1986. Those who were lucky enough to see the live tour witnessed the dual drum solo played by Phil Collins and Chester Thompson. Ah, those were the days!

(dedicated to everyone who has served their country, thank you.)

A long time ago (and before I started dancing or teaching), I thought it would be fun to build a music library.  My collection is now 20,000+ songs and there are representatives from more genres that I knew existed when I began — African, Argentine Tango, Balkan, Bhangra, Bossa Nova, Bluegrass, Chicago Blues, Civil War Era, Cumbia, Forro, Fado, Grunge, House, Jazz, Japanese, Merengue, Mississippi Blues, Opera, R&B, Rock, Salsa, Spanish, Turkish, and the list goes on and on.

When I began teaching, my music library instantly was an invaluable resource.  Students were learning how to dance, but they were dancing to music.  Good songs helped them succeed.  There is an endless list of songs that make learning how to dance much easier for students at any level.  Today, let’s focus on the beginners.

A good song for beginning dancers has several key elements:

(1)  Has a clear and easily-heard beat

(2)  Is  slow-tempoed for that style of dance

(3)  Has no lyrics (instrumental) or clear lyrics that match the music

(4)  Is a classic representation of music for the style of dance

For example, you can dance Viennese Waltz to the Harry Potter theme song, but for beginners, start out with something from Strauss.

Below are good songs for beginner dancers by style of partner dance.  I’ve used all of them and they have worked very well for my beginner students.

Beginning Argentine Tango

• El Choclo – Angel D’Agostino
• La Melodia de Nuestro Adios – Francisco Canaro
• Don Juan – Carlos DiSarli
• 9 de Julio – Juan D’Arienzo
• Hotel Victoria – Roberto Firpo

Beginning Cha Cha

• El Paso del Mulo – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
• Canta – Cheo Feliciano
• Bang Bang – Joe Cuba
• El Bodeguero – La Orquesta Aragon
• Theme from “The Apartment” – Tito Rodriguez

Beginning Foxtrot

• Volare – Dean Martin
• The Best Is Yet To Come – Frank Sinatra/Count Basie
• I’m Beginning To See The Light – Harry James
• Hey There – The Mills Brothers
• Just In Time – Tony Bennett

Beginning Hustle

• I Want To Thank You – Alicia Myers
• Kung Fu Fighting – Carl Douglas
• Papillion – Chaka Khan
• Rock The Boat – Hues Corporation
• You Make Me Feel Like Dancing – Leo Sayer

Beginning Lindy Hop (swing, with triple step footwork)

• All She Wants To Do Is Rock – Wynonie Harris
• The Jones Boy – The Mills Brothers
• Li’l Dog – Buddy Johnson Orchestra
• Shiny Stockings – Count Basie Orchestra
• Smooth Sailing – Ella Fitzgerald

Beginning Salsa (on 1 or on 2)

• Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
• Caja de Sorpresas – El Gran Combo
• Bailando – Frankie Ruiz
• Como una Estrella – Tommy Olivencia
• Busca el Ritmo – Willie Rosario

Beginning Samba (Ballroom)

• Felicidade – Antonio Carlos Jobim
• Som Sagrado – Beth Carvalho
• It Always Comes As A Surprise – Pet Shop Boys
• Bim Bom – Sergio Mendez
• Mas Que Nada – Sergio Mendez

Beginning Two Step

• Bubba Shot The Jukebox – Alan Jackson
• Long Sermon – Brad Paisley
• Beer Run – George Jones
• Blue Train – Johnny Cash
• Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ – Loretta Lynn’

Beginning Waltz

• You Can’t Have it All – Alan Jackson
• Could I Have This Dance  - Anne Murray
• At This Moment – Billy Vera
• Take It To The Limit – The Eagles
• The GodFather Waltz –  Nino Rota

Beginning West Coast Swing (Blues and R&B)

• Before You Accuse me – Eric Clapton
• Dancin’ (Shaggin’ On The Boulevard) –  Alabama
• Dancewitme – Maxwell
• The Girl Is Mine – Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney
• Beast Of Burden – Rolling Stones

The members of Foxtrot are:

Tomas Price:  Voice and Flute; Yamaha YFL 221, Tambourine

Juan Luis Rivera: Keyboards; Organ Hammond XK System, Arp Prosoloist, Hohner PianetT, Clavia Phase 88, Muse Receiver, Variax 12 string guitar.

Andrés Correa: 12 string guitar; Rickenbacker, System ADA MB1, Roland PK5 Bass Pedals, E-mu Classic Keys, Guitars (acoustic and electric): Variax, 6 and 12 string.

Juan Pablo Cleary:  Gibson Les Paul Classic, Fender, Carl Martin Delay, Fulltone Fuzz, Morley

Cristobal Heiremans: Drums; Mapex, Zildjian

Please excuse any errors made in translation. The untranslated member list with their instruments is on the home page of the band website: Foxtrot.

Anyone out there looking for a great way to start dancing?

The San Jose Dance Sports Center is hosting a Saturday night dance party for non dancers. This is a great opportunity for those of you who have ever wanted to try out a social dance. Below is the information:

October 24, 2009-October 23, 2010

“At this weekly event, participants learn two kinds of dances during the pre-party lesson, starting at 8pm. Different dances (e.g. Foxtrot, Swing, Tango) are taught each Saturday.

The party starts in earnest at 9:15pm. Meet and greet friendly students and teachers, enjoy complimentary refreshments, listen to great music and have a great time dancing and socializing!”

WE, here at Foxtrot, are dedicated to bringing the news to YOU, the student of UBC. We will be reporting on student politics in our beautiful university, and the problems that plague the average student. We will be reporting clear news and in the upcoming 2010 AMS Election, we will be providing heavy coverage of all candidates.

We, here at Foxtrot, believe that the the students of UBC must no longer be represented by people who disobey the law, cause unnecessary chaos, fight for issues that do not relate to students, and, quite frankly, break promises after being elected.

We, here at Foxtrot, believe in integrity and will only support other outlets of Voter-Funded Media that believe in it too.

Learning how to dance can be quite challenging at first, and doesn’t always come naturally.

I firmly believe that anyone can learn how to dance. The biggest hurdle for beginning dancers is learning the rhythm of the style they want to dance.  When students (are made to) jump right away into learning a dance pattern without a few fundamentals or music, the journey to understanding the dance is made longer and more difficult. It can lead to boredom or worse yet, frustration.

Help to ensure your students’ success at the beginning each new class by explaining the rhythm to the dance you are teaching.  Let’s take Foxtrot for example.  We all know the box step is the basic step, but it is really comprised of two different rhythms – slow steps (each is two beats long) and quick steps (each is one beat long).  Introducing your class to these two fundamental rhythms and how each is done separately will make combining them into “the basic box step” much easier.  There will be some, even many, students who can understand “the basic box step” right away; but if you assume that all can easily foxtrot from this not-quite-so-basic pattern, you can put more rhythmically challenged students at a frustrating disadvantage.

With a non-pattern-based dance like the Argentine Tango, the introduction of rhythm (which can be danced on, faster than or slower than the musical beat) and how to transition from one rhythm to another are more important than any basic pattern.  The Tango’s improvisational nature invites its dancers to creatively move from one step to the next without heavily relying on dance patterns.  As a matter of fact, the two most basic Argentine Tango patterns act more like teaching templates that are not necessarily social dance sequences.

Your students will not only appreciate the ease of the journey from rhythm to pattern during their learning experience, but how much they will learn as well. This teaching approach also makes you a more effective and efficient instructor, allowing students to learn as much as they can in 55 minutes or less.  It’s a win-win.

Vulcanize the whoopee stick
In the ham wallet

Cattle prod the oyster ditch
With the lap rocket

Batter dip the cranny ax
In the gut locker

Retrofit the pudding hatch
Ooh la la
With the boink swatter

If i get you in the loop when I make a point to be straight with you then
In lieu of the innuendo in the end know my intent though
I brazillian wax poetic so hypothetically
I don’t wanna beat around the bush

Foxtrot Unifrom Charlie Kilo
Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

Marinate the nether rod
In the squish mitten

Power drill the yippee bog
With the dude piston

Pressure wash the quiver bone
In the bitch wrinkle

Cannonball the fiddle cove
Ooh la la
With the pork steeple

If i get you in the loop when I make a point to be straight with you then
In lieu of the innuendo in the end know my intent though
I brazillian wax poetic so hypothetically
I don’t wanna beat around the bush

Foxtrot Unifrom Charlie Kilo
Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

Put the you know what in the you know where
Put the you know what in the you know where
Put the you know what in the you know where
Put the you know what in the you know where pronto

© Tous droits réservés – 2005

has got to be my favorite character in Hamlet, solely for this brilliant line:

“This is too long”

Day after day, it’s just an endless cycle of busy work. This isn’t the kind of lit I had in mind when I signed up for this. I love reading stories about things that apply to us, I love writing about things that I love. I don’t care about some suicidal prince in Denmark that has an uncle for a father and a lusty mother.

But besides Hamlet, life’s good.

It’s still hard to put down in words how amazing this is, but I really don’t mind. I’d rather live it out than have to remember it through words.

I have to admit it’s become somewhat hard to focus in class, though I really don’t mind; I’d much rather have her running through my mind all day than stressing out about school.

Thank you for these past 37 days, I can’t wait for tomorrow to come because it’ll be number 38.

Ivanhoe.

Last Saturday night a group of ordinary people did something exceptional. They put on their dancing shoes, wiped nervous sweat from brows, fluffed out feathers, straighten ties, step on stage and danced as part of the local YMCA’s Dancing for Dreams event, helping to raise more than $19,000. A whopping $4,000 more raised than the previous year’s event and darn close to this year’s goal of $20,000. We may make it yet, as money is still rolling in day by day. Dancing for Dreams is the primary fundraiser for our YMCA and the funds raised helps to provide scholarships for kids and families who otherwise would be unable to take advantage of the health and wellness services provided by our local YMCA.

Seven local stars and 6 people fulfilling the role of “professional partners” carried on a tradition that began three years ago when a couple of local women thought that an event based on the Dancing with the Stars phenomenon might make a good fundraiser. Being formidable, resourceful and persuasive they sold the idea to the YMCA Director. With virtually no budget, but with much dedication they pulled in a number of people, including me, to pull to get the first event, which raised a $5,000, a sum that seemed impossible at the time. So the next year the event grew merging with an auction (live and silent) event already in place for the YMCA. Year two the dancers alone again raise a sizable sum, and now we happily repeated this achievement again. Part of what makes this so amazing is this event occurs in a small Midwestern town (population 9,900), where farming remains a strong way of life and there is limited industry.

It is a privilege to for me to be part of such an effort, three years running now. All of dancers are amateurs with the exception of one young ballroom instructor. This wonderfully motley crew, spends hours learning to dance, learning their choreography, selling tickets to the event, as well as figuring out costumes and having some real fun. It’s gutsy for our local stars in particular, to get out on stage to dance, as the evenings entertainment.  Our stars have included, a high school librarian, attorneys, a retired judge, the county clerk, a physician’s assistant, a program director, a bank president, several business owners, an optometrist, the art center director, a school superintendent and the YMCA’s Executive Director (who by the way has got some good rhythm).  My hat is off to all of our local stars and “pros” who have tackled the Waltz, East Coast Swing, Bolero, Tango, Foxtrot, Jitterbug, West Coast Swing, Rumba, Hustle, Cha-Cha and Samba over the past three years. Most of these folks don’t dance regularly, some may never dance again, and some you could not imagine dancing in the first place, but each of them has said how much they enjoyed the experience. For some it has been a dream to learn how to dance. For some it was just an interesting way to support a good cause. All of them put their best foot forward, took a risk and made magic happen.

It astounds me what can happen when people put steady, solid actions together with dreams and hope.

The biggest news of the week is the return of Dancing with the Stars. I am not a fan of reality or game shows, but I have to admit that I watched the first episode to catch Snowboarder Louie Vito attempting the Foxtrot. From America’s Best Dance Crew to So You Think You Can Dance, dance shows are stealing viewers from dramas and sitcoms, but television is not the only medium focused on dance right now.  Music is also taking a turn towards the dance arena. Some of my favorite new tracks this year are in the style of disco. From mainstreamer Pink to alt rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Gossip, it seems everyone is in the mood to dance. All this dance makes me wonder if we’re in a second wave of disco? All signs boldly point to yes. Although the electronica genre has been holding it down since the 90s, this is the most popular dance has been since John Travolta and the Bee Gees. It had to happen sometime. Disco was era that burned out way too quickly for it not to reappear in the future. I’ve noticed that the stigma surrounding disco is changing too. Back in the 80s and 90s disco was too horrible to mention and not considered real music when compared rock or new wave. Today, people talk about disco nostalgically. So, get out those old Solid Gold and Soul Train BETAs and start practicing your moves. Disco is back. Isn’t this the way it should be anyways? Shouldn’t dance and music bring people together and make them happy? I know as a dancer, it’s great to have another genre aside from World that people can dance to and have a good time. No offense Michael Franti.

And now a Band of the Week to dance to…She Wants Revenge!

I have loved this San Fernando Valley duo, Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin, since they emerged in 2006 with their first album She Wants Revenge. Their sophomore album This is Forever was equally impressive, but I am really excited about their new EP Up and Down. The new Ep is a departure from their usually dark dance tracks and sounds inspired by Prince. I love their entire first album, but you must download “Tear You Apart” and “Out of Control,” in addition to “True Romance” from their second album. I am digging “Your Love” from the new EP. You have to see them live too. We saw them at Live 105’s BFD at Shoreline in 2006. I got the worst sunburn ever that day, but I didn’t even care because everyone was dancing and having a great time when She Wants Revenge played. They are currently on tour in the US and, if you can’t catch them this time around, pick up the new EP to dance to at home.

Until next time, dance til you’re dead- K

I’d like to thank everyone for coming to the first meeting of the Hiram College Ballroom Dancing Club for the 2009-2010 school year.  I certainly hope you will come back next week.

Now, if you’re struggling to remember exactly what we did last week, I encourage you to watch the video review.

Foxtrot

The Foxtrot is your introduction to classic ballroom dances where dancers move around the floor as they dance.  All dances like this move in a counter-clockwise direction around the room and your first and foremost obligation is to not run into other people.  This supersedes the need to do any fancy step or elaborate turn.

Foxtrot is also one of the most useful dances to know, right up there with swing and waltz.  You will find these dances at even the most contemporary weddings and much modern slow dance songs can be danced as a foxtrot.

Swing

Swing is HCBD’s specialty.  But it’s also one of the more popular and commonly known dances in the Ballroom Dancing spectrum.  We use swing on a regular basis when we go out dancing publicly so study it well.

Merengue

Here at HCBD, we don’t put a lot of emphasis on Merengue because it is little more than cuban motion set to music.  But for this very reason its important to learn it.  Learn the basic cuban motion for Merengue and you’ll be able to apply that same motion to all the other latin dances.

Welcome back to The Rival Rundown! If you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown@collegecandy.com!

In the world of higher education, there are universities, and there are colleges. The fundamental difference between the two are resources: the former usually boasts graduate degree programs and a larger faculty. But bigger doesn’t always mean better.  A traditional liberal arts college places its entire focus on educating the undergraduate. Yes, the fresh-outta-high-school-barely-able-to-vote-let-alone-know-what-I-wanna-do-with-my-life set. Where to go for such an education? Let’s take a trip up to Massachusetts, where Williams College and Amherst College have been trying to answer that question for centuries.

1. Mascot Matchup

Amherst- The Lord (and Lady) Jeffs, named for college founder Lord Jefferey Amherst, is a perfect spirit leader for those who like their sports icons to be dignified and historical.
Williams- Similarly, the Williams mascot–the Eph–is named for it’s founder, Ephraim Williams. But if you like a bit of whimsy with your historical icon, the Ephs are represented by a purple cow.

Three credits to: Williams–how could you go wrong with anything purple?

2. Alternative Academia

Amherst- Taking part in the Five College Consortium in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, Amherst students are given the privilege of taking courses at any of the member institutions’ campuses, including Mt. Holyoke, Smith, UMass Amherst, and Hampshire. Why choose one college when you can have five, right?
Williams- Emphasizing the usefulness of a well-balanced education and the ability to think creatively, Williams hosts a semi-annual Trivia Night competition that lasts eight hours. Students compete in teams to answer questions from a wide spectrum of topics in a marathon tournament of wit and stamina. The prize for the winning team? To organize and host next semester’s tournament!

Three Credits to: Williams–if Trivia Night is fun at my local watering hole, imagine how awesome it would be as an all-night affair!

3. College Town Cool Factor

Amherst -Nestled in Amherst, MA, a small picturesque town surrounded by the institutions of the Five College Consortium, Amherst thrives in a heavily student-populated area. One local attraction of interest: the Emily Dickinson Museum, dedicated to Amherst’s most famous resident.
Williams-  Located in the Berkshires region of Massachussets, the Williams campus personifies New England charm.  With Mass MoCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) to browse year-round, Tanglewood Symphony to enjoy during the summer, and a smattering of mom-and-pop shops, there’s many opportunities to indulge in local culture.

Three credits to: Williams, where the nearby symphony is music to my ears!

4. Ass-Kicking Alumni

Amherst– Bill Amend (Foxtrot cartoonist), Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code author), Raymond Teller (Penn & Teller magic/comedy duo).
Williams- Steven Sondheim (Broadway composer), US President James Garfield,  George Steinbrenner (owner of the New York Yankees).

Three credits to: Amherst–what would beach literature be today without the paradigm-shifting scandals of The Da Vinci Code?

5. Acceptance Rate Agony

Amherst- 14.8% for the class of 2012.
Williams- 17% for the class of 2012.

Three credits to: Amherst.

And the diploma goes to: Williams! Between these two liberal-arts powerhouses, Williams wins by virtue of its quirky mascot, quixotic trivia night, and quiet (but bustling) hometown.

Unless you have two left feet and attempt it. Ever tried it? Ever been so klutzy dancing with a handsome man, who sports 11 1/2 size clods, but you still manage to trip over your own size 7’s? No? Boy, you are missing out. I am extremely ungifted in grace. It’s an art I tell you. Whoops.

Funniest thing of all, Jason’s grace, is typically just as bad. We have to hold on to some hope that one of us will have a good day. I can’t tell you how many times, in a day, he drops his keys or I drop mine and I wonder, GEE, if we had a baby would that be dangerous? But I digress…

So, Jason signed us up for dance class on Monday nights at 8pm. It is the ONLY time we can possibly make or fit a class into both of our schedules. When I say ONLY? I mean it. They don’t offer that many classes for couples. Monday and Tuesday is it. Tuesday, he has graduate class. Monday, he has the girls until 7pm. That means the 6pm Waltz and the 7pm Two-step is not possible. 8PM is the ONLY time. Period.

That said, the 8pm IS a couples class, which is great. It’s uhhh a couples class to learn a dance of Foxtrot, Waltz and Swing. And it’s uhhhh couples class to learn a dance of Foxtrot, Waltz and Swing choreographed to music for the first dance at your WEDDING as bride and groom. Oooops! See what I mean? *how do I manage to get myself into these things?*

No, we are not getting married (so far as I know…yet?), that’s why I say it was the ONLY class we could make. We figured, what the heck, it will be fun. I dreaded the “When is your date?” question which, of course, occurred in the first five minutes of class. I gotta give it to Jason, who smoothly answered, “We don’t have a date yet”, smiling the whole time. The teacher gracefully waves her hand in the air, in a no matter motion, and proclaims, “Then, you have plenty of time to learn the dance.” *Love her attitude*

Whooosh, I felt so much better after that and not so much of an impersonator. Seriously, I wasn’t sure what would happen. I didn’t know, if he’d have to drop to one knee and propose, or they’d just kick us out or what? How dare they come to this class? They are not even getting married. Ha! Come to find out, no biggie at all.

I really wasn’t nervous (as I should have been) about dancing. It was really exciting. I have never learned any kind of formal dance with a partner. Getting to be in the arms of Jason, while learning something that will change my life (even if I don’t ever use it) was very enchanting.

We learned the basic steps of Foxtrot. Men first, for their part, then the girls, for their part, then finally, together. Sweet! Okay, I fumbled a bit, but really it was pretty easy. Jason and I had a nice rhythm going. Next, she taught basic conversation (good for the wedding photographer to catch the beaming bride and groom faces-snicker). We were swinging around going way faster than the other couples and having a blast.

Then, she taught us the spin. Oh! WHAT? I turn this way then feet this way then pick up Foxtrot again? Huh? Slow, slow , quick, quick , turn, turn, slow, quick. Ahhh!! Yes, this was the point when I somehow managed to trip over my OWN shoe and barely (and I do mean barely) managed not to fall in front of the class with the (Oh,Oh,Oh) hands pin wheeling, as I flew towards the floor, just glimpsing my flailing self in the floor to ceiling mirror. Luckily, my hero saved me from that embarrassment, as he calmly grabbed me, holding me up, arms tight around me. Phew!!!

Around and around we went. My hips started burning. Wow, what a long song. I was starting to sweat. No wonder they lose so much weight on Dancing with the stars. OHMIGOSH when is the music going to stop? OUCH! Missed a step , sorry my bad, yah your boot hurts! Other than not letting go of my hand on one spin and twisting it, we were good. When we had it, it was awesome. However, we definitely need lots more practice. We have three more classes to learn our bride and groom first dance. *that always makes me laugh*

I even started looking for songs. (well why not?) Everyone else has music (you know the ones ACTUALLY getting married). I can’t let them show us up. Know any good Foxtrot ballroom dance songs? I really do want a modern song re-made. I think that would be cool but I may end up with a classic. There are a few I like. If anything? This is GREAT exercise and couple bonding time.

Dance like no one is watching. Unless you are in a classroom full of people with a big ole mirror, then pretend you know what your doing.

Posted Friday, Sep. 11, 2009

By CHAREAN WILLIAMS

cjwilliams@star-telegram.com

CHICAGO — Louie Vito has been practicing hard, four to six hours a day. But he’s not getting ready for his day job — snowboarding — but for prime time — Dancing with the Stars.

Vito began working with partner Chelsie Hightower on Aug. 21. The ABC show begins Sept. 21 with 16 contestants vying for the Season 9 title.

“Everything is pretty hard for me,” Vito said Friday, the second day of the U.S. Olympic Summit. “My snowboarding posture is not really great for ballroom dancing. I have to learn to keep my shoulders back, my head up, where in snowboarding my shoulders are forward, and I’m allowed to slouch if I want. Also, in snowboarding, you can do what you want. You can take a trick that everybody does and put your own trick, your own flavor, on it. But there, you have to do it that way. There is a correct way you have to do it. … That’s the hardest thing for me to kind of deal with.”

Vito, 21, is a two-time winner of the USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe Series. He hopes to do as well in the salsa and the fox trot.

“I’m interested to see what they think about me,” Vito said. “I’ve just got to remember that they’re probably going to be pretty harsh, because let’s be honest, I’m not really a ballroom dancing kind of guy. I’m going to try my best. It’ll be entertaining that’s for sure.

“I tell everyone, laugh at me all you want; I just need your vote.”

Dear Hipsters,

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve last written. I swear I wasn’t trying to break your heart; these things just happen sometimes. Things change. People move away. Personally, I’ve just been busy kicking television and foxtrotting–you know, Dixie Cup drinkin’ and assassining down the avenues. Besides, it’s been a long, hot summer. And we all know that when it’s hot in the poor places at night, I’m not going outside.

The good news is that I’m back, and I won’t leave you again (at least for the forseeable future). I also got you something. For those of you who secretly love Wilco, but publicly disdain their critical acclaim, mainstream appeal, and increasing Dad-rock status–this is for you. I give you some bands that are Wilco without being Wilco. Let’s go through them one by one, shall we?

Loose Fur is band of the men who basically brought you Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This side project, made up of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, drummer Glenn Kotche and YHF mixer Jim O’Rourke, has released two albums since 2003. The first is the self-titled Loose Fur. My favorites from the six-track album are “Laminated Cat” and “Chinese Apple.” “Laminated Cat“ is a re-working of a song written for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but left off the album, called “Not For the Season.” This vibey, drum-driven number about the shifting seasons suits Tweedy and Kotche well. You can check it (and Jeff Tweedy’s standup-worthy banter) here:

“Chinese Apple” will be somewhat familiar to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot aficionados. Part of Tweedy’s initially semi-improvised lyrics in this low-key folk tune assimilated their way into the very dissimilar “Heavy Metal Drummer.” Over the finger-picked guitars, soft percussion and distant organs, Tweedy sings “Unlock my body and move myself at last / in the warm liquid, flowing glowing glass / Classical music, blasting masks are ringing in my ears.” Hear (most of) it here, accompanied by adorable cartoon animals:

On Loose Fur’s newest release, Born Again in the USA, comes the infectiously catchy “The Ruling Class,” a song best suited to those not politically correct or only ironically homeboys with Jesus. Tweedy spins the tale of the second coming of Christ in modern day America over jangly steel guitars and a whistling line sure to get stuck in your head for days on end.

Also available on Born Again in the USA (but sadly nowhere I could find on Youtube or elsewhere on the interwebs) is “Answers to Your Questions,” a highly-relatable, melancholy folk tune about a slightly-bitter ex-lover who doesn’t want to write you back. Jim O’Rourke’s low, clear vocals plod along with the bass atop Tweedy’s buoyant acoustic guitar. It’s a shame I can’t find it–guess you’ll have to buy the album.

Let’s move on to the next one, pronto. Pronto is a side project with Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen. I can’t claim to know much about this New York-based group, other than that I like what I hear. I also like Jorgensen’s glasses. Anyway, they’ve released two discs, All Is Golden and (very recently) The Cheetah, filled with catchy tunes, many of which (but not all) sound like pop-rock throw-backs to the 70s, all signed with Jorgensen’s signature key-tickling. Here’s a taste of one of my favorites, the sunshiney “When I’m On the Rocks:”

Another non-Wilco Wilco group is made up of Wilco multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone and long-time Uncle Tupelo/Wilco bassist, John Stirratt. Both are highly talented musicians, singers and song-writers, so the combination naturally results in a great melodic soft folk-rock duo, The Autumn Defense. The group cites musical influences of Cat Stevens, Nick Drake and Simon & Garfunkle–take a listen, and it’s not difficult to hear where these influences come in.

Well, hipsters, this is the end. I can’t tell if this brings my heart the way I wanted when I started writing this blog to you. But it will have to do. I’ll write again soon. I’ll write you a box full of letters.

Sincerely,
the man who loves you,

Paul A. Ab-Dul

For more on:
Loose Fur – http://www.dragcity.com/artists/loose-fur
Pronto – http://www.myspace.com/prontonyc | http://www.facebook.com/Prontosphere | http://prontosphere.com/
The Autumn Defense – http://www.myspace.com/theautumndefense | http://www.theautumndefense.com/

For other Wilco side projects:
Nels Cline: http://www.myspace.com/nelscline
Pat Sansone: http://www.myspace.com/birdyonthemoon
Glenn Kotche: http://www.myspace.com/onfillmore | http://www.myspace.com/glennkotche
Jeff Tweedy: http://www.goldensmog.com/

Foxtrot, Baby Blues, Garfield, Bizzaro

I hope these brighten your day!

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O saudosismo pela fitinha K-7 pode ser explicado. Elas me ensinaram algo importante: ouvir o disco na íntegra, como ele foi concebido, sem pular nenhuma música. A minha pressa adolescente fazia com que eu, ao escutar um disco, ficasse extremamente tentado em pular aquela música que com uns 40 segundos ainda não tinha dito a que veio. E a impossibilidade de ficar correndo a fitinha pra frente e pra trás toda hora fez com que eu aprendesse a valorizar a obra completa. Foi assim que descobri discos favoritos que provavelmente eu não teria dado tanta bola. A volta do colégio nunca mais foi a mesma depois do Their Satanic Majesties Request dos Stones. Era a trilha perfeita para um passeio demorado dentro de um ônibus carioca quente, cheio e suado. Melhor só numa diligência marroquina. E aí aprendi a respeitar as obras, ou melhor, a cabeça que pensou a obra. Por isso mesmo sempre fugi das coletâneas. E sempre li O Jogo da Amarelinha do jeito sugerido. Coletânea é algo extremante sujo, como um filme que reúne as melhores cenas da carreira de um cineasta e então é preciso esquecer que essas melhores cenas, muitas vezes, são ancoradas e até potencializadas por sequências não tão boas. É assim com os discos também. Uma coisa é escutar Revolution#9 sozinha. Outra é escutar entre Cry Baby Cry e Good Night. Aliás, o meu momento favorito dos Beatles é a sequência Revolution#9-Good Night. O inferno e o conto-de-fadas. É de um humor sofisticado e sublime. Mas, voltando às fitinhas e contrariando tudo que falei até agora, com o Genesis eu traí meus princípios. Fiz uma K-7 com a obra-prima da banda segundo eu. O lado A do Selling England By The Pounds e o Lado B de Foxtrot. Ou seja: Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), Firth of Fifth, More Fool Me e Supper’s Ready. Ao contrário do Satanic, e mesmo com o solo de guitarra com cara de lua cheia do Steve Hackett em Firth of Fifth, a minha fitinha do Genesis funcionava bem na tranquilidade do primeiro sol da manhã.