Tonight Zack, my dad and I went to go see Donald Miller speak on his Million Miles book tour.  Gabby and her parents told us that he was coming through town, and I’m so, so glad that they did.  The evening was fantastic and my head is swimming with so much information about writing and God and life that I’m not going to be able to sort it all out this evening.  Click on that link to see if he’s coming to your town.  If he’s coming anywhere close to you, you should go hear him speak.

So, in lieu of philosophical ramblings regarding my interpretations of Donald Miller’s fantastic presentation, I’m giving you a video clip.  Because it’s NaBloPoMo and I have to post every day. And because I have the rest of the month to piece together a wordy post about narrative and conflict.

Community’s been rocking my world this season. In last week’s episode, there was a fantastically clever exchange that I am still laughing about 3 days later. (I can’t find a clip of it anywhere, so you’ll just have to go watch the whole episode to see it.)
Chevy Chase’s character asks his band-mate the question, “Are you trying to Garfunkel me?”
And the doofus of a band-mate replies, “Maybe. Assuming that to ‘Garfunkel’ someone is to put up with them even though they’re a fat lazy cat who hogs the spotlight and eats all the lasagna.”

At The Zoo by Simon and Garfunkel

I’m really into iTunes Genius feature right now, it plays some good music that isn’t necessarily in your rotation.  I love the qualities Simon and Garfunkel give to the animals, quite funny.

This track was definitely put in my iTunes by my dad, thank you.

I bought a new bass guitar yesturday (Saturday 24th), its a Farida FPB-18 and it is gorgeous . Bought it from Dawsons in Manchester and so far I’m loving it. I bought it mostly for some home recording so I doubt it’ll see any live use, but it is fun to just mess about on. I’ll post a review when I’ve played with it a bit more, probably. Here’s a picture of it:

My gorgeous new bass guitar

Getting it home was quite a mission. It was raining fairly heavily and I had to take it home on the bus in a cardboard box. Fun times

Taking the Farida FPB-18 home on the bus was not an easy affair

For those of you who are subscribed to my YouTube channel you will have seen this video already:

In which I give my vain little excuses as why I’m not updating much and about upcomming gigs. I actually emailed a whole bunch of promoters but only one of them got back to me and that was the in house promoter for The Night & Day Café who offered me a placement for an acoustic/folk night on the 28th October. Great! But she wanted 25+ people, at a weeks notice! That was kinda impossible, so I told her that I could probably only bring about 10-15 people and she booked me in anyway. She told me I was responsible for making and distributing flyers which I did and if you’ve ever played gigs before you’ll know that people are shit at coming to things. Still I’m hoping for a reasonable turnout. If you want to come all the information you need for that is here.

I’m planning to do more gigs around Manchester, to stay informed about them go to my new side channel http://www.youtube.com/jonnydarklivemanc

I’ve also had an idea for some new YouTube videos. Alphabecovers, every week I do a cover going through each letter of the alphabet with each song chosen out of suggestions from the comments on the previous video. I’m going to start the project next weekend, starting with America by Simon and Garfunkel so look out for that

That’s all for now

Ttfn

Jonny

As I was listening to my Simon and Garfunkel radio station on Pandora, I came across a song by Paul Simon called “Peace like a river,” and it struck a chord within me. The sad, conflicted, lilting guitar combined with the interesting lyrics are captivating.  It’s a sharp contrast to Paul’s normally happy, upbeat songs. I think that’s why I like it so much.

“Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, And I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.

You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can’t outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee——

Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I’m reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I’m going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I’m going to be up for a while

Oh, oh, oh, I’m going to be up for a while.”

If you’re in a music rut or just want to listen to something classic, I really recommend the Simon and Garfunkel radio station on Pandora. It features music from Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and many more.

Otsikko antaa ymmärtää, että tänään kokataan, mutta tällä kertaa yrteillä ravitaan sielua, karkotetaan sydämestä katkeruus ja kasvatetaan rohkeutta ja voimaa. En muista, milloin kuulin Scarborough Fair -laulun ensi kertaa, mutta kauan siitä on. Todennäköisimmin kuulemani versio oli Simon & Garfunkel -kaksikon kädenjälkeä vuodelta 1966.

Valitsin täksi sunnuntaiksi kuitenkin kaksi naista. Ensimmäisenä laulaa uusiseelantilainen Hayley Westenra. Kyseessä on live-esitys, joka osoittaa, miten taitava laulaja Westenra on. Mutta sitäkin enemmän minua koskettaa videolla näkyvä yleisö; naiset, jotka paitsi osaavat laulun sanat ulkoa, myös eläytyvät niihin täydestä sydämestään, vaikka eleet ovatkin minimaaliset.

Toisella videolla esiintyy näyttelijänäkin tunnettu Amy Nuttall. Malttakaa muutama sekunti, musiikki käynnistyy viiveellä alkutekstien jälkeen. Video kannattaa katsoa jo siksi, että se kertoo laulun historian ja sanoitukseen kätkeytyvät merkitykset. Laulu soi myös Pam Ferrisin ja Felicity Kendalin tähdittämän, Suomessakin esitetyn Puutarhaetsivät-sarjan tunnarina.

Lisää bloggaajien sunnuntaiklassikkoja löytyy Lepiksen sivustolta, täältä.

Time by Pink Floyd

A Hazy Shade of Winter by Simon & Garfunkel

Eternalists by Talib Kweli

SONGS

For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her – Simon and Garfunkel I had this song on repeat whilst I read The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Do the same. You’ll cry twice as much.

Teletubbies Say Eh Oh Club Remix Not even kidding. It exists. On iTunes. Sheer quality stuff.

 Lost In Stereo – All Time Low So addictive!

 Beat Again – JLS OH MY GOD!!!!!!! THEY’RE LIKE SOOO HENCH!!!!!!!!

Not. Haha, had you fooled. JLS…shudder. JLS fangirls…bigger shudder. On one of the biology desks in school, there is a spider diagram of their names, their ages, their color (What is up with that?! They even color code their boxers! This is not what normal men do.) and…wait for it….WHERE THEY LIVE. How the FUCK do people know where they live?! Bigger question, WHY?

QUOTES

David Mitchell on boardgames - I prefer backwards cluedo. You start off knowing who did it and why, and you have to figure out why the hell you all care. The man is a legend!

Brooke Shields on smoking – Smoking kills. When you’re killed, you lose a really big part of your life. That is just genius. Pure and simple.

Over and out.

Aww…come on…put the hormones away. It’s just for fun.

Primer día de instituto. Deprimentemente deprimente. Después de hacer los correspondientes deberes, mi sarcástica amiga María me dice que haga una entrada algo especial, que ya está harta de la lluvia, para evadirse un poco del aburrimiento. Después me he ido al sofá, para evadirme yo de ella. Sentado y en silencio, se me ocurre encender algo. Algo que no se me ocurriría encender nunca.

Miro la polvorienta estantería que tengo enfrente, junto a la televisión. Cojo un vinilo, uno de Simon y Garfunkel. Entonces me doy cuenta del valor de las canciones, del vinilo, la presentación, la carátula, obras de arte personales, cuadradas, perfectas. Y después de admirar la foto de ellos, cual Picasso, saco su delicado disco negro, coloreado con un arcoiris al reflejarlo con la tenue luz del salón.

Lo pongo en el viejo tocadiscos lleno de polvo, pero que sigue yendo como el primer día, como aquellos días en los que yo era un bebé y mis padres ponían Sherry, de Frankie Vally y los Four Seasons. Dejo la aguja caer suavemente sobre el disco girando, ni muy rápido ni muy lento, lo suficiente para escuchar el suave, sutil, ligero sonido del silencio.

Weed Card sung by Riki “Garfunkel” Lindhome and Kate “Oates” Micucci. (via animal ny)

All I Know – Art Garfunkel

Just in time for our melancholy mix Glumella, Kina Grannis cover Simon & Garfunkel’s sombre “The Sound Of Silence,” which is featured as the retro track on the compilation. Brilliant cover! And she gives us a synopsis of what’s going on in the studio.

There were no Poetry Slams in the 80’s (to my knowledge). There was, however, the Forensics umbrella which included various forms of competitive poetry reading.

The year I was involved in this, 86/87, was the year civilian clothes were absolutely forbidden by the otherwise perfect and saintly Col. Merritt. This meant I had to wear my uniform which made me stick out like a zit ready to explode. I couldn’t exactly be judged by my performance when I’m wearing, basically, a costume or sign that says “I’m from a military school! Judge me accordingly!” If my family could have afforded the prep-school looking civilian-ish outfit offered at the Quartermaster, I might have fared better.

To counteract what I considered my fascist appearance, I decided to present some “anti-war” poetry.

Unlike poetry slams, in formal competitive poetry you can not read anything you’ve written. Or your friends, for that matter – it has to be published poetry. So I used lyrics:

• “Master of Puppets” by James Hetfield
• “Goodnight, Saigon” by William Joel
• “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by James Hetfield

I wasn’t … by my standards … very good … but I can act and project and stuff. It always came down to me and this one other guy. No matter where I went in the state I had to face him. He always got first place and I always got second.

He was so good. I hated him for it. This bastard would start off slow … then body slam the judges by doing Shel Silverstein’s “Deaf Donald” … it was always over by then but did he stop? Oh NO just in case there were any judges still considering me, he’d then go into this epic reading of “The Sounds of Silence” and pound me into the ground.

I had more to write but now I’m in too sh***y of a mood.

What a dream I had
Pressed in organdy
Clothed in crinoline
Of smoky burgundy
Softer than the rain

I wandered empty streets down
Past the shop displays
I heard cathedral bells
Dripping down the alleyways
As I walked on

And when you ran to me, your
Cheeks flushed with the night
We walked on frosted fields
Of juniper and lamplight
I held your hand

And when I awoke
And felt you warm and near
I kissed your honey hair
With my grateful tears
Oh, I love you girl
Oh, I love you

Kings Of Convenience

Que GRANDE concerto!

Grandes dois músicos… dominam as guitarras!

Fez-me lembrar (se calhar pelas vozes, não sei…) Simon e Garfunkel, que ouvia bastante em puto, em discos de vynil.

Concerto que me surpreendeu pela positiva. Fui surpreendido a cada música que iam tocando.

Nunca vi músicos a interagir com o público como estes.

1.º:

O rapaz de óculos (Erlend Øye), muito divertido, desceu do palco e meteu conversa com algumas pessoas do público.

Depois, pediu a alguém do público que se voluntariasse para ir tocar no piano. E lá foi um rapaz, de entre as centenas de pessoas na sala.

2.º:

Este mesmo, pediu depois que alguma rapariga se oferecesse para ir dançar para o palco… e assim foi, uns passos de dança e palhaçada da parte de Erlend.

3.º:

Chamou pessoal do público para se sentar junto ao palco e acompanhar a banda de perto… Umas 30 pessoas juntaram-se e lá está… o palco improvisado estava cheio de público da plateia.

Eu só posso dizer… nunca, mas mesmo nunca, tinha visto alguém em palco com o à vontade que estes dois rapazes têm.

O outro, Eirik Glambæk Bøe, com uma bela voz… e toca, tal como já referi acima, muitíssimo bem.

E mais, com um bom sentido de humor, que fez o público rir umas quantas vezes durante todo o concerto!

PS:

E foi o primeiro concerto nesta fase de apresentação do novo álbum.

Foi nos AÇORES!

Slow day for videos and I am not about to leave you with absolutely nothing for today and tomorrow because I am going on a grand trip to Ogunquit, Maine and I am not sure if i will blog from there. However, Simon and Garfunkel are my soundtrack for the trip as I have downloaded their entire collection, which is much smaller than I thought. Their sound paved they way for many bands across the rock and pop sphere. This is why we have bands like Air, Zero 7 (above post) and Husky Rescue.

The music of the most celebrated singer-songwriter duo that music has ever known comes to Kyra!

We aim to mesmerize you as we revisit the timeless tunes that made S&G who they are. The sensitive intuitive lyrics and the haunting guitar notes will bring back the goose-bumps that you felt years ago, when you heard these songs for the first time.

Colin and Charles don the hats of the maestros, as they render, as closely as possible the classics. Come, be a part of this evening, and enjoy!”

Remember those funny chicks who sang “Pregnant Women Are Smug“? You can download a whole album’s worth of their songs for freeeee! Wheeeee!
Via Metafilter.

Paul Simon wrote the song “Kodachrome,” which was released on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. The song references a type of Kodak 35mm film, and talks of nostalgia for his younger days. Kodak required the album to note that Kodachrome is a trademark of Kodak, and the song title can be seen with the ® symbol.

Just watched this film, it’s pretty good! Love the music as well, courtesy of Simon & Garfunkel.