American Idol, Sony Playstation’s Rock Band, and Nintendo’s Wii have invited us to step out of our car stadiums and shower sound booths and enter the brass ring of karaoke.  The Native New Yorker Restaurants host karaoke every Saturday night.  Our particular haunt, the Alano club, frequent the one on Gilbert Road and the US 60 in Mesa, Arizona.  The fun starts at nine pm!

  What Sony, Nintendo and American Idol labels  may choose to say about their products via advertising has mainly to do with driving sales, creating Facebook fan clubs, and involving us in choosing the next great rock star. Dreams of fame, money and fans drive many people to try out for the dream.  What I have witnessed personally at the Native New Yorker has little to do with any of those pie in the sky dreams.  There is a deeper meaning, a more sincere message and it comes straight from the soul of ordinary people like you and me.  In two to three minutes the whole bar experiences a cathartic reaction to soulful voice of Lolly. 

  Standing near her table, surrounded by her friends and sister-in-law Mindy, Lolly waits patiently for Hollywood to start her song.  She is one of the regulars at this particular Native New Yorker.  The music starts, easy rhythm combined with a harmony of synthesized keyboards.  The new comers to tonight’s performer are still arguing over the Dallas and Saints football game, the normal crowd discussing  their weeks of economic strain.  The chatter stops, the drinks set back down from the half way rise to thirsty lips, Lolly has begun to sing.

  Such a voice cuts through even the most jaded of hearts as she belts out a sound that relieves your worst heartbreak at the same time validating all of those pent up feelings of anger and hurt. No one makes them cry like Lolly.

  The song ends and she is standing amid applause, whistles and lighters waving through the non-smoky atmosphere.  Women are shouting, “Yeah girl! You tell him!”  Men are captured by her silky voice and inner strength.  I talked with Lolly and her sister Mindy during one of our smoke breaks.  I was curious as to what her motivation was. Her eye’s smiled as she explained that music was a passion, not some dream of making it big, but an inner resounding knowing of this stuff really happens.   “I sing about real life because I don’t have time for the bulls%^&.”

  Warren is a clean-cut man in his early thirties. Always well dressed with an easy-going smile but when he picks up the mike you feel the spirit of  Chuck Berry, The Pretenders and the Temptations.  Instantly the bar is transported to another time when music moved a generation into expression of freedom.  Whether it’s Johnny B. Goode or The Dance, Warren always has a couple or two dancing beneath the television as he sings. 

The night unfolds to include hip hop singers rapping the Gansters Paradise and the Humpty Hump Song transporting us all to the late eighties and early nineties.  High School dances that brought out our inner rapper.  We listened to renditions of Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin and La Bamba all performed with equal talent. 

 The night rounded out by bringing the bar to its feet, shouting and whistling to a classic; Proud Mary.  The beautiful spirit of Tina Turner’s first hit after accepting buddhism as a way of life.  She brought many women to their feet with her movie, What’s Love Got to do With It, as she triumphed over an abusive and degrading relationship.  People around the world saw first hand the strength of a women’s heart, her inner drive to attain her own truth and the courage to live it.   Maria along with her mom Angie, gave us all a piece of that freedom with her strong voice.

  Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was standing in the bar feeling the electricity, she started us slow and finished us hard.  At the end we all knew the meaning of  “Left a good job in the city, working for a man in New Orleans…”   The greatest people you never met found the courage to share their passion and heartache, inviting us all to find the freedom within.

with love, Rochelle Author The Stone People

www.rochellefoulk.wordpress.com

Chuck Berry rocking from somewhere in the late fifties: Johnny B. Goode, whose story served as an inspiration for the birth of Imp Y Celin, the main character in Terry Pratchett’s unforgettable parody, “Music with Rocks In”.

Two minutes and forty seconds of pure feel-good sound. Brilliant!

Judiska församlingens sommarkollo, Glämsta, fyller 100. Jag har inte varit med på hela resan. men 1960 var jag där första gången och de följande sex somrarna också.

De första åren var i sanningens namn rätt ruttna, sju år gammal är det inte speciellt hejsan att vara ifrån föräldrar i en månad. Men det bättrade sig och på Glämsta har jag kysst min första flicka, lärt mig spela Johnny B Goode på piano av någon av bröderna Schenkman (Lillian och jag är inte överens om vilken av hennes brorsor som var min pianolärare).

Hursom, en av höjdpunkterna var att smyga iväg till HB på lördagarna för att vid tretiden lyssna på Tio-i-topp, vilket var ajabaja eftersom det var shabat.

Vad minns man annars?

Jo, att första gången jag stiftade bekantskap med Torsten Jungstedts skräckantologi “Mannen i Svart” var i Smedjan där Ricki Neuman satt och högläste nån novell till vår skräckblandade förtjusning.

Att jag en sommar bröt armen på fotbollsplanen när jag ramlade ner i diket och nån skrattade elakt åt min klumpighet.

Att jag slog ut en tand på Henry när jag skulle kasta ut en Merry-flaska genom fönstret på Nya P. Något som jag hade dåligt samvete för i många år.

Att jag hade den stora lyckan att första sommaren få spela med i Jackie Schwarz fotbollslag.

Att en annan sommar var Jerzy Sarnecki nyanländ ledare från Polen och att han trots att han inte lärt sig svenska fick för sig att han efter lunchen skulle ställa sig på trappan utanför matsalen och ropa ut eftermiddagens fotbollsmatcher. Ett av lagen hette “Knoll och Tott” vilket Jurek uttalade som “Knull och Tutt” till vår oförställda munterhet.

Såna fånigheter minns man.

Vad mer?

Tja, att man kan känna sig rätt ensam på ett kollo med en massa ungar, men att det för det mesta går över.

Grattis på dig Glämsta och god fortsättning!

Buongiorno a tutti, è una fresca mattina oggi a Bologna. Ieri sera mi è stata consigliata una canzone da postare. Apriamo quindi questa frizzante puntata di RadioBlog 235 con una versione un po’ particolare di Johnny B. Goode di Chuck Berry. Stavo cercando di postare la versione che si sente in Ritorno al Futuro, quando Marty Mc. Fly canta al ballo della scuola, ma non potendo trovare un video osservabile qui da RadioBlog 235 senza andare su youtube, vi posterò la versione dei Judas Priest.
Siete sintonizzati su RadioBlog 235, e adesso ci gustiamo una bella Johnny B. Goode. Vai con il rock!

When I read Philip Lee’s ignorant anti-Twitter rant, Notes on the triviality of Twitter, my first reaction was that I needed to write another anti-anti-Twitter-rant rant.

But I’m getting tired of those rants (maybe you are, too). I previously noted how Leonard Pitts, Edward Wasserman and Paul Farhi wrote foolish things about Twitter without bothering to learn what they were talking about. Do I repeat myself just because Lee has echoed their whining, or could I find something new to say?

Lee did say lots of ignorant things about Twitter, but they are things I’ve addressed before, so I won’t dwell on them here. He has tried Twitter out (barely, 34 tweets in nearly a year), which the others noted above had not.

I want to address Lee’s concern about Twitter and storytelling:

My concerns about Twitter journalism reflect my concerns about the future of professional story tellers. Writing is a serious business. Tweets are trivial. We need writers, and journalists to be applying all their energy and brains to what we do, which is to tell stories. The stories will be the salvation of the journalism business.

I admire Lee’s passion for storytelling. In addition to saying lots of ignorant things about Twitter, he passed along this quote from Joan Didion:

We tell ourselves stories in order to live. . . . We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the moral lesson in the murder of five. We interpret what we see, select the most workable of the multiple choices. We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the ‘ideas’ with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual expreience.

Lee’s passion for stories, and his fear for the future of storytelling, made me think of a recent conversation with Jacqui Banaszynski, a Reynolds Fellow at the University of Missouri. When I visited Mizzou last month, I chatted briefly with her about her fellowship project. Jacqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning storyteller, is taking on The Future of the Story.

Both in our conversation last month and in an interview for the Reynolds Journalism Institute web site, Jacqui worried for the future of storytelling and mentioned Twitter as one of the forces changing our storytelling landscape. Unlike Lee, Jacqui didn’t lash out at Twitter. She expressed valid fears about whether smaller news staffs will commit to the kinds of stories where she made her mark. Like Lee, Jacqui has barely dipped her toe into the Twitter waters, with just 33 tweets.

Jacqui asked for some of my thoughts on her project and I promised to get back to her, so here I go.

I am a huge fan of long-form narrative journalism. I wrote a 200-inch story for the Omaha World-Herald back in 1997, when you could do such things at a newspaper (it was rare even then). But I do have to admit that the video epilogue I did last year made it even better.

I gladly attended three different Nieman Narrative conferences. I developed a full-day seminar on narrative writing myself, with sessions on gathering details, the storytelling process, narrative elements and structure and short narrative. The Gazette emphasized narrative writing when I was leading the news staff. I mourn the recent loss to newspapers of such great storytellers as Ken Fuson and Tom French. I’m delighted that recent Pulitzer Prizes have honored such great story tellers as Lane DeGregory and Anne Hull.

I hope great journalists keep writing long stories in newspapers for generations to come. But my key point to Philip Lee and to Jacqui is that great storytelling predates newspapers and it will continue if newspapers die. Stories are how we share the human experience and storytelling is not dependent on technology or business models.

Three years ago, I led an American Press Institute seminar on storytelling. While we focused heavily on innovations in storytelling, I made a point of inviting N. Scott Momaday, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and also a Kiowa master of the ancient art of the oral story. He was spellbinding and listening to him underscored for me that the power of storytelling is in the story itself and in the act of storytelling, not in the medium. Great storytellers adapt to the media they try and the tools they use.

My grandmother, Francena H. Arnold, was an accomplished novelist, author of Not My Will and other Christian fiction. I’m proud of her work, display her books on my shelves and credit her with whatever inherent writing ability I might have. But my fondest memories of Grandma are the oral stories she would tell. As a young boy, I would volunteer to “help Grandma do the dishes” after dinner. That meant she would do the dishes and tell stories while I listened in fascination with a towel that never got damp.

We’ve had great stories long before newspapers started publishing great stories. In addition to the oral traditions, storytelling had its roots in cave drawings and epic poems. The Apostle Paul found letters work well for stories. Eventually the novel form developed, then the short story. In journalism, we have had a variety of story forms, from the inverted pyramid to the martini-glass to the multi-part series to the long narrative to storytelling graphics and alternative story forms. Film became a great vehicle for storytelling and the popularity of YouTube underscores the power of stories in smart videos (actually, TV ads demonstrated that long ago).

Songs make great story vehicles as well. In my short-narrative workshop, I cite Don’t Take Your Guns to Town, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and Johnny B. Goode. French likes to use Eleanor Rigby in storytelling workshops.

Digital tools give us more ways to tell stories, as StarTribune.com showed with its powerful 13 Seconds in August story package on the collapse of the I-35W bridge, as nola.com showed with its Last Chance project on Louisiana’s vanishing coastline and as the Des Moines Register did with its Parkersburg tornado map. (Please add links to some of your favorite multimedia packages in the comments.)

So I say to Philip Lee: Don’t sell the power of stories short. You haven’t learned yet how to use Twitter well, but Ron Sylvester tells riveting live stories of courtroom drama using Twitter. Just last week, I followed Terry Branstad’s announcement that he was considering a run for governor by following Charlotte Eby’s tweets. I’ve used Twitter to tell the stories of many unfolding events and seen other journalists do the same thing, as well as seeing fascinating stories take shape in the aggregation of tweets from multiple sources, journalists and the public. A compelling story unfolded on Twitter from millions of sources in the #beatcancer meme. (And any journalist knows the facts you gather give any true story its power, and I’ve blogged again and again on the value of Twitter for gathering information, especially on breaking news.) I follow Twitter links daily to excellent examples of longer storytelling, and the more people who read a story, the greater its power. Also, as my Tweeting wisdom of the ages series of posts illustrated, many of the most memorable quotations of our literature and culture fit easily in tweets.

And I say to Jacqui Banaszynski: Yes, the story has a bright future. If the narrow-minded business people who run newspapers can’t save the vehicle that has delivered so many great journalism stories, then great storytellers like you will help us develop and learn new tools.

Whatever our tools and platforms, people will tell stories.

Written by: Chuck Berry-1955

Deep down in Louisiana, close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens,
There stood a log cabin made of earth an’ wood,
Where lived a country boy, named, Johnny B. Goode,
Who never, ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play a guitar just like a-ringin’ a bell.

Go-go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, Johnny B. Goode.

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack.
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track.
Oh, the engineer would see him sittin’ in the shade,
Strummin’ with the rhythm that the drivers made.

The people passin’ by, they would stop an’ say,
“Oh, my, but that little country boy could play.”

Go-go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, Johnny B. Goode.

His mother told him, “Someday you will be a man,
An’ you would be the leader of a big ol’ band.
Many people comin’ from miles around,
To hear you play your music when the sun go’ down.
Maybe someday your name will be in lights.
Sayin’, ‘Johnny B. Goode tonight.’”

Go-go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, go, Johnny, go.
Go, go, go, Johnny, go

“Maybe someday your name will be in lights.

Someday you …way back up in the woods,

among the evergreens.”

De Imagina. Octubre 2009

In Memoriam

Via the Forum (registration required) at Greenday.co.uk: “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry. Instant classic.

Full screen is cool.  [Found here.]

[Found here.]

Comment found on the Utoobage:

Wooow! It takes a certain level of 3rd world engineering to pull off a demo that is usually only possible in CARTOON PHYSICS!

[Found here.]

Classic version of Chuck Berry’s classic.

Classic verison of Bob Marley’s classic.
Yawkin’ Foo some people summertime…

BELO HORIZONTE AGENDA
Chuck Berry confirma show no Chevrolet Hall

DESTAQUES SORTIMENTOS.COM
MAIS ACONTECE BELO HORIZONTE

Koray Wisconsin haberlerini bize taze taze geçedursun ben de arabanın tozlu köşelerinde bir dvd buldum..

Geldim taktım tabi bilgisayara, ama bu ittirmeli tip (tray olmayan) sürücü mini dvd desteklemiomus.. Sıkıştı falan bi saat çıkarmaya uuraştım.. Öyleydi böyleydi cımbızla falan çıkardım.. Başka bi sürücüden okuttum falan.

Neyse sonuca gelelim.. İçinden Vera’nın DogzStar konseri kayıtları çıktı. Haliyle ben de ripleyip koydum sağa sola..

Madem koyduk paylaşmadan olmaz.. Buyrun izleyin..

Vera – Marti (live @ dogzstar) from Vera Rocks on Vimeo.

Vera – Kurk Mantolu Madonna (live @ dogzstar) from Vera Rocks on Vimeo.

Vera – We Will Rock You (live @ dogzstar) from Vera Rocks on Vimeo.

Vera – Do It For The Kids (live @ dogzstar) from Vera Rocks on Vimeo.

Vera – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door & Johnny B. Goode (live @ dogzstar from Vera Rocks on Vimeo.

Bu kadarı kesmez bizi bunları indirmek isteriz diyosanız buraya…

Özgür

On Saturday, July 11, the Black Mondays debuted a special Genderf*ck show at Leapin’ Lizards art gallery in Covington, Ky., to honor JAC McFaggin’s final performance while living in Cincinnati. The gender roles were flipped, flopped and all-around fucked, with kings as femmes, femmes as kings and everything else in between. (For more exclusive videos visit my YouTube channel.)

Sucio Sanchez and the Black Mondays bring "Rama Lama" back to life for this special occasion.

"If You Were Gay" from the Broadway musical Avenue Q is always a crowd-pleaser at the shows.

One person can't resist Sanchez and their rendition of the Scissor Sisters' "Filthy and Gorgeous."

The boys were girls during Special K's presentation of "When I Grow Up" by the Pussy Cat Dolls.

“When I Grow Up” gets genderf*cked.

Things heat up as clothes come off during an especially genderf*cked number.

JAC McFaggin queers up his performance of "Johnny B. Goode" decked out in heels, a dress and a wig.

JAC McFaggin plays up his feminine side in “Johnny B. Goode”

The newest member of the Black Mondays slows things down with a country tune.

The cast comes together to end the first half of the show with a rendition of Rent's "La Vie Boheme."

Leapin' Lizards art gallery features many beautiful installations and unique scenery.

Kings sport corsets and femmes tease with ties during an especially sexy performance.

Books are like intellectual gifts, and this one gives the reader the gift of pleasing a woman in bed.

Lady Stiletto, another new addition to the Black Mondays, plays McFaggin's role during Wham!

McFaggin tap dances to "Singing in the Rain," as the crowd cheers their approval and delight.

The devil kicks back, watching his opponent play during "The Devil Went Down To Georgia."

McFaggin proclaims victory in the duel, holding his golden fiddle in the finale number of the show.

There’s an aweful lot of hype going on today in memory of what was an amazing entertainer. His work in his youth and through his adult solo career is nothing to scoff at. The team he had around him helped him write and produce amazing songs, choreograph amazing dance moves, script and produce amazing videos, run a huge business… but, all the hype got me to thinking, who do I really admire and what entertainers have really meant something special to me and changed music and the world around them.

Scott Joplin “Maple Leaf Rag” – Scott’s work is essentially the foundation of ragtime and early Jazz as we’ve come to know it. He challenged music and himself by composing everything from short melody to full operas and was eventually awarded a Pulitzer prize for his contribution and is honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Huddie William ‘lead belly’ Ledbetter “Goodnight, Irene” – There’s a lot of controversy surrounding aspects of his life most of which were products of the times, but the single, undisputed fact is Lead Belly took folk and blues to new levels throughout his tenuous career and helped define both genres to popular culture through coverage in Time and Life magazines despite most of the stories being as much hearsay as fact and was the supposed model for a reformed sinner. In the end he’s honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Robert Johnson “Cross Road Blues” – What the man could do between his voice, his guitar and his toe tapping is almost unreal and his songwriting talent exploited it to its fullest. The legend is almost as important as the few recordings that survived to help define blues. He received the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and is honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames despite being relatively unknown during most of his actual career.

‘Jelly Roll’ Morton “Black Bottom Stomp” Somewhere between where Rag left off Jazz picked up and blues spun off you’d find Jelly Roll’s sound. He was an innovator and prolific songwriter who’s only downfall might have been overboasting his already extravagant contribution to music. He’s honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

WC Handy “Memphis Blues (Boss Cump)” – He took the blues from a not very well-known regional music style to one of the dominant forces in American music and defined and then immediately began to blur blues. Due to his it effected the typical use of the 12-bar pattern in all derivative forms of music and left a lasting impact still being felt today. He’s honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Count Basie “One O’clock Jump” Basie’s legacy is more than the sum of its parts, as he spanned from early big band right into the early rock and roll era almost seemlessly. Few musicians enjoyed more collaborations with as wide a range of people as with whom Basie worked and he left an indelible mark on every one of them. Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and is honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Louis ’satchmo’ Armstrong “Heebie Jeebies” There is something about Satchmo’s sound, between his voice and his horn, that is so distinctive and so influential it defies definition. He brought a range of styles to performance that helped redefine the music of each era he played in. He is honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

‘Duke’ Ellington “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” Ellington pushed big band from the 3-minute 78RPM single to a full art form and his effect on contributing members of his band helped define several generations of composers. Ultimately awareded thePulitzer prize for his contributions, Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and is honored by the NAPM and Library of Congress and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Billy Strayhorn “Take the A Train” Mostly known as an Ellington classic, Strayhorn penned it and his work with Ellington’s band helped bring individual solists to the forefront of a composition. Billy was also one of the first openly gay entertainers. His legacy is rich even though he didn’t receive as many accolades as hi contemporaries.

Ella Fitzgerald “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” The first lady of Jazz was truly a supreme vocalist and performer. Her work with Ellington, Armstrong and Basie only helped cement what was a stunning style and interpretation of music and her presence was immeasurable as she essentially reinvented the Great American Songbook. Several presidential awards plus NAPM and Library of Congress honors and inducted into several Hall of Fames only touch on her true legacy.

Nat ‘King’ Cole “Straighten Up and Fly Right” – As important as his style as a vocalist and accomplishments as a pianist, he was first black American to host a television variety show and was a personality beyond just being a performer and he one of the first performers to refuse to perform in segregated venues. His accomplishments are included in the NAPM and Library of Congress honors and he was inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Sammy Davis, Jr. “I’ve Gotta Be Me” – Sammy was an iconic charactor. The only black member of the Rat Pack and equally as important as Martin or Sinatra, Sammy defied catagorization as a performer spanning singing, dancing, acting and just being himself. Emmy Award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated and Tony Award-nominated only scratches the surface of his accomplishments

Dizzy Gillespie / Charlie Parker / Max Roach “Ko Ko” – The three essentially helped invent be bop as a style together and changed the way their respective instruments were used. Separating them and their accomplishments could (and I probably) should have done, but together they are by far and away defining on this recording for Savoy and changed music irreversibly from that moment on. Again, all three had amazing careers and accomplishments on their own influencing music and culture, but separating them from themselves was too difficult.

Miles Davis “So What” – He may not have been a virtuoso in the traditional form but his ability to find stunning musicians to play in his bands and craft exceptionally diverse songs were two of his more astonishing traits. He helped make every musician he worked with better and blended styles and sounds so effortlessly some still are genre-less concepts. He’s honored by the Grammys, NAPM and Library of Congress honors and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

‘Muddy Waters’ Morganfield “Rollin’ Stone” – His own band spawned the careers of countless other musicians, his collaborations helped define careers and he himself is considered one of the founders of Chicago blues and an electric guitar style and tone that is still imitated today. There was no limit to what not only his playing, but his personality could do. He’s honored by NAPM and Library of Congress honors and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Willie Dixon “Hoochie Coochie Man” – The song is associated with Muddy Waters but Dixon wrote it and penned a great many hits for other blues man. His song writing and his style as a bassist were seminal points in the transition from blues to rock and to this day his catalog is still coveted by artists looking for cover songs. He’s honored by NAPM and Library of Congress honors and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

Charles ‘Chuck’ Berry “Johnny B. Goode”- In essence probably helped invent rock and roll taking influences from white country, black blues and his own interpretation of performance to generate a uniquely defiant sound. His guitar work especially is notable bringing together the use of both choppy rhythmic riffing and solistic efforts to make the instrument a centerpiece of the new sound. He’s honored by the Grammys, NAPM and Library of Congress honors and inducted into several Hall of Fames among his some of his accolades.

Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” – In his extremely short career redefined guitar with his unorthodox style of playing, changed recording with his approach and generally took the Clapton, Beck & Page idea of blues-rock and threw it for such a loop that players are still trying to understand it. His life was cut short by it’s own excess but his legacy is as lasting. He’s honored by the Grammys, NAPM and Library of Congress honors and inducted into several Hall of Fames.

The Music Maniacs take over the Coors Light Rock-On Stage

“The Music Maniacs” performed yesterday on the Coors Light Rock-On Stage and it was pure magic. Spearheaded by Ean in our Accounting Office, this band included members from just about every department here at the Fairgrounds. They secretly practiced their act in the fourth floor of the Grandstand, away from the prying eyes of their curious co-workers. Their hard work paid off yesterday, as they performed a selection of crowd-pleasing favorites including Johnny B. Goode and Sweet Home Alabama. They had a lot of support in the audience, which was a sea of “red shirts” dancing and clapping along to the music. I was so proud of all of them – Ean, Diane, Rela, Nelly, Elaine, James, Clay, Joe, Oscar, Christian and Ron – and in awe of the level of talent of these people I know as accountants, sound guys, marketers, group sales and electricians!

Today the magic continued as the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers made an impromptu performance in the courtyard of our Marketing and Human Resources office. Shortly before we were heading into our daily staff meeting, this group of brightly-dressed musicians played their hearts out for us! They had Cheri twirling around dancing her buns off while the rest of us clapped along. What a great way to start the day!

I already posted on this on another site, but following are the pertinent details.

First, I imported music into iMovie.  Through my mourning, I’ve inadvertently collected songs which, for whatever reason, have reflected what I’ve been going through.  Most are a pleasure to listen to, some aren’t.  The worst of these is Stev ie Wonder’s “As.”  This is the song Rachel picked for our first dance at our wedding.  It has lots of lovely lyrics about loving someone till the sky falls and the Earth stops revolving, and, to steal a line, ’til dogs and cats cohabitate.  It’s actually a really nice song.  And about halfway through, as is completely common to pop songs, it kicks into overdrive and Stevie lets loose.

In our darkest moments of marriage, of which there were more than a few, I’d listen to the song to remind myself why I/we were putting ourselves through such hell.

Shortly after Rachel died, I of course realized I just couldn’t hear the song.  Oddly, I could hear other wedding songs ad nauseum, such as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”  But not so with “As.”  The couple times I tried, I coudln’t stop crying.

In TW, assuming things happen the way I choose, “As” will be promimently featured in the wedding scene.  Thus, in the editing process, I’ve had to, well, deal with it.  Not easy.

The first step was importing songs, which really wasn’t that emotioanlly challenging because once the song is identified, it’s not like I have to listen to it all the way through over and over again.  At least until it comes to time things.  But that wasn’t yet.

Next, I made titles.  These consitsted of 2 categories.  Ther are the traditional opening titles of shit like “From AntHill Films” but then, as it’s a storyboard, there’s also all the dialogue.  So I put in all the dialogue for the opening sequence after importing “As.”

Then came the storyboards.  I’m a terrible artist, so I stick to sticks.  I drew up a bunch of boarsd, scanned them in, and imported them.  Then I arranged them with the dialogue titles… and then the timing.

This was torture.

Every time I had to click play, to see how things were shaping up, I sobbed.  Over and over and over.

My tone may suggest this was b ad.  But it wans’t.  What I’ve realized through this process is that, though inappropriate in most social situations, crying is incredibly healthy, if for no other reason than to purge.

Purge I did.

Of course now, I’ve realized it’ll be relatively easy to do the storyboards in decent-looking 3D.  So I may completely redo the scene I’ve done and then continue with hopefully better results and less labor on my part.  We’ll see.

Well, I’d say this theme’s on the verge of petering out, just for lack of things we haven’t played. I think the album Double Fantasy is what got me into John Lennon, though, and that’s where Just Like Starting Over was from.

Today, I have two songs from a concert with Chuck Berry, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono. The first song is Memphis, Tennessee. Chuck and John are jamming, everything’s going great, then Yoko grabs the mike in the background and:

OOWWAOOHAOAAOWWAOHAOAOWWAAAAOHAOAAAAAHH!

Jeez, Yoko. There are songs that sound would have been good in. This isn’t one of them.

Now, here is another song from the same concert, Johnny B. Goode. This one, I thought was rather amusing because of what’s going on in the background. They’re jamming, everything’s going great, we watch as Yoko gravitates over to the mike, holds it to her face, presumably to make the same horrible noises as last song, and…

Nothing. Some anonymous sound tech I love very much switched her mike off after the last song. She doesn’t seem to realize this, since she keeps doing it throughout the song. Beautiful.

If there’s a will, there’s a Jyohnny.

Just ask McFly.

-LaRoushe

Un poquito de Rock ´n´roll, para mover los pies.

Ya es Miércoles. Ya queda menos para el fin de semana.

Qué grandes músicos han existido…

Este Versões é um pouco diferente, ao invés de colocar músicas colocarei uma cena de um filme, mas é claro, linkado com música

A cena em questão é de um filme bem Sessão da Tarde; De volta para o futuro de novo é referenciado neste blog mas agora com a parte do baile onde MacFly toca
original Johnny B. Goode do Chuck Berry

Depois, vamos para a década de 80 onde o Brian do Family guy toca Never Gonna Give You Up do Rick Astley, e dá-lhe piadas gays

Agora, década de 90, este episódio, Marge e Homer contam para seus filhos como eram os anos 90, na época que Homer tinha uma banda Grunge …. Genial!

Mezzi Pubblici.
Due adolescenti dotati di I-Pod.
(Musica a Palla, i due si urlano dietro con gran piacere degli astanti).

A. Uhè!
B. Uhè!
A. Come butta?
B. Solito brodo.
A. Che ascolti?
B. Johnny B. Goode.
A. Ah! Forte! Chuck Norris!
B. Eh, questo se la suona alla Grande!
A. Poi me lo passi?
B. Sicuro.

Chuck Norris dovrebbe suonarvele, ma sul serio!

Per inciso il succitato “mito” del rock era Chuck Berry.

- Ritorno al futuro – 1985 – ♥♥♥♥♥ -

di

Robert Zemeckis

Ci sono film che resteranno nella storia del cinema e nella storia di ogni appassionato di cinema che ha vissuto l’infanzia durante gli anni ‘80. Ritorno al futuro è sicuramente uno di questi. Il tempo sicuramente non avrà mai effetto su questo film perchè d’altra parte come può averne su un film che parla del viaggio nel tempo più famoso della storia del cinema? E se fosse facile parlare di viaggi nel tempo e proiettarsi subito nel futuro allora Zemeckis nel  primo capitolo di questa amata trilogia stravolge tutto questo e catapulta il suo protagonista Marty Mcfly (Michael J. Fox) negli anni ‘50 all’epoca in cui erano i suoi genitori ad essere giovani e a vivere la loro adolescenza. Il film sfrutta il pretesto fantascientifico per costruire una commedia con alla base un’ ottima sceneggiatura con battute che è difficile non tenere a memoria e attraverso personaggi costruiti alla perfezione. Marty ben presto si trova catapultato in una realtà ben diversa dalla sua degli anni ‘80 (anni del boom tecnologico) e quel che peggio a preoccuparsi di salvare il futuro matrimonio dei suoi genitori. Dovrà cercare di colmare le insicurezze dell’impacciato padre adolescente succube del bullo Biff, ma allo stesso tempo tenere la bada le avances della madre che si innamora di lui anzichè del padre. Tutto questo in un epoca (gli anni ‘50) colma di contraddizioni, colma di taboo ma di un’ innata voglia di trasgressione e di modernità. saper gestire tutto questo per Marty diventerà un obbligo che gli eviterà di “scomparire”. E riuscirà a farlo attraverso un’ ironia sempre presente e all’aiuto del Dottor Brown. Cosa dire poi proprio di Christopher Lloyd? Ha costruito un personaggio (quello dello scienziato “pazzo” Emmett Brown detto “Doc”) che resterà sempre scolpito come un’ icona e che non gli ha permesso in futuro di essere ricordato in maniera soddisfacente in altri ruoli cinematografici. Quelli di Ritorno al Futuro sono 118 minuti che scorrono gradevolmente aiutati da una colonna sonora che entra sempre al momento giusto intercalandosi perfettamente con le immagini. Perfetta e indimenticabile l’esecuzione durante il “cerimoniale ritmico” (come lo definisce “Doc”) di Johnny B. Goode di Chuck Berry da parte di Michael J. Fox, eseguita prima ancora di essere stata composta, e la sua conclusione in stile Ac\Dc. Sedetevi comodi e gustatevi e rigustatevi questo film e il tempo sembrerà scorrere piacevolmente, così tanto che alla fine quando la DeLorean spiccherà il volo verso il futuro (e verso il secondo capitolo della Trilogia) sarete spinti a premere il tasto “rewind” del vostro videoregistratore. Anche se ormai non siamo più negli anni ‘80 e adesso basta cliccare su play nel menù del nostro lettore Dvd.

( Doc hai disintegrato Einstein!!)

( Non siete ancora pronti per questo ma ai vostri figli piacerà)

Ik wist gisteren niet goed wat doen, daarom heb ik Brusselmans achterwaarts in de poes geneukt.

Dat luchtte op.

Door Johnny B. Goode