Archive for the ‘music’ Category
Rocking The Daisies
Posted on: October 11, 2011
So I just went to an awesome music festival called rocking the daisies. I’m a huge fan of music…especially live music. So a whole weekend of it = happiness.
Anyway, the festival was on Cloof Wine Estate in Darling. Such a beautiful place. Surrounded by mountains and a whole lot of greenery. There’s a dam on the farm, and on the one side they had some sand, turning it into a beach.
We arrived there just after 2 I think, and set up our tents. And then chilled back with some wine and waited for the music to start. We got there purposefully early cos we wanted to make sure we got a good camping spot. Anyway, we ended up getting a place not too far from the main stage, and very close to the Daisy Den…which was amazing.
The Daisy Den is a haven for girls. You walk in and there are couches and bean bags and chill spots through out the marque. It’s all pink and orange and lime and other such fun colours. And against the walls are vanity mirrors were you can do your make-up and there are blowdriers available and there are hair people so you can get your did and massage people…for when the great outdoors are too stressful. And then there are two nailpolish stands with a range of fun colourful nail polishes. There were fizzers and mints and other sweets on tables around the place. Then you go into the back and there are flushable toilets and really nice, hot, showers. And there are ladies standing back there whose job is to clean the toilet/shower as soon as someone walks out, so there is always toilet paper in there and the shower is always clean and wiped down. And of course basins with more mirrors and chandeliers above. Oh my word. So much of the pretty. So much of the pampering. And then you walk out and you’re back to roughing it out. I love being a girl!
Rocking the daisies is supposed to be an environment-friendly festival, so everywhere you go there are recycling bins – instead of just one trash bin, there were several in one place, one for plastics, one for cans, one for…other things…they didn’t allow glass on the campground so there wasn’t one allocated for glass.
Because they were aware how hot it was going to be, they had several “water zones” around the place. The first few people got a free water bottle, then those that arrived later could buy a bottle for R30 and then throughout the festival you got free cold, filtered refills of water on tap…which was very cool. I don’t generally drink water, but when it’s 30+ degrees celcius by 10 am, you forget about how much you hate the taste of water.
There was a huge food court with a bunch of food stalls – but fortunately my friends Korean and Andy had gone ahead and bought food to bring along so we didn’t need to buy food there. There were also a bunch of stalls selling other things. I bought a really cool cowboy hat at one of them.
There were several different stages, with different types of acts, so you were never short of something to enjoy. And if you really weren’t interested in the music or comedy or other things, you could always just go chill at the beach and oggle the lifeguards.
The only negative thing about the daisies: I have never in my life felt such an intense dreadlock-inferiority-complex. There were dreads of different lengths and colours and they were all better than mine. Granted I’ve neglected mine the last couple of months, but dude…i felt so much envy. On the positive side though, so many hot boys with dreads (:D). Like seriously though, RTD had the biggest collection of hot white boys I’ve ever seen – dreadlocked and otherwise. There were black guys too…like +/- 5 (excluding performers and security guards and cleaners)…
Anywho, I thought it was an awesomely organised festival…and such a beautiful venue. I was blown away. Will definitely be heading back there in the future.
For my thoughts on the actual music at the festival, please visit my music blog over the next few days. The posts will be up starting this afternoon.
I was here…
Posted on: July 5, 2011
I’m back…sort of. I’m still not fully in writing mode, but thought I should put something on here just to get back into it.
So I heard the song “I was here” by Beyonce written by Diane Warren and I’ve had it on repeat since I bought it. It’s a powerful track – even Ms Warren said she thought it was her best track to date…and that’s no small feat…google her, she has written amazing songs, which you know, even though you don’t know that you know them.
Anyway, this song is kinda my life anthem right now…it was my life anthem before i’d even heard it. it’s kinda my heart-cry right now. live to the max, live with no regrets, leave an imprint on people hearts, let the light you shine into others lives be the legacy you leave behind, leave the world a better place just by being yourself.
ok, here are the lyrics
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I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of time
Know there was something that, yea something that I left behind
When I leave this world I’ll leave no regrets
Leave something to remember so they won’t forget
I was here…
I lived, I loved
I was here…
I did, I’ve done, everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know
I was here…
I want to say I lived each day until I died
To know that I meant something in somebody’s life
The hearts I have touched will be the proof that I leave
That I made a difference and this world will see
I was here…
I lived, I loved
I was here…
I did, I’ve done, everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know
I was here…
I just want them to know
That I gave my all, did my best
Brought someone some hapiness
Left this world a little better just because…
I was here…
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just read this post by b-fish this morning and this portion stood out for me
“i believe that everyone has to be doing something for the poor. not that everyone has to be doing everything for the poor or that everyone has to be doing something for all of the poor. but that every individual needs to be investing and engaging and reaching out to someone or ones who do not have as much as them…”
i try to do stuff…but is it enough? am i giving my all? am i doing my best? hopefully the little i do for sharon will be part of the legacy i leave behind.
Why I love David Crowder Band
Posted on: June 7, 2011
- In: music | thoughts
- 2 Comments
Definitely not because they are quitting on me. Jokes.
I’m sad they are breaking up. But I do wish each of the members all the best with the new chapters of their lives.
I got introduced to DC*B back in 2006. Dude named Josh played one of their songs as he was leading worship at a camp – “Here is our king”, and I immediately loved that song. I kinda forgot about them after that until I saw the music video for “forever and ever and ever etc” which made me laugh. Then my rockstar “cousin” Sarah told me to go check out their other songs, and the more I listened, the more I loved their vibe.
I think the thing that hooked me is their use of words…the way…they say the same things other songs have, you know, but in way that it’s never been said before. a way that actually makes you think about what you’re singing instead of just repeating another line of song you’ve been repeating since your first sunday school class. and the honesty in their songs. take for example the lyrics of all i can give:
“Lord I’m tired, so tired from walking. And Lord I’m so alone. And Lord the dark is creeping in – creeping up to swallow me. I think I’ll stop; rest here a while. And didn’t You see me cry’n? And didn’t You hear me call Your name? Wasn’t it You I gave my heart to? I wish You’d remember where you sat it down. And this is all that I can say right now – I know it’s not much.”
Reminds me of some of the stuff David wrote in the Psalms…you know, “God where are you? Why aren’t you listening? Can’t you see I’m hurting?” type stuff.
Also, their music, although very much sunday morning music, is also…not sunday morning music. take their latest offering for example, titled church music. it’s church music…but you’re probably not gonna hear it in your church. so it’s church music to be played outside of the building.
sorry, i have no idea how to explain the thoughts in my head right now.
anyway, will leave you with the lyrics from one of my fave DC*B songs:
Only You
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Take my heart, I Lay it down
At the feet of you whose crowned
Take my life, I’m letting go
I lift it upto You who’s throned
And I will worship You, Lord Only You, Lord
And I will bow down before You Only You Lord
Take my fret, take my fear
All I have, I’m leaving here
Be all my hopes, be all my dreams
You’re my delights, be my everything
And It’s just you and me here now
Only you and me here now
You should see the view
When it’s only You
- In: music | my life
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this weekend i was in cape town visiting my mom and i dragged her to go see some music with me. anyway, ended up enjoying it so very much. following is the post i put up on my music review blog. it’s good to see young people doing stuff like this…it encouraged and inspired me so big up to the bric students!
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so inspired. a bunch of high school students who are part of bric – bishops, rustenberg (and westerford) in community – did a 25 hour cyclathon at the waterfront. they got those spinning class bikes and had 6 or 7 of them going for 25 hours (taking shifts) in order to raise money for habitat for humanity. the money will go towards building houses in the mfuleni township. how awesome it that?!
the cyclathon started at 5 pm on the Friday night and went through to 6pm on Saturday. i didn’t know about it though. i just saw a tweet from someone i follow on twitter saying that Tim Smal (ex frontman of serving suggestion) would be playing an acoustic set at the waterfront ampitheatre on saturday morning so i decided to check it out. i missed Tim’s set but when i got there i found out that it was actually an all day thing as part of the cyclathon. they had different bands playing all day and then had ruffles throughout the day to raise funds. they ended up raising over R5000 just from R20 ruffle tickets…awesome!
anyway, i only caught a few bands since i got there late but i’m so glad i went. the bands i did see definitely made up for the sunburn.
first one i saw was shen winberg’s band. they were quite cool. and at some point they played this raggae medley. then one of the dudes from one of those waterfront marimbe performing groups came onstage and sang with them. was very cool. if you’re an early riser, they will be on the SABC 3 morning show expresso at 6:30 this wednesday (feb 9th) so check them out. really dug their sound.
next up was another cool band whose name i didn’t catch. they were only on stage for like 3 songs though which was a bummer. something went wrong with the guitarist’s acoustic guitar and no one else had one to lend him and since their songs are acoustic he couldn’t use an electric. but the songs that they did play were pretty cool. really dug the last one they played – was about like grace and stuff.
after that was la vi. they had a “duffy” kinda sound and look. not the duck, the “mercy” chick. like kinda 50′s rock kinda thing. they were really really good. the lead chick has a really nice voice, and the band is just an acoustic guitar and drums, so they are not so loud they take away from the voice. i really liked them. and they will be playing this weekend in stellies as part of “ultrafest” so will be checking them out then.
after la vi came a group of very good looking boys all suited up and lots of screaming from the girlies in the crowd. i thought that maybe they were students from one of the schools but it turned out they are university students – which made me feel a little less paedophilic for thinking they were cute . oh my gosh i loved them…them being perfect score. they were an a cappela group – think el divo. and they were so good. i loved when they did the lion king opening scene song, the brenda fassie song, and the waka waka song. i loved that they added local songs in the mix. loved them!
so yay for musical goodness. and yay for music for good. thank you so much to the bric learners for their good work. awesomeness!
on christian musicians…
Posted on: January 4, 2011
…or bands making christian declarations or something…
so there are christian people out there who don’t listen to secular music. i don’t either…but by that i mean i don’t believe in secular music. i think it’s a myth. music can’t be sacred or secular – what i mean is, i don’t believe in distinguishing between the two.
case in point: i saw the kiffness music video on tv. i would have never guessed just from listening to that song or seeing the music video that those two guys are christian. the only way i know that they are is because at arise they said so, they give glory to God for their talents and they want to use them to bring him glory. that’s what makes a song “christian” i think, not that it says “Jesus” in it (cos there are songs out there that are supposedly christian but do not point people to Christ), but that it’s purpose is to bring glory to God.
but i can understand the other side of the coin. i would have never known the the kiffness where christian if they had not said so at arise…it could have just been another song. bringing me to the reason for this post – the whole “share the gospel always, use words when necessary” bit.
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so listening to bands like showandtell/theater/other-hardcore-bands, i wouldn’t be able to tell that they are christian. not because their lyrics aren’t “christian”, but because i can’t really hear the lyrics. too much screaming, and throat-grunts for me to distinguish words. at arise on the 31st, i was getting coffee and there was a guy sitting there with the coffee dudes offering help to any and everyone.
him: “hey volunteers, what are you guys doing now?”
us: “nothing right now”
him: “oh, if you need any help any time today just let know cos i really have nothing to do and i’m really bored and would love to help”.
he said the same thing to the coffee guys, the food guys, and the merch guys. and i just thought, wow dude is really keen to help. we ended up talking to him and he turned out to be a really cool guy, and also of the guys from theater. later that day, getting another cup of coffee, i overhead him talking to another guy about why he chose being a musician over going into “full-time” youth ministry. and i thought, dang, i wanna be that amped for the kingdom!
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during their set, the lead arrows chick gave this speech about how they’ve lost fans because christians say their music is less “repent or burn” and more…”secular”…just because it’s getting “serular radio airplay”. and she went on to explain that they were not any less christian than they were before (maybe more), they were not any less about glorifying God than they were before (maybe more), they just wanted their music to reach a wider group of people, to reach those people who would have otherwise turned their back to christ because they felt judged by the “repent or burn” music.
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and i’ve already touched on the John Ellis leaving tree63 controversy so i won’t go into that one again.
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the first time i heard new altum (now versus the wolf) i didn’t know they were a “christian band” cos i didn’t know the lyrics to their music. but then at some point during the show Rash shared that they were all christians and that their heart is to give glory to God and share the love of God and the hope it brings with others through their music. there were 2 chicks sitting behind me and the one goes “what? i didn’t know they were a christian band” and the other goes “but they are so good though”…which i thought was funny. but i loved the fact that the band was reaching those people who wouldn’t go to church or go to a christian concert and sharing Jesus with them. and that’s when i fell in love with that band. now i listen to new altum/vtw and totally hear the christian lyrics in there, but it’s written in a way that even a non-christian can listen to it and relate, and maybe thru that they will realise they also want that hope that the music speaks of.
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soemone once said to me that they think christian bands shouldn’t be singing about relationships and heart-breaks and money and other worldly things…i think christian bands MUST sing about those things, because at the end of the day, christian or not, we are all human beings and we all go thru relationships and heartbreaks and worry about money, but as christians we have a hope in those circumstances and that’s we need to share with the world – meet them at their need and share with them the hope we’ve found.
a treeless john ellis
Posted on: November 17, 2010
- In: likes | music | my life
- 3 Comments
i first heard about tree63 in 2003. that was the year i decided to stop listening to “secular” music (for about the third time since becoming a christian) and my radio was constantly dialed to CCFM (local christian music station). i really dug their stuff. and i found out they sang the wimpy song aka treasure (lol). then i found out they were south african. so i bought a bunch of their cd’s. and they quickly surpassed the OC Supertones as my favorite band.
anyway, i remember trying to go to one of their gigs when they were playing in cape town but i couldn’t go and i was so bummed…i think this was in ’05…i think. fast-forward to 2009 and i hear they are playing at assembly. now 2009 was the year i sealed my “groupie” status by attending as many live music stuff as i could. and this time i had friends who were also into live music watching so they were willing to tag along to stuff. so i got a couple of friends and we went to see tree63…except when we got there, it wasn’t tree63 playing…it was John Ellis and friends. i was kinda bummed to be honest. and i got more bummed when he said that he was leaving tree63.
but then he started the show and my bummed-ness was replaced by “on my word, john ellis is a living legend”-ness. he played the old tree stuff and the whole of assembly sang along at the top of our lungs. and he has amazing charisma on stage. and he makes playing seem like fun…like he’s enjoying himself up there. and he’s always interacting with the crowd. and the whole show was soooo much fun! and that’s when i became a john ellis fan. plus i’ve heard from certain people who know him that he’s a really humble and down-to-earth guy – i don’t know if he know that he’s John Ellis! (i’ll stick to “certain people” so it doesn’t sound like i’m name-dropping or pointing out the fact that I KNOW PEOPLE WHO KNOW JOHN ELLIS!)
then i saw that the end of the year he was playing at arisefest along with one of my favorite south african bands new altum (who are now called versus the wolf and have since becoming my favorite south african band since the release of their latest cd “uncovering faces”) and i was like “i have to be there!” anyway, i’ve written about that experience already so i won’t go into it again.
2010 saw john ellis release his solo cd “come out fighting” surrounded by a whole lot of controversy over his christianity (that sentences sounded like it was copied out of some magazine or something…eeewww). i was half amped for the cd and half scared. i really loved tree63, and i loved john ellis singing tree63 songs, i wasn’t sure about this new controversial, political, revolutionist john ellis. then i found out he’ll be playing here in stellenbosch to promote the cd and i was like – awesome, i get to hear the songs before deciding whether to buy the cd or not.
so i go on facebook and invite people to come with me to see john ellis in stellies (woo hoo it’s gonna be a vibe, come join me) and then the next day i find out that irvine will be supporting him on the cape town shows and i’m like “hells yeah that is happening!” cause i figure even if i don’t like john’s new stuff at least i get to hear irvine…again…for the second time in one week [side note: i also went to see them on tuesday (the 9th) doing an accoustic set with gravity wins again (gravity's back woo hoo!)] and they absolutely rocked. i think i love irvine more and more with every listen…yep, i definitely do!
anyway, so this past saturday (13th) i went to the purple turtle in cape town to check out john ellis’ new stuff – and mind = blown! i love the new stuff. it’s political and controvertial and jesus. feed the hungry, clothe the naked, water the thirsty, get off your fat ass and do something, “we did not fight in the revolution so that we can sit back and feed our already too large asses and go yes sir mr malema sir while watching the rich get richer and poor get poorer”, aluta continua kinda stuff. so now i seriously want that cd. i might have gone a little overboard with tweets while he was playing…i even had someone asking me where to get his cd…i should probably leave that stuff to him and his promoters.
and now i’m thinking about going to his Q&A Workshop for musicians and guitarists happening this tuesday (the 16th) – although i’m neither a musician or a guitarist (owning a guitar and teaching yourself a few songs doesn’t make you a guitarist just as singing in the worship team at church doesn’t make you a musician)…i just wanna pick his brain on the stuff he’s going through and dealing with and stuff – so maybe not the right time/place.
and i’m also thinking about going to see him again this saturday (20th) when he plays in stellies.
oh my flip, that man is a legend! check out his new stuff at http://www.johnellis.co.za
[update: i did not go the Q&A session...quite bummed...but now i'm very keen for the 20th]
- In: music | my life
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especially when the lyrics of that music are written by hunter kennedy…
on Saturday, May 29th 2010, my friend and i drove through to Cape Town to go watch two super awesome bands – Wrestlerish and aKING, who i’m very sure i’ve mentioned before on this blog.
wrestlerish is still a pretty new band although they’ve managed to make quite a name for themselves. they’ve only released one full-length CD – The Rude Mechanical. the lyrics were written by the frontman Werner Olckers, and they were mostly written after a bad break-up so they are very emotional and heart-felt, and yet somehow the music seems upbeat, almost with an air of hope in them. and because of that you can listen to the songs whether you are going through a crappy time, or if you are in happy mode and want a bit of “alone in your room dancing in your underwear” music. my friend had never heard them before but she was quite excited to hear them cos i had talked about them so much…anyway now she’s a fan (yay)…she says she likes them cos they sound like roadtrip music, the kind of songs you sing at the top of your lungs as you make your way down open roads…
oh and werner is such a huge guy…i feel so small standing next to him, but his voice is so beautiful and sweet that you just want to run up to him and cuddle him like a giant teddy bear…
then there’s aKING. ok, so hunter kennedy wasn’t there and i was a bit disappointed. but the music made up for it. i really dig aKING. as the only english band in the VanFokKingTasties group (of which hunter is in 3 of the 4 bands) they stole my heart first, cos i could actually understand the lyrics…and they seemed less angry. although, i’ve come to love the rest of the group as i actually listen to the lyrics and get google to translate them for me…hee hee…anyway, last week sometime i watched the Polisiekar documentary and learned more about who they were and why they were so angry and the birth of the band and stuff and i came to understand them a lot more and love them a lot more.
anyway, it was an awesome gig, only thing that could have made it better would have been if hunter kennedy hadn’t decided to go to the Heuwels gig which was 5 minutes drive away. i guess that’s what happens when you are in 3 different bands at the same time, hunter.
I’m in a music video…
Posted on: May 12, 2010
- In: music | my life
- 2 Comments
Remember that music video I talked about here, well it’s all released and waiting for you to view it. I’m so very proud of, and happy for, the Irvine boys. I appear just after 3 minutes – the black chick dressed in all black – yep that’s me.
It’s still amazes me that 3 full days of shooting were cut down to 3 minutes. So musch work goes into a music video – wow!
anyway, do watch the video…and i hope you enjoy it.
- In: from others | music | thoughts
- 1 Comment
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. – Aldous Huxley
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. – Victor Hugo
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music. – George Eliot
If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience. – John Cage
My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary. – Martin Luther
If music be the food of love, play on; give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! it had a dying fall: O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound that breathes upon a bank of violets, stealing and giving odour! – William Shakespeare
If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. – Albert Einstein
Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter — to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water. – Albert Scheritzer
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side. – Hunter S. Thompson
A song will outlive all sermons in the memory – Henry Giles
Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music never leaves the memory. – Sir Thomas Beecham
It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception. Albert Einstein when asked about his theory of relativity
Just as Jesus created wine from water, we humans are capable on transmuting emotion into music – Carlos Santana
Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside of us. – unknown
Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosphy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents. – Ludwig van Beethoven
Bach gave us God’s Word. Mozart gave us God’s laughter. Beethoven gave us God’s fire. God gave us Music that we might pray without words. – quote from outside an old opera house
Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best. – Henry Van Dyke
Music is the poetry of the air – Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes. – Bill Cosby
My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require. – Edward Elgar
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter. – John Keats
I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us. – Martin Luther
If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. – Gustav Mahler
It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty of disappointment and never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature and everlasting beauty of monotony. – Benjamin Britten
Music is love in search of a word. – Sidney Lanier
You are the music while the music lasts. – T. S. Eliot
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. – Angela Monet
Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music – Sergei Rachmaninov
When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had, and never will have. – Edgar Watson Howe
Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought. – E. Y. Harburg
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. – Henry David Thoreau
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. – Johann Sebastian Bach
When I don’t like a piece of music, I make a point of listening to it more closely – Florent Schmitt
The discovery of song and the creation of musical instruments both owed their origin to a human impulse which lies much deeper than conscious intention: the need for rhythm in life… the need is a deep one, transcending thought, and disregarded at our peril. – Richard Baker
Music is the medicine of the breaking heart. – Leigh Hunt
Most people use music as a couch; they want to be pillowed on it, relaxed and consoled for the stress of daily living. But serious music was never meant to be soporific. – Aaron Copland
Truly to sing, that is a different breath. – Rainer Maria Rilke
Music is one of the best ways to enjoy the present. It’s not much fun to look forward to hearing music or to remember what a song sounded like last week, but music right now absorbs you and places you in the moment. – Terri Guillemets
I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. – H.A. Overstreet
Men profess to be lovers of music, but for the most part they give no evidence in their opinions and lives that they have heard it. – Henry David Thoreau
There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is. – William P. Merrill
If I were to begin life again, I would devote it to music. It is the only cheap and unpunished rapture upon earth. – Sydney Smith
Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass? – Michael Torke
The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, “Is there a meaning to music?” My answer would be, “Yes.” And “Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?” My answer to that would be, “No.” -Aaron Copland
I don’t want you to play me a riff that’s going to impress Joe Satriani; give me a riff that makes a kid want to go out and buy a guitar and learn to play – Ozzy Osbourne
Everyone was using tiny brushes and doing watercolors, while Jimi Hendrix was painting galactic scenes in Cinemascope. We are working in a field of mystical resonance, sound and vibration…that’s what makes people cry, laugh and feel their hair stand up – Carlos Santana
The guitar is just a wonderful instrument. It’s everything: a bartender, a psychiatrist, a housewife. It’s everything, but it’s elusive – Les Paul
I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it and you need them to hear it. – James Taylor
We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess. – Mark Twain
apparently, one of the things you should do before you die is be in a music video. well, i can scratch that one off my bucket list now.
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i have a friend named andrea. she has a boyfriend named chris. he’s the drummer for a band called irvine. and this past weekend, irvine shot the music video for their song “the chase”…and i got to be in the music video. i was only an extra, so basically stood there and did nothing but it was still super awesome…unless they decide to cut the bit with me in it out…that would suck.
anyway, it was pretty cool just being on set and getting to see the behind the scenes. i mean, when you see the finished product on tv you never think about the work that goes into it all. we were told to be on set at 1 pm…we were late, which was bad, but then even after being late we had to wait until 4:30 to start shooting – the life of an extra. make up and costumes takes a while…especially when you have a giant bird-man that takes 3 hours to paint. and i thought it was kinda cool how much work goes into dressing the extras…cos you know you think “oh they are just extras, no one cares how they are dressed” but it actually matters cos there’s a theme and stuff so the make-up/costume person has to approve of everyone’s costumes and hair and make-up and all that…and the little details, like necklaces and rings and hats…sooo cool
the make-up artist/costume person (chelsea i think) was really good. the band looked awesome in their make-up/costumes…so can’t wait to see the finished product.
anyway, so i guess even if my little non-speaking, just-watch-the-band-perform part gets cut out, at least i got that opportunity to see that and be part of that…
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i really dig that this year i’m surrounded by so many musicians.


