Boxes of Tangerines

November 7, 1979

“I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie, to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop, the rock it to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat”.

 These opening lines to the Sugar Hill Gang’s smash hit Rapper’s Delight blared out at me from the back of the Miami Vice this past Friday. The controlled yet rapidly paced sound bumped out of the vibrating speakers as Wonder Mike, Master Gee, and Big Bang Hank, melodically took their turns and spit their rhymes to the gyrating crowd in front of them.  

Now I will admit that last night marked my first rap concert ever, and to say the least I was blown away. I’m used to roaring guitar riffs and melismatic soul, but this new beat-based music completely took me by surprise.

Last month the self-titled album The Sugar Hill Gang was released and marked the advent of a completely new genre of music called hip hop. This music style involves isolating backbeats from distinct percussion breaks and overlapping it with a vocal style called rap. The purpose of the music was to make you want to dance, and boy did it do its job. The club was filled with bodies bopping to the beat, toes tapping, and crowds clapping.

Some of the first hits of the that were played included “Sugarhill Groove”, “Passion Play”, and “Here I Am”, but none of these got the crowd as pumped as when the notorious:

 Bum clapBum clap

A BUMABUM bum bum bum BABUM

Baba bum  

boomed through the stereo indicating the advent of Rapper’s Delight. This song highlighted each of the MC’s talent as they individually showcased their rapping skill. Wonder Mike started the song off right with a fast-paced muddle of words that simply flowed and cascaded one over top of the other. Next came Big Bang Hank wooing all of the ladies with his slightly gravelly voice and charismatic sway and snap. Lastly Master Gee coolly took the mike and resonantly spit out his rapid wordplay without breaking a sweat. Not once did any of these cardigan-sporting rhymers seem out of breath as they gyrated to the music and speedily knocked the crowd out of their seats 

Though not as guttural as rock’n’roll or as melodic as soul, this new form of music definitely grabs you by the waist and the ears. It magnetizes bodies until they’re up and dancing, and it definitely is enjoyable to listen to as well. The Sugar Hill Gang has introduced this beat centered form of music and I have a feeling that it will be here to stay a long while. Be prepared for hip hop fever!

June 20^th, 1969

I know the what; I know the where; and I know the why; but does anybody know The Who?

Last night I witnessed a concert of epic proportions. Blaring electric guitar riffs with a pumping backbeat set the stage for one of the greatest performances The Miami Vice has ever seen. It was mind-blowing, sensational, and sensual all rolled into one concert; it was rock’n’roll magic personified.

The Who’s lineup for the evening included the hits, “My Generation”, “Pinball Wizard”, and “See Me Feel Me”. They were played with the vivacity that has become expected of this phenomenal quartet.

Moon energetically thumped his instrument in the background creating a unique sound that melded the typical drum set with a primal intensity creating a formidable sound. Entwistle scanned the crowd nonchalantly as he dexterously picked through the chords on his bass throughout the entirety of the performance. Daltrey’s flowing golden locks swung energetically back and forth as his voice pounded out in a melodic scream. Townshend though took the show with his fierce guitar manipulations and over the top showmanship, which included leaps into the air and a gut-wrenching guitar smash finale.

 On the surface, The Who are the typical rock’n’roll band, yet their riveting presence and daunting musical ability sets them apart form the rest. They exemplify the direction that the genre is leading by incorporating both performance and talent into every show. The aura surrounding the fundamental sound produced by these rock legends has taken the industry into a new level of complexity and spunk that will soon become a world-wide trend. Be on the lookout. They came out strong and ended even stronger with a splitting guitar crash by Townshend and a roaring rip of the drum set as Moon stuck his foot through the bass.  After experiencing such a mindblowing performance, it is safe to say that we will never completely know The Who, but does it really matter in light of the what, the where, and the why?  

Here's our song for our presentation:

Lupe Fiasco's "Kick Push" 

My father is the biggest Deadhead that I know and so I decided to interview him about his experiences with the band.

How many Grateful Dead concerts have you been to?

- 300+

What was your favorite concert and why?

- It was at Saratoga Springs, New York in June 1983. Why? It was simply good times. We [ fellow Deadheads and friends] had been to three or four other concerts on the way up to New York, but Saratoga was the climax of all of those adventures. It began to pour rain when we got there. At that point we felt like we could solve all of the problems in the world.

What’s your favorite Grateful Dead song?

- I can’t pick just one: Box of Rain, Mission in the Rain, and Ripple

What was the draw of the Grateful Dead?

- The music, the drugs, and the camraderie. They [the Grateful Dead] brought everyone together; the  music was like the vehicle used for a road trip. You visit all of these really cool places with some people you know and a lot more people who you’ve never seen before. Everyone’s riding the music (and I would guesss the drugs) that made it all possible.

Was Jerry Garcia the main attraction or was it the whole band?

-It was definitly the whole band, but Jerry was the band.

Are the offshoot Grateful Dead bands any good?

- Yes, but that’s because they’re basically comprised of spin offs from the original band. Its the same talent involved. For instance Phil and Friends has Phil Lesh. Dark Star Orchestra has the original sound board guy from the Grateful Dead, etc.

What does Grateful Dead mean/how did the band choose this name?

- it’s some book of the dead…use the internet and look it up for yourself.

[ well I did and Wikipedia says," Some say that it was the Tibetan Book Of the Dead, but according to Phil Lesh, in his biography (pp. 62), "...Jer [Garcia] picked up an old Britannica World Language Dictionary…[and]…In that silvery elf-voice he said to me, ‘Hey, man, how about the Grateful Dead?’” The definition there was “the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial.”]

Would you say that The Grateful Dead is the best band ever?

-yes

Here’s our song for tomorrow:

Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes”

  Earlier this evening I picked up my little sister’s Shel Silverstein poem book Where the Sidewalk Ends. As I flipped through I stumbled on a poem that reminded me of my previous post on sounds. This is so cool!!:

Ourchestra
So you haven’t got a drum, just beat your belly.
So I haven’t got a horn - I’ll just play my nose.
So we haven’t any cymbals-
We’ll just slap our hands together,
And though there may be orchestras
That sound a little better
With their fancy shiny instruments
That cost an awful lot-
Hey, we’re making music twice as good
By playing what we’ve got!
     -shel silverstein 

I have been to loads of concerts, and I am not saying that to be vain. My father is obsessed with music and so every chance  that he gets, he takes my family to some free concert or show downtown (I live in Richmond). Few of them have been memorable, due to the fact that my concert-goings began at the age of 4, and I’ve kind of been dragged along since. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate music, but I am of the quality over quantity mind-set. The dynamics of the music don’t seem to matter at all to my father it’s just the fact that it is sound in its most concise and purposeful form. He becomes captivated by the loud noise and the live music so much so that he is practically oblivious to the actual songs and musicians themselves. Now, this is speculation on my part, but his rapture and obsession for music appears to spread for him across all domains from bluegrass to rock to folk to soul. There are no limits.

Due to this passion, I have experienced a lot of live music and have consequentially forgotten the majority of concerts that I’ve seen( this may also be attributed in part to young age). The big ones and my favorites though still stand out: The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, Virginia Coalition, Dave Matthews Band, Little Feat, James Taylor, Joan Osbourne, and of course The Spice Girls (sarcasm implied)!  Yet none of these compared to seeing Regina Spektor.

This statement I know will cause outrage and some will cry blaspheme. Most would argue that seeing a legend like Eric Clapton is incomparable to some 20 something upstart who has had maybe one hit. Yet I would argue in my defense that seeing a person with buckets of talent exorcised to its full potential ( no matter the breadth of their fame) is still an incredible sight. The Stones made me cry (I kept thinking WOW I’m seeing one of the greatest bands of the century, a sight that I will probably never have the oppurtunity to repeat), but Regina filled me with elation. I sported a gigantic smile throughout her entire perfrmance and I couldn’t help but rock with the music throughout until her last song was sung. I kept thinking she is so extraordinarily talented, and I am so fortunate to get to see her live. This was in part because her live renditions were superior to her recorded tracks, which for me was a first. Vocally, live performances, to me, have always fallen short of the crisp resonance from a prerecorded track, yet Regina did not miss a note. I’ve seen a lot of concerts, but I’ve never seen such a spectacular performance that encompassed excellence in all of the following areas in addition to vocals: instruments, lyrics and charisma.

Of course I liked her prior to going to the concert, yet seeing her live completely changed my perspective and increased my appreciation. The Richmond Times Dispatch two days later reported in an article, “Seated behind a grand piano, her ruby red lips and black, billowy dress a dramatic contrast, Spektor utilized her impressive range with the piano her only accompaniment.” Though this statement is a little wrong ( she also played the electric guitar, stomped, clapped, and used an accompanying beatboxer), the intent is correct in that she really did make an impression.  All in all, she hit the ball out of the park, out of the parking lot, across the street, and directly in my face.

This past Friday night I had a grand old time in my room creating sounds. As crazy as this may seem, I was hanging out with roughly six friends, when one of them pulled out a kazoo and began to break out into song. Soon an idea sparked, and my roommate opened up a drawer and took out a shaker( one of those plastic eggs filled with sand or something) and began to create a brand new beat in synch with the kazoos melody. It was all down hill from there. Soon there was another kazoo, a mini bongo, a guitar, a train whistle, a garage band piano and a tambourine. We were jamming!! We even switched things up a bit and decided to play a strictly  instrumental song and then add our individual instruments gradually to create an optimum collision of sound. It was a fantastic medley of noise and flow, and soon it all began to degenerate into a cacophony of laughter and hums. But before this point, one of my friends got the ingenuous idea to record the music to his computer to keep forever as a memento from that hilarious night. Once I can figure out how to upload the music, I’ll add it to this post
 

I am getting so excited!!! For my birthday (in January) my boyfriend got me tickets for the Regina Spektor concert at Toad’s Place in Richmond. She has actually had to cancel the last couple of concerts scheduled at this venue because she has  had bad bouts of vertigo, but the rescheduled concert is for this Sunday March 2. I am ecstatic!! The tickets have recently sold out, so it will be packed but enjoyable none-the-less. I absolutely love her voice and she is just so musically talented on top of that. Watch the youtube clip below and see how amazing/beautiful/talented she really is. Yay!! I’ll report back after the concert!!

Here she is in all of her glory :

In the 6^th grade I learned to play my first instrument, which happened to be the ever-popular French horn. I was absolutely terrible; therefore I was placed in the prestigious third chair out of a grand total of three other chairs in the French horn section of the band. Even when a trumpet player, who sat in the row behind me, decided to take up the French horn in the 7^th grade, he still usurped my abilities and pushed me another chair back. After 3 years of agony, I decided to pick up an instrument a tad more practical, so I settled on the piano. My skills at a completely different instrument remained the same—nonexistent. I quite the piano after another two years and decided to learn about music from an auditory stand instead of one of actual practice.

Despite my horrendous playing ability, I believe that everyone should learn to play an instrument. Though I failed miserably in this endeavor, I learned so much more about music, and I gained a better understanding of the technical aspects like beat, tempo, tone, pitch, etc involved in all music. Listening to music now, I can often times distinctly pick out instruments and melodies that I remember from my terrible stint in the band. These terms and bits of knowledge have consequentially helped me to appreciate music better and to talk about it more intelligently.

In addition to this, learning to play an instrument helps cognitively and physically as has been proven by many studies. There are articles all over that spout the benefits of music on a child’s capacity to learn in all aspects of life including socially, emotionally, and creatively. Music has even had therapeutic results on people with disabilities and learning issues which further supports my assertion. Thus, though my experiences with music were troublesome, I took away a lot, and now I believe that all people should learn to play an instrument.