As you are no doubt by now aware, Glockenspiel is pretty much the hippest, sexiest modern instrument. And I'm not just saying this because I own a Glockenspiel (and ladies, it's a really nice one). I'm saying this because one of the duties of this blog is to make sure that my loyal followers are kept abreast of the latest trends in musical hip-dom. On an unrelated note, did you know that I'm kind of a Glockenspiel virtuoso? I'm just saying.
But some some people still doubt the sublime sexiness of this truly remarkable and versatile instrument, so again I am obliged to share just a few of its pervasive appearances in popular hip-dom.
We begin with Oh Land, which apparently is this young Scandinavian phenom's name. Or maybe it's her magical country. Here she is performing in a super hip Brooklyn record store:
Notice how ironically cool her "band" bobs their heads in time to her music. That's to demonstrate their hippness. And that maybe they are in love with her.
If slightly dangerous blonde Norwegian bombshells aren't your thing, maybe you prefer grungy lumberjack math-rockers.
Need I point out what the two have in common?
As if somehow trying to take shameless commercial advantage of the grass-roots Glockenspiel phenomenon, viral-web-video-marketing-firm-turned-indie-rock-band Ok GO has this snazzy music video, seamlessly bringing together two of the hottest and hippest things in American pop culture: Glockenspiel and Marching Bands. It's almost as if they're trying to sell something.
On an unrelated note, this might be a good time to mention that I liked the Glockenspiel before it was cool.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Everything is AWESOME!1!!!
I've been exploring some new bad-ass composition career opportunities, and I had no idea the world was so freakin' awesome. Like seriously, the world ROCKS. One awesome INSTENSE job would be to compose music for the National Geographic Channel, or as they awesomely call themselves, "NatGeo."
The thing that's really awesome about composin' music for NatGeo is that it's your job to make sure that everything is portrayed as absolutely awesomely action packed and bad-ass as possible. Boring you say? Get the freak outta here! This is the WORLD we're talkin' about. It's freakin' INTENSE. Say you have a show about long-shore men in Los Angeles. Boring, everyday stuff you say? What do you know about long-shoring, you jerk, it's crazy INTENSE! Just check out the crazy awesome action-movie soundtrack a la The Rock NatGeo lays down. (If somehow you are so intense that you get bored, at least be sure to watch the last 30 seconds!!)
And just imagine- try not to freak out now- this is just an average freakin' day at America's Port!!! I'm freakin' out! I want to freakin' tear out my hair and do a back flip in my bedroom, then kick-ass like a ninja 'cause I am a ninja. Traffic streams across the bridge!!! A crane boom is down! A rogue sailor eludes the Coast Guard (America's Guard). A movie preview announcer narrates, and a Xenakis style string glissando raises the stakes. It's so intense!!!!
For all you that thought fishin' was boring, I suggest you check out the Animal Planet show RIVER MONSTERS. That's right. It's freakin' amazing. I can barely watch the show it's so nuts. A mild-mannered British guy (maybe Australian, who the hell knows) FISHES for FISH but they're really MONSTERS. He doesn't know WHAT he's getting his-self into. There's so much WAITING. But there's also so much DRUMMING. It's INTENSE to the MAX.
And did you know about falcon photography? Check out this website. It's freakin' all over falcons. But who wrote this music? Was this a commission? I had no idea falcons were so freakin' awesome and majestic. And evil. And tragic.
If you find your life is a little boring 'cause you don't have no bad-ass musical soundtrack, I suggest you play this crazy bad-ass track I found on youTube the next time you are cooking or doin' somethin' else stupid that jerks do. You'll be cooking, but you'll feel like a fuckin' pirate.
You can find all kinds of intense-awesome-crazy-kick-ass-back-flippin' music on youTube when you do searches for things like "intense music" or "dramatic music." Everythin' freakin' ROCKS!1!!!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
How to learn the violin
I should take this moment to point you towards an irreverently-toned (if that's the best way to put it) blog about music wherein the authors are actually updating it with some regularity. Enter vaughnvsviolin, a blog chronicling one man's no-holds-barred octagon-style battle against the violin, which he is learning to play as an adult student. But not just learning to play- his self-imposed challenge is to learn the Paganini 24th Caprice in a year. I have some comments on this. Did you notice that I made an an ultimate fighting championship reference though? That's awesome.
Now, I'm not sure if this is possible. My hunch is it depends on just how you define "play." But if the name of the game is speed and you focus on one piece, it does raise some interesting questions. Like, for instance, should he bother to learn to read music? He addresses this question in a recent post. Well, Pavarotti couldn't read music either. And once he does this for a year and achieves his goal, are he and violin through forever? Can he just walk away? If the main point of learning the violin is to write a blog about it, it changes some things. This is interesting.
Oh did I mention that he's married to a world-class violinist? This is great material here, folks. Somebody should write a book about it.
Sometimes it seems these days that the best way to get a nonfiction book deal is to propose trying to do something absurd for one year. This is a sure fire way to get covered on NPR's All Things Considered (the other method is to write a piece about the impending arrival of the alien super-bionic Mothership for the youTube symphony orchestra). It seems everywhere I turn authors are volunteering to go vegan for a year, eat only at McDonalds for a year, eat only locally grown food for a year (things involving eating are very popular), produce no trash for a year, wear no shoes for a year, use no electricity for a year, go on no dates for a year, go on a date every day with a different person for a year, be fat for a year, etc. Inevitably, these authors, who start out looking to make an idealist point about the ecological impoverishment of modern life, end up learning an important and touching lesson about themselves!! Oh, authors!At least Ryan has decided to do something practical. But really, it's the journey that counts. How could it not be a good idea?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
More on useless conductors
I already got in trouble for this, but I guess I don't care that much. At least this one highly paid conductor can make himself useful. By playing an actual instrument.
Now now, before I receive any hate mail, it's all in good fun. And honestly, the orchestra might be slightly tighter rhythmically in this performance with a conductor. But it's still awesome. Also check out the end, when Simon Rattle refuses to take a bow. Because he's awesome.
Now now, before I receive any hate mail, it's all in good fun. And honestly, the orchestra might be slightly tighter rhythmically in this performance with a conductor. But it's still awesome. Also check out the end, when Simon Rattle refuses to take a bow. Because he's awesome.
Monday, December 20, 2010
On having a schtick
...or how to brand yourself as an important classical musician.
I wasted a good deal of time the other day watching videos of Glenn Gould. No, not wasted. Invested. Don't get me wrong, this man is an artiste (I use the French to show that I mean it. I show that I mean that I mean it by referring to French as "the French.") Glenn Gould is a master. And like all great masters, he also has a great schtick (from the Yiddish).
1. Know yourself.
If you ever want somebody to make 32 short films about you, you also need to figure out a schtick. Because here's the thing: there are any number of young pianists at Curtis that can play all the right notes in Beethoven Opus 35, and they regularly win various piano competitions that (unless you're a pianist) you probably haven't heard of. So what makes Gould so captivating? Because he stretches the rests just a little bit longer? Maybe. But let's be real, when we talk about about Gould, are we really just talking about his tempos and his rest stretchings? His performances are about much more than the piece, they are also about him. This is why some people hate them so much. Like any good politician or celebrity, he inserts himself into the discussion. His public persona and his actual performance of a piece are inseparable- they are part of the same schtick. For Gould it's so natural, it's very easy to forget it's happening, though not for everybody.
2. Know your target audience
Now most super famous soloists have a schtick of some sort. A hook, if you will. A tag-line that the media can run with, so that people can understand where they're coming from- in one sentence or less. Brevity is key, and if its subject is predominantly musical, you will only get so far ("prefers pieces in the key of B-minor" is not the most powerful choice). This also applies to composers. You've got to have a thing. Steve Reich wears a baseball hat, and invented minimalism sort of. Golijov is all crazy cosmopolitan, you know, and does world music. Michael Daugherty's schtick is kind of subtle, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that he's gigantic (*insider composer humor). Lang Lang is that flamboyant Chinese pianist. Sometimes it's enough just to come from some exotic country and to be really, really, incredibly good looking, like the Beatles, or so I'm told. Your schtick doesn't have to be hard to understand, or politically correct. In fact, the fewer words it takes to describe it, the better. That way people will remember it easier. And if it can somehow fit into a larger cultural stereotype, excellent! Like, I suspect many Americans generically expect Chinese people to be good at piano, just as 1960s American girls generically expected British boy bands to be phenomenally sexy (or so I imagine). It just feels right. You don't want people to have to think too hard about it.
3. Take advantage of your toolbox
Glenn Gould's thing is that he's freaking nuts. And he loves Bach, and he's not afraid to show it. But what else would you expect from someone who's nuts? Or maybe it's just that music affects him that much. By implication, more than you. In other words, he's a crazy genius.
4. Be consistent
He only plays piano from the same old custom-built chair (it's a trademark). He was a self-professed hypercondriac, always wearing gloves and wool coats, even in Miami. He (famously) sang while playing, and claimed he was incapable of stopping. He had multiple comic musical-personalities he somehow convinced the CBC to record and broadcast, and he had a minor second career as a nature film maker. He seduced composer Lukas Foss's wife, who left Foss for Gould (and later returned to him) in a classical music sex-scandal the likes of which our business rarely enjoys so publicly. And most of all, he famously swore off live performance at the height of his popularity (three years before the Beatles did), sending the value of his brand into the artistic stratosphere.
In other words, Gould's a marketing genius. He understood that to be a truly marketable classical musician, it takes more than just being really good at your instrument (though that's a necessary requirement). You've got to have a brand. And Gould built and maintained his brand with exceptional skill. He fit so perfectly in with what we wanted to believe a crazy genius was like. It all just fits so seamlessly into our western narrative of genius.
Ever since Beethoven invented the "crazy genius" schtick at the turn of the 19th century, it's been a very popular marketing strategy for many young composers, artists, and performers. I'm not sure that many have pulled it off with quite the success of Gould since.
More recently the crazy genius schtick has fallen somewhat out of fashion. Many young composers today seem to be opting for a more "crazy GQ" persona. Of course, if somebody tried to be Gould today, they would be ridiculous. He already owns that niche. It's the same reason why it would be hard for a baseball-cap-wearing minimalist who writes for keyboard percussion to make a mark, or a second international super-star flamboyant Chinese pianist. It's trademark infringement! But mostly, the marketplace just isn't big enough to support copies. You're gonna have to develop your own brand.
I wasted a good deal of time the other day watching videos of Glenn Gould. No, not wasted. Invested. Don't get me wrong, this man is an artiste (I use the French to show that I mean it. I show that I mean that I mean it by referring to French as "the French.") Glenn Gould is a master. And like all great masters, he also has a great schtick (from the Yiddish).
1. Know yourself.
If you ever want somebody to make 32 short films about you, you also need to figure out a schtick. Because here's the thing: there are any number of young pianists at Curtis that can play all the right notes in Beethoven Opus 35, and they regularly win various piano competitions that (unless you're a pianist) you probably haven't heard of. So what makes Gould so captivating? Because he stretches the rests just a little bit longer? Maybe. But let's be real, when we talk about about Gould, are we really just talking about his tempos and his rest stretchings? His performances are about much more than the piece, they are also about him. This is why some people hate them so much. Like any good politician or celebrity, he inserts himself into the discussion. His public persona and his actual performance of a piece are inseparable- they are part of the same schtick. For Gould it's so natural, it's very easy to forget it's happening, though not for everybody.
2. Know your target audience
Now most super famous soloists have a schtick of some sort. A hook, if you will. A tag-line that the media can run with, so that people can understand where they're coming from- in one sentence or less. Brevity is key, and if its subject is predominantly musical, you will only get so far ("prefers pieces in the key of B-minor" is not the most powerful choice). This also applies to composers. You've got to have a thing. Steve Reich wears a baseball hat, and invented minimalism sort of. Golijov is all crazy cosmopolitan, you know, and does world music. Michael Daugherty's schtick is kind of subtle, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that he's gigantic (*insider composer humor). Lang Lang is that flamboyant Chinese pianist. Sometimes it's enough just to come from some exotic country and to be really, really, incredibly good looking, like the Beatles, or so I'm told. Your schtick doesn't have to be hard to understand, or politically correct. In fact, the fewer words it takes to describe it, the better. That way people will remember it easier. And if it can somehow fit into a larger cultural stereotype, excellent! Like, I suspect many Americans generically expect Chinese people to be good at piano, just as 1960s American girls generically expected British boy bands to be phenomenally sexy (or so I imagine). It just feels right. You don't want people to have to think too hard about it.
3. Take advantage of your toolbox
Glenn Gould's thing is that he's freaking nuts. And he loves Bach, and he's not afraid to show it. But what else would you expect from someone who's nuts? Or maybe it's just that music affects him that much. By implication, more than you. In other words, he's a crazy genius.
4. Be consistent
He only plays piano from the same old custom-built chair (it's a trademark). He was a self-professed hypercondriac, always wearing gloves and wool coats, even in Miami. He (famously) sang while playing, and claimed he was incapable of stopping. He had multiple comic musical-personalities he somehow convinced the CBC to record and broadcast, and he had a minor second career as a nature film maker. He seduced composer Lukas Foss's wife, who left Foss for Gould (and later returned to him) in a classical music sex-scandal the likes of which our business rarely enjoys so publicly. And most of all, he famously swore off live performance at the height of his popularity (three years before the Beatles did), sending the value of his brand into the artistic stratosphere.
In other words, Gould's a marketing genius. He understood that to be a truly marketable classical musician, it takes more than just being really good at your instrument (though that's a necessary requirement). You've got to have a brand. And Gould built and maintained his brand with exceptional skill. He fit so perfectly in with what we wanted to believe a crazy genius was like. It all just fits so seamlessly into our western narrative of genius.
Ever since Beethoven invented the "crazy genius" schtick at the turn of the 19th century, it's been a very popular marketing strategy for many young composers, artists, and performers. I'm not sure that many have pulled it off with quite the success of Gould since.
More recently the crazy genius schtick has fallen somewhat out of fashion. Many young composers today seem to be opting for a more "crazy GQ" persona. Of course, if somebody tried to be Gould today, they would be ridiculous. He already owns that niche. It's the same reason why it would be hard for a baseball-cap-wearing minimalist who writes for keyboard percussion to make a mark, or a second international super-star flamboyant Chinese pianist. It's trademark infringement! But mostly, the marketplace just isn't big enough to support copies. You're gonna have to develop your own brand.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Young LA-based Freelance Musician
While out enjoying the insane math-bop stylings of Katisse (the guy who played the flute solos for Ron Burgandy in Anchorman), me and my friend came up with the following metric to help understand the life of the young LA-based freelance musician:
1. Sounds good.
2. Good music.
3. Gets paid.
You can choose two of the three.
By the way, if you ever want to hear Giant Steps in 13/8, I strongly suggest you check Katisse out in a club near you. It might blow you and the four-other-people-in-attendance-who-realize-what's-going-on's mind.
1. Sounds good.
2. Good music.
3. Gets paid.
You can choose two of the three.
By the way, if you ever want to hear Giant Steps in 13/8, I strongly suggest you check Katisse out in a club near you. It might blow you and the four-other-people-in-attendance-who-realize-what's-going-on's mind.
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Process
Well things have been super busy the past month what with the new Rogue Artists' show and the big concert in Minnesota. But I wanted to get a chance to get back to sharing a few things that I find amusing.
First, as you may have guessed, I listen to a fair amount of NPR. Now I'm not the biggest fan of many of the local commentators (sorry Sandra Tsing Loh), but Rob Long on KCRW is pretty hilarious. And not only is he funny, but he gives those of us on the periphery of the entertainment industry a chance to hear things that we can relate to, you know, so that a composer of serious concert music like me, driving down the freeway in my beat-up '95 Honda on my way to a gig that works out to paying like $7 an hour, can feel like I'm somehow part of the business too. Like, hey, oh meetings! I go to meetings! I'm like you, Rob Long! Haha! Producers are so ignorant! (Knowing, smug look at driver of car next to me).
Because you see in L.A., we all like to feel like we're part of the business, even if our part is delivering groceries to Don Cheadle. It's why when we see Jodie Foster in Target, we don't run up and ask for her autograph- that would be so embarrassing!- no, we awkwardly avoid making eye contact. We ignore them. We implicitly say, I'm in this with you, Jodie Foster. I understand. And heaven-knows I wouldn't want star-struck Mid-western tourists bothering me in Target.
Knowing smug look around Target, secretly hoping that somebody recognizes but is ignoring me as a serious concert music composer.
First, as you may have guessed, I listen to a fair amount of NPR. Now I'm not the biggest fan of many of the local commentators (sorry Sandra Tsing Loh), but Rob Long on KCRW is pretty hilarious. And not only is he funny, but he gives those of us on the periphery of the entertainment industry a chance to hear things that we can relate to, you know, so that a composer of serious concert music like me, driving down the freeway in my beat-up '95 Honda on my way to a gig that works out to paying like $7 an hour, can feel like I'm somehow part of the business too. Like, hey, oh meetings! I go to meetings! I'm like you, Rob Long! Haha! Producers are so ignorant! (Knowing, smug look at driver of car next to me).
Because you see in L.A., we all like to feel like we're part of the business, even if our part is delivering groceries to Don Cheadle. It's why when we see Jodie Foster in Target, we don't run up and ask for her autograph- that would be so embarrassing!- no, we awkwardly avoid making eye contact. We ignore them. We implicitly say, I'm in this with you, Jodie Foster. I understand. And heaven-knows I wouldn't want star-struck Mid-western tourists bothering me in Target.
Knowing smug look around Target, secretly hoping that somebody recognizes but is ignoring me as a serious concert music composer.
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