Posted on

Humans Acting Out In Business, My Favorite Twitter Accounts – the letter “A”

file0001871681518

Awhile ago I published a list of Resources that I intend to update, i.e., a living, breathing document.  It is what could be called a “Bibliography,” and I used to call it that until I received the very good advice to change the name, “Bibliography,” to “Resources.”  Those Resources are a list of websites that relate in some way to the music and entertainment industry  –  they are connected to the music and entertainment industry in my mind.  It is my belief that every musician and person in the world of music and entertainment must know more than music.  Law, technology, business, film, video, television, advertising and communication, especially 21st century style communication by means of social media, are some of what should go into/be shot into/forced down the throat of/taught to a musician or person living in these post-Mayan times.  We need to confront and try to master what is represented by those social media proper nouns –  those companies and services –  and verbs formed by speaking nouns as if they were verbs.  For example:

We Facebook

We FB

We Tweet

We Google Plus

We G Plus

We G +

We G+  (with “G+” rather than “G space +” we assume that long distance is not as good as close distance)

We Pinterest

We Pin

We Social (spelled, “we so.cl” – any Microsoft-inclined people reading this?)

We Tumblr (4 ya)

We WordPress

We Blog

We Microblog (this is not the same as calling a physician because a blog lasts more than 4 hours)

 *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

My Resources will include new categories and lists beginning with “these are a few of my favorite Twitter accounts,” whether “the dog bites” or “the bee stings.”  These are meant to make you not “feel so bad.”  For now, they are websites.

Here is a glimpse (not “Glympse,” the app) of one of the future coming attractions  –  my long list of Favorite Twitter accounts.  For now, this post will be an annotated list of my favorite Twitter accounts that begin with the letter, “A.”

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Dr. E. Michael Harrington

www.emichaelmusic.com

emh2625@gmail.com

Resources:

Twitter:

My Favorite Twitter Accounts:   The letter “A”

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

AJEnglish

Al Jazeera English is a great resource for news of the world (oops – not that “News of The World.”  Al-Jazeera is not a terrorist organization.  Did I need a paragraph for separation between News Of The World and “terrorist organization?”)  Al Jazeera:  Good.

Alleyinsider

Want to find out what’s happening in the world of computers/computing/digital this and that?  There’s AlleyInsider.

allsongs

National Public Radio does so many things well.  This is a great place to hear music of many styles, places and genres.  “NPR’s online and on air music show. Dedicated to finding music you’ll fall in love with.”  Yes, this is an exceptional statement and one which “can get away with” ending a sentence with a preposition.  

AMAnet

The American Management Association, not the American Medical Association.  Good straightforward articles about the world of “humans acting out in business.”  I will take credit/blame for that “humans acting out in business” phrase.  Catchy, eh?  Says the Canadian.

anildash

Anil Dash has a good brain and sense of humor.

annkpowers

Ann is a “writer, a-mama, poptimist trying to eat right and live present in a high-fructose world.”  Very insightful and smart talk about music and life.

AppStore

Something to do with Apple and applications?  Promotional but some of the promoted material is worthwhile.

arslaw

Fun times in the world of technology, law and policy.

arstechnica

Described on their Twitter profile as, “original news and reviews, analysis of tech trends, and expert advice on the most fundamental aspects of tech and the many ways it’s helping us enjoy our world.”   I agree.  I love that they love to “enjoy our world.”  It’s also good that they used “it’s” to mean “it is.”

artbrodsky

Very good stuff from an attorney/thinker/Internet advocate and blogger for Public Knowledge.

artistshouse

“Helping Musicians and Music Entrepreneurs Create Sustainable Careers.”  That is a damn good calling as musicians are often lambs led to 1. wolves, 2. slaughter, 3. cruel biological experiments, 4.  numbers 1, 2 and 3 at once.  The Artists House Music site is the best resource for musicians who strive to know more than potted plants, and AHM is in desperate need of funding.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

In future blog posts:

1.  My Favorite Twitter accounts – the letters “A” and “B”

2.  More about the foolish lawsuit against Alicia Keys.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

 

Posted on

Wish Lantern on Love Circle, Newtown & Sandy Hook, Merry Christmas, Kill City Space Ship & Invasions are Not Just For Aliens Anymore

file891246797273

Wish Lantern on Love Circle, Newtown & Sandy Hook, Kill City Space Ship

and Invasions are Not Just For Aliens Anymore

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

I got impulsive and chose to come to Nashville for Christmas.  It is my first Christmas ever in Nashville.  All of the others were in Massachusetts.  It’s great to be back here with friends although it’s not like Christmases I’ve known.

I had a surprising and enriching Christmas Eve last night with close friends and then went out to The Stone Fox in Nashville.  At 3 AM or so, we went to the beautiful hilltop with a great view – Love Circle in Nashville  – to light off a wish lantern.

I left Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester MA at 2 PM (it was a late decision, obviously) on Saturday and drove southwest on Rt. 128, past two malls in Peabody MA.  Rt. 128 had traffic backups for miles in both because of Christmas shoppers and the entire state was too crowded.  I had to even avoid the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) because of congestion.  I reached Pizzeria Uno near the Connecticut-Massachusetts border in Sturbridge MA by 5 PM – nightmarish driving conditions for a traffic-phobe like I.

I then drove to a friend’s house in New Jersey, but first with a stop in Newtown and Sandy Hook, CT.  Newtown CT has always been one of my favorite little towns.  I’ve driven through it hundreds of times in the past 30 years as it is a picture postcard perfect little town – hilly, tranquil, scenic, and light years removed from the noise of any metro area.  This is a somewhat accurate representation of Newtown and western CT.  The only way to make it more Newtown-ish would be to make the commercial’s accompanying music more like Charles Ives “Concord Sonata – Mvt. III “The Alcotts” (even if the Concord Sonata is about Concord, Massachusetts).  Newtown is away from I-84 and a great alternative to interstate driving for a few miles.  But two nights ago was much different.  It is now crowded with media and attention.  I can’t describe how it felt  –  very sad. It would be hard to explain all of the feelings I had, and would take too many words.  A cliche comes to mind  –  make sure you appreciate what you have and let the people you love know that you love them.  That works especially well at Christmas time too.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

I was honored to have music and video composed to honor my 40th blog post.  Quite unexpected but really cool.  It is the work of Kill City Spaceship and is entitled Mike’s Fortieth Blog.  This music was composed based on the great E G# C F# A opening chord of the Beatles’ song, “All I’ve Got To Do.”   Kill City Spaceship informed me that the music composed to honor my blog post was based on that E 11 #5 chord and its four (4) inversions.  Composing a work based on a musical motif, which involves compositional technique and development, is too often unknown to the general public, and foreign to the world of pop songwriting.  But just as musical styles can overlap, so too shouldn’t theories of music and composition. More on those rich subjects later…

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

Merry Christmas, love, peace and joy to everyone!

Posted on

Do these parts of Alicia Keys’ “Girl On Fire” remind you of another song?

file0002116747178

It’s close to Christmas Day and my plans are not yet finalized.  I don’t know where I’ll be come 12/25/2012.  But for now, the sun is breaking through (a rare event recently) and I’ve got a few things to finish this morning.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Blog-wise, I am proceeding out of order.  I should have written the intended follow-up post – the proper one in the sequence – instead of this as I’ve got much more to write about Shuman v. Sony.  But I’ll delay that a bit as I want to do this quicker-to-write post.

Recently I wrote about ambulance chasers:

“I’ve known of “ambulance chasers,” (I’m not asserting Lowell is an ambulance chaser but “size matters” and Lowell’s video was at the top of my “ambulance chasers” search) with respect to music copyright infringement lawsuits  –  people who hear similarities between songs, and then contact interested parties with the hope that lawsuits will be filed and that they will receive money and/or acclaim.”  

I also wrote these few sentences which could very much excite an ambulance chaser/copyright troll:

“If someone wanted to sue Alicia Keys for her recording, “Girl On Fire”, there is a song by a potential plaintiff with much stronger similarities than, “Hey There Lonely Girl.”  It was a very big hit song that appeared in a very big 1980’s hit film.  Do you know of the song to which I refer?  Want to take a guess?  I’ll come back to that, and all of this Blogger Friedman/Shuman v. Sony stupidity, soon.”

There are six (6) places in “Girl On Fire” in which Alicia Keys sings, “Oh oh oh oh oh.”  Listen to the Alicia Keys  “Girl On Fire” and especially these six sections.

0.35     oh oh oh oh oh

1.39     oh oh oh oh oh

2.54     oh oh oh oh oh

3.04     oh oh oh oh oh

3.15     oh oh oh oh oh

3.25     oh oh oh oh oh

Do these five (5)-note melodic excerpts, that are heard six (6) times in “Girl On Fire,” remind you of another song?  As I mentioned, the song to which I am referring was a very big hit that appeared in a very big 1980’s hit film.  If you recognize the song, do you think there is a potential copyright problem?

I hope everyone has a nice Saturday and stays away from retail, or that you are able to do stressless surgical shopping strikes.

Posted on

Is Alicia Keys guilty of copyright infringement? A lawyer quotes a feebly written blog and files a foolish lawsuit

file0001709696839

 

I was told about an article from AcesShowBiz entitled, “Alicia Keys Gets Sued for ‘Girl On Fire,’ Debuts ‘Brand New Me’ Video.”  The article refers to a “write-up by Roger Friedman“, a blogger for Showbiz411.  Roger Friedman seems to proudly state that “Alicia Keys is a Girl in Trouble today,” because she has been sued for copyright infringement and that Friedman is partially to blame/credit for the lawsuit  –  “some of the suit is based on my reporting.”

The songs in question are:

Plaintiff’s song  –  Eddie Holman recording of  “Hey There Lonely Girl”

Defendant’s song  –  Alicia Keys recording of  “Girl On Fire”

I was startled to read that “some of the suit is based on my reporting” as I had never heard of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed because of the “reporting” of a blogger, and especially a blogger who demonstrates his incontrovertible ignorance of copyright law.

Friedman states, “Hopefully musicologists will be called in, etc. experts who can testify about Keys’s use of two lines from the chorus of ‘Hey There Lonely Girl’ in ‘Girl on Fire.'”

This is such a poorly conceived and written sentence.  First, is Friedman stating his hopes that musicologists “will be called in, etc.?”   As a musicologist who has testified in copyright infringement cases in U. S. federal courts for 20 years, I am extremely curious as to what Friedman means by “etc….”  As I try to understand, I think he might mean that we are called in and then comes other actions – the etcetra part.  Just what does the “etc.” of his sentence mean, and have I been “etc.-ing” these past 20 years or should I start “etc.-ing” now to make up for the times in which I did not etcetera?

Also, the normal practice is for both sides to employ at least one (1) expert.  Experts are not “called in” as if to investigate a crime scene.  Experts, optimally, are hired BEFORE the initiation of a federal copyright infringement lawsuit.  In this instance of Alicia Keys’ alleged infringement, if experts are hired, they might not agree with Blogger Friedman’s position that Alicia Keys “use[d] two lines” from the chorus of ‘Hey There Lonely Girl.”

Also from that same rich sentence, it seems that Blogger Friedman may not have learned that

the possessive of   —   Keys   —   is Keys’   —   not Keys’s

unless Blogger Friedman writes “Keys’s” because he pronounces “Keys’s” as KEE – ZIHZ, and not KEEZ.

But things soon get more feeble in his writing.  Blogger Friedman states that…

“Anyway, anyone who listens to “Girl on Fire” can hear Alicia sing “she’s a lonely girl/in a lonely world” about her burning subject. Why Keys or someone with her didn’t just clear this sample is beyond me. Keys is a sampling queen, with loads of history in this department.”

“…beyond me.”  What I claim is “beyond” Friedman is this particular subject matter – sampling and copyright law.  At this point, Friedman proves that he does not understand copyright with respect to music, or practices in the contemporary music industry.

Factually, Alicia Keys did NOT “sample” any part of the “Hey There Lonely Girl” sound recording.  Blogger Friedman does not know enough about copyright law to form, possess or articulate an opinion on the subject.  Yet he uses the word, “sampling” and falsely accuses Alicia Keys of “sampling.”

To reiterate  –  Friedman is factually incorrect.  Alicia Keys DID NOT sample the sound recording of “Hey There Lonely Girl.”

I will return to this shoddy journalism and the new lawsuit,

Earl Shuman v. Sony Music Entertainment et al

filed in the United States District Court Central District of California, December 10, 2012.  I have much more to write about Friedman’s writing and Shuman v. Sony.  But I want to pique the interest of anyone who might be reading this at this point today with a final thought.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

I’ve known of “ambulance chasers,” (I’m not asserting Lowell is an ambulance chaser but “size matters” and Lowell’s video was at the top of my “ambulance chasers” search) with respect to music copyright infringement lawsuits  –  people who hear similarities between songs, and then contact interested parties with the hope that lawsuits will be filed and that they will receive money and/or acclaim.  If someone wanted to sue Alicia Keys for her recording, “Girl Of Fire,” there is a song by a potential plaintiff with much stronger similarities than, “Hey There Lonely Girl.”  It was a very big hit song that appeared in a very big 1980’s hit film.  Do you know of the song to which I refer?  Want to take a guess?  I’ll come back to that, and all of this Blogger Friedman/Shuman v. Sony stupidity, soon.

Posted on

Best Chord Ever – Part 1 – The Beatles “All I’ve Got To Do”


I have revised this post by adding many more links to recordings found on YouTube (the Beatles’ “personal pronouns period” songs), definitions from Dictionary.com and Wikipedia, and links to Amazon.com if one is interested in purchasing The Beatles’ With The Beatles or Weather Report’s  I Sing The Body Electric.

This is the rainy Tuesday morning (December 18, 2012) in Gloucester after the New York Jets self-destructed on national television last night.  It is also the 40th blog post at www.emichaelmusic.com.  One way to celebrate would be to show a video someone made of me composing at the piano.  There will be a video below that will emphasize what I want to discuss today.  The  best chord ever.  At least for today, this is the best chord ever.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

I love chords.  I’ve often composed at a piano by playing one chord, isolating it and thinking about where the sounding pitches want to go next, and then maybe writing the new chord that resolves the pitches from the first chord.  The first chord was a commanding boss that demanded to have its way.  The second chord, in the scenario I am describing, is a slave – it has no choice but to be and do as the first chord demands.

Or repeating or rearticulating my first chord.  Maybe the first chord wants to just linger and eventually fade away.  If it was really good, maybe it’s time to repeat it.  Or maybe it’s time for a series of chords led by this great chord.  The intervals in the chord can be unfolded and turned into melody, and maybe this melody will be harmonized by this chord or subsequent transpositions of this chord.  This type of composing can lead to countless areas and new musical expression.

In this post, I’m considering a chord one only hears in one context  –  in one particular song.  Without this chord, the song wouldn’t be as good.  But this great chord doesn’t fit in its context.

Listen to the first sounds, i.e., the first chord, in this Beatles song:

Beatles – All I’ve Got To Do

The chord has no business being here.  Or in any pop song.  Could this chord be heard in jazz?  I don’t think Ornette Coleman would use this chord.  I don’t think Thelonious Monk would have either.  Cecil Taylor?  Maybe Cecil Taylor would use it.  Early Weather Report?  Yes, maybe.   I could imagine this chord/hear this chord in “Vertical Invader“ from side 2, song 1 of Weather Report’s second album, I Sing The Body Electric.   The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Eminem and Kanye – nope, they wouldn’t use it.  The Beatles used it.  Once and only once.  The chord is used only at the opening.  Never again in any Beatles song.  Not in outtakes, bootlegs.  Nowhere.  Damn.  Or as Miles Davis would have said, “DAY-UHM.”

So, here is one of the best chords ever.  You hear it arpeggiated at the opening.

It is solo guitar  –

no singing

no bass

no drums

no keyboards

Only guitar playing this mystical chord:

Beatles – All I’ve Got To Do

The chord consists of these five (5) notes:

 E  G#  C  F#  A

The Beatles used this most advanced, dissonant and mystical chord only once and only here on their second album.  This was during their personal pronoun period.  The early Beatles’ song titles were filled with personal pronouns –

From Me To You

She Loves Me

And I Love Her

Love Me Do

All My Loving

Please Please Me

P. S. I Love You, etc.

Their lyrics too were very simple.  So, why with all of this simplicity and direct boy-girl expression, did they use this complex  chord?  The chord does not reappear in All I’ve Got To Do, the With The Beatles album, or any subsequent Beatles song or album.

Does this chord appear anywhere else, i.e., in any songs?  I’ve never done a search for it.  I think I would be searching for a very long time for this chord.

My point of this post  –  this is a GREAT CHORD.  It’s so striking and unusual.  It adds a lot to this song even if it is only used once – actually, once in the Beatles’ lifetimes.  As a little kid when I first heard All I’ve Got To Do, I thought the chord was scary.  As I got older it became mysterious, or in Boston speak, wicked cool.  What do you think of this chord?

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Don’t read this section  –  (jump down to the final sentence).  It is the most music theory I’ve delved into yet in these forty (40) blog posts.

I made sure to avoid naming this chord.  This chord can have a few names  –  it can be…

E 11 #5  (pronounced “E eleven sharp five”) – this is probably the most acceptable name of names.  (To be literally correct, the pitch “C” should be re-spelled as a B#, pronounced B sharp, but most non-Western Classical musicians would rather see, hear, think and speak “C” than “B#.”)

F# min 9 b5 in 3rd inversion (pronounced F sharp minor nine flat five in third inversion) – a very foolish name but accurate description.

An F# min 9 b5 in 3rd inversion would also be an F# half diminished 7 with an added Major 9, again in 3rd inversion.  Again, a foolish name but accurate description.

This chord  is also the verticalization of the upper tetrachord of the A melodic minor ascending scale functioning as a dominant in A minor with the added 3rd from its resolution to an A minor chord.  Blah blah.

In pitch-class set theory, the chord is the pitch class set, 0 2 4 5 8.  Its most compact arrangement is:  E F# G# A C, which really spells out the upper tetrachord of the A melodic minor scale with an an added natural 3 of the A minor scale.  (I hope you didn’t read this section.)

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

I want to explore other “best chords ever” in the future.  Do you have any best chords ever/favorite chords?

Posted on

I Had Almost Given Up On You – This Chord Didn’t Want To Change (Part 1), 14-Style Bliss

 

file0001884539324It’s December 14, 2012.  Friday, the 14th.  Not Friday the 13th and not 12/12/12/ or 12-12-12.  But there is still some symmetry to today’s date:

12 – 14 – 12

But by that way of thinking – with the month as 12 and the year as 12 (not 2012) – there are 31 days of this nice symmetry, a fact I’ll ignore after this sentence ends.  Except to sarcastically say (write) that today is probably a great day to get married or give birth and I wish those people a lot of 14-style bliss.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The title of this post, I Had Almost Given Up On You – This Chord Didn’t Want To Change, came to me a few minutes ago.  I was at a deposition once for the Expert from the opposing side.  She/He was talking too much (that’s always fun as too many words can get one in trouble – just look at the trouble I could cause myself  – the Expert who types/spouts/rants/posts too much!).  Back to our story….  In a very long ramble, the Expert went way beyond simply answering the question – she/he stated that it is unusual for a chord to last more than 8 measures/8 bars and that in one of her/his cases she/he looked “far and wide” for songs that featured chords this lengthy.

My immediate reaction was —-  do you listen to music?  There are a lot of songs, and famous songs, that stay on one chord for long times, more than 8-meaures even.  And there are great songs that have only one (1) chord.  (If a song has only one chord, it can be considered “chord-less.”  I’ve gotten into this before in other posts, so I’ll refrain from developing this discussion.)

Back at the deposition, these songs, that feature extended time on only one chord, came to my mind IMMEDIATELY that day.  And then many more songs came to mind.  This isn’t something for which a musicologist should need to search “far and wide.”

What follows are the songs that first came to my mind that feature significant static harmony.  What are your favorites?  (And let’s keep musical styles/worlds that do not have harmony, such as Indian classical music, out of the discussion as that could be considered, “cheating.”)

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

One of the most famous songs that stays on one chord for a long time is the first and only song I know responsible for the name of a great band and a magazine.

Muddy Waters  –  Rollin’ Stone  (1st new chord occurs @ 2.05)

The Doors created one of those “must-know” ubiquitous guitar riffs with the opening of “Roadhouse Blues.” This guitar riff and song open the album, Morrison Hotel.  Morrison Hotel is the origin of the famous name, “Hard Rock Cafe.”

Doors  –  Roadhouse Blues  (1st new chord occurs @ 1.19)

One of Hendrix’ best known songs and longest recorded jams featured Steve Winwood on organ.  This is from Electric Ladyland.

Jimi Hendrix  –  Voodoo Chile  (1st new chord occurs @ 2.52)

A shorter blues, also from Hendrix’ Electric Ladyland.  This is the album where Hendrix demonstrated his great knowledge and love of the blues, and especially Chess Records blues.

Jimi Hendrix  –  Voodoo Child (Slight Return)  (1st new chord occurs @ 1.43)

Not a great Steppenwolf song, ironically, because it needed to change chords sooner.

Steppenwolf  –  Sookie, Sookie  (0.06-0.56 features only one chord)

Because it is Little Walter, the harmonica playing is superb, and the lyrics are either subtle or screaming at you, depending on your familiarity with blues.

Little Walter  –  Mellow Down Easy  (1st new chord occurs @ 1.20)

There are a lot of other songs that feature chords that last for more than 8 measures.  As one who is often CHORD-CENTRIC and has a bias towards thinking harmony before other aspects of music in my own composing, I think it’s a great idea to go to the other side.  To study music that is contrary to your thinking and preference.  This is also a great practice for life, in my opinion.  Do what is not normal, expected or comfortable and see where such an adventure will lead you. (That is a good topic for another post, or many other posts.)

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Again, the songs:

Muddy Waters  –  Rollin’ Stone

Doors  –  Roadhouse Blues

Jimi Hendrix  –  Voodoo Chile

Jimi Hendrix  –  Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Steppenwolf  –  Sookie, Sookie 

Little Walter  –  Mellow Down Easy 

Posted on

Johnny Cash, Danzig, Life in Vizify, Today is not 12/12/12, Social Media Reveals I’m 65/132 Brazilian

 

12/12/12 Twelve Twelve Twelve Zwölf Zwölf Zwölf is now gone.  I want to wash that 12 right out of my hair.

Q.  Best way to get rid of 12?  A.  13  Welcome to December 13, 2012.  There will only be one of these.  This is probably the best day to get engaged or give birth.

Time for a thirteen (13) song:   Johnny Cash  –  Thirteen

There are other thirteen songs  – Frank Zappa, Bata Kanda, and Chuck Berry, but I want to hear Johnny Cash sing Danzig.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

I got my Vizify account, 2012 version, on Tuesday.  They were wise to get it out before 12-12-12.  If we have social media, we must have social media metrics.  And bells and whistles.  Vizify does all of that well, and fortunately, our lives can be reduced to a few pages.

Before I broadcast my life in Vizify, I should note that Facebook has now taken to their version of metrics a la the encapsulated annum-in-review model.  If all goes right with this bit.ly link, and if Facebook will allow you access, here is the Facebook version of my 2012 life in Vizify.

All of this Vizify activity  –  the entire 11-page report  – could only happen if I was very active in 2012 in

Foursquare

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

and I granted the app permission to these four (4) life measure-ers, and remembered all four (4) of my very long alpha-numeric melodic passwords.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

A  C  T  I  V  I  T  I  E  S

S   H   O   P   S         &      S   E   R   V   I   C   E   S

This objectively shows that I have my life in order as I’ve taken more trips to liquor stores than banks, pharmacies or “others.”  I’m proud that I’ve been to more “record shops” than gas stations, liquor stores, pharmacies, banks and “others.”

Grocery store  –  292

Gym  –  117

Electronics  –  73

Bookstore  –  41

Record Shop  –  40

Gas station/garage  –  36

Liquor store  –  28

Other  –  Shop  –  26

Pharmacy  –  22

Bank/Financial  –  21

A  C  T  I  V  I  T  I  E  S

F  O  O  D

My taste in food is superb.  I think of myself as, to borrow a now-famous adjective, SEVERELY Brazilian.  But via social media snooping-metrics, I am only ALMOST Brazilian.  By these snooping standards, I am barely more American than Brazilian by 67 to 65.

And then my next outside-the-home eating is pizza, Middle Eastern and so on.  It’s best to just list it:

Coffee shop  –  190

American  –  67

Brazilian  –  65

Pizza  –  55

Middle Eastern  –  41

Greek  –  40

Seafood  –  37

Bakery  –  32

Mexican  –  29

Sandwiches  –  24

Italian  –  23

A  C  T  I  V  I  T  I  E  S

O  T  H  E  R

The rest of the year is completed by this compilation.  When I wasn’t eating pizza or trying to pass for a Brazilian, here’s what I did:

Home  –  473  (To create & recite a completely original expression – “There’s no place like home.”)

Medical  –  215   (I was spending great time with my Mom.)

Hiking Trail  –  151  (Most of this was at Callahan State Park in Framingham.)

Road  –  142   

Academic Building  –  123

Park  –  106  (If not 820-acre Callahan, it would have been Ramapo Mtn State Forest in New Jersey.)

Bridge  –  92   (This was mainly the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River.)

Hotel  –  47

Dog Run  –  44

Hospital  –  43   (Precious time with my Mom.)

Church  –  38

We live life, share our activities and interests, measure them and then broadcast what we’ve been sharing all year along with the Vizified measurement.  This year’s activities are made to look nice.

I love people and social media but still don’t reveal everything.

May your 13th be wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Happy 12 12 12, Twelve Twelve Twelve, Zwölf Zwölf Zwölf, Dodici Dodici Dodici, Doce Doce Doce, Douze Douze Douze

Wayne Shorter, Bo Diddley, George Strait

What day is it?  December 12, 2012?  December 12, 2012 can be abbreviated as 12-12-12 or 12/12/12 or 12.12.12 or spoken Twelve Twelve Twelve, Doce Doce Doce, Douze Douze Douze, Dodici Dodici Dodici, Zwölf Zwölf Zwölf or hundreds of other ways.  If you’ve been near social media, you also know that this will be the last repetitive date ever.  (That’s true only if a 13th month is never added to our calendar.  There could be a 13th month because like copyright terms, Viagra and Cialis, there’s always someone who wants to lengthen something.)

12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12

In keeping with the number 12, I’d like to offer favorite songs of mine that have something to do with the number 12.  The easy and predicatable thing would have been 12-tone (twelve tone) music.  But I’ll resist the easy and go for something more eclectic  – songs about “12” and tweets about “12.”

I posted a riddle last night –  what do Wayne Shorter, Bo Diddley and George Strait have in common?  As far as I know, the answer is that each recorded a song whose title contains the word, “Twelve.”  These three (3) songs have little else in common except for the number twelve (12) in the titles.  That’s it.  Riddle solved.

12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12

Wayne Shorter  –  Twelve More Bars To Go 

In an instrumental, do you know if Wayne Shorter is referring to 12 bars of living, 12 bars of playing or 12 bars on my way home?

Bo Diddley  –  The Clock Strikes Twelve

This is one of Bo Diddley’s more unusual songs – an instrumental.  Yes, that is Bo Diddley playing violin.  This is not the braggadocio Bo – no “cobra snake for a necktie” kind of thing.

George Strait  –  Four Down And Twelve Across 

“awkward puzzle, fill in the blanks…”  One can easily make that phrase deep or leave it as something pertaining to a board game.

12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12

This started out to be twelve (12) tweets about 12 12 12, and then I found a few more I wanted to copy.  If 12 is good, more than 12 is better.  Here are more than 12 tweets about 12 12 12.

The Daily Yomiuri ‏@DailyYomiuri

The time in Japan is now 12:12 p.m. on December 12, 2012…that’s12:12, 12/12/12.

01/01/01✔ 02/02/02✔ 03/03/03✔ 04/04/04✔ 05/05/05✔ 06/06/06✔ 07/07/07✔ 08/08/08✔ 09/09/09✔ 10/10/10✔ 11/11/11 ✔and today 12/12/12.

ぴょんまこ ‏@yugurenofuku

12/12/12 12:12 ＼(^o^)／

David Pogue, Technology writer for The New York Times, repeated what some of my recording engineer friends had already said last night:

David Pogue ‏@Pogue

Hey, tomorrow is National Sound Check Day! 12/12/12… (What will you be doing at 12:12:12?)

Two (2) 12-12-12 sports tweets:

Randy Cruz ‏@cruzr83

The Lakers may not be thrilled with 12/12/12 tomorrow since they’re 12th in the Western Conference.

Happy 12.12.12 — NFL QBs wearing #12 have won 15 Super Bowls. That’s more than double the next-best mark (#16 has won 7)
These are not happy happy joy joy tweets.
Tomorrow is 12-12-12 which means I’ll have to blood sacrifice twice as many goats as I did for 6-6-6. 🙁
The Mayan Calendar predicted that on 12-12-12 there would be some really bad tweets about 12-12-12. Like this one.
Pretty cool how on 12/12/12 in 1912 no one said anything at all because we’re idiots now.
Happy 12.12.12., YouScoopers! What are the 12 Philippine issues that are most important to you? #SabihinMo
12/12/12 & 12/21/12 will be the most annoying days in Twitter history.
A designed tweet.  Too bad the 12 12 12 thing looks more like 10 10 10.

┊┊┊┊#HAPPY┊12─12─12┊┊┊ ┊┓╭╮┊┊╱┓╭╮┊┊╱┓╭╮┊ ┊┃╭╯┊╱┊┃╭╯┊╱┊┃╭╯┊ ┊┻┗┛╱┊┊┻┗┛╱┊┊┻┗┛┊

 Final tweets.

Путин обратится к Федеральному Собранию 12.12.12: Буддийские астрологи считают эту дату… http://goo.gl/fb/tdc02

Twelve~Twelve~Twelve~make it memorable in a positive way. Be especially nice to ~Twelve~ people, complete ~Twelve~random acts of kindness ☺

 

12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12    12

I got my Vizify account yesterday.  My life, thankfully, can be reduced to a few pages.  I hope talk about social media and metrics tomorrow.  No more twelves!

Posted on

¡Cubanismo! at The Exit/In, Caetano Veloso, Café Tacuba & Music of The Americas

 

 

The Americas  –  Music by Caetano Veloso, ¡Cubanismo!, Café Tacuba  –  Copyrightable Intros

When I was growing up and loving and learning geography, there were three places called “America.”  The  globes, atlases and maps were mostly but not always in agreement.  The three (3) Americas:

1.  North America

2.  Central America

3.  South America

North America had the three (3) most powerful countries of the hemisphere  –  the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.

Central America sometimes had Mexico and those smaller countries.  Other times, Central America had just those smaller countries  –  Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama –  and Mexico was considered part of North America.  One of the Latin America nations (oh yeah – just what was “Latin America” – Central America?) we “imperialists” in the U. S. really noticed was Panama as every ship had to go through the Isthmus of Panama’s Panama Canal that linked the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

South America had Brazil (the world’s largest Portuguese-speaking country) and a lot of other countries whose official language was Spanish.  Brazil had Carmen Miranda, samba, bossa nova and carnival, and the other countries (all Spanish speaking) had coffee, tin or llamas.  (Just a bit North American-centric!)

And then there were those islands – a petite floating continent  – known as The Caribbean and even the definition of Caribbean was odd as vacationers and cruise ship lines identified Bermuda as part of the Caribbean even though Bermuda was as far north as North Carolina, a decidedly non-tropical and non-Caribbean.

In terms of U. S. federal courts, geography becomes more confusing as Puerto Rico is part of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.  That means Puerto Rico and its natural adjacent neighbors (I am joking) –  Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island (which isn’t an island)  –  are part of the same appellate court, the First Circuit.  As if this isn’t nonsensical enough, Montana and Hawaii, non-natural neighbors, are part of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  (No matter how these divisions are viewed, I’ll someday teach my “Music of The Caribbean” course again and still think of the Caribbean as its own entity, and not a part of North, South or Central America.)

Perhaps it is best that in 2012 the entire hemisphere is called THE AMERICAS, mostly to make things less messy when it comes to division via land mass.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

To the simple point of this post  –  three (3) great songs from The Americas (the Americas situated south of continental U.S.) that feature * copyrightable introductions. *

B R A Z I L

I know of no other career like Caetano Veloso’s  –  it is astonishing to simply look at his album covers.  Caetano Veloso’s career, artistic and musical influences and output are enormous   –  samba, Antonio Carlos Jobim, bossa nova,  torch songs, Tropicálismo, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Arnold Schoenberg, minimalism, musique concrete, hip hop, experimental music, filmmaker, singer, songwriter, composer, soundtrack composer, political activist, political activist expelled from country, political activist welcomed back to country, etc.

I’ve plunked one song from his more than half-century output, and only to demonstrate a copyrightable introduction.

Caetano Veloso  –  Cada Macano No Seu (Cho Chuã) is from Tropicália 2, an album that pairs two of Brazil’s musical giants  –  Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso.  Tropicália 2 was one the best Brazilian albums of the 1990’s.

C U B A

¡Cubanismo!  –  Ibiono Utereran   ¡Cubanismo! is the superstar band of Afro-Cuba (Afro-Cuba is my name for the island of “Cuba.”).  The best musicians of the island coming together to show others how it’s done.  I’ve been most fortunate to see ¡Cubanismo! in Boston, New York and Nashville.  Yes.  That Nashville.  Tennessee.  Music City.  ¡Cubanismo! played the famous Exit/In.  To this day, it is the best concert and musicians I’ve seen in Nashville.

Ibiono Utereran begins as if a square, dull waltz is imminent.  The “one TWO AND three” waltz figure introduced by the tres gets beaten back quickly by the rhythm section and then the loud brass.  The tres pattern is then re-understood as one of several rhythms coexisting in complexity.

This is one of those ultimate “how do I dance to this” dilemmas.

“Ibiono Utereran” is from Cubanismo’s brilliant, Reencarnacion album.  Reencarnacion needs to be on your Must-Have Cuban album list.

M E X I C O

Café Tacuba  –  Camino Y Vereda    Café Tacuba has been in existence since 1989.  Their  frequently-changing musical styles have left them with passionate fans and music critics.  (The New York Times has praised Café Tacuba more than almost any other band.)

Intros to many of Café Tacuba’s songs feature copyrightable introductions.  I chose “Camino Y Vereda” because of its fun “how do I dance to this” metric deception dilemma intro, and to introduce any reader to their vital Cuatro Caminos album.

I hope to return to Caetano Veloso, ¡Cubanismo! and Café Tacuba in the future, as well as the music of Brazil, Cuba and Mexico.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

To repeat the three (3) songs:

Caetano Veloso  –  Cada Macano No Seu (Cho Chuã)

¡Cubanismo!  –  Ibiono Utereran 

Café Tacuba  –  Camino Y Vereda

Posted on

Music of Africa & Copyrightable Intros – Les Têtes Brulées, Four Brothers & Thomas Mapfumo

 

It just occurred to me that this is the 3rd post in a row that features a tall structure as the cover photograph  –  from a building at Harvard, to the Eiffel Tower to a giraffe.  And there are three (3) giraffes.  I like how that came to be – unplanned but maybe related to the number 3 again?

I’ve been passionate about world music since I was a little kid and heard some of my parents bossa nova albums, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Perez Prado, and some others.  Also in those days there was I Love Lucy with some of Desi Arnaz’ very hot bands on TV.  I always loved what I perceived as its sophistication.

As a kid, I remember hearing my parents and their friends’ music  –  a lot of it was Latin and Brazilian music played on LP’s when they’d have a party.   I remember there was bossa nova, “The Girl From Ipanema” was a hit so I was hearing Antonio Carlos Jobim, but also Perez Prado whose music was called “wild, savage and exciting.”  I remember his odd atnd strange grunts and yells.  Perez Prado’s great yelps.  You can hear one his best a few times in his classic Mambo #5.

I took a few jazz guitar lessons when I was 10 or 11.  That meant that now I could play Jobim as well as listen to him.  The teacher was a nice man but I preferred experimenting and teaching myself.  I did some of the most important things in my experimental way  –  turn on the radio and play along with whatever I hear, and play it on the guitar, piano or organ.  I can get further into what I consider to be the best means of learning music later though.  The point of this post is world music and copyrightable intros in world music.  I want to limit it to just three (3) examples, all of them from two (2) African nations  –  Zimbabwe and Cameroon.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Thomas Mapfumo was a powerful voice – a giant –  in music and politics in Rhodesia and its successive nation, Zimbabwe.  One of Mapfumo’s innovations was to adapt Shona mbira melodies and rhythms for electric guitar and rock band.  The frequent polyrhythms, the complex interwoven melodies, as well as Mapfumo’s composing and singing and live presence is what drew me strongly to his music.  I have been most fortunate to see Thomas Mapfumo several times.  Mapfumo even allowed me to play one of the band’s mbiras.  I didn’t ask  –  we were talking and he went back, got the mbira and handed it to me!  (My Pinterest board has a photo of Thomas Mapfumo.)

If any Western musician tries to transcribe and play “Muchadura” with her band/ensemble (as I was able to do), be prepared to spend a lot of time getting it right!  It is so damn easy to get off track rhythmically and once you do, it can be even harder to, “…get back to where you once belonged.”

The introduction is where the very independent melodies begin.  First, a solo mbira introduces one melody and before the melody can seem to end, the drums enter, followed quickly by the bass and every other instrument but Mapfumo’s vocal, which will begin at 0.35.

Thomas Mapfumo  –  Muchadura

Les Têtes Brulées are a band from Cameroon.  Les Têtes Brulées translates to “burnt heads,” and the band tries to surprise and shock audiences, first by their appearance, and then their music and stage antics.  Here is another picture of Les Têtes Brulées.  When I first heard and saw them, I was an adult and excited by their costumes and the skeleton appearances.  I can only imagine how much fun this must be to little kids to see tall skeletons playing wild and exciting music.

“Za Ayi Neyi” is one of the most complex and irregular compositions from beginning to end.  If you are unfamiliar with their music, I hope you consider this your very lucky day!

Les Têtes Brulées  –  Za Ayi Neyi

The Four Brothers are not brothers and various iterations of the band have had more than four members. Like Mapfumo, their music reflects the influence of Shona mbira music with guitars imitating mbiras.  “The Best Of Four Brothers” album is one of my favorites.  I’ve used their music frequently in teaching Western Classical music theory, or known to the Western centric crowd as “music theory,” or simply “theory.”  I do so because a lot of their voice leading and chord progressions are much closer to Mozart than Chuck Berry.  (Isn’t that a strange claim.  Can I prove this?)

Four Brothers  –  Makorokoto 

Here again are today’s three (3) great African songs from two (2) African nations.  (Even if some of Sarah Palin’s followers hack Wikipedia again, Africa remains a continent.)

Thomas Mapfumo  –  Muchadura

Les Têtes Brulées  –  Za Ayi Neyi

Four Brothers  –  Makorokoto