Novelist Paul Auster reads a story written by Sylvia Seymour Akin about a special Christmas.
(Source: NPR All Things Considered)
How Will We Make Music in 200 Years?
03 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: future of music
A group of innovators were asked to imagine what music will be like in 2214. If they’re right, it could be pretty bizarre
(via Smithsonian.com)
by Randy Rieland
Music has gone through some serious changes in the past 200 years. Consider that back in 1814, Beethoven was cutting edge, and the year’s most famous song was not about love, but war, a tune titled “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Yet as much as music has morphed since then, its transformation will seem trifling compared to what will likely happen to it over the next 200 years. The pace of technology guarantees it.
Sponsored by the popular energy drink, the Red Bull Music Academy is a month-long festival of concerts and workshops featuring innovators in music. The event has had a 16-year run and moves to a different city each time. As part of the 2014 event in Tokyo earlier this month, some of the more creative minds in music, art and technology were asked to share their takes on how we’ll make music in 2214.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-will-we-make-music-in-200-years-180953439/?no-ist
Video of the Week: The Mercurotti (A Duet with Freddie Mercury & Luciano Pavarotti)
29 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: freddie mercury, luciano pavarotti, marc martel
Singing “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot” opera, Marc Martel turns the song into an astounding approximation of a duet between Italian tenor Pavarotti and Freddie Mercury, in a video that was shot in just one take.
It Could Have Been Reginald the Red-Nosed Reindeer
28 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Inside the very shiny life of a 75-year-old marketing gimmick
(via Smithsonian.com)
by Ann Hodgman
There was his nose, to begin with. In the first version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” it glowed “like the eyes of a cat,” and Rudolph’s friends nicknamed him Ruddy because of it. When Santa came in on Christmas Eve, he found Rudolph’s bedroom alight with a rosy glow that Santa pretended was coming from his forehead. (“To call it a big, shiny nose would sound horrid!”)
Rudolph was born 75 years ago this Christmas season, at the Montgomery Ward department store headquarters in Chicago. He was the star of a humble coloring book, written by a copywriter, Robert May, who almost named the protagonist “Reginald.” May, who’d been lonely as a child, based the character on himself. Store executives fretted that shoppers might think Rudolph’s nose was red because he was drunk, but something about Rudolph’s story spoke to people. He was an outcast, down on his luck. When Santa gave him a job (it was the Great Depression, after all)—well, something clicked. That Christmas, the company passed out two and a half million copies of the book…
Mark & Brian Ruin up a Tom Jones Song–and it’s Hilarious
27 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in On a Lighter Note Tags: help yourself, mark & brian, tom jones
When Tom Jones guested on Mark & Brian’s syndicated Los Angeles morning radio show, he’d apparently agreed to sing his hit “Help Yourself” without realizing he’d receive “accompaniment”.
Mark & Brian’s horn section adds something special to the mix, cracks Jones up, and even throws off his performance toward the end, to the delight of his hosts. Fun.
Pop Quiz: Taylor Swift Song or Self-Help Book?
27 Nov 2014 Comments Off on Pop Quiz: Taylor Swift Song or Self-Help Book?
in General Posts, On a Lighter Note, Quizzes Tags: pop quiz, quiz, taylor swift
Think you can tell one of Taylor Swift’s musical declarations of independence from something on the “You Can Do It” shelf at Barnes & Noble? Take the quiz at BuzzFeed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rdio/quiz-taylor-swift-song-or-self-help-book
Every Moment Has A Song 