Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The World May Now Come to a Screeching Halt
The world may now come to a screeching halt. I've discovered the Big Band sounds of Richard Cheese. I first vaguely heard Mr. Cheese this past July during an art show in which my husband's motorcycle table was on display. Someone had thrown a mixed bunch of songs (whether on CD or digital, I'm not sure) over the intercom and I was hearing strains of songs that were familiar, but not quite the way I knew them. We asked who this crazy cover artist was and got the name - Dick Cheese.
This past weekend while we were together for my sister's wedding, my brother handed my hubby a Richard Cheese CD, "Lounge Against the Machine." Mr. Cheese takes "alternative standards" - i.e. familiar songs from the disaffected youth of today - and gussies them up with a Big Band snap and swing. This particular disk has covers of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky," the Offspring's "Come Out and Play," the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right," and Radiohead's "Creep." If you've never heard Dick Cheese, you are in for a surprise. For one, he enunciates so well that you'll be able to understand lyrics you thought you'd heard before, but hadn't really because the original singers screamed and growled through them, emoting all comprehension straight out of their songs. For another, he sings swear words with such confidence that you'll laugh your ass off. I know I have. Not quite sure what I'm sitting on right now, but hey, it's worth it for the Cheese. There are other humorous touches to Cheese's songs. His version of "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails sounds like a Sesame Street tune with hints of the Peanuts appearing in the middle. His cover of the Garbage song "Only Happy When It Rains" features bits of "Singing in the Rain."
Dick Cheese isn't for the faint of art, but then what popular music by the disaffected youth of today is?
I'm going to YouTube right now and see if I can find some more Richard Cheese.
This past weekend while we were together for my sister's wedding, my brother handed my hubby a Richard Cheese CD, "Lounge Against the Machine." Mr. Cheese takes "alternative standards" - i.e. familiar songs from the disaffected youth of today - and gussies them up with a Big Band snap and swing. This particular disk has covers of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky," the Offspring's "Come Out and Play," the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right," and Radiohead's "Creep." If you've never heard Dick Cheese, you are in for a surprise. For one, he enunciates so well that you'll be able to understand lyrics you thought you'd heard before, but hadn't really because the original singers screamed and growled through them, emoting all comprehension straight out of their songs. For another, he sings swear words with such confidence that you'll laugh your ass off. I know I have. Not quite sure what I'm sitting on right now, but hey, it's worth it for the Cheese. There are other humorous touches to Cheese's songs. His version of "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails sounds like a Sesame Street tune with hints of the Peanuts appearing in the middle. His cover of the Garbage song "Only Happy When It Rains" features bits of "Singing in the Rain."
Dick Cheese isn't for the faint of art, but then what popular music by the disaffected youth of today is?
I'm going to YouTube right now and see if I can find some more Richard Cheese.
Labels: beastie boys, big band, husband, music, nine inch nails, offspring, radiohead, richard cheese, u2
Friday, April 20, 2007
Inspiration
Something dawned on me recently that quite surprised me. Before I get to that, I'd like to talk about inspiration. As an artist and writer, I take inspiration from many, many things. Science, the woo-woo mysteries of life, birds, flowers, children, historical events, small human behaviors, technology, the interesting juxtaposition of words and the sounds of words, and, of course, the creations of others, be they books, art, movies and music. I'm never sure how all of these things will come together, or what the result will be. My latest realization came to me while listening to a U2 CD. As I was listening, the music translated into images in my mind. This has happened before with U2 music. It has also happened with the music of Duran Duran and Ultravox. The result is that I'm inspired to create visual art with the songs of U2 et. al. The surprise about this is that I've been listening to the music of Dave Matthews Band a lot these past couple of years and it makes me want to write stories. It wasn't until I re-listened to U2 that I saw the difference. U2's music doesn't have the story-writing effect on me, not in the least. U2 inspires visual art, DMB inspires literary art. I don't know why this is, but there it is.
So, now, what inspires you to fits of creativity? Feel free to be more specific than I was. (Science, sheesh! That about covers everything, doesn't it?)
So, now, what inspires you to fits of creativity? Feel free to be more specific than I was. (Science, sheesh! That about covers everything, doesn't it?)
Labels: album art, children, creativity, dave matthews band, duran duran, inspiration, music, rocket science, technology, u2, ultravox, writing
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Reestablishing Boundaries
Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users is down, but not out after receiving death threats on her blog. Now, she's soliciting advice about how to handle the situation. The matter seems to be one of reestablishing boundaries. Those on the path to fame have to take stock and figure this out at some point. It's the price that has to be paid for renown because the famous lose the boundary of anonymity. Think about the barriers celebrities place around themselves. Unlisted phone numbers; unlisted addresses; a big house, preferrably in a secluded location (space makes a good barrier); agents & managers; fan clubs; moving out of the country of fame. If they have websites, they either don't have email enabled (U2 and Moby are examples), or they don't answer it (DMB). If they have blogs, they do not enable comments (Seth Godin, Neil Gaiman). See? There are ways to draw lines in the sand and say, "You've got part of me, but you can't have all of me." And that's eggzactly as it should be.
Labels: advice, anonymity, blog, boundaries, death threats, dmb, fame, kathy sierra, moby, neil gaiman, seth godin, u2
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Superstitious Creatives
I found this post by Josh Clark on the blog Global Moxie via another blog called Creating Passionate Users. In short, Josh discusses the use of totems, magic boxes, and rituals by artists as a means to get into their work, to tap the muse. When I first read it, I thought, hmm . . . I don't have any totems that pull me into my creative flow. No stones do I rub, no Buddha statue do I pray to, no pillow do I turn around on three times before settling in. I don't have much in the way of rituals, either, unless you count turning on the computer and getting out my dictionary and thesaurus. I guess those are rituals. Probably the closest I have to a totem or ritual is turning on some music. Dave Matthews Band is my favorite (in case you hadn't noticed by now), because there's enough fuzzy writerly stuff in the music and lyrics that it jump-starts my imagination. When I'm sick of DMB, which happens occasionally, I'll put in other disks . . . The Killers, Enya, U2, Depeche Mode, Michael Buble, Queen. The secret is that the music has to be something I've already listened to so much that it's been ingrained in the fibers of my being. It has to melt away into the background so that it doesn't disrupt my writing.
Labels: blog, creative, dave matthews band, depeche mode, enya, global moxie, killers, michael buble, music, queen, rituals, superstition, totems, u2
Saturday, October 07, 2006
FtTP - George W. Bush + U2
My husband found a great mash-up video on FileCabi.net. Someone has spliced video clips of George W. Bush together so that he appears to be singing U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday. For the amount of work this has obviously taken, I'm wondering if the creator has much of a life.
Labels: frankensteining the talent pool, FtTP, george w. bush, u2
