I recently picked up the self titled new release by Elizabeth Willis, which is her first album and still flying under the radar (at least in the Midwest). This classically trained musician on the piano & violin has released a smoothly intense album. While so many artists are infusing classic string instruments on their albums, this album goes beyond that. It feels like a classical album with guitar and vocals added to it, instead of a folk album where a string quartet comes in and plays back ground and adds layers to a song. Her voice isn’t the most powerful voice out there, but look where Bono & Tom Waits are with their “stunning” vocals. However like Bono & Waits, she sings with passion and heart and is able to match it perfectly to her own songs.
Don’t be fooled by the classical training and large amount of backing strings, this album can rock and is not by any means just an album for the down times of life…though I would enjoy a nice fire and good bottle of wine while this album is on!
On top of her stunning arrangements she seems to be a pretty smart woman too! Let me list her accomplishments from her bio page: SESAC, ASCAP, alumnae of Meadowmount School of Music & Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division, Pres/CEO of Little Blackbird Records LLC. She produces, writes her own songs, and arranges everything!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Music & the Times
With the recent election of a New President I have done a lot of thinking and one thought I have had is about music and the times. You always hear that the best art comes from pain & depression. If you take a look at the past century you will see music is no different and the type of music that is popular.
Let’s look at some examples…
1930-1960 Black Music…well lets see Jazz, Blues, and the birth of Rock & Roll, the suffering and lack of rights that Blacks had, enough said
Lets look at the state of the world in the 1960’s and all the music that came out of that time. I am not saying that if there wasn’t a war, sexual revolution, civil rights movement, anti-establishment movement, drug craze, and the unrest with the government in general that this music would not have been made. Wait yes I am! Art & Music was the one thing that people could cling to and have be their own, where as everything else people seemed to have to fight for. Not that Dylan, Beatles, or any other power house of the 60’s didn’t have many obstacles along the way, but they overcame them and brought music into the modern age as we know it. A generation felt this music was their own, something they could claim and set them apart from the older generations.
During the 1980’s when most of the Country (& world) seemed to be on the RIGHT track & the economy was up the music was happy go lucky, over produced going out music. While many now love singing along to power ballads of that time while at a bar, you don’t hear about the great music of the 80’s. (Though there are some, but they were not mainstream at the time and took a while to be seen for the art they truly are)
Towards the end of the 80’s and early 90’s when we started to see that maybe the world wasn’t as great as it should be, and a War breaks out, there was this thing happening in Seattle that broke Rock & Roll out of the shell and back to the raw emotions that truly defines Rock. Pear Jam, Nirvana, STP, and many others. One can claim that this music didn’t happen over night, maybe these artists were a head of the time and saw from a different view what the world really had to offer to them at this time and so they started to create such powerful music out of their own depression.
Clinton Era…Shitty Pop & Rock Music. The air waves were flooded with Boy Bands, Hootie & the Blowfish, over produced over spent Rock (that lacked a lot of what Rock needs). Not that this music is 100% bad but it was almost forced upon the world. My time during the 1990’s was spent finding as much as I could about the music of the 60’s because I was going through my own anti-establishment youth stage.
The past 8 years, well I don’t have to go into detail about the state of the world or the USA the past 8 years. But look at the change in music in the past 8 years, the sheer volume of music that has been made in the name of anger, frustration, and peace. Rock & Roll has come out on top of the pop charts. The Jazz World has put out some great albums (Katrina?), The Brits have produced some amazing pop singers who are not just pretty people who can kind of carry a note and then the studio makes them sound better, and some of the Rock out of the UK has also been the best in decades. Even the American Pop World has gone back to the roots of great vocals, catchy tag lines, and deep beats. Not just a pretty face that some one picked out of a group when they were 7.
There are always counter arguments to this post, yes there was great music in the 80’s & 90’s, yes there was bad music the past 8 years & in the 60’s. But look back at the charts and what was top of the pops during the past 60 years and I think it is clear that music and the state of the world can be linked in one way or another
Let’s look at some examples…
1930-1960 Black Music…well lets see Jazz, Blues, and the birth of Rock & Roll, the suffering and lack of rights that Blacks had, enough said
Lets look at the state of the world in the 1960’s and all the music that came out of that time. I am not saying that if there wasn’t a war, sexual revolution, civil rights movement, anti-establishment movement, drug craze, and the unrest with the government in general that this music would not have been made. Wait yes I am! Art & Music was the one thing that people could cling to and have be their own, where as everything else people seemed to have to fight for. Not that Dylan, Beatles, or any other power house of the 60’s didn’t have many obstacles along the way, but they overcame them and brought music into the modern age as we know it. A generation felt this music was their own, something they could claim and set them apart from the older generations.
During the 1980’s when most of the Country (& world) seemed to be on the RIGHT track & the economy was up the music was happy go lucky, over produced going out music. While many now love singing along to power ballads of that time while at a bar, you don’t hear about the great music of the 80’s. (Though there are some, but they were not mainstream at the time and took a while to be seen for the art they truly are)
Towards the end of the 80’s and early 90’s when we started to see that maybe the world wasn’t as great as it should be, and a War breaks out, there was this thing happening in Seattle that broke Rock & Roll out of the shell and back to the raw emotions that truly defines Rock. Pear Jam, Nirvana, STP, and many others. One can claim that this music didn’t happen over night, maybe these artists were a head of the time and saw from a different view what the world really had to offer to them at this time and so they started to create such powerful music out of their own depression.
Clinton Era…Shitty Pop & Rock Music. The air waves were flooded with Boy Bands, Hootie & the Blowfish, over produced over spent Rock (that lacked a lot of what Rock needs). Not that this music is 100% bad but it was almost forced upon the world. My time during the 1990’s was spent finding as much as I could about the music of the 60’s because I was going through my own anti-establishment youth stage.
The past 8 years, well I don’t have to go into detail about the state of the world or the USA the past 8 years. But look at the change in music in the past 8 years, the sheer volume of music that has been made in the name of anger, frustration, and peace. Rock & Roll has come out on top of the pop charts. The Jazz World has put out some great albums (Katrina?), The Brits have produced some amazing pop singers who are not just pretty people who can kind of carry a note and then the studio makes them sound better, and some of the Rock out of the UK has also been the best in decades. Even the American Pop World has gone back to the roots of great vocals, catchy tag lines, and deep beats. Not just a pretty face that some one picked out of a group when they were 7.
There are always counter arguments to this post, yes there was great music in the 80’s & 90’s, yes there was bad music the past 8 years & in the 60’s. But look back at the charts and what was top of the pops during the past 60 years and I think it is clear that music and the state of the world can be linked in one way or another
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Music in a Web
As any music lover knows the amount of music out there can be over whelming. One is always being turned on to a new artist or an old one that might have slipped through the cracks. I still feel the best way to learn about new music is sitting around with a friend or none friend and just gabbing about music and what turns one on and off! I have been introduced to some great bands this way, but this way isn’t the only way to hear great music that one might not think about.
There are a few web-sites that I have found to enjoy some FREE music. While you can't always download music from these web-sites it allows you get an idea of the music.
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/
This is a Great Archive site with plenty of shows from a wide range of Artist. Any music lover should know this site. It is the archive base for famed Concert promoter Bill Graham (Fillmore East & West). Not only can you hear rare early performances from…well just about anybody from the 60’s on, but you can view rare concert art, vintage t-shirts, ticket stubs, photographs & more!!
http://www.npr.org/music
NPR, well I am a NPR junkie…and their music site is great!! It always tries to bring the best new music to you from not just here in the States but from around the world. There are plenty of recent concerts to stream to you computer. Plenty of off the cuff interviews, history lesions, free downloads & more. This site also offers plenty of different types of podcast that you can take with you
http://www.pandora.com/
Most of you are aware of Pandora…what your not? Well this is a great site to make play list based off a song or artiest which works with the Music Genome Project. You can be very detailed in the play list or simply put in a bands name it poof it will continue to play songs that might be similar to that band or their style. You can create many different play lists and use even the quick mix tab to add all your play list to one! For you ipod lovers (and who isn't)you can have it on an ipod touch!
**Disclaimer, if you have it playing for a long time expect to hear the same song twice
http://www.archive.org/details/audio/
For you live show lovers this site is for you. Search the database for any band and if some one has sneaked in a recording device or if the band allows taping you will find it here. These shows are downloadable and free to do what you want with. I have obtained most of my live show collection from this site…have fun with this one!
There are a few web-sites that I have found to enjoy some FREE music. While you can't always download music from these web-sites it allows you get an idea of the music.
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/
This is a Great Archive site with plenty of shows from a wide range of Artist. Any music lover should know this site. It is the archive base for famed Concert promoter Bill Graham (Fillmore East & West). Not only can you hear rare early performances from…well just about anybody from the 60’s on, but you can view rare concert art, vintage t-shirts, ticket stubs, photographs & more!!
http://www.npr.org/music
NPR, well I am a NPR junkie…and their music site is great!! It always tries to bring the best new music to you from not just here in the States but from around the world. There are plenty of recent concerts to stream to you computer. Plenty of off the cuff interviews, history lesions, free downloads & more. This site also offers plenty of different types of podcast that you can take with you
http://www.pandora.com/
Most of you are aware of Pandora…what your not? Well this is a great site to make play list based off a song or artiest which works with the Music Genome Project. You can be very detailed in the play list or simply put in a bands name it poof it will continue to play songs that might be similar to that band or their style. You can create many different play lists and use even the quick mix tab to add all your play list to one! For you ipod lovers (and who isn't)you can have it on an ipod touch!
**Disclaimer, if you have it playing for a long time expect to hear the same song twice
http://www.archive.org/details/audio/
For you live show lovers this site is for you. Search the database for any band and if some one has sneaked in a recording device or if the band allows taping you will find it here. These shows are downloadable and free to do what you want with. I have obtained most of my live show collection from this site…have fun with this one!
Friday, November 7, 2008
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