Senate Seat for Sale - (sung to the tune of Love For Sale by Billie Holiday, Cole Porter)
When the only sound in the empty seat,
Is the beeping voicemail of the occasional visitor
That belonged to an out-of-town Barack,
I open shop.
When the moon so long has been gazing down
On the wayward ways of this wayward town.
That his smile becomes a smirk,
I go to work.
Senate seat for sale,
Pay to play, Senate seat for sale.
Powerful job that's still unspoiled,
A Position that's only slightly soiled,
Senate Seat for sale.
Who will buy?
Who would like to sample my supply?
Who's prepared to pay the price,
For a trip to paradise?
Senate seat for sale
Let the poets pipe of power
in their childish way,
I know every type of power
Better far than they.
If you want the thrill of D.C.,
I've been through the mill of Chicago;
I'm unaware, he's unaware
Unelected but just as real
Senate seat for sale.
Pay to play, Senate seat for sale.
Powerful job that's still unspoiled.
Follow me and climb the Lincoln stairs
Senate seat for sale.
Senate seat for sale.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrested on federal charges
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
12.09.2008
4.17.2007
Michael Brecker Tribute
Michael Brecker was the most wonderful musician; a jazz genius who had a huge impact on the world of music. He passed away this year, and this video is my small tribute to one of my all-time heros of music. The first tune is "Naima," a Coltrane tune, and it's just Michael playing all by himself inventing lines. The second tune is "Some Skunk Funk," a rhythm section's dream song, and this particular early 80s band shows the level of musician that MB routinely played with, because he was the best. The Some Skunk band features Michael's brother Randy (hence the band The Brecker Brothers) Dave Weckl on drums, James Genus on bass, and Mike Stern on guitar. The 3rd video features:
Makote Ozone Trio With Mike Brecker
Between October 3-8, 2001
Blue Note Tokyo, Japan
Makoto Ozone: Piano
Michael Brecker: Tenor
James Genus: Bass
Clarence Penn: Drums
and it's a great example of how hard he could swing.
I put in a 4th video as well featuring another of my heros in music, Pat Metheny, with Larry Goldings on organ, of course MB on sax, and I believe Bill Stewart on drums.
Michael Brecker - I love you for putting it all out there and inspiring me and so many others.
Michael Brecker Feature Page at All About Jazz
Makote Ozone Trio With Mike Brecker
Between October 3-8, 2001
Blue Note Tokyo, Japan
Makoto Ozone: Piano
Michael Brecker: Tenor
James Genus: Bass
Clarence Penn: Drums
and it's a great example of how hard he could swing.
I put in a 4th video as well featuring another of my heros in music, Pat Metheny, with Larry Goldings on organ, of course MB on sax, and I believe Bill Stewart on drums.
Michael Brecker - I love you for putting it all out there and inspiring me and so many others.
Michael Brecker Feature Page at All About Jazz
Rap Artist of the Week - DJ Puffy Bread Performs His H** S*NG
Puffy Bread's latest song hits home with his community and resonates deep.
Here's a sample of the lyrics:
Recently BLRBS.com had the opportunity to sit down with Bread. Here's a portion of that interview:
It was such a pleasure speaking with DJ Puffy Bread. Truly he was so intelligent and really knows the history, and culture of gang violence and drug dealing. It's no wonder Puffy Bread has quickly risen in the oven of the rap world, straight out of the streets of the Chicago suburbs. Represent!
Here's a sample of the lyrics:
I a* s* A*** W** E**** S* O*** M******** E**. Yeah - what? Yeah - what? B***** T*** Y** I l*** f** m*****. Yeah - what? Yeah - what?
Recently BLRBS.com had the opportunity to sit down with Bread. Here's a portion of that interview:
BLRBS: Welcome Puffy Bread.
PB: H***o
BLRBS: Congratulations on your recent recording hitting gold. To what do you attribute your music's great success?
PB: R*gh*. W* use m***** nak** women h** in our vid***.
BLRBS: Surely there's more to it than that?
PB: N*** dawg.
BLRBS: Now - I guess congratulations are in order for your Academy Award (Song of the Year), and Grammy Award (Album of the Year). How does it feel finally getting the respect you so richly deserve?
PB: Coming from the str**** (Rep******!) I feel it doesn't matter *** ** that I can't carr* a t***, and my peeps agree ****.
BLRBS: And so does the Academy, right?
PB: Yeah dawg, keep** ** r***.
BLRBS: Represent!
PB: What the w*** was that?
BLRBS: I don't know - you know. You say "represent!" sometimes and so it sounds cool I think, so I was just just saying it.
PB: You wh*** cr***** pret*****!! Get out!!
BLRBS: But I live here!
PB: No tal*** wh*** l*** x* y** z*$%^&!
It was such a pleasure speaking with DJ Puffy Bread. Truly he was so intelligent and really knows the history, and culture of gang violence and drug dealing. It's no wonder Puffy Bread has quickly risen in the oven of the rap world, straight out of the streets of the Chicago suburbs. Represent!
4.16.2007
4.11.2007
Crossing Street Musician Off Of My Career List
What would happen if you placed one of the world's most acclaimed violinists (Joshua Bell) playing on an exquisite antique violin, in a busy D.C. subway station at rush hour, posing as a street musician? Not much! Click this link to see video.
The final haul for his 43 minutes of playing? $32.17. Yes, some people gave pennies. Not terrible, although just a few days before he had played to a packed Symphony Hall in Boston where people paid $100 per seat.
Thanks to the Washington Post's Gene Weingarten for this fun story.
[Link]
Hear the full audio file of his entire incognito performance at the D.C. Metro station.
The final haul for his 43 minutes of playing? $32.17. Yes, some people gave pennies. Not terrible, although just a few days before he had played to a packed Symphony Hall in Boston where people paid $100 per seat.
Thanks to the Washington Post's Gene Weingarten for this fun story.
3.29.2007
Gary Willis Keeps Me Humble
OK - I'm a bassist (clue to my identity which remains anonymous) but Gary Willis is someone I listen to frequently to remind me to keep working on it! This guy is fun and can PLAY DA BASS!!!
3.07.2007
The RIAA Casts Gloomy Web
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has announced its decision on Internet radio royalty rates. Bottom line - Webcasters will now have to pay $500 per station annually, and about 1.28 cents per listener hour, retroactively to the beginning of 2006.
For Live365.com, a service that allows individuals to legally run small Internet radio stations, the decision could be a backbreaker. In the Internet business, it's hard enough to predict the future, but when you also have to predict the past, it can feel like a real rift in the space-time continuum. "Live365's royalty obligation for 2006 is running in the range of $350,000 per month, and that's not even addressing the question of the $500 per station mininum!" - RAIN
[Link]
For Live365.com, a service that allows individuals to legally run small Internet radio stations, the decision could be a backbreaker. In the Internet business, it's hard enough to predict the future, but when you also have to predict the past, it can feel like a real rift in the space-time continuum. "Live365's royalty obligation for 2006 is running in the range of $350,000 per month, and that's not even addressing the question of the $500 per station mininum!" - RAIN
[Link]
2.20.2007
The Capo Incident
OK - Guys. Wow. This is a musician thang but, visit this site and listen to what is commonly known as a TRAIN WRECK. It sounds way worse than it is. The only problem here is that the guitarist moved his capo to the wrong fret... which puts his guitar and voice in a different KEY than they'd planned on in rehearsal. The result is very painful... just follow the [Link] and listen until the band enters...
[Link]
photo: Wikipedia
2.12.2007
Dixie Chicks Long Road of Great Suffering has Finally Come to an End
It has been four long grueling years for the Chicks since the American music-buying public had the audacity to stop wanting to hear their recordings. Forced to gut it out living simply on the royalty checks from their previous best-selling recordings Home and Wide Open Spaces, the Chicks managed to eke out an existence going from magazine cover to TV commercial to finally getting hired as the house band for the Democratic Party.
By taking the top 5 major awards at this year's Grammy Awards, the Chicks are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Acknowledging the amount of suffering her husband and children endured, Emily Robison thanked them for hanging tough through the hard times. Although they're still not sure how they'll be able to pay for their next meal, it's at least comforting to know that the Recording Academy feels sorry for them.
The Chicks have begun working on their next CD already - a recording which will focus on why their music deserves to get more air play on college radio, and the pain they've gone through dealing with the disorganized PR schema of that medium.
By taking the top 5 major awards at this year's Grammy Awards, the Chicks are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Acknowledging the amount of suffering her husband and children endured, Emily Robison thanked them for hanging tough through the hard times. Although they're still not sure how they'll be able to pay for their next meal, it's at least comforting to know that the Recording Academy feels sorry for them.
The Chicks have begun working on their next CD already - a recording which will focus on why their music deserves to get more air play on college radio, and the pain they've gone through dealing with the disorganized PR schema of that medium.
2.11.2007
Dixie Chicks Had a Record Out This Year?
OK - as a musician I can tell you the buzz all year came as a result of John Mayer's new recordings. Continuum is a solid, special recording, and I didn't run into one musician all year who was buzzing about any Dixie Chicks record. I guess the Dixie Chicks did have a recording out this year... something I first learned of this evening at the Grammys. But the amount of awards they won tonight was obscene. Did it have anything to do with music?
Anyway - the Mayer recordings will be the ones influencing guitarists, bassists, drummers, and songwriters for years to come. The Dixie Chicks record was politically inspiring to some folks, but I thought they looked like the "Ridiculous Chicks" tonight. What's with the Cocktail party dress, playing a strat? Am I supposed to take this seriously? Apparently I am - the "Academy" says so anyways. Even the Dixie Chicks knew that their awards were more about making a "statement" than they were about music.
Don't get me wrong. The Dixie Chicks are a solid professional act. I can see booking them in Branson or maybe Vegas. But you can't seriously expect me to believe theirs was the best album of 2006?!
Props to John Legend, The Police, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Mary J Blige, John Mayer, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyonce, Gnarls Barkley, and Christina Aguilera, (among others) who all gave incredible performances at this year's Grammys. The Dixie Chicks? Not so much.
Anyway - the Mayer recordings will be the ones influencing guitarists, bassists, drummers, and songwriters for years to come. The Dixie Chicks record was politically inspiring to some folks, but I thought they looked like the "Ridiculous Chicks" tonight. What's with the Cocktail party dress, playing a strat? Am I supposed to take this seriously? Apparently I am - the "Academy" says so anyways. Even the Dixie Chicks knew that their awards were more about making a "statement" than they were about music.
Don't get me wrong. The Dixie Chicks are a solid professional act. I can see booking them in Branson or maybe Vegas. But you can't seriously expect me to believe theirs was the best album of 2006?!
Props to John Legend, The Police, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Mary J Blige, John Mayer, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyonce, Gnarls Barkley, and Christina Aguilera, (among others) who all gave incredible performances at this year's Grammys. The Dixie Chicks? Not so much.
2.08.2007
Future iPods may be pre-loaded with music I don't want
Personally, I like the concept of getting a blank mp3 player and putting music on it that I like. For years radio stations tried to tell us what music we were supposed to like, and MTV and VH1 continue that same push mentality. Thanks to the internet, and music services such as emusic, Rhapsody, and iTunes, music lovers can choose what they want to listen to based on being able to listen to vast song libraries before actually plunking down any cash.
According to this Wired News' writer Leander Kahney, however, due to the recent settlement over the Apple name, and falling flash memory prices, future special edition iPods may come pre-loaded with pre-selected song libraries as a way to again push music on us.
No thanks. Music is far too individualistic for us to go back now to having music thrust upon us. Please just leave the players blank and let us choose!
If they would come out with a jazz-genre preloaded player, and if I was stuck in an airport before a long trip, then maybe I would care, but please, no iPods crammed full of U2, Aerosmith, Ludicrous, or some other artist du jour. IMO that's just more time I'd have to spend deleting these wasted attempts to add value.
[Link]
According to this Wired News' writer Leander Kahney, however, due to the recent settlement over the Apple name, and falling flash memory prices, future special edition iPods may come pre-loaded with pre-selected song libraries as a way to again push music on us.
No thanks. Music is far too individualistic for us to go back now to having music thrust upon us. Please just leave the players blank and let us choose!
If they would come out with a jazz-genre preloaded player, and if I was stuck in an airport before a long trip, then maybe I would care, but please, no iPods crammed full of U2, Aerosmith, Ludicrous, or some other artist du jour. IMO that's just more time I'd have to spend deleting these wasted attempts to add value.
[Link]
1.29.2007
American Idol Auditioner shocked
This auditioner assumed every contestant would go before Simon, Paula, and Randy. [Link]
Doing the math, you figure if the Idol judges are in your town for 2 days, the maximum # of auditions they could do would be roughly 12 an hour, and I don't see Paula and Simon working more than 8 hours a day, so that's maybe 96 auditions a day, and they're there 2 days. So 10,000 people show up, minus the 192 auditions done by the star judges, leaving 9,808 auditions that need to be done by some other judges.
Nevertheless, the show has interest because it puts some very funny things on display - namely the fact that people often don't realize how lacking they really are in talent. Professional musicians and actors lose auditions all the time and life goes on, but amateurs think of things as "once in a lifetime." Because in real life, their lack of talent will never give them a shot at a music career. Real musicians practice and work hard and network and move on. When the show gets boring for me is when they choose their final 32 or whatever it is and force them to grind through week after week of pop cover songs by mostly amateur singers.
Taylor Hicks, by the way, is in my opinion the best true musician to ever sneak through the competition. He'll probably be over produced and over packaged, which may cause him to lose most of what is appealing about him in the first place - authentic passion and talent. Time will tell.
The show's format also does a poor job of attracting any singer/songwriter type, because original music is not encouraged. The producers of the show know that 98% of original music is boring, and doesn't sell, so their best bet is to feature a parade of hits. They are in business to earn a profit after all, so you can't blame them.
Doing the math, you figure if the Idol judges are in your town for 2 days, the maximum # of auditions they could do would be roughly 12 an hour, and I don't see Paula and Simon working more than 8 hours a day, so that's maybe 96 auditions a day, and they're there 2 days. So 10,000 people show up, minus the 192 auditions done by the star judges, leaving 9,808 auditions that need to be done by some other judges.
Nevertheless, the show has interest because it puts some very funny things on display - namely the fact that people often don't realize how lacking they really are in talent. Professional musicians and actors lose auditions all the time and life goes on, but amateurs think of things as "once in a lifetime." Because in real life, their lack of talent will never give them a shot at a music career. Real musicians practice and work hard and network and move on. When the show gets boring for me is when they choose their final 32 or whatever it is and force them to grind through week after week of pop cover songs by mostly amateur singers.
Taylor Hicks, by the way, is in my opinion the best true musician to ever sneak through the competition. He'll probably be over produced and over packaged, which may cause him to lose most of what is appealing about him in the first place - authentic passion and talent. Time will tell.
The show's format also does a poor job of attracting any singer/songwriter type, because original music is not encouraged. The producers of the show know that 98% of original music is boring, and doesn't sell, so their best bet is to feature a parade of hits. They are in business to earn a profit after all, so you can't blame them.
1.21.2007
Don't fret - just play your bass!
OK - as a guy who plays both fretless and fretted bases - I know it can be hard sometimes to decide which one to play. Here's a guy, Jonas Hellborg, who thumbs his nose at indecision, as he thumbs his bass.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)