Jane Zhang

Wow!!! Just, Wow!!!

The Great Piano Scam

For most of us this would have to go into the category of "unknown stories"... which is a new keyword I'm going to create for this blog. Have you ever heard of Joyce Hato? Probably not. This is an amazing short documentary that unravels one of the greatest frauds ever in the music industry, and a story you have probably never heard. Enjoy!

Paint it Black

I'd have to agree...

Ohio

This date... 47 yrs ago today... the details of what happened at Kent State and how we reacted to it for the next 10 days on the Univ of Wisconsin campus will forever be a part of who I am. This song is an anthem for those lost and for the conflict that raged in the country while politics in Washington were as corrupt as they may likely become again.

Thank you, Neil for writing "Ohio", and thank you Crosby, Stills and Nash for rushing into the studio and laying it down with him. May all those lost then forever rest in peace. This song is yours.

Wintergatan - Marble Music Machine

Creative genius. Nuf said. Enjoy!

Rosa's Lounge ~ Chicago

This is what I consider the real blues of Chicago!... local musicians sitting in for a set in a small and intimate club. Both Nigel Mack and Pete Galanis are regular headliners of their own, and this clip shows why. There are so many outstanding blues artists in Chicago! I really enjoy seeing as many as I can everytime I get back there.

Enjoy!



For more information on this particular gig see the Info section of the YouTube clip.

Prince, 2007 Superbowl

I have watched every Superbowl ever broadcast, and of course every halftime show. Most are forgettable within minutes, but Prince's show in Miami in 2007 is unforgettable. I'm so sad, as a music fan, and as a fellow Midwesterner, that he's gone. His talent was unmatched and legendary. Anyone who was fortunate enough to see him live will be forever blessed. Enjoy this amazing performance once again.

RIP, Prince

One of many, but possibly his greatest solo performance. Guitars weep worldwide over this loss... as do we all.

Sweet Home Chicago

Oh man, how good is this! I've been to Buddy Guy's club on South Wacker in Chicago and on two occasions he was in the house and got up on stage and performed a bit. He had his customary two glasses of red wine and was just as advertised: completely unpredictable. :) The last time he wore a really nice Hawaiian shirt too! Buddy is a treasure and a living blues legend.

Along with Buddy are two other performers on this stage that I've seen in concert; Robert Cray has played here in Kona twice over the past 10 yrs. He's been in my iPod forever. Jimmy Vaughn did a great show here just a couple months ago with Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King. Eric Clapton has probably been in Honolulu but I have yet to see him. Hubert Sumlin is a new name to me... I'll have to look into his music catalog more.

I have this song on my iPod in four different versions at least, starting with the Robert Johnson scratchy original and continuing from there. Each one seems better than the last.



Enjoy!

Patamap

Have you ever been told you have a "tin ear"? Or maybe you feel like you have no ability to make music? Can you only carry a tune if you have a radio? But even then you get static on it? (roughly quoting something my Dad used to say...)

Well, if you answered "YES" to one or more of the questions above, you have to see this.

Patamap.

Let the page load. Nothing may seem to happen, but type in your name anyway. It may be just about the coolest thing you've seen... in a few minutes.

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks, Stefanos!

Friday Night Movie

Alameda - New Leaf from LEGWORK on Vimeo.

Dynamic Editing

BOGGIE - NOUVEAU PARFUM (official music video) from THE SOUP on Vimeo.

Now you try it.

Ice Cream in Istanbul

How could anyone *not* like this guy?! :) Great stuff, Mostafa!

OSU Magic

Often the best part of college football is the part never shown on television. But college students and fans at live games get to see it every week. Of course I'm talking about the halftime show performed by the home field band. And in this business there is simply no better marching band than the Ohio State University band. Some of the routines they've done over the years are legend, and if you've never seen them do their classic script "Ohio" you've missed a real treat.

This past weekend the OSU band outdid even themselves with their "Hollywood Blockbuster Show" in the middle of the Penn State game. I'm a Big Ten alum (Univ of Wisc '72) but I'm not alone in saluting this performance. Big Ten fans across the country this week are tipping their hats to the OSU band for simply being the best. You guys bring everyone else's halftime game up with every performance.

So if you didn't see them at the game last Saturday... or if they didn't show what went down on your tv... Enjoy them here anyway!

Hand Lettered Dylan

Angst No More

Carly Rae Jepsen takes the edge off 1989's Nine Inch Nails lyrical angst in this great new mashup by pomDeterrific on SoundCloud.

Muppet Friday

This just gets better and better as it goes along. And in HD mode the colors are nothing short of pure eye candy!

007

The name is Bond. James Bond. And yes, that *is* a pocket protector!



See what happens when engineers have free time?!

Credits & Notes:

Flying robot quadrotors perform the James Bond Theme by playing various instruments including the keyboard, drums and maracas, a cymbal, and the debut of an adapted guitar built from a couch frame. The quadrotors play this "couch guitar" by flying over guitar strings stretched across a couch frame; plucking the strings with a stiff wire attached to the base of the quadrotor. A special microphone attached to the frame records the notes made by the "couch guitar".

These flying quadrotors are completely autonomous, meaning humans are not controlling them; rather they are controlled by a computer programed with instructions to play the instruments.

Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science is home to some of the most innovative robotics research on the planet, much of it coming out of the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab.

This video premiered at the TED2012 Conference in Long Beach, California on February 29, 2012. Deputy Dean for Education and GRASP lab member Vijay Kumar presented some of this groundbreaking work at the TED2012 conference, an international gathering of people and ideas from technology, entertainment, and design.

The engineers from Penn, Daniel Mellinger and Alex Kushleyev, have formed a company called KMel Robotics that will design and market these quadrotors.
More information: http://www.upenn.edu/spotlights/penn-quadrotors-ted

Video Produced and Directed by Kurtis Sensenig
Quadrotors and Instruments by Daniel Mellinger, Alex Kushleyev and Vijay Kumar

Cold Play Farming

The Grammy's were held this past Sunday night, and while I didn't actually watch it (haven't in years) I have read much of the news about it.  I feel bad for Whitney Houston of course.  She left us far too soon.  My most vivid memory of her will *always* be her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl game.  It simply took my breath away.  I don't think anyone will ever sing that song better than she did.

But what caught my eye on Monday was the video above.  This commercial showed on television in the USA right after Cold Play sang their version of the same song on the Grammy's.  Apparently it was a rather poor performance according to the reviews.  Singing in the commercial is Willy Nelson, and it was written that he "out Cold Played" Cold Play.  I dunno.  All I know is that as a kid from a small farm town in Wisconsin who has a fondness for Willy and well done animated videos, this is pretty cool.

Enjoy!... as I have.