On Sunday, I went on another Tim Minchin viewing spree. Once again, I loved them all.
Confessions:
I Love Jesus:
My Neighbor's Ass:
The Good Book:
Fat Children:
Fuck the Poor:
If I Didn't Have You:
I'm now determined to see him live at some point. That would be a blast!
I've been looking for some new music lately, much to my delight, Matt Nathanson released his new album Modern Love just a few days ago. I thought that I'd like it when I bought it, but I didn't think that I'd like it as much as I do.
Two nights ago, Matt Nathanson performed his single "Faster" on Jimmy Kimmel Live:
He also performed the title track "Modern Love":
Right now, my favorite song is the more moody "Kiss Quick."
You can buy Modern Love on iTunes or Amazon, and I didn't realize until just now that Amazon is a few bucks cheaper. Hooray for competition!
I'm not exactly plugged into up-and-coming musicians. But I found Matt Nathanson through Paul Thomas, a live-sound engineer who often works with Matt Nathanson and who listens to my NoodleCasts.
I liked the whole of Modern Love so much after just 24 hours with it that I bought Matt Nathanson's prior two albums, Beneath These Fireworks (2003) and Some Mad Hope (2007). So far, I don't like them quite as much as Modern Love, but I am enjoying them.
Here's his video from his more mellow song "Come On Get Higher" from Some Mad Hope:
Ok Go. Rube Goldberg. Music video. What more could you ask for?
This video is from 2010, but I just saw it recently.
There's also some background on how the video was made:
Via David Rehm: A great song about Wikipedia: It All Makes Sense At The End.
Totally awesome: Jewel disguises herself and sings her own songs in a karaoke bar:
Via Brandon Killen, a 12 year old performs "Paparazzi" better than Lady Gaga:
Here he's playing one of his own songs:
More from Greyson97.
If ever you get depressed with the state of the world, just consider how much innovation has happened in recent years to enable this bit of awesome:
The violinist/singer is Paul Dateh. I liked what I heard so much that I bought his two albums in iTunes -- Paul Dateh and The Good Life -- in iTunes. It's more bluesy than my usual preferences, but I like it!
(Via Trey Givens)
Here's another fun cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance":
For some reason, the fact that their setting and dress is so informal makes it even more awesome. Oh, and the whole thing probably won't make sense unless you've seen Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance".
I've found a new musical obsession to temporarily displace my beloved Lady Gaga: Mika. (That's pronounced "me-ka.") He's an up-and-coming British pop singer. His music is super-happy-fun-complex pop -- which I love love love. I'm most myself when in a state of crazy, wild joy at the mere fact of my own fabulous existence, and I connect with that feeling with Mika's music. Oddly, Vivaldi's Violin Concertos and String Symphonies give me the same feeling. (In college, I bought the fantastic ten-disc Vivaldi Collection by Shlomo Mintz and Israel Chamber Orchestra. I still adore it.)
In this post, I'll tell you how I came to acquire Mika's albums. The story is rather awesome for hooray-for-technology reasons. However, if you hate super-happy-fun-complex pop, please don't torture yourself by hitting any of the "play" buttons below.
I first read about Mika in a post on Trey Givens' blog: Straight Privilege. The post wasn't even about his music, but instead about his sexuality. For some unknown reason, I googled him, then listened to the first track that came up: "Grace Kelly."
Unfortunately, the sound quality of this video is sub-par, but I love these kinds of unexpected-but-staged events:
Plus, although I'm not much of a fan of La Traviata, I love the Brindisi.
Oh, and here's the backstory.
Wow, I love the whole concept, and the choice of songs!
I absolutely love this serenade by Derek Bourgeois.
William Green pointed me to it on Twitter. I'd like to find a good recording of it. Any recommendations?
Here's another great spoof on Lady Gaga's Poker Face. It's an a cappella dance routine -- seriously -- by Berkley's Noteworthy.
Brian Wang -- the primary singer -- is just too perfect!
(Via Trey Givens.)
I generally don't listen to music when I work. Unless I'm feeling antsy, I prefer silence. If I am feeling antsy, I like something mellow like Sarah McLaughlin, Natalie Merchant, or Coldplay. The same applies in the car. Unless I have something that I need to think about, I'll listen to audio books or podcasts.
That has changed lately, largely due to my thyroid problem. I've needed to keep myself amped up, so that I don't sink into full-blown lethargy. For that, I've found Lady Gaga invaluable. Undoubtedly, her album "The Fame" shows a fair bit of talent. However, Lady Gaga herself is pretty much completely nuts and often in need of pants.
So I was highly amused by South Park's recent use of "Poker Face":
However, even better is Christopher Walken performing the song as a poetry reading. Truly, it just takes the cake:
For the record, Lady Gaga's video for "Poker Face" is boring and stupid.
Update: Here's another great parody: Neutra Face : An Ode On A Typeface (A Bearded Poker Face Parody).
Funny yet musically instructive:
If you liked that one, try:
Via Amy Mossoff
(Yes, that's me with the sax, and several of me in the audience, too. :^)
It's time for our huge annual Onomatopoeia concert in the Egyptian Theatre, and as usual, this year's show will be more spectacular than ever! We'll be featuring brand new works and favorites from our three critically acclaimed CDs, and we'll have a string orchestra filling out our wall-o-sound. PLUS there will be the additional entertainment of the occasional Camera Guy in Black scurrying by to get the perfect shot for broadcast TV!
The band is heavy in preparation and the new music is a serious kick in the pants, so if you're somewhere near the Boise area at the end of the month you won't want to miss this one!
WHAT: Kevin Kirk & Onomatopoeia "Live in 3-D" (with Strings attached)
WHEN: January 30, 7:30pm
WHERE: Historic Egyptian Theatre, downtown Boise
TICKETS: Reserved seating only, $25, purchased online at this link
INFO: Please phone 208-345-9116 for more information, or visit www.kevinkirk.net
Hope to see you there!
I'm Diana Hsieh, a philosopher specializing in practical ethics. I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009.
Paul Hsieh is a physician specializing in orthopedic and emergency radiology. He blogs about science, technology, and random humorous items at GeekPress. He's a co-founder of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM) and regularly writes for its blog, We Stand FIRM. He has published a slew of op-eds and essays on health care policy. You can e-mail Paul at paul@paulhsieh.com, and follow him on Twitter @PaulHsieh.
Greg Perkins is a software architect working in the R&D labs at Hewlett-Packard, Boise. His degree is in mathematics and computer science. Greg hosts The Objectivism Seminar. Aside from work and philosophy, he plays jazz saxophone professionally with groups such as The Sidemen and Onomatopoeia. You can e-mail Greg at greg@eCosmos.com, and follow him on Twitter @gregperk.
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