-
Recent Posts
- Johnny Lippiett – Jazz Musician of the 90s
- Miley Cyrus Moving Going into a Movie Career? Think Again.
- Melinda Doolittle – Will she be the next American Idol?
- Tina Turner – From 60s to 2010
- Top Ten Wealthiest UK Musicians
- In Memory of the Beatles
- Kings of Leon – One of the last in Rock and Roll
- Little Jimmy Dickens – Big Things come in little packages
- Corrosion of Conformity – From Hardcore Punk Band to Super Band
- Understanding the concept of reality
Categories
Blogroll
Tags
age album America American area art Artist Artwork audience Body business career city College comedy course culture day Don entertainment exhibition existence Function girl God home influence Japan kind life London Music organization person Photography rock singer single sort time today type use way workArchives
Author Archives: admin
Johnny Lippiett – Jazz Musician of the 90s
In the early 1990s I heard a young British tenor sax player called Johnny Lippiett play in a small restaurant in Salcombe, Devon. The food and wine as excellent, and the playing of young Mr Lippiett was completely out of this world.
And very young he seemed to be at the time too – he looked about sixteen – and was, I now realise, probably either waiting to, or already studying music at the Dartington College of Arts at Plymouth University, which is effectively the only remaining link with the famous, and educationally progressive, Dartington Hall School (created by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst in 1926), which finally closed its doors in 1987.
Afterwards I wrote a short, and glowing, review of his playing (the food and wine got a mention too), a copy of which I sent to Johnny. I received back a charming letter saying no one had ever written about him like that before, and that he had some, I think, family connection with Stratford-upon-Avon.
Over the years I listened out for him and his playing, but heard nothing more – he just seemed to vanish off the radar, at least off my radar.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged Arts, Canada, charming letter, College, Dartington, dartington college of arts, Devon, Dorothy, jazz, jazz couriers, John Coltrane, Johnny, Johnny Lippiett, Leonard, living and working in new zealand, Lockett, London, Mr Lippiett, Music, New York, New Zealand, North American, player, Plymouth, plymouth university, radar, salcombe devon, Steve Newman, Stratford, stratford upon avon, tenor, tenor sax player, US
Leave a comment
Miley Cyrus Moving Going into a Movie Career? Think Again.
Miley Cyrus (otherwise known as Hannah Montana ) from the Disney show which launched her to fame, is a talented young woman indeed. Born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992 in Nashville Tennessee, Miley is an American singer, songwriter actress. Daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and Leticia Cyrus, Miley whose nickname “Smiley” was soon shortened to Miley, is now contemplating moving on from her Hannah Montana character and hoping to launch a career in acting alone.
Most young girls have a poster of Hannah Montana gracing their bedroom walls. The Hannah Montana Disney show which is her claim to fame, is known throughout most countries. But it appears that Miley wishes to spread her wings. She wishes to show the world that she has other talents other than simply playing the role of Hannah Montana for ever and a day. Miley Cyrus is now staring in a movie very different to her role as Hannah Montana. She does no singing within this movie and that is a shame indeed. While it is natural for a young woman to wish to spread her wings and prove herself in other areas, the world would be very saddened if they never heard Miley Cyrus sing again.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged ability, actress daughter, adult, Billy Ray Cyrus, child, Cyrus, day, Destiny Hope, destiny hope cyrus, Hannah Montana, hannah montana disney, Leticia Cyrus, Miley, miley cyrus, Nashville, nashville tennessee, role, star, Tennessee, voice, voice of an angel, world
Leave a comment
Tina Turner – From 60s to 2010
As I watched Tina Turner’s recent appearance on Oprah, I was awed by a few things. She is still one of the most beautiful women in the world, at nearly 70 years old, and I was struck by how elegant and strong she is. She’s a different woman from the girl who first gained prominence in the 1960s. Turner proved that a woman can overcome a number of obstacles with grace and fortitude and maintain a great pair of legs.
I remember the first time I’d heard of Tina Turner. It was 1984, I was about 10 or 11, and I was watching the “What’s Love Got to Do With It” music video with my family. She had this wild hairstyle and was wearing a short skirt that revealed legs that I haven’t been able to attain after years in the gym. During the video, my parents informed me that she wasn’t a new singer; they told me that she’d been around since the 1960s. Of course, my dad commented on how good she looked. Then, my parents talked about the physical abuse she received from her ex-husband, Ike Turner. Years later, while watching a documentary, I saw an old picture of her with a black eye, probably as a result of a beating.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged abuse, Anna Mae, Anna Mae Bullock, different woman, girl, Ike, Ike Turner, life, Mexico, mother, Music, nutbush tennessee, old picture, pair, powerful voice, short skirt, singer, St. Louis, Tina, Tina Revue, Tina Turner, vh1, video, woman
Leave a comment
In Memory of the Beatles
These things are always subjective, but people are wrong to say modern rock and pop music can’t cut it. There’s still good music being made, but still no group comes close to matching The Beatles.
Firstly, The Beatles made music which will surely last as long as the popular song itself. Secondly, like Elvis Presley, The Beatles made a cultural impact which transcended their music. Finally, they were great entertainers – and their comic turns in the movies ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help!’ shouldn’t be underestimated.
Even in a golden decade of creativity like the 1960s, which was often described as a second renaissance, The Beatles are remembered by most as the main creative force of that decade. Everything seemed to revolve around them, and bounce off them.
Individually, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were – apart from their music and a penchant for humour – four quite different individuals. John was complicated – acerbic, harsh on himself and often on others, but, overall, he had a great humanitarian streak, and with Paul formed arguably the greatest songwriting partnership in popular music history.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged Abbey Road, album, animals and nature, Beatles, creative force, day, decade, Eleanor Rigby, Elvis Presley, George, George Harrison, George Martin, golden decade, group, Help, John, John Lennon, Long, Lucy, Music, Paul, Paul McCartney, Penny Lane, pop, popular music history, quiet voice, Ringo, Ringo Starr, rock, Sgt. Pepper, Sky With, solo artist, songwriting partnership, The Hill, Winding Road, Wood
Leave a comment
Kings of Leon – One of the last in Rock and Roll
When Kings of Leon emerged in 2003 they were one of the last bands on the American rock n’ roll wave that had started with The Strokes and The White Stripes. Whereas bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were not scaling the dizzy heights many had predicted, it was tempting to think Kings of Leon might be around for a while. Mainly for two reasons. One they are made up of three brothers and a cousin and are a tight unit. Two, they have a unique sound, thanks to lead singer Caleb Followill’s dusty, whisky soaked voice.
Their debut Youth and Young Manhood was a bold and brassy start. Certainly one of the finest albums of the year, it was full of Southern fried punk / blues and produced two catchy singles in California Waiting and Molly’s Chambers which should have done so much better in the charts.
Next came Aha Shake Heartbreak. It had its moments like The Bucket and Day Old Blues, but felt much like it was the left overs from their debut. However, songs like the haunting Milk did signpost the material found on their new album Because of the Times.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged album, american rock n roll, Arizona, Black, black rebel motorcycle, black rebel motorcycle club, BRMC, Caleb, Caleb Followill, California, california waiting, Clarence Clearwater, clearwater revival, head banger, Jesus, Leon, Love Way, Molly, rock, sound, Stripes, tight unit, track, UK, unit, US, White, youth and young manhood
Leave a comment
Little Jimmy Dickens – Big Things come in little packages
Big things come in small packages, how about little?
Born James Cecil Dickens, the old school singing sensation and renowned country-novelty singer Little Jimmy Dickens is perhaps one of the smaller yet brighter stars of Hollywood. At 4-feet-11, Dickens is small but despite his miniature frame he achieved huge success.
Dickens was a regular performer for the Grand Ole Opry for decades and has been considered as the face of novelty music. He performed and traveled around the world specifically to Vietnam soldiers in the 70s.
Dickens was born and raised in Bolt, West Virginia in a family of 13 children. Dickens began his music career in the 1930s while still studying at West Virginia University. He first performed at a local radio station. Shortly, he quit college to pursue his dream of becoming a country singer.
During the decade, Dickens traveled around the country performing in small clubs and local radio stations using the screen name “Jimmy the Kid.”
In 1948 came Dickens’ biggest break, he was performing on a radio station in Michigan when the late Roy Acuff, the prominent country music singer and promoter, heard and invited him to sing on the Grand Ole Opry – a weekly country music program that features the best country music singers of America.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged America, bolt west virginia, country, country music program, country music singer, country music singers, Dickens, Grand, grand ole opry, hillbilly fever, Hollywood, James Cecil Dickens, Jimmy, Jimmy Dickens, Little, little jimmy dickens, Michigan, Music, Ole, Opry, radio, Roy Acuff, singer, success, Vietnam, West Virginia, west virginia university
Leave a comment
Corrosion of Conformity – From Hardcore Punk Band to Super Band
While Corrosion of Conformity (or “COC”) was formed in 1982, the band never really found its sound or correct lineup until nearly a decade later.
Originally founded as somewhat of a hardcore-punk band, COC released three albums in the 1980s and received a fair amount of critical acclaim for its ability to fuse together multiple sounds. Shortly after the release of 1987′s “Technocracy,” however, original bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dean and lead vocalist Simon Bob Sinister left the band, leaving the future of COC uncertain.
After a two-year hiatus, COC gave the band another shot with a trio of new members, including Pepper Keenan. When Keenan joined the band, he assumed the role of rhythm guitarist behind Woody Weatherman and backing vocals behind the newly recruited Karl Agell. Nevertheless, his influence on COC’s next record, “Blind,” already began to take the band in a different direction.
True to his southern roots, Keenan exerted a heavy dose of southern metal into “Blind,” particularly on the song Vote With a Bullet where he sang lead vocals. The song was COC’s biggest hit up to that point and influenced the band to hand the lead vocals role over to Keenan after Agell and bassist Phil Swisher left to form Leadfoot.
Posted in Artist, Music
Tagged acclaim, America, band, bassist, COC, corrosion of conformity, Dean, drowning in a daydream, drummer stanton moore, future, God, hardcore punk band, Karl Agell, Keenan, lineup, Mike Dean, Moore, Pepper Keenan, Phil Anselmo, Phil Swisher, radio, Reed Mullin, release, rhythm guitarist, rock, Simon Bob Sinister, vocalist, vote with a bullet, Woody Weatherman
Leave a comment
Understanding the concept of reality
Reality exists independent of the mind. The mystic is often heard to say “reality is an illusion”. But if it were true that reality was merely a figment within imagination, then by definition we would not be able to concretize that ‘reality’ through the laws of nature.
The fact that the conscious mind sometimes poorly grasps aspects of reality, says more about human consciousness than it does about reality. Indeed, those trained in the sciences are often better at framing existence and identifying aspects of reality, than are those untrained in such endeavors.
Just because certain aspects of reality are hard to grasp is not an excuse to say: “Therefore reality is an illusion”. …Rather, we should readily understand that reality is full of complexities. Indeed, the physicist Richard feynman once said: “I think it is safe to say that no one understands Quantum Mechanics.”.
Professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford University gives a good evolutionary definition of why our brains might be so poorly adapted to grasp the universe, at the level of the very small. We evolved in nature in what he calls “middle World” – and thus, the very small and indeed the very big, did not impinge on our senses. Thus, we have not evolved brains which are particularly good at grasping aspects of reality outside the realm of middle-world sense perception (not to be confused with Tolkien’s Middle-Earth in Lord of the Rings).
Posted in Live
Tagged definition, everything, existence, God, human consciousness, illusion, mind, nature, oxford university, physicist richard feynman, Professor Richard Dawkins, quantum mechanics, Reality, Richard, richard dawkins, sense perception, supernatural, supernatural realm, unreal, world sense
Leave a comment
Melinda Doolittle – Will she be the next American Idol?
An American Idol must have the four main criteria, the voice, style, presence and commands the attention of the audience. Melinda Doolittle check listed all of these requirements and been on almost every single American Idol viewer top five since her first time auditioning. Doolittle’s voice not only won the heart of the judges but has gain an overwhelming loyal fan base, including myself who is part of it. As a huge R&B listener, Doolittle has that natural powerful voice that can be compared to legendary singers such as Gladys Knight and Whitney Houston but what most important is the emotion she bring to her songs that gives her extra points as being a phenomenal singer.
Doolittle comes across as a very humble girl appreciative to the judges comments and yet to show A.I viewers that she is too big for her bridges, despite her being a fan favorite and that to me scores big points when I am choosing which contestant should go further in the competition. Also she somewhat has a edge on the other contestants (the exception of booted Idol Brandon Rogers) as a professional background singer which clearly shows Melinda knows how to use her voice, when to hit a certain note and more importantly, what particular song to sing that will accentuate her voice. Thanks to her already formal training, she knows what it takes to be a real singer and performer and being on a show such as American Idol will be almost a walk in the park for Doolittle.