I think I’m going to Katmandu,
That’s really, really where I’m going to.
If i ever get out of here,
That’s what I’m gonna do.
K-k-k-k-k-Katmandu …Bob Seeger – lyrics
People often ask me, “What’s your favourite travel destination?”
Usually I reply, Nepal. As a hiker Nepal is nirvana. And their blend of Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism and Tourism makes a rich Chai.
Downside?
Perhaps 60hrs in transit. IF I’m lucky.
Guitarist Joe Satriani claimed the band copied his instrumental If I Could Fly for their own track Viva La Vida, but an out-of-court-settlement now seems to have been reached …
Brian had me listen to the two tracks.
YIKES.
Coldplay had to have stolen the song.
… judge Dean D Pregerson dismissed the case and ruled that each party would “bear [their] own cost” for the litigation. The stipulation, er, “upon stipulation” suggests that the parties came to an out-of-court settlement – most likely that Coldplay paid Satriani off.
Although there is no evidence that Chris Martin and Coldplay directly copied Satriani’s song, court precedents make copyright infringement cases very sticky. George Harrison was famously found to have “subconsciously plagiarised” the Chiffons’ He’s So Fine for his track, My Sweet Lord.
Neither Coldplay nor Satriani have commented on the end of the proceedings. …
Andrew from Creative Guitar Studio posted a little video that has been seen almost 900,000 times.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (9min)
This is awesome.
It’s the flash mob that took over Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Watch 21,000 of Oprah’s biggest fans perform one of the biggest dances in the world to the BlackEyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.” …
Click PLAY or watch it on Dailymotion. (dance starts at 2min 10sec)
One of the world’s biggest continuously successful bands, BlackEyed Peas are easy to criticize:
… Rolling Stone notes that since 2003, when the group “hired a blond bombshell named Stacy ‘Fergie’ Ferguson and gave up their pursuit of backpack-rapper cred, they have made a kind of spiritual practice of recording dumb songs — a total aesthetic commitment that extends from their garish wardrobes to their United Colors of Benetton worldview.” …
Founder will.i.am started as a hard core rapper with the legendary Eazy-E. … He’s got no rap cred, now. Yet has evolved into some sort of hiphop Bono, very active in social issues.
Yes their songs are cheesy. Yes their songs are commercial. … Yes their songs are really, really catchy.
Yes I love BlackEyed Peas.
(via Gymnastics Coaching)
Love this.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Leslie Feist (born 13 February 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She performs as a solo artist under the name Feist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene. At the 2008 Juno Awards in Calgary, she was the top winner with five awards, including Songwriter of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year. …
The choreography, by dancer Noemi Lafrance, owes something to the brilliant Here It Goes Again video by OK Go. That was choreographed by Trish Sie.
… Because her father is American, Feist has dual Canadian-American citizenship, though she joked in a televised interview on The Colbert Report that she was given American citizenship as part of a deal with Apple …
Fantastic!
Of the 40,000 people who spent up to 7hrs in an open arena on a Wednesday night in Glasgow, I doubt you could find one who would disagree. They are better live than recorded.
The amazing thing is that Coldplay could become ever become a huge stadium draw. Their music is … mellow. Boring, I called it, when the band first became popular.
Lead singer Chris Martin admitted, “we really don’t have very many good songs. If we had written Wonderwall, we’d play it right now for you.” He’s very understated and self effacing in that charming British way.
U2, by comparison, has 30 songs, bigger and better known than any of the Coldplay “hits”. More appropriate stadium anthems.
Improbably, Coldplay delivers. Best I thought was Yellow.
Click PLAY or watch Yellow live in Tokyo on YouTube.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called “Yellow”.
The original TV edit for Yellow Coldplay calls their “cheapest & best video”. The band is not known for great music videos, however.
This is the Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends tour, backing up their 2008 album produced by Brian Eno. I’m looking forward to the concert video that was shot June 20-21, 2009 in Vancouver.
Though Chris Martin is front man and clearly the “star”, the band shares profits equally, as do U2 and R.E.M. They’ve also agreed that anyone using hard drugs will be fired.
Coldplay turned down multi-million dollar contracts from Gatorade, Diet Coke, and Gap because those specific deals might denigrate the specific songs requested.
===
Mr. Beyoncé, Jay-Z, was one of the back-up bands. He’s not as well known nor as popular in the U.K. as in the States.
Jay-Z is smart, talented and a survivor in a tough musical genre.
He’s trying to push rap into the future. With a big, talented band, and complexity of song construction something like Jazz. A tight act. But my theory is that rap really has nowhere to go. It was perfected early on by bands like NWA, and we’ve only seen a few interesting variations since.
This positive review is surprising coming from me. I dislike live entertainment. And HATE standing up for hours at a rock concert.
Happily I was able to sit for Coldplay. By luck I had the perfect seat. I sat too for all of the last stadium concert I saw, R.E.M some dozen years ago.
Viva la Vida Tour … or Death and All His Friends.
Click PLAY or watch them on YouTube.
I hear they’re great live.
Venue is Hampden Park in Glasgow, a BIG music town.
Jay-Z is the backup.
… Normally I avoid these big venue concerts. But I was so charmed by the Chris Martin interview on 60 Minutes that I couldn’t resist.
Besides, what else is there to do in Glasgow other than see great bands.
The hottest music in Edinburgh is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
They call it Bagrock.
Click PLAY or watch them on YouTube.
Bagpipes and electric guitar are quite similar, I think. Both very versatile.
official website – about
Much as they are critically slammed, I have to admit … I like Nickelback.
I like them as I like Bryan Adams.
The formula just … works.
Here’s their most recent release. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in Hanna, Alberta by Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and then-drummer Brandon Kroeger. Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold 30 million records worldwide. Nickelback ranks as the 11th best selling music act of the 2000s, also placing as the 2nd best selling foreign act in the US behind The Beatles for the 2000s.
The band is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its name originates from the nickel in change that band member Mike Kroeger gave customers at his Starbucks job, he would frequently say, “Here’s your nickel back”.
Their best song is Photograph, much mocked. Here’s a great spoof by Bloomington Bros.
Do you hate Nickelback? Leave a comment.
Traveling in Austria, it’s impossible to avoid Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, the 1965 musical. I saw it the other day at a hostel.
The film won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Wise) and Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Julie Andrews).
Well deserved.
Click PLAY or watch the original trailer on YouTube.
Christopher Plummer as Captain Baron von Trapp is commanding. A great and believable performance. I’d forgotten how good he was.
The plot, acting and even the music hold up really well. Even in 2009.
Fact is it’s the third on the list of all-time inflation-adjusted box office hits, behind Gone with the Wind and Star Wars.
The movie is virtually unknown in Germany and Austria. Those Austrians that have seen it, think it’s bunk. Brits playing Austrians? What’s next? Sacha Baron Cohen playing an Austrian?
Seas rise when I give the word …
The mountains on a sunny day are a paradise. I’m enjoying the moment.
This is perhaps the most content I’ve been in a long, long time.
I know. One day I’ll sweep the streets I used to own.
… my castles stand
upon pillars of salt
and pillars of sand …
But for now. Let’s live in the moment.
I heard the most charming interview with Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay. It’s posted on a 60 Minutes audiocast (click to listen).
I certainly appreciate Chris Martin and the band a lot more now.
Click PLAY to watch the video for Viva La Vida on YouTube. It was the Grammy Song of the Year for 2009.
Rick McCharles 