Category: music

dreaming of Iceland …

On By Rick McIn hiking, music, travelLeave a comment

I posted this on my hiking blog yesterday. One of the most charming music videos I’ve ever seen.

I tried and failed to find a very inexpensive flight from Eastern Canada to Iceland. Unfortunately it’s very high season there.

This evocative music video inspired me.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Exotic. Ethereal. Stark. … And very weird.

If you’re looking for inspiration to visit watch Glósóli by Icelandic band Sigur Rós. They are the second most famous band out of Iceland.

That’s Iceland.

The music reminds many of Arcade Fire from Canada.

But this is sigur rós, a rock band from Iceland.

… glósóli, shot in iceland in august 2005. the video is directed by icelanders arni & kinski and features a cast of icelandic children. …

read an interview with the video’s cinematographer Chris Soos – takk… glósóli video

The Offspring rock Halifax

On By Rick McIn music, product endorsements1 Comment

Before Green Day, there was The Offspring. Warren Long introduced me to Offspring. I’ve like them ever since.

Both those bands I would call pop punk. Popular punk.

My arrival in Halifax Saturday by coincidence coincided with a big Virgin Mobile outdoor festival. Because headliners The Tragically Hip cancelled last minute due to a family emergency of one of the band members, promoters decided to make the event free.

Every song Offspring played was great. But my favourite was The Kids Aren’t Alright. Here’s the original music video.

Wednesday night I have a ticket for the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. I’ll be hiking Cape Chignecto Trail starting Sunday.

no new Freddy Mercury here

On By Rick McIn music, TVLeave a comment

My brother is a big fan of American Idol. And a practiced vocalist himself.

He calls this season of the hit TV show the best ever. And says that the finalists were certainly the best ever.

American-Idol

Kris Allen won out over Adam Lambert in a somewhat surprising finish.

Is Adam Lambert a “world wide star”?

He might be.

Though their duet with members of Queen was praised by MTV, to my untrained ear it was obvious we have NOT discovered a new Freddy Mercury.

I don’t watch Idol. I don’t watch Dancing with the Stars … except this year as Shawn Johnson was entered. Her win was good publicity for gymnastics.

The only reality TV show of this genre I like is So You Think You Can Dance.

Norway wins Eurovision Song Contest

On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

100 million Europeans watched the TV broadcasts of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

It’s big.

The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world.

Though there are many critics, the winner this year was clear.

Youthful Alexander Rybak from Norway.

Click PLAY or watch his performance on YouTube.

(via Gadling)

Chris Cornell & Timbaland – Scream

On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

It’s been some months since I’ve had any interest at all in any music at all.

This collaboration is interesting and sophisticated.

Chris Cornell is one of those rare ‘90s rock gods who’s still inspired enough by music to take big chances. The rocker from legendary grunge bands Soundgarden and Audioslave recently released Scream, a collaboration with the superstar hiphop and R&B producer Timbaland (known for his work with Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah, Missy, and Jay-Z). Timbaland makes slick, futuristic tracks that don’t seem to have a clear fit into the musical world of Cornell, a man from Seattle who grew up intensely listening to the Beatles. But the two spent months in Miami collaborating on Scream which, Cornell says by phone from Detroit, “Is an ambitious album which is one hour of non-stop music, almost from a movie soundtrack.”

The Daily Beast

Click PLAY or watch it on DailyMotion.

… Scream is the third solo studio album by American musician Chris Cornell. Released on March 10, 2009, it marked a shift from Cornell’s previous musical efforts with the massive exclusion of guitars and rock elements that were replaced with producer Timbaland’s electronic pop soundscapes. The album was promoted with the release of five digital singles and three music videos, and was generally met with mixed to negative reviews. …

… Billboard noted that “Sometimes it’s good bizarre. Other times it’s bad bizarre.” …

Wikipedia

Susan Boyle had a dream

On By Rick McIn music, TV1 Comment

In case you have not yet seen this viral video of a Scottish spinster who became a worldwide overnight sensation.

47 Year old Susan Boyle wows the judges with her performance in the auditions for Britains Got Talent, singing I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables.

Click PLAY or watch her on YouTube.

best rap parody ever – I’m On A Boat

On By Rick McIn humour, musicLeave a comment

If you hate rap, you MUST see this video. It lampoons everything hip hop.

If you love rap, you MUST see this video.

Hip hop has been mostly self-parody for years.

I’m On A Boat (ft. T-Pain)

on-a-boat

The new single from The Lonely Island’s debut album “INCREDIBAD” In stores now!

The Lonely Island is comedy group Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone of Saturday Night Live fame.

Warning. Extreme profanity.

iTunes – The Lonely Island

watch the video on YouTube (nearly 8 million views)

homemade music – Song for Antje

On By Rick McIn music2 Comments

I almost never listen to commercial music any longer. Except as background noise.

The future of music — like the future of all other digital content — is to make it yourself. And share it with friends.

This is the first “published” music by a friend of mine, Steve McCain. He was inspired to write and record this song by a friend going through breast cancer.

Stephen Colbert remix

On By Rick McIn humour, internet, music, TVLeave a comment

The Colbert Report is the best comedy show on television. And my favourite TV show of all time.

Colbert is a “well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot”, a caricature of televised political pundits like right-wing idiot Bill O’Reilly.

Colbert debated Lawrence Lessig, “a founding board member of Creative Commons, a board member of the Software Freedom Law Center and a former board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications.”

Needless to say, Colbert pretended to be outraged against anything “free” on the net, especially illegal downloading.

Here’s one clip from Colbert’s ongoing coverage of the internet.

Stephen Colbert makes a remix featuring himself on some “jaw dropping, ear popping fresh” beats so others won’t 🙂