Music for the Moment

The best quality music brings to my life is the ability, over most other art-forms, to tap me into primal urges, simple but profound needs, desires and truths. It affects me from the inside out, makes my heart beat faster, harder, louder. It activates and stimulates both sides of my brain at once, provoking thought and feeling. At once we connect with others who are sharing the same frequency and sensation when reacting to this music; but also there’s an independent, unique memory now attached to your story, forever marking this era in your life. Whenever you hear that song or album, you’ll immediately be thrust back to those sense perceptions and emotions accompanying this tune. For me, this experience is still somewhat rare, perhaps because I have a dog like loyalty to musicians or bands and I’ll obsessively listen to them for months, even years, in a small group of others until someone snaps me out of my trance. And there's simply not enough time in the day to experience enough art. Regardless of how or why, I enjoy these extraordinary experiences with music, and songs in particular. I’m fortunate in receiving this gift from people I know, people I call friends and soul mates, the members of the exquisitely special and talented band whysowhite. I plan to share many insights and thoughts on my journey with whysowhite in the future, but for now I just look forward to their impending reunion, leading to a great gift for humanity. There’s enough to placate me until then, please give them a listen and spread the Love. Please check out this video on my hub’s vimeo page, where he showcases his hard work while shining a light on others. There are a few gems in there, and two joyful, infectious whysowhite videos, providing merely a speck, a glimmer into the infinitely talented 7 man band we can’t get enough of, and those we’re patiently waiting until we get even just a little more. While you’re at it, hop over to our friend and enigmatic member of whysowhite’s music blog, Moonspeak. The man lives, breathes, communicates music. His knowledge is cavernous, taste impeccable, and instincts are more sound than anyone I’ve ever known. His equally beautiful and talented brother (another profound member of wsw) lends his skills and personality to this very well thought-out selection of artists, albums and songs. Imagine Van Gogh having an art blog. You’d be a fool not to read, listen, watch, absorb and retain. I’m forever changed by their presence in my life and now I’m aiming to spread the joy and love they’ve so generously given me. Enjoy this feast for your eyes, ears, minds and hearts, and then spread the soulful love.

Currently there are a few songs playing on shuffle, both in my iPod and in the space between my ears, where my beautifully operatic voice sings to me while I tread lightly on the slippery, cold streets of Chicago. It’s pretty incredible how great I sound inside my head, or how great my mind plays back songs I’ve listened to on repeat. I do my best to open myself to any genre of music. I’ve found modern country to be a bit nauseating but I’m willing to admit my reluctance in listening to a lot of it, so there’s bound to be some great artists out there I just haven’t made time for, choosing instead to listen to every single Black Keys song over and over, keeping my ears occupied between podcasts and until their next album releases. Let me quickly recommend El Camino if you haven’t given it a go yet. It carries this great quality of feeling nostalgic, providing everything I’ve loved while somehow bringing something new to the table. It’s quick drum beats, unique guitar riffs and some seriously special use of the keyboards. I’ve been in love with the shy two-man band for 5 years now and could not be happier for their success. I will not hide my enthusiasm simply because they’ve become popular and there’s sure to be backlash. I’m sticking by them and strongly urge everyone to explore their earlier work. One of my favorite comedic artists lent his talents to spread the Black Keys greatness.

Their albums tell their own specific story by exploring with various melodies and tones, instrumental and lyrical themes, while weaving them all together with a single thread that is signature of the Black Keys. They evolve their sound while staying true to their essence. Give it all a go. If I were to encourage you to listen to a few, perhaps one from each album, I’d of course say listen to them all (I change my favorites depending on the day, the mood, what sounds and words I’m resonating with), find your own story within the album’s; but for right now, give Nobody But You, Heavy Soul, Have Love Will Travel, Everywhere I Go, When The Lights Go Out, You’re The One, Same Old Thing, The Only One and Sister a go. I just want to express how difficult that was. As I leafed through their amazing catalogue, I found it nearly impossible to choose just one song from each album. Each song is on it’s own planet, with Dan Auerbach’s lead vocals showcasing more than just a great rock range, he chooses a key for a reason and that reason is to better tell the story. The wise progression and combination of instruments makes their music a perfect package. You may want to check out Dearest, the excellent Buddy Holly cover, and Dan’s solo album, Keep it Hid is a densely rich album with a slew of favorites as well. Check out Heartbroken, In Disrepair. And last thing, one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard is from their album Rubber Factory. It's called The Lengths. It was the first song I ever wrote about. I’ve heard it hundreds of times and never tire, my heart wants more. I hope you love any of these half as much as I do, because I know you’ll feel the transformative effects great music can provide. Being a human being is awesome!

I don’t know how it happened but somehow I managed to gather a significant number of very talented friends, who also have talented friends, so like a bunch of hippies we just gather and have artistic conversations and I get to be wowed on a consistent basis by the limitless potential of the people around me. At times, I feel insecure and unworthy, like I should be relegated to another room where I just listen but don’t actually participate with those who are clearly on a different plane. It’s because most of them are artists and that’s a difficult word for me to attach to myself, regardless if I feel creative, I cannot give myself that descriptor, but I’m opening to it. They never make me feel like I don’t belong, which is a credit to their hearts and their inherent generosity, so I figure the least I can do is express my awe, my admiration, respect, enthusiasm and Love the best way I can, through a rambling selection of words. My roommates, who happen to be my brother and my husband, both are aspiring cinematographers, geeking out over lighting and shots in ways I cannot even comprehend, but I love watching their passion and seeing them work together. The videos provided above include a collaboration of their skills and artistry with our ingenious friends. They recently were members of a small crew helping to make a music video with another up-and-coming group of musicians, Secret Colours, on their gut punching rock song Faust.

It begins with a low, quick bass riff, and quiet lyrics, almost whispering, lurking, preying, like a tiger slowly approaching it’s dinner. Then, in a flash of musical brilliance, the base goes to 11, instruments in fast forward, pulling you deep into the moment, into the reality of the song. It moves like moments in life, fragments of stillness, waiting, approaching, and then bam, you’re in it, no escape, just ride it out. According to legend, Faust is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil, in exchange for knowledge and power. A befitting metaphor for any era in humanity, Secret Colours builds their rock anthem beautifully, with gripping lyrics, music that drives the story and punches it up in the right moments. This song has been on a short list of songs providing the soundtrack to my life at the moment. I certainly recognize moments where I have and occasionally still feel faustian, but mainly I’m just drawn to this sound. I liked the song immediately, from one second in, with the first bar I said yes, I want to hear more. When I learned my bro and hub were working on their video, my excitement shot through the roof and I knew I had to do my best to share this beautifully combined gift. The crew busted their balls, shooting into the early, freezing Chicago morning, and outside in the cold dark of night (sounds like a corny line from a screenplay, apologies), then going back to earning a modest income to support their passion until they hopefully reap some fruits of their labor. It certainly is a labor of love, and they all deserve and have earned this success. I hope it continues to grow for all of them. Enjoy the video, if you like it, share it! And feel free to pass along recommendations to me, that’s how most brilliant works of art have come my way. I’m grateful, keep it coming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Op-i0MRSI

The last song I’m choosing to share as the year approaches it’s dissolution is another tune I liked immediately, within seconds, and after just one listen it stuck, permanently weaved into the fabric of my being and onto the script in my brain. This song affects me in the most profound way. It conjures and inspires primal instincts, making me hungry, thirsty, lustful, provoking a different breath, internal swelling and movement, and one of few that reminds me how I prefer to love and be loved, with reckless abandon, raw, cut open, prepared to bleed out forever. That may sound a bit twisted, but if you ignore propriety and how society relentlessly tells us to behave, and instead turn the focus inward, respond instinctually, combining our very advanced left and right hemispheres to operate with thoughtful passion, organized enthusiasm and pure, unadulterated Love, everything will feel much more sensual, natural and heightened. Often the world diminishes the importance of satisfying these intense urges, telling us our bodies are dirty, our minds are sick, and reason always supersedes impulse. When it comes to potentially hurting others, these rules are important and should be heeded, but when we’re deeply entrenched in moments where following the instincts and/or the heart will benefit your soul, aid in your evolution, and we instead choose fear, perceiving judgment or ridicule, we lose. This song makes me want to run naked into the roaring ocean, passionately kiss regardless of the surroundings and satisfy any other urge or impulse my soul sees fit. The song is Future Starts Slow, by the Kills.

It starts with very rhythmic, tribal drums, activating the pelvis, eliciting dance, firing up the loins. Then, the hook, a sharp guitar riff, memorable, carving out your heart, the strings plucking somewhere deep in your being. Then simple, beautiful, intelligent lyrics fuck with your mind, tug at your soul.

You can holler You can wail You can swing You can flail You can thump like a broken sail But I’ll never give you up If I ever give you up My heart will surely fail

I swear I felt those lyrics just in listening to the music, from the beginning. It makes me close my eyes and sway, motion from the inside out. The song builds, slows, and just is perfection, rounding back to what I feel is a bold statement in support of Love, real love, strong loving between two exquisitely primal beings.

You can holler You can wail You can blow what’s left of my right mind

You can swing You can flail You can blow what’s left of my right mind

Um, yes please. Destroy me with who you are, in every way imaginable, by giving me your genuine self, to the core, in this moment with me. I don’t need your flowers, your greeting cards, or your modern expression of romanticism in front of others. I need passion, laughter, hunger, encouragement and release, in however that manifests in our present. All I want is You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiLjuRG3hoE&ob=av2n

Sometimes music just makes me want to dance, smile, cry, and any myriad of actions and feelings on the emotional spectrum, from superficial to deep. Music, and most forms of art are expressions of truth, and if something resonates with you, then that’s clearly your truth in that moment. Thinking back to the art I loved as a child and re-living my artistic choices, both in experience and expression, it tells my unique story, giving me a time-line of emotion and thought for phases of my life. How those previous emotional attachments evolve is interesting to observe. Songs that used to make me sad, now make me cry from gratitude and the recognition of change within and without. Some just feel the damn same, clusters of happiness I repeatedly expose myself to and yearn to share with others. Whatever the reason, feel it, and if you feel it’s worth while, share it, whether you’re listening, viewing, tasting, smelling, feeling, reading or some combination of it all.

Absorb. Process. Express. Experience. Thank you.

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Artistry and intelligence in motion: Improv Olympic (iO)

My name is Danielle and I’m a comedy nerd. I just walked out of a small, packed room, with a tiny, unassuming stage, to emerge high off of something I’m unable to pinpoint. My facial muscles are spasming from overuse. My very full belly now half digested from the 90 minutes of gut-busting laughter. My mind now a crock-pot of characters, accents, phrases, and quirky ideas. I yearn to contribute, I’m ready to experience it all again, but that moment is gone. The beautiful quality of improv is the main ingredient of presence. The memory will live on, but that magic will never be re-created and will gradually lose all semblance of sense in our brains, fading away into obscurity, with the rest of the days. Like a junkie aiming to regulate, or elevate, we must keep going back for more, more moment to moment genius, more creativity in motion, more antidotes to stress. I’m attracted to the element of danger and even bravery inherent in every improv actor and on every comedy stage. How will this go? Will there be collective moments of awkward silences? Could I be stuck in a room with dozens of others, all thinking the same thing, “I hope this gets funny soon.” You can predict the potential negative outcomes, but the positive, that's uncharted territory. You’ll find yourself laughing in ways you never have, often while cringing or even crying. There are many “pat yourself on the back” moments when an actor or the group in general refers back to an earlier scene, many many minutes ago, and you’re in on the joke. You get it. You’re laughing, for the right reasons. It’s, in a word, awesome.

I have deep, profound appreciation for every genre comedy emerges from, and each interpretation inspired by it. Stand-up has been a long favorite, most likely because of it’s popularity and amount of exposure. Being a child of the 80’s, my foray into comedy came from a decade that idolized comedians, hoisted them up on a pedestal with the likes of hair bands. These artists were catapulted into super-stardom, being given their own sitcoms, massively successful stand-up specials, many even becoming legendary film stars. If images or soundbites are what link us to memories, then Eddie Murphy in a bright red leather suit, 2 seconds of the Seinfeld theme, and Johnny Carson inviting a deserving comedian up to his couch are triggers from my comedic upbringing.

Today, being a stand-up comic does not get you as much money, as many fans, or as many career options as it used to, but it still garners tremendous respect among those with the knowledge and appreciation. I’d imagine the smartest comedians prefer a cult following to massive success because that forces you to stay sharp and creative, the most important result being respect amongst your fellow comedians. As a writer, if I’m ever successful, I prefer my readers to be like-minded people whom I’d respect as well, rather than hoards of mediocre, semi-intelligent fans. But we take what we can get.

Louis C.K. is one who’s created an admirable amount of success by staying true to himself, continuing to pursue his craft, while still appealing to only the smartest, impossible to offend people. Back in the 80’s, being offered a TV show on cable, not a network, on a channel like FX, would most likely look like a step down, a concession. Today, some of the best writing and acting is happening on television, on channels like FX, Comedy Central, AMC, HBO, Showtime and Adult Swim. I enjoy shows like Community, Modern Family, and 30 Rock, but I’d still choose Louie, Wilfred, Workaholics or Jon Benjamin has a Van any day. I wish more people felt the same. But the cult following does make it feel special, a unique piece of art you and other smart (nerdy) people enjoy. What makes you laugh says a lot about who you are and I take that very seriously.

Cycling back to improv and focusing on the rare occurrence of sketch comedy on the small screen, I’m majorly inspired by this form of comedy and feel it deserves slightly more respect from the masses than it receives. Genius shows like Mr. Show, the 90’s classics like the State and Kids in the Hall would struggle to survive today, leading to limited options for middle America. SNL continues to evolve, and their brilliant writers and actors are still emerging from the Chicago improv scene, but my hope is for more appreciation for Upright Citizens Brigade, Jon Benjamin has a Van, Little Britain, and other clever, irreverent, and purely innovative art making a name for itself today. And with that in mind I’d like to encourage not only my fellow Chicagoans, lucky to live in the best comedy city in the world, but all of you around this country of ours desperately in need of some levity. Times are a bit depressing at the moment. It is not the time to cut funding for the arts. It is time to get your big butt off your couch and into a comedy club, supporting those aiming to elevate our moods and provoke thought.

Improv Olympic (iO) is home to some of the biggest comedy stars you know today, from SNL, MADtv, and a slew of great films and TV shows. It happens to be maybe 100 steps from my apartment, so I’m fortunate, but even if it was 30 minutes away, I’d make the trek and support groups like Cook County Social Club and the Reckoning, some of the smartest, most talented improv artists this country has to offer. These people amuse and entertain you, on the spot, off the cuff, for pennies, because they love it, because they have to do it. I’m there and I yearn to take classes, to get up there, and perhaps I’ll finally get the courage one day. For now, I’ll support and pay my respect to the courageous, who give me the greatest gift one can bestow, the gift of laughter. And here, there is no script, no preparation, just rapidly spinning minds, firing funny on all cylinders. Part of the magic is the audience. We are apart of this story unfolding, so the dozens of us in a room are sharing an experience, a very unique and memorable one. Improv is an act of social chess, mental ping-pong, a collaborative sport worth exposing and absorbing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ikXRPgKtw8

Above is a compilation made by iO to promote CCSC. It doesn't do much justice but you can get an idea of their range and talent. When we saw Cook County, two actors were absent. We watched two of them riff a scene for 45 minutes about Don't Ask Don't Tell. It was incredible, we laughed til it hurt.

Please do not stop supporting the arts. And please do not overlook that comedy is art, potentially the most influential form. Maintain high standards, seek it out, drink it in. Enjoy.