|
About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
|
Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
 "The Soundtrackers Group" 
"Blogging Circle of Friends "
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"
"JAFBG"
"Take up Your Cross"
Thanks for stopping by! 
February 3, 2015 at 7:54pm February 3, 2015 at 7:54pm
| |
** Image ID #2026596 Unavailable **
Song: "Uptown Funk"
Artist: Mark Ronson
Album: Uptown Special
I dare you to not tap your feet or bob your head to this song!  Up until recently, anyone outside the United Kingdom (and maybe even quite a few inside the country) might only recognize Mark Ronson as the vaguely musical older brother of fashion designer Charlotte Ronson and Lindsay-Lohan-pseudo-lesbian-DJ-pal Samantha Ronson, but this song put him on the map as a star in his own right. The song hit #1 on both UK and US singles chart, thanks in no small part to having Bruno Mars on vocals, and holds the record for being the all-time most streamed track in the UK during a single week (2.49 million steams for the week of 12/28/14), soundly trumping the previous record of 2.34 millions streams set by... himself, the week prior. It's also been a #1 hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, and New Zealand.
I admit that I don't really have much of a personal connection to this song; I just really, really like it. A colleague of mine pointed me to the performance on Saturday Night Live, which is the first time I heard it. As if the song needed any more momentum, this video of a teacher and his students dancing to the song went viral when it was first uploaded a little over a week ago, and is already closing in on ten million views. 
It's been a long time since we've had a funk/disco-inspired song make it into the mainstream; it's great to hear this unique sound coming back.
|
February 3, 2015 at 7:24pm February 3, 2015 at 7:24pm
| |
** Image ID #2026596 Unavailable **
Song: "Julie-O"
Artist: Kevin Olusola
Album: n/a
I can't believe we're three days into the challenge and I'm just now getting my first entry posted! 
Some of you may have already heard this when I posted it in my newsfeed about a month ago ("Note: Paging [Link To User storymistress] , who loves ..."), but I had to lead off the Soundtrackers' challenge with this selection because it's not every day you come across an entirely new type of music. And yet, that's just what Kevin Olusola has managed to do by combining his beatboxing skills and his expertise with the cello. It's hard enough for most people to do one or the other well and he manages to perform both simultaneously!
Kevin Olusola is best known for being one of the five members of Pentatonix (and the Christmas challenge proved just how much everybody on this site loves them  ). Just in case there was any chance you were thinking K.O. is anything other than a prodigy, consider the fact that he was playing piano by age four, cello by age six, and saxophone at age ten. By the time he was twelve, he was touring Europe as the principal saxophonist of the United States Collegiate Wind Band. He was the principal cellist for the Kentucky State Youth Orchestra and had the distinction of performing a solo at Carnegie Hall not once, but twice. He ultimately chose to attend college at Yale, but also turned down offers from Princeton, Stanford, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania. He finished all of his pre-med requirements at Yale, but eventually switched to East Asian Studies and focused on his music. He's fluent in Mandarin, which he largely accomplished after studying abroad in China for less than a year.
This is actually the celloboxing song that brought him to the attention of Scott Hoying of Pentatonix, who contacted him prior to their appearance on The Sing-Off. K.O. actually only met the other members of the group the day before their audition. The group went on to win the competition and their career was born.
The composition, "Julie-O" was originally composed by Mark Summer, cellist for the Turtle Island Quartet. Although his own group has recorded over fifteen albums and Summer himself has performed with a number of crossover artists, his popularity is exceeded by his composition's; "Julie-O" quickly became (and still is) a favorite performance piece for cellists due to it's variety and complexity. Of course, K.O. decided to make it even more complicated by simultaneously beatboxing to it.
I included this song on my list because, honestly, I'd just never heard a piece of music like this. I love the cello, and I'm familiar with classical crossover and contemporary classical pieces, but I'd never heard someone manage to successfully marry such diverse musical skills as beatboxing and playing the cello. K.O. continues to develop the concept of "celloboxing" by releasing new videos on his YouTube channel, but it doesn't get much better than this one, if you ask me.
|
© Copyright 2024 Jeff (UN: jeff at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Jeff has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
|
