two more days and we take off for japan. i am soooo excited. got tickets, yen, rail passes, hotels, a long list of places to go shopping in tokyo.... now i just have to endure the 11 hour flight and all will be wild and fascinating.
if i have internet access, i hope to blog from japan and if i am tech savvy enough, even post some photos.
we shall see.....
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
singing the same song
i was going to write about avril lavigne's problems with writing a song that turns out to have already been written. however, i need to think about this a little longer, since a blogger i very much admire has already written on the same subject.
http://culturalsnow.blogspot.com/
no matter. a few hours of cogitating and i'll be back.
and here i am.
so this is what i think. we listen to LOTS and LOTS of songs over our lifetime. I know this is true because an obscure song from the 60's can come on the radio, a song i didn't even like, and i will start singing along, and know every word. if i were a song writer, how would i know what came from my own creativity and what came from the vast well of songs i have heard? some might be obvious, but others could be so obscure that, if pointed out to the songwriter, she or he might be completely surprised. and of course defiant. or defensive.
i don't know. i think these cases need to find an actual conscious attempt by one songwriter to steal the work of another songwriter. if the chord progressions are the same (duh, how hard is that?) and the lyrics have similarities, that doesn't prove intent. okay, that's the word i want - intent. did George Harrison intend to steal and did Avril intend to steal? did they sit in a little room, the door closed tight against the world and said, "oh i love this riff/chord progression/lyric and i will use it my song and no one will ever know." if they did, sue them. if they just used the forces of deep and rich memory, then thank them for bringing some old song to the fore, and go on your way.
one last point - when Dani California came out (RHCP) everyone pointed out how very much like Tom Petty's Mary Jane's Last Dance it was. do you know what happened? tons of people downloaded the Petty song (as did i) and so Tom made a few bucks off the renewed interest in an old song. and, as far as i know, he hasn't sued anybody.
http://culturalsnow.blogspot.com/
no matter. a few hours of cogitating and i'll be back.
and here i am.
so this is what i think. we listen to LOTS and LOTS of songs over our lifetime. I know this is true because an obscure song from the 60's can come on the radio, a song i didn't even like, and i will start singing along, and know every word. if i were a song writer, how would i know what came from my own creativity and what came from the vast well of songs i have heard? some might be obvious, but others could be so obscure that, if pointed out to the songwriter, she or he might be completely surprised. and of course defiant. or defensive.
i don't know. i think these cases need to find an actual conscious attempt by one songwriter to steal the work of another songwriter. if the chord progressions are the same (duh, how hard is that?) and the lyrics have similarities, that doesn't prove intent. okay, that's the word i want - intent. did George Harrison intend to steal and did Avril intend to steal? did they sit in a little room, the door closed tight against the world and said, "oh i love this riff/chord progression/lyric and i will use it my song and no one will ever know." if they did, sue them. if they just used the forces of deep and rich memory, then thank them for bringing some old song to the fore, and go on your way.
one last point - when Dani California came out (RHCP) everyone pointed out how very much like Tom Petty's Mary Jane's Last Dance it was. do you know what happened? tons of people downloaded the Petty song (as did i) and so Tom made a few bucks off the renewed interest in an old song. and, as far as i know, he hasn't sued anybody.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
there, there
I cannot even read the front page of the LA Times anymore. Libby gets a pardon, Cheney is a rogue politician, our mayor has an affair (which i don't care about, but the moralizing public does and so he's ruined), and there are more contractors working in Iraq than soldiers. I didn't even read that last article, but then I find I can't read anything about Iraq. It's all too painful and quite reminds me of the Vietnam war. Look, I'm even using upper-case letters in this post, so obviously, I'm upset.
And if I turn to the California section, I get what I call the "dead baby" news. One story after another about kids dying in car accidents, at the hands of family members, in swimming pools, in hot cars. Also too depressing.
So I read the Calendar and then I feel remiss, because those asshole owners of the Times have decided that people in LA don't need foreign news, that they just need entertainment news. And here I am, proving them right.
But it's not that I want entertainment news and don't want foreign news. I just can't take the feeling of helplessness whenever I have to confront more of the ineptness and evilness of this administration, and the horrors of the Iraq war. There's always that tendency to say, "somebody needs to do something." I just don't know who that somebody is, and I don't know what I can do (besides the money I send to organizations). So I will read Calendar, and the comics, and do the sudoku until 2008 when hopefully a new president will rise from the ashes of this current administration and offer hope.
on itunes right now: incongruously, the white stripes, "hotel yorba"
And if I turn to the California section, I get what I call the "dead baby" news. One story after another about kids dying in car accidents, at the hands of family members, in swimming pools, in hot cars. Also too depressing.
So I read the Calendar and then I feel remiss, because those asshole owners of the Times have decided that people in LA don't need foreign news, that they just need entertainment news. And here I am, proving them right.
But it's not that I want entertainment news and don't want foreign news. I just can't take the feeling of helplessness whenever I have to confront more of the ineptness and evilness of this administration, and the horrors of the Iraq war. There's always that tendency to say, "somebody needs to do something." I just don't know who that somebody is, and I don't know what I can do (besides the money I send to organizations). So I will read Calendar, and the comics, and do the sudoku until 2008 when hopefully a new president will rise from the ashes of this current administration and offer hope.
on itunes right now: incongruously, the white stripes, "hotel yorba"
Friday, June 29, 2007
the iphone madness
"I haven't been successful in getting one for her," the publicist said, adding that she might have to stand in line for Cher or find a fan to do so. "Doesn't winning Oscars, Grammys and Emmys entitle her to move to the front of the line?"
i love this. why should Cher, or her publicist, have to stand in line with mere mortals when she should be entitled to be first? this is the fun part of living in Los Angeles, where stars get preferential treatment and goodie bags worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Thank you, Steve Jobs and Apple, for not kowtowing to someone just because she has a few gold statutes.
meanwhile, i await the second generation of iphone (and my cingular contract to come up for renewal) before i make the plunge.
what we need is a good place to donate old ipods, for other, less privileged people to enjoy. is there anyone left in the US without an ipod, i wonder??
i love this. why should Cher, or her publicist, have to stand in line with mere mortals when she should be entitled to be first? this is the fun part of living in Los Angeles, where stars get preferential treatment and goodie bags worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Thank you, Steve Jobs and Apple, for not kowtowing to someone just because she has a few gold statutes.
meanwhile, i await the second generation of iphone (and my cingular contract to come up for renewal) before i make the plunge.
what we need is a good place to donate old ipods, for other, less privileged people to enjoy. is there anyone left in the US without an ipod, i wonder??
Thursday, June 21, 2007
an elusive heroine
check out this blog, IF you have seen this modern day robin hood. (hoodette??)
http://lolailluminada.blogspot.com
http://lolailluminada.blogspot.com
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
back to save the universe
blogger is working again. i panicked, the thought of losing my blog!
okay summer has started and i have been supremely lazy. long games of solitare and mahjong on the computer. a total and complete waste of time. my mind needs to kick into gear starting today. or maybe tomorrow. really.
and i have so many ideas for stories to write, plus a pile of great books to read. any ideas for breaking the internet addiction? the message board fascination? the radiohead message board in particular? or how to stop playing stupid games?
last night was uncle funky's final performance, and while a new band will grow from the ashes, it was a terrific band for the last three years and will be very much missed. we did a three-song radiohead suite in the middle of the set last night: creep, high and dry, and karma police. very nice.
on itunes: No Surprises. I love this, an ode to "a job that slowly kills you" and "a handshake of carbon monoxide." office drone seeks suicide..... what a rock song! and all wrapped in the most beautiful melody.
a note on the illustration - the kodamas from "princess mononoke" - forest spirits. and little imps that inspire creativity.
more, everyday, really.....the mind will recover!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
a mystery
i can create a post, but my mac won't open any blogspot blog, including my own. so whatever i write her, i can't see! unless i go to school and use the computer there. so hi, to anyone reading this. kinda like shouting into a black hole.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
