Turn me on and turn me up and turn me loose. I am alive and amplified. I am alive.
That is a bueno song by The Mooney Suzuki.
It’s 2:43am, and I can’t sleep. I can’t go back to bed so I decided to start a blog. I’m pretty new at this game but had an old one I never cared to keep up…I’m going to switch to Pandora for some tunes. I actually have been reluctant to get a blog for a LONG time. J. Moss is an artist who doesn’t get as much play as he should. The reason is probably because he’s a Christian R&B artist. Who do you think can make every fish in the sea? That’s from his song “Know Him.” I’m getting sidetracked. Okay, why did I start a blog titled “I Live Music”? I think everyone lives, loves music.
I personally come from a musical family. I can honestly say that my mom’s on Youtube. She was married to bassist Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson. She then married again to my present father. No, I am not the product of Louis Johnson. Not everyone knows who the Brothers Johnson are, but they were a band in the 70s. The song “Strawberry 23” was one of their most famous songs. My mom wasn’t apart of the band during that song’s time though. The rest of my siblings are all musically gifted and my sister Keiko Minyo has a new album called “You and Me” (http://keikominyo.com/). I’m soooo proud of all my siblings.
I live music. I don’t go a day without listening to it. I study it, analyze it. I’ve always thought of music minor or something. I took this redonkulously awesome jazz studies class. I don’t think I’ve ever paid that much attention to a class and remembered everything I learned. Me? I’m an advertising major and communications minor. I’m about two terms away from graduation day! Scary. I learned about so many important and influential artists to jazz such as “Jelly Roll” Morton (his nickname is a sexual reference), Louis Armstrong, Charlie Christian, Ella Fitzgerald, “Dizzy” Gillespie, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Sarah Vaughan, Nat “King” Cole, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Lil Hardin…I can keep going, but I won’t. (I’m listening to Kirk Franklin’s “Brighter Day”) I’m easily distracted by the way.
A lot of these musical geniuses thought intoxicants enhanced their creative “juices.” Charlie Parker, a legendary alto saxophonist died from a heroine addiction. His 34-year-old body appeared to be the body of a 50 or 60-year-old. BUT HE WAS A GENIUS! It’s sad how his life ended, but his contributions to the saxophone and jazz/bebop will never be forgotten.
If you don’t know what bebop is, it’s actually modern jazz that is harmonically, rhythmically and melodically complex. It sounds impossible to play and can sometimes make you want to scream. It’s not your average dance tune. Bebop commands your attention. Just listen. Thelonious Monk’s “Four in One” has to be my second favorite jazz song. I’d have to say that “Manteca” by John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie is my first favorite. Latin Jazz got started in the United States with the help of Gillespie and his cubano percussionist Luciano “Chano” Pozo. I LoVe it.
I think colleges need blog classes and how to use them in the professional realm. Professors are always talking about them too. I guess everybody’s using blogs these days. I’m not eager to trust blogs. I feel uneasy about blogs and Wikipedia. I think Wikipedia had a lovechild with Facebook and Myspace and created the blog. I could be wrong though. I think Michael Scott had it wrong when he said, “Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything so you know you’re getting the best possible information.” Yeah, right. There are some nuggets of truth to Wikipedia but also a lot of inaccurate information. It’s really funny though how some of my professors have said it’s okay to use Wikipedia. Wikipedia used to be the first thing they told you not to use on research papers. Crazy world, cockeyed. (Now playing: Mary Mary “The Real Party”). I don’t know why I keep going off about Wikipedia so maybe I’ll stop. We’ll say goodbye with a little Phil Collins “Sussudio.”
