So much frenetic energy concentrated into one video, I love it!! Mashups tend to play for comedic effect and are a real hit-or-miss because of that. But this… I like this (full screen)
Michel Gongry’s “Everlong” music video is smart, darkly and always a fun watch, and the song is so damn catchy It makes me wanna jump around and dance every time. I guarantee this five minute love story is one you will never forget:
Three black teenage brothers started a band called DEATH in the early 1970s playing punk-rock during the era of Motown — “Politicians In My Eyes” is still as relevant and exceptionally cool as it ever was!
Billie Holiday was an amazing woman. Before I ever listened to “Gloomy Sunday” and its countless renditions, the title and accompanying story is one I had known about since an early age.
There is a recurring urban legend which claims that people committed suicide while listening to the original song. The original “Gloomy Sunday“, also known as the “Hungarian Suicide Song”, is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. Since its recording it has been blamed for more suicides than any other in the history of music. In the same decade, the composer himself, his wife, and at least eighteen suicide deaths in Hungary were reported to have had close links with Gloomy Sunday, although urban legend embellishes its more in the hundreds range. This ultimately led to its banning on various radio networks in 1936.
Regardless of whether you choose to believe in the mystery or rather in the social climate of the 1930s in which the song was composed; this is a beautiful piece of music:
The Great Depression had begun and suicide rates were skyrocketing in the U.S. and Hungary. Additionally, antisemitism was taking hold across Europe. He didn’t know it when he composed Gloomy Sunday, but Rezső Seress would later be interned at a Nazi labor camp in Ukraine. He survived the camp, but his mother did not. Prior to becoming a musician Seress had lost his career as a circus performer through injury. He was struggling to make ends meet. (“Rezső Seress.” Wikipedia. August 2,2013.)
This set the perfect (gloomy) tone for Seress to compose Gloomy Sunday. And he did so by putting his heart and soul, his sadness, and his disappointment into the composition. Seress composed the song in the sad key of C minor, and the music alone was said to be enough to make a person extremely depressed or suicidal. Then came the wretched lyrics on top of the music. As the story goes; Hungarian poet, László Jávor, had recently broken up with his fiancée, and his heartbreak served as the inspiration for the mournful lyrics to Gloomy Sunday.
Seress eventually succumbed to his own depression, and jumped from his apartment building in Budapest. He killed himself just after his 69th birthday. His legacy endures:
Time for a wonderful history lesson, from a woman riding horse and carriage to perform a Rock and Roll show:
Reconstructionist and Literary Jukebox hero Sister Rosetta Tharpe is celebrated as gospel music’s first superstar, the godmother of rock and roll, “the original soul sister.” No better way to celebrate her spirit and legacy than with her legendary, electrifying 1964 live performance of “Didn’t It Rain” at the Manchester train station, complete with her iconic white coat and electric guitar.
“The cassette tape was invented out of irritation about the
existing tape recorder, it’s that simple.”
Lodewijk Frederik Ottens was a Dutch engineer and inventor, best known as the inventor of the cassette tape, and for his work in helping to develop the compact disc. Ottens was employed by Philips for the entirety of his career. He died aged 94 at his home in the village of Duizel in North Brabant.
“We were little boys who had fun playing.” […]
“We didn’t feel like we were doing anything big. It was a kind of sport.”
So true, and what of the people who create the platforms and formats that allow the world to share said music; they are called ‘pioneers.’ Mixtapes never would have existed without Lou Ottens. Some could even make the argument that everlasting bonds were formed over the simple act of sharing music cassettes with then, future lovers.
Music means a lot to me and my family. I have been working on a post about a song from a mixtape since February. It started out simple enough, one song, then two, but the more I delve into the past the longer the post becomes. So many avenues of music and memories to travel, I most definitely understand Lou Ottens’ MAGNIFICENT contributions and what great reverberations they undoubtedly inspired.
As lamenting as deaths are, truly it is a blessing to know and honour the name of this unsung hero. Rest in peace, Lou Ottens.
How do you make a music video during a global pandemic? Low-tech + high-energy, or just ask Duck Sauce, because they did it. The video features obvious stock footage (still watermarked) and janky 3D models, and although it gets slightly NSFWish, it delivers the lolz and goes on to exceed the laws of physics itself! Think wormholes and happy thoughts.
It is also jammpacked with celebrity cameos — Daniel Craig, Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, to name a few, — so prepare (Johnson & Johnson Vision Treatment Soap should do it) to jam and be ‘mesmerized’:
“Covid kept delaying our shoot so Duck Sauce is releasing the animatic as the official video.” ~ director Keith Schofield. We’ll suspend our disbelief and imagine that there really could have been a live action version of this insanity.
This nifty papercraft video is a celebration of play. Austin-based creator Eric Power has featured here before showcasing his love for Star Wars. This time Eric chronicles a nostalgia-packed ode to video games — you will recognize a fair few:
Directed and animated by @ericpowerup ericpowerup.net / Piano, synths, production by @John Mark Nelson // Lyrics and vocals by jeremy messersmith
Music was meh. What, I’m being honest with myself. …Meh!
Anthony Howe has shared a new sculpture on his YouTube page, adding to his growing collection of splendid and sleek artworks, all activated by the slightest breeze:
Those are all amazing! To be fair, I am still impressed by the perpetual clacking of a classic Newton’s Cradle.
First allow me to preface by saying that I am not an eligible voter in the 2020 United States Presidential election — what I am however is a stickler for catchy party tunes:
I’m DarkInTheBoy and I approve this message, puto
Kia ora! Hola! Bonjour! سلام! こんにちは! नमस्ते Namastē! مرحبا! 您好！Hallå! Hallo! Selamat Datang! Welcome! ⭐(★´♡‿♡`+)⭐ You have found ditb
🎭 