Thursday, May 20, 2010

David Ford : "Go To Hell"

Not much needs to be said about the below video. When you start watching it, you really think it's just some dude in a kitchen playing with utensils, but keep watching. Everything that David Ford, hailing from England, is doing is being recorded on the spot. From knives to guitars, poland spring water jugs to piano, he harmonizes on top of his own voice and creates a full tune, on the spot.

He did this in a really cool and infamous recording studio in Brooklyn, not far from where I lived from 2006 - 2007. The entire studio, including kitchen, hallway, living room, and musical instruments are all mic'd. Everything David does is being recorded as he plays it.

I dare you to show me someone else who can make a song from scratch simply by walking around the studio, starting with a cup of tea.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Ray Lamontagne : "Empty"

We've all been through various things in our lives that we wish never happened. "Pain" is a word in the dictionary for a reason, because it's something that we all feel at one point or another in our lives. Some of us feel more than others, some tune it out as if it doesn't exists, but it's there. Whether it's heartbreak, the loss of a loved one, or it seems like nothing ever goes your way...we've all been there and will be there again.

It's how you get past the pain that matters and brings out the true character inside you. Do you hide and hope it goes away or do you lift your head up and keep pushing along? In my life I've always had music, so this was my remedy. By deeply listening to lyrics from various artists I've been able to say "this ain't that bad" and just keep going, because there's no point in just sitting still. Ani Difranco wrote a tune called "As Is" in 1998 that appeared on her record, "Little Plastic Castles." Sometimes you think you can't win, and no matter what you do in life, you're not meant to push forward. She says:

"Cuz when I look around,
I think this, this is good enough.
And I try to laugh
At whatever life brings.
Cuz when I look down
I just miss all the good stuff.
When I look up
I just trip over things."

Why lift your head up if you're going to keep tripping over things, and why put your head down if you're going to miss all that this life has to offer? It's such a beautiful verse because we've all been there. If you're having a bad day, sometimes you just want to put your head down and say "screw it." But, if you do, you may have just missed something that could lift you up. I like when she says "when I look up, I just trip over things." Would you rather have your head down and not enjoy or learn anything from your surroundings, or would you rather stay confident, keep your head up, and have some rough patches while pushing forward? I don't know about you, but I choose the latter. Why walk if you never want to run?

Ray Lamontagne is perhaps the best lyricist when it comes to pain, suffering, feeling down. He's notoriously not a very "happy-go-lucky" person, if anyone has ever seen him live. His shows are very spiritual and emotional in a way that has people sitting and truly listening, not slamming cocktails and dancing. Therapy sessions typically cost well over $100 per session. Ray Lamontagne tickets cost about $30. You do the math. People are there for a reason.

Ray wrote a song called "Empty" which is utterly beautiful. The entire song is about how he feels empty inside, and how no matter how hard he tries, he just can't enjoy the good in life. Lines like "I never choose to count my blessings, I choose instead to dwell in my disasters" truly sum up the meaning of this song and his struggles. Sometimes we all act as martyrs with the "woe-is-me" syndrome. Woe isn't you, and woe will never be you. "Woe-is-me" only shows up to the party when you've let your guard down and completely refuse to push forward. Yet, this line in the song can still resonate inside all of us.

Ray gets to a point in the song where it sounds like there's no return; he'll never be happy. I get chills every time I hear the lyrics in the last verse because it's so real. If you watch the video below you'll see that he's not just acting this song out. He truly has this pain inside of him which is beautiful to watch and to hear, and not in a masochistic way; in a sympathetic and empathic way.

"Well I looked my demons in the eyes,
Laid bare my chest, said 'Do your best, destroy me.
You see, I've been to hell and back so many times,
I must admit you kind of bore me.'"

"You kind of bore me!" If you didn't get chills there then check your pulse. Listen, I know this post is rather dramatic and emotionally "blah," but this is a line that we all need to take into perspective. Next time you get down on yourself. Next time you feel like nothing's working out. Next time you lose someone, get your heartbroken, or just have a bad day...think of this line. If you've felt pain before, you know what it is and you know how it works. If you accept it and realize that it's inevitably going to happen then you can walk forward with your head up, even if you do trip over things on the way to wherever your life is heading.

This is a shout out to my buddy Scott Pinker in NYC who lost his Mother at the end of last year. She was an absolutely amazing mother and friend to Scott and to all that were close to the family; you always felt good when you were around her. She resonated love and her laugh and smile will forever be missed. Scott first showed me this song back when I was living in NYC, and he forwarded me a post from his buddy who wrote for a music magazine at the time. His buddy lost his mother at the time this song was released and he wrote about this exact lyric, so I wanted to give Scotty a quick shout out and say I'm thinking about you bud. You're a great friend.

Cheers.