Doing my usual late-night Youtube surfing, I came across several videos featuring a Japanese light-rock band named “Ikimonogakari.” The first song I heard was a live version of one of their songs, “Kaze ga fuite iru” (風ãŒå¹ã„ã¦ã„ã‚‹, “Wind is Blowing”), which opened with the lead singer spotlighted, and the members of the band joining in, before going into a full stage performance. The style of music was very light rock, kind of late-60’s or early 70’s pop, but the lead singer, Kiyoe Yoshioka, really brought a lot of energy and heart into the song. Her voice and range was so impressive I had to look for more performances by them.
This one that I found is a perfect example song for the band, which is really only the three, Yoshiki Mizuno on bass and Hotaka Yamashita on guitar and harmonica. THe song is “Sakura”, their first single, and even though this version goes into full orchestral mode, the beginning with only the three in the spotlight really shows their ability, especially Yoshioka-san’s impressive vocal range. I’ll be keeping an eye out for their CDs whenever I can!
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(Enjoy!)
Update:
Thank you Sony Entertainment, for blocking this video from being shown in the US. (tch)
Well, I haven’t updated this site in a couple of weeks, last weekend I was at the 20th Otakon in Baltimore, and took a whole mess of pictures. Since then I’ve been busy working on a new website. I’ve decided to move most of my photography from this site, and make a more semi-pro portfolio site, using one of my old domains. Instead of trying to force this site into the form, either with a separate theme or try to figure out multi-site, I decided to just bite the bullet, buy a real photography theme, and build a new site. I’ll still have links from here to the new site, but the actual photos will be over on lexonia.net. Check it out!
This is guitar work of the highest order! One of my favorite “surf” songs, performed by Dick Dale and Stevie Ray Vaughan for the 1987 movie “Back to the Beach”. Two guitar greats, one fantastic song, and a high-energy performance that won them a Grammy nomination. This video show them performing the song, with lots of scenes from the movie interspersed.
They just don’t make them like this anymore, although Dick Dale is apparently still touring in his 70’s!
So, in honor of the discovery of the “original” William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, I got it into my head to look for other “original” classics by the original classic. What strange notion caused me to think of “Shakespeare’s ‘Who’s on First'” (which was later performed by Abbott and Costello) I have no idea, but I discovered a pair of actors who perform that very thing!
Verily, prithee direct thine attention hither, that thou mayest indeed partake the wit and flummery of said thespians, as they parlay with merriment and tomfoolery the verbal antics of a pair of ballers of the basest kind!
(apologies for the degradation of the video towards the end, it’s the original uploader’s problem)
I wasn’t old enough to be a hippy, by a few years, and I likely wouldn’t have been one if I had been old enough, but I can definitely feel the weight of the years since then. The Bellamy Brothers first recorded “Old Hippy” back in the early 80’s, then did a sequel in the 90’s, and this looks to be the third. The first one gave the point of view of a 35 year old, then a 45 year old, and now a 55 year old. Interestingly enough, the opening verse is spot on, “He turns 55 next Sunday” and I turn 55 two Sundays after this post. Most of the other parts of the “old hippy”‘s life, I can’t relate to, never having been married I have no grandkids, but my brother and sister do. I do relate to the feeling of trying to be closer to God, and being more reflective in seeking the quiet times. There are parts of the song that are universal, too, to anyone stuck in middle age.
The man who made this video recorded a ride on his motorcycle one Easter day, and it’s a great accompaniment to the song, as he looks to be about my age.
At any rate, enjoy this, even if you have to turn the volume up more than you used to!
There’s a reason why Electric Light Orchestra was so popular, and it wasn’t because they made standard music like all the other groups were making in the 70’s, Jeff Lynne and the group knew how to rock, and rock hard! The fact they could go from classical music to classic rockabilly in one go, and bring undiluted energy to both, that is what made them one of the biggest rock bands ever!
Here is a video of them performing Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King” and Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.”
The guy rocking out on the bass or cello or whatever is manic! Oh, and this is before Jeff Lynne started wearing the shades, it’s strange to actually see his eyes!
So, I found a great spot to see the DC fireworks, that isn’t crowded and is fairly close. At the north end of the spit of land that Reagan National Airport is on is a small park and boat slip called “Gravelly Point.” It’s off the beaten path, and parking is limited so not many drivers can access it, so it gets overlooked by most fireworks watchers. However, the Mount Vernon bike trail goes right to it, and it’s easily accessible on foot from Crystal City, which has loads of parking for free after 4 PM. I scoped out this path on Wednesday night the 3rd, so I could see just how much work it would take, and what kind of view there would be.
Gravelly Point, DC, an hour and a half before showtime!
Really not crowded, Gravelly Point has room for lots of people!
Great view of the monuments downtown (where all the crowds are)
Families that kayak together, stay together
Almost sunset, a few bikers headed further towards town
It’s just over a mile from the Crystal City path that intersects with the Mount Vernon trail, and there’s a huge grassy clearing with room for plenty of people! On the Fourth, I went there again (after persuading my buddy John that it wouldn’t be that bad) and sure enough, there were a lot of people, but nowhere near the crowding that you get on the Mall or other prime viewing spots in Virginia. The spot is right on the Potomac, so there was a nice breeze off the water to keep mosquitos away, and took the edge off the notorious DC heat and humidity. Once the fireworks started, there was a mad dash from the water’s edge (where most people were sitting in the partial shade) to the center of the field, where the best viewing was. I would say there wasn’t more than 1 or 2 thousand people total, in a space the size of 3 football fields, so no one blocked anyone elses’ view, and we definitely were not crowding each other!
I got some pretty good shots, and some good video, and really got to practice taking fireworks pictures, which is kind of tricky. Having a tripod was invaluable, but also learning what settings to make was vital.
Surfing through some Japanese videos on Youtube, I found some videos by a J-pop singer from back in the 80’s who’s still performing (and still looks very nice, even if she doesn’t look like a high-school girl anymore) named Hitomi Ishikawa (石å·ã²ã¨ã¿). She started out (looks like) when she was in high school in 1976, winning a Fuji TV singing contest. She had one big hit in 1978, she was a voice actress on an anime, but her career came to a halt when she contracted Hepatitis B in 1987. She recovered and started performing again in 1988, got married in 1993 (dang it!) and still performs on TV. She has a fantastic voice, even when she was just starting out.
Anyway, here’s a compilation video of some of her songs, and video clips of her performing them through the years.
From the Youtube page, here’s the playlist of songs:
, I got it into my head to look for other “original” classics by the original classic. What strange notion caused me to think of “Shakespeare’s ‘Who’s on First'” (which was later performed by Abbott and Costello) I have no idea, but I discovered a pair of actors who perform that very thing!
