Here are my picks from the June 2008 Richmond Record Pool shipment. I'm finally starting to get almost caught up with my music again, which is good, since I'm playing in Las Vegas this weekend.
Live Sets:
- Carl Jurgens, “City Lights” (Alex Gone With Stanley Cupid Mix)
- Deadmau5, “Fifths”
- Domased Electronica, “Naiad” (Original Mix)
- Felguk, “All Night Long” (Original)
- Idiot Box, “Fast Slow” (Original Mix)
- Joee Conns, “Don’t Stop”
- Multiply feat Marcie, “Can’t Stop My” (Mario Good Mix)
- Rusian B, “Electro Static”
Mainstream Club Sets:
- Ashlee Simpson, “Little Miss Obsessive” (David Aude Club Mix)
- Mic Boogie, “Good Look” (White Punks On Dope Remix)
- Multiply feat Marcie, “Can’t Stop My” (Under The Covers Remix)
- Ne Yo, “Closer” (Stonebridge Club Mix)
Studio Mixes:
- Cream Sound, “Always” (Stereotip Edit)
- Domased Electronica, “Naiad” (Original)
- Felguk, “Do You Like Bass” (Blend Rank Mix)
- High Torque, “Sparks” (Original Mix)
- Michael & Levan, “Distant Closeness” (Dave Ferol & Arion Grey Remix)
- Multiply feat Marcie, “Can’t Stop My” (Mario Dub)
- Sinestetici & Kilo Watts, “Reflective Deceptor” (Misjah Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- Aoo & ooA, “Artillery” (Diego Pericles & Skills Remix)
- Aoo & ooA, “Artillery” (Original Mix)
- Domased Electronica, “Naiad” (Styller Remix)
- Jalabee Cartel, “Single Tab” (Original)
- Rogerio Martins, “Demente” (Original Mix)
My top pick from the June 2008 Richmond Record Pool shipment was the Misjah remix of the Sinestetici & Kilo Watts “Reflective Deceptor” track. Misjah, a Dutch DJ/producer, has a huge amount of production work under his belt. However, this particular track is not a very mainstream club-friendly track – more something that I would play at a warehouse party or similar event.
To hear "Reflective Deceptor," click on the player here (visible only in the original blog posting, not in the Facebook notes feed). Sorry, no downloads are available.
Record Pool Picks, May 2008
on Friday, July 11, 2008
Here are my favorite picks from the May 2008 Richmond Record Pool:
Live Sets:
- Dustin Skiles, “Tell Me” (Club Mix)
- Endforest, “By The Sea” (Original Shoreline Mix)
- Peppelino, “Energizer”
Mainstream Club Sets:
- Thomas Penton & Kotoswitch, “Take The Chance” (Alex Armes Mix)
Studio Mixes:
- Eddit Sender, “Maya” (Original Mix)
- Greg Gow, “Industry” (Original Mix)
- Test Pattern, “Way Beyond” (Original Mix)
- Tim Mills, “Eclipse Of The Sun” (Sean McClellan Crazy Island Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- DJ Groovy, “Musica Um” (Original Mix)
- Endforest, “By The Sea” (Shifted Reality Remix)
- Hado, “Black Rain”
- Harold Heath, “Memphis Whisper”
- Harold Heath, “Monza” (Original)
- Steve Porter, “Pixy Stix” (Roger Lee Mix)
My favorite track of the month this time around was “By The Sea” by Endforest (Peter Safranyos, a Hungarian trance producer). Safranyos goes by his own name when producing trance, and by Endforest when producing progressive house. I especially liked the Original Shoreline Mix version. SJ Regan wrote the following about this mix on DanceNode: “The Original Shoreline Mix has a nice deep kick introduction and uses atmospheric sweeps to slowly introduce new elements and build the track towards the breakdown. The sound has a magical element, close your eyes and you could easily find yourself in a fairy tale. Endforest has juxtaposed a series of dark and grinding samples with the floating melody that helps keeps the track earthed and not too light and fluffy.” Personally, I just thought that this particular mix sounds a lot like an older Max Graham track, a style which I’ve always enjoyed.
To listen to "By The Sea," click on the player here. Sorry, no downloads are available.
Live Sets:
- Dustin Skiles, “Tell Me” (Club Mix)
- Endforest, “By The Sea” (Original Shoreline Mix)
- Peppelino, “Energizer”
Mainstream Club Sets:
- Thomas Penton & Kotoswitch, “Take The Chance” (Alex Armes Mix)
Studio Mixes:
- Eddit Sender, “Maya” (Original Mix)
- Greg Gow, “Industry” (Original Mix)
- Test Pattern, “Way Beyond” (Original Mix)
- Tim Mills, “Eclipse Of The Sun” (Sean McClellan Crazy Island Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- DJ Groovy, “Musica Um” (Original Mix)
- Endforest, “By The Sea” (Shifted Reality Remix)
- Hado, “Black Rain”
- Harold Heath, “Memphis Whisper”
- Harold Heath, “Monza” (Original)
- Steve Porter, “Pixy Stix” (Roger Lee Mix)
My favorite track of the month this time around was “By The Sea” by Endforest (Peter Safranyos, a Hungarian trance producer). Safranyos goes by his own name when producing trance, and by Endforest when producing progressive house. I especially liked the Original Shoreline Mix version. SJ Regan wrote the following about this mix on DanceNode: “The Original Shoreline Mix has a nice deep kick introduction and uses atmospheric sweeps to slowly introduce new elements and build the track towards the breakdown. The sound has a magical element, close your eyes and you could easily find yourself in a fairy tale. Endforest has juxtaposed a series of dark and grinding samples with the floating melody that helps keeps the track earthed and not too light and fluffy.” Personally, I just thought that this particular mix sounds a lot like an older Max Graham track, a style which I’ve always enjoyed.
To listen to "By The Sea," click on the player here. Sorry, no downloads are available.
Record Pool Picks, April 2008
on Sunday, June 29, 2008
After going through the April DVD from the Richmond Record Pool, I’ve picked the following as my favorite tracks:
Live Sets:
- Dfuzhion, “Unidentified”
- Hypnotic Haldex, “Crazy Bass” (Chris Tall Remix)
- KT, “Riders On The Storm” (Original Journey Mix)
- Mark Norman feat Celine, “Be With You” (Original)
- Michal Poliak, “World Republic” (Bryan Cox Remix)
- Mohawk, “Celestia” (Noel Sanger Remix)
- Noel Sanger, “What Are You Looking For” (Original)
- Steve Haines, “Takin U Back” (Abel Riballos Walking Tall Remix)
Mainstream Club Sets:
- Mark Norman feat Celine, “Be With You” (Myon Remix)
- Fabio Olarte, “The Final Countdown”
Studio Mixes:
- Dfuzhion, “Multigrain”
- DJ Bia, “Deep” (More Deep Mix)
- DJ Tsepech & Naveed, “Breathe” (Summer Sessions Remix)
- Haken Ludvigson, “Trollflojten” (Soundank Remix)
- Moti Brothers, “Control”
- Moti Brothers, “Mystic Night”
- Noel Sanger, “What Are You Looking For” (Darin Mix)
- R-Tem, “Cloud Of Sound” (Natlife Nu School Remix)
- Sonic Division, “Time Machine” (Original Mix)
- Underwater, “Sleeping Under The Stars” (Sonic Division Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- Bjoern Small, “A Sense Of Occasion” (Clockwork Mix)
- Chavi, “Otono” (Poyraz Remix)
- Diegopericles, “1994” (Jay North Remix)
- DJ Bia, “Pharma Trainer”
- Mohawk, “Celestia” (J-Soul Remix)
- Moti Brothers, “Dream”
- Stuart C, “Project 009”
- Stuart C, “Unbreakable”
- Tony Arzadon, “Super Punch”
- Tony Arzadon, “Secrets”
My favorite track for the month was the Noel Sanger track, “What Are You Looking For.” I’ve enjoyed Sanger’s production pretty consistently in the past couple of years (tracks like “Trapped” and especially “My Prayer”). This Florida resident is relatively unknown in the traditional mass media musical world, although in the electronica world, he’s certainly made a huge impact over the past decade. Touring frequently with Tiesto certainly hasn’t hurt his image, but it is his production that caught my attention. If you want to check out his DJ’ing skills, check out his Summerbreeze mix comps, especially Summerbreeze 2.
To hear "What Are You Looking For," click on the player here (visible only in the original Blog post, not in the Facebook Notes feed). Sorry, no downloads are available.
Live Sets:
- Dfuzhion, “Unidentified”
- Hypnotic Haldex, “Crazy Bass” (Chris Tall Remix)
- KT, “Riders On The Storm” (Original Journey Mix)
- Mark Norman feat Celine, “Be With You” (Original)
- Michal Poliak, “World Republic” (Bryan Cox Remix)
- Mohawk, “Celestia” (Noel Sanger Remix)
- Noel Sanger, “What Are You Looking For” (Original)
- Steve Haines, “Takin U Back” (Abel Riballos Walking Tall Remix)
Mainstream Club Sets:
- Mark Norman feat Celine, “Be With You” (Myon Remix)
- Fabio Olarte, “The Final Countdown”
Studio Mixes:
- Dfuzhion, “Multigrain”
- DJ Bia, “Deep” (More Deep Mix)
- DJ Tsepech & Naveed, “Breathe” (Summer Sessions Remix)
- Haken Ludvigson, “Trollflojten” (Soundank Remix)
- Moti Brothers, “Control”
- Moti Brothers, “Mystic Night”
- Noel Sanger, “What Are You Looking For” (Darin Mix)
- R-Tem, “Cloud Of Sound” (Natlife Nu School Remix)
- Sonic Division, “Time Machine” (Original Mix)
- Underwater, “Sleeping Under The Stars” (Sonic Division Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- Bjoern Small, “A Sense Of Occasion” (Clockwork Mix)
- Chavi, “Otono” (Poyraz Remix)
- Diegopericles, “1994” (Jay North Remix)
- DJ Bia, “Pharma Trainer”
- Mohawk, “Celestia” (J-Soul Remix)
- Moti Brothers, “Dream”
- Stuart C, “Project 009”
- Stuart C, “Unbreakable”
- Tony Arzadon, “Super Punch”
- Tony Arzadon, “Secrets”
My favorite track for the month was the Noel Sanger track, “What Are You Looking For.” I’ve enjoyed Sanger’s production pretty consistently in the past couple of years (tracks like “Trapped” and especially “My Prayer”). This Florida resident is relatively unknown in the traditional mass media musical world, although in the electronica world, he’s certainly made a huge impact over the past decade. Touring frequently with Tiesto certainly hasn’t hurt his image, but it is his production that caught my attention. If you want to check out his DJ’ing skills, check out his Summerbreeze mix comps, especially Summerbreeze 2.
To hear "What Are You Looking For," click on the player here (visible only in the original Blog post, not in the Facebook Notes feed). Sorry, no downloads are available.
Record Pool Picks, March 2008
on Saturday, June 21, 2008
For those of you who follow my blog and read my monthly electronic music picks, you're probably wondering what's happened to me lately. Well, I've been pretty much swamped since the start of the year, so I haven't kept up on my music ratings. Since I don't really DJ in the summer, because of my seasonal forestry work, it's not a big deal. Usually I can catch up on several months' worth of ratings in August. However, I just bought a new device for my truck last week, which lets me play my iPod while I'm driving around. You can see it sticking out of the cigarette lighter on the right side of this photo:
The device is called a "TuneBase" FM transmitter. Probably a lot of people know how these work: they broadcast a very-low power FM output from the device, so your car FM stereo can pick it up and play it. It's sort of like a low-powered portable radio station. This particular model is extremely impressive. It has different spacers and mounting sleeves so it can handle every different size and type of iPod securely, and it has a flexible arm so you can position the iPod where it is easy for you to see while driving. I've used different FM transmitters in the past, and this one is the clearest that I've ever used (probably because it has a push-button function whereby it picks the FM frequency with the least external interference).
Anyway, so I've decided that since I drive around a lot while working, I can start to slowly catch up on my music ratings. I haven't posted any here since last fall, but since I don't have all those DVD's here, I'll just go back to March of this year and then try to catch up to the present over the next several weeks. Here are my picks from the March DVD that the Richmond Record Pool distributed:
Live Sets:
- Artificial Dreamer, “Dusted” (Part 1 Mix)
- Kaskade, “Sorry” (Dirty South Mix)
- Tegma, “Who Stole My Oscillator”
- Toby Emerson, “Rapture” (Chad C Remix)
Mainstream Club Sets:
- All Stars, “Thriller” (12-Inch)
- Des Mitchell & Chr Sarah Jane Scott, “Alive” (You Make Me Feel Full Mix)
Studio Mixes:
- DC Project & Alex Hentze, “Miss You Less” (Mix 2)
- First State, “Your Own Way” (First State’s Analog Reconstruction)
- Incognet Project, “Plastict”
- Macutchi, “All In A Day’s Work”
- Progression, “Different Day, Different Light” (Reward Remix)
- Quasar, “Road Network"
- Solarstone, “Rain Stars Eternal” (Original Mix)
- Tegma, “What The Fuzz”
- Voglemann, “Angelic” (Karim Haas Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- Darin Epsilon pres Mimoori, “Green Destiny” (Original)
- Darin Epsilon pres Mimoori, “Green Destiny” (Section 75 Remix)
- Noel Sanger, “Natural Perfection” (Manuel De La Mare Mix)
- Tegma, “Circles”
- Tegma, “East Block (CCCP Mix)
- Tegma, “Monday Star”
- Tobias Hoppe, “Gentle Noises” (Original Mix)
I'm also going to add a new "feature" to my monthly record pool selections, the "top pick" of the month. This month, my favorite track from the DVD was the Toby Emerson track, "Rapture" (Chad Cisneros Remix).
To hear "Rapture," click on the player here (only visible in the original Blog post, not in the Facebook Notes feed). Sorry, no downloads are available.
The device is called a "TuneBase" FM transmitter. Probably a lot of people know how these work: they broadcast a very-low power FM output from the device, so your car FM stereo can pick it up and play it. It's sort of like a low-powered portable radio station. This particular model is extremely impressive. It has different spacers and mounting sleeves so it can handle every different size and type of iPod securely, and it has a flexible arm so you can position the iPod where it is easy for you to see while driving. I've used different FM transmitters in the past, and this one is the clearest that I've ever used (probably because it has a push-button function whereby it picks the FM frequency with the least external interference).
Anyway, so I've decided that since I drive around a lot while working, I can start to slowly catch up on my music ratings. I haven't posted any here since last fall, but since I don't have all those DVD's here, I'll just go back to March of this year and then try to catch up to the present over the next several weeks. Here are my picks from the March DVD that the Richmond Record Pool distributed:
Live Sets:
- Artificial Dreamer, “Dusted” (Part 1 Mix)
- Kaskade, “Sorry” (Dirty South Mix)
- Tegma, “Who Stole My Oscillator”
- Toby Emerson, “Rapture” (Chad C Remix)
Mainstream Club Sets:
- All Stars, “Thriller” (12-Inch)
- Des Mitchell & Chr Sarah Jane Scott, “Alive” (You Make Me Feel Full Mix)
Studio Mixes:
- DC Project & Alex Hentze, “Miss You Less” (Mix 2)
- First State, “Your Own Way” (First State’s Analog Reconstruction)
- Incognet Project, “Plastict”
- Macutchi, “All In A Day’s Work”
- Progression, “Different Day, Different Light” (Reward Remix)
- Quasar, “Road Network"
- Solarstone, “Rain Stars Eternal” (Original Mix)
- Tegma, “What The Fuzz”
- Voglemann, “Angelic” (Karim Haas Remix)
Warmup Tracks:
- Darin Epsilon pres Mimoori, “Green Destiny” (Original)
- Darin Epsilon pres Mimoori, “Green Destiny” (Section 75 Remix)
- Noel Sanger, “Natural Perfection” (Manuel De La Mare Mix)
- Tegma, “Circles”
- Tegma, “East Block (CCCP Mix)
- Tegma, “Monday Star”
- Tobias Hoppe, “Gentle Noises” (Original Mix)
I'm also going to add a new "feature" to my monthly record pool selections, the "top pick" of the month. This month, my favorite track from the DVD was the Toby Emerson track, "Rapture" (Chad Cisneros Remix).
To hear "Rapture," click on the player here (only visible in the original Blog post, not in the Facebook Notes feed). Sorry, no downloads are available.
Conduct Becoming 2008
on Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Conduct Becoming project, originally started in 2001 by Marc Carnes and Drew Dudley (with a tiny bit of assistance from myself), was created to honor the memory of Jason Abraham. Last week, this project released its eighth annual CD. A feature about that project and about the Pub was shown on CTV’s “Live At Five” program on the album launch night last week, and you can see that news clip here on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywksUzmD9Xo
This year’s Conduct Becoming CD will soon be available for online purchase, and you can check out the Conduct Becoming website for more information. One of the tracks on this year’s album (Mike Allison’s “When I Grow Old”) can be downloaded for free as an MP3 from this link, if you want a sample of some of the music available on the CD. I've listened to the entire CD several times, and I highly recommend picking up a copy and supporting a very worthwhile cause.
For people in the southeastern New Brunswick area, there will be a special "Conduct Becoming Evening" hosted at Cranewood, the University President's house, next Friday evening (April 11th). Several of the artists and musicians from this year's album will be performing that evening. Tickets are $25 each and somewhat limited in availability. I went to this event last year and had a great time, so I highly recommend it.
This year’s Conduct Becoming CD will soon be available for online purchase, and you can check out the Conduct Becoming website for more information. One of the tracks on this year’s album (Mike Allison’s “When I Grow Old”) can be downloaded for free as an MP3 from this link, if you want a sample of some of the music available on the CD. I've listened to the entire CD several times, and I highly recommend picking up a copy and supporting a very worthwhile cause.
For people in the southeastern New Brunswick area, there will be a special "Conduct Becoming Evening" hosted at Cranewood, the University President's house, next Friday evening (April 11th). Several of the artists and musicians from this year's album will be performing that evening. Tickets are $25 each and somewhat limited in availability. I went to this event last year and had a great time, so I highly recommend it.
When I Grow Old
on Thursday, February 21, 2008
People who visit my website because of my DJ’ing activities probably assume that I focus almost entirely on “dance music,” or progressive/tribal house EDM, for those who pay close attention to the particular genre that I specialize in. However, I have a fairly broad background in music (as my regular blog readers must realize).
Last year, I wrote a track which I thought was pretty catchy. I'd categorize it as "indie soft rock." I recorded a rough copy of the song one Saturday evening before work at the Pub, and sent the recording to Mike Allison to listen to. A day later, Mike emailed me back to say that he really liked the song, and recorded a rough version himself. As soon as I heard it, I decided that I would try to release the song professionally.
What with all my other jobs and projects, it took a while for everything to come together, but over the next eight or ten months, I finally got the project moving forward quickly. We recorded the song partly in New Brunswick, in my own studio, and partly in Vancouver at FaderMaster Studios, with Shawn Cole acting as a recording and mastering engineer. Mike did the lead and backup vocals, and the acoustic guitar and bass. I played the drums, keyboards, electric guitar, and shaker in the new version.
I also enlisted the assistance of Deanna Musgrave to help me put a video together. We did some filming last spring, and more filming this past fall. Deanna has a lot of practice at putting videos together, and has a really interesting abstract style for some of her work which contrasts interestingly with the usual style that I’ve used in the past to put a lot of videos together. Deanna put together the first version of the video for me, and then added some additional footage with the help of Julien Strasfield as a technical guru in Final Cut (since I’m used to PC-based software). Having Deanna and myself working together as co-filmmakers and co-editors was a really educational experience for me.
It’s interesting that this project has turned into a “Mount Allison University Community” project. Mike is an alumnus at MTA. Shawn used to be my roommate while we were at university, and he worked at the campus Pub with me as the Student Manager (his mom, Filis, still works at the university too). Deanna is an alumnus. Julien is still a student, although he graduates this year. Ian Allen, another employee at both the University and the campus Pub, did the graphic design work for the CD, and helped with marketing. When we needed extra actors for the video, we recruited Dinao (a friend of mine who worked with me as a bartender last year) to act as Mike's supposed girlfriend. For the older version of Mike & Dinao in the future, we were lucky to have the assistance of Robert Campbell (MTA’s President) and his wife Christl (a professor at MTA) as characters. In fact, the only two people involved in the entire project who are not members of the MTA university community are the two kids in the video – Evan (my nephew) and Mira (Evan’s friend), which provided the "flashback" footage of Mike and Dinao when they were young. Maybe someday one or both of them will decide that they want to come to Mount Allison.
Here’s a link to the video, for those who want to watch it.
We also put together a full CD with this song as the first track on the CD, and I included eight of my favourite other Mike Allison tracks. Some of the other songs have been released on his various albums before, and some were not. The CD is called "Tilting At Windmills." I’m also working on getting a listing for the CD on Amazon.
You may be curious about the name for the CD. “Tilting At Windmills” is a phrase from Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes. Basically, "tilting" was another word for jousting (by knights) in Medieval times, and in the book, our hero thought that a windmill was actually a giant, and so he wanted to attack it by jousting. Essentially then, “tilting at windmills” has come to mean “fighting a futile fight” or “fighting against imaginary enemies,” or variations on the same theme. I suppose that you could infer that since this song (and CD) are being marketed purely through guerrilla or viral marketing approaches, rather than conventional musical channels, we are “fighting the musical establishment.” However, we’re just doing this for fun, so the “musical establishment” is really an enemy in imagination only. Don Quixote is the best-selling work of fiction of all time (for non-political, non-religious works), so hopefully some of that charm rubs off and makes the CD popular too.
Anyway, if you like the song, please send the website link and/or the YouTube link to your friends. We’re not trying to make money off CD sales, so we definitely encourage you to share the mp3 freely. And if you want to hear the song on the radio, click here to see a full list of Canadian radio stations, so you can give your favourite local station a call or an email request to hear the song. Here are the links to the video on YouTube, and also to the page on my site where you can download the mp3 for free:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjauOyEt40
"When I Grow Old" (and the rest of Mike Allison's "Tilting At Windmills" album) is now available for mp3 download from iTunes, AmazonMP3, Rhapsody, Napster, and Shockhound. We especially recommend that you check out the Shockhound link, because you can sign up for a free account now and as an introductory offer, you can download thirteen mp3's for free. In other words, you can get the entire "Tilting At Windmills" album for free that way!
Edit, December 2011: Sorry for the low quality of the YouTube video, especially by today's standards. Remember that this was created back in the early days of YouTube video, and before High Definition video recording.
Also, here's a link so you can play the song directly through SoundCloud, or download the music, by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the track:
Bolivia feat Mike Allison - When I Grow Old (Radio Edit) by djbolivia
Finally, here's a link to a SoundCloud page with a few of Mike Allison's other songs:
http://soundcloud.com/mike-allison
Check it out, as the songs there can also be downloaded for free.
Last year, I wrote a track which I thought was pretty catchy. I'd categorize it as "indie soft rock." I recorded a rough copy of the song one Saturday evening before work at the Pub, and sent the recording to Mike Allison to listen to. A day later, Mike emailed me back to say that he really liked the song, and recorded a rough version himself. As soon as I heard it, I decided that I would try to release the song professionally.
What with all my other jobs and projects, it took a while for everything to come together, but over the next eight or ten months, I finally got the project moving forward quickly. We recorded the song partly in New Brunswick, in my own studio, and partly in Vancouver at FaderMaster Studios, with Shawn Cole acting as a recording and mastering engineer. Mike did the lead and backup vocals, and the acoustic guitar and bass. I played the drums, keyboards, electric guitar, and shaker in the new version.
I also enlisted the assistance of Deanna Musgrave to help me put a video together. We did some filming last spring, and more filming this past fall. Deanna has a lot of practice at putting videos together, and has a really interesting abstract style for some of her work which contrasts interestingly with the usual style that I’ve used in the past to put a lot of videos together. Deanna put together the first version of the video for me, and then added some additional footage with the help of Julien Strasfield as a technical guru in Final Cut (since I’m used to PC-based software). Having Deanna and myself working together as co-filmmakers and co-editors was a really educational experience for me.
It’s interesting that this project has turned into a “Mount Allison University Community” project. Mike is an alumnus at MTA. Shawn used to be my roommate while we were at university, and he worked at the campus Pub with me as the Student Manager (his mom, Filis, still works at the university too). Deanna is an alumnus. Julien is still a student, although he graduates this year. Ian Allen, another employee at both the University and the campus Pub, did the graphic design work for the CD, and helped with marketing. When we needed extra actors for the video, we recruited Dinao (a friend of mine who worked with me as a bartender last year) to act as Mike's supposed girlfriend. For the older version of Mike & Dinao in the future, we were lucky to have the assistance of Robert Campbell (MTA’s President) and his wife Christl (a professor at MTA) as characters. In fact, the only two people involved in the entire project who are not members of the MTA university community are the two kids in the video – Evan (my nephew) and Mira (Evan’s friend), which provided the "flashback" footage of Mike and Dinao when they were young. Maybe someday one or both of them will decide that they want to come to Mount Allison.
Here’s a link to the video, for those who want to watch it.
We also put together a full CD with this song as the first track on the CD, and I included eight of my favourite other Mike Allison tracks. Some of the other songs have been released on his various albums before, and some were not. The CD is called "Tilting At Windmills." I’m also working on getting a listing for the CD on Amazon.
You may be curious about the name for the CD. “Tilting At Windmills” is a phrase from Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes. Basically, "tilting" was another word for jousting (by knights) in Medieval times, and in the book, our hero thought that a windmill was actually a giant, and so he wanted to attack it by jousting. Essentially then, “tilting at windmills” has come to mean “fighting a futile fight” or “fighting against imaginary enemies,” or variations on the same theme. I suppose that you could infer that since this song (and CD) are being marketed purely through guerrilla or viral marketing approaches, rather than conventional musical channels, we are “fighting the musical establishment.” However, we’re just doing this for fun, so the “musical establishment” is really an enemy in imagination only. Don Quixote is the best-selling work of fiction of all time (for non-political, non-religious works), so hopefully some of that charm rubs off and makes the CD popular too.
Anyway, if you like the song, please send the website link and/or the YouTube link to your friends. We’re not trying to make money off CD sales, so we definitely encourage you to share the mp3 freely. And if you want to hear the song on the radio, click here to see a full list of Canadian radio stations, so you can give your favourite local station a call or an email request to hear the song. Here are the links to the video on YouTube, and also to the page on my site where you can download the mp3 for free:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjauOyEt40
"When I Grow Old" (and the rest of Mike Allison's "Tilting At Windmills" album) is now available for mp3 download from iTunes, AmazonMP3, Rhapsody, Napster, and Shockhound. We especially recommend that you check out the Shockhound link, because you can sign up for a free account now and as an introductory offer, you can download thirteen mp3's for free. In other words, you can get the entire "Tilting At Windmills" album for free that way!
Edit, December 2011: Sorry for the low quality of the YouTube video, especially by today's standards. Remember that this was created back in the early days of YouTube video, and before High Definition video recording.
Also, here's a link so you can play the song directly through SoundCloud, or download the music, by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the track:
Bolivia feat Mike Allison - When I Grow Old (Radio Edit) by djbolivia
Finally, here's a link to a SoundCloud page with a few of Mike Allison's other songs:
http://soundcloud.com/mike-allison
Check it out, as the songs there can also be downloaded for free.
Top Ten Classical Music Works
on Sunday, January 27, 2008
On Friday night, I went to a performance by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (in Edmonton, at Winspear). My former roommate, Marc Carnes, is the Director of Development at the Winspear Centre. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is pretty small as far as orchestras go, with about 56 full-time members, and when they perform bigger pieces, they hire in extra talent where needed. The Winspear Centre has amazing acoustics, and I believe that it is known as being one of Canada’s premiere performance venues for exactly this reason. The evening included a Messiaen piece, “Oiseaux Exotiques,” which featured guest pianist Louise Bessette, whom I met after the show. The 2nd half of the evening featured Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” performed by the ESO under the direction of William Eddins. All in all, a great evening of entertainment for anyone who enjoys this kind of music.
People who only know me casually might think that it’s strange that I would go to an event like this. If you know me because I’m a DJ, focusing on electronica and dance music, you’d probably think that listening to classical music would be the furthest thing from my mind. But I actually like several types of music, with dance, rock, indie/alternative, and classical being among the top genres (and I don’t mind country). I actually studied classical piano for a long time, and an understanding of classical piano theory gives everyone a great building point for understanding other genres of music.
For those of you who have always wanted to learn more about classical music, but didn’t know where to begin, I’m going to give you a quick “top ten” list to think about, since I am wide-awake right now after bartending this evening, and I can’t fall asleep at the moment. All of the pieces that I'm going to list here are easily recognizable, and quite memorable. I don’t watch a lot of movies or TV, but I can think of several movies that have soundtracks which included various of these pieces, so I’ve tried to list those tie-ins where I could. Anyway, here is my late-night off-the-cuff “top ten classical music” list.
1. George Gershwin, “Rhapsody In Blue” – one of America’s most well-known and loved classical works. This piece was written by Gershwin in 1924, and many people remember it from its appearance in Disney’s “Fantasia 2000” movie. When Gershwin was asked about his inspiration for the piece, he said that he wrote it on a train trip from New York to Boston, to describe the musical kaleidoscope of America. To honor this piece, it was played at the opening of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles by eighty-four pianists, playing simultaneously. The piece is instantly recognizable for its opening glissando on the clarinet. This is a very whimsical and upbeat piece.
2. Samuel Osborne Barber, “Adagio For Strings” – another unforgettable composition for me, because it was the backing music for the “Barnes Shoots Elias” scene in the movie Platoon. This piece was written in 1936, and was voted as the “saddest” classical musical composition of all time by a recent BBC survey. That’s not surprising, when you hear it, considering its mournful tempo and melodies. Versions of this composition have been remixed or sampled for tracks by such well-known DJ’s and producers as Sean Combs, Ferry Corsten, the Skip Raiders, Paul Oakenfold, and Tiesto. In fact, it was the strength of Tiesto’s remix of this piece, from his “Parade of Athletes” album, that led to him being asked to perform at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
3. Maurice Ravel, “Bolero” – this 1928 composition by Maurice Ravel actually embarrassed him because of its popularity. It was featured in the popular late 1970’s film “10” (Bo Derek & Dudley Moore), and is most recognizable for its ostinato rhythm on the snare drum throughout. The piece itself is very simple, and is one of the best examples in classical music of a piece that constantly builds throughout the performance. It is basically just two separate melodies, which continue to overlap each other, and more and more instruments get added as the piece progresses, until finally the entire orchestra is playing together at the end. Some people might also recognize this from its inclusion in the theatre production Copacabana.
4. Carl Orff, “Carmina Burana (O Fortuna)” – the Carmina Burana is a manuscript from the 12th or 13th century which is really just a collection of hundreds and hundreds of medieval songs and poems. Carmina Burana means “songs of Burana” in whatever language it was written in (Latin?). In the 1920’s or 1930’s, Carl Orff set 24 of these songs/poems to music, and the most famous of this group was “O Fortuna.” If you’ve seen “The Doors” (the movie), then you’ll easily recognize the “O Fortuna” selection from that soundtrack, when Jim and Patricia (the reporter) were in the library, entering the blood pact.
5. Mozart, “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” – this work, meaning “a little night music,” was written in the late eighteenth century. There are four known movements to this (with the suggestion by Mozart himself that there was also originally a fifth movement), and the first movement is the one that everyone would recognize instantly. The best way that I’d describe this work would be that it is a pretty whimsical or frivilous piece of music. This composition has been featured in a couple movies that I can think of: Alien, and one of the Ace Ventura movies.
6. Johann Pachelbel, “Canon in D” – this 17th century work, often [mistakenly] assumed to be composed by J. S. Bach, is a simple three-part canon based on a repeating two-bar (eight note) bass line. And what’s strange is that I can’t think of any movies that this was in, off the top of my head. I used to love to play it when I was studying classical piano. However, a rock arrangement was made extremely popular by YouTube, in this video by an Asian guitarist.
7. Tchaikovsky, “Nutcracker Suite: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” – the Nutcracker Suite is a ballet. Within the musical score to the ballet, Tchaikovsky wrote a series of waltzes and other works. The “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is probably the most famous of these. The song in the original Nutcracker which introduces the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is called “La Marche,” and that piece was used as the basis for a pop rock single that became a #1 hit in Britain in the 1960’s, although I can’t remember who wrote it. Anyway, that song, “Nut Rocker,” is one of the theme songs for Boston Bruins. Parts of the Nutcracker Suite (including “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” as an opener) were used in the original soundtrack to Disney’s “Fantasia” (1940 version).
8. Rachmaninoff, “Piano Concerto no. 2, opus 18” – Rachmaninoff, a Russian composer of the early 20th century, is famous for four concertos he wrote, and also for the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” I really like his 2nd Concerto, although his third Concerto is notable for being one of the most difficult works to play on piano. I can’t remember ever hearing any of Rachmaninoff’s pieces in any movies.
9. Ludwig van Beethoven, “Mondscheinsonate” – most people would probably know this better by its common English name, the “Moonlight Sonata.” Beethoven’s list of produced works is enormous, such as his nine symphonies, and he is well known for the compositions that he continued to write over the years as he slowly became completely tone deaf. In fact, it is said that when his Ninth Symphony premiered, he did not hear the audience clapping so he started to cry because he thought they didn’t like it, and he did not realize until someone turned him around to face the audience that everybody had loved it. Anyway, the Moonlight Sonata is probably in a ton of films, but I can’t think of any right now.
10. Johann Strauss Jr., “An Der Schonen Blau” – this is something that you might recognize if I told you that the common English name for the piece is the “Blue Danube Waltz.” And if you’ve seen “2001: A Space Odyssey,” you’ll recognize this song. It was also used in a Monty Python skit, where there was an orchestra playing this piece in a football field, and someone kept blowing up members of the orchestra.
ETA April 5/08: I just saw "Hannibal," and the Blue Danube is also in this movie.
Alright, that’s enough about classical music for this evening, but if you have ever had any urge to start learning a bit about classical music, find copies of these ten tracks to get you started, and you won’t go wrong.
People who only know me casually might think that it’s strange that I would go to an event like this. If you know me because I’m a DJ, focusing on electronica and dance music, you’d probably think that listening to classical music would be the furthest thing from my mind. But I actually like several types of music, with dance, rock, indie/alternative, and classical being among the top genres (and I don’t mind country). I actually studied classical piano for a long time, and an understanding of classical piano theory gives everyone a great building point for understanding other genres of music.
For those of you who have always wanted to learn more about classical music, but didn’t know where to begin, I’m going to give you a quick “top ten” list to think about, since I am wide-awake right now after bartending this evening, and I can’t fall asleep at the moment. All of the pieces that I'm going to list here are easily recognizable, and quite memorable. I don’t watch a lot of movies or TV, but I can think of several movies that have soundtracks which included various of these pieces, so I’ve tried to list those tie-ins where I could. Anyway, here is my late-night off-the-cuff “top ten classical music” list.
1. George Gershwin, “Rhapsody In Blue” – one of America’s most well-known and loved classical works. This piece was written by Gershwin in 1924, and many people remember it from its appearance in Disney’s “Fantasia 2000” movie. When Gershwin was asked about his inspiration for the piece, he said that he wrote it on a train trip from New York to Boston, to describe the musical kaleidoscope of America. To honor this piece, it was played at the opening of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles by eighty-four pianists, playing simultaneously. The piece is instantly recognizable for its opening glissando on the clarinet. This is a very whimsical and upbeat piece.
2. Samuel Osborne Barber, “Adagio For Strings” – another unforgettable composition for me, because it was the backing music for the “Barnes Shoots Elias” scene in the movie Platoon. This piece was written in 1936, and was voted as the “saddest” classical musical composition of all time by a recent BBC survey. That’s not surprising, when you hear it, considering its mournful tempo and melodies. Versions of this composition have been remixed or sampled for tracks by such well-known DJ’s and producers as Sean Combs, Ferry Corsten, the Skip Raiders, Paul Oakenfold, and Tiesto. In fact, it was the strength of Tiesto’s remix of this piece, from his “Parade of Athletes” album, that led to him being asked to perform at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
3. Maurice Ravel, “Bolero” – this 1928 composition by Maurice Ravel actually embarrassed him because of its popularity. It was featured in the popular late 1970’s film “10” (Bo Derek & Dudley Moore), and is most recognizable for its ostinato rhythm on the snare drum throughout. The piece itself is very simple, and is one of the best examples in classical music of a piece that constantly builds throughout the performance. It is basically just two separate melodies, which continue to overlap each other, and more and more instruments get added as the piece progresses, until finally the entire orchestra is playing together at the end. Some people might also recognize this from its inclusion in the theatre production Copacabana.
4. Carl Orff, “Carmina Burana (O Fortuna)” – the Carmina Burana is a manuscript from the 12th or 13th century which is really just a collection of hundreds and hundreds of medieval songs and poems. Carmina Burana means “songs of Burana” in whatever language it was written in (Latin?). In the 1920’s or 1930’s, Carl Orff set 24 of these songs/poems to music, and the most famous of this group was “O Fortuna.” If you’ve seen “The Doors” (the movie), then you’ll easily recognize the “O Fortuna” selection from that soundtrack, when Jim and Patricia (the reporter) were in the library, entering the blood pact.
5. Mozart, “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” – this work, meaning “a little night music,” was written in the late eighteenth century. There are four known movements to this (with the suggestion by Mozart himself that there was also originally a fifth movement), and the first movement is the one that everyone would recognize instantly. The best way that I’d describe this work would be that it is a pretty whimsical or frivilous piece of music. This composition has been featured in a couple movies that I can think of: Alien, and one of the Ace Ventura movies.
6. Johann Pachelbel, “Canon in D” – this 17th century work, often [mistakenly] assumed to be composed by J. S. Bach, is a simple three-part canon based on a repeating two-bar (eight note) bass line. And what’s strange is that I can’t think of any movies that this was in, off the top of my head. I used to love to play it when I was studying classical piano. However, a rock arrangement was made extremely popular by YouTube, in this video by an Asian guitarist.
7. Tchaikovsky, “Nutcracker Suite: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” – the Nutcracker Suite is a ballet. Within the musical score to the ballet, Tchaikovsky wrote a series of waltzes and other works. The “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is probably the most famous of these. The song in the original Nutcracker which introduces the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is called “La Marche,” and that piece was used as the basis for a pop rock single that became a #1 hit in Britain in the 1960’s, although I can’t remember who wrote it. Anyway, that song, “Nut Rocker,” is one of the theme songs for Boston Bruins. Parts of the Nutcracker Suite (including “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” as an opener) were used in the original soundtrack to Disney’s “Fantasia” (1940 version).
8. Rachmaninoff, “Piano Concerto no. 2, opus 18” – Rachmaninoff, a Russian composer of the early 20th century, is famous for four concertos he wrote, and also for the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” I really like his 2nd Concerto, although his third Concerto is notable for being one of the most difficult works to play on piano. I can’t remember ever hearing any of Rachmaninoff’s pieces in any movies.
9. Ludwig van Beethoven, “Mondscheinsonate” – most people would probably know this better by its common English name, the “Moonlight Sonata.” Beethoven’s list of produced works is enormous, such as his nine symphonies, and he is well known for the compositions that he continued to write over the years as he slowly became completely tone deaf. In fact, it is said that when his Ninth Symphony premiered, he did not hear the audience clapping so he started to cry because he thought they didn’t like it, and he did not realize until someone turned him around to face the audience that everybody had loved it. Anyway, the Moonlight Sonata is probably in a ton of films, but I can’t think of any right now.
10. Johann Strauss Jr., “An Der Schonen Blau” – this is something that you might recognize if I told you that the common English name for the piece is the “Blue Danube Waltz.” And if you’ve seen “2001: A Space Odyssey,” you’ll recognize this song. It was also used in a Monty Python skit, where there was an orchestra playing this piece in a football field, and someone kept blowing up members of the orchestra.
ETA April 5/08: I just saw "Hannibal," and the Blue Danube is also in this movie.
Alright, that’s enough about classical music for this evening, but if you have ever had any urge to start learning a bit about classical music, find copies of these ten tracks to get you started, and you won’t go wrong.
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