Nick Drake

Nick Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was very much appreciated by his contemporaries and is in fact still holds a very special place in many modern folk artists minds and hearts.   His music inspired me so much so that my wife and I chose one of his songs for our “first dance” at our wedding in August of this year.  I learned of Nick Drake through my appreciation for Jeff Buckley and subsequently Jeff’s father Tim Buckley.  Interestingly and tragically all 3 of these musicians passed before they turned 30. 

One of the things that made Drake unique at the time, was the fact that he utilized a significant amount of alternative tuning of his guitar in his music. This technique alters the tuning of the guitar so that it mimics indigenous instruments with distinct drones and sound.  This type of tuning is common in folk music.  The combination of his alternative tuning and the warmth of Drake’s voice deliver his thoughtful messages in a unique and inviting way to the ear. 

What I appreciate most about Nick Drake is that he built his albums as a cohesive progression of songs, like chapters in a novel as opposed to single entities grouped together without a common energy. In my mind, the notion of actually looking at a complete album is a lost art in modern pop music.  This paired with his warm voice and thoughtful lyrics make him a worthwhile musician to investigate.  

If you would like to learn about Nick Drake and his music, the three links below are very helpful resources.

http://www.brytermusic.com/ 

This site is a very good resource for folks interested in Nick’s albums that were released both prior to his death and after.   It also offers a very informative biography of Drake in the “about” section.  The site is the official site of the Nick Drake estate. 

http://www.nickdrake.com

This site is a nice resource for searching deep into the life and music of Nick Drake.   It offers links to multiple interviews from people who performed with and knew Nick.   Those interviews offer a more intimate knowledge of the man behind the music, instead of just the music. 

http://www.last.fm/music

Last FM is a fantastic site for experiencing Nick Drakes music.  In the search box, type “Nick Drake” and you will gain access to many of his most popular tunes.  In fact, it is a great resource to hear most artists in the pop/rock/folk genres. 

A very nice example of Nick Drake's music can be heard here, on the title track to his Pink Moon album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXnfhnCoOyo 

David Draiman of Disturbed

David Draiman

David Draimin is the front man of Disturbed, and American rock band that hit big media in 2000. David sings a metal rock genre that takes advantage of strong heavy music. The band addresses life problems from suicide to global awareness. The band advocates for awareness and prevention. Most don’t see the appeal behind a rock band, but lyrically David Draimin is a genius.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-disturbeds-david-draiman-talks-indestructible-new-album-20071121

This is an article in the Rollingstone magazine. He describes the feel in the Indestructible album. He tells of his real life experiences.

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/antisemitism/voices/transcript/?content=20120202

David Draimin was featured on a podcast through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He, being of Jewish decent, wrote a song to confront those who are in Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.

This is the song "Never Again". This is the song David wrote about the Holocaust.

"Inside the Fire" is the song David wrote when confronted by a real life tragedy. Suicide is something he has had to deal with, and try to tell people to get help.  

Macklemore

Macklemore

A.K.A Ben Haggerty

Created by: Juliana Albano

Macklemore (a.k.a. Ben Haggerty) is an American hip-hop musician, from Seattle, Washington. His talents lay in rapping and performance artistry. Macklemore's musical piece's emotionally range from humorous (And We Danced) to pride (Irish Celebration) to revolutionary (Same Love). What is particularly interesting about Macklemore is not his humor, not his style, but the content of his music. Macklmore does not fit the stereotypical mold of "rapper" because the way in which he raps leads to a way of building people up, encouraging the best in others, and having pride in your roots. Through his music, Macklmore is an advocate for same-sex marriage equality, a lover of the Pacific Northwest, and encourages community; this is why he is worth sharing.

Info - Macklemore

The information featured in the link above nicely describes an overview of Macklemore's upbringing, influences, and success, including recognition, performances, and detailed discography. Reading through this website will result in a heightened sense of Macklemore's musical inspiration from his upbringing and other personal factors.

The Town - Macklemore

The link above brings you to a music video featuring Macklemore, which I think is a wonderful way to truly understand an artist; you see their demeanor through performance, understand the song better through the accompanying visual, and of course, listen to the song. This song is titled, "The Town" which describes Macklemore's positive experience growing up in the Pacific Northwest and how dearly the city of Seattle (his birth city) means to him. 

Same Love - Macklemore

The link above will prove to be a testament to the true genius of Macklemore's work in the modern music industry. This song is titiled, "Same Love" and has been a very popular single recently due to the marriage equality acts in the Washington State election. "Same Love" addresses the issue of marriage inequality through song, and reflects other feelings and emotions Macklemore feels for this topic.


Made by: Juliana Albano

Tech N9ne

http://artists.letssingit.com/tech-n9ne-4cw92/biography

This link discusses Tech's life and how he came to be so successful in his career. It discusses how he overcame the obstacles to achieve some of his life and career goals.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/05/tech-n9ne-interview

This link is an interview with tech discussing how he came to be the number one independent rapper and yet not very many people know who he is. It talks about how he never signed with a label, but instead created his own which is called Strange Music and of which he is a co-owner. It also discusses his lyrical genius and why he is thought to be so intelligent in that area.

http://www.the-top-tens.com/items/tech-n9ne-46911.asp

This link discusses tech's style of rapping and word scheming. It also talks about his choice to work independently so he could talk about and rap about whatever he wanted versus having to follow guidelines. It also talk about how he is using his own label to get other unknown rappers and their music out their to be heard.

I respect Tech N9ne as an artist because he built himself from the ground up. Everything he has now, all the money and fame he has, he earned himself. After he first started putting music out there and radio stations wanted to play it, they told him he was going to have to change his name because he couldn't have the name. Instead of following along, he decided he was going to achieve his goals his own way and instead of signing with a label he created his own empire. He puts out at least one album a year, none of which are on the radio because he is a self made artist.

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was many things in his time, a suposed mobster, actress, but first and far-most he was a jazz singer. Born in New Jersey in 1915 Frank found his first rise to fame in the early 1940s when joined with Tommy Dorsey a trombonists. However he decided to try to make his way solo and did so successfully untel the war hit. Frank would later go on to join the rat pack in the 1960s where he adapted his supposed mob connections and less then civil public appearance, that consisted of drinking, gamboling, and womanizing. It was all of this though that made Frank an icon of the era, and in many eyes he was a legend. However jazz in general theses days seems to be a fading genere. I honestly think though that if more people were exposed to artest like Frank Sinatra, it could make it way back into the spot light. So without further review here are some of my favorit tracks from Frank Sinatra.

Thats Life

I Get a Kick Out of You

Night and Day

Also if your interested more in the history of Frank Sinatra or Vegas in general there is a two part documentary on the rat pack which can be found Here. http://www.biography.com/people/frank-sinatra-9484810?page=1

Plus its narrated by Danny Aiello

If music isn't your thing you can also check out what films Frank Sinatra has been by clicking Here.

(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000069/)

Last of all if your looking to delve even deeper into the Sinatra history including interviews of Sinatra himself you should check his families form which can be found here.

(http://www.sinatrafamily.com/)

Flying Lotus

My favorite musical grooves have an organic sound to them; as though each note and rhythm are paired perfectly with each other to emulate the highest quality and character of music. Electronic music normally sounds unnatural as though random noises come out of nowhere; however, Flying Lotus is a unique artist with an inspirational sound. The neo-electro instrumental and song producer incorporates the kind of life into his sound that at times the music seem more like a collection of creative impulses  rather than the combination of unique rhythms and sounds. Another claim to the coolness of Flying Lotus is that, although he has sky rocketed to fame relatively quick and recently, “Fly Lo” shows no signs of elitism in his interviews and each stage performance has an electrifying sound and image display. As he gains popularity the music never quiets and he continues to press the realms of organic electronic sound with a unique electro-jazz feel in his new records. This is why I am inspired by  the great Flying Lotus.

Fly Lo

For an example of how "hyphe" his electrifying stage performance is, check out Flying Lotus perform at last summer's Coachella 

As with anything else, wikipedia.org is a good start to learning essential information about the artist. The link below offers a summary of everything about Flying Lotus - from family biography to musical career to his real name (it's Stephen Ellison).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Lotus

To follow Flying Lotus and stay up to date on his tours as he travels the country, visit his webpage. The site also offers exclusive clips and songs from newly released work.
http://flying-lotus.com/until-the-quiet-comes/

This interview between a Pitchfork Inc. representative and Steven Ellison enlightens the reader on what life on tour is like. He also elaborates on future aspirations and goals Flying Lotus sets for himself. The interview also underscores other artists who Fly Lo considers up and coming, and what its like to work and improve upon one's own music. Check out some music videos on the same page for a couple real cool visuals, and low bass frequencies. I recommend watching "Pretty Boy Strut" for a unique experience.
http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8919-flying-lotus/

These are some of my favorite Flying Lotus songs:
1.  Do the Astral Plane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDDBxT9uqBk&feature=related
2.  1983 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CybO7XtYpdU
3. Tealeaf Dancers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnWy5qgdUqE&feature=fvst

Tupac Amaru Shakur

                        http://www.flickr.com/photos/julia_lynn/2495450878/lightbox/

      Anyone who is into the Hip hop music knows the name; Tupac Amaru Shakur. Also, known as "Makaveli, 2Pac". was an American rapper and actor. Born on June 16, 1971 in New York City.

I love 2Pac, I think he is the greatest Hip hop artist of all time. I have not listen to all of his work but what I have listen to are some of my favorites like "Dear Mama". Tupac's songs are racism, social problems.

One of Tupac's quotes that I like is "My mama always used to tell me: 'If you can't find somethin' to live for, you best find somethin' to die for." Read more at:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/tupac_shakur.html#qrMVcVYFBgLz581p.99

      Everyone knows this site pretty well, along with maybe even using it every day, so for his background information and information about his music history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur

      This site shows some of his Tupac’s video clips:

http://www.mtv.com/artists/2pac/music/

      This one is a good site shows his photos and videos. Also, it shows his films:

http://www.2pac.com/photos-video/

Thanks, Ahmed Alajnubi 

Rachel McAdams by Lindsay Chapie

  This kiss is very well known.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1046097/

Everyone knows this site pretty well, along with maybe even using it as an app on their phone. This site not only shows all the movies she was in, also pictures of her and some bio information. The site also shows the names of the characters she played, and the year the movie was made. Around the top middle of the page, it has some pictures along with links of the movies she’s most known for.

http://fuckyeahmcadams.tumblr.com/

This tumblr site has a lot of pictures about Rachel. Some are moving pictures, which are known as GIFs. Some of the images are screenshots from movies she has played in. Some of the pictures are also from photo shoots or red carpet events.

http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:RachelMcAdams,00.html

This site shares some info on her most recent movies, and some images. People is a popular magazine that gets published to be put on the newsstands weekly.

I love Rachel McAdams, I think she has grown so much as an actress. I forgot she was the mean girl in the movie, “The Hot Chick.” Not only has she been seen in different roles, she’s been seen with different hair.  I enjoy her in “The Notebook”and “Time Traveler’s Wife.” I’ve always liked her as an actress, and I think that she would be fun to be around in person. She seems like a likeable. She also is very beautiful.