Lisa Fry (backup singer)->Musicians Who Are Getting Inadequate Recognition

When we started watching "20 Feet From Stardom", I started thinking about the people that I know personally that should receive more musical attention than they get right now. The first person I thought of was Daniel Ethridge, a graduate of Anderson High School last year, currently attending Belmont University to study music. I've been trying to keep up with him and he's putting up some great stuff. I feel like he would benefit from recording some of his tracks at a higher quality but considering how good his band sounds with the equipment that they're using, I think the only way they an go is up. The kid's talented and I wish the best for him. The fact that I know him and that I personally know that he's a good kid is really making me root for him. I've been trying to find out whether he's released an album because I would definitely buy it to support him. He probably doesn't know I'm a fan but that's alright. Here are most of the useful links to his music that I have found!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Daniel-Ethridge-and-the-Wild-Things/334189343384222

https://danielethridge.bandpage.com

https://soundcloud.com/daniel-ethridge/whenever-youre-around

Also… completely unrelated. Here's a German satirist from the 70's-80's that few people in the US know? See if you can understand what's going on?

Étude Practice

Currently, I've been trying to get a little more away from playing the same pop music that I play ALL THE TIME. It gets repetitive after a while and as a result, like pretty much anything else, starts losing its appeal; so I've started trying to learn Étude, op. 10-3 by Chopin. I think the reason that this is so much more difficult for me is because pop music tends to play boring chords on the bottom, or something else that's similarly easy to pick up! With classical music, my left hand is usually challenged more, having to contribute to the melody. This is where I'm currently at...

Radioactive on "Guitar"

Life Theory

Here's a short life theory that I came up with regarding why more intelligent people are more unhappy. Generally speaking, more intelligent people tend to be people who are adept at critical thinking. Critical thinking usually involves breaking things down and analyzing what is wrong. This is useful if one elects to fix those things that one perceives as wrong as this usually brings about a sense of fulfillment, a sense of action! However, I believe critical thinking usually culminates in identifying that which is wrong and not doing anything about it because one can't for some reason or another. Therefore, a critical thinker is left identifying a whole bunch of things that are wrong, "negatives". A critical thinker often has difficulty turning off his "critical thinking" and therefore dwells on "negatives". There are, however, "positives" and I would define these as instances where the critical thinker is surprised by excellence through creativity.  Making an analogy to music, a critical thinker would be bored with the stereotypical, average pop music because... Well it is average. However, when somebody does something new, "redefines the game" (credit goes to Gavin here I believe), a critical thinker is impressed by this excellence. However, since this is not the average, it occurs by definition less frequently. Therefore, a "critical thinker" is stuck with a majority of things that bore him/her, "negatives", and a minority of "positives". The math speaks for itself. My conclusion is that to be happier, one has to involve oneself in activities that cause one to focus so much on the activity that one doesn't have time to critically think (#flow).

This saved as a draft originally, sorry!

Conflict Diamonds- Lupe Fiasco- Round 2 (Shorter)

Simply in-rhyming annotations. I think this song is precariously balanced on the edge of valid social criticism and politically skydiving without a parachute.

[Intro] Blah blah blah

Diamonds are forever,
they wont leave in the night i've no fear that they might.
Desert me!!

Uhh, F and F, uhh

Diamonds are forever

Yeah, ya no what im saying
I figure, I feel like i should just, ya no
Show people the other side that wonder where, ya no wat im sayin, that are presently unaware.
They dont know about it, ya no wat im sayin, ya no jus show em theres another side to this thing right here,
its called bling!

[Verse 1:]
Allow me to break down the game,
behind the bracelets, earrings, chains, 

watches and rings. The bling,
the crystal encrusted, princess flooded, 

canary studded, blue coloured and blood stained.

Yeah the older brother of the drug game,
that give her a fame, then take awayer of lame.
the empowerer of the kings that came to claims and disease
believe what the native people were saying.

Believe, my engagement ring received and flossed 

at the cost of a bondage child minus pain.
Long ago kings use to wear em in their armor,

when they fought other armies, because it use to scare em.
If you wasn't rich couldn't wear em.

Witches use to marry, and they'd shoot you before they share em.
The gift and the curse, the venom and the serum.
Most hated ladies best friend get murked for a clip.

[Chorus]

Diamonds are forever...

[Verse 2:]
Cecil Rhodes sold war and genocide<- Fairly clever
To the countryside just to get his shine on!
I fear what De Beers and his peers use to do,

before the world really knew, just to get their "mine" on!

Making paper with slave labour and hittin little kids

with life time bids making em cut and shine stones.
Inflating the price and making em look nice

and i wasnt thinking twice when i was putting mine on.

About a young shorty in Sierra Leone

or other conflict countries that people call home.
I figured i would never go to Angola 

so it never did affect me 

though maybe indirectly.

That my necklace was funding a rebellion or a military coup,
Started by militias that dont believe in following none of Geneva's rules.
I was brushing off the haters, trying to be cool.
Didnt have a clue that the rapper was helping the rapers, 

raiders of the villagers, pillagers of the schools.

Shooters of the innocent, torturers of the witnesses, 

burners of the businesses And my bracelet was the fuel.
Uhh, i aint pushing an agenda homie,
Im just pushing the facts, Fuck Bush!<-pushing an agenda, regardless of political affiliation

Cuz theres people doin worse on this earth and there black,
I took it for years now let me bring it back,
We all know on foreign shores that they finance wars, 

but asks yourself do they finance yours.

When i first got mine i took em out on tour, 

they only lost half the value when i took em out the store.
Or it was full of moissanites and cubics

but the jeweller knew i was stupid and that i couldnt prove it.

Feeling like i need it because i do music,

to impress the groupies and the interviewers.
So i didnt appraise it, nor did i loop it, 

even gave em to my girl, thinkin i was cupid.

Homies was all hate hoping they could make me lose it, 

creeping through my own hood knew i had to remove it.
I see the Russian Mafia, the Jewish Mobsters, 

the undercover terrorists and the traps for the hustlers.
Homie its a rap for the nonsense rhyming, 

props to Kanye i call this Conflict Diamonds.

[Chorus]

Lupe Fiasco- Bitch Bad (Breaking It Down)

I like Lupe Fiasco for a lot of reasons. Although I think he may be politically extreme, he sends out some legitimate, educational messages to kids. I believe that his rap lyrics are intelligent and that if he elects to cuss, he does it based on appropriate grounds. When somebody like me hears the title of his song "Bitch Bad", one may be initially put off but if one actually listens to it, I think one can't help being impressed, at least a little bit. I'll let you make up your mind about that first.

First of all, I appreciate the fact that he manages to convey his intelligence via in-rhyming and appropriately specific large words while keeping it at the level of cognizance of his target audience. His rhyming is in part, pretty clever. I personally appreciate the rhyme of the last verse: but bitch still bad to her if you say it the wrong way, but she think she a bitch, what a double entendre. Finally, he manages to breakdown the issue of expletive rap and its effect on adolescents in a way that's easy to follow. I identify with his protest so this song hit home. Further analysis is present below. 

Internal Rhymes

Clever Rhymes (Rhymes I haven't hear before in rap)

Vocabulary greater than that of an average 7th grader or greater than 3 syllables

[Intro]
Yeah
I say bitch bad, woman good, lady better
Hey, hey, hey, hey

[Verse 1]
Now imagine there’s a shawty, maybe five maybe four
Ridin’ ’round with his mama listening to the radio
And a song comes on and a not far off from being born
Doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong
Now I ain’t trying to make it too complex<-
But let’s just say shawty has an undeveloped context<-
About the perception of women these days
His mama sings along and this what she says
“Niggas I’m a bad bitch, and I’m bad bitch
far above average”<-
And maybe other rhyming words like cabbage and savage<-
And baby carriage and other things that match it<-
Couple of things that are happenin’ here
First he’s relatin’ the word “bitch” with his mama, comma<-
And because she’s relatin’ to herself, his most important source of help,
And mental health, he may skew respect for dishonor<-

[Hook] Short
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, they misunderstood
(I’m killin’ these bitches)
Uh, tell ‘em
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, they misunderstood
They misunderstood
(I’m killin’ these bitches)

[Verse 2]
Yeah, now imagine a group of little girls nine through twelve
On the internet watchin’ videos listenin’ to songs by themselves
It doesn’t really matter if they have parental clearance
They understand the internet better than their parents
Now being the internet, the content’s probably uncensored<-
They’re young, so they’re malleable and probably unmentored<-
A complicated combination, maybe with no relevance<-<-
Until that intelligence<- meets their favorite singer’s preference<-<-
“Bad bitches, bad bitches, bad bitches
That’s all I want and all I like in life is bad bitches, bad bitches”
Now let’s say that they less concerned with him
And more with the video girl acquiescent to his whims
Ah, the plot thickens
High heels, long hair, fat booty, slim
Reality check, I’m not trippin’
They don’t see a paid actress, just what makes a bad bitch

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Disclaimer<-: This rhymer, Lupe’s not usin’ bitch as a lesson<-
But as a psychological weapon<-(slant)
To set in your mind and really mess with your conceptions<-<-
Discretions<-, reflections<-, it’s clever misdirection<-<-
Cause, while I was rappin’ they was growin’ up fast
Nobody stepped in to ever slow ‘em up, gasp
Sure enough, in this little world
The little boy meets one of those little girls
And he thinks she a bad bitch and she thinks she a bad bitch
He thinks disrespectfully<-, she thinks of that sexually<-
She got the wrong idea, he don’t wanna fuck her
He thinks she’s bad at being a bitch like his mother
Momma never dress like that, come out the house, hot mess like that
Ass, titties, dress like that
All out to impress like that
Just like that, you see the fruit of the confusion
He caught in a reality<-, she caught in an illusion<-
Bad mean good to her, she really nice and smart
But bad mean bad to him, bitch don’t play a part
But bitch still bad to her if you say it the wrong way
But she think she a bitch, what a double entendre<-

[Hook]

[Outro]
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, they misunderstood
You’re misunderstood
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, greatest motherhood
(I’m killin’ these bitches)

P.s. 

Rap Genius also does a good job of explaining the lyrics.

A Couple of Things

It took me a long time to decide what to write about this time but I think I've narrowed it down to two things. SXSW and it's ITunes festival and the ridiculous amount of food samples that can be attained at Whole Foods. I will go into more detail tomorrow as I just found time to write this down now but I promise the time delay will be rewarded with a proper appreciation of at least one of the two topics!

So… The choice of the day is free food as we will probably discuss SXSW in class throughout this week and after Spring Break as well! Walking around Whole Foods yesterday, I sampled an Orange Custard, Fish, BBQ sauce on sausage, cheese, more cheese, a cracker with a ridiculously awesome, disproportionate amount of sausage and… cheese on it, more cheese, a piece of cake… Being a hungry teenager perpetually suffering from the affliction of hunger, I must maintain that these sampling opportunities are a blessing. I'm positive that Whole Foods loses money on me. I give them that they do manage to trick me into buying a small bite to eat (reciprocity principle) but that total is a minimal 89 cents. Their bakery is not bad at all. Also, the new Whole Foods (domain) has a pretty sweet seating area set up ranging from the hearths outside to the biergarten benches by the food trailers to the lounge style seating upstairs on the inside to the climax of the upstair outdoor seating looking out over the… highway… Yeah that part's a bummer but I've found it to be a great place to study and since even being in the proximity of so much food makes me happy, why shouldn't I be there? Whole Food's prices are at large ludicrous, but a small snack from the bakery is not a major threat to my wallet.

Recently, I've also been spending way too much time at Central Market. I found out that I could survive fairly well off of getting free samples there as well. However, if I wanted to legitimately feed myself, buying a quality loaf of bread there and then spreading either garlic butter or quality jam (preferably strawberry, blackberry or raspberry) on the delectable slices would/will be a great option in college. I just rambled for a while about food but the fact is I'm only scratching the surface. Next time, my ranting will be more focused.