SPOTTED: Leddra Chapman!

Having had a pretty stressful week, I stumbled upon this new artist whilst checking out the new ins and outs of the London music scene. I instantly got hooked on her amazing voice and the more I read about her, the more intriguing I find her music. Leddra Chapman was born 'Anna Leddra-Chapman' in a small place called Brentwood in England. The British singer-songwriter started writing songs at the age of 12, and is currently building her fan base throughout Europe. Only 21 years old, Leddra released her debut album 'Telling Tales' in November 2009, and is currently attending the London College of Music whilst planning her UK national tours for next summer. She is bound to spread fast, so check out her songs whilst she's still rising! www.leddrachapman.com or look her up on myspace: www.myspace.com/leddrachapman

Worth the while!!!

The Little Sparrow

"I want to make people cry even when they don't understand my words."
-Edith Piaf

If you have never heard of Edith Piaf before, think French. Think very French. She is the queen of traditional French music, the kind you imagine when you think of a cafe in Paris in the 1950's. Her voice transcends languages with a power and passion far beyond what one would expect from her small, fragile frame. She is not known for impeccable technique but rather the intense emotion with which she sings. Where does this emotion come from? It comes from a life of tragedy, from death of loved ones to countless romantic affaires gone wrong, but also from a life of no regrets.

"My life as a kid might strike you as awful, but actually it was beautiful."
-Edith Piaf

While Edith managed to find her way into stardom, she was born on December 19, 1915 into a world that didn't care much about her. Her mother, Anita Maillard, was an aspiring singer, alcoholic, and occasional prostitute who at 17 did not care to be a mom. She soon left Edith with her father, a circus acrobat named Louis-Alphonse Gassion. Although Gassion loved his daughter, he beat Edith and essentially left her to take care of herself. At least when he left for WWI he did not abandon her completely: she was sent to live in a brothel in Normandy where her Grandmother worked as a cook. After a year she returned to her father and joined in his street act. Here the world would get its first taste of Edith's voice, a voice that on at least on occasion blocked a road for so many people had stopped to hear it.

"I think you have to pay for love with bitter tears."
-Edith Piaf

Eventually Edith left her father, though she would remain in touch with him the rest of his life. She continued to sing in the streets, making barely enough to get by. But although her street performances did not bring great financial rewards, they did bring romance into Edith's life. A young man named Louis Dupont fell in love with Edith as he watched her perform, and Edith was equally drawn to him. The two decided to live together and soon, in 1933, Edith would give birth to their daughter Marcelle. The family moved constantly; neither Neither Edith nor Louis had any real work so money was always scarce. It was not long before Edith grew tired of this existence. One night, creating a rope of bed sheets to escape out her window, she left Louis taking Marcelle with her. Marcelle would often be left in the care of Edith's pals as she made her nightly performances on the streets. Her adventures were numerous, and generally involved an escape from the police. One night in 1935 Edith was summoned to the children's hospital where Marcelle had been admitted with meningitis. Nine days later, Edith's only daughter was dead.

The next pivotal moment in Edith's life came in October of 1935. She was discovered on the streets by Louis Leplée, a successful club owner. Leplée took Edith under his wing, increasing her repertoire and improving her technique. It was Leplée who gave Edith her stage name Piaf, which is slang for 'sparrow'. The name came from the song Edith was singing when he discovered her 'La Mome Monieau' (monieau also means sparrow but the name was already taken). Edith was an instant hit: her plain, unglamorous street singer persona was incredibly appealing. Her success continued until she lost both her manager and her good name when Leplée was murdered. Although Edith had an alibi, suspicion of her involvement traveled quickly and put a halt in her swiftly moving career.

Edith's time at Leplée's club was marked by her tumultuous relationship with her souteneur Albert. A souteneur is essentially a pimp: Albert found Edith an audience, but took his commission from what she earned. Edith clung to Albert even though he treated her incredibly poorly. He hit her and threatened to force her into prostitution if she did not give him his commission. She might have stayed longer with Albert if it was not for her friend Nadia. Nadia was in similar situation as Edith; desperately in love with an equally shady friend of Albert named André. André forced Nadia to become a prostitute, but she was unable to pick up clients so, with the encouragement of Edith, ran away while she had the chance. A few days later, Nadia's body was discovered floating in the river Seine. The shock of this incident made Edith realize she could not stay with Albert. But escaping was not so easy. She was kidnapped by one of Albert's thugs and locked in a room. Albert told her he would shoot her if she did not come back to him. She refused and Albert shot. He hit her neck but the wound was not fatal. Luckily a man had jogged Albert's arm as he shot, sparing Edith a grim end.

Edith soon managed to make a comeback in Paris after the Leplée incident. During WWII her fame grew and after the war ended she began to tour the world. The penniless young woman singing in the streets had become an international star. Although the world knows Edith Piaf, Edit Gassion would always exist in her recklessness, her unwillingness to settle down, and her desperate need for love. There would be more tragedy and endlessly more men (often multiple at once), but her life as Edith Gassion had taught her to take both the good and the bad. The world fell in love with Edith's incredible voice because it was a reflection of the life of an incredible woman.

Victor Hugo Viesca

Some cool stuff happening today!

Looking for something awesome to kick off you Halloween weekend? Check out these sweet events happening here on campus!

There is a special Halloween-themed MOFA (Music on a Friday Afternoon) today in the Bird Recital Room at 4:3o. MOFA includes both students and staff and is sure to be frighteningly delightful! Students will perform both instrumental and vocal pieces.

Once you've gotten your ghoul on, head over to the Green Bean at 5:30 for the first joint Accidentals-Cadence performance of the year. In case you were aware, the Accidentals our an all-female acappella group, Cadence is all-male. They will have free pastries and coffee so it's a win-win!

Have a good Halloween weekend!

Hip Hop Music

Hey All!

So lets talk hip hop music!

Something I know absolutely nothing about! But if you are like me then you are in luck because coming to Oxy there are several opportunities to learn about Hip Hop! The Global Hip Hop series is coming to Oxy. There are lectures, screenings, and a variety of events coming to enlighten those of us who are less than knowledgeable about the workings of hip hop!

Recently (yesterday) I attended the "I got an Attitude" Lecture and it was a great introduction to the workings of hip hop. Before, my knowledge of hip hop extended to Snoop Doggy Dog and now I understand why. According to the speaker, the new wave of hip hop that was ushered in with the 90's and now is much different than the self expression that defined the genre when it originally came out in the 70's and 80's.

The original hip hop is about empowerment and self-expression and the examples that I heard I really enjoyed and was impressed. Rather than embarrassed and confused by the "pimp" image of todays rap that glorifies violence and degrades women. The speaker made excellent points about all of these things and helped me understand the value of hip hop.

So more importantly now, the other events that can be equally enlightening for you should you decide to take part in the hip hop series:

Friday, October 29th there is an OPEN MIC even. Thats right! A real live demonstration of what hip hop really is. The formal title for the event is "Word, Yo!" with Slam Champion Nikki Black. Plus, the event is located conveniently at the cooler at 7:00 pm. So come get your weekend started with a slam champion!

The next event is a screening of Estilo Hip Hop in Fowler 302 and it is about hip hop in Chile, Cuba, and Brazil. Also in Fowler 302, is a screening of Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity on Monday November 8th at four and a screening of Hip-Hop Colony on Wednesday November 17th at seven. So be at Fowler 302!

The lecture on Hip-Hop was great and I highly encourage everyone to take the to engage in a culture that is misunderstood and fun to be a part of!

See you at the Open Mic!

A Freshman Music Major

Halloween Special

The Occidental College Music Department
Presents
MOFA
Halloween Special

Friday, October 29, 2010
Bird Studio
4:30 p.m.

Featuring:
Alexandra Forman, Tim Chang, Minjoo Lee, Doug Rosenberg, Andrew Chang, Michael Ursu, Margaret Hawkins, Adrienne Mikovari, Mike Kutten, Seth Hansen

Glee Club Homecoming Concert

Occidental College Glee Club
Desiree LaVertu, Director
presents its annual
Homecoming Concert
Fantastic choral works by Palestrina, Brahms, Frieg
and Stroope as well as contemporary favorites

Come Join the Glee Club and for the fabulous "Football Medley" "Occidental Fair"and the return of "Io Triumphe"

Friday, November 5th, 2010
8:15 pm
Thorne Hall
$10 General Admission
Student with Oxy I.D. Free


For More Information call: (323) 259-2785
Or email: lavertu@oxy.edu

Concert 10/29 @ElSuperMusic collective

alert to all readers/listeners out in the blogosphere/ interwebs... Highland Park artistic collective El Super (follow on twitter @ElSuperMusic) will be performing a concert at 906 n. Ave 56. Resident artists Xei the Ghost, Supa Ape, Ded Pimpin, and Cozy will be playing an extrachunky combined roundrobin style set, running the gamut from ambient techno, free hiphop, spiritual electronica and noise pop. Surely it will be the best thing you can decide to do at 9pm this coming friday night. refer to the collective's music page for listening pleasures.

http://soundcloud.com/melvinrichardson2011

New Talent: James Blake

With his newest E.P. 'Klavierwerke', Londoner James Blake cemented his young reputation as one of the most muscular and exciting in a new generation of IDM producers. Klavierwerke is a very restrained, almost classically austere group of four songs. The bulk of the material Blake is sampling is his own piano playing and singing; he's blending the line between a sampler like Burial and a singer songwriter. And the effect is tremendous, with earlier E.P.'s Blake proved he can make you dance, now he can make you cry. Klavierwerke is a perfect candidate for the term 'spiritual electronica'. Check out his video for a Feist cover 'Limit to your Love' and expect great things from this boy...He's clearly making moves.

Mumford and Sons 10/18/10 at the Palladium

I have to say it: I think this concert changed my life.

Ok, so maybe that's a little bit dramatic of me, but in all seriousness this concert absolutely blew my mind. I'm still reeling three days later.

Please Note: This song contains the "F" word. If you'd like to listen to the clean version, click here!

"I Got an Attitude"

Guest Speaker

Melina Abdullah
"I Got an Attitude"
Hip Hop and Womanist Resistance


Weds, Oct 27th

12:30pm

Fowler 302

Oxy Alum has Profound Thoughts on the Nature of Music in California

This is a really interesting article I just found on the LA Weekly Music page, written by Romona Gonzalez. Gonzalez is an Oxy alum, and is better known as the performer Nite Jewel. Acclaimed for her hazy expressionism and creative artistry exhibited in her music, Nite Jewel has been gaining popularity throughout the country, and was even reviewed by Pitchfork.com. She also just released her new LP, Am I Real? Check out this rad article she wrote:

Going Coastal
by Ramona Gonzalez

History repeats itself, sort of. In the summer of 1961, the Beach Boys released their first single, "Surfin'," on Candix Records. The deal was brokered in part through a convincing pitch by the young Dennis Wilson that the band would get in on the surfing craze booming in California at the time.

In fact, many bands mined that aesthetic: the Bel-Airs, the Surfaris, the Pyramids, the Marketts, the Honeys, the Challengers and others. It was the Beach Boys, however, who popularized the trend into something national and then global.

All the while, leader Brian Wilson had never touched a surfboard save for promotional use.

It makes sense that Los Angeles would be a place to market an aesthetic of optimism: beaches, good weather, pretty girls, fast cars. And now, once again, the stereotypes of Southland culture have become a global trend. Nowadays not only on the Pacific Coast, but to some degree on the Atlantic as well, we see another rise of a beach craze — not as a real pastime or object, but in the form of "just being coastal."

With the lack of regionalism in the U.S. due to the capacity of the Internet to turn the nation into one big blob — to give kids the idea that their locality is closer to a Facebook wall than any particular town — this concept of "being from someplace" seems particularly novel to the new generation.

Happy Birthday Dizzy Gillespie

Google's logo today honored legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who wouldbe 93 years old today.

Here's a short biography about him from blackweb20.com:

Google has used their latest Doodle to commemorate the birth of jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie. 93 years ago, a man by the name of John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was born. The youngest of nine children, Dizzy was born to James and Lottie Gillespie in South Carolina. His dad, James, was the leader of a band, which gave Dizzy access to all types of musical instruments. By age 12, Dizzy was able to play both the trombone and the trumpet.

Dizzy is considered a pioneer in bebop and jazz music. He’s credited with influencing such greats as Miles Davis and Fats Navarro. Besides being a musical legend, Dizzy is known by two characteristics: his cheeks and his horn. Google has captured both of these in their Doodle, making his cheeks bright yellow and circular and giving his horn an upward bend. FromWikipedia:

According to Gillespie’s autobiography, this was originally the result of accidental damage caused by someone sitting on it during a job on January 6, 1953, but the constriction caused by the bending altered the tone of the instrument, and Gillespie liked the effect. Gillespie’s biographer Alyn Shipton writes that Gillespie likely got the idea when he saw a similar instrument in 1937 in Manchester, England while on tour with the Teddy Hill Orchestra. An English trumpeter was using such an instrument because his vision was poor and the horn made reading music easier. According to this account (from British journalist Pat Brand) Gillespie was able to try out the horn and the experience led him, much later, to commission a similar horn for himself.

Happy Birthday Dizzy!!!

Postal Service Producer Found a Way to Make Ga Ga Bearable

I'm not the biggest Lady Gaga fan. I won't go on a schpiel, but let's just leave it at I think she's pretty much the worst thing ever. SO, I was a little skeptical when someone told me about this remix of "Paparazzi." But I have to say it is actually really good (probably because you can only sort of tell it's Lady Gaga).

This super-chill gem was created by the producer of the Postal Service James Tamborello (also known as Dntel or James Figurine). The LA Weekly called it "an ebullient and masterful work of beat experimentalism and ambient textures." Check it out in this video, which I must warn you is a very weird edit of a clip of a Golden Retriever. Such is art.

Paparazzi from James Tamborello on Vimeo.

Faculty Artist Series Concert Ft. LARRY KARUSH

The Occidental College Music Department presents
A Faculty Artist Series concert featuring
Larry Karush
Noted Jazz Pianist and World Music Expert

This Saturday, October 23rd at 7:30pm in Bird Studio.

Please come out to see Larry Karush this Saturday for what is sure to be one of the highlights of the faculty artist series. It promises to be a great show!

Magical Tunes & Marvelous Tales

“Magical Tunes & Marvelous Tales,” a product of The Studio Orchestra of the Plymouth Canton Symphony Society, brings a gentle mix of spoken work and beautiful orchestration. The Orchestra adds an emotional depth to the stories narrated as well as creating a musical story of their own. Not being a very avid classical music listener I expected a lack of enjoyment. However, the mix of musical energy as well technical precision made it very accessible.

I find the highlight of the album to be the song “Paddle to the sea.” The song evoked all sorts of emotions with sections of rapid staccato and also slower, dynamic sections. The best part about the track is that it’s narrated, as well as composed, by Occidental’s own Andre Myers. Myers, an Ann Arbor native, is a Professor of Music here at Occidental College. Myers also has a long running relationship with the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra’s CLASSical Music outreach program, visiting elementary schools in southeast Michigan. My personal favorite section of Myers composition (although that’s hard to choose in ten minutes of music) is the pounding timpani and brass stabs that made up the climax of the song and narration. It had the type of energy that I like hearing in orchestrations.

This CD can be checked out from the Herklotz Music Library, call number M 1000 .M34 WB38.

Singing Out For Justice Honors Guy Carawan '49

Annette on the Radio!

Our very own Annette Young was interviewed on a KUCI radio show last week, hosted by a librarian she met front row at a Belle & Sebastian concert. The radio station is called Our Digital Future where "Librarians around the world discuss the digital future of our information spaces." Woo!

Annette spoke to the host about her experience as a librarian and how she got into the biz.

"I never thought I'd be a librarian," she said. "I started off wanting to be a photographer."

Annette randomly got a job at a library while she was at school for photography at CalState Fullerton, and what she thought would be a year-long job turned into five years. "I fell in love with libraries," she said.

For more of Annette's interview, go to http://ziba.kuci.org. Check it out!

Opera in Video Trial

Watch full-length operas online through the Alexander Street Press' Opera in Video. Opera in Video contains 250 of the most commonly studied operas as well as documentaries, biographies, and interviews.



Titles include "Carmen", "Julius Caesar", "L'Africaine", "Capriccio", "Aida", and many more. Trial acess to Opera in Video expires on November 12, 2010, so check it out now while it is still available! You can access this Opera in Video through the Music Library Libguide - just click on research databases and enjoy!

Writing the Music Scene - Speaker - Paul Zollo

Scones and Jam with Joe and Sam!

Back with some more cross-cultural propaganda!

If you are a fan of the British music scene, Scones and Jam with Joe and Sam is something you do not want to miss out on. A Koxy radio production, the two English exchange students Joe Levell and Sam Clark offer an hour of English style entertainment with lots of quality bands to be introduced to every week. Their humor is as striking as their choice of music, resulting in everything you would expect from a Friday afternoon chill out session to help you recover from a stressful week. By shining a spotlight on some of Britain's most promising new talents as well as covering the more old skool artists they ensure a widespread audience with a variety of musical taste.

The two lads also engage in a music 'battle' every week in which each of them will choose their own ultimate artist within a certain genre and debate whether their choice is the superior one. Scones and Jam with Joe and Sam airs every Friday afternoon at 4 pm, and is accessible through the Koxy website (www.koxyradio.com). You can also check them out on Facebook (Scones and Jam with Joe and Sam), Blogspot (sconesandjamusa.blogspot.com) and even Twitter, where they keep their listeners updated on their new revelations throughout the week.

Most of all, this show serves as an excellent introduction the weekend, putting a smile on your face and music in your ears. Don't forget to tune in today at 4 pm sharp on koxyradio.com!

The Eagle Rock Music Festival Was Awesome

I know I already posted about the festival, but I figured in case anyone didn't get to go I'd do a little follow up. For those that missed out, you REALLY missed out, because this year was great! There was tons of food, performances, live music, and entertainment. I had a few particularly entertaining experiences with strangers, which is always a staple at these kinds of things. Other highlights include the extraordinarily delicious pineapple tamale I had, a great performance of a New Orleans-style band from the balcony of the Welcome Inn, and the little boy (seriously, I think he was probably 7 years old) who started a dance circle and out-jerked EVERYONE who challenged him.

Another band that I saw that I'm really excited about was a sort of old-time folk-blues orchestra called The Dustbowl Revival. They consist of an upright bass, drums, a trombone, a trumpet, a guitarist (who simultaneously plays the harmonica), and a washboard percussionist. The vocals were duets between the guitarist and frontman Zach Lupetin, and washboard player Caitlin Doyle. According to their website, they sometimes have even more instruments like the banjo, tuba, and clarinet. These guys were so much fun, they just have that awesome attitude that makes you want to jump up and spontaneously swing dance (yes, in this scenario you suddenly know how to swing dance). They characterize their sounds as "merg[ing] old school gypsy rhythms with bluegrass, gospel, jug-band, jump blues and the hot swing of the 1930’s to form a spicy roots cocktail." Check them out, you can listen to their music on their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/znlupetin), or find out where their next performance is on their website (http://dustbowlrevival.wordpress.com/about/).