New York has always been known as a trend-setting capital of the world. Now, the newest thing in the Village is old-time music- think the 18th century and before. It’s a repertory, comprising music that celebrated the philosophy of performances that blossomed throughout the 20th century. It has taken the form a smourgasbourg of era-sampling that has been the hallmark of American music since region-sampling went passé.

Now, at least in New York, early music has also become a scene. The two-year-old Gotham Early Music Scene lived up to its name this week with the GEMS Project, a series of three programs at Le Poisson Rouge, the trendy Greenwich Village club that is taking the classical music world by storm.

By any definition, early music is wildly diverse. The project’s format, developed in previous concerts, presented three groups per evening, and the first program, on Wednesday, was diverse perhaps to a fault.

Uncommon Temperament, a group of young Baroque performers, opened with works of Handel: a trio sonata and a soprano version of the cantata “Mi Palpita il Cor,” sung by Ariadne Greif.

The performances were accomplished and winning, and Ms. Greif made a game attempt to turn the cantata, a young man’s expression of coronary twitter in the face of budding love, into something mildly dramatic. Reclining in a chair, she enacted the work as a psychiatric session: alas, a one-line joke that without real character development wore thin long before she scribbled the check at the end.

East of the River, another group led by the recorder virtuosos Nina Stern and Daphna Mor, brought a spirit from east of East River, Brooklyn, to music more or less east of the Danube, as Ms. Stern suggested in preperformance remarks. The listing of Armenian, Macedonian, Italian, Bulgarian and Greek tunes suggested greater variety than emerged from the stage, where an air of modern-day klezmer seemed an insistent presence.

The Clarion Music Society looked to be an alien presence in this setting, taking the stage in concert garb to present music from the court of Catherine the Great. This is a theme, mixing Western European influences and indigenous composition in St. Petersburg, that could barely be suggested in a third of a concert. Ilya Poletaev gave a charming performance of a harpsichord sonata by Baldassare Galuppi. A two-movement string quartet by Anton Ferdinand Titz and arias from operas by Yevstigney Fomin and Bortniansky made little impression, bereft of context.

Except that provided in an overlong spoken introduction by Clarion’s music director, Steven Fox. In general, the talk, guided by Gotham’s executive director, Gene Murrow, proved awkward, finding little middle ground between forced banter and scholarly disquisition.

Director Murrow claimed “the perfect place” to listen to and play early music was there- with “friends eating and drinking”, among the clanking of dishes and tables. The noise from the inferior sound system and obstructive ventilation system were a worse complement to the performances.

Hopefully, if these buffet-style shows continue, the organizers will find a way to make each disparate dish go together as opposed to making a stomach-churning mix.

My Take: While young Americans appropriate fashion, art, and food from all across the world, it was only a matter of time until they stretched through time for inspiration. This is the temporal equivalent of the Chinese/Mexican restaurant, or the liberal gathering of Tibetan prayer beads, African prints, and mate tea.

A question almost as old as being impressed with another’s culture: at what point does admiration become an almost mockery, as the admirer goes further to imitate the original?

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Bags that say what you want

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In case of hard drive issues…

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Oh, Canada! Oh, Traffic Ticket!

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Business Blogging

Some SEO services will install and use blogging software and, depending on the package you choose, will even write the blogs for you. Some of their clients have had it so that their customers write in questions and they answer them, others have simply used it as a more unique and personable way of press releasing.  Blogs have been around for over a decade now and they have evolved in many directions.  The direction which is most important is business blogging, the art of turning blogs into money for your business or yourself. An SEO company can help turn blogging into money for your business.

Who is DJ Michelangelo?

He is someone who immersed himself into the blend of tribal, acid and deep house music mixing that comes from the same musical background many of us share, early 90’s hip hop.  Remember making mix tapes?  MTV raps, Z. Cavaricci jeans and Cross Colours. Michelangelo is no stranger to dropping 80’s and 90’s music into his sets. His recent Miami, Las Vegas, Mexico and Toronto gigs have pumped up the fun factor for these world-renowned venues. A business man, an entrepreneur, an art collector and an entertainer, he’s doing what he loves. And for him, Djing “is just a hobby”.

50 Cent’s Saturday concert looked like a détente between schools and generations of hip-hop. The This Is 50 Festival, on Governors Island’s Water Taxi Beach, began with insightful, still-sweet rappers Kid Cudi and Wale. 50 Cent, one of the last of the big-time gangsta rappers, who had multimillion-selling albums in 2003 and 2005 before gangsta lost momentum, also performed.

But that was a fake-out. After amiably received sets by the newcomers, 50 Cent took over with a two-and-a-half-hour gangsta extravaganza. The set was crammed with guest slots — friends, allies, disciples — and insisted gangsta was still alive, rough and ready to compete.

The songs were about danger and outlaw excess — guns, drugs and sex — with crude, shout-along hooks. The neat backup tracks of the openers gave way to thudding, cranked-up bass lines and distortion, punctuated by the sounds of gunshots and breaking glass from the D.J., Whoo Kid. As at old-school New York rap shows, the stage was filled with onlookers; rappers demanded, “Put your hands up!” — as a dance move, not a holdup. And the sold-out crowd exploded. This was the bad-guy party they came for.

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With his baby face, his boyish grin, his genuine gunshot wounds and the singsong choruses of his hits, Curtis Jackson, a k a 50 Cent, established himself as a gangsta rapper who could also be a charmer: gruff and belligerent, but also amused. His next album, “Before I Self Destruct,” has been delayed repeatedly, and his recent mixtape, “Forever King,” presents a paranoid, embittered character, but he was smiling broadly onstage. He was as much host as star: performing a song or two, mostly from his first albums, and then announcing a surprise and bringing on another guest.

They included not only his own G Unit (with Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks), but also D-Block (formerly the Lox), Wyclef Jean, Maino and Red Cafe. Between songs about lust and crime were celebrations of upward mobility despite the odds, like “We Gonna Make It” by Jadakiss of D-Block and Maino’s triumphant “All the Above.” But less righteous boasts, like 50 Cent’s “What Up Gangsta” and “P.I.M.P.,” drew even stronger reactions.

There were more guests before 50 Cent made his entrance: Jim Jones and Juelz Santana, along with Al Be Back, Uncle Murda, Cory Gunz, Papoose and the four-rapper group Slaughterhouse. Mr. Gunz showed off a virtuosic delivery, accelerating and decelerating. Papoose started rapping his way through the alphabet, with long strings of words all starting with the same letter; he got to G before his time ran out.

The openers made every effort. Kid Cudi, although he appears on the new album by Jay-Z, is an oddball in hip-hop. He’s somewhere between rapper and singer, intoning his rhymes on a few notes, and instead of boasting, he presents himself as an introvert, confessing to his vulnerabilities and uncertainties, imagining himself as a visitor from another planet. It’s a persona better suited to headphones than to an outdoor concert. Wale, a Washington, D.C., rapper who thinks hard about the state of hip-hop when he’s not bragging about being “the brightest of the youth,” was more vigorous and endearing.

This concert’s right was no match for the huge number of stories of wrongs, even those years old. Only time will tell if this is the marking of a new era in rap, or a new movement towards hip-hop nostalgia.

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My Take: The first time I heard a radio station that promised to play the “best of the 80’s, 90’s, and today”, my father- who was also in the car- turned down the volume and said, ‘it’s official: you have nostalgia music’.

As bizarre as it is to think of “P.I.M.P.” as indicative of a specific time and place now gone, the good news is, we’ll probably have something to gab about as we sit in our rocking chairs on our front porch. Wait, I meant front stoop.

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Atlanta may be home to the most happening hip-hop scene in the country, but did you know your data could also live in the Peach State? Through Atlanta colocation, your server needs will be answered with Southern Hospitality without having to open your own bandwidth to millions of users. Move your data center today and benefit from amazingly improved accessibility and speed.

Music Played

One type of music that is chosen is techno music, which is a form of electronic dance music that originated in Detroit.  Hip hop disc jockeys select and play music using multiple turntables, often to back up one or more MCs, and they may also do turntable scratching to create percussive sounds. In reggae, the disc jockey (deejay) is a vocalist who raps, “toasts”, or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks while the individual choosing and playing them is referred to as a selector.  Disc jockeys, like DJ Michelangelo, may or may not travel with portable sound systems, do appear at a variety of events.

Sunday morning in Brooklyn took a bloodier turn than normal this past week, as reggae singer Major Mackerel was stabbed with a sword by a neighbor.

Michael Nagle for The New York Times

Garfield Dixon, also known as Major Mackerel, after a confrontation with a neighbor over the neighbor’s wife, the police said.

When the fight was over, the police had arrested Oscar Joseph, 37, on charges including assault with intent to cause serious injury — in this case, to his neighbor the singer, whose real name is Garfield Dixon, 41.

The police said that about 8 a.m., they were called to a two-story brick house on East 91st Street near East New York Avenue, where Mr. Dixon and Mr. Joseph live on different floors. They found Mr. Dixon “with lacerations to the head, arm and hand.” They arrested Mr. Joseph and recovered a two-foot-long sword.

Mr. Dixon, who achieved notice as a dancehall reggae artist in the late 1980s and early ’90s, was taken to Kings County Hospital Center.

Mr. Dixon’s companion, Novia Watson, 51, said the fight started after Mr. Dixon returned from buying cigarettes.

When she went to open the door for Mr. Dixon, she saw Mr. Joseph waiting in the foyer. Mr. Joseph raised the sword, she said, and the two men started arguing and fighting over the weapon.

“I was trying to take it from him myself,” Ms. Watson said.

The fight spilled out onto the sidewalk, and Mr. Joseph accused Mr. Dixon of harassing his wife. When Ms. Watson returned from calling the police, Mr. Dixon was pacing on the sidewalk, blood seeping from a deep slash across the palm of his left hand.

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Ms. Watson said the police arrived within minutes and arrested Mr. Joseph, who continued to shout at Mr. Dixon, saying he made rude, suggestive comments to his wife. Ms. Watson said doctors stitched up Mr. Dixon’s hand and told him they might have to operate.

Later on that eventful Sunday, Mr. Dixon made his way homr from the hostpital. He still wore his hospital gown, accessorized with a cast on his left hand and  white gauze covering his dreadlocks (a bandage, not a trandy fashion decision). He claimed not to have harassed Mr. Joseph’s wife.

“I was singing my song, then I see him with a sword,” he said.

My Take: From Bob Marley to Major Mackerel- why do reggae singers find themselves with such violent fates? This would be expected of hip hop or death metal artists, but these singers devoted their lives to songs about love and peace.

Where is the love for them?

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Live outside the city… way out

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Amicable and begrudging seperations

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Perched (rather, trying to perch) on a piano, orbited by an assorted of metal rings around her body, Lady Gaga cracked up onstage in the beginning of Saturday Night Live’s new season. While the Swedish singer popped in her own right, the performance fizzled thanks to Gaga’s stage partner, Madonna.

The artist formerly known as the Material Girl appeared in an early skit for a brief exchange of put-downs with the current pop fave. Perhaps a symbol of passing of the pop diva torch, or perhaps some sort of mocking her 2003 MTV Video Music Awards pairing with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, which was then meant to serve as some sort of passing of the pop diva torch, Madonna looked uncomfortable, and not quite sure of why she was tussling with Lady Gaga. It all felt a bit hastily thrown together, and little more than an excuse to show two pop stars in a cat fight.

Not to mention — Madonna doesn’t need to stump to these kind of promotional appearances. Even with a greatest hits collection released to stores last week, let’s let Lady Gaga have her moment, or at least give Madonna something better to say than, “Guess what, I’m totally taller than you.”

Or perhaps we should just give credit where credit is due.

Lady Gaga was joined by Madonna on “Saturday Night Live,” and the high-profile guest shot failed to overshadow Gaga’s second music performance, a piano-based medley of her hits, as well as a touch of new song “Bad Romance.”

Pulling off a medley is no small feat itself, as they reek of award-show self-aggrandizing. But Gaga looked free and unrehearsed, and tossed off a rare medley worth watching. While it would have been nice to hear a bit more of forthcoming single “Bad Romance,” what audiences received was even better. Free from the tired retro ’80s synth pop of “LoveGame,” Gaga flashed her nightclub-ready pipes when she went solo at the piano, and also showed off a bit of improvisation.

While diving in and out of “Poker Face,” Gaga played to the New York crowd, bragging about the hot dogs on 72nd Street (”they’re tasty and they’re cheap”) and even exposed some baseball loyalties. Gaga copped to being nostalgic for the days when she “cheered for the Yankees with my dad in Section 6,” and Major League Baseball responded by giving  her a shout-out (perhaps a National Anthem at a playoff game is in her near future).

Yet whereas most artists come to late night television to show off their latest singles and generate a few headlines, Gaga, who can say the words “disco stick” with a straight face, displayed a side of herself that isn’t always in evidence on her 2008 smash album, “The Fame”: She’s not afraid to take risks.

Style-wise. Lady Gaga is respected as fearless and original, but her electro-pop has been less rule-breaking. Leaving her red lace, glass-bra’d self bare and dismantling her highly produced songs into simply piano and voice, Gaga shows herself to venture forth bravely. She did so with a courage that is- sadly- rare on national television. It’s a pleasure to see a popstar doing more than a pole dance. Too bad it was after midnight.

My Take: When pop stars first started exploring their sexuality- like Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis, and yes, even Joni Mitchell- it was a revolutionary, communal celebration of the formerly taboo.

Now, when a singer gyrates half-naked on stage or in front of the camera, it is just another addition to the long litany of performances that have less to do with music, and more about showing off the star’s hard-won hard bod.

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The plan: some DJ’s will stay on. Saturdays will still host the Metropolitan Opera. Vocal music and religious programming will fade out while Vivaldi will continue to blast- “Just about anything.”

WQXR, the only classical music station in New York, will have a new sound after Oct. 8, according to plans unveiled on Wednesday by WNYC, its new owner.

Chiefly, “there’s going to be a lot more music,” said Laura R. Walker, the president and chief executive officer of WNYC Radio. “That in and of itself is a huge thing.” She said the new WQXR, which is becoming a public radio station, would have about 4 minutes of underwriting announcements an hour. WQXR’s commercials now can reach 12 minutes an hour.

“We can program the music around the music, not just commercials,” Ms. Walker said.

Although WQXR will travel up the dial to 105.9 from 96.3 FM, WNYC officials were clear that much of its music would remain safe and on the traditional side in an effort not to alienate its longtime listeners. But the station hopes to attract new listeners more accustomed to the public radio sensibility and online listening.

Ms. Walker said she wanted to combine the best of both worlds. “It’s the longstanding tradition of being a 24/7 classical music station with WNYC’s curatorial point of view and passion and commitment to discovery,” she said.

Tradition, though, appears to top boat-rocking. A mission statement prepared by WQXR’s new programmers said, “There may indeed be times when the more radical and unfamiliar pieces work, but we will not favor them over the work that speaks directly to the needs of uplift, beauty and contemplation.”

“Greatness matters,” it added. “Bach trumps Telemann.”

Less familiar works, more modern music and pieces geared toward a younger audience will be presented on the station’s new Internet stream, called Q2. WNYC radio’s listenership is more than double that of its stream, the station said. “Radio definitely trumps Internet still,” Ms. Walker said.

Several WQXR hosts have been rehired, including Jeff Spurgeon, Midge Woolsey and Elliott Forrest, who will have daytime shows, along with a newcomer, Naomi Lewin from WGUC, Cincinnati’s classical public radio station. WNYC’s Terrance McKnight and his colleague David Garland will assume evening duties. Overnight music will continue to be canned, but now with recorded introductions by a host.

The station will continue to broadcast the Met, the New York Philharmonic and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, along with programs — some of them syndicated — including “The McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase,” “Performance Today,” “From the Top” and “Pipedreams.” The fates of “Reflections From the Keyboard” and the Metropolitan Museum of Art concert series are uncertain.

The station will phase out the broadcast of religious services by the end of the year because National Public Radio, of which WNYC is a member, forbids such programming.

Much of the music on WNYC, which has steadily become more of a talk station in recent years, will migrate to WQXR. Weekday evenings on WNYC’s FM station, 93.9, will now be almost all talk. Several music shows will remain, including “Soundcheck” and “New Sounds.” Music will still have a strong presence on WNYC on weekends.

WNYC took charge of WQXR after it was sold by The New York Times Company, a move that probably saved its classical format. The public radio station announced a $15 million fund-raising campaign to pay for the acquisition and operations. Ms. Walker said the station was about halfway there.

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The goal for WQXR is to present “the greatest Western music performed by the greatest performers we can find,” said Christopher Bannon, program director for the sister stations.

The mission statement proclaims a philosophy of “the right music at the right time.”

“Monday morning, when you’re trying to get your kids to school, you won’t hear the large choral works,” said Limor Tomer, the executive producer for music.

The programmers also provided a sample list of “core composers” and the works that would most likely play on the radio versus the Internet. They stressed that the list was but a guideline.

Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Wagner were there. So were Copland, Janacek, Gershwin, Satie, Sibelius and the ever-popular Vivaldi. Mahler was missing.

Schubert symphonies were deemed radio-worthy but not the piano trios or songs, which were reserved for Q2. Radio received Ravel orchestra music but not solo piano works; Sibelius’s symphonies but not his tone poems; Janacek chamber works but not operas; Brahms symphonies but not choral works; Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos but not the late piano sonatas, songs or chamber works.

And, except for his “shorter sacred works,” Vivaldi still has a home.

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My take: It’s a sorry state of affairs that American public radio stations need to have private funding. I suppose once there’s adequate budget given to education and food programs, we can start to complain about the state of the government’s support for the arts.

That being said, it’s inspiring to find investors in this economic climate, especially ones that enhance the acquired company’s mission statement, as opposed to hijacking it.

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Elizabeth Taylor, the rarely-seen star, tearfully eulogized her longtime friend at Jackson’s funeral on Thursday the 3rd. “We shouldn’t have to be here,” Taylor told fellow mourners, “He shouldn’t have passed away.”

Nonetheless, nearly 200 of Jackson’s closest friends and family members tried their best to say goodbye to the entertainer at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. Even his shyest show-business friends attended, after shunning the massive public memorial in July. Longtime pal Macaulay Culkin sat with girlfriend Mila Kunis, while Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley gave his mother Katherine a tearful embrace. Taylor was perhaps the most impressive of the guests. After publicly proclaiming that she would not be part of the July memorial’s “hoopla,” she gave in to a more private display of sorrow at the funeral. “She shed some tears,” says one guest.

Held in the shadow of Forest Lawn’s Great Mausoleum on a warm summer night, the service proved a fitting setting for such star-studded grief. A “Thriller”-esque moon tinted orange by smoke from the nearby forest fires added to the dramatic backdrop. The specially built stage was adorned with six large bouquets of white lilies, white roses and green topiaries. Portraits of Jackson served as bookends for his casket.

Jackson’s family was not upstaged by the evening’s more famous mourners, dominating the affair that began with his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy serving as pallbearers. Randy then escorted Jackson’s three children, Prince Michael, Paris Katherine and Prince Michael II, to the coffin, where the children laid a crown at its head as a tribute to the King of Pop. They then returned to their front-row seats, near their grandparents. There was no repeat of Paris’s touching moment at the memorial when she tearfully addressed the crowd, calling Jackson “the best father I could imagine”; during Thursday’s ceremony, the children stayed silent. “But they were very composed and strong and would have made their father proud,” says the guest.

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Family patriarch Joe Jackson was also front and center. He was one of the first family members to arrive at the event, exiting one of their five rented Phantom Rolls Royces with his grandchildren in tow. A controversial figure, Joe spoke at the funeral in defense of his son. “He felt people had been trying to cheat Michael,” says the guest. “He said that they will find out what led to Michael’s death. And said they will not rest until they found out.”

Jackson’s lesser-known friends were also given a moment to share their memories of the fallen star. The spontaneous speeches were some of the most poignant. One in particular was delivered by David Rothenberg, a burn victim whom Jackson took care of for years after 90% of his body was scorched in a childhood fire. “He was very scarred over all of his body,” says a guest. “He spoke about Michael and how he cared for [Rothenberg] for so long without asking for anything in return. It was very moving.” 

Carrying his casket, Jackson’s brother led the procession into the Great Mausoleum’s Holly Terrace. Each guest was permitted a private farewell. One attendee spoke of Clifton Davis’ rendition of “Never Can Say Goodbye” (a song he wrote for the Jackson 5) as an appropriate embodiment of the group’s emotions. “[Davis] stopped the song at the end and said, ‘Michael, we can’t say goodbye,’ ” the guest remembers. “‘But what we can say is that we love you.’ “

“That sent shivers down my spine.”

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My Take: After having his name dragged through the mud for years, it’s finally good to see Michael Jackson get some kind of public grace. A lifelong performer, who’s suffered the weight of child stardom, the King of Pop has finally gotten his crown back.

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On April 17, 2009, Susan Boyle was skyrocketed to international fame with her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” on ‘Britain’s Got Talent,’ the show that shot her to fame, on April 17, 2009. Next week, she’ll be making her stateside debut.

Boyle will fly across the pond to perform on the season finale of “America’s Got Talent” on Sept. 16, People.com reports.

Her appearance isn’t a surprise to anyone who has been following her sometimes tumultuous career. Ryan Seacrest talked as early as last season about her appearing on “American Idol” (which she did not) and “Talent” judge Piers Morgan made no secret of his desire to get her on the stateside program when its season began this summer.

“If she’s up for it and she is well enough … our feeling is she probably will. Absolutely!” Morgan told a group of reporters back in June, as quoted by EntertainmentWeekly.com.

Morgan was referring to Boyle’s brief hospitalization for exhaustion following her second place finish on “Britain’s Got Talent,” which she threatened to quit after being so quickly thrust into the spotlight.

After the church volunteer’s debut on the show last April, her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” was an instant hit on YouTube, making her a bona fide star virtually overnight. The video has now been viewed over 200 million times.

And interest in formerly frumpy, 48-year-old singer has hardly dimmed in the months since the British talent competition wrapped up.

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In order to make her American debut, she’s taking a break from recording her first album, which will include “I Dreamed a Dream” and, according to People.com, the Madonna song “You’ll See.”

Although the album isn’t completed, it is already at the top of Amazon.com’s pre-order charts. This puts her ahead of a much longer-standing British export- The Beatles.

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My Take: Is it a little sad that the Scottish songbird has beaten out the Fab Four? Fans of the Invasion leaders may feel betrayed by the public’s change of heart, but you have to admit: Susan Boyle’s success is a sign of better times.

If a woman wants to be successful, there is a phenomenal pressure for her to be the sexxiest thing around. That goes triple for performers. The fact that Boyle is being seen as a talented artist gives a glimmer of hope for women’s future in the mainstream. Finally, there’s a chance for females to be recognized for more than their legs (or other body parts).

Now if we could just stop mentioning Boyle’s homeliness at every opportunity, we may be a little closer to the whole “equality” thing.

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Glamor for mom and babyYou don’t ever want to read the adjective “frumpy” next to your name. One way to stay fabulous is to take advantage of the latest trends- like flower hat and retro headbands. There is no reason why mama should be the only one who has her share in the style- dress up your infant with specially-made headbands for babies. Embroidered, crotched, handmade, wholesale- there are a hundred ways to wear this year’s fashion. Find the one that’s right for you. ]]> http://www.music2titan.com/susan-boyle-hits-the-states/entertainment/2009/09/feed/ 0 http://www.music2titan.com/beatlemania-on-a-console-near-you/entertainment/2009/09/ http://www.music2titan.com/beatlemania-on-a-console-near-you/entertainment/2009/09/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:13:37 +0000 Remember The Titans http://www.music2titan.com/?p=8 cited: New York Times

When the news broke that the Liverpool four were taking on one of the last remaining media- video games- baby boomers around the country found themselves lining up for the pixelated fun like they haven’t done since Pac Man.

Luckily, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with the widows of George Harrison and John Lennon, seem to understand that the Beatles are not a museum piece, that the band and its message ought never be encased in amber. The Beatles: Rock Band is nothing less than a cultural watershed, one that may prove only slightly less influential than the band’s famous appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. By reinterpreting an essential symbol of one generation in the medium and technology of another, The Beatles: Rock Band provides a transformative entertainment experience.

In that sense it may be the most important video game yet made.

Never before has a video game had such intergenerational cultural resonance. The weakness of most games is that they are usually devoid of any connection to our actual life and times. There is usually no broader meaning, no greater message, in defeating aliens or zombies, or even in the cognitive gameplay of determining strategy or solving puzzles.

Previous titles in the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series have already done more in recent years to introduce young people to classic rock than all the radio stations in the country. But this new game is special because it so lovingly, meticulously, gloriously showcases the relatively brief career of the most important rock band of all time. The music and lyrics of the Beatles are no less relevant today than they were all those decades ago, and by reimagining the Beatles’ message in the unabashedly modern, interactive, digital form of now, the new game ties together almost 50 years of modern entertainment.

With all due respect to Wii Sports, no video game has ever brought more parents together with their teenage and adult children than The Beatles: Rock Band likely will in the months and years to come.

One Friday evening last month I invited a gaggle of 20-something hipsters (I’m 36) to my apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to try the game. After 15 minutes one 25-year-old said, “I’m going to have to buy this for my parents this Christmas, aren’t I?” After nine hours we had completed all of the game’s 45 songs in one marathon session. On Saturday afternoon, I woke up to watch a 20-year-old spend three hours mastering the rolling, syncopated drum sequences in “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Thirty-six hours later, near dawn Monday morning, there were still a few happy stragglers in my living room belting out “Back in the U.S.S.R.” Good thing my neighbors were away for the weekend.

I grew up in Woodstock, N.Y., steeped in classic rock, so I had a head start on my younger band mates. (I suspect many parents will enjoy having a similar leg up on their progeny.) Yet I watched the same transformation all weekend long. We would start a song like “Something” or “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and as it began, they would say, “Oh yeah, that one.” Then at the end there would literally be a stunned silence before someone would say something unprintable, or simply “Wow” as they fully absorbed the emotional intensity and almost divine melodies of the Beatles.

Not only was the game serving to reintroduce this music, but by leading the players through a schematic version of actually creating the songs, it was also doing so in a much more engaging way than merely listening to a recording. It is an imperfect analogy, but listening to a finished song is perhaps like being served a finished recipe: you know it tastes great even if you have no sense of how it was created.

By contrast, playing a music game like Rock Band is a bit closer to following a recipe yourself or watching a cooking show on television. Sure, the result won’t be of professional caliber (after all, you didn’t go to cooking school, the equivalent of music lessons), but you may have a greater appreciation for the genius who created the dish than the restaurantgoer, because you have attempted it yourself.

Somethings on TV can make you sweat as much as John, Paul, George, and Ringo. With a proven pilates DVD, you can shed the pounds, gain flexibility, and feel great while in front of the tube. Pilates exercise equipment is not extensive- it is one of the cheapest regimes to begin.

Previous music games have been about collections of songs. The Beatles: Rock Band is about representing and reoffering an entire worldview encapsulated in music. The developers at Harmonix Music Systems have translated the Beatles’ scores and tablature into a form that is accessible while also conveying the visceral rhythm of the music. In its melding of source material and presentation, The Beatles: Rock Band is sheer pleasure. The game is scheduled to be released by MTV Games for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 consoles on Wednesday, the same day the remastered Beatles catalog is slated to be released on CD.

Mechanically it is almost identical to previous Rock Band games. One player sings into a microphone, replacing the original lead vocals, while another plays an electronic drum kit and two more play ersatz guitar and bass. (The new game supports up to two additional singers for a potential maximum of six players.)

In the game’s story line mode, players inhabit the various Beatles as they progress from the Cavern Club to Ed Sullivan’s stage; Shea Stadium; the Budokan in Japan; Abbey Road; and their final appearance on the Apple Corps roof in 1969. Unlike in previous Rock Band games, players are not booed off the virtual stage for a poor performance; rather the screen cuts to a declarative “Song failed” message. Previously unreleased studio chatter provides a soundtrack for some of the menu and credits screens, but there is no direct interaction with avatars of John, Paul, George or Ringo.

The colorful psychedelic dreamscapes used to represent the band’s in-studio explorations are particularly evocative, though they serve mostly to entertain onlookers rather than the players themselves (who will be concentrating on getting the music right rather than looking at the pretty pictures).

Of course almost nothing could be more prosaic than pointing out that playing a music game is not the same as playing a real instrument. Yet there is something about video games that seems to inspire true anger in some older people.

Why is that? Is there still really a fear that a stylized representation of reality detracts from reality itself? In recent centuries every new technology for creating and enjoying music — the phonograph, the electric guitar, the Walkman, MTV, karaoke, the iPod — has been condemned as the potential death of “real” music.

The music, however, will endure. No matter the medium, the music of the Beatles is beyond reproach. The great thing about this game is its inter-generational bridge potential: the younger learns of the older’s passion, and vice-versa. Old timers are finally figuring out what is up with those video game things, and the newest generation is being introduced to the Fab Four. Thanks to the game-makers. Go ahead, gents: take your bows.

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My Take: Music is becoming like basketball- instead of playing it in reality, we are all learning these once-treasured skills on a television screen. NBA Allstars, anyone? Guitar Hero? Pretty soon, we’ll be cooking our meals and knitting through a Nintendo. Where will that leave us?

On the couch, nuking TV dinners, most likely. Let’s hope someone still remembers how to drive in real life, so we can get to the grocery store.

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Escape the technological world

If the world of video games and high-tech devices is becoming more of a stress than a convenience, creating a peaceful corner in your home might be just what you need. This could be done simply- possibly with the addition of a beautiful brass clock, or a rustic sign. We’re all pushing through this modern world, so don’t forget to breathe and remember things the way they used to be. Remember a time of brass bells and snowflakes? With the holiday season approaching, feel free to bring a touch of the village into your hometown celebration.

What Is House Music?

House music, like techno music, is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago.  House is strongly influenced by elements of soul- and funk-infused varieties of disco. House generally mimics disco’s percussion; especially, the use of a prominent bass drum on every beat, but may feature a prominent synthesizer baseline, electronic drums, electronic effects, funk and pop samples, and reverb- or delay-enhanced vocals. By modern dance music standards, House music is mid-tempo ranging between 118-135 BPM.  However, House music is considered up-tempo music for dancing. The common element of house is a prominent kick drum on every beat, usually generated by a drum machine or sampler.

Downloadable Games

Sony is always putting out new games!  So if you are still sitting on the fence about PS3 downloads or you just want to pick up a new game, you might want to check this out.  You can get games like DJ Hero, Dante’s Inferno, BioShock 2, or even White Knight Chronicles with no download fees. If you downloaded the a game, you are either still completely confused or ready for more. Hopefully, it is more of the latter and less of the former.  Anyway, for those in the group ready download PS3 games, there are full version games are now available for download.