If there’s one thing that I’ve been addicted to lately it’s the music of Ella Fitzgerald. I don’t think I can explain it. There have been periods in my life where I listen only to a particular style of music. First it was rap. I can appreciate the lyrics, the point of view, the political statements, the beat, the ‘in’ words that only a true hiphop head knows. For the majority of my elementary and middle school days this is all I listened to. Rap was fun, there were songs that made me bop my head and secretly wish I could break dance or do other hiphop-related things. Names that come to mind: Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Nas, Biggie, Jay-z, Tupac, Method Man, Coolio (some fun songs in ‘95), and Wu-tang came out with a few good albums in the mid 90’s as well. Maybe to the hip-hop purist these names are nothing but flashy fronts to what is a hidden world of true lyricism. Around the ‘98, I began to hear rap from the dirty sound get some airplay on the radio. I was disgusted. Nothing could top the NY style of rap, and any attempt at doing so by a bunch of Southern rappers (No Limit Records and Cash Money Records are two of the labels that ring a bell) was torture. It became all about money and cars and women and drugs and who knows what else.
High school brought a new aesthetic to my ears. The first rock album I ever heard was 3 Doors Down’s The Better Life. Never thought I could enjoy this type of music but I did. Ever since then I was hooked to the sounds of guitars and drums. Bands such as Incubus, Nirvana, Radiohead, Jimmy Eat World, Soundgarden, Creed, Audioslave and more now began to fill my play lists. After that every type of music was fair game. I found myself listening to jazz, country, electronica, ska, oldies, emo, and most recently singers/standards such as Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, and of course sweet Ella. If there’s any way I can influence people I hope its musically. I’ve been exposed to so much recently that it’s hard for me to label myself as any particular type of music-fan. Perhaps eclectic is the word for my tastes.
So in conclusion, listen to Ella Fitzgerald. She rocks.
Dude! She really is awesome, especially her early stuff. Have you ever listened to The Brian Setzer Orchestra? They’re awesome and brandish an almost-swing style, more progressive jazz. And of course, Havalina Rail Co. just rocks. Haha.
I’m totally with you though, I get stuck in the genres too. I think that’s the result of mass mp3 media archives on our PCs, eh?
yay, ella!
I’d never really listened to her music til recently when Seth let me listen to it during work. I really like it, which surprised me.
Wendy likes that music just as much as my cute, yellow sweater.
i had a dream that you were in. i think i was in a gallery with a bunch of old friends, including yourself. you looked a lot like johnny depp: you had a little piece of hair under your bottom lip, your hair was kind of spiky-ish around the top, but in a cool stylish way, and you wore this tight black trenchcoat sort of thing. it had all these random patches and buttons on it. you were super good-looking. then you came up to me and started giving me a hicky on my neck. wahaha.
If Ella’s beginning to knock your socks off, I highly recommend seeking out Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife with her legendary and spontaneous take on “Mack the Knife.” Good stuff man, good stuff.
nat. I lust after your Illustrator skilz. p.s. That wasn’t David in your dream. It was me.
and now i must admit to you that i lust after your vidblog skillz.
DAVID! look at this page and scroll down a little bit until you read a familiar name. it’s really weird and crazy.
http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Special/0,11116,80195||,00.html
Whoa, that was all unexpected. The Dane, I heard her version of Mack the Knife about a month ago, it was awesome. Man I love that woman. Or is it lust?
Nah, it’s love.
Whoa! Charity! I’m going to bug her when I see her again.
Yes, Cautioneer, I love that yellow sweatshirt. Ella Fitzgerald should only have been so lucky as to have worn one. Who knows what heights her popularity could have reached…
you have ascended to music appreciation nirvana…only here can you appreciate across genres…very very high state.