MuseClouds

Back in 2007, the American alternative rock band Modest Mouse launched a music video contest for their song “Missed the Boat”. Max Tyrie, one of the contestants, came up with a great idea for the video. In his own words:

Myself and a couple have friends have entered the above into the Modest Mouse video competition. Using green screen footage provided by the band we cut a simple music video. We then degraded the images and printed out each frame sequentially. (all 4133 of them) We then nailed each “shot” of 50-100 posters to various structures and posts. Then using a digital SLR camera with a long exposure we frame by frame shot each poster. Oh, and theres a little video projection (again, frame by frame on the SLR) just to mix it up. There is no compositing, no shortcuts, just lots of blood, sweat and tears, and a huge Kinkos bill!

And the result was definitely worth the effort. The creativity behind some stop-motion productions never ceases to amaze me. Here’s the music video which, by the way, didn’t win the competition.

From Five for Fighting (stage name of singer-songwriter John Ondrasik), came some of the most inspiring songs. Today, I want to ask you to hear “What kind of world do you want?“. May this music and its lyrics inspire you to do your best with the precious time and life you have!

“World”

Got a package full of Wishes
A Time machine, a Magic Wand
A Globe made out of Gold

No Instructions or Commandments
Laws of Gravity or
Indecisions to uphold

Printed on the box I see
A.C.M.E.’s Build-a-World-to-be
Take a chance - Grab a piece
Help me to believe it

What kind of world do you want?
Think Anything
Let’s start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now…

Should there be people or peoples
Money, Funny pedestals for Fools who never pay
Raise your Army - Choose your Steeple
Don’t be shy, the satellites can look the other way

Lose the Earthquakes - Keep the Faults
Fill the oceans without the salt
Let every Man own his own Hand

What kind of world do you want
Think Anything
Let’s start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now…

Sunlight’s on the Bridge
Sunlight’s on the Way
Tomorrow’s Calling

There’s more to this than Love

What Kind of world do you want
What Kind of world do you want

What Kind of world do you want
Think Anything
Let’s start at the start
Build a masterpiece

History Starts Now

Be careful what you wish for
Start Now

Just yesterday, I was talking you about the new social music game Stereofame. After that I went on to see who were the most popular bands. I’m usually quite picky about the overall sound and production quality. Even amateur musicians have come a long way with the democratization of recording gear. However, it’s still quite difficult to achieve that pro-sound without a big budget. Still, the most popular band on Stereofame, as of today, is Temple Scene. From their website they have worked in the recording industry for the likes of Eric Clapton and Korn. They’ve then decided to write some songs, but they haven’t signed for any label. However, one wonders if they really need to. I mean, they probably don’t have all the marketing machine a label can provide, but they do have the music and with sites like Stereofame, blog posts like this and so much more internet marketing possibilities out there, they sure can get their word out. And they can sell their music on iTunes, Amazon, Yahoo! Music and others, using services like TuneCore, retaining a much larger part of the sales.

A couple of years ago, Chris Anderson wrote The Long Tail, where he described how the Internet is allowing us to find things we wouldn’t thought possible if we could only rely on conventional brick & mortar stores with limited space. The power of social networks is bringing people’s tastes together and that is a major leap ahead on the way we find and access new products and content.

Without making a case with my personal tastes on music, I personally found Temple Scene to have that quality edge that can differentiate them from the crowd. I would like to see how these great unsigned artists can fare against the big labels over time. It may still be a dream, but using the power of internet and social networks to override the need for a label that takes out a big part of your commissions as well as your freedom as an artist is something I would like to see in the coming years.

You can hear some great songs from Temple Scene on their Stereofame page.

Stereofame is a new social website aimed primarily at music lovers and music makers. It’s a great way to find new music but also a great new way to make your music heard. Because it’s a game you can win points that you can then exchange and use at the Stereofame auction house that offers multiple rewards for bidding.

If you’re a music listener you can create your own label and browse the site for talent you want to sign up. This works like a real label in which you earn more points if you get to sign the most popular artists earlier. For musicians this is a great way to promote their music, as they are also awarded points for their popularity. The site’s been running for about 2 months and there’s already more music than you want to hear.

A great business idea based on a great concept that is sure to attract a lot of participants. I’m also wondering about the value of the demographics data gathered by Stereofame (country and age). It’s the kind of information real labels would love to have.

So, if you’re about music, be sure to visit Stereofame.

I found an excellent post in Smashing Magazine with a selection of 29 really inspiring music videos. The post was made on 21st January but hey, this kind of content never gets old! If you’re in need of some refreshing ideas, give it a shot. You know, music and film are two of the best emotion carriers known to man. That’s why a 3 minute music video can convey such powerful messages, either funny or sad. In the words of Smashing Magazine:

Music has always been an excellent source of inspiration. Particularly if you are stuck with some problem you can’t find a workaround for, a beautiful song can give you a new perspective, let you see the problem from a different angle. And sometimes it’s just useful to make a break — for instance, watching some music videos.

So, open your mind and enjoy the video selection.

Eric Whitacre is an American composer born in 1970, whose choral works are simply too good to be missed. I love the way he makes dissonances evolve into perfect powerful harmonies giving me the chills, as well as his use of dynamics and rhythm. It’s not the kind of music where you can always guess what comes next. Strange as it might sound, I simply loved it from the first time I heard “Cloudburst“, back in 2006. Eric Whitacre’s pieces are now standard repertoire and widely used by many choirs across the world. Also of relevance is his new opera “Paradise Lost“, which totally breaks the classical concept of staged opera, both musically and aesthetically. I’ve been following the project as closely as I can, but I’m still eagerly waiting for the release of a CD or DVD, whatever comes first.

Here’s “Sleep”, one of my favorite pieces, as performed by The Counterpoints:

The evening hangs beneath the moon
A silver thread on darkened dune
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon

Upon my pillow, safe in bed
A thousand pictures fill my head
I cannot sleep, my mind’s a-flight
And yet my limbs seem made of lead

If there are noises in the night
A frightening shadow, flickering light
Then I surrender unto sleep
Where clouds of dream give second sight

What dreams may come, both dark and deep
Of flying wings and soaring leap
As I surrender unto sleep,
As I surrender unto sleep.

Sleep (Charles Anthony Silvestri)

I have to tell you about one of the best websites to go for inspiration: TED. Almost every speech there can touch you in so many different ways… I just recently got time to watch some new videos, because they’re usually longer than most of the canned content we get to see on sites like YouTube. TED speeches are usually not the kind you can go and watch several in a row, because you start loosing the message you just heard. They are that powerful, and you have to take the time to fully absorb them. Most little gems in life do require our time and attention.

Benjamin Zander is an English-American conductor and the music director for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He’s also an highly regarded interpreter of Mahler and Beethoven. However, he’s a lot more than a conductor or, as the small description on TED says: he “has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections”. That’s the most amazing part of his speech besides the music, as he goes on to a deeper level where everything he says can be applied to almost every aspect of our lifes. I would lie if I told you I wasn’t moved by this presentation. He’s someone that truly inspires and I hope that you take the time to watch the entire video.

As a side note, back in 2002, Benjamin published a book which I didn’t know of: The Art of Possibility - Transforming Professional and Personal Life. I’m now certainly interested in reading it!

Well, you’ll forgive me for posting two times about voice on the same day but … I just love voices! At least I don’t bring you opera this time. I bring you a well known gospel singer. It’s not a common genre here in Europe as it is in the other side of the Atlantic. However, I really think the talent portrayed by this performer is nothing short of amazing, even to someone not into the genre/style. David Phelps is a multiple Grammy and Dove (the Grammy of gospel music) award winner, so he’s got his recognition many times. He’s also a former member of the Gaither Vocal Band, a well known gospel/christian music group in the USA. You can visit his website if you wish to know more.

I had two personal song choices from YouTube, but one is a Christmas song, so I’ll better wait until December to post about that one and so many others. That said, I’ve chosen “No More Night”. Just close your eyes and listen! Oh, and don’t forget to click the “play” button.

Voice always interested me a lot. It’s amazing what some singers can achieve with their voices. Opera is one of the best showcases for new talent regarding this natural instrument and I try to keep my eye on it if I can!

Some time ago, a close friend of mine who also happens to be a voice student, sent me some YouTube links of Stephen Costello. I immediately gave him an “awesome” rating! One of the things I really like besides his voice is the way he opens and closes his mouth. Razor sharp technique. He’s a voice lesson on video!

Although known to many opera fans, he’s probably a stranger to many people. But I had to slip this in, as he’s probably one of the most promising voices to emerge in recent years. With only an age of 26, this tenor from Philadelphia has a beautiful voice timbre (nature’s gift) he melts with exceptional technique. He graduated in 2007 from the Academy of Vocal Arts. If all this interests you, you can read more about him: bio, awards, MET debut and a lot more are described on his manager’s webpage.

As you might wonder, I spend a lot of time on YouTube, so here is a selected video of Stephen Costello singing “Cujus animam” from Rossini’s “Stabat Mater”. Enjoy and be sure to check his other videos there too!