I had high hopes for this week, thirty-three is one of my favorite numbers. When both of your kids have birthdays in the same week and you’re hosting the huge family/friend party on Sunday, things tend not to go as planned. I got to as many posts as I could and of course I have my fav SYTYCD performance of the week below, but I’d love it if you could help me out.
Nigel reminded me of a George Ballanchine quote, “I don’t want dancers who want to dance. I want dancers who have to dance.” I agree with Nigel, this performance captures that statement, plus the lighting is fabulous.
It’s Saturday and time to review the treats from the week. SYTYCD was back in a Mia Michaels kind of way. I’ve picked a powerful performance for you and you’re not going to want to miss it.
This week the great dance show was back and all performances were choreographed by Mia Michaels. Oh, bells!! Love Mia’s choreography. But the Top-14 faced a great dancer-challenge. They’d be performing previously performed routines, routines choreographed for past seasons, making it really easy to see where this year’s dancers fall short in direct comparison to past contestants. It may have been a bit cruel, but so is the life of a dancer. One performance stood out. It was not better than the original, but stood on its own. This routine made me cry when Kayla and Kupono performed it in season five, so powerful. I do suggest watching both performances, but please watch Lindsay and Cole first.
Both performances made me cry, how about you?
Lindsay & Cole performing “Addiction” choreographed by Mia Michaels
This is ‘Shoofly Pie’ by The Wood Brothers from the album ‘Smoke Ring Halo’
It’s a team of two brothers. One plays guitar and sings, and writes most of the tunes, and the other plays bass and sings.
The bass player, Chris Wood, has been a part of a very successful instrumental group called Medeski, Martin and Wood. They are definitely an influence on my Jazz trio and on me personally.
Apparently, Chris and his brother never really played music together until later in life. They’ve added a drummer, who also sings, and it seems they’ve really clicked. I’ve enjoyed their previous albums but this one really stands apart. It’s not quite as loose while still feeling greasy and funky.
They have a rootsy sound which allows them to cover a lot of ground. From blues to gospel to southern soul to funk to folk, they’ve got it all in there in one shape or form.
I’m anxious to hear their albums from here on out. I really think they’re on to something!
No surprises, I found fabulous stuff this week to share, but the hubs forgot to send me a music clip. I’m not going to leave you hangin with nothing, though. I’ve included a clip of one of the hubs all time favorites. A song writer that has greatly influenced my husbands song writing and double score that the performance was recorded near our own Detroit Rock City.
No surprise, I have great links to share today. I’ve told the hubs to take a break until SYTYCD is over, but they’re taking the next two weeks off. Jeff will be back next week with more great music. Wait till you see the clip I have for you this week, you’re in for a real treat.
An interesting week of performances. Some great, some okay, and some strange song choices. I had no idea which performance to share until it came time for the guest performance. Sorry contestants, but you were smoked this week by Alvin Ailey. The company has been around since 1958, so no one should be surprised. Check out the power and conflict in this piece choreographed by Robert Battle.
Hello and happy Saturday. I gave the hubs the week off, because I wanted to share a routine from SYTYCD! 😀
Before we dig in, I wanted to congratulate Bonni Sansom on her latest release, The Bank Job, out today! She was a guest this week and her giveaway ends tonight. Please stop by the post, check out her latest offering, and leave some comment love.
Season 9 continues to be a winner. The show was knocked down to one show a week this season and the format changes really work for me, I’m quite pleased.
If you are only going to watch one performance from this week, this is the one. Sonya Tayeh’s choreography is somehow getting even better. Audrey and Matthew give a spectacular performance with countless moments of awesome. Enjoy.
Thanks for another fabulous week bloggers. I keep learning from you each week and I appreciate all that you do. Hubs is back this week with his second pick (see his 1st pick in last weeks post) in his snazzy theme: Really great drummers who are also really great singer/songwriter/guitarists.
He’s back this week giving you insight on another drum he admires
“Her Song” by Brian Blade, from the album “Mama Rosa”.
You should also look for the song “After the Revival” I couldn’t find a video link for that one, but it’s my favorite song on that record.
Brian Blade is one of my favorite drummers. I first heard of him as a jazz player in the early 90’s. I’ve seen him play jazz and was absolutely blown away. He’s such a passionate player – paying tribute to the legacy of music while still having his own voice. That’s VERY difficult to do in jazz music because the legacy is so rich.
BUT THEN, I heard him playing with Seal. I didn’t know how versatile. Again, blown away.
AND THEN, I heard him on an Emmylou Harris (folk singer) album.
AND THEN, I heard him with Joni Mitchell.
WHAT?!
This guy can do anything and still sound like himself. That is incredibly rare and very special when you come across it.
THEN, he decides to make an album as a singer/songwriter. Of course, I immediately bought it and again, I am blown away. Great songs, great guitar playing, great singing (very cool sounding voice) and, of course, great drumming. I think Brian was blessed with severe talent and a wonderful soul. He is also a part of the Black Dub group I’ve sent previously. Enjoy.
Wow, did that week go fast or what. Hot and fast. The only way to recover from that kind of week: relax with a good book. So, now that you know what I’m doing today, well, for as long as I can anyways 🙂 below I have as many fabulous blogs as I was able to read this week. And Jeff is finally back this week. His music pick this week even has a follow-up pick for next week.
From @smoulderingsea #editortips on 7/3/12 : Using “S/he could tell that…” to interpret another character’s actions is a cheap way to avoid breaking POV.
Pitch
From @smoulderingsea #editortips on 7/2/12: Challenge yourself to write a query pitch/blurb in only 150 words. It’ll force you to cut out anything extraneous and focus.
Editing
Seeing Creative posted about her experience with SmartEdit!! 🙂 : Edit Smartly
My hubs is a drummer, you knew that right? Okay, so his theme this week and next is…
Really great drummers who are also really great singer/songwriter/guitarists.
The first one is obvious:
“Rope” by Foo Fighters, from the album “Wasting Light”
After having seen them live together, we both know just HOW MUCH they rock.
What I really like about Dave Grohl’s approach is that he released the first album under the band name with no attention to himself. He could have easily used his post Nirvana fame to push the project through, so to speak. Instead, he decided to let the music do the talking. I think that’s admirable, but I also think it was a smart move. It gave people the chance to judge the music purely on…the music. What a concept! No preconceived notions or other celebrity crap – just music.
Over the years, the band has been extremely successful at taking Dave’s songs and making them their own. I think this album is one of the best examples of this. They all play their roles to a perfection and sound like a BAND.
Happy weekend folks!! Boom, bang look at all those cool links for writers. Jeff took another week off from picking out great music. Not to worry, SYTYCD had loads of fabulous performance I wanted to share this week, so which one was my favorite?
I’ve completely fallen for @smoulderingsea and his #editortips, if you miss the daily tweets you can still catch them on his blog. Here is my fav from yesterday: When editing down backstory and inner monologue, keep only what the reader needs–not what you needed to sort your story.
Dance to inspire
So many great performances this week as SYTYCD season 9 revealed their top 20. This performance was by far my fav, enjoy
It’s a week of transitions for me, but one thing that doesn’t change: I’m still learning tons from my blog reads. Good stuff this we folks. Hubs is getting another week off, but I’ve picked something for you.
The hubs was given another pass this week, another crazy gigging week for him. Don’t feel bad for him, he had a ton of fun, we just didn’t get to see a lot him, bummer.
I’ve picked “If You Want Me” by The Swell Season. Marketa Irglova’s voice is hauntingly beautiful, enjoy
S.J. Maylee 