Video From Day Eight (2): Ridley Bent ~ Pastures of Heaven

Blam! Blam!

Day Eight (2): Very cute song! Always reminds me of Main Street and struggling artists. Love it!

Update: My first summer living in Vancouver, I had the strangest roommate I have ever had. The first time I stumbled home at three in the morning confirmed this as I found her cleaning! About a month later, after telling me several times that she was NOT interested in dating anybody right now, we ended up at a cd release party for the brother of a boy she had met on the bus that day... I no longer found my roommate at home when I got in at 3am...

It puzzled me, but whatever! The cd release party may have been the moment that I fell in love not only with "hick hop" but rising musicians! I became obsessed with Ridley Bent, telling everybody I knew about this great artist I had just heard! (That obsession existed for several years afterwards...well, I'll still tell you to check this guy out!) That was when my edumusication was woken up. And, so, now, here you read my words and learn my opinions on musical talent. It might not be polished, it has little to do with musical theory...but, well, it's what I love to do!

Day 52, Don't Worry The Deck Ain't Full Yet!

Alexz Johnson ~ Voodoo

I only recently stumbled upon this Canadian artist. Kind of makes me wonder what rock I was living under. But, alas, there will always be somebody new for me to discover. And that is part of what this year is about. That's what edumusication is for me, in fact.

History of Edumusication:

It first began my second year in Vancouver, probably right before my first summer in Vancouver. My first summer in Vancouver was a tremendous wake-up call for me. :-D I was working in Chapters and had to cover a shift or two in the music section. As I participated more and more in covering shifts in the music section, I slowly learned more and more about the music that I had not had access to in my remote childhood.

This all dawned on me one day when I asked about "Oh Ba Di Oh Ba Da" by the Beatles. My inquiry revealed my ignorance of the Beatles as, well, I'm still not even sure if that is the correct name for the song. A music genius - Hallis - knew immediately that it was from their White album.

"White Album?" I asked.

"Yeah,..." he looked at me. "You've never heard of their White album?"

Suddenly I was giving a presentation about WWII and realized that not only had I forgotten the name of the leader of the Nazi party, I never really knew the name. Oh, and I was naked.

Somehow, as he rambled on and on about the different songs of the fab four, I picked my clothes up off the floor and stood up to him. "Yeah, my parents weren't hippies! And, I grew up listening to pop, country or some garbage about My baby makes me cornflakes. I'll add the Beatles to my edumusication and never ask you that question again."

He took it farily well, assured me he wasn't a music snob and actually provided me with further musical education that summer. He's a good guy....but he is a music snob. :-D Now, so am I!

Alexz Johnson

So, apparently this girl grew up in the lower mainland, was discovered as an actress/singer and has starred in her own television show so far - Instant Star. Sadly, I never watched that show. But, maybe that's a good thing. If I had, I probably would be sick of her by now, recognized her face on the album, and never even considered that it would be good music. Like I said, I'm a bit of a music snob. And I have this prejudice against actors cum singers; however, I like Jill Hennessy. And, I think she was a singer before an actor. Some sort of triple (or only double) threat. I hope she does well, and not just because she's Canadian. She's got a good voice too!