One of the Greatest Bands Ever

I know that calling The Beatles the best band ever is a pretty bold statement, but could you tell me of another band that has made a bigger impact than them? The Beatles changed the face of rock 'n roll. They gave rock 'n roll a makeover. They took it over and made it theirs. Do you remember the first Beatles song you ever heard? Do you remember how that felt? Let me tell you my experience.

My parents have some interesting taste in music. I told you in my last post how we would listen to Michael Jackson on road trips. I remember listening to Michael or Footloose. My parents didn't have any Beatles though—which is very odd because they both like The Beatles a lot—so I never heard them at our house.

For Easter one year I got a Beach Boys tape, and listened to it for hours. I loved it. They were so fun to listen to. I was growing up though, and my musical tastes were expanding. Around this time my older brother gave me two cds that he didn't want anymore. Tori Amos and Abby Road by The Beatles. I don't recall ever listening to the Tori Amos cd. Mostly because I didn't really care for girl singers(see previous post) and also because it was Tori Amos. So I shelved that and gave Abby Road a listen. It was unlike anything I had ever listened to. Mind you that I was listening to some pretty crappy bands at the time, so The Beatles easily broke through to a whole new level.

A girl I met once explained to me that no one could like both The Beatles and The Beach Boys, and that I had been the only exception to the rule. I thought that that was the most ridiculous idea. If you are a Beach Boys fan, I highly recommend that you check out The Beatles, and vice versa. Both are incredible and talented beyond measure.

Here are some drawings I did of The Beatles:

George is my favorite by far. He is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. The songs that he wrote while in The Beatles are some of my favorites. He was also in the band The Traveling Wilburys in the eighties. I recommend them. Not only is George Harrison in it—as if that wasn't motivation enough—but other members include Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynn. Absolutely amazing!
John Lennon was extremely brilliant and talented musically. He had some pretty strange beliefs though. Two words: Yoko Ono. Really?
Paul McCartney, the pretty boy of The Beatles. I preferred to draw him with a beard. He was the first of The Beatles to grow one because he received on injury on his face from a motorcycle accident. All the other Beatles grew a beard after he did. What a trendsetter.

Where is Ringo? Good question. He sucks. I don't remember him as a musician. He will always be the conductor on Shining Time Station to me.

THE BEATLES

1957-1970

Michael Jackson: King of Pop

I was born in the eighties. Everyone owned a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller. My parents had a copy of the cassette tape in our truck. We would go on family vacations listening to Michael when we drove. We have videotape of me dancing around the room saying that I was "bad." When we went to Disneyland when I was little, my favorite part was going to see Michael in the 3D feature Captain EO. I remember seeing the video "Bad" and thinking to myself how I needed to get a piano shirt like he had(don't worry, I made myself one).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was a pretty big Michael Jackson fan back in the day. I thought he was so cool. I wanted to know how to moonwalk. I wanted to do what Michael was doing at that time. Jackson's personal life aside, I think he was an amazing performer. From when he was in the Jackson Five:

Until the time of his death. These drawings are just a couple of the ones I've made.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Immigrant Punk

Gypsy punk anyone? For those of you who watch independant films, you may recognize Eugene Hutz from Everything is Illuminated or even that movie that Madonna directed, what was it called, Filth and Wisdom? For the rest of you, he's the lead singer of Gogol Bordello.

Gogol Bordello is a band from New York with a multi-ethnic background. Eugene himself comes from Ukraine. He and his family left Ukraine after hearing of the Chernobyl meltdown, which is the worst nuclear disaster in history. He spent several years in Eastern Europe in refugee camps. Through that he gained quite an incredible background in music. Check them out. You won't regret it.

St. Vincent

I use to be a little biased about girl singers. I don't blame people that have felt that way. The people in the limelight have been Britney Spears, Cher, Spice Girls, Pussycat Dolls, etc. I just didn't relate to what they were saying. So I falsely stereotyped all female vocalists and never gave them a chance. I'm glad that I have changed my tastes and allowed myself to be exposed to some incredible singers: Jenny Lewis, Blondie's Debbie Harry, Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall from Tilly and the Wall, Regina Spektor, Karen O, Zoey Deschanel, etc. There are so many more. Check them out. Widen your tastes, you never know what will happen. This is a picture of St. Vincent that I drew. She is incredible.

P.S. Do not listen to Lady Gaga.

Hoot Hoot

Henry David Thoreau wrote about owls in his book Walden, "I rejoice that there are owls. Let them do the idiotic and maniacal hooting for men. It is a sound admirably suited to swamps and twilight woods which no day illustrates, suggesting a vast and underdeveloped nature which men have not recognized. They represent the stark twilight and unsatisfied thoughts which all [men] have." Translation: Owls are freaking awesome!

What were you doing at the age of four?

As you can already tell, I love music. That was kinda one of the purposes of the last post. I know what you are thinking. You're thinking that that last post was about Bob Dylan, and also how much you would like to go eat a fortune cookie right now(side note: Those cookie fortunes always suck, right? Especially Panda Express fortune cookies. "You are an attractive person" Don't tell me something I already know fortune cookie! That wasn't even a fortune. I'd prefer to hear what date I will die.). Well you are wrong. It was about music too. I mean, it did mention music a little right? So there. I won.

I spend quite a bit of time listening to music, and then drawing those people. You'll be sure to see some more pieces of musicians in the future. Today I wanted to feature a piece on Andrew Bird:

He is an incredible musician. "Oh No" is also a really good song. Check it out. You have access to the internet so you have access to that song. I'll wait.....use youtube or whatever. Grooveshark works too. Did you hear it yet? Well hurry up!!!

INCREDIBLE!!! I KNOW!! That's why I recommended it to you. So you are probably wondering about the title of the post. Or at least now you are because I mentioned it. So here is my explanation: Andrew Bird was trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four. Suzuki method is an educational philosophy which helps people build character through a nurturing environment. This is usually done through music. Andrew Bird started playing the violin at the age of four. I think my parents should have started me out younger when they tried to get me to play piano. I started at 8 and avoided it as much as possible. My parents gave me the choice to give up when I was 12. I responded by playing nintendo. A skill I figured would be useful in the future. Who am I kidding?! It was so worth it!!

Like a Rolling Stone

Dear Reader: Have you ever listened to Bob Dylan? Of course you must have heard of him. If you haven't listened to his music yet, then I implore you to give it a listen. Bob Dylan is one of the greatest musicians and lyricists of all time. Below is a little artistic tribute to him.