Jon Lajoie is awesome. I enjoy his work. The day after Michael Jackson died, Jon released the video for his song Michael Jackson is Dead on YouTube. With this video, I think he makes a great point about the media’s relationship to Michael Jackson. They made cash money by labeling him a freak on the cover of every major magazine at some point over the past 30 years. Anyways,  I’ll let the video speak for itself. The most poignant lyrics are just before the last verse:

oh it’s so sad that michael passed away
we loved him so much
oh really, really, did you love him
cuz from where i’m standing it kinda looked
like you hated him
and that you called him freak
and that you wanted him to die
but now that he’s dead
you love him and he’s a legend
and he’s so amazing
and we love michael jackson
how about you go fuck yourself
you big bunch of fucking hypocrits

The media is nothing if they are not hypocritical, but I will accept the argument that they are often nicer to people when it involves death. However, it is a flimsy argument, so all you media defenders should try to avoid using it.

This song was written (and the video was posted) less than 48 hours after Michael’s death was announced. Jon Lajoie’s got some skills. Well done, Jon. Well done indeed.

Carter Albrecht CD Release Party: Jesus is Alive…and Living in London

Carter Albrecht CD Release Party at the Granada Theater in Dallas, TX

Carter Albrecht’s Solo CD Release Party will be tonight at the Granada Theater. The CD, titled Jesus is Alive…and Living in London, features 9 original tracks by Carter Albrecht. Just in case you need to copy and past the details, here you go:

• When: Thursday, May 28, 2009
• Where: The Famous Granada Theater in Dallas, TX
• Host: Dave Little
• 8:20pm: Danny Balis solo project
• 9:00pm: Trey Johnson solo project
• 10:00pm: Live performances of Carter’s music by John Dufilho & Don Cento, Sarah Jaffe, Trey Johnson, Salim Nourallah, Jayson Bales, Chris Holt, Danny Balis and Ward Williams (with The Slack & Shibboleth as backing bands)

Carter Albrecht

Carter Albrecht was a musical inspiration, and he certainly has a place in the hearts of Darth Vato. Carter was a Jedi, and the quality of his solo CD only proves it even more. Here is the track list for Jesus is Alive and Living in London:

Carter Albrecht CD - Jesus is Alive...And Living in London

1. Jesus Light
2. Country Living
3. Rome
4. Rivers Into Rum
5. When You’re Younger
6. Jesus Is Alive…and Living in London
7. GODOT
8. Sparrows
9. The Sign

I hope you are able to make it out to the show tonight. Be sure to pick up a CD, too. It is amazing. If you can’t make it to the show, you can pick up the CD on iTunes here. And if you’re just really interested in more information on Carter Albrecht, here are some awesome links:

• CarterAlbrecht.com
• Carter Albrecht Music Foundation
  
• Carter Albrecht on MySpace
• Sparrows on MySpace
• Carter Albrecht on iTunes
• Carter Albrecht on CD Baby
• Sparrows: Live at the Moon Bar 12-11-2004

Cheers!

According to a post at telegraph.co.uk (here), “Learning to speak Mandarin and Vietnamese as a child helps make you more musical, claims a study that suggests being fluent in the languages helps you have perfect pitch.” The article goes on to point out that perfect pitch in China is a rather common occurence. However, In the US and Europe, it is estimated that only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect pitch.

Apparently, many Chinese languages are ‘tonal languages’ – meaning that the pitch of a word is essential to its meaning. Tonal languages? I had never even heard of such a concept. It’s fascinating. And the part about those languages nurturing perfect pitch? Wow. I have always been under the impression that genetics played the main role for people with perfect pitch. It’s simply fascinating to know that social factors may play a bigger role in acquiring or having perfect pitch.

“It really looks as though infants should acquire perfect pitch if they are given the opportunity to attach verbal labels to musical notes at the age when they learn speech,” said Prof Deutsch.

Maybe I’ll be a parent who forces perfect pitch on my kids by having them learn 4 chinese languages. Then again, maybe not. I have known several people with perfect pitch. I knew this guy in college who could tell you the pitch of a fart. My wife’s mom can tell you the frequency at which a light is buzzing. From talking with various friends about it, perfect pitch can be an amazing gift, but it can also be a real nuisance. For example, let’s say you are listening to an acapella choir that goes flat by a quartertone. For most people with perfect pitch, the experience is nearly ruined because they cannot listen to the performance without noticing how the choir has gone flat. And it goes for instruments, too. Furthermore, I have also heard that perfect pitch will begin to fail in old age. I couldn’t handle that. It would be like a super power was being taken away slowly. People would say, “Poor Hulk. He’s can’t turn dark green anymore. He’s only making it to lime green these days. Poor guy.”

In conclusion, while it might be awesome in theory, simply being a good musician may be better than having perfect pitch.