Iconic Female Vocalist Whitney Houston Passes Away
The nation was mourning today for the loss of another larger-than-life superstar. Whitney Houston passes away suddenly and unexpectedly, and the cause at this time is unknown. Houston did have known incidents with drug use, but it is unclear if that is indeed the case. She holds the record for the largest streak of number one hits on "Billboard Hot 100" (she had seven number ones in a row) and the only female artist to obtain 2 "Billboard 200" Album awards. She also did some small movie work as well.
Included in the Letter this week:
-We continue the Shannara Series with the next edition, "The Wishsong of Shannara".
-We celebrate the Birthday of a Great Man (includes a review of "Two and Two-Thirds Men".)
-I lose my mind as I compare two songs that are haunting my life. Neil Young's classic song, "Old Man" is under the microscope along with a cover version of the same song by Redlight King.
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Jet-Setting (yes it's a Winnipeg Jets pun)
At this point I'd like to wish my grandfather a very happy 80th birthday. Grandpa is one of those guys who does and does for others without wanting anything in return. Every time I see him truly happy, he is enjoying the company of friends and family. So that's what he received for his birthday this year (along with a lot of Rum.)
Typically I'm not a good birthday present, myself, but he was at a loss for words when we all rolled up, so I guess it was worth it! Happy Birthday Grandpa, you deserve it!
*******REMEMBER THIS RANDOM INTERJECTION LATER!!!***************
How it happened,
-This weekend was rather different for me, who's life has gotten a tad redundant and cyclical lately. Saturday morning was spent boarding a plane along with members of my family. We were headed to Winnipeg, where unlike Weird Al Yankovic's song, "Albuquerque" the towels are not fluffy whatsoever. If you do not understand this joke, and you have nine minutes to burn, click www.youtube.com/watch?v=1765UzjAQxI
The flight is short, and we arrived with no problems, apart from playing the most annoying scrabble game in my life. First of all, it gives you three to four "best word" scenarios where it will show you the most lucrative place to put your letters. That's not true scrabble. I win because I play opponents who are not nearly as word-based as I am. Gah! Also, they gave me a rack with 7 letters such as E E I I A O U. What words can you make with this? Not too friggin' much. Even Ol' Macdonald who had a farm didn't have this many damn vowels.
We arrived in Winnipeg. Our mission was to surprise our grandfather, who (hopefully) had no idea we were coming. A giant surprise party was planned, and we pulled it off successfully. It was truly a gift to see my family again, as most of them do not live near Calgary whatsoever and some of them are pretty frickin' cool. (Such as my great-aunt, with whom I talked hockey with a for a decent stretch. While we disagree on Tim Thomas, we bonded over a love of watching Zdeno Chara primitively force his way through everyone. "CHARA SMASH!"
Part of the surprise was a dinner theatre show that took place in the hotel that we stayed at. The theatre group "Celebrations" had a unique show that mirrored "Two and a Half Men". The food was decent and the show was satisfactory, and on the whole, enjoyable. The servers all had personalities, different outfits and looks, and some of them were rather eccentric. One awkward moment was created when my buttocks were pinched by a certain man with a cross-dressing persona. I don't like females with more chest hair than I have. On the flipside, he sounded like Vinny from Disney's "Atlantis", who is definitely my favorite character. A certain mermaid came and we briefly planned to discuss romantic matters after the show, but I'm still waiting.... Actually she turned out to be the girl playing "Rosie" (who was a mock of Rose) and she turned out to be quite the surprise. Though she was a lot younger than her fellow cast, her voice and dance technique were highly trained and easy to listen to. Apparently she is an Edmontonian who does musical work, according to her bio. Not too bad for a mermaid these days...
The biggest thrill from the show would have to be the lady that was cast as Berta. (Or in this show's case, Bertha-real creative huh?) What an excellent fit. While definitely slimmer than Berta, and with a voice that can both sing beautifully and at the same time create flashbacks of Roseanne Barr, she stole the show for me. In character the whole time, she thrived in her role. The marquis sign is here...take a wild guess at which one plays Berta. Just Incredible. Would gladly see a show with her again.
A big highlight was they got all the birthday people onstage and got them all to admit their age. Much to his credit, my grandfather admitted that he was turning 80. They rewarded him by making the entire birthday entourage dance to a Rendition of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" (Aptly named the Birthday blitz). Now I will try to keep this mature, but watching 30 or so people do pelvic thrusts to the lyric "She thinks she's the passionate one!" would make you piss yourself laughing. So yeah, fairly successful.
We departed the hotel next day, and spent time at the museum before the return trip home. While most of it was fairly museum-like, I did walk away with some new information that I cannot decide what to do with. Apparently, if you gaze up at the stars and look at them, (I would recommend trying this at night) you are actually looking at what they looked like thousands of years ago. Because light, even though it is super fast, still takes so long to travel through space, by the time the light reaches us, it's not in real-time. So remember when that supernova happened a month or two ago, and you could see the fuzzy star as it died? Well it actually happened thousands of years ago. Even radio signals to Saturn and back take well over an hour to travel. While it's neat to look so far into the past, it makes me wonder if some of those stars actually do not exist anymore?
The trip home was good, albeit delayed. I would have thoroughly enjoyed it, apart from playing scrabble. What the hell do I do with E E E I Y O W??!?!!
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Wish For It, Sing For It
That's the premise of the magic behind Terry Brooks' next book, for those who have been following the Shannara Reviews. "The Wishsong of Shannara" is a great story, like all the rest. What stands out for me in the last story was the creation of fear and danger that Brooks' invoked into the story. It felt like a race against time. In this story, it is the characters that bring forward the entire book. The enemies are very dynamic, not just an assorted bunch of demons with a special few that are more developed. He builds on the legend he's created, while once again creating new entities to thrill readers.
The book has two main characters, which is very uniquely done. It is the two children of Wil and Eretria (Characters of the Elfstones of Shannara). Allanon has once again returned, and adventure resumes. What's interesting though, is that both Ohmsford children play two very different roles. Both have remnants of the Elfstone magic, which has been turned innate due to the use. Jair, the younger brother, can sing and create images with his use of the magic known as the Wishsong. It works differently for his sister Brin, who can physically change the reality of the world she lives in with the Wishsong.
While some familiar essences still remain to help reassure the reader they will not be disappointed, Brooks' succeeds in creating lovable characters that help pave the way for the next books. The Grimpond, Garet Jax, Kimber Boh, Cogline, Rone Leah and Stythys, among others, are so versatile as far as their contrasts, and each represent a part of us. He creates new and exciting fear, whether it's facing an Unstoppable enemy in the Jachyra, or walking through caves where the floor is filled with Procks (stone that will open and close, it preys on people who can't see in the dark caves.) The procks will open and close upon the victim, who has no chance of escape.
To explain the plot for this story would diminish it, so read this one for yourself. It's full of literary surprises, and it concludes the history of Shannara. From here on in, things change.
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Track Attack! Neil Young vs. Redlight King
While music is full of different styles and types, and each of us like certain pieces better than others, we can all agree on one thing. When bands do a cover, it often sucks....bigtime. It's rare that a cover is even remotely close to as good, and if it is, the original probably sucks. Even a live version from the same band can often be horrible.
There are a select few cases where the band is as good live as it is on the album (Pink Floyd, Rammstein, 3 Doors Down, Matchbox 20, etc.) but music that is good live will never be covered. If it is covered, then the Court of Logan will deem the group unworthy and their cover shall be burnt in the fire of hell.
Lately, I have been cursed. While dealing cards back in the summer, especially during the graveyard shift when the satellite radio can actually be heard, often the same songs come on as the playlist is not very large. While it's opened my eyes to some new songs that I like, it also played "Old Man" from Redlight King. At least once a day I would continue to hear it, every time I dealt.
After it successfully pissed me off, Neil Young's original version was found in the depths of my Ipod. Suddenly realizing that this was a cover that I heard daily at work, it disgusted me even more. It had rap-like verse lyrics, and the chorus was a little different. Still, I proceeded to hear it every day.
I turned to people for help. I was driving in the car with my mother and I mentioned my predicament. THE VERY NEXT SONG on the radio after we discussed it was Neil Young's version of "Old Man". While she laughed, I entertained the thought of ripping her radio out and throwing it across Glenmore. What are the chances that the song I am hearing every day is the next song on? Especially when it's so old...until that point it was probably at least ten years since Mom heard it...
Whether I've gone officially crazy (which is a likely theory) or because that is how this song works, I've started to actually enjoy the new cover version, probably even more than Neil Young's. I actually got to listen to the lyrics from Redlight King, and the main theme of the song is that point of realization when you discover you are more like a male figure (for example, your father) than you once thought (often a scary point in life). The key phrase in Neil Young's song is "Old Man, look at my life, I'm a lot like you were..." He is fairly soft-voiced and with simple lyrics, it is a sadder song to listen to. Redlight King's song's rap/light-rock sound gave it more edge, but not enough to fall in love with it. If you want Neil Young's lyrics, go search.
I took a look through the lyrics of Redlight King's version, and posted a video of them here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ruo8yzu0w
The song is still dark, but this is where I started to appreciate how good this new version is. While Redlight King is definitely newer-age, and some old-fashioned people may be turned off instantly by the sound difference, the lyrics are definitely very real. They trade in Young's lyrical symbols for hard truths, and they tell the story of tough love well.
Initially I did not like the change of the actual chorus structure. When you cover a song, it should showcase the original artist. The more change, the worse it gets. However, the band must of had a clear vision of how they wanted it to be, as it definitely has grown on me. I feel that since the key phrase is "Take a Look at my Life, I'm a Lot Like You" the new chorus type delivers that with a more emphatic finish. It is solely designed to make you absorb that piece. They got rid of the word "were" at the end, which adds to that striking finish. Songs become good with Power. There's a reason this never became Neil Young's trademark song. Redlight King has surprisingly provided a new, unique and creative cover.
Remember the interjection above? That's where I heard it while I was writing. Son of a b**ch.
That's All For The Letter this week!
Thanks again for Reading,
Logan.
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