right at the end of recording “storyboards” i bought a little stringed instrument called a “mcnally strumstick”… i loved it! it only made it onto one song on that record – “unmade” where it very briefly makes an appearance. since then, i’ve not played it much at all and haven’t been that into it. but lately i’ve been working on a little project for a friend and it felt fitting to use this little, blanjo-like instrument. kinda fun. definitely not as addictive or as fun as the ukulele and i’ve had an on/off relationship with it, but the strumstick is real nice in the right context. i’ve been having fun with it lately.
here’s a video of someone rockin’ out on it…. playing none other than journey’s “don’t stop believin’” sweeet.
a bit late in posting today. it’s been a busy and productive day, but i’ve had no time for posting ’til now. many sorrys.
so, i’m going to bare my soul with you today and share a list of some of my favorite songs that fit into the “guilty pleasure” category. let me specify that the following songs are just unusual for my tastes, not that they’re poor in any way…
1. michael buble “haven’t met you yet” (i never mind when this song comes on in a store… it’s a good melody and he does have quite a voice.)
2. aretha franklin “natural woman” (alright, aside from being embarrassed to blast “you make me feel like a natural woman” from my car stereo, this song is absolutely incredible. aretha is actually one of my favorites. her voice is impeccable. just a silly lyrics for a dude to sing out loud is all.)
3. nelly furtado “i’m like a bird” (i have to give dan some credit on this one… he loved it when i came out and showed it to me. it’s a sweet, fun song. deal with it)
4. outkast “hey ya!” (everyone loves this song, i know. silly, silly, silly. by the way, i love that the freeze frame of the video is “dookie”.. wha??)
5. jay z “empire state of mind” (jay z’s legit. it’s true. but nothing something i listen to… but this song is rad. the alicia keys melody is great and i love, love, love the tiny toy piano sound in the verses. by the way, doesn’t look really weird that alicia is playing the piano standing up? kind of silly looking)
so those are the one’s that came to mind, but i’m sure there’s plenty more where that came from! don’t leave me hanging… share your favorite guilty pleasure songs! comment below.
i recently came across a few live bill withers videos on youtube (from the looks of it, several millions of other folks have too) and i just love these live performances…
a popular song like “ain’t no sunshine” never really resonated with me, ’til seeing this live version. such an interesting song… and i absolutely love the break down section with the vocal (“i know, i know, i know….”) and drums. speaking of the drums, the drummer in the video is rad (and looks way rad):
here’s “ain’t no sunshine”…
and “use me” is another one that i just really love the live version of.
and this one’s called “grandma’s hands” and it was apparently recorded in a different session at a different show. his explanation is kinda sweet. the lyrics are a mixture of sweet and silly.
anyway, these songs are beautiful and his voice is the perfect voice for them. very genuine.
love, ryan
P.S. after much grief with broken websites, i pre-ordered my iphone 4 and cannot wait… but i have to. (lame)
this week’s going to be a productive one. i can tell already! spending lots of time with music and lots of time on various other projects. fun, fun, fun.
in completely non-related news: two of my favorite companies on earth have decided to make the month of june amazing for dork fans like myself. (oddly enough, mr. steve jobs is behind both of these beloved companies.) pixar and apple.
pixar is releasing toy story 3 this coming weekend i cannot wait. already got our advance tickets. in your face, life. and apple is releasing iphone 4 later this month and i am truly excited to hopefully acquire one and post many lovely high res photos and hd videos with it on our blog…
the only way to make it all even better would be to have pixar characters painted on the outside of the iphone 4. i may have to look into that… decals or something. i suppose i can just watch pixar films on the iphone 4…
anyway, in even more non-related news – a gentlemen by the name of erik carlson created a short documentary about To Write Love On Her Arms, in which he was kind enough to ask me a few questions and taped my answers. erik did an excellent job highlighting the incredible work that TWLOHA is doing! here’s the video, if you’re curious:
as i mentioned in my previous post, dan got married on friday! it was an absolutely gorgeous wedding and i couldn’t be more proud and happy for him and his new bride, therese! they both seemed so genuinely happy and it was just so wonderful to see! i took a few pictures with my iphone (using the hipstamatic app, of course) so, here’s a few snippets of their beautiful day.
love, ryan
the bride and groom lookin’ amazing…
photo shoot time in the gardens near the art institute in chicago…
the wedding party gals…
the incredible ceremony/reception space they chose… well, the ceiling of it. beautiful!
dan and his looong time pal, jordan (also a groomsman)…
lookin’ sharp for the photographer…
and dan and therese’s dog, oskar made an appearance!
