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( 2.9 / 664 )So I fell into a Youtube wormhole last week. It started when a friend of mine posted a video mash-up of Nirvana’s iconic Smells Like Teen Spirit with the completely incongruous vocals of Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Let You Down. Now I liked the Nirvana well enough, but I’m over it these days – the song came out over 20 years ago, and since then, grunge has been pretty played out. I never liked Rick Astley. And I’m pretty sure that there has never been anyone in the history of the world who really liked both artists. Somehow though, when you put the two together, something wonderful happens. Both songs sounded fresher than I remembered, more fun. There was some interesting crunchy major on minor tonality. And the subversion of what I was expecting made me listen much more closely than I normally do to 80’s pop.
Having found the Nirvana mash-up, I had to see what else was out there, and spent easily 45 minutes on Youtube, just clicking through. I found a bunch of mash-ups with rap (probably because most of the folks who do these are DJ’s, and make them for the club scene), which are fun, though less impressive than the ones with vocals. Then, I came across this little gem, which may be my favorite:
As I was scrolling through the many mixes, it occurred to me that these mash-ups are a neat little metaphor for Ojai. I’ve only been to three Festivals now, but every time, I am surprised and delighted by how the program and the space combine to make the pieces I think I know sound completely new and different. Layer Schoenberg over some David M. Gordon, and suddenly, instead of seeming strange, the Schoenberg sounds like your grandpa telling you how things were back in the day. Layer Bach over Ives, and suddenly Bach’s gnarly harmonic structure sounds as though it could have been written yesterday. And, like the music geek I am, I’m already looking forward to hearing something new in this year’s mix!
-Christiana
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( 2.9 / 678 )Just in case you missed the great WSJ article on the new life in Aaron Copland's old house, here it is.
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( 2.9 / 568 )Here in the Festival office, we read Daniel Stephen Johnson's Blog for all sorts of reasons, but the main reason we love him is that he keeps us up on all the latest cats-playing-pianos news. And what news it is! DSJ found some fellow who managed to piece together a reasonable facsimile of Schoenberg's op 11, by using some of the 170 (!) videos of cats playing pianos that eh downloaded from Youtube. Ok, you just really have to see it to believe it.
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( 2.9 / 495 )It's summertime, but there's still lots happening at the Ojai Festival. Here are some of the highlights:
- Anna has accepted a new position with the Festival as Director of the Libbey Bowl campaign. It's a monumental job, and we are so glad to have Anna at the helm.
- The Festival is hiring a new Director of Development! So far we have met with some truly excellent candidates, and we are most excited to welcome someone new into the Festival family.
- Meanwhile, the staff is hurrying to make room for another person. Shelves have to be moved, files rearranged, and walls built. It's making for lots of positive yet sweaty activity in the office.
- Plans are starting to come together for the 2010 season. We're excited to see that the 2010 Music Director, George Benjamin, is in San Francisco with MTT this January. Look for more information on George, and how to get to know his work coming soon.
And, to our great delight, orders are starting to pour in for the 2010 season. To add your name to the list of folks committed to joining us for another musical adventure, call me, Christiana, at 805 646 2094, x.106. I'd love to hear all about your experience of 2009. We're still talking about last season in the office, about what moved us, and what we found perplexing. As our outgoing board president says, "We don't do beige." How true. Let me know what you thought of our colorful 2009 season!
- Christiana
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