Category Archives: Culture

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The King Lives

Everyone knows the King. Elvis was a God amongst Men. His originality and heart felt rock ballads and rockabilly care free attitude to life, stole the worlds hearts.

Elvis Presley in his prime

That slick quiff always makes me wonder if it was raining outside.

You know his songs, now find out some stuff you might not have known.

1. Elvis Presley might not have been known at all had it not been for an impromptu moment of fun whilst recording. When Elvis first walked into Sun Records in 1953 and paid to record his own song the shy but self-confident young man declared ‘I don’t sound like no one’ when asked who he sounded like. However Presley failed to make an impression on more than one occasion to Sam Phillips, owner of Sun Records. Whilst recording late one night in 1954 the session was coming to a close and Presley was still struggling to make an impression, sure he could sing but nothing Sam heard set him apart. Until moments later. A brief break was taken and Elvis started singing Arthur Crudup’s ‘That’s All Right Mamma’ whilst the musicians played along behind him. Suddenly Sam stopped them and forced them to go carry on while he pushed record – this didn’t sound like anyone he’d heard before.

2.Although Elvis passed away in 1977, more than 36 years ago, he still gets frequently toured around the world. Elvis In Concert, which uses video footage of Elvis whilst his old band plays alongside him, has toured worldwide since 1998 stopping in 2012. However, it still carries on in 2013 at smaller venues around the UK and Europe, with new band members. There is also talks of one day there being a hologrammed image of Elvis’ tour.

3. ITV’s recent documentary ‘The Nation’s Favorite Elvis Song’ aired on TV and coincided with an album release. This album has so far sold over 107,000 giving Presley him another Gold album. According to RIAA, Elvis now has a total of 91 gold, 52 platinum and 25 multi-platinum album awards by the organization.

4. On the recent Forbes ‘Top-Earning Dead Celebrity’ list, Elvis came #2 with only Michael Jackson coming above him. Not bad for someone who passed 36 years ago. Elvis apparently rakes in $55 Million pounds a year. This is helped by the 600,000 people a year that visit Elvis’ home, Graceland, (second only to the White House) as well as touring and Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) licensed products.

5. Maybe Elvis got lucky with his fame and his impromptu ‘That’s All Right’ was part of being in the right place at the right time. But arguably, his work ethic played a major part in his success, and shouldn’t be overlooked. In 1955 through to the end of 1956 Elvis toured almost non-stop all calendar year with only the odd few days off. Elvis served in the Army from 1958-1960 – without touring or given special treatment. He appeared in 33 feature films in total and returned to the stage in 1969 until his death in 1977. In his 8 years performing, from ’69 onwards, he gave 1126 concerts.

Want to know more? Look at his official website Here.

Here are my Top Ten Tracks… Don’t agree? Leave a comment below!
1.Mystery train
2.That’s All Right
3.Are you Lonesome Tonight
4.Reconsider Baby
5.Heartbreak Hotel
6.Thrill Of Your Love
7.Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues
8.Anyway You Want Me (That’s How I’ll Be)
9.An American trilogy
10.I’m Leavin’

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A second profession

Me not working hard?
Yeah, right! Picture that with a Kodak
Or, better yet, go to Times Square
Take a picture of me with a Kodak
Took my life from negative to positive

– Pitbull

A recent edition of the Sunday Times Magazine featured a series of photographs of war veterans taken by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. As a life-long anti-war activist he has written several songs about war and in November he published a photographic book, Wounded – The Legacy of War to highlight the human cost of armed conflicts.

Visitor viewing photographs of wounded veterans taken by Bryan Adams.

Visitor viewing photographs of wounded veterans taken by Bryan Adams.

Adams is one of many musicians cultivating a second career in photography. It is seemingly the second profession of choice for them. Music and photography often go together. Photos are essential in establishing and reinforcing the character and image of a band or artist, even if TV and the internet has taken over parts of that role. At concerts, the people who are closest in front of the stage are usually a group of photographers. Musicians paint pictures with words and sounds, photographers paint with light.

American musician Moby, famous for his electronic music, is an established photographer with exhibitions in several different countries in Europe as well as the US under his belt. In 2011 he released an album and a book of photographs both titled Destroyed.

Adams has done a lot of fashion photography and has been published in magazines like Vouge and Esquire.

Grand old lady of punk, Patti Smith, has also indulged herself in photography, resulting in her first large exhibition in 2011 called Camera Solo, currently working its way across the galleries of the world.

Former guitarist of The Police, Andy Summers, has toured far and wide with his photo exhibition I’ll Be Watching You: Inside The Police, 1980-83, documenting the bands tour around the globe between 1980 and 1980. The collection of more than 600 photographs records the band on stage, partying, taking drugs, fans, and the people and places they encountered on their journey.

Fans of The Police, captured by the band’s guitarist Andy Summers.

Moby’s photostream on Flickr

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The music of the Doctor

This November the iconic BBC show Doctor Who celebrates 50 years on the air. As the longest running science fiction show on the planet, with 77 million viewers worldwide, it has become an instantly recognizable part of the cultural history of Britain. The anniversary special episode was broadcasted simultaniously in 94 countries across six continents.

A key element in the success of Doctor Who, is the distinctive style of sounds and music. From the first theme, creepy and alien, composed by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire, to the more up beat version of the current series, it has always heralded the coming of epic adventures in time and space for millions of viewers.

 

50 years of Doctor Who!

Music from the show has become merchandise in it self. In 1983, the BBC released a full-length album with music and sound, titled Doctor Who: The Music. Music from the show has been featured at the Proms in Royal Albert Hall and a concert called Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular has been performed in New Zealand.

When the first episodes of the show was in production in 1963, a whole set of new sounds and music had to be created. The sound engineers at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop experimented freely and the results have had a enduring legacy.

Brian Hodgson, a former BBC sound engineer who worked on the original series of Doctor who, recently told BBC Radio Norfolk some of the secrets behind many of the iconic sounds from the show. He said the sound of the Tardis, the blue police box shaped combined time machine and space craft, was made by scraping his mothers keys against the strings in a old Sunday school piano.

Hodgson also told BBC how he had constructed the voice of the Daleks together with Peter Hawkins by shortening the length of the vowels to create the staccato voice. ‘EX-TER-MIN-ATE!’

 

VIDEO: Original Doctor Who theme (1963 – 1969)

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The Clan that changed Hip Hop

Shacklin’ the masses with drastic rap tactics, graphic displays melt steel like blacksmiths

– Wu-Tang Clan

20 years ago the New York-based rap collective Wu-Tang Clan released their first album Enter the Wu-Tang(36 chambers). A Hip Hop legend was born.

Enter the Wu-Tang quickly gained critical claim and the group established itself as a influential and creative force in the 90s. Wu-Tang Clan is famous for their unorthodox business model and their ground breaking contract with Loud/RCA, allowing all group members to negotiate their own solo contracts with other labels, effectively spreading the Clan across the industry.

Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers. The first Album of the soon to be notorious Wu-Tang Clan

Enter the Wu-Tang had a back to basics approach featuring piano-snippets, elements of 70s Soul and guitar stabs. The album had huge influence on the sound of east coast rap throughout the 90s.

Reflecting on their 20 years anniversary group member Method Man said to XXL Magazine it was “bitter-sweet”.

“It’s great to be recognized as pivotal group in the business. But it’s constant struggle to stay relevant and keep revenue coming in.”

Speaking about how the group has evolved, he said:

“We’re all still the same dudes. At least, I feel like we’re the same dudes; you’d have to ask somebody on the outside looking in. I still see the child in all my niggas. “

Wu-Tang Clan is more than just a rap collective, it is also a business enterprise. The Wu Tang brands has branched out to a range of merchandise and affiliated products. In 1999 the video game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style was released for the Playstation, featuring all nine group members.

Following the success of their first album, Oli “Power” Grant, the executive producer opened four Wu Wear stores in different American cities. In 2007 the Wu-Tang entered a partnership with the Alife NYC clothing group, developing an exclusive series of custom t-shirts, hoodies, sneakers and other accessories.

Wu-Tang Clan was set to release an album commemorating their 20 years of fame, but the plans folded.

VIDEO:

Wu-Tang Clan Reflects on 20 year anniversary