Technology and Me and Music and Food and WTF

My mornings seem at the moment to be pretty stable, predictable to a certain extent.  Coffee is a must.  It takes a while to get the juices flowing, to get moving.  I am sure there’s room for improvement.  Any productivity consultants out there? 🙂

I am floored by technology.  Part of it is the eternal child in me.  Hitting a button and seeing something, anything, happen is still miraculous.  “How can this possibly happen?” I ask myself.  Even though I have a bit of an inquiring mind, some technological know-how, the wonder of it all still wins.  I embrace the technology from the vantage point of one who wishes to find true convenience and improvements in personal and professional effectiveness as well as one who is simply curious.

Among other things this morning, I used Google Reader to aid in Music Discovery.  Learning of folks who are enthusiastic about songwriting is way high on my list, so I sift through the noise to find some gems.  Among the great material was “Rest Your Head on My Shoulder”, from PGO.  It’s got a great acoustic Celtic groove, a hypnotic melody and heartfelt lyric and performance.  The song made it into the Top 10 Finalist Stage in Broadjam’s International Songwriting competition.  What do you think?

This is what leveraging the technology is about–discovery, to enhance your life, to find what is rewarding, what makes you feel something, to make this an engaging, positive journey.

Then, as the morning continued, in my haphazard way I grabbed one of my favorite foods, a Chocolate Chip Clif Bar.  They can be a healthy part of your diet–Calorie Count gives it an A for nutrition.  Not bad, I’d say!  This is where more of the technology comes in:  I go to my Android Calorie Count app and try to enter the item–but the search does not yield the result;  but with the new version of the app, you can now *scan the bar code* on the product, and the nutritional information will appear.  I did this using the Android QR Code app, and instantly the info appeared and I was able to log it.  If only the technology could get me to enter everything I eat at all times (I’ll keep hunting that app down)!

The WTF reaction was instant.  The child in me came out and froze in amazement, transfixed at what happened on that Android G2 screen.  My wife, though, saw it more on the 1984 Big Brother side.  I acknowledged that, but I stated how this could be put to good use.  Let the tools and technology be your servant.  Maybe your partner.  I seek to be and stay the master of this mind-obliteratingly, ridiculously intense, futurisic magical technological stuff–but it seems to get more difficult by the minute!

Holla!

 

The Little Willies Play a Big Show

My ears and heart and soul are giddy.  How could they not be?  3rd and Lindsley, one of Nashville’s coolest venues–recently remodeled–had The Little Willies on stage on November 30th.  They owned it, and they gave more respect to authentic Nashville country music then, well, Nashville.

The band–Lee Alexander (bass), Jim Campilongo (guitar),Norah Jones (piano, vocals), Richard Julian (guitar, vocals), and Dan Rieser (drums), played seamlessly, with comfort, abandon, and an urban edge.  Evident was the love for music, the friendship, the joy in sharing the experience with the enthusiastic audience.

This was the first time I’d seen Norah Jones perform.  The second I heard her sing, I melted.  What a soothing, mature, controlled, genuine instrument she has.  Her playing glided as a perfect extension to her vocals.  Alexander was solid all the way. Rieser held it together with complexity, confidence, and one of the fattest bass drum sounds I’ve ever heard.  Campilongo reminded me thoroughly of my time playing, jamming, with a smooth Fender sound awash in spring reverb.  The wetter, the better, and there was abandon and bravado in all of it.  Julian fronted with a right now, almost spoken style and a quick dry wit, understated and effective, a quirky but perfect complement to Jones’ smooth delivery.

Rampant in the industry, especially in Nashville, is the desire, the requirement that the artist be the writer.  The Little Willies flew in the face of this with homage to the great Nashville songsmiths.

Thank you, Little Willies, you’ve been an inspiration, you’ve kept the most authentic country music alive and kickin’.  To next time.