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Obama and Romney Get On Spotify

Spotify has been available to the general public in the United States for just over a year now, which means that this is the first Presidential Election to have access to the new music streaming software. Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney set up Spotify playlists to accompany their campaigns.

Obama was first to get on Spotify, making his campaign playlist back in February. The songs were carefully chosen by his team to represent his campaign. The playlist now contains more than 40 songs featuring a wide variety of artists from many different genres, including Earth, Wind & Fire, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Beyoncé. Generally, the messages are patriotic, upbeat, and easy to understand. He pledges his allegiance to the people (Wilco – “I Got You” and Ray LaMontagne – “You Are The Best Thing”) and petitions for his next term (Al Green – “Let’s Stay Together” and REO Speedwagon – “Roll With The Changes”).

My favorite selection is Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song.” The story behind the song and Obama’s ethics match perfectly. When Bareilles was starting her career, her record label rejected her songs and told her that she needed to write a marketable love song. Instead she went home and wrote, “I’m not gonna write you a love song, cause you ask for it, cause you need one.” Ironically, her anti love song fulfilled the request of her record label and sprung her to the top of the charts. During the campaign, Obama has not sacrificed his morals by just telling the American people what they want to hear. Instead, he has laid out the facts and what he really intends to do as President. I’m sure he’s also hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bareilles to win the popular vote.  

Call Barack Obama Maybe

This week's cleverly spliced video features Barack Obama singing Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." The song took off earlier this year, where it stole the #1 spot for nine consecutive weeks. While there are enough spoofs on this song for an entire blog post and more, I just had to feature this one for this month's campaign music theme. I'll let you come to your own conclusions on the intended message. To me it's just plain funny.

And in case you're as obsessed with the song as the rest of the country, here's Carly Rae Jepsen's version.

Barack Obama's Campaign Music

As promised last week, it’s now time to examine President Barack Obama’s use of music in his campaign.

Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama

As the incumbent, the President had already built a base of celebrity supporters from the 2008 election. One of these was Bruce Springsteen, who wanted his political career to be short. He told the New Yorker, “It seemed like if I was ever going to spend whatever small political capital I had, that was the moment to do so. But that capital diminishes the more often you do it. While I’m not saying never, and I still like to support the President, you know, it's something I didn’t do for a long time, and I don’t have plans to be out there every time.”

Clearly The Boss is again worried for the future of the country because he’s agreed to do two rallies tomorrow in Ohio and Iowa.

But Springsteen’s point of having a limited amount of political clout, may not hold up. History shows that despite the power of music, it may not do anything to sway an election. The first time musicians rallied behind a politician was the 1972 election Nixon vs. McGovern. Despite anti-war demonstrations supporting McGovern by Carole King, the Grateful Dead, and Simon and Garfunkel and Neil Young’s “War Song” written expressly for the candidate, Nixon still won the election with the most electoral votes in American history.

Springsteen himself has seen one candidate lose and one win for each election he’s supported. His first step into politics was in 2004 Bush vs. Kerry, and then made a return performance in 2008 Obama vs. McCain, both times supporting the Democratic nominee. Looking at all of these examples, it’s hard to find any evidence of musician support influencing the vote.

Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up

In keeping with this month’s politically themed posts, I wanted to share some presidential video spoofs. Some clever people have taken the time to splice together words that Romney or Obama have actually said and fit them into a popular song. “Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up,” is one I particularly enjoyed. It’s a spoof on Eminem’s song “The Real Slim Shady,” and the message is that it’s hard to figure out who Romney actually is because he has made so many conflicting statements. While the creator has clearly put his own spin on Romney's words, it's entertaining nonetheless.

And just in case you want to see how the spoof matches the real song, I've included the original Eminem video as well.

Mitt Romney's Campaign Music

In light of the upcoming election, I thought I’d explore the angle of music along the campaign trail. A celebrity endorsement can be worth thousands of campaign dollars and since music sends such powerful messages and feelings, a musician endorsement for a campaign can really boost voter interest. To be fair, Romney and Obama will have his own post examining the musicians aligned with or opposed to his campaign.

Mitt Romney and Kid Rock

Mitt Romney chose Kid Rock’s 2010 hit “Born Free” as his theme song. Kid Rock gave Romney, and anyone else, permission to use his music. He posted, “Anyone else who wants to use my song do not need my permission. I said he could use it and I would say the same for any other candidate. I have to have a little faith that every candidate feels like he or she can help this country. Without faith, we got nothing. I make music to have it be heard.”

But just because Kid Rock allowed Romney to use the song, didn’t mean that he endorsed the Presidential candidate. Back in February, Romney contacted Kid Rock about performing at the Michigan Rally. Kid Rock said he would consider it as long as he got a private interview. After Romney promised to help the state of Michigan if he is elected, Kid Rock agreed to perform “Born Free” at the rally and gave his official endorsement to the candidate.

On the other side of the spectrum, some musicians are not as forgiving when their songs are used without permission. Some prefer to stay out of politics and do not want to be seen as endorsing a campaign just because the candidate is using a particular songs. The band Silversun issued a cease-and-desist order to the Romney campaign on the song “Panic Switch.”

Psy - Gangnam Style

Psy in "Gangnam Style"

What a surprise I found when I opened Spotify yesterday and saw that “Gangnam Style” was the #1 song in Top Lists. After weeks of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and Fun.’s “Some Nights” dominating the top spots, “Gangnam Style” suddenly appeared at #1 without, to my knowledge, even making an appearance at any of the other top 100 spots.

Released in July, the song made Korean pop an international splash. One of my co-workers sent me “Gangnam Style” a few weeks ago and I had intended to feature it as a song of the week showing that a song can be catchy even if you can’t understand the lyrics. But apparently when rapper Psy’s video made it to the Video Music Awards in early September the rest of America proved this point for me by bumping the video’s hits on YouTube to over 350 million.

I’m not sure if it’s the invisible horse dance, a dubstep-esque breakdown in the middle, or a melody that makes me want to sing even though I don’t know the words, but “Gangnam Style” is worth listening to, language barrier and all.

The Things They Carried Scavenger Hunt

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is a book that's good enough to read twice. I read the book as part of an English class in high school and read it again for my college’s First Year Reading Initiative. While most books I labored through for the sole purpose of passing a test, The Things They Carried is one of those rare finds that is educationally sound and entirely captivating. The compilation of stories from the Vietnam War transported me across the world to a time before I was born and put me in the bush with the soldiers. Before Strings Music Festival’s live performance of the book on November 13, I plan to read the book again.

The hunt is on!

If you live in Steamboat Springs and want to participate in the One Book Steamboat community read, there are 10 chances for you to snag a free book. Check out the clues below for your chance to find one of the books hidden around Steamboat.

1. Search the place Post 44 patriots find one another.
2. In 1899, members gathered to share medical benefits and pensions following the Spanish-American War. In 2012, they gather to share a beer.
3. Countless histories of the Vietnam War have been written. Peruse them.
4. Once a power house, now a power lunch.
5. Pass the high flying flag to the place where history is recorded.
6. The water temp is perfect for tea, but the minerals might make it taste like the sea.
7. Mekong floats, mountain treks, culinary tours and history rides. Start planning your trip here.
8. Devour Hanoi’s favorite street food here.
9. Seek the beauty advice of Vietnamese women.
10. Clippings, photos, stories and mementos vast; this is Steamboat’s place to archive the past.

One Book Steamboat is a community program produced in partnership with the Bud Werner Memorial Library. Throughout the next month, a variety of events will accompany the read. So grab a copy of the book and start reading!

The Things They Carried Schedule of Events

October 11 – 6:30pm: Mike Forney reads The Things They Carried short story. FREE. Bud Werner Memorial Library.

October 29 – 6:30pm: Book club discussion of The Things They Carried with Steamboat Springs High School teachers Jenny Gabriel and Deirdre Boyd. FREE. Bud Werner Memorial Library.

November 1 – 6:30pm: "Vietnam War Stories" documentary screening. FREE. Bud Werner Memorial Library.

November 5 – 6:30pm: Cooks with Books book club potluck and discussion of The Things They Carried. FREE with potluck dish (Southeast Asian theme). Bud Werner Memorial Library.

November 12 – 6:30pm: Literature to Life workshop with American Place Theatre's teaching artist Erin Ronder. FREE. Limited to 40 people, preregistration required. Bud Werner Memorial Library.

November 13 – 6:30pm: Literature to Life stage presentation of The Things They Carried. $18. Strings Music Pavilion. Buy tickets now!

Skrillex - Bangarang

Skrillex

In keeping with this week’s dubstep theme, I chose a song from one of the most well-known dubstep artists. Skrillex made it into the lime light this year with five Grammy nominations and took home the titles of Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronica Album. This song is the title track from his most recent album Bangarang. You can see why Skrillex swept the dance categories because his music makes you want to move. 

An Introduction to Dubstep

You know that a song or a genre or an artist has hit the mainstream if you suddenly see it in a TV ad. This ad below for the Microsoft Surface tablet uses a song from the latest genre craze: dubstep.

Originating in the U.K., dubstep was the ultimate genre pushing experiment at the time. It gets its name from combining two genres: dub and 2-step garage. Now more than 10 years later, dubstep has come out of the dark garages and into clubs all around the world.

It’s one of those genres that you really have to hear to understand. Dubstep songs have few vocals and are made with electronic mixing. Some like to describe it as “womp” music, due to the use of an effects pedal that makes it sounds like you’re stuck in some sort of cyber tunnel with endless echoes and vibration.

But if you’re looking for the best description of dubstep, or anything really, just ask the kids. Labeled as “alien” and “robot” music with their own interpretations of the sound, these kids manage to sum up dubstep in six minutes. Check out the video below.

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold

Buffalo Pass in Steamboat Springs - Sept 2012
Photo Credit: Brian Ferguson/Steamboat Pilot

Steamboat Springs is bright gold with all of the aspen trees turning colors. Cold nights and little wind have preserved these colors for more than a week. But every day more and more leaves cover the trails and paths and soon the trees will be naked for winter.

To accompany the beautiful fall colors I chose an equally beautiful song that also brings the fall season to mind.

Eva Cassidy - "Fields of Gold"

Not only do the lyrics “fields of gold” describe the colors of changing leaves, but the music itself contributes to the overall autumn feeling. The slow tempo and mournful lyrics give the song a reflective tone. So often the changing of the seasons acts as a metaphor for changes in our lives. Fall and spring seem to be times of reflection and re-evaluation for many, and this song certainly embodies that feeling. 

Overcoming Orchestra Labor Disputes

The Atlanta Symphony locks out its musicians.

The Indianapolis Symphony cancels its first two weeks of performances.

The Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra have both proposed pay cuts for musicians.

Strings Festival Orchestra

It’s startling that all of these well-known orchestras are running into financial trouble all at the same time. At first glance, it may appear that the problem is due to the recent recession. But the CEO of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra admits to having financial deficits for nearly a decade. The Philadelphia Orchestra declared bankruptcy last year, which requires more than just a few years of financial troubles. Although the fall of 2012 is surging with failing orchestra headlines, it’s not really the current economy that’s the problem. It’s 10 years earlier.

Ten years ago, at the height of the dotcom boom, orchestras were slow to latch on to new technology. While for-profit businesses moved to take advantage of social media outlets and develop user-friendly websites, many arts organizations were reluctant to enter the online world, claiming that it would be too confusing for their patrons and that orchestra goers weren’t interested in arts organizations online.

Yet 10 years later, we see the effects of this poor planning manifesting itself in huge budget deficits. All those people who couldn’t get information on a website or buy tickets online took their business elsewhere, which certainly contributed to the problem orchestras face now.

Of course the easiest way to alleviate budget problems is to cut the biggest line item. In this case, that is musician salaries. Musicians have protested the pay cuts and gone on lengthy strikes, claiming that lower wages would devalue the arts. However, if changes to the structure cannot be made, musicians will have more to worry about than a pay cut.

If orchestras cannot solve their financial troubles, musicians may be in jeopardy of losing their entire career. Looking at the long term situation, musicians should be working with orchestra management instead of against it to resolve the budget crisis. Musicians and arts administration staff have the same vested interest in presenting quality arts performances and therefore should work together to keep arts and culture a viable economic factor.

EmcArts, an arts and culture strengthening organization, has found examples of orchestras changing their structure and showing positive results.

Song of the Week

Fridays on the Strings blog are going to take on a new sound. Tune in each Friday for the Song of the Week. It might be the #1 hit of the week, a funny spoof, the latest classical composition, a classic throwback, or anything else that catches my eye.   

Here’s one to start us off.

Rebecca Black – “Friday”

This song came out in February of 2011 and to everyone’s surprise was one of those instant hits. It was surprising because if you search for the song, you’ll come up with reviewers calling it “the worst song ever,” “just terrible,” “and hilariously dreadful.” But the song’s awful reviews didn’t stop it from getting 30 million hits during its release month, putting the 13-year-old girl ahead of teen star Justin Bieber on the charts.

While it’s been dubbed the song “people love to hate,” I trend toward the love side. Despite the fact that the song has over 800,000 dislikes on YouTube, it’s impossible to ignore that it follows all the rules when it comes to making a #1 pop hit: it will get stuck in your head and you’ll find yourself looking around to make sure no one noticed that you were singing it to yourself. When I worked at Steamboat in the winter of 2011, my crew habitually watched the video every Friday as we rode up the gondola to work. Since it put all of us in a happy Friday spirit, I thought it would be the perfect way to launch the new Friday Song of the Week blog series. Happy Friday, Friday! 

William Close and the Earth Harp

“Architecture is frozen music.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

William Close Plays the Earth Harp

This quote sums up musician and inventor William Close’s career. Close has been pushing boundaries with what actually constitutes a musical instrument by turning architecture into instruments and instruments into architecture.

Close’s first major experiment with music and architecture came with the creation of a bridge made of strings. The stringed bridge spanned 1,000 feet across a valley. Vibrations across the strings resonated in the valley below turning the landscape into a giant musical instrument. The instrument later became known as the Earth Harp and has since been constructed in various other architectural masterpieces, including the Coliseum in Rome, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Grand Theatre in Shanghai, and a 9th century castle in Italy.



Behind the Earth Harp at the Strings Music Pavilion

After building the Earth Harp, Close explored other unique instruments. His tinkerings led to the invention of over 100 original musical instruments. Below are a few of the instruments I saw first hand this summer.

Strings Season 25 in Pictures

Strings Music Festival - Steamboat Springs, CO

As we wrap up our 25th Anniversary Season with Asleep at the Wheel this Friday, I thought I’d take a moment and give you a snapshot of this summer. Thank you to all who shared this exceptional season with us.





MASS Ensemble ~ June 30

William Close came to Strings Music Festival in the midst of his America’s Got Talent competition to play the strings of the giant Earth Harp. After performing here, Howie Mandel of America’s Got Talent said, “I would pay any amount of money to see that show.” And just think – some of you got to see it for free!

Free Community Day ~ July 1

1,000 community members showed up for four hours of music and dancing with Earth Harp, Drum Orb, African Dance and Drum Ensemble, and Jasmir Belly Dancers performances.

Tesla Quartet

This year our young Artist-in-Residence quartet was the Tesla Quartet, and we enjoyed hearing them play at Music on the Green, outreach performances, chamber concerts, and orchestra concerts.

Kitchen and Garden Tour ~ July 21

We had the biggest ever Kitchen and Garden Tour this year with 503 participants and a gorgeous day for touring seven Steamboat homes.




Chris Botti ~ July 27

In the most magical concert of the summer, Chris Botti and his talented band wooed the audience with pieces ranging from smooth jazz, to soul, to classical.

k.d. lang and the siss boom bang ~ August 3

With a show like the Pavilion has never seen before, k.d. lang blew away the crowd with her heartfelt vocals and powerful stage presence.

Classical Finale Orchestra ~ August 4

The classical season ended with a full stage of orchestra musicians and Wendy Chen at the piano.

Steamboat Springs All Arts Festival

August 15 - August 19, 2012

Did you know that of all the arts and culture events attendees, 59% travel to any given area specifically to experience arts and culture? With all those arts and culture tourists out there, it’s no wonder that Steamboat Springs’ all encompassing All Arts Festival is such a hit with locals and visitors alike.  

From August 15 to August 19, the 2012 All Arts Festival will bring you the best of visual art, music, and culture of Steamboat Springs and the Yampa Valley. Whether you like fine art, historical art, dance, theatre, opera, orchestra, western swing, or bluegrass, you’re sure to enjoy all Steamboat has to offer this coming weekend. 

If music is your favorite art form, here’s what we recommend: 

Wednesday August 15

Emerald City Opera’s 10^th Anniversary Concert – 7:00pm, Strings Music Pavilion

Thursday August 16

Music on the Green with John Gibbs and Randy Kelley – 12:15, Yampa River Botanic Park

Friday August 17

Asleep at the Wheel – 8:00pm, Strings Music Pavilion

Saturday August 18

Steamboat Springs Symphony Orchestra Opening Concert – 7:00pm, Strings Music Pavilion

Sunday August 19

Meet the Maestro Ernest Richardson, Steamboat Springs Symphony Orchestra – 6:00pm

Click here for the full schedule of events.

Music of the 2012 Olympic Games

Picture the summer Olympics. Gymnasts flying through the air, swimmers reaching for the wall, runners sprinting for the finish line. A full sized symphony orchestra?

Yes, indeed. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performed at the 2012 Opening Cermony. But before we get to the musical athletes themselves, we must first pay tribute to the Olympic theme music. NBC's broadcast of the Olympic games wouldn't be complete without the "bum, bum, ba bum bum bum bum" before and after every commercial break. Of course, there have been other Olympic themes throughout the years, which are covered in a fun post by NPR. And let’s not forget about all the national anthems played during the medal ceremonies for the best athletes in the world.

Hot Air Balloons Land at Strings

Every morning in Steamboat Springs you can see a hot air balloon rising into the crisp blue sky above Emerald Mountain. The funny thing about hot air balloons is you never know where they’re going to land. And sometimes they like to stop at Strings for a concert….

Hot Air Balloon at Strings Music Pavilion

I remember…

“Hot air balloons landing on the lawn at Torian Plum during classical concerts.”

“Hot air balloons landing outside the tent during an adagio movment – you couldn’t hear a thing!”

"Sailing Ships" - by Steamboat Springs High Schoolers

Back around graduation time, young Steamboat musicians Kate and Nissa woke up one morning to find that their practice video had received over 100,000 hits overnight. Now, almost two months later the video has over 300,000 hits and thousands of fans.  

"Sailing Ships," aptly named for Steamboat Springs High School’s Sailors mascot, perfectly captures the high school mentality of simultaneously longing for the past and anxiously waiting to be set free. Listen to the song below.

The simple trio of vocals, piano, and cello set mostly in a minor key brought me back to one of my own high school memeories, where two of my very good friends wrote a song with the same arrangement for their graduation. I can’t be sure if it was Kate and Nissa’s heartfelt music or memories of my own youth that brought goosebumps to my arms, but the song certainly moves everyone who listens to it.  

We’re proud that Kate had the chance to participate in Strings School Days before graduating high school to pursue a career in music. Kate will begin at the University of Colorado at Boulder in the fall. Nissa has one year left at The Lowell Whiteman School in Steamboat Springs. She will play at the Strings Music Pavilion on Wednesday August 1. This last Heritage Concert of the summer features 14 young Steamboat musicians who will perform on stage with the professionals. Visit the Strings Music Festival website to purchase tickets.

Rainbows End at Strings

"My favorite memory of Strings is the rainbow before Kathy Mattea’s performance.”

Strings Music Festival Tent - 1996

Last week, we were graced with another beautiful rainbow as we celebrated 25 years of Strings. It seemed especially fitting that it ended at the Pavilion.

Strings Music Pavilion - 2012