Awwww

He’s no 3-year-old Korean kid, but Jason Mraz is pretty freaking cute himself.

Unexpected Awesomeness

Although this video is tangentially related to the videos I posted yesterday, really I share it with you, just because. To bad he has no fellas and ladies to do the call and response parts of this song. The singer is Mat Weddle, of Obadiah Parker.

Celebrating the good kids

Sometimes I think that teenagers are evil aliens sent from another planet, intent on destroying or simply just ruining life on Earth. It’s nice when they do something that makes me rethink this idea. Today’s heartwarming kids: the students of Washington State’s Shorecrest and Shorewood High Schools, who sort of had a lip dub-off. Shorecrest started it with Outkast’s Hey Ya, and Shorewood responded by performing Hall and Oates’ You Make My Dreams Come True – in reverse. Both videos are great, but now I have the entire Hall and Oates catalog stuck in my head.

(Via Metafilter)

Want!

This video, which only the Amish and Osama Bin Laden haven’t seen, has only strengthened my desire to have an Asian child. The kid’s talent is undeniable, but for me, the real selling point is the faces that he makes throughout.

Also, as adorable as this is, I’ve seen it a lot in the last several days, so all of those who know of my obsession with Jason Mraz should feel free to cease sending it to me.

Awww

Between this and this, Orrin Hatch is SO the man!

Random thoughts

1) I am definitely not going to Rhinebeck. Sad face.

2) Somebody took the space on the bus that I gave up, so I will be getting a refund. Happy face.

3) Brandi Carlile having the Twins is almost as awesome as Jason Mraz having a Toca.

Wow

There are no words for how awesome last night’s Brandi Carlile concert was. I had the time of my life! Brandi Carlile is such an energetic, dynamic, amazing performer. She is sex on a stage, people. She performed at Atlanta’s Tabernacle, a former church that makes for an awesome venue. Her opening act was Amy Ray, of Indigo Girls fame. If Ms. Ray’s music is anything to go by, she is not a happy camper.

Brandi Carlile with her opening act and friend, Amy Ray

Brandi Carlile got the concert started by performing an acoustic version of “Oh Dear.” She had been at the Tabernacle before as an opening act, and said that she’d always wanted to try something. Although 2500 women immediately prepared to take off their tops, what Carlile wanted was to perform a song completely acoustically. Awesomeness ensued.

What awesomeness looks like when it's ensuing.

If I’d had any idea how great it was going to be (which I should have, as that was definitely her third or fourth song of the show, and I’d already realized how gifted of a performer she is), I would have recorded the whole thing. As it was, I got the second half of the song with my phone, which I promise not to curse again ever, or until it once again stops ringing, giving me text messages, or showing my emails (whichever happens first). The sad thing that the sound on this is 1000000 better than the sound on the HD videos that my little camera takes.

Week o’Concerts

I saw the Beautifiul Small Machines on Tuesday night. They were at Ella Lounge, in the venue’s tiny basement, which was filled with smoke (machine-made, not from cigarettes). We walked in on the tail end of the previous set, which featured a DJ on a MacBook Pro and some guy on a guitar. Pass. One couple was even playing with a light saber-ish thingie that looked cute in the smoke, but kind of made people freak when the beam landed on them. When it landed on me I waved, and the girl scowled. Who knows what that means?

BSM’s set was great. The band seemed to be having a great time, although Bree Sharp got really emotional and said that she thought it would be her last show with the band, which was also going to be getting some new members. What does this mean? She wasn’t clear, and the band’s web sites aren’t elaborating. Bummer!

On Wednesday, I saw Ingrid Michaelson. She was fabulous! I’ve gotten over my confusion from this past summer, and have decided that Jason Mraz is definitely my favorite singer; still, she’s a close second. In my mind, Ingrid Michaelson is actually the female Mraz. She’s a great singer with an amazing voice, she’s funny, she a little hippie-ish, and she talks incessantly between songs. I wasn’t in the mood to be expansive and open-minded and did not end up seeing the opening acts, but she performed for a really long time and I was more than pleased with the quality and amount of music I heard last night.

Also, funnily enough, after I said last week that I wouldn’t recognize former Project Runway contestants if I passed them in the street, who did I pass on the street but Nicholas! Granted, he’s part of the current crop of designers, so I see his mug every week, but it still cracks me up. Look at the power of my mind! Here’s another one: I wouldn’t recognize a million dollars if it landed in my bank account. Okay, universe, it’s your turn again.

Am I naive?

This weekend, Serena Williams and Kanye West both had really public, ugly, meltdowns. They behaved horribly, which both of them later acknowledged. Whether their apologies (Williams; West’s initial apology, and what’s on his web site now) move anybody remains to be seen. With Serena Williams, she hurt herself far more than she did anybody else. Her tirade against the lineswoman cost her match point, a $10,000 fine from the USTA, and put Kim Clijsters in the finals (Clijsters won, which is all kinds of awesome).

For Kanye West, who is no stranger to controversy, this particular episode ended up hurting not only him, but also both Taylor Swift and Beyonce (although Beyonce is a total class act and had Taylor Swift come onstage and redo her acceptance speech).

One (black) woman who I follow on Twitter (she usually writes about tech stuff) posted several comments about how Kanye’s behavior would reflect poorly on black people. I didn’t agree with her assertion then, and I don’t now. When I heard about what he did, I wasn’t worried that we’d all be tarred with the same brush as West; I was just thinking, “Not this stupidity again.” I mean, seriously, how many times can one person wander across stage at an awards show before he determines that it isn’t a good idea?

BUT…Rep Joe Wilson also did the same thing. His was probably even worse though, because he heckled the freaking president. Ummm…not smart. And I haven’t heard anybody say that they feel all white people would do this, just  because one white person did it. If there is an assumption that any person who is in some way other (which in this country usually means non-white and/or non-male) than the norm speaks for everybody in that same demographic, the smart thing to do isn’t to pander to it. That kind of thinking is central to stereotyping and racial profile, and people shouldn’t accept that kind of laziness. Is it naive of me to think that this kind of thinking isn’t common? Do people generally go around thinking “all black people are…?” I really hope not. I’m an individual, and anything I want to say, I can say for myself.

Kanye West does not speak for me.

Serena Williams does not speak for me.

I’m pretty sure that Joe Wilson would not speak to me, and he damn sure doesn’t speak for me.

Related:

Joe Wilson, Serena Williams, and Kanye West Kick Off National Outburst Week

Jason Mraz at Mohegan Sun, July 31, 2009

As I said earlier, I really enjoyed Jason Mraz’s concert on Friday at Mohegan Sun. He really seemed to enjoy himself, and performed for nearly two hours. He did sets on both a large main stage, and then a more intimate acoustic stage. I thought I’d died and gone to aural heaven. It was pretty awesome. I don’t have the set list yet, but I’ll update this post when it’s available. I’m guessing that at least one person in the packed arena taped the concert, so I’m providing a link to Mraz’s 2009 concerts download page. If you’re not familiar with his taping policy, Jason Mraz allows tapers to record and upload every show that he does (provided the venue doesn’t prohibit it), so there are hundreds of his shows available from archive.org.

Mraz 2009 shows // Mraz concerts by year

His energy was amazing. He sang his heart out, and he sounded great. I’ve definitely heard him sound a little worn out or hoarse, and that was not the case this concert. He did a great reggae-influenced version of “The Remedy,” and then did this energetic cover of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” He also performed my new favorite song, “Never Too Late (The Only Life You Can Save).” This version was different from the one he did in England and Ireland, and honestly, I prefer the way I initially heard it. He left out my favorite line, “Be glad to be along for the ride.” I want to say “burn” every time I hear that, and think it would be a shame if it didn’t make the final cut. On the train on the way up, I listened to one of his concerts from 2001, and heard early versions of “The Dreamlife of Rand McNally” and “Better,” and definitely felt that I enjoyed what they became more than what they started out as.

I could not stop smiling and dancing during this concert, and am so glad that I decided to go to it. I’m sorry that I’ll be in California during the rest of his New York and New Jersey concerts, and that I can’t go to the Boston concert I expected to see, but this was such a great concert that I really can’t have too many regrets.

Also: you’ll notice that I finally broke down and made a Jason Mraz category. I figure that if I’m going to talk about him this often, I should just make it clear that ~80% of my music posts are going to somehow involve him.