Music I’m Loving – Walk Off The Earth
The band Walk Off the Earth became known for their 5-people-one-guitar cover of a gotye song, but I recently found them again thanks to Epbot and they’ve got songs that blow that one out of the water.
I Knew You Were Trouble
This is a cover of a Taylor Swift song, but you’d almost never know if I didn’t tell you. I liked the original, but I LOVE WotE’s take on it, which includes the skills of incredible beatboxer KRNFX.
Gang of Rhythm
I believe this is their original song and it is SO much fun. Rollicking good music that makes you want to get up and dance. It also makes me want to learn how to play the ukelele.
Somebody That I Used to Know
This is the Gotye cover I mentioned above. I’m linking it because it IS good, and it’s amazing to see them pull it off with a single guitar. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth watching, but it’s not being played on repeat at my house like the other two are.
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They’re such a joy to listen to and, for me, I think the reason is because they just seem to be having SO much fun doing what they do =)
Agreed! And I love how there’s not a “star” — everyone in the group is loved. Heck, the youtube fans go zerker style if “beardman” isn’t in a video. *grin* (He’s the sheriff, and also the farthest-right on the shared guitar one)
* I have been up to my ears in taxes and end of the year reports, so take that inot consideraton as I antagonize*
Too bad that readers cannot find joy in reading because the authors ” just seem to be having SO much fun doing what they do =)”
* I could follow this stream of thought, but honestly, I should be ignored. I sent a ridculously ironic text to middle son last night that even left him taken aback. My mood is all about just stirring up trouble….for my own entertainment.*
I don’t find you antagonizing at all, Anne ^^.
Though we tend to look at many things different ways, I really enjoy our conversations/debates because in trying to put the way I feel into words, I find that I’m gaining a deeper understanding of how and why I enjoy my passions the way I do =)
But with regard to your point:
I think it’s an important distinction to make that I don’t enjoy a band like Walk Off the Earth JUST because they’re having so much fun doing what they do…but because they’re having fun with what they’re doing AND they’re damned good at it.
For comparison, take this gentleman that you might recognize: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d5eP0wWLQY
Now, it would be hard to deny that both William Hung and Walk Off the Earth are BOTH having a lot of fun doing what they’re doing…but I would never fire up some William Hung if I felt like listening to music.
The clear line between them is that while they’re both enthusiastic and look to be having a GREAT time doing what they do…Walk Off the Earth has that combination of natural talent and probably a boatload of practice required to be GOOD at what they’re doing at the same time.
Taking this comparison back to books, and even going back to my recent example of Murr Lafferty’s “Playing For Keeps” versus something like…Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series.
While I won’t deny that both authors are probably having a damned good time spinning their respective stories, I’d have to say that while I’d happily pick up Mistborn again for a reread, I would never again look twice at “Playing For Keeps”.
Basic point being that for me (definitely not speaking for anyone else ^^), having the creator really ENJOY what they’re doing isn’t enough for ME to enjoy it. It has to be good as well.
And yes, ‘good’ is completely subjective and I’m 100% sure that there are people out there that enjoy listening to William Hung or think that “Playing For Keeps” is a fantastic take on the superhero genre, but knowing what I know about music and the art of building a coherent story, those aren’t the kinds of things that I can enjoy anymore =)
*what a joy kill. It should not be that hard to find me annoying.*
Uh huh. if I had the time, I would have danced all around being skilled versus having fun. I also would have trompled on the whole concept of enjoying a writer by watching them practice, because that is super comical in my head. *enthusiastic clapping after a sentence* *artistic videos posted on youtube of authors writing for people to enjoy*
And also, I don’t even know these books you are refering to. Could you start reading Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie so we can really discuss things?
I am well pleased that chatter produces insight and clarification, though. (that is a serious comment, too) because while I was being pretty flippant, my head did rather venture into how the process of some creations are more interesting to see (be involved in) than others.
Thanks for playing, Perry!
I’m not saying that you have to be skilled to have fun haha. Not in the least.
All I’m saying is that I don’t tend to enjoy watching/listening/reading from someone JUST because they’re having fun, but if they’re having fun AND good at what they do.
And I never mentioned anything about enjoying watching someone practice haha.
Reading someone’s first, first draft is almost as boring as listening to someone practicing scales on a piano.
As a consumer, it’s the polished finished products that I find most enjoyable. Though there are always exceptions. Being part of the Saucy Ink writing crew gave me a deeper appreciation for the writing process and how many huge changes a story can go through from the initial draft to the polished and final product.
Glancing at a summary of the book you mentioned, it doesn’t seem quite my speed haha. But if you want to take a gander, my Goodreads list can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10785790?shelf=read
If you want to chat about anything on that list, I’m more than capable of nattering on all day about anything there ^^.
*laughing*
I knew that Half a Yellow Sun would have no appeal to you.
If I had a list of books that I have read, and I graphed the overlap between your list and mine, it would be a very small intersect.
What we have in common:
Roald Dahl
Isaac Asimov
Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery
Stephen King
Ayn Rand
J K Rowling
Frank Herbert
Chuck Palahnuik
And the WoT guy that we should not mention
I only read the one book by Crichton, but for most of the other authors, I have read most, if not all, of the titles you list.
Since you seem to read like I do, in the sense the you read most of what an author writes, I will confess that I fully intend to read more books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We will see how far I go along this line.
Years ago, one of our customers mentioned Biafra to me and when I expressed a complete lack of knowledge of what Biafra was (person, place or thing??), the customer was angry. Angry because many of his friends and family died in that war and I, an educated person, had never even heard about it. Very belatedly, I am learning about Biafra from a source other than the BBC. And I like this story and writer, so I will continue along this path for a while.
I also read lots of books that discuss math.
So, yeah, no surprise that you do not find the book to your liking. But you didn’t get yelled at once for being “so stupid as to not know.”
Mmm, I think it’s completely unreasonable for someone to get angry at you just because you haven’t heard of a country and a war that happened therein.
While I’m sure the incident is imprinted on that person’s memory as a red hot brand, for someone that lives on the other side of the world and has never had any particular stake in the conflict…I dunno. It seems a bit presumptuous to me to expect that their issues and history should take center stage in everyone else’s life.
In much the same way, it would be as unreasonable for me to be all angry at you for not knowing all of the particulars behind the sufferings that Koreans endured during WW2.
Just my thoughts anyway haha.
With regard to books that discuss math, have you tried any mathematical fiction?
There was a wonderful story in a Ted Chiang collection that dealt with a mathematician’s breakdown after proving that math itself is an inconstant.
It was also published in its entirety here: http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/i/division/full/
The story’s called Division by Zero and it stuck with me for quite a while ^^
You ROCK!! That is awesome.
I read a book…can’t find it right now, on my way out the door to tutor 5th graders in math….about a greek guy who rather went insane trying to prove a theorem. I loved it, so i am very excited about your recommendation! WooHoo!
Oh, I did not get offended at all. I understood that it is a bit insulting that an educated person has no knowledge of some significant and important history. I would not be at all offended if it upset you that I never even heard that Koreans were treated poorly during WWII. (By the way, I knew that. When I was in fifth grade, I was given the task of teaching our new Korean immigrant, who knew exactly zero English, to learn to speak, readn and write in our language. In turn, I learned a lot about Korea, Koreans and their history.) I am actually equally offended by that. How did I get a degree and only barely know what the Ottaman Empire is? That is absurd.
It’s a quick and fairly tightly paced read, I hope you enjoy it =)
Mmm, maybe I’m just a little more lenient with regard to ignorance and history haha. That might just be my aversion to the topic in high school haha. ^^”