Music to Get Your Gloves On...

I decided to do a little bit of a musical experiment this weekend - I hope you are as giddy with excitement as I am...

As I previously blogged last year, dance music (unaffectionately nicknamed doef-doef music) is admittedly one of the best music styles for any kind of exercise, including kickboxing. I decided to find out, by absolute trial and error, what other music is good for boxing. So I pre-selected a variety of music, and loaded it onto my iPod. I clicked on "shuffle" and off I went to the garage, where my punching bag hung waiting. My results were interesting, to say the least. Here are some observations:


Linkin Park
No good for boxing at all. I found this surprising, as I would have thought that their aggression would have contributed to the sport quite well. Not so - in fact, I felt quite drained boxing to Linkin Park. Not recommended, I'm afraid. Which is sad. But true.


My Chemical Romance
Now don't accuse me of being biased, but my findings suggest that My Chemical Romance is exceptionally suitable for boxing. The combination of near-psychopathic energy, aggression and most importantly, emotion, is what does it for me. I felt like I could tear a hole in the punching bag with my bare hands, and land in a sobbing heap on the floor. A bit over-the-top and dramatic, but effective nonetheless.


Sting
No surprises here, I would not suggest using Sting as motivational music for a boxing session. I felt more inspired to hang up my boxing gloves and take up yoga and meditation instead. Zero on the boxing-music chart.


Elvis Presley
Yes, I possess Elvis Presley music. (And proudly, I might add.) You won't believe this, but Elvis is truly great boxing music. I expect that the warbling croons of the likes of "Blue Moon" and "Love me Tender" instantly transformed me from a sweaty novice panting doggedly in my dirty garage, into Cinderella-Man... Has-been Champion pro, fighting for love... for survival.... for dignity... Age-old romance really does it, who knew? (I do now) 


Red
Red is a hardcore Christian band, and I honestly wasn't sure how I'd manage with them, but their extraordinary intertwining of bleeding guitars, screaming vocals and soaring orchestra (yes, orchestra) made me feel like a warrior, battling a giant red demon in the middle of a raging apocalypse. Red filled me with a passionate desire to overcome the punching bag, and overcome it I did. With goosebumps from head to toe. 


The Rasmus
Now this is a 'dark band' and, in my opinion, quite effective with a punching bag, but... it seems to work only if fueled by some kind of heartache in addition to it. It's what we call an emo band, and emo without pain is... well, just a lame fashion statement really. So use The Rasmus wisely with the punching bag, because they don't pull the emotion off quite as well as My Chemical Romance.


Good Charlotte
Again, an astonishing result - I expected the lovable punk band to provide me with bounds of joyful energy to work out, but instead I just found myself getting annoyed. But like, really annoyed. In fact, I had to stop boxing on a few occasions to take my gloves off, and change the track whenever Good Charlotte or Blink 182 came on. Gosh could this be the first sign that I'm getting old? .....Naaaaah, couldn't be.


Sum 41
This band did nothing for me. Neither did 30 Seconds to Mars or Hoobastank. It was all merely very good background music, but that's all it was. So, standard-issue alternative music seems to be pretty neutral ground. Better than Sting, at least. 


Kongos
Now this is excellent boxing music. Kongos is just a refreshing rock bad, with driving rhythm, brilliant durmming (as so well demonstrated on their hit track "I'm Only Joking") and good old-fashioned great vocals. Even their more 'toned down' tracks, like "Escape", make for pleasant exercise and boxing music. Great for light sparring and warming up.


Rihanna
The problem I experienced with the likes of Rihanna, Shakira and Beyonce is that I felt the urge to strip my gloves off, and dance with my punching bag, instead of hit it. So, while I can't accurately say that this is not energizing music, it's not the kind of energy I'm looking for. Well, except for one song - Breaking Dishes - which I've mentioned once before HERE."Breaking Dishes" I could box to... but I'd probably break something. 


Guns N' Roses
Now it's not easy to mention Guns N Roses in this forum because my iPod only played one of their songs, "Sweet Child of Mine". Big no-no with the punching bag, it seems. I'm not even sure how this happens, but in losing my focus to this track, the punching bag actually managed to punch me back, in my solar plexus, and left me somewhat winded for a minute or two. So classic rock, the likes of Guns n Roses and  Metallica , not conducive to safe boxing, and not recommended.

To summarize, I'd have to say that ny top three boxing bands are....

My Chemical Romance 

Red

Kongos

And if all else fails, Fellow Inhabitants of this Planet, there's always that blasted dance music.

David van Vuuren - and a lot of him

 As I've already demonstrated in my recent blog My Parents = Awesomeness, my Mom enjoys good variety of rock and pop musicians. So I thought it would be a fabulous idea to buy David van Vuuren's album "Free the Animals"  for her. Of course, before giving the CD over to my Mom, I had to check it for scratches, which required me to have a good listen to it. (Of course!) And of course, I was just salivating over the possibility of a good topic for a blog.

 Now, as you may know from a previous blog of mine (Oh, go on - read another one), I was a huge fan of Dave's during his competing in SA Idols last year. So as you may imagine, it was exciting to finally get my hands on this. To be honest, I'm somewhat befuddled by the album entirely. Completely befuddled actually.


  I heard the following three things:


1. A little bit of Coldplay: 
 This is undoubtedly a compliment; there is a significant trace of Chris Martin in Dave's voice and style. It's subtle, but definitely there, and while I personally feel that this style is a bit too "safe" for Dave's amazing voice, it does work for him, as far as being "commercial" goes.


2. A little bit of Johnny Cash:
 Yes, this is a surprise. In some of his slower tracks, David's low gravelly voice is strangely reminiscent of Johnny Cash. Now this, as far as I'm concerned, is both a compliment - because Johnny Cash was a legend in his own way - and a bit of criticism, because too much Johnny Cash can be... well, sobering, for lack of a better word. (actually, the better word is 'depressing', but that's hardly respectful to the legend himself) One can therefore be thankful that David injects enough life and soaring vocals into his songs to counteract and compliment the Johnny-Cash-effect. 

3. A lot of David van Vuuren:
 Simply put, David's got something unique that can not be compared to any other musician. There's something about his raw, emotional presentation of song that makes you feel like this beautiful stranger has just spilled his heart out into your soul, through his music. Despite the small musical flaws - of which there are a few - one can not help but feel touched. The exciting thing is that musical flaws can be improved upon... and then.... Greatness. 

 David van Vuuren was previously the lead vocalist in a metal core band called "Freedom For Your Life", which he started with a high school mate in Grade 11. To be frank - and perhaps I'm biased because of my love for hard rock - I would love to hear David get back to this genre, and it is my personal hope that in time he tries it. Even if he just dabbles in it. I guess I'd just love to hear him scream. 
 As SA's voted Idol, perhaps he is somewhat committed to 'play it safe' for a while...? Either way, my prayer is that he follows his heart, because that's where the music is. I have a feeling that no matter what David chooses to do, he will always have South African's behind him. 


 From what I've heard of the CD, I liked it. I think I could love it. I may even be having one of those sad "Aw-I-gave-it-away" moments.  This may call for another trip to Look and Listen.  Of course, the question remains: what did Mom think? Hmmm. 


Listen to some of David's tracks on his band's Facebook page here.

Only One Thing To Do

Sometimes you do something stupid and there's only one thing you can do...

Sometimes you jump to conclusions or blow things out of proportion... and there's only one thing to do....

Sometimes you say something that is easily misunderstood and hurtful... and there's only one thing to do...

...And hope to Heaven it's not too late.

My Parents = Awesomeness

My parents are cool. I'm talking ice-ice-baby cool.

The first time I realized this was when my Mom and Dad went to see BonJovi live - I must have been in my early teens. I was in awe, total awe, of how 'cool' they were. And darn proud too.


You see, I've always grown up in a home filled with music, and good music at that. It's one of the things I have always been grateful for, and I can credit my passionate love for music to the home that I was brought up in.


 My mom has always had her rock music belting it out, and then in the next moment, she'd be playing a tricky classical piece on the piano. The diversity of music in our home was always astounding. So the BonJovi thing shouldn't have been such a surprise, but at that moment, in my mind, my fogeys went from being "Oh my gosh, parents are lame" to being "Oh my gosh, my parents totally rock, they're friggin wicked, my mom is a rock-queen, they're my hero, oh I could just die from the awesomeness!"

Something like that. 

It occurred to me recently that after all these years things haven't changed much. Unlike so many older generations, my parents aren't stuck on The Carpenters or Meatloaf or even BonJovi- and I wouldn't fault them this, as they are all amazing bands. But my fogeys are still with the times. Ok, so they're not quite into Lil Wayne or Black Eyed Peas, but who, in their right mind, would be anyway?

You see, the other day, my Mom excitedly told me that she has bought an album by Christina Perri. Christina Perri is mostly known for her track "A Thousand Years", played on Twilight's latest album from the Breaking Dawn movie. It's no rock song, but it's modern... and it's on Breaking Dawn. How much more 'with-it' can you get?

My Mom. 

Likes a Vampire song.

From Breaking Dawn. 

Have I mentioned how cool my parents are? 

You're so vain...

...You probably think this blog is about you...

Don't you?

Don't you?

Don't you!?

Interesting fact: For years, people mused about Carly Simon's "You're so Vain", trying to speculate who the song was about. In 2003, this information was 'auctioned off' to a bidder who paid $ 50 000 to know the name of who the song was written about, on condition that the name was never released publicly. Dick Ebersol, president of NBC sports, was this highest bidder, and was permitted only to release a very vague clue to the public, as to the song's subject. A clue that led nobody near the truth.

In 2010, 38 years after the release of the song, Carly Simon finally gave the clue that the public needed to crack the mystery once and for all. She claimed that played backwards, the track would contain a person's name... and so it was: the name "David" whispered, hidden for all to hear for nearly 4 decades. 

David Geffen was a record label boss who had apparently shown favour to Joni Mitchell at the time, inspiring an outburst of jealousy and resentment from Carly Simon, and ultimately fueling this timeless tune, which ironically has given Carly Simon her lasting fame.

Well now you know!

But Mostly Damon

A few months ago, I posted a blog about Gareth Cliff, which basically highlighted the fact that you either love the dude, or you really hate him... and sometimes you swing both ways, depending on the degree of arrogance and outspokenness he's acting out on air. 


Personally, despite the fact he can be a real jackass, I'm still currently on the side of loving Gareth Cliff. And even though the 5FM morning team cut the award-losing soap opera, Days of Our Mornings last year, which was a tragic loss to quality radio listening. 


So it's no surprise that a few weeks ago Gareth Cliff took arrogance to a new level by masterpiecing a song - yes, a musical song - called "I work with Idiots", dedicating it lovingly to his morning show team. This song has taken the 5FM audience by storm. The alarming thing is that as far as actual music goes, this song is quite pleasing to the ear. It's a chilled, electronic piece, with some rather pretty piano in the foreground. The lyrics, although limited, are well articulated and nicely spoken. I'm particularly fond of the line "But mostly Damon". 


Soon after the epic release of his track, Gareth followed suite with a ground-breaking music video. My only criticism is that the action-packed nature of the video did not co-exist well with the sensitivity of the actual song, but it is otherwise a star-performance by the whole team, and mention must be made of the special effects team's brilliance at work. 


Yes, this is most certainly a hit in the making, so without further adieu, I present to you....

I Work With Idiots - By Gareth Cliff <-- (Click)

Thabo, Leigh-Anne, Mabale, and Sias and Damon must be so touched. But mostly Damon.

MCR Lyrics of the Day

Considering that this blog is partly inspired by My Chemical Romance (see my first blog post ever here - lame!), I do get the occasional, irresistible urge to spurt out some random reference to them. I've been listening to MCR for 3 solid days now, every moment I get, and so I am just bursting with the urge to spurt, and thought I'd begin this "MCR Lyric of the Day" tradition, for times like these. 


So I'm beginning with a track off their more recent album, "Danger Days" a song quite simply called "Na Na Na". I'm not sure how many "Na's" there are supposed to technically be in there, but you'll know the song if you're a fan. 

This song in it's entirety is not meant to be understood... It's way 'out there', and totally abstract, and I don't know if anyone except Gerard Way truly knows what it's about, although I've heard it speculated that it's about corrupt society, commercialism and greed. Pretty deep stuff for a rock band.

Gerard Way being out there and abstract

But for all the bizarre lyrics, this one excerpt is so plain, and so cutting, it catches me mid-thought every time.

Excerpt from "Na Na Na" - My Chemical Romance

Everybody wants to change the world

Everybody wants to change the world

But no one..

No one wants to Die

Wanna try, wanna try,

Wanna try, wanna try, 

Wanna try now..

How true, that we as humanity are so very quick to verbalize our opinions on what would make this world a better place, but as soon as that requires some self-sacrifice or discomfort... well, that's a different story. Thought-provoking stuff. For a rock band.


Listen to "Na-Na-Na" here - it's a censored version, so feel free to crank it up! It flipping rocks.