Day: December 6, 2010

Daft Punk

realtompagnozziLeave a comment

I can hardly believe I’ve gone this long without a Daft Punk post. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are not just legends of electro house, but icons of a musical generation.

While attending a French university, Bangalter and Manuel started a band with Laurent Brancowitz called Darlin’. The members themselves now admit the project was not their best work. A negative review by Melody Maker magazine claimed it was “a bunch of daft punk”. The trio had the last laugh however, as Brancowitz went on to form Phoenix and dominate electropop while the others donned robot helmets and made history.

Daft Punk rose to fame with the single Da Funk off of their debut album, Homework. The single entailed a music video by Spike Jonze for MTV. Shortly after, the duo signed to Virgin records and hired Pedro Winter as their manager. Eight years later, Busy P created the powerhouse French record label, Ed Banger. Daft Punk truly has the Midas touch.

Five studio albums later, the group is now producing the soundtrack to the upcoming Tron Legacy for Disney, which I can assume is the heftiest paycheck the duo has received in a while. That said, I’m sure they enjoyed the challenge of producing a movie score instead of a new album (See: SebastiAN’s OST for Notre Jour Viendre).

Daft Punk are legends of the French house scene. They headline and sell out every stadium they play. In fact, It has become somewhat of a rite of passage for DJs to remix a Daft Punk song with justice to the original (See also: SebastiAN’s Human After All remix).

Cultural context can transform your perception of music. Hopefully the next time you see Daft Punk, you think Daft punk, and not those guys with the robot helmets who made “One more time.”

MICHAEL

sennymcflyLeave a comment

This Is It… For the children of the 60’s all the way through to the 21st century it was hard to learn that their idol, role model, and King had finally sang his last song and passed away. But we all know that Michael Jackson’s music will live on throughout history for years and years.

King of Pop

Even after Jackson’s death his fans will be running to every store across the nation and around the world to buy his newest album. The  record entitled Michael contains 10 of the hundreds of songs that Jackson produced just a few years before his death. It is scheduled to make its debut on the 14th of this month and who knows how long it will be before every last copy is bought and the shelves of every department store, record store, and online store are empty.

M. Jackson

So, this is really it. One last walk on the moon after 51 years of musical excellence. Will we ever forget the man who put the “pop” into Pop Music? Probably not. His music will live on forever, continuously influencing todays artists.

In Loving Memory

Little Michael

Michael Joseph Jackson

(Aug. 29, 1958-June 25, 2009)

Snowflakes in Southern California

theycallmedameLeave a comment

You may have already heard from my fellow blog-mates, but it is time once again for Secret Snowflakes to take OVS by the reins and kick off!

Each person in our school drew a name out of a paper bag and then had to go out and buy not one but five gifts for them, one for each day of the school week.

The presents usually start small and get gradually bigger, each coming with a clue (ex. I have blue eyes, I’m not a day student, etc.) to help the gift receiver guess who is giving them presents.

It is unfortunate, however, that some people do not feel up for the holiday cheer. Some people either give bad presents (like used airplane headphones) or no presents at all.

The people who do this tend to ruin the spirit of the rest of the school, and it makes the week before final exams all that more stressful.

I can only hope that this year everyone will receive and give presents, and no one will be left with a frown on their face.