People have been asking for more examples of this music inspired design. If you want club wear, beach wear, or to look good anywhere, here are some things to get you in the groove.

I Got The Music Store

Technorati Tags: beach wear, camera, clothes, clothing, club wear, design, flip, I Got The Music, music, nightclub, party, Saturday Night, video camera

As with any sound you can’t see it, so you have to imagine the waves of sound like Disney and Fantasia did all those years ago.

We really are spoiled for choice today as we can record some excellent music using a computer and a simple set up with a USB microphone plugging straight into the computer. Amazing stuff.

I’m not going to go all geeky on you, but the choice is pretty overwhelming. When you speak with the kind people that are sound / studio engineers you realize that many of them take professional courses lasting years to pick the best mic for the job.

As that idea doesn’t suit most people, I looked for a kit that would also hide the sound of that annoying computer fan – which makes you sound like you’re talking underwater!

With users such as the BBC, MTV and Universal studios this basic set up must be doing something right.

The ‘trick’ is to have a vocal booth which screens out the background noise and concentrates the sound into the microphone. Sounds simple, but can be very, very expensive. Luckily the kit I found was only a few hundred to do what I needed and is significantly cheaper than hiring a recording studio every day 

Makes your YouTube videos sound superb too.

So the microphone choice boils down to the SL150, SL 300 or SL600 with the Vocal Booth sound screen. That makes it a personal preference with whatever budget you’re working with.

Happy Recording.

 Click that image above to see where to get my recomendation and see for yourself.

*yes I might get pennies from that but you can always search for things yourself

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• Yeti Pro USB condenser microphone touts 24-bit / 192 kHz digital recording, XLR output, we go hands-on (engadget.com)

Technorati Tags: gadget, I Got The Music, microphone, music, recording, studio, vocal

With its roots in Celtic cultures, Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, and among those that do the traditions and importance of the celebration vary significantly. Celebration in the United States has seen a significant impact on how the holiday is observed in other nations. The history of Halloween traditions in a given country also lends context to how it is presently celebrated. But many countries have been influenced by the strongly commercialised version as celebrated in the USA. This to the benefit of many confectionary and costume makers.

Halloween is also knows as All Hallows’ Eve. On All Hallows’ eve, many Irish and Scottish people have traditionally placed a candle on their western window sill to honour the departed. Other traditions include carving lanterns from turnips, sometimes with faces on them, as is done in the modern tradition of carving pumpkins. The American tradition of carving pumpkins preceded the Great Famine period of Irish immigration, which saw a large population of Irish people moving from Ireland to America. These Irish immigrants took with them their traditions and slowly spread the festive of Hallowe’en. With the great abundance of pumpkins in America, turnips were replaced by the new bright orange products.

The holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, which makes candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples a common Halloween treat. A popular Halloween game is dunking or apple bobbing, in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin.

The tradition of going from door to door receiving food already existed in Britain and Ireland, in the form of ‘souling’, where children and poor people would sing and say prayers for the dead in return for cakes, which also makes an appearance in modern day Christmas carols. The custom of wearing costumes and masks at Halloween goes back to Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits.

The earliest known reference to “trick or treat” occurs just after WWI, when it was normal for smaller children to visit local shops and neighbours to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Before the 1980′s “trick or treat” was mainly known in the USA, but started to slowly makes its way to the United Kingdom. However it is still uncommon in most European countries. Trick-or-treating is now custom for American and British children on Halloween. Children proceed in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as confectionery, or sometimes money, with the question, “Trick or treat?” The “trick” is an idle threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.

In America it is more a family occassion where parents can keep an eye on their children or older siblings can be given the responsibility to prove their worth of a later Halloween party. In Britian the trick part has been known to be abused because of the close availability of eggs, flour and fireworks. Fireworks are already in store for the 5th of November to mark Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night, the penny for the Guy may find a mischievious use during Halloween.

In most Christian countries people traditionally celebrate All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day, which is on the 1st November. All Saints’ Day is in honour of all the saints, known and unknown. In many Catholic countries families will visit the graves of their deceased ancestors and where prayers and flowers are offered, candles are lit and the graves themselves are cleaned, repaired and repainted. The origins of All Saints’ Day go back much further in the past then Hallowe’en. The first references to All Saints’ Day go back as far as 741AD. For many decades Hallowe’en was simply known as the eve before All Saints’ Day. It’s not until the 1800′s that a link between Hallowe’en and All Saints’ Day is made.

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Technorati Tags: billy ray cyrus, fashion, hannah montana, I Got The Music, miley cyrus, music, ray, soundtrack, the climb

Duration : 0:4:32

This one of those slow burning songs that always seem to crop up, especially around the festive season. It is hard to listen to hear to a song that is over 25 years old without realising how many different memories it hold for all the people who have listened to this great music.

Technorati Tags: 1980s, 1982, 1983, 80's, Africa, club wear, fashion, I Got The Music, music, Pop, rock, toto, Video

As far as Bart Simpson goes his almost unloved dog called Santa’s Little Helper brought to mind the fact that saxophone playing Lisa would definitely get him a present.

With that inspiration I put together a few items for anyone who finds themselves a Santa’s Little Helper. There is even some for those who are a little bigger than little.

                                                                 

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Boy is Daniel Craig giving Sean Connery’s 007 a run for his money. I said I was impressed with the Parkour sequence at the beginning of Casino Royale, and wasn’t dissappointed with the opening car chase and the unexpected twists (no spoilers here!).

I had a lot of hope for the theme song as the reputation of the singers has to be world class. I was delighted that Alicia Keys with her soulfully dynamic vocal power from such songs as No One and the more recent Superwoman, was going to be singing.

When I heard the first bars of Another way to Die (yeah I couldn’t rhyme Quantum of Solace either!) the grungy sound was interesting but not in the same league as Shirley Bassey’s Goldfinger or Diamonds are Forever. It progressed and Jack White (of the White Stripes) was quite clearly performing a reworking of The Denial Twist. And for some reason Alicia must have been confined to coffee breaks to sing.

It sounds almost like she is a backing singer, not of one the Superwoman normally singing Bond Theme songs.

This was a downer, and the video didn’t help at all. It was clever and arty, but I have still no idea what the lyrics were about.

So, eventually I got to see the film and Daniel Craig manage to pull of his sexy charm in the 4 days following the end of the story of the first film.

The thing about Bond’s music is the mmm da mmm da mmm da dun da da da da dum dum dum … you know that’s his theme. And when finally the trumpets come in Tata ta ta tadada you know that the ‘bad guy’ has had it. Probably the only other music to have such powerful associations with a character is Norman from Hitchcock‘s Psycho in the shower sequence.

Thankfully there is a Bond that looks like he can do what is says on the tin. That is not even mentioning his beachwear .

Can’t wait until the next one!

Technorati Tags: 007, Alicia Keys, Daniel Craig, Hitchcock, Jack White, James Bond, Psycho, Quantum of Solace, Sean Connery, Superwoman, The White Stripes, theme song

Duration : 0:4:0

Technorati Tags: club wear, Def Jam, Don't Stop The Music, fashion, Gina Leonard [Video Producer], music, Pop, Rihanna, Rihanna [Video Director], StarGate [Producer]

It comes from the 1935 musical Porgy and Bess. I love this song, it has so much in it and if you sing, you understand the feeling and emotion that was written in both the music and the lyrics.

It is said to be based on a Ukrainian lullaby called Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon (A Dream Passes By The Windows).

I still remember my grandmother singing this one, always such a calming way to spend a summer evening – especially if you had fallen out of a tree ;-P

American Idol brought this into the current generation again with Fantasia Barrino‘s version on her Free Yourself album.

If you’ve never heard it, try and get a recording by Paul Robeson – WOW – did that guy have a voice. Summertime and Ol’ Man River really are a delight to experience. It kinda makes you feel like your missing out with some of the pop songs we have today…

Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the original lullaby sung by the Shady Lady herself Ani Lorak?

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I think the best one I saw – more because it had a story with it was this Scottish one.

I just think it was a great idea – playing ‘it’ or ‘tag’ around Glasgow. Even the Beastie Boys’ ‘Body Movin‘ took on different meaning. These guys have the handles ‘Hedgehog’ and ‘Tictac’ but you don’t know who is who!

Of course, I’m interested in seeing what the girls are doing in this, but they seem few and far between. I found a newbie, Jemma, who put a video up after just two months training.

The only problem is this was in 2006 and at the time of writing that’s 21 months without an update! Hope she’s OK. The tune in the background of that one was ‘Deep Dish‘ (or was that the group?).

Still with all this body moving stuff going on it shows you that you have to start somewhere. Start where you are today!

One last video caught my eye – an Asian chap Xin Sarith Azuma Phan Wuku – ‘Ninja for Hire’ and this one show the traceur running outside, then in a mall, back on the street and then he does a somersault inside a gym. All to the tune of ‘Give It All‘, so I’m informed – a good rock / metal sound.

Nothing spectaular at first, then another somersault, and another, and another, on and on they go… almost in a never ending stream. The guy must have abs of springy steel!

After this he goes into some martial arts style punching and kicking – slowly you twig – this guys is also a performer! The stage shows, Thai boxing and finally a nice touch of humour at the end

I’ll get some designs up over the next couple of days, and for the Russian guys, I WILL see about translating – but it may be a machine that does it

Thanks for the comment too ‘Totalrandom’ I wondered what you called someone who practiced Parkour – a Traceur (Traceuse? for the girls)

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