off-topics

I discovered in the midst of my near death experience with sarah mclachlan that my singing range has mysteriously increased by a whole step as of today. Which means that i was singing “building a mystery” at my current range, which is a whole step above what i assumed my range was at the time.

This is a significant event because i have a rather low range as compared to my speaking voice. Though i am willing to sing high (and i usually will take high harmony in impromptu all-male singalongs), the octave range i naturally defer to is the C below middle C. Which means generally i don’t get above middle C too often. In fact, my range is more like G to the G under middle C. An example of this is “touch,” which i could probably sing all the way through in the next highest octave.

The only way my range ever gets expanded is when i’m forced to sing along to a song that is above it. Usually doing the trick is Peter Mulvey, who has a range which is somewhat similar to Dave Matthews’ but without all the squeaking. Anyhow, hopefully this isn’t just a figment of my recently feverish existance and instead a permanent enhancement in my singing.

A glaring oversight on my part has left this link omitted for far too long: zero. It’s the website of EMP750, who has appeared in a few conversations i’ve displayed him. He sorta convinced me to do this, so i ask that you pay him a visit.

Falling under the category of things that do not help swollen glands is belting out “Building A Mystery” a whole step above the place where your range totally ends while thrashing away at your guitar hard enough to break strings. Sure, it sounds nice, but your throat won’t thank you for it tomorrow (not to mention how my temperature seems to spike when i hit high notes). Don’t you believe me? I would make you a nice audio file of it, but i should probably go find some pain killers first… yes, pain killers are a high priority.

Either i am becoming increasingly irrelevant, or MTV is. Or, alternately, popular music has become irrelevant. I’ll be the first to admit that i haven’t bought very many groundbreaking popular albums since 1998, but i think this year’s Grammy’s proved the kind of glut we’re in. The Backstreet Boys nominated for best album? The Academy couldn’t even save their asses by nominated the spectacular Diana Krall album or giving the award to Santanna; we know just where they stand now.

Of course, we’ve always known where MTV stands, haven’t we? With TRL increasingly dictating what gets played in the precious little time alotted to videos we see less and less good music or innovative filming and more more more of everyone’s favourite xeroxed stars. VH1 fares no better, with songs breaking into their top10 as long as six months after the rest of the world first heard them. However, i do give credit where it’s due to both channels for giving us a prompt introduction to artists like Macy Gray, who otherwise might have never broken through. If only they’d do that a bit more often…

Of course, i could just be old now. I’ve successively outgrown both MTV and VH1, and perhaps now i need to spread my wings and fly off in my own search for really good music. Still, it’s disheartening to know that that’s the only way i might find it.

Slightly new look, and one of the prettier pages i’ve managed to design (keeping in mind how lo-fi my design elements usually are). I’m working on the bio/cast sections now. Really, i am…