Sunday, December 16, 2007

WEEKLY UPDATE!!!!!!

ONE WEEK TO GO MY FRIENDS. I'm only 5 days away from coming home. I'm so pumped.

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Corinne Bailey Rae from her self titled debut album. I don't know whether to be embarrassed or proud. On one hand I think this album is amazing, and at least she's British, but on the other hand I know I'm going to catch some flack for it. Oh well, I'm still gonna keep playing this girl. She's got a wicked voice and good lyrics. Kind of like a timid Jill Scott. She's a babe as well.

OLD PERSON PHRASE OF THE WEEK: "Davenport" This is not so much a phrase but rather a word. This is a word that used to be used instead of couch or sofa. "Have a seat on the davenport and we'll eat fresh snicker doodles and milk."

WEATHER UPDATE: It has gotten freakishly cold out here in the ol Bering Sea these days. 15 Deg. F at the moment but with the wind it creeps down to a toasty -2 Deg. F. We are expecting some precipitation this Friday night so if I'm lucky I will be just ahead of it on my way out of AK.

ART PROJECT'S IN PROCESS: I thought I was done with "A Whisper Wind" but four new songs have been written in about as many days. This latest burst of creativity has solidified this album far the superior to "I Need Life." I'm really pumped to share these new songs with friends and family over break. I'll be happy to make copies for anyone while I'm home. Read the blog below to see some of the extreme temperature sunrise photography I've been doing.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

No need to be ashamed of loving Corinne Bailey Raye. I think she is quite talented and have a beautiful voice. Plus, she actually writes her own music as opposed to many stars of today.
If you had said you loved Celine Dion or Britney Spears, I might have flown up to Alaska to kick your ass. You would deserve it.

Anonymous said...

Kale, I read something today that made me think of you, your life and you daily situation at work. Chris has gotten me into Jack Johnson-love his music...anyway, going through his website, then to links, I found this 'guy', who was at a loss with his thesis (you can read his info. in detail...)he was discussing lyrics of a song (Jack Johnson's) with a friend. Something Chris and I talk about. Often we listen to music, but many don't realize what they are singing or humming to (I am bad about this).

As I was reading through his papers, I came across this quote, its really important to read the whole thing, but this stuck out for me. The notion of being yourself, not herding and what educators can do for 'us'.

Here is the quote:

'To combat herd mentality, Nietzsche said that educators play an important, but limited role. Educators serve to liberate us from herd mentality by revealing the fundamental components of our true being. Nietzsche called these fundamental components the “real groundwork and import of [our] being”; and went on to suggest that this being is not to be found inside ourselves. Rather, this true being lies at “an infinite height above [us]”, and educators play an important role in helping us see this. That is, educators serve to liberate our vision beyond “blind instinct”, and help us strive toward attaining our true being—toward becoming a “true human being”.'

This is what great teaching is about. By opening the doors to those who may not have the door open otherwise. A powerful notion of teaching kids to think for themselves...Eccentric, is a wonderful thing to be!

Anyway, the article is great and what a cool lesson to teach to students. Taking lyrics from a song, breaking it down, analyzing it and then coming together to discuss what was 'seen' within the lyrics. These are the times I wish I taught high school.

Have a great few days at school and enjoy whats around you! We hope to see you while you are here!
jackjohnsonmusic.com, then to links and on the 'fan side' -Jack's consolation.
Jen :O)

Kale Iverson said...

Thanks for the cool comment J.
I teach high school, but I too wish I could have in depth conversations with my students. I've tried the analyzing lyrics approach. Hell, I've tried everything but truth syrum to get these little buggers to talk in class. The fact is, whether a cultural thing or personal thing, my students simply don't talk. Most teachers wish they could get their students to shut up, but my kids won't venture anything outside of being forced to speak. Out of all the people that could foster a safe environment to express ideas it would be me hopefully.
It is just not part of the norm here. I would give anything for students that could and would verbalize their thoughts readily and happily. My students simply seem to be brick walls most of the time.
I'm glad you're getting into Jack Johnson. I saw him when I was 18 (oh crap thats 7 years ago) at Beasley Collisium at Wazzu in front of only like 200 people. He wasn't even known then except to college kids. But we knew then as we know now, that man is amazing, important and is a role model for other musicians to take seriously. I keep waiting for more social commentary/activism driven artists to emerge. Some of my favorites that come to mind are Michael Franti and Spearhead, John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd. I know there are more. But, changing the hearts and minds of people seems to take a backseat to big bucks these days in popular music.

You should try to get "September Sessions" for Christmas, its the surf video that Jack Johnson made, oh yeah not only is he an amazing musician, he can surf, well, and he makes videos, writes movie scores for Curious George, and is a genuinely nice person in real life. Sometimes these guys really baffle me. You got to wonder what they are like on off days.

I will get you guys my next album so you can say "I am related to KALE IVERSON! I had this album back when he was still living on an island in the friggin' Bering Sea!


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