Music

Break It Down Like Bob Dylan

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

(Click Here if you can’t see the video above.)

In honor of going to see Bob Dylan in concert tomorrow, I give you this video of Bob Dylan rehearsing his one line from the charity single “We Are The World” for 8 minutes.

This is not your typical short and to the point Happy Friday post. But there’s something magical about the grin Bob Dylan gets around 5:07 in the video.

Even after decades in the music business and unmatched success, he’s still a perfectionist. He’s still humble. He still gets frustrated when he doesn’t sound good. And he still smiles when people like something he did.

Don’t think you’re too big to keep trying hard on something. Don’t think you’re so much of an expert that you can’t improve. And don’t forget to smile when people pay you a compliment.

Happy Friday.

(If you have an extra few minutes, you must read Rembert Browne’s hilarious second by second dissection of this video from Grantland. It will make your day.)

Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

bob dylan press 1 .jpgWhat’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and does what he wants to do. – Bob Dylan

When the world expects Bob Dylan to play he acoustic, he goes electric.

When the world expects Bob Dylan to rage against traditional values, he becomes a born-again Christian.

When the world expects Bob Dylan to be out of surprises, he releases a Christmas album 40 years into his career.

When the world expects Bob Dylan to go quietly into the good night, he tours harder than ever and continues to put out 5 star albums in his 70s. Continue reading →

What Would Taylor Swift Do?

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swift

Billboard

Without heartbreak Taylor Swift would have no songs to write.

Without the pain from relationships gone bad, where would Taylor Swift’s inspiration come from?

Her scars tell her story. Her pain inspires her art. Her conflicts create an opportunity for a greater victory.

Without getting knocked down we have no reason to rise up.

Without conflict there is no reason for us to rise off the couch.

Without getting fired from Apple Steve Jobs would have never invested in a little company called Pixar and we would have no “Toy Story”.

Without getting saddled with the horrible name “The Ringmaster”, Steve Austin would have never gone home and brainstormed the name “Stone Cold”.

There is significance in our struggle. There is art in our unrest. With conflict comes the chance for heroism. Continue reading →

What Your Vinyl Collection Says About You

/ Alex Doriot / 3 Comments

photo (19)Did you celebrate Record Store Day?

Saturday, April 20 was the seventh annual celebration of all things vinyl. My girlfriend and I were proud participants. We drove two hours to Criminal Records in Atlanta to dig through crates of used records and seek out limited edition new releases from some of our favorite artists like Bob Dylan, The Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, and Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors.

At the end of the day we ended up with just about everything we were looking for. What amazed me though was just how many other people did as well.

When we arrived at Criminal Records on Saturday morning, we saw a line coming out of the store and stretching around the next block. We ended up waiting an hour to get in the store, and then another hour or so to get out of the store.  Continue reading →

Average Sucks

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Want to know why the Harlem Shake is so popular that a new version appears on Youtube more often than a new baby is born these days? (I didn’t fact check that, but I’m willing to stand by it.)

Because we’re ok with being average.

Look, I’m not judging anyone for creating a Harlem Shake video. In fact I just participated in my first one this weekend. I’m in the back somewhere. I promise.

But the Harlem Shake phenomenon encourages us to just be average. And being average sucks the life out of you. Continue reading →

Bring On Your Wrecking Ball

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

btrNext week Bruce Springsteen will kick off the second leg of a world tour he began a year ago in Atlanta, GA. I was lucky enough to have tickets to that monumental occasion. Part of why I enjoyed it so much is because I never expected it to happen.

When I first saw The Boss in concert in 2009, I savored the opportunity because I thought it could be my last.

Bruce is only 63 years young. But once an artist crosses into senior citizen territory, you can never be too sure of when their last hoorah is going to be. Everything has to come to an end at some point. Continue reading →

You Are Not Too Old

/ Alex Doriot / 3 Comments

You are not too old.photo 2

How do I know? Because I’ve heard my grandfather play guitar.

He only knows a couple of songs. I think that’s understandable though, when you realize he just started playing a year ago. In his 80s.

He had never played an instrument before. Doesn’t have a musical background. He just always wanted to learn the guitar, so our family bought him one. And now he’s slowly strumming along, learning chords, and playing Silent Night for our family at Christmas. No big deal. Continue reading →

The U2 Trick

/ Alex Doriot / 4 Comments

Who would you say is the biggest band in the world right now? Would it be Mumford and Sons? fun.? Maroon 5? One Direction?

U2-Rattle-and-HumIn the late 80s, the answer to that question would have undoubtedly been U2. In 1989, at the peak of their international popularity, U2 decided to take a break. After ten years of constant touring across the world and six smash records, the biggest band in the world took a few years off to, as Bono said at the time, “dream it all up again.”

When they returned with their next album “Achtung Baby” in 1991, most people expected it would consist of the same uplifting, soul-searching arena rock that was a trademark of U2. Instead, “Achtung Baby” sounded like this: 

“Achtung Baby” was not just a tremendous departure from anything U2 had ever created, but from anything on the radio in 1991. Why would the biggest band in the world completely deconstruct their sound and release an album so far removed from their previous catalog?

Here’s the trick: they wanted to thrive, not just survive. Continue reading →

You Can Be Awesome TODAY

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Justin Timberlake is lazy. Here’s how you can tell:

How many Beatles songs can you name in ten seconds? (Go with me on this.)

Probably more than you can count on two hands. Can you believe the Fab Four recorded all those songs and countless other ones you know by heart in a span of about 7 years? A dozen of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll albums of all time, all created within just 7 years.

To contrast, Justin Timberlake – singer, producer, actor, all around king of the world – is releasing his eagerly-anticipated third album in March. He released his first solo effort back in 2002.

Just to clarify, that’s 3 Justin Timberlake albums in 11 years, as compared to 12 Beatles albums in 7 years.

What is wrong with that ratio? Continue reading →

Thrift Shop Gospel

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

thrift-shop-large

Who ever thought the thrift shop would be in style? With his ridiculous ode to secondhand shopping, Macklemore has the hottest song in the country, a horn-heavy homage to the greatness of Goodwill shopping.

Seems secondhand stores are bigger than ever. Besides general thrift stores like the Salvation Army, specialized consignment shops are popping up everywhere paying top dollar for used clothes, DVDs, cds, and books. Even big businesses like Best Buy and Toys R Us are now giving away cash instead of taking it, buying back old video games and Blu Rays.

Just the other day I put together a pile of movies and books cluttering up my shelves and headed to the local thread of thrift stores in Augusta. I rode into parking lots pumping Macklemore’s hit on my speakers, expecting to walk into the store with twenty dollars in my pocket and walk out with a secondhand swagger, or at least with twenty more bucks in my pocket.

I ended up just keeping most everything I brought in as I saw the trade-in value come up on the screen when each item was scanned: 75 cents, 15, cents, 10 cents, 5 cents, 1 cent. How could a DVD that cost $15 have a trade-in value of just a penny? The stores didn’t even want some of my movies, rejecting them out right.

And then I remembered this always happens. I build myself up with dreams of easy money from trading in my unwanted things. Instead I walk out feeling cheaper than ever, the collectibles I valued so much now deemed worthless. Continue reading →