Nora, Panic! and Jimi, oh my!

After promises of not neglecting SayWAM, what did I do? Neglect SayWAM.

For real this time, I'm back. Really. And oh boy are there exciting things in the works...

In the meantime, check out this cat!
My cat, Theodore, cheats. He just hits the demo button and pretends to play. Nora though? She's legit. Rock on, Nora.

So I actually picked up some new-new music yesterday. Panic! At the Disco has released their third full-length studio album. I've been a Panic! fan since their debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005),  with their driving rhythms and witty, rapid-fire lyrics that left their listeners tongue tied. Needless to say, I was shocked when their second album, Pretty. Odd., was released in 2008. Talk about a completely different sound. But they rocked it. They became so melodic - less driving more...sentimental. And virtually every song was completely different from the one before it, and yet the whole album was cohesive. They did a lot of interesting things instrumentally too - some of which were reminiscent of their first album. That brings us to yesterday, March 22, 2011 and the release of album number three, Vices & Virtues.

I like it. I really like it. It took a couple listens for me to catch on to a couple of tracks, but the opening track, "The Ballade of Mona Lisa" hooked me immediately. Throughout the album, I can hear echos of the two previous albums personalities - without the band doing the exactly the same thing. It's lovely and I highly recommend you check it out. The music video's pretty OK too. Very steampunk. It's fun. You could look it up or why not just watch it here.



Wanna know something especially cool? You can hear the entire album streaming on the band's official website right here: Click it!

Wanna see something especially cool?

There's a mosaic artist in the UK named Ed Chapman. He put together this wicked awesome mosaic portrait of Jimi Hendrix. Out of what, you may ask: Guitar picks. Five. Thousand. Guitar picks (or plectrums, as this website calls them...but, and feel free to call me uneducated,  I've never heard that term before....Jenna = not a guitarist.)

Possibly the best part of this incredible work of art, is that it was auctioned in February at Cancer Research UK's Sound & Vision event at Abbey Road Studios. How much did it go for? £23,000

OK, kids - that's all I have for you today. But like I said before, there are some cool things coming up for SayWAM. Check in once in awhile. Drop a line or something.

Keep on rocking in the free world.




...

Silly Theo...The keyboard is for rocking, not for napping...

Who deserves to have a sandwich named after them?

Mama Cass.

Ask me anything

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy

- Ludwig van Beethoven

Picture Spam!

 This is someone's roof.....

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

For those of you that may not know, Haley Williams is the lead singer of Paramore. Coincidentally, she is also the female vocalist in the song Airplanes.....

SayWAM Show and Tell

Plain Jane PVC Pipes

First of all, I'd like to share this little video with you. A creative student at Loyla Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, California, known as Snubby J online, revealed an instrument his father helped him create. So what is this newfangled instrument? A keyboard percussion instrument made out of PVC pipes. The tuning of the instruments started out as "a guess and check method, and then ultimately used an electronic chromatic tuner to fine tune the notes," according to Snubby J's YouTube video blog located here: Click it!

Snubby J's PVC Instrument - LMU Colors!

Snubby J's internet fandom led him to appear on America's Got Talent as well as getting a call from Blue Man Group, which he received an audition for. Even though he didn't make it to call backs, he still has dreams of being a Blue Man one day. Our dear Snubby J was planning on majoring in theatre and minoring in music at LMU. Enjoy!





Moving right along, I have a couple presents for my beloved music theory nerds. Personally, I have zero patience with learning music theory, but I can do love and appreciate my friends and readers that (somehow) enjoy music theory.

Present the first: Click it!

Need a larger image? Click it!

At the above listed link you will find a music theory forum filled with music theory lessons. From Lesson 1: Sound and By Association: Music, to Lesson 7: Chord Progressions. There are 22 lessons posted thus far...I was only able to get through a couple of them, personally. My take on the site, is that it is well written, easy to understand, and filled with useful knowledge...at least for those that would use it.

Present the second: Click it!

OK, this is way more up my alley. It's an ear training website that helps you identify 1-Note, Melodies, Intervals, and even Tritone ear training. I've been having a lot of geeky fun with it, and I feel like you might too...Should you be so inclined to check either or both of those sites out, leave your own little review in the comments link before.

*Reminder: You don't have to sign up for anything to leave comments...I promise. It doesn't even hurt a little bit to leave a comment....Live a little. Love, SayWAM.

Did you guys hear about The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHF) exhibit that's opening up on Valentine's Day? No? Well, it's called Girls on Film: 40 Years of Women in Rock. As the article on RRHF's official website more or less states: about the same time women were trying to make their way in the rock and roll world, women were also trying to make their way in the photography industry, specifically taking photos of said women in rock bands at the time. This exhibit features numerous photos from the very beginning through the likes of Gwen Stefani. This exhibit will be open from February 14, 2011 through September 5, 2011.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Cleveland, Ohio

Speaking of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, women, music, and women in music, another exhibit due to open this spring is Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power. From the sound of it, it's going to be a fairly epic exhibit that's going to take up two whole floors of the museum, featuring more that 60 artists, covering all eras in rock and roll history. Some of the awesome features include but are in no way limited to: Listening stations, artifacts/memorabilia, video footage, and even recording booths where visitors can film themselves sharing how a woman in music influenced or inspired them. Pretty awesome, right? Right.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be inducting Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Darlene Love, and Tom Waits this year. Congratulations to them all!

If you are familiar with SayWAM at all, or you know me personally, you are well aware that I can talk forever. But I'm going to stop now. I have loads more things to share with you lovely readers but it's not fun to give it all up at once!

Check back soon and for Clapton's sake, take care and have a great day.

Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Jenna


What I'm listening to today: Learning To Fly, by Tom Petty