Rare blog -
As a conductor of various orchestras over the past 10 years people as me why I care about Hip Hop and the Turntable.
Why?
I feel the Turntable represents America, It represents what has been said "Necessity is the mother of Invention" where people needed to keep a party going but only had 3 minute tracks to get people dancing. What did some ingenious people do? They hooked up to record players to one mixer and put the same record on both record players, when the song was over they moved the fader over and DJ'ing was born.
Hip Hop and the culture surrounding Hip Hop is uniquely American. I feel I'm a very proud American and what it represents in its ideals. We may not be perfect, we may have our faults and blemishes, but I'd rather be American than any other nationality.
So - Hip Hop, Turn Table = American.
These men and women who devote their life to the virtuosity of Battle DJ'ing which means they spend hours a day practicing the technique of how to make a record create sounds you've never imagined, are pioneers.
The instrument still hasn't found respect among the elite tastemakers of the world, but it will.
Watching a DJ Battle is similar to a violin competition or any other virtuosic display. Each musician spends their life devoted to the practice room in a monastic discipline.
Why do I love the Turntable and Djing? I love culture, I love America, and I love GREAT music
period
.
Success is infinite!
I was struck the other day while walking in Korea town to meet a friend that success is NOT a finite resource. I realized a lot of the jealousy we see, the hate, the envy, stems from an internal view in some that Celebrity X is famous so now my chances are smaller of being popular.
It isn't just in music or TV or media. We see this behavior with our friends. Some people actually begrudge when someone they know gets named to a top tier job while they are still in the same job. Resentment, anger, and other feelings creep up and are articulated during dinners, coffee outings, etc where someone will say some negative comments about someone they know who is successful.
So, here's the secret, and the thing that just nailed me on the head as I waited
success is not a finite resource, it is actually infinite.
You control your success, you really do.
Celebrate another person's success when you hear about it. If it doesn't come naturally to you, then "fake it til you make it"Congratulate them even if it doesn't come naturally to you but don't ruin the moment by saying anything under your breath.
ok, that's all I wanted to say - now go out and grab your success! Tell me about it, and we'll celebrate! :) Colin O'Donohoe
Colin O'Donohoe meeting with Mayor Boris Johnson
Opus 52 Week 6 six
For Opus 52 this week -
This week my piece is being released on Abraham Lincoln's birthday. As a resident of New York City and of Irish heritage, I was inspired by the pictures of Lincoln all around the city. I was deeply inspired by the acts of the draft in which a disproportionate amount of those drafted, were Irish. My father was drafted and fought in Vietnam where he was wounded.
I'm reminded that Lincoln, while 'one of the best presidents of all time" as Kanye would say "of all time" :) While he is indeed one of our greatest leaders, he did fire on his own people and he did have to occupy wall street, as well as much of Manhattan until the riots protesting the draft were squashed.
In tying even more to Lincoln and NYC, I wanted to pay tribute to one of the greatest poets, and fellow New Yorker, Walt Whitman and his incredible work "Leaves of Grass" where he has his famous poem for Abraham Lincoln "O Captain! My Captain!"
History does have its gritty side, andI believe it is just as important to remember the grit as it is to remember the glamour.
Opus 52 - Week 4
I have been having a great time writing these pieces so far. I think the fun and challenge really begins when the meters get odder. For now I'm able to just enjoy the process and be creative.
Opus 52 four "Ice" was a lot of fun to record. I felt very chill while writing it and I hope you relax and can feel chill when you listen to is.
Opus 52 Three "Stone" was also very fun to write. I had the whisper of the muse who sang to me of a character angry with passion. Cut by stone, in love with stone, and just had his life embodied by stone. So, it was cool to get in the studio and try to paint the picture that the muse showed me.
Opus 52 two "Inferno" -well, that was inspired by a visit to my son's classroom. I had the class each speak one word into the microphone and I returned later (about 6 weeks later) with a turntable and some beats. I scratched their words to beats and they got to hear themselves come out of an amp and syncopate to the drum loops. My son chose "inferno" so that to me seemed very passionate and a word I could compose around.
Opus 52 one - That was the welcoming of a new year, a new day, a fresh idea, and an invitation for the muse to come and play with me.
Let's enjoy this journey together!
-Colin