Oprah Winfrey & Karaoke

Filed under: Updates — Hope on October 21, 2009 @ 12:35 am

A little over a week ago a close friend of mine suggested I enter Oprah Winfrey’s Karaoke contest. I thought about it a bit and figured if I was able to go onto the show and sing in front of thousands of people it could definitely help advance my singing career. When I looked into it I realized the submissions were due by this past Monday, October 19th. So I decided to take on the endeavor and I became more and more passionate about it each day. I was up late each night after work looking up lyrics to songs and finding their respective background tracks. My mind was constantly running trying to pick the perfect song. I knew I wanted it to be something fast because that’s normally what people sing karaoke and what I figured the judges would be attracted to.

My boyfriend really wanted to help me have the best submission, so he got it worked out so that we could go into a recording studio this past Sunday and get my vocals recorded professionally in order to have the best sound for the video. On Saturday I had pretty much decided I was going to do “You Only Get What You Give” by The New Radicals because I sing it pretty much every time I go to a karaoke joint. I love it so much it’s even my phone ring. But my boyfriend helped me realize that the judges would most likely want me to sing something by a female singer because in karaoke you should sound like the original artist. Sunday was the first day I actually had time to focus on my audition because of my work schedule. So I met my boyfriend around 12pm to really pick the right song and I decided on “Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera. I listened to the song as much as I could, got the lyrics and background track and we headed to the studio. We were there all day from 3-8:30/9 and ended up getting a video we were satisfied with. We actually ended up not even using the vocal recording equipment and just the video camera because we realized it was against the rules to use any type of script, macro or automated equipment which would enable one to edit their submission. They wanted the raw video unedited. There were also other restrictions as far video size and file types. So we were at the studio for a long time trying to figure out how to get the video onto the computer, etc.

The next day, Monday, the submission had to be submitted onto the Oprah Winfrey website by 11:59pm Central time. So I got started early afternoon Monday and my friend who lent me her camera came over to help me work it properly. I implemented the files onto my computer, using imovie, cut out the one I picked and began trying to put it into the proper format to upload it onto the website. I filled out the info and submitted my file and the website said my file wasn’t the proper type, even though my computer showed me it was. I tried all I could, but the files I in the proper format either turned out too small or blurry. I called a friend who knows more about it than me, he couldn’t figure out the problem so I headed over to my boyfriend’s office to see if someone there could help. We ended up getting someone on the phone hours later and began sending him the files via the internet around 9pm. He helped us and when we finally got it in the proper and best viewable format it was about 12:15/12:30am (11:15/11:30pm central time). Our internet started acting up and every time we tried to upload the file the website crapped out. We then sent all of my info to be submitted with the video to the guy helping us so that he could try sending it in from his computer. Nothing worked…the website was too overloaded by everyone submitting at the same time. We tried until about 1:15 am and then when I got home I tried one last time but the upload page was no longer even available.

Even after leaving the office …when I thought nothing else could go wrong my subway card was used up and when I went to the MTA machine to get a new one my debit card was blocked for some odd reason. I ended up taking a cab and just having to use a credit card.

After all of that trouble I was so let down, because I truly believed I was going to have a chance. I was full of sadness and regret. But even throughout the whole day I was discouraged and full of doubt. Looking back I really wish I would have just had a better attitude despite my circumstances and tried with more hope and joy in the process, knowing that even if I couldn’t get my submission through it ultimately didn’t matter. I know that God knew this was going to happen and that He has a reason and a purpose and that He is always trying to teach me. I woke up this morning and finally made time for God, because I had pretty much shoved Him aside the past few days in my urgency to create the best audition.

I was so sad yesterday because it was like another huge reminder of the walls I seem to keep hitting when it comes to my dreams. But this morning I was reminded about what really matters . If you are interested in viewing my audition video you can go to this link:

Oprah Winfrey Karaoke Contest

What else am I going to use it for? Comments and critiques are welcome!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

God bless!

Love,

-Hope

The Vettes pretty much rock my face off

Filed under: Uncategorized — Hope on September 9, 2009 @ 12:46 am

So Ok, not that they are desperate for the publicity, but I thought I’d give a shout out for my acquaintance Rachel, lead singer of The Vettes…I use the term “acquaintance” because we’re definitely not besties or anything, but my brother introduced me to her a couple years back at one of her concerts and we kept in touch a bit via cyberspace. Anyway, I’ve been listening to them on my ipod nonstop the past few days….the “T.V” Ep I bought like a year ago.

If you haven’t heard of The Vettes…it’s one of the best examples of awesome chick rock, which is funny because the band is all guys, minus the lead. The Vettes consist of 4 brothers and the one sister… Rachel. Their last name is actually just that cool.

I definitely recommend them..especially if you like No Doubt’s earlier work. They have a bit of a poppy 80’s sound to them..with the synthesizer and what not. What really stands out to me about them is their awesome stage presence. Rachel definitely lets her wild side out and doesn’t hold much back. You can definitely expect to see her dropping to the ground at least once, her long hair flying to and fro and her to be covered in major bling.

“Give ‘em What they Want” is my favorite song by them…so far. (It touches on the reality of famous young girls who try so hard to give the public what they want that it turns to self destruction.) Rachel wrote her song “Kill Me Now” out of  frustration when all of her 21 year old friends were getting married and having babies…pretty funny. The Vettes have just released their full album entitled “Walk like Models”, which includes songs from the Ep as well as a song with the album title. And it’s now available on itunes. I’m pretty sure  I saw an itunes commercial with an instrumental version of “Give ‘em What they Want” on television about a year ago also. That was pretty exciting. Since then they’ve gotten more of the publicity they deserve, but perhaps not enough! You rock my face off Vettes!

All Points West 2009

Filed under: Shows, Updates — Hope on August 4, 2009 @ 12:39 am

I was one of the many people to attend All Points West this weekend. It was a 3 day event at Liberty State Park. Friday’s line-up included Jay-Z, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and others. Saturdays 3 biggest performers were Tool, My Bloody Valentine and Gogol Bordello. Chairlift was also on Saturday, I love their hit song “bruises”. I only went on Sunday, unfortunately I wasn’t feeling good, so I ended up going pretty late. But I chose to go Sunday because Coldplay was performing and they are pretty much my favorite band of all-time. Also on Sunday was MGMT, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Black Keys, Elbow, We Are Scientists, Lykke Li and more. I unfortunately missed MGMT because they played pretty much the same time as Coldplay; I was quite perturbed about that. I heard the tale end of a song of theirs. I first arrived to the concert around 8:00pm or so and was very glad to catch the last few songs of Lykke Li’s performance. She had a lot of energy. I really like her sound.

There were 3 different stages throughout the park and Lykke Li performed at the Queen of the Valley Stage. MGMT was at Bullet and Coldplay was at the Blue Comet. There were a couple very intriguing abstract set-ups randomly placed throughout the park where people could sit or stand in the middle and they were lit up once it got dark.  Another cool thing was that there were 2 incredibly long lines of string with lit up balloons attached to them which floated above our heads around the park. There were also some merch booths, food tables, etc. I was very surprised to see that H&M had a tent set up with air condition inside, in which they were giving away water bottles and had a fun photo booth where anyone could get complimentary photos. So I jumped on that wagon.

It rained most of the day on Sunday, which is another reason I wasn’t so motivated to go early, but despite the fact that it stopped raining everyone still had to tread through the muddy sludge in the grass. It was incredible how dirty everyone was. I wore my rainboots, so I was pretty protected for the most part. Some people gave up and just decided to leave their shoes off, some people even left their muddy shoes behind. I saw several people with mud splatters as high as their backs.

Coldplay of course was awesome and well worth the trip for me. I was, however, surprised at how Chris Martin seemed to be having a hard time up there. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, his performance was still amazing and he sounded incredible, but there was just something hindering him a bit. It was like he was getting worn out very easily…of course he was running around a lot. They played all of my favorite songs, I even took a bit of video footage. Unfortunately my pictures didn’t come out very well, my camera isn’t exactly the best in town. Coldplay moved around between 3 different stages connected to the Blue Comet throughout their performance and at one point they came down into the mud and walked through it as well. There were also a few very entertaining points in Chris’s performance where he played off of his tiredness and acted like he couldn’t go on any longer, he went down to the ground a few times… it made us laugh. During the song “Yellow” these huge yellow balloons/balls came up from the stage somewhere and began floating above the crowd, it wasn’t too long before parts of those balloons turned brown from the mud.

Overall, even though I missed most of it, it was a pretty great experience. The night was very beautiful…I could feel a light breeze and see the moon so clearly. The view of Manhattan from the ferry was breathtaking.

Electronic Tunes on the Brain

Filed under: Music Genres — Hope on July 28, 2009 @ 2:09 am

So I’m only like a year and a half out of the loop, but I’m just discovering Passion Pit for the first time tonight. They apparently formed in late 2007, but it took about a year for them to release their popular EP titled “Chunk of Change”. I guess I’m not toooo behind though, because they just released their first full length album, “Manners” in May of this year (2009). If you have also been out of the loop…just f.y.i. they are an American electronic band. I heard their song “Better Things” on my manager’s ipod at work tonight and I totally dug it, so I jotted the artist and song down. It’s such a fun song, one that makes me want to dance. It’s extremely catchy. So anyway, when I got home tonight I listened to it on YouTube and then checked out their song “Sleepyhead” and realized I have in fact heard them before, because I recognized that song…and yeuup… I dig it.  Then I checked out their song “The Reeling” and I’m pretty sure I heard it playing the other night at the popular East Hampton club, Lily Pond. These songs are all on their newest album, which can also be heard on their website, www.passionpitmusic.com.

I’m also very behind on the British Electropop band Hot Chip. They are a bit similar to Passion Pit. I’m pretty sure if you know them you’ve heard their popular song, “Shake a Fist” and I’m also pretty sure that if you haven’t heard it already you definitely should …that is of course only if you like fun things. “In the Privacy of Our Love” is a nice slow tune by them as well. It’s a very unique tune.

Another cool song I enjoyed dancing to at Lily Pond was the remake of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round”, which is called “Right Round”, re-done by the rap artist Flo Rida featuring Kesha. I know this has been out for a hot second as well. I’ve always loved the original version of this song, but the remix is actually pretty errrrrrsome. And of course the d.j. took a spin on Lady GaGa’s popular hit “Poker Face”, good stuff.

I’m also currently digging on the band MGMT, especially their hit “Electric Feel”. I’m stoked because I get to see them perform this Sunday, along with Coldplay (most likely my absolute favorite band of all time) and several other bands at the All Points West Music Festival in Jersey City. I can’t wait and I will def. give you an update!

Just Look Over Your Shoulder Honey, ooh!

Filed under: Music Genres — Hope on July 10, 2009 @ 2:04 pm

Every once in a while I find myself on a dance floor trying to moonwalk; sadly I have not been able to master it. Michael Jackson wasn’t in fact the first one to do the moonwalk. It was actually first recorded by a tap dancer named Bill Bailey in 1955, then it was redone by the mime Marcel Marceau and later by David Bowie, then by James Brown all before Michael Jackson made it his own. But Michael Jackson did indeed make it popular. Not only did he reinvent the moonwalk, but he reinvented himself so many times over the years that it caused concern. But what the King of Pop will always be remembered for is his amazing ability to write so many passionate songs that touched millions of people over so many generations. He won 13 Grammy awards and had 13 number 1 singles and sold over 750 million records. Up to one billion people watched his recent memorial service. I have definitely been moved by many of Michael’s songs, I’m pretty sure my two favorites are “Earth Song” and “Will You Be There”. My favorite part of “Earth Song” has always been the simple ah aah aah’s Michael sings. There is so much passion seeping out of that recording. It songs like that that make the listener not only feel but also feel like they know the artist. Michael was so naked (open and bearing all) in the way he performed, which is why I believe he had so many die hard fans. I would even say to the extent that thousands, perhaps even millions, were borderline psychotic fans. But perhaps that is also due to the fame and the fact that some people believe that because someone is famous they are untouchable and god-like in a sense. Anyway, enough about psycho fans who would literally cry in their eagerness to touch Michael Jackson’s arm. I first heard “Will You Be There” when I saw Free Willy in 1993. I was 10 years old. I think the reason I wanted to see that movie so much was due to the hype that the song “Will You Be There” triggered in the previews. The song really brought to life the fact that Willy was finally free and that because of it Jesse was too. Michael’s songs had a lot of diversity, but most of his hits were pretty uplifting. He promised to be there along with his brothers in “I’ll Be There”, he encouraged us to make the world a better place in “Heal the World”, and he truly cared about bonding the human race in “Black or White”. I believe that through hearing those songs people were motivated to make a change in their own lives for the better. Wherever you are today know that God is right over your shoulder and has created you for a specific purpose, to make a specific change…and while you’re at it try and do the moonwalk, some of you may not have to try as hard as me.

Let’s Get Hype!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Hope on June 23, 2009 @ 1:16 pm

I’m not exactly consistent with my exercising, but when I decide to  I love to do it with music…it’s the only way to do it really. About 2 or 2 & 1/2 years ago I made a mix called “Kick Ace!” that I pretty much use every time I need exercise music, usually when I dance around inside rather than go running. I’m not the type who likes to hold an ipod while I run really. My workouts change, but I usually do ab work, push-ups sometimes, and I always dance around like crazy however I feel moved to. I also have a hula-hoop that I love. ;) Anyway, I’ve decided to share Hope’s workout mix with you all. There are a few songs I don’t really like as much as I use to, so I usually just skip through them…keep in mind this was two years ago and #’s 9-11 are more cool down songs. ENjoy.

1. I Like the Way You Move by: The Bodyrockers

2. Intergalactic by: The Beastie Boys

3. Dance Dance by: Fall Out Boy (one of those I don’t like so much anymore)

4. The Rockafellar Skank (Funk Soul Brother)  by: Fatboy Slim

5. I Just Wanna Live by: Good Charlotte

6. I See You Baby (Shaking that …) by: Groove Armada

7. Jerk it Out by: The Caesars

8. Alive and Amplified by: The Mooney Suzuki

9. You Only Get What You Give by: The New Radicals (which has long been one of my all time faves and is also my phone ring )

10. Beverly Hills by: Weezer

11. My United States of Whatever by: Liam Lynch

12. Float On by: Modest Mouse

13. Love and Memories by: O.A.R.

14. Sexy Back by: Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland

15. London Bridge (Oh Snap) by: Fergie

16. Black Horse and The Cherry Tree by: KT Tunstall

17. Ain’t No Other Man by: Christina Aguilera

18. SOS (Rescue Me) by: Rihanna

19. Lady by: Lenny Kravitz

Anyone want to rate my workout mix?

New Wave of New Wave

Filed under: Uncategorized — Hope on June 18, 2009 @ 3:04 pm

So not only is there a musical genre referred to as New Wave, but there is actually, in all honesty, one called New Wave of New Wave (which is also known as neo-New Wave).  It was apparently short lived, which kind of makes it seem like an old wave of old wave to me, just sayin’. Can you really be successful by starting anything that includes new in the name? It just doesn’t seem like it wouldn’t ever last. Am I being to frank? But we’re learning here, so I’ll continue.

According to Wiki, New Wave of New Wave “was a term coined by music journalists to describe a sub-genre of the British alternative rock scene in the early 90s. NWONW bands typically consisted of young, white, working class males playing guitar-based rock music.”

But even though the movement was short lived..”several of the bands involved were later linked with the more popular and commercially successful Britpop.” So I really shouldn’t make fun, or I should but don’t really have the grounds to, but it’s fun, so I’ll continue.

“The term “New Wave of New Wave” referred to the apparent parallels between the music scene emerging in the early 90s and that of the New Wave or Punk scenes of the 1970s and 80s. NWONW bands were often politically outspoken and critical of the then British Prime Minister, John Major, but lacked any specific political ideology.” (Sounds to me that they just wanted something to rant about, kind of like me…right now).

“The NWONW movement was linked with use of the drug, speed, which led to the band members being characterized as skinny and pale.”

So Wiki, what you’re basically telling me is New Wave of New Wave, was a bunch of skinny punks on speed yelling about what they didn’t like in Britain? Awesome. What have we learned today kids? Name your stuff Old that way no one will be disappointed. Oh and don’t do speed..right.

Speaking of new I spent a good amount of my day today looking up phones online, trying to find the newest and most improved phone for Sprint (which, at the moment, seems to be the Palm Pre) and comparing it to the newest iphone and what it would cost. But seeing all of this NEW and improved terminology gets kind of ridiculous because I know in another month they’re just going to have something even smaller and faster and NEWER! I just can’t keep up…so what am I going to do? Stay with my old Samsung until I actually have money for an iphone I guess…but I’ll be happy about it. I really like my phone, I can’t get on the internet whenever I want to, without being charged on it..but I’m on the internet right now aren’t I? So I can’t pull up large documents, so I can’t plug in a USB to my phone, and I don’t have unlimited texting, so I’m going to stop talking about it before I get sad.

I should just be happy knowing that my music will one day fade and if people start to hate it I can still love it and I can always write more that I love, which in turn others will love as well. I’m also happy with keeping my name Hope instead of changing it to New Gilmore.

P.S. Someone commented on my last blog about movie scenes and soundtracks. I thought of another classic one. In “Say Anything”, in efforts to win her back,  Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) goes to Diane Court’s (Ione Skye’s) House, and holds up his boombox as high as he can, with the volume as loud as possible, so that she can hear it from her window, while “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel plays on it. Those who have seen the movie know that the song was in an earlier scene and is thus quite significant for the sappy film. Gotta love it!

Oh and another!!!…at the very end of Wicker Park…after all of Matthew’s (Josh Harnett’s) toil and searching for his lost love, Lisa (Diane Kruger), who has been hidden from him by a pyscho stalker.. he searches for her in an airport. And what better song than “The Scientist” by Coldplay has begun playing in the background and as the crowd parts Josh spots her where she is kneeling on the ground and has just tried to call him for what seems like the last time…and with all of his anticipation he doesn’t run up to her…instead it looks as if he may cry and he gently approaches from behind…she sits there a moment in sadness, then she begins to feel his presence and turns slowly to find it’s finally him. And ofcourse …no words…just lovely kisses. :) That has to be one of the best scenes of all..and to me makes the whole movie worth it.

Sweet Soundtracks

Filed under: Uncategorized — Hope on June 14, 2009 @ 9:52 pm

According to my new close friend Wikipedia, we’ll call him Wiki, the correct definition for the genre Soundtrack is that it “refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded sound.” Since I was young I have had a special love for movie soundtracks. Not only do I love movies and music but to have them together is a whole other experience. I love how just by the addition of something like strings or even a full on song it can allow someone to fully embrace the mood of a scene or an underlying message. Imagine how boring it would be to read the credits of a movie without music behind it. So many classic movies are known for their musical themes, for example: Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Gone with the Wind, the list goes on. It’s incredible how when I listen to a soundtrack it can take me right back to a scene in a movie and make me laugh or cry all over again. One song in particular that moves me is “Let Go” by: Frou Frou (Imogen Heap, before she went solo) which was in Garden State. I always see Sam (Natalie Portman) crying on the steps not wanting to “let go” of Andrew (Zach Braff), then he leaves and she’s crying in the phone booth, he’s on the plane and the next thing we know he’s decided to come back to her! What a perfect ending. Another memorable one is “Colorblind” by Counting Crows in the movie Cruel Intentions when Annette (Reese Witherspoon) is going up on the escalator to find Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) is right at the top waiting for her to tell her he’s in love with her. Some of my favorite instrumental (or mostly instrumental) soundtracks are Braveheart, Edward Scissorhands, The Titanic, The Horse Whisperer, The Man in the Iron Mask, Jurassic Park, Bed of Roses, Meet Joe Black. The Truman Show, and the Prince of Egypt (which also includes the well known song “When You Believe” performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey). The soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet is pretty good too, with songs like “When Doves Cry”, “LoveFool”, and “Kissing You” (which plays during the scene that Romeo first discovers Juliet). Some fun ones are My Girl, Now and Then, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Juno, Grease, Moulin Rouge, and Mission Impossible. Just to name a few out of the ordinary ones I am particularly intrigued by: The Saint, Virgin Suicides, Vanilla Sky, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I also loved the original music written for the movie Once, which won a 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song (for the song “Falling Slowly”) and received a Grammy nomination for the soundtrack as a whole. Needless to say I really really really really like movie soundtracks. Enough rambling for one night, happy listening!

Now that’s Nardcore!

Filed under: Music Genres — Hope on June 11, 2009 @ 11:20 am

So I know I said I’d be back “tomorrow”, but I got a life here. Anyway, I finished counting the different types of music listed in Wikipedia. For N through Z: N=85, O=33, P=116, Q=7, R=76, S=130, T=61, U=8, V=14, W=16, X=3, Y=6, Z=12, so all together for types that begin with N through Z there are 567. So the grand total of music genres from A to Z is: (918+567) 1485. That’s a whole lotta songs. I thought a funny one I came across today was Nardcore. “Nardcore is a hardcore punk movement that came out of Southern California in the early 1980s, originating in Silver Strand Beach, Oxnard and Port Hueneme….Much of the early promotion of Nardcore came from Mystic Records, in Hollywood, Ca., and its founder Doug Moody. While questions have been raised about their financial dealings with the artists, this label not only launched many bands onto vinyl, but also promoted the Nardcore scene as a whole…..The name is a reference to the Oxnard, California hardcore punk scene. This suburban community, sixty miles north of Los Angeles, California, was the spawning ground for many hardcore punk bands of the early ’80s and became a hotbed for punk and skate bands; collectively, their sound became known as “Nardcore.”" Suhweet, now that’s Nardcore! Say it aloud, don’t you sound like an idiot? I sure did.

Genres and Genres OH MY!

Filed under: Music Genres — Hope on June 8, 2009 @ 1:10 pm

I was thinking the other day how interesting it is how people are constantly reinventing new genres of music. Sometimes people mix genres and make them a new one in order to appeal to a bigger audience or just because they love those genres so much they can’t settle on one. Anyway, I looked it up on Wikepedia to see the different genres and I had no idea how many there were, but now I do….since I counted. ;) I just counted the different types from A to M (and forgive me if my counting is a little off): Genres beginning with the letter: A= 27, B=95, C= 174, D=75, E=43, F=47, G=81, H=57, I=36, J=47, K=73, L=42, M=121. That’s 918 genres just for A-M!! Unbelievable. I’ll count the rest of the alphabet tomorrow. ;) And I wonder how often these genres are updated or added to.
So I’m randomly picking a label today, how about Bakou:trilling vocals that accompany Wolof wrestling. Awesome. What is Wolof wrestling?.. you may ask. “The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania. The Wolof Empire was a medieval West African state that ruled parts of Senegal and The Gambia from approximately 1350 to 1890.” “The trill (or shake, as it was known from the 16th till the 19th century) is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill.” Anyone want to write a Bakou song with me? We could write hundreds of them and then we would have boucou Bakous. I just realized that most of you may not know what boucou means, considering it’s a Louisiana term, only found in the Urban Dictionary. It means alot, for example, he has boucou money. But I guess it’s also very close to the French term for alot. Now that we’ve learned some pointless jargon I’m going to get ready for work.
Have a loverly day!

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