i heard there was a secret chord
that david played and it pleased the lord
but you don't really care for music, do you
well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing hallelujah
hallelujah...
well your faith was strong but you needed proof
you saw her bathing on the roof
her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
she broke your throne and she cut your hair
and from your lips she drew the hallelujah
hallelujah...
baby i've been here before
i've seen this room and i've walked this floor
you know, i used to live alone before i knew you
i've seen your flag on the marble arch
but love is not a victory march
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
hallelujah...
well there was a time when you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show that to me do you
but remember when i moved in you
and the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah
hallelujah...
well, maybe there's a god above
but all i've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
it's not a cry that you hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
hallelujah...
November 24, 2010
Happy Birthday Mom
My Mother celebrated
Another Trip 'Round the Sun
And I celebrated
Having spent Twenty Seven Trips
With Her in my Life
And in my Mind
We were Somewhere Nice
With a Good View
Watching the Sun come 'Round again
My Head on Her Shoulder
Her Hand Rubbing My Back
In Silence
Another Trip 'Round the Sun
And I celebrated
Having spent Twenty Seven Trips
With Her in my Life
And in my Mind
We were Somewhere Nice
With a Good View
Watching the Sun come 'Round again
My Head on Her Shoulder
Her Hand Rubbing My Back
In Silence
November 8, 2010
Here she is...
So this is the object I've been working on in part for 4 years. The thing I labored over, sought collaboration for, worked in an office for, and never dreamed was possible, until the moment I held it in my hands.
It's entirely my property, intellectually and physically, and does not belong in any way to any other person, company, or entity. I've spent about $5,000 of my own money on the project, in addition to the countless dollars donated by friends, family, and fans.
More than that, though, it is something I am enormously proud of. It sounds great. It looks great. It tells all the stories I want it to, and I do not shudder at a single moment when listening. I didn't cut corners, I didn't undersell a thing. It was done to the max, with the best people I could get and trust.
I took a risk (though not if you ask me) by asking Caleb, a rookie at producing other people's work, to produce my album. He was absolutely incredible. His mark is all over this record, and he deserves mountains and mountains of credit for all the hard work put in.
Lizanne and Glenn at MorningStar also deserve so much praise for not only being talented, but agreeing to work with me and make this happen. They are special, special people.
This Friday, I release this album for the world to hear. Some people have bought the album at shows this week, and the feedback has been nothing short of glowing. I hope the rest of the world who has yet to hear it all thinks the same.
Friday, Nov. 12th
9pm-10pm
CD Release Party
154 Ludlow Street (Lower East Side)
New York, NY
Free Admission
That's lots of talented people, all there to entertain you all, and try and show you what this record is about.
This marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life. It marks me realizing a dream, and pushing harder than ever to make the dream persist. I want to play music and sing, and write, forever. To never stop. And the next year will bring me to all the little towns, the big cities, and the incredible places in this country, and world. I will take further pride in singing for my supper, more than ever possible.
So, I hope you all enjoy my new album, "Ophelia." You can order it by visiting:
I will ship it to where you are, no matter where, for free!
Until Friday...be well.
-John
November 2, 2010
Mighty Kate: "Dawn of Mediocrity"
A beautiful soul, and immensely talented woman, Kate (aka Mighty Kate), posted something that really resonated to me:
http://mightykate.tumblr.com/post/1386996079/the-dawn-of-mediocrity
"The Dawn of Mediocrity"
Yesterday, I was grabbing a tea in a local NYC café, and the cover of a free newspaper caught my eye. This edition was a feature on CMJ and the headline said “this years Music Marathon is exploding with new young bands – some shockingly new to their own instruments… raw creativity triumphs over time-earned talent”.
I was immediately put off by those words, but decided to be fair and read the article before jumping to any conclusions. So, I grabbed a paper, drank my tea and checked it out. Just as I suspected, the whole article was praising this new “movement” of up and coming artists who can barely play their instruments and don’t really know anything about music
Now.. for those of you who don’t know what CMJ is – it’s a music festival in NYC that houses hundreds of artists who perform their hearts out for about 25 minutes in hopes of getting “discovered” by music industry reps. I can name at least 20 amazingly talented artists whom I know personally that performed at CMJ this year. There was no mention of any of them in this feature, yet somehow, the music writer chose to highlight and glorify any performers who wore crazy outfits and makeup, couldn’t play 3 chords on their instruments, and wrapped microphone cords around their necks. (I’m totally not making that up by the way). In summary, the article clearly stated that today, in the world of music, a gimmick is more important than talent.
A part of me was heartbroken by this article, because the truth is, I, along with many artists, have spent my life tied to an instrument of some sort – longing to become its master. I’ve spent hundreds of hours learning, listening, playing, performing, and most importantly loving music. I believe it is a form of art that requires some skill, and that there is a certain level of respect we all should hold for it. To people like me, talent and drive is everything, and this new apathetic approach to making music is much akin to drawing a fake mustache on the Mona Lisa and calling it genius.
I may sound snobbish, but let’s all be honest here. What would life be for any of us if we had never experienced the brilliance and artistry of the proficient, profound musicians of the past who have paved the way for us young dreamers?
So today, my main question is, how have we allowed the music industry to set it’s bar so low? Could someone make millions as a professional baseball player and not know how to throw a ball? Or work as a trader on Wall Street if they didn’t know about the stock market? It seems silly doesn’t it? And yet, here we are.
As the media continues to embrace, enable and embody this Dawn of Mediocrity, the musical standard continues to regress. But it’s not this little free paper I found sipping my tea that really concerns me. It’s the bigger picture. How is this “it’s cool to suck” mentality going affect the next generation of aspiring musicians? And what opportunities does it leave for “time-earned talent” like myself?
I can’t help but wonder, are the talented doomed to become Dinosaurs?
********
Check out Mighty Kate at: http://www.wix.com/katypfaffl/mightykate
http://mightykate.tumblr.com/post/1386996079/the-dawn-of-mediocrity
"The Dawn of Mediocrity"
Yesterday, I was grabbing a tea in a local NYC café, and the cover of a free newspaper caught my eye. This edition was a feature on CMJ and the headline said “this years Music Marathon is exploding with new young bands – some shockingly new to their own instruments… raw creativity triumphs over time-earned talent”.
I was immediately put off by those words, but decided to be fair and read the article before jumping to any conclusions. So, I grabbed a paper, drank my tea and checked it out. Just as I suspected, the whole article was praising this new “movement” of up and coming artists who can barely play their instruments and don’t really know anything about music
Now.. for those of you who don’t know what CMJ is – it’s a music festival in NYC that houses hundreds of artists who perform their hearts out for about 25 minutes in hopes of getting “discovered” by music industry reps. I can name at least 20 amazingly talented artists whom I know personally that performed at CMJ this year. There was no mention of any of them in this feature, yet somehow, the music writer chose to highlight and glorify any performers who wore crazy outfits and makeup, couldn’t play 3 chords on their instruments, and wrapped microphone cords around their necks. (I’m totally not making that up by the way). In summary, the article clearly stated that today, in the world of music, a gimmick is more important than talent.
A part of me was heartbroken by this article, because the truth is, I, along with many artists, have spent my life tied to an instrument of some sort – longing to become its master. I’ve spent hundreds of hours learning, listening, playing, performing, and most importantly loving music. I believe it is a form of art that requires some skill, and that there is a certain level of respect we all should hold for it. To people like me, talent and drive is everything, and this new apathetic approach to making music is much akin to drawing a fake mustache on the Mona Lisa and calling it genius.
I may sound snobbish, but let’s all be honest here. What would life be for any of us if we had never experienced the brilliance and artistry of the proficient, profound musicians of the past who have paved the way for us young dreamers?
So today, my main question is, how have we allowed the music industry to set it’s bar so low? Could someone make millions as a professional baseball player and not know how to throw a ball? Or work as a trader on Wall Street if they didn’t know about the stock market? It seems silly doesn’t it? And yet, here we are.
As the media continues to embrace, enable and embody this Dawn of Mediocrity, the musical standard continues to regress. But it’s not this little free paper I found sipping my tea that really concerns me. It’s the bigger picture. How is this “it’s cool to suck” mentality going affect the next generation of aspiring musicians? And what opportunities does it leave for “time-earned talent” like myself?
I can’t help but wonder, are the talented doomed to become Dinosaurs?
********
Check out Mighty Kate at: http://www.wix.com/katypfaffl/mightykate
On Voting
George Carlin was the best ever. Best stand up of all-time. This is one of my favorite bits of his:
"On Voting"
You may have noticed that there's one thing I don't complain about: Politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says, "They suck". But where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. No, they come from American homes, American families, American schools, American churches, American businesses, and they're elected by American voters. This is the best we can do, folks. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out.
....I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, "If you don't vote, you have no right to complain", but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain.
I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."
"On Voting"
You may have noticed that there's one thing I don't complain about: Politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says, "They suck". But where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. No, they come from American homes, American families, American schools, American churches, American businesses, and they're elected by American voters. This is the best we can do, folks. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out.
....I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, "If you don't vote, you have no right to complain", but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain.
I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."
November 1, 2010
That's Just Pride Messing Wit Ya
Proud Anger
is the Worst kind
of Anger.
In It's Might
We are Empowered
by Our
Moral High Ground.
Come down, Brother
Come down and See
That Blood is Thicker
Than Alcohol
on Bleecker Street.
is the Worst kind
of Anger.
In It's Might
We are Empowered
by Our
Moral High Ground.
Come down, Brother
Come down and See
That Blood is Thicker
Than Alcohol
on Bleecker Street.
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