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Is Pepsi Getting Political?

April 8, 2017 by Ari Kellen

is pepsi getting political by ari kellenThe current political situation in the United States has left many people upset and disillusioned, with just about everybody and every brand getting political.  The Women’s March back in January was a gigantic protest event that truly rocked the country, with one out of every 100 Americans taking part.  During the Super Bowl, one notable Budweiser commercial told the story of founder Adolphus Busch, which explored his early years as an immigrant with a subtext critical of Trump’s harsh anti-immigrant stance.  Even Pepsi has taken a stand in their most recent commercial featuring Kendall Jenner, yet this was pulled almost as quickly as it was released.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the commercial features Kendall Jenner, half-sister of Kim Kardashian, leaving behind a modeling shoot to join a vague protest march.  By handing one white police officer a Pepsi can, she’s able to bring everybody together.  In the background, Skip Marley’s song “Lions” plays.  The song references the Lion of Judah, a symbol in Rastafarian ideology meant to save Africans and the diaspora from the colonial powers (i.e. rich white people like Kendall Jenner’s family).  

One thing that’s always fascinated me about commercials is their ability to create unique worlds and events, if only for about 30 seconds to a couple minutes at most, that in the real world would never happen.  This new Pepsi commercial is definitely one of those, yet it’s also kind of tone-deaf.  The protests to which this commercial pays homage started out against Wall Street and the inequities of capitalism, exemplified by gigantic corporate giants (like Pepsi).  

It might seem like a complete lack of self-awareness that Pepsi would try to make itself a champion of the protestors, yet at the same time this follows one of the basic tenets of advertising: go where the money goes.  It follows a trend that various other big brands are going: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Burger King and even the Fearless Girl statue set up by the State Street fund.  For those who are concerned about the direction of big business and our country as a whole, such moves can seem refreshing; a way to say “we’re on your side”.  But at the same time, it’s difficult to decipher whether or not they’re sincere, and whether or not these big corporations are doing the same thing they’ve always done: try and make more money, just this time with a different tone.  

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ari kellen, kendall jenner, pepsi, politics

Goodbye Jersey Boys

September 9, 2016 by Ari Kellen

Goodbye Jersey Boys by Ari KellenJersey Boys, the smash hit Broadway musical that tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, has been entertaining audiences since it first opened on November 5, 2006 to critical acclaim.  It’s won the Tony Award, adapted into an underwhelming film and weathered more than 40 seasons on Broadway.  Like Wicked, Lion King or Phantom of the Opera, it didn’t seem to be going anywhere.  But it has since announced its closing date: January 15, 2017.  There’s still some time until then for those who haven’t yet seen the show, but that ending date reminds us that even the most popular shows don’t last on Broadway forever.  

By the time it ends, Jersey Boys will have played 4,462 performances, making it the 12th longest-running Broadway show of all time.  Although four longer-running Broadway shows are still playing – The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, The Lion King and Wicked – that’s still pretty impressive, especially when you consider that Jersey Boys has seen more than 400 Broadway shows open and close during its tenure.  Arguably the best of the so-called “Jukebox musicals”, which use modern pop hits instead of original scores, Jersey Boys is able to to use a biographical structure to avoid the problems faced jukebox musicals before it.  Presented as though the Four Seasons were singing in concert, the songs don’t express inner thoughts of the characters singing them, like songs are “supposed” to in traditional musical theater.  Yet despite breaking such rules, the show worked, setting the standard for other jukebox musicals since.  

Before the Beatles hit the shores of America, the Four Seasons were the most popular rock band in the US.  Featuring Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, they took the country by storm when founded in 1960, and are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time.  Jersey Boys tells their story, from obscurity to superstardom.  It’s a great story and a great show, filled with great songs and wonderful pageantry.  

Filed Under: Ari Kellen Tagged With: ari kellen, Four Seasons, Jersey Boys, Music, New York City

10 Most Annoying One-Hit Wonders

March 24, 2016 by Ari Kellen

Figuring out what makes a “hit” has been puzzling artists and record company executives since the start of the industry.  Plenty of hits are catchy, well thought-out pieces, written by respectable artists or a breakout musician on their path to greatness.  Yet not always; many unfortunate musicians fall under the category of “one hit wonder”, as they fail to follow up their one radio smash hit and spend the rest of their professional careers playing the same tired song set in front of a gradually diminishing crowd.  While plenty of one-hit wonders are great songs, others aren’t so much, and we can be all too happy that their makers became footnotes in the book of music history.  Here is a list of what are, in my opinion, some of the most annoying one-hit wonders:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc]
Blue (Da Ba Dee) – Eiffel 65: The sci-fi-video-game-themed video, featuring blue aliens in crude and choppy CGI, is so dated that watching it feels like a time portal to the start of the millennium.  Yet if you do choose to watch this video, be sure to mute it, otherwise the music will kill any nostalgia you thought you had for the 90s.  The lyrics seem to just list off objects that are blue, and the chorus is literally “I’m blue da ba dee da ba di”, as if the writer couldn’t think of anything to say apart from the fact that he was blue, and even then his insight was astoundingly limited.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkuu0Lwb5EM]
Who Let the Dogs Out – Baha Men: The only good thing you can say about this song is the clear energy behind it.  Having been active since the late 1970s, the Baha Men sing this song with the gusto of a group realizing that their fifteen minutes of fame could end at any moment.  Yet that end couldn’t come soon enough.  Anybody who remembers late 2000/early 2001 could tell you how their blood boiled hearing this song come on the radio for the 10th time in the day.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0]
Friday – Rebecca Black: The story behind this song is a tragic one.  In all fairness, this wasn’t supposed to be a hit; it was released by the Ark Music Factory, a company where rich parents can spend a few thousand dollars to put their child in a heavily-autotuned song/music video.  Plenty of these tracks, such as “My Jeans” or “Chinese Food”, have gained Internet infamy for how bad they are, yet none have reached the level of “Friday”, a song where the bridge literally involves naming off days of the week.  Yet when it did go viral, “Friday” quickly earned the wrath of the Internet, forcing a thirteen year-old Rebecca Black into a negative spotlight which will most likely haunt her forever.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhrYis509A]
Barbie Girl – Aqua: While the Norwegian group Aqua were definitely in on the joke of making an annoying song about one of America’s most iconic toys to parody the greed and shallow materialism of American pop culture, they got pretty carried away.  Stylized as a sort of dialogue between Barbie and her boyfriend Ken, the creepy growl of Ken’s singing makes you want to shoot your radio, while Barbie’s screeching vocals make you carry out the act.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo]
U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer: Sampling a much better song (“Super Freak” by Rick James”), packed to the gills with unwarranted braggadocio and backed by an uninspired music video of MC Hammer dancing in front of a bunch of women, this song represents almost every reason people were hostile to rap when it first hit the mainstream.  Yet what makes this stand out from so many other brag rap tracks was MC Hammer’s storied ill-advised financial decisions after his success, making him some sort of Greek tragic hero in a tale about responsible spending.  Such outlandish spending decisions as putting 200 people on his payroll, building a $30 million house for himself and buying 19 thoroughbred racehorses, despite the fact that he failed to follow up his one hit, meant that Hammer’s fortunes quickly went up in flame.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE]
Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice: Much as I hate myself for saying this, as one of the first white rappers with a mainstream audience, Vanilla Ice is actually somewhat historically significant.  And if at the height of his career (i.e. this one song) Vanilla Ice were to die in a sudden motorcycle accident, he would possibly be remembered as such and earn a sort of cult following.  Yet luckily, history was kind to us.  Vanilla Ice didn’t die, went on to star in the mercifully forgettable film “Cool as Ice” and fade into obscurity before fate could turn him into a James Dean-esque hero for young rappers.  People have since been able to look back at “Ice Ice Baby” and realize that solidly mediocre rapping about a shooting you witnessed as a teenager and how good you are at rapping, is nothing worth remembering.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaUqpnHvua8]
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm – Crash Test Dummies: Despite Brad Roberts’ delusions, he’s not a particularly good singer.  Don’t believe me?  Listen to this song.  When Roberts isn’t trying to croak his way through possibly (but probably not) meaningful lyrics, he’s starts humming “mmmmm”, as if he ran out of things to say.  It almost sounds like some sort of highly conceptual Campbell’s soup commercial, where Roberts is trying to hum “mmm mmm good”, but arrived at the recording studio too hungover to actually record a decent version of it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQIPdHMpjc]
Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus: Before jump starting Miley Cyrus’ career as part of a desperate stunt to regain relevance, Billy Ray Cyrus created this uninspired schlock that takes the country music trope of being sad and distorts it into a Frankenstein monster of sorts that represents everything wrong with both country music and the 90s.  Country music is a lot like horror movies: there’s some fantastic stuff out there, but you have to wade through a lot of garbage before you find it.  Billy Ray Cyrus is definitely the latter.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ClCpfeIELw]
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something: Catchy as this acoustic tune is, the lyrics are astoundingly stupid: a woman, fearful that she and her boyfriend have nothing in common, is contemplating breaking up.  Yet he recognizes that they both like the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, which he claims is enough to save their relationship.  The sentiment is nice, but it seems doubtful that one two-hour movie from the early 1960s is enough to save a relationship.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXnF7fCCVzY]
Butterfly – Crazy Town: With their frosted tips, lack of shirts, ill-advised tattoos and even iller-advised piercings, the band Crazy Town are pretty easy to hate.  And if their appearance wasn’t enough to turn you off, the cheesy lyrics to their one hit, rich with enough obnoxious terms of endearment like “butterfly”, “sugar” and “baby” to make even Johnny Bravo blush, certainly is.

Filed Under: Ari Kellen Tagged With: achy breaky heart, Aqua, ari kellen, Baha Men, Barbie Girl, billy ray cyrus, Blue, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Butterfly, crash test dummies, Crazy Town, Deep Blue Something, Eiffel 65, Friday, Ice Ice Baby, MC Hammer, Mmm mmm mmm mmm, Music, one-hit wonder, Rebecca Black, U Can't Touch This, Vanilla Ice, Who Let the Dogs Out

Musical Therapy

January 7, 2016 by Ari Kellen

Music is a wonderful thing. Beyond tapping our toes and moving our feet, the healing power of a pleasant tune has been known to improve learning, increase cognitive response, and combat the symptoms of some diseases like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s. But what are some of the other hidden benefits of music? How can your favorite songs be used to effectively combat pain? A random study conducted in Germany and published in the Deutsches Arzteblatt International holds the answer.

Researchers randomly selected 84 patients undergoing palliative care, or care to manage excessive levels of pain. One group was given music therapy to help treat their pain, whereas the other group conducted verbal relaxation exercises. The music therapy group was treated to two sessions of live music performed on classical wood and string instruments. The discovery the researchers made surpassed even their expectations.

Ari kellenAll the patients that took part in the music therapy reported less pain and discomfort, along with decreased levels of stress. Astonishingly, the effects go deeper than their own responses. The scientists found that the patients exposed to music therapy were showing signs of decreased fatigue, and increased peripheral blood flow. Medical jargon aside, these results mean patients were more alert and in less pain.

Patients that experienced this treatment were not only treated to regular concerts of relaxing music, but relieved of their pain. A result that anyone in their shoes would be happy for, music has proven yet again to be one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. Whether fighting chronic pain or stemming a tide of symptoms brought on by a virulent disease, music can make a difference. For more on the subject, click here.

 

Filed Under: Ari Kellen, Hip Hop, TV Music Tagged With: benefits, Health, Music

File-Sharing Fiasco

October 20, 2015 by Ari Kellen

Music is a precious thing. A universal form of communication and a source of enjoyment for millions, music is a resource that all can love. However, what happens when someone intends to steal that resource? If you were born during the internet age, you’re familiar with the music industry’s battle against file-sharing and illegal downloading. After that last battle with Spotify recently came to a close, another contender for the crosshairs has announced their entrance to the file-sharing game.

Aurous, recently announced and already a target for lawsuits, has its work cut out if it hopes to survive. A $150,000 fine levied at the young company looks to stop the sharing before it can begin. Next in a long line of dubious downloading websites, Aurous is equal parts Popcorn Time and BitTorrent.

Aurous is still young in its development lifespan, but it may never get to spread its wings if these lawsuits are successful. Designed to be competition for the litany of music-based listening apps, questions abound if Aurous is necessary in a world flooded with listening programs.

Many of these questionable services stand on their options to pay, with commercials occasionally to offset the legality of their music library. Like Netflix,Ari Kellen many of these services offer their selection of music for little to nothing when compared to the price of acquiring all the necessary albums. However, Aurous lacks the influence to motivate advertisers into joining them, and their library of songs is gathered from pirated files on Russian websites.

Though still too early to tell, it’s something to see the boom of file-sharing services, and the impact they’ve had on the market. In a time where purchasing content has become a bygone tendency, the free-market has learned many lessons through Napster, Limewire and now Bittorrent. We may see the first preemptive strike in the history of this long and bloody media war, and the target is Aurous.

Filed Under: Music Festival Tagged With: media, Music

Music and Health

October 15, 2015 by Ari Kellen

Music is powerful. The urge to produce a beat, to communicate through song and dance is as old as primitive man. Whether with drum and bass or rock and sticks, music has an interesting power over us as listeners. Altering our mood, allowing us to relax or conjuring old memories, Music potential is limitless. A special bond between performer and listener ensures that no two people will feel a song the same way and that phenomenon is more far-reaching than you think. What are some of the ways music can be healthy for us?

Ari KellenIn recent studies, Neuroscientists have discovered that listening to music has a quantifiable reaction in the human brain. Activating the reward centers of the listener’s brain, music can and will heighten positive emotion, and release dopamine to elevate our emotional levels to that of near elation. Conducting scans of patients’ brains while listening to music also revealed that almost no centers of the brain are immune to music’s touch. It should come as no surprise that culturally, music has been used in tribal rituals as a gathering tool and for healing. The thrumming power of live music has an entrancing effect, connecting whole swaths of people in joy-fueled reverie. Modern medicine, adopting the tricks of ancient tribes, have begun flirting with using music to aid in the recovery of certain procedures.

Music has a scientifically proven ability to reduce anxiety-induced increases in stress hormone. Able to sooth a climbing heart rate or calm skyrocketing blood pressure, music literally combats stress. Another fascinating study has shown that patients receiving hernia surgery have demonstrated a drop on cortisol levels, but only after listening to music post-surgery. Music’s ability to reduce stress has shown to be more effective for some patients than orally-administered anxiolytic drugs.

The medical benefits of music continue even further when a study conducted with 272 premature babies revealed staggering results. While the children recovered in the neonatal ICU, parents or performers played music for their young and fragile audience, and the infants demonstrated not only increased activity but an affinity for lullabies sung by their parents. From fighting disease to managing pain, music has a very real power over much more than our feet.

 

Filed Under: Music Festival Tagged With: Health, Music, Wellness

David Burd – Lil’ Dicky

September 7, 2015 by Ari Kellen

David Burd is a name that sounds like your run of mill guy. He probably enjoys a wide variety of music, hanging with friends, etc. What people do not know is that David Burd is the real name of Lil’ Dicky, the most recent “funny rapper” to hit the scene since Asher Roth. So what makes this guy different than your run of mill Frat Rapper? Most likely his inclination towards topics that are educated. LD graduated Summa Cum Laude from from the University of Richmond’s business school, and his educated background shows in the undertones of his funny songs. He often addresses racial stereotypes along with social norms that should be changed. He mocks everyone, including himself, without apology in a easy going and captivated flow-style.

He broke onto the scene with his hilarious music video Youtube channel that he helped fund from his “Bar Mitzvah money”. Songs like “Lemme Freak”, “White Dude”, “Too High” and “White Crime” won him a cult following that continues to follow him today. His most recent release, and first album title Professional Rapper, featured Snoop Dogg in the song that bears the album’s name. Video below:

His satirical nature and undeniable rhyming skill has earned him the respect of both hip-hop purists and the general public. With some of his songs coming off as offensive to certain secular groups, LD takes the high ground stating the joking nature of his music. Bringing light to issues in society in the manner he has, has been eye opening for many.

In his Professional Rapper, LD took his time to explain his plan and outline how he wants to impact the hip hop world. Time will tell if David Burd can launch Lil’ Dicky into the stratosphere of the hip hop world but the future looks promising as of today.

Filed Under: Ari Kellen, Hip Hop Tagged With: David Burd, hip hop, LD, Lil Dicky, Music, snoop dogg

Questlove, The Roots and Jimmy Fallon

September 1, 2015 by Ari Kellen

Most music fans have heard of Questlove aka Ahmir Khalib Thompson, if not, you may recognize him as the impressive drummer for The Roots. Maybe you’re not well aware of who The Roots are, so here is a clip of their presence as the house band for Jimmy Fallon.

Questlove is a busy guy, when he is not playing the drums for The Roots, he is teaching at NYU as a professor among many other public undertakings. But how did Questlove and The Roots come to be a staple of late night television after making a name for themselves as the rebellious-kind of music makers?

Questlove describes their first interaction as completely disarming. Recalling how this goofy white guy with a bunch of african american band members completely owned his own goofiness. When Questlove and the rest of his band found themselves on the grass at UCLA making a human pyramid, they knew this experience would be a once in a lifetime experience.

It had seemed to the members of the Roots that after every show, they became a little more close. This is hard to believe since they had been together for so many years prior (since 1987) but Questlove’s describes it as “..becoming friends again”. They no longer were as guarded with each other and felt free to be as goofy as Jimmy.

This renewal of their relationship has resulted in five Grammy nominations that resulted in taking home the hardware twice. They have also contributed largely to the success of the Tonight Show helping Jimmy earn 4.13 million viewers a night!

It is safe to say that with the union of Jimmy Fallon, and Questlove along-side the rest of The Roots they have created a match made in heaven. Coupling the street cred of The Roots with the fanfare of Jimmy Fallon, there seems to be no end to their creative and entertaining potential.


To read the original article, please click here.

Filed Under: Ari Kellen, Hip Hop, TV Music Tagged With: Jimmy Fallon, Late Night TV, Questlove, The Roots, The Tonight Show, TV

Country Music in Kenya

August 2, 2015 by Ari Kellen

When you think of country music, the first thing you think of probably isn’t Kenya. You think of the United States, of cattle ranching, of cowboy boots, or line dancing. But Kenya is the place where one local musician, Sir Elvis, is finding growing popularity.

Nairobi, Kenya has nearly 4 million people, including local celebrity Elvis Otieno, also known as Sir Elvis. He was born in a rural area. He’s the son of a preacher. He has always found country music to resonate with his life, even if it’s far away from the cowboys of the United States. Says Otieno, “My mom and my dad loved Elvis Presley and so when my mom gave birth to me, that was the year Elvis Presley died. Mysteriously, I became a musician,” Otieno said.

He also says that while it may surprise some back in the states, there is actually a huge audience in Kenya that loves country music. It’s not just him. “Way back then from 50’s and 60’s there has always been a country music program on the airwaves on Kenyan soil,” he explains.

Strings of Country is a popular television hosted by David Kimotho. Kimotho claims country took hold after Kenya freed itself from British colonial rule in 1963. He’s a big fan of Sir Elvis, and he understands why the performer is able to connect with country music in such an earnest way.

Sir Elvis loves to perform, and often shares the stage with other local favorites like Esther Konkara, an up-and-coming Kenyan country singer who emulates American country legend Dolly Parton. “I really love singing her songs. Most people say I sing like her, or she sings like me,” Konkara said. “Country has such rich themes, like love, God and country roads.” And they’re not alone.

For country fans in Kenya, country music has universal appeal in it’s themes and lyrics. The storytelling aspect of the music can be connected to and enjoyed by anyone. Everyone experiences loss and love, from Texas all the way to Kenya. Country lovers in the south might find that they have more in common with listeners in Kenya than they ever thought.

Filed Under: Ari Kellen Tagged With: Country Music in Kenya, Kenya, Music, Musically Minded

The Latest Elvis Presley Release

July 1, 2015 by Ari Kellen

Elvis Presley is a name associated with American music of years past, as well as youth rebellion and of course, rock and roll. In an attempt to add to the already “larger than life” reputation the King of Rock has, a new compilation of touched up music will be released this fall under the title of “If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra”.Unknown-2

In the first single being released on the album you can hear “If I Can Dream” with a more full string and horn addition to the original ballad. Originally sang in 1968 as a part of Elvis’s Comeback Special, the song serving as a call for a better world.

Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s widow is the executive producer of the album and executor of the Presley estate. She sites how he would have loved to have the chance to sing with an orchestra, but his music representation during his life would not have approved of such a production. What he could not have during life she was determined to give him in death. She attests that Elvis was in fact a big classical and opera fan during his life, contributing to his interest in singing over an orchestra.

Songs on this album are a mix of those that would pair well with an orchestra, those close to his family’s heart, and a few fan favorites. On the album you will find the likes of Burning Love, Love Me Tender, Steamroller Blues, Anything That’s Part of You, And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind, An American Trilogy, It’s Now or Never, and Fever.

The rejuvenation of these classic Elvis songs, along with additions from modern day artists brings a new generation the talents from the King himself. Be sure to keep an ear to the ground for the release date this fall.


To read the original article, please click here.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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