It's nice to start off a Monday with something fun and not too serious, so I thought I would share with you this live music video I randomly came across when looking for real estate news on the internet. You might be wondering how do you come across something like this when searching for real estate news, and the simple answer is the name of the band is called Real Estate. We all know most dedicated musicians do not acquire deep pockets until they make their big break, so in the meantime one of the band members, Etienne Duguay rents apartments for his landlord in exchange for free rent. If you are into Beach Rock/Psychedelic/Pop indie music, I think you will enjoy the soothing sounds of Real Estate.
As I'm blogging right now I'm listening to one of my new favorite songs called "The Reeling", by Passion Pit, which features Staten Island's very own PS 22's chorus group. This band is amazing and I can listen to the album straight through, over and over, and never get sick of it. Just the mere fact that the Passion Pit collaborated with this endearing chorus group, and are just plain GREAT; these videos are certainly blogworthy and what better way to start off a Monday.
Also, check out the official video of "The Reeling"....it's a really cool video, which was featured on the Highlark Emissary blog as well.
Madonna, an influential pop singer/celebrity icon/actress who is known for her laundry list of antics and accomplishments, whether she's shattering many sexual taboos and genre barriers, her crazy dating history, or releasing her first single in 1982 when I was first born and is still going strong today; Madonna has also made a connection to Staten Island. Part of Madonna's video "Papa Don't Preach" was filmed on the Staten Island Ferry and in the Stapleton area alongside Danny Aiello as her father. Did you guys know about this?
I want to hand it to Mr. Breinberg and the chorus group at PS 22 for cultivating something so special that they have been garnering a lot of attention from big media sources, famous music celebrities and business people in the music industry. It all started with the passion for music, a persons desire to teach music to others, a group of talented kids, some Coldplay and Tori Amos songs and a YouTube channel that brought a spotlight to the Staten Island community. What more do you need, all the essentials for success are right there. As soon as celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton got a hold of their videos, he was instantly amazed and posted their YouTube version of the "Flying Dutchman" by Tori Amos on his blog. I'm not surprised that with Perez's enormous following these kids went from being stars in their small local community on Staten Island to being the talk of the town within the mainstream world. With the huge reach of the internet you see things like this happening now more than ever, but you never think it will happen to you and when it does it is so surreal.
Within such a short period of time the chorus group has built an incredible size resume that others spend several years trying to accomplish and most people never do. To date they have received millions of views on YouTube, are constantly being mentioned in the press, performed for Tori Amos, performed at political events, performed live at Irving Plaza, some members have been casted in TV shows, potential record deals and they are now doing renditions of other modern artists. Whatever the reason is for their success, whether it's just pure luck, the right person stumbling upon it, amazing talent, a community story that the media flocks to...yada yada yada these kids are bringing the right type of attention to Staten Island and highlighting the Islands greatness. Big ups to everyone!
I have a treat for you guys today I'm sure everyone will enjoy. I would like to start off the New Year with the sweet sounds of a band I'm sure everyone has heard of... Great song, by an amazing band.
Who: U2 Video: New Year's Day (live at Slane Castle in Ireland)
For some weird reason Thanksgiving Eve has been considered one of the biggest party nights of the year, probably even bigger than New Years Eve. Obviously there is a perfectly good rationale and symbolic meaning for this generously giving holiday to be accompanied by alcohol, late night escapades, debauchery and any other forms of lewd behavior. If you want to partake in the festivities with Staten Island's very own, up and coming Indie Rock band, Happy Anarchy, as in the words of the reputable music blog site Pop Tarts Suck Toasted says, "are kind of blowing up right now", then I recommend seeing them live at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Thanksgiving Eve.
