Pick a song that matches what you are really thinking about just now

Originally made in 2016…I’m just thinking about it again now… :) Made a music video for it, too!: https://youtu.be/DvHptW2f6Ug “The spiral in a snail’s shell is the same mathematically as the spiral in the Milky Way galaxy, and it’s also the same mathematically as the spirals in our DNA. It’s the same ratio that you’ll find in very basic music that transcends cultures all over the world.” (Quote by Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

I got to perform this live today, and, as always, I feel so empowered after doing so!! 🥰 This piece is for all those whose minds see the world a little differently from everyone else around them. The “Round Peg” is represented in the circular flow of the triple-based rhythms, and the “Square Hole” is found in the duple-based patterns. Even though the duples are strong, the triples maintain their integrity and still, somehow, manage to flow within the surrounding world.

A song from the 1960s that you like or means something to you.

This is the ultimate expression of 20th century technology with the reconceptualization of noise as art (eg, distortion) that gives voice to the marginalized. (For more on this history, visit https://sadie.url.lol/bbep2)

I just listened to the new Gorillaz album—so good! But I especially loved this song, “Damascus” (and also the next song after it on the album)! Just the way they blended traditional MICROTONAL Arabic vocals with hip-hop and the whole rest of the track’s texture… Just gorgeous!

Share a song you feel was ahead of its time.

Time for more Carlo Gesualdo! This is just one of many examples (especially check out the heart-wrenching suspension toward the end)—but all of his later madrigals especially are SO ahead of their time!

He was creating harmonies in the 1500s that wouldn’t be taken seriously until the late 1800s! Of course… getting away with the murder of your wife and her illicit lover would cause anyone to face their darkest demons, as reflected in this music…. 😈

How do you discover new music, and what’s the latest gem you’ve found?

In this particular case, I’ve always been fascinated by Carlo Gesualdo’s music and his troubled life—he’s one of those 16th century nobles who murdered people and then fought his demons the rest of his life, and his music absolutely reflects that!

I stumbled on this particular madrigal of his while doing deeper research into his compositional methods for a project I’m about to start. And I’ve just fallen in love with it!

This song came on the other day and I suddenly remembered how much I love it! Not only is it absolutely a most groovy beat—something I routinely at least have to move to, if not full-out dance—but I can really relate to the lyrics. I feel like I have no roots either, just a few very important memories. My whole life has been a constant cross-country drive, searching for the next stop, the next road that looks like it’ll go somewhere… And this song gives me hope—that some of us are just spiritual travelers on this journey of Life. “It's just the place that changes, the rest is still the same…”

Think back to your childhood: What is your earliest music memory? Share that song and your story!

Honestly, my earliest music memory is MAKING music in my crib, singing my own melodies at just (maybe) two years old. Hence why I’m a driven composer and creator :)

But if I had to guess, I think the earliest music-LISTENING memory I have is of listening to the Kids Praise cassettes with Psalty the Psalm Book (I grew up in a Christian cult and all we were able to listen to early on was Christian music).

This particular song, “Arky Arky”, I still remember as being one of my favorites. Truly, the rhythms and rhymes of it are still fun to sing along with! :)

This came on while I was driving home today, and it just makes me smile! I mean, these lyrics man:

“ I know Victoria's secret And, girl, you wouldn't believe She's an old man who lives in Ohio Making money off of girls like me" Cashin' in on body issues Sellin' skin and bones with big boobs I know Victoria's secret: She was made up by a dude…”

I’m playing in concert with the Whittier Regional Symphony this weekend, and this Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 is the piece we’re finishing the concert with. It is CRAZY hard, but it sounds so charming and light and effervescent….! We worked on it this afternoon at our dress rehearsal and it’s just starting to come together 😂 And I’m loving it more and more each time we play it… Utterly charming and delightful!