Only a few months after China was ripped for having a nine-year-old lip synch a song during the Olympic opening ceremonies, the Ministry of Culture is declaring war on the art of pretending to sing music that is actually being played on the sound system.
A law is in the works, but the ministry said that it wants to seek public opinion before it begins enforcement. The “public opinion” stage is a mere formality. The parliament passes nearly all laws that are sent its way. A draft of the law states: “Performers must not cheat audiences by lip-synching, and concert organizers must not arrange for performers to lip-synch.” Two time offenders will be forced to relinquish their performer’s license for a two year period. First time synchers will merely be smeared by the Ministry of Culture.
Is all this just too ironic? No really. The Olympic lip synching incident was a major loss of face for Beijing. Cracking down is a way to regain some of their respect. Unfortunately, the impending law means that all that awful, awful Mandopop will become even more unbearable because there will be no studio-perfected soundtrack to keep us from hearing a pop star’s real voice.
One–because a group of people are working to save the buildings by having them acheive historical landmark status.
Two–because 19th century buildings have more character than high rise apartments,
Three– because they have significance to Americana which means they have significance to tourists
Four–because Singapore almost destroyed all of its charm several years back by tearing down many colonial shop houses in favor of high rises until the Singapore government caught on that the shop houses offered charm. Tourists love charm. Charm can mean money. Several areas were earmarked for development where the shop houses were refurbished to create popular tourist destinations like Boat Quay and Clarke Quay–not to mention the streets in back of Orchard Road, one of the biggest commercial streets in Singapore.
My five suggestions for Tin Pan Alley’s salvation involve pepping up each building’s musical connection status by turning part of each building into a place that reflects Tin Pan Alley’s’ important history and contribution to American life.
Suggestion one: Turn one building into a music museum. The museum would have:
displays of instruments, photographs, and belongings of Irving Berlin, Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, George M. Cohan and others who got their start here
exhibits of publications, advertisements and sheet music
Interactive exhibits where people could try their hand at playing tunes, and composing
A small theater where a montage of movie scene clips that feature the music of these composers play and another film that shows the history of American music, similar to what is played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
Listening kiosks where people could listen to the tunes of the musicians who got their start at Tin Pan Alley. Also similar to what is at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
an auditorium for talks and concerts
a gift shop that sells CDs, movies, and music related items
Suggestion two: Part of one building could house a restaurant with food named for the musical greats such as the Scott Joplin Burger, the Fats Waller Fries, and the George M. Cohan Cobb Salad.
Suggestion three: Next door to the museum and the restaurant could be a music academy where people of all ages can go for music instruction on a weekly basis –or for a week or weekend of intensive instruction. Song writing workshops could be offered as well. Always wanted to play the banjo? Here’s where.
Suggestion four: Part of another building could be turned into a B&B or hostel where people could stay for their musical journey
Suggestion five: One building could be earmarked as affordable housing for musicians. They would pay for rent but, they could reduce their rent by putting in hours at either the restaurant, the museum or the music academy as part of their payment. This could help keep NYC’s musical talent in Manhattan. You try living in an apartment in Manhattan on a musician’s salary.
Suggestion six: Any ideas? Here’s your chance to change history too. Who knows? Maybe someone will listen to us.
By the way, the top few floors of each building could still be used for housing for any New York City resident so that the people who now live in these buildings who are trying to preserve them have the ability to live where they love. Some of these folks might end up on the governing board of whatever foundation needs to be set up in order to help run the place.
And, here’s another reason to save the buildings. It seems to me, it would be a great American success story.
Didn’t the people who would be honored by such a place achieve the American Dream? What better way to show that the American Dream can happen than by having this small piece of Manhattan real estate showcase where dreams came true.
For more Tin Pan Alley information, check out Tin Pan Alley Project. It includes song lists to take you down memory lane.
Award winning producer and film director Mark Johnson, recorded a guy on his street singing “Stand By Me”; then he traveled around the world and recorded about 100 other local artists doing the same. He edited some of the snippets of their footage into a video, and this (video below) is the result. It’s just too awesome. There is also a documentary film co-directed by Johnson, expanding on the same idea — you can see the trailer here.
This initiative of course is part of a larger program called “Playing For Change” which aims to connect the world through music. The foundation provides musicians around the world facilities to play music and enhance their skills, therefore not only making their lives better but also demonstrating how music brings people together regardless of cultural and socio-economic differences. Current projects include building a music school in Gugulethu (South Africa) to provide the youth there an alternative to the daily violence and deprivation they face; rebuilding and enhancing Tibetan refugee centers in Dharamsala and Kathmandu; and building an arts center in Johannesburg.
Here at Gadling we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each — maybe you’ll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you’ll think that they’re good songs. Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the comments below and we’ll post it at the end of the series.
Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer — “The Mountain”
The first time I ever heard a live performance of “The Mountain,” I was sitting on the hillside at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in the Berkshires of New York. Tracy Grammer was singing the song written by her late partner, Dave Carter, and the melody and poetry put me in a trance. What mountain is she talking about, I wondered. For a while, I believed the song must be about the very mountain I was on at the time.
To me, it felt like the song was about finding peace, and there is no place I’d ever felt more at peace than at Falcon Ridge, surrounded by gentle spirits, people who love the world well. Dave Carter wrote a lot of music about wandering the earth, going places and seeing things, and listening to Dave & Tracy’s albums always fills me with a desire to hit the road, but “The Mountain” always takes me to specific destinations.
First it was Falcon Ridge, and sometimes it still is, but then I visited Portland, Oregon. Dave had lived there when he wrote the song, and seeing Mount Hood for the first time, it dawned on me that this was probably the mountain in the song. While traveling in Oregon, I felt constantly drawn to the mountains, and so much at peace when I could just sit and stare at them. I felt like I really got the song this time. I wrote to Tracy Grammer to confirm my theory. She wrote back and told me this: “‘The Mountain’ isn’t about any particular mountain, far as I know. The song was inspired by a dream Dave had, where he stood on a mountain and watched the wind move through the long grass in waves … a place he felt the power of grace as if for the first time.”
Perfect. That’s exactly the way I felt sitting on that hill at Falcon Ridge for the first time, thinking This! This is where I need to be. This is where I need to keep coming back. And I do return for the festival every year (so does Tracy Grammer). It’s also how I felt when I saw Mount Hood for the first time, like I would always feel happy as long as I had a clear view of the Cascade Range. Mount Hood became my Utopia, and I know I’ll keep returning to it for the rest of my life.
“The Mountain” is closely associated with my two favorite places in the world, and whenever I hear the song, I feel at peace the way I imagine Dave Carter felt when he wrote it. I think the underlying theme of the song is not necessarily about going to the mountains but rather being exactly where you want to be. This song takes me there.
This week Annie Scott joined the Gadling team of blogging fiends, and our fingers have been flying across keyboards capturing a mishmash of travel related items.
Along with our mini-series “Catching the Travel Bug” we’ve made another mini-series launch. Tune in for The Sounds of Travel twice a week when Gadling bloggers share with you the music that has inspired their travel. Grant began the series today with Great Lake Swimmers. Meg’s is ready to go. Look for it.
As I browsed the wealth of other info and travel finds, here are five posts that caught my eye. Each touted the unusual. There are more than just these posts in the bounty, but because this is Gadling Take FIVE, this is it.
Meg’s post on the Museum Funeral Customs highlighted this museum that captures one of the most fascinating aspects of human behavior.
If you are heading to Thailand, consider a trip to the Buddhist temple Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, 370 miles north of Bangkok. Anna provides details about how it is entirely made up of recycled glass bottles.
Rabbit fans can see scads and scads of them at Robben Island in South Africa–at least for another week. Aaron reported that on Nov. 1 the island is being closed for two weeks while the population is thinned out.
For a most unusual ride, Jeffery suggests the Zeppelin. It is making its way from Beaumont, Texas to California.
And, Josh gave us the disappointing news that it is no longer possible to see the most expensive toilet in the world in person. He provided a video though. It’s not quite the same, but it will have to do.