Susan_Hirasuna's Blog

            Picked up the latest release from Beck.   It was an impulse buy, standing in line at the store, didn't need gum, batteries or chapstick.   But, why not, buy the new Beck.  (And, yes, I know... CD's are sooo last century.  See above, impulse buy!)
             Turns out this one's been co-produced with Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley fame.)  The short review is, I like it.  It's sparer, more austere than past Beck offerings.  But still very Beck.
             Then there's that title... Modern Guilt.   Beck had written 10 or 15 songs to bring to the recording sessions and everyone reacted to that one song.  That prompted him to discard the songs that sounded like past Beck albums and work within the theme and mood of Modern Guilt.  
           Seems the alt rocker's got some modern guilt over his contribution to a world gone awry. 
             I can relate.  Got plenty of my own.  Some big, some petty.  Not sure, how much my actions are causing the icebergs to melt, but I know I could do more to make Al Gore proud.   I'm not sure I could go full Ed Begley, Jr.  But wasn't I going to get that tankless water heater and look into solar power. 
             And, sometimes its something like... should I really be eating when I get home from work at midnight?

        What's on your modern guilt list? 

     I admit it. I thought I would be nominated the coolest mom in the world when I told my son that he and I were going to see Vampire Weekend at the Wiltern! This would be his first popular music concert. He's been to plenty of classical music concerts. I've taken him to Hollywood Bowl to hear the Philharmonic on the fourth of July. And, I'm sure we've been somewhere where some band was playing on some stage.
     But this time we would take actual tickets, stand in line and hope for a decent view of a band he loves.
     I was so proud of myself, so looking forward to it, I mentioned it to my co-anchor, Jeff Michael. He apparently knows what it's really like to be a cool parent. He gave me this mortified look and asked how my 14 year old felt about his mom taking him to a concert. Then, he said, can't you just drop him off with a friend?
     Darn it. I was really looking forward to this and now, I'm wondering if my son is just humoring me when he says, "no worries, Mom, I can't wait."

    So now, I'm curious.  What was your first concert experience like?

   Color me surprised, when I saw a breakdown of Jimmy Buffett's corporate empire.
    The guy who sings of wasting away in Margaritaville is doing anything but.
    He still sings, records and tours.  AND he also just bought the Trump Marina in Atlantic City.  Guess what it will be re-named?  Margaritaville, of course. But that's not all.
   That one song has spawned two casinos, a frozen food line, tequila, beer, margarita mixers, even a blender to make the drink.  There's also a line of flip flops with the same brand name.
     Then, there are his best selling books.. .oh and thanks to another hit song, he also has a chain of burger places... called..... Cheeseburger in Paradise. 

All together now....

Wasted away again in Margaritaville,
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt.

That's what my sons say to me when we drive together and I've got control of the radio. In some kind of odd role reversal, neither of my children likes much modern music.
They're fans of Green Day, but Jay Z, Kanye, Black Eyed Peas, Beck, White Stripes, all on my Ipod and all vetoed by my young progeny. To be fair, they're not that fond of some of the other stuff I have too, Chet Baker, Ella Fitz, Diana Krall, Kenny Rankin.
So what do they listen to? The older son, rebel to the core, left his Beatles-only days in elementary school and now listens to everything from Dead Kennedys to Vampire Weekend. BTW Vampire Weekend is on the short list of his listen able au courant bands, the other one is Ben Folds.
The younger son is highly influenced by "Guitar Hero."   Walking through a store, he recognized in 3 notes, the Rolling Stones, "Paint it  Black." He'll let me listen to Rage's "Bulls on Parade" but is less generous if it's The Raconteurs .
Then there's the movie effect. Linkin Park was a no no until he became a Transformers fan, suddenly LP's not so bad as long as the song playing is "What I've done."
       I understand some music is an acquired taste. They're not big on opera, hip hop or country.  But even something as agreeable as Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is met with a yawn. 
    To each his own..  ultimately, my role as a parent is to influence them to be good human beings, not good music consumers.  But, kids, a little open mindedness, in all areas,  can take you a long way in life. 

Hi, all!
I promised you a great story about apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Pea, on the Asian Pacific Heritage special. You can see it on Channel 11, Friday the 9th, at 10:30pm. I hope you like it.
In the special, one thing to consider is the background music. My editor Debbie Kim did a fantastic job of incorporating some cool music. In addition, if you listen really carefully, you can hear music actually from the person we profiled. Okay, that applies to two profilles
. Listen carefully to apl's interview and underneath you can hear some of his new album and BTW the new solo venture is not really being talked about yet. But if you're an apl fan, as I am, you'll do whatever to get a little apl music.
In the profile about Peter Mui and his clothing line, Yellowman, we used three songs of his. Gotta tell you, Peter is quite the stereotype breaker. When you think Country singers, you might not think Asian. (are there any?) For that matter, imagine an Asian Country singer in full Kabuki make up. Check out Peter's music and photos on misplacedcowboy.com or just listen for his music in our profile of Yellowman.
And, then there is the infectious Bhangra. Achinta McDaniel teaches Bhangra Bollywood Beats. It's a dance class that mixes Bhangra (an Indian folk dance) with hip hop and reggae. Hot, hot, hot!
If you watch Friday... let me know what you think. Just about anybody at Channel 11 with an ounce of asian blood was pulled in to help.... Jane, Maria, Bob, Jean and Tricia. Thank you!
And, some great producers too Kathy, Cedric and Meera.
Well done, gang!

      I LOVE THE BLACK EYED PEAS!
    No, let me be more specific.  I love apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas.
    I've been lucky to meet him a few times and each time he has this  wide, winning smile and an open, warm personality that is absolutely disarming. 
     He's sooo not a Jeremy Piven (okay that's another story for another time.)
    Here's a guy who was born into third world poverty.  He  farmed alongside his grandfather and water buffalo  and his big dream then was to get an education and become a nurse.
    Several twists of fate, brought him to the US at 14 and set him on an unlikely path of super stardom. 
    That could be the end of the story, except the exceptional person that is apl means he includes people in his success.  He writes a song that tell his story, but the music video is as much homage to his homeland and the filipino WWII vets as it is about him.  He surrounds himself with filipinos and other asians, he hires them, inspires them, supports their art.   He call it  being part of a movement.
    

    You can hear more about apl.de.ap's life when we present a profile of him on the Asian Pacific Heritage special later this month.