An Inspiring Woman

I saw this video today and thought it was awesome. I don't watch a lot of television, so maybe this is old content (and I've found it is since I started writing this), but if you haven't seen it, I think you'll enjoy.

Susan Boyle

I like this video mostly because this woman seems more like an average Jane and not the hyped up pretty boys (and girls) that are the final stars of shows like American Idol.  But the real reason I like this video is how it highlights one of my beliefs about talent/skill/ability.  People always have arguments about who was the greatest of something of all time...greatest guitar player, or drummer, or builder, or painter.  The reality is that though many of those people who are the subject of such arguments are no doubtedly amazing there is much more undiscovered talent out there than discovered.  The greatest painter of all time is probably some dude who's artwork never left the basement.  The greatest guitar player of all time might be somebody who will never see his name in lights.  Know what I mean?

Anyway, very cool to see this today as I'm prepping for my own band practice with amazingly talented individuals.  None of us are a Susan Boyle, but we love what we do and we are thankful for our small opportunities.

Chocolate Grinch

I have about a million blog ideas all centering around Xmas music and I hope to post frequently throughout December.  So for about 20 days, all my posts will likely be focused on the topic of Christmas Music.

You probably know this song.  I heard it last night on the radio and a strange connection hit me.  Go ahead, watch the video and see if you make any connections.  If you aren't a mildly avid web user you'll not get it...yet.

You don't have to listen to the whole thing to get that voice stuck in your head.  It's very rememberable and it matches the content of the song well.  I heard it last night and it got me thinking... is there some connection between the singer of the Grinch Song and Chocolate Rain?  Have a listen:

The voices seem strangely familiar right?  Well, upon further investigation I found that there seems to be very little connection between chocolate rain and You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.  

The Grinch song was originally sang by Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft who was a little more accomplished but maybe not as widely popular unless you count the fact that he was also the voice of TONY THE TIGER for a million years telling us that Frosted Flakes are Grrrrrrreat!

Tay Zonday, the singer and songwriter of Chocolate Rain is pretty much nobody except a kid w/ a strange voice, and a little extra time and money on his hands.  Actually, he probably has a lot more money on his hands now that he had one of the most popular videos on YouTube in 2007.  If you can stand more than 20 seconds into the video you'll see the caption "I move away from the mic when I breathe" which seems like a joke that someone put on after it was made, but it isn't.  He was just courteous enough to let his viewers know what he was doing so the video wouldn't seem odd...that certainly helped...

So no, there is no connection between Thurl and Tay, but if they ever need a stand in for Tony the Tiger or a singer for You're A Mean One, Mr Grinch - then maybe Tay can pick up where Thurl left off.

BTW - did you know that Sixpence None the Richer (famous for the song Kiss Me) did their own version of the Grinch Song.  Unfortunately, Leigh Nash's voice doesn't come out quite as sinister as ol' Thurl's and the song basically sucks.