Did you ever attend a concert where everything seemed in sync? The band was in the groove, the sound was crystal clear and the audience seemed to be as one as they watched and listened. Well, it seems that science can give us a reason why that happens. Reporter Rachel Ehrenberg did a piece at itsinteresting.com that examined a new study which shows that when people watch live music together, their brain waves synchronize and this brain bonding is linked with having a better time. The new findings were reported last week at a meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society. Where as the playing of music through much of history has been reserved for the talented ones, music has long been likned to social activities like dancing that anyone can participate in. Study participants were split into three groups, some watched a live concert, some a recored concert with a large audience and some a recording with just a few people. Each person wore EEG caps that measured the collective behavior of their brains. The musicians played an original piece that the audience had never heard before. The delta brain waves of those who watched music live were more synchronized than those of the other two groups. Delta waves fall in a frequency range that roughly corresponds to the beat of the music. And the more synchronized an audience member was with others, the more they reported being connected to the performers and enjoying the show. This shouldn't come as a surprise to any fan of live concerts. Seeing and hearing music live in almost any size venue and any type of music is better than seeing or hearing it any other way. You have always felt that when you've been at a show and now you know there is science behind what youre' feeling. Music has the power to change your brain…your mood…your outlook on life…it's powerful stuff.
Have you seen any good live shows recently? I ordered tickets for a show on April 21st. Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen are playing a small theater in West Salem. Hillman, of course, is a walking music history lesson. From being a founding member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, to his work with Steve Stills in Manassas and his two LPs with JD Souther & Richie Furay…to his more traditional country music with the Desert Rose Band..he has worked the country-rock vein for over 50 years. And he just released a new LP a few months ago produced by Tom Petty. It's called Bidin my Time and it's really tasty. Pederson has been a crack guitar-banjo player for years. It should be an excellent show and I think tickets are still available if youre interested.
I've seen some of these musical pioneers at small theaters that last few years. Roger McGuinn and Richie Furay both put on great shows and still have the chops that made them successful. Gotta see these guys before they can't tour anymore.
Daniel & Henrik Sedin announced their retirements from the NHL yesterday. The identical twins have played 2600 combined games together over 18 years and will both retire at the end of this season. They both have played their entire careers with the Vancouver Canucks after being taken with back to back picks in the 1999 draft. They rank 1 & 2 in Canuck scoring history although they were never able to lead Vancouver to a Stanley Cup.
The Philadelphia metro area is the first in the Super Bowl era to have a team win a Super Bowl and a NCAA basketball title in the same year.
Here are Bryce Harper's last 8 plate appearances (courtesy of Jamal Collier) HR, BB, HR, BB, HR, BB, BB, BB.
David Hyde Pierce turns 59 today. Not only was he funny as hell on Frazier, he killed in “Spamalot” including this non PC classic
Today is the anniversery of Martin Luther King's “I've Been to The Mountain Top” speech in Memphis, less than 24 hours later he was dead.
Elections have consequences….most Presidents admit they don't know everything. They have to surround themselves with experts on foreign policy, the economy, trade policies and military doctrine. I think we can all admit that Donald Trump is not one of those guys. And whether you think Trump is just “shaking things up” or whether you think he's a “clear and present danger to the country” it has become obvious that his chaotic, govern by the seat of his pants philosophy is not working. Instead of taking advice from staffers and advisors Trump has decided that the best advice he gets comes from tv & radio personalities. There is a report that he has Lou Dobbs on speaker phone for White House policy meetings on things like trade and taxes. And he cuts off White House staffers to let Dobbs give his opinion on things. He has dinner with the likes of Sean Hannity. Hannity is as big a blowhard that has ever graced the airwaves and any advice Trump accepts from him can almost be guaranteed to be total bullshit. And it's been well documented how much time the President spends every morning watching Fox & Friends and tweeting out the same positions taken by their talking heads including Brian Kilmeade who continues to own the title of “dumbest man on television”. The Trump administration continues to show that Trump didn't expect to win and has no interest in really governing. He'd rather be at Mar-A-Lago golfing or dining with his billionaire pals. That will be the defining picture of this administration….Trump golfing while the country burns. And the talking heads at Fox…at Sinclair Broadcasting…and the other propaganda companies that supply him with his material are complicit. May history and the public hold them accountable.
Quotes Of The Day
“Let's be clear, news anchors looking into a camera and reading a script handed down by a corporate overlord, a script meant to obscure the truth not elucidate it, isn't journalism. It's propaganda. It's Orwellian. And it is on a slippery slope towards some of history's most destructive forces. These are the means by which despots wrest power, silence dissent, and oppress the masses.”-Dan Rather
“Trumps erroneous DACA tweetstorm spotlights many bugs of his improvisational presidency; he doesn't understand how Congress works…”-James Hohmann
“These are not most “bugs of his improvisational presidency”. These are features of Trump's demagogic presidency”-Bill Kristol
“Trump understands well enough how DACA works. He understands well enough how Congress works. He understands well enoughj the “:wall” isn't serious. He doesn't care. He's a demagogue”.-Bill Kristol
“I never cease to be amazed by the lengths to which some readers will go to try and convince me that some unarmed black person shot dead by the police needed to be shot dead. It's almost like they are trying to insulate themselves from societal guilt and societal shame”-Charles M. Blow
“What if Jeff Bezos bought Twitter with the change in his pocket and shut Trumps account?”- Preet Bharara
Songs Of The Day
