First off, won't you read my article please?

The combination of me watching the video of Pete Rock and DJ Premier (posted on Sunday's entry) and watching Wynton Marsalis on 60 Minutes, has made me want two things. One, I want to play an instrument again. I played the trumpet in high school and I enjoyed it tremendously, and now I want to either take piano or upright bass lessons (again, I never finished from several years ago). Whether its Pete Rock, DJ Premier or Wynton Marsalis, there is something about watching a musician/DJ passionately talk about what went into the creation of their art. It makes you want to pick up an instrument and master it, so that you can have that same feeling. Its not like writing can't bring me that feeling, but doing something music is much different in my opinion. I will pursue this.

The second thing I want is for there to be a behind-the-scenes type program on television involving popular artists. I want to see one artist talk about one album they've made, and then maybe have the producer and other collaborators talk about the nuances of the album from what inspired a song to how many takes it took to get it right. For example, one of my major regrets was that no one ever sat Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones down to break down Thriller for a good 2 hours. To me that's quality tv/radio/podcasting, and I enjoy hearing that type of thing, so why can't there be a monthly/weekly show to that effect? I've seen these types of documentaries here and there, but nothing constant.

Another example was this video of Steely Dan breaking down their song "Peg". Its only 8 minutes long, but even if you don't like the song, you're captivated by how it all came together..or maybe you aren't...I certainly am