Today in our last ever Recording Engineering class, we watched a very cool documentary on Les Paul. I must say he is the most badass 94-year-old man on the planet.
Most people, when they hear the name Les Paul, think of the famous Les Paul guitar. And rightfully so. But he was also a pioneer in recording engineering, being the first to use overdubbing and multitracking and delay, all of which are basically essential in the modern studio today. And I think it was awesome that he and his wife were a musical duo who turned their house into a recording studio when no one had ever recorded from home before. Hooray for innovation! Les Paul's sound is so distinct, I love it. It's pure electrified-country-jazz-awesomeness. I think one of my new goals in life is to see him live. If he's lasted this long, he better stick around long enough for me to get to New York and hear him play the Iridium!
So now thanks to YouTube (and Listerine), you can experience some super-amazing guitar playing, along with some authentically cheesy 50s TV. I like to believe this is how Les and Mary really spent their afternoons at home, haha:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYlG7qb3iCs&hl=en&fs=1&]
I also loved how the DVD we watched was a great documentary not only about Les Paul himself, but the evolution of the studio, live music, and the entertainment industry in general. In it, Les Paul talks about his influences, ranging from Gene Autry to Bing Crosby...and since then he has become a major influence to artists like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and BB King. To me, that is one of the most wonderful things about music. It is the connection between generations of great minds; it's like there's some kind of power in it that can bring people together and open up more doors than you even thought possible. So much of the world's greatest music was created that way. After class, I went to turn on my ipod and had to stop and consider for a moment the thousands of AMAZING songs I literally held in the palm of my hand. It was a little overwhelming, haha. Anyway, I should stop before I start rambling on forever and get lost in my own world.
One more random thing: YouTube tells me that today is the final broadcast of analog TV signals in the U.S. Crazy! Too bad I can't experience it here...we have a TV but unfortunately no cable. To make up for it, Olivia and I just signed up for Netflix. I CAN'T WAIT.