Author: Mark Berry

She’s From Rochester?: Julia Nunes

A couple of days after I moved up here, “YouTube’s Ukulele Queen” appeared on Conan:

Julia Nunes has no record label; what got her onto a national late-night talk show was her success raising well over $75,000 on Kickstarter to fund her new album, Settle Down. Buy it; you’ll like it. My favorite songs is “Odd.”

People have been excited about Nunes for a while. Back in 2008, after seeing her video cover of his song “Gone,” Ben Folds invited Nunes to open for him on tour. When she got his e-mail, Nunes “thought it was spam.” 

Nunes is from Fairport, which is close enough to be Rochester, I guess. The Erie Canal runs through it, and it seems like a nice place:

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Cheesy Classical Music You Should Know: The Hallelujah Chorus

Pretty well everyone has heard the Hallelujah Chorus:

It’s a Christmas staple, on its own or as part of Handel’s Messiah; it’s also become one of those pieces that people love to make their own.

Since 1993, Marin Alsop has been performing a gospel version of Messiah, conceived with Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson, called Too Hot to Handel, with a particularly swinging Hallelujah Chorus:

Here’s a “mildly cynical update” by Edward Current and Steven Clark from the UK (only Brits would find this “mildly cynical”):

And only Canadians would find a Hallelujah Chorus flash mob cool:

This Week in National Anthem Disasters

Anthem fails: they’re not just for Americans anymore.

Deadspin gives an account of this very, very unfortunate version by Measha Brueggergosman of my country’s big song:

While the average length of “O Canada” as sung before an athletic contest is a bit shy of 50 seconds, Brueggergosman stretched it to almost two minutes and drew titters from players on both benches as she warbled her way through a nearly unrecognizable rendition. 

The most cringe-worthy moment comes when, clearly dying out there, the Canada’s Got Talent judge enthusiastically calls for the crowd to sing along. Polite Canadians, they do.

I wonder how the Kazakhs would handle a butchering of their national anthem? Maybe we’ll find out:

It was pretty classy of the medalist, Maria Dmitrienko, to keep her composure in what could only have been a humiliating and confusing situation.

Beer Music

Signature Brew of London has released Craig Finn’s Clear Heart, a nod to the Hold Steady singer’s new solo album.

Pairing up with musicians to co-brand lines of beer is Signature Brew’s marketing hook, but so far it has only one other act on its roster, a band called the Rifles.

And how do you drink this beer? In a red solo cup, of course: