Actor Michael Welch (Mike Newton in "Twilight") talked to celebuzz recently, revealing what Robert Pattinson allegedly said about his songwriting.
Quite interesting...
Robert Pattinson
& songwriting
(quoting M. Welsh)
"He (Robert) said the way that he does it which really freed him up to write some really interesting stuff is that he sort of picks a chord or just starts playing a melody of some kind, sees how it makes him feel emotionally, and then just kinda starts singing—not lyrics—but just kinda the foundation of what the lyrics would be (...) Which is why his songs have that very specific feel where he’s kinda like, 'Nyaah, moooaah, woooah,' you know what I mean? That’s how he writes the songs. He just sort of feels, picks a chord, sees how he feels emotionally, just starts singing in gibberish, and then writes the lyrics on top of that, and I think it’s a really interesting way of going about it. I’ve never heard of somebody doing it that way before. But, you know, I thought it was cool."
Witnessing the
birth of a song
What is described above - howsoever astonishing it might appear to Michael Welch - is a quite common way to "write" a song. I never really noticed that I did it this way often myself, until I watched my husband Freimann for the first time doing this. At first I was bewildered about the strange language of his singing... it sounded like it was English, but was completely inarticulately and made no sense at all. I was wondering whether he had got a tooth ache or something. But every once in a while there would be a single word or phrase in it, and though it all remained cloudy, this song-to-be was already touching me emotionally and I already could feel what it was to be about.
Songwriting & me
I realized that I was a witness of the first encounter of the artist and a piece of music that soon will be "his song". And that this is very close to the way I use to "meet" my new songs. I am more the humming type though, no "gibberish" with me. I am humming while words may flash through my mind...
Like I always say: I didn't get into music, music rather got into me. It is the same with songwriting. I like to refer to unwritten songs as something that already exists and is just looking for a home. Like a straying dog... first it seems odd, you don't know its name or where it comes from, it might be hard to handle too. But once the dog (song) has decided to be yours, it is like it's always been there, very familiar, very natural. And you can hardly remember whether it was different once.
Over The Rim
I wrote a song about writing a song, called "Over the Rim"*. (in a time when had almost lost my love for music and my ability to let it flow, due to the harshness of showbiz). It is somewhat introvert, just like the process of finding an new song itself. Enjoy...
I just learned that Mr. "The Awful Truth" Ted Casablanca at E!Online ennobled "Bedtime Stories" in one of his today's posts. Being "floored" by it, he had a few things to say yet:
"The tenderness! The raw emotion! The creepy hand that keeps popping up! We're honestly left speechless by some of the things in this video, which isn't necessarily a good thing because we don't remember Robsten ever being that, well, weird."
Nice, Ted! It's just... well, what has it to do with "Robsten" anyway?!? You didn't get the point, did you? Helloouuu...it's "Rob", period. No "sten" here at all. But don't worry, you are excused. It's not your fault - you're a man...
And thanks for another unexpected rush at my youtube channel. ;-)
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Added June, 28th: E!Online outdid the top-3-scaffolds today by sending over 2888 viewers within just 24 hours.
Added June, 29th: 4214 viewers from E!Online on day two...
I've been asked frequently for a direct embed-code of the "One Wolf (Jacob's Song)" animated video to be streamed in the same quality as "Bedtime Stories". Ok. Your wish is my command. (Some credits would be nice though... please? I've noticed a lot of blogs and sites with my videos, and there's no credit at all. Ts, ts, ts...)
One Wolf
Click the image to be taken to the streaming video in good quality. It will open in a popup window. Embed code below. Just help yourself...
For the sake of completeness:
Bedtime Stories
Click the image below to be taken to the streaming video in good quality. It will open in a popup window. (Don't miss the explanatory "package slip"). Embed code below.
Pics of last Sunday's (June, 21st) open air concert.
Thanks to Thomas, member of my girl group's fanclub, who took these photos and sent them over.
I think they're pretty cool because they do not only show the vibe and feel of a live concert, but also my real self...
there's no other place or occasion where I feel more confident, more natural or more woman at all than on a stage, performing my music, winning over the audience...
I'll probably keep on doing this until they tell me I'm too old (some say I am already... but at least it's not too obvious yet, so I guess I still have a few years) ;-)
By today the now infamous video of "Bedtime Stories" has had 8.822 views on youtube, and 6.315 downloads from my own homepage so far - being online only 14 days. This is amazing.
Now that the rush is over...
(the hits have decreased to about 250 to 300 a day - which is still pretty much IMHO), I guess I should thank my lately gained "favorite enemies" in the first place. Considering that about 99 % of all comments on various websites and blogs were negative, it keeps me wondering how come that just these sites where they roasted me alive provided the majority of viewers. Multiple viewers, I'd like to add - given away by my "youtube insights".
Hmm... I remember a lot of them saying "oh, I couldn't watch it til the end!" or something like "I had to stop at 0:22". So then I guess the 1 % people who loved it must have viewed the vid about 200 times each. ;-)
So I'm the crazy Rob-stalking lady now...
Some really wrote that I am just the kind of "fan" who would stab
Mr. Pattinson with a knife if I had the chance. I was adviced to seek professional mental help too.
Mostly used terms were "creepy", "crazy", "freaks me out", "2nd hand embarrasment".
Since I had expected that in a way (if not that quantitiy), it was all quite ok with me.
I cannot thank each and every website/blog where "Bedtime Stories" was embedded or linked... according to my youtube stats alone, there are 72. So I just honor the top three funeral piles here who sent over the most viewers and made me the infamous creepy-vid-chick forever.
for embedding the video totally uncommented ("rendered into silence" for the first time ever AFAIK) in a place where people are used to expect (and find) something funny or sarcastic, and even more feel the urge to outdo each other with likewise funny and sarcastic comments.
Result: 2014 youtube views from this referral by today
for decently linking to both my own web resources and the mixed reviews. And for the first comment from a reader that wanted to know who and where I am, so that I could be delivered to justice! ;-)
Result: 1683 youtube views from this referral by today
To everybody who liked the video...
...and commented or referred to it in a positive way I have to say thanks too.
I've won many new friends from all over the world. And every single one of you made my day by replacing "creepy" with "original" and "crazy" with "artistic". You rock!
But truly my heart goes out to...
...those bravehearts who threw themselves to the wolves and spoke out for me, or undauntedly voiced their different opinion in places where everybody else was crying "Burn her!"
With all of you - both the lovers and the haters - I had an amazingly great time! There's no greater happiness for artists than to see that their work would provoke both enthusiasm and disapproval - but not one single case of indifference.
I was almost about to commit suicide, because a 4-hour-show was scheduled for today... open air!!!
Me and my girl group of ten, called "Betti's Stagefright" had been planning to wear our new stage costumes, very small stage costumes.
We arrived at the festival - only 15 minutes to go and the place was practically empty because IT WAS RAINING.
Desperately (and shivering), we stepped on stage.
When the first note was sung, suddenly the sky opened, the sun came out and the place was crowded in no time!
We had a fantastic show with a happy audience dancing and cheering. When we took our bows four hours later, the sky had slowly overclouded again. The very moment we left the stage, the first raindrops were falling...
What the Forks?! How come we were so incredibly lucky?
I decided, it must have been my new lucky charm: the beautiful silver bracelet that K. and E. of the Robsten Lovers had sent to me. It arrived yesterday. I fell in love with it and haven't taken it off since. If there was any proof needed that there is something magic about this cute little thing... here you are!
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Added June 24th: fresh pic of that event (mailed to me by a fan)
See how the sun's been beaming down on me... I'm the one with the hand microphone, beaming back :-) (more pics of the concert here)
I'v never heard of Peter Pawan before which isn't surprising. Seems he had no significant career so far, apart from a short feature called "Sunshine" and voicing over a few commercials.
Nevertheless he seems to somehow apply to play Jeff Buckley because
a) he very much tries (and admittedly succeeds) to resemble him in his photoshoots and
b) he obviously thinks(!) he can sing like Buckley
...ouhkaayy.... *cough cough*
So since I'm trying to remain fair, again you can judge for yourself. Please listen to the soundclips of Rob and Jeff and then check the video of Peter by clicking the image below. In the second half of that video he is performing live two songs of Jeff Buckley.
I think he's trying hard but his performance does nothing to me. I was like "oh please, stop that whining!" He might have some talent, perhaps if he'd stopped trying to be Jeff Buckley. But this is kinda pathethic. Uhm... I correct: He's got no singing talent at all IMHO. Sorry.
Anyway... see for yourself.
Unfortunately, I still didn't manage to find any examples of James Franco singing. Even at the most devoted Franco-fansites there wasn't anybody who had a clue. Seems he never sang at all, at least not in public or in any of his films.
I would love to add a soundfile of Franco though, for the sake of completeness.
Ideas anyone?
One last note: I read that Jeff Buckleys mother allegedly insists on having Jeff's original soundfiles used in the movie. I hate to admit but: if it just is about lipsyncing, it would definitely be James Franco. *sniff*
...I'm in - felt like awarding this fidgeting thing to PLT just because Anna's been nothing but really sweet ever since we had our first Twilighty online encounter.
Reason enough for me...
Go visit Peace. Love. TWILIGHT if you haven't yet. I you have already - do it again. And again... ;-)
Usual suspects like, let's say for argument's sake: Zac Efron. I don't mean to diss Efron (no wait... yes, I do - he's bugging me!), he's just a pretty good example for a no-blessing.
The following - like always - are just my very personal self-therapeutical musings. I am already somewhat infamous now as the "creepy-vid-chick" due to the animated RPattz video... so it's too late to apply for the everybody's-darling-award anyway. I just let my thoughts flow and write them down.
Since this is going to be long: English is not my mother tongue, so if I'm wording things a little odd sometimes, please take it easy...
So here we go, the five reasons are:
1. HE IS NOT ZAC EFRON
...which means he is no calculated pop phenomenon. He is a teen idol by accident which I think is the main reason for the overwhelming dimension of the Pattymania. He is or at least seems to be absolutely genuine. There was no executive team over at Disney's creating a popstar-profile along a carefully built-up target audience's needs. Noone polished him from tip to toe or drilled him ad nauseam to match a certain mold.
So we're not talking about "Forks High School Musical" here. Not even Hardwicke had something like "must not contradict and has to make teen girls scream" on her requirement list when casting for Twilight, I guess.
He just walks around the guy he is, witty, smart, modest, sometimes embarrased without trying to cover up, drinking, smoking, having bad hair days... can you imagine Zac Efron having a bad hair day??(I personally think Zefron has a bad hair life - but his stylists obiously have a different opinion) Like all those Disney kids he is cut smooth beyond all bearing, inside and outside, while Pattinson is (and likely will remain) edgy in the best way.
2. HE IS TALENTED AND SMART
I am not saying here Zefron has got no talent. He is well trained. But this I can say about my dog too. Just because someone can perform impressive tricks, that doesn't mean he is creative. My dog is a pretty good entertainer, it learns quickley and its will to please me and get applauded is just as big a motivator as are the steadily delivered yummy rewards. This doesn't make it stand out though. Every ordinary dog (if not brain-damaged) can be trained like this, some are more talented than others and can be taught to pull off awesome feats by command. "Good boy!"
Another maybe less disrespectful comparison taken from my own life (I know I'm trailing off, but whatever... these are my musings, aren't they) is my little amateur "girlgroup": I am very involved in vocal-coaching adult amateurs on a voluntary basis in my home town. Currently there's a group of up to ten "girls" at age 35 to 49... ordinary women - housewifes, mothers, cashiers, nurses, waitresses - who never before had cared two figs about music. Some of them even had, by common standards, obviously no singing talent at all (or at least none they had known about). The snag to my singing lessons is my ambition: I aim on enabling my students to enter some stage and to win over an audience. It's not an easy task, especially because they only rehearse twice a month.
But if you have a minute or two: there is some footage on youtube, for example the Pussycat Dolls' "Dontcha" performed live by these "ordinary women". Or their a-cappella version of "Running up that Hill" for four voices - really not easy to sing. Check it out and try to imagine what I possibly could bring out of them if they'd work on this several hours a day... if they were in their teens... if they had some musical history at all, like maybe a pianoplaying mom or something...
Ok. What I'm trying to illustrate is: the vast majority of popstars and so-called teen idols is quite mediocre, just very well trained in every neccessary way.
Back to Zac. He is admittedly entertaining (to the target audience at least), and so are my girls I dare to say.But are they intense? Are they touching? Are they unique? Charismatic? Me thinks no.
Hop to Rob. None had foreseen this measure of fan enthusiasm which can't simply be explained by him impersonating Edward. (Remember the protesting of Twifans in the beginning when the cast was announced). He is just everything the Disney-dog-obedience-school-alumni are not. And that's a good thing and was long overdue. Let the kids have a real thing to adore for once instead of the pre-fabricated standards they were limited to for too many years now.
3. HE IS BROADENING TEENAGERS' MINDS
He likes Van Morrison. He played Salvatore Dali. He is making music with his indie buddies Foster and Bradley. His unexpected Twilight fame pushed the small but lovely "How to be" to worldwide recognition. He is currently rumoured to be considered for the leading role in a Jeff Buckley biopic. These are just a few examples of how a whole new spectrum of musicians, performing artists and even the fine arts is opened to the youngsters while they focus on him. That's one of the biggest benefits to me: the broadening of the kids' minds and consuming habits. The mere discussion on whether he might or might not get the Jeff Buckley part made more people aware of this incredibly gifted artist than any publicity campaign could have acclompished...
4. HE PRODUCES DIRTY MOMS
(Ok, I can't really say this is something benficial from a sociocultural point of view, it's just something I like very much)
I hated the pop culture of the nineties. They produced a lot of stars who were applauded for allegedly bringing teens and adults together, closing the gap between what the sons and daughters liked and what their parents were willing to bear. The music, the movies, the fashion... everything suddenly became so indifferent. I found it miserable to see these neat and clean boygroup members being a teenage girl's wet dream and her mother's epitome of the perfect son-in-law at the same time (a task fulfilled flawlessly by Zac Efron today). I always believed it was a important part of coming off age to oppose the elders and to define your own identity through the clothes you wear or the music you listen to. So I hated this unite-the-generations-phenomenon.
Robert Pattinson now is accused of the same, due to the Twilight hype. But this time it is a little different. The vast majority of robsessed moms don't drag him to their daughter's wedding altar in their dreams but rather to their own bedsheet. Maybe it's just my naughty nature, but I like that. Very much.
5. HE WILL SURVIVE BOTH "TWILIGHT" AND HIS 30TH YEAR
Let my play Alice Cullen for a sec and predict something here: While "Punxsutawney Zac" will go through his very own Groundhog Day over and over again (probably teen comedy pics until he's too old, followed by one or two hardly noticed attempts to really act and look like a actually living human being), Robert Pattinson will simply skip what I use to call "the male twilight zone" (no pun intended). There is a time in every male's life - famous or not - where they're no longer cute but not yet interesting (to the eyes of a female, that is). The duration can vary, but during this miserable period of time they are just indifferent if not boring. The rare thing about Pattinson is: he is already interesting while he still is cute.
And his fans acknowledge this. Where nobody really cares whether Efron took piano lessons some time (to be fair for once: he did!), people swoon about the dvd extras where Rob is improvising self-forgotten on the piano. And everybody is quite aware of his indie film performances before Twilight. He is already considered for more adult projects in the future, and there will be a life after "Edward". He will survive all the fuzz and will probably surprise us more than once and will go on to grow and mature as an artist.
When I first found out who the singer of "Let me sign" in the Twilight movie was (this was what got me into this, and I was like "No way... that KID?!?"), I was immediately alarmed. There's no denying that there is a history of extraordinary talented and sensitive young artist who have died much too early. The above mentioned adorable Jeff Buckley did, same as his unbelievably gifted father Tim Buckley, and I deeply mourned for them both. From Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin. From River Phoenix to Heath Ledger. And so on... and whether they died of wine and cookies or in an alleged accident, one could justifiably say: They died of showbiz.
//Alice Cullen mode on:// This will NOT happen to multitalented Robert Pattinson! //Alice mode off//
For all those who use to ask: Why is it always Lennon and never McCartney? - Despite that fact that there's more to Rob than meets the eye, he's quite a golden boy. He seems to be fundamentally positive and easygoing. If you look at the list above, all of these died-too-youngs had a more or less depressive edge to them, they didn't cope well with the consequences of their fame. Nothing like that can be observed with Pattinson. He deals astonishing well with all the hysteria so far. And, other than the Disney puppies, he's not told by anybody to pretend to be someone he is not (or if so he just doesn't obey). He can keep it real, and this is why he will make it.
These are 4 out of many artsy mini-banners I designed for my bloggy friends (more and the full size wonderment at The Button Guru Gallery) If you need to know how you might get an animated button of your own, read the Button Guru Bartering Rules.
Witnessing the 
