For all those Grey's Anatomy fans out there, apparently Psapp does the title theme to the show. I wouldn't know as I don't watch it. My medical show preference belongs to Scrubs, but hey, you guys had a one up on me for this one. I wish I'd known about Psapp prior to this very moment. In researching a teeny bit about the duo, Psapp, I discovered that they are part of a genre known as "toytronica" in which all the elements that comprise the music consist of toys and toy instruments.
Milwaukee produced the most number of dancers that I really found myself connecting with thus far.
Kourtni Lind, Evan Kasprzak (the kid who did the Gene Kelly number), and Cooper Zamorano - the Travis Wall duplicate. Although in previous episodes, I found myself really enjoying Thayne Jasperson as well (I suppose these names show that my allegiance this year seems to be with jazz and contemporary dancers). I hope at least those four make it to the top 20.
Personality and fluidity were paramount to me, as well as the precision in the execution of movement.
This is going to be a great season, but thus far, I haven't really been invested in the contestants yet. In previous seasons, I found myself rooting for Donyelle, Benji, Travis, Danny, Lacey, Neil, Nick, etc from the moment they auditioned. I guess you could say that I'm rooting for the above people, and that they're excellent, but in previous years, the aforementioned list of dancers just had that extra something that made them standout from the getgo and you knew they'd be in it til the end. Also, in previous years I've been able to pick the top 2-4 from the first audition day, and I don't see that skill continuing this year.
Travis Wall makes a pretty (albeit somewhat agressive!) girl, lol.
Anyway, the song Kourtni danced to last night was:
And here's a clip of one of my Top 20 hopefuls - Cooper Zamorano, dancing to a song by Craig Lyons.
Craig Lyons will be an artist to watch. 3 of his songs have found their way into contemporary auditions, and even one partnered dance. He is a singer-songwriter with a guitar focus. The sound is passionate, and slow, but not heavy like Ray LaMontagne's, or softly restrained like Damien Rice. I'd say maybe he's comparable to Matt Nathanson, but Craig Lyon's voice is more well defined and doesn't have that Jason Mrazzy upswing that Nathanson usually does with some of his words and choruses. Obviously, I've been trying to fit Craig Lyons in to some sort of category, and with some sort of name, but labels don't matter. What it comes down to is that he's good. And you should listen to him.
Craig Lyons - In Your Eyes - danced by Cooper Zamorano
The second song that was played on the radio was The Presets' "My People."
After hearing "Are You the One?" on So You Think You Can Dance this past season, I was beyond intrigued. The group's sound fell right into a spectrum of bands I enjoy.
I tend to group them in with Interpol, She Wants Revenge, and The Faint. They are the most similar to the Faint, I believe, because the music has an edge and anger that contributes to its immense danceability. But the vocals are in between Interpol but not quite She Wants Revenge (I suppose this might just be a roundabout way of referring to the staccato deep voiced delivery of lyrics known to Paul Banks and Justin Warfield. Yeah, the Presets fall in line with that). The Presets are a little less post-punk, a lot more electronic, so if that's your scene, then these Australian guys are for you.
When "My People" came on the other night, it felt like it was in direct opposition to Modest Mouse, but both were such distinct entities that the combination of the two by way of intelligent callers really caught my attention.
And here's the clip from So You Think You Can Dance that introduced me to the Presets. I'm surprised I hadn't heard them earlier, but oh well. Much like the dance, the band brings the fight.
I have been addicted to So You Think You Can Dance since season one. Needless to say, their hiatus for this week left me with a dance void that needed to be filled. So I hunted out the videos for old performances on YouTube.
Anyway, when it comes to listening to music, I am always mentally choreographing dance routines. Sometimes, I'm lucky enough to see it brought to stage or studio. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the alumni from my dance school on two anniversary routines: a disco set to the Scissor Sister's Paul McCartney and a dance battle to Metric's Dead Disco. It's amazing to see stories emerge through the combination of dance and music. So You Think You Can Dance has been able to weave some amazing narratives, and having heard a lot of the songs before their aired tv episodes, I felt glad to encounter the music on an entirely new level through their artistry.
Annie Lennox - Why. I have nothing original to say about Annie Lennox. She's a legend. She recently announced the title of her forthcoming album, Songs of Mass Destruction, but has yet to issue a release date. Ivan + Alison Contemporary Performance - Why
Elisa - Dancing. This was an artist I discovered because of the show. Elisa is an Italian singer who has been releasing successful albums overseas for the last decade. Her music has gone double and triple platinum and earned her a lot of awards. She is currently on tour, with date scheduled through the fall in Italy. Lacey + Kameron - Dancing
Zap Mama - W'happy Mama. Zap Mama makes consistently strong world music (they're a Belgian group who make African music while singing in French and English), having released five albums with the sixthcoming out soon. And Travis' movement in the accompanying video is the epitome of the word "fluid." Travis + Heidi - W'happy Mama
Here are some other entertaining performances from the show, which airs Wednesdays at 8 and Thursdays at 9 on Fox. Enjoy!
Jesus + Sarah - Cabaret Hoover
Hok + Jamie - The Chairman's Waltz
Benji + Donyelle - You Can't Stop the Beat. Benji always reminds me of Socialite Commentary: sassy, hilarious, and can dance like a winner.
