bruce springsteen locations

Posted on March 20, 2013 by peter bell

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born in the fertile green hills of New Jersey, USA on September 2, 1949. The Boss was raised on 50s rock, became an Americana rock-and-roller in the 70s, turned into a denim-clad icon in the 80s, and today has the distinguished position of elder rock statesman and link to music traditions of the past (see the Seeger Sessions album and his impressive SWSW 2012 keynote speech).

That long road to musical legend winds around the many turnpikes and off-ramps of the Garden State. Here’s a list of locations associated with the Boss, Bruce Springsteen.

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Posted in music | Tagged asbury park, birthplace, blauvelt, bruce springsteen, CA, elementary school, freehold, high school, home, house, locations, long branch, los angeles, MN, monmouth, new jersey, NJ, ny, st. paul, the boss | Leave a comment

janis joplin locations

Posted on March 6, 2013 by peter bell

Janis Lyn Joplin was born on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, TX. The daughter of a Texaco engineer and a college registrar (Seth and Dorothy Joplin, respectively), Janis attended church, sang in the choir, and grew into an awkward teen that loved the blues. She left Port Arthur to attend college in Beaumont and Austin, TX, and then traveled to San Francisco in 1963.

Joplin kicked around until her big break as lead vocalist for the band Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1966. In the four years that followed, Janis Joplin’s passion-fueled voice made her a rock legend. As Joplin’s biographer Myra Friedman stated, “It wasn’t only her voice that thrilled, with its amazing range and strength and awesome wails. To see her was to be sucked into a maelstrom of feeling that words can barely suggest.”

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Posted in music | Tagged austin, birthplace, CA, california, died here, janis joplin, locations, los angeles, new york city, ny, pearl, port arthur, san anselmo, san francisco, stinson beach, texas, tx, woodstock | Leave a comment

macklemore and ryan lewis “thrift shop” locations

Posted on February 7, 2013 by peter bell

For the first time since Lisa Loeb’s “Stay” off the 1994 Reality Bites soundtrack, an independent artist without a major label has made it to #1 on the Billboard charts.

“Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz is an ode to secondhand treasure hunting set to an infectious beat. While the song has a bit more levity than Macklemore’s other work, the gravity of the #1 position has to be settling in with major labels.

Unlike Loeb’s tune, “Thrift Shop” did not benefit from a major motion picture to promote the song. The groundswell of support to make the hit will inevitably be transformed into a case study for social marketeers, but for now it’s just a great tune. Thanks to user nevereatsshreddedwheat for providing locations to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ ‘Thrift Shop.”

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Posted in music | Tagged locations, macklemore, ryan lewis, seattle, thrift shop, WA, wanz, washington | Leave a comment

woody guthrie locations

Posted on January 30, 2013 by peter bell

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1911 in Okemah, Oklahoma. Woody was named after the then soon-to-be elected president and was the son of businessman and local politician, Charles Edward Guthrie. Woody’s mother, Nora Belle Guthrie was a homemaker who later died of Huntington’s disease- a neurological disease that Woody also inherited.

Although Woody Guthrie grew up in Okemah, OK, his adventures took him all over the country and abroad. He combined his keen observational skill with wry wit and a passion for humanity. Throughout the years, Guthrie produced a treasure trove of songs, poems, books, newspaper columns, radio programs, film appearances, photographs, and drawings that continue to inspire artists and thinkers today.

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Posted in music | Tagged birthplace, famous strikes, grave, hospital, locations, marker, new jersey, new york city, NJ, ny, nyc, ok, okemah, oklahoma, this land is your land, woody guthrie | Leave a comment

beasts of the southern wild locations

Posted on January 16, 2013 by peter bell

Beasts of the Southern Wild could be the film that gives Hollywood back its soul. The film is nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the youngest Best Actress nomination ever in Quvenzhané Wallis. Shot on a shoe-string budget for $1.8 million (to compare, Life of Pi cost $120 million), the film stars locals from the Terrebonne Parish neighborhood of Monegut where the co-writers lived for a year before the production of the film.

Anecdotes abound about how the film’s crew and talent were immersed in the creation of the film, and nobody likes a good story like Hollywood. Here’s hoping the Academy recognizes a truly unique and significant contribution to cinema.

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Posted in movies | Tagged Academy Awards, Auroch, beasts of the southern wild, Cave Paintings, LA, locations, Louisiana, Monegut, New Orleans, Oscars, Terrebonne Parish | Leave a comment