What a nice surprise I had this morning! Today’s the end of the month, so they announced “It’s time for the Excellence Awards again. Here are the winners…Mr. Jones as runner-up for Teacher of the Month…” I was very excited to have even been nominated, much less come in 2nd. It felt like a nice validation of my work. Sometimes I try my best but still feel ineffective. But I must have made an impact to have been nominated by students. I felt proud, and Betsy congratulated me at the end of the day as well.

Edit (May 3, 2007): Today I found out that I actually was chosen as Teacher of the Month. They put a thing in my box that said they would provide a Chik-Fil-A lunch on Friday for me. Then they took a picture of me and asked me to fill out a little bio sheet. My picture is going to be placed at the front of the school along with the other Teachers of the Month! It made me feel really good.

Covers and their Originals

Our third podcast! This week, we take an assortment of our favorite covers and compare them to their originals. For some reason, I’m particularly proud of the music selection this week. It includes some of my favorite modern artists, including Ryan Adams, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, and much more!

Be sure to leave comments! What did you think of our musings? Also tell us what songs you would have chosen.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Track Listing for Podcast
1. Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower
2. Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower
3. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold the World
4. David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World
5. David Bowie – Let’s Dance
6. M. Ward – Let’s Dance
7. Gary Jules – Mad World
8. Tears for Fears – Mad World
9. Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah
10. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah
11. Rufus Wainwright – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
13. The Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
14. Ryan Adams – Wonderwall
15. Oasis – Wonderwall
16. Gnarls Barkley – Gone Daddy Gone
17. Violent Femmes – Gone Daddy Gone
17. Cake – Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
18. Trio Los Panchos – Quizás, Quizás, Quizás

[tags]Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, David Bowie, M. Ward, Gary Jules, Tears for Fears, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, The Hollies, Ryan Adams, Oasis, Gnarls Barkley, Violent Femmes, Cake, Trio Los Panchos[/tags]

Gonzales – Solo Piano

As a fan of Feist, I had heard some of her remix album Open Season. There I was first exposed to the solo piano “remix” by Gonzales of one of her songs. Then I found this album, Solo Piano. It is truly amazing. When I first played it for Betsy, she thought that it was straight classical and loved it. But then when I told her it was modern and original, she loved it even more. We were both impressed.

For its modern flair and background combined with classical music sense, this album is extremely enjoyable to listen to over and over.

[tags]Gonzales, Feist[/tags]

Betsy and I have just returned from one of the most moving musical experiences of my entire life. Per Betsy’s suggestion, we decided to go see Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, presented by the Emory Symphony Orchestra and the Emory University Chorus of over 200 singers. It was singular experience, indescribable. As I try to recount it here, I can’t even find words.

And we got home even faster than the shock could wear off. Dang, I love living in Atlanta. We woke up from a little nap at 7pm, moseyed over to Emory, saw an operatic performance, and home by 9:15. And it was free, presented by the University.

S1E9

Yesterday Dad picked me up from work and brought me home. Then we jammed out for a couple hours. It was a blast. For some reason, it struck me to back him up with Open G tuning on slide. So I went and grabbed a butter knife out of the kitchen and started backing him up. For never having played slide with anyone, and for only having a butter knife as a slide, it sounded pretty good! Betsy said so, at least. hehe. We had a lot of fun. Betsy even recorded a few songs of us jamming, right after we first started playing. Above is us playing “Folsom Prison.”