How Old Is Your Musical Soul? 'Lost In Music' Competition - March Music In The ESP Spotlight

Once Upon A Time, at the tender age of 8 years old, I remember being in the kid's dressing room for Carmen Jones at The Old Vic theatre. Our chaperone had wangled us a cassette deck to help pass the time (translation: stop us annoying her) between rehearsals and our curtain time. Being a card-carrying member of the Mary Poppins club even then - in other words, my school bag was a bottomless pit that housed everything you could ever need, for any situation - I was the only one with a tape (Nite Flite 1 - it's a Classic)! 80s RnB was not what the other Younguns wanted to hear, and so halfway through the B-side, one young madam hit the Stop button and unceremoniously handed me back my "tape full of 'Rents' Music', choosing Silence over Soul music! Heathen Child...

To this day, I still listen to music from before my time - in fact, if it came down to a choice, my preference will rarely be for the current release, unless it's by a favourite artist of mine. Classical, Jazz, Soul, Country and Western (better believe this Lady is #TeamKenny); Blues, Big Band, Disco - don't let the youthful, impish grin fool you (unless I'm in trouble, in which case, you should let my charms make a mockery of your worst disciplinary intentions) - I'm pretty sure my Musical Soul is older than electricity.

Reading one Dr Victoria Williamson - she sure is a smart lady - it seems there is no leading clinical study in psychology to define and measure musicality, or identification - we're basically too awesome and complex. But there IS a fun little pastime that, if you have 25 minutes to spare, is worth giving a go. Why don't you answer the BBC as they ask you: 'How Musical Are You?'

Look Ma, it's OFFICIAL: I'm NOT Human, I'm a Music Bot!
Which means that labour fallacy can no longer be used as leverage!

I gave it a go and apparently, I barely notice the artform and it has little to no impact on my existence overall...

Just kidding! They say I'm a Music Nut in a very 'PC because it is the BBC' kind of way!

To celebrate what the Beeb left me with after picking through my brain, today's 'Music Moment' is my all-time favourite piece, and comes courtesy of my all-time favourite composer! It's got everything I need from note ONE: A call to arms, it's sultry, it's dramatic and you feel the story unfold as the composition goes on which is somewhat hilarious, considering it was unfinished on it's public début. This hypnotically gorgeous piece of music made history when it's Composer decided to just 'wing it' at it's 1924, Aeolian Hall première in New York City.

Ladies and Gents, I give you George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody In Blue':

How do you not love that? The question it raises in my mind though, is how do we apply our musical age and identity to what we produce?

The music I was raised on, went a lot farther, to produce a lot less than today's mainstream, and the bottom line was always finesse. With the multitude that we have at our disposal that, to me, says that we should be doing much more to demonstrate the innovation and evolution of music and marketing since those times. With that in mind, my application is to always feature strong content, but focus on a different aspect than my competitors en masse, and then package it with that same finesse!

Want to know more about your potential winnings?

That's why every day this month, I'm giving away services by me personally to help package and promote you and your product with - have you guessed it? Yep - that 'f' word! TWO lucky winners will get the opportunity to have their brand's social media foundation built, and their initial content maintained by one 'ES in the P'! All you have to do to be in with a chance, is answer one easy peasy, lemon squeezy question via email, before 20:13 tonight! You ready? 

Here goes:

George Gershwin also composed another massive hit about a 'foreigner' in the city currently hosting it's final day of Haute Couture Fashion Week. There is even a classic Gene Kelly film of the same name - Name That Tune!

In the last question I asked:

"No-one opens up the door, for a Native New Yorker..."

'The second to showcase in the four major fashion cities of the world; London Fashion Week was preceded by a city whose 'Natives' just so happen to make up part of a massive hit by 70s Disco Group, Odyssey - Name That Tune!'

The answer was 'Native New Yorker', of course!

Well done to those who gave it a go!

Now. I want to know your musical age in the Comments Box below - post a song or memory that gives an insight into how old you are musically! And if you're enjoying #MarchMusic thus far, let me know what you're liking (or not) in the same place!

Until the next...

ES ;)

Competition Terms & Conditions: Only one entry per person, per day. Prize applies to the 'ESPshowcase - Lights' package, and thus Twitter and Facebook accounts only. Prize offer relates to either a ONE Facebook OR ONE Twitter account only. Entry deadline is 20:13 each day, winners will be notified via email within 24 hours.

#ESPspotlight Review: ANJIN: The Shogun & The English Samurai

Anjin is the true story of William Adams, the English Sailor on a Dutch ship, wrecked off the coast of Japan in 1600, turned 'Blue-Eyed Samurai' by the force of a surly, immovable Shogun. The 400-year-old tale of the beginning of Anglo-Japanese trade relations, inspired the novel by James Clavell and subsequent TV series starring Richard Chamberlain (otherwise known as the reason the box was invented to my Mum).

The 3-hour, dual-subtitled, stage adaptation, brought to Sadler's Wells by Gregory Doran, Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a bitter tale of battle and acceptance on many levels. Though the heavy topics - history, religion and honour to name but a few, are difficult to follow at times due to the sheer deluge of information squashed into the window, the dry comedy that runs throughout and the absolutely breathtaking costumes save you from being overwhelmed.

In Stephen Boxer's depiction, you see the ripple effect of inner turmoil, confusion and indecision in a self-described "divided man" afraid of losing his identity.

As he wrestles to come to terms with the only thing he really seems to miss about England, his beloved daughter - not so much the wife, once he meets a beautiful (much younger) geisha, oddly enough...400 years or 400 minutes, some things will remain the same throughout the ages to time indefinite. Though comical, there's something very 'mid-life crisis' about his willingness to accept the ways of Japan once the sweet innocent begins to 'aid his transition' to their way of life. There's a pun in there somewhere about genuine horsepower pre-shiny red sports cars, but I'm going to leave it well alone...

Back to Mike Poulton and Sho Kawai's scripted tale; as you watch Adams struggle to acclimatise to Japanese culture and everything that comes with it, without losing himself, you also see the environment around him do the same when introduced to Christianity, English customs and a very different way of thinking.

Masachika Ichimura is a wonderfully belligerent Shogun; tough, stoic and defiantly difficult to his literal last breath. Yoshiko Tokoshima's Yododono was probably the scariest character of the entire production. Picture a Japanese Alexis Carrington meets that character that crawls out of the TV in The Ring, with a deranged Toddlers & Tiaras-type parental twist. And by 'deranged', I do mean bat crazy. We're talking the reason Social Services and tranquilisers were invented, someone remove all people, not just her own son and grandson from her vicinity-type bat crazy. 

The evolving relationship between the leads is the main example of juxtapositions that really keeps this going through to the end though.

What starts out as a dislike of stark opposites to begin with, ends up as something akin to best friends and brotherhood. Just as the bond between two young priests begins as a close mentorship degenerates into a student becoming the disappointed superior to a cowardly wimp, lying to salvage his own skin at the height of war.

A very clever, if slightly long treatment of an intriguing story, Anjin closes Saturday 9th February (Discount tickets are available for final show). 

ES ;)