LarsMortensen.com Bio/Blog

In the last week I’ve started my day a few times watching music documentaries and live performances.

Looking for some live Neil Young I found this interview with Charlie Rose from 2008.

Man, I love Neil Young.  I identify so much with what he’s saying in here.  So many things including the responsibility to the flow that gives songs to people.  The night I really discovered Neil Young was at the annual Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline 1998.  A bunch of huge bands played and they all played essentially acoustic sets.  Well Neil was kind of the MC, and he played a few songs by himself between bands.  This man, with just a guitar, a harmonica, and his voice had the whole place silent like a library.  There were people with their mouths hanging open just overcome by this one man in a huge 20,000+ amphitheatre.  R.E.M. played that night, a very intimate set.  I also remember Neil playing his song “Helpless” with Phish, and at the end they repeated the “Helpless, Helpless, Helpless” line in a 5 part harmony that was like, soul crushing.  I was speechless after that.

Seeing kindred spirits like this is refreshing and invigorating just like a good vacation.  Watching the interview I  was inspired to take advantage of this little blog y’all read to tell you about a few things I like.  Not just musical things.

Hmm… I love to to be alone.
I love my friends.
I love to see my friends succeed.
I love real conversation and debate.  The kind where people are actually speaking there mind, expressing true opinions.  Revealing that they can think for themselves.  Where people engage themselves and their minds.  I’m sure you would agree that this is harder to come by then it should be.

I love modern japanese author, Haruki Murakami.  Absolutely fantastic.  Serious depth yet often strange and mindbending in an altered reality kind of way.  Right up my alley.  Kafka on the Shore, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and A Wild Sheep Chase are all fantastic.

I really love radio plays,  specifically those from L.A. Theater Works.  Friday nights on KUOW in Seattle they broadcast 2 hour radio plays presented by LATW.  This is one of my favorite things in terms of entertainment.  I’ll listen while enjoying a good meal (at ten o’clock? yeah, I love the night), and maybe some wine.  Or sometimes I’ll load my mp3 player and take a walk and listen.  I have a few secret spots outside the house I like to go to and watch the world go by while listening to one of these awesome plays.  Really, check ‘em out.  They  include famous plays and books, translated to radio, and also include famous serious actors.  WARNING!  In order to really get these stories, to get the full benefit, you have to actually listen.  Sit down, and focus on what’s going on.  Once the voices and characters are marked in your brain you can drift a bit if you want.  That is another thing I like about these.  There’s no screen, you have to focus on the screen in your mind, like a book I suppose.  A little while ago they started “podcasting” the plays so you can get them via the internet.  It’s also how I discovered the company that I broadcast my WebSets through, Big Contact.

Another thing that I used to get a lot from was LibriVox.org.  It is a non-profit site where people read books and stories and post them as mp3s.  Any work that is in the public domain (pre 1923).  I went on a Sherlock Holmes binge with LibriVox.  They’ve got thousands of titles.  Think about all the classics.  Want to hear someone read ‘em to you? Load your ipod, make a cd for a long road trip, whatever.  Short stories, poetry, novels, religious and philosophical texts.  Bram Stoker, Dostoyevsky, Jane Austin, etc. etc.   You can also contribute by reading and recording something at home (it’s easier than you think).  Check them out…

What else…

I love to sing.  I love to feel the vitality singing brings for me.
I love to write something new.
I love to improvise music in groups.
I am very passionate about a lot of political stuff I can’t talk about.

I love musical documentaries, and video of live performances.
I recently watched Possibilities, a documentary about the making of a Herbie Hancock record in which he collaborated on every track with some other famous, or established artist.  I love that kind of thing.  Seeing all the different ways people work, the different talents and their different forms.

From pop stars to jazz genius’, here’s the list of people featured on the different songs:
Christina Aguilera, Trey Anastasio, Brian Eno, Lisa Hannigan, Angélique Kidjo, Jonny Lang, Annie Lennox, Lionel Louke, John Mayer, Raul Midon, Greg Phillinganes, Damien Rice, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Paul Simon, Sting, Joss Stone.
That doesn’t include his awesome backing band players.  I’m a music creation geek and I love this kind of stuff.

I also watched an MTV produced documentary about Nirvana called the” Nevermind  Interviews”, which was a bit of a blast from the past.  Nirvana was one of my first musical obsessions.  In one of my first bands in highschool, sometimes at practice, as an activity we would just cover the entire Nevermind album.  Ahhhh, the innocent good old days.  Something that always trips me out watching old Nirvana footage is the fact that Dave Grohl, now leader of the Foo Fighters, was their drummer. I  mean that guy is freakin’ awesome on those drums.  His place in music history was secured just in that.  I’m sure he would have made a place for his other musical talents to shine whether Nirvana had continued or not, but it really is amazing.

Wow… I’ll stop there.
Don’t forget to check out the latest WebSet.
See y’all soon…
Lars