John Legend - Blog Posts

I never knew how much I needed this

At that point in my life where I FINALLY understand why people cry when they hear certain songs.

Exhibit A:

Ferme de Noël 2021

The annual Christmas market was held in our town.

It was done on a vast farm inspired by a rural town in France, me and Hug fully enjoyed shopping and meal there.

It felt like a fleeting trip to Europe :-)))

フランスの田舎をイメージしてつくられた地元の広大な農業公園で、この時期になると仏語でクリスマスの農場を意味する”Ferme de Noël”と名付けられたクリスマスマーケットが開催されます。

僕とハグも２年ぶりに朝一番で行ってみましたが、今年は全国の人気ショップが多数出店していたのに加えて、コロナの感染状況がかなり落ち着いていることもあり、時間の経過とともに人出が物凄いことになってきたので早めに退散。。。👀💦

若干人酔いしそうになりながらも（笑）束の間のヨーロッパ小旅行気分を愉しみました😆✈️🇫🇷🐶

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PD3bMHWavhU

Ferme de Noël  2018

A Christmas market was held in our town :-D Stores such as handmade Christmas miscellaneous goods, antiques, botanicals, etc. were lining up, street performances such as music live were seen here and there, and it was like Christmas in a rural town in Europe. Yeaaaah ! What a very fun day ! Hug also seemed so happy, because a lot of her friend's dogs came here :-))))

クリスマスの季節が　やってきた 幸せと陽気さ　誰もが楽しい 子どもたちが大好きな　この季節

クリスマスの季節が　やってきた そこここの家族が　みんなみんな　輝いてる 一年じゅう　こんな気持ちなら　いいね ( Vince Guaraldi『Christmas time is here』より )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itQohVDgJEs

songs and their stories

Did you feel the way I did, when Leith Ross said, ‘oh, what a wonderful feeling, to own and operate your life; oh, what a terrible burden, all my decisions are mine’? Like an eighteen year old child, a twenty one year old toddler; forever young; like a duckling imprinting on the first person it sees; like a sea turtle – just knowing your home is the sea, knowing you’ll be hunted the moment you break free; like wandering into a brand new city, like learning how to swim for the first time – a sudden shove, a lightning fast pull, static; like the taste of freedom, once sweet, turning into ash the more you realize accountability is yours, and yours only; like the world is too big, and at your feet; like a carousal – the feeling of wind rushing making you want to spin spin spin spin- ignoring the nausea rising; like wanting to dance in the rain, but unwilling to leave the warmth of the hearth keeping you cozy.  

Did it make you think the way it made me, when James Bay said, ‘tell me how to be in this world; tell me how to breathe in and feel no hurt; tell me how could I believe in something’, and John Legend said, ‘I try to do the things, I say that I believe’? Like swimming upstream; like rolling the stone till you reach the peak, only to meet another hill; like wanting to change the world one droplet at a time, knowing life is too short for you see it become an ocean; like having faith in the flutter of tiny wings, if the butterfly effect is simply a myth, your existence would lose all meaning; like you’re watching the world from the sofa, popcorn shamefully at your feet when you need a break from the bloody, gory documentary; like knowing too much, wishing you were little; like a throat sore from screaming, hoping you could make someone else see; like falling falling falling, not knowing if there is an upwards from the rock bottom beneath your feet; like breathing in icy cold air, existence akin to slow ruin; like the sweat from holding onto someone’s hand for far too long - clammy, icky, safety.

 -kpm ©

https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x32ybcm

(via (mashup) John Legend - All of Me bw Cake - Video Dailymotion)

https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x32ybcm

(via (mashup) John Legend - All of Me bw Cake - Video Dailymotion)

Currently feeling feelings over Peter’s Denial

We now shift outside the high priest's house to an apostle in trouble. This is "Peter's Denial."

I've grown less self-conscious about repeating myself with recordings, so here again is the live Australian cast from 1973 with an interesting, string-laden, fast-paced take on this little scene.

You know the drill...

The Lyrics

MAID BY THE FIRE I THINK I'VE SEEN YOU SOMEWHERE I REMEMBER YOU WERE WITH THAT MAN THEY TOOK AWAY I RECOGNISE YOUR FACE

PETER YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN LADY I DON'T KNOW HIM AND I WASN'T WHERE HE WAS TONIGHT NEVER NEAR THE PLACE

SOLDIER THAT'S STRANGE FOR I AM SURE I SAW YOU WITH HIM YOU WERE RIGHT BY HIS SIDE AND YET YOU DENIED

PETER I TELL YOU I WAS NEVER EVER WITH HIM

OLD MAN BUT I SAW YOU TOO IT LOOKED JUST LIKE YOU

PETER

(ad lib shout)

I DON'T KNOW HIM

MARY MAGDALENE PETER DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE SAID YOU'VE GONE AND CUT HIM DEAD

PETER I HAD TO DO IT DON'T YOU SEE OR ELSE THEY'D GO FOR ME

MARY MAGDALENE IT'S WHAT HE TOLD US YOU WOULD DO I WONDER HOW HE KNEW

The Plot

He ran away from the scene of the arrest, but he couldn't bear not knowing what was happening to his teacher. Small surprise, then, that Peter followed the arresting party to the house of Caiaphas. Unable to enter himself, he warmed up by a campfire outside.

Not the world's smartest decision. Three onlookers (a maid, a soldier, and an old man) all recognize Peter as one of the men who were with Jesus earlier. Each time he vehemently denies his association, just as Jesus said he would, to the dismay of Mary, who wonders how Jesus knew that would happen...

The Analysis

Aside from the soldier becoming a generic "Solo from the Mob" in the currently licensed score, everything has stayed the same in this scene, lyrically and dramatically, since 1970, so time to once again chart the recurring motifs musically.

We've got:

Peter denying Jesus three times (as predicted), to the main theme from "Strange Thing, Mystifying," which originally accompanied Judas' criticism of Jesus' relationship with Mary -- thereby connecting Peter musically with Judas, both of them now betrayers of Jesus, and...

...when Mary points out that Peter did as Jesus said he would, she sings this to the betrayal motif from the Last Supper, even further underscoring Peter's betrayal.

Let it never be said Andrew Lloyd Webber didn't have a purpose in choosing a cyclical nature for these melodies!

Mildly Unrelated Op.-Ed.

In marked contrast to how he's described in the Bible, Peter kind of gets the short end of the stick in JCS. He doesn't have a lot to do as a solo vocalist, aside from "Peter's Denial" and "Could We Start Again Please?" He's pretty much just "one of the boys" in any staging; it's usually hard to even identify who Peter is unless he's singled out from the start, until his big moments in the second act.

Audition notices, no doubt building on what scripture makes him out to be, tend to describe him in terms like "gentle" or phrases along the lines of "slow to find his strength, but when he does, he becomes a stabilizing force among the apostles." But I gotta tell ya... I don't see it. There's not enough material there on paper to cover that ground.

When I've contemplated directing the show over the years, I've begun to pay special attention to the roles of Simon Zealotes and Peter. Simon's sole major appearance is in Act I, and Peter's couple of big scenes are in Act II, both without set-up or real follow-through. Can you see where I'm going with this?

Taking my cue from the recent European tour featuring Ted Neeley, I've thought of casting one performer to play both parts, billed separately due to contractual obligation but essentially a single role. It cuts costs (remember, I'm a producer first and foremost), creates a useful character arc out of two thankless ones without changing a word or note, and as long as there are twelve bodies (and one Jesus) around the table in Act II, those in the audience versed in the source can simply infer that Simon became Peter over the show's course, just like the notoriously temperamental Peter was originally called Simon in the Bible.

Let me go back to that second thing for a moment: "creates a useful character arc out of two thankless ones without changing a word or note." I want to unpack that to further sell my point.

What is Simon, really? He's exuberant, he's militant, someone who clearly jumps in before he really understands what's going on. He calls on his master to overthrow the Romans, only to be told he doesn't get the picture. Maybe, like Judas in The Last Temptation of Christ ("...only you understand it? Well, you'd better make me understand it too!"), he decides to wrestle with that, but he's not quite there yet. When the cops break up the scene, he reverts to form, only to be told, "Dude, not only are you wrong, it is way past the time what you're offering would be helpful. Don't quit your day job." How do you react to that? Maybe you discover you're not the Zealot you thought you were, and when the chips are down, out of both frustration and self-preservation, you deny you even know the guy when cornered by the opposition. And you still cling to the faint hope that this will change: "Alright, you've made your point. Time to unleash the fury, right? ...RIGHT???" Very powerful, fully-realized character there.

It's worth a thought, anyway...

Coming Up Next:

They said "take him to Pilate," and that's where he's headed for a showdown: "Pilate and Christ."

The Black List at the National Portrait Museum

Toni Morrison

If you live or plan on visiting the Washington DC area any time soon, go check out The Black List at the National Portrait Museum.

This exhibit showcases portraits taken by photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who worked with Elvis Mitchell to compile a list of individuals that represent the 20th Century African-American experience. 

Debra Lee

Russell Simmons

Steve Stoute (His work has become my passion/obsession. Please be my mentor!)

John Legend

Susan Rice

Suzanne de Passe

La La Land (2016)

Smoking: Horus

So, this week is going to be different on Reefer Reels N Reviews. I haven’t actually seen this movie. I have been wanting to, barely know anything about what it is other than Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are in it. So let’s see how this review goes today!

Opening to people in traffic, everyone listening to different music. And breaking into our musical right away. People getting out of cars to sing and dance. And of course, there is that one van randomly full of musicians in the back just ready to play. Lol. Then we have a guy parkouring across all the cars. When you look at what they pan out to for the highway it totally doesn’t seem like there should be that traffic on that overpass. Very misplaced.

Why is Emma Stone missing a headrest?? So, she is a struggling actress with big dream. Has 4 roommates who are encouraging and seem like they are all best friends. We shall see if that lasts. They all go to this party together in one car, and then after the number Emma is going back to her car, but it ends up being towed. Why is she walking home alone? Did all of her roommates hook up with someone? How depressing.

I was just looking through iMDB at the cast list. I know like 2 other people that are in this...

Now to switch to Ryan and see what he did with that day. Enter the other person I know in this film. J.K. Simmons. Looks like he is Ryan’s boss. He plays the piano at a restaurant. I never knew that he played the piano. Mainly because I’m too busy admiring his body, or thinking about it if I’m being honest lolol.

I just thought about it and this is, at least that I know of, the second movie that Gosling and Stone have been in together. There were in Crazy Stupid Love with Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore. Oh, I LOOOOOVE Julianne! I need to watch 13 Ghosts next I think 😊

Back to the movie. Ryan just got fired and Emma is just staring at him. And their first real encounter is not great. Like at all.

Time for another party. At least this one is playing the type of music I like lol. The dancing she is doing is like terrible. But I guess that was the point lol. Hehehe, Ryan just told Emma, “Guess I’ll see you in the movies.” I know it is just for the movie, but it’s ironic. OMG! Ryan just told her to put the car key to her chin to make you’re a head an antenna. MY DAD TOLD ME ABOUT THAT. I’ve NEVER heard that from anyone buy him before! Sorry. Got a little to excited about something dumb. Lol

I’m only 30mins in and already almost 500 words. This will be a long one. I’m sure I’ll delete some stuff during the editing process. Like probably this. How funny would it be if it stays 😂

Well time for the first pause. I just munched on some backed flaming hot Cheetos with limon and now I need some more water. Still have an hour and 20mins left in the movie. And got more snacks lol.

Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten before this part. They are in the planetarium and they just start floating and now they are in the clouds and dancing like in the Milky Way. Talk about trippy…

I do thing that Emma and Ryan always make a cute couple. Jealous of course because he is one hunk of a man. But I mean. I understand lolol.

And here is the other person I recognize, John Legend! He’s wonderful and he is so lucky to have the ever-beautiful Chrissy Tegan as his wife. The music in this movie is beautiful.

So as I’m coming to the end of the movie I’ll sum up some of what I’m thinking since I haven’t seen it before so I had to focus a little more. Have to say, this wasn’t my favorite process so doing these will be rare.

And a 3rd I didn't see on the list, because it has soooo many people in it, is Tom Everett Scott. I loooove him as Guy Patterson in That Thing You Do! Great movie with Tom Hanks if you've never seen it.

This movie is about two dreamers who want different, yet similar things. They are both artists and they meet and fall in love. They help each other grow and realize their dreams. Sure it’s a great premise for a movie. But not one of my favorites.

 So, I don’t know the next time I’ll watch it, if ever. Not that I don’t think they did a good job, because it is a good movie. But it was all a little predictable. Most movies are, but I mean from the opening dance number I was expecting all of what happened.

That’s for this session of Reefers-Reels-N-Reviews.

Till next time <3

-RRR