I am getting ready to launch my very first Video Music Album! Or maybe it's supposed to be called a Visual Music Album; I'm not really sure. Basically, it will be exactly like Beyoncé's Lemonade! Except for a few minor differences:
- Beyoncé released Lemonade in April; I am releasing Closet Songs in March.
- Beyoncé made Lemonade in something less than two years, and I spent two and a half making Closet Songs. I can't tell you what Queen Bey did with her production period, but I spent most of mine procrastinating.
- I don't know for sure, because Wikipedia won't say; but I'm pretty sure Beyoncé's production budget was a little bigger (mine was $15.73, spent exclusively at CVS).
- Lemonade sold 485,000 copies the week it was released, and 2.5 million copies in total. I will not be selling any copies of Closet Songs--basically, I will be begging people to watch/listen (and, if they like what they see/hear, to share it with friends).
Closet Songs is a series of five music videos about stuff in my closet. In addition to Yours Truly, it features the talents of:
- Richard Travers, music director and pianist (for four of the five videos), who made all of the songs better in all kinds of ways
- Linda Toote, much too accomplished a flutist to be playing on my goofy projects, but who does exactly that time and again because she is much too good a friend (and much too much fun) to say no
- Julia Ansolabehere, who will very be soon be much too accomplished a clarinetist to be playing on my goofy projects, but who does exactly that time and again because I am her mother. Julia was also pressed into service as camerawoman for a couple of the songs
- Steve Ansolabehere, cameraman for a few of the other videos, a job that will likely be his forever because he turns out to be very good at it
- Special thanks to Rebecca Ansolabehere, Allison Hausman, Stella McToote and the West Suburban YMCA -- you'll have to watch the whole series to find out why!
Beyoncé dropped all 12 songs on Lemonade at once. I, on the other hand, plan to drop one video a week for the next five weeks until all five tunes are online. I have chosen this approach primarily because it allows me to fling around the phrase "drop a video" (three times in this paragraph alone!) -- much the same way as, when I go out for Indian food, I look for all possible opportunities to say the words baingan bharta.
I am choosing Wednesday because it is Hump Day, and I figure that folks may be inclined to fritter away a few extra minutes at the office by clicking around on YouTube.
So tune back in on Wednesday, when I will drop the first track! And in the meantime, you might consider heading into town for some Indian food. I'd suggest you order the baingan bharta.