O Fortuna!

Originally Poste 1/7/03

---

To start off the new year, I thought I'd take D's advice, and branch out from the pop/rock genres and provide a wider variety of music. In this case I thought I'd try to provide a work that appeals to D's long standing involvement in choral music and performance.

A few caveats...

First, I know jack-diddly-squat about classical music, so have little information to provide.

Second, I own very few classical, jazz, blues or other genre albums, so my selection is limited. I'd love to take suggestions about anything I could purchase and share with everyone. (No Kenny G! or other "light jazz!" You are on your own for that stuff.)

Third, without a more advanced MP3 program, which would allow the mixing of mp3 tracks, I've found it difficult to translate classical works to easily shared computer files. CDs write the individual tracks based on the individual movements of a piece, so, for example, to send the entire Concerto No. 2 in F Major by J.S. Back, it would require four separate files, each more than four minutes long. At best, to conserve space, I'll be sending single movements.

Anyway... back to today's piece. Again, the only choral work I know by ear... mostly because it's been used for dramatic soundtracks in dozen's of movies. Carmina Burana, by Carl Orff, is still a very stirring piece. I've only included the introduction, which should be instantly recognized by most.

Composed in 1936, I believe performed first in 1937, this cantata stands as one of THE essential 20th century choral works.

This is the 1989 recording for Naxos records, by the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Beauty of Naxos is that they recorded hundreds of classical works during the 80's and '90s, using Eastern European orchestras and performers... STARVING Eastern European orchestras and performers... who would work for food money and be happy about it. You get these incredible performances for like $6.98... because the recording royalties were so minimal.

Gotta love exploitive capitalism.

Anyway, enjoy "O Fortuna" the first movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

She Comes With Guns Underneath Her Dress

Originally posted 1/5/2003

(The same group of people who received the Tuesday Tune also formed a work bowling league, so this post took the form of a suggested team name... plus theme song!)

---

My first vote goes for "Where's Gumby?" That's simply a great name for a team.

My second vote goes for the following, as I can also offer a theme song to go along with the name.

Action Figure Party!

Name of our team... (Plus it's the name of the band, one guy really, and the album.)

I Forgot Cranberries Too!

Originally posted 12/24/02

---

Despite the lack of any comment on my "Thanksgiving" selection ("Appetite" by Prefab Sprout), I thought I'd try to stick with the seasons and send out a Christmas song. Whether you celebrate the holiday or not... whether it is spiritual or secular... the sheer fact of Christmas is something that can't be ignored.

So here is a little pop ditty by The Waitresses called "Christmas Wrapping". Considered a "One Hit Wonder" group with their '82 hit "I Know What Boys Like" this post-punk, new wave band put out two albums before self destructing. (Plus they did the theme song for "Square Pegs" if you remember that show.) Unfortunately the lead singer, Patty Donahue, died in 1996, of cancer. Her vocal stylings are what sold the biting lyrics, and put the Waitresses on the map... at least for a little while.

Enjoy.

Take Me Away From This Big Bad World

Originally sent 12/10/02

---

Blur was the greatest British guitar band of the '90s. I'll take on anyone who claims that Oasis was better. The Gallagher brothers may have been bigger in the states, but they couldn't compare with Blur in terms of originality and all around talent. Oasis and all the other British guitar bands wouldn't have even been considered for major release if Blur hadn't paved the way with Parklife in '94.

Originally seen as part of the dying Madchester scene with their '91 debut Leisure, Blur, headed by Damon Albarn, took great pains to grow beyond that musical style and forge a unique sound that continued to change with the times.

My favorite song of their more recent releases is "Coffee and TV" from the album 13. Not only is this tune subtly charming but the video that goes along with it is an instant classic. Too bad this kind of thing doesn't make it on to MTV anymore.




(Note: If interested, Albarn recently has joined up with an eclectic group, including Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of the Talking Heads, and comic creator Jamie Hewlett, to create a virtual/cartoon band, called Gorillaz. It is an Alt Rock/Rap group that pushes the envelope of what it means to be a band. Gorillaz is created, produced and even tours internationally as a group of animated characters (2-D, Murdoc, Russell and Noodles)... and the actual performers are very far behind the scenes. Their single "Clint Eastwood" was a huge hit in 2001, and the entire album is worth checking out.)

Server Down - Gotta Love Technology

For some reason, my website via Comcast is completely down, which means the music I have stored there is not accessible via link. Very strange. As soon as I know more, I'll have things back up and runnning. It currently only shuts down the song "Everybody Loves Jill" so other than that... hmmm... guess we'll see.

The Best Part Of The Blame

Originally sent 11/26/02

---

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. If this works, this e-mail should send on Tuesday, even though I'm not there. Hope you all have a good day (or more) off. Relax... eat... enjoy the moment.

For your holiday celebration (even if all you are celebrating is a day off) here is an appropriately titled song to go along with what seems to be our most favored past time, in this department... eating. Clearly the song is not about that kind of appetite, but it still fits.

The group is Prefab Sprout and the album Steve McQueen, or as it was released here in the states, Two Wheels Good. Relatively unknown over here, this group was huge in Britain in the 80's and early 90's. Probably one of the most under appreciated groups ever, in my opinion. The driving member of the group, Paddy McAloon, is a formidable song writer and lyricist. Lilting and satirical, I often get the sense that Paddy has his tongue planted firmly in cheek, but finds himself biting it a lot. No other group I've ever heard really compares here. Along with R.E.M., U2, the Replacements and others... I set Prefab Sprout up as defining Alternative Pop/Rock in all ways good.

Mostly out of print at this point, Epic/Legacy issued a Prefab Sprout collection in 2001 that should still be available. I highly recommend it.

This is "Appetite."

The Luckiest In Luckydom

Originally sent 11/19/02

---

Since I've been so busy, I thought that this week, I'd let the computer choose today's selection. See, I have close to 500 mp3 files on my hard drive, and when I listen to them, I put the player on shuffle, and let the computer select them "randomly."

But they don't seem all that random. I have something like 50 some songs that have never been played by the computer... while at the same time, I have a couple songs that have been played 10 or 11 times. The bell curve is around 2 for the selections, but clearly my computer likes certain songs better than others.

True, it could be explained by statistics or chaos theory or a poorly designed algorhythm... but I prefer to anthropomorphize the circuit board.

It has a current taste in pop music. The two most listened to songs are Pete Yorn's "Life On A Chain" from musicforthemorningafter at 10 plays, and "Lucky One" by Michael Penn, from MP4. Both albums from the past year or so.

Here is "Lucky One" by the musical Penn brother and husband of Aimee Mann.

Personally, I'm kinda sick of this song. heh.

Should I Cry Like A Baby Or Die Like A Man?

Originally sent 11/12/02

---

Just sending this to you five, as it is what I want to send out for Tuesday's Tune, but probably shouldn't.

I may be taking a bit of a risk here. I don't think this song is inappropriate, but my comments below just might be. No offense intended to anyone, but today's foreign policy climate inspires this choice.

Back in the '80s, while America flailed about under the rule of a doddering actor with delusions of grandeur, our English neighbors across the pond were in much more dire straights. Reagan may have been the village idiot made good, but Thatcher was pathological and dangerous. This was the woman who supported criminalization of poverty and rounding up AIDS victims into quarantine camps. The pop culture of Britain is replete with images of young people trying to find their way in a bleak and hostile environment. The punk movement grew out of this, and the post-punk, alt-rock genres continued the cry. If you want one album to encapsulate the Britain of the '80s, it has to be Infected by The The. (No that isn't a typo... the band is called The The) The The is really a solo project by Matt Johnson, who uses a variety of musicians and bands on this album (notably Neneh Cherry and Pop Will Eat Itself). As was the beauty of a lot of 80's pop, it combined new found electronics with dance beats and social commentary that was lost in the boom 90's and the Nexter's simple minded optimism. (Ooohhh... that sounded bitter, now didn't it?)

The song I've chosen is "Sweet Bird of Truth" and with one listen I think you'll understand why I feel it quite appropriate for our 21st century world.

Everybody Happy As The Dead Come Home

Originally posted 11/5/02

---

First: Haiku from last Saturday night...

Bouncing, all laughing
Often bruised and collapsing
Trampoline beckons


From my recent experience on the trampoline, I'm tempted to submit Lil Bow Wow's "Bounce With Me" as the song of the week. Then, I thought I'd look for something a little better.

Ok...next...

In honor of the recently arrived BFA, now known as Esme, I looked for any songs by that name. I found one..."Esme"... by a British Jazz/Pop artist named Andy Sheppard. His self titled album came out back in 1988, and seems to be out of print. I'm actually intrigued enough by this to try and track it down, but that could take a while. Not going to make it for this Tuesday.

Strike Two.

So... late for Halloween, I'm submitting Shriekback, "Nemesis" from their album Oil & Gold. I noticed that Carla had this on her list, and Andrea knew about this group as well. It is rare that I run into folks who know this band. An 80's New Wave, dance, alt-rock band... this song was a staple on the "alternative nights" I frequented at Graphitti's on Thursday's. (Unfortunately that bar is long gone.) Shriekback was one of the few bands successful at incorporating electronica with incredible bass lines from Dave Allen (formerly of XTC), adding haunting rock/dance arrangements without becoming synth-pop or goth.

Their greatest song is probably "Gunning For The Buddha" off of Big Night Music, but I couldn't resist exposing you all to the only song I know that effectively used the word "parthenogenesis" as a lyric.

Tuesday Tune Talk

Originally from 10/28/02

The Tuesday Tune generated some musical discussion which culminated in some Top 10 lists that I thought I'd share.

---
From JFA:

I've been working on this list for weeks now and am frankly tired of having it sit next to my desktop so I thought I would send it out this morning. The baby has heard all of them so should be prepped once s/he decides to join us topside.
Following Steve, Cindy and Jamie's leads of several weeks ago, this is my list of.....
GREAT ALBUMS FROM THE EARLY 90'S AND BEFORE THAT I CAN'T PUT AWAY
1. Nevermind Nirvana
2. Joshua Tree U2
3. Synchronicity The Police
4. Graceland Paul Simon
5. Blonde on Blonde Dylan
6. Blood on the Tracks Dylan
7. Sticky Fingers The Stones
8. Exile on Main Street The Stones
9. Little Creatures Talking Heads
10. Legend Bob Marley
11. Any Beatles but mainly Sgt. Peppers and Revolver

Elvis Costello would be on this list but I can't decide which one since I didn't really become a fan until the mid 90s. At this moment, it would be This Year's Model.

Okay, as you can tell, this waiting for the baby to show up is kind of like those first 15 minutes of a party when you're waiting for the first guests to come. You do anything to keep yourself busy.

---

My Reply:

Looking back at an old, and unrevised list of Top 10 from the '80s... here is what I've found...

Top 10 Albums of the '80s (not just favorites, but influential works as well)

U2 - Joshua Tree
Peter Gabriel - So
R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Beastie Boys - License To Ill
Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair
Sinead O'Connor - The Lion & The Cobra
The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Living Colour - Vivid
Roxy Music - Avalon

(Other notables that wouldn't necessarily be on my personal list, but were great albums...
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA
John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out The Lights
The Clash - London Calling (barely makes it, as it was released January of '80)
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back


Top 10 Favorite Albums (my choices, pure and simple)

Billy Bragg - Worker's Playtime
Peter Gabriel - So
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes
Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson
Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain
The The - Infected
Shriekback - Oil & Gold
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
R.E.M. - Document
Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues

(Almost rans...
Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
Joe Jackson - Night & Day
Pete Townshend - White City
Big Audio Dynamite - No. 10 Upping Street
Prefab Sprout - Two Wheels Good
Guadalcanal Diary - Jamboree


Top 10 Favorite Singles of the '80s

The Church - "Under The Milky Way"
The The - "Uncertain Smile"
Pop Will Eat Itself - "Can U Dig It?"
Echo & The Bunnymen - "Lips Like Sugar"
R.E.M. - "It's The End Of The World As We Know It"
Psychadelic Furs - "Ghost In You"
Ministry - "Stigmata"
They Might Be Giants - "Don't Let's Start"
Jane's Addiction - "Jane Says"
Jerry Harrison - "Man With A Gun"

Some "Guilty Pleasure" albums from that period...

Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega
Underworld - Underneath The Radar
Jon Astley (no NOT Rick Astley) - Everyone Love's The Pilot (Except The Crew)
Hipsway - Hipsway
Love & Money - Strange Kind Of Love
Phil Collins - Face Value

---

From CW:

In no particular order, my albums that I can't seem to put away...(Most of which fall into the 90s)

U2 - Zooropa (really any U2 however, this one is always at the top of my list)
Shriekback - Oil & Gold
James - Laid
Live - Throwing Copper
Boingo - self titled
Indigo Girls - self titled
Pearl Jam - Ten
Jesus & The Mary Chain - Stoned & Dethroned
Pink Floyd - The Final Cut

---

I thought this was interesting, because I'd say my Top 10 has definitely changed in my reflection on the 80's, but I still love all this music.