Category: Uncategorized

GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OR TWO OF AN ESPECIALLY GOOD OR INTERESTING:
1. Movie score. Last Exit from Brooklyn by Mark Knopfler. I assume this means not the soundtrack, where I would pick “The Harder They Come” or “West Side Story”.
2. TV theme. Hill Street Blues. In fact, I have a whole album of Mike Post TV theme songs (Rockford Files, L.A. Law) on vinyl, and except for “The Greatest American Hero”, I like ’em all.
3. Melody. There’s an old country song called “Beautiful Brown Eyes”; “Gethsemene (I Only Want to Say)” from Jesus Christ, Superstar; “Cryin’ “, though I prefer the k.d. lang/Roy Orbison version to the Orbison original.
4. Harmonic language. Beach Boys “God Only Knows” or “Our Prayer””
5. Rhythmic feel. “Moby Dick” – Led Zeppelin. I think the bass, even more than the drums, create the rhythm. “Expressway to Your Heart” – Soul Survivors. Pretty much any uptempo Motown song of the 1960s; “Love Is Like An Itchin’ In My Heart” is running through my head presently.
6. Hip-hop track. Not my area of expertise. “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” – Grandmaster Flash.
7. Classical piece. The Samuel Barber Adagio. Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.
8. Smash hit. Oh, like I could narrow it. “I Only Have Eyes for You” – the Flamingoes; “Since You’ve Been Gone” – Aretha Franklin, which is perfect song because, after one note, it goes right to the tune, not allowing disc jockeys to talk over the opening; “The Boxer”- Simon & Garfunkel.
9. Jazz album. I’ve recently recommended Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. I’m thinking some compilation album that hits on some varied vocalists. If pushed, one of the songbooks that Ella did.
10. Non-American folkloric group. Afro Celt
11. Book on music. Most of my books are list books: Top Pop Singles, Top Pop Albums” Forced to pick a narrative form, “Blues People” by LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka.
***
An attempt at humor, sent to me:

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Chanukah cards.
She says to the clerk, “May I have 50 Chanukah stamps?”
The clerk says, “What denomination?”
“Oh my God,” the woman says, “Has it come to this? Give me 6 Orthodox, 12 Conservative, and 32 Reform.”

The only time I ever literally fell out of my seat laughing was when I saw the movie Young Frankenstein in the scene when the monster, played by Boyle, was having…difficulties with a blind man, played by Gene Hackman. I thought this was so terribly funny, that I fell into the aisle of the movie theater, convulsing. YF is my favorite Brooks film.

Conversely, I didn’t LOVE Raymond, so I never saw the TV show, except for one episode, for which he – reportedly – should have won an Emmy.

As for the album: if you like James Taylor, you’ll probably like the disc. What does one want from a Christmas album? A couple of unexpected cuts – he sings In the Bleak Midwinter, which I seldom here on “secular” albums. A twist on the familiar – “Jingle Bells” reminds me of a slowed-up version of the Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters version, for some reason.

As I noted the other day, Lefty asks LOTS of questions. One from this post last week got me thinking about “Christmas” songs, and why some of them actually are considered as such. Moreover, why one couldn’t play some of them, say, in January? Or February? Three of them are on all versions of the James Taylor album: Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, and the somewhat randy Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Let It Snow also qualifies. And as I’ve described here, we’re not even IN Christmastime, we’re in Advent, so some of those Christ-Mass songs don’t even make sense until December 25 or later – the Three Kings may have taken their time getting to the manger.

So, I resolve:
1. to keep playing Christmas music until January 6, Three Kings Day, and
2. in honor of the biggest Christmas geek I know, to play some winter songs on January 30
Probably doing other things on January 30, which will be discussed in due course.

You might have heard about the so-called “War on Christmas from these articles:
Mo Rocca Wants His Christmas Big
‘Christmas’ makes a comeback in public spaces
W.Va. City’s Xmas Scene Has No Jesus
Critics Aren’t Keeping Quiet Over ‘Silent Night’ Lyrics Change
But no one can declare a war on Christmas like this person.

Studio 60 is rebroadcasting its Christmas show, last broadcast on Monday, December 4, on Monday, December 18. The last six minutes or so are rather affecting.

So, no insights on BUSTED: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters, a 45-MINUTE You Tube video link e-mailed to me on “how to successfully refuse unwarranted police searches and seizures by exercising your constitutional rights”, also available on DVD from FlexYourRights.org. No review (yet) of the St. Elsewhere Season 1 DVD I got in the mail Friday. Don’t have the brain cells to ascertain if the middle name of Barack Obama will prove to be a political liability. But do go see A Charlie Brown Christmas, As Performed by the Cast of Scrubs, recommended by some guy in Buffalo.

Actual content tomorrow, probably.

What is the best concert or festival you’ve been to in your lifetime?

Answered here about a year ago, and nothing has changed in the intervening period. Not even seeing the Turtles. What I didn’t note was that the T Heads were on the tour that brought forth the Stop Making Sense movie, which I have never seen, although I have the soundtrack.

What music does your daughter enjoy that you are tickled pink that she likes?

She likes anything that’s danceable. I got a kick out of her dancing to London Calling. But she has definite dislikes, though I’m not remembering specifically, except that it was a song that came from the Gordon-sponsored Mixed CD collection; she thought it was noise, and I probably agreed with her.

I’m formulating my Top Ten Music, what are some ones that might have slipped my eagle-eye gaze?

This is a tough question. I mean, I know that Gordon turned you on to stuff that I figured you might already have hit upon, but apparently had not. With that caveat:

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue. It is on that ALL-Time list for a reason. Get it. In fact, why don’t you find the ALL-Time list or one of those thousands of Rolling Stone Best Of lists and tell us what you have, so your musical gurus can endlessly taunt you about what you’re missing?
Dave Brubeck. Don’t have a specific album in mind. There’s a Greatest Hits which I don’t have, and The Essential DB, which I’ve given as gifts, but you can’t go wrong with Time Out, which, last I checked, cost $7.99 on Amazon. All sorts of funky meters, not just 5/4.
Elvis Costello – Spike. No, I say again: EC is NOT just a singles artist. The nature of my fondness for this album is based on some of the same reasons I like The Beatles’ Revolver, which is that it’s musically all over the place. From the Amazon review: “you could call Spike the beginning of Elvis Costello’s super-eclectic period. The 1989 disc…offered everything from the bed rock New Orleans sounds of Allen Toussaint and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band to clanging rockabilly, Paul McCartney collaborations (including the sparkling pop hit “Veronica”), and a jazz-ballad standard in the making (“Baby Plays Around” ).”
Paul McCartney – Tug of War. I almost picked Flowers in the Dirt, which was recorded around the same time as Costello’s Spike (Elvis sings on a couple tunes, and reportedly gave Macca the push to actually allow the “My Brave Face” bass line to sound like Beatle Paul.) But I opted for the earlier disc. Paul’s solo/Wings output was always uneven, but this one is pretty solid. It has a fun duet with Stevie Wonder – and I DON’T mean Ebony and Ivory – plus a duet with Carl Perkins.
And speaking of Stevie Wonder – you might as well get his whole late 1972 to 1980 output (Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Songs in the Key of Life, Hotter than July), EXCEPT Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.
Finally, I’m a big fan of the Johnny Cash American albums. While the third (Solitary Man) and fourth (The Man Comes Around) albums have great songs, and the first one (American Recordings) is a wonderful solo effort, I’m thinking that the second one, Unchained, might be a good choice if you don’t have it. It’s more “commercial” – don’t mean that pejoratively – in that he’s backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I thought it’d be a big crossover hit, but it did more poorly than 1, 3 or 4. Actually, what you REALLY need is the fifth disc from the JRC box set, a greatest hits set from the four, but I haven’t seen it for sale separately.
If you asked me next month, it might be a whole ‘nother list.

You have any music that your wife won’t let you play when she’s around?