Sunday, January 13, 2008
Teach Your Children Well
Taking this line from the old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young number I decided to teach my teenage daughter about Rock 'n' Roll - the base root of all pop music. She likes all the guitar bands as well as some of the classic bands of the 60's and 70's; she even likes Elvis. Oh no, things have to go a bit further than that, I thought, I regaled with her various hits of the 50's. This little tune grabbed her attention:
In spite of Frankie singing like an angel, she was quite impressed with the gestures and expressions of the band. It's a great song with great lyrics. Beautifully performed.
In spite of Frankie singing like an angel, she was quite impressed with the gestures and expressions of the band. It's a great song with great lyrics. Beautifully performed.
Labels: culture, Music, rock, rock and roll, the 50's, youth
Monday, January 07, 2008
Music is a great antidote to Grumpiness
I was watching a number of programmes Dance Britannia on BBC4 tonight. It was great, they blew away all that grumpy bullshit. I was inspired to look on Youtube to look for some more good vibes and found this:
Although the sound production is a bit muddy, the musicianship is excellent.
Yep, Otis Redding - this man and his band knew how to rock. He inspired and influenced numerous British rock bands. I used to read about him in the New Musical Express in my youth, but nothing really registered - Sitting by the Dock of the Bay, Respect and My Girl were the only things I knew in the audio, but seeing him and his band live really made me feel quite good. Now I can go to bed in a good mood.
Although the sound production is a bit muddy, the musicianship is excellent.
Yep, Otis Redding - this man and his band knew how to rock. He inspired and influenced numerous British rock bands. I used to read about him in the New Musical Express in my youth, but nothing really registered - Sitting by the Dock of the Bay, Respect and My Girl were the only things I knew in the audio, but seeing him and his band live really made me feel quite good. Now I can go to bed in a good mood.
Labels: Music
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Is Nothing Sacred?
Have you ever noticed that when a really good piece of music becomes hackneyed it becomes horrible on the ear. This happened with Vivaldi's Four Seasons when telephone answering services adopted as a jingle designed to keep you hanging on to the telephone. Ad agencies are now plundering classical music to sell burgers, paint, diy, shit. Now Diesel has found Schubert's Piano Trio in E Flat to flog one of its stinky products. Worse still, the music stops and starts. The ad is real shit and I feel really angry that my personal cultural is being invaded by this shit.
Labels: Advertising, culture, Music, trash
Sunday, June 03, 2007
I read the news today...
These were the opening lines of "A Day in a Life", the Beatles much-hackneyed song from the Sgt Pepper album. I heard it again on Johnny Walker's radio programme. It then occurred to me how each verse, albeit surreal, sounded like a blog entry. Commentary on the news and then commentary on how someone got really smashed while smoking (a joint?) on the top deck of a bus "somebody spoke and I went into a dream" roll on the dreamy music. It registered that Lennon-MacCartney were making something akin to blog entries - the toying with the news and reflecting on the day's most salient points. With this in mind, I listened to the track again with fresh ears and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Labels: Beatles, Blogs, Music, news
Monday, February 26, 2007
Cliff Richard and Van Morrison
Is nothing sacred, Van Morrison paired with Cliff. Not only that we are regaled with how joyful it is to born again. An acquaintance showed me this clip, I was shocked. I am wondering whether I should bin all my Van Morrison's cd's.
I always thought that the the flute playing on Moondance was remarkably dreadful.
For those of you, who have missed this opportunity, here is Cliff and Van. If you can't vomit, may I suggest you stick your fingers down your throat, or better sill check one of those Hazel Blears clips on youtube
I always thought that the the flute playing on Moondance was remarkably dreadful.
For those of you, who have missed this opportunity, here is Cliff and Van. If you can't vomit, may I suggest you stick your fingers down your throat, or better sill check one of those Hazel Blears clips on youtube
Labels: Music
