16 December 2012
13 December 2012
12 December 2012
28 February 2011
21 August 2009
Ploughboys - Morrissey’s Set - St Patrick’s Day, 2009
At Tam O’Shanter, Los Feliz.
http://www.theploughboys.com/
08 March 2009
Amazing
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Il Divo before (just never got around to it, I guess…); what an introduction (thanks, Mimi)!!
17 February 2009
The (Musical) World Is Diminished
In the LA Times obituaries today:
Louie Bellson dies at 84; Duke Ellington called him “the world’s greatest drummer”
“…Ellington returned Bellson’s high regard, noting, ‘Not only is Louie Bellson the world’s greatest drummer… he’s the world’s greatest musician!’
“Other artists concurred. Oscar Peterson described Bellson as ‘the epitome of musical talent… I consider him one of the musical giants of our age.’
“Bobby Colomby, former drummer for Blood, Sweat & Tears, pointed to Bellson’s pioneering work with the difficult technique of employing two bass drums, saying, ‘Louie had awesome, jaw-dropping technique. And I really don’t think he was ever fully appreciated for what an amazing drummer he really was.’…”
05 February 2009
Mind | Memory
Somehow, Bob and Dustin got on the subject of goofy answers, and Bob posited that a great answer to the question, “Where were you born?” would be “Mars.” The thought flitted through my mind that another good answer would be “Alpha Centauri.”
Immediately, memory took over: Crystal Gayle sang a song with Alpha Centauri in it that I was enthralled by. On the Muppet Show. Back in the ’70s. Hadn’t thought about it in I don’t know how long…
Off to the iTunes Music Store. No luck on searching “Alpha Centauri”. Google next. Tried “"Alpha Centauri" +Crystal” (couldn’t remember how to spell her last name). Seventh hit on the list was “YouTube - crystal gayle muppets show "we must believe in magic"”:
Searching iTMS for “We Must Believe in Magic” brought the album right up.
I’m still stunned. I’ve been playing the video, off and on, all afternoon, and I still don’t have any glimmer of remembering the song, but I’m still enthralled!
:::shaking head:::
10 November 2008
06 September 2008
Passing the Time at PDX - Music
Once the sandwich and football were done, and with plenty of time was left to kill, I wandered out of the “food court” and stumbled straightaway into Mario Carboni and Chazz Hamilton, piano and guitar players, respectively, extraordinaire!
What a treat!! These boys obviously have more than just a clue about ensemble playing and sound GREAT together! No surprise, I guess: according to MySpace, Mario and Chazz are Back Road Boogie. I’m gonna have to get back to Oregon RSN.
You can sample, and buy, Mario’s CD, Big Bad Boogie, on CD Baby. It’s a good listen; why, oh why didn’t I think to have him autograph it when we were all still at the airport??
05 May 2008
Not Your Grandfather’s Cello Player
Comment from the guy who posted this on YouTube:
“This is a pretty amazing video of Ethan Winer playing 37 separate cello parts to create one song. He even plays the percussion parts on his cello. It was recorded on 23 tracks using 37 plug-in effects. He spent hundreds of hours on this project so its worth a listen.”
It really is amazing!
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Now playing: Stephen Petrunak - Silent Night
via FoxyTunes
16 March 2008
Wonder
Gratefulness.org’s Word For the Day today:
To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words.
-Joanna Macy
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Now playing: The Tallis Scholars - Credo
via FoxyTunes
15 March 2008
In the Mood
Went to see In The Mood at the Santa Cruz Civic with Kelly last night.
Wow!
Now, I’m not really a fan of big band/swing, but this was a spectacular show! The singing was pretty good, the dancing was great, and the orchestra, String of Pearls (rightly described on the Web site as sensational) made the show!! A great time was had by all.
I didn’t notice before the show (Kelly and I were busy chit-chatting), but was utterly gobsmacked to notice afterwards that the place wasn’t even half full… Santa Cruz, you missed a great time!
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Now playing: Andrea Bocelli - O Sole Mio
via FoxyTunes
05 March 2008
02 March 2008
That Guy, Plato…
…knew what he was talking about…
Gratefulness.org’s Word For the Day today:
Music… gives wings to the mind, a soul to the universe, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, a life to everything.
-Plato
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Now playing: Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
via FoxyTunes
12 February 2008
Hope in Winter
Today’s Daily Thought from Real Simple:
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
— Albert Camus
Camus came up Sunday: on the way to the Rite of Election at St Benedict in Hollister, I popped Neil Diamond’s Hot August Night in the CD player; Done Too Soon is the third track.
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Now playing: Robert Shaw Chamber Singers - O Come, Emmanuel
via FoxyTunes
08 February 2008
Cobbler… Pondkeeper… Cobbler… Pondkeeper…
…what’s the connection?
We did a lot of work on the little pond this week, and snippets of this kept popping out; don’t know why…
31 January 2008
Bing and Bowie in “HQ Audio”
More poking around on YouTube…
Yeah, the audio is improved over non-HQ versions of the video, but I wish something could have been done about the balance; Bing is still too far in the background. And ClassicXmas’s stupid little logo has got to go; it’s not like it’s his (her?) work is it?
29 January 2008
Silence Is as Much a Part of Life as Sound
Gratefulness.org’s Word For the Day today:
The trees, the flowers, the plants grow in silence. The stars, the sun, the moon move in silence. Silence gives us a new perspective.
-Blessed Mother Teresa
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Listening to: Nordic Chamber Choir - O Magnum Mysterium (1994)
via FoxyTunes
