cooltunes

Recently, a priest has come forward to complain about the use of pop music at funerals. Further, he states that there’s little religion at these services. I won’t go into the latter, but there’s a lot of online space devoted to the former.

He came down pretty hard on Tina Turner, whose Simply the Best he found particularly galling. I think most will agree that funerals are very personal, and there’s quite a mix of ages and backgrounds sitting there dressed in their good clothes in a most uncomfortable setting. At the average funeral, there is the deceased right in front for the duration. To buffer this, an appropriate selection of music is comforting and cathartic at the same time.

For my mom’s service, several pieces were picked for their sorrowful qualities. The menfolk in my family bottle up most of their emotions, and one, especially, needed to let go of some of this. At the end of the ceremony, you guessed it. The only dry eyes belonged to the guys.

I was a mess. But then I cried all through putting together the playlist, which included some of the songs in the above links. But if a person had specified that certain songs be played, however enthusiastic and supposedly out of place, then I sure think those wishes should be honored.

How Shazam works, via Slate.

When the kids were old enough to trust in a bookstore without worrying about them racing up and down the aisles, we would sometimes visit the old Tower bookstore in Mountain View. For a time, the fellow in charge of the background music was our hero. ‘What’s that playing? What is that?’ We wondered to ourselves and to each other, and finally one night I went up to him and asked.

And that is how we were introduced to darkwave/neoclassical music ( Arcana, back in the day). In turn, our lone CD was loaned out to at least one other young man, who found it led to a whole new world of Gothic sounds.

Then there was the time we wandered into a store in North Beach selling various exotic artifacts. The music was primal, mysterious and wildly percussive. Mesmerizing. I was the official asker, and I did. And that is how I learned about X-Tribe. Best played in a dark, musty store full of masks, bones, skins and primitive but very sharp weapons. Excellent elsewhere too.

Back up a few years, the kids were small, and a piano recital was held in a parent’s home. Now as a rule, recitals were not something I looked forward to, being a fidgety person. But the second we walked into the house, I got into that zone of unknown but ravishing music in the background. What is that? Who wrote that? It was classical, and not the usual suspects, but so infused with holiday feeling that I was desperate to find out what it was. We didn’t know the parents well. As the evening wound up, there was the usual mayhem and excited confusion whenever a group of children congregate at Christmas time. And before I knew it, the opportunity was gone.

I never saw the parents again. I have never found that music.

See previous post. The more I think about it, the worse I feel. Because today I got an email from the person who can’t stand to have things in her ear. She thanked me for being understanding about how the iPod was a ‘bad fit’ as a gift for her.

I had been so taken aback by her remarks the other day that I didn’t think to tell her how she could just plug her iPod into her stereo system or her car, thereby getting around using earphones. And it wasn’t that I was understanding, it was more that I was. . . silent.

But I’m not sure I could ever tell anyone their present was inappropriate. Perhaps she saw endless iTunes gift cards in her future. (I did explain she could put the music on CDs.) But can you imagine? Endless iTunes gift cards?

Last Christmas I gave iPods to two people I felt would never buy one for themselves. One recipient has no computer and no access to one, so I added 200 songs from my music library with the stipulation that I would remove any or all that were not wanted.

The other recipient does have access to iTunes. Both are incredibly difficult to buy gifts for, and selfishly, I had in mind very easy future gifts of iTunes gift cards, at least for the computer user . Hah.

Both were initially pleased with having a nifty Apple gadget. However, the first giftee soon made it clear that he did not want any more songs added (his nano has a 2,000 song capability), nor did he want any of his music collection on the iPod. I got what amounted to a lecture on why he felt this way, and how the gift was basically useless. He said he didn’t want to hear songs over and over again.

The other person bought one iTunes song, and that was that. She also gave me a lecture on why it was an inappropriate gift, although she did give consideration to my feelings. So I got to see someone hold an iPod in their hand, and go on and on about how they can’t stand to have something in their ear. Or how they could never do yard work with something like this because they want to know if someone is coming up behind them. And I think maybe I should just ask for it back and hold a giveaway for Cooltunes.

I’m going to assume that she did not appreciate the iTunes gift card I just gave her for her birthday. Pre-lecture.

Suppertime is when I caught up on old episodes of M1-5, known as ‘Spooks’ in the UK. I called a halt to such fare sometime last year when I realized that much of the time was spent, mouth open, fork in air, totally immersed in the incredibly tense, rapid-fire action. Heroes always in peril. Heroes killed off regularly (oh no, not her! oh no, not him!)

But as these things go, I was curious. Last night, after dinner, I got back into it all. They’ve stepped up the pace, I think.

But at the first sound of the music, I remembered. I’d been wanting the soundtrack forever, and last night at iTunes, I found the early one by Jennie Muskett, plus the more recent by Paul Leonard-Morgan. Just what I need today to ramp up the production that I got behind on in the last few days.

It’s not all adrenaline-driven, there are slower tracks as well - remember all those deaths - that are ethereal and transcendent. In other words, perfect work music for me.

For some years now, I mist up whenever I hear the national anthem. The furious blinking, the lump in the throat - public or private, I’m sniffing away. Around lunchtime today, I found this, and now that I’m sufficiently recovered, I can share, unless you knew of this months ago.

Blank & Jones’ Fallen (with Delerium and Rani).

Does she tap her toe or bob her head back and forth discreetly when she has the earbuds on? Did a committee decide what to put in the playlist?

I’m a Sarah Vaughn fan, though I tend toward the remixes these days. ‘Round Midnight’, ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon’ and ‘Summertime’ from Verve or Jazz Lounge pop up in my workday playlists.

But I wasn’t familiar with her version of ‘Just a Little Lovin'’ till I read this and did a search. A song that remains powerful after a decade-long hunt is certainly worth looking into.

As usual, go to http://www.bugmenot.com for a path into the NYT.

Today when my iPod quit playing via the stereo speakers, there was an battery icon I hadn’t seen before. After hurriedly checking to make sure it could be revived, I set about recharging. Apparently I had never let it run down to this level before, wherein it ‘is not able to connect with your computer or appear in iTunes’. Well, at least for 30 min. or thereabouts.

Whew!

At least I didn’t get the sad iPod icon.

We’ve all been to concerts where certain members of the audience should have stayed home in bed due to their severe upper respiratory illnesses. (At least one sitting very close to you.) Now the BBC has revealed their solution to keep the noise down at Radio 3 concert recordings: cough drops.

Even the annoying sounds of unwrapping cellophane have been banished by using waxed paper instead.

It used to be a pain to try and listen to tracks of a CD. I never had the right player, or the right version of the player. In time, I gave up, doing my sample listening elsewhere.

Today, I checked out the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant album Raising Sand (see previous post for one of the tracks), and found that when I clicked on ‘listen to samples’, it took me right to track 1 where I could indeed hear it. Kudos for a much-needed feature!

Just the thing for a sleepy afternoon when there are a thousand things to be done, not counting the taxes.

Listening to Queen Latifah’s version now, also have Nina Simone’s. The song was written by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who wasn’t always a screamer. But during a session which turned into a drunken party, the direction of the song changed. Then he discovered that the wilder version got lots more attention. His performances inspired the shock-rock acts of Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Black Sabbath, Ted Nugent and others.

Here’s the song, don’t know the origin of the video. Gaze out the window instead, if you have one.

Probably gives away a lot of Fly Away Home if you haven’t seen it yet, but an excellent example of a song that is an important part of a film, instead of just being tacked on in the hope of getting an award nomination. In this video, you don’t see the scene in which it is actually used. For that, you’ll have to find a copy of this 1996 movie.

I put in a few livelier tracks that force me to get up and move around.

I Put a Spell on You - Queen Latifah
Yellow - Coldplay
Happy Ever After - Julia Fordham
Body Heat - Alicia Bridges
Get Me Through December - Alison Krauss
Wild is the Wind - Nicolas Bearde
Gula Matari - Quincy Jones
California Dreamin’ - Bobby Womack
Don’t You Worry, Baby - Melody Gardot

A solid education in music theory? Knowledge of several instruments? An ability to summon an entire orchestra in the memory?

Nah. Sometimes, the songwriter is ignorant of complex chords, and can only count to four.

Did you find it so? For some, it was during the performance of John Williams’ Air and Simple Gifts. Others were moved by the historic nature of the occasion.

I made it through without too much misting up, but totally lost it when I saw this:

Something a little different for me - it’s a new year, time to try some new things. From the Ghosts I-IV album.

A family member was given both by family members who were unaware of what the other was doing. Mine was the loaded iPod.

A theory about the massive Zune failure is here.

The bug that has me very lightheaded is slowly succumbing to the antibiotic. Meanwhile, I take a look at the info sheet from the HMO that has in all caps, MAY CAUSE DIZZINESS.

Only three of their choices appear on Rolling Stone’s best 50 list.

From many countries.

Not having an iPhone (yet), I’m not in touch with a lot of stuff. Here’s the story on Tapulous and its popular game. Sounds like I’m missing a lot of fun.

Speaking of people stuck in a musical rut, a friend falls in the same category as the relative. The shuffle I got her is only a little bigger than my camera’s memory card. But she has a Mac, newer than mine even.

So I’ll put a bunch of music on CDs and let her son do the loading. Because she’s kinda fearful of computers, even Macs.

After learning recently that a relative has not been exposed to music much past the 60s, I decided to get him a nano 8g. He does not have internet access, and chooses not to sample music through headphones in a record store due to his fastidious nature.

Over the next few days, I will load up the nano with a wide variety of music, the likes of which he has never heard. He’ll probably hate a lot of it, but then there will be happy discoveries.

And because he doesn’t have a computer, I will also have to buy a wall charger.

This promises to be lots more fun than filling up a basket with various foods as I did last year.

Yes, I have the Christmas music going now. Dido’s track is poignant but with none of the syrupy, more typical features of the average holiday song.

Another exceptional bonus to online shopping is the fact that the music coming through the speakers is mine (but not Christmas music just yet, I’m not ready). My misfortune last night was to enter a store with Burl Ives’ Holly Jolly Christmas.

When I don’t concentrate fully on my current playlist, back comes Burl, always in the background for another day or so. Oh, please stop.

Is it another working Saturday? Why, yes. But I have some excellent songs on the playlist.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Of all the versions of Dindi that I have, this is my favorite. I’m sure I’ve mentioned A Twist of Jobim before, several excellent tracks there.

The mix of talent seems pretty near perfect, and while there are many videos of Debarge singing his better known songs, this is the only full version of Dindi that I can find online, and it’s mostly showing the album cover. But you’ll get the idea, if you’re unfamiliar with the song.

And yes, this is the Art Porter of the Art Porter Law. More on that in a bit.

Over the weekend, we’ve been catching up on the series. A family member looked up cast info, and quickly found too much information, as in who gets bumped off. He listened to the soundtrack, but refused to learn the names of the individual tracks, saying that spoilers were there as well.

I was curious about the use of so many different music influences. The juxtaposition of Celtic sounds and Taiko drums is surprising and dramatic, for example. My search took me here, and if you’ve seen the whole series, you won’t mind reading it. I exited after a few paragraphs. Don’t. Like. Spoilers.

Caught up in airport traffic on the freeway, we listened to this last night as a family member headed back to the city. He thought it would be great field show music for a marching band. Here is a portion of the track:

Got to work today, but it’s okay, doing something I really like.

Images at their site are downright creepy, but this Finnish group has created a new art form.

Here they are singing their version of our national anthem:

Being several days ago, I have forgotten the dinner part. The movie is wonderful, the story of an Egyptian police band stranded in a tiny Israeli town. Wariness on all sides, and high awkwardness as a few Israelis extend food and other hospitality to the visitors. But, as all the principals discover, music is a universal language, never more than when seated around a somewhat hostile dinner table, singing ‘Summertime’ in English.

And btw, do you speak Chet Baker?

After watching two episodes of State of Play tonight, I went looking for the soundtrack by Nicholas Hooper. Not much luck there, but I did find a blog about the movie, The Girl in the Cafe, starring Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald, who also star in State of Play. Hooper did the soundtrack here too. There’s a link at the blog to a free download of this song:

A family member has remarked that attending a concert that consists solely of the performer onstage with his laptop lacks a certain visual excitement.

In the world of classical music, technological advances are moving the usual group-of-musicians-with-conductor scenario into a more futuristic realm. Nowadays, a concert-goer might see the conductor decked out in a specially wired jacket that allows a Wii-minded directing of an orchestra.

This orchestra would include a section that is not visible to the audience, but gleaned from a database of digital sounds that gives an unprecedented depth and range to the listening experience.

When experts listen to samples of computer-generated music embedded in a Beethoven symphony performance, they find it difficult to tell the difference from the real thing.

The aptly named ‘Stayin’ Alive’ has just the right beat that emergency workers need to remember when they perform chest compressions. The right tempo for cardiopulmonary resuscitation is 100 times/minute, the song is paced at 103/beats/minute.

According to the link, a Queen song also fills the bill - ‘Another One Bites the Dust’. However, some might feel this one might not be as appreciated by patients.

The mini-series soundtrack by Richard Gibbs. I foresee a sci-fi fall and winter coming up. And I still haven’t finished Farscape.

His parents were opera singers, and his singing style has been compared to the sound of a tenor sax. He wrote Solid Air in remembrance of his good friend Nick Drake, another singer and songwriter.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

At the height of her career, she took time out to care for her severely-brain damaged child, Valerie, at home. Thirty-one years later, after the death of her daughter, she has an album out, ‘Live’, and is touring once more.

‘You’re My Girl’ is the song she wrote for her mother back in the 80s, and with a few changes, has become a song about Valerie. When you know the context of the song, it is almost unbearable to listen to, but so beautiful.

Had it not been for a horrific bicycle accident when she was hit by an SUV, she would not have begun her singing career.

One of my dinner companions last night was a young man who has spent the last four or five years serving his country in remote areas. He was out biking near the junior high one day when he too became aware of loud music blaring over the playing fields. As far as he could tell, this was meant to serve as motivation for the running of laps.

Since lap running is an integral part of junior high, I expect the bombardment will continue.

For more days than I want to consider, music has been coming from the direction of the junior high. Most of it is hip hop-related, and seems to occur during lunchtime and recess. We neighbors don’t understand.

Today, I’m happy to say that the music of choice is by the Chipmunks, as in Alvin. To hear this blasted over powerful speakers is soul-destroying.

At his site, you can see and hear some of the instruments he’s developed, including the phonoharp, much loved by the Kronos Quartet. There’s a wind-powered turntable, another turntable that can play a composition powered by an earthquake, and many other fascinating devices.

His photographs are awesome.

Just as some can see colors while listening to music, others can hear the sounds of a moving image, such as a screen saver. Kind of a crossover of the senses, as it were, called synaesthesia. This article contains a test you can take to see if you have this ability.

No difficulties working to Jeff Kowal’s The Gate . The didgeridoo raises the hackles just enough to keep me very alert.

And now, as they used to say on SNL, for something completely different.

Cliff Martinez soundtracks are always excellent accompaniments for a late evening drive to San Francisco. Wicker Park might not be the best for first thing Monday morning after trekking around mountainous trails on Sunday though.

It is surprising how many gentlemen of a certain age are out there climbing the steep grades on a bike.

About mid-morning, the crew brought out the boombox. I didn’t want to listen to it, so I cranked up my Blank & Jones collection, which can get me through most of the day in a productive haze. At some point, the painters turned down their stuff. After lunch maybe. Then they went to work on the beams, which meant they were close to where I was working. They got kinda quiet, although occasionally one would do the falsetto again, a melodic ballad that was nice.

They finished the whole house in a day. Very proud, they walked me around so I could see. As I was writing out the check, the lead guy said, ‘Nice music.’

Actually, the prep work is today. The pressure washing is done (forgot and left a bathroom window open, major mess), the windows all covered over. The workers have been singing, frequently in falsetto, and whistling. The boombox appeared, which is fine with me, my neighbor in back deserves a couple of days of noise favors returned.

The light inside is amazing, but kinda hard to concentrate on photos with all the outside activity. Tomorrow promises more of the same distraction, but at the end of the day, the house will look better than it has for two decades. Here I was thinking the prep would only take a couple of hours.

A small, secluded monastery comes close to topping the UK pop charts. Can one really be isolated if there is internet access? The story of the monks is here, and a video is here.

Are they able to handle the fame and subsequent fortune? Well, the abbot has an MBA, and a CD deal with Universal Music has been signed. Their PR person is on the cell constantly, when he is not dealing with the day-to-day of monastery life. There is perspective.

A journalist recounts his experience with a condition associated with world wars.

His advice: Don’t stand around in wet socks, don’t wrap plastic bags around wet socks, don’t sleep in wet socks. If not treated right, amputation is necessary.

Almost everyone, it seems, except musicians that the heartland holds dear.

I only found out about her this week, and also learned there is a genre of music called sadcore, which is related to shoegazing. Here’s Where is My Love.

When Chris, a blogger who infrequently contributes here, left to seek his fortune up north, he left behind some cacti. I came across this

and it’s definitely Chris.

I swore I’d never ever get another cat. But Nora here, kinda makes me want to get one someday. Far, far in the future.

Trudging toward the long weekend, overloaded with work, unable to blog much, need lively tunes. Just Walk on By.

Feel the Sunshine from their Relax: Edition 2 album.

Crystal Castles (remember She-Ra, He-Man’s twin sister?), Vampire Weekend, Hadouken!, My Morning Jacket, The Mars Volta, Gogol Bordello and Effi Briest, among others.

If you saw Mostly Martha, you’ll know it instantly, (not that the video has anything to do with the film) If you missed Mostly Martha, you should see it this weekend. It’s the German movie from which No Reservations was derived. Based on reviews read, the latter was a mere shadow of the former. Ci bum ci bum, du du du du du.

Click on any featured video. Go on, do it. (today only)

Via the Museum of Hoaxes. It’s a minefield out there today. Virgle, anyone? Wait, is that for real?

I’m not quite recovered from watching (in a weaker moment as relief from doing taxes) men who fish for Asian carp with bows, so the whole rickrolling thing was something of a surprise. I got my explanation from a son, but you can learn all about it here, in case you’ve been away from the intertubes.

Maybe. But the rumor is that users would expect to pay a high price when they buy iPods and iPhones in order to get the free pass to the iTunes library.

So how high are we talking about? How will other companies compete?

Well, Hans Zimmer did anyway.

An oldie, but definitely a goodie.

Boards of Canada on a day when the daffodils are blooming, the breeze is soft, and blossoms on the plum tree are still firmly attached and fragrant.

Incoming freshman in the fall will receive new tools to help them through their college years. Other university reps attending the ACU information officer’s presentation at Apple headquarters in Cupertino include those from UCLA, Oxford, Princeton, MIT, Yale and Harvard.

Talk about a nifty welcoming packet.

Info via Briefing.com

There I was, looking for contact lens cleaner down at the drugstore, when over the speakers came this song. That was Thursday. It is still spinning around in my head two days later.

Someday, science will discover where earworms hang out, that part of the brain (large it must be) where these old, annoying but horribly catchy tunes reside. And they will aim miniscule probes of light and take them away from us forever.

Scientists discovered fairly recently that materials can be made that force light beams go around an object, thereby rendering the object invisible. In the next logical move, a team of researchers has found that such an ‘invisibility cloak’ can be applied to sound. The project of bending soundwaves is proceeding at the Polytechnic University in Spain.

I could have used such a cloak in the last few weeks when a family member developed the high-decibel cough of a current bug making the rounds. My headphones are not the noise-cancelling kind, and even when I went outside to the front yard, the cough could still be heard. Now I’ve learned that this could go on for a full six weeks.

Surely, almost everyone could use the technology at some point in their lives.

I dropped a big stack of cds the other day. They were in the multicolored jewel cases, several of which did not survive the fall. Which persuaded me that I need a different kind of storage.

This one has its merits, but I was thinking more along the lines of binders.

The list gets longer and longer. He died at 30 while swimming in Memphis. The Wikipedia entry details his classical influences (Bartok, Britten, Ravel) and contemporary (Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Bob Dylan, among many others).

Near the time of his death, he confided to his girlfriend that he thought his mood swings were caused by bipolar disorder.

Here he sings Hallelejah, written by Cohen.

My Blueberry Nights with Jude Law as her leading man, Wong Kar Wai (In the Mood for Love) directing. She does not sing in the film, but has a song on the soundtrack.

I’ve long admired the writings of Reynolds Price. If you grew up in the deep South, you would recognize a certain courtly cadence to the speech patterns that he captures like no other contemporary writer, and he gets in a whole lot else besides.

He had some medical problems a while back, and I did a search to help me recall what they were. In the process, I found that he co-authored Copperline with James Taylor.

Yes, that does account for the unique nature of the lyrics, and why they run deeper than the average Taylor song.

Lately, I’ve been catching up with episodes of the long-running British series, ‘Monarch of the Glen’, set in Scotland. (I alternate that with the latest DVD of MI-5, aka Spooks, another animal entirely.) Sometimes I struggle to keep up with the thick accents of some cast members. Today, I woke up with Groundskeeper Willie’s rantings in my head.

Nothing specific since I don’t recall many of his quotes, but there’s this vague gibberish in a Scottish burr in the background as I work. It should be annoying, but it’s very funny.

Adam Freeland Extended Mix.

The rain has not let up all day, expected to keep up through the weekend and into next week.

Back in its heyday, KSFO’s night guy was Bobby Dale. When he was depressed, which was often the case, he would put on some Mickey Newbury. Especially if it was raining, because Mickey had those rain songs. Even now, I can’t think of Bobby without remembering Mickey.

For a short time, I worked at the station, and while I met the other DJs, I never saw Bobby since he only came in when most of the staff had gone home.

Back then, I didn’t know Bobby’s DJ history, nor was I aware of Mickey’s prolific songwriting abilities. Kris Kristofferson said that he could never have written Bobbie McGee had it not been for Newbury’s influence.

You won’t find Mickey Newbury at iTunes, but he’s at Amazon.

Here is An American Trilogy, which Newbury didn’t write, but arranged. He put three diverse, classic, Southern-flavored songs together in a stunning whole. Elvis and Tom Jones both had hits with their versions, but it’s this one I like the most:

Aha! With hundreds of albums sitting around the house, surely there’s a suitable one. Stay tuned. With endless rain predicted, one finds entertainment where one can.

Note: the linked weather page info is updated each day (today being 1/25/08), and if you are viewing this in July, it will not be pertinent.

At her site, a poem called Souvenance.