Neil Young Gettin' Old

It seems to me that the most brilliant artists have a golden period and then lose their magic touch with the passing of time.  A few examples: Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, David Byrne... and in more recent times: Arcade Fire, Wilco... I know not everyone will agree with me... but it's a fact: the output of these artists has been diminishing in quality since they peaked.  So it's a very special thing when a musician like this manages to pop out a great song whilst wallowing in the winter of his career.  Neil Young managed to pull that off with his song 'The Way.'  A song that could only ever be at the end of an album... it sounds like it could have been on After the Gold Rush.  This is what these artists should be doing... reflecting on their experiences and sharing their wisdom:

Neil Young - The Way (2007: Chrome Dreams II)

Guest Post: You like Opera, you just don't know it...

By Alanna Gluck

At a recent gathering, I overheard two friends with respected and varied musical taste discussing opera. They agreed that though the general spectacle of opera production was impressive, the emotional affectation of it was hard to relate to as an audience member.

I see their point, but had to add my two cents. 

It seems to me that many first timers choose to see operas that are a little hard to relate to. Wagner's horned diva-goddesses singing about Germanic majesty for hours? SNOOZE-FEST.

I believe in "gateway" operas: operas which are more easily accessible to the inexperienced audience member because of

1) The categorical humanity of  the topic

             - in my opinion, this is any opera in which the plot line highlights the irony of the human condition; for example, The Marriage of Figaro is a comic opera about unhappy adults trying to find someone better looking or wealthier than their current lover, only to realize that love itself is the most attractive thing ever and has been available to them all along.  Man, couldn't we all learn from this one? And get a good laugh from it?

or

2) a pre-existing musical context 

               - do you realize how many operas you know from a childhood of watching cartoons and pasta sauce commercials? 

So next time you feel like grabbing some culture, take a moment and think, WWBBD (What Would Bugs Bunny Do)?

Trivia Time!!!!

For 20 P&P Points: Who is the Barber of Seville? 

Delicate Steve

I wanted to dedicate a whole post to this band because I think their debut album really deserves attention.  I've already posted a couple songs of theirs (or his) here and here.  Here are three more:

(and by the way, definitely catch them live if you get the chance)

Update: Delicate Steve's Label Not Into File Sharing

Delicate Steve - The Ballad of Speck and Pebble (2011: Wondervisions)

Delicate Steve - Wondervisions (2011: Wondervisions)

Delicate Steve - Flyin' High (2011: Wondervisions)

 - this one features Dustin Wong from Ponytail.

Later that night...

Egg - Fugue in D Minor
(1970: Egg)

Yoko Ono Oh Yes

The world is made up of two types of people... those who hate Yoko Ono and those who love her.  What Yoko Ono type are you?  Positive or Negative?







John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Sisters, O Sisters (1972: Sometime in New York City)
 - Killer chorus... cool string arrangement.  Awesome reggae-pop groove.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - We're All Water (1972: Sometime in New York City)
 - Elephant's Memory is the backing band on this album... not the greatest backing band... but they're great on this track.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Yes, I'm Your Angel
(1980/2010: Double Fantasy - Stripped Down)
 - This is from the stripped down/remastered version of Double Fantasy released last year.  This sounds like an 'ending credits' type of song to me.

Yoko Ono & the Plastic Ono Band - The Sun is Down!
(2009: Between My Head and the Sky - Chimera Music No. 1)
 - Some credit should be given to Cornelius for this song who was part of the Plastic Ono Band on this incredible album.  Remember... in 2009 Yoko Ono was 76 years old!!

Yoko Ono & the Plastic Ono Band - Unun. To
(2009: Between My Head and the Sky - Chimera Music No. 1)
 - She starts talking in English at 1:20.  Listen to this earnestly or don't listen.

Yoko Ono & the Plastic Ono Band - I'm Alive
(2009: Between My Head and the Sky - Chimera Music No. 1)
 - "It's Me, I'm Alive"

p.s. there were a lot of other songs I wanted to post but it would have gotten out of control... if you need more Yoko Ono let me O-know!

For 25 P&P Points: What does 'Unun. To' mean?

Why George Harrison's Solo Career Sucked

It's not that it completely sucked... it's just that his career was such a big disappointment that, all things considered... it sucked.  Here's why (and remember this is just my opinion... feel free to disagree):

Abbey Road was released in September of 1969... just after the summer of love.  Sadly, the love between the Beatles was waning.... but they were all at the top of their game.  Harrison contributed Something and Here Comes the Sun to Abbey Road.  'Something' was by far his most successful song while he was in the Beatles... it was his only A-side single and his only song to top the American charts.  'Here Comes the Sun' is probably his best known song now and was the most downloaded of all the Beatles' songs when the 2009 remasters were released.  Just listen to the brilliant moog melodies starting at 2:12. Because of these two hits... Harrison's solo career was actually getting public attention as being the most promising of the four Beatles... (click read more below)

Rage Over a Lost Penny

I bought a digital recorder a few years ago. One of the first things I did with it was to go the MoMA and record random people talking. At one point I sat down on a bench; two little kids sat down near me and I was able to record their adorable conversation.

Here's the recording: Pennies

And here's a transcript:

Boy: Do you know how many pennies         I found last week?
Girl: What?
Boy: Do you know how many pennies I found like a month ago?
Girl: How many?
Boy: NINE, at once!
Girl: What!?  Nine at once?!  ...Who would throw away nine perfect pennies??
Boy: Yeah, who?

I think this conversation says more than I could ever say about the value of money, perspective and lots of other important stuff. And it's really cute.

Beethoven, Ludwig van - Rondo á Capriccio for piano in G Major 
     (Rage Over a Lost Penny), Op. 129 (1993: Anatol Ugorski)

We Dance to the Beat

It's top 40 music, be warned... but I like it:

Robyn - We Dance to the Beat (2010: Body Talk Pt. 2)

     - awesome lyrics

Happy Easter!

Nelson Riddle - Easter Isle (1958: Sea of Dreams)