I find it shameful that more people don't know what a stellar voice Bobby McFerrin has. Heed the lesson, those of you yearning to have just one massive hit: it will haunt you for the rest of your life. For a true taste of the compositional and vocal talent this man possesses, try Bang! Zoom! instead. It's jazzy and layered and lovely and wouldn't chart on a dare. That's just how I like my favorite music, you know. With luck you'll like it half as much as I do, because that's still a lot.
Showing posts with label classical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classical. Show all posts
It's incredibly rare that a song moves me enough that I have to stop everything for a few minutes after hearing it just to absorb what I've heard. Requiem Dem accomplished just that.
Normally I focus on up-beat songs, some dark but few slow. Today I find myself unable to think of anything you more deserve to hear, my darlings. DJ Champion (and Pilou Côté...and an orchestra...and a bunch of other people) have finally released a new album and you can stream the whole thing on YouTube. Naturally I immediately began to do so.
I haven't made it through all seventeen songs, yet. I had thought to share Half a Mile at first but wanted to hear more. Then I hit play on Requiem Dem. Keeping the song in context, knowing that the four-year period between albums had been filled with a cancer battle that almost claimed Maxime Morin's life, this song moves from piercing power to intensely personal. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
And so, while I normally would have chosen something fun or just danceable I had to share a song that struck me hard. Requiem Dem is deep and complex, anguished and hopeful. It's a powerful piece from a talent that the world nearly lost. Then go get the album, "#1", from Champion's site. You should be able to explore the videos for the whole album right here.
Normally I focus on up-beat songs, some dark but few slow. Today I find myself unable to think of anything you more deserve to hear, my darlings. DJ Champion (and Pilou Côté...and an orchestra...and a bunch of other people) have finally released a new album and you can stream the whole thing on YouTube. Naturally I immediately began to do so.
I haven't made it through all seventeen songs, yet. I had thought to share Half a Mile at first but wanted to hear more. Then I hit play on Requiem Dem. Keeping the song in context, knowing that the four-year period between albums had been filled with a cancer battle that almost claimed Maxime Morin's life, this song moves from piercing power to intensely personal. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
And so, while I normally would have chosen something fun or just danceable I had to share a song that struck me hard. Requiem Dem is deep and complex, anguished and hopeful. It's a powerful piece from a talent that the world nearly lost. Then go get the album, "#1", from Champion's site. You should be able to explore the videos for the whole album right here.
How can you resist a mashup that combines well-known classical music with Dizzee Rascal? You can’t. Eine Kleine Big Booty Bonkers gives me the giggles every time I hear it, thanks to the deft touch of DJs from Mars
Our extraterrestrial friends have taken Mozart, Dizzee Rascal, and Bombs Away and made them into this song that’s just bonkers. (If you don't know Bombs Away, try their pedo-bear song Super Soaker or their version of Du Hast. I kid you not. Or try Swagger, which I actually quite like.)
I know Eine Kleine Big Booty Bonkers isn't really a seasonal song but I figured we could all use a break from holiday music by now. Let go of the holiday hustle and bustle and shake your booty. If you like it you can, of course, download it for free from Mashuptown. Tomorrow I’ll post something a little more appropriate to the season.
Our extraterrestrial friends have taken Mozart, Dizzee Rascal, and Bombs Away and made them into this song that’s just bonkers. (If you don't know Bombs Away, try their pedo-bear song Super Soaker or their version of Du Hast. I kid you not. Or try Swagger, which I actually quite like.)
I know Eine Kleine Big Booty Bonkers isn't really a seasonal song but I figured we could all use a break from holiday music by now. Let go of the holiday hustle and bustle and shake your booty. If you like it you can, of course, download it for free from Mashuptown. Tomorrow I’ll post something a little more appropriate to the season.
It came to my attention recently that not only have I been neglecting to introduce my children to classical music but that I may have awfully high standards for "she can sing" judgments. And so I listened to some of my classical favorites with the family this week explaining to my boys why I loved each of them. All I could say about the Queen of the Night aria from Mozart's fabulous opera, "The Magic Flute", however, was, "I would love to be able to do that just once in my life."
For those of you unfamiliar with opera, I recommend you have a peek at The Magic Flute. The songs are delightful and the story less tragic than the videos for Aria della Regina della Notte would lead you to believe. See some of the interpretations of Papageno if you don't believe me! But regardless of how you feel about opera in general, watch this video and tell you me you aren't awed at what the human voice can do, and has been doing for hundreds of years without the help of computers. [sigh] I love this song.
For those of you unfamiliar with opera, I recommend you have a peek at The Magic Flute. The songs are delightful and the story less tragic than the videos for Aria della Regina della Notte would lead you to believe. See some of the interpretations of Papageno if you don't believe me! But regardless of how you feel about opera in general, watch this video and tell you me you aren't awed at what the human voice can do, and has been doing for hundreds of years without the help of computers. [sigh] I love this song.
For those of you unfamiliar with animoto and the wonderful ability they give you to create your own videos, or with the fine folks at BlogCatalog who give thousands of bloggers a place to play (mostly) nicely together, I give you the fruits of polybore's labors there, the overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with the avatars of willing participants. I, your humble not-pop servant, show up very early in the video so keep your eyes peeled for the funky sneaks. Tomorrow? Classic punk.
I'm posting something a little unusual today, because I've done something unusual. I bought a mandolin. I'm going to be writing about my experiences, both in purchasing the instrument and the accessories I am certain to need and in learning to play a stringed instrument from complete ignorance. Facing a completely new way to read music intimidates me quite a bit, but watching things like an orchestra of mandolins, lutes, guitars, and other strings play the first movement of Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto in C Major gives me hope that I can at least play Mary Had a Little Lamb in a recognizable way someday soon. I'll likely never be a bluegrass or classical pro, but I'm hoping that I can at least learn to sound like I know what I'm doing.
