A few days ago I heard Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca on the radio.
My brain, being what it is, wondered if Weird Al had created a Livin’ La Vida Polka version of the song. A few minutes with Google showed me that, no, Al hadn’t. And isn’t likely to. (Check out the Reddit post for the details).
But, fortunately for us, a group called The Brats (as in Brautwurst, I believe), stepped into the void.
That’s the weird way my brain works. I hope this brightens your Sunday (Monday-eve).
My friend Bill wrote a post a few days ago about the passing of Damo Suzuki, singer for the German rock band Can. I’ve always had a thing for quirky and eclectic music, so I was a bit bummed I hadn’t so much as heard of Can before now. So I commented such, and Bill recommended this album to me to learn more about them.
I doubt many of you know that my first major in college was music. I listened intensely, absorbing how the instrumentation and chordal structure were communicating emotional energy. Sadly, I got out of practice for that kind of listening ages ago. But, back in the 80s, I studied lots of artists in depth. Not just pop, but Jazz, latin, classical, funk…my list was pretty extensive. I would give anything to have notes back from those days.
Can has a solid funk feel to me. I really enjoy the driving, repetitive bass tracks, and fluid drumming.
What struck me even deeper, though, was how easy it is to discover new music. Bill made a post, shared a YouTube video of a song. I listened, made a comment on his blog, Bill recommended an album to check out, and YouTube served that up to me instantly. All within a few-minute timeframe.
I remember getting together with friends and listening to records/CDs, and tapes. If I really liked the song, I’d see about borrowing a copy until I could buy one. In my little Seattle suburb, getting anything other than Top 40 generally meant a trip to Seattle. There was a cool record show really close to UW, and I believe the iconic Tower Records was serving Seattle’s music community back then. I love how easy it is now to discover new (old?) music.
Lightfoot has been part of my pop-culture awareness as long as said awareness existed. For me, it was his gift of story-telling that held the most power. Songs such as The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald were part of my heart for, it seems, forever. I was pretty young when he was at his heyday, and his music seemed omnipresent.
I’m filled with sadness as another icon of my youth has died. Yet, I’m grateful that his music was such a rich part of my life.
It will not be hard to find his music over the next few days, especially his hits. So I feel compelled to feature a song that is lesser know, but one that I find delightful: Alberta Bound.
Alberta Bound seemed, to me, to be the theme song for the Alberta Winter Olympics of 1988. And something about that spoke deeply to me. So, I’m delighted to share something lesser known.
May we all find joy in his music and legacy. Godspeed, Gordon Lightfoot.
Music plays a huge part in my life. One of my “gifts” is the ability to tie pretty much any phrase, event, or whatever with a song. I’ve had plenty of opportunities this week.
I’m currently working on a project with the Edmonds Waterfront Center. They have several musical activities over the course of each week. And I can hear these from my office. One of my favorites: a ukulele class. They play a wide range of songs, which often transforms me in place in time. The ukulele is a wonderful instrument that I delight in hearing. With this, I was explaining to a chum about some of the artists who have created albums with the instrument. The two that readily come to mind are Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame and Amanda Palmer.
Eddie has a great ukulele album titled, less creatively (I guess) “Ukulele Songs“. This is, perhaps, my favorite from that album.
Amanda Palmer has written some fun songs for the instrument. This one is my current favorite (FYI, not completely safe for work).
A few days later, a friend of mine mentioned her drink of choice was tequila. That always make me think of this song:
And, yesterday, while seeing article after article about AI, this song popped into my head.
Affiliating songs with events is not something I work at, just natural reflex. The results of my misspent youth, I guess.
I grew up with Mr. Diamond’s music. My mother had many of his albums. I was saddened when he retired. So this video filled me with joy. It’s a bit sad, too, as I can see some of the impacts of Parkinsons. But, man, such grace and courage.
Oh, and here’s a link to the video on YouTube for those not engaged with Twitter, or in case the Twitter dumpster fire finally takes that site down.
Pretty much every morning I wake with a song in my mind. Sometimes it’s simply my latest auditory obsession. Sometimes I think it’s my subconscious “telling me something”. This morning I woke with Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on earworm. I’m not sure if my brain has a message for me or this just a song I’ve long loved popping back into my awareness. But it’s not unwelcome.
I discovered Balmorhea a few years ago but only came across “Masollan” recently (earlier this year). I’ve become very fond of it. The instrumentation is exquisite. Electric guitar and bass with drums, violin, cello, and upright bass? I find it delightful. The ethereal way the melody floats above the harmony vibrates within my soul.
Featured image created with Adobe Spark, font: AcuminPro-Thin. I wanted a sepia styled, warm summer’s day vibe. I hope I pulled that off.
Looking like it will be a damp and dreary day. A lovely day for ducks, methinks. Which often makes me think of this song by the British electro-pop duo, Lemon Jelly.
I do find the song delightfully charming. I’m deeply grateful to John Richards at KEXP for introducing me to this song, along with so many other great ones.
Music, a deeply critical part of my life. I use it to reflect my mood or change it. It gives me energy, focus, feeds sadness. Such a powerful thread interweaving my whole life.
I’ve been streaming Kaki King the past few days. Her music covers such a wide range of topics and styles. She has plenty of pieces that give me energy and focus, important things since my studies are demanding plenty of both lately.