...or perhaps we need a little Easter.
If you watch the video, see if you can spot a very young Kenny Rogers. He's the guy playing the bass.
Showing posts with label 12 Songs of Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 12 Songs of Christmas. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2020
KLEM FM
Because we do...
...or perhaps we need a little Easter.
If you watch the video, see if you can spot a very young Kenny Rogers. He's the guy playing the bass.
...or perhaps we need a little Easter.
If you watch the video, see if you can spot a very young Kenny Rogers. He's the guy playing the bass.
Sunday, December 23, 2018
KLEM FM
My new favorite FM radio station, KUSC, recently did an hour long comparison of different versions of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite." I learned that the Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic version is still considered the finest American recording.
The distinctive piano-like instrument is called a celesta -- so-named because it sounds so heavenly. I wonder if Sixty had one of these growing up?
Friday, December 21, 2018
KLEM FM
That's a catchy rearrangement of an old classic. Something about it caught my ear.
Original:
This has long been my favorite version:
Full disclosure: I've never been on a sleigh ride.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
KLEM FM
How many layers did that have for you?
At first I heard a guitar and flute, and then a violin joined in. After a few listens, I thought for sure that I could hear a piano -- or at least some high note keys -- accenting the countermelodies.
I gave it a day's rest and came back to write this post. Only then did I find the first layer of truth: It's a harp, flute, and viola.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
KLEM AM
Getting a Handel on Christmas...
That one came highly recommended by Sixty Grit and MamaM -- two of the straightest shooters at Lem's.
Here's the thing: Handel is gorgeous but above all -- baroque. I crave simplicity. Musically, I actually liked three-man power trios better than The Beach Boys and The Beatles. Maybe that's why I like small molecule chemistry better that molecular biology. Simplicity. Less is more.
Consider the following video that I found, researching a post a few nights ago:
What daunting challenges that musician faces! Four keyboards and more foot pedals than a centipede could master -- and yet somehow he does. Why was that instrument perfected for a soloist? Why didn't organists have footmen, much like a locomotive engineer had a fireman? Because they could?
I suppose that next you'll tell me that the pipe organ soloist evolved specifically to play baroque music.
Merry Christmas, All!
That one came highly recommended by Sixty Grit and MamaM -- two of the straightest shooters at Lem's.
Here's the thing: Handel is gorgeous but above all -- baroque. I crave simplicity. Musically, I actually liked three-man power trios better than The Beach Boys and The Beatles. Maybe that's why I like small molecule chemistry better that molecular biology. Simplicity. Less is more.
Consider the following video that I found, researching a post a few nights ago:
What daunting challenges that musician faces! Four keyboards and more foot pedals than a centipede could master -- and yet somehow he does. Why was that instrument perfected for a soloist? Why didn't organists have footmen, much like a locomotive engineer had a fireman? Because they could?
I suppose that next you'll tell me that the pipe organ soloist evolved specifically to play baroque music.
Merry Christmas, All!
Saturday, December 24, 2016
KLEM FM
Overheard at Lem's:
The song isn't so much a Christmas song as a song set at Christmas. Shane MacGowan sang a duet with Kirsty MacColl. She was the daughter of Ewan MacColl, an English folksinger who wrote "Dirty Old Town" which was another Pogues classic.
I was just now reading about Kirsty MacColl's horrific death at her Wiki page. She was diving with her son in Mexico. When they surfaced, an errant power boat bore down on them. She saved her son by pushing him out of the way by mere inches. She was hit directly and killed. That in turn reminded me of a childhood story. My mother's elderly grandfather and his wife were crossing a railroad trestle bridge when they were caught mid-river by a train. He pushed his wife off the bridge at the last minute but he was hit and thrown high into the air. She survived. He did not.
William said...
As an adult I've always liked the Pogues, Fairytale of New York..... Gene Autry's version of Rudolph is the first Christmas song I can remember hearing, and as such it holds a special place....... Bing Crosby's White Christmas is the quintessential Christmas Song. That was the song the soldiers listened to during WWII. It was the background music for a lot of poignant Christmas celebrations. It's got echoes and nostalgia, and that's the biggest part of a successful Christmas song.
December 16, 2016 at 12:56 PM
The song isn't so much a Christmas song as a song set at Christmas. Shane MacGowan sang a duet with Kirsty MacColl. She was the daughter of Ewan MacColl, an English folksinger who wrote "Dirty Old Town" which was another Pogues classic.
I was just now reading about Kirsty MacColl's horrific death at her Wiki page. She was diving with her son in Mexico. When they surfaced, an errant power boat bore down on them. She saved her son by pushing him out of the way by mere inches. She was hit directly and killed. That in turn reminded me of a childhood story. My mother's elderly grandfather and his wife were crossing a railroad trestle bridge when they were caught mid-river by a train. He pushed his wife off the bridge at the last minute but he was hit and thrown high into the air. She survived. He did not.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
KLEM AM
Overheard at Lem's:
I put up the French/English video to recognize the original French carol -- no matter how Latin the refrain.
I also put up Van Morrison's "Gloria" to see if he had used a bit of melisma in his 1964 hit:
I think he did. What do you think?
Dust Bunny Queen said....The phrase Gloria in Excelsis Deo (glory to God in the highest) appears in a familiar traditional Christmas carol...the one with the long, melismatic vowel movement inside "gloria." You will recognize it:
Listen to this while contemplating.....Gloria en Excelsis Deo or a clunky rendition of Michael Row the Boat Ashore.
December 20, 2016 at 10:48 AM
I put up the French/English video to recognize the original French carol -- no matter how Latin the refrain.
I also put up Van Morrison's "Gloria" to see if he had used a bit of melisma in his 1964 hit:
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
KLEM AM
Overheard at Lem's, years ago:
Amartel said...Here is Chanticleer, appropriate for the shortest day of the year:
Christmas favorites:
Chanticleer
Bob and Doug McKenzieDecember 15, 2013 at 1:59 PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
KLEM AM
Overheard at Lem's:
The song reminded me of the refrain of another favorite of mine:
Eric the Fruit Bat said...
Don't know if this qualifies, but we have a Chris Isaak Christmas album that's one of my favorite things.
The song reminded me of the refrain of another favorite of mine:
O star of wonder, star of night,Gorgeous! I woke up the other night with the melody of that refrain on my brain. I hummed and hummed it but could not recognize it. Then I remembered a few words..."Star of Wonder, star of...." and a couple of Google dead ends finally led me to "We Three Kings." I couldn't find a favorite version, but this one comes close:
Star of royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
KLEM AM
This is my favorite traditional Christmas carol; it may be my favorite version as well:
What's not to like about it? Even the title has two old timey words: "Hark" and "herald."
"Hark" is of course an imperative mood form of the verb "to hearken," to listen. The Germans preserve this word in their verb horchen, to listen, (not to be confused with their word hören which mean to hear).
"Herald" is fuzzier. The old meaning is "messenger." In the song title, "herald" is an adjective modifying angels. So, a modern translation of the song title might be: "Listen! The Messenger Angels Sing"
But the Anglo-Saxon roots of this song are even deeper than I suspected. First of all, the song is old -- first dating from 1739. According to Wiki, the original first couplet was "Hark how all the Welkin rings." "Welkin" is an archaic English word meaning heavens (lit. clouds). German/Dutch speakers may recognize their modern cognate words Wolke/welk. The lyrics evolved in the 18th and 19th centuries to what we have now.
There are richer, even deeper linguistic connections to the past in that song's lyrics, if you care to dig there.
What's not to like about it? Even the title has two old timey words: "Hark" and "herald."
"Hark" is of course an imperative mood form of the verb "to hearken," to listen. The Germans preserve this word in their verb horchen, to listen, (not to be confused with their word hören which mean to hear).
"Herald" is fuzzier. The old meaning is "messenger." In the song title, "herald" is an adjective modifying angels. So, a modern translation of the song title might be: "Listen! The Messenger Angels Sing"
But the Anglo-Saxon roots of this song are even deeper than I suspected. First of all, the song is old -- first dating from 1739. According to Wiki, the original first couplet was "Hark how all the Welkin rings." "Welkin" is an archaic English word meaning heavens (lit. clouds). German/Dutch speakers may recognize their modern cognate words Wolke/welk. The lyrics evolved in the 18th and 19th centuries to what we have now.
There are richer, even deeper linguistic connections to the past in that song's lyrics, if you care to dig there.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
KLEM FM
I really don't much care for "modern" makeovers of American holiday classics, but this one caught my ear. Many such recordings feature warbling divas trying to out-warble each other -- much like the endless "improvements" on the national anthem.
When I first heard it -- without knowing a thing about Zee Avi -- I thought that she must be Russian and had given it a traditional Russian folk arrangement -- a sort of "Those Were Days My Friend" lilt. I also thought I could hear Bertold Brecht's "Three Penny Opera."
Do you have any favorite re-recordings of Christmas classics?
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added: Sort of the flipside of Zee Avi's mood elevator is Fiona Apple's latest screed:
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