Aldo Nova – Fantasy
An evening pause: Also fast and breathless, like last night’s pause, though of a somewhat different musical genre.
Hat tip Tom Wilson.
Category: The Evening Pause
A nightly pause from the news to give the reader/viewer a bit of classic entertainment.
Barrington Pheloung – Morse’s Oxford
An evening pause: A tour of Oxford, set to the music used in the first two Morse television series, Inspector Morse and Inspector Lewis, both of which were set in Oxford. As for the music, I wonder if my readers know the trick/pun Pheloung used as a basis for the theme’s main melodic line.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
MonaLisa Twins – Please Mr. Postman/Wipe Out
Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story
Danny B. Harvey – The Surfer Girl
María Dueñas & Itamar Golan – Fauré: Après un rêve
Celtic Woman – Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
Mitch & Mickey – When You’re Next to Me
An evening pause: This movie scene was created for the Christopher Guest pseudo-documentary film A Mighty Wind (2003), recreating with marvelous and loving accuracy a look back at the folk song era of the 1960s, but doing it about a bunch of completely mythical folk groups. The song is by the actor Eugene Levy, who plays Mitch. Catherine O’Hara plays Mickey.
The irony is that though this is actually the best song by far in the movie, the scene was deleted. The only time you hear this song is over the end credits. However, as Levy is quoted on the youtube page:
“At the end of this movie, when we do the concert, it was all filmed basically live. We’re not pre-recording the music and lip-synching to it. We’re actually filming it live. It put a little added pressure on what you thought was a relatively good singing voice. It took a little work and I think I can speak for Catherine, too, as two of the relatively non-musician people. It was exciting and scary.”
A touching and surprisingly effective film, expressing the magic that can happen to us all, but sometimes only in a short burst that is soon lost and cannot be truly recaptured.
Malinda – The Sound of Silence
An evening pause: Paul Simon’s masterpiece of poetry, always worth hearing again.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
Speakeasies Swing Band – Angelina
An evening pause: The band is Greek, specializing in swing. The singer is Catarina Sisinni. This was performed live in 2016 in Thessaloniki.
Hat tip Judd Clark.
Master Du – A donkey gets a manicure
An evening pause: This guy, Master Du, specializes in trimming the hoofs of donkeys that have become deformed and need specialized work. (Make sure the closed captions are on to get some translation of the narration.) This is how it is done in China. I wonder how that compares to the techniques used in the U.S., and other nations.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman, who found this work so interesting she ended up watching Master Du videos for more than an hour.
The Bangles – September Gurls
Hans Zimmer – Pirates Of The Caribbean Medley
An evening pause: Performed live in Prague 2017.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
I am in need for evening pause suggestions. If you are interested in suggesting an evening pause, please say so in the comments (without providing a link to that suggestion). I will contact you so you can forward it directly to me to schedule. The guidelines for submitting Evening Pauses:
1. The subject line should say “evening pause.”
2. Don’t send more than three in any email. I prefer however if you send them one email at a time.
3. Variety! Don’t send me five from the same artist. I can only use one. Pick your favorite and send that.
4. Live performance preferred.
5. Quirky technology, humor, and short entertaining films also work.
6. Search BtB first to make sure your suggestion hasn’t already been posted.
7. I might not respond immediately, as I schedule these in a bunch.
8. Avoid the politics of the day. The pause is a break from such discussion.
The Jack Benny Show – November 4, 1951
An evening pause: This was the first episode in Benny’s second season on television, following nineteen years doing a regular radio show. The first singer is Bob Crosby, brother of Bing. The taxi driver is Mel Blanc, voice of Bugs Bunny and almost all of the characters in Warner Brothers best cartoons.
Almost everything in this episode works, but make sure especially you stay with it to see the Benny’s performance as lead fiddler of a hillbilly band.
U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
Gregory Porter – Revival
Tom Scott – The Aéroplume
An evening pause: This looks like an incredibly fun thing to do. From the youtube page:
The Aéroplume, in France, is a helium blimp sized for one person. €60 gets you half an hour’s flight. I had to try it.
More information about buying a flight here.
Hat tip Jeff Poplin.
Randy Travis – Pray For The Fish
An evening pause: Makes a nice bookend to the Alison Krauss evening pause one week ago.
Hat tip Mike Nelson.
Max Ehrman – Desiderata
An evening pause: An excellent meditation for beginning the weekend. From the Youtube webpage:
Max Ehrmann was an American attorney and poet who often wrote on spiritual themes. During his life, he contributed great thoughts to our literary lexicons, blending the magic of words and wisdom with his worthy observations.
Desiderata, which means “things that are desired,” was written by Max Ehrmann “because it counsels those virtues I felt most in need of.”
I think the reading was a bit slow. I think it works better at either 1.25 or 1.5 speed.
Hat tip Cotour.
Ursula Ricks – Early One Morning
How to use a laser light to switch off a room’s lights
Matchbox Twenty – Overjoyed
Alison Krauss – Down to the River to Pray
An evening pause: Performed live 2002, when traditional American Christian gospel tunes were still considered mainstream instead of “white supremacy.”
Counting Crows – Catapult
Ronald Binge – Elizabethan Serenade
Lawrence of Arabia
An evening pause: I have posted scenes from this film twice (both sadly gone now from youtube), but I think the trailer sells it well. This movie remains one of the greatest made in the history of film. If you haven’t seen it, you must. Though its facts are of course not entirely accurate, its sense of the history, culture, time, and the political machinations going on in Arabia during World War I are spot on. The visuals, acting, and script (by Robert Bolt) are also magnificent.
It also speaks to the Middle East we see today, and helps explain why the Arabs have so far not really done well with the advantages of western technology.
Hat tip Tom Wilson, who says he makes it a point to watch this epic at least once a year.
The Hollies – I Can’t Let Go
Heart – Barracuda
Foxes and Fossils – Can’t Let Go
An evening pause: Performed live 2013. I’ve posted a number of performances by this group previously. They do magnificent covers of many classic songs. Their Patreon site is here.
Hat tip John Jossy.