Johann Strauss – Perpetuum mobile
An evening pause: Hat tip Dane, who added that “Herbert von Karajan’s eccentricity as a conductor” makes this worth watching all by itself.
Tag: entertainment
Blockhead – The Music Scene
An evening pause: Animation by Antonio Francisco Schepperd. As I watched this I could not help think of the very expressive 1960s word psychodelic.
The Dubliners – Dirty Old Town
An evening pause: Performed live, 1976, in Finland.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
Lacy J. Dalton – Black Coffee
An evening pause: Hat tip Edward Thelen.
Pink Floyd – See Emily Play
An evening pause: The link calls this the official video, remastered in 2011. The style and look of the filming however fits the 1960s to a T.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Jimmy Eat World – The Middle
An evening pause: I normally find myself very bored with “official” music videos. The stories are almost always the same, centered on the imagined profound angst of adolescent teen-age emotions. This video however does a nice job of mixing the music with the story, in a somewhat creative and different way, even if the angst is still the same.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Stevie Nicks – Edge Of Seventeen
An evening pause: Performed live, 1982.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You
An evening pause: Performed live, 1995.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
Pearl Jam – Alive
A evening pause: If you look closely, past the hard rock angst and anger and clothing and hairstyles and performance cliches, what you can see here are some very serious and skilled musicians.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Foster The People – Houdini
A evening pause: Sometimes simplicity is best.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – Psycho Killer
An evening pause: Let’s try this song again, this time played by people in suits.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Taking Heads – Psycho Killer
An evening pause: Performed live in Germany, 1980.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Such Great Heights
An evening pause: Unfortunately, I have no idea who the performer is for this gentle and very beautiful cover of a song by The Postal Service. She does not identify herself on her youtube webpage.
They will see us waving from such great heights,
“Come down now,” they’ll say
But everything looks perfect from far away,
“Come down now,” but we’ll stay…
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
Claudia Drake – I can’t believe that you’re in love with me
An evening pause: From the 1945 film Detour.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
John Prine – Hello in there
An evening pause: Hat tip Peter Fenstermacher.
Billy Joel and Michael Pollack – New York State of Mind
An evening pause: Hat tip Frank Kelly. As Frank emailed me, “Student Michael Pollack asks Billy Joel if he can accompany him on piano, playing New York State of Mind. Billy Joel accepts and asks, “What key do you play it in.” Pollack: “What key do you want it in?” Just from that Joel can tell he can play, then Pollack starts playing, and this is important, when he starts, Joel instantly knows he’s [good]. Perhaps he realizes he might be a reason this kid learned piano. Joel is a bit amazed, watch it, he relaxes and just lets Pollack do his thing; he even makes a flamboyant point of putting his sunglasses on.ο»Ώ”
Or as Joel says at the end, “The guy’s got chops.” Stick with it, it only gets better.
Tallest tunnel slide to open in London
A reason to go to London: The world’s tallest tunnel slide, almost 600 feet long and 250 feet high, is being built as part of a sculpture that was part of the 2012 Olympic games location.
Once complete, the slide will be 178-m (584-ft) long and 76-m (249-ft) high, making it, according to the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the “world’s tallest and longest tunnel slide.” Riders will experience 12 twists and turns, including a tight corkscrew section called the “bettfeder,” which is German for “bedspring.” The slide ends with a 50-m (164-ft) straight stretch to the ground.
It is estimated that it will take about 40 seconds for people to descend the slide, with riders expected to hit speeds of up to 15 mph (24 km/h). On the way down, there will be dark sections, as well as points where it will be possible for riders to see out of transparent polycarbonate windows, providing brief views out over the Olympic Park and surrounding areas.
Colin Hay – I just don’t think I’ll ever get over you
An evening pause: Performed live in Vancouver, 2010.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
Nirvana – Lithium
An evening pause: I must admit that the hard rock music of Kurt Cobain has interested me so little that, until this video was suggested to me, I had never listened to it. Though the music itself doesn’t do much for me personally, the lyrics and the history of the song were quite surprising. To quote from the second link,
Cobain said the song is about a man who, after the death of his girlfriend, turns to religion “as a last resort to keep himself alive. To keep him from suicide.” While Cobain said the narrative of “Lithium” was fictional, he said, “I did infuse some of my personal experiences, like breaking up with girlfriends and having bad relationships.” Cobain acknowledged that the song was possibly inspired in part by the time he spent living with his friend Jesse Reed and his born-again Christian parents. He explained to Azerrad, “I’ve always felt that some people should have religion in their lives [. . .] That’s fine. If it’s going to save someone, it’s okay. And the person in [‘Lithium’] needed it.”
The song was published in 1992. I suspect that even Cobain would be considered evil by the today’s modern generation for daring to express positive thoughts about religion.
Hat tip Wayne Devette.
Isabelle Druet – Ah que j’aime les militaires!
An evening pause: By Offenbach. The humor of this song, the title of which in English is “Ah, how I love the military!”, is sadly lost on us English-speakers, but you can sense it from the singer’s wonderful performance.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.