An evening pause: Its an “official video,” so much of this is lip synched footage cobbled together to make what looks like a single performance. Much of it however is the actual performance, and the song is good.
An evening pause: Performed live 1977. The filmwork leaves a lot to be desired, and the sound might not come from this particular performance. No matter. Just listen to the music.
An evening pause: The instrument, the nyckelharpan or key harp, is played by Olov Johansson, and four of his students at Institute, Jonathan Wanneby, Elisabet Ryd and Lydia Ievins.
An evening pause: Performed in 2020 by the National Orchestra of France with a piano solo by Khatia Buniatishvili and a ballet duet by Jordan Kindell and Verity Jacobson.
An evening pause: Performed live in 1989, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower. What I especially like are the English subtitles, because for some reason this song is rarely translated. Knowing the meaning of what they are singing in the scene in the movie Casablanca makes that scene even more moving.
An evening pause: This was their first live appearance on television, on the Tonight Show in 1986. Note in the second song they mispronounce the yiddish word “tush,” which translates as ass. Mike Nelson, who suggested this pause, thought they did it to avoid problems with the FCC.
An evening pause: The music is by John Williams. The lead violinist is space-walking Sarah Gillis, playing from the Resilience capsule in orbit right now.
An evening pause: This Russian band does a fine cover of the Lighthouse hit. It is also the third different Leonid & Friends cover that I have posted over the years, all suggested by different people (see here and here for the previous two).
An evening pause: A Christian’s prayer, set to beautiful music and performed live 2011. I post a lot of hard rock celebrating sex, drugs, and rock & roll, because the music and performance is great. I post this for the same reason. I wonder how many of my non-Christian readers will be open to listening and enjoying it.
An evening pause: I think this song quite fitting to end the summer season. Sung by George Alexander, it plays over the opening credits to the classic 1966 John Wayne film of the same name, directed by Howard Hawks. The magnificent paintings that form the backdrop to the credits were painted by Olaf Wieghorst.
My daddy once told me what a man ought to be.
There’s much more to life than the things we can see.
And the godliest mortal you ever will know
Is the one with the dream of El Dorado.
So ride, boldly ride, to the end of the rainbow.
Ride, boldly ride, till you find El Dorado.
An evening pause: A different way to enter the weekend. This speech by this comedian was given about a decade ago as part of a campaign to change British law to get the word ‘insulting’ removed from Section 5 of the Public Order Act, as part of the Crime and Courts Bill. The campaign succeeded, but it appears the modern police and governments (from both sides of the political spectrum) in Great Britain have recently decided to ignore it. If you are conservative and criticize illegal immigration or Islam, those governments have decided that this speech is now illegal. I like this quote most of all:
“For me, the best way to increase society’s resistance to insulting or offensive speech is to allow a lot more of it. As with childhood diseases you can better resist those germs to which you have been exposed.”
Too bad we appear to have decided to abandon this wise philosophy, not only in regards to speech, but to infectious diseases as well.