Tag: music

Rogers and Hammerstein – Oklahoma!

6:01 pm

An evening pause: From the 1955 movie, Oklahoma. This Broadway musical is one of the best examples of the fundamental differences between American culture and what preceded it. In the past, all music, drama, fiction, etc, revolved around telling the stories of the powerful, the nobility, the rulers, and the great. In the United States, “of the people, for the people, by the people,” literature, art, drama, and music has focused instead mostly on the lives and concerns of ordinary people. In this musical, for example, the story is about how two ordinary cowpokes decide to give up their roaming ways to settle down and become farmers, all for love. And in doing so, Rogers and Hammerstein end up also telling the story of the American west as it transitioned from the wild west of gold rush boom towns and cattle drive cowboys into a settled society of cities and families.

And the music and choreography is great too!

Hat tip Edward Thelen.

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Nick Drake – One of These Things First

6:01 pm

An evening pause: This cover of the Nick Drake song is quite nice. The musician, who does not identify himself anywhere on his youtube page, is playing everything, though some of the instrument tracks were recorded earlier. One funny bit: The song is so good that I never noticed the first time that he has a black cat on his lap. As he notes, “My cat decided to shift positions on my lap just as it was about to end, almost ruining a good take. Luckily he settled down just in time.” Watch it first for the song, then take a look near the end as the cat tries to steal the scene.

Hat tip Edward Thelen.

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Merle Haggard – Okie From Muskogee

6:01 pm

An evening pause: Someone who did not live through the 1960s cannot imagine the violent reactions to this song when it came out in 1969. It was either loved or hated, expressing the polarization of the times. Sadly, not much has changed in half a century, other than the poles have grown farther apart, with the side Haggard is gently criticizing here so filled with hate that it would not surprise me if they would to try to prevent the song’s performance if someone wanted to sing it on a college campus today.

Hat tip Diane Zimmerman, in honor of Merle Haggard’s passing last week.

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Imogen Heap – Just For Now

6:01 pm

An evening pause: I challenge anyone to tell me what the lyrics in this piece are about. In fact, don’t bother, because the meaning of the words is really irrelevant. The focus is on the sound of the words, and that sound is really really good.

Hat tip Edward Thelen.

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Evanescence – Going Under

6:01 pm

An evening pause: Some modern music, to remind us that there is a culture out there that is very different than the tiny geek-oriented engineering world my readers like. In watching this very nicely produced music video, I was most struck by the vision the singer has of her audience. I wonder thus what her audience thinks of her and themselves, especially when this video has been viewed almost 70 million times.

Hat tip Wayne DeVette.

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It’s the Beatles

6:01 pm

An evening pause: Broadcast on December 7, 1963 by the BBC, this excerpt from the 30 minute television show before 2,500 members of The Beatles’ Northern Area Fan Club gives us a glimpse into the craziness that heralded the Beatles arrival on the world scene. The clip includes the last third of the show.

Why do these teenage girls remind me of modern voters attending rallies for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders?

Hat tip Rocco.

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The Kingsmen – Louie Louie

6:01 pm

An evening pause: Normally I don’t post videos with no visuals, but for this I will make an exception. It is probably the first time anyone has ever done the hard work necessary to translate the mumblings of the singer to find out the lyrics of this pop tune. Before now, who knew?

Hat tip Phil Berardelli.

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Cam – Can’t Help Falling In Love

6:01 pm

An evening pause: I’ve posted the original version by Elvis Presley from the movie Blue Hawaii (1961) back in 2013, but this live version,live at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on January 8, 2016, is definitely worth seeing. She dedicated the song to her fiancé, Adam Weaver, and during the performance it is obvious that she is singing directly to him in the audience.

I also dare you to watch it without singing along.

Hat tip Edward Thelen from reminding me that this song needs a revisit.

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