This page renders best in Firefox (or Safari, or Chrome)
Music
I've had a pretty complex relationship with music over the years... ought to write about that sometime. Anyways: I listen to a lot of it, in genres like "rock" and "pop" and "folk", and play some of it, primarily in the genres "old-time" and "classical".
Slacktivist posted this video yesterday, with the note that there are only three more days -- well today there are only two more days; and this is the perfect version of the perfect song for this moment.
So the reason I wanted to see Rachel Getting Married, was the music, specifically Robyn Hitchcock. And I think the music was probably the best thing about the movie, in the end. But look: the music was sufficiently great that I can say that without denigrating the rest of the picture; it was a really fine movie.
A review I read (maybe in the Times?) criticized the reception scene as killing the rhythm of the movie and its plot, making the viewer lose track of what's going on. This seems like an absolutely baffling response to the movie (assuming I'm remembering it right); the reception was a totally integral part of what was going on (which was after all a wedding), it intensified and crystallized the characters, particularly of Kim and her mother.
Hm, just thinking this post needs a little more -- I finished it in a hurry before dinner -- The reason I chose the title I did is that I flashed on that song at one point in the movie when Kim was watching a car pulling in to her father's driveway. Kim's relationship with cars is definitely a focal point of the plot and of her character. The one thing I really didn't buy in the movie was her accident the night before the wedding -- that (a) was totally predictable and (b) didn't do the work it was supposed to. Auto-accident-as-cathartic-release just doesn't cut it in my book. Her not getting in an accident would have been more compelling; and the fight with her mother fills the need for violent release there.
Here are a couple of funky covers of the disco classic.
Tragedy bill themselves as "the #1 heavy metal Bee-Gees tribute band" -- I'm willing to accept this claim at face value as I would never have dreamt of the category existing to begin with. They have some hot tunes; "Stayin' Alive" is my favorite of the ones I've listened to.
...And here is a cover by Ozzy Osbourne, Frank and Dweezil Zappa -- surprising me again: I had no idea any pair of these three had worked on a record together. (I also don't have any verification that it's true, beyond the YouTube caption -- obviously Ozzy is singing the verse and playing guitar, someone else is singing on the break -- possibly this is Zappa père and/or fils. A quick Google search turns up a lot of references to the record (though not all of them mention Frank Zappa being involved) but no dates or personnel information.)* Either way it kicks ass:
* Zappa-head Apostropher confirms this is not a Frank project; it is on Dweezil's 1991 record Confessions. Apo says Dweezil's "actually an excellent metal guitarist, though his guitar playing sounds really, really different from FZ's. There are several live shows where they play together, swapping solos and while they're both impressive, there's never any doubt who's who."
I realized a difference between my guitar playing and my fiddling while I was practicing today -- I approach the guitar from a framework of the music's structure, where I just go with the feel of it on violin. I don't have much clue of what measure I'm playing or often even where the beat is, when I'm playing melody on violin. This is a major shortcoming; and yet I believe I am a much better violinist than I am a guitarist. I am the same with singing -- I think I can sing pretty well, but I don't understand what is happening with the structure of the melody I'm singing. Something to work on -- I would like to be able to understand (and to feel) the chord changes going on under the melody.
posted evening of October 22nd, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Guitar
At The Fiddler's Companion, I found another Napoleon-themed Irish reel: "Napoleon Crossing the Alps". I've been playing it this morning and have uploaded the music in PDF format. I am curious what it means that the key signature is one sharp, but the tune resolves to A -- is this some kind of wacky modal thing? Also weird: The source at Fiddler's Companion has an accidental sharp marked at every occurrence of F♯, which seems redundant and makes the music difficult to read. I removed the accidentals.I was thinking it might be possible to make a medley of "Napoleon Crossing the Rhine" with this; but I'm not sure what kind of transposing I should do or alternately, how to modulate between the two.
Update: My mom (who knows about such things) says, this is Dorian mode:
A tune can be built (and resolve) around any of the notes in the
scale - this is modal writing. The mode that resolves to the 1st
note of the scale is what we call major. The one that resolves to the
6th note is what we call minor. the one that resolves to the second
tone of the (major) scale is called dorian. This modal writing is
used a lot in traditional tunes.
You can get the idea of the sound by playing a scale using only white
notes. First play c-c, that's ionian (major). Then play d-d,
that's dorian. e-e is phrygian , f-f is lydian, g-g is mixolydian. a-a
is æolian (minor), and b-b is locrian.
(Edited with some suggestions from my brother, who also wants to point out that ionian and æolian modes are Not Really major and minor, because tonal music is different from modal music. My sister wanted to point out in this regard that "we have the nerdiest family EVER.")
posted morning of October 19th, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Songs
I've been messing around further with Napoleon Crossing the Rhine; here it is with "Bonaparte's Retreat" added as a chorus. Big jam at Menzel Violins this afternoon, maybe I will lead this tune.
posted morning of October 19th, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Fiddling
This time with politics -- Unfunkked 8: That Ain't Gravy, Lady is available for download. (Also the Apostropher has archived volumes 1 - 7 in one place together, along with "Don't Bogart that Groove" and "Apomerica.")
I'm listening to the first track right now and swinging.
Update (as of track 5): The mix is really smooth and consistent -- transitions from song to song make sense. Shake your bootie, baby.
Update (as of track 10): Listening to this tape is highly recommended as an alternative to watching the debate. Way better use of your mind. I want you to know, exactly how I feel.
Update (as of track 17): This tape saves the best for last. I have never heard of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band before just now. My mind has been expanded. (Some more Lafayette tunes are available at Dr. Okeh's FORREALHEADZ blog.)
It seems to me like the line "You know that was the last thing on my mind" admits of two not mutually exclusive readings. It could just be a restatement and intensifier of "Didn't mean to be unkind"; or it could also be a separate statement, that he just wasn't thinking about how he was behaving toward the woman he's singing to. The difference here keys on whether that takes "I could have loved you better" or "to be unkind" as its antecedent; I like the ambiguity.
(Yeah, any excuse to post this song... I was listening to Chet Atkins' cover of it last night in the soundtrack to Stroszek and it became the song I want to have in my head all the time. Maybe I will try and learn the words and figure out a violin part for the October jam. Do you know there are like 50 covers of this song -- most of the ones I can find on YouTube are inferior to the original although Dolly Parton's version is pretty easy on the ears. Oh also: here is a tape of Tom Paxton singing "Rambling Boy" on Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Quest" show.)
It doesn't really make sense to title the previous post "Replacing Aguirre in my affections"... I was meaning to get across my dawning feeling as I watched it, that maybe this is the greatest movie Herzog ever made. But actually it's great in a very similar way to how Aguirre is, though they are very different movies. I think maybe the signature feature of Herzog's story-telling -- as I watch his films anyway -- is the way he can bring me to identify with his characters at the same time as I see them as totally alien, completely different from me. So I'm inside Bruno's head and I'm freaking out about how weird and inexplicable he is. Well that and of course the amazing layout of images on the screen, and the fantastic soundtrack; these are more qualities Herzog's great films have in common...
“Silver Bell” performed by Chet Atkins and Hank Snow -- not actually on the Stroszek soundtrack, a different version of “Silver Bell” was on it and some different songs by Atkins. (Including “The Last Thing on My Mind&rdquo -- just fantastic.)
posted evening of September 20th, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Stroszek
A White Bear (who has, sigh, once again purged her archives) has a hilarious post up examining the candidates as professors and TA's -- Palin "all but admits sheâ??s just doing the job because she needs a good recommendation letter" -- and praying for Tuesday to come, so she can get her brain back.
The Virginia Quarterly Review publishes a newly translated 
