Category: music

I continue to rip my CDs into my computer. I haven’t seen these in almost 6 years and they are bringing back lots of memories. I’m currently ripping “Calamus,” a recording of Arab-Andulisian music. Really haunting, and very unusual. It used to be a favorite demo disk of mine when I was selling stereo equipment, always impressed people. I’ve also just stumbled across a disk my girlfriend in college gave me. 

Here’s a good one, I just unearthed my box set of the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir. I know, I can hear you now, but really, this is some amazing stuff. Like Calamus, the Bulgarian choir sings in a style that has a zillion influences from both east and west. It really is mesmerizing. Well, maybe not three disks back to back to back mesmerizing, but really good.

I’m looking for my favorite Flamenco disk, my collection of different composers’ “Stabat Mater,” and all of my various live jazz and classic jazz recordings. Oddly enough, the big rock collection isn’t exciting me overly much. I probably ripped most of that before I went to Yemen and have been listening to it ever since. I’m also probably still hearing it via the various streaming services I use. Hmm, and maybe most of the really good stuff is on vinyl. Probably all of the above. In any case, it’ll be good to get through this project.

I’m seriously considering backing this up to another hard drive (aside from my usual back-up) and keeping it somewhere else for safe keeping. I plan on getting rid of all of these CDs once I’m done with them. I would then be in a situation where all of my music would be in two rather fragile drive enclosures. If something really bad happened here, I don’t want to lose all of that stuff. Hmm. Will have to think about where I could put it.

I can tell i’m old because “edgy” music from my youth is now considered mainstream enough to sell things like computers and minivans. First up a commercial from Hp using a song about masturbation.

Yeah, it’s a catch riff, but those lyrics are seared into my memory.

“Body and beats, I stain my sheets

I don’t even know why.

My girlfriend, she’s at the end, she is starting to cry.

Let me go on, like a blister in the sun,

let me go onnn, big hands I know you’re the one.”

The next one isn’t so bad from a content standpoint, not really, but it is amazing how associations change over time. Here’s an Ozzy Osbourne song selling a minivan.

WIth the exception of the little girl’s part of “Mental wounds not healing, life’s a shame.” the lyrics are appropriate for most things. Not really sure why they let her sing that though, it is a rather dark aspect of the song… Anyway, the amazing thing is that this song was from a point in time when Ozzy was widely believed to be a devil worshiper. He didn’t help anything by biting the heads off of doves either. In short, Ozzy was, at best, a degenerate and at worst a madman steering youth to a ruinous life. Now his song is selling minivans. The parents are about the right age and I guess it shows how mainstream outrageous things from the past have become. The song does have one of the more distinctive guitar riffs you’ll ever hear, kudos for one of the girls playing their seat belt air-guitar style. Just for completeness sake, here’s the original.

And here’s one of the more memorable pictures of Ozzy.

I came across the other day and found it remarkable. I have since been informed by some of my friends that it is old news, but still, I doubt everyone has seen this. It’s a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” If you’ve been wondering about the appeal of Gaga, this might at least give you a taste.

It’s from an artist that goes by the name Lissie. I think she does a great job with the song, moves it towards a little more honest performance. Gaga’s, in comparison, sounds a little… entitled? Not whiny, but… I dunno, not as honest. I also find Lissie’s glancing down at the neck of the guitar for chord changes endearing.

I often play a game with more recent music where I try to imagine what some of the luminaries from the late 60’s would think of the song. I wonder what would Pete Townsend or Janis Joplin think of this? When we compare this rendition to what was offered back then, you can see how far women have come. First there is the guitar playing. With the exception of “The Duchess” (Norma-Jean Wofford), I can’t think of any prominent female rock guitarists until the Runaways came along. Then there is the content. Women back then just didn’t sing songs like that. I very much doubt that any woman could bring herself to all herself a “freak bitch” back then. I mean, it just wasn’t done. But that’s the point, for a woman to come out and perform a song about lust back then would have been very difficult. Does anyone know of an example?

Some would say that Gaga represents the current state of feminist expression. Maybe, but I’m with Kathleen Hannah, I wish Gaga would would pants a little more often while being a strong woman. Lissie is more powerful I think because she isn’t using any of her feminine wiles to get her point across, but she still gets it across. Anyway, enjoy!

I’m not familiar with the original, but this is wonderful. Reminds me of Astrud Gilberto a bit.

I was saddened when I head about her death. I had hoped that she was going to turn it around. I still hold out hope that she didn’t fall off the wagon, maybe her body just gave out after years of abuse. I know, reason tells me that isn’t the case…

It may seem strange to post a song from another group in an Amy WInehous post, but I think it fits. Drug use is always sad, this song captures that sadness and the video (scenes from The Panic in Needle Park) really sums up for me how life devolves when you’re locked in that cycle. RIP Amy, hope you can have some peace from all your troubles now.