Archive for April, 2011
Thao & Mirah Thao & Mirah
I like this album. I really like it. I’m not in the loop on Indie music and I rarely listen to the genre but this album is great. It features a wide range of sounds and not one note sounds cliché. Thao & Mirah and their co-producer, Merill, sound great together and the other musicians [...]
Song of the Week
Time To Kill Gentle Giant Free Hand I’m particularly fond of the vocals on this track; Derek Shulman has (or had) a very distinctive voice that I really enjoy listening to. I don’t have much to say about this track other than that I encourage everyone to listen to it.
Song of the Week
Faith SS Kyle Gann Gann is one of my favorite composers and musicologists (I follow his blog). I like the composition but I have two pet peeves about the recording. The first is the dynamic range (it’s too wide to set your speakers at a comfortable level and leave it there) and the second is the [...]
I Hate Music-Who Said That?
The above piece was written by Leonard Bernstein in 1943. The songs are based on melodies his flatmate, Edys Merril, sang while covering her ears in response to his work; the song cycle is dedicated to her. Bernstein leaves an interesting note to the singer at the begining of the score: In the performance of [...]
Song of the Week
In A Sentimental Mood Duke Ellington and John Coltrane Duke Ellington and John Coltrane I am very happy to be writing about this song (they get chosen at random). Duke opens by singing through the piano and Coltrane replies with a heartfelt and bluesy interpretation of the melody. What happens after that goes far, far [...]
Song of the Week
Don’t Ease Me In Grateful Dead 1985-04-14 – Irvine Meadows I’ve got a squeaky clean SBD of this show so yay for me. Instrumentally this is a good performance, Brent plays the same solo he does on Go To Heaven but he puts some soul into it and makes it sing; the same goes for [...]