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What Are You Listening To Right Now?


Guest Black Lotus

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Thanks to Rhapsody, I've been expanding my horizons a bit in both classical and pop. I've grown quite fond of the third symphony by Alexander Scriabin, which he subtitled "The Divine Poem". It's very deeply layered and rich in texture and sound.

 

And right now I've got on the Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds. The American music industry was pretty much finished with Brian Wilson's group, which had started out as a "surf band", and the album was ignored in America. But it wasn't ignored in the UK, especially by professional musicians (Paul McCartney loved it). Like the Beatles in the UK, Wilson was experimenting with the potential of the new recording technologies to enhance an already strongly harmonic sound, creating ever richer and more complex musical constructions. As tracks like "That's Not Me' and "I just Wasn't Made For These times" demonstrated, Wilson and the band were equally adventurous lyrically. Brian Wilson's deteriorating mental health and drug problems would cause him to cede control of the band's musical direction within two years, and the Beach Boys would never again be the pioneering force in American music they had once been.

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Like all filkers, Heather Alexander was extensively "filked" -- a term used to describe writing your own lyrics to someone else's tune, sometimes related and satirical and sometimes completely unrelated. How they feel about it varies from artist to artist and song to song. I do it all the time.

 

The undisputed master of this dubious art form is a man named Bob Kanefsky. Kanefsky does not record -- he even insists that all recording devices be turned off before he takes a turn in a circle. So when a large collection of his lyrics became popular enough that the leading label of the time wanted to make tapes, they had those of the original artists who they had under contract at the time record his parodies. One of these artists was Heather Alexander, and one of the songs parodied was "Black Unicorn". "White Unicorn" is the story of an arrogant toy who "meets their match" when gifted to a three-year-old girl who lovingly abuses it in alarming ways. On the increasingly rare occasions where she sang in circles Heather would perform that parody (saving the original for concerts).

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The Memorial Day game between the Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves on MLB Gameday Audio. The game is on ESPN so I can't watch it. Besides, this way I can read and post on my backup computer while the game plays in the background.

 

My regular computer is in the shop getting the graphics card updated. It's been there all weekend because he had to order the card and it probably won't even ship until Tuesday because of the holiday.

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Today's Playlist I forced upon Carol and Logan I'm forcing upon you all...

 

2-4-6-8-Motorway, Tom Robinson Band.

 

Rockin' All Over the World - Status Quo

 

When the Mornin' Comes - Brian Connolly's Sweet

 

Peppermint Twist - Sweet

 

Stone in my Shoe - Scorpions

 

The Wild One - Suzie Quatro

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Love that album

 

If the song "Late Nite" is anything to judge the rest of the album by, it must be awesome.

 

 

That said, the last CD of Mr. Schon's I picked up was "Beyond The Thunder". I'd love to pick up "Late Nite", but it's a bit expensive (for me, and for now).

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