Bagpipe bungee jump

YouTube link.

"Sinnerman" (Nina Simone)

YouTube link.

While watching Hunt for the Wilderpeople a couple nights ago, I heard this song in the soundtrack, and remembered hearing it in The Thomas Crown Affair.  Found more information at Wikipedia:

"Sinner Man" or "Sinnerman" is accepted as an African American traditional spiritual song that has been recorded by a number of performers and has been incorporated in many other of the media and arts. The lyrics describe a sinner attempting to hide from divine justice on Judgement Day. It was recorded in the 1950s by Les Baxter, the Swan Silvertones, the Weavers and others, before Nina Simone recorded an extended version in 1965...

Simone learned the lyrics of this English song in her childhood when it was used at revival meetings by her mother, a Methodist minister, to help people confess their sins. In the early days of her career during the early sixties, when she was heavily involved in the Greenwich Village scene, Simone often used the long piece to end her live performances.

Reposted from 2016 to add the lyrics;

Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman where you gonna run to?
Where you gonna run to?
All on that day
We got to run to the rock
Please hide me, I run to the rock
Please hide me, run to the rock
Please hide here
All on that day
But the rock cried out
I can't hide you, the rock cried out
I can't hide you, the rock cried out
I ain't gonna hide you there
All on that day
I said rock
What's the matter with you rock?
Don't you see I need you, rock?
Good Lord, Lord
All on that day
So I run to the river
It was bleedin', I run to the sea
It was bleedin', I run to the sea
It was bleedin', all on that day
So I run to the river
It was boilin', I run to the sea
It was boilin', I run to the sea
It was boilin', all on that day

So I run to the Lord
Please hide me, Lord
Don't you see me prayin'?
Don't you see me down here prayin'?
But the Lord said
Go to the Devil, the Lord said
Go to the Devil
He said go to the Devil
All on that day
So I ran to the Devil
He was waitin', I ran to the Devil
He was waitin', ran to the Devil
He was waitin', all on that day
I cried, power, power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Kingdom (power, Lord)
Kingdom (power, Lord)
Kingdom (power, Lord)
Kingdom (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)

Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Well, I run to the river
It was boilin', I run to the sea
It was boilin', I run to the sea
It was boilin', all on that day
So I ran to the Lord
I said Lord, hide me
Please hide me
Please help me, all on that day
He said, hide?
Where were you?
When you oughta have been prayin'
I said Lord, Lord
Hear me prayin', Lord, Lord
Hear me prayin', Lord, Lord
Hear me prayin', all on that day
Sinnerman, you oughta be prayin'
Outghta be prayin', sinnerman
Oughta be prayin', all on that day

Up come power (power, Lord) 

Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
(Power, Lord)
Hold down (power, Lord)
Go down (power, Lord)
Kingdom (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Power (power, Lord)
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na

Woah, ho

Ha-ha-ha-ha
Ha-ha-ha-ha, oh Lord
Nu, nu, nu
No-no-no-no, ma-na-na-na-na, don't you know I need you Lord?
Don't you know that I need you?
Don't you know that I need you?

Oh, Lord
Wait
Oh, Lord
Oh, Lord, Lord

Songwriters: Nina Simone

Sinnerman lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

I couldn't find a good YouTube video of a live performance by her that wasn't mixed with a jumble of unrelated visuals.

"Kulning" explained

YouTube link

Kulning is an ancient herding call that Swedish women have practiced for hundreds of years. But in recent decades, Jinton says, it’s been largely forgotten.

According to Susanne Rosenberg, professor and head of the folk music department at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and kulning expert, the vocal technique likely dates back to at least the medieval era. In the spring, farmers sent their livestock to a small fäbod, or remote, temporary settlement in the mountains, so cows and goats could graze freely. Women, young and old, accompanied the herds, living in relative isolation from late May until early October...

The herds grazed during the daytime, wandering far from the cottages, and thus needed to be called in each night. Women developed kulning to amplify the power of their voices across the mountainous landscape, resulting in an eerie cry loud enough to lure livestock from their grazing grounds...

Rosenberg, who’s researched the volume of kulning, says it can reach up to 125 decibels—which, she warns, is dangerously loud for someone standing next to the source. Comparable to the pitch and volume of a dramatic soprano singing forte, kulning can be heard by an errant cow over five kilometers away... Some women have even learned the far-carrying cries as a form of self-defense...

Via Neatorama.

Background music

Via Focal Museum.

Word for the day: fermata

This stone marking the grave of the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke depicts a whole rest beneath a fermata, marked fortissimo (an extremely long, emphatic silence).

A fermata (also known as a hold, pause, colloquially a birdseye or cyclops eye, or as a grand pause when placed on a note or a rest) is a symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be prolonged beyond the normal duration its note value would indicate. Exactly how much longer it is held is up to the discretion of the performer or conductor, but twice as long is common. It is usually printed above but can be occasionally below (when it is upside down) the note to be extended.

Dolly Parton with REALLY big hair

The incomparable Dolly Parton, pictured above with massively "big hair" and looking so young, presumably from the 1960s.

I've embedded here the track of her #1 record "Jolene." (click to listen). [seeqpod has vanished]

For an even better experience, go HERE and watch her perform "I Will Always Love You." (image credit here).

Reposted from 2008 to add this photo of Dolly with her husband Carl Thomas Dean, to whom she has now been married for over 50 years -

- and this comment from the discussion thread at the OldSchoolCool subreddit source:

“The only bipartisan thing people in Tennessee agree on is that you don’t talk shit about Dolly.”

Related: 100,000,000 books donated

Alcohol and country music

A relationship examined at The Washington Post:

Although fans imbibe copiously at concerts of every genre, all of which boast songs about drinking, it’s possible that no slice of American life has embraced alcohol with the enthusiasm of country music. The two have gone hand-in-hand for decades, thanks in part to the so-called “tear in your beer” songs that helped make the format famous.

But today, country music and alcohol are inextricably linked as never before. Not only has the genre become known (and sometimes mocked) for its sheer amount of drinking-themed songs, but an increasing number of country acts have created their own brands of booze, including Chesney’s rum, Blake Shelton’s Smithworks vodka, Miranda Lambert’s Red 55 wine and Toby Keith’s Wild Shot mezcal.

In June, Shelton and Jason Aldean opened bars in downtown Nashville. They join recent establishments from Florida Georgia Line, Alan Jackson and Dierks Bentley, each of whom has a musical catalogue that pairs naturally with a few drinks...

Traditionally, the conjured image is not flattering, from the early-1900s “drunk hillbilly” stereotype to summer 2014, when country concerts saw a spate of intoxication-related hospital trips and arrests, and one death. But that connection is changing, as the genre is skewing younger and wealthier than ever...

Decades ago, when the country format was scorned as niche music of the working class, the prominence of alcohol fed into the cliche of drowning your sorrows at a honky-tonk. Now, it’s the reverse. Modern country singers promote alcohol largely as an escape: partying with friends, having wild nights on the town or — for singers like Chesney who lean into the tropical, Jimmy Buffett vibe — sitting on the beach with a drink in hand...

There’s no doubt the audience appreciates this. And as Nashville continues to see dollar signs (a CMA study this spring found “country music consumers are spending more on alcohol” these days), artists will keep singing about it.

The mutual benefit is a marked difference from decades ago, when there was a negative connotation of even listening to drinking songs in country bars. Now, those establishments embrace the image. And even a Sirius XM satellite radio station proudly plays “music of country-themed bars and honky-tonks across America.” It’s called Red, White & Booze. 

Lots more at the longread link.  Image cropped from one of the originals there.

Skiers? Or musical notes?

Cross-country skiers (image cropped for size from the original).  But here they are "transcribed" as musical notes...

And you can listen to the score HERE (credit to Redditor K8hoxie).

Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac - Landslide

YouTube link. 

One of the early Fleetwood Mac classics, first recorded way back in 1975, written when Stevie Nicks was experiencing some major changes in her personal and professional life.

This recording is from two decades later, in 1997 in a live performance. Her introductory comment "This is for you, Daddy," refers to her father, who was in the audience that night.

Well, I've been afraid of changing,
'cause I've built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder -
Children get older -
I'm getting older too

Reposted in 2009 after discovering another version of "Landslide," this one performed by the students of PS22 in New York City. I still prefer the Stevie Nicks version, but this one has a certain charm...

YouTube link.

Reposted again for 2018.

"Dream On" (Aerosmith, 1973)

YouTube link.

 

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears

Sing with me, if it's just for today

Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away...

Full lyrics.

In a 2011 interview, Steven Tyler reminisced about his father, a Juilliard-trained musician, and recalled "lying beneath his dad's piano as a three-year-old, listening to him play classical music. That's where I got that Dream On chordage," he said.

Reposted from 2011 because the originally embedded video had undergone linkrot.  So I'll use this opportunity to embed the original musci video and append some additional info.

Dream On has been classified as a "power ballad." q.v.:

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French chanson balladée or ballade, which were originally "danced songs''... Sentimental ballads, also known as pop ballads, rock ballads or power ballads, are an emotional style of music that often deal with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, war (protest songs), loneliness, death, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner... Aaron argues that the power ballad broke into the mainstream of American consciousness in 1976 as FM radio gave a new lease of life to earlier songs such as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" (1971), Aerosmith's "Dream On" (1973), and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (1974).

For those who like me have wondered how Steven Tyler's voice held up over the years, here's his performance over 40 years later of a slightly-more concise version:

YouTube link.

Pretty damn good.  And so TIL there is a Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

"I Will Always Love You"

YouTube link.

YouTube link. 

 
One of my favorite pieces of music, sung by the incomparable Dolly Parton. She wrote this way back in 1973 when she was breaking up with her long-time partner Porter Waggoner. She recut it again in 1982 for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (here is the YouTube video of the movie version.)

The song became even more famous in the 1990s when Whitney Houston covered it for her film debut in The Bodyguard. Her version was ranked #1 in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Love Songs.

I have embedded two versions: the upper one features Dolly in a solo concert performance; the video is grainy, especially at fullscreen, but the power of her voice comes through well. The lower one is her duet with Vince Gill, which was rated by Country Music Television as #1 in their 100 Greatest Country Love Songs.

Both are worth listening to.

Originally posted in 2008.  Reposted to update one of the videos that had died.

"Nessun Dorma"

YouTube link.

A four-minute video from a June 2007 segment of the ITV program Britain's Got Talent.  This video has been viewed 19 million times.

Update May 2008 - the video has now been viewed 25 million times.
Update 2016 - now it's 157 million views...

Reposted from 2008 to add Pavarotti's rendition of the same piece:

YouTube link.

And to add the lyrics (in English):

Nobody shall sleep!...
Nobody shall sleep!
Even you, oh Princess,
in your cold room,
watch the stars,
that tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me,
my name no one shall know...
No!...No!...
On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...
(No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.)
Vanish, o night!
Set, stars! Set, stars!
At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!

And an excerpt from the story:

"At the start of the opera, Calaf sees Princess Turandot for the first time and instantly falls in love with her. However, any man who wishes to marry her must correctly answer three riddles. Those who fail are killed. Despite protests from his father and his servant, Calaf accepts the challenge and is determined to marry the princess. 

Much to the delight of the princess's father as well as the entire kingdom, Calaf answers all three riddles correctly. Turandot realizes she must now marry a stranger and becomes upset. Calaf makes a deal with her that if she can correctly answer his own riddle before dawn, he will die. If she does not answer correctly, he will marry her. Turandot agrees and the countdown begins. 

Late that night, the princess declares that no one will sleep until she learns the name of her suitor. In fact, she cries out that everyone in the kingdom will be killed if no one steps forward to reveal Calaf's identity. Meanwhile, Calaf confidently sings "Nessun Dorma" (Nobody shall sleep). "

The Star-Spangled Banner, third stanza

There have been a lot of first stanzas of the Star-Spangled Banner sung at football games this week.  I had to look up the third stanza; I don't believe I've ever heard it sung.

"And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Political cartoon via Jobsanger.  Full lyrics (four stanzas) here.

The Third Man theme. And fake penicillin.

YouTube link.

Here played by the composer and original instrumentalist. After the release of The Third Man in 1950, this song was #1 in the United States for three months, until it was displaced by Nat King Cole singing "Mona Lisa." It certainly must be the best-known piece of zither music ever created.

Via UncertainTimes.  Reposted from 2008 (!) to update the video and add this relevant history from the Christmas 2016 issue of the British Medical Journal:

In April 1946, in the bleak aftermath of the second world war, American and British intelligence services arrested seven men and three women in Berlin on charges of manufacture, possession, and sale of fake penicillin. A former German army private was the alleged chief of the fake drug ring that included ‘Two former GIs in love with frauleins and an American doctor with a passion for fine cameras…who got at least $13 000 [about $170 000 (£130 000; €160 000) today] in cash from one Berlin druggist for penicillin."..

Penicillin was scarce but much sought after as an innovative cure of bacterial infections, and it became a currency in post-war Europe. The Times reported from Berlin “There is great illicit demand for penicillin here for the treatment of venereal diseases. Supplies are strictly controlled by the British and American authorities, being reserved for the treatment of their soldiers, and secondarily for the treatment of German women likely to spread disease. Otherwise supplies are not available.”

There is also evidence of illegal penicillin trade in post-war Vienna. Zane Grey Todd was head of criminal investigation in the American sector. His obituary tells us that “His most dangerous case involved two American medical officers who were stealing and selling penicillin on the black market, aided by a former Miss Austria, with whom they were living.” That Todd may have been a key source for Greene is suggested by a tributary clue in the film—Martins gives a cultural talk on the American author Zane Grey.

More at the link.  Quite interesting.

Bob Dylan - Forever Young

YouTube link.

I'm a "boomer," and Bob Dylan is one of the musicians who define my generation. "Forever Young" was written as a lullaby for his eldest son and released in the mid-70s; it appeals to an older crowd than those who were attracted to him earlier for his "protest"-themed songs.

There are lots of choices of venues for hearing the song. I've embedded the one from The Band's performance in The Last Waltz.

And if you don't care for the music, at least accept these lyrics as my wishes to you.

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Originally posted in February of '08.  Reposted now in response to today's announcement that Bob Dylan will receive the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature - in recognition of his skills as a lyricist rather than as a singer or musician.

Reddit Books discussion thread re the appropriateness (or not) of this award.

Addendum:

Dylan has sculpted iron pieces for family and friends for the past 30 years, but it wasn’t until 2013 – at London’s Halcyon Gallery in an exhibition called Mood Swings – that his metal artwork was first viewed publicly. His works feature found objects, vintage scrap metal and industrial artifacts collected from junkyards. Dylan collects everything from farm equipment, children’s toys, kitchen utensils and antique fire arms to chains, cogs, axes and wheels. He then welds these curiosities into thoughtfully juxtaposed masterpieces. Commissioned by MGM National Harbor to envision an open entrance, Dylan hand-selected unique objects and will weld a stunning composition into a soaring archway.

Text and image from MGM National Harbor, via Minnesota Brown, the definitive blog about northern Minnesota's legendary Mesabi Iron Range.

Which is slower - andante or adagio ?

This week while burning some music to CDs I realized that I had no idea what the answer was, so I had to look it up.  Here's an excerpt of the Wikipedia entry on tempo:

Basic tempo markings

By adding an -issimo ending, the word is amplified. By adding an -ino or -etto ending, the word is diminished. The beats per minute (bpm) values are rough approximations.
From slowest to fastest:

• Larghissimo – very, very slow (24 bpm (beats per minute in a 4
  4 time) and under)
• Grave – very slow (25–45 bpm)
• Largo – broadly (40–60 bpm)
• Lento – slowly (45–60 bpm)
• Larghetto – rather broadly (60–66 bpm)
• Adagio – slow and stately (literally, "at ease") (66–76 bpm)
• Adagietto – slower than andante (72–76 bpm)
• Andante – at a walking pace (76–108 bpm)
• Andantino – slightly faster than Andante (although in some cases it can be taken to mean slightly slower than andante) (80–108 bpm)
• Marcia moderato – moderately, in the manner of a march (83–85 bpm)
• Andante moderato – between andante and moderato (thus the name andante moderato) (92–112 bpm)
• Moderato – moderately (108–120 bpm)
• Allegretto – moderately fast (112–120 bpm)
• Allegro moderato – close to but not quite allegro (116–120 bpm)
• Allegro – fast, quickly, and bright (120–168 bpm) (molto allegro is slightly faster than allegro, but always in its range)
• Vivace – lively and fast (168–176 bpm)
• Vivacissimo – very fast and lively (172–176 bpm)
• Allegrissimo or Allegro vivace – very fast (172–176 bpm)
• Presto – very, very fast (168–200 bpm)
• Prestissimo – even faster than Presto (200 bpm and over)

Much more at Wikipedia.

Glastonbury aftermath

YouTube link.

Amazing.  Not the garbage.  The tents and other camping gear.  Abandoned.

Via the always-interesting Nothing To Do With Arbroath.

"Hamboning" demonstrated

YouTube link.

"This amazing Hambone performance by Samuel Hicks starts out at a normal pace and then increases in tempo to a blazing finish. Shot in North Carolina back in early 1990s while visiting my brother."

The Juba dance or hambone, originally known as Pattin' Juba (Giouba, Haiti: Djouba), is an American style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks.

The Juba dance was originally from West Africa. It became an African-American plantation dance that was performed by slaves during their gatherings when no rhythm instruments were allowed due to fear of secret codes hidden in the drumming.

Later in the mid-19th century, music and lyrics were added, and there were public performances of the dance. Its popularization may have indirectly influenced the development of modern tap dance... It was often danced in minstrel shows...

If you like music...

... Polygraph offers a fun link for bringing back fifty years' worth of memories.  The page is user-friendly and fully intuitive.  Have a go.

Pope Francis channels Pink Floyd

YouTube link.

Try listening to the first minute or two.  I guarantee you'll be surprised.

A tip of the blogging hat to Dan Schreiber and the other elves of NSTAAF for alerting me to the existence of this album, which I otherwise would never have known about.