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squirrel_magnet got the modem to boot up again and we have, at least for a little while, an outside collection. Who knows how long it will last? While it's here, though, let me try and do some ketchup. (Some of these paragraphs will get headings and cut tags and then have actual content filled in later.)
Here's some of the CDs we've been listening to Thursday and Friday:
The Klezmonauts: Oy to the World. Yes, it's a novelty album of sorts, but it's musically pretty good. Mostly instrumental, mostly traditional Christmas carols but put into modal or minor keys and played klezmer-style. Some carols sound MUCH better this way. And one original song on the disk is "Santa Gey Gezunterheit" (Yiddish for Santa, go in good health) which is funny. The whole disk may not be quite as funny to people who aren't familiar at all with klezmer music or anything about Jewish musical traditions - but it would be worth your finding out more in order to enjoy this.
Ed Sweeney: Inside Fezziwig's, the Spirit of Christmas Past. Some very traditional stuff, some things that aren't the first thing you'd think of for Christmas, including some Celtic-flavored things. "Snowflake Reel" and "Planxty Irwin" for example. And the "Sir Roger de Coverly" (a traditional country dance) on the banjo. Other unusual instrumentation includes the melodian, spoons, and hammer dulcimer.
The Kingston Trio: Last Month of the Year. This is another one of my perennial favorites. Their version of the Coventry Carol, which they go ahead and title "Bye Bye Thou Little Tiny Child," alternates between the traditional melody for this song, and the main theme from Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije" Suite - which works quite well with the lyrics. "The White Snows of Winter" is set to the tune Brahms used in his first symphony (it's derived from a German folk song, and Mahler used it in one of his symphonies, too, but thank goodness, KT uses the Brahms version.) Rousing, harmonic, never boring, despite having no gimmicks.
Mannheim Steamroller: Christmas in the Aire. OK, by now, MS is almost elevator music - you hear it in department stores, etc. - but it was quite exciting when it first came out, and I still like it when Chip Davis throws recorder and harpsichord in with electronic instruments. There are a couple of less-familiar tunes. All-around, good music for a party where if people want to stop and listen for a while it won't be boring, but if they talk over the music, no one will feel cheated, either.
I'll add more of this in a second post, so that this one doesn't drag on forever.
Mostly, I've been playing concerts and knitting/crocheting, but I have managed to find time to read a couple of things.
Nancy Kress, Crossfire. A rather juvenile first-distant-settlement/first contact plot; although it's a longish novel, so many details are glossed over, months are skipped, sticky situations are simply ended in mid-situation and the next chapter picks up as though they'd been solved. Allen Steele did this MUCH better in his Coyote stories.
Stephan Pastis, Lions and Tigers and Crocs, Oh My!. A large collection of "Pearls Before Swine" comic strips, with LOTS of added commentary by Pastis - this does qualify as reading even though it's comics.
V. Stang, The Resurrection Men - a murder mystery set in Baltimore in 1843, part of a series. Not bad, but including Charles Dickens in the story (and moving the dates he actually visited, in order to fit in with the plot details concerning medical school) is just a gimmick - he doesn't actually add anything except color to the story, he's not a necessary part of solving the murder.
Ben Rehder, Gun Shy. One of Texas' funny local writers, along with Bill Crider. This one does a parody of the NRA and makes fun of country singers, while still being sympathetic to its protagonist, a game warden who is a member of the gun organization and likes country music.
The Christmas concert season is in swing; we've already done several things. Tuesday the 20th of Nov we played at a retirement community - I may have mentioned that already. Saturday the 24th, while I was off in NY,squirrel_magnet played at Frederick (MD) TubaChristmas. This past Thursday, a small subset of the Montgomery Village Community Band played at the village's municipal tree lighting. And today, Squirrel played in Bel Air (MD)'s first-ever TubaChristmas. Since the director for that one let several trombones sneak in, I think next year I really WILL put a cup mouthpiece on the bari sax, claim it's an ophicleide, and join in. Next week is the really busy week - we're playing Tuesday through Sunday, all three bands have performances. Whee!
Coming soon: more rodent fiction!
squirrel_magnet got the modem to boot up again and we have, at least for a little while, an outside collection. Who knows how long it will last? While it's here, though, let me try and do some ketchup. (Some of these paragraphs will get headings and cut tags and then have actual content filled in later.)Here's some of the CDs we've been listening to Thursday and Friday:
The Klezmonauts: Oy to the World. Yes, it's a novelty album of sorts, but it's musically pretty good. Mostly instrumental, mostly traditional Christmas carols but put into modal or minor keys and played klezmer-style. Some carols sound MUCH better this way. And one original song on the disk is "Santa Gey Gezunterheit" (Yiddish for Santa, go in good health) which is funny. The whole disk may not be quite as funny to people who aren't familiar at all with klezmer music or anything about Jewish musical traditions - but it would be worth your finding out more in order to enjoy this.
Ed Sweeney: Inside Fezziwig's, the Spirit of Christmas Past. Some very traditional stuff, some things that aren't the first thing you'd think of for Christmas, including some Celtic-flavored things. "Snowflake Reel" and "Planxty Irwin" for example. And the "Sir Roger de Coverly" (a traditional country dance) on the banjo. Other unusual instrumentation includes the melodian, spoons, and hammer dulcimer.
The Kingston Trio: Last Month of the Year. This is another one of my perennial favorites. Their version of the Coventry Carol, which they go ahead and title "Bye Bye Thou Little Tiny Child," alternates between the traditional melody for this song, and the main theme from Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije" Suite - which works quite well with the lyrics. "The White Snows of Winter" is set to the tune Brahms used in his first symphony (it's derived from a German folk song, and Mahler used it in one of his symphonies, too, but thank goodness, KT uses the Brahms version.) Rousing, harmonic, never boring, despite having no gimmicks.
Mannheim Steamroller: Christmas in the Aire. OK, by now, MS is almost elevator music - you hear it in department stores, etc. - but it was quite exciting when it first came out, and I still like it when Chip Davis throws recorder and harpsichord in with electronic instruments. There are a couple of less-familiar tunes. All-around, good music for a party where if people want to stop and listen for a while it won't be boring, but if they talk over the music, no one will feel cheated, either.
I'll add more of this in a second post, so that this one doesn't drag on forever.
Mostly, I've been playing concerts and knitting/crocheting, but I have managed to find time to read a couple of things.
Nancy Kress, Crossfire. A rather juvenile first-distant-settlement/first contact plot; although it's a longish novel, so many details are glossed over, months are skipped, sticky situations are simply ended in mid-situation and the next chapter picks up as though they'd been solved. Allen Steele did this MUCH better in his Coyote stories.
Stephan Pastis, Lions and Tigers and Crocs, Oh My!. A large collection of "Pearls Before Swine" comic strips, with LOTS of added commentary by Pastis - this does qualify as reading even though it's comics.
V. Stang, The Resurrection Men - a murder mystery set in Baltimore in 1843, part of a series. Not bad, but including Charles Dickens in the story (and moving the dates he actually visited, in order to fit in with the plot details concerning medical school) is just a gimmick - he doesn't actually add anything except color to the story, he's not a necessary part of solving the murder.
Ben Rehder, Gun Shy. One of Texas' funny local writers, along with Bill Crider. This one does a parody of the NRA and makes fun of country singers, while still being sympathetic to its protagonist, a game warden who is a member of the gun organization and likes country music.
The Christmas concert season is in swing; we've already done several things. Tuesday the 20th of Nov we played at a retirement community - I may have mentioned that already. Saturday the 24th, while I was off in NY,
squirrel_magnet played at Frederick (MD) TubaChristmas. This past Thursday, a small subset of the Montgomery Village Community Band played at the village's municipal tree lighting. And today, Squirrel played in Bel Air (MD)'s first-ever TubaChristmas. Since the director for that one let several trombones sneak in, I think next year I really WILL put a cup mouthpiece on the bari sax, claim it's an ophicleide, and join in. Next week is the really busy week - we're playing Tuesday through Sunday, all three bands have performances. Whee!Coming soon: more rodent fiction!
