On the Playlist 17AUG2018…

"Lonlon" from the album Djin Djin by Angelique Kidjo. This track is set to Ravel's Bolero but with African lyrics. Angelique Kidjo hails from Benin and is known as the queen of African music. This track is very powerful.

The reason it sticks in my mind is due to an early morning drive to work when I first moved to California. I was able to pull out of the driveway from the apartment we were living in and start this track and pulled into the office just as the track was ending exactly 4:54 later - a distance of 3.4 miles. It was a bit early that morning and I hit the traffic lights almost perfectly. A few speed limits may have been exceeded but I can neither confirm or deny that as the above may not have actually happened. This track was the perfect backdrop hitting the final crescendo as I arrived at the office.

On the Playlist 16AUG2018…

Art Tatum - Piano Starts Here Zenph reperformance. An early 19th Century Jazz Piano virtuoso. This album is a very interesting one as it is a reperformance. When I lived in North Carolina I met the founder of Zenph Studios, John Walker. He invented a technology that would analyze old recordings and create a digital file of the notes played including a myriad of different parameters about the notes. This digital file could then be played back to a modern Yamaha Diskclavier Pro piano for a "reperformance" of the original piece of music as played by the original artist. I visited his studio in Durham and it was quite amazing to see a piano playing this music from a digital file and playing it identically to how it was originally played and recorded over 70 years ago. So this recording is a modern recording of music that was originally played and recorded back in the 30s. 

Here is a link to a story on NPR about it.

Art Tatum - Piano Starts Here Live at the Shrine - Zenph reperformance

On the Playlist 15AUG2018…

Got a good deal on a box set of Music For Installations by Brian Eno and am working my way through it. This is Ambient music by the person who invented the term. This is not Ambient music in the sense of chill-out club music. Brian Eno records ambient sounds in the environment and then adds sounds to them to make "music". While it is relaxing to listen to, the intention is not to make relaxing music. Anyway, with 6 discs in the set I am enjoying listening to it but it will take a while to play through.

Brian Eno - Music For Installations

On the Playlist 14AUG2018…

A bit of a sort of repeat today with "I don't wanna grow up" by Tom Waits in celebration of the Sylvinator's first day of high school. She has been stressed out the last couple weeks about starting high school but seemed in a good mood today when I picked her up.

We were talking about starting high school and I was trying to explain to her the concept of frosh week that was common when I went to high school. Looking it up on the internet I see that it is a bit of a Canadian concept and seems to have been toned down a bit. When I went to school (that sounds so cliche) the first week of school the incoming students were fair game for a variety of hazing like treatment that was under the banner of frosh. Things like shaving cream rubbed in your clothes or water balloons thrown at you. I knew a lot of senior students so was especially a marked kid when I went to high school but I managed to escape relatively unharmed that first week. My daughter just looked at me with a confused look when I explained this. 

Regardless of whether frosh is a thing anymore I think we both agree with the sentiment of this song that we would just rather not grow up. So a tribute to all the kids going back to school. 

Tom Waits - Bone Machine

On the Playlist 13AUG2018…

One of my favorite songs of all time "Biko" from the album Wakafrika by Manu Dibango. This is definitely a crank it loud kind of song that my kids hate when I play. I also love the cover of this album as it totally makes sense based on the album name. This album is a bunch of cover songs by artists that are African or in the case of Biko are African themed. The song Biko is originally by Peter Gabriel from his third album (the one with his face melting on it) but I like this version better than the original. The song is about Stephen Biko who was an anti-apartheid activist who died at the hands of the South African police under suspicious circumstances while in custody. His story was the subject of the book and subsequent movie, Cry Freedom. Manu Dibango is a Cameroonian musician who pioneered an African funk style of music and came to popularity with his song Soul Makossa in 1972. At age 84 he is still an active musician. 

Manu Dibango - Wakafrica

Manu passed away from Covid-19 on 24MAR2020.

On the Playlist 4-7AUG2018…

Been away on vacation so haven't posted for a while. Here is a post covering a good part of last week. Covering over 2700 km (that's Canadian for 0.62 miles) of driving from Whitehorse to Vancouver on the return portion of my vacation and with my mom and kids in the car the playlist was long and varied. I had over 300gb of music in the digital audio player and had it on a random shuffle. My mom was polite but I am quite sure some of it may have shocked or offended her sensibilities. The kids were used to dad's weird music and didn't have much to say. Too many to list but it was a fun road trip. I am trying to convince my kids that as much of a mother of road trips this may have been I have another one planned. They are cautiously interested - over Christmas break hit all 48 of the lower 48 states. I have a route for it and it would only require entering each state. My proof would be a picture of the Welcome to ... sign on the side of the highway. Kids like the box (or more specifically 48 boxes) that checks in their life but are not too sure about spending that long in a car. I am just imaging if I could shuffle the whole 300gb playlist. Since we didn't have any repeats on this trip.

Whitehorse to Vancouver

On the Playlist 31JUL2018…

After spending the better part of two days in a car "Comfortably Numb" from Pink Floyd's The Wall came into the rotation on the music player. I always remember discovering this album and the band Pink Floyd. My brother was always into the popular music while I went for the weird stuff. When The Wall came out it became a big hit and my brother bought it. Bit of background is that our mom is a school teacher. So when the lyrics "we don't need no education" came blasting out the stereo as my brother played the album my mom was not impressed and confiscated the record then and there. As a 16 year old teenager this response warranted some research on my part. Any album that could elicit that sort of response from my mom was definitely worth looking into and look into it I did. I actually started my interest in Pink Floyd with their early music and really enjoyed that. It was many years later before I actually owned a copy of The Wall but when I did I loved it and by that time I was old enough to really get into it and understand the full significance of it and how it fit into the bands evolution. Loved the movie when it came out as well as it made the album seem light in comparison. Would have to say they are my all time favorite major band and all because my mom confiscated my brother's album. Now that I have my own kids I have made it my mission to totally out weird them in musical taste and I play much more shocking stuff than they could even imagine. Ha ha!

Pink Floyd - The Wall - "Comfortably Numb"

On the Playlist 30JUL2018…

On the road in Northern British Columbia and have the tune playing. Luckily I loaded over 300gb of music onto my music player so there is lots to choose from. Another flashback to high school with "Deadman's Curve" and the version I prefer is by Nash the Slash. Nash the Slash was rather interesting in that he played electric violin with digital accompaniement while wrapped in bandages like a mummy. No one knew who he was but was reputed to be in another Canadian band called FM at the time. He unfortunately passed away from a heart attack in 2014. Loved his version of Deadman's Curve which was a standard on any of my cruising mix tapes in the day. So it felt oddly appropriate to play it while careening down the highway passing slow motor homes in Northern British Columbia.

Nash the Slash - Dead Man's Curve

On the Playlist 27JUL2018…

Heading out for vacation this evening so what else would be on the playlist than "Leaving On a Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul and Mary. Corny I know but appropriate and I really am playing it right now as I am packing. Orignally written by John Denver the version by Peter, Paul and Mary is the most famous. This was their last hit and only one to reach no. 1. It was also used in commercials for United Airlines how appropriate.

Peter, Paul & Mary - Leaving On A Jet Plane

So as I will be off on vacation not sure if I will be doing many posts. I will definitely be listening to tunes on a playlist as I am head out with the kids for a road trip to Northern Canada. I am looking forward to listening to some CBC radio on the trip. Just thinking about some classic roadtrips I have done and some great shows on CBC radio - Royal Canadian Air Farce, Quirks and Quarks and others I can't recall.

On the Playlist 26JUL2018…

Paul McCartney on the list today but not what you are expecting next. Today I am listening to his fifth and most recent classical album which is a score he wrote for the New York City Ballet called "Ocean's Kingdom". It was performed in 4 movements and premiered in September 2011. I like the opening to the second movement as it is a bit more upbeat. Something a bit different from one of the Beatles.

Paul McCartney - Ocean's Kingdom

On the Playlist 25JUL2018…

Best party dance band ever in my opinion Doug and the Slugs and their album "Cognac and Blogna". Yes, I know I may be opening myself to an argument about this but, whatever, I know I am right. My top two best concerts I ever went to were in Edmonton to see Doug and the Slugs. First was a show with several friends in a club with Norm MacDonald the comedian opening. We laughed our asses off! Then Doug and Slugs came on and we danced our asses off. These guys put on a show. Incidentally, my business parner Gord was at this show too. Second best concert was Doug and the Slugs at the Kinsmen fieldhouse - an indoor soccer field. The University of Alberta Mechanical Engineers had booked them cheap into this venue as they were playing somewhere else in town the next night. Word got out and this was a show to remember. A bit of a riot broke out at one point and the beer pretty much flowed non-stop - it was engineers afterall. Yes, drinking age was 18 so university parties did include drinking. Although I was only 17 in my first year of university it didn't stop me. This album is also the most expensive one in my collection. Although I have the LP vinyl version of this it is a but played out. Many years later I discovered they had released a CD double album of this album and "Wrap It" (their first two albums). It is rather rare and even rarer to find a new clean copy of it. Well I have one. It cost me well into triple digits. Doug Bennet passed way in 2004 from liver cirrhosis brought on by excessive drinking. No kidding - the guy was a party animal and put on a show!

Doug and the Slugs - Cognac and Bologna/Wrap It!

On the Playlist 24JUL2018…

I think I got this track as a free download from Linn Records. Always enjoy this piece. "Frühling" from Dance on Deep Waters by Edgar Knecht. Also love the album cover. Don't know much about him except that he is a German Jazz Pianist and composer.

Edgar Knecht - Dance on Deep Waters - "Frühling"

On the Playlist 23JUL2018…

Melody Gardot "Worrisome Heart". This is her debut album and includes some tracks from a previous EP release. Melody is a jazz singer based in Philadelphia. She has an interesting story as she had a bicycle accident that she was quite severly injured in and she credits her music for her recovery from serious brain injury. She has an amazing voice and I enjoy this album for its very acoustic sound.

Melody Gardot - Worrisome Heart

On the Playlist 22JUL2018…

Weekend bonus! Hot here in SoCal so chilling out at home reading and listening to music. Today I've got Queen on the playlist. In particular "A Night at the Opera". First got into Queen in high school. In my grade 10 social studies class there was a girl I was interested in and so, being the awkward nerd I was, I schemed on how to get her attention. She was one of the drama kids which interested me even more. I noticed she had doodled on her pencil case the logo from this album. Aha, I had my hook. I had to do some research (forget how I did this as it was pre-internet) on what the logo was. Figured it out and got the album. Listened to it quite a bit. I had my own stereo system in my room at home and did a lot of taping. I learned some of the songs and in particular "Love of My Life" (yes, I was that corny). I made a point from then on to hum or sing that song under my breath when I was around her. Needless to say the ploy didn't work. Maybe if I had just talked to her. Ugh, I cringe thinking about my akwardness around girls at that age! Anyway, upshot is I liked the music and got more of their albums. Enjoyed their earlier albums when the small print always said "No Synthesizers!" Oh yes, this album also has another rather popular song on it called "Bohemian Rhopsody."

Speaking of Bohemian Rhapsody, later in High School, and once I had my driver's license and a car, I fell in with a crowd that was into going cruising on a Saturday night. This involved piling into several cars (this was very strategic as to which car you got into) and driving around town with the windows down and the music on. My car (1970 Chevelle 4-door) was usually the least popular in our group - I think I had too much wierd music on my mix tapes - but I didn't care. I had rigged up my Walkman to a set of battery-powered speakers since I couldn't be bothered to put a good stereo in the car. The routine usually consisted of going to 7-Eleven getting Slurpees and twizzlers (better eaten when frozen in the Slurpee). Trying to be obnoxious as possible at the 7-Eleven but not actually kicked out. Props for coming up with some crazy mix of flavors. Then driving downtown with the windows open. In winter this was important to be cool and required running the heater at full blast. There were a couple specific roads we would go down - a run up and down Groat road was definitely required. At some point Bohemian Rhapsody would come on the mix tape and we would all sing along. At any point when we hit a traffic light just right one of the cars would do a Chinese fire drill (yes, we called it that. My Kids cringe when I tell them that). When Wayne's World came out several years later it was a big hit in Canada because that was our High School experience encapsulated in the movie. Didn't hurt that both Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey were Canadian. Interesting the crowd I had fallen in with that were into cruising were the church youth group. We would go after our Saturday night bible study. Most of the people in the youth group turned up so they could go cruising after. The whole cruising scene was cool until there was an accident. No one was hurt but a car was totalled and the parents shut it down. My brother was in the passenger seat of the car that crashed and he had huge props for years because despite the car jumping a median and doing a flip before hitting a utility pole on the other side he was able to hold on to his Slurpee and not spill a drop. 

Queen - A Night At the Opera

On the Playlist 20JUL2018…

Kate Bush "50 Words for Snow". I have a couple of her albums and enjoy them quite a bit. Not sure which is my favorite but I do like this one. Kate Bush is a UK artist and was discovered by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame who helped her with her first album when she was 16 with putting together a professional demo tape.

Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow

Some comments from the first posting of this post…

Commenter:

Indians have 50 words for snow, how many do Canadians have? Also, how many different kinds of beers to pair with the snow?

Posted on 7/22/18 1:38 PM.

Reply:

Not sure about words for snow but I have to constantly re-explain the Canadian temperature scale to my kids; especially now that we live in California. It works better in C instead of F.
*Above 0C (32F) - "Lovely" - t-shirt and shorts, as long as the water isn't solid it is swimming weather.
*0 (32F) to -10C (14F) - "Nice-ish" you may want a sweater.
*-10C (14f) to -20C (-4F) - "Cool" you will want to have a light jacket. Great day to go to the outdoor rink for some pick-up hockey.
*-20C (-4F) to -30C (-22F) - "A bit Chilly" you will want to have a toque (what Americans call a beanie) and gloves.
*-30C (-22F) to -39.9C (-39.8F) - "Cold" you will want to get out the winter jacket. No longer shorts weather.
*Below -40C (-40F) - "Cold" same as above but you'll want to make sure the kids put the hood up on their jacket when they go to school. A scarf is acceptable and you'll want to plug in the car.

With regards to beer its more of geographical thing.
If you are from Toronto, beer = Labatts Blue
If you are from The Interior of British Columbia, beer = Kokanee
If you are from Vancouver, beer = whatever the local brew pub is serving
If you are from anywhere else beer=Molson Canadian
If you don't adhere to this you are considered a bit odd.

Another snow anecdote. Montreal is a great city but a bit past its prime and nothing in Montreal really works that well except one thing. It is in the snow belt and they have amazing snow removal there. Worth going there during a snowstorm to experience it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1PDmKXFFnQ

On the Playlist 19JUL2018…

Steely Dan and "Gaucho" their sixth studio album and their last album for 20 twenty years. Almost two year in production this album was released in 1980. With the ressurgence of hipsterism this album was themed on hipsterism back in the 1980s. I remember this album when it came out but actually did't get into Steely Dan till many years later. Love the clean fresh sound of this album. It has aged well. 

Steely Dan - Gaucho

On the Playlist 18JUL2018…

Ever feel like you life is one big drama, like, as in a dramatic movie? Well, I am listening to the soundtrack for that today - Thomas Bergersen and his album "Sun". His music has been featured in soundtracks for a lot of movies (for example, Avatar, Harry Potter and The Dark Knight) but this album is a solo release of music that sounds like soundtracks to amazing scenes in a movie. Put this album on, close your eyes and play the best your mind can imagine because this music will help you imagine some amazing scenes. For example, Starchild is about me conquering the last couple hundred feet of hiking trail going up Mt. Whitney when I make it to the top. 

Thomas Bergersen - Sun

On the Playlist 17JUL2018…

Been a bit of a crazy afternoon and evening dealing with stress of teenage kids so put something on later this evening which is very relaxing and emotionally connecting for me. Walter Zuber Armstrong Solo Performance Inside UBC Museum of Anthropology. When I was in graduate school living in Vancouver I also studied jazz clarinet with a local Vancouver musician (I am sure he will make an appearance in these posts at some point). I used to go down to Granville Island Market and hang out on weekends quite frequently. Tucked away in the market on most weekends was an elderly gentleman playing flute. I enjoyed his playing and got to know him. We talked about music and he always encouraged my playing. I will never forget him telling me to keep at the long tones on my clarinet. I had of course purchased his tape that he was selling which I enjoyed listening to a lot but I enjoyed going down to the market and hearing his flute echoing through the hall and then dropping by to say hi. He lived in Bellingham and taught at the college there. He would come up on weekends to play at Granville Island market. A couple years ago when I was back in Vancouver I went down to the market to see if he was there. He wasn't so I asked around about him at the stalls near where he used to sit. After asking a couple people one of them remembered him and said that he hadn't been there for many years. I did some research and discovered that he had passed away shortly after I left Vancouver in the late 90s. His music on this tape is haunting and yet very relaxing. The acoutics are especially interesting as the recording was done inside the UBC Museum of Anthropology which is an interesting building in its own right. Ah, feeling mellow now.

Walter Zuber Armstrong - Solo Performance Inside UBC Museum of Anthropology

On the Playlist 16JUL2018…

WIth the end of the weekend feeling like some blues. Listening to John Hammond and a new live album of him in Chicago and Toronto called Walkin' Blues. John Hammond has been around since the early sixties. He has an interesting claim to history for having both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton in his band at the same time. It was a short time and they never recorded anything. So, although he may not be as famous as some other blues men he is a great.

John Hammond - Walkin' Blues Live... Chicago & Toronto

On the Playlist 13JUL2018…

The Sylvinator was listening to some cello music the other night on Spotify that caught my attention. "Vocalise" by Sergei Rachmaninov from the album Troika by Matt Haimovitz (cello) and Christopher O'Riley (piano). Not a classical music person here but apparently this version is an arrangement from the original and I don't care as it sounded great. The Sylvinator had downloaded some sheet music from the internet and tried playing it. I think she may try to learn it which would be awesome - I'll keep you posted on that. In the meantime I will enjoy the recorded version.

Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O'Riley - Troika - "Vocalise"