Blog Of Good Cheer » Music

I Believe in Father Christmas

felix — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:40:53 +0000

Why the song?

This Christmas I’ve enjoyed listening to this song more than any other.

Why this clip?

Because it emphasises the lyrics and I think they deserve emphasis.

Enjoy!

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I Believe in Father Christmas

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Opera in the Open and Good Coffee

felix — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:28:33 +0000

I’ve just checked the weather for tomorrow, Thursday 11 August, and it’s going to be showery. No real surprise there.

But showery is good. Showery means that when I’m standing outside the Civic Offices in Dublin between 1pm and 2pm I may not get too wet.

I’ll be there for the outdoor performance of Tosca by Puccini. I like opera, but I find it hard to sit through 4 hours of the usual standard performances. This 1 hour condensed version is ideal. Key pieces are performed and the Director usual gives a summary of the plot between arias.

I’ve never seen Tosca. According to Wikipedia the work, based on Victorien Sardou’s 1887 French-language dramatic play, La Tosca, is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples’s control of Rome threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, yet also includes some of Puccini’s best-known lyrical arias, and has inspired memorable performances from many of opera’s leading singers.

I could do without depictions of torture, murder and suicide during lunch but lyrical arias I can handle.

I was at the Civic Offices last week for Carmen by Bizet. It was great. Carmen is not my favourite opera but I really enjoyed the performances and with the sun shining it was a magical way to pass lunchtime in the centre of Dublin.

Before arriving I popped into the Bite of Life sandwich and Juice bar at 55 Patrick Street Dublin 8, really close to St Patrick’s Cathedral. I’d heard about this little coffee shop and I’d also read about it in Slow Dublin – one of my favourite Dublin “guide books”. I had a coffee and some of their home-made apple strudel before going to Carmen. I enjoyed the coffee and the atmosphere so much that I went back for a tuna melt and another coffee after the show.

Of course there’s plenty to do and see in this area of Dublin

Visit St Patrick’s Cathedral
Visit Christchurch Cathedral
Stroll around the Liberties
Pop into the Jam Art Factory which promotes up and coming Irish based artists and designers.
They are also a ticket agent for the Viking Splash Tour – not to be missed

If tomorrow’s opera doesn’t work you can always aim for the two remaining performances of Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) and The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) – details are available on this PDF.

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Opera in the Open and Good Coffee

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Music in the Office – It Works For Me

felix — Sat, 07 May 2011 13:22:21 +0000

I like music in the workplace. Especially if it’s random music. Preferably a collection that suits the environment (house or metal doesn’t work for me). But doses of pretty much every other musical style, all mixed up and randomly selected, seem to encourage me, even inspire me to better things.

The music source has to be speakers. Headphones, no matter how good they are, are a poor substitute.

Of course if you have somebody in the office that can’t work in a music rich environment then you’re scuppered. You really have to work with like minded people for this to succeed. It has to be a small company, or an office with a very small group.

About ten years ago I worked for an organisation that had, at the time, less than 10 people. We played music all through the day. Every time I hear the opening chords of Baba O’Riley by The Who I’m back in that office. No we didn’t investigate crime scenes.

You quickly learn what works and what doesn’t. I couldn’t handle Madonna and most of my colleagues couldn’t handle Sinatra.

But that’s OK.

The key thing is not to impose your tastes on the group once it’s clear they aren’t going to fly.

Last Wednesday, I was trying to pull together a document describing a software suite that I was really just getting up to speed on. Lots of concentration – I was pulling information from older, perhaps out dated and inaccurate sources, wanting to ensure that I had it finished by the end of the day. The usual musical randomness was playing in the background. It was a comfort, something that aided the process.

Then it happened.

Magical.

The first few bars of Speak to Me/Breathe caught my attention. I hadn’t heard a track from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd in ages. Goose bumps. I got up, stretched, listened some more, made a cup of coffee, commented on how much I loved the song to a colleague. And when it was over, I got back to work feeling refreshed.

Have a listen.

I tend to forget to stretch, exercise, get up, walk around and give my eyes a break when I’m working at a computer screen. These are good things to do, I know this, and it isn’t that I don’t want to do them, I just don’t think of them. But the songs that make me stop and listen almost act like an alarm, encouraging me to take a short break.

That’s a good thing.

With a random selection you can’t predict when it will happen, but if the selection is good, it happens and it encourages me to take a breather more reliably that than any other form of reminder.

No set alarms, no “after this section” no “at eleven o’clock”. The break happens when the classic song, the readiness and the need coincide.

Well that’s my theory anyway.

Later that day I was reminded of Morgan Freeman playing the character Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding in the Shawshank Redemption, and his reaction to hearing the duet – Sull’Aria (on the breeze) from The Marriage of Figaro.

I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t wanna know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you those voices soared, higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.

That clip from the movie is easy to find on YouTube.

But here is the duet performed by Cecilia Bartoli and Renee Fleming.

Take a moment, take a breather, and enjoy!

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Music in the Office – It Works For Me

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Horses, Horses, Horses, From All Directions

felix — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 13:36:24 +0000

There’s no escaping horses these days. Cheltenham is almost on top of us and our TV screens will be full of live coverage, highlights and plenty of stories about how well the Irish are doing.

I don’t bet much these days. A couple of years ago I closed my Paddy Power account. It was on a point of principle and I was being a little pig-headed. But since I was never ahead at the end of a year I guess I’ve saved money by no longer having a direct line to the bookie.

I never really bet that much. So I never lost much. But even in losing there were gains to be made. My father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law are into the horses. I think they’d each argue that one of the other two are more into the sport than they are, but they’re certainly all more into horse racing than I am.

They’ve taught me a lot about how to judge form. Especially my father-in-law, who seems to be able to speak horse. He just seems to naturally know which jockey or trainer is on their game and who to look out for in the bumper! Being able to join in the discussions, debates and after race analysis has helped get to know my in-laws better.

For a while I tried to keep up. I even read Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand! But unless you’re prepared to study the form each day you’ll lose out.

In March 2004 I had what was, and still is, my only significant victory over the bookies.

Before we left on a flight to Rome for a few days exploring that wonderful city I placed an each-way Lucky Fifteen which included Hardy Eustace at 33-1 in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. I didn’t think I had a chance.

I came back from Rome and discovered that my winnings (I had 2 wins including Hardy Eustace, a place and 1 loss) exceeded the money I spent on the weekend. It was like a gift from the gods. My account had just short of €1,000 and that easily covered flights and accommodation for the two of us. (Maybe in didn’t cover food but we had to eat no matter where we were.)

I was reminded of all this yesterday, in a very non-horsey environment. My Mam, P and I were at the Saturday afternoon matinee of the Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society production of Hear Our Songs in the National Concert Hall, Dublin. They did a selection of Broadway Musicals including songs from West Side Story, Chess, Les Misérables, My Fair Lady and Guys & Dolls!

West Side Storey and Guys & Dolls are among my favourite musicals and when they launched into Fugue for Tinhorns I immediately thought of Hardy Eustace and that trip to Rome.

If you’ve never heard it here’s your chance.

Now I was at full gallop. I start thinking about other horse related songs and tried to pick out the ones that I consider to be classics.

It turns out there are plenty to chose from.

Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
A Horse With No Name – America
Heavy Horses – Jethro Tull
Horse Overboard – Microdisney

And an all-time favourite has got to be Horses by Patti Smith.

I just love the lyrics

When suddenly Johnny gets the feeling he’s being surrounded by
horses, horses, horses, horses
coming in in all directions
white shining silver studs with their nose in flames,

These are all great songs, and I love hearing them, but if I was to pick the horse related songs that touch me most emotionally, I’d have to look to television.

The theme songs of some children’s TV shows have a way of dragging me back to a time long before online betting. To a time of Red Rum.

The theme tune to Black Beauty, Follyfoot, Champion the Wonder Horse and this absolute classic from the UK production of the 1965 Yugoslavian television series, The White Horses.

The UK version of this series had its own theme song which was written by Michael Carr and Ben Nisbet and sung beautifully by Jackie Lee.

If you’ve never heard it before you are in for a treat. If you have heard it, and know the TV series, I hope it brings back good memories.

Enjoy!

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Horses, Horses, Horses, From All Directions

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Why not whistle a happy tune?!

felix — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:30:48 +0000

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. ~ Doug Larson

I’d got on the 19A outside the The Bank on College Green. I was heading to Terenure Road West and since I was aiming for the KCR end the 19A was perfect.

I still love getting on a bus and heading upstairs and sitting at the front. I love the childlike excitement of being up high and having an unrestricted view of the road ahead.

Unfortunately yesterday the front seats on top were already taken so I made do with what I could get.

Then the worst thing that could possibly happen, happened. The man behind me started whistling! It’s said that a gentleman is someone who knows how to play the bagpipes, but doesn’t. Normally I’d say the same about whistling, especially whistling on a bus.

Now my story starts to take a strange turn. The Whistler could whistle. He appeared to have a purpose. He was having a go at a song I thought I recognised but didn’t place until I shed my prejudices and relaxed. He also appeared to be happy with himself as you could feel the joy in his delivery.

Then it hit me. He was whistling Alone Again (Naturally)! I don’t know if you know Gilbert O’Sullivan’s wonderful song of loss and pain. If you’ve never heard it I really recommend you look it up. There are plenty of versions on YouTube. This one is described as the original version and probably comes from close to 1972 when the song was released.

As I travelled on to the KCR, listening to the Jolly Whistler I began to enjoy his upbeat version of one of the darkest songs I know. How could it not be dark? It tells of the singers plans to commit suicide after being left at the altar and goes on to describe the death of his parents!

If you’d like to hear a dark version of the song look out for Neil Diamond’s latest album Dreams. I heard his version of Alone Again (Naturally) on the Ronan Collins show and although I wasn’t thrilled by the early repetitive guitar, I though Diamond’s voice was perfect for the song. He manages to strip it bare and any trace of relief is removed. The joy of The Whistler and the jauntiness of Gilbert O’Sullivan have no place in Neil Diamond’s delivery.

As O’Sullivan’s depressing lyrics drifted though my head I gradually started to admire a man who whistled this most depressing work of genius. On a day where the temperature was set well below zero and the nation’s mood after yet more economic woes was decidedly deflated he found gratification in Alone Again (Naturally)!

Perhaps The Whistler was a magician or an alchemist who can turn woes into joy. If he is our government could use him. If he is we could all use him and more like him. Whatever his talents were he managed to ensure that I had a smile on my face for the length of the bus journey.

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Why not whistle a happy tune?!

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Throwing A Party For Liam MacCarthy

felix — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:58:19 +0000

Against all the odds Tipperary came through and are Senior All-Ireland Hurling Champions for 2010 beating Kilkenny by 4-17 to 1-18.

It was a fantastic game of hurling for a neutral and I certainly loved every minute of it.

Afterwards the Kilkenny manager Brian Cody said “The best team won the All-Ireland. That was comprehensive. Tipperary were excellent.”

The night before the final I saw JohnnyB perform The Premier Rap on RTE’s Up For The Match. There was a lot of belief in Tipp that they’d win this year even if the bookies didn’t see it their way.

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Throwing A Party For Liam MacCarthy

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Four Concerts And A Cancellation

felix — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:14:43 +0000

I was at the Glen Campbell concert in Vicar Street on Saturday. This was the fifth concert I planned to go to in a nine day period that included two concerts on the same day and three in the same venue.

This was the schedule:

I don’t think I’ve ever gone to such a run of concerts before, but I was looking forward to all of them. Different musical styles, different venues and a couple of artists I knew nothing about; not a bad concert recipe.

The run ended with Glen Campbell last Saturday and don’t think I could’ve picked a better concert to finish on.

I like Glen Campbell’s music, but I think it wouldn’t have been fair to say I was a fan. I am now.

I went to the concert knowing he was in his seventies and thinking that if he can nail a few of his classics on the night (and one in particular) I’d go away happy. He did much more than that.

He came on stage after the excellent support by Mike Bartlett and for the rest of the night he entertained, joked, sang, played wonderful guitar, introduced his very talented family and held the audience in the palm of his hand.

Many people there appeared to be devoted fans, but there was a large contingent that was just out for good night. I’d be surprised if they didn’t go home thrilled that they saw a complete professional who can still deliver a great performance.

He started with John Hartford’s beautiful track Gentle on My Mind. What a way to start. Here’s a clip showing him in action.

He followed that up with many of his other hits including By the Time I Get to Phoenix and one of my all-time favourites Wichita Lineman.

Wichita Lineman is one of those songs that make me stop what I’m doing. I’m sure you have songs like that too. You know the way it works, you’re busy in your own little world and your hear Elvis doing I Just Can’t Help Believing or Pink Floyd playing Wish You Were Here and you just have to stop and listen, you’ve no choice. I’m sure you have different songs that do that to you but for me Wichita Lineman does it every time.

There were a few unexpected treats during the night also. He did Duelling Banjos with his daughter Ashley, Jackson with his daughter Debbie, a damn fine version of U2′s All I Want Is You and Mason William’s instrumental Classical Gas. All through this his son Cal showed his skill on the drums.

Was there anything I didn’t like about the concert?

Well this is being really picky but I missed the brass in Gentle on My Mind.

What were the highlights?

I found it really hard to pick anything in particular so I asked P and after thinking about for a few seconds she said that she loved the song Postcard From Paris written by Jimmy Webb. She hadn’t heard it before and loved the way Glen Campbell sang it.

And what wasn’t to love? His voce and guitar playing was excellent. The band, including his family, was superb. If I could I’d go see him again tomorrow.

I only recently discovered that Glen Campbell was a much sought after session guitarist at the beginning of his musical career. He played with very tight group of musicians that became known as The Wrecking Crew. There’s a documentary directed by Denny Tedesco that tells the story of these musicians and if you ever get a chance you definitely should watch it.

The list the artists that benefitted from their talents is huge. There’s a good chance that many of the much loved classic 60′s songs you’re familiar with were helped by The Wrecking Crew. As a session musician Glen Campbell played on tracks for Bobby Darin, The Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Troggs, Jan & Dean, and The Mamas & the Papas, naming but a few.

At this point I feel I should tell you about the other four concerts.

I only got to three of them as the Big Band Divas, which promised music remembering great female vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday didn’t happen. We were bringing P’s parents but it got cancelled as the musicians and singers were grounded by volcanic ash.

Of the other gigs I think the one the stood out was the traditional music concert at The Button Factory. It was my first time there since they renamed it and I loved it. It’s a super place for a concert and having a couple of pints listening to Slide, Fidil and the duo Brendan Begley and Caoimhín O Raghallaigh. All the musicians were brilliant, but for me Slide stole the show. I plan to get their third CD Overneath in the next few days.

The other two concerts were in the John Field Room of The National Concert Hall. They were part of a lunchtime series and they were artists I’d never seen or heard of before.

The first was Max Greenwood who sang and played the piano. He had a double bass player and a drummer there too and I thought the music they created was really good. I wasn’t a fan of the singing style but the audience was and they appeared to be really enjoying every song he sang.

And finally Derby Browne treated us to an hour of songs, mainly in French, inspired by the Boulevards and romantic cafes of Paris. I knew a few of the songs with included La Vie En Rose, Boom! Why Does My Heart Go Boom? and Where Do I Begin, the theme to Love Story.

It took a while before I got used to her style of delivery. She was helped by a piano and a wonderful accordion – I could have listened to that accordion all day and if I closed my eyes I could almost believe I was in a cafe in Paris.

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Four Concerts And A Cancellation

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Foot Tapping Fun at The Coach House, Dublin Castle

felix — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:19:55 +0000

We went to The Homecoming concert last night in The Coach House, Dublin Castle. Four wonderful musicians gave a sold out concert that I thought was exceptional.

The line-up was

Susan McKeown voice
Paddy O’Brien accordion
Cillian Vallely uilleann pipes, low whistle
Aidan Brennan guitar

A combination of traditional and folk songs, mixed with jigs, reels, polkas and marches kept my foot tapping from the first tune to final note.

Traditional Irish music wouldn’t be my first choice normally. But since it was organised by The Music Network, who I believe always offer great value for money, and it was in The Coach House, Dublin Castle, a lovely intimate venue (perhaps a little chilly last night) and the musicians themselves are highly regarded by those in the know – it seemed like a no brainer.

Here’s a chance to see Susan McKeown and Aidan Brennan in action at Irish Center in Philadelphia.

In the clip Susan is having a bit of fun introducing the next song, and I think she and her three fellow musicians appeared to have a lot of fun last night also. Susan and Paddy were probably the most talkative, but they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Now my knowledge of traditional music is not the best. There’s no way I’d put myself out there and claim I knew the difference between a jig and a reel. To me a polka seems like a waltz with a bit of extra bounce! At one point I thought I got the feel for the different rhythms involved but after a while I just gave up and sat back and enjoyed the music for what it was. My mother, who loves ceilis, set dancing and hangs on Kieran Hanrahan’s every word on RTE’s Céilí House would despair at my lack of true trad tradition.

I know that having a greater understanding of styles, techniques and forms can make listening to music more enjoyable. In fact based on comments made by Paddy O’Brien during the concert, I think many of the audience last night were traditional musicians or traditional vocal artists. Certainly many of the people there seemed to know each other, and the artists, very well. My lack of understanding might be the reason I’d tend to shy anyway from listening to traditional music at home, thinking that its proper place is in a dark pub with a turf fire. But last night I may have finally got a little insight into how much fun it can be if you just let yourself enjoy it.

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Foot Tapping Fun at The Coach House, Dublin Castle

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Elvis Presley Stopped Me In My Tracks

felix — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:03:34 +0000

I’m putting together a playlist for a friend of mine. It’s supposed to have an acoustic blues guitar theme.

I got distracted!

I started listening to songs I hadn’t heard for a while and then I played this…

It took a while before I finally “got” Elvis. When I did I focused on the Sunrise and Tiger Man albums. But I think this has to be my favourite Elvis song.

It’s one of those that causes me to stop what I’m doing and just listen. It gives me goose bumps.

You just have to sing along; come on, on three…one, two, three…I just can’t help believin’…

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Elvis Presley Stopped Me In My Tracks

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Don’t ignore me!

felix — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:06:24 +0000

This is my saxophone! It is a Yanagisawa Alto model 901 and I love it.

Up until last week I hadn’t played it for the best part of six months. I really enjoy picking it up, having a toot and playing the odd tune. So considering I enjoy it so much why have I neglected it for so long?

It was in its case!

There it was, in its case, on top of a book shelf and hidden from view. I just ignored it. I didn’t give it a chance to grab my attention. I let other interests win my time. I’ve quite a few interests/hobbies, and I enjoy them all. I certainly don’t want to neglect them, but I never intended to ignore my sax for so long.

Last week I met a friend who had recently bought a drum-kit. He said he placed it in full view so that any time he passed by it called out to him. Even if it was only for 10 minutes he gave it a bash and had a bit of fun.

That made me realise the mistake I was making. If there is something you want to give time to that you’ve been neglecting for too long, place it in full view so that it demands attention. My playing the saxophone is not an urgent activity. Bad things won’t start to happen if I don’t do it. But I get a lot of fun out of it and I want to get better. So placing it so that I see it several times a day I think is the key.

Up until now my saxophone was treated with respect. Perhaps too much respect. It was a major purchase so I didn’t want any harm to come to it. After every use I’d wipe it clean, carefully take it apart and put it safely back in its case. Definitely good practice to protect it. But it also increases the chances of it being ignored.

So from now on it lives on its stand in full view so I see it several times a day. I still take it apart, and clean it, but now it goes back on its stand.

It’s working. It’s got my attention. Time to play!

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Don’t ignore me!

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