music

We have not had a thread of favorite hymns and spiritual music for a while. Inspired by the video below, I thought I would try starting one. "This is my song", using the tune of Finlandia by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, is a popular hymn in UU circles. I have sung it many times and I think I...

Lou Ottens, the Dutch engineer who developed the cassette tape, passed away at the age of 94 on March 6. He had quite a career at Philips starting in 1953. He invented cassettes in the early 60s (1960, but they were first shown at a trade show in 1963). To top off his remarkable career, he also...

I have made the decision to finally haul my clarinet out of the closet and start playing again. Just doing some scales and studies to start. My embouchure ain't what it used to be and with my knuckles a bit swollen on one hand from arthritis, my fingers need some retraining on certain parts of...

250 years ago today (or yesterday, depending on your source), Ludwig van Beethoven was born. Beethoven was, almost beyond argument, one of the greatest and most important musicians (he was a piano prodigy) and composers in Western culture. Some would argue even in the world. He is certainly...

Most people of my age and younger know Fleetwood Mac from the Rumours and later era, so Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nicks. But that wasn't the original band. Only Mick and John were original members. Today we lost Peter Green, who was the original...

That music has almost come to define the Western genre, at least a certain era of it. Sadly, the brilliant composer who wrote it died at the age of 91 the other day. Ennio Morricone is probably best known for the spaghetti Westerns he scored in the late sixties and early seventies. However...

As of tonight, one event that hasn't been cancelled due to COVID is the Juno Awards, being held over this weekend in Saskatoon. Alessia Cara, a successful singer-songwriter from Brampton, Ontario is hosting. CBC is livestreaming most of the events, which may be the safest way to enjoy it even if...

We've had a couple threads about cover songs in the past but it has been a while and I just watched a string of terrific covers last night. First up, a Buffalo Springfield classic done beautifully by the Del McCoury Band and some friends. The singer (who apparently also plays fiddle) is perfect...

Less than a month until Christmas so I think it safe to get the holiday tunes spinning. Religious or secular, they're all welcome. Hound+Fox have a deluxe edition of their holiday album out that includes this rendition of the Carol of the Bells. Guesting are the O'Neill Sisters. And the Mel...

Or, more accurately, Nahre Sol and LA Buckner are. This week's Sound Field is about the blues and its wide-ranging influence on modern popular music from jazz to rock to country. And it's another terrific episode. And, yes, they do take a stab at writing their own blues tune.

No, not THAT season. It's way too early. Halloween, which looms in two nights, is the season for this thread. Reilly and Mackenzie Zamber, aka The Hound+The Fox, have been celebrating in style with a couple new videos over the past week. First, a lyric video for their cover of Jack And Sally's...

I was one of the first subscribers to PBS Digital's YouTube channel Sound Field, a series about music that looks at the art form from a variety of perspectives. It's hosted by two rather diverse musicians, classical pianist Nahre Sol and pop-rock session percussionist LA Buckner. Recent episodes...

To be clear, I have been a fan of opera tenor Placido Domingo since at least the release of his pop album Perhaps Love in 1981. The title song, written by the late John Denver and sung as a duet with Denver, is a masterpiece of pop music writing and there are other tracks, sung solo, that use...

It's Canada Day weekend and what better time to celebrate the fine music that has come, and is still coming, from Canadian artists. I'll kick it off with an old classic. I first heard Both Sides Now in Grade 5 or 6 when our school choir sang it during a concert we did at a nearby longterm care...

Pianist (in both classical and jazz), composer, conductor Andre Previn has left the world at 89. Born in Germany as Prewin, his Jewish family fled first to Paris and then finally Los Angeles to escape the Nazis. Once in LA, he started his piano career in Hollywood. He moved easily among styles...

I went to the opera today. It was Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro done by the opera program at Western. Obviously, it was not as professional and polished as you'd get at Opera Ontario or the COC, but they do a remarkable job. The leads were good at their roles, they had some nice set pieces...

No. This is not what I expected or wanted to see on Twitter tonight. Mike Taylor of Walk Off the Earth, better known to fans as "Beard Guy," died in his sleep last night. No cause known yet nor do they mention his age. He's the father of two children, one of whom appeared in the band's Christmas...

So, the old chestnut winter standard "Baby It's Cold Outside" has been stirring up controversy in recent times. It's a duet, usually male-female, with the male trying to talk the female into staying with him instead of going home. In the #MeToo era, many are questioning if it is appropriate...

It's a bit early but I saw this absolutely adorable video and couldn't resist using it to get our Christmas music thread booted up. Giorgio Michael is the eldest of the three children of Gianni and Sarah of Walk Off the Earth, and the band all appear in the video (Santa is one of them) hence...

On the surface, Postmodern Jukebox is a weird concept. Take a song from one era and rearrange it in the style of another. However, PMJ founder/arranger/pianist has produced some wonderful music and helped promote some wonderful singers using just that concept. I've posted some of the singers who...