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Grex > Music2 > #32: THE GRAB BAG: Musical Meandering | |
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mziemba
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THE GRAB BAG: Musical Meandering
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Mar 20 12:49 UTC 1997 |
Let's say you just ran across _Big Bird Sings Broadway_. Or you'd like to
discuss the virtues of fingerpainting to the sound of Michael Bolton's
greatest hits. Maybe you've thought about writing a rock opera about dust
mites. The weird, the wonderful, the unconnected...this is the place for it.
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| 416 responses total. |
mziemba
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response 1 of 416:
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Mar 20 13:11 UTC 1997 |
Now and then, I like to just talk about music and whatever else comes to
mind, along the way. Feel free to ramble...
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bmoran
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response 2 of 416:
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Mar 20 14:29 UTC 1997 |
I liked Steve Martin's _Rambling Man_ and Bob Seager's _Ramblin,
Gamblin, Man_ and what's his name's _Little Nash Rambler_.
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mziemba
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response 3 of 416:
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Mar 20 15:07 UTC 1997 |
A friend and I drive 12 hours straight to New York to see a concert at
Carnegie Hall. Well, actually, we drive to New Jersey, sleep for about
seven hours, and then go into Manhattan. We split up when we got into
town: he has a meeting to go to, and I decide to visit the record
stores. It's getting pretty late, and suddenly I realize that I need
to get going.
I ask for some directions. Simple enough: go a few streets over, take
the subway. No problem.
I get to the subway, and there's this guy behind bulletproof glass at
least a foot thick. He's saying something that I can't understand. I try
to explain to him where I want to go. More mumbling. Nervously, I start
dropping change as I fumble for comprehension.
A homeless guy steps in and asks me where I'm going. I tell him where I'm
going. "Here's what you need to do," he assures me, explaining carefully
that I need to go downstairs and take the "X" train. I hand him a tip for
the advice, get my token, and head down.
Briefly, I wonder if I'm being set up. Are ten guys with baseball bats
going to rush me when I get there? After all, this is the big city.
I find the right platform, and I wait. Some trains come by, but not the
right one. I'm beginning to get worried. Did he really say "X", or did
it just sound like that? I'm twenty minutes from the concert and forty
blocks away. I'm probably going to die right there in the subway, and
never make it to the concert, let alone home. Somebody's playing some
music in the distance.
The sign says something about different trains running on Sundays. I
forget that it's Tuesday, because it's a day off, for me, and so it feels
like a Sunday. I see another train on the other side and now I wonder if
I'm supposed to be over there. He didn't tell me there were two sides.
I actually do board the other train, and then I get off before it starts.
Something doesn't feel right. I go back to the other side.
_Finally_, the right train comes. I don't even know what Carnegie Hall
looks like, but I get off somewhere nearby and hail a cab. It's just
around the corner, it turns out, but I ask for a ride, anyway, rather than
walk around for hours and miss the show. I make it, right on schedule.
The place is huge. Our seats are several stories up, near the back. I
use binoculars from time to time to see things a little better.
After the show, we get some food. Along the way, there are these two kids
banging on plastic buckets. They've got a synchronized routine going, and
it's pretty exciting. They tilt their heads sideways, together, in time,
and toss their drumsticks up and down. There's a crowd gathering. People
are smiling -- having a good time.
We walk away, and I wonder. I wonder how music lead me to a place so big
that I got lost, and how two kids and a homeless guy helped me find the
music.
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kewy
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response 4 of 416:
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Mar 21 01:07 UTC 1997 |
yeah, i member seeing people beating on plastic buckets in ny, some of them
were pretty damn good..
i played in carnagie hall, it was quite cool (last may)
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mziemba
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response 5 of 416:
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Mar 21 02:15 UTC 1997 |
Bill- not to mention the Red Clay Ramblers...
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lumen
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response 6 of 416:
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Mar 21 07:52 UTC 1997 |
Mark, if I didn't know better, I'd be thinking you were stealing my thunder.
But then, I think it's just coincidental that our items could converge.
Moreover, you've just broadened the topic of discussion beyond what I had.
Hehehe, anyway--
I am eagerly awaiting this cool Depeche Mode T-Shirt that some guy designed
for a DM Mailing list (e-mail list, named BONG). I'm paying $24, including
S&H, but I think it'll will be worth it since the quality of the material is
good, I waited until supply ran low (essentially, they are leftovers from a
prior sale), and it is impossible to get DM T-shirts except in obscure
mail-order catalogs. Plus, it's an original design, and it will remind me
of my good days that I spent on the list--- besides gawking at the users that
seemed to have bottomless resources of DM memorabilia and complete
discographies.
I usually don't believe in idolizing a band too much, but obviously, I made
an exception here somewhat. Besides, I think Mannheim Steamroller is turning
into a bunch of old foagies. The Fresh Aire series, along with other Chip
Davis projects and Jackson Berkey's "The Sunken Cathedral," is the next major
part of my music collection next to DM. MS used to have a nice little band
sound that was a little pretensious, but now Chip is so into orchestrations
and more particularly, stuffy-sounding music my music teachers would probably
adore.
And to think I started out my collection with soundtracks :P It's now the
third major part of my collection.
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mziemba
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response 7 of 416:
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Mar 21 14:08 UTC 1997 |
I've never minded that Mannheim Steamroller got into orchestration. Of
course, their earlier material was what got me into Renaissance dance
music.
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mziemba
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response 8 of 416:
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Mar 21 19:54 UTC 1997 |
So what instrument do yo play, Katy? And what pieces was it being
employed to play at Carnegie Hall? And how did it feel to be on stage
there?
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kewy
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response 9 of 416:
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Mar 22 00:43 UTC 1997 |
I play clarinet... pieces, let me see if i even remember, we played.. Rocky
Point Holiday.. which is a great piece, parts of Carmina Burana (with a choir
and orchestra) and something else which i do not remember... it was great
being on stage there.. it's just this feeling, ya know.. hard to describe
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mziemba
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response 10 of 416:
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Mar 22 06:13 UTC 1997 |
Would you recommend any clarinet pieces or recordings? I've found that I
enjoy clarinet a great deal, but I haven't been able to find a great of
material. I came across Gerald Finzi's "Concerto for Clarinet and Strings
in C Minor, Op. 31", which I enjoyed. The recording featured Emma Johnson.
I suspect that I should also be looking for some older jazz for clarinet
pieces.
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kewy
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response 11 of 416:
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Mar 22 22:10 UTC 1997 |
i have to admit i don't listen to a lot of clarinet music...
but i have to use this place to brag (only a little, don't worry) both my
ensembles got a 1 at state solo and ensemble festival today:) I was actually
pleasantly suprised...
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orinoco
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response 12 of 416:
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Mar 22 22:35 UTC 1997 |
Mannheim Steamroller? whazzat?
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mziemba
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response 13 of 416:
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Mar 23 11:26 UTC 1997 |
Congrats, Katy!
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mziemba
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response 14 of 416:
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Mar 23 12:02 UTC 1997 |
Mannheim Steamroller is a small group of semi-serious audiophile-musicians
who dabble in an ecclectic mix of mainly instrumental progressive rock,
classical, electronic, and Renaissance/Medieval music. Harpsichords,
drums, and synthesizers are standard fare for an album. Their name is
apparently a pun on the musical term "Mannheim roll", the explanation for
which I do not presently recall. They've put out a series of albums
entitled _Fresh Aire_, along with an assortment of other pieces, most
notably the now-favorite _Christmas_ and the enjoyable _Classical Gas_, a
collaboration with guitarist Mason Williams, who wrote and became famous
with an earlier version of the title track.
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scott
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response 15 of 416:
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Mar 23 14:05 UTC 1997 |
I'm currently trying to figure out what to make my main new learning
instrument for the next couple years. It will be a wind instrument, which
is a new thing for me. I'm thinking that it will be shakuhachi, which I have
a little bit of a start on. I would also like getting into the guts of a
non-western music, which that would do.
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kewy
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response 16 of 416:
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Mar 23 14:29 UTC 1997 |
could you explain what a shakuhachi is? curious me..
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scott
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response 17 of 416:
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Mar 23 16:12 UTC 1997 |
It's a bamboo flute, played by blowing into the end over a sharp edge cut
into the wall of the bamboo. It's a traditional Japanese instrument, with
5 holes and a pentatonic scale. *Real* shakuhachi player get a billion more
notes by playing half and quarter opened holes.
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mziemba
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response 18 of 416:
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Mar 24 12:50 UTC 1997 |
For those of you interested in keeping up on music, one of the handiest,
kewlest, and most vibrant encyclopedias of alternative music, _The Trouser
Press Music Guide_, was just released in its fifth edition. This edition,
covering the 90s, serves as a complement to the fourth, covering the 80s.
Includes both the obvious and obscure entries, ranging from Tori Amos and
Laurie Anderson to White Zombie and John Zorn. A great reference and a fun
browse!
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orinoco
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response 19 of 416:
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Mar 28 21:55 UTC 1997 |
How can they put out a guide to '90's music when the decade isn't over for
another 3 (or 4, depending on who you belive) years?
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mziemba
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response 20 of 416:
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Mar 29 08:36 UTC 1997 |
Details, details...
The _Trouser Press Guide_ comes out every couple of years or so.
Initially, it grew out of a magazine documenting new lower profile musical
trends in the 80s. It's been about five years since the last guide,
though, so there's been a lot of material to cover. Rather than continue
trying to enlarge it, it was decided to simply start from a new
point. Since it was now the 90s, I assume it made some sense to start
there. Since it was meant to be currently useful, I assume that was part
of the reasoning behind releasing it in the 90s.
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orinoco
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response 21 of 416:
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Mar 29 15:16 UTC 1997 |
oh...ar...
I see.
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krj
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response 22 of 416:
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Apr 29 17:31 UTC 1997 |
For mcnally: Mike, I believe I saw info about a forthcoming CD issue
of those two David Thomas LPs which Richard Thompson played on.
Do you have/have information about those?
Also, did you ever get a copy of Pere Ubu's THE MODERN DANCE?
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mcnally
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response 23 of 416:
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Apr 29 20:59 UTC 1997 |
Hmmm.. I've not been wild about the David Thomas side-projects
I've heard but they could be interesting..
As for "The Modern Dance," I bought a copy of the "Datapanik in
the Year Zero" boxed set. For forty-odd bucks you get more than
enough Ubu to drive a man mad -- their first four or five albums
plus a live disc. Since I already had a few of the albums I
bought it mostly for the Modern Dance reissue but since it's
a very nicely put-together set and Ubu's been good to their fans
by reissuing it I didn't much mind. (but I do now have superfluous
copies of the out-of-print Ubu albums "Dub Housing" and "New Picnic
Time" if anyone wants to make a deal..)
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orinoco
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response 24 of 416:
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Apr 29 23:08 UTC 1997 |
What is Ubu's music like? I might be interested, I guess, if I can find some
money...
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