You thought I'd forgotten about Thursday Tunes, didn't you? Nyet! Never!
Thanks for sticking with me during the posting drought. I'm wearing several hats at work, undergoing cataract surgery (left eye is done, right eye next month), the Missus retired last month, and I seem to be developing a stomach ulcer (not directly related to the preceding item... probably), so everything is a bit busy "eye are ell" as the kids say. Have no fear, I remain dedicated to bringing you amusing and annoying tidbits of nonsense, though you'll notice the political content will be nearly nonexistent going forward. Life is too short to take politics seriously. I know how to vote and how to shoot; those are the only two pieces of political knowledge I'll need for the rest of my life.
Courtesy of reader Jeff W, this week's Thursday Tunes is Fantasy in Orbit. Composer Tom Dissevelt was one of the earliest pioneers of electronic music, starting back in the late 1950s when most people had never even heard of a synthesizer, let alone heard music created on one. It pretty much goes without saying that this is hardcore music history sort of stuff, not exactly full of toe-tapping melodies. It would be another two decades before the likes of Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel-Jarre mainstreamed electronic music in the 1970s. Still, it's worth a listen if you're interested in the development of the genre.
When I was stationed in Hawaii during the late '80s, you couldn't walk into a bar or dance club that you didn't hear Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" being played. I came to utterly loathe that song. Which, given that statement, may lead you to wonder why in the world I'd post a cover of it for Thursday Tunes. Well, this particular version is by the legendary punk cover band Me First & the Gimme Gimmes.
Okay, "legendary" is perhaps stretching it a bit, but they are pretty well known if you've listened to any punk in the last 25 years. And I must say that this version is much superior to Abdul's. If you like it, consider taking a few minutes to peruse their other offerings on YouTube. They have famously taken quite a few sappy & crappy pop love ballads and punkified them. For instance, "I Will Always Love You" is actually tolerable when you don't have Whitney "O.D." Houston's caterwauling pummeling your eardrums.
I don't normally do popular music on Thursday Tunes, but I ran across this live performance of my favorite SRV piece, "Riviera Paradise," and I simply couldn't resist.
Kazakh singer Tolkyn Zabirova performs the opera from the movie "The Fifth Element." The first four minutes are lead-in, but still quite amazing. The supernatural-sounding part you're familiar with from the movie starts at 4:25. How she can make her voice do that is completely beyond my understanding.
A live symphony performance of "Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom," arguably the most famous piece from Basil Poledouris' soundtrack for the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian. I've always loved this piece because of the way Poledouris put what are traditionally supporting instruments -- oboe, flute, french horn, kettle drums -- into lead parts. I believe this is another of those pieces destined to become classical music in a few centuries. (I love making such prognostications because I and anyone reading this will be long dead before the outcome can be known. Selfish of me, really.)
"I'll Never See You Smile Again," one of my all-time favorite instrumental pieces, with Bob James on keyboards and Earl Klugh playing acoustic guitar. From the 1979 album "One on One."
When I was a boy, it was very "un-cool" to like ABBA. Nevertheless, I always secretly enjoyed their music. This is... well, even if you don't like ABBA (or won't admit to it), this is pretty funny.
Persuasion by Govi. This is a style of band-backed Spanish guitar known as panda de verdiales. It originates in the coastal Andalusia region of southern Spain. Very light and somewhat slower than the other type of music for which the region is known: flamenco.
A rendition of the Blade Runner suite by Vangelis, performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Their use of traditional orchestral instruments to replicate (if you'll pardon the pun) the synthesizer effects -- even using paper to simulate rain -- is brilliant. I've long maintained that Vangelis is a musical savant on par with Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and that his works will eventually become classical music. Remember that those men were the "pop music" artists of their time; their music survived the centuries because it is timeless. So too will that of Vangelis.
Gov't Mule performs Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" live on stage. Gov't Mule is the "southern rock jam band" formed by Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes, who is lead guitar and male vocals on this one.
Some more Yoshida Brothers. This time it's Fukaki Umi No Kanata, (Beyond the Deep Sea). Relaxing with a catchy melody, this is one of my favorite pieces for practicing tai chi.
