End Of A Love Affair

by Beth

The other day I was on iTunes when I discovered the most magical of all those magic buttons: Songs for only 69 cents! I ordered a bunch including Cherry, Cherry by Neil Diamond, Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve and Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band.

There were many songs from the 60s and 70s but when I asked my husband if he wanted me to download Sister Golden Hair by America, (a song we've been known to just start singing - yes, we often break into songs at our house. Up until a few years ago, my kids thought every family burst into song during conversations *g*) he laughed and told me he'd heard that song so often during the 70s, he'd prefer not to hear it again.

Unless we're singing it, of course *g*

All of which got me thinking about those songs I once loved but now...well...if I hear them now, I tend to clap my hands over my ears and run from the room hoping beyond hope the tune won't get stuck in my head. You know the ones - songs that were overplayed on the radio or on MTV or VH1. Songs we played over and over and OVER again when we were teenagers - which for me would be The Police's Synchronicity, Heart's Bad Animals and Def Leppard's Pyromania :-)

And since we all know how much I love a good list, I thought today I'd give you my:

Top Five Songs I Used to Love But Now Wish I Never Had to Hear Again!

1. Hotel California by The Eagles.

2. Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Oh, how I love Led Zeppelin! Adore them! Worship them, even! And I used to love this song. Until I listened to it about a bazillion times in Jr. High School *sigh*

3. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I blame this one on Wayne's World *g* Now, the only time I can listen to this song is when I'm watching the hilarious parody video my son and his friends made of when Wayne, Garth and their friends drive around town :-)

4. Sweet Child O' Mind by Guns 'n Roses.

5. Jeremy by Pearl Jam. Great song. Great band. I've just heard it too many times.

So, there you have it. A very short list *g* All are great songs, all are songs I once couldn't get enough of...until I had enough of them ;-)

Do you have any songs you used to love but have heard so many times you can't listen to them again?

Frankly Speaking

by Anna Campbell

When I was recently in New York (now, how's that for a way to start a blog?), I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the musical COME FLY AWAY. My first Broadway show (well, on Broadway!).

This combines Twyla Tharp's classical given a modern twist choreography with the beloved songs of Frank Sinatra. Basically we're talking a ballet. Frankly (yeah, I know, pardon the pun!), I was in heaven!

They had a big band on stage and a female singer who would occasionally duet with Frank but mostly it was just Frank. His voice floated above the beautiful, original arrangements in all its rich baritone richness. I'm not quite sure how they did it technically but it was very effective. The only thing better would to have been have Frank himself - but that would, sadly, have involved a seance. John Edward? Are you in the house? There's an opportunity here for you!

The musical was about love in all its various permutations from hot and sweaty and passionate to sweet and innocent. Appropriate when some of the greatest love songs ever written formed the score. The dancers were mainly from classical companies and were spectacularly good.

But the best bit was still the music!

As you'll probably have gathered by now, I love Frank's voice. I love his way with a lyric. Just check out how beautifully he delivers the story behind "I Get a Kick out of You" in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmLXch5277I

There's been a lot of imitators but I don't think anyone comes close to the combination of worldly sophistication and weary romanticism he conveys.

One of the things I loved about COME FLY AWAY is that they concentrated on the later, swinging Sinatra (not often you can use 'swinging' without irony, is it?), the Chairman of the Board days. The 1940s Sinatra who the bobbysoxers lined up to see was just a bit too vulnerable for my tastes. While the voice was effortlessly brilliant and he delivered those lyrics like Shakespeare, the unrestrained emotion of his early performances doesn't strike my heart the way his more restrained later work does.

By the late 50s and 60s, he's a guy who's been around the block a few times and he knows if he wears his heart on his sleeve, someone's going to rip it to shreds, then throw the bloody remnants into the mud and stamp all over them.

But he's still got a heart and much as he tries to pretend he can roll with the punches, love and life hit him hard. Sigh! Adore those songs.

One of the most romantic songs I know is "Fly Me to the Moon". Listen how he delivers this beautiful lyric with a jauntiness that somehow underlines the deep emotion the man is expressing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9h0MNMfKuQ

By the way, check out that groovy Orrefors-glass style backdrop on that video! Wow, baby!

Another breathtakingly romantic song is "Strangers in the Night". Listen to the crackle of emotion in his voice as he sings this. He's getting old in this recording - finding videos for this piece ended up being quite hard - but you get that emotional punch in spades, don't you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU8iJXPU9vA

Have you heard the joke?

SOCRATES: To be is to do.
ARISTOTLE: To do is to be.
SINATRA: Doo be doo be doo.

One of my favorite songs is one you don't hear so often but it's on a beautiful compilation CD I own called MY WAY: THE BEST OF FRANK SINATRA. It's "A Very Good Year". I couldn't get a video of Frank singing this but here's a compilation of evocative photos from his life that go beautifully with these lovely lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwv-DxOPhSc

I think the first time I heard this I was a very little girl and it was in a tire ad (might even have been for Goodyear!). It's always made me want to cry - that yearning reedy oboe in the introduction cuts right to the quick.

Sinatra always used amazing arrangers (Nelson Riddle is the one everybody mentions). The way the orchestra or the big band weaves around his voice or answers back or comments on the action creates sonic magic. This arrangement for "A Very Good Year" is one of my favorites - it's quite subtle but so beautiful. For example, listen to the way the pizzicato strings echo champagne bubbles when he likens his memories to vintage wine. Or in that last verse again, how the grim march of time is subtly alluded to in the slow throb of the woodwinds. Magnificent!

"A Very Good Year" is very beautiful but rather melancholy. So I thought I'd finish this rave about Mr. Sinatra with the very upbeat "New York, New York"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV02nP9PLnQ&feature=fvsr

This song has special significance for me because before I was published, I used to press repeat on my stereo and lie in the bath and sing it over and over. Always cheered me up! Not sure the neighbors felt the same! They probably wished me in New York, New York!

So to me, Frank is A number 1, top of the list, king of the hill!

Any other Sinatra fans out there? What are your favorite Sinatra songs? Do you prefer another singer of the golden age? I know Dean Martin and Tony Bennett and Perry Como and a host of others have their admirers. Let's go old school for the day!

Elista's American Idol - Межрегиональный Фестиваль-Конкурс

This past weekend was full of events.  On Friday night, I bought a ticket to a concert and was invited to watch, what I assumed was going to be a series of dances, songs, perhaps poetry, etc about Kalmykia, in Kalmyk, etc in honor of the Day of the City, which was happening the next day.  What instead happened was, in a way, much more enjoyable, at least from a pure entertainment point of view.

This concert turned out to be the "American Idol" of Southern Russia.  It was the "Inter-regional Festival-Competition" and there were 13 contestants from all over.  There were contestants from Ossetia, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Volgograd Region, Kalmykia, Stavropolskii Region and a few others I can't remember.  Anyways, each person sang two songs and as far as I could tell, one was a traditional song (either Russian or from their region) and the next was a song of their choice.

Some the songs were slightly more than ridiculous, as was part of the contest in general.  Every so often, from one back corner of the stage a smoke machine would go off making it look more like there was a small, constant fire in the back that couldn't be put out rather than the mesmerizing effect I'm sure they were going for.  Some of the contestants were hilarious as well, particularly this one group of three women and a guy who was very ABBA-esque.

This guy was full of emotion and I don't really think he could sing that well.  His choice of Ricky Martin's "Mama Maria" may not have been the best Ricky Martin choice he could have made, but then again there's the fact he chose to sing a Ricky Martin song in the first place.

Another guy was also somewhat ridiculous, but actually my favorite contestant.  His name was Ruslan (Руслан)  He had a good voice and for his optional song he decided to sing Sinatra's "My Way", a great choice.  Check him out.

Finally, there was a local Kalmyk girl who ended up winning the contest the next day (I'll explain more in a bit).  She had a good voice (her optional song was Beyonce's "Halo" - haha) and this song is in the Kalmyk Language.  It was sort of a pop song, but people seemed to know it and sing along.  The guy on the left is playing the guitar for the song and the guy on the right is beat boxing and he did it quite nicely.  Check out this video!

As I said, this last girl ended up winning the next day.  This concert, it seemed, was just a warm up.  All the contestants performed the same songs the next night at the Day of the City Concert and it was there they were awarded their prizes and places.

So Dear Readers, while I may not be a Simon Cowell fan and I most certainly cannot stand Ryan Seacrest, I rather enjoyed this competition and found it extremely entertaining!

*Unfortunately, my internet here is too slow to upload videos to the internet, whether to my blog or elsewhere.  I'll keep trying, but in the meantime I apologize for not having video.*