Exploring Music

GaGa Oh La La

2010-09-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Calling Lady Gaga my guilty pleasure will be a lie. I adore her songs without any guilt whatsoever. Yes, I think she is a total whacko. And I have my reservations about her philosophy of art. Nevertheless, you have to concede that her songs have an energy that is quite distinct. I'll probably write about her at length later but here are three of my favourite gaga numbers:

Alejandro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crYDOdZ2LC4

Poker face:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht8ZjuFzlUc

Papparazi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbkgS2KykXw

Ottmar Liebert

2010-09-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have taken a deep liking to Spanish guitar of late (and no, Vicky Cristina Barcelona has nothing to do with it). This is a result of a chance encounter with the work of Ottmar Liebert. Leibert's music is what is labeled as "Noveau Flamenco" or contemporary flamenco but most of his guitar renditions seem pretty traditional. Here are a list of my favourite tracks by him,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlFJEirdzac&p=EB785D0616BFB677&playnext=1&index=47

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yNBzdGiK0A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dCMvZ4lBKI&p=A7E648BF755394F9&playnext=1&index=20

I am familiar with two of his albums "Silence, no more longing" and "The hours between night and day" and loved both of them. Easily accessible via gigle/gigapedia. Also, do explore the youtube channels above- they always have some hidden treasures.

And while we are talking spain- VCB did have quite a good soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEt1H9hkHvE

Communication is the only way

2009-09-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

Band is Béla Fleck and the Flecktones , album is "Greatest hits of the 20th Century" From the sleeve notes of the CD - here are lyrics of the track "Communication". Vocals for this track is by Dave Matthew.

The song is available on YouTube (audio only)

Communication is the only way
Start saying what you mean to say
All your troubles gonna run away
Start saying what you mean to say (repeat)
I love you I’ll be true
As time goes by
And if you Will try to
You’ll learn to trust my heart
Communication is the only way
Start saying what you mean to say
All your troubles gonna run away
Start saying what you mean to today (repeat)
Don’t follow your sorrow
But try to find
From growing To knowing
The tender of your mind
To love you Must be true
As time goes by
Still yearning You’re learning
The way to trust your heart
Communication is the only way
Start saying what you mean to say
All your troubles gonna run away
Start saying what you mean to say

Irish Rover -- Irish Traditional Song

2009-01-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

This song is apparently a crowd favorite, as seen from this Dubliners video. The song is a complete blast, great for a dance. The lyrics show a perfect example of exaggeration. There is also as great article on wikipedia about the song.

here are the lyrics:

In the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and six,
We set sail from the sweet cove of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand City Hall in New York
'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged 'fore and aft
And how the wild winds drove her
She 'stood several blasts, she had twenty-seven masts
And they called her the Irish Rover
There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Johnny McGurk who was scared stiff of work
And a man from Westmeath called Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule
And fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
And your man Mick McCann, from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper on the Irish Rover
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stones
We had three million sides of old blind horses' hides
We had four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
And seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million bales of old nanny goats' tails
In the hold of the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
And our ship lost her way in the fog
And the whole of the crew was reduced down to two
'Twas meself and the captain's old dog
Then the ship struck a rock; oh Lord what a shock
The bulkhead was turned right over
We turned nine times around - then the poor old dog was drowned
Now I'm the last of the Irish Rover

The times they are a-changin' - Bob Dylan

2009-01-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

Bob Dylan,one of America's most famous songwriters. His songs are quite frequently about social issues or events, common people etc.
We regularly hear people talking about "generation gap", social change etc. We see conflicts between the views of parents and children, resistance of a society to change.
The song I am writing about presents this situation perfectly. It is "The times, they are a changin' " by Bob Dylan.

Here are the lyrics

Come gather round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
Youll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin
Then you better start swimmin
Or youll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance wont come again
And dont speak too soon
For the wheels still in spin
And theres no tellin who
That its namin.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Dont stand in the doorway
Dont block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
Theres a battle outside
And it is ragin.
Itll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And dont criticize
What you cant understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin.
Please get out of the new one
If you cant lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin.

The Jug of Punch -- Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

2009-01-01T22:55:00.000-08:00

Interesting to choose a drinking song first up. But the rendition of this song by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, deserves the honors. I will be writing about more of their songs.

The Clancy brothers were not only great in their singing, but were exceptional at building a rapport with the audience. This song is a prime example.

It is a drinking song sung by an old man, who is drinking whiskey punch. And in the words of Paddy Clancy, "he sort of growls it out one evening as the world is slipping out of focus. It starts out very quietly and very poetically and rapidly deteriorates like a good night of drinking."

Here are the lyrics.

A JUG OF PUNCH

One pleasant evening in the month of June
As I was sitting with my glass and spoon
A small bird sat on an ivy bunch
And the song he sang was "The Jug Of Punch"

Too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay, too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay
A small bird sat on an ivy bunch
And the song he sang was "The Jug Of Punch"

What more diversion can a man desire?
Than to sit him down by an alehouse fire
Upon his knee a pretty wench
And on the table a jug of punch

Too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay, too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay
Upon his knee a pretty wench
And on the table a jug of punch

Let the doctors come with all their art
They'll make no impression upon my heart
Even a cripple forgets his hunch
When he's snug outside of a jug of punch

Too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay, too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay
Even a cripple forgets his hunch
When he's snug outside of a jug of punch

And if I get drunk, well, the money's me own
And if them don't like me they can leave me alone
I'll chung me fiddle and I'll rosin me bow
And I'll be welcome wherever I go

Too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay, too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay
I'll chung me fiddle and I'll rosin me bow
And I'll be welcome wherever I go

And when I'm dead and in my grave
No costly tombstone will I have
Just lay me down in my native peat
With a jug of punch at my head and feet

Too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay, too ra loo ra loo, too ra loo ra lay
Just lay me down in my native peat
With a jug of punch at my head and feet

Here is link for the song. Jug of Punch. The video is the better version.

You can buy the album or just the song, here.