"Nicodemus " by jazz giant Andrew Hill. I am a huge fan of Hill's piano playing which always has a kind of abstract disattachment to it although right in the zone. I always hear bits of Duke Ellington in his playing even though Hill was more associated with the avant garde in the 1960s and enjoyed something of a rediscovery in the late 80 / 1990s. Love this tune - the leadhseets are quite difficult though with Hill loving odd meters. This is in 5/4 .
This is another piece of music that I was staggered to have discovered this year. I was previously unaware that there was any sort of "tradition" within the Philippines for Classical Music. Although this Nocturne owes a lot to Chopin, Nicanor Abelardo composed this in the 1920s.
Just watched the Wham! documentary on Netflix. Thoroughly recommend it for anyone of a certain age that grew up with 80s music. Loved it and it sent me down a YouTube rabbit hole all evening
After watching that, I have been thinking about Music since the 80s. I know it ages me, but it really was an exciting time before social media and camera phones. Maybe LTL can answer this, but I really don't think Wham! (or George Michael) would have been what they were if they tried to do it all over again today. To me, although it may appear better that anyone can record a demo 'tape' with all the new technology and get it out to 100s of record labels instantly, but it also means those labels receive more crap and must get inundated with it. There is no TOTP either as a channel and it is so instant to download it..there is no going to a shop and browsing/listening etc before you buy. Don't get me wrong, I am guilty of "oh I like that" and 5 mins later the album is on my iPhone, but it has lost a bit of the mystic and charm IMO. Just watching the first appearance on TOTP for Wham! would today be a car crash as it was choreographed in Andrew's front room the night before lol. Today, they would have been laughed at and ignored as it wasn't slick etc. They say cream rises to the top, but it must be so hard for talent to shine today, despite it on the surface being easier.
I am not fan of pop music yet this post really intrigues me because I think a good point has been raised although i do feel that there is also a huge element of the contemporary music fan nolonger really being interested in "music" and that tastes are far less sophisticated and less tolerant than 40 years ago. Unfortunately "Wham !" are probably more symptomatic of where audiences started to be less discerning. I would suggest that a more credible argument would be to propose how more musically intelligent artists might fare today - thinking of artists like Bjork, Prince, Steely Dan, EW&F, sting, etc, etc. Audiences no longer like to be challenged by music and the contemporary pop artists seem to have a limited shelf life and produce music which is often either based on a couple of chords or 4-bar seqeunces. The rise of stations like "Great Hits" Radio is increasingly serving to made more contemporary artists irrelevent. I am not sure that the problem is of talent not tising to the top but of contemporary audiences not being sophisticated enough to recognise what is "good." In addition, i would add that the problem is just as severe in the current jazz scene which has increasingly become less challengin in the last 10-20 years and has itself been hit by a similar "nostalgia wave" with a wealth of previously unreleased material from masters like John Coltrane. One of the aspects of going to the jazz festival in Vienne which fascinated me was the qualities within the music which younger audiences sought and the fact that they no longer viewed innovation or risk as admirable. They were solely focussed on issues such as "groove" as opposed to authenticity. I am less famliar with what is happening in Classical music but I do recall that there was a lot of energy with contemporary composers and an inquisitiveness to explore the new. The only contemporary composer I recall kicking up alot of fuss recently has been Caroline Shaw which was prompted by the "Entr-acte" string quartet.
This looks far more interesting than the bollocks touted as news today. Did you know that on this day in blah blah blah?
I have a huge aversion to these shows, but this is pretty spectacular, and brings home how amazing the lyrics are.
British actress and French icon Jane Birkin has died aged 76. This is probably what she is best known for RIP Jane
One of the great crooners of the 20th century (Sinatra called him "the best in the business"), Tony Bennett has sadly passed away aged 96. This is his signature song... R.I.P. Tony...
Very apt. I'm off to go through boxes of vinyl at a local recycling warehouse. Found a good condition copy of The Divine Miss M by Bette Midler last visit. please log in to view this image
Ah that's so sad, a truly unique voice and a soul touching artist and also a brave and honest human being taken far too soon... This is such a moving song written about her miscarriages... R.I.P. Sinead...
