Music Blogs (1,258)

I was up early for a client meeting west of me and on the way back (heading east) I passed a private school with 'golf course grass' along the front of the property. We are getting radical changes in temperature this time of the year. Afternoons register 105F degrees in the car and 78F degrees this morning. Combined with daily rains, the humidity is very high.
The entire lawn was covered with dew that glistened in the sunlight. It appeared white like a fresh dusting of show and disappeared as the angle of the sun changed.

The song Morning Dew was covered by many. Written by Canadian singer Bonnie Dobson and released in 1962. I first heard the Jeff Beck version on his 1968 album Truth that featured Rod Stewart on vocals.

Your time machine is fueled up and ready to transport you back to 1959. You may not have even been born yet. Enjoy your visit.

Not long ago Merc posted some dance videos in the forums. I believe the style is called dubstep and I bookmarked a few. Today while cleaning I clicked a link and came across some other Techno/Trance/Electronic music... a style of music that is global. No borders. It's enjoyed around the world!

One link led to another, to another, to another...
I'm headed out on some hobby fun today and the beat is playing in my head.

A beautiful Ghazal that depicts the reality of life.

Down memory lane

There are a vast treasure of musical heritage hidden within the rural areas of West Bengal...

Here are a few sample collected from there...

I watched a rare interview from 1993 of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts who died this week at the age of 80. Initially, Charlie was a graphic artist (who did some record sleeves for the Stones) interested in jazz and became friends with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones.

Charlie had played rhythm & blues in clubs around London before becoming a Rolling Stone in 1963 when asked to join the band. That gig lasted 58 years and he performed every concert and played on every album!

It must have been difficult for Charlie as he was very shy and avoided interviews and media coverage with the only exception for his love of fashion and owning some 200 bespoke (custom) suits.

Mentioned in the interview, Charlie was self-taught and learned by listening to records of other drummers. Pair of diddles... is a funny takeoff for a basic drumming rudiment called PARADIDDLE consisting of four even strokes played in the order left-right-left-left or right-left-right-right.

He died in a hospital and had undergone some earlier unspecified emergency procedure. No other details to his death had been provided.

Surely everybody is familiar with the song "Little Darlin" by the Diamonds. It was a colossal hit for them in the mid 50's. Around the time this song was being played to death I was still living in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. I happened to be surfing the AM band looking for something a little less popular and more earthy to listen to. My quest took me to the higher frequencies where most of the black music fans were hanging out and one night "Little Darlin" came on but it wasn't the one by the Diamonds, it was the Original by a group called the "Gladiolas". At first it sounded kind of like a bunch of teenagers singing on the street but after a minute or so I was totally hooked on this version. I later learned that Maurice Williams of "The Zodiacs" wrote this song and was the lead singer on this release.

Thursday, I got a message from K asking if I wanted to join her at a concert on Friday afternoon. I looked at the lineup and thought "Yeah, I'd like to see those bands", so I wrote "You're on. How much is it?" "Well it's in The Courtyard, and those shows are always free. Let's meet up in front of my place at 4 pm, so we'll get a good spot."

"Score", was my immediate thought. Live music again, without social distancing or face masks. I live for concerts, so it was really a no brainer. The bands were Lotan and Urkraft, two Danish metal bands. Lotan is black metal with satanic undertones, and Urkraft is just pure death metal. I had a great time, however.. By 6 pm, before any of the bands came on, my body suddenly decided to go "Here, have a cold!". I sneezed like mad, coughed like I was a heavy smoker and my nose was clogged. But, that wasn't going to stop me from enjoying the show. Luckily, I had a spare face mask, so I wore that. I did get some looks, but I explained it was because I was having a sudden cold, and I didn't want to pass it on to someone else. Luckily, fans of metal are an understanding bunch, so they were all "No worries, I'll just keep a foot between you and me. Cheers!"

I love metal fans.. Anyway, back to the evening!

Shortly before 9 pm, the show ended, and K and I went on our way home. I was feeling VERY rough, but I told her I could make it, even if she had to do some food shopping when we got to our stop. I did walk slowly, like someone had hit me with a truck.

She did her shopping, paid and we were off home. I followed her all the way to her door, because I am a gentleman, and I wished her a good night, and told her I had a great time. I then walked the remaining five minutes home.

I locked myself in, sat on my bed and was extremely close to falling asleep. A quick brush of my teeth later, and I was ready to fall asleep. However, I didn't get a lot of it. Mainly because of my cold, but also because I couldn't really fall in a deep sleep. I think I managed about 5 hours or so, so by the time it was 7 am, I was up again.

Here twelve hours later, I feel a lot better. I can feel the cold leaving my body, which is fantastic. I need it to be gone by Monday. If it's not gone, we'll see how I feel at 6 am. If I feel rough, I will not go to school. It sucks because I want to have a perfect attendance record, but if you're sick, you're sick.

So in summary: I spent a few great hours with K, got a cold, slept bad and now I feel better. If only I hadn't developed that stupid cold.. The evening might have turned out differently..

Anyway, tomorrow might actually be great. K and I have a semi-confirmed "date". I have invited her over to my new place, and if she can find the time tomorrow, she might come by. We'll see what happens.

Final thoughts: Black metal and death metal concerts rule!