But then, in a single clarifying moment, the course of my life would be forever changed. I was playing a video game on my computer, and decided to put on a CD that a friend let me borrow. I was just half listening to it in the background… and then, my operatic innocence was shattered by the most powerful high C I’d heard in my young naive life. Franco Corelli, at the end of Di quella pira. I sat there in kind of a shocked stunned silence…and then listened to it several more times.
Read MoreBut, before I jump into the music, I want give a bit of background on how I came to have such strange musical tastes. I grew up in a very conservative part of central Pennsylvania. We lived in a small farmhouse with Amish next door neighbors and no cable… heck, the internet didn’t even exist yet. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and life was safe and predictable. I remember listening to my parents’ records which were mostly religious music, some classical, and oldies.
Read MoreBefore we jump into it, I just want to say that there is SO much good and important hip-hop being made right now and I’m barely going to scratch the surface (and suffer from an abundance of whiteness), so go find someone with a much better perspective than I, and listen to as much as you can. That said, since I’ve set this blog up as “what do I have on my phone”… what am I listening to at the moment?
Read MoreThe impact that music has on a movie cannot be overstated. It literally becomes an invisible omnipresent character that manipulates us, both with its presence and its absence…No discussion on the topic would be complete without mentioning one of the greatest composers ever to write for film; Erich Korngold. I’m currently traveling with both his Adventures of Robin Hood score, and his incidental music for Much Ado About Nothing. His music is transfixingly beautiful, and should not be missed. But, again, no voices… my search continues.
Read More…Once I set myself this somewhat arbitrary but completely necessary boundary, I immediately knew what I wanted to share on the first day… something from the bluegrass genre by Chris Thile. Mr Thile is an extraordinary mandolin player, in addition to a singer, composer, and now host of the Public Radio program Live From Here (formerly titled A Prairie Home Companion).
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