Find yourself someone that stays up late at night messing around writing music with you <33

If anybody deserved the title of “Renaissance man” it would be Carl Davis, who has died aged 86 following a brain haemorrhage. A formidably gifted composer and conductor, in a career spanning seven decades he wrote scores for a string of successful films and a long list of some of the best remembered programmes on British television, including the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.

Davis won a Bafta and an Ivor Novello award for his score for Karel Reisz’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), scripted by Harold Pinter and starring the Oscar-nominated Meryl Streep, and worked on many other prominent films, including Scandal (1989), starring Ian McKellen and Joanne Whalley, Ken Russell’s The Rainbow (1989) and The Great Gatsby (2000). His theme music for the 1984 horse-racing drama Champions, starring John Hurt as the Grand National winner Bob Champion, was subsequently used by the BBC for its Grand National coverage.

A fascination for the era of silent movies prompted Davis to create new scores to accompany numerous classics from cinema’s early years, including his composition for Abel Gance’s sprawling 1927 epic, Napoleon. His work helped trigger an international revival of presentations of silent films with a live orchestra.

He achieved another career highlight when he collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney on his Liverpool Oratorio, an eight-movement piece based on McCartney’s experiences of growing up in Liverpool. The piece was recorded in Liverpool Cathedral in 1991, featuring the classical soloists Kiri Te Kanawa and Willard White.

Despite his relentless schedule and prolific output, Davis enjoyed a reputation as an expansive and witty conversationalist who could always make time for friends or interviewers. When conducting at occasions such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Summer Pops concerts or the BBC’s Proms in the Park, he would gently subvert notions of classical seriousness by conducting in a union jack outfit or a gold lamé coat.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Carl was the son of Sara (nee Perlmutter), a teacher, and Isadore Davis, a post office worker. His Jewish family had ancestry in Poland and Russia. Encouraged by his mother, he displayed precocious musical ability. He started playing piano at the age of two, and soon became an adept sight-reader. He recalled how from an early age he would listen to the Metropolitan Opera’s live radio broadcasts on Saturday afternoons, and he would obsessively study musical scores of operas and orchestral pieces obtained from Brooklyn’s public libraries.

He took lessons with the composers Hugo Kauder and Paul Nordoff (later the co-founder of the Nordoff-Robbins music therapy programme), then with the Danish modernist composer Per Nørgård in Copenhagen. He studied at Queens College, New York, and the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, and as an 18-year-old served as an accompanist to the Robert Shaw Chorale. He then attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson in upstate New York, which has had a remarkable roll-call of actors, writers, film-makers and musicians pass through its portals. He graduated from Bard as a composer, having already begun to compose music for theatrical productions.

In 1958 he became an assistant conductor at the New York City Opera, and then won an off-Broadway Emmy award as co-composer of the 1959 revue Diversions. This was staged at the Edinburgh festival in 1961 and subsequently transferred to the Arts theatre in London, retitled Twists. It caught the eye of Ned Sherrin, then working in production at the BBC. He commissioned Davis, who had moved to London and was living in decrepit lodgings in Notting Hill, to write music for the satirical TV show That Was the Week That Was.

It was the start of his prolific and varied career in the UK. The Davis touch added lustre to the television movies The Snow Goose (BBC, 1971) and The Naked Civil Servant (Thames Television, 1975); the adaptation of the Anita Brookner novel Hotel Du Lac (BBC, 1986); and the miniseries A Year in Provence (BBC, 1993) and A Dance to the Music of Time (Channel 4, 1997) among many others.

A notable milestone was his ominous and unsettling score for Thames’s The World at War (1973), which was produced by Jeremy Isaacs. It was through Isaacs that Davis became involved in the Thames TV series Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film, based on the book The Parade’s Gone By … by the film historian Kevin Brownlow.

Davis was tasked with tracking down musicians who had worked on films during the silent era, and the series set him off on a decades-long crusade to revive silent films with newly created scores. He enjoyed the challenge of conducting the music live as the film played. “You have to keep going,” he told the Arts Desk’s Graham Rickson in 2021. “Some conductors use click tracks and headphones. I’m old-fashioned and don’t like being tied to machinery – I try to conduct these things with as little apparatus as possible.”

The most dramatic expression of this was his work on Napoleon, and in 1980 Davis conducted a performance of it with an orchestra and audience at the Empire, Leicester Square. “That first screening wasn’t flawless, but it was electrifying,” he recalled. He subsequently conducted performances around the world, and the score let to him being appointed chevalier of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1983.

He went on to compose music for more than 50 silent films featuring stars such as Greta Garbo and Rudolph Valentino, for comedies by Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, and for classics such as Ben-Hur (1925), the Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckler The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and DW Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).

Another genre which Davis excelled at composing for was dance. “The relationship between film and ballet is striking, and I find myself composing more and more ballet scores now, something which the film work has made me much better at,” he told Rickson. For Northern Ballet theatre, he worked with the choreographer Gillian Lynne on A Simple Man (1987) and Lipizzaner (1989). For Scottish Ballet, he collaborated with Robert Cohan, a fellow New Yorker, on A Christmas Carol (1992) and Aladdin (2000). And for English National Ballet’s Alice in Wonderland (1995), Davis (commissioned by ENB’s artistic director Derek Deane) drew on themes by Tchaikovsky.

It was also through Deane’s influence that Davis was commissioned by the National Ballet of Croatia to write Lady of the Camellias (2008), which gave him the opportunity to revisit Alexandre Dumas’s original novel and Verdi’s operatic version of it, La Traviata. The opera had been a favourite of Davis’s since his childhood days of listening to Met broadcasts, and he had also worked on a production of it for New York City Opera. The resulting piece gave the story a contemporary twist, so “the action could flow without pause and indeed the production did effectively utilise projections and film”, as Davis wrote in the recording’s sleeve notes.

He received a Bafta special lifetime achievement award in 2003, and in 2005 he was made CBE.

In 1970 he married the actor Jean Boht, who starred in Carla Lane’s sitcom Bread. She survives him, along with their daughters, Hannah and Jessie.

🔔 Carl Davis, composer and conductor, born 28 October 1936; died 3 August 2023

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He then almost always said "Good evening" in his flat, lugubrious voice.īoth the caricature drawing and the theme music became indelibly associated with his image and the piece was one of eight compositions that Hitchcock selected to take to a fictional desert island when he appeared on Desert Island Discs.

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On Hitchcock's TV show, Gounod's piece plays while the director appears in silhouette at the right edge of the screen, and then walks centre to eclipse the caricature. Gounod's English patron, Georgina Weldon, described Chorley as moving like a "stuffed red-haired monkey.” For publication, however, Weldon titled the piece Funeral March of a Marionette. It was a satirical character piece that was intended to be a parody of the personality of a music critic Henry Chorley. Gounod wrote the piece while residing in London, between 18. But Hitchcock reportedly remembered it from a 1927 film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. It had been used for an American horror radio show The Witch's Tale, which aired from 1931 to 1938. Its title sequence opened with the camera fading in on a simple caricature of Hitchcock's profile.įor the music, his long-time collaborator, the composer Bernard Herrmann, suggested Charles Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette. While there are a ton of features that factor into us selecting Alfred as our favorite app launcher for the Mac, one of our more whimsical favorites is the ability to change the appearance by creating a custom theme.A French classical piece became inextricably linked with the British director.Īlfred Hitchcock Presents aired between 19 and featured the director introducing short dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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This is a paid feature that is part of the Alfred Powerpack, a worthwhile upgrade that also gives you integration with 1Password, the ability to create your own workflows, and much more. Note: We’re currently working on updating our favorite app launcher article to reflect the changes and upgrades available in Alfred version 4. Now you can start making changes to the theme itself by selecting different elements from the preview on the right and making changes as desired.Give your theme a name and (if you want) give yourself some credit as the creator.From the Preferences menu, select Appearance from the sidebar on the left and click the + icon at the bottom of the themes list to create a new theme.First, open Alfred using your assigned keyboard shortcut and go to the Alfred → Preferences menu (or hit the keyboard shortcut Command +, with the Alfred bar visible). You can modify any text, icon, padding, or border element by clicking and dragging to increase or decrease the size. You can change the color of any of the elements by clicking it in the preview window and selecting a new color from the color wheel. You can also right-click any element to select from one of the colors that are already present in your theme. Alfreds Basic Piano Library Classic Themes Level 4.Drag up or down to change the size of the selected element.Here’s a quick overview of the options available when tweaking your theme: Make sure to keep an eye on the text hints at the bottom of the preview window for the element you’re currently modifying! To change fonts, right-click on any of the text elements to view the font options available on your Mac. Right-click to show the theme colors you’ve already used or show fonts list. We released Alfred 4.3 yesterday Its a lovely big release, with new default themes to match Big Surs new look, and improvements to theming to add Visual.Arranger: Allan Small These volumes contain easy-to-play arrangements of great classical. A simple and dark theme enough for Alfred, iTerm, Sublime, Terminal (Mac), ZSH. Alt + drag to increase or decrease the opacity (and get that fancy translucent effect).Cmd + drag to scroll through standard fonts options. We have added new workflow objects to improve file integration within your Workflows. You can also click the button in the upper-right of the preview window to adjust the theme window blur. The File Utility can be used to determine whether the passed-in file path exists, and optionally what the UTI for that file is. The Action in Alfred Action allows you to pop up the Actions panel for the passed-in files.

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With a little trial and error, you’ll have your own beautifully crafted Alfred theme in no time.

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Scoring a Silent Film By Susan King

New York Times’ film critic Mordaunt Hall was beyond effusive in his review of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1926 comedy souffle SO THIS IS PARIS (’26) describing it as a “gay picture” which “hails from the workshop of that master director Ernst Lubitsch” and is doing its share to “uphold the screen art…’” He added that the “farce comedy is titivated with satire. It is a farcical yarn that keeps one amused from the start. The publication named the romantic roundelay starring Monte Blue, Patsy Ruth Miller, Lilyan Tashman and Andre Beranger, as one of the top ten films of the year.

Though several of Lubitsch’s silent Hollywood films have been released on DVD or aired on TCM, that hasn’t been the case with SO THIS IS PARIS, because the comedy didn’t have a score until now. The virtual TCM Classic Film Festival has the “Lubitsch Touch” Sunday evening with the world premiere of the new restoration of SO THIS IS PARIS, presented in a 2K scan off the Warner Bros. nitrate complete with a lively original organ score by and performed by Ben Model.

Over the years, TCM had licensed Model’s scores for silent films in the public domain he had initially done for home video including Baby Peggy’s THE FAMILY SECRET (‘24) and Marion Davies’ WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER (‘22). One of the top accompanists and composers of silent film scores, Model had long wanted to work with TCM to commission new scores for their scoreless silent films in their library. After discussions with Charles Tabesh, TCM’s SVP for programming and content strategy, Model was able to score SO THIS IS PARIS.

“I knew SO THIS IS PARIS had been shown at the TCM Film Festival a few years prior,” said Model. “I knew this is a film that Warners’ controls. It’s a film I don’t have to convince anybody about… It’s already on everyone’s radar. I also knew that the Library of Congress had material on it.” And, it turned out TCM had scanned its print of the film. “They sent me a file and I scored the film.”

Surprisingly, Model doesn’t compose or play on an actual mighty Wurlitzer, he utilizes a virtual one using a computer program that “behaves like an actual organ console would.” Model watched the film once and took a lot of notes for himself: “story notes where I’m writing down what happens in the scene, what mood I think it would be. Sometimes I’ll write down this should be a minor waltz or something like that. I will also notate for myself in boldface visual cues. Not in a Mickey Mouse coconut sounds when somebody gets hit on the head kind of thing, but just so I can see it at a dramatic moment. “

There’s a scene in the beginning of the film where the one couple is rehearsing this Arabian dance and there is a man playing the piano. “We get a glimpse of the sheet music,” Model noted. “I thought just in case there are any musicians who are reading [the sheet music], I actually transcribed the first eight or nine ears of the ‘Dance of the Despair’ and it kind of works. “

He doesn’t write all the music out when he’s composing. “I improvise, although when I’m recording, it’s more like I improvise until it’s right. It’s a form of composition where I’m not physically writing notes on a piece of paper. But I still think of it as composition and not just making music until the scene is over. Improvisation was a technique that organists knew.”

He learned as a young man from the legendary silent film accompanist Lee Erwin that silent film music “should be interesting enough to hold you, but not pretty enough to distract you. The idea is because silent film is its own universe. I think the idea it to support the film and help the audience. Boost then up into the world and keep them in that world.” The biggest challenge scoring the film is the three minutes and 13 second Charleston party sequence “where nothing happens,” noted Model. “The film is forward motion and dramatic action then the movie stops. It’s just shots of a lot of people dancing. I didn’t just want to play until the scene was over. I wanted to try and map something out.”

So, Model watched the sequence, took down the timing and even created a spreadsheet “so I could figure out not only how many seconds each the segments are. I was able to break it down and discover the internal logical of the editing. I came up with a tempo which is a Charleston tempo or a tempo that the Charleston would be played it.” He chose not to include the famous Charleston music in the sequence because he thought it would be a distraction. “I chose to play music that was at the Charleston tempo so you could concentrate on what was being done on screen.”

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#150-141)

#150: Francesco Gabbani -- Occidentali's Karma (Italy 2017)

"Soci onorari al gruppo dei selfisti anonimi L’intelligenza è démodé Risposte facili, dilemmi inutili"

"Honorary members of Selfie Addicts Anonymous Intelligence is out of fashion Easy answers, pointless dilemmas"

I remember how hyped Occidentali's Karma was before the contest--it racked up views like a wind machine, and it looked like everything was going in its favor. And for good reason.

Even within the title (because it uses English possessives, rather than in Italian, Occidentali's Karma satirizes those in the West who romanticize or even appropriates East Asian culture and/or philosophy. Rereading the translation, it's curious because Covid-19 increased anti-Asian sentiment to the point of violence across the world. But there were so many good references.

Along with an upbeat tempo, the question going into rehearsals was where Italy was going to host the contest the following year. (It's not as hyped as Fur Alle, see #227 to see how that turned out and why their other entry was better) Unfortunately, that was not meant to be, as a combination of the three-minute cut (which is why I attached the Sanremo performance instead), Francesco's progressive tiredness with performing the song, and the staging sunk it from the top five completely. For some reason, the latter didn't bother me as much, though I could see why people would see it as more gimmicky in the end.

And with Italy's other entries in the future, it doesn't seem like it holds up as well. But the "Namaste, ale!" part doesn't fail to amplify a crowd.

Personal ranking: 2nd/42 Actual ranking: 6th/26 GF in Kyiv

#149: Youddiph -- Vechny Strannik (Russia 1994)

“Вечный странник, я твоя судьба, Знаю, помнишь обо мне Ты всегда в пути, но для тебя Яркий свет в моём окне,”

“Eternal wanderer, I'm your destiny, I know, you will remember me You are always on the way, but there is always A bright light for you in my window”

A bit eccentric from Russia, but it makes for a worthy debut, part of a three-song stretch of them towards the end. I like how the lyrics told a story about the two separated lovers, and they are really poetic!

But I sometimes get lost with the more relaxed verses against the explosive chorus. The former reminds me of an instrumental to beat poetry; I would sometime mimic "Poetry by Gary" there, whereas the latter feels like something that would be in other ballads during the time. It took multiple listens to reconcile the two; the orchestration really helps.

Youddiph switches between the two forms, well, going from , and the scarlet multi-functional dress is a highlight. Which way did she wear it is your favorite?

Personal ranking: 3rd/25 Actual ranking: 9th/25 in Dublin

#148: Mocededes -- Eres tú (Spain 1973)

“Como mi poema, eres tú, eres tú, Como una guitarra en la noche, Todo mi horizonte, eres tú, eres tú, Así, así, eres tú,”

“Like my poem, you are, you are, Like a guitar in the night My whole horizon, you are, you are Like that, like that, you are”

The lyrics are so pure—telling a loved one that they remind them of all the good things in life, all sung really well by a really professional choir. It touched me the first time I listened to it, and found it really sweet even after multiple listens. The instrumentation adds to that feeling, which makes it unsurprising that it has become a well-beloved classic even to this day.

Curiously, when they released the single internationally, they had the Spanish-version on the A-side and the English one on the B-side. The radio stations prefered to play the former, which led to it garnering fame across the Americas and Europe. It was even #9 on the US Billboard 100 at one point, making it one of the few non-English songs to do so well there. And it's been covered over and over again.

In addition, it still holds Spain's highest point total at Eurovision, with 125 points. And that's after multiple voting system changes and an increase of countries participating. Then again, that's its power!

Personal ranking: 4th/17 Actual ranking: 2nd/17 in Luxembourg

#147: Dulce Pontes -- Lusitana paixão (Portugal 1991)

“Mmm... fado, só quando a saudade vem, Arrancar do meu passado um grande amor...”

“Mmm... fado, just when the longing comes, Pulling a great love back from my past”

For the record, this is not a fado song, but rather a song discussing about the singer’s relationship with the genre in a standard early 1990s ballad. However, Dulce would go on to become one of Portugal's most famous fado singers, especially with the track Canção do Mar.

This doesn't mean that Lusitana paixao is anyway inferior, though!

As a result, the songs calming, but the lyrics indicate some yearning to convey the pain. The chorus is a bit weaker than the verses (despite being the rare example of "major-verse/minor-chorus"), but the orchestration in them, combined with Dulce’s vocals, makes it shine.

Personal ranking: 6th/22 Actual ranking: 8th/22 in Rome

#146: Conchita Wurst -- Rise Like a Phoenix (Austria 2014)

"You know I will rise like a phoenix But you’re my flame"

(Maybe I should've had Lusitana Paixao at #146 to keep up the Eurovision 1991 references, right? #allora)

If there's anything noticeable in Rise Like a Phoenix, it's how resilient and fierce it is, while establishing a sense of glamour.

It starts off with an orchestral intro, and the first verse is quiet, before it starts blooming further and further through the song. The lyrics have a sense of bite about them--the narrator is hurt, but they will use their pain to become even stronger. And the staging helps with the concept; through the use of lighting, we get to see Conchita more, from the silhouette in the beginning to her full form by the end of the song, decked in gold and fully assured.

Rise Like a Phoenix was one of the first Eurovision songs I listened beyond the 2016-7 timeframe (or at least, one of the first that I liked enough to draw some fanart). The whole piece doesn't get lost in a soundtrack (a lot of comments talk about how it could fit in a James Bond movie), and it holds itself firm and dignified. And while I'm not part of the LGBTQ+ community, I could understand somewhat why something like this is important.

And it's absolutely glamorous.

Personal ranking: =3rd/37 Actual ranking: 1st/26 GF in Copenhagen

#145: The Common Linnets -- Calm After the Storm (the Netherlands 2014)

“I just wanna know if staying is better than goodbye...”

Both Rise Like a Phoenix and Calm After the Storm weren't seen as contenders before rehearsals, as the former "leaned on a gimmick" and the latter wasn't "stereotypically Eurovision" enough and too low-key. It took a couple of great stagings; whereas "Rise Like a Phoenix" plays with fire and revealing who one is, "Calm After the Storm deals with the melancholy and tension after a relationship, and does so fantastically. (cries in 2018)

The following lyric is a pretty hard-hitting one from an otherwise serene-sounding song. The story in it also deals with this stasis; while "calm after the storm” implies a return back to normal, the lyrics also indicate an ambiguity towards the state of this broken ship. (Looking over it, I still can't believe how clever the title is) The fallout creates an emptiness, and sometimes the silence is louder than any shouting. It’s definitely worth a listen, and I don’t listen to country often!

(On whether Calm after the Storm would've made the better winner, I'm not sure. I can agree it's the more thoughtful song and would've opened the doors to more genres, but Rise Like a Phoenix had just as much of an impact. Of the winner-runner-up pairs of the 2010s, this is the one I'm down the middle about. Both are so good...)

Personal ranking: =3rd/37 Actual ranking: 2nd/26 GF in Copenhagen

#144: Dino Merlin -- Love in Rewind (Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011)

“One to a hundred, multiplied by you, It all looks great, it all looks cool, Healthy children go to school, My daughter's in love, my son loves too..."

If you ask most Eurovision fans on what's their favorite Bosnian entry is, it usually comes down to one of three options. Love in Rewind is the most recent of them, but still has its charms. (Don't worry, you'll find out what the other two are in due time...)

A happy song which relishes on the beauty of life, Love in Rewind has the narrator appreciate the little things in life, despite the minor-key(?) tone throughout. Dino conveys this cheery feeling well, and the people on stage definitely add to this familial scene, from the chorus to Maya's piano playing and everything else in between. It's really enough to give you those warm feelings inside. (And if you don't, what kind of person are you?!)

For a song which performed second in the final, Love in Rewind also did quite well, with a solid sixth place! Though in an average year like 2011, it deserved the win.

P.S: What did the juries not see in this song?

Personal ranking: 1st/43 Actual ranking: 6th/25 GF in Dusseldorf

#143: Cliff Richard -- Power to All Our Friends (United Kingdom 1973)

“Power to the boys who played rock 'n' roll And made my life so sweet And to the girls I knew before And those I've yet to meet”

It's funny I'm writing this now, because the most recent #Eurovisionagain was 1968, which featured the hit "Congratulations" and it losing Eurovision by one point, haha.

Cliff Richard’s second entry is a bit less remembered than his first, but I think it’s quite better. From the rock and roll vibes of this one to the celebratory lyrics, it brings a spark of joy and modernity to the 1973 contest. Speaking of modernity, Power to All Our Friends was the first song to use some playbacked elements--the orchestral drummers are doing nothing in the background during the chorus. Though the orchestra did help with emphasizing the grandness of this song.

Cliff’s dancing, on the other hand, hasn’t changed and still remains very awkward. He also stayed in the bathroom when the voting came along, and then Spain was now one of two countries which beat him. I'm kind of surprised that he never had a grudge against the country.

Personal and actual ranking: 3rd/17 in Luxembourg

#142: Rollo and King -- Never Ever Let You Go (Denmark 2001)

“I’ll never ever be the same since you left me lonely So please come back to me again”

Isn't this wholesome? From the opening harmonica solo, one can expect a really happy and warm song. Rollo and King deliver the joy in spades, and Signe's arrival in the second verse made the whole crowd at Parken cheer. What a moment.

I love how the duo's voices work and the lyrical content of the song (though sometimes I'm a bit confused about if the narrator changed or not...). It's very sunny and cute, which makes it shine at the end of the lineup. While it doesn't have the same "movie-ending" feel as In a Moment Like This (#164), it still does the job well. The ukelele parts also bring a bit of spice to it; "I even really liked "I Don't Feel Hate" from this year because of its similarities with their riff!

I actually like this more than "Fly on the Wings of Love", though they both share this comfy, acoustic vibe. But that's what Denmark does best in the contest--bubbly cute songs, and Never Ever Let You go is the best of them. (But don't worry, there's still more Danish songs to come!)

Personal ranking: 3rd/23 Actual ranking: 2nd/23 in Copenhagen

#141: Sergey Lazarev -- You are the Only One (Russia 2016)

“Won’t ever give up ’cause you’re still somewhere out there Nothing or no one’s gonna keep us apart”

The top three of 2016 all had something compelling about them, which made them shine from the bunch. They had songs of different genres, but the performances make them stand out from the rest of the crowd, with highly capable singers.

You are the Only One pops out right away with the opening bell, and follows through a dramatic arc about finding the one. While there are questions about how ”dated” the song is, the production is quite awesome and adds to the drama. I always imagine a cool music video where one traverses across the city and trying to find someone for comfort. It would make a very fitting soundtrack.

And Sergey is a great performer, handling the evolved wall staging with ease. There were some angles that made it give the fact away to the viewer, but seeing Sergey sing and climb and announce that someone was the "only one" wowed everyone, including me.

No wonder I listened to this so many times when I started following Eurovision!

Personal ranking: 4th/42 Actual ranking: 3rd/26 GF in Stockholm

Aqualung at 50: Jethro Tull’s Half Concept Album Hits Half a Century

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“In the beginning Man created God,” reads the back cover of Jethro Tull’s Aqualung. “And in the image of Man created he him.” The album came out 7 million days later, on March 19, 1971. We’d only recently been told God was “a concept by which we measure our pain,” by John Lennon.

Aqualung is framed by two halves of a concept. The first songs on the first side tell the stories of the outcasts, those out of sight of the eyes of the man who created god. The B-side explains why organized religion blinds us. In between are songs which have nothing to do with either theme. First off, for those who don’t know, Jethro Tull is not a person, but a band. The songs on Aqualung were written by Ian Anderson, bandleader, singer-songwriter, guitarist, occasional saxophonist, and heaviest metal flutist to make Bach swing. Anderson maintained, throughout numerous interviews, Aqualung was not a concept record. He would go on to mock the very idea of it with the satirical prog masterpiece Thick as a Brick.

The Beatles suffered the same misnomer dilemma. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band wasn’t a concept album. Paul McCartney got the idea the band would play the album as if they were this other band. The concept lasted two songs and a reprieve. The rest of the album is a full immersion into the possibilities of the studio under the steady gaze of George Martin. Aqualung opens with songs inspired by true life candid shots Ian’s wife Jennie Anderson (now filmmaker Jennie Franks) took while studying photography. One was a homeless man, another an under-age prostitute. Other than that, the first side includes a beautiful love song, and hard and soft confessional pieces.

The first concept album is Woody Guthrie’s 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads, which stuck to one theme: the economic and ecological fallout of the devastating 1930s drought. Frank Sinatra explored loneliness and late nights on a pair of classic concept long-players unified by mood. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s Freak Out!, from 1966, is the first concept album, as well as the first double-album, of rock, although every song on the Beach Boys’ 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe is about a car. The Who’s Tommy, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall are rock operas which tell full stories. Bands like the Kinks tried unifying songs with imperceivable segues and tone.

Aqualung delivers a consistent tone. Sometimes the songs fluctuate between soft acoustic and hard rock, other times the individual pieces grow through progressive layering. The harder and more social pieces employ metric modulation, and the religious ones dabble in the chordal modulations of spiritual music. The acoustic songs are less folk than singer-songwriter stylings. The album revels in its contrasts. We get riff-rock ready-made for Madison Square Garden, and intimate nylon string fingerings to burn toast to.

Ian Anderson’s lyrics are filled with rich, detailed imagery, regardless of how pretentious critic Robert Christgau found him. The band mix progressive rock, hard rock, folk music, jazz, classical, and even medieval and pagan music, along with what Anderson would call “ugly changes of time signature and banal instrumental passages” on the Thick as a Brick album notes.

This Was

Jethro Tull formed in 1967, the same year Anderson took up the flute, on a whim. After realizing as a guitarist, he “was never going to be as good as Eric Clapton,” Ian “parted company with my Fender Strat, whose previous owner was Lemmy Kilmister, who was then the rhythm guitar player for the Rockin’ Vickers,” Anderson told Classic Rock. He then “bought a flute, for no good reason. It just looked nice and shiny.” Energized by Pink Floyd’s The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper, the band was able to drop the twelve-bar blues songs which led to non-pop record deals in London.

Anderson got the name Jethro Tull from the 18th-century agriculturist who invented the seed-drill, which gave birth to modern agriculture. Their first album, This Was, was blues, but the band distinguished itself, especially live. They were the first band to perform at The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus, though their part was mimed, with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi on guitar. Martin Barre took over for the band’s original guitarist, blues specialist Mick Abrahams, and on their 1969 album, Stand Up, the band stood out, sounding unlike any other band. It was eclectic, incorporating Western classical, Asian music, English folk, and harder rock. The band continued experimenting melodically and rhythmically through 1970’s Benefit, which just failed to make the U.S. Top 10.

Jethro Tull has become known as a band of ever-changing instrumentalists. Aqualung was the bridge album towards reassembling one of Ian’s first bands. Anderson was 23 when he led Jethro Tull through Aqualung. When he was young, Anderson could be found in Dunfermline, Scotland, where he was born on August 10, 1947. But he was packed off to school in Blackpool, where he sang and played guitar and harmonica for The Blades in 1963. John Evans, who joined on piano, organ, and mellotron, had been a guest musician on Benefit. Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, who’d been mythologized in the songs “Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square,” “Song for Jeffrey,” and “For Micheal Collins, Jeffrey And Me,” replaced Glenn Cornick on bass. Both had been in the Blades. Barriemore Barlow, also from the early sixties band, would replace Clive Bunker on drums after Aqualung.

Tull mythology says Hammond-Hammond didn’t know the instrument and had to be taught on a note-by-note basis. He may very well have had to have been coached through each specific part he was playing. They are often incredibly intricate runs, and often go against the grain of what is expected from the bass. He had to have been familiar enough with the instrument to click in with both Clive Bunker and Barriemore Barlow, each were virtuosos with vastly different approaches to rhythm. Bunker never met a beat he couldn’t undermine for unexpected force and dynamic. Yet, he could make a 5/4 song danceable.

The ensemble playing is tight, the players moved easily through more intricate arrangements. The orchestrations are done by Dee Palmer, who later joined as a full-time member.  The British press coined the term “progressive rock” to describe bands like Frank Zappa, Yes, King Crimson and Genesis. Tull was prog, but more accessible than classical music enthusiasts Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Guitar Gods and Flute Solos

Jethro Tull is probably best known as the classic rock band with the lead flute. “Aqualung,” possibly their best-known song, has no flute. Martin Barre’s guitar solo was rated #25 in Guitar World‘s “100 Greatest Guitar Solos” reader’s poll. But it could just as easily have been a whirl of woodwind. “In those days, if you didn’t get a guitar solo in one or two takes, it might become a flute solo. It was, ‘Go in there and do it or else,” Barre told Guitar Player in a 2015 interview.

Aqualung was recorded in a large, cold-sounding studio that Island Records built in a converted church in London. Led Zeppelin were recording their fourth album in the moderate sized basement studio that had been the crypt. “The only thing I can remember about cutting the solo is that Led Zeppelin was recording next door, and as I was playing it, Jimmy Page walked into the control room and waved to me,” Barre remembered for Guitar Player. While there have been countless theories about why the players had the faceoff, both Tull and Zeppelin fans appreciate the dual pressure of the session. “And here was Jimmy, waving like mad – ‘Hey, Martin!’ – and I’m thinking, ‘I can’t wave back or I’m going to blow the solo.’”

The song “Aqualung” opens with one of the most recognizable riffs in rock, in the same league as Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water,” Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” and the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” It has been venerated and mocked in equal measure, but in all cases lovingly. It opens the song with the drama of the four-note opening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and becomes a motif.

“Aqualung” is “a tortured tangle of chords,” according to Ian, with atonal harmonies, meaning the root is open to interpretation. The chords themselves are a journey to the acoustic segment of the song, which then builds, like most songs on the album, one instrument at a time. The audio effect on the later vocals is called “telephone burbles,” which happens when all audio frequencies are removed except for a narrow band around the 1,000 hertz mark, making the voice sound like it’s coming through a megaphone. The song has a cold ending rather than a fadeout, which makes it perfect for stage performances.

Bad Intent

Ian got the title for the album and song from the TV show Sea Hunt, where the main character, played by Lloyd Bridges, wore an Aqualung for underwater breathing. Aqualung was a brand name, and the Aqualung Corporation of North America took legal action after the album came out. Artist Burton Silverman, who created the cover portrait, also sued, saying the likeness should not be used on merchandising, T-shirts, and promotional materials.

Before the codpiece and the medieval minstrel suits and lutes, Ian performed in an overcoat, which had been stolen after a concert, but has been described as looking ratty. This led to further complications of identity. Because of Tull’s manager, Terry Ellis, Silverman’s cover portrait looks like Anderson, against the singer’s wishes. “I’m not this character,” he told Louder Sound. “I’m not a homeless person. I’m a spotty middle-class English kid. I’ve never had to sleep rough on the street, and I don’t want to be pretending to be that character.”

The character Aqualung, is a homeless man like the character in Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow.” Both characters are blank slates in everyday life and can have any association imposed on them. Besides inspiring the album through her photographs of homeless people living under the railway arches on the Thames Embankment in south London, Anderson’s wife Jennie also co-wrote the lyrics. “I had feelings of guilt about the homeless, as well as fear and insecurity with people like that who seem a little scary,” Anderson told Guitar World in a 1999 interview. The lyrics have more to do with the assumptions people make of Aqualung, like his predilection for little girls or frilly panties. But he also saw the angry man as “a free spirit, who either won’t or can’t join in society’s prescribed formats.”

She’ll Do It For A Song

“Cross-Eyed Mary” didn’t only capture the attention of Aqualung, she was one of the subjects in the photographic collection of the lesser people cast into the void: a child prostitute. The song transforms her into a squinty Mary Magdalene, whose jack-knife barber abortionist drops her off at school. In the lower income neighborhood Highgate, she’s a Robin Hood figure. In wealthy Hampstead Village, which was the site of the St. Mary Magdalene House of Charity in the Victorian era, she’s a business expense. The song opens with flute and mellotron rising in rhythm and pulse until the band kicks in. The interplay between guitar and piano is delicate, and the bass line buzzes with riff-worthy changes. Iron Maiden transformed the flute part into baroque metal guitar when they covered it.

“Cheap Day Return” is the first of three short acoustic songs on the album, each under two minutes. A “cheap day return” is a reduced-price round trip train ticket, and the song was written while Ian was waiting for a connecting train on his way to visiting his father, who was seriously ill in a hospital in Blackpool. In interviews, Anderson has said the song would have been longer, but the train arrived.

“Mother Goose” opens with acoustic folk guitar under Elizabethan madrigal sounding recorders played by Barre and Hammond-Hammond, who also provides harmony vocals. The electric guitar comes in late in the song, kicking the childhood Piccadilly Circus nursery rhymes into the adult playground of Johnny Scarecrow.

“It’s only the giving which makes you what you are,” Ian sings in “Wond’ring Aloud.” The second short acoustic piece is a simple love song made grandly beautiful by the piano and string arrangement. The longer version, “Wond’ring Again,” which appears on Living In The Past (1972), reached the opposite conclusion, but kept the idealistic romance at the center of the piece.  The third acoustic piece, “Slipstream,” from side two, presses Ian’s last dime on God’s waiter to pay the tab. The song is tideless, but the unreasoning strings paddle the way out of the mess.

“Up To Me” opens not with a recognizable riff, nor a classical piano twist, but a whole hearted laugh which is as contagious as the song itself.  

Praying ‘til Next Thursday to All the Gods that You Can Count

Side two, subtitled “My God,” deals with religious hypocrisy, golden cages, and plastic crucifixes. If Jesus saves, then he’d better save himself. The song “My God” had been kicking around since at least the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. The imagery recalls William Blake and the metallic break-in sounds like Black Sabbath, both the band and the dark holiday. Once again, the song uses progressive modulation beginning with a solo acoustic guitar introduction like Evan’s piano on “Locomotive Breath.” But when Barre’s electric guitar takes over for the nylon classical fretwork, the song is full-blown metal.

Ian’s voice drips with as much disdain for organized religion as his songwriting does for musical structure. The song goes through the arpeggios of classical guitar, through hymnal chord changes, a metallic flute lead back by instruments, another flute lead back by a chorus of harmonizing bishops, inverted chromatics, and comes to a dark Pied Piper ending.

“Hymn 43” is a piano-driven soul-stirrer with enough propulsive licks to set the white man free.  Ian’s preaching to the faithless on this one, though. He bears witness in the city, on the moon and on that bloody cross. The guitar and flute interplay works like a gospel call and response, and Ian’s voice stings with insinuation.

If you want to hear Ian play electric guitar, you should give another listen to the rhythm on “Locomotive Breath.” He’s also on the hi-hat and bass drum which he laid out for the basic rhythm, allowing Bunker space for tom-toms and the cymbals. The song opens with Evan giving a jazzy spin to dramatic classical concerto piano. The song, which is about overpopulation, rhythmically careens like a train about to derail. It is a concert favorite and frequent showstopper.

“Wind Up” asks this God a question and learns it’s “not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.” The song is structured to grow on you, and age well. It begins with acoustic guitar and vocal, which is joined by the rest of the outfit until the climactic solos, and then reminiscences a second time symmetrically with piano grounding the build-up. In a fairly straightforward song, Bunker plays everything but a straight beat.

Anderson concludes, in the liner notes which are cast in liturgical-style Gothic lettering, the Spirit that caused man to create his God lives on, but goes unnoticed. He advises listeners, “for Christ’s sake,” to start looking. The album has been pilloried and praised by people of all faiths and none. The title song gave a face to the homeless and inspired grassroots organizations to create aid. Musically, it is a constant irritation to sitcom characters and an equally steady inspiration to players. In spite of having to explain how flute was a heavy metal instrument after winning the Grammy for 1987 Crest of a Knave, Jethro Tull was a huge influence on heavy metal and hard rock. Even the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon ranks Aqualung among his favorite records.

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It may be dinosaur rock to some, but Aqualung is far from extinct. Tracks like “Aqualung”, “Cross-Eyed Mary, “Hymn #43” and “Locomotive Breath” take up the bulk of Jethro Tull’s playlist on classic rock media outlets. After 50 years, Aqualung can still blow a wheezy breath of fresh air into stale misconceptions, even if he does have snot running down his nose.

The post Aqualung at 50: Jethro Tull’s Half Concept Album Hits Half a Century appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine ‎- Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine (1970, Les Disques Pierre Cardin - CAR 333 U, Fra)

Phil Woods is surely among the most respected names in the history of Jazz. He played and recorded with seminal figures of bebop but also with a vast batch of contemporary Jazz artists and of more alternative forms of this genre. From his immense legacy of collaborations one can highlight Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Dizzie Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Quincy Jones, Zoot Sims, Lee Konitz, Jean-Luc Ponty, Tom Harrell, John Riley and Hal Galper, among many others. In addition to his numerous contributions as sideman, it is equally relevant that Woods has led his own bands since the mid-1950s, through which he refreshed the bop tradition with his compositions and captivating solos.

Woods' style on the alto saxophone helped define a school of post-Charlie Parker stylists in the line of musicians like Cannonball Adderley. Parker's basic vocabulary has been extended to a broader phrasing, and Woods’ full-bodied tone, occasionally decorated by growls and other blues inflections, makes him an exciting and easily recognizable performer.

Leaving behind a promising career in the United States as leader and sideman, Woods headed to Europe, believing that this would be a healthier place for a jazz musician (both politically and culturally). And it was in Paris, in a short time, that Woods formed his European Rhythm Machine with Daniel Humair on drums, Henri Texier on bass and George Gruntz on piano (later replaced by Gordon Beck).

Released by the almost unknown label founded by fashion designer Pierre Cardin, and later by the American Inner City, "Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine" reveals a new phase of Woods' career as musician and composer. While not a very representative record for his more traditional followers, this studio debut with his European lineup is surely a work relevant to Phil Woods' more exploratory career and to Jazz made in the old continent.

Under the artistic direction of Emmanuel "Pinpin" Sciot, the peculiar illustration of the cover (and back cover) was left to an English artist mainly known for the creation of strange mechanical inventions. In a kind of satire to technological evolution, Rowland Emett created the funny information system "Fleur Bleue", imagined for Honeywell Inc.

With regard to music, the introduction is made to the sound of "Chromatic Banana", certainly the most representative of the themes of this album. Over the course of 12 minutes, Wood and his peers give birth to a varied palette of sounds ranging from an intense and rhythmic jazz fusion to more atmospheric moments. Under the excellent marking of Texier and Humair, and a keyboard that transports us to the psychadelic frames of "Bitches Brew", Woods' saxophone brings this piece closer to the avant-garde territories. In the second half, the theme incurs to moments of a pleasant improvisation, with an immense solo by Texier accompanied by his voice in a sort of scat-singing. "C'est pas mal", one can hear at the end, before a new attack by the quartet takes place.

By Gordon Beck, "Ultimate Choice" is based on a piano-saxophone dialogue, where Woods' straight-ahead bop register is elaborated under a fast and complex structure. Resembling the flight of a fly, the saxophonist's thrilling attacks are balanced with a rhythmic section marked by a captivating enthusiasm that culminates in a great drum solo.

On a warmer tone, the B-side begins with Phil Woods's well-known composition "The Last Page", recreated here with a sonority marked by Gordon Beck's keyboards, but also by Woods' approach with instruments such as the clarinet and the Varitono sax (in addition to the alto saxophone). In a compositional combo, "The Last Page" merges Gordon Beck's "Sans Melodie," on a bridge between a classic ballad and a more bop/rock beat.

Through ways with a progressive rock hint, the short "A Look Back" (that connects to the final theme) is marked by Phil Woods' spontaneity and exploratory sense in an adventure with the use of a tape recorder and a varied percussion. Finally, in another theme by Beck, "The Day When the World ..." is introduced to the folk flavor of the Hohner electric piano progressing to a rhythmic rock-fusion. Concluding in an original way, the musicians are introduced (in English and French) by one of Phil Woods' sons that ends like this: - "From America, my dad Phil Woods on alto saxophone". - "Non, c'est mon Pápá, Philippe du Bois, from France!"

For all this, one can say we stand before a pleasant mix of a straight bebop with moments of a more avant-garde experimentation. The music of this record is unpredictable, spiritual, exciting and full of surprises, with Gordon Beck in great shape and Phil Woods thinking "out of the box" but without losing his identity. In fact, Gordon Beck's keyboards (piano and organ) and the more liberating forms adopted by Phil Woods seem to be the main points of distinction of this session. However, the remaining members can not be disassociated from the overall sound of this date. Henri Texier's fluent and inventive forms (bass, flutes, percussion and voice) as well as Daniel Humair's creativity and polyrhythmic approach (drums and percussion) are equally crucial elements for the more exploratory vein emerging from this session.

Among various curiosities there is a transcription (in the inner cover) of a correspondence received from an admirer disappointed with the new direction Phil Woods was taking on this album. "What happened? Where's the melody? What the hell is a Chromatic Banana" are some of the questions to wich Woods answers in a somewhat jocular tone. Moreover, along the liner notes it can also be found several hilarious comments that show the joviality and the good mood reigning during the making of this recording.

One of the greatest bop saxophonists of all time, Phil Woods had a long and productive career but his passage through Europe would definitely mark his artistic progression. Although he has again changed direction after returning to the United States, the creative and colorful music he played during his stay in Europe (even though not being consensual to his followers) represents an undeniable reference in his career.

Mister W

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*** Portuguese Version ***

Phil Woods é seguramente um dos nomes mais respeitados da história do Jazz. Tocou e gravou com figuras seminais do bebop mas também com um vasto lote de artistas do jazz contemporâneo e de outras formas mais alternativas deste género. Do seu imenso legado de colaborações podemos destacar Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Dizzie Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Quincy Jones, Zoot Sims, Lee Konitz, Jean-Luc Ponty, Tom Harrell, John Riley e Hal Galper, entre muitos outros. Para além das suas inúmeras contribuições como sideman, é igualmente relevante o facto de Woods ter liderado as suas próprias bandas desde meados da década de 1950, através das quais refrescou a tradição bop com as suas composições e solos contagiantes.

O estilo de Woods no saxofone alto ajudou a definir uma escola de estilistas pós Charlie Parker na linha de músicos como Cannonball Adderley. O vocabulário básico de Parker foi extendido a um fraseado mais amplo e o tom encorpado de Woods, ocasionalmente decorado por rosnados e outras inflexões pelo blues, faz dele um executante excitante e facilmente reconhecível.

Abandonando uma carreira promissora nos Estados Unidos como leader e sideman, Woods rumou á Europa, acreditando que esta seria um lugar mais saudável para um músico de jazz (tanto política como culturalmente). E foi em Paris, num curto espaço de tempo, que Woods formou a sua European Rhythm Machine com Daniel Humair na bateria, Henri Texier no baixo e George Gruntz no piano (mais tarde substituido por Gordon Beck).

Editado pela quase desconhecida editora discográfica fundada pelo desenhador de alta-costura Pierre Cardin, e mais tarde pela norte americana Inner City, “Phil Woods And His European Rhythm Machine” revela-nos uma nova fase da carreira de Woods como músico e compositor. Mesmo não sendo um disco muito representativo para os seus seguidores mais tradicionais, esta estreia de estúdio com a sua formação Europeia é seguramente uma obra relevante para a carreira mais exploratória de Phil Woods e para o Jazz feito no velho continente.

Sob a direcção artística de Emmanuel “Pinpin” Sciot, a peculiar ilustração da capa (e contra-capa) foi deixada a cargo de um artista inglês conhecido sobretudo pela criação de estranhas invenções mecânicas. Numa espécie de sátira á evolução tecnológica, Rowland Emett dá aso à sua imaginação com um divertido desenho do computador “Fleur Bleue”, imaginado para a Honeywell Inc.

Quanto á música, a introdução faz-se ao som de “Chromatic Banana”, por certo o mais representativo dos temas deste àlbum. Ao longo de 12 minutos, Wood e os seus pares dão corpo a uma variada palete de sons que variam entre um Jazz de fusão, intenso e ritmado, e momentos de maiores contornos atmosféricos. Sob a excelente marcação de Texier e Humair, e um teclado que nos transporta para o psicadelismo de discos como “Bitches Brew”, o saxofone de Woods eleva esta peça para territórios mais próximos do jazz avant-garde. Na segunda metade, o tema incorre por momentos de uma agradável libertação improvisacional, com um imenso solo de Texier acompanhado pela sua voz (ao que se julga) em jeito de scat-singing. “C'est pas mal”, ouve-se no final, antes de uma nova investida do quarteto.

Da autoria de Gordon Beck, “Ultimate Choice” tem por base um diálogo piano/saxofone alto, onde o registo mais bopiano de Woods é fundido sob uma estrutura rápida e complexa. Assemelhando-se ao vôo de um moscardo, as investidas alucinantes do saxofonista são equilibradas por uma secção rítmica marcada por um entusiasmo captivante que culmina num belo solo de bateria.

Numa toada morna, o lado B tem início com a conhecida composição de Phil Woods “The Last Page”, aqui recriada com uma sonoridade marcada pelos teclados de Gordon Beck mas também pela abordagem de Woods que aqui recorre a instrumentos como o clarinete e o saxofone varitono (para além do habitual alto). Numa combo composicional, "The Last Page” funde-se com “Sans Melodie" de Gordon Beck, numa ponte entre a balada e um ritmo mais bop/rock.

Por caminhos com laivos de rock progressivo, o curto "A Look Back" (que estabelece a ligação ao tema final) é marcado pela espontaneidade e sentido exploratório de Phil Woods numa aventura com o recurso a um gravador e a uma percussão variada. Por fim, em mais um tema da autoria de Beck, "The Day When the World..." é introduzido ao sabor folk do piano eléctrico Hohner para se deslocar para um ritmado rock de fusão. Concluindo de uma forma original, os músicos são apresentados (em inglês e francês) por um dos filhos de Phil Woods que termina desta forma: -“From America, my dad Phil Woods on alto saxophone”. -”Non, c'est mon Pápá, Philippe du Bois, from France!”

Por tudo isto, podemos dizer que estamos perante uma agradável mistura de um bop mais direto com momentos de uma experimentação mais vanguardista. A música deste registo é imprevisível, espirituosa, estimulante e cheia de surpresas, com um Gordon Beck em grande nível e um Phil Woods a pensar “fora da caixa”, sem no entanto perder a sua identidade. Efectivamente, os teclados (piano e orgão) de Gordon Beck e as formas mais libertadoras adoptadas por Phil Woods, parecem constituir as principais marcas diferenciadoras desta sessão. Contudo, os restantes membros não podem de forma alguma ser desassociados da sonoridade global deste trabalho. As formas fluentes e inventivas de Henri Texier (contra-baixo, flautas, percussão e voz) bem como a criatividade e a abordagem poli-rítmica de Daniel Humair (bateria e percussão) são elementos igualmente cruciais para a veia mais exploratória que ressalta desta sessão.

De entre os vários detalhes curiosos, destaca-se uma transcrição (na capa interior) de uma correspondêcia recebida de um admirador descontente com a nova direcção que Phil Woods decidira tomar neste álbum. “What happened? Where's the melody? What the hell is a Chromatic Banana” são algumas das perguntas que Woods faz questão de responder com uma divertida abordagem num tom algo jocoso. De resto, ao longo das notas do disco, são vários os comentários hilariantes que deixam transparecer a jovialidade e o clima da boa disposição reinante durante a feitura desta gravação.

Um dos maiores saxofonistas “bop” de todos os tempos, Phil Woods teve uma carreira longa e produtiva mas a sua passagem pela Europa viria a marcar em definitivo o seu percurso no jazz. Embora tenha novamente mudado de direcção depois de regressar aos Estados Unidos, a música criativa e colorida que tocou durante a sua estadia na Europa (mesmo não sendo consensual junto dos seus seguidores) constitui uma inegável marca de referência no seu percurso artístico.

Mister W

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MUSC2653 Assignment 3 - Blog Post

Artistic Vision?

My artistic vision was to make the listener contemplate the Australian bushfires at the beginning of 2020.  I wanted the listener to see how the bushfires had a global impact, not only with news coverage the world over, but also in the way that the fires displayed the negative trajectory that our world is on if we continued to ignore climate change. My artistic vision included a non-traditional execution, as I did not want to make the music sound just stereotypically sad and slow. I wanted the music to actually be more up-beat and catch the listeners attention in the ways that I would have re-invented the Passacaglia, the same way that I wanted to grasp the listener’s attention on the bushfire’s devastating impact. I felt that if I were to make a remix that sounded stereotypically sad, it would not stand out amongst the many other similar pieces of art aimed at showing the tragedy of the fires, and the listener might not truly be interested. I wanted to input shorter snippets of the original passacaglia recording to show the sadness, but then re-invent the music and make it very active to show the madness of nature’s response to society’s negligence to the environment. I worked on the remix in sessions, and below I have outlined the process diary of the first draft.

First Draft:

Session 1:

Introduction:

I began first with the original material of the passacaglia, taking the very first few sections of the original recording and placing it at the beginning of my remix. I made slight adjustments in the EQ to give more ambience in the sound, and this would serve to introduce the main chord progression of the original, or the material that I have developed on. Then I wanted to capture the audience’s attention, almost using the original passacaglia recording to mislead the listener into assuming the character of the piece is sad and the tempo is slow. I made a swell with a shimmering textured ‘wave space’ from the sound library and repeated a short sample of the more dissonant end of the passacaglia progression. I felt that the swell into the first section would be even more intriguing with a contemplative line of dialogue perhaps hinting at what the context of what artistic vision, but not completely giving away the topic of the bushfires. I inserted the line “It’s been an interesting year” from an interview on the Australian bushfires. This would help trigger interest in the audience and keep them listening intently in anticipation for elaboration on what exactly I was taking about.

Screenshot of Introduction:

Session 2:

Section 1:

To depict the madness in my artistic vision, I first turned to a more active bass part, using faster notes and rhythmic syncopations whilst still retaining the general chord progression of the passacaglia (although I did add a dominant E major at the very end of the chord progression in order to have a very strong sense of harmonic direction). I wanted to make the bass more interesting and to have much more engaging textures, almost to give the bass a ‘satiric’ character amongst a more serious tone of the topic, so I used a double bass from the sound library for a warmer and ‘plucked -stringed’ sonority. I doubled that with a muted electric bass to enlarge the texture and depth of sound.

For the main melodic line of the piece, I used the original notes and range from the passacaglia. These more inviting and interesting sound qualities would be used for middle-ground placement. The main melodic line of the piece would retain the same rhythmic values as the original with crotchets and quavers but would not be syncopated as in the original. I did this to have more definition in the overall pulse of the music, which would help depict the directness of issue. I wanted a resonant sound to contrast the sound quality of the bass, so I went for ‘liquid synth keys’ in the sound library, and this contrast would define the main melody as the foreground.

To fill out the overall range of the piece and develop a more diverse range of sound effects in my background, I used a combination of thin and tinny sounding synth piano sounds and warmer, more sweet Wurlitzer classic synth pianos. I varied between these two in the first section depending on what assumed the foreground. I would use the thinner synth for when I had the resonant main melody, but I would use the Wurlitzer warmth for when I had dialogue. Thus, in this section the madness would be explored in the satirical activity of the bass and helped with thinner, shimmering sound effects, and the sadness would be explored in the wistful character of the main melody and encouraged by the resonance of synth sound effects.

Screenshot of 1st Section:

Transition to Next Section:

To keep interest in the piece, I wanted to music to gasp into the next section. This way, I would grasp the listener’s attention again, which is actually ‘word-painted’ in the line “when the fires affected them that’s what got the world’s attention”. I also wanted this transition to be more significant by having no music in the background, and thus reducing the texture suddenly for dramatic effect. This would anticipate the next section which was to be a change in mood.

Screenshot of Transition:

Session 2:

Section 2 – 1st Half:

In this next section, I wanted to contrast the mood of the first by making more of a sad character for the first half. To express the sadness of my artistic vision, I tried to further re-invent the bass by making it less active, holding longer more sustained notes but retaining the same chord progression. This line was put lower in the range of my remix, and I adjusted the EQ to have a more distorted, mutated and disgruntled bass, the harshness of sound of which was to depict the harshness of the bushfire’s heat. This would make the bass of this section the background layer.

The middle ground was the dialogue, which I took from news reports on the fires. The dialogue was to be presented like in the first section, with medium lengths of the audio files but I would sample shorter fragments of previous spoken dialogue and repeat them. This would be to keep the listening experience un-even, as the listener might have anticipated new dialogue to elaborate on from previous information present in another fragment, but that elaboration is presented later. This slight in-coherence and almost confusion was used to depict the haze of the smoke that would emerge from the fires, where the billowing white smoke would cover cities all over Australia and paint the sky ‘apocalyptic’ red.

Joining the dialogue in the middle ground, I used a ‘synth bell’ thin, piercing texture from the sound library to contrast the textures of the thicker bass. I then quoted the melodic material from the middle section of the passacaglia, which is the same as the melody of the first section just a third higher. I then explored greater diversities of sound by placing the same melody with a harp setting and a marimba setting from the sound library.

In this half-section, the melody would be the foreground, the bass the middle-ground and the sound effects and the dialogue being the background. The melody would now be more ‘active’ with a greater variety of ‘toy instrument’ sounds like the marimba and the harp, almost comically piercing to depict the madness, whilst the bass depicted the sadness, and thus inverting the roles of the 1st section.

Screenshot of Section 2 – 1st Half

Session 3:

Section 2 – 2nd Half:

Towards the end of the 1st half, I stumbled upon an idea where I displaced the harp and marimba melodies, so it sounded like a canon. I decided to expand on this further in the second half by adding a third voice with a plucked synth texture from the sound library. I built up to the three-voice canon by gradually layering each melody and building the texture. I re-invented the bass further to give it more activity with more leaping intervals. I combined aspects of instrumentation from both the first half and the first section, by using the mutated bass sound and the double bass sound from the first section together. The bass and the melodic materials would then be the foreground. For the middle ground I added the ‘Wurlitzer’ sound from the first section, where it plays moving thirds and expands on the harmonies implied by the new bass progression. Overall, I wanted this entire half section to be a gradual build up to a very thick texture with lots of frantic activity in each layer. This was thus created with a gradual build-up of melodic voices to the canon, paired with the jumping bass and gradually increasing textures in the background, as I was trying to depict how the bush-fires could grow exponentially and spread very quickly until chaotic. I also used repeating samples of dialogue under different ambiences, and then layered long speeches of dialogue over each other to further this idea.

Screenshot of 2nd Section – 2nd Half

Transition into 3rd Section:

Just like the first transition, I wanted the texture to suddenly decrease and for another poignant line to be made. The line would be “so for me its been a long year, of realising how nature can strike back”. In the background of the original dialogue sound source, there was a pedal swell on the note A, so I expanded on that by doubling two sets of organ sounds that gradually crescendo with the audio file. At this point, I had not started a third section, but I assumed that this swell would be a good transition, just like I believed it was for the introduction at the very start.

Screenshot of Transition into 3rd Section:

Second Draft

After I had received feedback from my teacher, I made changes to my piece. This was the first way that I sought advice from an external source on how to improve my remix. Below are the rest of the sessions I had on the remix working to improve different sections, as well as some reflections on the challenges and inspirations I had along the way.

Session 4:

Introduction to Section 1:

My teacher informed me that I should use audio files of dialogue from aesthetically pleasing or good quality sound sources. If possible, I should try to make the voice quality of the person talking much more pleasing. I found a better voice quality, but changed the line to “in 2020, Australians have been tested like never before”, which I believe is still poignant enough to still capture the audience’s attention.

Screenshot of Introduction (Revised):

Introduction in Section 2:

My teacher informed me that whilst he liked my transformations of the original passacaglia, if the listener had never heard the original piece before, they might not be able to appreciate all the re-inventions I made and thus the correlation between the original and my remix would be absent from a ‘lay-man’ listener’s perspective. So, I decided to add more of the original passacaglia recording, but I wanted a sample from a different part of the piece to what I used in the introduction, and so I used audio from the section where the main melody is first heard. This helped demonstrate the original context from where my remix has been forged, and to re-enforce the ‘sadness’ aspect of my artistic vision. I found this a little bit challenging however, as I was originally thinking of more complex ways of integrating this that would seem more purposeful and effective. This was also challenging because in the first draft I had not completed the minimum 6 minutes, so I wasn’t exactly sure about where my potential third section would go. I tried to slow down or significantly alter the EQ and the sound of the original, but it was very difficult to do and eventually I realised that I in fact needed the original untouched because that’s how the listener will fully comprehend the original. If I were to alter it too much, it would still seem distant from the remix’s reinventions. In this way, the act of trying to alter the original file was a dead-end.

I have previously mentioned that I wanted to take a less stereotypically sad and slow approach to the remix, but I later realised that having more short clips of the original might work better to allow the audience to feel the sadness more sincerely, as otherwise the frequency of the ‘comically satiric’ nature of the rest of the remix might mis-communicate my intentions. I had even tried to look for solutions on YouTube, following many tutorials on how to make samples slower or more distorted, but in the end it was still very difficult for me to do. Therefore, I originally failed to effectively communicate the overall characterisation of the remix in my first draft.

Also, extending these transitions with the samples from the original passacaglia recording also helped to improve structural definition in my remix. My teacher commented on how it felt better to re-introduce the audio if I already had it at the very beginning, because it helped the audience have time to absorb all the things they just experienced in the previous section before moving on. Otherwise, the fast changes between dramatic sections could make everything sound less significant. From this feedback, I was inspired to make changes to all my transitions.

My teacher also recommended that I vary the content of my dialogue a bit more. This would better show that this was a global issue in terms of demonstrating the overall re-percussions of climate change, as I originally wanted to in my artistic vision. He suggested that I could have news reports with people speaking in different accents. This way, by showing the global news coverage of the bushfires, I would allow the listener to contemplate the vast severity of the fires better, as the natural assumption is to think the fires would still have only effected or be relevant to Australia. I used an American news report comparing the amount of land the bushfires had destroyed to the sizes of American states.

The need to find a wider variety of news reports influenced my recording strategies. I mostly found these clips from YouTube, so the strategy I used to record these was just to use my iPhone voice memo app. The sound quality was not the clearest but that actually helped as each of the dialogue samples I had, I wanted to sound a little distorted and a little ambient, especially during sections where I quoted the original Passacaglia recording directly. These non-ideal sound qualities helped enhance the sadness and harshness of sound that I wanted to elaborate on from my artistic vision. Moreover, I had to use this recording strategy as it was the easiest way to quickly and effectively record samples, as many times I found it challenging to find news reports or speech in a documentary that did not already have background music, and so as soon as I was finally able to find the perfect sample, I recorded it straight away.

Screenshot of Introduction into Section 2 (revised):

Session 5:

2nd Section:

My teacher suggested that I use my dialogue more effectively, where I should try and place longer samples or more text over music that wasn’t too active underneath. This would mean that I could more effectively manage texture roles, where the text and main melodic material could take turns assuming the foreground, and the dramatic potentials of the music would be better realised. So, I placed longer text sequences over less thick musical textures and used much shorter fragments of audio samples when the musical textures were more active. In the first half, I included a British news report of the Australian fires which described the smoke of the fires being seen from Chile. This further enhanced the depiction of the fires and of climate change as a global issue. I used fragments of 3 of the news reports that the listener would have previously heard, with the words “fires”, “kill” and “awake at night”. These fragments were not only to increase dramatic effect but were also used to compound the gradual increase and over-condensation of musical textures and activity that I was aiming for at the end of the 2ndsection in depicting the large and quick chaotic growth of the fires. I also panned each layer of the texture slightly different, so that not only could you hear each layer distinctly even when over-condensed, but also to create a more multi-dimensional listening experience. I was inspired to use the panning here, and then consequently in subtle ways throughout the remix, from videos on YouTube that talked about how to make your song or remix more multi-dimensional.

Screenshot of 2nd Section (top half – revised):

Screenshot of 2nd Section (lower half – revised):

Session 6:

Transition into 3rd section

Just like the transition into the 2nd section, I extended the transition into the 3rd section with more of the original passacaglia. However, I needed to have a clear idea of a 3rd section if I was going to continue this piece and make this transition significant. I decided to make this section about people’s response to the fires, specifically the reaction of celebrities, as I believed that more than the people who are the most effected by the issue, those with fame and a platform are focused on in giving a response to the issue. I focused on the coverage of the issue from the golden globes. I included a speech by an actress in the transition into the third section to show the awareness that people now have of the dangers of climate change. I found it challenging however to incorporate a new section in the middle of the remix, as I would often have to select all the tracks from a certain point on and shift them further ahead in the remix. This was also difficult to repeatedly do, as sometimes I realised that I wanted more or less extra space for developing or adding a new section and so I’d have to shift all the tracks again and again.

Screenshot of Transition into 3rd section (revised):

Third section:

I originally found it very challenging to think of what to create for the third section, as the ideas for the first two flowed pretty easily. I found that I wanted to make a new point in the remix’s topic. I wanted to make the third section very much a reprise of the first in terms of melodic content. I wasn’t focused on re-inventing the music yet another way as much as I was trying to round of the piece with content that was familiar to the listener at that stage in the remix.

The transition into the 3rd section was to foreshadow talking about the response from people to the fires and to the issue of climate change. However, I wanted to make the listener consider more of the complexities in people’s responses, and I brought up the debate of how people of fame and power may try and help after the damage is done, but they do not see the warning signs and act beforehand so that the issue can be prevented in the first place. This debate was central to the golden globes award ceremony that took place around the same time as the bushfires.

I was also inspired to make the textual content of this section after watching news reports on bushfire victims’ interactions with the prime minister. The scene of their homes having been destroyed, and the men, women and children being tired and disturbed contrasted to the government officials in suits and clean clothing, that after trying so hard to shake hands with unwilling people, would leave knowing that they would have homes to go back to. In the third section I took another news report, as well as a speech from the host of the awards that criticised how celebrities and people in power pretended to be empathetic and considerate of the devastating impact that world issues had, when they themselves were not the most affected, and thus their speeches seemed insincere.

Otherwise, the musical material was all the same of the first section. I ended on the poignant line of “that’s what keeps me awake at night”, because I believed that this issue should truly make us re-consider how we approach climate change and that we should begin solving this issue before we have to deal with the consequences.

Screen shot of 3rd Section (top half):

Screen shot of 3rd Section (bottom half):

  I was struck in seeing “The Great Society,” which depicts President Lyndon Johnson’s turbulent full term in office, how Robert Shenkkan’s play represents political theater in more ways than one.

Now, search the news these days for the phrase “political theater” and it is used as an accusation by people on the political right: The young people demonstrating to demand something be done for climate change, the antagonists say, are “props in political theater.” Above all, they label the impeachment inquiry of President Trump as “political theater”

We live in such a polarized time in our history that we can’t even agree on the meaning of words – as the theater artist known as Dyalekt pointed out in his (political) show, which I saw last week, The Museum of Dead Words. But I suppose political theater has long meant different things to different people. Political theater on stage is as old as theater. The Ancient Greek satires are said to have influenced public opinion, and Shakespeare is full of the politics of his day. The British critic Michael Billington recently named the Bard’s “Coriolanus” as  number one on his list of favorite political theater of all time (or, since he’s British, his favourite political theatre.)

Political theater is currently happening on and off the stage in New York – and throughout the world. London, for example, is reportedly full of new political plays: In  “Hansard” by Simon Woods, a couple during the Thatcher era bicker over politics in a way that critics see as commenting on the current Brexit polarization; “A Very Expensive Poison” a chlling satire by Lucy Prebble, features an actor portraying Russian Vladimir Putin and riffs on the 2006 murder in the UK by radioactive poison of the onetime Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko; “Faith Hope and Charity” by Alexander  show the people desperate for a meal who gather at a community center that may soon be shut down.

New York has always been a center of political theater – both on stage, and off stage, and a hybrid of the two. Both Arian Moayed and Robert Schenkkan have dramatized politicized issues  using verbatim transcripts  — in, respectively, “The Courtroom,” about a deportation case, and “The Investigation,” about the Mueller Report.

That’s why I Tweeted this a week ago

The non-verbatim transcript of call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, in which Trump urges him to investigate Biden.

How long will it take before a theater artist — @ROBERTSCHENKKAN? @ArianMoayed? — produces a staged reading of it?https://t.co/gVxdPlzuvz pic.twitter.com/1ywBOjl7d1

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) September 25, 2019

“The Great Society” both embodies and depicts political theater.

There is the speech that Brian Cox as LBJ gives near the end of the play, which is verbatim announce that Johnson delivered in 1968:

“I feel strongly that I should not permit the Presidency to become involved in the partisan divisions that are developing in this political year. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”

Since the play opened on Broadway exactly a week after the launch of the impeachment inquiry against the 45th president, it’s hard to avoid wondering whether The Great Society is intentionally designed to offer a contrast between the two men. After all, it’s impossible to imagine Trump voluntarily saying a single word from that announcement.

But the play also includes something of a subplot in the ways that Martin Luther King Jr. (portrayed by Grantham Coleman, pictured above in a clash in Chicago) pushed for civil rights, and especially for voting rights. He did so by….political theater: “We have to up the stakes. We’ve got to make people aware.” Political theater makes people aware. Even LBJ saw that (at least in the play): “We don’t disagree on tactics, Dr. King, just on timing.”

There are other plays about politics, and politicians coming up this month, such as Bella Bella, Harvey Fierstein’s solo show about Rep. Bella Abzug

October 2019 New York Theater Openings

New York Theater Quiz for September

The Week in New York Theater Reviews

The Great Society

The Great Society…is a sequel to All The Way, the Tony-winning play that was on Broadway five years ago (and is currently being shown on Netflix.) It starred Brian Cranston and chronicled the first year of LBJ’s presidency, starting in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and ending with LBJ’s election. The new play offers some of the same pleasures. It too employs a big cast — 19 actors portraying some 50 characters — for a sweeping lesson in history and politics. It is smoothly directed, competently acted, and often fascinating, But it is ultimately less satisfying than All The Way.

Why?

Those for whom theater is their religion are more likely to appreciate “Why?,” a 70-minute theater piece about theater that, aptly, begins with a whimsically modified Biblical tale: God proclaims “There shall be theater” on the seventh day, because the humans had gotten bored on the day of rest….Written and directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne, “Why?” is less a play than a kind of elliptical lecture-demonstration of, and paean to, the beauty and danger of the theatrical arts…more

The Height of the Storm

The same playwright who gave us “The Father” with a demented Frank Langella and “The Mother” with a depressed and possibly deranged Isabelle Huppert now offers us…dead Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins?  Or maybe just one of them is dead? Or maybe neither?… Maybe we’re the ones who are dead – or wish we were by the end of “The Height of The Storm.”….

Both British actors of great renown… offer memorable moments of emotional power and clarity…But their performances were not enough compensation for sitting through Zeller’s trickster writing, which feels progressively less like a sensibility and more like a shtick.

Antigone

Ethereal, stylized and visually stunning, Japanese director Satoshi Miyagi’s production of “Antigone,” at the Park Avenue Armory through October 6, fuses several theatrical traditions, some of them thousands of years old, some newly created. Twenty-nine performers, ghostly in flowing white kimonos, glide slowly and gracefully through the ankle-deep water that covers the stage of the Armory’s massive Drill Hall. Placed around them in this pool of shimmering water (made with 18,000 gallons of water) are boulders, meant to resemble a Buddhist stone garden. This is the setting in which Sophocles’ 2,500-year-old play unfolds….more

  The Museum of Dead Words

The artist known as Dyalekt (pronounced dialect) greets us looking like a young Allen Ginsberg in his Yippie Uncle Sam phase, holding up a bucket labeled “dead words,” asking us for words that we don’t think work anymore. He will be our rapping guide to The Museum of Dead Words, which is not really a museum and not really about dead words. It is a show about 11 red-hot words that are used in combat rather than conversation….more

Work in Progress: A Hill on Which to Drown

Three generations of black, queer theater artists – actor André De Shields, 73; playwright Kevin R. Free, who is 50;  and director Zhailon Levingston, 25 —  are collaborating on a play about a black, queer character inspired by August Wilson’s Century Cycle. From the very first Wilson play he ever saw, a community theater production of “Fences” in the early 1990s, Free has had the same two reactions to  Wilson’s epic 10-play cycle, each play taking place in a different decade in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

“I love the productions I’ve seen, but have never really felt a part of the world,” Free says. “The Cycle is genius, beautiful and resonant, but it features no fictional LGBTQIA* characters.”

So Free set out to create one.

The Week in New York Theater News

Here’s the stellar cast just announced for Sondheim/Weidman Assassins at Classic Stage Company next Spring:

  “Girl from the North Country,” an Off-Broadway musical set to a score of Bob Dylan songs, will feature Jay O. Sanders when it moves to Broadway, opening in March, along with original cast members Todd Almond, Jeannette Bayardelle, Matthew Frederick Harris, Caitlin Houlahan, Robert Joy, Marc Kudisch, Luba Mason, Ben Mayne, Tom Nelis, David Pittu, Colton Ryan, John Schiappa, Kimber Elayne Sprawl, Rachel Stern, Chelsea Lee Williams and Mare Winningham

Theater artist Annie Dorsen is one of this year’s 26 winners of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grants

Ben Platt at Marie’s Crisis

“Thanks to The Politician on Netflix, Marie’s Crisis Is suddenly the hottest piano bar on TV” (Is there much competition?)

A look at Patreon and its founder musician/techie Jack Conte

Here’s how Patreon works: You, a creator in search of funds, keep producing and distributing things wherever you usually do—Medium, SoundCloud, YouTube, whatever. But you also set up a Patreon page and direct your fans there in the hope that they will become your “patrons,” committing themselves to recurring monthly payments. (Unlike on Kickstarter, where supporters pitch in toward the completion of an individual project, on Patreon the money goes toward a creator’s ongoing output and livelihood generally.) In turn, Patreon encourages creators to treat these patrons less like charitable benefactors and more like members who have purchased admission to a club—entitling them to exclusive perks, whether it’s gated chat sessions, bonus content, or early peeks at a work in progress.

The 17th annual Broadway Stands Up For Freedom, benefit concert for ACLU/NYCLU, on Monday October 28 at The Town Hall,  will have the theme “My Body, My Business” and feature performances by Kelli O’Hara, Phillipa Soo, Montego Glover,  Eva Noblezada among others.  The concert is directed by Tony-winning director Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown).

Jessye Norman, regal American soprano, has died at 74

  🙏🏾❤️ https://t.co/ztcTRKa19V pic.twitter.com/JIyE46wL9q

— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) October 1, 2019

Political Theater in an Impeachable Age. #Stageworthy News of the Week I was struck in seeing "The Great Society," which depicts President Lyndon Johnson’s turbulent full term in office, how Robert Shenkkan’s play represents political theater in more ways than one.

Thank You, St. Louis!

I know 2018 was a rough one in many ways, but in my position as artsy-cynic-optimist, I can't help but see a lot of awesomeness in 2018.

What a year of New Line shows! One of my most loved shows, the classic Anything Goes; the wild, new(-ish) rock musical Yeast Nation (from the Urinetown team); and my own Zombies of Penzance. Wow, talk about variety! So many people came up to me after Anything Goes performances, saying some version of, "This has always been one of my favorite shows, but I didn't know it was so funny!" That always made me laugh. But I think it revealed something important about New Line -- we took the show seriously, its characters and plot, its themes, its satire; and what we revealed to our audiences was only what had always been there. The other secret that many directors miss -- a comedy like this is meant to keep the audience off balance, so you can't ever give them a moment to catch their breath or process the insanity before them. It was overwhelming, in all the best ways. And it was hilarious.

And Yeast Nation... well, doesn't the title say it all? I was so happy that audiences and critics embraced this crazy show, its political intrigue and social satire. We had so much fun working on this, and then Greg Kotis, one of the show's writers came to see us -- and he paid us the most amazing compliment. He said to me, "This production has really renewed my faith in the material." Could we get a nicer compliment from a show's writer...? And then, my beloved zombies. You have to understand, I love zombie movies, and also, I love Gilbert and Sullivan. So when the idea occurred to me in 2013, through a stoner's haze, to mashup the two forms, I knew that was something I wanted to work on.

I worked for five years, off and on, writing The Zombies of Penzance. Contrary to what some assumed, it's not just a sophomoric joke; as wacky as it is, it's a serious piece of writing. Just as The Pirates of Penzance is a sharp satire of the British class system, in a parallel way, The Zombies of Penzance is a satire of the Othering -- the cultural and political excluding -- of many, many Americans today, often practiced through a morally hazy film of faux Christian values. When I replaced pirates with zombies, replacing metaphorical monsters with actual monsters, it had far-reaching narrative ramifications, even though the larger arc of the story remained pretty much intact. Part of the appeal of the project to me was the experiment, the fundamental mismatch of content and form that is the central joke of the show. It's a zombie apocalypse story told in the form of wacky, English light opera. And there was also the basic massive challenge of rewriting a Gilbert and Sullivan show, which I love deeply, and to make sure I was retaining Gilbert's voice. The response from audience and critics tells me I did that pretty well. After five years, it all blossomed in 2018. We did a public reading of The Zombies of Penzance in January, and to my great surprise, we had a packed house. The amazing Sarah Nelson music directed the reading for us, the cast did a really great job with it, and the audience LOVED it. They were fully engaged with the story and characters, even though it was just a reading, with the actors holding their scores. It was so encouraging! We had a talk-back with the audience after the reading, and I learned a lot. I was happy to find that they could easily follow the revised plot, and they understood the silly logic of the story's resolution. But I also discovered that not everybody sees zombie movies. I had assumed the audience would know the basic rules of zombism, just like everybody knows the basic rules of vampirism. But that assumption was wrong. So I addressed that in my rewrites. Also, a few women said to me afterward, half-joking, half-not, "Couldn't the women win?" And I thought, "Yeah, why couldn't they?" So I rewrote the end, so it's the daughters who outsmart the zombies. I did a ton of rewrites, mostly small things, but also a few big things, like adding one song and greatly expanding another. One of the biggest lessons the reading taught me -- every time I had inserted a Joke, it was less funny than the dialogue and lyrics around it. I realized I shouldn't be inserting jokes, just telling the story, because that's already funny enough. Almost all the jokes I had stuck in got removed. The only ones that stayed were jokes that came from character. My friend and partner in crime John Gerdes meanwhile had been orchestrating the show, and had created a piano-vocal score for us to use for the reading. So after all my rewrites were done, I passed it all back to John, so he could incorporate my changes, and finish it all, write an overture, etc. We produced the show fully in October, and again, the response was so wonderful. Sarah Nelson had moved to New York, so Nic Valdez took over as music director, and all but two of the actors returned. The reviews were raves, the laughs were huge, and everybody walked out smiling or laughing. The actors and band had a great time, all our designers did really cool work, and everything turned out exactly as I had hoped.

AND THEN... we ended up publishing the script and full piano-vocal score on Amazon! And our sound designer Ryan Day asked if he could try making a live, high-quality audio recording of the show. He did, and now we've released a really great live cast album on CD (also on Amazon). It will be on the streaming services soon. AND THEN... we started getting inquiries about production rights. There's nothing settled yet in that area, but it looks likely that there will be further productions of our show! And if all that isn't cool enough, while we were running Zombies, I started writing my next fake Gilbert and Sullivan show, and I finished a first draft, much to my own astonishment, before the end of the year. It's really fucked up. I'll let it sit for a while now before digging back in. If all goes as planned, we'll be doing a public reading of this one in January 2021, and then producing it in our 2021-2022 season. Stay tuned... This was also the year I published my latest collection of analysis essays, Literally Anything Goes: 14 Great Oddball Musicals And What Makes Them Tick, and a novelty book I had been working on for several years, It's a Musical!: 400 Questions to Ponder, Discuss, and Fight About. I also published several scripts and scores I've written. (You can see them all on my Amazon Author Page.) All in all, 2018 was a really scary year for our country, but a pretty great year for me artistically. And 2019 looks like it will be just as cool... Thank you to everybody I worked with last year, and everybody who supports New Line. I am truly living the dream. Though it would also be nice to be able to pay my bills... Oh well, you can't have everything. Long Live the Musical! And Happy New Year! Scott from The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2019/01/thank-you-st-louis.html

The past few weeks have possibly comprised one of the most intense news cycles since Donald Trump was elected to the presidency. The spectacle, drama, and emotion of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Ford’s sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh captured our attention and set off a wave of controversy and debate around difficult topics like sexual misconduct, white male privilege, and rape culture.

If you’re one of many people who’ve subsequently sought distraction from the news, both online and off, you’re not alone. And if you’re the type who finds solace in internet frippery, the memes of the moment are here for you.

From the lighthearted “Zendaya Is Meechee” to an outpouring of delight over the new Philadelphia Flyers mascot, Gritty, the breakout memes of the current news cycle have been notably apolitical, with a concerted emphasis on whimsy — a distinct contrast to the tone of world events. And last week, on the day of Ford’s and Kavanaugh’s testimony about her alleged sexual assault, meme threads like the one below sprang up as a proposed way to ward off the anxiety over what the hearings might entail:

We are starting a thread of pet photos, goofy memes, and wholesome jokes right the fuck now. Reply with content accordingly.

I will start off with this, which @PatriciaValoy sent to me earlier, and which kills me entirely. pic.twitter.com/1lIZxQoQr6

— andrea grimes (@andreagrimes) September 27, 2018

Increasingly, people appear to be using memes and cute pictures and videos to mitigate anxiety, as a form of wellness and self-care. For many, they offer a way to cope during times of tension and stress.

This trend hasn’t arisen out of nowhere — but there’s a reason it feels new. The mainstreaming of the “wholesome meme” is a specific response to a geopolitical era that is unprecedented in recent memory for its turbulence and polarization. And it represents a shift brought about by the natural evolution of the internet.

For as long as the internet has existed, memes have served as a shared form of currency. Historically, the most enduring and popular memes have tended to combine edgy humor, layered in-jokes that require multiple levels of understanding to be effective, and an element of absurdity or surrealism that reflects something about the internet’s randomness at large. Galaxy brains. Dead gorillas. Moths.

But roughly since the 2016 election, many of the memes that have risen to the forefront on social media have abandoned the irony, political satire, and nihilism we’re grown used to seeing. In an era when so many of us have accepted that everything is on fire and anything we love will inevitably become problematic, the memes going viral of late have been, dare I say it? Wholesome. Loving. Even comforting in their simplicity and silliness.

Recent meme trends over the past couple of years have found us praising good dogs and reconciling with our dog-hating enemies. We’ve been celebrating nostalgic songs that make us wanna dance. We’ve created whimsical nonsense songs based on animated kids’ movies. The emerging theme seems to be an emphasis on banality, on the pleasantly comforting and invitingly harmless. These memes are nice, and aggressively no more than that.

Additionally, the rise of “here’s a fun internet thing to help you get through the day” now seems to be a default way to respond to moments of stress. We’re turning to adorable animals and silly memes that are basically the equivalent of internet dad jokes — and sometimes are themselves dad jokes. They’re “Hang in there!” kitten posters for the digital age.

The changing nature of recent mainstream memes also reflects a shift in where they’re created and who’s creating them. Prior to the dominance of social media (which took hold in the late 2000s), memes that made the leap to mainstream internet culture — think anything that was passed along via email forwards — typically began on cult meme sites like Homestar Runner or YTMND, or on forums like Something Awful, 4chan, or Reddit.

Then in the mid-aughts, meme-specific sites like I Can Haz Cheezburger helped proliferate specific kinds of memes, mainly image macros — the classic “still photo with a caption emblazoned on it”:

Cheezburger

The gradual move away from 4chan as the progenitor of most of our memes is partly a natural cultural response to the evolving extremism that has taken over much of that site’s culture. The memes that are generated there today are more likely to appeal to a niche fringe of conspiracists and alt-right frog fans, and the people who once made mainstreamable memes on 4chan have largely departed for other platforms.

During the early rise of social media, between roughly 2005 and 2008, Reddit and Tumblr took over as the primary grounds through which memes were created, sourced, and circulated. It’s taken a while, but as Twitter has come into its own, evolving away from the era of Weird Twitter and its niche memetic rules, we’re seeing more and more memes originate and circulate on the site (though it’s also very common for “new” memes that go viral on Twitter to have already made the rounds on Tumblr).

And many of those memes are of the more wholesome variety.

My friend Amanda Brennan is a noted meme librarian, meaning she researches and catalogs the evolution and taxonomy of internet memes — she’s a curator of Tumblr’s fandom trends and a former contributor to the internet meme database Know Your Meme. She told me in an email that the “wholesome” trend in meme culture began to really pick up steam last year with memes like “My skin is clear, my crops are watered” — a text meme that facetiously pokes fun at the idea of the classic “forward this message/reblog for good luck” directive by presenting an image of something positive and then claiming that the image has cleared your skin, watered your crops, or brought you whatever piece of good fortune you might want in your life.

Indeed, one of the themes of Tumblr’s 2017 Year in Review was “wholesome memes.”

For Brennan, the proliferation of these memes is partly about authenticity — and the decompartmentalization of identity on the internet. “I think people are getting more in touch with presenting their authentic personalities online rather than presenting what they feel like they should be on social media,” she said. “On Tumblr, authentic actions come first. You’re there for whatever thing you love the most — animals, TV shows, musicians, your favorite ship. People are starting to realize that maybe it’s okay to be that authentic version of yourself everywhere on the internet.”

The shift in emphasis toward wholesomeness isn’t just affecting memes. The rise of the concept of the “soft boy” in pop culture, like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’s Peter Kavinsky, has served as a counter to centuries of patriarchal depictions of masculinity in part because he is a nonthreatening version of manhood. Nurturing and emotive, the soft boy comes without built-in toxicity, at least ostensibly; though some observers are divided over whether he’s genuine or just another fuckboy in sheep’s clothing, he’s increasingly being framed and embraced as a sincere alternative to the red-pill-variety dude who just wants to use you.

The idea of “cinnamon roll” characters has percolated on Tumblr for the past few years as a testament to our love of characters who are defined mainly by their sweetness rather than their edginess. In sci-fi and fantasy fandoms, the concept of “hopepunk” has sprung up to describe an emerging trend of literature and media in which social systems and humanity itself are portrayed as fixable, if not inherently good.

In essence, these trends are part of a wider cultural reexamination of hurtful narratives, and a celebration of the marginalized people that those narratives have long erased or ignored. They also offer remedies for those narratives, through self-aware depictions of positive and inclusive ideas and social structures.

Memes have a natural role to play in that reevaluation.

“As internet culture widens and deepens along with the news cycle, more people are taking certain issues more seriously,” Brennan told me. “We all seem to seek out humor that’s light and fun for the sake of being fun.”

Sure, you might not believe that rating a dog 14/10 or celebrating this guy and his piano-playing cats registers as any kind of moral victory against countercultural extremism. But these small nods to whimsy, to gentleness, and to more vulnerable emotions are a vital reminder that humanity, despite all current appearances to the contrary, has evolved beyond fearmongering, violence, and hatred of the other.

When you sing “Zendaya Is Meechee,” you’re fostering the idea that humanity’s united appreciation of a silly song can be greater than its penchant for stoking tribalism and division. And at the very least, you’re finding support — along with everyone else who’s exhausted by the current culture wars — in something happy and fun instead of recoiling at the thought of, well, everything else.

And that’s an idea worth memeing.

Original Source -> The rise of the wholesome internet meme

via The Conservative Brief

Changes to the Printed Programme

Bump! Buckle Up Theatre Winner 'Best Comedy Show' Greater Manchester Fringe 2015 In this fast-paced, highly physical new play, Eliana and Ian appear to move in harmony. Watch their happiness and struggles at close range in an intimate setting. Become a part of their lives as their innermost thoughts are shared directly with you, even in their private moments. Are they on the same wavelength or at odds? Words overlap, intertwine and tangle throughout this quickly propelled story. Bump! is a unique new comedy packed with twists, turns and surprises. "Intricately choreographed" ***** TheatreFullStop. "Funny, endearing and surprisingly deep" ***** Mumble Theatre. "Fun, witty and thoroughly delightful" **** Edfringe Review. "Extremely taut" **** Quotidian Times. Tristan Bates Theatre Mon 31 Jul - Sat 5 Aug 2017 at 9:15pm £9 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1045

Jilberto Soto: Even God Knew I was Gay Jilberto is a comic from Seattle who has brought his talents to London. Even God Knew I was Gay will reveal the struggles of the gay dating scene for a Catholic Mexican. Overall, it’s about the journey for self-acceptance. The Bill Murray Thu 3 Aug 2017 at 6:30pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1215

Be Longing Follow Through Collective & Co. Every home is as individual as the people inhabiting it. Home is a drawing of the Self. So what is it that makes us feel at home? The FTC approaches these questions by the means of dance & film, thus making personal reflexion tangible.The two dancers indulge in a sensible interplay of dance & Film while the viewer is invited to change perspectives. Shows at Etcetera Theatre Fri 4 Aug 2017 at 2:30pm £6 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1231

Sezar Alkassab: Moronic Glaswegian comedian Sezar Alkassab brings his conversational storytelling comedy to The Camden Fringe with his Moronic show and brings his audience together through laughter, with his unique perspective, silly stories, and friendly audience engagement “Great material... strangely refreshing and funny” - Cheeky Monkey Comedy Club "Confident delivery... informed material with an endearing edge" - Jester Jesters Comedy Club “Confident... can deliver a wide range of comedy... can adapt his set to meet the needs of his audience.” - The Comedy App The Bill Murray Sun 6 Aug 2017 at 5:00pm Sun 13 Aug 2017 at 5:00pm Sun 27 Aug 2017 at 5:00pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1220

Eden Aelfa Centauri Theatre Company In a post apocalyptic bunker, Eva, is held against her will by Snake and The Genesis Project. Humanity as we know it extinguished and Eva's DNA, without consent, is the future of a new cloned and fully compliant human race. Can Adam, a rebel footman find a way to bring her hope that nature and free will still exists in the form of a single apple. Hen and Chickens Mon 7 Aug - Tue 8 Aug 2017 at 9:00pm £10 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1219

Double Bill: Landings: There She Is & The Tropicalia Island Physicality, songs and make-believe in a double bill where words challenge accents and humour defies reality.THERE SHE IS, by Gabriela Flarys is an attempt to get ‘there’, but if there’s a whale blocking the way, the path must change. THE TROPICALIA ISLAND, by Fernanda Mandagará is about an exotic place receiving refugees after a world catastrophe. Etcetera Theatre Tue 8 Aug 2017 at 12:30pm £10.00 (£8.00 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1232

Jazz is Joy Nicola Mac and Tiffany Ford Featuring some old time favourite tunes combined with choreography to show stopping hits, this showcase embraces Jazz in some of its various forms, specifically vocals and movement. Explore and enjoy the joyful and romantic side of Jazz and feel empowered. Etcetera Theatre Tue 8 Aug 2017 at 2:30pm £6.50 (£5.00 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1233

FEET Emma and Lawrence wrote a play Lucy can’t pay the bills. For quick money, she joins a Foot Fetish website. However, when the cash starts rolling in, Lucy begins to question her choices and her identity. A black comedy, FEET asks if compromising your integrity and giving in to being objectified is worth selling yourself – or your feet – in order to survive. Etcetera Theatre Thu 10 Aug - Fri 11 Aug 2017 at 4:30pm £8 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1214

Nick Horseman: Hip Hop Happy Hour The guy who was once 50% of acclaimed musical comedy duo Horse & Louis and is now 100% of rapping comedy man Nick Horseman brings you a fresh'n'funky hour of jokes and bangin' hip hop tunes. "An excellent hour of comedy" **** British Comedy Guide "Very funny" **** ThreeWeeks Camden Comedy Club Thu 10 Aug 2017 at 9:30pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1211

Nick Elleray: Just Happy To Be Here A stand-up show from renowned happy camper Nick Elleray. Family, Kim Jong-Un, dentistry - this one's got the lot. “An engaging stand-up with an inventive mind.” The List “Quality downbeat comedy... could almost be Louis CK played at the wrong speed” Chortle Winner - Old Comedian of the Year 2017 As heard on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 Extra Camden Comedy Club Sat 12 & Sat 19 Aug at 5pm £7 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1229 The Bill Murray Wed 15 Aug at 9.30pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1230

Robert Jones - Just the Start If there is anything that could bond an entire room and that is the fact is that everyone has failed at something, whether it be at work, at love or even as simple as trying to get from place to place and if that is true Robert Jones is the key to world peace. If you are going to fail you might as well get a good story out of it and Robert has a few. Camden People's Theatre Sun 13 Aug - Wed 16 Aug 2017 at 9:00pm £7 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1223

What I Really Wanted To Say Was... Shtoom Productions What I really wanted to say was... is a LOL social-satire where we revisit and stage our most awkward, inappropriate conversations. Society's reliant on political correctness so where do you stand? How would you react? What would you have said? Thought provoking punchlines and ruthless, rough and ready rhymes- Will you wince, laugh, cringe or cry? Etcetera Theatre Mon 14 Aug 2017 at 4:30pm £6.50 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1207

Broken No Photos Please Productions Boy meeteth girl. Boy loseth girl. Boy bareth soul. Set in London and centred on the end of a relationship, Broken fuses Shakespeare with modern dialogue and is an expressionistic satire on the highs and lows of falling in, and inevitably out, of love. "Pretty much everything that's spoken in Broken is quotable" M Davis, Breaking the Fourth Wall. Shows at Etcetera Theatre Mon 14 Aug - Thu 17 Aug 2017 at 6:30pm £10 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1234

So You Say Different Theatre When ex-lovers meet after many years, what can we believe about the stories they tell? ‘So You Say’ explores two unreliable and diverging narratives. A fast-paced emotional ride through past and present - funny, shocking and bittersweet. Shortlisted for Best New Play, Brighton Fringe “Outstanding in its simplicity and honesty” Broadway Baby **** Tristan Bates Theatre Tue 15 Aug - Sat 19 Aug 2017 at 6:15pm £10 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1208

Joe Bor: A Room With A Jew An hour of stand up from award winning comedian and Jewish Comedian of the year Joe Bor. TV credits include Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You. "Joe Bor is a must see" Alan Carr Camden Comedy Club Wed 16 Aug - Thu 17 Aug 2017 at 8:00pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1206

Ophelia: Madness (in blue) Stem Collective Ophelia remembers the three men she loves; brother, father, lover. Numbed by grief she swallows herself with madness. Celebrating the other story of Shakespeare's poetic, passionate heroine, this intimate work re-imagines Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' in song, combining jazz and classical vocals, Elizabethan verse and cello and piano accompaniment. The Swiss Church Thu 17 Aug - Fri 18 Aug 2017 at 7:30pm £10 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1222

Brett Goldstein: What Is Love Baby Don't Hurt Me Brett Goldstein fell in love. He wouldn't recommend it. Award Winning Stand Up, Comedian and actor Brett Goldstein returns with a brand new show about love, primary relationships, living in a post porn world, and why Shakespeare can go xxxx himself. A work in progress. (A mess) Camden Comedy Club Fri 18 Aug - Sun 20 Aug 2017 at 8:00pm £10 (£7 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1205

Sorry I Killed Your Cat Lost Fragments Productions When a new couple move in to a north London apartment block their neighbours are quick to invite them over for dinner, though not all is as it seems. Packed full of laughs, drama and dead animals, Sorry, I Killed Your Cat, is a hilarious piece of new writing about keeping up false appearances, broken relationships, alcohol an Shows at The Cockpit Sun 20 Aug 2017 at 5:30pm Mon 21 Aug - Tue 22 Aug 2017 at 7:00pm £8 (£6 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1212

Under the Skin Tik-Sho-Ret Theatre Company ‘Under the Skin’ is a play set both during the Holocaust and the Gulf War. It tells the story of the love affair between a Nazi officer and one of her female Jewish prisoners. It is based on Kohlmann's Belsen trial protocol, and also on Holocaust survivors' testimonies. The original production has had a successful two year run in Israel. Shows at Etcetera Theatre Tue 22 Aug - Wed 23 Aug 2017 at 4:30pm £8 (£6 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1224

Paul Ricketts' West End Story Libellously funny storytelling show, set in the 1990's London, explaining how to find outrageous nightly adventures on a budget of £5. It’s a storytelling show about storytelling, creating scenarios to create a social life in the heart of London. "beguiling storytelling ” Chortle "go hear his story" Three Weeks Shows at Camden Comedy Club Fri 25 Aug - Sat 26 Aug 2017 at 6:00pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1209

CANCELLED SHOWS Scientology The Musical 7-12 August at Lion & Unicorn Blow 8-10 August at Lion &Unicorn The Monument of Portland Place 14-17 August at Etcetera Theatre We Fly By Night 18-20 August at Etcetera Theatre

11 Spooky, Obscure Halloween Songs For Your Retro Costume Celebration

Not like the winter holidays of Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, and the Solstice, which appear to abound with music both sacred and secular, the musical traditions of Halloween fall flat. I'll admit to simply skimming the preious entries, so please forgive me if someone already talked about Mike Smith's Panther in Michigan. Absolutely cute collection of wonderful comic interpretations of traditional nursery rhymes. Frankly, Carpenter's iconic theme for the classic horror movie could also be confirmation that a song is definitely extra horrifying when there's nothing however a plinking piano melody within the background. When youngsters dance they're more prone to making buddies and constructing their socialization skills. Depending on the variety of children you might have and the area you've this may be finished in several ways. The final will encompass six entries that, via 50/50 public televoting and jury voting, will be shortened to a top 2, profitable entry can be decided by the ‘gold last' during which the highest two entries in the final will battle it out for the title of Iceland's 2017 Eurovision entry, decided by public tele-voting. Please feel free to include any other Halloween occasion tunes in the feedback section beneath that you will have in your playlist this yr! Howdytoons brings you one of the best music movies and cartoons for teenagers including Dinostory, Halloween Songs and Rock'n'Rainbow. The Unique Nursery Rhymes - Read aloud to friends and family famous nursery rhymes and songs, such as Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, Jack and Jill, and Outdated King Cole. Use the songs to teach Halloween based mostly lessons and other ideas akin to counting, sharing, feelings, components of the physique, and extra! EFL/ESL Songs And Actions - This resource presents lyrics (and in some cases sound clips) in order to use music and video games to show English as second language. Characters from nursery rhymes, like Previous King Cole, Humpty Dumpty, or Mother Goose herself are Public Area Characters that may feature in all types of works. We've adopted Mom Goose's lead, including riddle rhymes as part of our weekly instruction. Opening with ominous bells, the mushy falling of rain and, lastly, a bloodcurdling scream, Concrete Blonde's Bloodletting” immediately units the temper for an uneasy Halloween night, kicked into high gear with the relentless pummeling of the drums, an ominous, gothic bass line, and haunting vocals courtesy of leader Johnette Napolitano. There was some debate concerning the racial message on the middle of this nursery rhyme (a couple elementary schools in 2011 replaced the lyrics with Baa, Baa Rainbow Sheep”), however most scholars agree that the rhyme has to do with the Great Customized tax on wool from 1275. To start this checklist, I selected one in all Rihanna's songs from Good Lady Gone Bad: Reloaded album. To preview and buy music from Halloween Songs & Sounds by Various Artists, obtain iTunes now. The video is a horror film briefly, with zombies, corpses, and an excessive quantity of near bare women. I can safely say that before a number of days ago, I had never actually listened to the tune in its entirety or given the lyrics any thought whatsoever. A dancey little quantity that tells the tale of the narrator becoming undead to be along with his lady for a Halloween social gathering unlike anybody earlier than. Featuring Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and Rick Ross as well as Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, it is a beast of a Halloween tune lauded by critics and positioned at number 53 in NME's Best Tracks of the past 15 years. Advised in smooth-as-silk rhyming textual content, a witch and varied mates prepare for a party on Halloween night time, readying their haunted house for the trick-or-treaters who, as soon as they get a glimpse, flee in fright! There are eight completely different versions of this lovable Halloween bingo card you can get at no cost over at Loopy Little Tasks. Halloween songs for teenagers must be extra upbeat, like Monster Mash” by Bobby Boris” Picket. Hardly a bone-chilling Halloween ditty, however it might flip your costume celebration into an all-out sing-alongside. The place to Discover It: José-Luis Orozco's model (proven above) is excellent, although there are numerous videos on YouTube with Spanish lyrics and pictures to help kids observe alongside. To see all the songs on the Halloween Songs for Circle Time Playlist click on the playlist button in the upper left-hand nook. IS THE TUNE ABOUT ONE THING SCARY?: It's about being a nonconformist, which is barely scary for conformists. Like Alice Cooper, this had some rock royalty guesting on it - Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac performed drums and bass duties respectively. Once they do, though, his lyrics rapidly stir up images of bats, undead souls, witches with capes and, after all, homicide that match perfectly alongside any Halloween-like setting. As an alternative, the rhymes have been steeped with political and satirical messages, created in such a method to confuse the authorities listening; thus, preventing legal or different backlash. It is Halloween is a picture book written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Marylin Hafner, printed in 1977. So this song is finished by the rock group The Blue Oyster Cult and it made its debut in 1976. This music was created by the well-known composer Danny Elfman and it is secure to say that it is excellent for Halloween.

For these looking to have enjoyable this Halloween weekend with out getting all dressed up have a look below on the upcoming events that will entertain families and buddies. One other track that incorporates some old skool dance strikes and undoubtedly one to be carried out is the Monster Mash. Halloween was apparently influenced by the Celts in England, or by the Irish and Scots within the United States. The songs, poems, quotes and greetings are just a reflection of that, what your children really feel and take into consideration the vacation. Perhaps more despairing and disillusioned than creepy, but nonetheless sure to make any social gathering feel like a horror movie. Even inexperienced persons can play this free Halloween music by watching the intervals closely. The poster boys for Post-Punk existentialism, Pleasure Division practically invented the goth subculture due to their gloomy lyrics and disconnected, usually otherworldly melodies. A few months ago i attempted to get the Heffalumps and Woozles tune and itunes didnt have it on here. Encourage them to do the identical, i.e. repeat the rhymes after you in a fun and rhythmic tone. Whereas he never goes full bore wailer like he would on different 50s horror movie inspired songs , there's sufficient edge in his voice to know he's not messing around. The Antrobus Soulcakers Music is sung in the beginning of the Greenman Mummers Souling Play on YouTube. This piece has a haunting factor to it. Nonetheless, it's a fantastic addition to Halloween musical accompaniment that's been utilized in numerous films, TELEVISION shows, commercials, and other media.

EXTRA EXTRA

The Etcetera are still adding more shows to their programme (nominative determinism?) so here is the latest on changes to the printed programme.

Bump! Buckle Up Theatre Winner 'Best Comedy Show' Greater Manchester Fringe 2015 In this fast-paced, highly physical new play, Eliana and Ian appear to move in harmony. Watch their happiness and struggles at close range in an intimate setting. Become a part of their lives as their innermost thoughts are shared directly with you, even in their private moments. Are they on the same wavelength or at odds? Words overlap, intertwine and tangle throughout this quickly propelled story. Bump! is a unique new comedy packed with twists, turns and surprises. "Intricately choreographed" ***** TheatreFullStop. "Funny, endearing and surprisingly deep" ***** Mumble Theatre. "Fun, witty and thoroughly delightful" **** Edfringe Review. "Extremely taut" **** Quotidian Times. Tristan Bates Theatre Mon 31 Jul - Sat 5 Aug 2017 at 9:15pm £9 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1045

Jilberto Soto: Even God Knew I was Gay Jilberto is a comic from Seattle who has brought his talents to London. Even God Knew I was Gay will reveal the struggles of the gay dating scene for a Catholic Mexican. Overall, it’s about the journey for self-acceptance. The Bill Murray Thu 3 Aug 2017 at 6:30pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1215

Be Longing Follow Through Collective & Co. Every home is as individual as the people inhabiting it. Home is a drawing of the Self. So what is it that makes us feel at home? The FTC approaches these questions by the means of dance & film, thus making personal reflexion tangible.The two dancers indulge in a sensible interplay of dance & Film while the viewer is invited to change perspectives. Shows at Etcetera Theatre Fri 4 Aug 2017 at 2:30pm £6 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1231

Sezar Alkassab: Moronic Glaswegian comedian Sezar Alkassab brings his conversational storytelling comedy to The Camden Fringe with his Moronic show and brings his audience together through laughter, with his unique perspective, silly stories, and friendly audience engagement “Great material... strangely refreshing and funny” - Cheeky Monkey Comedy Club "Confident delivery... informed material with an endearing edge" - Jester Jesters Comedy Club “Confident... can deliver a wide range of comedy... can adapt his set to meet the needs of his audience.” - The Comedy App The Bill Murray Sun 6 Aug 2017 at 5:00pm Sun 13 Aug 2017 at 5:00pm Sun 27 Aug 2017 at 5:00pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1220

Eden Aelfa Centauri Theatre Company In a post apocalyptic bunker, Eva, is held against her will by Snake and The Genesis Project. Humanity as we know it extinguished and Eva's DNA, without consent, is the future of a new cloned and fully compliant human race. Can Adam, a rebel footman find a way to bring her hope that nature and free will still exists in the form of a single apple. Hen and Chickens Mon 7 Aug - Tue 8 Aug 2017 at 9:00pm £10 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1219

Jazz is Joy Nicola Mac and Tiffany Ford Featuring some old time favourite tunes combined with choreography to show stopping hits, this showcase embraces Jazz in some of its various forms, specifically vocals and movement. Explore and enjoy the joyful and romantic side of Jazz and feel empowered. Etcetera Theatre Tue 8 Aug 2017 at 2:30pm £6.50 (£5.00 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1233

FEET Emma and Lawrence wrote a play Lucy can’t pay the bills. For quick money, she joins a Foot Fetish website. However, when the cash starts rolling in, Lucy begins to question her choices and her identity. A black comedy, FEET asks if compromising your integrity and giving in to being objectified is worth selling yourself – or your feet – in order to survive. Etcetera Theatre Thu 10 Aug - Fri 11 Aug 2017 at 4:30pm £8 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1214

Nick Horseman: Hip Hop Happy Hour The guy who was once 50% of acclaimed musical comedy duo Horse & Louis and is now 100% of rapping comedy man Nick Horseman brings you a fresh'n'funky hour of jokes and bangin' hip hop tunes. "An excellent hour of comedy" **** British Comedy Guide "Very funny" **** ThreeWeeks Camden Comedy Club Thu 10 Aug 2017 at 9:30pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1211

Nick Elleray: Just Happy To Be Here A stand-up show from renowned happy camper Nick Elleray. Family, Kim Jong-Un, dentistry - this one's got the lot. “An engaging stand-up with an inventive mind.” The List “Quality downbeat comedy... could almost be Louis CK played at the wrong speed” Chortle Winner - Old Comedian of the Year 2017 As heard on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 Extra Camden Comedy Club Sat 12 & Sat 19 Aug at 5pm £7 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1229 The Bill Murray Wed 15 Aug at 9.30pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1230

Robert Jones - Just the Start If there is anything that could bond an entire room and that is the fact is that everyone has failed at something, whether it be at work, at love or even as simple as trying to get from place to place and if that is true Robert Jones is the key to world peace. If you are going to fail you might as well get a good story out of it and Robert has a few. Camden People's Theatre Sun 13 Aug - Wed 16 Aug 2017 at 9:00pm £7 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1223

What I Really Wanted To Say Was... Shtoom Productions What I really wanted to say was... is a LOL social-satire where we revisit and stage our most awkward, inappropriate conversations. Society's reliant on political correctness so where do you stand? How would you react? What would you have said? Thought provoking punchlines and ruthless, rough and ready rhymes- Will you wince, laugh, cringe or cry? Etcetera Theatre Mon 14 Aug 2017 at 4:30pm £6.50 (£5 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1207

So You Say Different Theatre When ex-lovers meet after many years, what can we believe about the stories they tell? ‘So You Say’ explores two unreliable and diverging narratives. A fast-paced emotional ride through past and present - funny, shocking and bittersweet. Shortlisted for Best New Play, Brighton Fringe “Outstanding in its simplicity and honesty” Broadway Baby **** Tristan Bates Theatre Tue 15 Aug - Sat 19 Aug 2017 at 6:15pm £10 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1208

Joe Bor: A Room With A Jew An hour of stand up from award winning comedian and Jewish Comedian of the year Joe Bor. TV credits include Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You. "Joe Bor is a must see" Alan Carr Camden Comedy Club Wed 16 Aug - Thu 17 Aug 2017 at 8:00pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1206

Ophelia: Madness (in blue) Stem Collective Ophelia remembers the three men she loves; brother, father, lover. Numbed by grief she swallows herself with madness. Celebrating the other story of Shakespeare's poetic, passionate heroine, this intimate work re-imagines Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' in song, combining jazz and classical vocals, Elizabethan verse and cello and piano accompaniment. The Swiss Church Thu 17 Aug - Fri 18 Aug 2017 at 7:30pm £10 (£8 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1222

Brett Goldstein: What Is Love Baby Don't Hurt Me Brett Goldstein fell in love. He wouldn't recommend it. Award Winning Stand Up, Comedian and actor Brett Goldstein returns with a brand new show about love, primary relationships, living in a post porn world, and why Shakespeare can go xxxx himself. A work in progress. (A mess) Camden Comedy Club Fri 18 Aug - Sun 20 Aug 2017 at 8:00pm £10 (£7 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1205

Sorry I Killed Your Cat Lost Fragments Productions When a new couple move in to a north London apartment block their neighbours are quick to invite them over for dinner, though not all is as it seems. Packed full of laughs, drama and dead animals, Sorry, I Killed Your Cat, is a hilarious piece of new writing about keeping up false appearances, broken relationships, alcohol an Shows at The Cockpit Sun 20 Aug 2017 at 5:30pm Mon 21 Aug - Tue 22 Aug 2017 at 7:00pm £8 (£6 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1212

Under the Skin Tik-Sho-Ret Theatre Company ‘Under the Skin’ is a play set both during the Holocaust and the Gulf War. It tells the story of the love affair between a Nazi officer and one of her female Jewish prisoners. It is based on Kohlmann's Belsen trial protocol, and also on Holocaust survivors' testimonies. The original production has had a successful two year run in Israel. Shows at Etcetera Theatre Tue 22 Aug - Wed 23 Aug 2017 at 4:30pm £8 (£6 conc) http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1224

Paul Ricketts' West End Story Libellously funny storytelling show, set in the 1990's London, explaining how to find outrageous nightly adventures on a budget of £5. It’s a storytelling show about storytelling, creating scenarios to create a social life in the heart of London. "beguiling storytelling ” Chortle "go hear his story" Three Weeks Shows at Camden Comedy Club Fri 25 Aug - Sat 26 Aug 2017 at 6:00pm £5 http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=1209

CANCELLED SHOWS Scientology The Musical 7-12 August at Lion & Unicorn Blow 8-10 August at Lion &Unicorn We Fly By Night 18-20 August at Etcetera Theatre