Tom & Bryn

It's a nice summer day and I've been listening to Bryn CDs while doing various chores indoors and out, so here's a nice YouTube with Bryn Terfel and Tom Jones singing together.


Yummy men, both of them, each in his own way.


Share on Facebook

Saturday night treat: Fats Domino, Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis

Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis
Uploaded by Hanvak

Saturday night passion

Via Denny, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor... on a lute:




(No, he's not a Flying Karamazov.)

Why I don't go to Sunday Catholic Mass

Francis Porretto shares my dislike of what passes for music at Mass,

The only deviation was the selection of liturgical music, and, as my voice sounds like a moose farting through a rusty bullhorn, that doesn’t matter much to me anyway.

Then there are the totally creepy puppets:


And even creepier: The Curt Jester has photos, but you can heave at the video, too, which includes a Lord of the Dance number and song(s) from... Jesus Christ Superstar.

It's enough to make The Anchoress say, "Please, make it stop".

Yes, I have gone to Mass - Episcopalian and Catholic - recently. The Episcopalians have good music, and if you go to the 8:15 Catholic Mass on weekdays you are spared the clowning.

Are you, gentle reader, as appalled as I at the current trend of entertainment passing for liturgy in your church?

UPDATE
Ed calls it Sid & Marty Krofft Mass. Welcome, Hot Air readers! Please visit often.



Share on Facebook

Friday afternoon Leonard Cohen: First we take Manhattan

UPDATED
Jeremayakovka has a tribute to Leonard Cohen, who we both like.

There are a lot of Leonard Cohen's videos on YouTube which can not be embedded. I particularly like First We Take Manhattan with its upbeat tempo. Here are the lyrics:

(Radio announcer's voice)
Was die Attentäter betrifft, die in Berlin den Anschlag auf die Deutsch-Arabische Gesellschaft verübt haben, ist die Polizei einen Schritt weiter gekommen. Die jetzt nach dem Anschlag...

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby
I love your body and your spirit and your clothes
But you see that line there moving through the station?
I told you, I told you, told you, I was one of those

Ah you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win
You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline
How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I don't like your fashion business mister
And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
I don't like what happened to my sister
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby ...

And I thank you for those items that you sent me
The monkey and the plywood violin
I practiced every night, now I'm ready
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I am guided

Ah remember me, I used to live for music
Remember me, I brought your groceries in
Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

What does it mean?

The upbeat tempo belies the threatening words.

But I don't even know what the German words at the beginning mean.

Unlike most pop songs, Cohen's lyrics always have meaning.

Do the lyrics mean that the man singing the song is a killer who went to prison the first time for an attempted act of violence and is now coming back to try again? Why all the references to family, i.e., "I don't like what happened to my sister", "Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded"? Who is the "mister" from the fashion business?

Go read Jeremayakovka's post - he's created some verses inspired by LC. While you do that I'll ponder the lyrics of First We Take Manhattan.

Here's two other versions, one by REM, another one by Joe Cocker


UPDATE
I bothered a few people canvassed a few friends and EuropeNews kindly explained that

There was an assassination at the Deutsch-Arabische Gesellschaft Berlin 29. March 1986.
in front of the Deutsch-Arabischen Gesellschaft office in Berlin-Kreuzberg detonated on march 29 an explosive charge. eleven persons were hurt

A terririst attack, twenty-one years ago.

The song was copyrighted on 1987, so it appears that yes, the song refers to an assasin who left prison and is now back on the prowl. Terrorism in our times.



Share on Facebook

Shine a Light on a lot of water under the bridge

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon and the rest of the family is otherwise occupied, it's cloudy, and Shine A Light is playing downtown.

What best way to get away from blogging about politics and news?

So I put on some red shoes (not these, but a different pair - a woman can never have enough red shoes), drive downtown and lo and behold, there is a parking space exactly in front of the movie theater.

Encouraged, actually cheered, by this fortuitous event, I buy myself a ticket, and walk in. Take a look around, and stop dead in my heels:


I am the youngest person in the audience.
By now it's starting to feel like something out of Candid Camera, another diversion from the olden days.

The movie starts with Martin Scorsese discussing what/how was going to be played and filmed. Little did I know that the concert being filmed actually was a fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation.

Dang. Was part of the ticket price going towards the Clintons? What does a woman have to do in this town to get away from politics?!

So the movie goes:
Bill, Hillary and Hillary's mom (Chelsea's obviously too young for the Stones) all were there. Bill aw-chucked his way in front of the audience for what felt like hours. At this point I was starting to click the heels of my red shoes and mutter "there's no place like home". Fortunately Bill was done before the third "there's no place..." and the concert started.

The first song (Jumpin' Jack Flash) sounded a little off tempo, but it didn't take long for the old lads to regain their stride.

Peppered throughout the film you'll find brief interview clips of Mick, Charlie and Keith in their fresh-faced tweed and Oxford shirt days, their lipstick and eye shadow days, their Super Fly shearling vest days, and then also clips of Ron Wood in more recent days.

Brian Jones's death is not mentioned at all. Bill Wyman is not mentioned.

The movie was filmed on location at the Beacon Theater in New York, and the film is almost-totally a happy concert movie, unlike the much more appalling Gimme Shelter of 1970, where a member of the audience was murdered. It is a sign of the times that The Rolling Stones have become respectable and safe enough for politicians to use them for fundraisers.

Scorcese fans should also be warned that this is not his much more superior film The Last Waltz.

A few observations:
Those of us who wonder how Keith Richards is still alive will continue to wonder, as there were times during the concert when he looked like he was about to drop off permanently.

The movie theater was not an Imax theater but their stereo system had good enough bass that the cupholders vibrated frequently. The (old) gentleman sitting next to me actually picked up his phone (which he had placed in one of the cupholders) thinking it was a call.

Mick is still bouncy. Little did Mrs Jagger know her bouncing baby boy would remain so for seven decades.

Charlie Watts had to be/may still be the least stoned of the Stones, as he has to keep the tempo.

Buddy Guy was the most electrifying performer of the concert. He stole the song Champagne and Reefer right out from under Mick.

Keith Richards does sound like he's impersonating Captain Jack Sparrow.

The Stones' visage is best described as gargoylesque, but only if you're being kind. When you burn the candle at both ends, it shows.

Bassist Darryl Jones is the unsung hero of the band, as his name is only mentioned once. I get the impression that, in addition to the music, at times he's also in charge of keeping Keith Richards focused.

Keith's arms show the ravages of severe drug use.

Ron Wood's best moment as a regular guy: greeting Hillary's mom.

Mick probably weighs 130 lbs. He has a dental bridge.

The camera men, cinematographers, and the film and sound editors should get Oscars for their seamless work.

Forty-three years, and millions of dollars, records sold, and miles travelled later and Mick still can get no satisfaction. Makes you chuckle just to think of it.

The film is dedicated to Ahmet Ertegun, who, according to Variety, at 83, took a bad fall at the recorded concert and died shortly thereafter.

Maybe John McCain should hire Scorcese to film a David Gilmour concert.

The first song I learned in English which was not a school song, As Tears Go By, made me realize how much water under the bridge had passed since I was in school in Puerto Rico, Mick was regarded as an obnoxious brat by the establishment, and how much our hopes and dreams remain the same over time. Prior Shine A Light, it had been decades since I last heard him sing it. It was a "were we ever that young?" moment.
Here's a YouTube, from Mick's tweed and Oxford shirt days (1965) along with a nearly-unrecognizable Keith Richards:

Lyrics

AS TEARS GO BY
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me
I sit and watch
As tears go by

My riches can't buy everything
I want to hear the children sing
All I hear is the sound
Of rain falling on the ground
I sit and watch
As tears go by

It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Doin' things I used to do
They think are new
I sit and watch
As tears go by

Official Shine a Light website.
Official trailer:




Share on Facebook

Skype sucks: The wait; and today's links

After the phishing, the wait
.
.
.
.
waiting
.
.
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Saddam's Files, They Show Terror Plots, But Raise New Questions About Some Media Claims

The Bolivarian Republic of Massachusetts, via Instapundit

Why Can’t People Just LEAVE KWAME ALONE!!!!

Three stages in a man's life

Via Ed,


Major offensive against Hizbolla - in IRAQ

Wishing Kevin McCullough great success!

Dance time, with Miro's art:




Share on Facebook

Good Friday Miserere

Psalm 51
David pleads for forgiveness after he went in to Bath-sheba—He pleads: Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.
TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN NATHAN THE PROPHET CAME UNTO HIM, AFTER HE HAD GONE IN TO BATH-SHEBA.
1 Have amercy upon me, O God, according to thy blovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies cblot out my dtransgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and acleanse me from my sin.
3 For I aacknowledge my transgressions: and my bsin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I asinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be bjustified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother aconceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with ahyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a aclean heart, O God; and brenew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy apresence; and take not thy bholy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be aconverted unto thee.
14 aDeliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not asacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The asacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a bcontrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good apleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.



Share on Facebook

Tuesday night tango: El dia que me quieras

Tango lessons on Monday night, tango YouTube on Tuesday:

An absolutely beautiful song, "The day that you love me"
side-by side translation
Acaricia mi ensueño
el suave murmullo de tu suspirar.
Como rie la vida
si tus ojos negros me quieren mirar.
Y si es mio el amparo
de tu risa leve
que es como un cantar,
ella aquieta mi herida,
todo todo se olvida.

El día que me quieras
la rosa que engalana,
se vestirá de fiesta
con su mejor color.
Y al viento las campanas
dirán que ya eres mía,
y locas las fontanas
se contaran su amor.

La noche que me quieras
desde el azul del cielo,
las estrellas celosas
nos mirarán pasar.
Y un rayo misterioso
hara nido en tu pelo,
luciernaga curiosa que veras
que eres mi consuelo.

El día que me quieras
no habra más que armonía.
Será clara la aurora
y alegre el manantial.
Traerá quieta la brisa
rumor de melodía.
Y nos daran las fuentes
su canto de cristal.

El día que me quieras
endulzara sus cuerdas
el pajaro cantor.
Florecerá la vida
no existira el dolor

La noche que me quieras
desde el azul del cielo,
las estrellas celosas
nos mirarán pasar.
Y un rayo misterios
hará nido en tu pelo.
Luciernaga curiosa que veras
que eres mi consuelo.



Share on Facebook

Press One for English

Amen to that!

Saturday afternoon Phantoms

A friend and I were discussing over the phone just now the Phantom of the Opera. She shares my opinion that Howard McGillin's the definitive Phantom.

Best Phantom: Howard McGillin

continued here


Screen Phantom: Gerard Butler

oh, wait, this:


Not-so-good Phantom: Antonio Banderas


This post is dedicated to my friend S, and to Mamacita, another Phantom fan who's fond of mysterious men in capes.

PS,
Music of the Night lyrics right here:
Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away, from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night

Close your eyes,
And surrender to your darkest dreams
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before
Close your eyes, let you spirit start to soar
And you'll live, as you've never lived before

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly posses you
[Music Of The Night lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness that you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to be
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night

You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night

Share on Facebook

Falling Slowly

The Oscar winning song,


I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

I also liked Raise It Up

Saturday song: Momentos

Life is made up of moments... moments that never come back

Saturday afternoon plena

Via Latin Gossip, Ricky Martin sings a plena at the Fiestas de la calle San Sebastian,


Hmmm... Maybe I'll shimmy to that.



Share on Facebook

Sunday night Elvis

... and Chet Baker, too

Pavarotti died

Opera legend Pavarotti dies at 71

I was lucky to have seen him in two performances, one with Monserrat Caballe in Norma, and later on in Turandot.

Here he is with the magnificent Joan Sutherland, in his pre-beard days:


The Anchoress has a nice tribute.

Hagrid, ca. 1977

A little known fact: Hagrid, before taking a job as Hogwarts's gamekeeper, had a gig with Kansas playing the violin and singing

French Kebab Rap dreams of... America

The latest YouTube sensation in France: Yilmaz Karaman, aka Lil'Maaz, a Kurdish Turk who works at a kebab joint, singing a rap about

I want the American dream
to make kebabs for Americans
To open up a chain of kebab restaurants
My lebab shop
Name on dollar bills

The Beeb's report didn't mention that part.

For now Lil'Maaz is getting paid in euros.

In other kebab news around the world,
A Crawley (England) kebab house is so highly regarded by its customers that web sites are being set up in its honour
A kebab shop owner is being retried for murder.
And rocker Mick Nash (who I'd never heard of until now) blames his stroke on kebabs.

This has been today's kebab news round-up from here in Princeton, where you can get kebabs at Zorba's, 183 Nassau Street.

La Vie en Rose, and that boxer

Jean-Pierre Martins and Marion Cotillard share a tender moment
Anyone familiar with the life of Edith Piaf knows that her life was full of hardship and tragedy. The passion she poured into her songs was equal to, if not greater than, her magnificent voice.

The movie La Vie en Rose (originally titled La Môme) is the most emotionally intense film I've watched in years. Actress Marion Cotillard's monumental tour de force as Piaf is astonishing, enthralling, and heartbreaking.

In addition to the cast of excellent actors (is there a French film that doesn't have Depardieu in it?), the sets, locations, and costumes are perfect and further envelop you in the atmosphere.

The only misgivings that I have about the script is that it ignores the period of Piaf's life when she was not a victim, during World War II. Additionally, in spite of the cinematic Piaf's protestations that the Americans "don't get me, and I don't get them", in the film (and in life) she spent substantial part of her life working in the US, where she was a huge success in both coasts.

I immediately liked the character of Marcel Cerdan (played by the very handsome Jean-Pierre Martins, who actually has a boxer's physique), the boxer who was the love of Piaf's life. Unlike Piaf's character, in the film he "gets" Americans and takes her to a diner for a pastrami sandwich on their first date. Like "ugly Americans" who ask for ketchup when eating in France, Piaf pushes away the pastrami and insists on going to a French restaurant. Marcel obliges, and jokingly orders a hot pastrami there, too - definitely, my kind of guy.

In spite of my misgivings, from the musical standpoint this film is a great tribute to one of the most influential singers of the 20th Century.

Bring a lot of Kleenex, and leave the kids at home: the movie's R-rated for sexual situations, violence, drug use, and language.
French with English subtitles. Those not familiar with street French will probably rely on the subtitles for the first half of the film.

Here's the trailer


Here's the original Piaf, singing Non, je ne regrette rien in 1961 with composer Charles Dumont



technorati: La Mome, La Vie en Rose
Share on Facebook

Saturday night Palmer

Lyrics

Your lights are on, but youre not home
Your mind is not your own
Your heart sweats, your body shakes
Another kiss is what it takes

You cant sleep, you cant eat
Theres no doubt, youre in deep
Your throat is tight, you cant breathe
Another kiss is all you need

Whoa, you like to think that youre immune to the stuff, oh
Yeah

Its closer to the truth to say you cant get enough, you
Know youre

Gonna have to face it, youre addicted to love

You see the signs, but you cant read
Youre runnin at a different speed
You heart beats in double time
Another kiss and youll be mine, a one track mind

You cant be saved
Oblivion is all you crave
If theres some left for you
You dont mind if you do

Whoa, you like to think that youre immune to the stuff, oh
Yeah

Its closer to the truth to say you cant get enough, you
Know youre

Gonna have to face it, youre addicted to love

Might as well face it, youre addicted to love
Might as well face it, youre addicted to love
Might as well face it, youre addicted to love
Might as well face it, youre addicted to love
Might as well face it, youre addicted to love

Guitar solo (once around)

Your lights are on, but youre not home
Your will is not your own
Youre heart sweats and teeth grind
Another kiss and youll be mine

Whoa, you like to think that youre immune to the stuff, oh
Yeah

Its closer to the truth to say you cant get enough, you
Know youre

Gonna have to face it, youre addicted to love

Might as well face it, youre addicted to love

And back in the day I wore one of those black dresses.