Taiko Drumming!

Those who know me know that I am a Japanophile! And, I especially love taiko drumming! I first saw this some years ago at the Ginza Holiday festival at a temple in Chicago and the magnificent sounds and rhythms of the drums blew me away!

It was so very thoughtful of my daughter to take me to the TAO Wadaiko concert for my birthday! We had a great time!

My Favorite Radio Station

I love to listen to WXRT FM, that is, when they aren't running tons of commercials^^. http://player.streamtheworld.com/CBS/?CALLSIGN=WXRTFM

WXRT plays a nice mix of old rock music and new alternative and other new rock music. I have learned about a lot of new music from this station, such as Andrew Bird.

Here's a sample of the what they played during the last hour:

Fine Young Cannibals, with "Good Thing"
Band of Horses, with "Is There a Ghost"
David Bowie, "China Girl"
Sheryl Crow: "Shine Over Babylon"
The Rolling Stones: "Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
The Shins: "Phantom Limb"
Filter: "Take a Picture"
Levon Helm: Got Me a Woman
The Clash: "London Calling"
David Gray: "You're the World to Me"
Neil Young: "Dirty Old Man"
Franz Ferdinand: "Take Me Out"
Yaz: "Situation"
Robert Plant and Alison Krause: "Stick With Me Baby"
Smashing Pumpkins: "Today'
Beatles: "Rain"
Ween: "Your Party"
REM: "Fall on Me"

I Don't Like

My intention in this blog was to write about the music I love, but, now I want to say, for the record, that I dislike Bruce Springsteen and I dislike Rod Stewart. Springsteen has a whiny kind of voice that annoys me and I don't like his songs. Stewart's raspy voice grates on my nerves -- you call that singing? There are a few songs of his that are decent, but . . . .

Sweet and SOUR

I have a fondness for rock songs that start out sweet and then --POW!!!-- the song turns ugly and violent. I guess this expresses some kind of weird feelings that I have. Doesn't everyone have some kind of angst?

Right now I am listening to "Don't Cry" by Neil Young, a singer/composer I really enjoy. This song is full of bitterness and longing.



Other songs with "sweet, then sour" moments include Creep by Radiohead.


For anyone who knows me very well, you will understand why I like this song and other "sweet/sour" songs. If you don't know me that well -- here's a clue^^.

A Belgian girls choir recorded Creep, too, but their version is mostly "sweet" and very, very moving!



A quintessential example of "Sweet/sour" with the emphasis on "Sour" is The Pretender by the Foo Fighters!!

Rolling on the Waves of Sound

Last night's orchestra rehearsal -- surrounded by huge waves of sound (Scheherazade) -- clinging to my little violin, as to a small piece of wood -- swimming along with the motion -- my ears filled with immense and glorious sounds!!

The Greatest Music I Have Ever Heard

There are many candidates for this award. For example, Bach's B Minor Mass would be an excellent choice. But, today, I am listening to Beethoven's Grosse Fugue in B minor, Op. 133. I believe it was written originally as a part of a string quartet, but, as played by the strings of an orchestra, it's very impressive and moving. The intellectual aspects of this fugue could intrigue a person for hours and hours. What a giant of a brain -- Beethoven!!

Background Music

I just got back from 3 weeks in Japan. "Background music" is prevalent there. You can hear it wherever you go. What do you think about background music? Often, it creates a calm atmosphere, in a dentist's office or an exciting one -- like that of stores that want to create an upbeat mood so you will be happy and want to buy things.

But, basically, background music is the antithesis of everything I believe in about music. You aren't expected to really listen to that music. It's just an ambient sound. Perhaps people won't know how to really listen to music if they just hear background music all the time. It dulls your senses!

I had a really annoying experience with some kind of "healing" music, kind of New Age thing that went on and on and on. It started to drive me absolutely crazy because it was so horribly repetitive and boring! But, because of the circumstances, I couldn't get away from it, so I grit my teeth very bravely and withstood it.