"Kelly and a Bird" by SexRex, with translation

(For more about this, see my blog of February 26)

ケリーと小鳥
Kelly and a bird

満身創痍の男たち　いつまでたっても変わらない
Depressing men -- they have never changed

そんな　逃げ道ばかり
like this -- their only escape

相談・愚痴の女たち　泪に埋もれて動けない
Women who want to get advice and complain -- They can not move the men by covering them with a lot of tears

そんな　逃げ道ばかり
like this -- their only escape


今夜のあなたときたらろくに口も聞いてくれないじゃない
You utter hardly a word on this night

それで？　どうするつもり？
So what? what are you gonna do?

遠い過去のページをはらりめくってさよならね
It is time to leaf through a past page (of memory) and say good-bye

できるわけないし
I can not do it

「逃げ道ばかり」
like this -- their only escape

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
That room with wood carving and the worthless game of playing house, adding up all that you say.

虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ
A wolf whispers to vacant eyes "I can not hear anything any more."

今だに傷跡だね　あなたはわたしを捨てるといった
It is traumatic. You said you dumped me.

それで？　いつまでこだわるの？
So what? When are you going to be concerned about that?

あさっての方角から罪だけで罪を拭おうとしてる
You try to wipe a sin away with a wrong idea, a sin

翼の折れた男
A man with a broken wing

「いづくにやゆかむ」
"Where are you going to go?" =old Japanese

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
That room with wood carving and the worthless game of playing house, adding up all that you say.

足元見ながら　階段踏み外す
I am staring at my feet and I lose my footing.

真実の道へ　陽のあたる場所へ　手の鳴るほうへ
to a real way to a sunny place to where somebody is clapping his hands

ホントの幸せ　あなたには見えるの？
Can you see real happiness?


木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
That room with wood carving and the worthless game of playing house, adding up all that you say.

虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ
A wolf whispers to vacant eyes "I can not hear anything any more."

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Thank you to my friend, M-san, for this translation!!

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I

Gypsy Jazz

Swing Gitan is a "gypsy jazz" group which is based in Chicago. (This style of music was created around 1934 with the name "Hot Club de France". Gypsy Jazz was associated with the guitarist, Django Reinhardt and the violinist Stephan Grapelli.) It was my good fortune to hear Swing Gitan at a free concert in Chicago last year. I loved their music so I bought their CD and I enjoy listening to all of the cuts on the CD.

My Tai Chi friends and I are planning to go to see Swing Gitan at a bar in Chicago in April.

This music is so "stylish", "jazzy" and "upbeat" -- it just makes you smile to hear it!

Here's a little sample.

Violin Improv

While looking through my iTunes recently, I noticed I had a couple of files of my own violin playing. I was improvising on the spot. While this example doesn't represent a very high level of playing, it will give you some kind of notion of how my violin sounds. ;-)

At the time, I was trying my little "toy", an iTalk microphone which attaches directly to my iPod.

SexRex

Here's my new favorite! Kelly's Small Bird by SexRex, a Japanese fusion group. I came across this tune while listening to a Japanese podcast I subscribe to. It's a wild and wonderful song -- "desperate" might be a good descriptive word for it. (SexRex -- don't you love the name? hahaha!)

You can see the group on YouTube

I am working on the translation, but for any who read Japanese, here it is, lol:

ケリーと小鳥

満身創痍の男たち　いつまでたっても変わらない
そんな　逃げ道ばかり
相談・愚痴の女たち　泪に埋もれて動けない
そんな　逃げ道ばかり

今夜のあなたときたらろくに口も聞いてくれないじゃない
それで？　どうするつもり？
遠い過去のページをはらりめくってさよならね
できるわけないし

「逃げ道ばかり」

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ

今だに傷跡だね　あなたはわたしを捨てるといった
それで？　いつまでこだわるの？
あさっての方角から罪だけで罪を拭おうとしてる
翼の折れた男

「いづくにやゆかむ」

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
足元見ながら　階段踏み外す

真実の道へ　陽のあたる場所へ　手の鳴るほうへ
ホントの幸せ　あなたには見えるの？

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ

Mahler's Fifth Symphony

This morning -- lying in my bed at 5 a.m. -- listening to my iPod - - amazed at the way Mahler could depict "soaring the heights of joy and happiness" and "plunging the despair and grief" - - how is such music possible, I wondered - - often so loud and wild, then tender and sweet - - thanking my lucky stars I get to study this music and play it with my orchestra - - wondering: how was it possible that Mahler could seek inside his own being to find all of this emotion and these musical ideas - - wondering: how was it possible that all of us could somehow connect with Mahler's unique vision - -

My Violin

Playing the violin has been a torturous, difficult process. I began playing at the age of 10 and I never enjoyed playing the violin as much as I loved playing the piano. On the piano, I could really express myself and it sounded good all the time. On a violin you have to find the note. Intonation is crucial and it can sound so sour if you are just a bit off. So, that was always difficult for me. Then, making a beautiful tone is very difficult on a violin. On a piano, you get what you get, but on a violin you have to create the tone quality by how you draw the bow, how much pressure you put on the bow and what kind of vibrato you will have. So, it's been one long struggle and, as much as I love playing in an orchestra, the violin itself has always been a challenge for me.

However, last Sunday, during the rehearsal for the Brahms Requiem, I began to notice how beautiful my violin was sounding! It was really the first time in my life that I felt this way! I was smiling, riding on a wave, and thinking, "Oh, how lovely my violin sounds today!" I was so happy! I hope this will continue. It has taken many years of practicing and effort to get to this point!!

Children's Creativity

Some of my faithful blog readers may not know about my little website -- The Virtual Museum of Music Inventions, http://www.musicinventions.org
I just put up a new gallery from a school in Troy, Michigan (not far from Detroit). New Gallery. I began this website in 1998 and have continued it ever since! It's a lot of fun for me and I have heard from folks around the country that it's given their students ideas for their own projects. I love this use of the Internet to share ideas!!