Here now another inspiration for unusual songs for Christmas:
Elvis Presley, Martina McBride - Blue Christmas:
Elvis with a song he wrote himself, as he says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KK6sMo8NBY
Barbara Streisand - Jingle Bells:
An unusually fast version of this well known song, probably not for everyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nq0CuUKTjc
Destiny's Child - 8 Days Of Christmas:
Not every Christmas song has to be contemplative and slow, as Destiny's Child shows us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOWQ9YIb-A
The Jackson 5 - I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus:
What are we to think of a boy singing about seeing Mommy kissing someone other than Daddy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PITCmngiMfA
Brenda Lee - It's A Marshmallow World:
Is on my list for the crazy title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-k54HTWgI
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick:
This song, too, is Christmassy, but with more upbeat than so many others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_3HLtW8mCw
The Kinks - Father Christmas:
This song probably spoke to many poorer kids (Father Christmas, give us some money/Don't mess around with those silly toys).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-oVPVsCqs4
The Rolling Stones - Winter:
Probably a lot of female fans wish to be the woman Mick is singing about: "Sometimes I wanna wrap my coat around you." Don't know what my mother thought of that song. She was a fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frt_f0eP_Hs
Here is My Christmas Song "List" 2013
Showing posts with label songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label songs. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 December 2018
Friday, 26 May 2017
Disturbed: The Sound Of Silence
A new version of a classic. Thanks Lisa, for making me aware of it.
Here is the link to the official music video to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4
The Sound Of Silence
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
Fools, said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence
Here is the link to the official music video to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4
The Sound Of Silence
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
Fools, said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence
Thursday, 25 December 2014
Heavenly music
Dear reader,
I rarely hear "pure" classical music. I do listen to a lot of soundtracks. Soundtracks speak to more, because good soundtracks tell a story of their own even without the pictures.
Year ago, I became again interested in magic and found Derren Brown. In his stage show "Something Wicked This Way Comes", the second act starts with him getting a woman from the audience on stage, sitting her across from him at a table, signing a brick of wood for her and then hammering a nail in his nose, well the nose hole. To finish, he hammers the nail in the brick (perfectly timed with the playing music) and hands the brick to her as a present. All of that is with almost no words, he only whispers when she should hold the nail and when he asks for her name to sign the brick for her. This is accompanied by Beethoven's fifth piano concerto, in english areas also known as "The Emperor". It is a strange thing to see someone hammering a nail in the nose, although I'm well aware that this act is not a trick, but really possible. Those of you, who can't see that sort of thing, should just click on the video to start it and look away or close your eyes. Everyone else can, of course, also close your eyes and just enjoy the music. The piece itself is the second of three and about 9 minutes long. Those of you who want to listen to the whole piano concerto and haven't yet, be warned: the transition from the second to the third part is very instant and very loud.
The second part is, not least because of Derren Brown, my favourite part. Although it doesn't hurt trained people to hammer a nail in the nose, it still has become the essence of relaxation and especially analgesia for me.
You have been warned, Derren Brown hammers a nail in his nose in this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNbnuZR2wd4
I heard the second, in my opinion divine, piece, in the movie "Master & Commander". A crew is sailing around on a ship. The captain enjoys playing the violin and the doctor plays the cello. Preferably, and much to the dislike of the rest of the crew, they play classical pieces. This is why there are at least some excerpts f those classical pieces on the CD of the soundtrack, too. An ingenious movie with the combination classical pieces with the captain and the doctor, by the way. Normally the two of them play always together. So all pieces are for violin and cello. The only exception is when they stop at the galapagos islands, to treat the injured doctor and give him a rest. On the island, on land and among many interesting new animals, he is in his element. That's the only moment, when you can hear a piece for solo cello, namely Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007.
My favourite piece however can be heard when they sadly have to abandon a sailor, a cut version (of about 16 minutes cut down to about 5 minutes) of "Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis" by Ralph Vaughun Williams. It's a bit complicated, I know. Thomas Tallis lived about 1500 until 1580-ish and has composed a hymn. Vaughun Williams was born about 1890-ish and died in 1960-ish. He was very interested in english folk songs and was inspired by Tallis' hymn. Vaughun Williams composed his wonderful piece in 1910, in which it was also performed for the first time in the Gloucester Cathedral. The special thing about it is, that the musicians are not all sitting together. some of them are sitting in a smaller ensemble somewhat apart. Vaughun Williams did that for the sound effect. In the link, which I'll give you in a bit, which by the way is also Gloucester Cathedral, the group is sitting, like they were in the premiere, so the spacial arrangement can be seen. I find it unbelievably exciting to hear the high strings at the beginning playing their melody and the low strings replying with the strings being plucked. The strings need quite some time, until they find to each other and really play together.
I'm not a music theorist. Others could tell much more about that piece. If you're interested, you'll certainly read up about it. I was lucky and found a very insightful audio sort of documentarydiscussion on the internet. It is about 45 minutes long. Let me know, if you want to listen to it. This should be it with explanations today.
Here it is now, the heavenly "Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis" by Ralph Vaughun Williams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihx5LCF1yJY
With this I wish you all a heavenly christmas!
If you like, you can post your own favourite classical music in the comments,
Until next blog,
sarah
I rarely hear "pure" classical music. I do listen to a lot of soundtracks. Soundtracks speak to more, because good soundtracks tell a story of their own even without the pictures.
Year ago, I became again interested in magic and found Derren Brown. In his stage show "Something Wicked This Way Comes", the second act starts with him getting a woman from the audience on stage, sitting her across from him at a table, signing a brick of wood for her and then hammering a nail in his nose, well the nose hole. To finish, he hammers the nail in the brick (perfectly timed with the playing music) and hands the brick to her as a present. All of that is with almost no words, he only whispers when she should hold the nail and when he asks for her name to sign the brick for her. This is accompanied by Beethoven's fifth piano concerto, in english areas also known as "The Emperor". It is a strange thing to see someone hammering a nail in the nose, although I'm well aware that this act is not a trick, but really possible. Those of you, who can't see that sort of thing, should just click on the video to start it and look away or close your eyes. Everyone else can, of course, also close your eyes and just enjoy the music. The piece itself is the second of three and about 9 minutes long. Those of you who want to listen to the whole piano concerto and haven't yet, be warned: the transition from the second to the third part is very instant and very loud.
The second part is, not least because of Derren Brown, my favourite part. Although it doesn't hurt trained people to hammer a nail in the nose, it still has become the essence of relaxation and especially analgesia for me.
You have been warned, Derren Brown hammers a nail in his nose in this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNbnuZR2wd4
I heard the second, in my opinion divine, piece, in the movie "Master & Commander". A crew is sailing around on a ship. The captain enjoys playing the violin and the doctor plays the cello. Preferably, and much to the dislike of the rest of the crew, they play classical pieces. This is why there are at least some excerpts f those classical pieces on the CD of the soundtrack, too. An ingenious movie with the combination classical pieces with the captain and the doctor, by the way. Normally the two of them play always together. So all pieces are for violin and cello. The only exception is when they stop at the galapagos islands, to treat the injured doctor and give him a rest. On the island, on land and among many interesting new animals, he is in his element. That's the only moment, when you can hear a piece for solo cello, namely Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007.
My favourite piece however can be heard when they sadly have to abandon a sailor, a cut version (of about 16 minutes cut down to about 5 minutes) of "Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis" by Ralph Vaughun Williams. It's a bit complicated, I know. Thomas Tallis lived about 1500 until 1580-ish and has composed a hymn. Vaughun Williams was born about 1890-ish and died in 1960-ish. He was very interested in english folk songs and was inspired by Tallis' hymn. Vaughun Williams composed his wonderful piece in 1910, in which it was also performed for the first time in the Gloucester Cathedral. The special thing about it is, that the musicians are not all sitting together. some of them are sitting in a smaller ensemble somewhat apart. Vaughun Williams did that for the sound effect. In the link, which I'll give you in a bit, which by the way is also Gloucester Cathedral, the group is sitting, like they were in the premiere, so the spacial arrangement can be seen. I find it unbelievably exciting to hear the high strings at the beginning playing their melody and the low strings replying with the strings being plucked. The strings need quite some time, until they find to each other and really play together.
I'm not a music theorist. Others could tell much more about that piece. If you're interested, you'll certainly read up about it. I was lucky and found a very insightful audio sort of documentarydiscussion on the internet. It is about 45 minutes long. Let me know, if you want to listen to it. This should be it with explanations today.
Here it is now, the heavenly "Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis" by Ralph Vaughun Williams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihx5LCF1yJY
With this I wish you all a heavenly christmas!
If you like, you can post your own favourite classical music in the comments,
Until next blog,
sarah
Monday, 23 December 2013
My Christmas Song "List" 2013
Dear reader,
the "usual" christmas songs are fine for a while for me. I prefer unusual. Here are a couple of songs, which I have and listen to, which are christmassy:
"Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over" by Jack White
I heard it for the first time in the film respectively soundtrack of "Cold Mountain". An upbeat, happy melody, something different from the more usual slow songs. The song tells the story of a group, who will join the band when christmas time will soon be over.
(The video link has the Royal Albatross. Sadly I couldn't find any other video or audio with Jack White, some youtube links are blocked for germany due to some copyright/rights regulations.... sorry about that):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPoJE92yvvM
"Christmas In Hollis" by Run DMC
I learned about this song watching the film "Die Hard". Bruce Willis is in a limousine and is driven from the airport to the building where his wife is having a christmas party with her company, to which he is also invited. He complains that this isn't a christmas song and it does sound more like rap, far away from what we'd associate with sounds and music for christmas. But as the driver points out to Bruce Willis, "This is christmas music!" The text tells the story of someone, who goes for a walk in a park on christmas and seems to see someone with a dog. The dog happens to be a reindeer and it's very sick and the man next to it isn't just somebody, but santa claus.
Here's the music video to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR07r0ZMFb8
"The Stowaway" by Murray Gold/performed by Yamit Mamo
"Doctor Who" fans may know this song from the 10th Doctor (David Tennant). You can find it on the soundtrack to the 3rd series. I like it, because it's a happy, dynamic melody. Although the song is a bit sad. The singer tells about a "stowaway" on his ship. Which applies quite well to the Doctor in the episode "Voyage of The Damned", in which this song is played. In this christmas episode he's on the Titanic. The stowaway of the song desperately wants to be with his love on christmas day.
You can listen to the song on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXF6H_venI
"Christmas Hell" (variaton of "Jingle Bells") by Danny Elfman
Not really a song in a real sense, more a short promo by Danny Elfman, the composer of the music of "Nightmare Before Christmas" with his very own version of "Jingle Bells". More on "Nightmare Before Christmas" later (later as in "in a new blog post", linked to it, now that it's done)... I thought I'll add it here, even though it's not a proper song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcgtOkj9ubU
"White Wine In The Sun" by Tim Minchin
A christmas song? Or more a song for and to his little daughter? Or both? I like Tim Minchin, as you may have guessed from previous entries and I like this song. He's australian and in australia there's no snow on christmas, of course. White is only the wine for him.
In the video he's singing this as an encore, I think during his tour "Ready For This":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iwfLN4K1hA
Do you have christmas songs you like to listen to? If so which ones?
Until next blog,
sarah
the "usual" christmas songs are fine for a while for me. I prefer unusual. Here are a couple of songs, which I have and listen to, which are christmassy:
"Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over" by Jack White
I heard it for the first time in the film respectively soundtrack of "Cold Mountain". An upbeat, happy melody, something different from the more usual slow songs. The song tells the story of a group, who will join the band when christmas time will soon be over.
(The video link has the Royal Albatross. Sadly I couldn't find any other video or audio with Jack White, some youtube links are blocked for germany due to some copyright/rights regulations.... sorry about that):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPoJE92yvvM
"Christmas In Hollis" by Run DMC
I learned about this song watching the film "Die Hard". Bruce Willis is in a limousine and is driven from the airport to the building where his wife is having a christmas party with her company, to which he is also invited. He complains that this isn't a christmas song and it does sound more like rap, far away from what we'd associate with sounds and music for christmas. But as the driver points out to Bruce Willis, "This is christmas music!" The text tells the story of someone, who goes for a walk in a park on christmas and seems to see someone with a dog. The dog happens to be a reindeer and it's very sick and the man next to it isn't just somebody, but santa claus.
Here's the music video to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR07r0ZMFb8
"The Stowaway" by Murray Gold/performed by Yamit Mamo
"Doctor Who" fans may know this song from the 10th Doctor (David Tennant). You can find it on the soundtrack to the 3rd series. I like it, because it's a happy, dynamic melody. Although the song is a bit sad. The singer tells about a "stowaway" on his ship. Which applies quite well to the Doctor in the episode "Voyage of The Damned", in which this song is played. In this christmas episode he's on the Titanic. The stowaway of the song desperately wants to be with his love on christmas day.
You can listen to the song on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXF6H_venI
"Christmas Hell" (variaton of "Jingle Bells") by Danny Elfman
Not really a song in a real sense, more a short promo by Danny Elfman, the composer of the music of "Nightmare Before Christmas" with his very own version of "Jingle Bells". More on "Nightmare Before Christmas" later (later as in "in a new blog post", linked to it, now that it's done)... I thought I'll add it here, even though it's not a proper song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcgtOkj9ubU
"White Wine In The Sun" by Tim Minchin
A christmas song? Or more a song for and to his little daughter? Or both? I like Tim Minchin, as you may have guessed from previous entries and I like this song. He's australian and in australia there's no snow on christmas, of course. White is only the wine for him.
In the video he's singing this as an encore, I think during his tour "Ready For This":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iwfLN4K1hA
Do you have christmas songs you like to listen to? If so which ones?
Until next blog,
sarah
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