Dove Sei, Amato Bene?

by on 24 Nov 2011 in Music

Last night Cap’n Sweet Valley was unable to see Handel’s Rodelinda at the Met and, knowing I was also a fan of opera, bequeathed me his tickets. To my surprise and very great pleasure, Andreas Scholl was Bertrarido, a role for which he had sung to great acclaim in his debut. (I have something of a thing for Andreas Scholl. I don’t know; I can’t explain it either except for the fact that his voice is otherworldly.) There’s a beautiful transcendent quality to his voice and I swear, we were all transported when he sang Dove sei.

The only thing marring the evening was the fact that some nincompoop decided to bring her children. I’m all for children enjoying opera, providing they SHUT THE FUCK UP. My parents brought me to my first opera (Hansel and Gretel) when I was 9, and I was perfectly well-behaved. What I did not do was fidget, rock the seats, or ask questions throughout the entire first act. Thankfully they left before the last act, or else there would have been words.

The production was marvelous, of course. Oh, to be able to see opera more regularly…

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Oh, My HEART!

by on 6 Jun 2011 in Music

YOU GUYS, THIS IS THE SADDEST, MOST HEARTBREAKING STORY EVER. Lived on the streets since he was 5! All he wanted to do was sing! *sobs uncontrollably*

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It’s Okay Not To Be Okay

by on 2 May 2011 in Music

I’ve been obsessed with this song lately.

Losing my mind on a tiny error,
I nearly left the real me on the shelf.

I forgot what to do to fit the mould, yeah,
The more I try the less it’s working.

She’s so awesome.

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Angry Anymore

by on 23 Apr 2011 in Music

She taught me how to wage a cold war with quiet charm, but I just wanna walk through my life unarmed.

Oh Ani. You slay me. Every time.

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Me I’m Just A Dilly Boy

by on 10 Sep 2010 in Music

The Libertines

The Libertines in 2002.

Since I’ve been blathering on about this band for the past few blog posts, I figured I might as well share a few of my favourite songs with you, or at least, as many songs as I could find on Playlist.com. (This is the shitty thing about liking a UK band with relatively little US popularity: YOU CAN NEVER FIND ANYTHING ON THEM. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to convince Verizon they should get “The Good Old Days” as an option for a ringtone?) Music beneath the cut.

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^_________________________^

by on 31 Aug 2010 in Music

Pete and Carl

I just needed to post that. Because I’m actually kind of crying. Their performance of “What Became Of The Likely Lads” at Reading tore my heart out. Carl sang the reworked lyrics.

Well we all had the ones,
We taught the world, we wrote the songs,
It was the dream we had.
But let us wrap up all the wrongs,
I will hold you for so long
And say you’re not so bad.*

Written in his own handwriting in Pete’s Albion books. God, I can’t even speak.

*At least that’s what I think he sang, but as we all know, Carl has a chronic mumbling problem.

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Disjointed Thoughts

by on 22 Apr 2010 in Music

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

My latest obsession.

Halp, you guys. I am obsessed with a centuries-dead, genius composer. Halp. I dropped $50 I don’t have on all of Mozart’s piano concertos. (Yes, all of them. Nos. 1 through 27, plus two rondos.) I rewatched Amadeus last night. With the commentary. Again. And then I cried. With anger. Then sadness. Then anger. Then sadness. Then anger. I suppose this is how people felt when The Beatles broke up except I’m angry that a genius died almost 200 years before I was born.

I have periods of obsession with musicians. Not necessarily their music (although that too), but musicians. The most significant musician-loves of my life were Carl Barât and Pete Doherty of The Libertines, but I have others. David Bowie (but only from Ziggy Stardust through The Thin White Duke). Lady Gaga. (Everyone on Twitter knows of my adoration/love/lust of Mama Monster.) And now, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.

My dorkiness knows no bounds. For some reason, people find this endearing. Agent Kathleen Ortiz–to whom I shall henceforth refer as Rainbow Brite–thinks I’m “adorable” when I make a pretentious ass of myself. But then she calls me “adorable” when I dress up as a femme fatale from the 1930s, when I talk about literary fiction, or when I’m being cocky and full of myself. It’s the Boy Who Cried Wolf, missy; now I don’t know whether or not to trust you anymore.

I’ve got a lot of thoughts running through my head about books and publishing, but I think I just might listen to No. 15, KV 450 again.

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FANGIRL JJ COMES BACK

by on 1 Apr 2010 in Music

Today I was going to blog about literary fiction and what comprises it (and I may return to that later when I am off Cloud 9), but right now I can’t form coherent thoughts because:

The Libertines Reunion

The Libertines are reuniting.

You know, I’m not being hyperbolic when I say I am actually crying tears of joy. No seriously, my cheeks are wet. And if this is an April Fool’s Joke, someone at NME will pay in blood.

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I Am SHAMELESS

by on 29 Mar 2010 in Music

Whose brilliant idea was it to give me license to record myself playing instruments and singing badly online? Gaah.

Anyway, in a fit of Libertines-related nostalgia (as it appears that a long-hoped-for reunion is in the works?), I decided to record a cover of “Music When the Lights Go Out”. I use the term “record” loosely. This is about as “produced” a sound as I’ll ever get: vocals, guitar, and piano all recorded separately and then mixed together with sub-par equipment, yay!

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A Bit of Sunday Narcissism

by on 21 Mar 2010 in Music

All I can say is I have no explanation. It started with me complaining on Twitter that I couldn’t figure out what the last chord of the pre-chorus to Lady Gaga’s “Speechless” is. (For the record, I have no idea what its name is, but I play it #F-C-E as the last piece of a pseudo-chromatic downward progression–if that makes no sense, then that’s okay, it doesn’t make sense to me either. I never took music theory and quite literally play everything by ear, so I lack the skills to articulate what I’m talking about.)

It ended with someone convincing me they wanted to hear what I sounded like. So there it is. That’s what I sound like when I’m singing in a key that’s lower than comfortable (too guttural) and playing a non-USB digital piano with the world’s clickiest sustain pedal. Digital pianos make really loud sounds! (Meaning this was recorded using my MacBook’s less-than-ideal built-in-microphone and run through Garageband’s “Live Performance” filter. Ha!)

Anyone else out there have Garageband? Did you know you can turn a woman’s voice into a man’s? BECAUSE YOU CAN AND IT’S THE AWESOMEST THING EVER. I recorded myself singing “Das Licht Des Himmels” a cappella (excuse the bad German and the mistakes).

Now I’m a girl…
…now I’m kind of a sexy man.

It may only work because I’m singing the original in a very high key (but this is where I’m the most comfortable singing–head voice) because I tried to turn my cover of “Speechless” into that of a man but it didn’t sound as good.

But it’s totally uncanny, no?

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