Music Hath Charms...

Our love of various musics has been a delicate counterpoint to Solaris, winding in and out of threads ever since Channel One. So here is our own little amphitheatre..

mondrian5, I have to ask how well you know Richard Thompson! (btw, the court order requires me to warn you that beginning a conversation on this topic could be hazardous to your patience and sanity :^D )

When Gryka mentioned both Genesis and Nelson Mandela on the birthday thread, I thought immediately of Peter Gabriel's Biko - an amazing conclusion to a great record.

I'll follow your link when I have more time, a video download will be a slow process... I'm not familiar with Blue Nile, I'll check them out... :>)

Comments

[michael]

mondrian,

Have you heard "Gothan Project"? Argentinian Tango with a modern twist. Very nice. My mom, who isn't into a lot of modern music, went to their concert in Poland and loved it.

For some time I wanted to propose that we call this forum "Solaris Social Club". I guess I don't have to explain to you where that came from...

I cannot stand Eminem, who sound like an angry chihuahua to me, but I love Tori Amos' version of his "Bonnie and Clyde" song. Gruesome but incredible.

Yeti,

I really like Justin Timberlake's "Rock your body" except for the lyrics. It reminds me of Michael Jackson from "Off the Wall" (that was before he turned into a freak of nature). I also have a thing for Telepopmusic's "Breathe". I immediately think about Lem's "Return from the Stars" when I listen to it.

I have a big soft spot for the eighties pop songs ("Flashdance" songs - "Maniac" and "What a Feeling", Hall and Oates, Eurythmics, Maggie Reilly with Mike Oldfield, Stevie Wonder's "Part Time Lover" and "Overjoyed", Paul McCartney's "Tug of War" album) but I never liked Duran Duran. Not one song. How's that for unsophisticated? Heh, heh.

Glimmung,

Out of that list you posted, I have never heard even one artist! What kind of music is it? Do you like "Clannad"? I'm a fan of their two records: "Legend" with music for a British "Robin Hood" series and "Magical Ring" which is a very good compilation record.

Oh, how could I forget - Chris Rea! "Road to Hell", "Auberge", "Shamrock Diaries". I love his voice. Then there is Steely Dan ("Gaucho" being my favorite) and Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly", early Cat Stevens... okay, I just have to stop now or I'll never finish! D:)

[Glimmette]

Hello, everyone.

One of the most delightful aspects of being human is the mystery of why we like what we like.

The willingness to listen to and find value in all kinds of music is of course important. Beyond that, however, one should never apologize for listening to that which moves him or her. There is no obligation to declare everything aesthetically equal. That would be a lie.

Because we like what we like.

Also, let me take this opportunity to knock Glimmung off his pedestal. You would not believe some of the ungodly crap he subjects me to. And let me warn you - if an Incredible String Band CD ever sidles up to you suggestively, run. Run as fast as you possibly can.

[Glimmung]

This, from the woman who could no doubt tell you what John Denver's favorite vegetable was. :^)

I think that, depending on how you were raised, and where you have lived, and even the pecularities of your individual DNA and brain chemistry, you will necessarily inhabit a different perceptual universe where aesthetics (and, for that matter, everything) are concerned. Based on the people I interact with from day to day, everyone here has quite a broad musical palette - and everyone seems openminded. And lest we be accused of uncritical acceptance, I note that everyone has listed at least one example of music they don't like!

Yeti, don't worry if you aren't familiar with those artists! I was being deliberately obscure - sorry about that. Although Gillian Welch might ring a bell with some, because of her participation in the O Brother, Where Art Thou project. I'll describe them in more detail when I have more time. I will add, though, that late at night, when I want to be immersed in bittersweet beauty, Kate Rusby's Hourglass is often my choice. You might like her if you like Clannad, or Loreena McKennitt.

Peace to us all.

And good to see you back, mondrian5 :^) Now I'm really intrigued to hear Hats...

[Glimmung]

MIchael

I just realized that was your comment and not Yeti's. I will elaborate on them, but for now I will say that they are all, in some way, related to folk music.

I loved Cat Stevens! "Moonshadow" is one of the most beautiful songs I know. Has anyone ever seen the animated "video" featuring that song based on the artwork to the Teaser and the Firecat album cover?

[Yeti]

OK, Mondrian5, I've just got to say, you are "livin' the dream".

"I went to Argentina because I wanted to hear Tango played where it came from."

That's way cool. I am highly jealous. By the way, have you ever heard of the band "Homunculus" out of Cincinnati? (www.homunculture.com) They go on regional tours from time to time, and they have sort of a cult following where they go. They do original songs that are basically modern rock. They've got a guitar, a bass, a drummer, and a keyboard, and they all sing. They used to have a guy that played conga drums and bongos and a bunch of other percussion, but he got kicked out, and they now cover most of that on synthesizer. (A mistake, in my book, but it's not bad). They have a song called "Okay" that's my favorite.

Speaking of spiritual music, I'm sure you've all seen campus preachers before. Most of them stand in the middle of campus and preach the gospel, and essentially draw a circle of hecklers around them while they shout. I'm uncertain whether they win more souls or turn away more souls, but be that as it may, I can remember walking to class when I was in college, one day, and there was an old man standing there singing old-time gospel songs from a weathered hymnal. It was one of those peculiar autumn mornings when it's brisk outside and a dew fog hangs over everything and you can see your breath, and as I walked along it was very quiet except for the deep voice of that old man singing, of all things, Amazing Grace. No shouting, no hecklers. Just that simple old man singing to God. He had such a look of peace about him, and somehow that song just resonated in me. People slowed down to listen, and you could see the far-away look in their eyes. It wasn't a booming, operatic voice. In fact it was a little feeble, but still deep and resonant maybe a little like Johnny Cash. I never saw him before or since, but I will always remember that morning walking to class.

Music touches all of us, as Glimmette said, in different ways. I'm sure most of the other students found that old man irrelevant at best, or perhaps irritating or worse. I found him encouraging, moving, and unassumingly reverent.

Michael, I love Telepopmusic. Have you heard their song "Love Can Damage Your Health"? That's my personal fave, although Breathe is right up there with it. Other than those two songs, I've not heard much from them. What do you think about Dirty Vegas?

Has anyone here ever listened to the "Music of Cosmos" soundtrack from the Carl Sagan series on PBS? There was a song on there titled "Inside the Heart of the Universe", and I'm not sure who the artist was, and they only had a snippet from it, but I remember that it was pretty cool.

[Glimmung]

mondrian5,

How I got to the Towne Crier in Pawling once (for a Fairport Convention show) is too long a story for right now, but I wish I could go back – I check out who’s appearing there and it is a constant parade of artists I love. The food was really good too!

Sounds like Koerner, Ray and Glover handled that low turnout well. The intimacy of that performance must have been tremendous as a listener, but frustrating for the performers. We have a small acoustic performance venue in OKC that brings roots and folk artists through that otherwise would never come anywhere near us. It makes no money but is a labor of love for Greg the owner – these are essentially house concerts as he lives there. I went there Saturday night to hear a British singer-songwriter named Julian Dawson, and we had an audience of about 7. He was so gracious about it all, and gave a wonderful performance, even though he had driven from Raleigh NC before having to turn around and head to St Louis and Chicago. He’s played Pawling.

He has a song which addresses the “world fusion music” phenomenon that echoes somewhat a comment I made above. I felt that too much music gratuitously inserts World Music elements in a way that ultimately cheapens and marginalizes them. Julian made a comment about how pop and crossover albums suddenly started featuring “Amazonian Nose Flutes” and such. His song’s refrain goes “Steal that beat, turn it into money, tear out the heart and throw it back into the jungle”. We both would prefer to just sit and listen to an Amazonian Nose Flutist…

I like Kronos Quartet, I wish I had more. I'm very fond of Early Music and Pieces of Africa.

[Yeti]

Oh yeah, Michael, you mentioned the 80's music you like, I always liked "You are my Obsession" by Animotion. I never cared for Michael Jackson, though, ever. He has definitely lost sight of the mother ship!

This is a litle off-topic, but does anyone here agree with me that Vincent Price became a characature of himself in his later years? I also think Jack Nicholson has become a characature of himself.

[michael]

Yeti,

I actually know only "Breathe" but I'll find the song you mentioned and listen to it. I'm not a fan of Michael "The Hiccup" Jackson either but I like his "Don't stop till you get enough" from "Off The Wall" and Timberlake's song has the same level of funk in it. I also like Jackson's "Human Nature". You know that I completely cannot recall Animotion?! Dirty Vegas? I've heard the name but I don't think I've heard their music. Gotta check them out too.

I agree with you about Nicholson but it seems he broke out of his mould in "About Schmidt". Very subdued and down to earth. I cannot bear any longer de Niro in the roles of lunatics. Thank goodness lately he eased off on those.

Vincent Price? He was great in "Edward Scissorhands". He had a big sense of humor. It seems that the great horror legends had a great sense of humor - Price, Cushing, Lee, Karloff. In fact they were all good friends. I have on DVD the first movie in which Lee and Price met - "The Oblong Box", based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. According to Price, he was afraid of meeting Lee (which he does in one scene at the end of the movie. It is a scene of Lee's death.) because he had heard that Lee is pompous and aloof but when they just looked at each other for the first time they started to laugh like crazy and a great friendship was born. At least that was one good thing that came out of this movie which otherwise is lame.

You spoke my mind Yeti - mondrian is living a dream and I'm envious too! :)

Those world music inserts, Glimmung, always remind me of "Enigma", which bastardized religious chants in a similar way. "Gabin" fortunately falls into a different category. Before I get sidetracked again: I'm glad you liked them, Yeti.

Vangelis did I nice take on Gregorian chants with his "The Mask". Movement 4 on this album is the quietest and my favorite.

Mondrain, you said you like Asian music. Have you heard Vangelis' "China"? It isn't of course stricte Asian music but it transforms it in an interesting way. This album is like a philosophical and musical journey through China and Tibet.

[mondrian]

Michael,
I've never heard Gothan Project but I believe they were doing something in New York recently with a multimedia group. I remember thinking it looked pretty neat but I was away from home when it was happening.
I do like Asian music. I've not heard Vangelis' China for many years. I'll look for it again. I always liked the music he did for The Bounty and Blade Runner.

Yeti,
I've not heard of Homunculus, but I'll ask my brother about them. He is in the music scene in Columbus so he knows a bit about the music happening in Ohio. He was in a band called Martyr Colony. Industrial/techno stuff.
You mention the preacher; it’s funny where you will find sincere music happening. Always surprising. I'm really fortunate to get to some of the places I've been. I've been the undeserving recipient of much luck and generosity.

Glimmung,
Koerner, Ray and Glover. (I wrote that last post kind of fast. What was I thinking? Bachman Turner Overdrive?? :-}> At The Towne Crier Tony "Little Sun" Glover was giving my friend some harp advice, and I sat and had a drink with Dave "Snaker" Ray. His day job was selling insurance. I heard he just died recently. He sure played the blues like he knew what was up.
And "Spider" John Koerner was like a guy trapped outside of time. A repository for all American folk music. It was as if, when he looked around the room, he saw things the way Woody Guthrie would have. Three unassuming guys. I wish they had had a full house, but the people who were there were there for them.

[Yeti]

Gryka,

First of all, are we still friends? :-}

Earlier, I think you touched on a very important point when you said, "I believe that every style of music, with possible exemption of New Age, has something valuable to offer, and if you bother to seek long enough you'll find a musician in that style that is worth listening to." I agree wholeheartedly with you, however I think that there are plenty of "new age" musicians that are worth listening to.

We do have vastly different musical tastes, though, as you said. In the classical realm, what do you think about Shostakovich? He is one of my personal favorites. I also like Debussey, although he may be a little lyrical for your tastes. I'm not familiar with Schoenberg, Szymanowski, or Webern so I can't comment on them.

I'm guessing you're probably not a fan of the "crooners" like Mel Torme, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and the like. How do you feel about big band and swing music? Personally, I like Woody Herman and Claude Thornhill to name just a few.

I think my current favorites in terms of classic jazz/instrumental artists would be George Shearing, Henri Mancini, and Vince Guraldi.

There are probably many many artists that I would find interesting in the genres you mentioned. I've never been exposed to much of it, though, and so I can't say whether I like it or not. The artists you mentioned, such as Ali Farka Toure, Salif Keita, Ali Hasan Kuban, Amina, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, I've never even heard of, but I'm going to investigate them.

I happen to enjoy latin music very much. I don't own very much of it, however I tend to enjoy music that has a more complicated rhythm. I used to have a friend that only listened to music that was written in 4/4 time and had the standard alternating bass drum beat. I call them "boom - chick" songs. You know, "boom - chick - boom - chick - boom - chick". Anything more complicated, and she wasn't interested in it. One interesting rhythm that comes to mind is in the Led Zeppelin song "Poor Tom", which in the "boom - chick" lingo would have gone "boom boom boom boom - chick chick boom chick boom chick boom boom boom boom - chick chik boom chick boom chick"

"Mars" by Gustav Holst always fascinated me. It's written in 5/4 time and has often been imitated, but never duplicated.

[michael]

When it comes to classical music I'm a baroque person - Vivaldi and Bach but not his organ music. I don't mind listening to Haendel and Mozart either, which reminds me that the director's cut of "Alien" is coming to the theaters near you this week (remember what Dallas was listening to in his quiet moment?). I don't like romantic music - Beethoven or Chopin don't move me at all. I'm generally not a fan of classical music and I don't know a lot about it but for me Bach's "Well tempered Clavier" played by Glenn Gould is one of the best things around.

Big bands - I always liked Benny Goodman, especially "Goodbye". Woody Allen's soundtracks are great because he puts in so many pieces of music from that era on them.

You know, Yeti, I thought hard and finally remembered Animotion and "Obsession" but no, I don't like it very much. Do you remember The Pretenders' "In the Middle of the Road" or Yes' "Owner of the Lonely Heart", Stranglers' "Skin Deep"? Those were great songs!

Glimmung - "Moonshadow", "Katmandu" and "Wild World"...

Yesterday I got around to listening to the first couple of tracks from Robert Fripp's "Blessing of the Tears" and I was hugely disappointed. No guitar and the music wasn't interesting at all. Really, try finding "Upon this Earth" from Sylvian's "Gone to Earth" and Sylvian's "Flux and Mutability".

Mondrian, I mentioned before Vangelis' "The City". It is absolutely incredible how Vangelis can create images in your mind. He's a musical storyteller. "The City" is about an Asian metropolis - its life from dawn, when people buy newspapers on their way to work, the rush hour car driving, the red lantern district. It's an incredible album. I'm sure you'd love it.

Okay, this is totally off-topic but I can't resist asking: any Bruce Campbell fans around here? If you're looking for a very funny book try out his "If chins could kill: confessions of a B-movie actor". He's a great guy and has great, no-nonsense kind of humor. Have you watched "Evil Dead 2" or "Army of Darkness"?

[Glimmung]

Yeti (and all),

I've been in contact with Gryka. She and her family are coping with the sudden deaths of two people close to them. She'll be back once the storm passes and she feels like herself again.

I can answer your question though, Yeti - you're still friends :^)

OK, resume discussing...

[mondrian]

Best wishes to Gryka and family.

[Glimmung]

MIchael,

I heard my first David Sylvian today - actually Sylvian/Fripp's The First Day. I liked parts of it a lot - they established some nice grooves with that slightly perverse Fripp touch. I wish I could make out the lyrics easier. This is a pet peeve of mine. If the words matter to an artist enough to compose them and set them to music, WHY make them so hard to hear? Anyway, it was good, and excellent in spots. I also got Sylvian's Secrets of the Beehive - I'll let you know once I hear it.

In the same Amazon order: Aion by Dead Can Dance. Anyone else familiar with them? My third DCD CD.

Also a retrospective of the British all-around eccentric Ron Geesin called Hystery. An indescribable variety of sounds. (His 15 minutes came when he collaborated on Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother - primarily the choral and orchestral arrangements.) Electronics, odd spoken bits, keyboards, string arrangements, guitars, you name it. The sort of thing you either love (like I do) or find completely annoying (like Glimmette does).

Speaking of Richard Thompson [grin], he did a CD a few years ago called Bones of All Men with several of his old Fairport Convention compatriots and Philip Pickett, who is probably Britain's leading virtuoso and arranger of medieval/renaissance wind instruments. Ho-hum, you say? Wrong! Especially track 4 - crank it up to 11, sit back and watch your follicles ignite.

[Glimmung]

mondrian,

The Towne Crier! Auuggghhh!

They already had Martin Carthy there this month. Nov 15 they have Strawbs! I would kill (well, metaphorically) to see that. Then Battlefield Band.

12 Dec, Chris Smither. Great blues singer/songwriter, and a wonderful guitarist. Can't recommend him highly enough.

Every few years I take an oath to leave Oklahoma just so I can live somewhere with access to lots of good live music. You may have noticed, I'm still here... :^)

[michael]

Glimmung,

I think "Secrets of the Beehive" has Sylvian singing on it. I just cannot listen to him but his instrumental bits - that's a different story. "Flux..." is two, very long instrumental compositions - sort of meditational which suits me very well. Yeah, I don't like when I can't make out the words of a song either but in his case I just don't listen to him singing, so I don't have a problem with him at all! D:)

"Dead can Dance"?! I thought about them immediately when you mentioned Cocteau Twins - you know, the 4AD connection (I thought about Harold Budd of course too). I haven't listened to "Aion" yet but it is allegedly one of their best along with "Serpent Egg". I have "Within the Realm of the Dying Sun" which has some incredible bits on it. My other half cannot stomach it, so I don't listen to that one too often... It's not for everyone - you know, the doom and gloom goth factor - but it is very evocative music indeed. Also, like Vangelis, it creates stories in your mind.

There is this strange album by two guys, Vincent Clarke and Martyn Ware, one of them (or maybe both) from Depeche Mode in its early days. This album was created as a musical background for an art installation - an empty, white room which was illuminated successively by the colors of the light spectrum and the album is titled very aptly "Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle". Beautiful ambient, electronic music. It places you either in the womb (red), in a forest (green), on a beach (yellow). Really nice.

I've ordered "Pentangle" and Croyton btw.
I also have some "Aphex Twin" albums pending, John Serrie (a guy that does music for planetariums), "Future Sound of London" - the list goes on... when will I ever get through all this stuff, I don't know (groan)! :)

[Glimmung]

Michael,

Which Pentangle did you order?

If I don't like the Sylvian, it'll be for the same reason as you. I'll remember "Flux" - thanks for the tip!

It wasn't me who mentioned Cocteau Twins, I've never heard any that I'm aware of though I know the name. And Croyton is....? And 4AD?

Ambient is a chancy thing for me. I tend to find music in that area either really good, or really annoying, so I rarely take chances. Many would wonder how I could ever tell a difference! :^D This is true both of "pop" ambient (e.g., Eno) and "classical" (e.g., Philip Glass). I liked the old Fripp & Eno "No Pussyfooting", for instance.

For some instrumental Celtic music that has some jam band-quasi-groove-dance-world-ambient aspects, you could try the bands Peatbog Faeries or Shooglenifty. Not meditative, but a different approach from most Celtic CDs.

One nice thing about Amazon is the reviews and samples...

[mondrian]

"Steel Cathedrals" is among the best things I've heard by David Sylvian. I nstrumental. Hard to find. It was a short film soundtrack. It is with his sometimes collaborator Ryuichi Sakamoto. Sakamoto may have given the best concert I've been too. I highly recommend his album "1996."

Michael, if you like "Flux and Mutability" you might like "Plight and Premonition," the first Czukey/Sylvian album. Also by Sylvian is "Approaching Silence" and "Ember Glance: Persistance of Memory." No singing. On Sakamoto's "Discord" (excellent minimalist orchestral music) Sylvian briefly recites a poem about family life and it's really good. I sort of cringe at those old "Moody Blues-like" spoken word things but this is different. Like sitting in the living room.
I'm the one who confessed to liking The Cocteau Twins. If Glimmung prefers to understand the words, I doubt they are his cup-o-tea ;-}> Usually I prefer that too, but, I can't explain it, Liz Fraser is just able to take me wherever she's going.

Glimmung,
I like Dead Can Dance a lot. Lisa Gerrard also did a very fine soundtrack for the film "The Insider."
I heard Chris Smithers open for J.J. Cale. He was quite good. So was Cale.

The Cincinnati Symphony has a new recording of Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet." Some sort of digital stream recording. The sound is truly incredible.

Boy, the list is endless, huh? This is making me listen to different things.

[michael]

Glimmung,

I don't know where I left my head - Consort, not Croyton! rolleyes:) I'm waiting for his "Icarus".

I ordered Pentangle's "Cruel Sister", Glimmung. I was sure it was you who mentioned Cocteau Twins. I'm beginning to loose track here...

4AD is a music company from England which produced music of Cocteau Twins and Dead can Dance.

Mondrian, I've tried to listen to "Plight and Premonition" but it's too spooky for me. I'll check out the other Sylvian albums you recommended. Thanks.

Elisabeth Fraser and Lisa Gerrard are incredible. Fraser was singing on the LOTR soundtrack, right?

I know Ryuichi Sakamoto only from "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" unfortunately...

[Glimmung]

...I've tried to listen to "Plight and Premonition" but it's too spooky for me.

Now I'm intrigued!

You were right, Secrets of the Beehive didn't do much for me. I liked the Sylvian/Fripp much better.

Cruel Sister is probably Pentangle's "prettiest", and most normal folk album - all traditional songs with less of the blues & jazz influence of the other albums. If you like it, try Basket of Light or Sweet Child. Frequent Sylvian acoustic bassist Danny Thompson was their bassist back then, adding a solid jazz and improvisational background, and John Renbourn's occasional sitar adds a nice touch too. Solomon's Seal is finally on CD for the first time, I'll be picking that up soon - it was the last of the "original" albums.

Hope you like Icarus. George Martin (of Beatles fame) considers this one of the finest albums he ever produced. As you listen, keep in mind how old this album is - timeless IMO. I wish Road was on CD! I would flog you all into getting it. Common Ground is on CD; this album marked Paul Winter's transition from a collaborative, improvisational musician with some "world music" influences to a man committed to using music to further a vision dedicated to world peace and environmental sanity.

Perhaps my favorite of his longtime collaborators is Paul McCandless, who primarily plays oboe and english horn (though he's been playing sax with Bela Fleck of late). If you never imagined the oboe as a jazz or improvisational instrument, Common Ground has a couple short tracks that will amaze you. The oboe and cello are both instruments that carry great emotional heft for me, no doubt a main reason why Winter Consort and Oregon appeal to me so strongly. My father, who was a co-founder of the Columbus Symphony, was an oboist, and by all accounts a superb one who played with great feeling. Unfortunately, he pretty much stopped playing when I was quite young after some severe disagreements with the Musicians' Union so I have only the faintest memories. Oddly, I have more concrete memories of his father, who was well-known operatic tenor back in the twenties though he gave up singing to raise a family. We have some recordings the family arranged privately back in the late fifties/early sixties which hint at the extent of his talents, and he used to sing whenever he visited from Michigan (to my dad's piano accompaniment). I was just a clueless child at the time, and I so wish I could travel back now to hear this and appreciate it. :^( :^)

Not sure how I got off on that tangent - I'll stop now. :^)

[michael]

No, that was very interesting, Glimmung! No wonder you have such a musical knowledge. We really have some interesting people around here! :)

As for Oregon - it's beautiful and I like it all the more, because Bruce Campbell lives there. D:)

"Plight and Premonition"... how to describe it? From the fragments I've heard, I'd say it is sort of an ambient soundscape in two long pieces - a haunted house, a cemetary in the fog. That sort of stuff. Gloomy and spooky. Not easy listening at all. I'll venture and guess that you wouldn't like it, Glimmung.

Yeti, I've checked out Dirty Vegas. I recognized that piece of music from the car ad with the girl in the passenger seat doing all those strange robotic moves. I could never understand what that was supposed to be about... No, Dirty Vegas isn't my thing. KOOP is definitely more interesting.

I wanted to ask this for some time: what is going on with Leo? Looks like he had a hard time lately. I hope he'll come back...

[Yeti]

I've literally got 2 minutes, but I wanted to say, Gryka, that I am sad to hear the news of your recent loss. I hope you are doing okay.

I listened to Ali Farka Toure, and I have to say that his song Howkouna was kind of catchy! I played it a couple of times. Salif Keita was interesting as well, but not as good as Farka Toure. I'll check out the others as I have time.

Michael, Dirty Vegas wasn't your cup of tea, eh? Oh well. Check out Weekend Players some time. You can hear "21st Century" on their website, but they also did a song called "I'll be There" that's got a nice beat to it and is kind of mellow and groovy.

[michael]

Glimmung,

I've listened today to both "Icarus" and "Cruel Sister". "Cruel Sister" wins. It reminded me of Loreena McKennitt. I have her "Book of Secrets" and "Highwayman" on that album sounds a whole lot like Pentangle. "Icarus" was too much like typical seventies music - you know the kind you hear on 70's film soundtracks. Nevertheless I liked "Juniper Bear", "Minuit" and "The Silence of a Candle". Those transcended the time barrier.

Yeti,

I've checked out Weekend Players. It's fun. Looks like they listened to a lot of Sade. The leading lady sounds very much like her. Dirty Vegas doesn't come close. I'm not into the umph-umph-umph sort of music. Mellow and groovy suits me just fine. Do you like Seal? I've heard his latest album at Borders. Not bad at all.

[Glimmung]

Michael,

I'm glad you found some enjoyment in these CDs! I understand what you mean about Icarus. It's not my favorite WC album but has its moments. "Minuit" became a concert staple and was rerecorded on Common Ground.

I often have the experience of hearing something on CD that I haven't listened to in 20-30 years. Sometimes I fall in love with it again, and sometimes it's "I used to like this??" I have vinyl that I haven't heard in many, many years - it's soooo much trouble! How spoiled by CDs are we? :^)

Maybe in 20 years you'll pull out Pentangle to listen to and think back to that odd assortment of people you used to spend so much internet time with...

[michael]

Yeah, I know what you mean, Glimmung. Already now I find unbearable some of the music I used to love once... D:) I have a big vinyl collection in Poland and I think about it with great sentiment. Indeed those small cd covers are just not the same. The booklet for "War of the Worlds" for example. I bought the cd and Richard Burton's voice still raises the hair on my forearms but the booklet is a huge let-down compared to the big one that comes with the vinyl version.

As for the word "odd" in your post, Glimmung, I'd generally replace it with excellent. ;)

I was very touched by mondrian's post - I'm still grinning when I think about it. I must say that mondrian nailed Yeti down perfectly: inside an "excellent dude" (remember "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"?) hides a really smart guy with a great bullshit detector.

I just love those "Ted and Bill" movies... totally goofy.