Querschlaeger “Live is Lebendig”
A friend of mine sent me the live CD of the Austrian band “Querschlaeger.” Fritz Messner, the song writer, has a sharp eye for the comic aspects of life and is a born story teller. Every song is preceded by a little funny story. If you speak, German the CD is a real treat. To keep its artistic independence, the band refuses to sign a contract with a label. Good for them and even better for us. The band is superb. You can buy “Live is Lebendig” and other CDs directly from the band’s website.
The Police Reunites for the First Tour in 24 Years
Good news for all Police fans. Sting has finally become nostalgic and agreed to going on tour with his old band members from the Police, Steward Copeland and Andy Steward. He used the answer the question whether he could ever imagine going on reunion tour with The Police. “This would be good cause to have me certified insane.” Watch a fun video webcast of the their news conference performance the morning after they played at the Grammy’s.
I grew tired of listening to Sting records but I am excited about
the Police playing again. I will try to catch them somewhere
around the world this year.
To get excited about the tour, check out this video from the band’s rehearsal’s in Stingdom (Tuscony, Italy)
Here you can find information on where the band will be playing starting in May: Cities and Dates
Kanye West’s “Late Registration”
I bought my first hip hop CD, Kanye West’s Late Registration, a couple of months ago after hearing his soulful “Gold Digger.” I suspect that Mr. West does not play a single musical instrument. But this does not make him less a musical genius. West proves that most creativity lies in recombining existing material. He takes old music ideas, rearranges them in unheard ways, and lays on top lyrics that offer social criticism and breaks with the hip hop tradition of talking mainly about oneself. Late Registration is brilliant and a novel accoustic adventure not to be missed.
Listen to Sample of the CD
Nina Simon’s “Mississippi Goddam”
Nina Simone has been one of my favored jazz singers for a long time. I counted myself until January 16th as a connoisseur of her entire work. But on Martin Luther King day I heard her civil rights song Mississippi Goddam on the radio that showed me that having all her „Best of CDs“ is no guarantee that one gets to know the best songs of an artist. The live recording of Mississippi Goddam strikes me as one of the best political songs ever.
The Mysterious Voice of Anaïs Mitchell
All summer I listened to Anaïs Mitchell’s second record, Hymns for the Exiled, trying to figure out the mysterious quality in her singing and writing that is particularly noticeable in songs like Cosmic American and Two Kids. Her voice is not conventionally beautiful in the way people find Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston amazing vocal abilities pleasing. You cannot listen an entire summer to the same record of these two popular chart toppers, but I can attest that you can listen to Anaïs Mitchell. It is the somewhat rugged and vulnerable quality of her voice that keeps you interested in exploring the different regions charted by eleven songs on the record. Most records only have one or two good songs. This one has ten. The lyrics of Orion are so private that the song would have worked better if the melody had played a larger role in the listener’s experience and universalized the sense of loss touched upon in words about a complete stranger.
Listen to Samples from CD
Order CD at Amazon.com
Genius Works Better Alone
Starbuck’s sells Ray Charles’s new and last album Genius Loves Company together with a recording of Ray’s greatest hits. I bought this Box of Genius and discovered that a genius works better alone. The compilation of classic Ray Charles hits is infinitely better than his new CD of duets with others stars such as Norah Jones and Elton John.
Listen to Samples from CD
Rachmaninoff “Vocalize” (Op.34 No.14)
Oh, Sergei, What are you doing to our hearts? I just listened this piece for the first time as a piano and violin duet. Very beautiful. But it is even more piercing when it is sung by the human voice… Oh, Sergei, What are you doing to our hearts?
Brian Mehldau “Live in Tokyo”
I have been listening for the past week to this wonderful CD and cannot get enough of it. Mehldau’s jazz piano is very reminiscent of Keith Jarrett. But there is something wonderfully lightfooted about the tunes that he assembled in this recording, making his sound quite distinct from Jarrett’s.
Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chlo
I have heard the main piece of this synphony many times but never with the ears that were given to me tonight. It reminded me of the momentus transition in the history of life when animals moved from the sea onto the shore. I wonder if I will have same association after having listened to the entire symphony.
Rachmaninoff’s “Variations Number 17”
Variation Nr. 17 on a theme of Paganini is a very beautiful piece. One does not have to have much experience with classical music to grasp and enjoy the sense of drama and celebration that Rachmaninoff was able put into this composition.
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