An old, yet brilliant Beethoven performance send in by S.Quinn! Thank you so much – this is a great catch.
Leonid Kogan was completely unknown to me – until I saw this video. This is why I love YouTube: it helps us to preserve and share such treasures … one only has to find them ….
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on the January the 8th 1935 in Tupelo. He was a big part of the Invention of the Teenager, TV celebrities and the global Rock & Roll-Phenomenon.
The so called "Suicide Song" – please don’t kill yourself I hardly have any readers anyway …
I grew up watching a lot of SciFi series aimed at kids – it still was the space age and we all wanted to Astronauts (and not bloody rapper or skinny super models).
Barry Gray composed the soundtracks of many famous British TV shows.
I love his style: driven, funky and almost always cheerful. A bit militaristic sometimes – but most SciFi was based on military organizations: like SHADO in UFO or Captain Scarlet.
His music also reflected the positive attitude to the future – something we finally lost in the 1980’s (thank you so much Riddley Scott and Chernobyl).
Click player below to start the UFO – Opening Theme:
Click player below to start the Mysteron Theme from Captain Scarlet:
Click player below to start the Loch Ness Monster Suite:
Just start the player, lean back, close your eyes and enjoy …
Great documentary about the alternative German music scene. The Brits named these great experimental category “Krautrock“, which is basically a reason to start another war.
But the documentary is brilliant! Now you see what David Bowie got from being in Berlin and that Kraftwerk is hardly the oddest German music formation from that era …
Rock’n'Roll also invented the teenager as a consumer and so called youth culture. Suddenly there was a different music and stars for youngsters.
After the dreadful WWII the new middle class could afford to give some money for teenagers, who were eager to spend their allowance. The teenager therefore is a product of modern rich society – a luxury item of you will …
While kids can be pleased with toys, teenagers are eager to define themselves with style and suitable products. So music became the a tool for identification (or better say product?). Depending on your teenage tribe (and personal "style") you listened to a specific kind of music. Subcultures proved to be goldmines. Anyone who could define a new "style" or own certain artists could literally print money …
The first King of Global Record sales and Teenage Manias.
Plus mass production allowed cheap records, radios, record players and TVs. Most of all the new medium television needed to be feed constantly with new acts, personalities and stories.
Stars and celebrities were nothing new at that time. Already the Roman Coliseum knew the celebrities and famous athletes. But it was in the roaring 1920’s when the true Star Cult was born – mostly thanks to Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford were the first global stars. But apart from movies in the theatres, cigarette and chocolate cards there was little to consume for the masses.
The real celebrity based merchandising frenzy and consumerism started with the 1950’s and the invention of the teenager …
Yes, Nerds can make music … all they needs is some gadgets to get rappin’. Brett Domino and his crew are brilliant. Make sure to visit his website or his YouTube channel.
Uh, all this nerdy excitement and brilliance makes me giggle like a little girl!
Most musicians use samplers to sample other people’s performances or bits of their songs. For them a sampler in combination with a sequencer is just a rigid "LEGO" music system. They are unable to adapt and really make free flowing music with this exciting technology …
Tim Exile is a Master of Music and Technology. He not only knows how to sample, but how to make music from his own samples. He is an instrument, performer and composer in a brilliant package.
I am a huge soundtrack fan. A good score paints images and stories right into my mind – even when I haven’t seen the movie. Because soundtracks follow the great tradition started by Richard Wagner by using themes for moods, characters and places in the movie they have more of a "story structure" compared to normal classical music.
The score for "House of Flying Daggers" (which is a brilliant movie by the way) mixes symphonic elements with Chinese drums and flute. The mood ranges from total tranquillity and beauty to fierce battle scenes.
Highly recommended!
You can listen to excerpts on Amazon.com and obviously buy it there as well: Amazon.com: House of Flying Daggers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack): MP3 Downloads
Click image for a larger Annie.
Her style, her voice and her artistic expression are highly impressive and electrifying. Madame Lennox also was a great (new) role model since her huge impact with Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" video and album.
Although she made many pop songs, that range from silly to raunchy she was never a consumerist blow up doll like Madonna.
Before iPods, before Computers, before CDs, before TV, before Magnetic Tapes, before Radios, before Records, before Phonograph cylinders … Music couldn’t be "saved" or "transmitted" from one place to another.
So people who liked music had to either learn an instruments or simply visit a concert.
It was not very easy to listen to a famous Tenor or Opera, unless you lived in the same city or were lucky enough that that person or performance would play in town.
So many great performances were only done once and never recorded. Today nothing is forgotten and has lead to a new phenomenon: that we listen and cling onto performers long dead. Living musicians have to compete against dead ones. So called "classics" hog shelf space and sales, it makes it hard for young musicians to make a living and achieve fame and stardom. They will always compared mercilessly with recordings from superstars …
Sometimes forgetting and "dying" is a good thing. It makes space for the new and young. But thanks to recordings certain moods or markets become the de factor standard for our ears. For example Steve Wonders’ "Happy Birthday" seems to be the one and only song for that occasion. There seem to be more and more established theme songs that cover our "emotional range" in private and movie moments.
Will future generations still be pestered by the Best of Rolling Stones, Best of Celine Dion and Best of Elton John?!
Raymond Scott was far far far ahead of his time. This song is from the 1950’s when he already experimented with electronic sounds. Add to this sound some heavy beats and it would perfectly electro pop modern.
A blast from the 80’s from the no future generation. Aside from the consumerist crowd of Thatcherism and Reaganomics there was an alternative scene, quite worried about the clash of humanity and technology.
Sometimes I wonder if they were right about the times we live in now?
One of the many great songs by Fatboy Slim. I just love the groove – it just makes me want to dance and have sex …
Yo-Yo Ma
Mstislav Rostropovich
Paul Tortelier (Masterclass)
Mischa Maisky
When people try to “get into” classical music they have to cope with so many different interpretations of the same piece.
Sometimes it takes some training to become a good listener and know your favorite piece of Bach or Mozart so well that you can “judge” different interpretations.
But don’t make the mistake looking for the perfect interpretation, look for the one that touches your soul. That’s the right one for you …
Here are four different interpretations of one of my favorite Bach pieces. Which one do you like best?
Since I am a city creature and sometimes even a romantic person therefore I love this song. 
Once I thought this is cool. I was such a moron.
But at least I can boast that I bought my first Beethoven record the same year I went bonker over break dancing.
Andrea Bocelli with Sarah Brightman …
… Christina Aguilera …
… and finally Elmo!
Andrea Bocelli is one of these people that make mere mortal feel even smaller. Already as a youngster we was a gifted musician – playing the piano, saxophone and the flute. He lost his sight as a kid thanks to a football hit on the head.
As an adult he studied law and got his doctor degree. But to pay for his education he sang in piano bars (where he also met his future wife and mother of his two kids) – which also launched his singing career.
Today he is an international star and sold millions of CDs. Most of his albums are quite kitschie – but his success is nevertheless impressive.
Still an amazing ballade. Just the right music for working long summer nights …
Living near Italy I never liked the sphagetti disco music, but Georgio is an exception, because he had a great and unique sound (which already was very "techno" and the video also has many images later seen in many rave clips).
Still … very Italian .. but he later made it big time in Hollywood.
Nevermind that "Mutter" is younger then her Daughter – but I just love the Magic Flute.
This is actually a performance by the The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden – Diana Damrau (Queen of the Night) and Dorothea Röschmann are obviously German.
For me it’s often amusing when I hear the Zauberflöte sung / performed in "ungerman" accents – but this one in "fine and pure arian art" …
Bert Kaempfert is the King of Easy Listening – his themes are smooth, without any edges or deep expression. It’s niceness pure.
I dunno if this is purely trivial music for supermarkets and elevators – or some form of art.
They certainly don’t make music like that anymore – purely instrumental themes are a forgotten art in pop music.
Don’t we all love little fluffy clouds? Especially 5 am in the morning, still drugged and excited from a whole night of clubbing and dancing? That was the good unhealthy life back then …
Some nostalgic summer music – I think only Germans can make a depressing reggae summer song with loads of Weltschmerz.
Ideal was part of the so called Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) – but was never as popular like Nena or Trio (remember Da Da Da?).
Philip Glass is one of the few soundtrack composers that is famous for his movie and classical work as well.
His style is hypnotic, often a bit weird and unusual compared to music from great soundtrack composers like John Williams or classical ones like Beethoven. But he certainly is unique – and therefore not for everybody.
I personally love his hypnotic violin waves and delicate themes. It’s an almost surreal music – I guess that is why it was chosen for Koyaanisqatsi (1983) and later for Mishima (1985).
The Mishima soundtrack is a permanent item on my play lists for now over twenty year – and I am still loving it.
Click to play “November 25: The Last Day” (which is very similar to the Main Title):
Click to play “1937: Saint Sebastian”:
Click to play “Kyoko’s House (“Stage Blood Is Not Enough”)”:
Once again this music is not “easy listening”, but it’s well worth exploring. If you only want to buy one Philip Glass CD ever – than I recommend “Mishima”.
More? Philip Glass @ Wikipedia and Philip Glass @ Amazon.com
I love soundtracks. It when it comes to composers the late Jerry Goldsmith is a God amongst the Giants of classic soundtrack makers.
He has created many memorable themes and great orchestral scores for many famous and not so famous movies. This Maestro produced soundtracks like mortal men like you and me breathe.
His “Planet of the Apes” soundtrack is one of the most unusual tracks you can find. Strangely harmonic, yet disturbingly creepy. I still think that the movie itself would only be half as good without the soundtrack.
Click to play “Main Title”
Click to play “The Revelation”
It certainly isn’t “easy listening” – it’s actually very demanding music. But if you listen to it with your headphones on in the dark you suddenly will find yourself in an amazing vision of your own. This music inspires wild and bizarre images in your mind … or maybe nightmares …
More? “Planet of the Apes” @ Wikipedia
Still one of the quintessential 80’s pop songs in style and content. Although it seems neither the Russians nor the Americans have learned any lessons from this?
Karlheinz Stockhausen died last year. Even 50 years after his career started in Germany his music is as provoking as ever. Stockhausen hardly is Easy Listening – and many of his ideas will remind you rather of crazy performance art instead of ’serious’ classical music.
But we should never underestimate the impact of Stockhausen – many fellow artists have been inspired by him: Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk (obviously), Björk and the Beatles.
Stockhausen is one of these people who expand the boundaries of of culture further ahead. They add a new noise or new variation to the mix. As with all cultural experiments “they don’t make any sense” – because we often create the “sense” afterwards or it takes other artists to “smooth” the rough edges of the “new idea” and make it more acceptable to the masses.
So here are some of Stockhausen’s innovations and compositions – don’t expect them to be easy on you …
There are not many pop songs in my life that I have admired and liked since my childhood. It is a weird sounding arrangements – not the usual 80’s candy pop – the piece has some twists and turns as well. Plus the lyrics raise well above the usual ‘I love you’ moaning of pop music.
The video above was pretty innovative back then – and once again pretty weird. But like I said – pretty much impressed me almost 30 years ago and I think it’s still something worth remembering today.
There are not many German bands that achieved such a cult status like Kraftwerk. Today electronic music is everywhere – with any cheap computer you can create Kraftwerk-like music. But there is more to Kraftwerk than simply beeps and zaps.
The first big song ‘Autobahn’ from 1974:
Starting 1974 (with Autobahn) till 1986 (Electric Café) they released a string of albums that defined the electronic music scene for decades to come. Many great artists like Bowie were big fans and many house & techo musicians were heavily influenced by their sound.
This is one of the newer pieces – a theme song for the Expo 2000 in Hannover:
Their synthesizer music sounded so different from eletro pop, disco or synthesizer artists like Jean Michel Jarre or Tomita. Kraftwerk didn’t try to make electronic music ‘nice’ or more like old instruments. They quite liked the harsh purity of their machines.
‘Taschenrechner’ (Pocket Calculator) from ‘Computer World’:
But also Kraftwerks minimal lyrics about the digital future were right on target (from ‘Computer World’ the song ‘Computer Love’):
Computer love
Computer love
Another lonely night
Stare at the TV screen
I don’t know what to do
I need a rendezvous
Computer love
Computer love
I call this number
For a data date
I don’t know what to do
I need a rendezvous
Computer love
Computer love
Their use of computer animation for music videos and cover art was state of the art at the time. Also their usage of robot like makeup and later real robots for their live performances just pushed the Kraftwerk-style further ahead.
Kraftwerk’s last album ‘Tour de France’ in 2003 was certainly in line with their style – but it was no longer a unique experience, since techno, house music, trip hop and electronica all were built on the Kraftwerk sound and therefore Kraftwerk itself was just another bleep on the market. Nevertheless it was good music.
One cultural note: Kraftwerk has always released it’s albums in German and in English for the foreign market. I consider their German albums and lyrics the original versions.
German dudes singing in English with a terrible accent might have been avantgarde in the 70’s and 80’s to non-german ears – but for me their songs in German are often rather melancholic or satirical. It rather feels like a commentary on the Zeitgeist and the Zukunft (future) instead of trying to be arty farty.
But I guess that gets lost in translation.
I wonder if Beethoven had an arguing couple in mind, when he wrote his 5th symphony? Just watch and enjoy.