What a great gift! Queen gives you a free song - and wants you to donate some money to fight AIDS. Now that’s what I call a great deal!

From the official website:

It has not been that closely a guarded secret that Queen and Paul Rodgers have been in the recording studio for their first sessions together following their successful world tour of 2005/2006. Indeed, both Paul and Brian have been quoted on their websites as being "quietly excited" about the music that has been produced from this creative union.

Spurred on by their commitments as Ambassadors to Nelson Mandela’s 46664 HIV AIDS global campaign, on which the spotlight will fall December 1 with a World Aids Day awareness and fundraising concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, Brian, Roger and Paul have announced they have rushed to finish a track specially written for 46664 by Roger and have it available as a free download in time for this coming Saturday’s benefit concert.

The track, Roger’s "Say It’s Not True", originally came to light for the launch of the 46664 campaign back in November 2003. Roger wrote the song as a gift to Nelson Mandela (or ‘Madiba’, as he is fondly known), and performed it live for him for the first time with Brian and Dave Stewart at the inaugural 46664 concert in Cape Town that month. The song carries the message that HIV AIDS is something that can affect any one of us.

I like the song. But I also like the whole idea.

Thanks to Zichi for sending me this link.

I hardly can remember my first (cheap) stereo system which was all the rage back then. You simply had to had a decent HiFi system at home - just a simply tape and record player was not enough to grantee your social status. Every since the 80’s audio freaks have gone overboard with special preamps, super CD-Player and all that expensive boy toys.

In that context I find it cynical that most people are now hooked to cheap ass speaker system on their computers to listen to badly ripped MP3 files. So the new digital revolution actually was a downgrade in sound quality compared to audio CDs and a good stereo system.

But never mind. It’s small and portable or big and clunky on your desktop - but most of all it’s bloody convenient! So we see once again new high tech gimmickry to give is better sound. JBL, Apple and many others offer a gazillion highly evolved speaker system to play your hissing and badly compressed MP3 files in your living room.

Ah, the irony of high tech. But at least it looks cool when it sounds like shit.

I still remember my utter surprise when I listened to this album for the very first time.  It was pure avantgarde at that time: minimalist electronic sounds and voice arrangements, intellectual lyrics and themes. A harsh contrast to the candy pop of the 80’s.

Also her performances (like in this song ‘O, Superman‘) were most amazing and unusual: video performance art, using computers on stage, special instruments and projections. Laurie Anderson certainly greatly influenced pop and was one of the rare creature ahead of her time.

More? Wikipedia and her official website

The Walkmen Generation had one big advantage over the iPoddies: their gadgets didn’t have an imposed sound barrier. The iPod has a clear loudness limit - which can be annoying while traveling in a loud environment.

But since everybody seems to be born with an iPod in their arse and earplugs instead of ears it’s a good thing. The Generation iPod will be mostly deaf by the age of 30. So less power to your headphones and earplugs might be a good thing.

And it might be nice to actually be able to get through to you - even when you have those super expensive Sennheiser plugs in your head. Total immersion in your own sound bubble is so unsocial you iPod zombie …

Artist: Christophe Gilbert

One of the great modern Masters of classical music. His music was unique, ethereal and maybe eternal. After Stanley Kubrick used some of his work in 2001 - A Space Odyssey he became famous.

If you are looking for music that sends you tripping or on a meditation about the universe than get some of Ligeti’s tracks. It is hardly easy listening, it requires some dedication from the listener - but it’s worth the extra effort-

Click the player below and listen to some of his mystic music.

More? Wikipedia entry

More and more deaf young people? Wired Magazine is spelling out the obvious - once again. I still can remember the same warnings when the first Walkmans hit the street and everybody went earphoned. Actually the worst thing that could happen to your ears is Techno Music and raves. Never been to any party that is really louder: base kicks so intense that they make your clothes wobble. So most modern digital devices have a loudness barrier anyway - they are not as loud as old walkmans or normal Hi-Fi equipment.

Rarely I have heard such a sweet, intoxicating and fascinating blend of Arabic and European melodies and instruments. Please visit the great Tania Eshaghoff and simply wait till the music starts to flow from her website to your ears. A musical special journey awaits you …

Thanks to Edosan for another great link.

More? Wikipedia entry or simply buy this great music. 

‘Old school’ European music is often still very confusing to me, especially all the different forms of choir music.

I often have a hard time figuring out the differences between a Motet (started 13th century and survived until the late 19th century), a Chanson (mostly french lyrics, started 14th century) and a Madrigal (Italian origin, mostly secular topics, started 13th century, but was mostly popular around the 16th).

So much about history. But I am still looking for same audio examples about the real differences. Any takers? So far I have found this brilliant map of early European music.

Meanwhile, click and listen to some Madrigal:

Forget all your trashy New Age CD, filled with terribly harmonious synthesizer rap. Dive into Overtone singing - especially by the great Maestro David Hykes.

Click player and below to get some Overtone:

Overtone music is hardly new: Tibetan monks do it, Mongolian throat singers do it as well - Yodelling actually is using some similar techniques. Gregorian chants sound similar, but don’t create that eerie and fascinating ‘deep sound’.

If you want to meditate, fall asleep or totally relax there is hardly anything more soothing (apart from singing whales).

In the War 1812 - the Brits vs. the young American Nation. The Americans actually declared war on the British for capturing and pressing their seaman into service against Napoleon. In the course of this war the British burned down Washington and then later the Royal Navy bombarded the costal defense Fort McHenry near Baltimore in 1814.

A certain Francis Scott Key (age 35 at that time) watched the brutal shelling of the Fort from nearby Baltimore for almost 24 hours. When the smoke cleared the next morning and the British retreated he was so happy to see the American flag still waving over the fort that he immediately wrote the famous poem ‘star spangled banner‘. The poem contains many elements and images of the battle like rockets and bombs. The poem was swiftly printed in Baltimore and spread with the news of the brave battle all over America.

Now here comes the really funny part. The poem was later set to a popular British drinking song called ‘To Anacreon in Heaven‘ written by John Stafford Smith from London.

It was not until 1931 that this honorable song became the national anthem of the United States of America - which means that they simply didn’t have one for almost 200 years.

So next time you see misty eyed Americans singing their anthem - then also imagine a bunch of drunken snobs in London roaring the original tune and the Royal Navy blasting Fort McHenry. After all - the British inspired the whole venture in the first place …

In the good old days of consumerism you could learn a lot about other people by casually browsing through their record and book collection. But today most people don’t even have CD collections anymore - and they libraries exist only in a digital form.

But switching on someone’s computer, cell phone or iPod just to see what they have ‘on’ is rather intimate affair and not very nice.

Many nations have developed their own complex music systems, which are very different from the currently dominant European sounds. Bali - like India and China - has many unique and so called ‘exotic’ sounds to offer.  

Since I heard Gamelan music the first time in the movie ‘The Year of Living Dangerously‘ I was hooked. The sound blew me away. It was hypnotic, weird, yet filled and magical by it’s own harmonic system. Pure fascination.

Compared to so called classical western music Gamelan is stone old - going back at least to the 12th century.

More? Wikipedia entry, Gamelan performance (music and dance)

The other famous form of Balinese music is the Kecak dance (strangely developed with the help of a German painter).

Compared to the soothing Gamelan music this is pure stress, pulsing aggression and unusual harmony to western ears. But I like it. It has a power and expressiveness hardly found in any other music (I know of).

Make sure your speakers are down if you listen to this in the Office. Or crank them up to the max if you are at home.

More? Wikipedia entry, Kecak video from the great movie Baraka, another Kecak dance and Monkey Fire Dance full Moon Ritual

Johannes Brahms is less known then other teutonic giants like Beethoven, Mozart or Bach. Still his work was highly influential and his huge body of work is a ‘Delikatesse’ for any lover of classical music.

The following piece invokes for me a blissful vision of heaven and filled with singing angels - without any Kitsch and religious overtones. Just me, myself and I - floating in clouds, gentle beings all around and eternal love in the air. I wish all religious and spiritual music would be so careful, sweet and gentle.

Since Leonardo requested a posting about the great Bach I have tried to wrap my tiny mind around the Genius of this Giant. To be honest: I think you have to be a composer, a philosopher, a musician and a mathematician to really really really appreciate the depth of this Maestro. And he created a massive amount of ‘notes’. To know Bach means to spent days and weeks listening to a huge amount of music.

He is part of a great period of Germanic enlightenment: Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Mendelssohn - and many more. It was a time of restless Teutonic renewal and overall change in Europe (Age of Enlightenment). The period that laid the foundation for modern day democratic and humanitarian Europe. But it was also an age of wild romantic compassion and insight.

Cantata BWV 208 - Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!

You can feel still some old medieval Europe in Bach’s music - the devout churchgoing citizens. But these citizens are different, because they are slowly grabbing power from the old institutions like Holy-Mother Church and blue blooded Aristocracy.

Toccata And Fugue In D Minor For Organ BWV 565

Bach’s music is often very ‘churchy’ - but you can also find many intimate and passionate pieces that rival Beethoven’s later achievements in spirit and emotion.

Many of Beethoven’s compositions were deemed too erotic and too emotional in their days. But you already can hear that intimacy in Bach’s music - albeit not as explosive as "Freude schöner Götterfunken!".

Suite No. 1 For Solo-Cello In G-Major

More? Wikipedia and the Bach.org website.

PS: Leonardo - sorry, that’s all I can write from a personal perspective. I am simply not genius enough to drill through this Mountain.

PPS: Anyone else out there with some more personal insights on Bach?

Maestro Mancini is one of the greatest composers of the last century. His music scores and themes are beautiful and everybody knows and loves them. What? You don’t know him? Sure you do! Pink Panther? Peter Gunn? Breakfast at Tiffany’s? The ‘Baby Elephant Walk’ from Hatari? I am pretty sure you will know many of his great melodies and themes when you hear them. Browse his stuff on Amazon.com and the Pink Panther soundtrack is actually a very nice album.

Breakfast At Tiffany’s - Moonriver

Hatari - Baby Elephant Walk

More? Henry Mancini @ Wikipedia

Georg Friedrich Händel is what I would call a typical court composer. After the church had lost it’s almost total control over European music, the aristocracy and later rich citizens became the new mentors of great composers and gifted musicians.

Most of his work was first performed for the bigwigs - Kings & Queens. And they had the money to get someone like Händel to create music just for a bit of Firework or a trip down the river on the royal barge … (make sure you read the Wikipedia entries for some amusing tidbits).

More? Dig deeper at the Georg Friedrich Händel.org with loads of material

Like I wrote before - military marches are a strange breed of music. But almost every nation has it’s own variation of death marches.

I think there is hardly any instrument that expresses insanity better then the bagpipe. After marching to that kind of music I am ready to kill anyone just to escape that bloody sound (start scottish accent: "like licking a singing cats arse").

Play the following song for about four hours again and again - and then see if you are still sane …

Many US or UK artists have produced some of their songs in German or even complete albums. This song by the great Ella contains just a few bits of German and it always makes me smile, because it sounds so weird.

Military marches are a strange breed of music. Pompous, patriotic and mostly idiotic.

Preußens Gloria is the most famous German soundtrack for war. It has been used and abused for almost anything.

I think Glen Miller did the American troops and all soldiers a great service when he played his own compositions instead of the traditional crap - while those poor souls marched to their deaths.

I think everybody know that piece - it has been used and abused on TV all the time. I love ‘Peer Gynt‘ - it’s a great story and great music.

I am not a big Jazz fan - but believe me I have tried. But somehow it just doesn’t stick to my ears. Nevertheless there are many jazz songs I really love. ‘The Girl from Ipanema‘ from 1962 is one of them. This song is for me the essence of the 60’s James Bond Jetset lifestyle.

Chopin’s Etudes were a new system of technical piano play (whatever that means - I suck at anything music). BUT … these 27 pieces of music are quite original. So here is one of them.

Frederik Chopin - Etude c-moll Op. 25 No. 12 played by Leonald Kaidja a great  Estonian pianist. Please visit his website for loads of great music.

Henry Mancini is for me one of the most underappreciated composers of the last century. His themes like the ‘Pink Panther’ or songs like ‘Moon River’ are true classics. But such masters of film music are hardly remembered and honored.

So enjoy another of his classic.

More? Buy it at Amazon

I am a big fan of symphonic soundtracks - they are the next best thing to classical music. The Godzilla soundtrack is pretty cool, has some great cheesy themes and moods. Just turn on that soundtrack and imagine yourself destroying Tokyo or Osaka.

Or watch this super cool old Godzilla trailer. Or watch this original Japanese Trailer for Godzilla vs Gigan. Ah, the joy of destruction!

More? Godzilla @Wikipedia or a gazillion video on YouTube

Leonard Bernstein was simply a fucking genius. I say that in that manner, because he fully indulged life and art with all naughty aspects.

Candide is actually very old material compared to his very modern ‘West Side Story’. It is based on novella by Voltaire. It first opened 1956 - and it’s 50th anniversary was celebrated by a special performance in Paris last year.

Watch the big master conduct the song "Glitter And Be Gay" himself. Or click the player below to hear the overture.

More? Buy the DVD at Amazon or read the great Guide to Candide