Earworms

Arise, Ye Russian People by Sergei Prokofiev for the film...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:20:26 -0500

Arise, Ye Russian People by Sergei Prokofiev for the film Alexander Nevsky

My husband decided to take a film music class this summer in order to get ahead on his graduate degree. Near the beginning of the term he had to miss a day of class (for a good cause - we found out the sex of our baby! It’s a boy!) so he had to rent the film they watched that day. I watched it with him, partially intrigued because it’s a Russian film, and because Prokofiev did the music for it.

The actual film is pretty dull (released in 1938) and some of the music feels like it doesn’t quite mesh with the story, but this piece really sticks out. Russian composers write the best nationalistic pieces, in my opinion. They must have an incredible amount of pride for their homeland.

I chose this one, even though there was one with slightly better audio, just because it’s interesting to see the words written out in our alphabet.

Fired by Ben Folds Some swearing, and since the lyrics play with...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:14:04 -0500

Fired by Ben Folds

Some swearing, and since the lyrics play with the music, it’s probably NSFW. But it is oh so much fun.

Inútil from the Broadway musical In The Heights One of the few...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:35:51 -0500

Inútil from the Broadway musical In The Heights

One of the few perks of working security is that I practically get paid to watch concerts and musicals. This particular musical performed for just one night in my town, and I was excited to see a new musical (since the newest one I’ve seen on stage is Phantom of the Opera, which is quite old now.) Overall, I wasn’t totally won over by the story; I just couldn’t connect with it. That’s mostly because I was expecting a kind of Fiddler on the Roof meets West Side Story based on the synopsis I read. There are a few love stories, but nothing nearly so powerful as West Side and the emphasis on tradition is hardly there at all.

Regardless, this song stuck with me. It’s the song Kevin Rosario sings after he’s found out that his daughter has dropped out of school, and that she didn’t come to her parents for financial assistance because she didn’t want to burden him since his business wasn’t doing so well. This leaves him a little stunned, and makes him feel like he might be just as useless as he thought his father was. This is a very lovely, very powerful song.

Comme Un Enfant by Yelle, danced by Nathan Barnatt I was...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:47:29 -0500

Comme Un Enfant by Yelle, danced by Nathan Barnatt

I was introduced to this video by iJustine, an internet personality who appears in the video (she’s the one gardening when Nathan appears and smashes her pot.) The editing is so clever - and yes, he really is dancing in all of those places. No green screen! Sometimes I like to watch it when I’m feeling a little bummed, because it makes me feel happy again.

Mixing it Up (or The Post Where I Talk About Christmas Music WAAAAY Too Early.)

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:06:55 -0500

Yesterday, while making the six-hour drive home, this piece came on the classical station:

This is the Troika from the Lt. Kije Suite by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. I’ve never really heard this piece before, but I knew the melody already. I could sing along with it. I’d heard it used somewhere else.

And then it dawned on me.

It doesn’t happen right away, but you hear the same melody around 54 seconds in. This is I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake, of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fame.

My mind was blown. I’m still picking up the pieces.

I LOVE finding stuff like this. It’s like participating in a treasure hunt, and you figure out the clue that has stumped everyone else. So I figured I’d share this with you.

The purpose of this Tumblr, right here! I first read about...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:30:42 -0500

The purpose of this Tumblr, right here! I first read about earworms in the book Musicophilia, which I heard about on…you guessed it, NPR!

npr:

Earworms: The Songs In Your Head, Bugging You!

This fellow, Flickr user Cayusa, got the McDonald’s Filet O Fish song stuck in his head, and it prompted this photo shoot. NPR spoke with psychologist Vicky Williamson about collecting earworms, the reasons some songs get stuck in our heads, and the implications for understanding human memory. Full story, and a chance to share your earworms, here!

Bang The Doldrums by Fall Out Boy My husband controls the radio...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:58:00 -0600

Bang The Doldrums by Fall Out Boy

My husband controls the radio most of the time in the car, so I listen to a lot of the music he likes to listen to…which includes Fall Out Boy. A lot of people don’t like them, and I suppose it’s mostly because of their appearance (and they also suck live, or at least they used to. I haven’t heard them in a few years because I’ve been afraid. :P ) However, their lyrics are pretty clever, and they have some interesting melody lines. I can be pretty judgmental of a lot of rock music because they tend to use a few simple chords over and over, but FOB is pretty varied.

….I just wish they were easier to understand when they were singing.

Les Jours Tristes by Yann Tiersen Amelie is probably my...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:46:06 -0600

Les Jours Tristes by Yann Tiersen

Amelie is probably my favorite movie in the history of favorite movies. When I first got married and my husband worked until late in the evening, I’d put that movie in the DVD player. Sometimes I’d watch, but usually I did something else like knit or clean house. I’d seen it enough times that I knew when the funny parts happened, when the happy parts happened, and when the beautiful parts happened. It’s a gorgeous film, and if you haven’t seen it, you really ought to get your hands on a copy and watch. Not only is it visually pleasing, but the soundtrack is incredible also. It’s very charming and whimsical.

(There is a version of this song with lyrics, but I really don’t like it that much. It’s more fun to have your own idea of the song in your mind than his. :P Also, the reason why this is an audio file instead of a YouTube video is because I couldn’t find the instrumental version on YouTube. Boo!)

Solid Rock, performed by Taylor Moore and Tommy Carreras This is...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:04:19 -0600

Solid Rock, performed by Taylor Moore and Tommy Carreras

This is another hymn that gets stuck in my head, mostly because it’s one of Mark’s favorites. There was a performing group who used to go to his church made of two tenors, one who was classically trained and another who was trained for more popular music, and they would sing their own arrangements of hymns. This is one that the operatic tenor sang, and always with such gusto. I couldn’t find his arrangement of it on YouTube and, again, all of the arrangements I found first were so…unenthusiastic. So tame. (And that, ladies and gentlemen is why I don’t like a lot of church music. If you’re going to sing about how awesome our creator is, couldn’t you at least get a little pumped up about it?! I think that’s the least He deserves!) I probably would have skipped over this one too, but the guitar part intrigued me. Enjoy!

Come thou Fount of Every Blessing, performed by Mumford and...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:37:22 -0600

Come thou Fount of Every Blessing, performed by Mumford and Sons

For your Sunday listening pleasure. :)

I’m not usually one for hymns, but this one gets stuck in my head a lot. When I was in the orchestra at the First Baptist Church back home, this was one we played a lot. The version that we played was a lot more upbeat than most people’s renditions, this one included. But, you know, I’m such a sucker for Mumford and Sons that I had to use it. I even used a live version! And listen to how silent the audience is…. You can go to a concert and not scream the entire time! Did you know that? In fact, I’d venture to say that you might enjoy the concert more because you can hear the songs they’re playing.

Alex by The Punch Brothers Once I had a Nickel Creek song stuck...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:47:32 -0600

Alex by The Punch Brothers

Once I had a Nickel Creek song stuck in my head, more Chris Thile songs started wedging themselves in my brain. This particular song got stuck in my head for, literally, two weeks. At first it was just there, the melody weaving in and out of my daily activities, so I decided to look up the words so I could sing along.

Skyward they flew til it was as far
To the street as it was to the stars….

And then the song was stuck for good.

Spit on a Stranger, covered by Nickel Creek Over Christmas...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:41:22 -0600

Spit on a Stranger, covered by Nickel Creek

Over Christmas break, my husband I got into How I Met Your Mother. If you’ve seen the show, you’ve probably heard this song before. It’s kind of Ted and Victoria’s anthem or something, but I’ll never understand why. I always thought “Spit on a Stranger” was kind of an angsty song, but you wouldn’t know it listening to the versions they chose for the show. Oh well. I heard Nickel Creek’s first, so when I realized what song they were playing, this is the one that got stuck in my head.

Sorry for the radio silence on my end for the last … two months. I’ve had lots of songs...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:27:48 -0600

Sorry for the radio silence on my end for the last … two months. I’ve had lots of songs stuck in my head, but I’ve been lazy about posting them. I’m about to remedy that right now though!

All the Things You Are, sung by Ella Fitzgerald, written by...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:05:58 -0600

All the Things You Are, sung by Ella Fitzgerald, written by Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern

This tune, written in 1963, is one of my favorites from that big band genre. For a long time I assumed that it was because of Ella Fitzgerald, but after my husband finished his class on 20th century music in grad school, I’ve changed my mind. Everyone is familiar with Oscar Hammerstein from his work that he did with composer Richard Rodgers. They are responsible for many famous musicals, such as The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, and many others. Jerome Kern also wrote musicals, his most famous being Showboat. Knowing now that this song was written by two incredibly talented men, I believe that’s why it is one of my favorites. Ella is just the icing on the cake.

This song was stuck in my head tonight while I worked my last night as a waitress at this awful little restaurant. “You are the promised kiss of springtime/ That makes the lonely winter seem long” seemed like the perfect metaphor for my last few hours of work: 10:30 was my springtime, and the time before that was like a long and lonely winter.

Last Christmas by Wham I hate this song SO MUCH. Christmas music...

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:02:08 -0600

Last Christmas by Wham

I hate this song SO MUCH. Christmas music is some of the best music, and I look forward to it all year long, but … why did it have to be THIS song that got stuck in my head?! Get it out, get it out!

Sliding Down by Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, and Mike...

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:08:41 -0600

Sliding Down by Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, and Mike Marshall

I’m going to change things up a bit, because this song isn’t actually stuck in my head, but it’s one that I like to listen to on repeat while I work on something. It’s a gorgeous piece that is beautiful and a little melancholy - my favorite.

This song can be found on Edger Meyer’s album, Uncommon Ritual. Edger Meyer is a talented bass player who has worked with talented musicians such as Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, and with the group Nickel Creek. Bela Fleck is a banjo virtuoso, if you can be such a thing, dabbling in bluegrass, jazz, and even classical music. Mike Marshall plays mandolin. I don’t really know anything about him though.

Well if that wasn’t an anticlimactic ending to that paragraph, then I don’t know what is.

Kennst du das Land? by Ludwig van Beethoven “Kennst du das...

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:44:08 -0600

Kennst du das Land? by Ludwig van Beethoven

“Kennst du das Land?” was a text originally written by German writer Goethe, which many composers besides Beethoven set to music. Goethe’s text was even translated into French and used in the opera Mignon.

I sang this piece on my junior recital, and it is still, to this day, one of my favorite pieces I ever sang. Granted, I sang the mezzo version which is pitched down a third.

I’m Alright by Kenny Loggins When most people hear this...

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:44:06 -0600

I’m Alright by Kenny Loggins

When most people hear this song, they think of the movie Caddyshack. He wrote three songs for the movie’s soundtrack, as well as popular tunes for other soundtracks such as “Footloose” for the movie Footloose. During this point in his career he was known as the “King of the Movie Soundtrack.”

Second Waltz arr. André Rieu I first heard this piece back in...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:00:10 -0600

Second Waltz arr. André Rieu

I first heard this piece back in 2009. I’d be working in my classroom and I’d turn on Musicovery for background noise, and without fail this would be the first song that would come on. Sometimes I’d get so wrapped up in the melody that I’d just dance around my room like a fool. Now that I’ve seen what his live performances look like, it fills me up with even more energy. Some people will watch this and think that it looks ridiculous, and to those people I say “look at how engaged the audience is!” They are not fighting sleep in their chairs, they are enjoying the music! Waltz music is for dancing, and they are doing exactly that.

This particular waltz is the ”Second Waltz” from Jazz Suites by Shostakovich.

Se tu m’ami, se sospiri performed by Cecilia Bartoli This...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:32:00 -0600

Se tu m’ami, se sospiri performed by Cecilia Bartoli

This is one of those art songs that most vocal majors have to sing at some point (though somehow I missed out.) I did a little reading on the history of this piece, and was surprised to find out that, while everyone attributes it to 18th-century composer Giovanni Pergolesi, it seems that it was actually written by Alessando Parisotti (1853-1913.) During the later part of the 1800s, it was en vogue to arrange pieces from the baroque and classical era to perform in concert halls and in Victorian parlors. It is not hard to believe that Parisotti might have come up with a Neo-Baroque piece and, since he wasn’t an established composer at the time, decided to attribute it to another composer in order to get it published.

This song makes me think of my classmate, Nona Dirksmeyer. She performed this piece on a student recital. I miss her….