Music #AtoZChallenge

What are you listening to these days? My background music tends to vary depending on what I'm working on. Language study? Mando-pop. Writing? Depends on the WIP. Mornings are in flex: coffee jazz, dance music, Christian pop, funk...

A couple weeks ago, Brett got it in his head - for a Twitter joke, I think - to make a "Covid-19" playlist on Spotify. Intrigued?

Here it is.

I love it. 

It includes music from just about every genre. The sole unifying factor is in the titles.(So, only English language music.) Even if you don't like a single song on the list - which you will, there's truly something for everyone - you will probably appreciate just reading down the titles on the play list. Every title applies to our current world-wide situation.

From "Fever" by Peggy Lee, to "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters, just everything imaginable is in there.

When he first shared the link on facebook, more song recommendations came in. He was adding to it for days before finally drawing the line. There are 19 hours of music on this list! I think that's enough.

Do you have any music choice? Has it changed, now that you are home more? What would be your criteria for a "Covid-19" playlist?

How Hard is it to Have a Hobby?

I seem to have misplaced my hobbies. 
Or rather, they have gradually left me, as neglected friends will do. Maybe they're off partying with my missing goals.

I used to have easily defined hobbies, starting with reading. That was my number one hobby for decades. I've been diligently courting that hobby and it has been returning to me during this year. (Thank you GoodReads for helping me track my reading diligently.)

Music, another persistent hobby. 

When I moved to the Delaware shore in October of 19-ahem, by December I had purchased a second-hand piano to help me while away the hours, living at a beach-y, resort-y area during the dead winter season. I'm not a great piano player, but I started learning when I was 5, so I can play complicated classical pieces full of mistakes... for my own fun. Anyway, it was a great purchase and stayed with me all of my 12 years in Delaware. For the last 6 years, in apartments in Indianapolis, Beijing, and now in a house in Vietnam, I continue to tell myself I will get an electronic piano (easier for transportation), but that has yet to happen.

I would sing along in the car on every drive to and from work, to and from the store, anytime I was alone in the car. Now I walk everywhere, and I only occasionally sing in the shower. 

The Theatre. Hobby and avocation.

For 20 years, I was in about 2 plays a year, plus helping out with other plays in other ways backstage. TWENTY YEARS. Then I moved to Indianapolis, and got a job that meant working late some days, and it would have been mean to commit to a play when I couldn't guarantee to make the rehearsals. 

In China, my theatre bug was somewhat mollified by doing children's drama camps. I really enjoyed working on scripts for those, but the camps themselves were... well, the Chinese idea of live theatre is different from the western idea.

With no music and no theatre, I suddenly realized yesterday that my hobbies are now...

Brace yourselves ...

Planning and Tracking.

I've always enjoyed planning things - trips, meetings, packing, cleaning, everything there is to ever do can be planned. I'm a great planner. (It's genetic. When we asked my mom to use their house for our wedding, she immediately grabbed a pen and started making a list of things to buy and things to do in the house. Any time any guest ever comes, she does this.)

For decades I kept track of my activities in a Franklin Planner. Until I moved overseas and had less to track. Now I still use a planner, but also my smart phone - so many apps! So many things to track! I have my fitness tracker, a habit tracker, GoodReads for books, and a private notepad that I use to track my own lists of things, PLUS my paper planner.

So now I get to quietly slide into some kind of Type A Psycho who plans the heck out of every day and every activity, and then tracks it to death online. Old age is gonna be FUN!

How have your habits changed over time? Have they? Does "planning" even count as a hobby?

Music on Shuffle

Literally, the prompt was: Put your music on shuffle and share the first 10 songs.

I am providing the disclaimer that "my music" here is a shuffling of all of my CDs that I downloaded to my hard drive before we left the States. There is nothing current here. I hope you can appreciate the diversity though. I don't think this is an accurate representation of my collection, but it's kind of fun. I'm going to try to find files to share for the really unique pieces.

Here we go.

1. Bjork - Enjoy
 Here is a Sound file of the song
She's so bizarre.

2. The Cure - Just Like Heaven
This goes to the rock video
What a throw back! Classic Alternative...is that a thing now? It should be. All that 80s-early 90s Alternative was my life's soundtrack during those years.

3. Farzin - Yod Kardam (from "A Rough Guide to the Silk Road" collection of Asian music)
No video, just a sound file.
I actually like surrounding myself with world music at times. I got this CD at the Smithsonian, when my brother's family were living in Kyrgyzstan. Without the CD case, I don't know where this one is from.

4. Secret Garden - Evensong (No, not the musical. This is an actual musical group.)
Somewhat tamer than the previous three. 

5. Scott Joplin - Twee-Oodle-Um-Bum-Bo
IF YOU ONLY CLICK ONE LINK, CLICK THIS! 
This was such fun to listen to this morning on shuffle! I haven't listened to Scott Joplin in forever. In my ideal world, I will someday be able to perfectly play any ONE of his songs. This level of skill astounds me.

6. Tchaikovsky - Suite from Swan Lake #2
Not posting a link. I think I'd appreciate Swan Lake better if I ever saw the ballet.

7. Deep Forest - Sweet Lullaby
I was surprised to find a music video for this! 
Deep Forest - Deep Forest is one of my favorite albums that I own. If you listen to this and understand, you get me. In the 90s these dudes traveled the world collecting unique music, and blended it together in studio in France. I find their stuff calming. If you like scenes from other countries, watch the video. It's pretty cool!

8. Billy Joel - Just the Way You Are
You know this one, don't you?

9. Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Silent Nutcracker
Not their typical rockin' sound - audio only.
If you know TSO for just their Christmas hits that make the rounds each year, you may not have heard this gentle guitar solo combining Silent Night and the Nutcracker.

Okay, so this was more fun than I expected. I guess I can always learn new ways to create variety within my blog!

The Music of My Life

I'm not up on popular music. Heck. I live in China. A prompt asking my favorite current music is kind of moot.

Lucky for you, I was raised in a musical family. There is always music in my head even if I can't hear it with my ears.

Just today, I belted out, along with iheart radio the version of Nearer My God To Thee by Vocal Point. This is not a hymn I've ever really liked - kind of slow and dirge-like, usually. But I will always crank up this a capella version.

Listen or watch, here.
I love the counterpoint of that pulsing Latin chorus running all the way through. (My mom does not like this version. I guess it's "too weird.")

Lately, Phantom of the Opera songs have been parading through my head in succession. This is my favorite musical, which I've sadly never actually seen. I've even read the original book, which just adds depth to my love for this. It's actually a heartbreaking love story. I played the soundtrack again a few days after we saw a Chinese Opera, and suddenly wish that it would play here and I could take my musical Chinese friend to see it.

Sadly, I can't find any decent versions on youtube to share here, and I don't know how to drop in a sound file from my computer. You just have to imagine it.

Then, yesterday, randomly, while Brett and I were standing at a bus-stop, something reminded me of narwhals and we were singing that song.

Remember this? It was in an ad in the US last year.

But growing up, we all learned piano and sang in church choirs, from a young age. Mom had a huge Reader's Digest music collection of hits from all different eras. In high school I impressed a friend by knowing all the words to "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head", "Blue Moon", and "The Beer Barrel Polka." Including multiple verses, the bridge, etc.

So many of these have fun little stories within the lyrics. I love it.

Those are just songs. I love classical music, and going to the symphony brings me joy. Number one favorite is Sheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, but my favorite composer overall is Beethoven. His music resonates with me and definitely affects my mood when I listen.

What about you? Do you have favorite songs, or musicians? What is your go-to music?

V for Violent Femmes!

I have been a fan of Violent Femmes since... high school? college? And I'm not an avid concert-goer, but I've seen these guys TWICE!

Since they are not exactly mainstream, maybe I should explain that Violent Femmes is a musical group. How do we classify them - alternative? I guess I'd say alternative. My general taste as far as rock music goes is alternative, so yeah. Not the typical 80s alternative - Depeche Mode, Cure, Smiths, etc. They are wackadoo hilarious fun alternative.

The first time I saw them live was in a college gymnasium, and I was there with my sister. It was a pretty lackluster crowd, but the music was good.

One of my favorites of theirs: 


(You may recognize it from the Gnarls Barkley remake.)
I knew a guy in college who could play that marimba part perfectly. 

Sometime before my second opportunity to see them - at this awesome beach-themed club in Ocean City, MD - my friend who was going with me gave me a copy of a different CD of theirs than I'd previously heard. That is the only place I've heard Country Death Song. 
I love it! 
It's so peppy!
It's so dark.
It's gruesome.
But hoe-down fun in sound. Check it out if you want to hear something weird.
 



They didn't play it at either concert. Probably for obvious reasons.

That second concert was awesome. It was crowded, it was all standing - no seats - so we worked our way up to the very front. And I was there with a good, fun friend. 

Moral of the Story: Listen to what makes you happy. 

Updated: Q is for Qdoba

logo image from qdoba.com

Well, I’m sure we’ve all been scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with a “Q”, and I actually had a different Mexican restaurant in mind first, but there was no story to go with it. “I once went to a Mexican restaurant called Que Pasa” would pretty much be the entire blog post. Then I remembered discovering Qdoba.

For those of you who’ve never been, Qdoba subscribes to the Subway-style of fast-food prep. You get in line, give them your order, and they build your taco, burrito, taco salad… (um…are there other items?) as you walk along the sneeze-guard selecting your toppings. Clever. 

image from bizjournals.com

How did *I* first find Qdoba? With a side of symphony, as I’m sure most people do! Wait, Mexican fast-food isn’t the standard dinner before going to listen to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony? Shocked. I am shocked.

Delaware Symphony Orchestra is a remarkably high-quality group. I say this because who would guess such a tiny state had such culture? But honestly, Wilmington, DE is smooshed in between Baltimore and Philly, and so has access to fantastic musicians who played with symphonies in larger cities. I’m guessing that’s it. 

Anyway, I love Beethoven, so when his 5th Symphony came around I dragged my best friend along – who knew nothing of classical music, but loved learning and experiencing new things. 

We dressed up, drove the 2 1/2 hours from “slower lower” Delaware to Wilmington, found parking near the Opera House, and decided to walk around a few blocks and find some "suitable" restaurant. 

There was a very expensive, fancy restaurant right across the street from the Opera House, but it would have required reservations. And money. And I love my friend, but not enough for that kind of ambience. The only place that seemed to be within our price range and not a dicey dive was something called… QDOBA! 

I’d never been before, and I think it might have been new to her, too, so we tried it out and had to have the process explained to us. It was tasty.

It was cheap.

It was quick so we could get back in time to get our seats.

Moral of the Story: Don’t be a snob – if the food is tasty, it’s suitable for the occasion!

***UPDATE 4/28/16 ***
i just had to pop in here to update this. The coincidence of life...

And in a hilarious twist,  today's retirement luncheon for a co-worker is catered by: QDOBA! (I've never tried their catering service before.)

The Movie Whore and “Elizabeth” part II…or really, Part I

(please note that, as suggested by Misty I am changing the color of my links.)

A week ago the Movie Whore reviewed “Elizabeth: Age of Reason”. Bozo had provided a list of possible movies to review that are NOT new releases, so that Bozo could participate in the ensuing conversation, but the Movie Whore I the Movie Whore (shut up!) picked up the wrong DVD, only noting that we needed the “Elizabeth” with Cate Blanchett.

We have corrected our mistake. (and “we” are calmly going schizophrenic in the meantime.)

So this is the original Elizabeth (1997?) starring Cate Blanchett and Geoffery Rush.

Once again, the Movie Whore wonders how much is based on fact and how much was Hollywoodized.

Either way, Cate makes a lovely, young Princess Elizabeth. Like with its sequel, there was a heavy emphasis on the romance angle, which really is not the reason I watch a movie, but as the movie neared the end, I could understand the emphasis, since that made her entrance as “the Virgin Queen” more poignant.

A friend of mine - “The Nurse” who you read about here has a total crush on Cate Blanchett. We’ve had fun with that crush, believe me! But the Movie Whore can see the allure. Cate Blanchett brings a warmth and depth to this poor young girl whose half-sister wants her dead, and who is thrust into a leadership role she’s ill-prepared for. It’s hard to believe this is the same person who would later portray Galadriel in the LOTR movies!

The best example of how deeply the actress is entrenched in the role is when Elizabeth is practicing her speech before appearing to parliament. She’s so clearly distressed and concerned about how to get it exactly right. The actress in me loves that scene.

The Movie Whore got very opinionated about the various men involved:

“Finally! It’s about time she got rid of that tool Sir William. Lord Walsingham is much more subtle, and tactful, and actually looks out for her.”

“Ha! I KNEW that stupid Lord Robert was a bad’un! She was setting herself up for disaster all along. It pays to vet your suitors, queenie! Seriously, if my suitor was flirting with my ladies-in-waiting I’d kick him to the curb!”

Darth Inquisitor!

“Hey, how did a Sith Lord get in Elizabethan England?” [spoken about the black-robed Daniel Craig character] “That’s pretty awesome."

Overall, The Movie Whore finds the movie Elizabeth to be beautiful and interesting. It’s slow in parts, but maybe that’s because there’s just too much to get it all in gracefully?

And the Movie Whore LOVES the excellent soundtrack.

What’s that music playing when she confronts Lord Robert after all the others were sent to the Tower? I recognize it…is it Beethoven? I can’t quite place it… It flows seamlessly into the music that plays when Elizabeth enters the court and proclaims herself “The Virgin Queen”, married to her country. Finally it got to a point where I can place it: Mozart’s Requiem. Oooh. Chills.

The score to Mozart's Requiem. I'd add a music file, if I could.

It is no wonder that Bozo loves that scene the most. Music can tell a story that is heard most clearly by the soul. Even the non-musical person can be surprised by their reaction to powerful music. (And classical-style music, more than any, evokes this emotional response.)

So, if you play Mozart’s Requiem, what do you hear?

You hear mourning.

The sounds of sorrow.

Then a dying soul rises above the mourning,

as if trying to elevate itself above the mourners.

You don’t need to understand the Latin of the lyrics to feel the meaning of the music! That mourning? It applies not only to Mozart’s death, but is just as suitable to depict Elizabeth’s “re-virgination” and denial of her true love!

And today's Something to Celebrate:
It's Barbra Streisand's birthday! (70th) Whatever you think of her personal choices, you cannot deny the musical talent that she has!
I think I'll put in Hello Dolly as a movie to pack to tonight, in her honor.

Today's Post is Brought to You by the Number 3

Gather ‘round, dudes! There’s an award-winner in your midst!

That’s right. Last week the inimitable Bozo awarded me the “3”. Woot-woot!

That means she wants to know more about me. The rules are simple: List 3 things about myself, and award it to 3 more bloggers I want to know more about. Easy-peasey, right?

As I tried to think of 3 things to share, I was startled to find how much I’ve already stated in my blog. So if these 3 things don’t satisfy you, check my archives; there’s a surprising amount in there!

1.       First, I feel I should satisfy Bozo’s curiosity about my appearance. (btw, Bozo, I notice that you don’t post photos of yourself either: “Hi, Pot? It’s the Kettle…”) Here goes: I’m tall. Not WNBA tall, but tall for a girl. I’m 5’10”. It’s the most noticeable thing about me, except maybe the hair, which…take a deep breath, people…is a bottle-red. There. It’s out. My natural shade is a sort of dark strawberry blonde that’s getting dull with age, truth be told. Trouble with that color is, anytime I’d do something stupid I’d get an earful of blond jokes. Annoying. So when I was in college I decided that if people were going to stereotype me, I’d help them a bit, and colored my hair to match my attitude. It looks very natural, because there's recessive red in my blood, so I have the right skin-type for it.

2.       The 2^nd movement of Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony stops me dead in my tracks. Always. In fact, I was going to list something else for number 2, but I’m watching “Immortal Beloved” (a movie about Beethoven) as I write this, and the score got to the point where I had to just put down my pen and let the music wash over me. Listen to it once. It’s more haunting than Barber’s Adagio for Strings (most people know the Adagio from the movie “Platoon”) ...>sigh<... Trite as it sounds, I LOVE Beethoven! When I saw his 9^th symphony live – HEA-VEN! (A recording doesn't do it justice) – it became the central theme of my Christmas letter that year.

3.       I have lived in six U.S. states – in more than one location in most of those – and 3 countries outside the U.S. I’ve seen 47 U.S. states…at least driven through or on a plane stop-over.

Fascinating stuff, yeah? If you think I should have listed something else, please ask a question in the comments.

Now for the 3 bloggers *I* want to know more about:

1.       Jeff Laws. Jeff writes a “daddy blog” (would you say that’s accurate?) and he lives in Indiana. He’s totally open about the joys and struggles of fatherhood. As someone who has lived in Indiana (I think) his whole life, I hope he has some familial, Midwestern stories to share. (If you’re new to my blog, I’m moving to Indiana in a month.)

2.       Ash-Matic. I can’t sum him up, because clearly he is nuts. (That's a compliment.) I always enjoy his posts and comments - on anyone's blog, so I wish to know more about what makes him tick.

3.       Cranky&Difficult. “Cranky&Difficult&anEnigma”, more like. All I know is that he apparently loves history as much as I love geography, and I use his website when my own calendars fail me and I need a new “thing to celebrate”. He has two blogs, and as much as I use his history blog, I have a feeling he found me because of the Movie Whore, because his other blog is movie reviews.

There you have it: My award! …and now, Yours!

Visit these guys, and let me know if I missed a vital point about myself. I’m [usually] happy to oblige.

Really, a Very Sweet Story! (a heart-warmer, in case you need one)

This is my favorite story of my parents’, I think.

…and after 47 years, they have a lot of them!

Background:

My mom is musical. That was actually on my dad’s “list” of traits he was seeking in a future spouse. My dad enjoys music, but doesn’t play anything, and only sings in church. But he knows music well from the physics standpoint and has taken to refurbishing old pump-organs in his retirement. Also important to the story: to Dad, a pipe organ is the Holy of Holies.

There has always been a piano in our family house. When I was little, it was a baby grand. …and a harpsichord, actually. When we moved overseas, we got an upright. They moved back State-side and ended up with my grandma’s old spinet in their new house, which had no room for a larger one. When retirement came up, Dad bought Mom a new baby grand. Again, he doesn’t play, but has the ear to know there’s a difference, and anyone who has sat down at a grand and an upright can feel the difference in the action of the keys. What is an extravagant gift to most people just made sense to Dad.

The story:

They chose where they wanted to spend retirement, and had a house built to specs meant to last them the rest of their days, including a “Great Room”. What’s so great about it? Well, planning for every eventuality of aging, if one of them becomes an invalid or if hospice becomes involved, a bed could be wheeled into the Great Room and that person could still take part in family festivities.

When they moved in, Mom chose a corner of the Great Room for the piano and Dad said, “That’s great! Then we can put a pipe organ on the other side of that window!”

This is the piano in question. (you can see, the house isn't 100% complete yet in this picture...

the hole in the wall for the vent, the boxes, the large frame on the floor leaning against the wall.)

Mom, knowing better than to assume either humor or seriousness, defended her territory with “We are NOT having a pipe organ in the great room! If we ever got a pipe organ, it would have to go into a room downstairs.” (Their house is on a hill, and the main floor is actually the “upstairs”. Downstairs opens onto a patio slightly down-slope.)

Mom never for a moment thought that Dad was genuinely considering a pipe organ.

(This first part of the story I got from Mom well after the rest of the story happened.)

The Rest of the story:

Dad is all connected-up in the pipe organ world. (Ha! You didn’t know there was such a thing, did you?) When a smallish, “affordable” one came available, guess who bought it! Some of the bigger pipes had to be altered (a bend put in at the top) to fit in the low-ceilinged downstairs, but the whole organ – keyboard, pedals, bench and pipes – fits in one of the small downstairs rooms with no windows, that was just being used for storage.

Now, in my parents’ world, this gift of a pipe-organ is the equivalent of a gift of lingerie in the real world: The gift is given to a woman, who uses it, but the man gets to enjoy it, too!

My mom does use it. She’s one of the organists at their church, and it is genuinely convenient for her to not have to drive down the hill and into town to practice. (who'da thunk a pipe organ was a "convenience"!) Also, she has two organ students now. ...And, although she grumbles that “the kids will never be able to sell this house when we’re gone – not with a pipe organ in the basement” she also plays for fun.

My dad’s side of the story is that the day the installation was complete, he was out in the yard and suddenly “Phantom of the Opera!” (his words). I’m quite sure he’s never heard Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, and I don’t think he’s seen the other, older versions; however I know Mom does a mean Cantata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach – I think that’s the title, you know, the one in Fantasia? – So I’m guessing that’s what he heard. Either way, this has been the gift that keeps giving, to them both.

…and to me! I just love this! I love that Mom was totally blind-sided, but couldn’t really complain because a) it was a gift and b) she had given tacit approval by saying where she would prefer to have a pipe organ! *headslap* I love the uniqueness of having parents with a pipe organ in the house. It’s just so weird! It’s perfect. Perfectly weird… for two relatively normal people such as they are.

Have you ever given or received an extravagant gift out of the blue?