What did you listen to this week?

[Drunk Monk]

What's Opera Doc? is probably my favorite of the Chuck Jones cartoons, with fantastic surreal landscape too.

I feel ya.  I once saw SF Symphony perform that live with the cartoon playing on the screen behind it.  I think that was at Shoreline for a 4th of July show.

The other great Wagner soundtrack was for Excalibur.  In retrospect, it was those Wagnerian tracks alongside Orff's O Fortuna that really won me over with that film.  



So I hear that this year marks the farewell tours for Diamond, Elton, Ozzy & Skynyrd.  I never saw Diamond, despite the proximity, but he's not really my sound.  I've seen the other three.  Elton does a pop greatest hits show, but he's got so many, so that's cool.  It was like checking off a box on my list.  Last time I remember seeing Ozzy, he still got me with  War Pigs. I would see him again in a heartbeat. Skynyrd was traumatic for me - so many white supremacists and that was before it was fashionable.  Glad to hear they're done.

[Drunk Monk]

Major Lazer: Free the Universe
Bob Marley: Kaya




Now Paul Simon is adding to the list of 2018 retirement tours.  Seen him several times and he always enchants.  Might have to check in for that farewell tour.  Both his show and Ozzy are Rock Medable for me.

[Drunk Monk]

Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet - Landfall
This was a requested birthday gift from Stacy. It’s moody, perfect for this rainstorm, mostly instrumental with a few choice hauntingly existential talk-sing interludes of classic Laurie storytelling. She even uses her old e-distorted male voice. 

I remember seeing Kronos Quartet before they broke out at the courtyard where ACWLPfB was. Got in on the ground floor with them, but then lost interest when Jeanenaud left. Fun to revisit them now after so many years.  

Good prep for next week. 

[Drunk Monk]

Been listening to that Monty Python cd Tara gave me as an April fools prank, but switched to Rastaman Vibration because I got into a debate with the Jamaican Denver tournament promoter about which was Marley’s best (I still say Kaya) and figured I’d integrate some lyrics in the review. I also have Garcia’s Almost Acoustic queued up for Tom, and strangely caught a reggae dub version of Ripple on The Golden Road radio show on the way home, which is the perfect transition. I’ve been thinking Ripple in honor of the passing of my dear friend Tom. I have some Wu-Tang Clan and Cypress shill queued too in prep for my talk on Hip Hop & martial arts at the Oakland museum in June, but I might not get to that for a while.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Phillip Glass has been on, Hugh Masekela, Buddy Ritch. Fell down a “metal version” youtube rabbit hole started by a version of “Sultans of Swing” that totally rocked and had great humor.

[King Bob]

DM - I remember back in the day, Survival was your favorite Marley album. In fact, I remember recommending Kaya to you. And I think you came back to say it was the "trippy" Marley album, but I may be wrong on that; that might have been someone else who said that. Kaya does have great run at the end, from Misty Morning on, but probably not my favorite. Nor Rastaman Vibration either for that matter; it has a weak patch in the middle: Johnny Was, Cry to Me, Want More. And Jah Live is a bit weak to me too. But I really like Night Shift with the opening Psalm quote. I might choose for Uprising, if only for Zion Train, with the massive groove, which is probably my favorite Marley song. But on further reflection I think I might choose Exodus because it's so strong. And I love the mutant rocksteady groove of the title track. Sadly I have had none of these albums since I gave up vinyl years ago.

Thanks and praises to DM for reminding me of some great songs.

I went on a different trip back in time - I found Michael Hedges' Aerial Boundaries in the library. TG and I saw him at least a couple of times. I want to say numerous times, but that might be a trick of my memory. He used to play in the atrium of the Varsity in Palo Alto before he got famous and that's where I first saw him. Listening to it, there was one spot where I could totally see him playing the song, how he would hammer on and off with one hand on the neck, and move his other hand around and hitting harmonics and slapping the body of the guitar. Strange to have such a specific visual memory of the music from thirty years ago. Listening to this also reminded me that he did a great version of All Along the Watchtower.

[Drunk Monk]

Your memory is solid, old friend, although I didn't say 'trippy', I said 'stony'.  Kaya remains the stoniest of Marley's albums and I've really grown to love it. Also, it exemplifies the 'flip' in that there are two thematic sides that really only work with a vinyl album.  On CD, you just cruise over that flip - no pause.  I never had it on vinyl but when I figured that out, Kaya worked much better for me.  The CO promoter's take on Rastaman Vibration was that it was anthemic, that it leads the march when it comes to the Rastafarian cause.  I suppose I could see that.  I agree with you on those slow moments except for JAH Live, which is one of my fav tunes.  That was Marley's first song after Haile Selassie died.  And Night Shift is a personal anthem for my psych team, the Jedi Night Krew.  I do luv Exodus and Uprising too, the latter being my other favorite for many years, until I just surrendered to the stonyness of Kaya.

[Drunk Monk]

Another thought on Night Shift - you gotta luv it whenever you can say (or sing) the word 'smite'

[King Bob]

True, it is good to be able to say 'smite,' you don't get many chances.

[Drunk Monk]

Another thought on JAH live - this was a bonus track in the cd and not on the original vinyl. That promoter’s collection, a decent 4 tier shelf, was strictly vinyl. RASpect!

[King Bob]

Maybe that's why I was surprised to see it on the track list.

[Drunk Monk]

Empire Strikes Back soundtrack because May the Fourth, Revenge of the Fifth & Sith.

Beethoven’s 9 because the choral piece is good for mourning even though A Clockwork Orange stoke the thieving magpie movement + 5 & 6 because I misread the 6 as a 9 when I went to pull the cd at 6:30 in the morning.

Landfall again because it suits my dark mood.

I was listening to Cypress Hill to prep for LA and I pulled the new U2 out again because they just passed through but haven’t listened to it. My commute music.

Really it’s all about Beethoven’s 9 right now for me. I remember hearing SF Symphony okay that live in GGP for Bill Graham’s memorial and being so moved. It still moves me so.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Dead South. Canadian blue grass. “In Hell I’ll be in good company”

[El Dingo]

I've been reaquainting myself with the David Bowie/Trevor Jones "Labyrinth" soundtrack. It actually stands alone very well against the 1983 period "Let's Dance" stuff. It may even be a little darker. The pop songs are interspersed with instrumental pieces by Trevor Jones that sound more like instrumental tunes than soundtrack items.

This made me think of other soundtracks that can be listened to without visual stimulation.

"Star Wars" is the king of this genre to me. I used to listen to this double-lp soundtrack over and over. The themes formed complete pieces of music, including lyric-less verse-chorus-verse arrangements.

I used to listen to Ennio Morricone's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" soundtrack the same way. Every track was a stand-alone melody you could whistle.

But, going back to this thread I created while drunk (which is the only way to post), I am revisiting records I listened to in the 70's - 80's to see if they hold up.

[Drunk Monk]

What's Opera Doc? is probably my favorite of the Chuck Jones cartoons, with fantastic surreal landscape too.

I feel ya.  I once saw SF Symphony perform that live with the cartoon playing on the screen behind it.  I think that was at Shoreline for a 4th of July show.

Well, that's weird, huh Greg?

I'm now bummed that my Empire Strikes Back soundtrack is at the bungalow and I won't be able to retrieve it before the weekend (may the 4th, revenge of the 5th).  At least I got some Star Wars shirts here in Svale...

But here's what's in the CD case in the chariot:
Jerry Garcia - Electric on the Eel ~ I love this so much.  My new fav. I wish I could remember which of the three shows I was at. 
Bob Marley - Exodus ~ love this too - it's a holdover from February and Bob's birthday
Tom Waits - Bone Machine ~ needed some growl, ya know?
Zakir Hussain - Rhythm Experience & Making Music ~ still in the wake of that Rio show http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=4909
Mickey Hart - Planet Drum ~ this is also in the wake of that Rio show
Billie Ellish - When we fall asleep, where do we go? ~ She's my latest ingenue love - her and K. Flay.