The Incredible String Band

Way back before I ever played any music myself, I enjoyed this British band:

Such a unique blend of folk, rock, and jazz!

Larry

Musical Androgyny

Way back in the early 1970s I was living in a commune in Quincy, Illinois. The commune was about half gay. One day Kevin, who died several years ago, brought home a vinyl LP of David Bowie music. I was suspicious of a lot of the gay-favored music, which tended towards flamboyant show-tunes and such, but the album, Hunky Dory, just blew me away. I thought, “Man! What’s with those Brits and their interpretations of American pop? So the Beatles weren’t a one-off thing?”

This tune was and still is one of my favorites:

This one from a couple of years later recently resurfaced after being lost for decades:

Thanks go to Crystal Rehula for this link!

Larry

Imagine…

Here’s a memory for my readers:

It was the late spring of 1972. I was on the verge of quitting high school without graduating. I was dozing off in a civics class. The teacher, Joyce, was trying to keep the students interested, not an easy job! She had brought a tape cassette to class, and she played us a song I’d not heard before.

It was Imagine, by John Lennon. Well, that woke me up!

Here’s a nice version from Mark Knopfler and his musical buddy Chet Atkins; it’s the second song in the medley:

Musical affection and interplay galore!

Larry

Christmas Eve

I’m sitting here thinking about the many Christmases I’ve seen come and go. It’s really kind of weird, when you think about the two parallel mythologies which seem to co-exist here. The pop-culture Christmas, full of tales about Santa Claus and his reindeer, and all of the songs of the past sixty years — like Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, and that eternally played song Walking In A Winter Wonderland…

Alongside all of that are the biblical tales of Christ’s birth, the Three Wise Men, and such. We don’t need creches in courthouse lawns; Quincy must have hundreds in residential front lawns!

I like to recall how our son Tyler just loved to string up Christmas lights. Not many people ever saw them, but there they were every year! Putting up lights had never entered my mind.

Betsy and I would bundle up Tyler and Adrian and drive the forty miles to Quincy, where four grandparents awaited our visits. There’s nothing like having young kids to cement family relations!

I’m tired of hearing Christmas music, to tell you the truth. Even NPR has been playing it relentlessly.

Here’s something a bit different, a production of some young folks with nifty software:

Modern psychedelia! Another tradition… here’s one more:

You might be wondering what kind of music is this, anyway? Wikipedia to the rescue:

English psychedelic downtempo/psybient

Okay, another musical genre to hear and learn about! I had to look up the word “psybient“, a new one to add to my hoard.

My oldest sister Linda complains that I haven’t been posting enough to please her. Hey, sis, you start a blog and start posting! (That is what is called, technically speaking, fishing for a comment. You break off a piece of worm, as my grandmother Lillian taught me, embed it on a hook, and cast it out into the water. If nothing else, a bluegill will bite! My sister is more like a Northern Pike…)

Larry

Sleepwalk

I’ve posted this before, but damn, what virtuosic music:

Another good version from Les Paul:

Quite a nice pair of versions! Two classic masters of electric guitar tone.

Larry

An American Musical Treasure

I love this woman’s work!

Scat-singing is a wonderful American musical innovation.

Larry

Some Wonderful Music

Have a listen to this!

Larry

Zen Tricksters

It interests me that the Grateful Dead have become something of a cultural phenomenon in recent years, after three of the band members have died. New musicians have stepped in to carry on the tradition.

I like this one:

I used to love this tune when I was young, and still do. Some sort of a meld of jazz, folk, and rock music.

I’m reminded of the way that American fiddle music has changed over the years. Listen to this recent effort by fiddle virtuoso Mark O’Connor and Yo Yo Ma, and that one-of-a-kind bassist Edgar Meyer:

Larry

Summertime

I’m missing summertime these days! Listen to this very nice version of the Gershwin song:

Larry

Earth Mother

My friend Bev posted a link to this on Facebook. Such an intriguing new genre, which I hereby dub, by the authority vested in me by nobody in particular, The Audio-Visual Essay:

Larry