Friday, December 05, 2003
Music
God I must be old - hearing a song on the radio, and not being able to figure out if it's ages old and I've heard it umpteen times before or if it's new, but well written enough that it feels familiar. Turns out it's a bloody good cover (i.e. I can't remember what the original sounded like, other than similar). But having gone a looked it up, it's Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules "Mad World", originally by Tears for Fears (and I was 2 or 3 when it was first around).
But then I also like the latest Limp Bizkit song, Behind Blue Eyes (which I have a hunch is also a cover, no idea of whose it was though).
After some mining: Tears for fears' version (Windows, Real), the new version (can only find .wma). Am I allowed to say I prefer the modern version? The other is very clumsy 80s.
Meandering round radio stations' websites is bad - especially when you come across The Darkness's festive attempt. You know some things are so bad they're good? And some just keep going straight past good into downright dubious territory? I know it's meant to be like that, and it's them extrapolating Queen, and copying the worst traditions of Christmas songs, and it's funny really, but somehow it just seems like the joke isn't quite what it wants to be. Fine you can analyse, you can copy, you can mock, but there's still an "and?".
But maybe it's more to do with me denying Christmas is looming. Bah humbug.
Can you still get humbugs? Do Sainsbury's sell them?
More serious music stuff - very useful series of mini-modules on musical theory. Guess who wanted to know what key was and what it meant, and could only get people to reply "it's the notes that sound best together". Didn't help I was also confusing key and chord. But I did remarkably little music at school, learning to play Silent Night[1] and the Eastenders theme on piano, and some dull thing on guitar[2]. I always got told I was very precise, although my rhythm could improve: which means I put my fingers in place for one chord, play it, move my fingers to the next chord, then play it. Sounds fine? Not when I hit a tricky chord, and have to use both hands to get my fingers in place, and so the song has frequent pauses.
[1] Sounds better in German.
[2] I also gave up on recorder when very young. Too much faffing about with remembering to move fingers and breathe at the same time. Though strangely I used to be in the choir[3], and that wasn't hard.
[3] Until I got a cold, and my voice never went back to normal. Although around this time I also noticed how ridiculous it all was anyway.
---
Now wondering why I didn't post this yesterday.
And who is James Blaylock? Other than someone who's been exposed to English cereal at one point. Confused? Coherence Engine will explain all. Well not quite, but nearly. CE assumed Weetabix was made up for a book (in vorpal way), and then discovered it was real. Weetabix being the biggest selling cereal in the UK (see F on Fri 21st Nov), but being unsellable in most of Europe (and probably America), and being called Weetbix in Australia and NZ (and made by a different company).
So CE discovered them on sale, but did he buy any? Did he taste them? They're not quite the same as Cheerios, in the same way Marmite[1] is not quite the same as chocolate spread[2].
[1] Another UK thing. It's too hard to explain. Though when did it start having celery extract in it? This mean there aren't enough breweries any more?
[2] American housemate, thought it was, so dipped finger in and sucked it. For a devout atheist they were a lot of references to god and his hangers-on.
And that's the third time I've mentioned Weetabix in this blog.
Anyhoo,
God I must be old - hearing a song on the radio, and not being able to figure out if it's ages old and I've heard it umpteen times before or if it's new, but well written enough that it feels familiar. Turns out it's a bloody good cover (i.e. I can't remember what the original sounded like, other than similar). But having gone a looked it up, it's Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules "Mad World", originally by Tears for Fears (and I was 2 or 3 when it was first around).
But then I also like the latest Limp Bizkit song, Behind Blue Eyes (which I have a hunch is also a cover, no idea of whose it was though).
After some mining: Tears for fears' version (Windows, Real), the new version (can only find .wma). Am I allowed to say I prefer the modern version? The other is very clumsy 80s.
Meandering round radio stations' websites is bad - especially when you come across The Darkness's festive attempt. You know some things are so bad they're good? And some just keep going straight past good into downright dubious territory? I know it's meant to be like that, and it's them extrapolating Queen, and copying the worst traditions of Christmas songs, and it's funny really, but somehow it just seems like the joke isn't quite what it wants to be. Fine you can analyse, you can copy, you can mock, but there's still an "and?".
But maybe it's more to do with me denying Christmas is looming. Bah humbug.
Can you still get humbugs? Do Sainsbury's sell them?
More serious music stuff - very useful series of mini-modules on musical theory. Guess who wanted to know what key was and what it meant, and could only get people to reply "it's the notes that sound best together". Didn't help I was also confusing key and chord. But I did remarkably little music at school, learning to play Silent Night[1] and the Eastenders theme on piano, and some dull thing on guitar[2]. I always got told I was very precise, although my rhythm could improve: which means I put my fingers in place for one chord, play it, move my fingers to the next chord, then play it. Sounds fine? Not when I hit a tricky chord, and have to use both hands to get my fingers in place, and so the song has frequent pauses.
[1] Sounds better in German.
[2] I also gave up on recorder when very young. Too much faffing about with remembering to move fingers and breathe at the same time. Though strangely I used to be in the choir[3], and that wasn't hard.
[3] Until I got a cold, and my voice never went back to normal. Although around this time I also noticed how ridiculous it all was anyway.
---
Now wondering why I didn't post this yesterday.
And who is James Blaylock? Other than someone who's been exposed to English cereal at one point. Confused? Coherence Engine will explain all. Well not quite, but nearly. CE assumed Weetabix was made up for a book (in vorpal way), and then discovered it was real. Weetabix being the biggest selling cereal in the UK (see F on Fri 21st Nov), but being unsellable in most of Europe (and probably America), and being called Weetbix in Australia and NZ (and made by a different company).
So CE discovered them on sale, but did he buy any? Did he taste them? They're not quite the same as Cheerios, in the same way Marmite[1] is not quite the same as chocolate spread[2].
[1] Another UK thing. It's too hard to explain. Though when did it start having celery extract in it? This mean there aren't enough breweries any more?
[2] American housemate, thought it was, so dipped finger in and sucked it. For a devout atheist they were a lot of references to god and his hangers-on.
And that's the third time I've mentioned Weetabix in this blog.
Anyhoo,
