What We Listened, Thought About, & Played on This Spring Break

Plenty of time indoors this week to contemplate our Spring schedule, the colder weather, the books we have been waiting for enough time to read, and our other jobs we do during the week. Then there is the music we listened to or tried to listen to during the time away (not all of us were off-campus this week).

"1000 Nights" - Frenship - I like the more relaxed feel that it has while still having a lot of different sounds. (Megan Winslow)

" Frenship are an electropop duo hailing from Los Angeles, California. Frenship members James Sunderland and Brett Hite met while working at fitness store Lululemon and became fans of each other's music. This led to the two stoking the creative embers, and they eventually began creating music together." (AllMusic)

"Beware of Darkness" - George Harrison - He gives great advice when I need it. (Betsy Rosenblum)

The Beatles's lead guitarist and resident spiritualist released "All Things Must Pass" as his first post-Fab Four record.  His struggle with wealth and fame are well-known but he also bankrolled Monty Python, toured with the Traveling Wilburys (Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan), and was good buddies with Eric Clapton.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen - Characterized by vocal harmonies and ranging from progressive to hard rock, Queen’s “style” could never be nailed down….If you didn’t know who the group was but thought the incredible voice sounded familiar it was probably Queen. Winning Grammys and Juno awards their songs can still get an audience clapping along.  And who can forget Brian May?  Rocker and astrophysicist? (Daniele Dugre-Martin)

"American Tune" - Kurt Elling - As I stated on an earlier post, Paul Simon is one of my favorite songwriters (ever).  Kurt Elling is a wonderful jazz singer who cut his teeth on the Chicago scene in the 80s and 90s.  Not only can he scat sing with the best of them (Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks) but he also has a poet's ear for lyrics.  He's recorded "American Tune" (as a voice and piano duo) but this orchestrated version moves me to my soul. Composed in 1973 as the US was mired in the Vietnam War and reeling from the Watergate scandal, the song is both pessimistic and optimistic.  Elling's version has similar intent (the video is aimed at the issues with immigration, racism, sexism but there's the promise of "tomorrow's another working day.") - Richard Kamins

"Whisky Lullaby" - Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss - This came from Thomas Williams and I won't even try to speak for him.  The song comes from Paisley's 2003 album "Mud on the Tires" and was composed by Country music legend Bill Anderson and Jon Randall.   Anderson has had a long career with a slew of big hits but also wrote songs for many of his contemporaries. Yet, this song started because Randall was going through a divorce and had started drinking. He met Anderson and they put the song together and gave to Paisley who then shared it with Ms. Krauss. Released as a single in 2004, it won the 2005 Country Music Association Song of the Year.  The accompanying video is set in 1947 and the man is coming home after the long war.  Many people complain that country ballads are corny and unemotional - not this one.  Even without the video, the song has lasting power. Plus, Alison Krauss's voice is so lovely.  (R Kamins)

First week add-ons

Here's a few more songs that have come in since our first posting.

Paul Simon announced his retirement from touring earlier this week so two people chose two songs from his vast repertoire.

"The Sounds of Silence" - Simon & Garfunkel - There are bunch of versions of this tune floating around but I chose to link to the 45rpm from 1965, the one where producer Tom Wilson (at the time, one of the few African American producers working at a major label - in this case, Columbia Records) added electric guitar, bass, and drums to the original one acoustic guitar and the voices of Simon and Garfunkel.
(Danielle Dugre-Martin)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0

"Spirit Voices" - Paul Simon - When my daughters were younger, they loved to listen to Simon's "Graceland", the album with a mix of South African musicians (there was quite a controversy when the artist went illegally to record them) plus songs with Linda Ronstadt, Rockin' Dopsie, and Los Lobos. It is a great collection but my favorite is the one that followed - "The Rhythm of the Saints" was issued in 1990 and featured a slew of songs influenced by Brazilians artists such as Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, and others.  This tune, co-written by and featuring the ethereal voice of Nascimento, still knocks me for a loop even after 28 years.
(RBK)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqd_4Kh5OxM

"Miserere mei, Deus" - Tallis Scholars - Speaking of ethereal, this lovely piece is a setting of Psalm 51 by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652). The work was composed in the 1630s during the reign of Pope Urban VII for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday of Holy Week (source: Wikipedia). Recording of this piece often fall short of the magnificence of hearing this work sung in a chapel. Nevertheless, this performance is stunning.
(T Williams)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpzdB0G3TJU

John Rudolf photo

"Kenedougou Foly" - Anat Cohen Tentet - Over the past decade, Israeli-born saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen wowed audiences around the world with her vibrant musicianship and her ability to play so many styles.  I have seen her play swing,heard her play Brazilian chorus and folk music, funk, blues - while she is a fine tenor and soprano saxophonist, she is a world-clarinet player.  This piece from her latest album is an exciting arrangement of a tune composed and performed by West African balafon player Neba Solo (his version is below Ms. Cohen's) - both have a rhythmic flow that pulls you from your chair. I love both versions.
(RBK)
A Cohen - www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG7E5miN3gE
N Solo (the long version) -  www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLBJSRx5Zk

"Pyramids" - DVBBS & Dropgun feat. Sanjin - This came from one of QU301 students but the "beats" are as African as the ones played by Neba Solo.  He told me that lyrics are not his thing but he does love sound, rhythm, bass (floor-shaking bass), and how this music just erases the craziness of the day.  EDM (Electronic Dance Music is one of the more popular genres at the moment) is the continuation of the fact that people have danced for millennia - the words are not really important but the groove is "supreme"!

(A Kasabri)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU6NHDJAuno

"Rolling In the Deep (We Could Have Had It All)" - Adele - The power of her voice and the message of the song are closely linked.  Adele has listened to the blues and soul singers of the 1950s and 60s (including the great British singer Dusty Springfield) - you want it dance, you want to song along, shake your fists and your tush.

(song suggested by Betsy Rosenblum)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw




Comments are welcome! Enjoy!

Welcome - Week One

The purpose of this blog is to share music that members of the Quinnipiac University are listening to these days.  At this point in time, the list only reflects the two classes I am teaching this semester, an FYS-101 and a QU 301, plus contributions from invited members of the QU community. The latter group will grow as the blog continues through the semester.  Feel free to comment but no spam!

CRO - "Einmal un de Welt" - Chose this song because we briefly talked about German music. I think this one is really upbeat and fun. I don't understand it, but from what I know he's just talking about girls and money and traveling. Basically the same thing that American singers/rappers talk about. Languages may be different but it seems to me that wherever you go in the world, mainstream music culture is the same. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2pySXCmwpc
Haniya Ahmed (FYS)

John Prine - "Clay Pigeons" - I've been listening to Clay Pigeons sung and played by John Prine.  This is written by another fellow named Blaze.  I’m just curious what others think of this song/ballad, and if Theresa or may not be a greater or lesser appreciation dependent on age.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3zNl6NsOyY
Alden Mead (Faculty)

Billie Holiday - "Strange Fruit" - Thought I might share a song we’re singing in the spring concert of Another Octave – Connecticut Women’s Chorus.  The concert theme is “Heroes & Villains”; I’m sure you can guess which category this song falls under.  The song is “Strange Fruit,” an eerie song where the tempo and the way the words are sung are vital to the meaning in the song.  The Billie Holiday version is the version you should include in your blog; it’s probably the best known, although many singers have sung.  Be sure to post a version with the words…and be careful choosing because I found some errors, such as “popular trees” instead of “poplar trees”!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mO92ll_q0k
Anne Harrigan (Faculty)

Imagine Dragons - "Radioactive" - This song has a mix of hard rock and a touch of heavy metal genres. It is slow beat with a chorus that repeats a few times. When I listen to the song it projects a heavy rhythmic beat, which is ideal for difficult cardio-vascular exercises like cycle, elliptical, treadmill, running stadium steps or bicycling. By increasing the resistance or slope of the machines used or the number of repetitions, the ‘heaviness’ of the song provides a beat that can help you work through the heaviness of the exercise when your legs, lungs and heart are challenged. The lyrics of the song (below) are not necessarily upbeat, it is the tune that is the take-away and very applicable to the toughest part of the particular cardio exercise at that moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU
Joe Gaffney (Faculty)

Barry Phillips - "The World Turned Upside Down" - The music is colonial American. The album's title song is well known as a dance tune played by both colonial forces and the Regulars (particularly when they surrendered at Yorktown in 1781!)

I play the album when I read and write as I find it calming and contemplative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUcH0Of_sxs
Thomas Williams (faculty)

Panic! At The Disco - "Northern Downpour" - I chose this song because the lyrics may seem nonsensical at first, but have a deeper meaning when you think about them. I really appreciate the metaphors that they use since they're very descriptive, and I also like how many different meanings the song can have to different people, or even at different times in your life. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zouSojyIi94
Megan Winslow (QU class of 2020)

Led Zeppelin - "Immigrant Song" - It has powerful lyrics with Viking overtones (I love the Orkney Islands where most of the males have been identified as having “Viking” DNA).  I saw this performed in concert and it simply gave goosebumps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8OtzJtp-EM
Daniele Dugre- Martin (Learning Commons)

Green Day - "Poprocks and Coke" - The lyrics are terrific. At one point in my life, I was at a bad point. This song, and the lyrics of the song, were just what I needed at that time to help me deal with some of the things I was struggling with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxw2Iwu__IY
Chris Hakala (faculty)

"The Band's Visit" - Original Cast Recording - Katrina Lenk - "Omar Sharif" - I listen to a lot of music and it's hard to pick one track but I am quite enamored of the music from the Broadway play "The Band's Visit". Based on a 2007 Israeli movie, the play tells the following story:
"After a mix-up at the border, an Egyptian Police Band is sent to a remote village in the middle of the Israeli desert. With no bus until morning and no hotel in sight, these unlikely travelers are taken in by the locals. Under the spell of the desert sky, their lives become intertwined in the most unexpected ways." The music was composed by David Yazbek ("The Full Monty") and combines all sorts of influences.  I really enjoy the story (Israeli humor can be quite sarcastic and ironic) and the project plays to my idealistic belief that music can heal a fractured world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDgm61Jnc7g
RB Kamins (faculty)

That's all I have for this first edition - I'll update the blog, at least, twice a week. Hope you find new sounds!