Reliving the Simple Joy of a CD Case

Thinking back to my teenage years, there are basically 3 things that made me feel independent:

1. Driving
2. Buying my own food (usually at Wendy's)
3. My CD collection

Yeah, that's kind of a weird thing to tie to independence. Or maybe it isn't. A lot of people use music to define them, to set them apart from their parent's generation or whatever. For me it was that, but also more than that. Music was definitely definitive for me. And it definitely set me apart from my parents. But it also set me apart from my siblings, which in a lot of ways was more important to me; I was the 7th child after all. 

My CD collection was basically my escape. I would go hide in my room and put in a CD when too many people came over. Headphones were often my saving grace (at least until I lost the hearing in my left ear. It wasn't due to loud music, if that's what you are thinking. But that's a story for another post.) Even if I was going camping, my CD collection came along in one of those big CD cases. 

For a long time I had it all laid out so the front of the page had the little booklet, with the actual CD on the back side. Even with over 100 discs, I knew that thing so well I could open up right to the page with the CD I wanted, almost without fail. Eventually I realized the books were getting ruined (and also I needed more room) so I switched to just CDs. Those CDs went everywhere with me. 

One of these babies

Then the iPod came along. I remember the first time I heard of them in one of those VW New Beetle commercials. I thought it sounded like a terrible idea. "But what about all my CDs?" I naively bemoaned. Obviously, it didn't take all that long for me to come around to the idea, and my CD case became less and less critical, and more and more often left at home like Buzz and Woody wishing I'd come back and play again. Then came smartphones, and eventually Google Play All Access, and my wonderful CD collection became completely irrelevant. 

Then last weekend I went on a camping trip. I didn't plan ahead very well, and so I didn't get music downloaded on my phone. At the last minute I decided to grab the old CD binder. That ended up being the best thing I could have done.

I had forgotten about the added pleasure of the artwork on the CD. Albums like Beck's Odelay with artwork but no words were still instantly recognizable, and seeing them like that brought back tons of memories. Flipping through the pages reminded me of all the time I spent lovingly organizing the collection into just the right order. (Always Zeppelin first, of course.)

So I've been carrying my CD case around in my car for the last week. The one I have now only fits a fraction of my collection, but it's kind of refreshing to be limited to just that. Most of them are my absolute favorites. Although, since the CD collection was also a status symbol for the music crowd I ran with, I had to sprinkle in some of the more obscure selections. For street cred. 

I didn't actually understand this album until years later

float like a feather

It all started with the trailer for the new Facebook movie "The Social Network."

If you've seen it there is no way you didn't notice the amazing choir rendition of "Creep." It is at once moving and disturbing, something few can accomplish, but Thom Yorke has mastered in his songwriting, and this choir has magnified. In all the countless versions of Creep that I've heard, none but maybe Damien Rice have done it justice. Now there is another.

I began looking into it and found that the performers are a Belgian women's choir, Scala and Kolacny Brothers. I too, thought it odd that a women's choir has the word Brothers in it's title, but a little looking told me that Scala is the choir and the Kolacny Brothers are the conductor and pianist. They have a number of rock and pop songs they have covered, and every one of them is fantastic. Here are a few.

Escape

Sometimes I need a break from analytical thinking. From worrying. From regular concerns. Today was one of those days. Most of the day was physical labor, some for exercise, some for sport, some chores, and some to help a neighbor in need. Then I read a good book. Finally I made my retreat to the ultimate refuge: music. Tomorrow I will attend church services and will feel whole. Just in time for school to start again next week.

Phantom of the Opera

I've always liked the musical. It has everything: action and adventure, love and loss, mystery and intrigue, and great music. I learned quite recently that it is based on a book. Yes, I should have assumed as much, but I did not, and so was surprised when I saw it. That was a week ago. I just finished it this morning. It is amazing.

Gaston Lebroux writes the novel as an historian who has done a large amount of research in order at last to shed light on the whole of a great mystery--or rather several great mysteries that turn out to be one and the same. Take everything you know about the Opera Ghost and Christine Daae, and add an extra 5 layers of depth. (One for each cellar in the Paris Opera House in which the majority of the story takes place.) It's older English, translated from French, which lends beauty and character to the structure of the writing not found in our common language today. Due to this it is not a particularly easy read, but it is indeed a rich one. The tragedy of the story is especially expanded from that of the musical. He is uglier, more pitiful, and of a much more complex background. Meanwhile he is far more genius than Mr Webber gave him credit for, and not just when it comes to music. I found myself feeling great pity for him, despite the monstrous things he did, as did Christine and the Persian (a very important character in the book, omitted from the broadway production).

Too often, when you read the original work behind an adaptation, the latter deteriorates, sometimes so far that it's no longer enjoyable. In this case I love it more than ever. Consider this my recommendation to each of you to find a copy.

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Now playing: Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Music Of The Night
via FoxyTunes

Humanity's Greatest Achievment

As it turns out all of humanity reached it's peak when this video was made in 1976. There is nowhere to go but down from here. If this is the quality entertainment brought about by communism, maybe I'll give it a try after all!

Expansion

Something strange has happened in the past few months. I've always enjoyed classical music, some more some less, but it's always been quite a passive enjoyment. My father frequently listens to various movie soundtracks while working away in his office. We used to blast the local classical station with the windows down in my high school parking lot, but that was just for the reaction of the other students. Once or twice we turned on the same station and narrated what we imagined the story of the current piece to be. It has never been a large part of my life though.

Last year we got the Twilight soundtrack. A few months ago we added New Moon. Both include some very lovely piano pieces. Muse's last album has a Chopin Nocturne as a song's outro, and Matthew Bellamy has incorporated classical piano into his songs on several occasions. That is where my craving began. It started with just piano, anything I could get my hands on, be it Rachmaninov, Beethoven, or even David Lanz. From there it has expanded. Last week my Mrs watched Pride and Prejudice while I did chemistry homework and I couldn't stop thinking about the music for days. I downloaded the soundtrack and gave it a number of spins over the subsequent days. I just can't get enough.

Never have I wished more that I could play the piano.

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Now playing: Various Artists - Dawn
By "Various Artists" they mean Jean-Yves Thibaudet
via FoxyTunes

Prog's That Way

The new Muse album came out this week. I bought it on day one, of course. Having heard it before hand on their web site, I knew that I liked it. I also knew that there are some very proggy moments that make me say "huh?" Yes, it's true that they drew a great deal of inspiration from Queen for the music and George Orwell's 1984 for the lyrics. It's also true though that it is refreshingly original, politically poignant, and, in a word, terrific.

Since it's release two days ago it's pretty much all I've listened to. That and Glenn Beck. Imagine my delight when the latter used a half hour of his show time talking about one of his favorite bands: Muse. He even played a track, United States of Eurasia, which I have previously mentioned. He talked about the Libertarian nature of the lyrics and how perfectly in touch they are, the great music, and the amazing creativity behind it. At the end of the break he encouraged everyone to buy it. After the commercial he informed us that Muse's legal representation had just contacted him asking him to retract his endorsement, which I think is hilarious. Update: As it turns out they didn't really call Glenn, it was just a poorly delivered joke. Either way though, it's a funny thought.

I confess the chorus of "The Resistance" is still a little too much for me, but otherwise I am in love with the album, especially "Undisclosed Desires," where they decided to get all hip hop. My favorite moment on the album though has to be the last 30 seconds of "Unnatural Selection" when they kick it in to gear and rock like they mean it. To quote Glenn, it's "brilliant."

Wish You Were Here

The Pink Floyd one, not the Incubus one. I really like that song. I think every band I've ever liked in the history of music has covered it. And why not? It's a great tune.

US of E

As I mentioned the other day, I have been desperately searching for something new on the music front of late. Seemingly as a response Muse has released two singles for the upcoming album "The Resistance." Not only is it delightfully refreshing musically, but it's all "take the power back" and "shoot down the black helicopters" in a way only Muse can pull off. The radio single, "Uprising," is not exactly groundbreaking for them, but it's a solid tune none the less, and I can't get enough of it. Just today I heard the other single they've released on their website's media player. "United States of Eurasia" is everything the title suggests as far as paranoia and conspiracy. It's like Coast to Coast AM set to a hybrid between Queen and the "Pride and Prejudice" soundtrack. I know, it's hard to imagine, but if you can find it or care to join the Muse fan club I insist you check it out.

P.S. Here's a picture from the first time I saw them. It was in 2004 on the side stage at The Venue. There were like 200 people there. It was amazing.

Led Zeppelin...

...has been my favorite band since about age 12. Sure I have other favorite bands that have topped them, but those first few years created a permanent place in my heart. The first cd I ever owned was their fourth album. I listened to it over and over and over again. I did the same with every other album they have. I have probably watched "The Song Remains the Same" more than any other movie, excepting "Cars" with Mogli. During my early teens I had a full blown obsession. I learned how to play guitar almost exclusively on Zeppelin songs. I used to could listen to all 26 minutes and 52 seconds of live "Dazed and Confused" without ever losing interest. I loved them, and nothing has ever quite been the same since.

My musical adventures have taken me far and wide over the years. Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Coldplay, Muse, and countless others. I purchased Radiohead's "OK Computer" and "Kid A" on the same day, and listened to them both so much you'd think I would have worn the cds right through. When I got "Parachutes" I literally listened to it repeatedly for a bare minimum of 3 hours a day every day for a month. "Absolution" simply blew me away with it's powerful riffs, haunting melodies, and astounding creativity.

It's been a very long time since I've felt that way about a new band. There have been plenty that I liked, and some that I really liked, but nothing that has really got me going. This music famine has got to end.

Strawberry

Check this bad boy out:




That is one beastly strawberry. It must have come from some amazing strawberry fields. To find it's equal, one would likely have to search the strawberry fields forever.

I recently heard that the Beatles box set is supposed to come out this fall. As I understood it is to be all of their studio albums plus some other goodies. I love the Beatles, but don't actually own much of their music, and this will be the perfect chance to remedy that situation. Soon I will be basking in the aural pleasure of Beatle-mania like I've never basked before.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy that mighty, mighty berry.

Song Of The Day

Today's song is "Underground" by Ben Folds Five. I made this particular selection because Mogli has been singing it continuously the last few days:





Need I say more?

Conceited

SLCC Jazz Band had their first concert of the semester tonight. I am a part of said ensemble. We played several Miles Davis pieces, a few Jobim, Duke, Dizzy, and several others. Good times were had by all.

This semester I've had a difficult time finding my groove. As it's been a few years since I've really played I have lost my lip a great deal, and was pretty rusty in general. The result has been that I've been timid in my playing, my solos have been lack luster at best, and my arrogant self has been lost in some sort of haze.

Until tonight.

Something about being in front of an audience does wonders for me. Suddenly it didn't matter that the other trumpet player's range is half an octave higher than mine, or that most of the rhythm section are expert in the ways of chordal voicing and improvisation. The only important thing was that I was there and everyone got to listen to me play, just like it used to be.

That's right folks, ol' Cuppa Joe is back and cocky as ever.