What Are You Listening To?

When you get frustrated debating politics, your go-to music:

 
I can only listen to familiar music, usually without words, when I write.

And I can only write at my best when listening to music.

I know that's strange to some — my wife can't do any kind of thinking work with music in the background — but others know exactly what I mean. My brain is highly associative. People often ask me, "How did you get from this to that thought?" to which the answer is almost always a clear and explainable chain of associations. For that reason, I'm distractable.

I find that music I know "absorbs" and binds wandering tendrils of background thought that might otherwise lead my primary focus off-task.
 
Kind of bummed. Bad month all around. If I seem my usual happy self, it's mostly forced. I seek out songs I like.

This was one of my favorite slower Ozzy songs. Still has lots of ozzyisms in it, which makes it kind of funny, but . . . yeah.


Here's an excellent version of this song! Every one of the musicians is perfect. They all solo like fiends.

 
Tempus est iocundum, a latin dirty piece of music.


It's an absolute banger of a song. It always cracks me up that audiences love Carmina Burana so much -- if they knew the meaning of these words, they'd be scandalized. (Cue grandmas clutching their pearls, and mothers covering the ears of their little kids). ;-P

I've performed Carmina twice, and this song and its follow-up ("Ave Formosissima") are my favourites to sing -- but they're quite difficult. (Especially trying to find a place to breathe in "Ave Formosissima". They're easier if you have a good conductor). Check out the modern rendition: Tempus est iocundum (performed by the Munich Percussion Ensemble).

As for me, I was listening to this earlier today - possibly the oldest example of counterpoint in existence:

 


Very real possibility I'll get to hear this live twice this month and I'm stupid with excitement for it. I'm so excited for this weekend.
 

I remember listening to this when it first came out. Still a banger of a song. Also good are "Where The Streets Have No Name", "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "One" ... basically anything of U2's from the 80s and early 90s.
 
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There is no motion in this video, but good comedy writing like this is very rare. (Not to mention very difficult). Enjoy. :)

 
This is incredible - a short, low-budget LOTR film, but with lots of heart. :)

"The Beacons! The Beacons are lit!" But how? ;)


I caught about two or three inaccuracies, and one or two things that didn't make sense. But never mind. I still enjoyed it. :)

(Oh, and -- don't miss the credits!) ;)
 
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