Another Awards Show

Last night while flipping TV channels for a few moments I discovered that the Grammys were being aired. As I watched the song being performed at that moment I realized that, given the current popular music scene, there probably wouldn't be too much that I like listening to. It's not so much the music, though reading the list of nominees and winneers artists this morning I recognized almost none of the artists from the station I listen to most -- the Triple A (Adult album alternative) WWCT -- but the, uh, social commentary that is de rigueur with such televised spectacles. So I turned the TV off...

As into my mind popped another awards show from the distant past, in this case the Emmys. From its beginnings television programming has (often deservedly) suffered much from the tongues and pens of critics. Radio's Fred Allen observed in 1950 that "television is called a medium because it is rare that it is well done." (Google tells me Ernie Kovacs, the early TV genius who was taken from us much too soon, said much the same thing.) And while the Emmys can often take television more seriously than it deserves, there's this wickedly funny presention from the 1959 Emmy Awards by the comedians Mike Nichols and Elaine May.

There will be a lot said here tonight about excellence. And the creative, the artistic, and the skillful will all be recognized and rewarded.

But what of the others in this industry? Seriously, there are men in the industry who go on, year in and year out, quietly and unassumingly producing garbage.

I'm very, very proud to have been chosen by the Academy to present tonight's Special Award to the man who has been voted the Most Total Mediocity in the industry...

Oh, go ahead and watch it all. It may fit last night's Grammys more than I imagined.

Click Here

So I was listening to Pandora on the computer and I switched from one of my stations to my Latin/Mexican music station. To silence the new blue screen appeared -- it may look nice on a smart phone, but Pandora's new appearance is not nearly as useful on my computers -- giving no indication as to what song was loading up. Then near the bottom of the screen appeared the words, "Click here to see Shakira's profile."

Of course I did.

Ah, the Memories He Stirs Up

It was some time in the mid-'60s that we went to the Hollywood Bowl and saw my (then) favorite TV actor perform. I remember enjoying him singing and dancing. Now Dick Van Dyke is 89-years-old, but as this recent music video by The Dustbowl Revival shows, he still has the moves. The song's fun, too!

The Perfect Birthday...

...because growing up in Los Angeles in the 1960s, I heard this every Monday through Friday during Sheriff John's Lunch Brigade until I started first grade. And, since I had the record, a whole lot more times until I wore it out.

Scheduled to post on the 56th minute of St. Patrick's Day, Pacific Standard Time.

Happy New Year!!

A blessed and prosperous 2015 to you all.

This seems better than Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga -- Guy Lombardo, for the New Year of 1977.

Then you can go back to last New Year's Day and watch "Auld Lang Syne" with Guy Lombardo from 1958.

King's College Choir Announces Major Change

Choral music will never be the same...

 

Tip of the biretta to Father Carl-Johan.

Happy New Year!

Bringing in the new year, 2014. It still seems best with Guy Lombardo and the Royal Candians playing "Auld Lang Syne," though here you get more than the 10 seconds the band got on NBC at the top of the hour a few moments ago.

Meanwhile, here on the South Side of Peoria, the firecrackers are going off outside, and inside I'm watching an episode of The Jack Benny Program, with guest Andy Williams, from 1964. And Madge Blake (you do know which TV show she is best known for appearing on, don't you?) as a member of the Jack Benny Fan Club! Imagine the big joke on a black-and-white program being the guests' blue eyes.

Blessings and joy to you in the new year!

The Golden State: 163 Years

September 9, 1850 -- California is admitted to the Union.


Go ahead, let's sing together ---

California, here I come
    right back where I started from.
Where Bowers of flowers
    bloom in the spring.
Each morning at dawning,
    birdies sing an' everything.
A sunkist miss said, "Don't be late"
    that's why I can hardly wait.
Open up that Golden Gate,
    California here I come.

by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Meyer
and (at least he's often credited) Al Jolson


Gil Imber at the Mighty Miditzer Presents...
Turn of the Century, California Here I Come.
Performed on the
Mighty Miditzer Style 216 Virtual Theatre Pipe Organ.
Doesn't that sound great? Or how about this transcription by Fats Waller?



Or this record from the California Ramblers in 1924?



Sure, it's really a repeat from 3 years ago, but I like it!

RIP: Eydie Gorme

One of the grand entertainers, Eydie Gorme, died yesterday just a few days shy of her 85th birthday. See the Hollywood Reporter's obituary here.

Thanks to "Website Story by Eydie G." at steveandeydie.com

She has another appearance on Pastor Zip's Blog, featured with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in a classic television commercial for American Express. As we see, their performances live on.

Gorgeous, Simply Gorgeous

Listen to this version of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" that aired over WWCT as I was driving home from this evening's Lenten service.

As a song writer, Harrison could be pretty uneven. But when he was good, he was very, very good -- and this song is among his best. This version, which I'd never heard before tonight, is a George Martin remix of George's original demo for The White Album with strings added for the 2006 CD, Love. Enjoy!

My Music

I don't know how many others are like this, but since Bill Cosby spoke about "having your own music to ride with" in his "Go Carts" routine when I was a kid, I don't think I'm alone. Cos' music was taken from The Rough Riders. Weird Harold's was taken from The Lone Ranger. (You can listen to it here.)

In the cinema, particularly older films, it is not uncommon for a particular tune to appear any time a particular character is on the screen -- or some other times when the director wants you to think of that character. Organist Shay Torrent at Anahiem Stadium or Helen Dell at Dodger Stadium (and others at ball parks across the land) would play a snippet from a particular song when a batter would be announced. When I was 11 I imagined Shay Torrent playing the theme from "They Call Me Mister Tibbs" when I would be announced as the next Angels' batter.

In reality, though, I don't have a tune. I do, however, have my music. And I've had it for as long as I can remember. Sure, if I'm listening to the radio, or a record or CD, or something on the computer, that'll be the music in my head at the time. And the stylistic range of that music rather broad; the "Arts and Entertainment" section of my Facebook profile has a really long list of musicians and I once listed 52 "favorite vocalists" here. And that doesn't include other kinds of musical artists. But this is about the music in my head when I'm not listening to music.

Yesterday, and part of today, the hymn tune ST. CATHERINE was going through my head. I had finally finished selecting the hymns we would be using for our Wednesday Lenten services, and that tune was used for two different hymns I chose. You might recognize it as the tune used for Frederick William Faber's "Faith of Our Fathers" [note: the music will start almost immediately if you click that link].

The thing is, however, that what I've been hearing in my mind is most likely very unlike any way you have ever heard it. Heck, it's unlike any way I've ever heard it. Yet it's the way I hear it, and just about any other tune, when one is running around in the back of my mind all day. For "my own music" isn't a particular piece of music.

It's lots of different songs or themes -- ancient or modern, classical or pop, a really fine tune or horrid schlock -- set off by who-knows-what-kind of stimulus, that since I was a kid have managed to have one common thread when stuck in my mind for hours at a time. Something I realized just a few years ago as I was watching "Friends" the show's theme song was, once again, stuck in head thoughout the entire episode sounding entirely unlike The Rembrandts. Not long ago the tune was a Lenten Lutheran chorale from the 17th century.

The common thread is that my own music is performed by Billy May and His Orchestra.

Fifteen Isn't Enough

And so I got tagged by a Facebook friend (who happens to be an actual friend that only just came on to Facebook:

15 Favorite Vocalists

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen vocalists that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. And in no particular order. Tag fifteen friends, and me, because I'm interested in seeing what singers my friends choose.

So, after looking at Elisabeth's list, I took about 10 minutes and posted:

  1. Nat "King" Cole
  2. Bing Crosby
  3. Peggy Lee
  4. Ella Fitzgerald
  5. Bobby Darin
  6. Glen Campbell
  7. Dean Martin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Vikki Carr
10. Frank Sinatra
11. Johnny Rivers
12. Tom Jones
13. Brooke Benton
14. Jimmie Rodgers (as in "Honeycomb")
15. Chris Isaak

But now I must confess, these weren't the first 15. 4 or 5 other names had come to mind over about 10 minutes, but I discarded them from these 15 because the ones here had been really important at some point of my life. Then, after posting the above list I looked at other friends' lists and the comments their friends added. Wow, there were some really top-notch vocalists there, some of whom I should have included on any "favorites" list, some of whom I recognize as good but who don't do a whole lot for me.

And then there is in my car a list of "important vocalists" that I have been keeping track of as I listen to the radio (particularly XM Radio's SIRIUSLY Sinatra channel. And when I looked at it, sure enough were 3 more names on that list:

* Billy Eckstein
* Perry Como
* Barbra Streisand.

And I knew that I needed to make a more complete list of my favorite vocalists. So, looking through my list of records and CDs that I have or want, I add these vocalists, again in no particular order:

Male* Johnny Mathis * David Clayton Thomas (Blood, Sweat and Tears) * Jim Morrison * Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) * Lou Rawls * Tony Bennett * Andy Williams * Matt Monro * Jimmie Sommerville (Bronski Beat) * Bryan Ferry * Pat Boone * David Bowie * Neil Diamond * Greg Lake * Mika * Freddie Mercury (Queen) * Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) * Louis Armstrong * Sammy Davis, Jr. * Rod Allen (The Fortunes)

Female* Linda Ronstadt * Karen Carpenter * Martha Davis (The Motels) * Phoebe Snow * Norah Jones * Carly Simon * Shakira * Diana Ross * Madonna * Judy Garland * Petula Clark * Patricia Kaas * Mama Cass Elliott * Marilyn McCoo (The 5th Dimension)

That's 52 Favorite Vocalists. And I know I'm missing somebody!

This is just too fun...

And an excuse to mention the 2-hour marathon of The Boys (that's Laurel & Hardy to the rest of you) on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) beginning at 8 pm, Tuesday, January 11. Of course, one needs to be in the USA (check!) and access to that cable TV channel (nuts!) to view.

Sing Along with These Angels

A very merry and blessed Christmass to you.

And to remind you that not everything need be completely serious, here's a little seasonal cheer thanks to Walt Kelly:

Deck us all with Boston Charlie,
Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo! ...


(See full lyrics at the Oh-fishul Pogo Website.)

I Don't Need Your MTV

So Pastor Zip is flipping through the Peoria TV dial since his show is being pre-empted for a special and suddenly Channel 43.2 appears on the screen.

43.2? There is no Channel 43.2 in Peoria! (Pastor Zip is a hold out to cable TV, stubbornly insisting that the free, over-the-air TV is good enough)

Except there is. It's a subchannel for WYZZ Fox 43 (though apparently there's been no announcement of it) and shows music videos. It's called theCoolTV and, unlike MTV, it shows, well, music videos. Apparently all the time.

THECOOLTV plays music, period.
Our programming is customized to YOUR market, so watch for the videos you
want to see and send requests to REQUEST via email or call the
COOL REQUEST LINE at 888-342-8761 x711

The program guide says "80's at Eight." Oh, this is going to be fun!

The Golden State: 160 Years

September 9, 1850 -- California is admitted to the Union.


Go ahead, let's sing together ---

California, here I come
    right back where I started from.
Where Bowers of flowers
    bloom in the spring.
Each morning at dawning,
    birdies sing an' everything.
A sunkist miss said, "Don't be late"
    that's why I can hardly wait.
Open up that Golden Gate,
    California here I come.

by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Meyer
and (at least he's often credited) Al Jolson


Gil Imber at the Mighty Miditzer Presents...
Turn of the Century, California Here I Come.
Performed on the
Mighty Miditzer Style 216 Virtual Theatre Pipe Organ.
Doesn't that sound great? Or how about this transcription by Fats Waller?



Or this record from the California Ramblers in 1924?



(Yeah, I'm a little homesick...)

Opera Diva Modern Rocks!

Several years ago I was so intrigued by the BMG Classical Music Club review of an album of pop-rock music recorded by a famous opera singer that I ordered it. Eagerly opening the CD of fine songs by a fine singer, I was quickly disappointed by nearly an hour of, well, blandness.

Fast forward to July 2nd's ABC special America Celebrates July 4th at Ford’s Theatre when opera singer Renée Fleming started singing the song that turned me on to the alternative rock band Death Cab for Cutie, "Soul Meets Body," and pulled it off. Lionel Richie and Kelly Clarkson couldn't hold a candle to her performance. I put her new album Dark Hope on my list of CDs to buy -- soon.

A copy was on display at Barnes & Noble when I was there earlier this week and I slid it into Sebastian's (my Golf TDI) CD player as soon as I slipped into the driver's seat. Within 15 seconds I was ready to be hooked. Then Fleming started singing. Oh, it's good! Watch the trailer for a taste of the concept and execution of Dark Hope:


I've been listening to Renée Fleming's Dark Hope -- the whole thing, not just a few cuts -- all week in the car. Yeah, this diva modern rocks.