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Archive for the ‘Arts’ Category

The Kingston Trio Performs “M.T.A.”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on November 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I’m very grateful to have been raised by parents who clued me in to neat old stuff like this.

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The Classic Mystery! Intro

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on November 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Edward Gorey animates murder mystery cliches in these famous introductory scenes from the long-running PBS series, Mystery!  Alas, the truncated version they use now is little more than a pale shadow of this lively paragon of nostalgia.  

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Coldplay and Course of Empire

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , on November 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I really like this.  

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Words and Music

Posted in Arts, Language and Literature, tagged , , , , , on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »

A fascinating and wonderful article ran in the Guardian last week.  The author eloquently ruminates over the parallel evolution of literature and music in the 19th century, and laments a perceived divergence since the 20th.  His descriptions of the intertwined nature of the two media are divine: To read Molly Bloom’s great gush of resigned affirmation [...]

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Please Help My School Get $$ From Glee

Posted in Arts, Random, tagged , , on October 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The hit TV show Glee is giving away $1,000,000 to needy school music programs around the country.  As of today, only one high school in Las Vegas is competing–mine.  Anyone can go to this web site and vote for our school.  You can even keep voting every new day–so it’s a lot like a real [...]

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The Rabbit of Seville

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , , on October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

A follow-up to a post a couple of weeks ago, about a Bugs Bunny version of Wagnerian opera.  Here, we see his take on Rossini: Incidentally, ever notice that these old Warner Bros. cartoons all had musical names?  Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies Silly Symphonies

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Fiddler on the Roof Birthday Pending

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on October 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

One month from today–November 3–will mark the 40th anniversary of the film version of Fiddler on the Roof.  L’Chaim! 

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Kill the Wabbit!

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , , on September 18, 2011 | 1 Comment »

One of my earliest exposures to classical music was the Bugs Bunny cartoon “What’s Opera, Doc?”  Does this get played anywhere, anymore?  Do kids today get to see this?  Shoot, two generations of kids grew up knowing the theme from Wagner’s ”Ride of the Valkyries” because we all heard Elmer Fudd singing it here as “Kill [...]

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John Williams’ Greatest Hits

Posted in Arts, tagged , on September 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

It’s uncanny how many of our favorite movie themes have been written by the same pop genius.  Ladies and gentlemen, presenting some of the greatest hits of John Williams:        

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Three New Videos of Mozart’s Symphony 41

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , on August 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I enjoy classical music on YouTube, especially when video creators are thoughtful enough to put long works in multiple movements together on playlists.  It’s nice to hear a single performance that way, rather than having to string together videos from different sources on your own.  Oddly, perhaps music’s greatest symphony, Mozart’s “Jupiter” symphony, no. 41, has [...]

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Alfred Hitchcock’s Collected Cameos

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on August 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The king of directors who slip themselves into their own movies:

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Baroque Meets Buddha

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on August 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Several years ago, I subscribed to an online streaming music service, so I could listen to music while I worked.  This service would choose and play new music based on previous preferences I rated on their web site.  One track they picked for me over and over again is below. 

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1991: Music’s Best Year?

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on August 8, 2011 | 4 Comments »

Earlier this year, I caught some of an NPR show called Sound Opinions, where the hosts talked about the twentieth anniversary of 1991, one of music’s best years.  It was quite a thought-provoking discussion, and made me realize how special that one year was.  While I’m not old enough to remember the British invasion of [...]

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1939: Film’s Best Year?

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on August 8, 2011 | 2 Comments »

As a companion to today’s music post, it would also be fun to figure out what single year has been the best for movies so far.  I think my vote would be for 1939, which saw the release of The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, and [...]

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“Let’s Do It”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on August 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Cole Porter’s 1928 song “Let’s Do It” is one of my favorites–it’s lyricism is masterful and breezy in a way that Dr. Seuss would envy, and so slyly suggestive that most of today’s raunchy pop stars would blush at it, if they could figure out what the jokes mean.  My favorite performance of it was [...]

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