h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last night I dreamed that I was still working at the library I retired from two years ago. In real life, I scheduled many concerts while I worked there: a few were classical, many were jazz, and a fair number were Irish music for mid-March. I never scheduled any rock concerts.

Last night's dream was about a rock concert to end all rock concerts. A local advocacy group gave me enough funds to hire many of the world's most popular rock groups. The same advocacy group put out the word to the community and furnished large quantities of yummy food. I had been used to having to do everything-- publicity, food procurement, decorating the library's auditorium, etc., but there was so many helpers that I could greet the performers and audience members, and enjoy the show. I was overwhelmed by the success of the concert. As the rock musicians left at the end, they seemed happy at how the program has gone, and the audience was very happy, too.

what a nice dream, congratulations

heavy rock concert and I didn't get a dream ticket

"what a nice dream, congratulations" [Pierce]

I would have invited you, but I know you don't like Celine Dion.

"heavy rock concert and I didn't get a dream ticket" [Prof Animal Chaos]

It wasn't *that* heavy. Sha Na Na and Billy Joel were there.

It's not like i *dislike* her and i must admit she has a good voice and is able to use it

i still prefer grace slick, janis joplin and quite a few others, though

mostly because they sing something else

Paul

if you dream about Led Zeppelin/Deep Purple etc - then send me a dream ticket

I didn't want to have to admit this, Prof, but Led Zeppelin is the whole reason why I had the dream in the first place. I went to the movies a few hours before I had the dream. One of the previews was for an upcoming filmed concert by Led Zeppelin.I have one of their CDs, but haven't warmed up to it yet. Over the years, as I listen to each of my CDs again and again, I will probably end up with a good appreciation of each of them. Until then, my most vivid impressions are of the artists that I've loved for decades: The Everly Brothers, Sha Na Na, Peter Paul and mary, Paul Simon, and the Beach Boys. There are others, like The Eagles, Billy Joel, and Fleetwood Mack, whose songs I heard in stores. Now that I know their identities, I can appreciate their other music as well. I'm just happy that retirement has given me a chance to update my appreciation of music.

The nicest part is that it's all cumulative. I still love all my classical CDs. I'm getting variety that I never had before. :-0

"I still prefer grace slick, janis joplin and quite a few others, though" [Pierce]

I only have one track by Janis Joplin. She sings a song in the Woodstock Concert soundtrack. She seems pretty incoherent. Oddly enough, she sounds a lot like Bette Midler in "The Rose," which soundtrack I also have. Jimi Hendrix is also on that soundtrack recording. What is it about self-destructive singers who die young that fascinates us? Jim Morrison is the only one of that crowd that I have CDs for. He had a nice voice. It seems a pity that the Doors floundered after he died.

Does Grace Slick sound much like Alice Cooper? Alice has a few scenes in the film "Dark Shadows." I've heard him a few other times, but never felt the slightest inclination to run out and buy his CDs.

I think "The Rose" was about Janice Joplin, so if I'm right, the resemblance isn't very odd

It was definitely based on Janis Joplin. I saw the movie when it first came out. The acting was great. Recently, when I listened to the soundtrack CD, I realized that I quickly became tired of it after about four tracks. The only track that I really liked was "The River," which comes at the end .

I also saw the movie "The Doors," which had great performances as well. They used the recordings that The Doors had made.

"La Bamba" was another great movie. It was about Richy Valens. "Sweet Dreams" was about Patsy Cline. I can't remember whether Buddy Holly died in the same crash as Patsy or Richy.

So, been there and done that with the rock musicians who tragically died young. Early promise cut short is a great movie theme. It's less cinematic if the young dead musician was a replaceable member of a group. Where is the movie about the guy from The Beach Boys who died in a swimming pool? The Beach Boys are reunited again [minus the dead guy], and have issued a new CD I believe.

"Does Grace Slick sound much like Alice Cooper?"

I don't think so, but I haven't listened much to Alice Cooper

Slick was the singer in Jefferson Airplane (and later Jefferson Spaxeship - I believe "Bark" is the most overseen and underrated album, it fascinates me

"I also saw the movie "The Doors," which had great performances as well. They used the recordings that The Doors had made."

I bought that cd (along with several others) when visiting Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, in 1997. It's not only a great cd - it is also a great souvenir

The cd with the soundtrack to the movie "The Doors", I mean

"Slick was the singer in Jefferson Airplane (and later Jefferson Spaxeship - I believe "Bark" is the most overseen and underrated album, it fascinates me" [Pierce]

I didn't know that. Jefferson Airplane sang "Somebody to Love" at the Woodstock Concert. I hope to get a CD of their best work eventually. Right now I'm pinching pennies because of thousand of dollars worth of dental work. I'm working my way through what I do have, though.I was just listening to the soundtrack for "Triplets of Belleville." It's a remarkably jazz-heavy CD. Soon I'll hear CD 1 of The Eagles' greatest hits, and then an anthology of early jazz, a Christmas CD, and Beethoven's "Fidelio."

Now that's what I call variety. Good for you!

Sooner or later you must listen to Grace Slick singing "White Rabbit", which will remind you of Ravel''s "Bolero" even if it is very different from that

your still a dude Paul

try a bit of Blue Oyster Cult maybe

"White Rabbit"is right after "Somebody to love." I just don't remember it as clearly as the other songso n the disc.

I didn't listen to the early jazz CD after all. Instead, I heard a greatest hits CD by Grateful Dead. GD is exactly the sort of group that I should enjoy. They were into live performances, and they could jam all day, changing songs at the last minute without missing a beat. It must have been hard to choose represntative recordings of their songs, as they apparently never did them the same way twice.

"try a bit of Blue Oyster Cult maybe" [prof Animal Chaos]

The lesser-known groups will be pretty far down the road, sorry to say. There are still forty or fifty top-selling ones that I haven't even heard yet, and likely won't hear for two or three months. November will be busy, as I will be writing a novel. December is flat-out crazy. January will be busy as I try to figure out Medicare...

A wonderfully entertaining dream Paul. I would have loved to been there. It may actually happen that you may have organised a Rock gig at your public library.

A few years back I had a dream when I was in Hyde Park signing with Abba, "Dancing Queen" which gave me an awful panic attack as there were so many people there which give an attack of vertigo.

I've sung a lot of ABBA songs in my outreach chorus. I've also seen the movie "Mamma Mia," and I have a CD of songs from that show. ABBA wasn't everybody's cup of tea in the 80s, though.

What we're seeing now is a metamorphosis from rock music to show tunes. The trend began with some jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton. "Sophisticated Ladies" and "Jelly's Last Jam" were the musicals that resulted. Then, in the late 1990s, "Forever Plaid" was cobbled together from favorite rock and pop songs of the early 1960s. The trend continued in 2005 with "Jersey Boys," a musical biography of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a singing group/boy band that was popular in the 1960s. "Big girls don't cry" and "Walk like a man" were songs that I was familiar with. "My boy friend's back" was a favorite song ofmine in the 1960s, but the version I was familiar with was sung by a girl band. Since I have the Broadway original cast CD, I don't feel compelled to get a CD of the actual Four Seasons.