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

Loreena McKennitt: The Book of Secrets

"Prologue" sets the tone with a haunting, airy, lilting "la-la-laaa" vocal, juxtaposed against a kettle drum / timpany beat, overlaid with plucked strings, and backed with a droning tone that lingers long after the 'song' ends.

"The Mummer's Dance" takes me out into the medeival streets on the first day of Spring to follow the line of musicians--acting like Pied Pipers--drawing along anyone along the way. We all dance and sing, letting the sun warm us as the scent of fresh new blossoms wash over us on the wafting wind. We continue into the night, dancing among the trees by the shifting firelight, under the bright moon rimmed round-about by countless stars.

"Skellig" has me in the brotherhood of monks in a small monastery, sitting beside Brother John, who is so wrapped up in the work, he neglects his own personal needs. His work is good, and it will last long past his days on earth with us.

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Loreena McKennitt: The Book of Secrets

"Marco Polo" finds me sitting at a campfire in the Tibetan mountains, listening to the folk songs recounting the tales and travels of this beloved explorer. The "la-la-laa-la-laaaa" chanting of the woman in the swirling robes rides on top of the driving rhythm of the musicians. Even in the summer months, the late-night tempurature at this height is cool, and the icy pinpoints of the stars do nothing to warm me more. Still, the stories are enthralling and the camaraderie is genuine. Another drink to everyone's health!

In "The Highwayman", I feel almost like a voyeur, watching the young couple talking so freely with one another, and I blush at the passion of their kiss. And just like that, he disappears into the fog. Tot-a-lot-Tot-a-lot. It isn't long before the Redcoats arrive and take the young lass in fetters to an upper room. I feel helpless to stop the terrible fate of the young marauder and his love. I weep as the shot rings out, shattering her breast and warning him away from certain doom. I admire his resolve to avenge his love, and I hang my head when it is all for naught. I will place two red roses at the step of the Inn.

"La Serenissima" is a slow cyclic tune for harp and violin, speaking to the emotions of those present at the funeral. The bier rests silently as those who knew the friend sit pondering this twist of fate, taking him out of their lives. It is doleful at turns, yet its peaceful melody has a tendency to temper the pain of loss by calling back to mind the goodness of the times past in companionship.

"Night Ride Across The Caucasus" is felt as a steady rhythm of hoofbeats, the wind in your hair, the moonlight reflected in splinters from the rocks, the path stretching ever before you, and slipping inexorably behind. The journey in itself allows you time to think, to brood, to mull over the things you hold dear.

"Dante's Prayer" rises on the intonations of the monks, building in volume, until the piano and violin counterpoint one another. The singer looks up and releases a pent-up lamentation of such passion, so moving, so earnest, it is difficult not to weep, as well. And yet, the broken heart still sees the glimmer of hope and speaks of all the good things that can still come to pass.

B4ihave2investinKleenex2compensate4allthetissuesused

Is her music at all similar to that of Enya, whom I have heard?

Loreena McKennitt is more Celtic influenced whereas Enya is more Pop. Loreena is the thinking person's songstress; Enya does beautiful soundscapes. Don't get me wrong, I like Enya, but not as much as Loreena McKennitt.

B4thesiblingrivalrybegins

Right now I'm listening to "Vive le Capitaine Spaulding," a French language version of Groucho Marx's "Hoorah for Captain Spaulding." It's a wonderful song that one would never expect to find in a Woody Allen movie. The movie is "Everyone Says I Love You," which Woody Allen released in 1997 with a cast that included Goldie Hawn, Alan Alda, Ed Norton, Drew Barrymore [she didn't sing], and Woody himself. Other songs include "Making Whoopy," "Enjoy Yourself, it's Later Than you Think," and the title song [also from a Marx brothers movie]. As movie musicals go, this is at or near the top of my list.

I'm listening to some symphonies by William Boyce, who was overshadowed by Handel in his youth, and by Haydn in his old age. This is a welcome change from the collection of hits by Jennifer Lopez I was listening to earlier. Later I will hear a collection by Van Morrison. After that, it will be some early symphonies by Joseph Haydn.

I always alternate between instrumental and vocal music. I need instrumental music when I'm reading. When there's vocal music on, I do other things -- housework, computer stuff, paying bills, etc.

The vast majority of instrumental pieces ever written were written before the 20th Century. Jazz and movie soundtracks are the only sizable modern genres that are mostly instrumental. To give you an idea of the craze for instrumental music, here's a factoid about symphonies: in the century ending 1815, over 12,000 symphonies were written. Granted, most of these were rubbish, but almost all the really talented composers of the time wrote them. I also like chamber music for woodwinds [flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, etc.] and either piano or strings. It's no use looking for them on a top-40 station. Few people write this kind of combination any more, and when they do they ruin it with dissonance.

I've just added "Book of Secrets" to my Amazon wish list.

paulh,
You will not be disappointed. You can also see what she's doing at Quinlan Road, as well as listen to excerpts of from the albums.

http://www.quinlanroad.com/explorethemusic/bookofsecrets.asp

B4itrytosellyouonESPosthumus

Oh, what the heck! Try this link to ES Posthumus:
http://www.esposthumus.com/
I don't know if you can still hear samples of their music, because our corporate IT doesn't allow streaming media through the filter.

Titania mentioned their album, "Cartographer," to me a few years ago, and I bought--not just one--but three albums from them. Excellent music for reading or writing. And their song, "Narada," was the backing theme for the TV series, "Cold Case."

B4ifindyetanothereclecticartist2recommend

I'd rather borrow CDs from my local library. Internet streaming isn't possible here, and YouTube takes ages to load. I appreciate the suggestions, though. I want to add pop CDs starting next month, with half taken from a list of 175 best-selling artists, and the other half taken from qualitative suggestions. Cher, Diana Ross, Pink Floyd, Adele, and Frank Zappa will be first up on the best-selling list. The Smiths,. verve, and a few others that have been suggested will be in the qualitative category.

The postman just delivered "Echoes: the best Pink Floyd," and I'm listening to Disc 1 now. It'so n track 4, "Another brick in the wall," the one where the children march out of the classroom and into a meat grinder in the movie version of "Pink Floyd The Wall". I liked the movie, if for n other reason than that there is vivid visual imagery to accompany some of the songs. If any of these songs are from "Dark side of the moon," I have the Wizard of Oz to imagine as images. That album is supposed to line up eerily with TWOO.

"Surrrender Dorothy! "

Today I was browing in a Barnes & Noble store and found a couple of low-priced cds that were on a list of things I wanted. One was "The best of Natalie Cole." Natalie was the daughter of Nat "King" Cole. She and I were in some performing groups in college (though we didn't know each other well). It was nice to listen to her singing, and to note the changes in style between her and her father. The other cd was "The Very best of Jefferson Starship." I liked Mary Blige's singing in the group's previous incarnation, but couldn't tell if Mary was still around in the songs on this cd. What I liked quite a lot was the piano work. Whoever was doing that was brilliant!

Right now, I'm listening to some piano concertos by Haydn. After that, I will hear an abbreviated version of Rossini's "William Tell" in a very fine recording. One of the pieces they left out of it was the well-known overture.....

Just found this thread. One song sticks out for me:

"Oh Yeah" by Bryan Ferry... or was it Roxy Music...? All sounds the same.

I didn't know the name of the song when it was in the charts, I was only six, but when I accidentally stumbled on it about ten years ago, having not heard it in years, I nearly had tears in my eyes.
It was on the radio a lot one summer when I was little, and my sister and I used to sing along to the chorus "There's a band playing, on the radio, with a rhythm of rhyming guitars..."
When I hear it now, and can close my eyes, I'm taken back to a deserted single track road on Ardnamurchan in Scotland. We were on holiday and the song was on the car radio (a big, red Hillman Avenger estate), and my sister and I were singing at full voice. Not sat in our seats, though. I wince as I tell people this, but on that empty road, miles from anywhere, Dad let us wind the windows down, and we would sit on the ledge, legs inside the car, bodies outside, and we'd hang on to the roof-rack. It was such a thrill! That song always takes me there...


Mind you, B4, you mentioned Alan Parsons. That sparked another memory.
They (he) released "The Instrumental Works". I bought it when I was 18. It was summer, I had a job at McDonalds, prior to going to university, and I owned a small motorbike. I'd worked a 12 hour shift, finishing at 5am. The sun wasn't up, but there was daylight as I got on my bike and kick started the engine. I put The Instrumental Works on my walkman, pressed play, and headed out onto empty roads. I wasn't tired any more, just exhilarated by the crisp morning air, empty road, and freedom. What was normally a 15 minute ride home turned into a two hour buzz round the countryside, auto-reverse on my walkman being very useful. Again, hearing that album, especially the first two tracks (Pipeline and Where's the Walrus) takes me back to a time of relative freedom.
Incidentaly, when I got home, I went to bed, slept through my alarm, and missed my afternoon shift!

Thank you for starting this thread, it's re-jogged some happy memories!

My wife had purchased a Time/Life CD series, "Romancing the 70s," and we listened to a bug chunk of it yesterday while we puttered around the house. The song that stood out for me was Don McClean's "American Pie." My wife despises the song because it doesn't make sense to her, probably because she never heard the back-story to why he wrote the song, lamenting Buddy Holly's untimely death.

For me, it always brings back a memory of my Junior (?) year in high school, in the Autumn, when we held our Homecoming football game (American, with that weird tapered oval pigskin). I'd gotten up the nerve to ask M--- V--- to accompany me, though I didn't have a car of my own to pick her up. We agreed to meet at the gate, then we'd sit together on the bleachers and chat during the game. My mother drove me to the small stadium off Hwy 90, on the (then) edge of town, and I wandered in to make it through the gates. I spyed M--- in one of the far queues, and she was already making her way through. I had to wait for my turn in the line I was in, then I beat feet to the bank of seats we'd agreed upon, overlooking where the Band performed during the half-time activities. I made it up in short order and seated myself, a couple of rows back from where she'd parked with a couple of her girl friends. After a few moments, I caught her attention and motioned for her to come up and sit beside me on the blanket I'd brought for us. She looked at me and turned away, then didn't acknowledge my presence for the duration of the game. I don't even remember what happened in the game or while the band played; everything was a haze of bewilderment. Later, when I was home and writing in my Journal about the incident, the local radio station played "American Pie" and I mentally tied these lyrics to the incident.

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

About 2001, I happened to reconnect with M--- on Facebook (in its early iteration) and I asked her about the event. She explained she'd been hanging out with a group that goaded her to act aloof and ignore me during the Homecoming. She apologized, I told her I understood (with my adult understanding), and we let the matter rest.

To this day, though, when "American Pie" plays, I feel a small twinge of regret during those last few verses.

B4iconfessihavelearnedovertheyears2nottakeoffense&simplyforgive

["American Pie" was used as part of the title of a film and two sequels, the last of which I saw.]

I'm expanding my pop CD collection, so I took advantage of being in a shopping mall today. I bought CDs by Fats Domino and the Spice Girls. I had heard Fats singing "Blueberry Hill," but the Spice Girls were completely new to me. Their music is aimed at young teen or pre-teen girls, no doubt, but it's pleasant enough. Someone mentioned them in another H2G2 thread today, so they haven't exactly disappeared from the culture. For some reason, their music made me think of Barbie chewing pink bubble gum.

I loved the instrumental accompaniment for Fats Domino's music, especially the saxophone and the figured bass. Saxophone music always makes me think of Lenny, the burly member of Sha Na Na who played saxophone in a very swinging way on their syndicated TV show. You just can't beat saxophone music. For what it's worth, my mother learned to play the saxophone briefly in her youth, though she gave it up long before I came along.

Did you know Kate Bush’s album “The Hounds of Love / The Ninth Wave” is ~the~ definitive background music for a 5-mile trip home from a Gasthaus (Zur alten Abtei, Hahnplatz 24, 54595 Prüm, Germany 06551 2360) to the doorstep of Im Flur #6, Schönecken, round-about 3am in the morning? I’d spent the evening with a melded group of friends from my military unit and some of the locals I knew. Our party didn’t wind down until the wee hours of the morning, when the owner gently yet firmly recommended we head home, since he had other things to do the next day. I hadn’t driven a car and--though someone offered a ride--I decided to forego it because I needed to sober up. I figured a walk would do me good, and it couldn’t be that darn far back to my apartment in the next town over. Besides, I had my Walkman, loaded with a cassette I’d recorded of Kate’s album, my latest acquisition. I figured it could keep me going during my brisk trek home. From the first note to the final fade out, every track set the mood.

I was on the long switchback grade that winds up and out of town, for “Running Up That Hill” and “Hounds of Love.”

There are trees at the top of the hill and I came out from under them just as “The Big Sky” kicked off.

There’s a car park a few minutes from the crest of the hill, with small groves of trees lining it. That night, the shadows gave the otherwise inviting rest area an eerie quality to it, counterpointed by the song “Mother Stands for Comfort" as I passed by.

The road straightened out and I gave myself time to look up into the night sky. It was dotted with stars, and the moon hung there just above the trees, staring at me, partially obscured by clouds. The song "Cloudbusting" played.

Weariness started to set in from the late hour, the uphill climb, and the protracted march that I truly hadn’t calculated well. I was starting to feel the long walk as “And Dream of Sheep” tried to lull me to sleep, even as I kept plodding forward.

"Under Ice" changed my mood with its imagery of skates spitting snow and the road took a downward slant that actually lengthened my stride, as if I was gliding.

“Waking the Witch” creeped me out as I walked under that gibbous moon through farm country. It was dark across the fields and I was never quite sure if I saw haystacks, cows, or some other more malevolent creature hunkered in the strange shadows.

"Watching You Without Me" assailed me with its mental imagery of a ghost watching a loved one return home, wondering if they’ll notice the departed is still hanging around. I was living alone at the time, but it made me wonder what I’d find when I got there.

When “Jig of Life” started, I got my second wind and passed an outdoor amphitheater where we’d partied a year before, during the early summer. I remember the dancing, and the stupid stunt that fractured my elbow.

"Hello Earth" made me look into the heavens once again, just as I reached the outskirts of Schönecken. Seeing the tiny moon up there made me wonder what it would be like to reverse the perspective and see our planet from that vantage point.

I finished my jaunt in the mists of a “Morning Fog” swirling around me--literally--as I made it to my doorstep.

What an intriguing walk. I’ll never forget it!

B4itravelthereagainsomeday

I ordered "Book of Secrets' online today. I'll let you know what I think of it when it comes.

I'm listening to the Broadway cast recording of "Ragtime" right now. I saw the touring company's version of it when it arrived in Boston some years ago. I love to listen to ragtime music, I love to play it, and I've written a few simple rags. I particularly loved the Harry Houdini segments. Right now, they're introducing the "Trial of the Century" song that deals with Evelyn Nesbitt. Onstage, the scene had clowns in the courtroom while Nesbitt was swinging on a swing like a little girl. I also loved Emma Goldman's sarcastic comments.

"And there was distant music playing...."

Thanks for suggesting "Book of Secrets," Blue-Eyed BiPedal BookWorm. I listened to it last night and enjoyed it.