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

Something seasonal. How nice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZhS0tNZSEo

The reality of Christmas:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dBfEGETyGjs

The false dream we live in:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hb2YSAVHmIE


And where is religion in all this, except for Mahatma Ghandi's final quote? There's nothing here in the second one but false consciousness (Marx) or Inauthenticity (Heidegger) or sheer self-deception or selfishness. Or profit/loss, which leads to all sorts of self-deception and selfishness all the time. Me included, I hasten to add.

Jabs

If you can read fairly fast, cheer yourself up with Chas n Dave's pean to male courage. Sorry if you're a non-Southerner, although they're much much clearer and less cockney here than when they sing it live:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qDEVVtZvk


Jabs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcxD7oeFhaY

Something really fun and upbeat. Bet you wind up singing along!

THANX Ellen! Great song, great group, great video!!!

As a fellow-southerner, you obviously understand the cock-er-knee!

Merry Christmas!

Jabs

Ok, so I'm an old sentimentalist. But is there any song more lovely than The Rose? I think the best version I've heard was by my niece (and boyfriend) at her sister's wedding, though my daughter's choir sang it very nicely, as well. Unfortunately, neither of these versions is on YouTube, so here's one by the Divine Miss M, who does a pretty good job (no video, though, I'm afraid).

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HxDXq9I3MvM

Beautiful. As an alternative, try the original aria from Der Rosenkavalier (the Knight, or the Cavalier, of the Rose) by Richard Strauss. Barbara Bonney (the second singer, in the dress), has a wonderful soprano voice.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=I1cXyIICj60



Jabs

Hey, Jabs,

Carlos Santana with Samba Pa Ti, a piece he played at Woodstock. Doesn't seem to have done M&S much good, though.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WSECQtF58BU

That's beautiful, Infie. I love it when people play the guitar as a musical instrument rather than an Ego Noisebox, and C. Santana can certainly do that. Like Frank Zappa, Clapton of late, Mark Knopfler.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_SEULZIHru0&feature=PlayList&p=F40E02FC6FA994A4&index=0&playnext=1

Your M&S remark totally escapes me though. Expliquer s'il vous plaît?

Jabs

Hi Jabs,

Marks & Spencer were using that Santana track in one of their commercials (this isn't just food, it's M&S food) late last year. Takes more than a great track to beat the credit crunch, I guess.

Talking of commercials, here's something beautiful - but not the ad' sound track!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uNBKfNo9Pu0

Some lovely clips - but where are the subtitles?

Marvellous - Natalie Dessay is one of my favourite sopranos, a light coloratura. Try this - I don't know this opera so I don't know what the dread hand of the modernist director is up to but you can see and hear her clearly.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=e1k5l4oiCEc

It's from the Tales of Hoffman by Offenbach.

Fantastic voice, Jabs, and an amazing set of wheels.

Modernism! Don't get me started! The roof of the European Parliament in Strasbourg falling in after just ten years. Paintings by Rothko hung the wrong way up for nine years.

Here's something I discovered through a writer (a bit like finding Palestrina via Under Milk Wood). In the Mikado's "punishment fit the crime" song there are the lines:

The music-hall singer attends a series
Of masses and fugues and "ops"
By Bach, interwoven
With Spohr and Beethoven,
At classical Monday Pops.

A composer ranked (by Gilbert at least) with Bach and Beethoven) and now out of favour. What do you think?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ulIdiBKMJuk

A rather rough performance, I think. I have this piece on CD by Hilary Hahn. He was a great rival of Paganini as a violinist, but faded away when Paganini grew so much more popular. That doesn't mean Paganini was better.

I still enjoyed it though. Thanks.

Jabs

I do not if it will be allowed, could I put the spitting image chicken song here.

I vote yes to the chickens, Thinker, not that my opinion carries any weight here.

And wow, Jabs, you got to Spohr a lot earlier than I did. If it wasn't for The Mikado I'd never have heard of him.

No doubt you know these pieces, too, from the wonderfully crazy Eric Satie

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ljiKS0ry7tA

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V_tXnfO4ggc&feature=channel

InfiniteImp


The Spitting Image Chicken song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vUVJsfG3eA

Infie, how times change. The Gnossiennes were supposed to be descriptive of boys, preferably naked, doing gymnastics. Nothing wrong with it at the time. Nothing really wrong with it now - it's just music, after all. But such things are now taboo.


Jabs

And thanks for Nothing too. I was blissfully unaware of that chicken song until now!


Jabs