My dad thinks it's an atrocity  to listen to the Messiah unless it's close to Christmas or Easter!!!  As for me, I gotta listen to it year round...  it tends to "pull me out" of a bad mood.  Well, at least, the lyrics give me something to think about. ..  I suppose if anyone likes listening to good ole' Handel, you'll understand what I'm talking about. Anyhow, just a random music question.... anyone else a fan of classical music?  (I have to admit there isn't too much opera music I like... but I DIG some classical music!!!)
    As most of you know, I'm always looking for new music, or general discussion about music. I've been on a Christine Kane,  Gordon Lightfoot, John Prine, John Gorka, Linkin Park, Flobots, and Buddy Holly kick.
     I'm once again "charged" with finding Christmas presents for dad.....   I asked dad if he'd bought any music in the past year.
    "No."
     " OK, Dad, you can't go buying any music right now.  I'm SERIOUS dad!!!"
So, I'll do my best to remember all the bands he loves and hope that they've come out with new albums within this year. Honestley, I don't even know what most of his current "bands" sound like.  I think they're all hard rock type bands. He likes a bunch of groups I've never heard of before----  Puddle of Mud,  Googoo Dolls, Green Day, Flobots, and a number of other bands that I can't think of right now.  I do know the Flobots, as their lyrics are quite impressive. That band says a number of things in their lyrics that I like... one being that when the rich wage war, it's the poor who dies. ... That's not a political statement, it's just something interesting to think about.  But, I'll have to work on finding out if his music groups have new albums out....  hopefully they will.
    Well, I hope everyone is doing well.  As usual, I'd love to hear about persons music tastes,
cheers, bird

Never cared for opera, but I have listened to a lot of classical music over the years.
My general taste for music is Old Country. Southern Rock, and above all, BLUES!!!
My current favorite is Joe Bonamassa.

Blues has a way of "worming" itself into most music. Even old bluegrass from Scotland or Ireland has a certain level of underlying blues in it. ...  just my opinion. If you take a song that's in a general/ traditional form, without any "black keys"  (I'm a piano player), and you throw a few "black keys" in there, you wind up with some type of a blues riff. 
     For some absurd reason, I've never gotten into listening to blues music...  I'm not sure what's wrong with me....  I should love the blues..... by the way, don't comment on what's wrong with me!!!! HAHA    However, I have a HUGE respect for the style of Blues music. ...  you really can't beat that type of music.  I love it because you never know what note is coming next. Blues and Jazz are both types of music that can always provide a surprise.  Blues music is unpredictable....  it will always surprise you.
    Blues music is a very forgiving and an  innovative   form...  I can throw in a sharp or flat wherever I want to, and it will fit right into blues.  So, I guess I don't dislike blues, it's just never been my favorite.  But, as far as respect goes... the blues has it!!!!!
     Besides, if I'm playing the piano and hit the "wrong note"... turns out to be the perfect note if I choose to go with it in a blues style!!!!
As I've said more then once, I'm sure, I grew up listening to Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, a few classical albums, Billy Joel (yes, still my hero), Cat Stevens, Buddy Holly (sp?), and, well, some more Bob Dylan.
     Dad wasn't really a Billy Joel fan, so I'm not sure how I wound up with all of his records..... yes, records.... no, not 8 tracks, not cassette tapes, cds, or whatever the hell persons buy music on now!!!!!!  There's something about holding a record in your hand that is so incredibly satisfying. OH, I left out Janis Joplin!
     As I think you know, Dad turned 70 the other day. I wrote him a note saying how happy and thankful I was that he introduced me to such a great range of music .....  as far back as I can remember, those previous albums were my introduction to music.....   go dad!
     I forgot another early influence... big band (that came from Nana )  ..  Glenn Miller.... he's still an idol! .... oh, I think he became an idol during my "saxophone playing days".
     I'd be truly lost without music. I love to listen to music, play music, study the "ins and outs" of music, and just feel the "vibes" of music.  (I know, that sounded cheezy, but, it's the truth). 
      I'm pretty sure life would be unbearable without books and music. I make it a point to play my piano or guitar everyday... even if it's just for five minutes. I had a close friend die a few days back. I felt myself sinking into depression. I made myself get off the couch, shuffled myself over to the piano, and just sat there for a while crying. But, I knew that eventually my fingers would be attracted to the keys, much like a magnet to metal. So, I sat there and waited for my fingers to connect with the keys. Eventually, they did. I knew my fingers could only stay away from that piano for so long.
         I suppose if you're used to playing music, you'll understand that playing music is a good thing to do... regardless of any emotions.
       Luckily for me, my mistakes within music and woodworking tend to work out for the best. I wind up with an unexpected song or a new design for a piece of furniture. I'll admit, music is very powerful, which is mostly good.... but, songs can evoke memories more vividly than I could ever experience within my memory without music.... that's not always good. Maybe it's strange, but music has a way of bringing me back into a certain point in my life which can often be painful.
But, having lost so much of my memory due to ECTs, even painful memories are somewhat welcomed.
      I can't remember if I ever told you this story, but when I was stuck in Menninger (mental ward) for four months, music wasn't allowed. I managed to to run speaker wires under the carpet from my bedroom, through the main living space, and through a hole that led to the "smoking porch" outside.  We spent a few days enjoying listening to music before I got "busted."  But, it was worth getting busted in order to have a few days in which we could all listen to some music.
      For the life of me, I can't remember what music I played.  But, I suppose any music was better then none. I always had speakers hooked up in my room...  the staff didn't bother me about that.  I guess they were happy to see me staying in my room and not causing a raucous.
    Well, dear, I couldn't possibly write you back with anything less then a few paragraphs of nonsense.  I do hope you are doing well.
cheers, bird

Quote from: Papaw on December 08, 2011, 03:22:20 AM
Never cared for opera, but I have listened to a lot of classical music over the years.
My general taste for music is Old Country. Southern Rock, and above all, BLUES!!!
My current favorite is Joe Bonamassa.

hi bird,my favourite classical piece is dmitri shostakovic."romance"form the gadfly.
try it on u tube.beautiful.
brian

NO

whrn I was younger and trying to feed a family I drove taxi at night and classical music kept me awake .  bob w.

YES.  Classical, along with Jazz and Country Western I've listened to all my life.  Just about any kind of Blues, though the Chicago sound and the old Mississippi Delta blues remain my first choices.  Folk music, Irish, work-songs and sea chanties are up at the top, too.  About ten years ago I discovered Zydeco, and I have a bunch of that.  Some shows more of its Cajun roots; some is more bluesy.  (I'm one of the five people who really like Cajun).

Blues were very instrumental in '60s Rock and Roll -- most of the big name bands were listening to blues and found the blues inspiring.  Eric Clapton...  He says that Robert Johnson was his major influence, but he sounds more influenced by Albert King to me.  The Yardbirds even made an album with Sonny Boy Williamson.  Even the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were listening to Ray Charles.

I like Cuban music as well, having been introduced to it by a Cuban friend.  Love the Buena Vista Club recordings!

Which brings us to opera, strangely.  I never developed a taste for opera until a friend invited me to help with props with the Sacramento Opera.  Thought it sounded fun, and also a chance to reexamine my attitude (negative) toward opera.  The first dress rehearsal, the soprano walked on stage, opened her throat, and just about blew the roof of the theater!  No amplification, just her voice.  I was sold!

Opera is confusing to most people, I think.  It's not about songs, really, or about plot.  Opera is about passion and the expression of passion.  Understanding the words just isn't the point -- it's the expression of passion in voices that are close to one in a million.  And it is about pageantry.  To appreciate opera, you have to see and hear it live.  After that, maybe you can just listen to it, but without the experience of opera in a theater, it's as unappealing as art songs, which I still cannot stomach.

Nah, I am more into Country Music.

  Opera never.  It all sounds like a cow stuck in a mud bog hollering for help to me.
I realize screaming to the back of a large hall with no microphone takes lungs. 

Classical is hit n miss. I love it, I hate it.  Everything good was invented in classical.
   A stuffy puffy stick up the butt conductor makes me turn away in seconds.
No imagination, like a marionette.
   Leonard Bernstein could bring my heart to my throat and tears to my eyes. Leap all the way up into the air, and play for keeps. He begged his musicians for their absolute best and let er rip! 

   Music is all about emotion to me. I couldn't care less how fast or fancy or any kind of skill.
Costumes,  dancers, light show..................snoooooooore.

  Show me your heart or go far far away!

I walked out on Jimi Hendrix once. He was awful that night. Put a nickel in the jukebox awful. Like a wind up toy.
 
  I cried like a little girl for the kids in the local jr high school band one time.
    It was "In the Mood" and they laid their little heads all the way back and blew for the sky with every single bit of everything they had.   It was gorgeous.
        When it was over, we all stood up and hammered our hands together until they hurt.

  There are only 2 kinds of music, good and bad.  It doesn't matter a bit what style or flavor.
Show me heart.
     yours Scott
 
 

I like some selected classical. The Brandenburg concertos are very much to my liking but like all classical I have to be in the mood to listen to it.

I like John Prine quite a bit too. You should like Iris DeMent who he likes and sings with quite often. Like Papaw I like old C&W. The twangier the better or as a critic once called it sigh, cry and die music.

alright, this is the truth of the matter, I don't like most opera...  I won't get into the the VERY few operas that I have liked.There are a few musicals that I love , the main one is "Rent."  That's a GREAT play/musical deal.  I'm not kidding, I love it.  It's controversial , but I love it. 
    In case anyone has not seen "Rent,"  it's about some drifters that live in an uninhabited building in New York City....  it's the real world.... I suppose you can figure the rest our for yourself. It's a different type of music.... but, the lyrics and singers are some of the best I've ever heard in my short existence. It's a different breed of music, but it's worth listening to.....  so, open minded folks should listen to it....  other folks, don't bother.
cheers, bird

Bird, music is very important in our house.  KatBird plays piano and organ.  Both of our boys play.  Larry Bud played tuba and John plays flute, drums and guitar.

Yellow Josie singing with KatBird.  He does this every time she plays.

Our parrot Porkchop sings opera.  He only listens to Pavarotti.  If you put any other opera singer on he hollers STOP STOP.

  I was a music major in college in the early '60's.  I played BB flat tuba on scholarship and sang in the choir.  After 2 years I left school to get in on 'Nam (young and dumb).  When I came back to school in the '70's, from working around jet aircraft, I had lost my hearing in the upper register and couldn't be a music major so chose horticulture instead.

I love  most forms of music.  I listen to a lot of Broque music.  Composers such as Handel, Percell, both Scarlatti's, Teleman, Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Corelli, Bach and Albinoni.  Romantics such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Berlioz, Paganini and Wagner.
And true to my roots I love bluegrass.  I mostly like the old grass.  The new grass don't do anything for me.  I love Native Eastern Woodland Flute and then went to a conference in Scottsdell AZ and fell in love with Native Western Flute music.  I also love folk music.  Mostly Irish and Scot.  One of our musical highlights was attending The Lord of the Dance a couple of years ago.

I listen to native flute or classical while I'm working in the shop, driving, reading or drawing landscape designs.

In summary I like all forms of music including opera as long as the fat lady does not sing.  I can't get into ballet though.

Music is a mood thing for me.   Sometimes Rock oldies, Classical, Celtic, Sousa, Blue Grass, Bagpipe, Umpa German, Zydigo.   NEVER !!  Rap, heavy metal etc.
This time of year,  you got it!   Christmas Carols = Bing , NK Cole, Burl Ives

I'm in love with Zydeco music!!! It's great!  Opera, well, I think you do have to "see it live" to have an appreciation for it....  it's not my favorite form of music, but, it deserves its place in the history of music.
cheers
bird

Quote from: Branson on December 08, 2011, 07:23:14 AM
YES.  Classical, along with Jazz and Country Western I've listened to all my life.  Just about any kind of Blues, though the Chicago sound and the old Mississippi Delta blues remain my first choices.  Folk music, Irish, work-songs and sea chanties are up at the top, too.  About ten years ago I discovered Zydeco, and I have a bunch of that.  Some shows more of its Cajun roots; some is more bluesy.  (I'm one of the five people who really like Cajun).

Blues were very instrumental in '60s Rock and Roll -- most of the big name bands were listening to blues and found the blues inspiring.  Eric Clapton...  He says that Robert Johnson was his major influence, but he sounds more influenced by Albert King to me.  The Yardbirds even made an album with Sonny Boy Williamson.  Even the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were listening to Ray Charles.

I like Cuban music as well, having been introduced to it by a Cuban friend.  Love the Buena Vista Club recordings!

Which brings us to opera, strangely.  I never developed a taste for opera until a friend invited me to help with props with the Sacramento Opera.  Thought it sounded fun, and also a chance to reexamine my attitude (negative) toward opera.  The first dress rehearsal, the soprano walked on stage, opened her throat, and just about blew the roof of the theater!  No amplification, just her voice.  I was sold!

Opera is confusing to most people, I think.  It's not about songs, really, or about plot.  Opera is about passion and the expression of passion.  Understanding the words just isn't the point -- it's the expression of passion in voices that are close to one in a million.  And it is about pageantry.  To appreciate opera, you have to see and hear it live.  After that, maybe you can just listen to it, but without the experience of opera in a theater, it's as unappealing as art songs, which I still cannot stomach.

I'm with you---- opera challenged me to have a "wider range" of music in my head. I went to the "Phantom of the Opera."  It was quite impressive to me......much of that music couldn't really be categorized as "opera" music.  I thank my folks for taking me to musicals, concerts, plays, blugreass shows, ect.  I don't think many persons have the opportunity to be exposed to so many types of music. There's not a day that goes by that I don't thank my folks to introducing me into every type of music there was.





quote author=scottg link=topic=2819.msg16806#msg16806 date=1323372181]
  Opera never.  It all sounds like a cow stuck in a mud bog hollering for help to me.
I realize screaming to the back of a large hall with no microphone takes lungs. 

Classical is hit n miss. I love it, I hate it.  Everything good was invented in classical.
   A stuffy puffy stick up the butt conductor makes me turn away in seconds.
No imagination, like a marionette.
   Leonard Bernstein could bring my heart to my throat and tears to my eyes. Leap all the way up into the air, and play for keeps. He begged his musicians for their absolute best and let er rip! 

   Music is all about emotion to me. I couldn't care less how fast or fancy or any kind of skill.
Costumes,  dancers, light show..................snoooooooore.

  Show me your heart or go far far away!

I walked out on Jimi Hendrix once. He was awful that night. Put a nickel in the jukebox awful. Like a wind up toy.
 
  I cried like a little girl for the kids in the local jr high school band one time.
    It was "In the Mood" and they laid their little heads all the way back and blew for the sky with every single bit of everything they had.   It was gorgeous.
        When it was over, we all stood up and hammered our hands together until they hurt.

  There are only 2 kinds of music, good and bad.  It doesn't matter a bit what style or flavor.
Show me heart.
     yours Scott
 

[/quote]