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About This Author

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Well, hello. I’m still testing this.

Music Notes

A blog, generally about music, usually for projects hosted by Jeff

. I may also write about the 48-Hour Media Prompt Challenge if I don't feel like writing a story or poem inspired by the given song. Other bits of poetry or different topics of discussion might end up here as well.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

SAD Holiday Potato

Oct 15, 2024 at 12:09pm
In response to "500 Miles (I'm Gonna Be) (ID cover)"

That was an amazing performance. Dan certainly has a sense of showmanship..

1 Like

Merry QPdoll

Oct 12, 2024 at 8:00am
In response to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (CCR)"

I've only known the Marvin Gaye version. I have to say that CCR did it justice. The drums and that bass. So cool.

Excellent choice!

1 Like

♥HOOves♥

Oct 12, 2024 at 7:45am
In response to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (CCR)"

Great song choice! There is also a version with Gladys Knight and the Pips that may or may not have been the first one. It was the first one that I heard.

1 Like

Dave Ryan

Oct 11, 2024 at 8:19am
In response to "If I Had a Hammer"

Puff the Magic Dragon is a great song for traumatising the kids. There's nothing like a happy ending, and that one is definitely nothing like a happy ending.

1 Like

Merry QPdoll

Oct 10, 2024 at 7:57am
In response to "Fast Car (Jonas Blue cover)"

This is great! I love this song and have heard a couple of different versions, but I've never heard this one. Thank you for sharing.

1 Like

♥HOOves♥

Oct 9, 2024 at 9:07am
In response to "Fortunate Son"

Love Centerfield and Have You Ever Seen the Rain, also!

So many wonderful songs!

1 Like

♥HOOves♥

Oct 8, 2024 at 9:00am
In response to "I Won't Back Down"

Great song choice!

1 Like

Merry QPdoll

Oct 8, 2024 at 6:15am
In response to "I Won't Back Down"

I like Tom Petty, too. My favorite song is Mary Jane's Last Dance. However, I like the message of I Won't Back Down. It's a fine choice.

1 Like

tracker

Oct 7, 2024 at 12:23pm
In response to "Creeque Alley"

This is when I like AI. The song is a story about when the group was formed. It was released when I had first started college. Where? In California! Good choice of song.

1 Like

Merry QPdoll

Oct 6, 2024 at 7:58am
In response to "Three Little Birds"

It's been a long time since I've heard this song. I don't know if I've heard it from beginning to end. I think it's just been in pieces in different instances. Thank you for sharing. I don't have a playlist, but the song is fun.

1 Like

December 26, 2024 at 12:16pm

#1081552

O Little Town of Bethlehem (instrumental)

My ninth track for "Invalid Item"

is the Simply Three instrumental version of O Little Town of Bethlehem. This is from their 2013 Xmas album (which featured a lady on violin) which is more traditional than Lux, but this track nonetheless displays a fascinating ingenuity.

The violin, cello and bass interact in complex layers, with dual backing lines and the violin overlaid, tracing the lyrical melody. I'm parsing through it repeatedly as I write… I wish I had adequate musical vocabulary to describe it more technically. It's quite engaging, especially for me as I strive to remember the actual lyrics and thread them through the competing melodies without losing track of everything. I wonder what the production sound chart would look like as it runs across a screen. (See, I don't even know what that's called

)

At any rate, this is the kind of track I could play a zillion times and lose myself in, almost forgetting the Christmas carol it's supposed to be. As far as I know, Simply Three's arrangement is unique.

Words: 180.

3 Like • Comment

December 26, 2024 at 11:12am

#1081550

O Little Town of Bethlehem

My eighth track for "Invalid Item"

is another piece from the Christmas album by Andrew Dale and David Chafe.

I'm beginning with the vocal version (my next track will be an instrumental of the same) because I have always loved the words of this carol. I had them memorized as a kid from my old booklet of Christmas sheet music, but I never knew how it was supposed to sound. When I discovered the Midnight Clear album and saw O Little Town of Bethlehem on it, I knew this would be the perfect rendition for me.

With his calm, clear voice and the piano following gently along, these artists together pay homage to the reverent spirit of the carol. I don't know how many times I've prayed the final prayer in my own heart over the years. It's a song I'm very close to, though I'm still familiarizing myself with the true melody after years of not knowing.

I'll be discussing both a vocal and an instrumental of O Little Town of Bethlehem, so we can all appreciate it in the deepest possible way. Enjoy

Words: 190.

2 Like • Comment

December 26, 2024 at 6:33am

#1081543

God Rest Ye Merry (Irish Instrumental)

My seventh track for "Invalid Item"

is an Irish instrumental rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, by artist Alisa Jones.

Super long and peculiar story behind this one… years ago on an old-fashioned Christian radio station, Mom and I heard a really cool version of God Rest Ye Merry, with a lady singing. It sounded Russian. I've never been able to track down that exact version. I even contacted the radio station, and they said they had no idea what I was referring to. They sent me an audio file of a mashup from some down-home rustic family band, which wasn't it at all.

So last year I went on a quest to collect, if not a vocal of God Rest Ye Merry, since none of them compared favorably to that one amazing unknown, at least a high-quality instrumental version, since the melody has such good bones. I ended up with several versions, some of which got tossed out, until I had two remaining: an instrumental by Simply Three (you might guess they're one of my favorite instrumental artists) and this one.

I enjoy the way this rendition builds upon the same repetitive instrumental "verse," opening with the flute and gradually adding a drum, a violin, and whatever else (bagpipes?), in a way which seems as though it should go on for longer than two and a half minutes. That would probably get boring, though. As it is, it's just right, with that ever-so-slightly danceable vibe which I remember from the mysterious vocal version.

Words: 255.

2 Like • Comment

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