22861. (Ben Howard) Every Kingdom
22862. (360) Falling and Flying
22863. (Sophie Milman) Take Love Easy
22864. (Teruyuki Nobuchika) Morceau Read more »
Category Archives: CJ - Listening 2012 - Page 2
First-time listening for April, 2012
First-time listening for March, 2012
22833. (George Frederick Händel) Jephtha [Complete Oratorio; d. Creed; w. Ainsley, George,
. . . . . Denley, Oelze, Köhler, Gooding]
22834. (Dandy Warhols) Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia
22835. (Stomu Yamashta’s Go) The Complete Go Session Read more »
First-time listening for February, 2012
22833. (George Frederick Händel) Jephtha [Complete Oratorio; d. Creed; w. Ainsley, George,
. . . . . Denley, Oelze, Köhler, Gooding]
22834. (Dandy Warhols) Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia
22835. (Stomu Yamashta’s Go) The Complete Go Session Read more »
First-time listening for January, 2012
22810. (Andy Horace) Seek & You Will Find
22811. (Zap Mama) Ancestry in Progress
22812. (Liars) Sisterworld Read more »
Street Dogs’ “Back to the World”
You might recognize the voice of Mike McColgan, former lead singer of Dropkick Murphys in this album. After a stint away from the music scene to work as a Boston firefighter, he came back with a new punk band. DM was sort of an American version of the Pogues with a bit of Clash mixed in. This band seems to be less celtic-sounding. The political lyrics, a kind of nostalgic Boston Southie, AFofL/CIO ambience, are similar to those of DM, as exemplified by the last track, “Unions and the Law.” “You Alone” and the album title track are catchy songs. A punk band is only as good as its drummer, and Joe Sirois, formerly in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, is extremely good. The album is a good listen, with no dull patches and lots of professionalism, but nothing that really grabs me and shakes me.
Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony
When I first began listening to Mozart, the “Haffner” Symphony #35 (K.385) did not make as strong an impression on me as #36, #38, or #40 did. Now that I listen closely to a performance by Neville Marriner, I see that I was not “getting it.” It’s not just a suped-up serenade, though Mozart did use a quickly-composed serenade as its basis. It definitely belongs with the “Linz” and the “Prague” symphonies as part of a group where Mozart remolded the symphony from the suite-like presentation he had learned from Haydn into the tightly unified and logical form that he was to pass on to Beethoven. The material is cheerful, elegant, and dance-like, but the treatment is far from frivolous or slight. And, on listening closely, I can see all sorts of subtle ways in which elements in each movement refer to the others. The ending presto, with its sudden dynamic shifts and odd silences, is particularly splendid, and complements the opening allegro’s arresting beginning in a most satisfying way.