Tommia's Tablet

Sometimes, it takes parody to put things in perspective.

Weird Al Yankovic is the premiere parody performer who can take any of the day’s popular trends in pop music – or any genre – and have a wonderfully wicked time with them.

Take Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I have no idea what this song is trying to say. Decent beat, incomprehensible words. Weird Al’s interpretation, titled “Smells Like Nirvana” is whimsical and wacky. The fact he was able to gather the same performers from the original Nirvana music video is priceless.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails, TLC,  Presidents of the United States, Puff Daddy and other musicians that still cause me migraines if I were to try to comprehend the lyrics are much easier on the ears  and easier to sing along with. Granted, it wouldn’t be wise to sing “The Saga Begins” while at a piano bar when it’s “America Pie” everyone else is singing.

There are many humorous lyrists who have come before Yankovic and hopefully many more to follow – after all, it never hurts to have a little fun.

There is a fun bit of silliness in speeding through a list of fifty names at breakneck speed and still keep a straight tongue. I can’t recall how many years had passed since I had first heard Danny Kaye sing it and when I finally found a recording of it.

Tchaikovsky (And other Russian) as sung by Danny Kaye is a treat. Mandy Patinkin comes close.

While studying Russian at the local university, and wanting something different than Patinkin’s “Dress Casual” cassette, I decided to indulge in a collection of new composers. The wonderful thing about university bookstores were the sale prices on cassettes. Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Glinka, Borodin, Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninoff found places in the classical collection. They all helped me get through those particular years of study.

Sometimes it is the silliest of things that leads to a greater discovery.

Today will probably feature more Irish songs, singers and melodies in honor of the holiday. This is neither a good nor bad thing given that the response is completely up to the reader/listener.

I recall music classes focusing on “Danny Boy” and “Irish Eyes are Smiling” as well as “Down by the Sally Garden.” While these are maybe the more well-known songs, I am sure there is plenty more to define the Irish music experience.

That led me to a question on a wider spectrum – what is it that defines a culture, a country in terms of music? When it comes to Ireland, is it the Celtic Woman, the Irish Tenors or someone/something else that comes to mind?

In terms of Russian, while classical music has been fortunate with Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky. But how many have had a chance to hear Inna and the Farlanders?

In terms of English music, can we stretch our minds (and ears) beyond the melodies played in the days of Robin Hood or the Beatles? In terms of vocal talents, Russell Watson is worth listening to.

Given the wonderful world of music, it would be a good day to explore a bit more of the world through different countries’ offerings of instrument and song.

Berlin. Mancini. Williams. Morricone. Zimmer. Conti. Newton Howard. Horner. Elfman. Newman. Newman. Kamen. Goldsmith.

Without Irvin, Fred wouldn’t have danced in search of his Top Hat, White Tie and Tales. The Pink Panther and Peter Gunn wouldn’t have had a jazzy intro if not for Henry. Two notes and John Williams introduced the boehemeth in the water. Morricone deserves a page of his own considering what he added to Westerns. Hans provided the music for Rainman and Gladiator. Bill wrote Rocky’s anthem. James brings a haunting sound to the Dark Knight and any erie vision M. Knight Shyamalan can create. James takes us to the stars.  Danny’s a perfect match for Tim Burton. Randy and Thomas are in a league all their own.

Michael and Jerry died too soon.

It would be a peculiar challenge, but can you imagine watching any film that these gentlemen wrote the music for and see what remains when the soundtrack is muted?

Irving helped folks sing of good times or the hopes of things getting better as the country emerged from a Great Depression. Henry may be best known for the Pink Panther (a theme that survived during the Saturday morning cartoons), but what about The Great Impostor and Hatari?

John Williams has created iconic themes for sharks, dinosaurs, visiting aliens, a boy wizard and a rebel alliance’s battle in a galaxy far, far away. To indulge in listening to all of his movie recordings in addition to his skills as guitarist and one can be lost for days, maybe weeks.

While there are few westerns successfully made now, imagine if we had someone of Morricone’s talent to prop the present-day written tale of a landowner in the final frontier.

No matter the genre, music helps with the story – helping the viewer feel what the protagonist or antagonist feels. Five notes can bring about a close encounter or the arrival of a new menace. The perfect chords can create peace or tension in a scene or paint a landscape with more detail than the cinemetographer can capture on film.

Of the recent films seen, are there any soundtracks worth revisiting? Of the songs and melodies that come to mind, does it bring back a favorite item or two from the film? Or can a film score be enjoyable whether or not one has seen the film?

Today was a better day to select my free music. Rather than go through the genre search or bother with what the site calls popular picks, I decided I’d begin at the top with the letter “A” and find a familiar name.

Angela Lansbury! How I failed to include her in yesterday’s listing, I do not know. I did find her recording from the Legends of Broadway series courtesy of Sony Records – the chief sponsor of the Freegal.com website service. I have only seen one musical that Angela was a part of and it wasn’t even the original – Sweeny Todd, the Barber of Fleet Street as filmed by Tim Burton. My habit once I’ve learned of a remake is to track down the original.

Musically speaking, there are four songs to enjoy that I will have to download later (silly three song limit). Then I remembered I have Angela’s wonderful singing voice on two soundtracks: Anastasia and Beauty and the Beast. In following that train of thought, today’s detour leads me to Disney.

The first Disney film I ever saw that kindly gave me nightmares for a while was Bambi. Yes, I cried when Bambi went through that initial trauma, but it was the forest fire scene that scared me. Despite the fears and fun – after all who can not like Thumper or Flower – one song I remember singing repeatedly much to my mother’s dismay was “April Shower.” Granted, the best time to sing this simple little melody was while jumping through mud puddles, but I digress.

The one thing that distinguishes Disney from other movie makers is his weaving in of song to carry on the story. I challenge anyone to find someone who has left a Disney film without one song or another stuck in mind. On a positive side of challenges, narrow down the list of favorite tunes to say…ten or twenty.

I will admit to owning my fair share of Disney soundtracks. But what is fun about these is that the songs are family friendly, can be played without worry of some wrong word or message or two to shock the serenity of songs.  From Aladdin to Winnie the Pooh, there’s a song or two at that defines the heart of the movie. “Love is a Song” that never ends illustrates the fact that for Bambi, life will go on even with the loss.

Whether it’s Peggy Lee or Julie Andrews singing them or Randy Newman and the Sherman Brothers writing them, it isn’t hard to hear why Disney’s films and songs have lasted so long in time.

There’s one recording that will wear out faster than the others (and sadly, I foolishly misplaced the original copy of the recording somewhere between here and Denver) – Jerry Orbach’s Off Broadway.

I know I’m slow about many things and to not even learn that the man behind Lennie Briscoe, the voice behind Lumiere was already an established Broadway performer is one of them. Granted, I didn’t discover Law and Order until later, but that’s for another post. When I found out Orbach was the original Billy Flynn of Chicago, I decided to track down his various recordings. Borrowing a copy of 42nd Street, it amazed me how many songs I had already heard before, just never knowing the source of them until then. Yes, I was woefully slow in most things theatre as well.

Getting back to Orbach- Off Broadway was recorded because of the encouragement of others behind the curtain who had the joy of listening to him sing behind the scenes while sets were changed out either during rehearsal or before performance. The twelve songs chosen are a delight, as are all the other recordings he has done.

That had me perusing the listing of recordings and the people behind them.

Danny Kaye, Fred Astaire and Bette Midler were already known for their vocal talents before taking to the stage and screen. So were Queen Latifah, aka Dana Owens, Robert Guillaume, Huey Lewis, Harry Connick Jr. and Meatloaf.

Then you have those who found success on the stage or screen before anyone realized their musical talents: Jane Horrocks, Mandy Patinkin, Brent Spiner, Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard, Jamie Foxx, and Wayne Brady to name a few who have recorded various albums.

Then there’s the other group – the ‘what do you mean they can sing/act?’ – whose brief foray is seen as a fluke: Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellwiger, Will Smith, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Sissy Spacek, Meryl Streep.

Granted we are far removed from the old Studio system days where actors were expected to sing and before the dawn of music videos where singers were expected to act, and yet it is a quirky surprise to stumble upon those who are gifted to perform in either media of entertainment well.

I thought it would only be fair to respond to the challenge posted at the end of yesterday’s entry re: music and memory and earliest memory. That had been the intention while settling in for the night. My mind aiming for the fun melodic mischief of the years before age six. Alas, with the spring ahead of the clocks, my memory sprang ahead to grade six.

The Music of Cosmos was as close as I would get to a television series our science teacher raved about, imitating Carl Sagan’s alleged ‘bil…..lions and bil……lions of stars” remark. It wasn’t that we didn’t get the public broadcasting station. On the contrary, after morning sessions at preschool or kindergarten – lucky enough to be in the AM class and not the PM – my mother and I watched many operas featured on the theatre shows. Making sense of Hansel and Gretel sung in German might have been an early spark for attempting to learn the langauge later in life. But I digress…

The Music of Cosmos was what I had to settle for, the vinyl disc still safe in the record cabinet in the family room. Television time was set and seldom altered by my parents. News would always trump something on any other channel. So rather than try to make sense of what was on the news – outside of homework assignments – I’d take refuge in my bedroom, music blaring and book in hand.

The first three piano notes of “Heaven and Hell Part I” by Vangelis hook me immediately while “Symphony No. 11” by Shostakovich provided a haunting tone and “Alpha” by Vangelis brought images of what I thought a Far Eastern country looked like.

The album kept me company as I focused on my BBC edition copies of three Shakespeare plays: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Henry IV Part 2 – otherwise known as a wonderful Kmart Blue-light special find for $1. “The Sea Named ‘Solaris'”  and “Legacy” accompanied scenes of Verona, Friar Lawrence’s Cell and Capulet’s Orchard. The flute in “Depicting the Cranes in Their Nest” equated the cries coming from Juliet’s Chambers. “Russian Easter Festival Overture,” “Fly Night Bird,” and “Bulgarian Shepherdess Song” rose and fell along the streets of Rome, “Partita No. 3” brought out the sights of the street near the capital, the Forum and even Brutus’ tent. “Beauborg, Part II” showed the bloody aftermath of the field of battle of Philippi.

Can I listen to the music without images of Shakespearean plays in mind? Yes. Unlike Epic Score’s soaring orchestration and crescendo of the choir, The Music of Cosmos is a great choice for easing into a good night’s sleep or even waking up to the next morning.

I still have the album with its cosmic illustration, even as I have upgraded to a compact disc. I have yet to watch any part of the series that sparked my interest in science, but the beauty of this music is that it can take one far beyond the stars, going as far as one’s imagination wishes to go.

To quote Carl Sagan, “Human music is an expression of our thoughts and our feelings, a combination that is the distinction of our species.”

My mind raced as to which recording, song or artist to focus on today: Martin Luther’s many Reformation songs? Bobby McFerrin’s “Discipline” or “Psalm 23” – both found on his Medicine Music album? Rich Mullin’s “The Creed?”

Since I could not set my mind on just one, I decided to think about what it is I like about one of Luther’s most sung hymns or McFerrin’s Psalm or Mullin’s Creed – they’re based on words already learned from Sunday School or Bible study or elsewhere within the upbringing of faith. These are words chanted during service or read for comfort.

Put to melody, there is another reason why these words are easy to recall.

Think about it – how are children so successful in learning new things? Through song. Take a  nursery rhyme or even the alphabet – a simple melody that hooks the mind the way a worm hooks a fish’s attention. Some of us get through our later schooling years humming a mnemonic device or putting the information to an already familiar song.

Some scientists say that smell is the most powerful of the senses when it comes to memory. I think hearing is a close second. Who can conjure up the image of an ice cream truck when hearing a circus-style melody? Why do most advertisements on television take on the form of jingles?

If one were up for the challenge – what is the first song from youth that comes to mind? How does that differ from the most recent melody heard?

I’ll have to remember to respond to that somehow.

There comes a time when one must realize there could be a potential problem. I am in denial of that when it comes to certain Christian collections, classical music, jazz and soundtracks.

I credit Jackie F. for giving me a challenge that I am still having fun with. Since I can be considered ‘music dependent’ at times, I like to compile various ‘soundtracks’ of my own quirky moods to go with various projects.

With this particular one, I stumbled upon Epic Score and have enjoyed their music immensely. Then again, it combines two things I enjoy: choral and classical. I do not know how many recordings are currently available, but I do know that today’s silly splurge added at least five more to my collection.

The heart-pounding tempos, the soul-rising vocals, this wouldn’t be a wise choice as music to sleep to. What is nice about the Epic collection is that the recordings have the songs on there twice – one with and without vocals. It is amazing what can be added with the human voice.

Enough rambling for the day. Off to the mail box in hopes of a new CD’s arrival.