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I saw this today and I had to put it up. Enjoy some history, some math, some copywrite commentary, and some wonderful music, all delightfully wrapped together by the fantastic ViHart. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!
On Dec. 9th, 1965 – 49 years ago – nearly half of the US population tuned in to A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schultz, an animated broadcast that featured the music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
Prior to its debut, producers were worried it was too religious, and the soundtrack was too jazz cutting edge for children’s programming. Were they ever wrong! 15 million homes had eyes glued to that broadcast, and it has since become an iconic Christmas classic.
Jerry Granelli, a drummer and a long time native of Halifax, NS is the only surviving member of that original trio. On December 7th of this year the Jerry Granelli Trio toured a show called Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas that featured all the music from that original broadcast.
Here they are doing the true classic, Linus and Lucy.
Hymns suck. And I don’t just mean in moral or rational sense, though they definitely suck in those areas as well. I mean musically. They are absolutely wretched. As a fledgeling choral singer, I’m aware of some wonderfully fantastic religious based pieces that are beautiful to listen to and sing, filled with ludicrous immorality though they may be. But those pieces aren’t for the congregation. They are much to difficult and stimulating. No. The order of the day is simplicity and monotony to lull the brain to sleep, priming it for whatever indoctrinated message pasted nakedly across the song. Repetitive droning is key to drilling ugly ideas into the poor minds of parishioners. Of course, if you don’t buy into the B.S, then all you get is a hellishly dull experience that you wouldn’t call ‘music’ even at your most cynical.
If you haven’t checked out the godless comedy of Mitchell and Webb yet, I highly recommend you do so. Today’s viewing, from Series 4:Episode 3, according to David of Mitchell, presents a satirical look at not only the plodding tediousness of hymns, but also the inherent offensiveness of religion, no matter how happy a face they try to draw on it.
In our name, let us mock.
We need more of this in our music scene because frankly, the omnipresent bland radio pop (A big unthankyou to CBC radio 2 for adding more of this soul withering drivel to my listening day) bores the everliving fuck out of me. So hit me with some hard rock hallelujah any day of the week and I will be appreciative.
And no, it doesn’t get better and that is why its *great*. :)
Speaking of the “great” category – BOOM – Cezar from Romania nails this performance. Gold pure sonic gold.
Music is our great hope, the universal language, and the ultimate unifier. I can appreciate music from 1720 Venice just as easily as I can music from 1970 Toronto. Further, I’ve been doing so since before I could speak. Such is the power of music that distances of 7000 km and 250 years are rendered moot without the slightest effort. Yet, when one does apply effort, the tunnels of discovery are complex and endless. The study of music can reveal an immense amount about the people, the society, the generation, and the human experience involved in its creation. In nothing else is so much information so readily available to so many.
While these powers can be experienced and appreciated just by listening, their magnitude and influence grow exponentially when one partakes in the creation of music. Again, no special skills are required. Sure, instruments can take years to master, but anyone can take part in song. Indeed, in testament to its unifying power, any lack of singing ability is progressively rubbed out as more and more people join in a song. No one ever needed a voice lesson for a camp fire sing along.
As a wondrous demonstration of this limitless potential for connectivity and understanding to bridge the many powers of division in the world, I present Virtual Choir. Headed by visionary composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, it is an online community dedicated to bringing the world together through singing.
I cannot do justice to this fantastic project, nor can I match the charisma of the main man himself. So here, along with links to the glorious end products, Virtual Choir, Virtual Choir 2.0, and Virtual Choir 3, I will turn the stage over to Mr. Whitacre and his TED Talk, the inspirational video that introduced me to Virtual Choir, and the Kickstarter video for Virtual Choir 4.
One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is taking part in Virtual Choir 3. Please join me in participating in, supporting, and spreading the word of Virtual Choir 4.
Unlike The Arbourist, I have very little musical talent. I cannot play any instrument, keep time, or even step in rhythm (my dancing has been described as “dangerous”, and not in a good way). On occasion I fantasize about how awesome it would be were I actually a classic guitar virtuoso, percussion prodigy, or mad-skilled pianist. Once the dream fades, I am left wondering what instrument would actually befit a person like me.
Today I happened upon this delightful little article on the CBC music blog and thought it would be fun to share it. It seems that, depending on my mood on a given day, I ought to take up the Viola, the Timpani, or the Cello.
Perhaps you’d like to start playing a musical instrument, or your five-year-old is begging for lessons. But you’re wondering: With so many musical instruments out there, how do I choose?
It’s simple really. Ask anyone in the music business and they’ll tell you that musicians have personalities matched to the instruments they play. So we’ve come up with a little way to figure out the instrument that’s right for you. (Click the image below to enlarge it.)
CBC article here
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…