Friday, July 07, 2023

Lambs Songwriters Salon March 20, 2023 - Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water

Song by Paul Simon Bridge Over Troubled Water Coren highlighted it was not a love song but a song of friendship, of a friend who is there for you. Three Verses more and more elevated to the level of God (Art Garfunkel) singing to us The regular irregularity of it is in the groups of 8 followed by one group of 4 -- I'll take your (4)|Part, and I will ease your (4)|Mind. Sage Buchalter Kind to Me Jason Trachtenberg: Look At This Amazing Set-Up Coren Rhodes - Dodger's Dilemma (after Punky's Dilemma) Stephen Friedland (Brute Force) - Let's Put Them All Together Now Name of Song presenter: James Walker Reid, Name of Song: “Little Star” Peter Dizozza To a Mallow Marsh Susan Horowitz, aka Dr. Sue Name of Song: “Rainbow to Oz” Name of Musical: Rainbow to Oz www.drsue.com/rainbow The Title of Paul Simon's third solo album, following his five as Simon and Garfunkel, is Still Crazy After All These Years. I question that title as a declaration. Paul Simon was crazy with Garfunkel. His emotional volatility became less apparent to me thereafter, and I further suggest that it made for a long happy life for both of them. From a therapist's point of view the two of them were better off apart, but look at the difference in the material. What I am suggesting with my own love of melodrama is that their collaboration produced sparks, which I missed after the breakup. Paul Simon will always be a radical songwriter but his gentleness offsets his complexity with a soothing spell. I find myself blissfully productive with his music in the background. Perhaps even before David Byrne, Paul Simon is responsible for the introduction to the pop world of World Music. The inspiration he draws from it results in new material created within the musical energies of other cultures. Another factor in his music is lyrical. He creates music with words. The song, Love Me Like a Rock is A direct example of a ground floor creation on top of a style of writing. As usual he achieves that song with three versus gaining momentum. The size of the singer increases, the third verse being that he is President. He is producing a song about the Rock of Ages. Is it an original idea to say that one's mother loves one like a rock? The possible parallel song of David Byrne is called Pull Me Up, where, even after he is up the people who love him? pull him up. These songs are slightly histrionic. I guess a parallel with David Byrne launches us into the history of histrionics. Unlike David Byrne whose histrionics is built in, the source of Paul Simon's histrionics is Art Garfunkel. Art Garfunkel sang like he meant it. Paul Simon does mean to sing what he sings.

Ivan the Terrible behaves reasonably under the circumstances of the intrigue surrounding him

Eisenstein spread throughout the 90 minutes of his Ivan the Terrible Part 2 a single instance of conflict between members of Ivan's own family, disapproving his beholding of himself to his people, the populace, though the people's call for him is the reason he is Tsar. He verbalizes respect for his family and orders that no one take action against them. Rather he turns the action they take against him into their own punishment. And much of this occurs in color, agfa color taken from the Germans, though processed with Russian chemistry. It is a red oddity segment with song and dance music by Prokofiev. It follows the religious black and white chorus of a pageant chastising the ruler of Russia for placing himself above a God that would constrict his dedication to the people. He appears to behave erratically, but he really is alone and needs to maintain his position, which is, after all, given to him by the people. He is a public servant.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Lambs Songwriters Salon May 15, 2023 - Yip Harburg

May 2023 Salon Highlighted Songwriter: Yip Harburg We began with a consideration of the words of Over the Rainbow, that the word Over was the discovery in the song, that Yip Harburg's future wife suggested the word Somewhere to fill the Arlen opening melodic Octave and the word informally became part of the title, that MGM introduced the rainbow to the Baum book to announce its full spectrum technicolor, that songwriter/producer Arthur Freed demanded the song stay in, that I'm Wishing from Snow White was a smash hit. Jason highlighted the similarities between the two songs thereafter. It looks like Disney introduced to the American Musical the "I Want" song. We considered the Bridge as a Coda, and the replacement there of "over" with "Beyond" the Rainbow. Grey skies looming over Europe, to Yip Harburg the Rainbow was that ray of Hope. Song Presentations by Susan Horowitz (In Ozzie's Bar/About the Wiz Reprise) Susan demonstrated how her catchy song functioned in the first and second half of her new, somewhat Burlesque, musical, Rainbow to Oz. Both songs are sung solo while calling for response from lead character "Dorothy" Peter Dizozza (Go Lucky) An early sketch of a song about interaction with a robot. Annette suggested Pinnocchio, not the AI premise that Pinnocchio wishes to be a real boy, but that Gippetto wishes for it. Suggested title "Peter and the Robot" Jason Trachtenberg (Tell Me Before I Die) Jason confronted the subject of death with an eleventh hour love song for Dostoyevski, his lead character in his musical-in-development The Statue. Annette Hollander (On a Walk Down Mulberry Lane) Annette wrote this swinging sing-along friendly Italian-nuanced imagined return to Mulberry Street during the pandemic. Steve DePass (If You Know God) Revisiting Steve's classic song highlighted its humourous presumption, that someone who knows God could put in a good word for him. We ended the night with the song that got MGM to hire Arlen/Harburg - MGM's At the Circus Groucho song, Lydia the Tatooed Lady. We considered the use of Qualifiers and Parentheticals in prolonging monologues, and other tests of polite listening. Steve rejected the teaching of Off-Rhymes as an acceptable rhyme. Unless for humour, the off-rhyme clouds comprehension which can be built from the ear's expectation to hear perfect rhymes to fill in lost words. (Jeffrey Lewis is on tour. This night coincided with Joe Bendik's revival of the East Village Antihoot, which brought Jason and me downtown thereafter.)

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Summary of Female Vocalist/Songwriter Post for 2023 Women's History Month Celebration at The Lambs

Top Ten songs/albums of women singers assignment Without You I'm Nothing (1989) Sandra Bernhard 9. Radio Ethiopia (1976) Patti Smith - includes Ask the Angels 8. Knoxville Summer of 1915 (1990) Dawn Upshaw. 7. Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) Janet Jackson 6. Close to You (1960) Sarah Vaughn 5. Dinah! (1956) Dinah Washington - includes More Thank You Know 4. Patti LuPone - Live (1992) Patti LuPone -includes I'm a Stranger Here Myself 3. My Name Is Barbra, Two (1965) Barbra Streisand 2. Bette Midler (1973) Bette Midler 1. Don't Go to Strangers (1966) Eydie Gorme' - includes What Did I Have and If He Walked into My Life Songs List 10. Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Diana Ross 1970 version) Ashford/Simpson's 9. One Less Bell to Answer (1970) Marilyn McCoo with The Fifth Dimension. songwriters: Bacharach/David's 8. Dream a Little Dream of Me (1968) Mama Cass, by Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt and Gus Kahn. 7. There's No Business Like Show Business (1969) Mary Hopkins, by Irving Berlin, a Lamb. 6. A Hard Rain is Gonna Fall (1989) Edie Brickell, by Bob Dylan 5. Boys Night Out (1962) Patti Page Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn 4. Cornet Man (Broadway Soundtrack for Funny Girl version, 1964) Barbra Streisand, by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. 3. My Man (Movie Soundtrack for Funny Girl version 1968) Barbra Streisand, by Maurice Yvain and Channing Pollock (English Lyric). 2. Our Love It Grows (1961) Myrna March, Songwriter: Ellie Greenwich 1. I Wanna Be Around (1966) Eydie Gorme' (from Don't Go to Strangers) by Sadie Vimmerstedt and Johnny Mercer.  Honorable Mentions: I Move On (2002) Catherine Zeta-Jones / Renee Zellweger, by John Kander and Fred Ebb *** conducted by Paul Bogaev. Coffee Homegrown (1978) Kate Bush, by Kate Bush Down in the Depths (1936) Ethel Merman, by Cole Porter Jazz: Judy Garland, Eydie Gorme' and Nelly McKay, Ella Fitzgerald. Broadway: Carol Channing and Barbra Streisand. Folk: Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins. Pop: Lady Gaga, Madonna, Regina Spektor Classical: Patty Lupone, Dawn Upshaw, Teresa Stratas, Isola Jones, Kathleen Battle, Betty Allen Rock: Stevie Nicks, Heart lead singer Nancy Wilson, Janis Joplin, and Grace Slick - a Castilleja High School debutante. The Heart song "Barracuda." Progressive Rock went from Kate Bush to Tory Amosboth being singer songwriters. I experienced the popularity of Tory Amos in the 1990's, which remains iconicKate Bush's Cloudbursting, Coffee Homegrown, and Wuthering Heights. Patti Smith is a definitive poet and rocker. Easter album.Space Monkey, and Walking Barefoot. My favorite recordings by her are Kimberly and Redondo Beach.  unamplified acoustic singing (ie., opera) Teresa Stratas. The Unknown Kurt Weil. Inva Mula is the Lucia di Lamamoor singer in The Luc Besson Fifth Element.  Patti LuPone Live (1992) opens with a Kurt Weil song A Stranger Here Myself from One Touch of Venus.  Janis Joplin, screaming sounds good.Nancy Lamott is a legend (Surrey with the Fringe on Beautiful Baby 1991). Joan Baez sang Barb'ry Allen. Joan Baez Vol 2 (1961) Patti Rothberg Pat BenatarJoan Jett singing Allan Merrill's I Love Rock and Roll. Alainis Morisette? TFiona Apple as produced by John Brion in the "When the Pawn" albumEdie BrickellBette Midler singing her own words to "In the Mood" (Arif Mardin Barry Manilow 1973). Moogy Klingman's You Got to Have Friends Amy Winehouse, Liza Minelli? "It was a good time..." Madonna "Borderline." "Like a Virgin," and "Dress you up in my love"1986 called Live to Tell. Like a PrayerBaby One More Time by Max Martin is a bizarre Britney Spears recording. He also wrote (with Rami) "Oops, I did It Again,"  The battle of the female vocalists (The Wilson Sisters? They are the band "Heart," but then there's the daughter of brian Wilson involvedThese Dreams by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin.  Ellen Foley is the woman singing with Meatloaf in his Paradise by the Dashboard Light recording for Jim Steinman. Bonnie Tyler's vocal of his Total Eclipse of the HeartAshford/Simpson's Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Diana Ross 1970 version)Bacharach/David's One Less Bell to Answer (Marilyn McCoo). Julie Andrews (Sherman Brothers. Richard Rogers "I Have Confidence") Camelot "I Loved You Once in Silence." Barbra Streisand My Man, 1962 Funny Girl performance of Cornet Man, Adelaide's Lament on her 1985 broadway album. I Got Plenty of Nothin is on Her Barbra Two Album. Eydie Gorme.  What Did I Have that I Don't Have (Lamb Lerner) and the vendetta song, where revenge is sweet, Ms Vimmerstadt's I Wanna Be Around.  Judy Garland TV episode (1963 episode 6 of her show) "San Francisco" with fun end song Maybe I Will Come Back to You by Mel Torme? no, it is by Charles L. Cooke and Howard C. Jeffrey. It's on her 1956 "Judy" Capital album.  singer songwriters Diane Cluck, Shilpa Ray, Regina Spector, Vanessa WilliamsCasino Royale record pressing of Dusty Springfield's vocal of Bacharach/David's The Look of Love. Son of a Preacher Man  (pulp fiction)Dame Vera Lynn 1953 We'll Meet Again recording (song by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles). Mary Hopkins version of Lamb Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business. slowed-down adaptation from Barbara Streisand/George Williams 1962 Milton Ager's Happy Days Are Here Again. Whitney Houston sings Saving All My Love for You. The people responsible for writing this awful song are Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin.

Monday, February 20, 2023

Lambs February 2023 Songwriters Salon

Co-hosts Susan Horowitz/Dr. Sue and Peter Dizozza Opening song: Alfie by Burt Bacharach and Hal David - led by the melody - words set? or music first? withy songs from Jason Trachtenberg - I Really Love You Tonight (for daughter) Coren Feldman (Coren Rhodes) - Somewhere in the Middle attending the School of Song with the Fleet Foxes and Dr. Dog? Jeffrey Lewis - Black Thumb (dead rubber tree plant... C7 to A Peter Dizozza - One in Two Michelle Risse - Heed My Call from Unmasked, the musical. also attending: Sam Moree and Josh Miller

Friday, February 17, 2023

I Saw Kubrick's Original Release of The Shining -- and today found my mini-review (The "King of Hearts" romanticism I associated with being crazy... dispelled)

In Kubrick's new film, The Shining, I have finally learned the meaning of that state of mind called insane. Jack Nicholson portrans a man who is insane. He is a mere burlesque of a man. The gears of his mind have grinded irreparably. He is mentally paralysed. Insanity is not reaching out further than others have dared. It is not an abnormallity of the brain. It is when the brain (normal or abnormal) starts skipping. It stays in the same groove and wears itself down.