Too much music, too little time! :D

Hi everyone, I realized I missed including another one of my favourites to my Louis Armstrong post. It’s this one, “A kiss to build a dream on”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Oz5Xmi2ew

It’s of course, on our Michael’s “Vintage” album, track 3. I always love to read comments on YouTube videos and I’d love to thank the brilliant mind who decided to insert classics like these in video games like Fall Out, though I’m sure I’d cringe if I knew what they were about. Anyway, it got my teen boys to listen to Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and the Ink Spots. As I understand it, teens are actually enjoying discovering these, which I assume is a refreshing change from the more elaborate productions of today’s music. That was my editorial of the day, :D thank you for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, well I’ve been meaning to put together an entry since I’ve heard one of his songs on TV last week, but since it happens to be his birthday today August 4, I thought this would be an auspicious day   to post my entry on Louis Armstrong. I can’t say that I know the extent of his artistry very well, though I quite enjoy listening to him. A few years back, a Montreal radio sports commentator compared his life to a       Quebec family of boxers, saying how although he started out his life in less than ideal conditions, he made something of himself, instead of wallowing in negativity and spiralling downwards. Louis Armstrong  was the grandson of slaves, was abandoned by his father early on, was raised in extreme poverty in a rough neighbourhood, dropped out of school at 11 and took up a lot of odd jobs to survive, but thankfully was exposed to music early on and built up his trumpet and cornet playing skills. According to Wikipedia.org, his nickname of Satchmo was short for “satchel mouth”, because he used to dance for money on the streets of New Orleans  as a kid and would pick up the money people threw and put it in his mouth not to have it taken away by bigger kids. It’s one of the theories anyway... I also remember my eldest daughter’s school notes on the history of modern music, quoting Mr Armstrong as being one of the pioneers of jazz and introducing the jazz solo players, branching out of big band orchestras. I know that to some, his voice is an acquired taste, but personally, I always thought he sounded cheerful and carefree and just pleasant. I remember old pictures back in the day where he seemed to always be smiling. Now here’s a piece of useless trivia: he was also Kevin Clash’s inspiration for his “Hoots the owl” puppet on the award winning program “Sesame Street”. Well anyway, here are just a few of my favourites. First, “La vie en rose”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IJzYAda1wA

… just because I love the way he sings it and you can hear him play too. :D The next one isn’t cheerful,but it’s great to hear his particular phrasing, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVKKRzemX_w

I’m sure he’s right on that one too... Now from the wonderful “Porgy and Bess” with Ella Fitzgerald, “Bess you is my woman now”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eux-vr4-EbM

OMG, while researching, I was reminded of one of my upmost favourites from him, “Zat you Santa Claus?”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQQU2ykEQqo

A little out of season but I love that song! Lol All right, another one of my favourites, from one of my favourite feel good movies, “Hello Dolly”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmfeKUNDDYs

This is a live performance, though not from the movie, sorry, though he seems to  be having a great time and you hear him scat too! :D Well now, I couldn’t put together a Louis Armstrong entry and forget to include probably his best known song, to people who know nothing about him, “What a wonderful world”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Aba0lVdE2c

Ahh, so beautifully evocative and makes you feel fuzzy all over... Funny that it was first released in 1967, hit no 1 in the U.K., was re-released in 1988 and hit no 1 in Australia   thanks to the movie “Good morning Vietnam”, but only made it to no 32 in the U.S. in its re-release. It was originally offered to Tony Bennett who apparently turned it down, though he did record it with k. D. Lang in 2002.  Still according to Wikipedia, the head of the record company ABC at the time, didn't like the song so it wasn't promoted, imagine that... Well that’s it for today’s music history lesson, thank you for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi all, today, I just want to share one link. I was surfing radio stations and came across an interview of this Quebec composer named André Gagnon. He's been composing romantic piano music for decades now and even wrote an opera and a disco song! :D Ah those 70's... Anyway, I heard him talk about this piece he wrote for a singer he used to play for. He wrote it as a tribute and he was fortunate enough to have his friend hear it a year before his passing. He also played it at his funeral. Anyway, since I didn't hear it all, I searched for it on YouTube and here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIjkJiX27dY

It's called "Le piano de Claude", which easily translates to "Claude's piano". It was written for singer/songwriter Claude Léveillée. I know it's irrelevant to people who aren't familiar with Quebec music, but thought I'd throw it in. Apparently, Mr Gagnon is very big in Japan, which I guess isn't surprising since they do love piano music. Well anyway, thank you for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi all, I just want to bring to attention, to anyone reading this, the new release from former MB band member Scott Mayo. It's called "Testimony". Here's the Amazon link to the CD:

http://www.amazon.com/Testimony-Scott-Mayo/dp/B00DNGDFBO/ref=sr_1_1...

Scott was Michael's sax player in 2002 and 2003. I got his first CD "Lo angle view" in 2002 and it sounded really good, as expected, a smooth jazz CD, with a touch of rap, positive rap and nothing agressive. Judging from meeting him, reflecting his personality. :D Anyway, on his second CD, he sings on this one and the sax is in the background. We had heard him sing "We're not making love any more" with Janis Liebhart in 2002 and he has a really nice voice. The new CD sounds like good old soul music, with the jazzy touch and frankly, I'd love to get it, but right now, $18.92 is a bit much for me,  but it will definitely be on my wish list! I'm sure you'll enjoy the Amazon samples if you love soul music. Thank you for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today I’ve decided to post a special entry on our Michael’s brother Orrin. For some reason, his name came up in conversation twice in the same day and I thought Michael sounded a lot like him in early footage I was listening to, so I took it as a sign... XD Well I came to know of OB and his music at first in 1995,but then through the MBPlatinum fan Club in 2000. I got his CD out of curiosity and because I knew Michael had written 2 songs I didn’t know on the CD. I frankly had no clue what to expect and was surprised, right off the bat, to hear Orrin’s version of Michael's song “Take me as I am”, (Michael Bolotin) that he renamed “Difficult situation”. One thing I was glad to hear though was that OB was his own person. He has his own style, his own phrasing and eclectic influences. The reggae style suits his baritone voice very pleasantly and I loved “Take a vacation” right away and was glad to find “Please come home” on the CD, which he had sung on Oprah in 1995. Michael wrote that one andBill Medley (Righteous Brothers) recorded it in 1985. I prefer Orrin’s version myself... :D My favourite song on his first album is the title song “Freedom”. It has a wonderful nostalgic 70’s flannel plaid shirt/jeans and work boot feeling about it... Musically-speaking, other highlights are “The dirty song” which has  a rock edge to it and an interesting cover of the Temptations’ “I wish it would rain”, though "Everything matters" is another important favorite.  I find the entire CD cleverly written, lyricly-wise. OB’s second CD “Liv’n like a man” had him go through a personal journey so there’s a variety of themes  and influences again, from the Bo Didley beat driving   “Don’t cry baby” to “Don’t let the last word be goodbye”, which is the radio-friendly ballad, a bit of reggae on “Keep me call’n” to the rock edged “Liv’n like a man” to my favourite “Hawaiian surprise”  that has my favourite line in it. The line goes: “You don’t know nothing ‘bout love til you’re somebody’s friend”. :D Overall, the sound of the CD is more homogenous and returns with  the familiar guitar and an old school rock/blues-folk rock flavour to it.  You can find samples to all songs mentioned both here for “Freedom”:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/orrinbolton

and here for “Liv’n like a man” samples:

http://orrinbolton.com/music.html

Just before I close, I want to urge you to go to his web site at www.orrinbolton.com to go listen and get the free download of his latest song called “Ain’t about love” which should appear on his next album.  It has a wonderful Otis Redding feel to it with the brass that has colored a few of his songs, but especially on that one. Well anyway, I could probably write a good essay on Orrin’s music and especially his lyrics because I love the way he writes and wish I could read his books, but I’ll stop here. Thank you for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, well I know I should have posted this yesterday, in honor of the French holliday but better late than never. I did some research and did find the Jacques Brel song I fell in love with. It's called "La chanson des vieux amants", which translates to "The song of the old lovers":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1DpjXQUDsI

It's a beautiful, heartwrenching song, musically speaking, though the lyrics aren't clear to me whether the lovers are back together. It's a beautifully crafted contemplation of the lovers’ past 20 years of their life/lives, accepting each others

shortcomings and despite everything, knowing the other one inside out. They haven't lived perfect happiness, but the bottom line is, from the narrator’s side anyway,

that man, he loves her! The verses are beautifully and craftfully assembled and the chorus just says it all: " Oh my love, my sweet, my tender, my wonderful

love, from the clear dawn until the end of the day,  I love you still, you know...". A friend of mine described Jacques brel as a "diseur", which means "sayer". He doesn't have a bad voice, but it's all and I mean “all” in  the delivery. Étienne Dupuis,

the operatic baritone who started me on this discovery said that he always says that his biggest influence in opera is Jacques Brel. He says you only need

to watch him once to know he knows how to deliver the text. Ray Charles himself once said that he didn't consider himself as a singer, with a big resonant 

voice, but more of a stylist, which I guess applies to Mr Brel. To borrow the immortal words of Daryl "chill" Mitchell as Mr Morgan in 1999's "10 things

I hate about you", he said:" He may be a dead white guy, but he knows his shhh!"! lol I'm going through Mr Brel's discography, 1 CD at a time and I'm sure

I'll come up with a doozie of an entry in the future. Thank you very much for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi again, yes, I know what you’re thinking: didn’t she give us enough to intake last night? :D All I can say is: blame it on the radio! Lol This’ll be a shorter entry. I was switching radio stations this morning and came across my favourite song from Queen: “You’re my best friend”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2JSUXaY-tw

This might sound like an odd choice as far as Queen is concerned, but I love everything about this song:Freddie Mercury’s voice is truly beautiful on this one, for starters. Freddie’s always been known for powerful vocals and showmanship, but it truly is beautiful and effortless on this one. The guitar rifs are terrific, the full band vocals are just luscious and just the heartfelt lyrics make the whole package for me. For some reason, listening to this at breakfast, reminded me of Queen music in movies. The first one that comes to mind will always be “Bohemian Rhapsody” from “Wayne’s world”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzUU7SRRsGo

Heehee, that reminds me of this terrific version I found out about last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY

I’m sorry, no disrespect to Freddie, God rest his soul, but I love the Muppets version! :D Okay, back to our program, this one is from the movie “Ella enchanted”, “Somebody to love”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN8hW7AeoQI

:D It’s a cute fairytale movie, but with an attitude, which makes it a lot of fun. I’ve always loved musical films, but this one incorporates actors singing appropriate well-known pop songs at the right moment, or pop songs that fit in the plot. An even better example of this is in the movie “A Knight’s tale” with Heath Ledger, “We will rock you”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hi8IWqic0U

The commentary on that one is wonderful. The soundtrack to this one is eclectic and completely anachronistic with the medieval time period the movie is set in, but I believe it was the director who chose the rock classics to fit in with the mood of specific moments. It makes it relatable and I for one, think it completely works. Those examples were just off the top of my head and I’m pretty sure if I searched, that I could find more, but I feel it’s still a cool entry that stands on its own. Thank you for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi all, you know when you have a song stuck in your head? I heard in this book: "This is your brain on music" by Daniel J. Levitin, that you have to listen to the entire song to hopefully finally get it out of your head and I plan to do this today. The song that's stuck in my head is this version of the song "More than words" by Extreme, sung here by operatic baritone Étienne Dupuis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgVQdjV4CM

No, he doesn't sing it operatic style, but it was part of a delicious mix bag recital he gave at the Lion D'Or Hall, either earlier this year or last year. I'll work on getting it out of my head later. :D Thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3