Music we stumbled upon in Havana and Trinidad Cuba

by Jack Brummet, Travel Ed.

June 2017

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Video: a cuteness overload

By Jack Brummet

I admit.  I watched it until the end. 1) cuteness overload, and 2) I love the way the music panning. I assumed it was a synced mix, but maybe (probably?) not; it might all be done programmatically, music synced with the character/ instrument as they move in and out of camera range, swelling to full volume when the character is dead center.  Check it out here. 

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Poem: The Broken Chord (revised)

By Jack Brummet

The rain falls
As you practice arpeggios

Running out shimmering notes
In an ever-shifting

Pattern of music sifting
Through the caesuras between the notes

Forming a counterpoint
With the drumming of the rain

Thousand of patterns and polyrhythms
Weave around and through other patterns

The rain chicanes in the wind
Breaking up and merging again

Billions of drops in midair

Bump together in a choreographed ballet

We can never reproduce
But that's nature for you

We sing paint and write the same story
Over and over and over again

And nature trumps us
With her singular snowflake.
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Greenwood All*Stars set list from Saturday 9/21/13

click to enlarge

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New music from Paloma Ford: Hit Of You

By Jack Brummet

A new single by my niece, Paloma Ford.  Check it out!


 

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Peace along the Columbia: a respite from the Sasquatch Festival

By Jack Brummet 

I went for a walk at Sasquatch to clear my head, and stumbled into nothing. 

Ten minutes after being in the middle of 25,000 people partying, all of a sudden I was completely alone with nary a human or animal in sight.  And I shot this photograph.

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Sasquatch Festival

By Jack Brummet 

I spent Sunday/Monday morning at the Sasquatch Fesitval at the Gorge Amphitheater.  I was especially knocked out by the performances of The Tallest Man On Earth, and particularly by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes.

I also saw The Dropkick Murphys, Elvis Costello (my fifth time) and The Imposters, Mumford & Sons, Danny Brown, and a bunch of other bands on the smaller stages.

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Compressorhead's robo-rock: Blitzkrieg Bop

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Favorite songs of candidates and politicians (and a few hangers-on)

By
Jack Brummet, Social Mores Editor

Mona Goldwater, Style Editor

We recently researched favorite songs of some of our favorite (and many not so favorite) politicians, candidates, and pundits.  We thought this would be a research nightmare...but then figured, naw... remember when someone on an MTV College Town Hall sort of thing asked Bill Clinton whether he wore briefs or boxers; didn't he answer? People must have asked politicians about their favorite songs too...

This was originally inspired by BHO--Jack remembers him telling someone his favorite Dylan song was "I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more," and what a perfect choice that was.

Former President Bill Clinton's Presidential museum has released two volumes of his favorite songs.  Volume 1 contains

Miles Davis, "My Funny Valentine"

Nina Simone, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, "My One and Only Love"
Zoot Sims, "Summertime"
Mahalia Jackson, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord"
Igor Butman, "Nostalgie"
Judy Collins, "Chelsea Morning"
Art Tatum, "There Will Never Be Another You"
Mickey Mangun, "In the Presence of Jehovah"
David Sanborn, "Harlem Nocturne"

Bill's Volume 2 includes songs by: Joan Baez, Elton John, Stan Getz with Charlie Byrd, Carly Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Sarah McLachlan, Willie Nelson, North Texas Wind Symphony, Van Morrison, John Williams and the President’s Own United States Marine Band,.

Bill O'Reilly gave this list of his five favorite songs to Don Imus.  Jack felt a little strange about one, since it lists at least two of his own favorite songs (Drive My Car, L.A. Woman):

“I Love Music,” by The OJays

“Baby You Can Drive My Car,” by The Beatles
“Just Dance,” by Lady Gaga
“L.A. Woman,” by The Doors
“Kentucky Rain,” by Elvis Presley

Barack Obama: Favorite Bob Dylan song "I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more"

Hilary Clinton: Aretha Franklin "Respect"

Ex Governor (and bassist) Mike Huckabee: Stephanopoulos: "What's your favorite song?  Huckabee: "Oh, don't ask that because then you start getting me into stuff, which artist. It's going to most likely be a Mellencamp or Rolling Stones or Beatles song. Maybe Creedence. But can you tell, it's got to be heavy guitar music in there?"

But then, another time, Huck gave this list of his favorite five songs to Don Imus:

"I Want to Hold Your Hand," by The Beatles
"Start Me Up," by The Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze," by Jimi Hendrix
"Freebird," by Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Restless," by Alabama

Political Grateful Dead fans.  While we don't know their favorite songs, we do know that these folks have at various times happily admitted to the press (or even followed the band on the road) that they are DeadHeads, a/k/a fans of The Grateful Dead. As a fellow-traveller, I bet that this list is woefully incomplete.   We Are Everywhere.

(photo of Jerry Garcia, the last time we saw him in Seagttle, in 1995)

Senator Patrick Leahy 
Anne Coulter !?
Tipper Gore
Tucker Carlson (no question on this one...he's had members on his shows). 
Soon to be ex-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  She had the surviving members play after her swearing in as Speaker.
Majority Leader, Senator Harry Reid:  Quote: "Here, I'll show you the bathroom. This is my prized possession, a signed poster of the Grateful Dead." - from Las Vegas Eyes Witness News
Senator Al Franken - Al was and is a huge Grateful Dead fan (who pressured Lorne Michaels, successfully, to get them on SNL), saw literally hundreds of shows, and I think...appeared on stage with them more than once.

Glen Beck:

"You and I," by Ingrid Michaelson
"Haven't Met You Yet," by Michael Buble
"Bad Romance," by Lady Gaga
"Uprising," by Muse
"Exogenesis: Symphony: Part 3 (Redemption)," by Muse

In 2008, Blender.com listed John McCain and Barack Obama's favorites.  Randy Newman commented on some of their choices:  "McCain has a really likable list. Then again, Hitler liked some good music, you know?" 

Senator Barack Obama:
1. "Ready or Not"  by The Fugees
2. "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye
3. "I'm On Fire" by  Bruce Springsteen
4. "Gimme Shelter " by The Rolling Stones
5. "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone
6. "Touch the Sky" by Kanye West
7. "You'd Be So Easy to Love"  by Frank Sinatra
8. "Think" by Aretha Franklin
9. "City of Blinding Lights"  by U2
10. "Yes We Can" by will.i.am

Senator John McCain:

 1. "Dancing Queen" by ABBA
2. "Blue Bayou" Roy Orbison
3. "Take a Chance On Me" by ABBA
4. "If We Make It Through December" by Merle Haggard
5. "As Time Goes By" by Dooley Wilson
6. "Good Vibrations" by  The Beach Boys
7. "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
8. "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Frank Sinatra
9. "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond
10. "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"  by The Platters

The Reverend Al Sharpton:  "Talking Loud, Saying Nothing," by James Brown. The Reverend called it "James Brown's song about the Republican Party."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich:"Imagine," John Lennon

Ex-Senator John Edwards:  "Small Town," by John Mellencamp.

Ex-Rep. Dick Gephardt: "Born in the USA," By Bruce Springsteen.

Sen. Bob Graham: "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," by Jimmy Buffett

A whole bunch of favorites from Don Imus (he regularly asks guests their five favorite songs...we got probably a third of this list from the Imus archives):

Ex-Governor Mitt Romney:

"Friends in Low Places," by Garth Brooks
"Crying," by Roy Orbison
"Let it Be," by The Beatles
"Lying Eyes," by The Eagles
"Like a Rolling Stone," by Bob Dylan
"When I Said I Do," by Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black


Senator Bob Kerrey:

"Tom Traubert's Blues," by Tom Waits
"I Still Carry You Around," by Steve Earle
"Can't Let Go," by Lucinda Williams
"Romance is a Slow Dance," by Tim O'Brien
"When the Deal Goes Down," by Bob Dylan

Senator John Kerry:

"No Surrender,” by Bruce Springsteen
“Born to Run,” by Bruce Springsteen
“Hey, Jude,” by The Beatles
“Satisfaction,” by The Rolling Stones
“Like A Rolling Stone,” by Bob Dylan

Senator John Thune:

"Long Time," by Boston
"Independence Day," by Martina McBride
"Don't Stop Believing," by Journey
"Roll With the Changes," by REO Speedwagon
"Where the Streets Have No Name," by U2

Senator Chris Dodd:

Anything by Roy Orbison
Bobby Darin
Early Beatles Songs
Anything by Patsy Klein
Frank Sinatra
Barbara Streisand

Congressman Ron Paul:

"Universal Soldier," by Donovan
"Alice's Restaurant," by Arlo Gutherie

Congressman Darrell Issa:

"Cats in the Cradle," by Harry Chapin
"Bennie and the Jets," by Elton John
"American Pie," by Don McClain
"Welcome Back," by John B. Sebastian
"Wouldn't It Be Nice," by the Beach Boys
"Take it Easy" or "Hotel California," by the Eagles

Governor David Paterson:

"Beyond The Sea," by Bobby Darin
"Get Up, Stand Up," by Bob Marley
"A Change is Going to Come," by Sam Cooke
"Sister Golden Hair," by America
"Empire State of Mind," by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
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DJ Biz Markie's Earth Day Remix, with a cast across America

 By Jack Brummet____________
All This Is That Music and Editor

For the 40th anniversary of earth day (I remember the first one..I was a junior in high school, and the 60's were still in full swing) legend DJ Biz Markie puts a clean energy twist on his old hit Just A Friend.  For this remix,  fans from all across the country contributed clips to music .  It's cool.


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An astounding guitar performance by Tommy Emmanuel

A stunning YouTube video clip of Tommy Emmanuel playing his Guitar Boogie & Stevie's Blues at a show at Copper Mountain, CO. July 30th 2006.  Wow.


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free MP3 Christmas songs on the punk rock advent calendar

This advent cvalendar is much like a regular advent calendar. You open a window and out pops a treat. Open the window, and instead of getting a piece of waxy milk chocolate, you get to download a free Christmas song. Pretty cool. I've only listened to four or five songs, but among those were some gems. Check out the website here.
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Poem: The Broken Chord

The rain falls
As you practice arpeggios

Running out shimmering notes
In an ever-shifting

Pattern of music sifting
Through the caesuras between the notes

Forming a counterpoint
With the drumming of the rain

Thousand of patterns and polyrhythms
Weave around and through other patterns

The rain chicanes in the wind
Breaking up and merging again

Billions of drops in midair
Bump together in a choreographed ballet

We can never reproduce
But that's nature for you

We sing paint and write the same story
Over and over and over again

And nature trumps us
With her singular snowflake.
---o0o---

[revised, tuned-up, and reheated November, 2009]

Kutiman's Mother Of All Funk Chords: the best mash-up this year (so far)

This is a wonderful assemblage, where Kutiman assembles/mashes up clips of many people's solo instrumental videos from You Tube. And it ends up as a mostly coherent funk song. I don't know how many solo performances were concatenated to make the video...but it looks like 16 or so. . .anyhow, a definite must-see. . .

Poem: The Broken Chord (rewritten & reheated)

The rain falls
As you practice arpeggios

Running out shimmering notes
In an ever-shifting

Pattern of music sifting
Through the caesuras between the notes

Forming a counterpoint
With the drumming of the rain

Thousand of patterns and polyrhythms
Weave around and through other patterns

The rain chicanes in the wind
Breaking up and merging again

Billions of drops in midair

Bump together in a choreographed ballet

We can never reproduce
But that's nature for you

We sing paint and write the same story
Over and over and over again

And nature trumps us
With her singular snowflake.
---o0o---

Del Brummet's latest songs: Planet of Ice and Golden Nights

del brummet four years ago

Del Brummet under his nom de plume Isla Nubars, has posted his latest songs, The Planet of Ice and Golden Nights. Click here to here to listen. Planet of Ice is my favorite Brummet song since Evolution (which you can find in the same place). Del took music lessons from Milo Petersen for a long time but never made much progress. Milo--a longtime Seattle jazz stalwart, and my friend since I was two years old--was an amazingly inspirational and patient teacher. But it just never clicked. . .until a couple years later. All of a sudden it all clicked and Del began seriously woodshedding. He taught himself chords, and song structure, and started writing songs. It is always stunning what youth can do and learn with music and languages. Do I sound like a proud poppa? Well, I am.

I feel a little guilty for having been an influence in Del's upbringing. . .and the fact a few of his songs focus on aliens, religion, and other twisted obsessions of mine. But he has clearly taken what he needed from the father, and left the rest (callback from The Band: "you take what you need and leave the rest").

Guitars, percussion, vocals, and vocal overdubs by Delaney Curran Brummet.

Lyrics (and chords) to Planet of Ice:

C-Em-F-G

D
A 0 2 3
E 3
Crash-landed on a planet of ice.
We made a mistake, so we’ll pay the price.
Odds are that we are here to stay.
So we might as well make the best of each day.
[Chorus]
Am-G-E-D (AM)
WE ARE STRANDED AND WE KNOW IT!
BUT WE WILL NEVER SHOW IT!
THOUGH OUR TEMPERATURES ARE LOW, OUR MORALE IS HIGH!
WHY NOT BE REALLY HAPPY AS WE DIE?
Today we discovered a cave nearby.
We danced around and then stepped inside.
A monster lived there, his fur so long.
That he let us curl up with him while he sang a song.
[Song]
Am-G-E-D
LA LA LA LA LA LA L LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
With our homes far away and our space ship dead.
We sang and lived on this planet instead.
The monster taught us how to sing his song.
We taught the monster how to belong.
[Chorus]

[Here lead guitar comes in]
[Repeat chords for verse]
[song]

Lyrics to Golden Nights:

THE ISLA NUBLARS
ABDUCTED!
GOLDEN NIGHTS
Capo down 6
AM-C-(G-D-C-G)2
IiIIiIIIiIii Want to sail away in the sky, want to live in golden nights.

[Awesome]
Bb C D
Nooo frights no wooories
Bb C D
Noo plights no hurries
F Em
On a planet where light
Em A
is always shining

G-D-C-G)2
[Pre-Chorus] I want to sail away in to the sky, [Chorus] I want to live in golden nights.

Hills of old filled with memories untold, would green upon my coming there.
Apple trees would daily provide, all the while it warm out side. BECAUSE [Chorus]

AM-C-(G-D-C-G)
And iiii Would live a lie, if the price was forever golden skies. Id blast away to a place that never dies.
[Awesome] [Chorus]

I could live without the religions of the world; they shouldn't be the reason for your good
And to all the people who live life through their windshield, drop your keys, and pick up a guitar. BECAUSE I WANT TO LIVE WITH ALL OF YOU IN THE STARS!

[Awesome] [Chorus]
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