in C

Sometimes you're just going along and think you have a good handle on the world in general, and maybe know a few details someone else doesn't know, and then--BAM--you hear something that makes you feel like you are clueless.

Like tonight.

Keeping hands busy, I listened to RadioLab's presentation on in C, a piece in the key of C by one Terry Riley.  I hadn't heard of in C, let alone Terry Riley, even though the people on the radio segment kept saying how famous it was, how it was a precursor to Phillip Glass (who I do know about) and Techno and how it influenced many other tangents of contemporary.

RadioLab played three cuts from the in C remix CD, and one of my favorites was by Zoe Keating, titled Zinc (that's Z for Zoe, and the inc came from in C).  Lovely.

Here's the trailer for the CD--it's that kind of music you put on in the background while doing homework, or grading or keeping your hands busy and your mind active, but don't want interruption from lyrics.  I'd recommend a listen, if you have some time.

Funny Indian Commercials

In class last week I showed some film clips of poems being read in various movies.  Gretchen, who sat right next to the audio video cart, said she'd just done a speech and had a couple she wanted to show as well.  Since class hadn't started yet, I gave her free reign of the computer, and she came up with these two.





Why Indian commercials? Because I was showing the similarities between Beyonce's latest hit "Single Ladies" and the Indian music I'd heard at an Indian wedding. We were discussing meter and rhyme and I thought I'd catch their attention with the idea of rhythm in songs.

Better Than Lady GaGa

I don't know why, but I like this remix/imitation version so much better than the real thing.

So Today's Just Such a Monday

It was one of those days, where after I finished getting ready for school, I walked it to say good-bye to Dave and said, "I just don't feel like going to class."

Just as I made the turn up into Crafton, Joe Cocker's "Feeling Alright" came on the iPod (do a search on YouTube to hear it) and that pumped me up enough to get into the flow of things. The students were higher than kites and the interaction was great and high and fun and when one young woman told me this was her favorite class, things were good.

Home again, eating my sandwiches from my lunch bag, feeling Alright and ready to jump into things. But the day went quiet, with me fixing up my Christmas list on my iPod, then it headed a bit south, then right on in to melancholy as I sat there in front of the computer hunting up new Christmas songs for this season (an annual event).

Judy called and it was great to talk to her again, and we spoke of lots of things: her mother's passing, the funeral last week in Utah, our kids, our challenges, Grading Avoidance (a condition we both fight on a regular basis), all things school, the changes in plans I'd had for Christmas and the new difficulties in the season ahead. The conversation wound down and I got off.

Dave found me trying to slit open the leeks to rinse out all the dirt, and I turned to him and said, "Can we just go and get a burger or something?" Wise man that he is, we shared a Happy Star experience at our local Carl's Jr. restaurant.

I finished the dishes from yesterday's Persimmon Bread bake-off (recipes to be posted maybe tomorrow) and came upstairs to hear him on iTunes this time, then YouTube, looking at different videos. We chatted, he left, leaving on Allison Krauss and Yo Yo Ma playing a duet. I clicked on to the next one, perhaps my all-time favorite Christmas carol. I post it here for your enjoyment: The Wexford Carol.



Another song to add to my Christmas tunes this year, and not a bad way to end such a Monday.

Common Threads

I listened to Joe Cocker's Feeling All Right as I crossed the desert. After him came New Soul, Sunchyme (a trance cut), Crush by David Archuleta, Bongo Bong by Manu Chao, Praan, and Living in a Bubble by Eiffel 65, among others.

(Crossing the Mohave)

I like music most of the time. I think about those early settlers who sang or whistled to provide their own tunes, with silence as the norm. I think I'm lucky to be able to carry a tune, but have to admit I sound much better when the iPod is cranked up and it's blasting Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, with me as Annie Lenox's back-up singer.

I carry music on aforementioned iPod, have it on my computer when I'm working, driving, cooking in the kitchen. I have different playlists for different moods and seasons, and in all this I'm not much different than any other person today.

But don't give me music when I'm on hold on the phone, or when I'm in the doctor's office (and NO television there either, as I carry my own reading material and have ways to entertain myself that don't involve People's Court or Oprah). I also hate music on websites and especially blogs as I have my own tunes playing as I surf the web, thank you very much.

And now, Sunday morning I'm off now to church where another wonderful musical tradition exists: the hymn. I love the old standards, the words and melodies and shifting harmonies, that have always been a part of my life. Sometimes I visit other churches when I'm traveling and when the pastor/preacher's sermon grows less engaging, I'm apt to open the hymnal of this different religion with its different service and pattern. In these hymns, no matter what church you were raised in, can be found our common threads.

Catchy tune, this one.

I had to get up early to take Liz to a YW activity. I thought this was a perfect way to start the day.

I needed a laugh. . .

Need some reminding?

And for Saturday Morning: Pancakes.