Curio Cabinet / Song Curio
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
What's a king to do when he wants to make a big splash? When King George I of England faced political opposition from his own son, who would later become George II, he resolved the only way to show up his progeny would be with a boating party along the Thames. George I enlisted George Frederic Handel to create music appropriate for the floating spectacle, to which the latter composed his elegant Water Music Suites. A musical showman himself, Handel raised the stakes of the event by including instruments he'd discovered on his travels across Europe. For instance, the Suite in D Major finds the composer introducing British audiences to brass instruments like the French horn. Many of the themes from Water Music come from popular dance themes of the day, which would have delighted onlookers when the royal barge premiered the pieces 300 years ago. Some 50 musicians played on the river that day, with many boats joining in the festivities; the party proved so popular that King George ordered the entirety of Handel's compositions played over and over for all to hear, presumably including his washed-up son!
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It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
What's a king to do when he wants to make a big splash? When King George I of England faced political opposition from his own son, who would later become George II, he resolved the only way to show up his progeny would be with a boating party along the Thames. George I enlisted George Frederic Handel to create music appropriate for the floating spectacle, to which the latter composed his elegant Water Music Suites. A musical showman himself, Handel raised the stakes of the event by including instruments he'd discovered on his travels across Europe. For instance, the Suite in D Major finds the composer introducing British audiences to brass instruments like the French horn. Many of the themes from Water Music come from popular dance themes of the day, which would have delighted onlookers when the royal barge premiered the pieces 300 years ago. Some 50 musicians played on the river that day, with many boats joining in the festivities; the party proved so popular that King George ordered the entirety of Handel's compositions played over and over for all to hear, presumably including his washed-up son!
Other streaming options
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
After nearly 50 years of electronic-pop underground appeal, Sparks is finally getting their big break. The American duo of Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) are the stars of a new documentary entitled The Sparks Brothers, which promises to be a whimsical look at the musicians' long and storied career. Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) interspersed interviews with the likes of Beck and Duran Duran amid found footage of Paul McCartney doing an impression of the serious-looking Ron Mael. For those of us just being introduced to Sparks' sound, there's no better place to start than with their newest single Your Fandango, a collaboration with glam-rock producer Todd Rundgren. All of the Sparks signature electro-pop appeal appears in the tune: Russell's big, operatic lyrics and rich harmonies, and don't forget Ron's deadpan keyboard jokes or intricate arrangements. It's classic Sparks and brand new Sparks all at once, just how the band should be heard nowadays.
[Image description: Russell and Ron Mael of the electo-pop band Sparks stand against a pastel flower mural on a brick wall.] Credit & copyright: The Independent UK
Written by: Esther P.
After nearly 50 years of electronic-pop underground appeal, Sparks is finally getting their big break. The American duo of Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) are the stars of a new documentary entitled The Sparks Brothers, which promises to be a whimsical look at the musicians' long and storied career. Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) interspersed interviews with the likes of Beck and Duran Duran amid found footage of Paul McCartney doing an impression of the serious-looking Ron Mael. For those of us just being introduced to Sparks' sound, there's no better place to start than with their newest single Your Fandango, a collaboration with glam-rock producer Todd Rundgren. All of the Sparks signature electro-pop appeal appears in the tune: Russell's big, operatic lyrics and rich harmonies, and don't forget Ron's deadpan keyboard jokes or intricate arrangements. It's classic Sparks and brand new Sparks all at once, just how the band should be heard nowadays.
[Image description: Russell and Ron Mael of the electo-pop band Sparks stand against a pastel flower mural on a brick wall.] Credit & copyright: The Independent UK
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
What's your favorite version of George Gershwin and DuBose Heywood's Summertime? Is it Billie Holiday's, Janis Joplin's, Sublime's, or any of the other 30,000 recordings of the timeless song? For Gershwin Summertime was just one of his many paradoxical compositions; it baffled serious classical critics of the time, who couldn't decide whether he was a songwriter or composer. Written as an opening lullaby in the "folk opera" Porgy and Bess, the leading two-chord bounce and lyrics about social status and contentment either gently cradles a child to sleep or acts as an ominous portend, depending on the context of the performance. What isn't up for debate is Gershwin's legacy, though: as a foremost songwriter for New York's Tin Pan Alley, and as the composer of such innovative orchestral pieces as Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, Gershwin added touches of melodic sophistication to his popular songs and jazzed up classical orchestras like no one else before him. As for us, we decided to listen to the hypnotic, fuzzed-out version of Summertime by Janis Joplin. But we could change our preferences anytime!
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Image credit & copyright: Classical FM
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
What's your favorite version of George Gershwin and DuBose Heywood's Summertime? Is it Billie Holiday's, Janis Joplin's, Sublime's, or any of the other 30,000 recordings of the timeless song? For Gershwin Summertime was just one of his many paradoxical compositions; it baffled serious classical critics of the time, who couldn't decide whether he was a songwriter or composer. Written as an opening lullaby in the "folk opera" Porgy and Bess, the leading two-chord bounce and lyrics about social status and contentment either gently cradles a child to sleep or acts as an ominous portend, depending on the context of the performance. What isn't up for debate is Gershwin's legacy, though: as a foremost songwriter for New York's Tin Pan Alley, and as the composer of such innovative orchestral pieces as Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, Gershwin added touches of melodic sophistication to his popular songs and jazzed up classical orchestras like no one else before him. As for us, we decided to listen to the hypnotic, fuzzed-out version of Summertime by Janis Joplin. But we could change our preferences anytime!
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Image credit & copyright: Classical FM
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FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
The Malian kora (stringed-gourd instrument) player Toumani Diabaté said of his country's griot traditions that "our music is older than Beethoven." A new release entitled Korolen finds Diabaté bringing traditional Western African music to the London Symphony Orchestra's concert hall. On Haïnamady Town, Diabaté leads much in the way a soloist in a classical concerto (a musical composition specifically for a soloist) would: by establishing the gentle and bright voice of the kora, and having the orchestra enrich the harmonic structure of the piece around the 1:35 minute mark.
The 2008 concert was notable as the first time a kora player collaborated with a symphony orchestra. Diabaté has also noted some of the difficulties of such a collaboration, in that symphonic music is often strictly notated and kora-playing is highly improvised. For the world-renowned artist Diabaté—who has worked with Taj Mahal and Björk, and whose griot ancestry goes back 77 generations, his collaboration with the LSO is just another way to reach new audiences and have them fall in love with the gorgeous sounds of West African music and the kora.[Image description: Toumani Diabaté plays the kora as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra.] Credit & copyright: Lars Opstad
Written by: Esther P.
The Malian kora (stringed-gourd instrument) player Toumani Diabaté said of his country's griot traditions that "our music is older than Beethoven." A new release entitled Korolen finds Diabaté bringing traditional Western African music to the London Symphony Orchestra's concert hall. On Haïnamady Town, Diabaté leads much in the way a soloist in a classical concerto (a musical composition specifically for a soloist) would: by establishing the gentle and bright voice of the kora, and having the orchestra enrich the harmonic structure of the piece around the 1:35 minute mark.
The 2008 concert was notable as the first time a kora player collaborated with a symphony orchestra. Diabaté has also noted some of the difficulties of such a collaboration, in that symphonic music is often strictly notated and kora-playing is highly improvised. For the world-renowned artist Diabaté—who has worked with Taj Mahal and Björk, and whose griot ancestry goes back 77 generations, his collaboration with the LSO is just another way to reach new audiences and have them fall in love with the gorgeous sounds of West African music and the kora.[Image description: Toumani Diabaté plays the kora as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra.] Credit & copyright: Lars Opstad
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEVideography Song CurioFree2 CQ
Success as a classical musician can take years of practice. For Sharad Nerulkar (played by Aditya Modak), success is sometimes cruel and evasive in the new Netflix film The Disciple. Directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, the story follows Sharad in an ascetic-like quest to become a great singer of Indian classical music and raags, or ragas, to the detriment of other aspects of his life. Beyond Sharad's identity crisis, the film has a number of raga performances, which are sacred musics created with solfege-like (do, re, mi, etc.) sargam syllables. Ragas may also be written and performed for certain events, like ones associated with daytime or night. Since The Disciple doesn't have a soundtrack, we think it's best to check out ragas sung by the great Pandit Jasraj, who's Miyaan ki Malhar signifies the coming of the rainy season. The mood of the work seems to evoke the calm before the storm, and the chaotic bliss of parched earth finally being nourished with water. Even if The Disciple takes a difficult look at a raga performer, the beauty and tradition of the classical singing style is something to stand in awe of.
[Image description: The character Sharad Nerulkar from the 2020 film The Disciple sits cross legged, playing a resonating tanpura.] Credit & copyright: Netflix
Written by: Esther P.
Success as a classical musician can take years of practice. For Sharad Nerulkar (played by Aditya Modak), success is sometimes cruel and evasive in the new Netflix film The Disciple. Directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, the story follows Sharad in an ascetic-like quest to become a great singer of Indian classical music and raags, or ragas, to the detriment of other aspects of his life. Beyond Sharad's identity crisis, the film has a number of raga performances, which are sacred musics created with solfege-like (do, re, mi, etc.) sargam syllables. Ragas may also be written and performed for certain events, like ones associated with daytime or night. Since The Disciple doesn't have a soundtrack, we think it's best to check out ragas sung by the great Pandit Jasraj, who's Miyaan ki Malhar signifies the coming of the rainy season. The mood of the work seems to evoke the calm before the storm, and the chaotic bliss of parched earth finally being nourished with water. Even if The Disciple takes a difficult look at a raga performer, the beauty and tradition of the classical singing style is something to stand in awe of.
[Image description: The character Sharad Nerulkar from the 2020 film The Disciple sits cross legged, playing a resonating tanpura.] Credit & copyright: Netflix
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Ahoy! Thar be sea shanty treasures on TikTok. A recent viral trend has revived the 19th-century New Zealand tune Soon May the Wellerman Come. The song tells the seafaring tale of the Billy of Tea whaling ship's epic battle against a spirited whale. Like many folk songs, the lyrics offer insight into the culture in which they were created. A "Wellerman" was an employee of the Weller Brothers' shipping company who brought the "sugar and tea and rum"—provisions mentioned in the chorus. "One day, when the tounging is done" also refers to the tounging crews, who butchered captured whales. So how exactly did a 200-year-old song go viral? Information about the music had been available on a New Zealand Folk Song website set up by John Archer. Halfway across the world, a Glasgow, Scotland postman named Nathan Evans started the first Wellerman TikTok video, and the rest, as they say, is internet history.
Below: Nathan Evans' original TikTok video, a compilation of three different TikTok Wellerman videos, and Evans' official recording of the tune.
@nathanevanss The Wellerman. ##seashanty ##sea ##shanty ##viral ##singing ##acoustic ##pirate ##new ##original ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##singer ##scottishsinger ##scottish ♬ Wellerman - Sea Shanty - Nathan Evans
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[Image description: A collage of images including Nathan Evans singing on TikTok, and others who joined in on the trend]. Copyright & credit: Slate, Pannawish Jarusilawong / iStock / Getty Images Plus, TikTok.
Written by: Esther P.
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Ahoy! Thar be sea shanty treasures on TikTok. A recent viral trend has revived the 19th-century New Zealand tune Soon May the Wellerman Come. The song tells the seafaring tale of the Billy of Tea whaling ship's epic battle against a spirited whale. Like many folk songs, the lyrics offer insight into the culture in which they were created. A "Wellerman" was an employee of the Weller Brothers' shipping company who brought the "sugar and tea and rum"—provisions mentioned in the chorus. "One day, when the tounging is done" also refers to the tounging crews, who butchered captured whales. So how exactly did a 200-year-old song go viral? Information about the music had been available on a New Zealand Folk Song website set up by John Archer. Halfway across the world, a Glasgow, Scotland postman named Nathan Evans started the first Wellerman TikTok video, and the rest, as they say, is internet history.
Below: Nathan Evans' original TikTok video, a compilation of three different TikTok Wellerman videos, and Evans' official recording of the tune.
@nathanevanss The Wellerman. ##seashanty ##sea ##shanty ##viral ##singing ##acoustic ##pirate ##new ##original ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##singer ##scottishsinger ##scottish ♬ Wellerman - Sea Shanty - Nathan Evans
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[Image description: A collage of images including Nathan Evans singing on TikTok, and others who joined in on the trend]. Copyright & credit: Slate, Pannawish Jarusilawong / iStock / Getty Images Plus, TikTok.
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
What's a bluesman to do after winning three Grammys and heading out on the campaign trail with Bernie Sanders? If that person is Fantastic Negrito, he's building up the music community in his hometown. Last month Fantastic Negrito (Xavier Dphrepaulezz) launched Storefront Records, a label and record store based in Oakland, California. Dphrepaulezz is continuing the rich tradition of independent labels in the Bay Area, going back to Arhoolie (Big Mama Thornton), Fantasy (Creedence Clearwater Revival), and Lookout Records (Green Day). The inaugural single from Storefront is Fantastic Negrito's own Root City (Sports Club Anthem), a song written for the professional soccer team the Oakland Roots. The song features a minor-key chant with verse lyrics that offer solidarity in the face of adversity. It's a great song to get players amped up before a big game—or to just hear in headphones on a BART trip to one of Storefront's community flea markets on the last Saturday of the month!
[Image description: Fantastic Negrito, wearing a yellow shirt and patterned bowtie, playing guitar and singing into a microphone at a photography studio. ] Credit & copyright: Christie Hemm Klok / Wired
Written by: Esther P.
What's a bluesman to do after winning three Grammys and heading out on the campaign trail with Bernie Sanders? If that person is Fantastic Negrito, he's building up the music community in his hometown. Last month Fantastic Negrito (Xavier Dphrepaulezz) launched Storefront Records, a label and record store based in Oakland, California. Dphrepaulezz is continuing the rich tradition of independent labels in the Bay Area, going back to Arhoolie (Big Mama Thornton), Fantasy (Creedence Clearwater Revival), and Lookout Records (Green Day). The inaugural single from Storefront is Fantastic Negrito's own Root City (Sports Club Anthem), a song written for the professional soccer team the Oakland Roots. The song features a minor-key chant with verse lyrics that offer solidarity in the face of adversity. It's a great song to get players amped up before a big game—or to just hear in headphones on a BART trip to one of Storefront's community flea markets on the last Saturday of the month!
[Image description: Fantastic Negrito, wearing a yellow shirt and patterned bowtie, playing guitar and singing into a microphone at a photography studio. ] Credit & copyright: Christie Hemm Klok / Wired
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all…. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." One small statement (rarely reported in context) from The (formerly Dixie) Chicks singer Natalie Maines set off a firestorm of controversy 15 years ago today. The trio were playing at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England—just days before the Iraq War began—and were engaged in stage banter prior to breaking out into their tragic Vietnam-era love song, Travelin' Soldier. The tune was at the top of Billboard's Country singles chart, yet took a steep fall following the U.S. backlash to Maines' comments. Country music radio stations quickly pulled the track and many others from the best-selling female group of all time, effectively crippling the band's record and ticket sales. Though the height of the fallout has subsided, questions about what political and ethical responsibilities a country singer has toward her fanbase (and nation) still remain—especially for Maines, who comes from a tradition of tough and outspoken women in the genre.
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Image credit & copyright: Grammy Awards
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all…. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." One small statement (rarely reported in context) from The (formerly Dixie) Chicks singer Natalie Maines set off a firestorm of controversy 15 years ago today. The trio were playing at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England—just days before the Iraq War began—and were engaged in stage banter prior to breaking out into their tragic Vietnam-era love song, Travelin' Soldier. The tune was at the top of Billboard's Country singles chart, yet took a steep fall following the U.S. backlash to Maines' comments. Country music radio stations quickly pulled the track and many others from the best-selling female group of all time, effectively crippling the band's record and ticket sales. Though the height of the fallout has subsided, questions about what political and ethical responsibilities a country singer has toward her fanbase (and nation) still remain—especially for Maines, who comes from a tradition of tough and outspoken women in the genre.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Grammy Awards
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
In these uncertain times, Kishi Bashi remains one of the most hopeful voices in indie music. The singer-songwriter-violinist recently released For Every Voice That Never Sang as part of NPR's Morning Edition Song Project. The series features songs for the COVID era: in Bashi's case, his song became a reflection on the rise of anti-Asian hate in the U.S. In For Every Voice, Bashi layers his trademark violin parts and sings delicately in the chorus of his solidarity with those who have been isolated and victimized by hate speech. Having previously explored themes related to the World War II Japanese internment camps, Bashi is no stranger to processing grief in his music, though he does try to balance things out: "I think the sense of optimism is something that I've always tried to inject into my music. Because when you think about minority identity, you could go to town on how painful it is ... but a lot of people want to get out of that pain. They want things to heal them." Here's hoping For Every Voice That Never Sang makes listeners feel the sense of optimism that only a Kishi Bashi song can convey.
[Image description: musician Kishi Bashi stands in a field holding a violin in one hand and the reins of a white horse in his other hand.] Credit & copyright: Kishi Bashi
Written by: Esther P.
In these uncertain times, Kishi Bashi remains one of the most hopeful voices in indie music. The singer-songwriter-violinist recently released For Every Voice That Never Sang as part of NPR's Morning Edition Song Project. The series features songs for the COVID era: in Bashi's case, his song became a reflection on the rise of anti-Asian hate in the U.S. In For Every Voice, Bashi layers his trademark violin parts and sings delicately in the chorus of his solidarity with those who have been isolated and victimized by hate speech. Having previously explored themes related to the World War II Japanese internment camps, Bashi is no stranger to processing grief in his music, though he does try to balance things out: "I think the sense of optimism is something that I've always tried to inject into my music. Because when you think about minority identity, you could go to town on how painful it is ... but a lot of people want to get out of that pain. They want things to heal them." Here's hoping For Every Voice That Never Sang makes listeners feel the sense of optimism that only a Kishi Bashi song can convey.
[Image description: musician Kishi Bashi stands in a field holding a violin in one hand and the reins of a white horse in his other hand.] Credit & copyright: Kishi Bashi
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEWorld History Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
In March 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited New York City to sightsee in the most Canadian way possible—by catching a matinee show of Come From Away on Broadway. The musical retells the dramatic story of how Canada grounded dozens of planes in Gander, Newfoundland, in the aftermath of September 11, doubling the population of the tiny town overnight. It's a (mostly) uplifting tale of humanity in response to brutal destruction. Many of the numbers Come From Away takes melodic and rhythmic cues from Celtic music; take Welcome to the Rock, for example. The opening number from the musical introduces the simple life in Newfoundland in the moments before news breaks from New York. Joyous percussion and a strong chorus keep us bobbing our heads, while each character's background is introduced. Actually, Mr. Trudeau, do you have an extra ticket (or two)?
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It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
In March 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited New York City to sightsee in the most Canadian way possible—by catching a matinee show of Come From Away on Broadway. The musical retells the dramatic story of how Canada grounded dozens of planes in Gander, Newfoundland, in the aftermath of September 11, doubling the population of the tiny town overnight. It's a (mostly) uplifting tale of humanity in response to brutal destruction. Many of the numbers Come From Away takes melodic and rhythmic cues from Celtic music; take Welcome to the Rock, for example. The opening number from the musical introduces the simple life in Newfoundland in the moments before news breaks from New York. Joyous percussion and a strong chorus keep us bobbing our heads, while each character's background is introduced. Actually, Mr. Trudeau, do you have an extra ticket (or two)?
Other streaming options
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Give a trend enough time and it'll be cool again, just like the poetry of 11th century polymath Omar Khayyam. Jazz singer Golsa and Iranian-Canadian musician Behzad Danesh have teamed up to set Khayyam's poem Por Kon ("Fill Up") to music. Khayyam's original lyric was an ode to the full cup of liquor and its ability to quiet some of life's more pressing existential questions. Golsa and Danesh offer up the poem on a bed of down-tempo rhythms and sparse harmonies, as if they were a (19)40's club act, singing listeners to the end of the night in style. Golsa is no stranger to the retro stylings of mid-century jazz vocalists: on her Instagram page, she can often be found singing standards like The Nearness of You and Persian pop songs. If she and Danesh start a series of lounge act-poetry interpretations, we'd be happy to sit in a favorite chair with a favorite drink (orange juice or something stronger)!
[Image description: Iranian jazz singer Golsa holds a trumpet while standing against an orange and graphic background. ] Credit & copyright: Shahab Jamalzadeh
Written by: Esther P.
Give a trend enough time and it'll be cool again, just like the poetry of 11th century polymath Omar Khayyam. Jazz singer Golsa and Iranian-Canadian musician Behzad Danesh have teamed up to set Khayyam's poem Por Kon ("Fill Up") to music. Khayyam's original lyric was an ode to the full cup of liquor and its ability to quiet some of life's more pressing existential questions. Golsa and Danesh offer up the poem on a bed of down-tempo rhythms and sparse harmonies, as if they were a (19)40's club act, singing listeners to the end of the night in style. Golsa is no stranger to the retro stylings of mid-century jazz vocalists: on her Instagram page, she can often be found singing standards like The Nearness of You and Persian pop songs. If she and Danesh start a series of lounge act-poetry interpretations, we'd be happy to sit in a favorite chair with a favorite drink (orange juice or something stronger)!
[Image description: Iranian jazz singer Golsa holds a trumpet while standing against an orange and graphic background. ] Credit & copyright: Shahab Jamalzadeh
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
The early aughts wouldn't have sounded quite the same without rapper DMX. The gravelly-voiced artist, who recently passed away, was also one of the hardest working actor-musicians during his heyday. On the set of Cradle 2 the Grave, DMX would finish shooting scenes with martial artist Jet Li during the day, and head into a mobile recording studio owned by producer Joel Silver in the evening. DMX once sang X Gon' Give It to Ya for Silver, who flipped over DMX's in-your-face vocal delivery and producer Shatek's insistent descending melody. Silver wanted the song for the film's soundtrack. DMX had planned to put it on his upcoming album, but smartly struck a deal in which he ended up writing several songs for Cradle 2 the Grave. Like his countless other hits, X Gon' Give It to Ya shows off DMX's fantastic ability to collaborate with a producer, and to bring all of his fire and pain from growing up with racism and poverty into one churning, cathartic hit.
[Image description: a black and white image of rapper DMX crossing his arms above his head in an X. ] Credit & copyright: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Written by: Esther P.
The early aughts wouldn't have sounded quite the same without rapper DMX. The gravelly-voiced artist, who recently passed away, was also one of the hardest working actor-musicians during his heyday. On the set of Cradle 2 the Grave, DMX would finish shooting scenes with martial artist Jet Li during the day, and head into a mobile recording studio owned by producer Joel Silver in the evening. DMX once sang X Gon' Give It to Ya for Silver, who flipped over DMX's in-your-face vocal delivery and producer Shatek's insistent descending melody. Silver wanted the song for the film's soundtrack. DMX had planned to put it on his upcoming album, but smartly struck a deal in which he ended up writing several songs for Cradle 2 the Grave. Like his countless other hits, X Gon' Give It to Ya shows off DMX's fantastic ability to collaborate with a producer, and to bring all of his fire and pain from growing up with racism and poverty into one churning, cathartic hit.
[Image description: a black and white image of rapper DMX crossing his arms above his head in an X. ] Credit & copyright: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Breaking up is hard to do, but at least Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement has a sense of humor about it. The bespectacled half of "New Zealand's 4th Most Popular Parody Duo" is known for his sentimental songs with a twist like Carol Brown, from the Conchords' self-titled HBO show. The song focuses on the one of the show's recurring themes: character Jemaine's lack of success in relationships. Keeping true to their musical style, the Conchords couch Clement's lyrics amid the sounds of a cheap Casio keyboard-programmed bossa nova beat and folk guitar chords. The lo-fi parody songs have been part of the Conchords' style ever since Clement and Brett McKenzie started performing together in 1998, as fellow drama students from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. Clement's success with the Flight of the Conchords show has led to other musical roles, notably as the animated characters Nigel the white cockatoo in Rio and Tamatoa the Shiny crab from Moana. If Jemaine wasn't a hit with the ladies, at least he was able to move on to greener—and wetter—pastures as feathered and crustacean creatures!
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Image credit & copyright: Matt Grace
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Breaking up is hard to do, but at least Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement has a sense of humor about it. The bespectacled half of "New Zealand's 4th Most Popular Parody Duo" is known for his sentimental songs with a twist like Carol Brown, from the Conchords' self-titled HBO show. The song focuses on the one of the show's recurring themes: character Jemaine's lack of success in relationships. Keeping true to their musical style, the Conchords couch Clement's lyrics amid the sounds of a cheap Casio keyboard-programmed bossa nova beat and folk guitar chords. The lo-fi parody songs have been part of the Conchords' style ever since Clement and Brett McKenzie started performing together in 1998, as fellow drama students from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. Clement's success with the Flight of the Conchords show has led to other musical roles, notably as the animated characters Nigel the white cockatoo in Rio and Tamatoa the Shiny crab from Moana. If Jemaine wasn't a hit with the ladies, at least he was able to move on to greener—and wetter—pastures as feathered and crustacean creatures!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Matt Grace
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FREEJazz Guitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
At age 80, saxophonist Gary Bartz has lived several lifetimes as a great jazz musician, backing the likes of Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis, among others. Bartz is once again teaming up with Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) and R&B producer Adrian Younge to record Jazz Is Dead Volume 6. On tracks like The Message, Bartz riffs modally (scales derived from their relationship to a base key) over a repeating bass figure. Listeners are treated to some of the best jazz-funk fusion from an artist who lived it back in the 70s, and who is still in top form as an improviser. What's his secret? "The one thing you have to have to be a great musician, to be able to hear," Bartz once remarked," That’s why Miles [Davis] was so great—he could hear better than almost anybody I knew.” Bartz credits his longevity and greatness to his ability to listen to his bandmates, hearing rhythms and notes that could only fit into the context of the magic that occurs between live musicians.
[Image description: a white-haired Gary Bartz blows his saxophone.] Credit & copyright: Gary Bartz
Written by: Esther P.
At age 80, saxophonist Gary Bartz has lived several lifetimes as a great jazz musician, backing the likes of Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis, among others. Bartz is once again teaming up with Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) and R&B producer Adrian Younge to record Jazz Is Dead Volume 6. On tracks like The Message, Bartz riffs modally (scales derived from their relationship to a base key) over a repeating bass figure. Listeners are treated to some of the best jazz-funk fusion from an artist who lived it back in the 70s, and who is still in top form as an improviser. What's his secret? "The one thing you have to have to be a great musician, to be able to hear," Bartz once remarked," That’s why Miles [Davis] was so great—he could hear better than almost anybody I knew.” Bartz credits his longevity and greatness to his ability to listen to his bandmates, hearing rhythms and notes that could only fit into the context of the magic that occurs between live musicians.
[Image description: a white-haired Gary Bartz blows his saxophone.] Credit & copyright: Gary Bartz
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Few people can lay claim to changing music forever when they were eight months pregnant, but "Mother" Maybelle Carter proved time and again she wasn't like other musicians. One of her signature tunes, the traditional Wildwood Flower, was initially recorded on a hot day in August of 1927, when she and her cousin Sara and her husband A.P. drove from Maces Springs, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to make their now legendary country music recordings as the Carter Family. Maybelle begins the tune with her innovative "Carter scratch," a rich guitar sound achieved by plucking a song's melody and strumming a rhythmic accompaniment at the same time. The pastoral break-up themes of Wildwood Flower, along with the other 20-odd songs recorded in that session, led the Carter Family to become the first stars of country music. For the next 50 years, Maybelle would anchor the group in various incarnations (which included daughter June, who would later marry Johnny Cash). For both Mother's Day and Maybelle's 110th birthday this week, we're spinning this standard and remembering the woman who defined country and bluegrass guitar playing for generations to come.
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Image credit & copyright: Legacy.com
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Few people can lay claim to changing music forever when they were eight months pregnant, but "Mother" Maybelle Carter proved time and again she wasn't like other musicians. One of her signature tunes, the traditional Wildwood Flower, was initially recorded on a hot day in August of 1927, when she and her cousin Sara and her husband A.P. drove from Maces Springs, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to make their now legendary country music recordings as the Carter Family. Maybelle begins the tune with her innovative "Carter scratch," a rich guitar sound achieved by plucking a song's melody and strumming a rhythmic accompaniment at the same time. The pastoral break-up themes of Wildwood Flower, along with the other 20-odd songs recorded in that session, led the Carter Family to become the first stars of country music. For the next 50 years, Maybelle would anchor the group in various incarnations (which included daughter June, who would later marry Johnny Cash). For both Mother's Day and Maybelle's 110th birthday this week, we're spinning this standard and remembering the woman who defined country and bluegrass guitar playing for generations to come.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Legacy.com
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FREEVideography Song CurioFree2 CQ
In Darius Marder's Oscar-nominated film Sound of Metal, movie audiences get a real feel for what it's like when a musician loses their best instrument: the ability to hear. The protagonist Ruben Stone (played by Riz Ahmed) is a punk-metal drummer and former addict who drastically changes his fast-paced road life when he is diagnosed with hearing loss. Stone's tumultuous emotional journey is reflected in the gentle and airy song Green, performed by Abraham Marder, who also composed the score and co-wrote the screenplay for the film. Marder has said that when he saw the film footage, he knew that he had to rewrite the score with more intentional sparsity and missing treble/high frequency sounds—in the way Stone would experience his own hearing loss during the events of the film. To write songs like Green, Marder also found solace in his own struggles with a learning disability. "It’s taken me years to realize that I am not somehow unworthy. Still, the anger and abandonment that still lives in me from feeling less than for so long was a great source of inspiration with which to communicate through Ruben. It was a truly cathartic experience,” he said.
[Image description: Ruben Stone (played by Riz Ahmed) sits behind a drum kit in a still from the film Sound of Metal. ] Credit & copyright: Amazon Studios
Written by: Esther P.
In Darius Marder's Oscar-nominated film Sound of Metal, movie audiences get a real feel for what it's like when a musician loses their best instrument: the ability to hear. The protagonist Ruben Stone (played by Riz Ahmed) is a punk-metal drummer and former addict who drastically changes his fast-paced road life when he is diagnosed with hearing loss. Stone's tumultuous emotional journey is reflected in the gentle and airy song Green, performed by Abraham Marder, who also composed the score and co-wrote the screenplay for the film. Marder has said that when he saw the film footage, he knew that he had to rewrite the score with more intentional sparsity and missing treble/high frequency sounds—in the way Stone would experience his own hearing loss during the events of the film. To write songs like Green, Marder also found solace in his own struggles with a learning disability. "It’s taken me years to realize that I am not somehow unworthy. Still, the anger and abandonment that still lives in me from feeling less than for so long was a great source of inspiration with which to communicate through Ruben. It was a truly cathartic experience,” he said.
[Image description: Ruben Stone (played by Riz Ahmed) sits behind a drum kit in a still from the film Sound of Metal. ] Credit & copyright: Amazon Studios
Written by: Esther P.
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FREESong CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Everyone knows Clint Eastwood the actor, some the director, but what about the musician? Eastwood released his first album long before becoming a star on the silver screen. Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites was based loosely on the actor's leading role in the western-themed TV show Rawhide. But far from being a one-dimensional marketing ploy, it actually showed off the budding star's considerable vocal and piano skills. The first single, Rowdy, captures the feel of the album, with lyrics about riding horses, sunsets, women, and loneliness. The talent showcased in Cowboy Favorites could have easily led Eastwood down the path of country-western stardom. Overshadowed by his own success on screen, though, the country music career never took off. Eastwood has returned to music, scoring several of his own films (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers, and Mystic River). Here's hoping the next one features a little more of this singing voice.
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It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Everyone knows Clint Eastwood the actor, some the director, but what about the musician? Eastwood released his first album long before becoming a star on the silver screen. Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites was based loosely on the actor's leading role in the western-themed TV show Rawhide. But far from being a one-dimensional marketing ploy, it actually showed off the budding star's considerable vocal and piano skills. The first single, Rowdy, captures the feel of the album, with lyrics about riding horses, sunsets, women, and loneliness. The talent showcased in Cowboy Favorites could have easily led Eastwood down the path of country-western stardom. Overshadowed by his own success on screen, though, the country music career never took off. Eastwood has returned to music, scoring several of his own films (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers, and Mystic River). Here's hoping the next one features a little more of this singing voice.
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FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
Life at a Ghana witch camp is anything but magical spells and cauldrons. Yet one of the year's most vital recordings has captured the voices of these exiled women in I've Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be. Producer Ian Brennan and filmmaker Marilena Delli Umuhoza travelled to the camps at the northern edges of Ghana, a place where undesirable women accused of witchcraft (often suffering from mental illness, physical disabilities, or other socially-undesirable characteristics) have been forced away from their families and homes. Understandably, many of the field recordings made by Brennan and Umuhoza feature the "Ghana Witches" lamenting the cruelty thrust upon them—not unlike the hard luck and trouble themes found in U.S. blues music. On tracks like Love, Please, the music transcends language barriers: a single, craggy-voiced woman leads the call and response chant and percussive piece, calling for a little more love, a little more understanding, and a lot of harmony with those who are misunderstood.
[Image description: A Ghana woman accused of witchcraft wearing a red headscarf, surrounded by other women.] Credit & copyright: Marilena Umuhoza Delli
Written by: Esther P.
Life at a Ghana witch camp is anything but magical spells and cauldrons. Yet one of the year's most vital recordings has captured the voices of these exiled women in I've Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be. Producer Ian Brennan and filmmaker Marilena Delli Umuhoza travelled to the camps at the northern edges of Ghana, a place where undesirable women accused of witchcraft (often suffering from mental illness, physical disabilities, or other socially-undesirable characteristics) have been forced away from their families and homes. Understandably, many of the field recordings made by Brennan and Umuhoza feature the "Ghana Witches" lamenting the cruelty thrust upon them—not unlike the hard luck and trouble themes found in U.S. blues music. On tracks like Love, Please, the music transcends language barriers: a single, craggy-voiced woman leads the call and response chant and percussive piece, calling for a little more love, a little more understanding, and a lot of harmony with those who are misunderstood.
[Image description: A Ghana woman accused of witchcraft wearing a red headscarf, surrounded by other women.] Credit & copyright: Marilena Umuhoza Delli
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
Indie rock's biggest chameleon is back, and this time she brought her dancing bell bottoms. Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, recently released her newest single Pay Your Way in Pain from her forthcoming album Daddy's Home. The funky track employs muddy synthesizer sounds and Clarke's rich vocal harmonies to tell the tale of a down and out of luck protagonist who can't catch a break anywhere. The tune's '70s vibe was inspired by two major life events for Clarke: the 2020 lockdown, and her father's release from prison after 15 years. "I was watching the various mechanisms of power crumble, or at least get rocks thrown at them." Clarke remarked of the last year, "And it seems like people have to make some Faustian bargain between dignity and survival." On the issue of her father's imprisonment during the height of his daughter's career, Clarke has remarked his return has been accompanied by other forms of creative and personal stability in her life. For an artist who took her aunt and uncle out as openers on her last tour—the jazz duo Tuck & Patti—Annie Clark seems at her best when she's keeping the funk in the family.
[Image description: The singer St. Vincent wearing a blonde wig and '70s suit.] Credit & copyright: Zackery Michael
Written by: Esther P.
Indie rock's biggest chameleon is back, and this time she brought her dancing bell bottoms. Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, recently released her newest single Pay Your Way in Pain from her forthcoming album Daddy's Home. The funky track employs muddy synthesizer sounds and Clarke's rich vocal harmonies to tell the tale of a down and out of luck protagonist who can't catch a break anywhere. The tune's '70s vibe was inspired by two major life events for Clarke: the 2020 lockdown, and her father's release from prison after 15 years. "I was watching the various mechanisms of power crumble, or at least get rocks thrown at them." Clarke remarked of the last year, "And it seems like people have to make some Faustian bargain between dignity and survival." On the issue of her father's imprisonment during the height of his daughter's career, Clarke has remarked his return has been accompanied by other forms of creative and personal stability in her life. For an artist who took her aunt and uncle out as openers on her last tour—the jazz duo Tuck & Patti—Annie Clark seems at her best when she's keeping the funk in the family.
[Image description: The singer St. Vincent wearing a blonde wig and '70s suit.] Credit & copyright: Zackery Michael
Written by: Esther P.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius's tone poem The Oceanides changed about as much as the seas it imitates. The piece was commissioned for the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut and was conceived as a three-movement orchestral suite. Unsatisfied with his work, Sibelius pared the piece down to one movement in the key of D-flat major—then changed to D major, to make it easier for stringed instruments to perform the work. On his transatlantic trip to the Norfolk Festival, Sibelius once again revisited his work, no doubt inspired by the beauty of his surroundings. The tone poem, named after sea nymphs from Greek mythology, made its premiere on June 4, 1914, with Sibelius' masterful orchestration conjuring the roiling timpani, the swirling bird-like flutes, and ebbing strings. Take a listen to Sir Colin Davis conducting the London Symphony Orchestra's version. It's quite the storm in a symphony!
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It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius's tone poem The Oceanides changed about as much as the seas it imitates. The piece was commissioned for the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut and was conceived as a three-movement orchestral suite. Unsatisfied with his work, Sibelius pared the piece down to one movement in the key of D-flat major—then changed to D major, to make it easier for stringed instruments to perform the work. On his transatlantic trip to the Norfolk Festival, Sibelius once again revisited his work, no doubt inspired by the beauty of his surroundings. The tone poem, named after sea nymphs from Greek mythology, made its premiere on June 4, 1914, with Sibelius' masterful orchestration conjuring the roiling timpani, the swirling bird-like flutes, and ebbing strings. Take a listen to Sir Colin Davis conducting the London Symphony Orchestra's version. It's quite the storm in a symphony!
Other streaming options