Curio Cabinet / Song Curio
-
FREEJazz Guitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
Last month, jazz lovers mourned the loss of a star whom Dizzy Gillespie once called his "protégé": self-described "trumpetiste" Clora Bryant, who emerged as a bebop and West Coast jazz pioneer in the 1940s. On tracks like This Can't Be Love, Bryant led her own quartet as a singer and soloist. Her hardscrabble contralto voice compliments the lyrics of a cynical person who might have just found the greatest love of her life. In contrast, her solo comes out swingin' smoothly with variations on the jazz chorus. While Bryant is often overlooked by jazz historians, her contemporaries were far more effusive with praise. "She has the feeling of the trumpet. The feeling, not just the notes," Gillespie remarked. Despite battling sexism all her life, Bryan shined as a soloist for the U.S.'s leading all-female swing ensemble, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, and emerged as a band leader in the '50s. In 1989, she became the first American jazz artist to perform in the U.S.S.R. If Bryant's legacy on wax is any indication, jazz trumpet aficionados who love a swingin' good tune will be grooving to her for many years to come.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Loomis Dean / LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images
Last month, jazz lovers mourned the loss of a star whom Dizzy Gillespie once called his "protégé": self-described "trumpetiste" Clora Bryant, who emerged as a bebop and West Coast jazz pioneer in the 1940s. On tracks like This Can't Be Love, Bryant led her own quartet as a singer and soloist. Her hardscrabble contralto voice compliments the lyrics of a cynical person who might have just found the greatest love of her life. In contrast, her solo comes out swingin' smoothly with variations on the jazz chorus. While Bryant is often overlooked by jazz historians, her contemporaries were far more effusive with praise. "She has the feeling of the trumpet. The feeling, not just the notes," Gillespie remarked. Despite battling sexism all her life, Bryan shined as a soloist for the U.S.'s leading all-female swing ensemble, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, and emerged as a band leader in the '50s. In 1989, she became the first American jazz artist to perform in the U.S.S.R. If Bryant's legacy on wax is any indication, jazz trumpet aficionados who love a swingin' good tune will be grooving to her for many years to come.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Loomis Dean / LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
One of the biggest hits for ramblin' countrymen didn't actually take off from one end of the U.S. coastline to the other. I've Been Everywhere was written in 1959 by the Australian country singer Geoff Mack and popularized by Lucky Starr. "Birdsville, Emmaville, Wallaville, [and] Cunnamulla" were some of the Down Under locales name-checked in the original version. A few years later in 1962, Canadian-American country artist Hank Snow put his spin on the tune, changing the Australian cities to North American ones like "Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma…." Part of the song's charm lies in the gradual acceleration of the tempo with each completed verse-list and refrain. Oh, and the tongue twisters! Who really needs to map all those destinations when singing along to the tune results in joyous babbling and bumbled words?
Below: a lyric video of the Beggar's Australian version of I've Been Everywhere, and Hank Snow's interpretation.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Canada Weekly
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
One of the biggest hits for ramblin' countrymen didn't actually take off from one end of the U.S. coastline to the other. I've Been Everywhere was written in 1959 by the Australian country singer Geoff Mack and popularized by Lucky Starr. "Birdsville, Emmaville, Wallaville, [and] Cunnamulla" were some of the Down Under locales name-checked in the original version. A few years later in 1962, Canadian-American country artist Hank Snow put his spin on the tune, changing the Australian cities to North American ones like "Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma…." Part of the song's charm lies in the gradual acceleration of the tempo with each completed verse-list and refrain. Oh, and the tongue twisters! Who really needs to map all those destinations when singing along to the tune results in joyous babbling and bumbled words?
Below: a lyric video of the Beggar's Australian version of I've Been Everywhere, and Hank Snow's interpretation.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Canada Weekly
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
There are a few things you can count on every Halloween season: spooky decorations, aggressively-marketed pumpkin spice, and hearing at least one rendition of Monster Mash. The novelty rock song, originally recorded by Bobby "Boris" Pickett in 1962, has been a Halloween staple for nearly 60 years. However, the song had not "caught on in a flash" with BBC officials, who originally banned airplay of the song, claiming that it was "too morbid." The swinging, upbeat melody and Pickett's over-the-top vocal performance (complete with a mad-scientist accent) failed to sway the BBC, as did the song's 14-week stay at the top of U.S. charts. The ban lasted for 11 years, though it didn't deter Pickett from releasing more novelty songs, most of them monster-themed. These included The Monster Swim, Monster Rap, Werewolf Watusi and Monster's Holiday. It could be argued that Monster's Holiday, in which a group of monsters tries to rob Santa Claus, is the most unique of the bunch. Regardless of the controversy Monster Mash might have caused, at least no one could deny that Pickett was a man wholly dedicated to his craft.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American Bandstand
There are a few things you can count on every Halloween season: spooky decorations, aggressively-marketed pumpkin spice, and hearing at least one rendition of Monster Mash. The novelty rock song, originally recorded by Bobby "Boris" Pickett in 1962, has been a Halloween staple for nearly 60 years. However, the song had not "caught on in a flash" with BBC officials, who originally banned airplay of the song, claiming that it was "too morbid." The swinging, upbeat melody and Pickett's over-the-top vocal performance (complete with a mad-scientist accent) failed to sway the BBC, as did the song's 14-week stay at the top of U.S. charts. The ban lasted for 11 years, though it didn't deter Pickett from releasing more novelty songs, most of them monster-themed. These included The Monster Swim, Monster Rap, Werewolf Watusi and Monster's Holiday. It could be argued that Monster's Holiday, in which a group of monsters tries to rob Santa Claus, is the most unique of the bunch. Regardless of the controversy Monster Mash might have caused, at least no one could deny that Pickett was a man wholly dedicated to his craft.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American Bandstand
-
FREEJazz Guitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
It doesn't take a genius to hear how Mary Halvorson is shaking up jazz guitar, but the fact she's a recent recipient of the 2019 MacArthur "Genius" Grants might have slipped the ear. Halvorson is one of the most in-demand jazz guitarists in New York, and her ambitious songwriting and lyricism on Code Girl, her 2018 album, earned her praise beyond traditional jazz circles. Take the cut Pretty Mountain, a mercurial work that at times sounds like a call-and-response jazz chorus between Halvorson and fellow trumpet soloist Ambrose Akinmusire. Other times, it sounds like a rock ballad swelling with Amirtha Kidambi's vocals, then chases its dissonances until the song seems to implode under its own weight… only to pick back up again! Packing so much creativity into seven minutes might be a trial for other artists, but for Halvorson—who studied science but changed her major to music at Wesleyan—we expect nothing less. Here's hoping her plans for Code Girl 2 end up defying even more conventions of jazz guitar and push epic songwriting to new heights!
Below: a short video from the MacArthur Foundation on Halvorson's creative process, and a video of Pretty Mountain.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Mary Halvorson / Peter Gannushkin
It doesn't take a genius to hear how Mary Halvorson is shaking up jazz guitar, but the fact she's a recent recipient of the 2019 MacArthur "Genius" Grants might have slipped the ear. Halvorson is one of the most in-demand jazz guitarists in New York, and her ambitious songwriting and lyricism on Code Girl, her 2018 album, earned her praise beyond traditional jazz circles. Take the cut Pretty Mountain, a mercurial work that at times sounds like a call-and-response jazz chorus between Halvorson and fellow trumpet soloist Ambrose Akinmusire. Other times, it sounds like a rock ballad swelling with Amirtha Kidambi's vocals, then chases its dissonances until the song seems to implode under its own weight… only to pick back up again! Packing so much creativity into seven minutes might be a trial for other artists, but for Halvorson—who studied science but changed her major to music at Wesleyan—we expect nothing less. Here's hoping her plans for Code Girl 2 end up defying even more conventions of jazz guitar and push epic songwriting to new heights!
Below: a short video from the MacArthur Foundation on Halvorson's creative process, and a video of Pretty Mountain.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Mary Halvorson / Peter Gannushkin
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
There's nothing quite like a reluctant romance from the Rev. Al Green. The soul singer had little faith that his tender track Let's Stay Together would find a loving audience when it came time to record it. After Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell brought Green a sketch of the chords, the singer claimed he spent 15 minutes writing the lyrics, which praise a faithful relationship (though he padded the effort and time it took by drinking a Coke and watching a boxing match.) Green stalled production for two days, then took over 100 hours to get the perfect mellow and sweet take. At the time, the singer didn't quite understand what Mitchell was trying to accomplish: prior to their collaborations, soul music was dominated by powerful voices, even on slow ballads. Mitchell imagined a sound for Let's Stay Together that was "smooth as silk on top, and rough on the bottom." Hey, even if Al Green couldn't see the end in sight on Let's Stay Together, he still turned out one timeless performance.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Motown
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
There's nothing quite like a reluctant romance from the Rev. Al Green. The soul singer had little faith that his tender track Let's Stay Together would find a loving audience when it came time to record it. After Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell brought Green a sketch of the chords, the singer claimed he spent 15 minutes writing the lyrics, which praise a faithful relationship (though he padded the effort and time it took by drinking a Coke and watching a boxing match.) Green stalled production for two days, then took over 100 hours to get the perfect mellow and sweet take. At the time, the singer didn't quite understand what Mitchell was trying to accomplish: prior to their collaborations, soul music was dominated by powerful voices, even on slow ballads. Mitchell imagined a sound for Let's Stay Together that was "smooth as silk on top, and rough on the bottom." Hey, even if Al Green couldn't see the end in sight on Let's Stay Together, he still turned out one timeless performance.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Motown
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Last month, the death of cumbia legend Celso Piña rocked the world of Latin music. In hits like Reina de Cumbias ("Queen of Cumbias"), Piña offered chants about the unyielding power of rhythm and the percussive flair of the Cumbia folkloric genre. For "El Rebelde de Acordéon" and his fans across the globe, the cumbia dance became a symbol of unity among different cultures with its backbeat rhythms and fusion of African and Latin music—not to mention the German polka influence apparent in the use of an accordion instrument. The video for Reina de Cumbias features Piña in his natural element, heading a band featuring electric instruments and Latin percussion, and taking an accordion solo in full rock star-pose. Today we're spinning this classic, and remembering Celso Piña for his inimitable style and presence onstage.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Cultura Collectiva
Last month, the death of cumbia legend Celso Piña rocked the world of Latin music. In hits like Reina de Cumbias ("Queen of Cumbias"), Piña offered chants about the unyielding power of rhythm and the percussive flair of the Cumbia folkloric genre. For "El Rebelde de Acordéon" and his fans across the globe, the cumbia dance became a symbol of unity among different cultures with its backbeat rhythms and fusion of African and Latin music—not to mention the German polka influence apparent in the use of an accordion instrument. The video for Reina de Cumbias features Piña in his natural element, heading a band featuring electric instruments and Latin percussion, and taking an accordion solo in full rock star-pose. Today we're spinning this classic, and remembering Celso Piña for his inimitable style and presence onstage.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Cultura Collectiva
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
"By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong...." Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's song, Woodstock, was a tribute to the famous music festival, which took place 50 years ago. The band performed at the concert, but the song was written by a last-minute dropout from the three-day festival of peace and love: Joni Mitchell. The singer watched news reports about the festival from a hotel room and Graham Nash, her boyfriend at the time, told her about it. Mitchell would later say that the music festival, which remained peaceful and joyous despite unexpectedly large crowds, rain, and overwhelmed facilities, seemed to her a modern miracle. With its sweet, yearning music and lyrics, the song reflects the hope the concert inspired: "We are stardust, we are golden / We are billion-year-old carbon / And we got to get ourselves back to the garden." Mitchell; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and the band, Matthews Southern Comfort, all released successful versions of Woodstock, which remains the anthem of the legendary concert. In this case, it seems you didn't have to be there after all!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: IcePop
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
"By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong...." Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's song, Woodstock, was a tribute to the famous music festival, which took place 50 years ago. The band performed at the concert, but the song was written by a last-minute dropout from the three-day festival of peace and love: Joni Mitchell. The singer watched news reports about the festival from a hotel room and Graham Nash, her boyfriend at the time, told her about it. Mitchell would later say that the music festival, which remained peaceful and joyous despite unexpectedly large crowds, rain, and overwhelmed facilities, seemed to her a modern miracle. With its sweet, yearning music and lyrics, the song reflects the hope the concert inspired: "We are stardust, we are golden / We are billion-year-old carbon / And we got to get ourselves back to the garden." Mitchell; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and the band, Matthews Southern Comfort, all released successful versions of Woodstock, which remains the anthem of the legendary concert. In this case, it seems you didn't have to be there after all!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: IcePop
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's classic It Takes Two is a lesson in never underestimating the power of a hip-hop hook. Debuting on their album of the same name 31 years ago this week, the tune samples the James Brown-produced song Think (About It) by Lyn Collins. Base and E-Z Rock found their hook 1:22 minutes into Collins' Think (About It) when the accompanying band arrives at a drum break with the inimitable "yeah… woo" and chant of "It takes two to make a thing go right, / It takes two to make it out of sight..." The duo combined the Collins' sample with Base's freestyle lyrics and electronic hi-hat beats from Strafe's Set It Off, and—voila!—they had an unstoppable and countlessly sampled hit on their hands. But It Takes Two didn't just take inspiration from Collins' work; it actually gave her a second chance at the fame and respect she deserved as a then-unappreciated soul great. As for Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, well, let's just say they made a rap classic that was out of sight!
Below: Lyn Collins' original track; the Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock smash hit which features Rhonda Parris singing Collins' famous chorus.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Janette Beckman / Redferns / Getty
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's classic It Takes Two is a lesson in never underestimating the power of a hip-hop hook. Debuting on their album of the same name 31 years ago this week, the tune samples the James Brown-produced song Think (About It) by Lyn Collins. Base and E-Z Rock found their hook 1:22 minutes into Collins' Think (About It) when the accompanying band arrives at a drum break with the inimitable "yeah… woo" and chant of "It takes two to make a thing go right, / It takes two to make it out of sight..." The duo combined the Collins' sample with Base's freestyle lyrics and electronic hi-hat beats from Strafe's Set It Off, and—voila!—they had an unstoppable and countlessly sampled hit on their hands. But It Takes Two didn't just take inspiration from Collins' work; it actually gave her a second chance at the fame and respect she deserved as a then-unappreciated soul great. As for Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, well, let's just say they made a rap classic that was out of sight!
Below: Lyn Collins' original track; the Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock smash hit which features Rhonda Parris singing Collins' famous chorus.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Janette Beckman / Redferns / Getty
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Sometimes it pays to have friends in high places—take it from Patti Smith. Her hit song Because the Night would've ended up on the cutting floor, had it not been for Bruce Springsteen and a last-minute save by her producer, Jimmy Iovine. Smith and Springsteen were both recording albums with Iovine at the Record Plant Studios in New York in 1977, with Iovine reportedly dashing between rooms to work with both artists. When Springsteen thought the track Because the Night wasn't good enough for what would become his new album Darkness on the Edge of Town, Iovine gave Smith a demo of the piano ballad. Smith decided to take the song for her album Easter, changing the blue-collar verses into impassioned meditations on love. It was Smith's first song to ever crack the Billboard Top 20, and it remains one of her most beloved tracks, thanks to the delicate piano figure under the verses, leading to one of the biggest choruses in rock history.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Judy Linn
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Sometimes it pays to have friends in high places—take it from Patti Smith. Her hit song Because the Night would've ended up on the cutting floor, had it not been for Bruce Springsteen and a last-minute save by her producer, Jimmy Iovine. Smith and Springsteen were both recording albums with Iovine at the Record Plant Studios in New York in 1977, with Iovine reportedly dashing between rooms to work with both artists. When Springsteen thought the track Because the Night wasn't good enough for what would become his new album Darkness on the Edge of Town, Iovine gave Smith a demo of the piano ballad. Smith decided to take the song for her album Easter, changing the blue-collar verses into impassioned meditations on love. It was Smith's first song to ever crack the Billboard Top 20, and it remains one of her most beloved tracks, thanks to the delicate piano figure under the verses, leading to one of the biggest choruses in rock history.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Judy Linn
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Any conversation about the beginnings of Afropop music taking over the world has to include the mighty King Sunny Adé. Born this week in 1946, the Nigerian singer and multi-instrumentalist has shown off his skills in jùjú Yoruban percussive jams like Ja Funmi for over five decades. Part of his album Juju Music, Adé's Ja Funmi is about bringing his strength and mind together to fight for righteousness and was a breakthrough hit for him in 1982, when African diaspora music was on the rise, thanks to the likes of Bob Marley and Fela Kuti. As a griot, or traditional West African storyteller, Adé comes from a long line of musicianship and oral tradition. However, his ability to bring Yoruban music to the masses has been considerable, as is his ability to integrate western instruments like the pedal steel in Ja Funmi—at the time, a more accessible electric instrument that substituted for the African violin. For his 72nd birthday, we're spinning Adé's classic tune—a reminder of how good it is to be the King.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: BBC Music
Any conversation about the beginnings of Afropop music taking over the world has to include the mighty King Sunny Adé. Born this week in 1946, the Nigerian singer and multi-instrumentalist has shown off his skills in jùjú Yoruban percussive jams like Ja Funmi for over five decades. Part of his album Juju Music, Adé's Ja Funmi is about bringing his strength and mind together to fight for righteousness and was a breakthrough hit for him in 1982, when African diaspora music was on the rise, thanks to the likes of Bob Marley and Fela Kuti. As a griot, or traditional West African storyteller, Adé comes from a long line of musicianship and oral tradition. However, his ability to bring Yoruban music to the masses has been considerable, as is his ability to integrate western instruments like the pedal steel in Ja Funmi—at the time, a more accessible electric instrument that substituted for the African violin. For his 72nd birthday, we're spinning Adé's classic tune—a reminder of how good it is to be the King.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: BBC Music
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
When Janet Jackson decided to march to the beat of her own drum on 1989's Rhythm Nation, the world took notice. After the success of her breakthrough album Control, Jackson defied record company expectations to create a concept record about an anti-racist utopia united in dance. The album Rhythm Nation 1814 (the date taken from the composition year of The Star Spangled Banner) saw Jackson team up once again with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, arguably one of pop music's greatest trios. Rhythm Nation 1814's sonic palette features metallic industrial music, hard rock guitar-driven tunes, and their secret weapon: the new jack swing they were the first to utilize on Control. The syncopated, hip-hop-influenced sound of new jack swing gave Jackson the perfect twist on a march rhythm for the "generation full of courage" sung about on the titular track. Upon its release 30 years ago this week, Rhythm Nation produced a string of visionary afrofuturist hits, breaking records with three singles reaching #1 on the Billboard Singles chart in three separate years. Now that's a record we can all salute via choreographed dance!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Ebony
When Janet Jackson decided to march to the beat of her own drum on 1989's Rhythm Nation, the world took notice. After the success of her breakthrough album Control, Jackson defied record company expectations to create a concept record about an anti-racist utopia united in dance. The album Rhythm Nation 1814 (the date taken from the composition year of The Star Spangled Banner) saw Jackson team up once again with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, arguably one of pop music's greatest trios. Rhythm Nation 1814's sonic palette features metallic industrial music, hard rock guitar-driven tunes, and their secret weapon: the new jack swing they were the first to utilize on Control. The syncopated, hip-hop-influenced sound of new jack swing gave Jackson the perfect twist on a march rhythm for the "generation full of courage" sung about on the titular track. Upon its release 30 years ago this week, Rhythm Nation produced a string of visionary afrofuturist hits, breaking records with three singles reaching #1 on the Billboard Singles chart in three separate years. Now that's a record we can all salute via choreographed dance!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Ebony
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
A nightmare for dentists is a daydream for the rest of us. The "Chocolate Room," where everything is made from candy, is the setting for Pure Imagination, one of the most well-regarded musical numbers in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The song, written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1971 film, has been rehashed for the Broadway adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—along with a new score from the guys who wrote Hairspray. It's hard to compete with Gene Wilder's classic film performance, but Broadway's Wonka, Christian Borle, has the musical chops to hang with the best. His milk-chocolate smooth voice, with subtle vibrato and impeccable control, are more polished than Wilder's. But the praise for Borle doesn't end with his pipes: Broadway director Jack O'Brien exalted the actor for his peculiar mix of "innocence and menace and mystery and charm"—perfect for portraying Wonka! The only thing it appears Borle couldn't nail was the teeth. Anybody living in Wonka's "world of pure imagination" would be wearing a world of pure cavities after 70 performances of this sweet tooth's tune.
Below: The original Pure Imagination, from the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Other streaming options
Image credit & Copyright: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The Musical)
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
A nightmare for dentists is a daydream for the rest of us. The "Chocolate Room," where everything is made from candy, is the setting for Pure Imagination, one of the most well-regarded musical numbers in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The song, written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1971 film, has been rehashed for the Broadway adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—along with a new score from the guys who wrote Hairspray. It's hard to compete with Gene Wilder's classic film performance, but Broadway's Wonka, Christian Borle, has the musical chops to hang with the best. His milk-chocolate smooth voice, with subtle vibrato and impeccable control, are more polished than Wilder's. But the praise for Borle doesn't end with his pipes: Broadway director Jack O'Brien exalted the actor for his peculiar mix of "innocence and menace and mystery and charm"—perfect for portraying Wonka! The only thing it appears Borle couldn't nail was the teeth. Anybody living in Wonka's "world of pure imagination" would be wearing a world of pure cavities after 70 performances of this sweet tooth's tune.
Below: The original Pure Imagination, from the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Other streaming options
Image credit & Copyright: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The Musical)
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
For Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, leaving behind the complexity and noise of his previous avant-garde style meant finding a new, more graceful way to make music. After a period of reclusiveness and writer's block in the late '60s, Pärt developed his tintinnabuli style, or bell-like tonality, in part from his studies of early sacred music. To achieve this effect in works like Spiegel im Spiegel ("Mirror in the Mirror"), Pärt has the keyboard play ascending three-note arpeggio figures (chords broken down into individual notes), with the occasional droning string notes. The results ring ethereal and rival some of the most delicate pieces in classical music history. Pärt, who turns 84 today, composes with a level of mindfulness which imparts a feeling of "love for every note." Since Pärt is one of the most performed living composers, we can say with confidence that both musicians and audiences can really feel the love in his music!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Estonian World
For Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, leaving behind the complexity and noise of his previous avant-garde style meant finding a new, more graceful way to make music. After a period of reclusiveness and writer's block in the late '60s, Pärt developed his tintinnabuli style, or bell-like tonality, in part from his studies of early sacred music. To achieve this effect in works like Spiegel im Spiegel ("Mirror in the Mirror"), Pärt has the keyboard play ascending three-note arpeggio figures (chords broken down into individual notes), with the occasional droning string notes. The results ring ethereal and rival some of the most delicate pieces in classical music history. Pärt, who turns 84 today, composes with a level of mindfulness which imparts a feeling of "love for every note." Since Pärt is one of the most performed living composers, we can say with confidence that both musicians and audiences can really feel the love in his music!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Estonian World
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Is this America's soundtrack? Composer John Williams, of Star Wars and Jaws fame, arranged Air and Simple Gifts in honor of the 2008 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, where it debuted in between oaths of office. Williams penned the piece at the request of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman, who were slated to play the inauguration. The "air" is an original piece by Williams, while the "simple gifts" melody—hinted at 1:19 with the clarinet and kicking in at 2:10—harks back to an 1848 Shaker melody. Aaron Copland, one of Obama's favorite musicians, memorably repurposed the melody in his 1944 composition, Appalachian Spring. Check out a video of the inauguration ceremony below, where Ma, Perlman, and company appear to play the new composition for the president. "Appear" being the keyword: Ma admits the performance was the classical-music-equivalent of lip syncing. The musicians did not want to risk performing outside in a D.C. winter, so they played along to a studio recording. Maybe President Trump can get Ashlee Simpson for this year's inauguration to keep the trend alive!
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Is this America's soundtrack? Composer John Williams, of Star Wars and Jaws fame, arranged Air and Simple Gifts in honor of the 2008 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, where it debuted in between oaths of office. Williams penned the piece at the request of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman, who were slated to play the inauguration. The "air" is an original piece by Williams, while the "simple gifts" melody—hinted at 1:19 with the clarinet and kicking in at 2:10—harks back to an 1848 Shaker melody. Aaron Copland, one of Obama's favorite musicians, memorably repurposed the melody in his 1944 composition, Appalachian Spring. Check out a video of the inauguration ceremony below, where Ma, Perlman, and company appear to play the new composition for the president. "Appear" being the keyword: Ma admits the performance was the classical-music-equivalent of lip syncing. The musicians did not want to risk performing outside in a D.C. winter, so they played along to a studio recording. Maybe President Trump can get Ashlee Simpson for this year's inauguration to keep the trend alive!
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Popular country music is forever indebted to its two originating acts: the Carter Family and the "Singing Brakeman," Jimmie Rodgers. Born 122 years ago today, Rodgers was known as much for his ramblin' railroad work as his ability to synthesize different influences into catchy tunes, such as his iconic Blue Yodel No. 1 ("T" for Texas). Rodgers first recorded it in 1927 for the Victor label, combining a 12-bar blues chord progression with yodeling: a singing technique he learned at a church performance by Swiss emissaries where one fluctuates their pitch from head registers to chest registers. Under Swiss traditions, yodeling was a display of virtuosic vocal strength; when Rodgers popularized the technique in the U.S., he slowed it down and made it emote "high and lonesome sounds" in accord with the blues-influenced lyrics he sang. Only six years after his first historic recordings, Rodgers would pass away at the age of 35, having left a short and powerful body of work that would reverberate across generations—much like his yodel would in the short films he starred in!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Jimmie Rodgers Museum
Popular country music is forever indebted to its two originating acts: the Carter Family and the "Singing Brakeman," Jimmie Rodgers. Born 122 years ago today, Rodgers was known as much for his ramblin' railroad work as his ability to synthesize different influences into catchy tunes, such as his iconic Blue Yodel No. 1 ("T" for Texas). Rodgers first recorded it in 1927 for the Victor label, combining a 12-bar blues chord progression with yodeling: a singing technique he learned at a church performance by Swiss emissaries where one fluctuates their pitch from head registers to chest registers. Under Swiss traditions, yodeling was a display of virtuosic vocal strength; when Rodgers popularized the technique in the U.S., he slowed it down and made it emote "high and lonesome sounds" in accord with the blues-influenced lyrics he sang. Only six years after his first historic recordings, Rodgers would pass away at the age of 35, having left a short and powerful body of work that would reverberate across generations—much like his yodel would in the short films he starred in!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Jimmie Rodgers Museum
-
FREEJazz Guitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
No one earns the nickname "Dizzy" in jazz without some amazing chops, and no one had them quite like John Birks Gillespie. "Dizzy" Gillespie was a pioneer of the bebop movement (complex harmonic and rhythmic structures), with his skills and comic antics leading him to be a principal soloist in Cab Calloway's band. It was there with Cuban trumpeter Mario Bauza that Gillespie developed a flair for Afro-Cuban rhythms, which were the backbone of his famous standard A Night in Tunisia. Gillespie's trumpet and the tenor saxophone (originally played by Don Byas) exchange counterpoint harmonies (more than one melody) over the syncopated Afro-Cuban-opener, leading to good-old swingin' beats during the various instrumental solos. The smooth piece has been recorded hundreds of times, possibly with the most notorious version by drummer Art Blakey, who claimed Gillespie wrote the song "on the bottom of a garbage can." Who knows if that's a rumor or not; either way, Tunisia certainly isn't the kind of song that makes us feel down in the dumps!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: All About Jazz
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
No one earns the nickname "Dizzy" in jazz without some amazing chops, and no one had them quite like John Birks Gillespie. "Dizzy" Gillespie was a pioneer of the bebop movement (complex harmonic and rhythmic structures), with his skills and comic antics leading him to be a principal soloist in Cab Calloway's band. It was there with Cuban trumpeter Mario Bauza that Gillespie developed a flair for Afro-Cuban rhythms, which were the backbone of his famous standard A Night in Tunisia. Gillespie's trumpet and the tenor saxophone (originally played by Don Byas) exchange counterpoint harmonies (more than one melody) over the syncopated Afro-Cuban-opener, leading to good-old swingin' beats during the various instrumental solos. The smooth piece has been recorded hundreds of times, possibly with the most notorious version by drummer Art Blakey, who claimed Gillespie wrote the song "on the bottom of a garbage can." Who knows if that's a rumor or not; either way, Tunisia certainly isn't the kind of song that makes us feel down in the dumps!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: All About Jazz
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Who knew the gravelly-voiced actor from Spy Kids, Sons of Anarchy, and From Dusk Till Dawn was into such smooth grooves? Danny Trejo recently announced the formation of his new music label Trejo's Music with an inaugural compilation entitled Danny Trejo Presents Chicano Soul Shop Vol. 1. Rather than treat the new venture as an ego-booster, Trejo has made it clear his vision is to support new and emerging artists, like Trish Toledo, whose retro-soul track Do You Love is laden with echo-y reverb and doo-wop harmonies. Toledo, a SoCal Latina singer, gets a little help from Mexican rapper Baby Bash who offers a solid verse from the perspective of a masculine partner in the relationship. The song comes together as the perfect music for cruising around Los Angeles on a hot summer night—or just daydreaming about doing it. If this is any preview of how Trejo will curate the music on his own label, we say bring it on. The actor's softer side is just as entertaining as his tough side!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Rachel Luna / Getty Images
Who knew the gravelly-voiced actor from Spy Kids, Sons of Anarchy, and From Dusk Till Dawn was into such smooth grooves? Danny Trejo recently announced the formation of his new music label Trejo's Music with an inaugural compilation entitled Danny Trejo Presents Chicano Soul Shop Vol. 1. Rather than treat the new venture as an ego-booster, Trejo has made it clear his vision is to support new and emerging artists, like Trish Toledo, whose retro-soul track Do You Love is laden with echo-y reverb and doo-wop harmonies. Toledo, a SoCal Latina singer, gets a little help from Mexican rapper Baby Bash who offers a solid verse from the perspective of a masculine partner in the relationship. The song comes together as the perfect music for cruising around Los Angeles on a hot summer night—or just daydreaming about doing it. If this is any preview of how Trejo will curate the music on his own label, we say bring it on. The actor's softer side is just as entertaining as his tough side!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Rachel Luna / Getty Images
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Some songs ask the big questions—none more so than Bob Dylan's 1962 folk classic, Blowin' in the Wind. The already-popular tune gained nationwide attention the year after its release when folk group Peter Paul and Mary performed it at the March on Washington 56 years ago today. It was this performance that solidified the ballad as a civil rights anthem. Blowin' in the Wind begins with a gentle, strumming melody and a series of rhetorical questions about human rights. In Peter Paul and Mary's famous performance, the song's questions become increasingly pointed as the vocals grow louder and more demanding, culminating in the questions, "How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? / How many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?" Peter Paul and Mary's famously harmonized vocals make the full journey from gentle chorus to mournful wails as the raw emotion of the song progresses. Their performance, on the steps of Washington, just before the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, marks one of the most important performances in history. It was a musical moment that defined an era.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: New York Daily News
Some songs ask the big questions—none more so than Bob Dylan's 1962 folk classic, Blowin' in the Wind. The already-popular tune gained nationwide attention the year after its release when folk group Peter Paul and Mary performed it at the March on Washington 56 years ago today. It was this performance that solidified the ballad as a civil rights anthem. Blowin' in the Wind begins with a gentle, strumming melody and a series of rhetorical questions about human rights. In Peter Paul and Mary's famous performance, the song's questions become increasingly pointed as the vocals grow louder and more demanding, culminating in the questions, "How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? / How many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?" Peter Paul and Mary's famously harmonized vocals make the full journey from gentle chorus to mournful wails as the raw emotion of the song progresses. Their performance, on the steps of Washington, just before the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, marks one of the most important performances in history. It was a musical moment that defined an era.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: New York Daily News
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Spending your Friday night trapped in the mind of a depressed high-schooler with extreme social anxiety may sound more suited for the Lifetime channel than Broadway. But lo and behold: the hit musical Dear Evan Hansen, tracks the life of the titular character as he manages crushes, family issues, and suicide attempts. Since its opening in 2016, theater critics have been gushing over the production—mainly because of a stellar performance from Tony-nominated lead actor Ben Platt. Platt lost 30 pounds and adopted convincing nervous tics for the role. Predictably, his finest moments come in solo performances, like this one of Waving Through a Window. Platt's powerful command of the meek and unassuming main character never gets in the way of his powerful voice. Just listen to his transition from an awkward conversation to full-blown musical theater voice just seconds later. If only we had pipes like that in high school!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Dear Evan Hansen
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Spending your Friday night trapped in the mind of a depressed high-schooler with extreme social anxiety may sound more suited for the Lifetime channel than Broadway. But lo and behold: the hit musical Dear Evan Hansen, tracks the life of the titular character as he manages crushes, family issues, and suicide attempts. Since its opening in 2016, theater critics have been gushing over the production—mainly because of a stellar performance from Tony-nominated lead actor Ben Platt. Platt lost 30 pounds and adopted convincing nervous tics for the role. Predictably, his finest moments come in solo performances, like this one of Waving Through a Window. Platt's powerful command of the meek and unassuming main character never gets in the way of his powerful voice. Just listen to his transition from an awkward conversation to full-blown musical theater voice just seconds later. If only we had pipes like that in high school!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Dear Evan Hansen
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
To locate the origins of punk music's loud and unruly attitude, we need look no further than the eponymous debut of The Stooges. With one of the greatest frontmen ever, Iggy Pop, offering speak-singing vocals and howling-mad stage antics in live versions of 1969, it's no wonder the band caught the attention of Electra recruiter Danny Fields (who would sign the MC5 and manage the Ramones). Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, the Stooges began as a four-piece band playing simple riffs and rhythms turned up to 11. With the help of noise-loving producer John Cale of the Velvet Underground, the Stooges churned out their debut album 50 years ago this month. Rock critics initially panned The Stooges for its noisy immaturity. These days, the LP is recognized as a classic, one that shifted rock 'n' roll's focus from the overburdened '60s psychedelic jam back to the three-minute song about angry and disaffected youth. And what better way to do that than cry "oh my, and a boo-hoo" along with Iggy Pop?
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: The Observer
To locate the origins of punk music's loud and unruly attitude, we need look no further than the eponymous debut of The Stooges. With one of the greatest frontmen ever, Iggy Pop, offering speak-singing vocals and howling-mad stage antics in live versions of 1969, it's no wonder the band caught the attention of Electra recruiter Danny Fields (who would sign the MC5 and manage the Ramones). Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, the Stooges began as a four-piece band playing simple riffs and rhythms turned up to 11. With the help of noise-loving producer John Cale of the Velvet Underground, the Stooges churned out their debut album 50 years ago this month. Rock critics initially panned The Stooges for its noisy immaturity. These days, the LP is recognized as a classic, one that shifted rock 'n' roll's focus from the overburdened '60s psychedelic jam back to the three-minute song about angry and disaffected youth. And what better way to do that than cry "oh my, and a boo-hoo" along with Iggy Pop?
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: The Observer