The Musical Confessional: Step Right In

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:09 pm

What's this "45" business about? I thought it was a handgun.

djm

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:15 pm

-The worst was Herb Alpert of Tijuana Brass singing "White Christmas" on a 45 rpm vinyl single awarded at the Detroit Auto Show circa 1968. It was a prize for shooting bullseyes with pingpong ball pistols in a promotion along the lines of "Shoot A Bullseye with Insurance from XXXX Agency" IIRC.

-An itinerant pack of fourteen year old boys on their own among revealingly clad booth babes and cool cars might normally devote their attentions
to both but the declasse' marksmanship event was so at variance with surrounding glitz that we had to give it a go.

-We shot bullseyes & took the prizes home and played them to test suspected awfulness. Sentence was passed and they were escorted to the BB range. -Mr. Alpert was a fine horn player, arranger & band leader but not at his best as a crooner.

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:44 pm

djm-

Assuming you're not being ironic-

The "45" you ask about referred to 45 rpm, the turntable speed of the recording industry's single-release format for many years, a small vinyl record with just enough room for one piece of music per side, sold with a large, open hole in the middle requiring insertion of an adapter to play on turntables. The adapter looked something like a yin-yang symbol but with three lobes instead of two. The format has been supplanted by MP3 offerings on iTunes and other download services.

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:15 pm

Congratulations wrote:I'm gay and I absolutely despise Rufus Wainwright.

Their mom and her sister (Kate and Anna McGarrigal) are great. The family albums are pretty good, too. That's a family that has sung gorgeous ad hoc harmies en masse for several generations. When Rufus is taking part in their projects, he's fine. A really good singer. He also does the best version of Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel that I've ever heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4rQ03pl ... re=related

It's from this Cohen tribute concert:

Rufus sings a couple of others, but when the words or thoughts get too complex, he loses the meaning and sings the note. I don't think he's all that word oriented. Chelsea Hotel is all about universal emotions, and he nails it. Cohen even says so in the movie.

As much as I like his singing in the above contexts, I keep disliking his records when he sings his own stuff. Maybe he needs to grow up, or maybe he just has too many musical ideas at once and can't bear to part with a single one.

Maeloc · Post by **Maeloc** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:14 am

I'm ashamed by some of my progressive/symphonic rock past, specially Asia and Yes

it is particularly painful to remember this unspeakable horror

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:22 am

But his Voyage of the Acolyte was excellent.

djm

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:45 am

s1m0n wrote:
Congratulations wrote:I'm gay and I absolutely despise Rufus Wainwright.
Their mom and her sister (Kate and Anna McGarrigal) are great. The family albums are pretty good, too. That's a family that has sung gorgeous ad hoc harmies en masse for several generations. When Rufus is taking part in their projects, he's fine. A really good singer. He also does the best version of Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel that I've ever heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4rQ03pl ... re=related

It's from this Cohen tribute concert:

Rufus sings a couple of others, but when the words or thoughts get too complex, he loses the meaning and sings the note. I don't think he's all that word oriented. Chelsea Hotel is all about universal emotions, and he nails it. Cohen even says so in the movie.

As much as I like his singing in the above contexts, I keep disliking his records when he sings his own stuff. Maybe he needs to grow up, or maybe he just has too many musical ideas at once and can't bear to part with a single one.

I own I'm Your Man. Didn't like anything Rufus did in it. As far as his cover of Chelsea Hotel goes, he wails and whines the whole way through, same as he does on every song.

I agree completely that he's from a very talented family. In fact, here's a video of Martha doing a pretty good job with the same song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HZd3Udq ... re=related

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:53 am

waymer wrote:I like to watch the Backyardigans with my 4 year old
My 1st 45 that I purchased was........
Put the Lime in the Coconut

Your avatar reminds me of a song I loved as a wee lad: "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron."

I used to run around the room like an airplane and listen to it over and over and over.

That was the song that inspired my life long interest in history.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:57 am

Congratulations wrote:I'm gay and I absolutely despise Rufus Wainwright. Martha is pretty awesome, though.

Is liking Rufus Wainwright a requirement of being gay?

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:05 pm

Flyingcursor wrote:
Congratulations wrote:I'm gay and I absolutely despise Rufus Wainwright. Martha is pretty awesome, though.
Is liking Rufus Wainwright a requirement of being gay?

Kind of. Like how straight men have to know how to change the oil in their car.

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:05 pm

[quote="Congratulations
Kind of. Like how straight men have to know how to change the oil in their car. [/quote]

..and once again, i'm the gayest straight man in the room.

Maeloc · Post by **Maeloc** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 2:15 am

djm wrote:But his Voyage of the Acolyte was excellent.

djm

Yes, we agree on that one; don't get me wrong, I love most of his work (specially on nylon guitar)

but why did he had sing

he also has lots of problems when it comes to chose a singer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr9O03Vn ... re=related
minute 1:13

djm · Post by **djm** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 6:32 am

Eeeewwww! I don't think I needed to hear that!

djm

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:10 am

Congratulations wrote: Kind of. Like how straight men have to know how to change the oil in their car.

Change the what now?

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:56 am

Flyingcursor wrote:
waymer wrote:I like to watch the Backyardigans with my 4 year old
My 1st 45 that I purchased was........
Put the Lime in the Coconut
Your avatar reminds me of a song I loved as a wee lad: "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron."

I used to run around the room like an airplane and listen to it over and over and over.

That was the song that inspired my life long interest in history.

Oh dear. I will confess that we are apt, in my car, to break out in a spontaneous chorus of "yip yip yip yip yip yip yip, uh huh! uh huh!"
(from Sesame Street.)
I will also be happy to sing the cartoon turtles' version of "Come, Follow follow," with you, in round.