YouTube’s algorithm has presented me with another opportunity to highbrow troll this blargh. Here’s Wynton Marsalis on his transition from reverse snobbery to Beethoven fan. If you want to explore the nine symphonies, there are many great recordings and as many boring ones. To make it simple, check out George Szell’s cycle with the Cleveland Orchestra. No weak links, and should be available for streaming everywhere. It’s been in print since the 60’s, and for good reason.
If You’re Interested…
I’m unfamiliar with this YouTuber–this popped up in my feed yesterday. He’s kind of annoying, but it’s a decent summary of Shostakovich and his appeal. As a former Shosta-kid and Shost-adult, and a current Shosta-senior, I feel obliged to pass it along. If you’re interested, start with his 5th and 10th symphonies. Something shorter and lighter is his 9th, an ironic, smart-ass middle finger to the authorities, who were expecting a grand triumphal celebration of the end of WWII (his 7th had done much to bolster the spirits of the residents of Leningrad while it was under siege by the Nazis). Hearing the 5th-8th and 10th symphonies live by a world-class orchestra is a sonic KO similar to a Who concert. More cerebral are his 24 Preludes & Fugues, inspired by Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Give those a shot if you think modernized Bach might be your thing. His later symphonies and string quartets are very grim affairs, pretty much music to slit your wrists by. He’d spent his career alternating between appeasing and fucking with the Kremlin (sometines both simultaneously), and it left him embittered.
I was confused by the narrator’s comment that he and his friends couldn’t come by a recording of the 5th. Wherever he grew up in Texas must have been remote. Most record stores had at least small classical sections, and all of them would have had at least one copy of the 5th, probably Bernstein’s.
Pop/Punk Fix
Good punk/pop from Tucson. They drink the same Buzzcocks/Clash/et alia Kool-Aid as their more talented predecessors, The Exploding Hearts. I also detect some Johnny Thunders and Hives, and this seems to channel Love. Some weaknesses in lead vocals, but strong guitar work and decent hooks compensate. I’d put them on par with The Number Ones from a few years ago. Formulaic perhaps, but it’s still a great formula after almost fifty years. As for lyrics, does anyone care in this kind of music?
The above songs are not necessarily the best from a recent album worth listening through. There are a couple of semi-duds, but even those have some strong points. I think they have two earlier albums, but I haven’t gotten to them yet.
A “Modern Spiritual”
No comment, just putting it out there.
Clever
Marshall Crenshaw kind of fell off my radar during the past decade or two, then I ran across some cheap and decent copies of his first two lps in a store last week. I’d forgotten how strong those albums are. I’ve always liked how this song bridges the double verses with a false start of the chorus. A clever tactic. I’m sure other songs have done it, but for some reason I’m drawing a blank trying to think of one.
Are The Beatles “Classical?”
An interesting perspective from an excellent classical music critic.
R.I.P.
Martin crossed the final goal line. Age 80.
More Cowbell!
I wanted to submit this for today’s Music League round (songs about drinking), but it’s not on Spotify. This one may surprise you. Atypical for PH, as it was written by their guitarist instead of one of their two keyboardists. He began asserting himself more in the later albums of his tenure with the band, sometimes for better, sometimes not. The one thing he should never have done is sing.