Music: Better Listened To Than Seen

For the third year running, I once again made the honest attempt to watch the AMA Award Show last night. I just couldn't. I think I lasted up to whoever followed Pink. I'd never paid attention to her before, except I read somewhere that she made a big public deal about having her nipples pierced. Why anyone would care is well beyond my ken. Last night, though, I noticed, without really looking up from my computer, that it seemed as though she actually can sing. Unlike the few others I heard before I finally gave up.

I'm no pop music expert, and I don't know all the currently popular artists or their songs. I'm often finding new artists that I like, and often trying to remember those whom I'd rather never hear again. I like to listen to new music radio stations to discover the newer talent.

But, man, do they (most of them) look hideous on tv. They (most of them) dress in the most atrocious, mismatched and unkempt clothing imaginable. Their hair is atrocious--too long, too short, dirty looking, over styled, under styled, bizarrely colored or just....shaved off (partly or totally). Makeup? That's another whole story. Anything goes, from full clownface to the natural smallpox look.

I like the Black Eyed Peas, for example, and think Fergie's kinda hot, but Will I Am? Has all the fashion sense of a child running amok in a film studio wardrobe warehouse.

Women generally look better than men (showing my personal preference), and country artists usually look better than rockers (who look better than hiphop and rappers).

Very few of them know how to conduct themselves in a formal setting--they seem to be a little like a cattle stampede through a town of the old west. They speak very poorly and seem to be unable to put ten words together to make a rational thought.

Yet, on a cd, or on the radio, most of them sound delightful. I can't handle the hate and stupidity of rap and I have a big problem with the (mostly) pop singers who can't seem to hold a note for a tenth of a second, but who seem to wander all over the scale with nearly every indistinguishable word.

I'm not going to get into the vapid, silly, stupid and terminally terminally unintelligible lyrics in a majority of today's (and yesterday's) popular music because of the wide range that runs from wonderful to super cool to who knows what (s)he's saying? to suicidally depressing.

But, I love much of it. It's rock 'n' roll.

I just think back to Fats Domino at the piano in a suit with a tie, singing about Blueberry Hill. Buddy Holly in a sport coat, with or without a tie, with white socks, raving on. Elvis Presley in a light jacket over an open-collar shirt with tan slacks, singing about his Blue Suede Shoes. The early Beatles with their "Nehru" jackets and tight slacks, wanting to Hold Your Hand. They all had neat hair (short or long) and looked good on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Guess I'll have to remove music award shows from my tv watching repertoire and to find other ways to keep up with the newest music trends. I don't think I want to actually see those people any more.

When your mommy tells you how to dress, LISTEN!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Johann Strauß, For the Third Time!

For the third consecutive December, Debbie and I enjoyed the Andre Rieu Christmas concert at the Honda Ponda in Anaheim. Both of us dearly love Strauss waltzes, and Rieu and his orchestra play them so well, with a sense of light-hearted fun.

Last year's concert was very much a Christmas concert, heavily loaded with season's typical music selections, and done well. While I enjoyed the program and the Reiu arrangements, I missed a number of the Strauss works for which Rieu is famous.

This year, he went the other way. While the orchestra played its traditional version of "Silent Night," the audience sang along. We clapped enthusiastically during "Jingle Bells," and all were smiling during "Winter Wonderland" and the other Christmas songs.

There was more of a Strauss presence this year--a few dozen couples danced in the aisles to "The Blue Danube," and the applause was enthusiastic after a very energetic performance of "Radetsky's March," "The Emperor's Waltz and a couple of others.

While I'm not much of a fan of opera, and know very little about it, Rieu is beginning to turn me around. There are three tenors in his retinue, and three sopranos. Among them, they sang a few operatic excerpts and and other songs that lend themselves to powerful vocals. The most memorable of these was the aria called "O Mio Babbino Caro," from Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, and sung by the lovely Carmen Monarcha. Many a tear was shed during Ms Monarcha's performance, even in this setting.

Here is the complete concert:

1. Seventy-six Trombones (M Wilson)
2. Tritsch Tratsch Polka (J. Strauss)
3. Rosen aus dem Süden (J. Strauss)
4. Chianti
5. Nessun Dorma (G. Puccini)
6. Eljen a Magyar (J. Strauss)
7. Song of the Wolga (F. Lehar)
8. Besame Mucho (C Velasquez), Laura Engel, Soloist
9. Silent Night (J. Mohr)
10. The Holy City (S. Adams)
11. White Christmas (I. Berlin)
12. Jingle Bells (J. I Pierpoint)

~~~Intermission~~~

1. Gold & Silver (F. Lehar)
2. Granada (A. Lara)
3. The Girls from the Chantant (E. Kalman)
4. Emperor's Waltz (J. Strauss)
5. O Mio Babbino Caro (G. Puccini), Carmen Monarcha, Soloist
6. The Blue Danube (J. Strauss)
7. Concerto Pour une Voix (C. Saint-Preux), Mirusia Louwerse, Soloist
8. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (I. Webber), Mirusia Louwerse, Soloist
9. Bolero (M Ravel)
10. Radetzky March (J. Strauss)

~~~Encores~~~

Rieu's concerts are literally the only ones we've attended in the past three years, except for the ones they have at the Scottish and Celtic fairs in which Debbie's Scottish Fiddlers of LA have performed.

Andre Rieu's concerts are not only a lot of fun, but they're a light-hearted introduction to classical music for those who've thought it dull or too stodgy.

Nineteenth Century rock 'n' roll.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Just Fiddlin' Around

My wife Debbie's been relearning the violin for the past year or so. She was (and still is) enamored of violinist Andre Rieu, as well as the waltzes of Johann Strauss. Thus, she was using such works as The Blue Danube and The Emperor's Waltz for practice.

Recently, she's made friends with a Scottish fiddler. Seems this friend has invited her to a session of the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles. She's now a member, and practicing Scottish fiddling with this group. It's actually kind of cool stuff.

There's a pretty big difference in style between classical violin playing and fiddling. Debbie's trying to make the transition, and having some success in the early stages. She's been asked to join the group in a concert at the Seaside Scottish Highland Games in Ventura this fall. Debbie's game, but unsure whether she'll be good enough by October. "'S ok," says she. "You can play chords this first time."

It promises to be a lot of fun. Perhaps I'll try my hand at tossin' the caber.

....The right to keep and bear claymores shall not be infringed.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Parasites--Same the World Over

I always thought the state legislature here in the Stalag was the single most useless body of wasted humanity 'pon this planet, next to the (nearly) whole of Washington DC. It may still be the case, but I'd like to enter, for your consideration, the North Dakota State House. Much smaller and less opulently endowed than that of the Stalag, it still manages to waste money (extorted from others) to a degree that, I'm sure, holds its own on a per-capita basis.

In a story on the BusinessPortal24.com site (with additional commentary from Ole Bjugstadt of Finley, North Dakota), we find that, in a rare show of restraint, the North Dakota State House rejected a measure to honor Bono, of the rock band U2, for his efforts to relieve the debt of third world countries (presumably debt to us, here in the United States).

Bono, who has worked very hard throughout his youth to make a success of the band U2, and who now is enjoying the bountiful fruits of his labors, has been hob-nobbing with Hollywood "philanthropists," and has learned from them the means of becoming well thought of in the larger society (outside of the world of rock 'n' roll).

You simply announce that you wish to help the poor, then you talk other people into doing it with their money. Then, you take credit for the whole thing.

An Assemblyman from Fargo submitted the bill to the august body, even though Bono has no connection whatever with the State of North Dakota and, to my knowledge, has never even been in North Dakota. One Assemblyman was heard to say that he thought they meant the late Sony Bono.

Some say U2 gave a concert in Fargo once, but the truly savvy know that it was actually Babe's Bitch, a garage band from Brainerd, filling in for them on an occasion in which they accidentally booked two locations on the same night. After they costumed themselves in "depressing European suicide rock band" drag, each of the members of Babe's Bitch drank a pint of Canadian Club before the concert to be able to truly look convincing in the role.

Major music critics have yet to weigh in on the success of the concert, and many Fargo concert attendees said they enjoyed the music, though one fan who traveled down from Winnipeg said he thought the singer sounded Norwegian.

Fortunately, a majority of the state's Assembly didn't hit the Canadian Club on this occasion and cooler heads prevailed. Bono will have to, for the time being, remain "just another Irishman" in the records of the North Dakota State Assembly.

Yet another thing for Europeans to hold against America.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Andre Rieu Redux

As I mentioned in my entry of about a year ago here, I'm a fan of Strauss waltzes. No, I don't dance. Not only do I not have time to learn, but I don't know where I'd go to dance if I did learn to waltz.

However, I love to listen to Strauss waltzes. One of the best orchestras that perform Strauss music is that of Andre Rieu. He has a terrific orchestra whose members are not only world class musicians, but clearly enjoy their work. It comes over as a light, lively performances of Strauss and other music that keeps the audience smiling, cheering and clapping in time with the orchestra.

Yesterday evening, Debbie and I went to the Honda Ponda in Anaheim (the Honda Center, formerly called the Arrowhead Pond) to see the Andre Rieu Orchestra for the second time. Debbie is studying the violin and is a fan of both Strauss and Andre Rieu.

We began the evening with dinner at the Phoenix Club, not far away, for a dinner of Bratwurst, sourkraut and potatoes. The Phoenix Club is a German-American cultural center with restaurant, banquet, conference and dance facilities, which fairly sends one off into a sense of the old world.

Then, after the short drive to the arena, we took our seats and awaited the concert.

As last year, the orchestra entered from the back of the arena floor to a fanfare of "March of the Gladiators." Since we were again seated on an aisle, the orchestra, led by Rieu, filed right by us to a stairway up onto the stage, to welcoming applause. 'Twas a fine spectacle and fun to get a close-up view of each band member as he/she passed.

Throughout the concert, which lasted fully three hours, the orchestra played several Strauss waltzes, including the Emperor's Waltz and the obligatory Blue Danube, a few pieces from opera (about which I know precious little--but on the verge of deciding to learn) and several Christmas songs.

During "White Christmas," faux snow began to fall. The snow gradually increased to "comic" proportions--Debbie and I, in the eighth row, were soon covered with the stuff, as were those close by. "White Christmas" was followed by "Jingle Bells," after which came the intermission. During the intermission, we were able to get up and brush ourselves off. Even so, we carried some of the "snow" home with us in our hair and clothes.

We, and by appearances, everyone else there present had a wonderful time watching an orchestra play beautiful music--an orchestra whose members were clearly excellent in their ability and in complete enjoyment of their chosen profession. The show was full of uplifting music and good humor.

Should Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra return next year, we'll be there!

The silver lining that has no cloud.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

You Can Stop Rock and Roll!

I don't know how many people with whom I've chatted on the subject of music, but it's in the manys. Almost every one of them has the following characteristic: He/she is absolutely certain that the music that was being played while he/she was in high school and college--roughly about age thirteen to, oh, maybe twenty-five--was the best music ever.

I don't think I know (or have known) more than four or five individuals that like popular music that don't fit the above description.

I grew up during the very beginnings of rock & roll. My early favorites were (and still are, sort of....) Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, the Beach Boys, and many others in that period.

As time passed and rock & roll grew and fleshed out, rather than remaining stuck in the "American Graffiti" era, I started listening to the music of the "Hippie" era. Many of them were hard to listen to, but I liked (and still like) Buffalo Springfield, the Beatles, Cream, and a few others.

I listened to Heavy metal, New Wave and Punk (a little). I was prompted by a friend to revisit classical music, then I spent some time looking for the roots of rock, which caused me to listen to blues, jazz, big bands and even back to Cole Porter and Scott Joplin.

I'm not stuck in the fifties.

I don't like most of the music they're playing today. Maybe I ought to say I like the music of the twentieth century.

There are a lot of "classic rock" stations on the radio. They play the same tunes they played ten years ago. Almost without exception.

There are a couple of stations that play current pop and what passes for rock (for some), but if I hear one more pop millionaire singing, no, whining plaintively about how lonely he/she is, I'm gonna swear off radios (I probably won't).

Rap? Not on a bet. I kind of liked Tone Loc and a couple of others, but it seems as though more recent rappers seem to have reverted to a form of prehistoric savagery.

I've been listening to more classical music lately. I find I like Strauss waltzes. I like Mozart and Beethoven. If I knew more about classical, I could name more. I'm learning.

After many years of staying away from country music (music for dumb people), I've actually started to listen to country some. It doesn't any longer seem to be all of that "I Got A Duck Sittin' On My Hand And I'm Feelin' Down" stuff. It actually seems like a sort of light rock that you can understand the lyrics, sung by nice-looking people whose parents taught them how to dress. Oh, crap! I've just proved that I'm getting old (dammit)!

Well, this has been a fairly long, rambling entry, signifying I'm not sure what, but I've put too much into it to delete it. The point is, (yes, I did start with a point in mind) if you like music, there's way too much of it to allow yourself to become stuck in a single decade. Some bit of every genre is really good, and the rest is mediocre to lousy; it becomes the task of each of us to make the choices.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,
Col. Hogan

An Impromptu Diplomatic Coup at a Pub

There's an interesting restaurant near where we live, called The Old Ship. They had a costume contest there on Halloween night, I won first prize for my homemade Hagrid (Harry Potter). The prize was a $40 gift certificate.

Tonight was the night we finally decided to cash in the prize.

Debbie had fish & chips and I had bangers and mash. The food was, as usual, not spicy at all (I like spicy foods) but was very good. While we ate, we noticed that a fairly large group of men seemed to be really enjoying themselves in the pub. They were singing the kind of songs to which just about everyone knows the lyrics. They were singing loudly and with a great deal of enthusiasm. They were having fun!

As we finished dinner, I commented to Debbie, "We should thank those guys for the entertainment."

So, we did.

And found ourselves in a three-hour conversation.

Seems three of the men were from London. They were here to attend the funeral of their brother, who had recently passed away. All the other members of the group were local friends and co-workers of the deceased. They had been drinking, reminiscing about the deeased, and celebrating his life. Many of these men were leaving as Debbie and I finished dinner, so as we made our way to the pub, there were only six men left, including the three brothers.

When we thanked the remaining group for the, actually pretty good, singing, we were suddenly members of the group.

We introduced ourselves to the first of the three brothers, who explained the situation: that they were celebrating the life of their brother. Both Debbie and I were taken aback by this news. Neither of us expected it.

We chatted about the US, England, football, rugby and even curling. We compared Margaret Thatcher with GW Bush, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton-Rodham. We discussed tourist sites in both England and the US, with a bit of discussion about Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Then, one of the party, a New Zealander, set up a "communal dinner" with three big orders of fish and chips.

The fifth member of the group (not including Debbie and I)was a Scot. When I asked the meaning behind Guy Fawkes Day, the English guys explained that it was the celebration of the failure of Fawkes to blow up Parliament. The Scottish guy (two-and-a-half sheets to the wind, at this point) argued that in Scotland, the holiday was a celebration of the attempt, and a lamentation of his failure.

I think that puts me in the Scottish camp (Ar, ar!)

We ate the food (Debbie and I ate very little, just having finished our own dinner) drank our drinks, including several toasts to the deceased and to many other things, and parted friends, having exchanged email addresses during the course of things.

You know, you just never know where and when you'll meet new friends!

Remember, VOTE FOR NO INCUMBENT!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Andre Rieu Christmas Concert

Having been a part-time classical music fan since high school, I'm always casually on the lookout for composers and works new to me. I suppose I've devoted the majority of my music listening to rock 'n'roll, but I keep coming back to classical, to the great surprise of most of my friends. You see, I don't give the impression that I'm a classical music afficianado to many.

About threee or fourrrr years ago, I stumbled onto Andre Rieu on the Arts Channel on TV. The station, which has since been removed by Adelpia for some reason known only to them, played videos, many of which were of classical orchestras playing famous classical pieces.

Some of the many MTV-style (back, for those of you old enough to remember, when MTV used to play music videos) bits they showed on the Arts Channel were Strauss waltzes played by an orchestra of relatively young, attractive and photogenic musicians that turned out to be the Andre Rieu Orchestra. I eventually learned that Rieu is a Dutchmen, tours a lot throughout Europe and has a number of DVD's and CD's on the market. I've bought several of them.

I've always loved Strauss music, even before I knew who Strauss was--or were, since there were more than one of them. Johann, the original Viennese Waltz King, and his sons Johann, Jr (the one we know best) and Josef (his brother). There was even more talent in the family, but they're not important.

What is important, is that waltzes are beautiful and Strauss, Jr became the king of the waltz following in the footsteps of his father.

Andre Rieu and his orchestra play Strauss waltzes very nicely!

For the first time ever, Andre Rieu took his tour here to the Los Angeles area. Debbie and I went, yesterday, to his concert at the LA Sports Arena.

I was a mite worried. The LA Sports Arena is the home of the USC Trojans baxabaw team. Horror! I had thoughts of a jock odor throughout the building.

No, it was fine. We had center aisle seats on the floor. They started with The entry of the Gladiators, during which the entire orchestra passed through the center aisle from the rear, to stairs up to the stage. The entire orchestra passed within a couple of feet of my own self! I'll tell you, some of the female musicians were absolutely stunning!

Being close to Christmas, the program called for a series of Christmas songs, played by the orchestra and sang by a trio of tenors and a trio of sopranoes. They included Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride and Silent Night. It was a lot of fun.

After an intermission, they played some waltzes and some opera selections (sung by the aforementioned singers). The climax of the evening was his arrangement of Strauss' The Blue Danube during which Rieu asked those who wish to dance, to do so in the aisles. Many did.

The orchestra followed all that with a loooong encore.

It was a very cool evening. I recommend Andre Rieu to anyone who loves the waltz.

Remember, VOTE FOR NO INCUMBENT!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California