"No one will want this."

Machito & His Afro-Cuban All-Stars

"No one will want this."

Willie Colón

"No one will want this."

Richie Valens

"No one will want this."

Freddy Fender

"No one will want this."

Linda Ronstadt

"No one will want this."

Ricky Martin

"No one will want this."

Selena

"No one will want this."

Gloria Estefan

For the past two days, I've been absolutely absorbed watching a fantastic PBS/BBC produced program called, Latin Music USA. I don't expect that everyone reading this is going to be as fascinated as I was-- after all, it hits hard on a couple of major aspects of my being: my Latin background and music. But if you have any interest whatsoever in history or music or the cultural melting pot of the United States from the 1930s on and the enormous part that Latin music played in it, I cannot suggest this highly enough. You can watch it on the website (the website is exceptionally done-- lots of resources to be discovered) and again, for me, it was fascinating. So many different aspects of it, but one of the things that I found most fascinating was the line I used as this blog's subject and that I repeated above those various names.

Those fabulous artists, at some point in their careers, all heard those five damnable words: "No one will want this." They may have been just starting out. They may have achieved a measure of success but wanted to try something different. But they all heard those words from the people who allegedly knew the market. Who knew what the public wanted. And they all refused to accept those five words and kept plugging away and harassing and taking their music to the people and they all enjoyed massive successes and maybe more importantly, they all pushed that door open a little further. That door that the people who "knew better" were so reluctant to open. The shoved their foot in the crack, held it open and shouted through, "We're here and we're representing the people and we know what the people want. Come on, we'll show you."

And being me, I can't help but relate it to writing. Because what do those of us who write out of the box hear, all too often?

"No one will want this."

Or its fraternal twin, "I have no idea what to do with this."

And so often, it's the people in the offices and towers making those decision who have no idea what the people want because they don't know who "the people" are. It was stunning, really, how those people just didn't realize the potential of the audience out there.

"No one will want this."

Every time I hear that about my work, I'm going to remember this show. Or perhaps even watch an episode on the DVD, because I just had to have it. Or listen to some of the music from the CD because I just had to have that too. By whatever means, I'm going to remember how those artists refused to accept those words.

Thank goodness because I shudder to think how much less rich my musical landscape would have been without them. All of them.

I want it. All of it.

Here's a preview of the show. So, so good!

Because this story is just demanding every damned thing from me. And I know it seems a little off kilter in places, but believe me, it works.

Cast Your Fate to the Wind- Vince Guaraldi Trio
So Much in Love- The Tymes
Sunday Will Never Be the Same- Spanky and Our Gang
How Can I Be Sure- The Rascals
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me- Mel Carter
Anyone Who Had a Heart- Dusty Springfield
Walk Away Renee- The Left Banke
Bus Stop- The Hollies
Wouldn't it Be Nice- The Beach Boys
Daydream Believer- The Monkees
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling- The Righteous Brothers
In My Life- The Beatles
Get Together- The Youngbloods
House of the Rising Sun- The Animals
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me- Dusty Springfield

This one evolved in an interesting sort of manner. While the story takes place primarily in 1965, some of these recordings are from a year or two later. It had more to do with the "feel" of what I was going for here. As such, I actually stuck to era-specific recordings rather than any remakes. And yes, Dusty is the only repeat artist in the bunch-- that may change as the playlist evolves over time. It's funny though, I can't seem to make a playlist for this story without a Dusty chart. It's like she's the patron saint of this story.

I'm sorry that suricattus had a crappy phone call that put her in a vile mood, but I'm so glad she was cheered by this and better still, that she posted it for the rest of us.

I'm not sure who amuses me more- Animal or Beaker.

gaelbrady & ladystarblade make sure you watch this!

So, I've long been known for my predilection for creating soundtracks for scenes and manuscripts on which I'm currently working. But lately, I've also found myself tailoring what I'm listening to so it fits what I'm reading. It really started with What Angels Fear, which is the first book in the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries by C.S. Harris.

The books are Regency-set (the first one begins in 1811-- so far, book five takes place in July of 1812, as will book six, by the looks of it). I always love to have music on in the background while I read (no surprise, I'm sure) but these books seemed to demand something specific. I didn't want anything too intrusive or, as I came to realize, "inappropriate" which is to say, I didn't want anything that could potentially take me out of the world of the book-- if anything, I wanted something that would help me sink further into Sebastian's world.

So I found myself turning to film scores-- I started with Becoming Jane and Sense & Sensibility-- both especially well-suited since the films are set during the same time period as the St. Cyr mysteries and tend to evoke the era. From there, I thought, "Okay, we'll go with the scores for Jane Austen films," and found Emma (as long as I don't have to think about Gwynnie mangling the character I'm good) and Pride and Prejudice. Emma, in particular, really resonated, so I went in search of more scores by Rachel Portman. Found Nicholas Nickleby and The Cider House Rules and The Duchess all of which sounded very... English, if you will. Patrick Doyle is also awesome for this as well. I think Henry V is going to be in heavy rotation for Book Five, What Remains of Heaven.

So when I'm ready to settle in to read, I just start one of the soundtracks and away I go. By this point, I've listened to them so often while reading, that the Pavlov effect is more that I see scenes from the books rather than from the films when I hear the music. And while I'm reading, it's as if the scenes just leap off the page and really scroll through my mind with the effect of watching a film. They're richer and more deeply saturated in emotion and tension and drama.

Does anyone else do this to such a specific degree or is this just another example of me being a complete whackaloon?

Today's just a good sort of day, isn't it? Even if I'm feeling a little bit under the weather, I still have coffee, a comfy bed in which to hang, a laptop, so I can still work, plus two new releases to listen to while doing said work. First is Alejandro Sanz's first new studio release in over three years, Paraíso Express.



I'm super excited because he's just one of the most unique musicians out there today. Okay, admittedly, all of my favorites are unique in some way or form-- very out of the box and don't look at me that way because I know y'all are so not surprised I would be drawn to out of the box musicians. Ale really is a bit of an acquired taste, however. His vocals aren't pretty and pure, but they're raw and sexy and very, very real. Stylistically he's an intricate songwriter, with his melodies taking unexpected turns and very poetic lyrics. First single is unexpected in a different manner, because it's an English/Spanish duet with Alicia Keys. Their voices work really well together. (Except for the part with Alejandro's very, very unescapable Spanish accent during his English bits and even that is charming and awkwardly cute.)

( More ruminations and burbling and videos behind the cut to spare the innocent )


Finally, one last one, then I promise I'll quit spamming with vids. Forty years ago Sesame Street premiered and early childhood learning was irrevocably altered. Even though in theory I grew up with Sesame Street, it never intrigued me that much because I was already so far ahead of what they were teaching. Schoolhouse Rock was much more up my alley, (and humor-wise, I was much more a Muppet Show sort of girl). However, as an education major, I was reintroduced to Sesame Street and gained a fresh appreciation for not only how innovative it was, but how smart it was, evolving with the times rather than remaining stagnant. But some things, they're just classic and should never, ever change.

Take it, Kermie...

Found via jonquil

Name five effective uses of songs in movies or tv shows.

Cutting this down to five is going to be the hard part.

One of my absolute favorites, the wedding/reception sequence in Fandango that uses a medley of Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays' "September 15th/It's For You." You just feel the longing Gardner has for the Girl and his realization that this is it—his last dance with her and perhaps the last time he'll ever see her because it just hurts that much. Combined with his realization that it would never have worked. The beauty of love had and love lost. With a bonus shout-out to "Can't Find My Way Home" by Blind Faith running over the end credits. It's all so seamless and lovely and perfect.

( Fandango sequence )


"Both Sides Now" as used in Love Actually. Rips my heart out, Every. Single. Time. The look on Karen's face as she realizes Harry's been cheating. That he thought more of his lover than of her. The utter devastation that she feels she's been living a lie and that she has to pull herself together and act as if absolutely nothing's wrong for her children's sake. And that it all happens at Christmas. (can't find the scene. boo)

"El Tango de Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge. It's everything. The brilliance of taking an already classic song and reimagining it as an Argentine tango, perhaps the sultriest, most sensuous dance of all that encompasses every emotion from love to hate and does so in a blazing cacophony of movement, color, and music. It's a massive turning point in the film.

( El Tango )

"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" from Strictly Ballroom. Yes, I'm an unabashed Baz fangirl. So sue me. But I think both he and Richard Curtis as so great with music in films. This just absolutely showcases so much. Fran's envy at not being like the others. Scott's realization that what he's been doing is kind of shallow and lacking in any real feeling. That the dancing he's longed to do, the dancing he's been doing with Fran, is different and better because of it. That he appreciates her for not being like the others. It's just sweet and tender and lovely.

( Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps )

Okay, finally, I think I'm going to go with "Telstar" as used in the episode "The Inheritance" of Mad Men (S2 EP10). It's at the very end, as Don and Pete are flying off to an aeronautics conference in Southern California and again, serves as a turning point. Thematically speaking, the song itself was to celebrate the dawning of the space age and was released about five weeks after the launch of the Telstar satellite in the summer of 1962. For the show's purposes, it was the first time we went out of the confines of New York and the Sterling Cooper ad agency and we got to see a Don (a couple of them) we had no idea even existed. It was the beginning of his rebirth, in a manner of speaking, when he pulled a disappearing act for three weeks and no one knew where he was. But at the point the song is playing, Don is simply sitting back in his airplane seat, smoking a cigarette and preparing to jet off to a new world. Stuck with me for weeks.

Check your email!

You can haz prezzie!




Damn you, Puck, for drawing me to the dark side...

You did make me like the bad boy.

I never like the bad boy, but I'm loving Sensitive! Puck!

::waits for amy37 to nod and cluck knowingly::

For you, dear...

You're going to make me like the bad boy? At least for one song?

I love the subtle things going on in this clip.

The Glee soundtrack is up for pre-order on iTunes.

Aside from all of the already performed goodies, there are also future episode goodies such as Kurt's take on "Defying Gravity," and a new one that I cannot wait to hear (or to see within context) "I Say a Little Prayer."

ETA: Ah, okay, the one episode I haven't watched, when the Cheerios auditioned for Mr. Schue, they performed I Say a Little Prayer.

Still...

I LOVE that song. *is Burt Bachrach fangirl*

Not so much the Dionne version, although she did make it famous. And yes, I do love the Aretha version... (seriously, how can you not?)




But my absolute favoritist version of this song and the bar I look for Glee to rise to is...


My Best Friend's Wedding



And what a freakin' fabulous cast that film had. Julia and Rupert and Dermot and Cameron and if you look, there's Mama Castle (Susan Sullivan) and Rachel Griffiths and Chelsie Ross (currently Connie Hilton on Mad Men) and Chris Masterson and I'm blanking on who all else.

Plus! Lobster claw hand waving! How could it get much better than that?

(And no, I am not on medication. I'm literally that excited.)

Stephen Gately, Irish musician dead at 33 while on holiday in Majorca.

I may have been one of six Americans who knew of Boyzone-- they were like the Irish equivalent of Backstreet Boys or N'Sync and like those groups, had a couple of talents that shone a little brighter, Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately. Still not household names around here by any stretch, but sometimes, we forget, there's a whole world out there that's not the U.S. Billboard Charts.

Actually though, any American who went to see the film Billy Elliot heard Stephen sing-- he did the film's theme, "I Believe."

Seemed like a sweet guy and definitely a unique talent. Like I said, enough Universe. Enough.

With Boyzone, singing a cover of Tracy Chapman's "Baby Can I Hold You." (One of the prettiest songs ever.) Ronan's got lead on this one, but it's still a lovely version.




And solo, singing "I Believe."

Yeah, so I went silent again but only for a couple of days and I had a good reason. Had to have a little med procedure done. The aftermath has involved the kinds of drugs which turn me into a drooling, incoherent fool, so it was best I not post anything. Not that I could have formed the words.

I'm still on the happy juice, but in moderation, so I'm coherent at least in short bursts. So, did I miss anything? I did, in my drug-fueled stupor, watch a great deal of the Twins 12-inning masterpiece over the Tigers. Poor chicklet_girl. I can only imagine what sorts of heart failure she was going through. And while I've been mostly bed-ridden, I've been catching up on reading, sleeping, television (still have more to catch up on, including Flash Forward & Three Rivers).

And as funny as Glee is when completely sober, while on pharmaceuticals, it becomes positively surreal.

In fact, I think I'm going to do a midweek Cabana Boys comprised of the Glee boys, because they're just cute as buttermilk biscuits!





And dude, next time they have Victor Garber on, could they please let him sing?



( How about some video clips? )

Look what just arrived on my doorstep!




Chock full of musical goodness...



What to listen to first?

AUGH. Decisions, decisions...

It's ridiculously catchy.

So I earworm the rest of you with it.



Tell me it's not ridiculously catchy.

Plus! Young British men! In suits and ties and inexplicably performing at the construction site for the Barbican! What's not to like?

I think they need to perform this on Glee.

Been a while. Stolen from pandarus & sophiap

You can learn a lot about someone by the music they listen to. So here is the game! Hit shuffle on your ipod or mp3 player and write down the first 25 songs. No cheating or skipping songs that are shameful. That is the fun! Then tag your friends. (Not tagging - if you feel like doing the meme, that's great!)

1. Holy Tears (Instrumental)- Tara MacLean
2. Leader- Phantom Planet
3. Return to London (Miss Potter Soundtrack)- Nigel Westlake
4. Light the Sky- Chris Botti
5. The Black Pearl (Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack)- Klaus Badelt
6. P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)- John Legend
7. Variations on the Kanon by Pachelbel- George Winston
8. Ever Blazin'- Sean Paul
9. Melao De Cana (Moo La Lah)- Celia Cruz
10. Cinema Paradiso- Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny
11. Quiero Morir en tú Veneno- Alejandro Sanz
12. Should've Known Better- Nickel Creek
13. Midnight Garden- Bond
14. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough- Michael Jackson
15. Come Rain or Come Shine- Ray Charles
16. Unwritten (Stripped Acoustic Version)- Natasha Bedingfield
17. Coming Up: Cumbia de los Muertos- Ozomatli
18. Zaar- Peter Gabriel
19. Mary's Beheading (Elizabeth- The Golden Age Soundtrack)- Craig Armstrong & A.R. Rahman
20. Abhaile- Dagda
21. The Death of Falstaff (Henry V)- Patrick Doyle
22. Nothing Else Matters- Metallica
23. Duerme Tranquila- Alejandro Fernández
24. Mi Morena (Live)- Josh Groban
25. Pardon Goddess of the Night (Much Ado About Nothing Soundtrack)- Patrick Doyle

And just because it's a slow Saturday...

26. Everything Must Change- George Benson
27. Jemima Puddle Duck (Miss Potter Soundtrack)- Nigel Westlake
28. Vaiven de mi Carreta- Orquesta Aragón
29. Top of the World- Kate Voegele
30. Here I Stand and Face the Rain- a-ha
31. The Epic- Pat Metheny Group
32. Mother's Child- Adam Pascal
33. Love Gets Old- Chris Botti
34. Slipping Through My Fingers- Mama Mia! Original Cast
35. Yesterday Once More- The Carpenters
36. The Day We Fell Apart- Kelly Clarkson
37. Sing, Sing, Sing- Buddy Rich Quintet
38. Try 2 Save Your S'ong (Mad Beatz Remix)- Alejandro Sanz
39. When Darkness Falls (Ode to Kvaase)- Secret Garden
40. The Day is Yours (Henry V Soundtrack)- Patrick Doyle
41. Sweet Sangria- Tori Amos
42. Happiness is a Warm Gun (Across the Universe Soundtrack)- Joe Anderson
43. Leaves on the Seine- David Lanz
44. With These Hands- Tom Jones
45. Capriccio Italien, Op. 45: Andante Un Poco Rubato- Tchaikovsky
46. サイバーバード (Saibabado cyberbird- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T.2)- Yoko Kanno
47. Let it All Come Down- Simple Minds
48. Say- John Mayer
49. An Adoring Heart (Becoming Jane Soundtrack)- Adrian Johnston
50. Who's Smoking? (Pushing Daisies Soundtrack)- Jim Dooley

Looking at just this sampling of 50 random tracks it would seem I have a lot of soundtracks.

But sweet zombie Jesus, I totally understand why Heidi keeps popping out the babies for this man. This totally makes my ovaries ache.

Maybe I'll post a teaser later. Between Here & Gone, since that's what I've returned to working on. In the meantime, a playlist. I called it Winter's Night because it sort of feels like the sort of thing you listen to when you're by yourself with a good glass of wine, dark chocolate, and it's cold and rainy outside.

Wishful thinking, I have to imagine, since it's sunny, cloudless, and going to be 95F today. Bah.

Anyhow-- let's see if this player actually works.

The Australia soundtrack was finally released onto iTunes last week. I've been dying to have the song that plays over the end credits, "By the Boab Tree" by Ophelia of the Spirits (AKA Angela Little). As usual, it utterly speaks to me with the respect to a manuscript, even though, you know, Boab trees not so common 'round these parts. S'okay. It's the overall sentiment that counts.


Pretty. pretty voice.

Drum corps & jazz. Specifically, the Concord Blue Devils and Dave Brubeck. First off, hard to believe that it's been fifty years since six seminal albums were released, taking jazz to a whole new level.

Miles Davis- Sketches of Spain & Kind of Blue
Ornette Coleman- The Shape of Jazz to Come
Charles Mingus- Mingus Ah Um
John Coltrane- Giant Steps
Dave Brubeck- Time Out

Of all six albums, Time Out is the one I'm most intimately connected to. It was my first real jazz album. I've owned it on vinyl, cassette, CD, & digital download. When I was in jazz band, I played both Blue Rondo a la Turk and Take Five. I was absolutely fascinated by Take Five the first time I heard it. It was my first experience with irregular time signature and that Brubeck was playing on my instrument, the piano... le swoon. It felt slightly naughty and wicked and I understood why jazz clubs were so often portrayed as dark, smokey environs. It seemed as if music like this could only be gestated and born in those dark corners, the clink of glasses and the quiet murmur of conversation as background. Allowing for the musicians to feel even more as if they were locked in their world, giving them the freedom to experiment. My greatest regret in life is that while I was a serviceable jazz pianist in terms of being part of the rhythm section, I absolutely sucked at improvisation. I was too locked into my extremely classical training and couldn't let go. It was assuaged somewhat by the fact that I learned I had some improvisation skills as a vocalist, but it still broke my heart that I would never play like Uncle Dave.

Then, when I joined drum corps, my love for jazz and really, music as a whole, only grew. It's such a magnificent art form, athleticism and artistry wrapped up into a powerful package that reduces me to goosebumps, even to this day. My greatest creative growth happened in those three years I marched drum corps. I learned that there were absolutely no limits, no boundaries, and that all was possible if you could only imagine it.

I give you my example: The Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps, long my favorites (after the Florida Wave, of course *g*) performing Brubeck, with a soupçon of Bernstein thrown in. There's a reason these cats have been DCI champs more than any other corps. And this (a universal this) is why I chose drum corps as my backdrop for the Carmen story.

My generation has been defined by some iconic figures. Kind of seems staggering that two go on the same day.

When I was a kid, every girl wanted the Farrah cut and every boy had this poster.



And in high school, Thriller was one of the soundtracks to our lives.



It was so universal that years later, it still makes appearances, from a popular film:



To a prison yard in the Philippines:



While Michael was undoubtedly tortured by demons worse than any conceived of for that iconic video, it can never be doubted that he's left an unparalleled musical legacy. That's what I'll choose to remember.