Corb Lund

It was a cranky tired day, and we were both thankful for the distraction of Corb Lund. Why don't we own this album??

Fashionable People

We wake up in the morning to music for our alarm, specifically CKUA radio.  Sometimes we hear songs that we really like and tell ourselves (with a early morning groggy mind) that we're going to look up what we hear because we like it.  Well, most of the time it doesn't happen, but this morning I heard something I really liked, so I did actually look it up, and I'm glad.  On a side note, does anyone think the main singer looks and acts like Dusty?

Words

Sometimes songs say exactly what you are thinking, especially when you are not able to say it yourself.

When the rain is blowing in your face,

and the whole world is on your case,

I could offer you a warm embrace

to make you feel my love.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear,

and there is no one there to dry your tears,

I could hold you for a million years

to make you feel my love.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet,

but I would never do you wrong.

I've known it from the moment that we met,

no doubt in my mind where you belong.

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue,

and I'd go crawling down the avenue.

No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do

to make you feel my love.

The storms are raging on the rolling sea

and on the highway of regret.

Though winds of change are throwing wild and free,

you ain't seen nothing like me yet.

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true.

Nothing that I wouldn't do.

Go to the ends of the Earth for you,

to make you feel my love

to make you feel my love

Nothing Profound

Still searching for Advent answers, but mostly just living out the mundane of life.
Baby things like vaccinations and teething and washing diapers.
Winter things like finding lost mittens and remembering to wear thick enough socks.
Renovation things like re-tinting paint and making to-do lists.

But there are moments where we remember why we're here.
Purple candles on our Advent wreath signify the royalty of Jesus Christ, King of Kings.
The coming of the CPR Christmas train demonstrates that, overtly Christian or not, Christmas is a time when everyone remembers to give and share and be kind to one another.
And Bela Fleck playing Joni Mitchell's "River," while unusual, is still a contemplative beautiful piece of music to listen to while observing it all.

Classical Music

We've been anticipating tonight for weeks because we're going to see the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic Chorus put on Bach's St. John's Passion. We know one of the tenors and one of the baritones and are somewhat familiar with the music and it's going to be GREAT.

...Just as great as the following performance by Beaker:

Spring has Sprung

While listening to one of my favorite Baroque radio stations I heard the following song, and thought it was quite fitting, as things are awakening for spring around here.  Have a listen to this classical piece by Bach, and the photos are of things dead from last fall, and things awakening.

At It Again

From the makers of the "treadmill video" comes another really great one.

Getting Some Fun

I often will listen to my music shuffled, so I get a good mix of different styles during my day.  Once in a while I catch up with some old favorites, or songs that really mean something to us right now.  Here is one example of that.  I think this is a good model for life, don't you?  It is an old standard sung now by one of my favorite modern female singers, Madeleine Peyroux.

When we want to love, we love
When we want to kiss, we kiss
With a little petting, we're getting
Some fun out of life

When we want to work, we work
When we want to play, we play
In a happy setting, we're getting
Some fun out of life

Maybe we do the right thing
Maybe we do the wrong
Spending each day
Wending our way along

But when we want to sing, we sing
When we want to dance, we dance
You can do your betting, we're getting
Some fun out of life

Epiphany

Today is the day we celebrate the coming of the three magi, and the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmas and the Christmas season of 2009-2010. I'd read (in A Circle of Seasons, the book I recommended earlier in December) that celebrating the twelve days of Christmas is a good way to draw out the Christmas season so it doesn't feel so anticlimatic on Boxing Day when everyone goes shopping, and so we have a longer time to celebrate Jesus' arrival and the events following immediately thereafter in the church calendar, like the coming of the magi, and the day Jesus was presented at the temple and his Lordship was proclaimed once again.

The author of Circle of Seasons suggests a number of ways to draw the Christmas season out over the course of the twelve days, and it's something Brent and I want to do in future years. For this year at least, because I had that week between Christmas and New Years' off, we were able to celebrate some of the twelve days in peaceful quiet time together. We slept in, we went out enjoying the sunshine snowshoeing, we discussed and made plans for the coming months. It was a lovely Sabbath time.

Without further ado, I give you a  final Christmas song/video for the season. Presenting the Silent Monks.

If I Had a Hammer

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary dies Shared via AddThis I've often thought that if I could have the voice of any female vocalist, it would be Mary Travers from Peter Paul and Mary. Strong and clear, tonal and tightly harmonizing, yet understated and best fit for a group, not a solo. I've learned a lot about harmonizing from Peter Paul and Mary.

Classical Piano

Last night we went to hear Jon Schmidt in concert. You know, Jon Schmidt of "Love Story meets Vida La Vida" fame...one of my all-time favourite songs. I would even go so far as to say that it is my theme song for this summer of 2009. The concert was at the Central United Church, in the older part of downtown. Across the street is the Hudson's Bay Company store, where we could see naked manikin bums in the second storey window. The Central United Church was built in 1906 and is a lovely old sandstone building. The sanctuary built in a dome and the acoustics are lovely. Schmidt did not have the piano miked and the sound carried beautifully. Schmidt was a very humble down-to-earth individual. He played all kinds of music, classical, old rock and roll hits, compilations he's invented. It was almost like an evening lesson in music. He played with his feet, upside down with his hands backwards, with his nose, his head, his elbows and his whole arm. For one song, entitled "dumb song," he said he had to wear a padded wig in order to protect his head from bruises. He pulled it off well. At the end of the show, he took requests for songs to play. When someone asked for a song he couldn't remember how to play, he asked the audience if they had the sheet music for it (he writes and sells the sheet music to his songs). Sure enough, someone did, and he played the song from the book. And one final note, one of my brothers was recently complaining that the city of Calgary is so unfriendly and I was arguing against him. Last night at the concert we saw two girls from our local coffee shop, and two families from Lacombe. How's that for life in the big city? And a final final note, our big plan for the evening was to walk from the church down along the river and end up in Kensington at Higher Ground for dessert. Except that it was pouring rain (who ordered that?) Nevertheless, we braved the rain, me in my birkenstocks, cotton shirt and skirt, and walked down through along the lamp-lit path, smiling at how other pedestrians were enduring the downpour as well. It was a lovely though damp end to the evening.

Coldplay meets Taylor Swift

This is about the most beautiful piece of music I've heard in a while. For the record, we're huge Coldplay fans. They've got some really thoughtful, well-orchestrated music. Viva La Vida and the latest album as a whole is no exception. Taylor Swift, on the other hand...well let's just say the original of this song makes little sense. [Big gripe starting] It's called Love Story, but its main characters are Romeo and Juliet. I hate to break it to you, Taylor, but Romeo and Juliet do not live happily ever after, they die. Also, she talks about being a "scarlet letter." Do you know the reference that comes from? A book written in the nineteenth century by Nathaniel Hawthorne about a woman who commits adultery. Suddenly the "love story" doesn't sound so cute and innocent hey? [/ok, ok, gripe ending]. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. That said, "Love Story" is a beautiful sounding song, and the two songs combined and played by piano and cello (a fantastic musical match)...it's gorgeous.

Den Første Gang Jeg Så Dig

We borrowed a CD by Kim Larsen from K's mom a while ago, and recently found it again. It came from our family in Denmark, and is a great collection of Danish children songs. We've tried to find it to buy a copy for ourselves, but it is hard to come by. Since K is working with Danish all the time she is able to pick out some of the translations, and they are fun. Anyways, here is a sample of the music, hope you enjoy, even though you won't understand the lyrics.

Leonard Cohen, Live In Calgary

Last night we went to a concert that I never thought I'd ever be able to see. Leonard Cohen is one my all-time favourite artists. Ever. I think it was meant to be, seeing as in all likelihood I heard him before I was born, and I do believe that my birth tape, the music my mum played while she was in labour, included songs by him. I was trying to find a video on Youtube to play to give a sense of who he is, but none of them really do him justice. So if you don't know who he is, I suggest you look him up. Maybe give a listen to "Famous Blue Raincoat" or "Tower of Song" or "Take this Waltz." Heck, it's hard to go wrong with any of his music. Cohen is in his early seventies now, and only went on tour because his manager swindled him out of his money a couple of years ago, and so Cohen had to come out of retirement. But you would never guess he was in his seventies. He was full of energy, his voice was clear, musical and powerful and the show was downright interesting. The artists he had in his band were all incredibly talented in their own rights and supported him well. He was quick to give them credit for their contributions and so was the crowd. He did THREE encore calls that added close to another hour to the show and made us all love him that much more. He sang all the old favourites. One of the female singers was Sharon Robinson, with whom he co-wrote the album Ten New Songs, and he sang some songs from that album, giving her opportunity to shine as well. The other two singers were the Webb Sisters from the United Kingdom. We're thinking we're going to have to buy an album of theirs--they have such gorgeous voices. The concert started at eight and we didn't get home til almost midnight. And then I was so wired that we had to read for a while so that I could fall asleep. It was fantastic; I'll never regret going.

On the occasion of the inauguration

Actually, my post has nothing to do with the inauguration, but we're watching/listening to the live broadcast of the inauguration right now. It truly is a momentous occasion. Now is the time to pray for the new leadership of the United States. Tonight is my lecture at Fort Calgary. Our pastor phoned last night to talk to Brent and I compared reading speed and sermon/lecture length with him. It made me realize that my paper was too short to fill an hour, so I spent last night adding bits and pieces. I'm hoping I'm going to hit an hour now. If you're not busy tonight, I'll be speaking at Fort Calgary at 7:30 on Danish Folk Schools in the city of Calgary in the 1920s. On Saturday we went for a skate and a visit with some friends from our lifegroup. We enjoy discussing things with them as they are in a similar headspace/life situation to us. They have a beautiful little girl who at two years old is learning to skate. I got the honour of skating with her. It was wonderful looking into her trusting brown eyes and encouraging her to keep balancing. Finally, CBC this morning released its top 49 song playlist on the occasion of Obama's inauguration: music about Canada. Check it out. I agree with a lot of the choices, with Joni and Leonard and Gordon...and the Arrogant Worms. Oh, and one more thing. Last night we had muffins for supper...(yes I know, that sounds very strange, but to our defence, they had almonds and apple sauce and whole wheat flour in them). I thought I would share the recipe because they were so darn good.

Harmonica beatbox

We came across Son of Dave on a late night CKUA program, where he sang a cover of Low Rider that was really good. He also does a good cover of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" that's worth listening to (click on the link to see it). Totally different than my usual folk/singer-songwriter interest, but definitely cool.

No cheese for us mouses

Today's post is for my sister-in-law, who reminded me of the Muppets, and for Tom Allen, the CBC Radio 2 morning announcer, who was talking about Dickens' Christmas Carol this morning. Muppets' Christmas Carol is simply a classic.

Souvenirs. John Prine and Steve Goodman

We heard this song on CBC Radio 2 this morning. It's one of my favourite John Prine songs (okay lets face it, I have a lot of favourite John Prine songs). Which compells me to write several things. 1) B and I are, in case you hadn't noticed, passionate about music. We have several favourite radio stations. Alberta's own public radio station, CKUA (about which I have written much elsewhere) used to be our absolute favourite, but recently we've been really disappointed with their programming. Brother-in-law E introduced us to Radio Paradise a couple of years ago, and it has also become a great favourite, although technically it is a rock station and at times it's a bit too rocky for me. Still, we've learning a LOT about music from RP, and I love that you can vote on the songs and comment about them. Finally, in the last little while we've become CBCers more and more. I like the classical programming (B's not such a big fan) and the morning announcer, Tom Allen, is both informative and funny and he plays a good mix. Which brings me back to John Prine. 2) Growing up, John Prine was an artist that my Dad loved and we kids all loved to hate. But as we grew older, we all discovered how much we actually really do like him. His music has a way of touching you right where you're at. And this song, Souvenirs, is one of those. I often feel like though I am very young (a fact of which I am continually reminded by various social groups in my acquaintance) I feel much older in my soul. "I hate reading old love letters, for they always bring me tears. Can't forgive the way they rob me of my sweetheart, souvenirs." For some reason this line really touches me. Here's a live clip of John Prine and Steve Goodman singing the song back in the day (love John's mustache...he looks like our neighbour) The song gets cut off, so if you like it, you'll just have to go out and buy the album.

ARTIST: John Prine
TITLE: Souvenirs
Lyrics and Chords


All the snow has turned to water
Christmas day has come and gone
Broken toys and faded colors
Are all that's left to linger on
I hate graveyards and old pawnshops
For they always bring me tears
Can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my childhood souvenirs


{Refrain}
Memories, they can't be bought'n
They can't be won at carnivals for free
It took me years, to get those souvenirs
And I don't know how they slipped away from me


Broken hearts and dirty windows
Make life difficult to see
That's why last night and this morning
Always look the same to me
I hate reading old love letters
For they always bring me tears
Can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my sweetheart souvenirs

More Cowbell

Windows In Edinburgh et al

Today's food for thought: Windows in Edinburgh. Good news for old windows, potentially. Oh to live in a house with old windows. Might sound like an odd thing, but after reading a blog about the joys and trials of counter-weighted windows, I've gained a great appreciation for them. Also, any intrepid blog readers out there want to offer advice on power adapters/converters for laptops? With Denmark looming up in the distance, we need to invest in something that will make European 220 volts into 110 volts that my lappy can use. Do we need an adapter? a converter? both? And where's the best place to get this doohickey? Having a frustrating and not-so-proactive afternoon, so we pulled out the album Camino by Oliver Schroer. Schroer came recommended to me by my cousin G, and he was just the thing for this afternoon. Thoughtful and provocative, introspective without lulling us to sleep. Just that much different from "normal" classical violin music to require us to lean in and listen more carefully. There's no real good videos on youtube or I would attach one, but you could listen to clips on Schroer's website, or order an album. Last night for supper we made Smoked Salmon Bisque. It was incredibly tasty. We didn't have Old Bay Seasoning, like it called for, but I looked it up on wikipedia and made my own version. Mustard, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, celery salt, bay leaf...what could be better? Finally, we went to Avenue Diner on Stephen Avenue this morning with E&B. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. Great food, great ambience, cheerful and kind staff. A great way to start off the day (with two of our favourite people!).