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| A blog for commentary regarding the music of today (and yesterday...and the day before...) |
Click here for a review of Dark Circles by The Devils.
Click here for a review of Bangs...Sounds of the 80s.
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April 14, 2003 Strange things are afoot at the Circle K... This blog will be undergoing a major overhaul over the next few weeks. I am shifting the focus away from music, and on to other interests that I am currently pursuing. Why have I been so absent from posting lately? You'll find out... posted by DJOktober at 11:51 AM | link this post! | Comments []
Okay, okay, I was a music major, so I could bore you to tears with historical references and melodic/harmonic details that would likely be meaningless to most people stumbling upon this blog. So I think today I will keep my mouth shut. But I will say that even if you have never enjoyed a choral/orchestral piece in your life, I honest to god think you would find great pleasure in the Stravinsky. The first movement contains more excitement than you would ever expect to find in a piece of religious music (the piece was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but Stravinsky chose Christian material for his subject matter). And here's another plus: no violins. Or viola, for that matter. The orchestral scoring is based on low-register strings, raucous brass, and punctuated piano lines. It certainly defies all classic definitions of "symphony", and considering that it was written in 1926, mere decades after Beethoven, this deviation was quite scandalous! Anyway, it's a darn good piece. As for the Mozart, it's a little more difficult to stomach. It's easy to listen to, but it's a full hour of listening. I enjoyed it thoroughly, though; especially the brief moments of double chorus (a technique that fascinates me so much I could spend the rest of my life talking about it -- really, I dare you to ask about my college thesis). FYI this isn't the Requiem Mass that was made so famous by the highly fictionalized account of its writing in the 1984 movie "Amadeus", rather this mass was written nearly a decade earlier. I have quite a soft spot for live choral music. It was a nice contrast to the previous few nights of entertainment (of which I still have to type about, so stay tuned....)
Meanwhile, roomie is also in the band for an off-Broadway musical, called Heat Lightning. I have no idea what it's about or how good it is, but I'm going to the premiere on March 5th to check it out...for free! Having a musician roommate is a handy thing sometimes...
I need a job I need a job I need a GOOD JOB Whaddya think, Johnny? F**k off! Bwahahahaha!
They offered me the office, offered me the shop Career opportunities are the ones that never knock I hate the army an' I hate the R.A.F. Bus driver....ambulance man....ticket inspector Careers Ain't never gonna knock From the 1977 album The Clash, co-written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Rest in peace, Joe, and thank you so much for the tunes....
So I won't be updating my website at all due to this rather serious unemployment situation. In fact, this may turn into a "yet another unemployed IT worker" blog sometime in the next week. Because damnit, I am frustrated, annoyed, and fed up, and I may just have to vent a little. Bear with me: one of these days I'll get a job and life will return to some state of normalcy... I hope. Or I may be starving and living on the street. !!! Hrmm...maybe I should move back to Miami...being homeless in February is much more tolerable in 80 degree weather.
However, if anyone in NYC is checking in, my roommate's kick-ass rock band, Quasilulu, has a gig this Friday at The Cutting Room. They really put on a great show; it is well worth it. Trust me! And that's not just because my roommate is in the band.... Meanwhile, is anyone hiring? Please? Anyone? If you give me a job, then I'll be back to posting here on a regular basis....
Here, have a review. Most of them are mediocre, as is mine. This was a "dance narrative", meaning there was no spoken dialogue throughout the whole thing, and the point is that the dancing (with the music, of course) tells the story. Honestly, I would have been happier at a club listening to the very talented band play Billy Joel covers all evening. The dancing was a little distracting...
All I have to say is "Blech!" (with a serious Bill the Cat look on my face) The good news is that I finally caught Madonna's latest; the theme song from the newest Bond movie, "Die Another Day". And I promptly decided that I hated it. I was really curious about that track and I am glad I had the chance to listen to it (four or five times over the course of the day). And now with any luck I will never hear it again. So now I am putting together my next radio show ("Fade to Grey" -- punk and New Wave music every other Tuesday) and with some help from The Clash, Talking Heads, The Buzzcocks, David Bowie, Art of Noise, Soft Cell, and a little early Duran Duran I am slowly recovering from the trauma of my day with popular radio. Tomorrow I'm gonna try and tune the radio to WLIR. Wish me luck....
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