Julia tagged me with one of those floating memes about music, so here goes:
What is the total volume of musical files on your computer?
Unless Tiffany has been downloading stuff on her own, basically zilch. I work in an open cubical, so spinning tunes at work is not an option. I’ve just never acquired the habit of grabbing MP3s at home. I tend to spend my computer time at home surfing, not downloading. Maybe later.
What song are you listening to right now?
I just tossed A Midsummer Knot’s Dream by Gordian Knot into the CD player. The second song, “The Cruel Sister”, started as I write this.
Last CD I bought?
Nowadays, I pretty much only buy CDs at the live shows I attend. The last show I caught was Eddie from Ohio in February, so I picked up their latest, This Is Me, plus the solo CD Sophisticated Lady by EFO’s Julie Murphy Wells.
Five songs you listen to a lot and which mean something to you
I don’t usually go looking for meaning in music. I think music speaks for itself, and what may be deep and meaningful to you may be just a nice little tune to me. For what it’s worth, the most meaningful music I know is two songs that I performed in college, one in choir and the other in wind symphony. The choral piece is “Exultate Deo” by Francois Poulenc, easily the most mournful glorification of God I’ve ever heard that still managed to retain some hope – it was written in 1941 when things weren’t so happy in France, so you can imagine where all that comes from. The wind symphony piece was Karel Husa‘s Music for Prague 1968, conducted by the composer himself. I can’t adequately describe the feelings these songs evoked in me. All I can say is that at the time of the performance, there was nothing else in the world but the music in front of me. I’ve performed music in one form or another for 30 years now, and I can’t think of any other songs for which that’s true.
That’s not really the answer you’re looking for, though, so let’s go with…
1. Fly Me To The Moon, by Bart Howard, preferred version sung by Frank Sinatra. It was our first-dance song at our wedding, as it was at my parents’ wedding.
2. Cakewalk, by the Asylum Street Spankers.
Life ain’t a cakewalk, it’s a waltz
And they’re playing my music out of time
I’ve just always liked those lyrics.
3. If I Had A Boat, written by Lyle Lovett, preferred version by EFO.
The Mystery Masked Man was smart
He got himself a Tonto
‘Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free
But Tonto, he was smarter
One day he said “Kemo Sabe,
Kiss my ass, I’ve bought a boat
I’m sailing out to sea”
As EFO’s Robbie says, it’s one of those songs you’d wish you’d written yourself.
4. Green Fields of France, written by Eric Bogle, preferred version by Ceili’s Muse. One of the very few songs I can’t listen to without choking up a little, especially now having seen a green field like that myself.
5. Born At the Right Time, Paul Simon. It’s the song that was going through my head when Olivia was born.
Okay then. Sue, Kimberly, and Ginger, I hereby pass the baton to you.
If I Had a Boat
Charles Kuffner, Houston blogger, caught the baton and says he likes Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat”, and prefers the version by Eddie of Ohio. Somewhere I’ve got a live Jimmy Buffet cover of that tune that I prefer. As for Lyle Lovett, my favorite son…
Music Meme
I try to avoid doing memes these days, but this one about your music collection is good enough that I’m…