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in #music6 years ago

Rock Me Baby: Who likes the Stones?

Background from BBC Desert Island Discs page. Due to copyright reasons the session with Sessions may not be available to stream for those outside the UK but you can always download the podcast.

I was listening to John Sessions on BBC Desert Island Discs - to find myself amazed that the person I knew only as an impersonator is extremely euridite (think Phd material) but above all eclectic in his cultural tastes (if there ever wasn’t a snob) - when one of his choices made me realise I have hardly listened to the Rolling Stones. As ever, for true fans, it was nigh impossible for him to pick the best song by his favorite rock and roll band, but he singled it down to “Gimme Shelter” as one of their most exciting songs. I could hear that much, eventhough this was a rude transition from his more sober records in the choices of the larger-than-life Mahler (whose fourth probably is better than Beethoven’s ninth) and Brahms, Elgar and Puccini.

Not a Challenge or a Competition, but just because you love me:

(but there is always the possibility that steem will be handed out to those who need it - and show their community spirit - before I leave)

I ask all Rolling-Stone Fan Steemians to give me their top three, five, ten (?) MUST LISTENS by the Rolling Stones by way of an introduction to this band, in order to revamp my connotations of far-from-hot-lips and far-too-many-wives into a musical appreciation I hadn't recognised in the Beatles either (till the protagonist in my non-novel introduced me to them). Try including something else than the golden oldies I must have heard drone over the radio, unless your persuasion is tupelo honey.

Maybe #adsactly can help me out? (I don't know how else to reach an expert here.)

How come I missed out on the Stones? I’m old enough…. Well, maybe not quite. The fact my sister (5 years my junior) explored this band was owing to a nineties retro-vibe in her late adolescence. She managed to take my mother along with her, who was always looking for ways to be closer on her suicide watch. I think the Stones bled into or out of the Doors, about whom a film came out, around the same time, which they both went to see. It boggled my mind: since there was never any music in our home (apart from the album leaves and sonatas my sister practiced). Did it help set them free? Shucks, maybe for an hour or two. When are rock-and-rollers ever really free unless they are on stage?

In the mean time as an aspiring nutritionalist, I remained disturbed by the appearance of the front men. Furthermore, rock-and-roll used to be for me a very intrusive affair. It came with OTT characters and either aggressive or soppy lyrics , but above all, it had, predominantly, a monontonous and very insistent beat. Back then I found the drum a terrifying instrument. Of course, this had to be tackled head-on.

CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) with Systematic Exposure

The drums used to frighten me. This is rather telling, to anyone who knows how to interpret the mal-alignment of ether-astral body this indicates. My etheric shrunk back from the astral body inviting her to dance. I prefered to be a flower.

I started off with tabla, fairly comfortable with the flutes of Sachdev and Chaurasia by the time I reached adulthood. Since then, I have emersed myself in the world of raga thanks to the guiding help of Deepak S. Raja

Next came Gino Vanelli and Steely Dan. Thanks to the yoga-girl who was a vegetarian and into Maharshi and (unbeknownst to me at the time) Anthroposophical nutrition. Boy, did she dazzle me, radiant with her heart-to-heart purity, as much as she annoyed me to no end with not an intellectual cell in her head. She briefly took me under her wing, and I never looked back.


(It is interesting to note for me how she seems far removed from my style of yoga now - which for me is less Deepak more Scaravelli)

Then I found Jazz - through filme noire. Slowly along the West coast with Getz and Brubeck, into older precursors and harder Bop, pausing at Stravinsky, besides. Slowly through Evans and falling madly in love with Monk, and finding a passion for the bass, till we go all out with fusion on the one hand (Carlton, Scofield, Zawinul) and Redman, Coleman on the other, the Marsalises and every pianist I could find in between, and more woman friendly buds opening up for me too, with Betty Carter, Gerri Allen and Patricia Barber. We even made it to North Sea. Until calamity struck. And a savant Jazz drummer walked up to me and picked me for a wife.

The aspiring healer concludes: expose your children young, mothers, to the repetitive rhythms of the physical and all its masculinity, for else they may end up marrying a drummer just to weed out that first aversion, once and for all - but take it from history, Jazz shared is never a good reason for marriage.

The Scotsman Sessions (there is something unique about the Scot not found in the Brit, I cannot help but noting every time a distinguished one speaks) also made me dig up Beethoven’s relatively obscure and pre-last work, and specifically the very ethereal third movement of the 15th String Quartet, Opus 132. It was not a work I had listened to intently, yet.

Beethoven and I have a special thingy going on, since I had to reseach his piano sonatas, all 32 of which a character in my non-novel (often found stepping on it in a snappy Mercedes) learns to play by heart before he reaches the age of 15, to then close the lid of his piano and never - ever - play again. Can it be done? The waste! The mystery…. The idiocy of asking me to look into this! I can barely play Frère Jacques on the recorder…. Dark, determined and very taciturn, the Lithuanian-Russian would show me it could be done because it had to be done to show us that all the music we play we have already heard before birth. Or we could not have been born. Right. If you say so.

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

The Research Takes It From There

How to hear your character play? If you don’t even play yourself, but leave that talent to your baby sister (aswell)? Does he have Ashkenazy’s slavic charisma? Otherwise does his playing resemble the Russian born Kissin or Gilels? Who may he have heard on his record player? Does he have Benedetti Michelangeli’s enigmatic touch? Is he the classical Barenboim? I doubt he has Brendel’s sparkly fingers. And Pollini I reserve for Chopin, while the quirky Gould for me is Bach and only Bach (or the only Wagner I find palatable). I never heard much by the highly recommended Richard Goode and never even heard of recordings in existence by Stephen Kovacevich. I keep returning to Richter, but I could not possibly argue why.

John Ogdon

In the Flying Fish (the precursor to the Blue Dakini) I listend predominantly to tapes by Kempff. I’d get the Iranian best friend to sit in the passenger seat and lend me his (fairly useless) ear. Not only is he deaf to all music but Latin, he never heard his best friend play (meeting him only at university). It can’t have sounded as good as any of these “masters”, I propose: prodigal, Moscow conservatory ready or not, the pianist is only 15! The genius beside me, congenially reminds me of Mozart. And I realise I still don’t have an ear for telling good-better-best apart. What makes one “better” than the other? Even if I don’t think it is entirely down to personal taste.

Maria Joao Pires
I walk past a pianist on my way to my physiotherapist, once a month, and wonder if he is somebody we might know if we visited our concert hall regularly. He is, at least, a very self-confident conservatory-level student, who is not ashamed to throw open his balcony doors to regale us on the latest piece he has practiced to perfection (by my ear).

How do pianists make a living in this world of tiny demand, appalling cultural budgets and much talent? I catch myself imagining this pianist, who plays to the city for an audience, to be a man, but I remind myself of Margaretha Argerich and Mitsuko Uchida or Pires to modify this masculine quality the piano exacts of a musician. You are controlling a beast of an instrument, after all, which requires much physical strength (especially since the Hammerklavier came into existence, much to the appreciation of the pounding Beethoven) but above all, one needs to (mentally) be able to manage a fairly analytical application of the will force in the limb system (operating ten fingers and two feet). Ever helpful (seldom) to my analysis of the character, the Baltic pianist makes himself a decent match at chess, besides. That clue then sorted. But why it should all pour into leukemia (in my narrative) still moves me to tears.

Nitin Sawhney explains why he turned down an OBE. Right on!

Beginning with Beethoven in the mid 2000’s I have worked my way through a string of recording artists and their other recordings, leading me to other composers, until I came a bit full circle, after six years and concluded repertoir is (relatively) limited for the classical player. Enough to clog up my house, but if you’re any good you seem to land up playing the same music as your colleagues. I suppose the same goes for some popular music too (The Old Horse springs to mind).

To be an artist and use music as your medium, is not the same as to play music. I think my alternating Kempff with Sawhney gave me the etheric electromechanical transducer to pick up this message. What is our obsession with listening to music about? Where has all the music gone to anyway? Only those formerly-so-terrifying beats remain. There is something jungle in that which is wild but not “Ur”. Something ecstatic but not liberating. It winds up the monkey with his tin drum again and again and again.

Who wouldn't want a singing-dancing house elephant!? Ganesha: choose your favorite here

The story I set out to write, lead me to see, I know that much, that life is a sponge for karma (primal sin) if we begin to see our our diseases and malevolence in that light, we can begin to remedy. Otherwise, we will keep on replacing one condition with a worse (more resistant) one.

I understand already how our senses are fallen, made coarse and sensitive to material data of an atomic world. What we see and hear, therefore, is all part and parcel of the Maya (delusion or play we put on). Very “real” but thereby not spiritual. What is the way out? Love is a pathway. Music points the way, perhaps, but how are we going to learn to make this sweet love collectively, symphonically, conducted by one Ear?

It is easy for me - free of doctrine - to use catholic (original), hermetic-alchemical terminology, such as the Fall or the image of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden naked. I can work with etymology to further try to pin these images as seen without moral instruction. But how next to tinker together the myth which will help us travel across the bridge, between twin cities, from one sinking city to the next, civilisation hopping, is a tall order that has already cost me 25 years of my life.

In the meantime, stranded on a sinking island, I enjoyed my music (less so now with my hearing going to the dogs) and hopefully have better intertwined my fourfold body. It doesn't always feel like I have, when I go to bed stiff and get up stiffer and the yoga throughout the day seems to keep me stiff. Even the warming sun cannot reach the parts it used to, anymore. I never was much a friend to hormones. I think part of the educational moral here is, also, that no CD collection (or MP3 collection) can ultimately compensate for the human loving touch (a pat on the back, a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand). I think this is the key to my non-novel. A book about love and death when they become all there is to life and dying.

Sir Richard Branson has completed his astronaut training and estimates space tourism to be up and running by the end of next year

Which brings me to Mahler.

All you Stemians not into the Rolling Stones might be into Mahler. Being Steemians you are probably into both, with the world your oyster and the sky no longer the limit, especially not now Branson is officially an astronaut. So here, now, my second appeal to all of you helpful souls out there: It would jolly me along to no end if you

recommend your favorite recording of Mahler’s fourth to me.

for the love of music; or steem to those desperately in need

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Hi sukhasanasister,

Your post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Keep creating awesome stuff! Have a great day :)

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I read your post this morning and wanted to come back for an upvote and to see if you already got tips. You didn't, but you did get a @curie and that makes me happy! :D

As far as the Stones go, I know them, but I only know the oldies. So I can't help you in that department. No surprizes from me. I actually wanted to get surprized as well.

Mahler, I've been to one concert, I believe it was 'Mahler II', it was truly amazing, done by a very young British youth orchestra, and my (then) boss who went to as many Mahler concerts he could said the one I visited was his favourite. So I'll never go to a Mahler concert again, because I've already seen the best?

Anyway. I don't want to leave you empty handed. I'm giving you a link to a video of one of my favourite Dutch bands that's probably not that famous on your side of the ocean yet.

The 360<> video is amazing as well.

Indeed I never heard of Blaudzun. Completely passed me by.

I think any live performance of a piece by Mahler would be "the best" one. I am not sure it is one of those pieces that can survive any recording. As if the digits are too small...

I kiss you goodbye, and probably of all the people I have met here, stand the most chance of bumping into you again, somewhere down the line. What ocean did I ever mention?

The magic of this specific concert was:

  • The orchestra played their last night of a year's tour
  • In the 'Orkestzaal' where Mahler actually WROTE the piece, so basically the piece was made for that room! I believe you could hear that back in the end result
  • The orchestra had only come together a year before, which I learned is a crazy short period of time, and most of them were not even 18 years old

It was an emotional night. I remember it with love.

Are you going? Should I come get you by boat, cross the North Sea?

Now, that is exciting stuff, and for a spirital researcher certainly of no small significance: the same place where it was written!

There we have that theme of "genius" (in the Goethean sense, perhaps) in the youthful musician again. As if the muses can play through them all the better (ego still not hardened yet).

The Swan song... on that note:

Aren't you in the loop yet: my boat sails 31st. When did I mention a Sea?

No, I'm not in the loop. Nobody ever tells me anything. Or I don't spend enough time reading. (I do, but there's a LOT.)

When did you send me an official card for your exit 'party'? How can I convince you to stay or even to come back once a month with one of your rich musings?

(I've always been baffled by how you can write your posts once a day!)

(And impressed.)

"Anyone who has read “Pi” will know the chances of surviving an extended time alone at sea are slim and largely depend on living out the illusion - and daring to reach beyond."

Beautiful quote.... seriously, how on earth did you dig that one up!?

I am going to consider it a holiday to help me settle back down on my raft (the hours were indeed gruelling) and I will check in for administrative affairs (wallet/closing replies) once or twice more. Then the self-induced Pi-experiment requires me to check in with what remains on 6 December. That will be the actual long-goodbye; for this summer I need to watch you all fade into the distance or not - who travels how, when and where beyond Steemit, thanks to Steemit? What is the true potential of virtual reality as we now know it, and what do we need to work on? There may be no answers to any of these questions worth sharing, but I trust they will be useful to my - most private - spiritual research.

I can't help with the Stones or Mahler, but I do have a snazzy piece of music for a snappy pre 1974 Mercedes SL. Somewhere in the depths of my collection I have a version from Pinchas Zukerman recorded in Minneapolis, but that one is not available on line. Itzhak Perlman, however, is available to provide the music for a cruise through the mountains with the top down.

.... And he (Mr. Merc) is only called "Winter".... (in Russian). I repeat. Remarkable. Or maybe not for anyone with a valknut.

Привет! Mr. зима I presume? You're serious?

Yes, and a doctor besides.... and so the plot thickens.

Can't wait to read a good story from you. A dashing Doctor Zima in a 1973 Mercedes 450 SL listening to Vivaldi's Winter while carving up the alps from Innsbruck to Merano perhaps? Oh, I know, driving from Zweisselstein to San Leonardo, not so many Trucks to get in the way of Simca fahren.

I may have some Jazz before you leave, a combo Amy Winehouse, Django Reinhard type thing I recorded today, but like your book, I don't want to give away too many details. I first have to get permission to publish which at the earliest happens tomorrow, ..if I manage to render a video tonight.

I may also get a regular gig recording live bands in near impossible locations :))

Nothing is impossible, as long as you tuck that stepladder under your arm. (Intrigued what you mean by near-impossible! Festival season around the corner... surely not? Crowds and all....)
In any case, sounds like you'll be getting out of the house more regularly. Go easy on the stiff joints (which have grown weak on steam), don't wear them out in one go!

Giggles! No I meant that Sound is colored by the room, people like to talk about their latest trip to Benidorm or Mallorca right underneath the microphone, bump into my tripod, drum on the tables and walk in front of my Camera to have a better look at the band. Add to that that the LED light is never the same from one set to the next, the tops have 18" woofers that make vocals sound like the interior of a carton box and the dynamic range is more than the amps can handle. Perfect! It's why the pros stay out of these joints leaving me room to get in..

At the Cactus they take good care of me. I get half a table to put my tripod on so I can shoot over people's heads, I get a beer crate if I need to get low with the other Camera and a Barstool so I can reach and climb into the chandeliers if I need to. The regulars are usually helpful. They keep me from falling out of the chandeliers, protect me from bullies and drunks, and occasionally buy me a drink. As you can see, my joints are well cared for as long as I can hold a Camera.

Some bands have literally dragged me out of the house to shoot video, ..and not regretted it.

Since I'm done with the movie shoot, I'm getting back to my first love, Music. In the past I suggested it may be better to record bands without an audience. Now the owner and VvCL are working on turning the Café into a recording studio during the day when it's closed and they came up with a plan to pay for it all. Hope it works out :) Nah, we make it work. Ever since I started recording there, the owner tells me, bands have been lining up to play at his place, making it easy for him to get the pick of the litter. Free video and getting paid for a gig seems a good reason to show up and with the addition of a multi track recording studio the sound is going to be even better than just me and a microphone.

This all started with a Birfday gift a few years ago....

See, Birfdays aren't only barfdays!

Fingers crossed this project really gets off the ground. Nah, you'll pick it up by the scruff and send it swinging into a perpetuum mobile success! First loves never lie! (Well, there's a new bit of gum to chew on.)

Stones: Emotional Rescue, Soul Survivor, Silver Train and I'm a King bee.
But, I think I still like Roxy Music best :) Especially, Mother of Pearl. Listen to the entire song, he covers an entire spectrum of emotions.

PS--Congrats on curie & have to say I do NOT like your countdown of musings--slipping away too quickly........
I'll miss your stellar posts.

Don't know what a curie is, I'm afraid, so I haven't been as thrilled as everybody else seems to be for me.
Will be checking out those four stones.
Have listened more to the smoother Brian Ferry (solo) than RM, but shall venture into this little oyster on a drive somewhere away from here, but with you reading the map for me.

Some robot from outer space that spreads your words through bullhorn to the masses.
I LOVE that you don't know. Being thrown up on a high horse and paraded without warning can be a jarring experience ;)

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