Bohemian Rhapsody... :)

Neuroimaging Laboratory - Tonedeaf Test

A tone-deafness test made by the Neuroimaging Laboratory, The music and neuroimaging laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

http://jakemandell.com/tonedeaf/OnlineScreen450.swf


Trust me, it's worth taking.
And just for the record, I'm a wee bit above average. ;)

A different kind of Fly Me To The Moon...........

iNudge again. :)

My little iNudge sample. Yeah, it was raining and I had nothing else to do. ;)

Madeleine Peyroux - Dance Me To The End Of Love

A great cover version of the Leonard Cohen's song Dance Me To The End Of Love sung by Madeleine Peyroux.

Maxence Cyrin - Where Is My Mind

Maxence Cyrin's piano cover of The Pixies' Where Is My Mind from his last album Novö Piano. The song is featured in the It's Kind Of A Funny Story soundtrack.

Those Dancing Days - Help Me Close My Eyes

A track from the Those Dancing Days new album Daydreams and Nightmares. Sweet Swedish indie pop.



http://www.myspace.com/thosedancingdays

Music Forever...

Keren Ann - My Name is Trouble

A song from Keren Ann's new album called 101. The album will be released on the 28th of February. It is said to be a mixture of french chanson, folk music and dreamy pop. Me looking forward.

My name is trouble my first name's a mess

No need to greet me I'm here to confess

But if you let me hold you I won't hold my breath

And if you let me love you I will let you down...

I (not) dance...

Prokofiev - Peter and the Wolf [narrated by David Bowie]

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, narrated by David Bowie.



You can listen to the complete children's symphony on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/60i2lSdCpjiAFmYw3x5gAw or buy it on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/david-bowie-narrates-peter/id310921801 or download it at: http://www/mediafire.com/?mrfzziyymqm...


:)

Handel - Sarabande in D minor

Georg Friedrich Handel's Sarabande from the Harpischord Suite in D minor HWV437.

One of my personal favorite baroque masterpieces.
Enjoy!

The Swingle Singers - Eleanor Rigby

The Beatles acapella cover by The Swingle Singers, a London-based vocal octet.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swingle_Singers

The Beatles - Hey Jude

Petr Spatina

Petr Spatina is a czech glass harpist and in this commercial for the Skoda Superb he's playing 597 crystal glasses. Incredible, eh?!

Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day

Another Sunny Day. Happy, happy song.

Paolo Conte - Via Con Me

Il grande Paolo Conte.

Joe Cocker - First We Take Manhattan

Hm, a really nice one I heard today, believe it or not, for the first time in my life. Thanks, Du.

Efterklang feat. Efterkids - Full Moon

Efterklang. Efterkids.

Christopher O'Riley - Exit Music (For A Film)

One of my personal favorite Radiohead songs. Smooth piano cover.

Music for a rainy afternoon...

Haruki Murakami - 1Q84 (part II)

[ichi-kew-hachi-yon]

A quest, for life and love, and secrets buried deep inside each and everyone of us. A quest in a new world. A world where 'little people' make the 'air dolls' and where a couple of Moons shine upon our utterly confused minds.

In the second part of 1Q84, Murakami continues with the most unbelievable choice of music pieces. Of course, it starts with  Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta (this time directed by Seiji Ozawa and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). I believe it slowly becomes the sound that will see our adventure through.

Year 1954. Louis Armstrong plays W.C. Handy. Tengo's after sex music sessions...

There's no youtube post for Atlanta Blues from the album Louis Armstrong plays W.C. Handy so I decided to post the one I could find. If you have a Spotify account you can listen to the whole album. Louis Amstrong – Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy

Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for Piccolo and Strings in C major RV 443 ... Aomame and the Ficus plant...

Tengo and his loneliness... Nothing suits better than Billie Holiday's cracked voice.


and Duke Ellington's smooth sounds.......

Tengo and Fukaeri... like Sony and Cher... the greatest duo... The beat goes on...

'Without your love, it's a honkey-tonk parade...'

'So soon may I follow,

When friendships decay,

From Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.

When true hearts lie withered

And fond ones are flown,

Oh! who would inhabit,

This bleak world alone?'

Well, G. P. Telemann is not the most famous baroque composer. :) Anyways, don't you just love this guy's private little studio?! :)

Jean-Philippe Rameau's suite in G minor.

Marcel Dupré's Cortege et Litanie (Op. 19 No. 2) ... Earl Grey and strawberry jam toast for breakfast...

Louis Armstrong - Chantez Le Bas (Sing 'Em Low) from the album Louis Armstrong sings W.C. Handy... As you can see, I'm not the only geek digging Murakami's music taste. ;)

If you could get a peek into my head's jukebox, I believe that by pressing shuffle, you would get a whole spectrum of sounds: from New Orleans jazz, via french electro sounds, across strawberry fields and grapevines all the way to the Figaro's wedding or maybe barber shop in Sevilla.... I guess that's why I like these sudden changes in sounds, places, dates... It's something I can relate to.......... Cooking with the sounds of the Rollingstones.


digging up memories...


Brahms - Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98

Robert Schumann - Etudes Symphoniques, Op. 13

J.S. Bach - Violin sonata No. 4


The monotonic melody on the phone...

Great Michel Legrand and the Thomas Crown Affair soundtrack, Windmills of Your Mind... Aomame as Faye Dunaway... Cool and sexy... On her quest to return to the world she once knew....

I believe this is the perfect sound chosen to end this chapter of our musical journey in the 1Q84 world... All we can do now is wait, read, listen... wait, read, listen... wait, read and listen....

CitySounds.fm

Interesting online radio project. Find your city and some of the tracks might sound familiar.
CitySounds.fm

Ben Folds/Nick Hornby - Doc Pomus

Jamiroquai - Morning Glory

Pure sex.

Mando Diao - Gloria

So true...

Beatle Juice

Foals - Spanish Sahara (w/ London Contemporary Orchestra)

Yves Montand - A Bicyclette

SiON SoundObject Quartet

Amazing little music tool. You can play with it for hours!!!

SiON SoundObject Quartet - wonderfl build flash online

http://wonderfl.net/c/9Xx7/fullscreen

The T-Mobile Welcome Back

The Power of Music...
The Power of Emotion... 
Life's for Sharing...

Don't Worry, I'm Yours [Remastered]

Crazy, crazy mash-up.

Don't Worry, I'm Yours [Remastered] (Jason Mraz vs. Bobby McFerrin vs. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) by DJ Dain

Tracks on a Map [Soundcloud]

In one of my earlier posts, I've mentioned a webpage called Soundcloud. As far as I'm concerned, Soundcloud is the ultimate music sharing experience for musicians. Whether you want to listen to tracks people post, upload your own creations, interact with other users or just check out what are the Apps used to create music, I believe you've just found your paradise.

Blur- To The End (La Comedie) (with Françoise Hardy) by thunderbirds

In this post I would like to suggest another great thing powered by Soundcloud. It's Tracks on a Map. Using GoogleMaps it's possible to browse the Soundclouds content by 'flying around the globe'. The great thing about Tracks on a Map is that when you choose a category and press play, it will play you the songs from the selected category from all over the world. Like a world shuffle. From Italy to New Zealand... Ohio... Japan...... Truly unique music experience and a lovely, lovely tool.

While playing with it I've found a real nice ambient track by Marco Manese from Firenze.

http://tracksonamap.com/#track-3027473

GOODNIGHT SOUL (Sperimental Ambient) by Marco Manese Music

I do love when music and technology blend perfectly. :) 

Four Seasons in One Day

Good night! ;)

Nudge - everyone can create music

www.inudge.net/inudge is a wonderful musician's toy. Wonderful toy indeed. 
Check it out and you might find yourself playing with it for HOURS!
;)

The Edge

Tonight's lullaby. Nighty night.

George Gershwin

George Gershwin is one of the most recognized American composers of all times. You may know him for his standards like Summertime, I got rhythm, Embraceable You or Fascinatin' Rhythm, opera Porgy and Bess, orchestral composition Rhapsody in Blue, or maybe some of his piano works. Among artists who perfomed Gershwin's compositions you can find not only names like Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Nat King Cole but also Jon Bon Jovi, Cher, Sinead O'Connor, Elton John, Sting, Peter Gabriel and a couple more who got together and recorded the album The Glory Of Gershwin together with Larry Adler, American musician and a Gershwin's lifelong friend. 

Although Gershwin lived a short life (Died at the age of 38!), he left a whole musical fortune. It is thanks to him and the musicians like him that the music, as we know it now, evolved and came all this way. This is my humble homage.

Official webpage of George and Ira Gershwin: http://www.gershwin.com.

Soul Jazz Records

Soul Jazz Records is an amazing little online music store. From Jazz, Funk, Hip-Hop, Reggae all the way to German rock and Electronic music. It's the rarities universe with the great, great, great sounds. Prices are very good and the editions look delicious. Check it out and you might find a few things you like. :)

Njoy!

A Beautiful Mind [James Horner]

When it comes to music... real music... you know... the one you play when you're lying on your bed and enjoying a relaxed afternoon or a soft early morning... or a semi-alcoholized late evening... I choose soundtracks!

How many times have you seen a movie and asked yourself what it would be like if it didn't have a soundtrack?! Or maybe you wondered what it would be like if the book you're reading had one... I must say that I can't imagine myself watching a movie without music. Luckily music is all around us so I won't have to find out. :) And yes, the books with soundtracks really do sound great. For example, I've read J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings while listening to the soundtracks. I must admit it was a truly wonderful experience. Will repeat it sometime soon. Maybe with the Harry Potters.

I find it funny how music can evoke a scene or even a complete story. Guess it's the magic that music holds, that one thing that makes it so special. Someone once said: "Music is what feelings sound like." and I couldn't agree more. That's why soundtracks make an important part of each movie, they give it the 'heart' touch to it...

Today I opened my Spotify soundtracks playlist and found James Horner's Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the movie A Beautiful Mind. As an easy monday afternoon, I decided to go for it and share with you one of my personal favorite soundtracks of all times. A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics is beautiful... strong... sensitive... intelligent... emotional... divine... It's a journey throughout history and time, mathematical universes and the intimate corners of our beautiful minds.

Please, do turn your lights off, lie on your beds and try to feel this one, because it really is worth of it.

Haruki Murakami - 1Q84 (part I)

I've always liked Murakami's musical taste. Through the choices he makes when it comes to putting the soundtracks to the moments in his books, you can see that music has a special meaning for him. A wide range of musical pieces color his books and give them a true intimate touch. 

After reading a few of his books, I decided to research and learn more about his life. And then it all came into place. Murakami-music-puzzle-solved! He always appreciated quality music, mostly jazz, and actually owned a small jazz bar in Tokyo for a couple of years. I guess that's why his musical choices are always the refreshing ones.

For those of you who don't know him, Haruki Murakami is a japanese novelist. Some of the critics even regard him as the creator of a whole new movement in postmodern literature. Sputnik Sweetheart; Norwegian Wood; Dance, dance, dance are some of Murakami's most recognized novels.

I would like to dedicate this post to his latest novel and its musical background. 1Q84 is truly a special and, if I may dare say, Murakami's best novel. It's a different world. A 1Q84 world, a world with two Moons, "Little People", love, crime, pleasure, guilt, secrets, punishment, destinies beautifully mingled... A story so well told that you're not able to think of anything else!

Please follow me on this musical journey.

It is the Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta that helps us move and actually get into the story, maybe even sense the weirdness of the events that are about to happen.

Then we simply move to something completely different. A sound coming from a standing car. Michael Jackson and Billie Jean.

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene... ;) 

That's what I liked so much about Murakami's music, it's like the wind that brings different sounds from different parts of the history. Now we move to 1720's Germany and Johann Sebastian Bach and The Well-Tempered Clavier. Here I chose my personal favorite.

I simply love these changes. Nat King Cole and Sweet Lorraine.

It is only a paper moon

hanging over a cardboard sea

but it wouldn't be make believe

if you believed in me....

Another fascinating choice.



I chose the next two songs. Guess the moment didn't require any particular song, just the poppy sound. ;) The Queen. ABBA.

Another amazing leap into the history. Another choice of mine. Georg Friedrich Händel and the Sonata for the Recorder and Harpsichord in C Major HWV 365

J. S. Bach and St. Matthew Passion BWV 244

We're off to England, year 1596. John Dowland and Lachrimae Pavane (Flow my tears).

And the last musical episode in the first book of the 1Q84 trilogy is Joseph Haydn and his Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIa/1 (ca. 1765)

I really do hope you enjoyed this one.
I did. A lot.

(to be continued...)