‘loud’-cast

been listening to ‘a lot’ of podcasts ‘lately.’ don’t know if it’s just me and now just have the volume ‘louder’, but ‘a fair chunk’ of the ads seem to play at a ‘higher volume’ (sometimes the speakers even ‘crack’) than the ‘main content’ like tv before. true, this has ‘captured my attention’ but it seems to have had the opposite intended effect on me: it annoys me and makes me want to have ‘less to do’ with these businesses. i’m not sure if its true but from a ‘practical sense’, it seems my experoence has been when the volume is ‘louder’, the battery ‘drains faster.’

the sound and the fury

was finally able to watch Oppenheimer a few nights ago as it’s now streaming. wanted to watch it but it’s ‘too long’ for me to ‘see’ in the cinema. i don’t usually pay much attention to ‘ancillary Oscar categories like Best Sound’, but i ‘thought and felt it was rather good and the award was well deserved’…

back to BASEcs

I’ve heard that ‘consciously’ listening to the baseline of a song changes the way you hear it. It supposedly gives you an alternate way to hear a song. This gives you a ‘different’ perspective for something you thought of as already ‘familiar.’

It’s not as difficult as mindfulness but it’s not ‘easy’ and requires some practise. Try to ‘actively’ listen to the base. It’s not about ‘blocking out’ all other things but putting it ahead of everything.

While it may not work for you, try it (anyway, it works for me). I’m a ‘melody person’ but it’s given me a new appreciation for songs I thought I knew. It goes to the truism: “what’s old is new again.”

p.s. I’m trying a new format – tell me what you think.

high fidelity: on movies about music and serendipity

i thought High Fidelity would always be my favourite franchise. it’s one of rare exceptions where i prefer the film to the novel by Nick Hornby. don’t get me wrong – i like both to the point that i follow it’s TV “reimagining”.

just this arvo, i “stumbled” upon the movie, Hearts Beat Loud on the SBS streaming service and really liked it. there were two lines that resonated withe me (i’m paraphrasing, of corse): one was that when life gives you a conundrum then make art, and the other is, you first need to be brave before you can be good. both are set in a NY record store but probably the reason it “slightly” edges out the other one is that the actors perform the music (instead of “spouting out” a list of songs/events given a particular criterion).

i mentioned before, Juliet, Naked!. it makes my top three (i wish i could “complete” the list in true High Fidelity fashion but i’ve yet to watch enough films “worthy” of this accolade).

in my younger years, i think i was sort of a music snob. i think it was a “necessary” phase – in the same way, i think artists need to “master” realism before they branch out stylistically (IMHO, i don’t think this step is “required” but it tends to provide more “robust”portfolios ). maybe it’s my “advanced” age or “embracing” Australian culture, you like what you like – damn “guilty pleasures”.

i’m not a technophobe but my friend is right – there’s a “warmth” to vinyl (and other analog media) despite sound “impurities” (hopefully, i don’t sound like a wanker). maybe some of it is “nostalgia” as my generation experienced the evolution of media. as my friend once “lamented”, newer generations won’t know the relationship between a pencil and an audio cassette. tangentially to this point, one of my favourite albums of all time is Full Moon Fever by the late Tom Petty – not just because i like the songs and describe them as “cohesive” but because i had the CD version and approximately half-way there is a blurb that at this point some listeners would need to flip their records to continue listening to the rest of it – so to be “fair”, he deliberately inserted a “pause”.

(Romeo and) Juliet: on thoughs about the film, Juliet ,Naked

i watched Juliet Naked it wasn’t that different from a “formulaic” romantic comedy – it’s just i found the dialogue quite “pithy”.i liked the comedy stylings of Chris O’ Dowd in The IT Crowd (maybe since i used to work in tech i could relate). strangely, it’s his choice of “dramatic” roles i find appealing: this film and The State of the Union, a limited television series.

it sort of reminds me of the movie: High Fidelity ( this was a very rare instance where i enjoyed the film aside from the book by Nick Bantock – who happens to be one of my favourite authors).

it’s probably the writing which i like in both films – i’m a sucker for “good” dialogue. there’s a line in the film which struck me, paraphrasing it was to the effect that art is not for the artist as water isn’t for the plumber – effectively elevating the “beholder” in the power dynamic wrought equation.

generally, i tend to like some of the roles that Ethan Hawke accepts: Gattaca, Boyhood, Great Expectations, Training Day, Reality Bites, and Dead Poets Society, It seems “foolish” to expect i’d like all his movies.

if you’re doing nothing, it’s an “alright” flick to watch.

born to run

PBS Newshour showed again Part 1 of Jeffrey Brown‘s interview with Bruce Springsteen (originally aired December 19, 2016; the video url: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/bruce-springsteen-tackles-truth-song-memoir ). It was meant to be a promo of his memoir but it was much more to me.

He might not be my favourite artist or a technical singer but like he says: he’s learned to ‘inhabit his songs’ which makes his songs more believable.  Moreover, his working-class roots makes him seem authentic and relatable. I don’t pretend to be an expert on him (or his numerous works) but it wasn’t until I heard the original acoustic (and much more slower) version of ‘Born in the USA’ that I thought I understood the lyrics and what that song was truly about.

As he says in his interview and his in his new memoir “I wasn’t modest in the assessment of my abilities. Of course, I thought I was a phony (sic). That is the way of the artist. But I also thought I was the realest thing you had ever seen.” It’s about dichotomy, I guess – existing on two different planes at the same time.  For me, a real artist lives (and exists) with contradictions – they are only human after all.

You can watch Part 2 at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/music-medicine-bruce-springsteen

sing

 

last week a choir performed this song.  I haven’t heard it in awhile being in OZ but it’s one of my favourite hymns. It made sense that they sung the English version so that most people could understand.

Strangely, the original is by St. Ignatius of Loyola and for some reason my personality clashes with the Jesuits.  The point is (regardless of spirituality), we should always aspire to be more selfless.  I don’t claim to be so inclined but the reminder to be generous is always welcome.

The English lyrics can be found below but I find the Tagalog version more beautiful and expressive.  There are many versions (most of which you can find on YouTube)  but I still prefer the one by the Bukas-Loob Ministry.

To paraphrase St. Augustine:  “Those who sing pray twice.”  A certain person inadvertently was mistaken  when he claimed to originate the saying (having received an Augustinian education I’m reasonably certain).  I’ve grown to be an admirer, who doesn’t like a good redemption story (I think that requires a seperate blog entry).

I may no longer have the ability to do it outwardly but in my mind, I still sing.

PRAYER FOR GENEROSITY (with English lyrics)

Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous
Teach me to serve You as I should
To give and not to count the cost
To fight and not to heed the wounds
To toil and not to seek for rest
To labor and ask not for reward
Save that of knowing that I do Your most holy will

 

PANALANGIN SA PAGIGING (PRAYER FOR GENEROSITY in Tagalog)

Panginoon, turuan Mo akong maging bukas palad
Turuan Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo
Na magbigay ng ayon sa nararapat
Na walang hinihintay mula sa Iyo

Na makibakang ‘di inaalintana
Mga hirap na dinaranas
Sa tuwina’y magsumikap na hindi humahanap
Ng kapalit na kaginhawahan
Na ‘di naghihintay kundi ang aking mabatid
Na ang loob Mo’y siyang sinusundan

Panginoon, turuan Mo akong maging bukas palad
Turuan Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo
Na magbigay ng ayon sa nararapat
Na walang hinihintay mula sa Iyo

the sound of silence

i’m currently watching the HBO documentary:  Soundtracks: Songs that Defined History on SBS and can’t help but notice how music affects our demeanour and the way we think. This just highlighted for me how some people like songs without fully understanding the words – I can’t help but think of The Police’s Roxanne and Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side.

The recent death of Tom Petty made me think.  I thought it was just the melody that made me like his music but it was brought to my attention that some of his lyrics were profound – it seems at a subconscious level I knew: music is important but I always believed that lyrics are paramount.

It is rare that an entire album is good (IMHO there are just a few of these). Full Moon Fever is one of my favourites.  Aside from liking the songs, I get a kick out of his intermission:  how CD owners need to wait in oder to be fair to vinyl owners that need to flip the record to side b.

despacito

Maybe it’s just because I’m not a Belieber or due to nostalgia (I grew up watching Sesame Street after all and I am a fan of Ernie and the Rubber Duckie Song) but I really liked El Patito (a parody of Despacito).  I don’t typically share things online but couldn’t resist forwarding it to few people – sorry for the unsolicited e-mails.

Anyway, here it is – enjoy:

jingle all the way

i’m not the biggest fan of carols.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m no Grinch.  I just find most of tem too commercial (sounds like a jingle – pardon the pun) or some of them boring (not my cup of tea).  The only album I’m able to stand is Jazz to the World – maybe because it doesn’t sound so Christmassy (if that’s a word at all).

I’m partial to One Small Child (maybe because we sang it in high school) and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer ( maybe because I find it funny).  I’m a fan of Do They Know It’s Christmas and Come All Ye Faithful – proving I don’t like most of them but there are a few Christmas songs I can endure. I  like songs not as a class but individually – why should it be different for a particular season?