Here she is - Betty Carter. Been running through my head all day. Maybe I'll write something about Kurt Weill in the morning. We'll see. It's giving me a little trouble playing. Sometimes it does and sometimes it shows me a not found message. If you can't hear it, come on over. I'll play it for you here.

I'm in a Kurt Weill mood. I think it will go on all week. Playing are The Persuasions - great a capella group. When did I get into these guys? Oh, years ago. When I was a teenager I must have read about Kurt Weill, or maybe I saw the old movie version of The Threepenny Opera on television, or something. I have a memory like an onion. Many are the imaginary memories too, or memories of dreams, or stories. Kurt Weill would later become fashionable to perform again by the sillies in the culture. Their overlords at The New York Times must have pulled their little strings.

Scroobius: "Thou Shalt Not stop listening to a particular recording artist just because they've become popular."

Well, I've got a ton of recorded Weill music but very little on CD. This is from one of those various artist comp albums - Tribute to kinda thing - raising money for people who have the letter J in their middle names or whatever hogwash. Nick Cave is on it, doing Mack the Knife.

It was a sure case of Amadeus Syndrome. You know what that is? Some of you may remember the Amadeus movie, about Mozart. It came out around the time of of the composer's bicentennial, maybe even that year. No, wait - I need to look that up. Let's see... that would have been '91. Mozart died in 1791. (I thought it was '93. Time flies...) And that movie came out in '84, according to random web site which must be an authority by virtue of the fact that someone bothered. Ah - who cares?

Most people are told that Mozart was a great composer but they have no idea why because when they listen to music all they hear is sounds. To such people music is the same as singing birds or trucks going by on the highway. It's either pleasant or unpleasant, loud or soft. But they know Mozart was a great composer because someone them them so. The sales of Mozart recordings go through the roof because - well, by and large it's pleasant music, not too challenging. They play it in the background. Then they switch to a Muzak version of the Cyndi Lauper song Time After Time, which is also quite pleasant. It's all the same to them.

So, why is Mozart great? Well, people who can have no idea why Mozart is great musically-speaking have to come up with some sort of reason. Hey - let's pretend he was murdered. Poisoned by a rival. That idea lowers Mozart to the Paris Hilton level so that the sheople can grasp his greatness. Truth is, it was based on a very imaginative and very good play. It got out of hand.

By the way, the fact that someone you don't know killed someone else you don't know - That's not News.

The fact that grown men wearing pajamas chase their balls around in front of 30,000 people - That's not News.

The fact that soldiers die in War - That's not News.

The Weather... Kill Me.

The fact that Jessica split up with Rod to marry Biff after having a fling with DJ Juicy Cheeks in Barbados and anyway she might be pregnant - That's not News.

See the bump? See the bump? - Yes! A palpable bump!

Anyhoo, Kurt Weill got a little of the Amadeus Syndrome treatment with this album. Sting wanted to play Macheath. Of course he did, the pompous wastebucket... But he doesn't appear on this one. Lou Reed does. Theresa Stratas. Elvis Costello and his all-girl orchestra... Ha!

Don't you just love appreciating music with me? I woke up with my hair on fire. Otherwise I'm OK. Don't get me started on Cole Porter being great simply because he was gay. People are clueless.

The most important thing is to have an open mind. Let me begin again. I'm like Tina Turner - I start out nice.

Yes, have an open mind. That means believe nothing. Have no ideas that you haven't vetted with the editors of People magazine or Oprah Winfrey. Be not too convicted. If you have 'deeply-held religious beliefs' for God's sake, keep them to yourself. A cure is being thought of.

The culture doesn't understand benign and happy religious people like me, much less radical Islamists. The notion of an Absolute existing anywhere in the world that began they day they were born is totally obscure to them. It's like trying to describe an apple to a person from another planet where the atmosphere is made of something that resembles pig guts mixed with grape juice. You say An Apple Is Red. An Apple Is Round.

What is 'Red?' What is 'Round?'

You can try to show him an apple, but he doesn't have eyes; he has tentacle-like receptors that arrange molecules on a particle level. How is he ever going to know what an apple looks like? He's not. Not ever.

If you put your ear up against mine you can hear the ocean. Do ya hear that, Sunshine?

I look forward to the day the words of this song are true.

Where was I? - Oh yes, Kurt Weill, The Persuasions. A great composer who was never poisoned. A great vocal group. This is my favorite song of all time ever - today. 

 

This is the song I wanted to post back in February. March? All I could find at that time was Elis Regina's duet with Jobim, in Portuguese, the original lyrics. Antonio Carlos Jobim re-wrote the song for English, and the meaning is changed significantly. He writes a better song here because it is less topical than the original - more universal. I was surprised to find that it was the composer himself who had written these amazing lyrics.

Do remember when you listen to this that in Brasil March is the cruel month bringing winter, not the cruel month teasing us with spring. Other side of the earth and all - toilets flush counter-clockwise. Hey - they think we're the ones who are backwards.

What was that movie? - "Journey to the Other Side of the Sun?" Is anybody remembering that one with me? A fellow ends up on a parallel Earth where everything is backwards and he requires a mirror in order to read anything? Creepy. The question is could a body get used to that, or would it just be too weird?

I just thought of that movie for the first time since... since I saw it on TV as a lad anyway. I shall have to look it up to see if it really does exist or if it isn't one of the Squab's fanciful memories. Oh, he says Hello, by the way. Still traveling...

I used to travel. Why? I don't know. I didn't really want to. The funny thing is lately I've been just overwhelmed with an appreciation of the countryside where I am living, the topography of my own area. For years it seems I was somewhat underwhelmed by that. I required mountains and breath-taking vistas to be impressed. I took this area for granted. But then - it was like turning on a switch - I'm suddenly really appreciating where I am. The most routine route I may take in the course of my day gives me great pleasure, visually-speaking.

Yesterday I was going on about the architecture of the houses. Of course, that's one thing the mountain areas lack. So much of the development in the wilderness - what little there is - is brand spanking new. Log homes at best, but also modulars. They certainly are not pleasing to the eye. But I suppose the people living in them aren't sensitive to that. Well, the outdoor living is the whole point really. Skiing, snowmobiling, all that. We are occasionally rewarded by the view of one of those massive Turn of the Century resort hotels tucked away in the woods.

But I've really enjoyed just buzzing around locally, finding a road that's not on the map and seeing where it goes. Perhaps playing Antonio Carlos Jobim...

This is really a post about nothing, isn't it? Well, I didn't intend to do anything but post the song - without comment. Then it occurred to me that I might as well at least identify it for you. And then... well, one thing led to another, as you can see, and here I am still typing - about nothing, apparently - when I have a game of solitaire waiting for me to finish it. The King of Spades is growing quite impatient with me.

I'll have to tell you about this architecture computer program I really like. It's made for people wanting to remodel their home, or design a new home, but I use it as though it were a game. Well - another time.