Music
Category archives for Music
Simon’s Mix CD
Posted by Martin R on August 21, 2010 I put together a mix CD today for Simon who’s celebrating his 60th birthday. He’s the husband of a colleague of mine, and all I really know about him is that he’s English, he’s a semi-pro musician and he likes Keith Jarrett, Juan Gilberto, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Hermeto Pascoal. So I thought I…
Has Robyn Credited Trans-X for the “Cobrastyle” Melody?
Posted by Martin R on July 25, 2010 The other night my wife suddenly hummed a familiar melody line. After some mental searching I identified it as a slightly modified version of French Canadian synth-poppers Trans-X’s 1983 hit “Living on Video” that I haven’t heard in 20 years or more. But my wife said, “No, it’s this Robyn song I heard on a…
New Albums: Roy Zimmerman, George Hrab
Posted by Martin R on June 28, 2010 Californian Roy Zimmerman is a satirical singer in the vein of Tom Lehrer (who endorses him). He recently released his seventh solo album, Real American, and I’m happy to say that Zimmerman has lost none of the brilliance us fans have come to expect. The disc has 13 tracks of which 3 are spoken political…
In My Earbuds Lately
Posted by Martin R on May 19, 2010 The increasing number of podcasts I subscribe to has tended to crowd music out a bit from my earbuds in recent months. But I do have some good albums to recommend. Here’s what’s on my smartphone right now. Fleet Foxes. Fleet Foxes. 2008. Folky guitars and complex vocal harmonies. Heavy Blinkers. Better Weather. 2002. Bacharach-obsessed…
Atholl Brose
Posted by Martin R on April 16, 2010 To my surprise, I found that the Cocteau Twins’ 1988 song “Athol-Brose” is not named after a comet but after a Scottish drink consisting of oatmeal, honey, whiskey and cream. I’d like a Bose-Einstein condensate with mine, please.
Master and Servant in the Cocktail Lounge
Posted by Martin R on April 2, 2010 As mentioned before I was a big Depeche Mode fan during my teens. Here’s a cool cover from the 1998 tribute CD For the Masses. In other news, a group of Swedish skeptics have started what may be the first dedicated skeptical podcast in Swedish: Skeptikerpodden. Good stuff, check it out. And Simon Singh has…
Karel Gott Owns “Paint it Black”
Posted by Martin R on March 29, 2010 Via David Nessle.
Rundkvist Sibs Sing “Handy Manny” Theme Song
Posted by Martin R on March 23, 2010 You know the bit in Khalil Gibran where he says that children are arrows and parents bows, not archers? The other day my kids recorded this rendition of the “Handy Manny” theme song, and then Junior edited it in Audacity. The same evening he played his first game of Agricola where he ended up sharing…
Concert review: Mika in Stockholm
Posted by Martin R on March 19, 2010 Cosmopolitan popster Mika is a great showman and tours with a great band. The audience at his gig in Stockholm last night was thoroughly charmed by the friendliness and musical mastery on offer. Mika traces his musical ancestry back to acts like the Beatles, Queen, Elton John and George Michael, which would make for a…
