Music

It seems to be a deceptively hard song to cover, but here’s a good one with a man, a woman and a ukulele on a living-room sofa, deceptively casual, deceptively perfect. Nobody’s done it better, not even Radiohead. And for something completely different: a great ‘Nobody Does it Better’ series montage by Rik Moran.

David Cripps, the London Symphony Orchestra’s horn soloist, on playing the Star Wars music, and particularly “Leia’s Theme”. Seems clear from this and an interview I read on “Rey’s Theme” that John Williams is inspired by charismatic actors.

FYI: Prokofiev was the best. By Bruce Turlish.

New for me and rather swish and great: Arturo Márquez’s Danzóns. This is #2, as played by the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the charismatic Gustavo Dudamel.

For those of you about to Sabbath I salute you with Dead Best: 10 Top Performances of ‘Terrapin Station’ by Deadhead Peter Wendel.

(All YouTube links…) You’ve heard the accordion, now hear:

• the piano: Rey’s Theme
• two oboes (sweet though sound isn’t great even to my ear)
• mocked-up full orchestra (awesome)
• two harps (not quite as sweet as I’d hoped, but still, harps)
• a nice composite of all the theme’s appearances in the movie
• the coolest (video of this one’s worth watching too)
• some conspiracy theory musical analysis

And in the LA Times, an interview with John Williams about the soundtrack.

So the neighbor Brian is playing his and I thought, you know what, John Williams’ “Rey’s Theme” from Star Wars: The Force Awakens kind of lends itself to the accordion. And here it is on YouTube, very nicely done by Adam Matlock in his bedroom. Commendations to you, sir.

Derek Sivers’ MusicThoughts. Prepare, good friends, for a bombardment of enhanced civility.

A bit of a fun mindbender. Queen’s Greatest Hits performed by what I guess is a Beatles tribute band using the latter’s idioms. Full album.

You owe it to yourself and to the rest of us to watch and listen to “Bohemian Rhapsody” played on a church organ by blind organist Bert van den Brink.

Oh my, the entire Star Wars symphonic suite played by one man on a Wurlitzer.

Wow. Dan Kois, a senior editor at Slate, heads to Portland for a week of serious karaoke.

All 8 Kraftwerk shows at Tate Modern, £60 per, sold out quicker than the museum’s servers could handle.

Loudness, pitch and timbre: in a study, newer pop music really does all sound the same.

Look forward to some naughty chords: Jeff Lynne is coming out with new stuff.

Marc Martel of downhere does justice to Queen’s “Somebody to Love” backed by, among others, Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Nice review of Scorsese’s documentary on George Harrison, Living in the Material World. “Scorsese is making a film about something that matters, but never quite succeeds in conveying that.” Here’s Variety’s smarter review.

On George Lucas’s editor wife Marcia.

A Capella version of ELO’s “Mr Blue Sky” by Holmes.

Julian Barnes visits Sibelius’s house.

Irit and I were discussing this regarding ET, which still feels contemporary: in arts, entertainment and style, it’s been Groundhog Day for 20 years. “Now that we have instant universal access to every old image and recorded sound, the future has arrived and it’s all about dreaming of the past.”

Jeff hearts “Xanadu”.

My second favorite ELO cover: Twilight performed by alphamai1300 on YouTube.

The symphony, the novel, and the end of their affair due to one of them’s demise.

Arstechnica, the iOS 5 review. Featuring game-changers Siri and the iCloud.

Sober breakdown of the viability of the streaming music business model.

Best of the Steve Jobs eulogies: John Siracusa, David Pogue. And one about his house. A favorable comparison with Thomas Edison.

Peggy Lee interprets Toots Thielemans “Making Whoopee”. Ms Lee again, warming up Dinah Shore. And a Disney documentary recreating the composing of “The Siamese Cat Song”.

I’ve been subjected to the horror that is contemporary BBC Radio 1 lately, wherein they talk about the #1 single. I was skeptical, but it turns out the UK charts are real, and more singles are sold than ever.

Good Shabbes to everyone, and a song from and by Jeff Lynne.

An interview with the towering Kobi Oz sitting somewhere at Rothschild.

Visual breakdown of The Kleptones’ A Night at the Hip-Hopera (requires Flash).

The Kleptones “Come Again”.

A perfect, dense explosion of James Bond fun and some copycats 1, 2, 3, 4

The great Kobi Oz on his development as an artist.

Gerry Rafferty, 63, sails upon the waters.

The hills are still alive: Sound of Music cast sings Edelweiss.

Saxondale tells The Sun how it is — an in-character interview.

Lee as one of the SC Wholly Rollers opening for the Blues Traveler with Sista Otis in Myrtle Beach.

More prophesy from A Clockwork Orange.

The ‘Dead in academia.

[Dead link]

The “Building my website with ExpressionEngine” song.

The Voice of Peace, back Nov 7 after 15 years!

With technology, our relationship to culture becomes less like a long-distance romance and more like marriage.

Irit’s a fan. A survey of books marking the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death.

Valery Gergiev takes the London Symphony Orchestra on tour to the USA doing Prokofiev.