Musical Downsizing

My brother gave me three CD's for Christmas. Nothing too surprising about that. He always asks for a Christmas "wish list" and the selections he gave me were taken from my list. I was, however, I bit shocked with my own musical requests. I tend to like lush, melodic, 'large' music with a myriad of instruments and beautiful harmony. Puccini operas, Mozart, Beethoven, the Beatles, the Eagles, Guns 'n' Roses, vocalists backed with an orchestra, large choirs singing intricate harmonies.

I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a musical fanatic. I teach music. I think about it a lot. I am immersed in it. I love music. And I have very strong musical opinions. I am totally appalled by many of the musical offerings available to the public in this day and age. It seems we have reached a point where talent, musical knowledge, musical technique and even musical ability are no longer a requirement for superstardom. So many vocalists and bands sound exactly the same to me. I firmly believe their 'sameness' derives from the fact that so many of today's "artists" are not really musicians. Or maybe I should say that so many of today's "musicians" are not really artists. Regardless, and before I really get into a major sermon based on my musical views, I think a lot of the so called music on the market today is just commercial crap. I mean Paris Hilton a musician? Give me a break.

Now....back to what I began to write about in my first paragraph.....I know, I know...I get carried away. What can I say? I'm a classically trained musician. I could discuss and debate music for days. I surprised myself with my musical wish list because I strayed from my usual listening tastes and, no, I did not ask for the Paris Hilton CD.

I was a Kris Kristofferson fan in the 70's. He wrote some great music and I was totally into the Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson flick A Star Is Born. Kris played an aging rock star on his way out and his character in the movie seemed rather prophetic for what was happening in his real life musical career. His voice was sort of rusty and abused. And he pretty much had a personal and professional meltdown in the 80's. I wanted to hear what he had to offer as a solo artist twenty-something years later so I asked for his 2006 release "This Old Road". I am not disappointed. His voice is cleaner than I've ever heard it. Kris isn't a very melodic singer and most of the songs on this CD are very sparse. Mostly just Kris and a guitar. His lyrics are layered with nuance and wisdom. Very powerful. A sample from "In The News": "...Burning up the atmosphere and cutting down the trees; The billion dollar bombing of a nation on its knees; Anyone not marching to their tune they call it treason; Everyone says God is on his side. See the lightning, hear the cries; Of the wounded in a world in Holy war; Mortal thunder from the skies; Killing everything they say they're fighting for....."

Next on my wish list was the soundtrack from Brokeback Mountain. No discussion of the subject matter of the movie.....maybe we'll do that in another post. The music from this movie is excellent. Again, very sparse. Most of it is guitar, pump organ and pedal steel guitar. Haunting melodies with unexpected harmonic twists here and there. Some excellent collaborations between Gustav Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin. Great vocals by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and others.

Last, but not least, my brother gave me Dwight Yoakam's "Blame The Vain". It is a 2005 release, but I didn't have it yet. Again, I am not disappointed. Classic Yoakam with a few quirky surprises thrown in for good measure. Not as sparse as Kristofferson and the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, but I love that Bakersfield sound. We lost Buck Owens this year so it is up to Dwight to keep it going.

Hope you had the merriest Christmas ever and Happy New Year! I'm gonna listen to some good tunes now........