Category Archives: Music

“Mostly Nearly Authentic”

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The real thing; NOT taken from tonight's performance.

Well, this evening L and I went to see the Balinese performance and were both immensely disappointed. For starters, it turns out the listing for the show was quite misleading as it was not at all an authentic affair, which came as a huge disappointment and is very strange, considering the event was held at the museum of fine arts, from which one would expect a certain level of excellence. Out of 20 musician, only one was a confirmed Balinese, and maybe one other was (presumably) Indonesian, while all the others were very much local white-as-chalk French Canadian. There were 4 dancers, three of which were from some Asian descent and reasonably good (one had the most amazing hand gestures), while the other a very very tall, very blue-eyed, blonde French woman. The acoustics were not at all right for that kind of music, which sounded like a bunch of loud noise made by countless out of synch percussion instruments, with plenty of cymbals and clanging. When the French dancer came out and did a solo dance in the full Balinese attire, the whole thing just seemed completely incongruous. She was much too tall and all the facial and eye expressions she made just seemed totally ridiculous. The worst part was that she seemed to do a pretty good job of the actual dancing, but it just didn’t come off right at all. Then, to top it all off, one of the troupe’s very nervous members gave not one, but TWO very long, very boring, very inept speeches, mostly in French, which added nothing whatsoever to the performance. He asked the audience to stay after the last dance as the group had apparently prepared “a surprise” for us, and already at that point, I could tell most of the audience wanted to leave, and we were only half an hour into the hour-long affair! And a very long hour it was too. At least the costumes looked good. A couple next to me did leave right before the “surprise” was sprung on us. In one of the two speeches, the so-called presenter actually said that “this show is mostly nearly an authentic Balinese experience”, which made me groan with discouragement. In other words, a major dud. L was especially upset because she felt responsible, since she was the one who had picked out this show for us, but as I said to her, how were we to know we would have this mockery foisted upon us? At least I got to spend some time with my new friend. That was the best part really, along with a simple dinner we had afterward at the Holt Renfrew café. I still hear the clanging noises in my head and just might have nightmares about it. *Big Shudder*

Tea & Company

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Today was a very fun day. When I finally did manage to drag myself out of bed (at nearly 3 o’clock in the afternoon!—med adjustment making me drowsy again) I got myself a bowl of cereal and sat in front of the computer to read my email, and thank goodness I did, because I had a reminder that I was supposed to meet a friend at 3 on the dot at a café a few blocks away. I don’t think I ever got ready so fast in my life before. Somehow I managed to get there just 5 minutes late. It’s this place called Lili & Oli which is really laid back; they allow dogs and I just love the casual and warm ambiance. I took these photos a few weeks ago when it was uncharacteristically quiet, but gives an idea of the place. I like to go there with Coco after a trip to the library which is practically next door, and sometimes bring my laptop with me too like most people there do as well.

I was meeting a brand new friend, a girl I met at a bookstore a couple of weeks ago. She and her partner had arrived from England a week or two before as he’s gotten recruited for a big job in the aeronautics industry. She was a sociology teacher and is going through the motions of finding a job here. Really lovely girl with a beautiful attitude and very chatty like me, which makes for a pleasant time. We talked about everything but books somehow, though she did tell me she’s getting together with a book group tomorrow. When I met her, she was looking for Let the Great World Spin by Column McCann, which I heard great things of and which is what they’ll be discussing tomorrow. Michelle told me if this group seems interesting she’ll bring me along next time they get together, which is something I might really enjoy. Continue reading →

Playing at a Train Station Near You

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I just love these flash mob videos. Here’s a flash mob at Copenhagen Central Station with the Copenhagen Philharmonic playing Ravel’s Bolero on May 2nd 2011. Conductor is Jesper Nordin. Just sent to me from my uncle in Israel. Music never needs a passport to get around. Watch it full screen if you can to get the full effect.

R.I.P., Amy Winehouse

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The singer Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her flat in north London at the age of 27. The award-winning artist, famous for hits including Rehab from the critically acclaimed album Back to Black, was discovered by police in the late afternoon. Her death was being treated on Saturday night as “unexplained”. – guardian.co.uk

A perfect day for a torch song

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It’s rainy and grey today. I recently created a playlist for myself which I whimsically called “New Frenchies”. Whimsical because while, yes, there are several recent releases and new-to-me French singers on it, I’ve also added other singers that just went with my mood that day. That’s when, I discovered Melody Gardot. For all I know, I may be the last person on earth to discover her, but no matter. It’s never too late for that sort of thing. Whatever your musical tastes happen to be, I think you’ll agree she has a great voice which speaks for itself. But when you know the story that led to her becoming a recording artist to begin with, well… it just add an extra layer of poignancy to the whole affair.

eta: Not crazy about the videos, but this song, I think, is one of my favourites by her:

That Kind of Day

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Today is a real Spring day. Sunny. Kind of warm. Warm in the sun, in any case. Coco and I went for a walk along Lachine Canal, which I avoid in the winter since the constant wind in that area makes it beyond unbearably cold. But today, I took my coat off, took off Coco’s sweater which he needs these days having been recently shorn of his own fleece. I let him run around free; there were lots of dogs around which used to prompt my little lamb to run off as far as his surprisingly fast little legs would take him. But today, with some prompting and gentle reminders, he calmly followed me near and only went to sniff potential buddies with my permission. It’s hard to explain how much contentment I derive from such easy walks with him. Both of us free, yet attentive to each other, with this woman’s best friend doing what he does best.

Along the way, I was listening to Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, by Winifred Watson, a 1938 novel here narrated by Frances McDormand. It’s charming little story about a hard on her luck spinster who, applying for a job as a governess, knocks at the wrong door. Instead of the disagreeable housewife she usually must contend with, she meets with a beautiful vision of a girl, just as glamorous and delightful as the ones Guinevere Pettigrew has seen at the movies, her one greatest guilty pleasure. In less than twenty-four hours filled with thrilling events the likes of which Guinevere has never experienced before, this straight-laced vicar’s daughter discovers things about herself she never knew she had in her.

In the wrong hands, this kind of story might have been a sickeningly-sweet kind of affair, which is absolutely not the case here. I had stumbled on the movie version as I switched the television on for a quick perusal one day and experienced my first brief love affair with Miss Pettigrew, again portrayed by the remarkably talented Frances McDormand. The novel had even greater delights to offer, if only because one gets to spend more time with this unlikely heroine who serendipitously sees her life transformed, a 1930s middle-aged Cinderella. The world needs more stories like that. In my version, Cinderella would probably not be a virgin, though I admit that aspect lends our champion even greater charm in this case.

Coming home, I just had to listen to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, which to me is a joyful affair. I’ve been listening to So What over and over again. A perfect soundtrack for today.

Speaks to Me

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I decided to paint today. At home. AND listen to music. Doesn’t sound like such a big deal I know, but it is to me as I’ve been living in total silence for maybe the last couple of years. And getting myself to paint outside of my classes… well that’s a whole other story. Anyway, I like using the Genius Mix feature from iTunes which selects songs from your library according to any style you feel in the mood for. I chose Brit Pop & Rock and just now was listening to Depeche Mode’s Freelove. As I was listening to it, I interpreted it as “Freedom” instead, which sounds just about right. Depeche Mode, wow, they always brings me back at least a couple of decades, when I was hitting all the specialized record shops to buy their vinyls. They weren’t the big pop sensation they’ve become back then. Just a really cool underground band with lyrics that really spoke to me. I guess they still do. Some things never change.

Guitar Puppets

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Is it me or do those guitars looks massively huge? It’s a pretty impressive performance, but I guess these North Korean kids know their bedtime stories all too well, and must practice frantically to keep the ghost of the Eternal President of the Republic at bay.