Music – Page 9 – Prattling before the Pratfall

Don’t Worry. Be Happy!

I’m a retired, straight white man living debt-free in an affluent Boston suburb. I’ll be fine in Trumpworld II … right?

Long before she was elected the mayor of Boston, I met her when she was the maid of honor at my nephew Michael’s wedding. Here she is in her side gig, performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops.

Tull’s Prog Rock Progression

I first saw The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in abbreviated form on a LaserDisc release. Filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in December, 1968, only a few weeks before he started filming the Beatles for what became Let It Be.

I especially enjoyed Jethro Tull’s “A Song For Jeffrey”. Ian Anderson, in a fearlessly eccentric performance, was 21 here. Drummer Clive Bunker could almost be mistaken for Mick Fleetwood.

Tull’s first five albums, through Thick as a Brick, were a near obsession for me in high school. The fourth, Aqualung, was the big breakthrough. Tracks from Aqualung continue to be heard on American Classic Rock FM stations.

It’s a shame the first three Tull albums aren’t more widely played, because they clearly show Anderson’s rapid musical progression. Fortunately, they’ve been made conveniently available as official YouTube playlists.

This Was

Stand Up

Benefit

Mother Russia Music

I consider Trump’s bromance buddy Putin to be so bad he’s something of a throwback to Stalin. Soviet-era composer Dmitri Shostakovich, after falling out of favor with Stalin, got back in Joseph’s good graces with his fifth symphony. It’s a favorite of mine, so I have that much in common with a brutal dictator. I wonder if Vlad the Invader likes it, too?

The Dead Instrument Sonata

Mozart died at 35. Schubert was gone at 31, possibly from an STD and/or the treatment of it. He wrote a popular sonata for piano and a short-lived instrument called the “Arpeggione.” Today the piece is commonly performed on a cello, but it’s also played on a viola, as it is here in a lively performance on a Chandos CD I have.