formerly33

Sorry, bud; I hate to disappoint, but this has nothing to do with the new rule: And nah, I wouldn't say the Jays fans have a right to be pissed. The enforcement of established rules is part of the game.

Oh geez ... Joe Ross got hammered.

Heh ... I was told that was about childhood and lost innocence when we grow up ... or childhood innocence that we lose when we grow up ... or growing up when we lose our childhood innocence ... Anyway, I confess the first thing I did after realizing that a protest of the ban would be fruitless was to turn on "Puff the Magic Dragon" on replay. I consider it peaceful protest.

Predictions for the game: Ben Revere hits second walk-off home run of his preseason exhibition career. Twins lose.

The answer is always yes.

According to Lang Lang, he's discovered a new instrument which he loves even more than the piano, and beginning in 2017, he's going to retire all piano repertoire to focus on his first recording of Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major. I'm surprised he didn't go so far as to change the key ... which reminds me of Mr. Morphin's memorable quote from Dombey and Son: "I have whistled, hummed tunes, [and] gone accurately through the whole of Beethoven's [Cello] Sonata in B ... " For those who are interested, a little useless trivia: although the last installment of the book was, in fact, published on April 1st, 1948, the sonata reference came earlier.

The inevitable has happened - the music police in my household happened upon me while I was drawing a picture of Kurt Cobain, and I have consequently been banned from Nirvana. A burial of the sketch has been scheduled (though mandated might be a more accurate term as I've been shamelessly procrastinating; this information will undoubtedly leak out thanks to some non-trustworthy source), and sooner or later my family and I will lower the shocking image into the abysmal depths of a recycling bin en masse, accompanied by a tear or two shed by the perpetrator of this drama. And that pretty much leaves me with the option of listening to either Peter, Paul, and Mary (is it acceptable to add the Oxford comma to an established name which doesn't include it?) or Bill Withers ... great musicians in their own rights, but ... On a more cheerful musical note (ugh, that's a horrible pun, but it wasn't meant to be), the Nirvana withdrawal I went through this week produced an unusual dedication in the flute practicing department, resulting in my flute teacher being unprepared for my lesson yesterday. Nice to have the shoe on the other foot for once ...

It was in the mirror? Hmm ...

Nope; I have brown/green eyes. No trace of blue.

I was lurking in the shadows?

Is this a bonus question? Let me guess - he enjoyed the life of a 25 yr old.

YLTF?

I didn't know there was any guilt involved ...

I actually was going to put "Who Wants to Live Forever" on my list instead of "Bohemian Rhapsody," but Craig posted his list while I was still working on mine, so I switched to the norm because I didn't want to come across as non-conformist like everyone else.

The only wake-up music I know is Sleepers Awake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MCnIuVnS0I Oh, and yeah, I just rolled out of bed ten minutes ago.

Heh ... I feel like the classical world must be outrageously unjust if this is the case. I mean, nobody regrets the fact that Pablo Casals rediscovered the Bach cello suites rather than them being famous for Bach's legendary performances of them ... lol ... jk. But some of these songs just don't deserve to be known for their original versions, and an outstanding cover is better than nothing!

No cover will ever surpass "Respect" though. Possibly the greatest song of all time (Aretha's version, that is).

Heh ... thanks for reminding me of "The Joker and the Thief." That and "Chelsea Dagger" used to be my favorite songs ... a bit too poppy for my current tastes, but I listened to those two nonstop for a month or two when I first got into rock.

Nope. Lol ... but the important thing is that now I do, right?

Wow, I just learned something today.

Oh, and then there's always 2Cellos, here to raise cello awareness among plebeians (no, it's not a violin on steroids). Here's my favorite video of theirs, probably because it also features Lang Lang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UMla4zYpoc

If you want to hear a good version of Carnevale di Venezia, follow this link and then hit listen. You can only use this function for a limited amount of time, but I've strategically used it up one by one on every computer I have access to, so I've never been long without free access to all the BIS recordings in the past few years.

That would've been before my time. I've actually heard all of these (not that I've ever watched The Wizard of Oz ... lol). Do you have any preferred covers? My list is not in order and definitely not finalized, but ... Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) Sinnerman (Nina Simone) Donde Estas, Yolanda? (Pink Martini) The Mighty Quinn (Bob Dylan) with Manfred Mann Respect (Aretha Franklin) Rebel Girl (Bikini Kill) - or Dig Me Out or Terrorist ... so many great Riot Grrrl songs Territorial Pissings (Nirvana) Highway to Hell (AC/DC) Twist and Shout (Beatles) Heh ... let's just put Terrorist (Heavens to Betsy) in there too. Probably my #1 fave anyway. Gosh, ten doesn't do it, either. I even intentionally left out classical songs because they deserve a whole list of their own, imo. That would have to be something like this (arranged more by genre than preference): Theme from Schindler's List (John Williams) with Itzhak Perlman Klezmer Dances (Göran Fröst) with the one and only Martin Fröst Santo (Juan Diego Florez) Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Francisco Tárrega) with Miloš Karadaglić Danzón No. 2 (Arturo Márquez) with Gustavo Dudamel and the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar Carnevale di Venezia (Giulio Briccialdi) with Sharon Bezaly Concertino (Cécile Chaminade) Cello Sonata No. 1 (Johannes Brahms) with Truls Mørk and Hélène Grimaud Actually, the first few worked, but now I realize we'd need another top ten for sonatas, concertos, symphonies, operas, etc. each. They are so much more than just a song! [edited the stupidest typo out]

Okay ... top ten songs of all time. Or it could be your top ten favorite songs. Four just isn't any easy number to deal with, especially on a desert island.

I really like Von Smith's cover of Postmodern Jukebox's version of Macklemore's "Thrift Shop": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdG8znVcfdc&feature=youtu.be