"Why Don't You Do Right" by Peggy Lee, performed on the ukulele by yours truly!
How much fun can one girl have? Seriously!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Back to the vintage stuff!
Ok, ok, I realize that I've gone perhaps a little overboard with the outdoors blogs when, after all, the title of my little slice of the blogosphere is "Retro-fy me." But I've been having so much fun hitting the hiking trails over the past few weeks and have snapped such fun pictures that I couldn't help myself!
Having said that, I want to get back to some vintage-themed blog posts. I've been watching a bunch of old films these last few weeks and snagged some great albums to review. I have had to reorganize my vintage jewelry now that my hair is finally back to it's original ash blonde (consequently all the orange stuff I used to wear now clashes horribly but pink, pearls and rhinestones are my new best friends!) not to mention purchasing new clothes for work now that the Old Pueblo is starting to warm up a little.
But perhaps the biggest and most exciting news of all is that I've bought a ukulele!
The tiny instrument came with a piece of paper with maybe a dozen chords on it so I busted out my music notes and constructed my own chord chart for it. It sounds really good, especially with some old standards, like some of the songs of Peggy Lee. Stay posted for an online performance!
Having said that, I want to get back to some vintage-themed blog posts. I've been watching a bunch of old films these last few weeks and snagged some great albums to review. I have had to reorganize my vintage jewelry now that my hair is finally back to it's original ash blonde (consequently all the orange stuff I used to wear now clashes horribly but pink, pearls and rhinestones are my new best friends!) not to mention purchasing new clothes for work now that the Old Pueblo is starting to warm up a little.
But perhaps the biggest and most exciting news of all is that I've bought a ukulele!
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| Image seen at seagoat musings on blogspot. |
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| Image seen at seagoat musings on blogspot. |
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| Image seen at geschicte der ukulele |
Monday, June 20, 2011
Music Review - The Essential Elvis Presley
"I was thinking last night about Elvis, the day that he died, the day that he died." - Gillian Welch, Elvis Presley Blues
I grew up listening to Oldies. Mostly to the Beatles and the music of the late 60s and 70s when my parents grew up but we also had a couple local stations on the AM that featured the even older stuff. Dean Martin. Sinatra. Roy Orbison. The Andrews Sisters. It was all really, really good. More polished than the subsequent music for sure even if it lacked the same fire that rock & roll gained through its association with the hippies, the Civil Rights Movement and its exposure to the great songwriting of the folk and blues artists. But there is something utterly delicious in listening to Oldies in general, like having a virtual time capsule in a song. I can envision my mother as a little girl sitting on her bed listening to a Beatles record. Or my Grandmother puttering about the kitchen making supper while Elvis is playing in the background.
Elvis vs. the Beatles. My Grandma vs. my mother. Mentions of Elvis always drew a hilarious adolescent eye roll from my mom, like she had never quite gotten past razzing her for her older tastes. I listened to a lot of the Beatles growing up. A lot! Mom owns every single album they ever recorded and a few they didn't as well as all the movies and virtually every book written on John, Paul, George and Ringo. George Harrison is her favorite. John Lennon is mine.
For some reason I never really listened to Elvis. Until recently. I was strolling through Bookmans (I'm there a lot; just check out my previous post) thinking I should really get some Oldies cds. Patsy Cline, for example. Johnny Cash, certainly! And then I saw it:
I took it home and stuck it in my cd player. And I was hooked!
Elvis has an energy to his music that is utterly contagious. It's like you can hear, in the rhythms, in the syncopation, in the blues, in the electric guitars, the very fabric that came together so that Elvis could exist. He has all the fire of a gospel singer, the sexy swagger of a blues man, the rich voice that could have recorded anything on Tin Pan Alley.
Before I knew it I was playing the cd to get ready to go to work in the morning. I was playing it while pouring myself a glass of wine and dancing through my living room at night. I ripped it to my mp3 player and discovered just how hard it is to sit still on a public bus crowded by people while Elvis is shouting "That's alright mama!" in my ear! I could just imagine being in a live audience, maybe during the fifties having to fight for breath amongst the crush of screaming teens. I could imagine being in Vegas, being dazzled by the rhinestone covered white jumpsuit while he plays his hits and karate chops his way across the stage.
My favorite songs? That's All Right. Heartbreak Hotel. Jailhouse Rock. Viva Las Vegas. And on and on and on.
I now own six Elvis cds. I've turned into an Elvis groupie! And it doesn't help that he is pretty darn hot too. ;)
If you are interested in snagging The Essential Elvis Presley, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Elvis-Presley/dp/B00138H1MS
Or, for you Tucsonans, check out your local Bookmans or Zia Record Store.
Have a fascination with the King of Rock & Roll? Or another figure from popular music from times past? Leave me a comment and tell me about your Oldies music obsession!
I grew up listening to Oldies. Mostly to the Beatles and the music of the late 60s and 70s when my parents grew up but we also had a couple local stations on the AM that featured the even older stuff. Dean Martin. Sinatra. Roy Orbison. The Andrews Sisters. It was all really, really good. More polished than the subsequent music for sure even if it lacked the same fire that rock & roll gained through its association with the hippies, the Civil Rights Movement and its exposure to the great songwriting of the folk and blues artists. But there is something utterly delicious in listening to Oldies in general, like having a virtual time capsule in a song. I can envision my mother as a little girl sitting on her bed listening to a Beatles record. Or my Grandmother puttering about the kitchen making supper while Elvis is playing in the background.
Elvis vs. the Beatles. My Grandma vs. my mother. Mentions of Elvis always drew a hilarious adolescent eye roll from my mom, like she had never quite gotten past razzing her for her older tastes. I listened to a lot of the Beatles growing up. A lot! Mom owns every single album they ever recorded and a few they didn't as well as all the movies and virtually every book written on John, Paul, George and Ringo. George Harrison is her favorite. John Lennon is mine.
For some reason I never really listened to Elvis. Until recently. I was strolling through Bookmans (I'm there a lot; just check out my previous post) thinking I should really get some Oldies cds. Patsy Cline, for example. Johnny Cash, certainly! And then I saw it:
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
I took it home and stuck it in my cd player. And I was hooked!
Elvis has an energy to his music that is utterly contagious. It's like you can hear, in the rhythms, in the syncopation, in the blues, in the electric guitars, the very fabric that came together so that Elvis could exist. He has all the fire of a gospel singer, the sexy swagger of a blues man, the rich voice that could have recorded anything on Tin Pan Alley.
Before I knew it I was playing the cd to get ready to go to work in the morning. I was playing it while pouring myself a glass of wine and dancing through my living room at night. I ripped it to my mp3 player and discovered just how hard it is to sit still on a public bus crowded by people while Elvis is shouting "That's alright mama!" in my ear! I could just imagine being in a live audience, maybe during the fifties having to fight for breath amongst the crush of screaming teens. I could imagine being in Vegas, being dazzled by the rhinestone covered white jumpsuit while he plays his hits and karate chops his way across the stage.
My favorite songs? That's All Right. Heartbreak Hotel. Jailhouse Rock. Viva Las Vegas. And on and on and on.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. Publicity still from Jailhouse Rock (1957).
I now own six Elvis cds. I've turned into an Elvis groupie! And it doesn't help that he is pretty darn hot too. ;)
If you are interested in snagging The Essential Elvis Presley, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Elvis-Presley/dp/B00138H1MS
Or, for you Tucsonans, check out your local Bookmans or Zia Record Store.
Have a fascination with the King of Rock & Roll? Or another figure from popular music from times past? Leave me a comment and tell me about your Oldies music obsession!
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