I think this should be my new anthem...
Showing posts with label hothouse flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hothouse flowers. Show all posts
Monday, 16 July 2012
Saturday, 3 December 2011
10-Day Music Challenge: Day 10 - my all-time favourite gig
And so to the last day of my 10-Day Music Challenge - my favourite gig!
There have been many fantastic conchs I've been to including: Meat Loaf at the NEC in themid-90s; Peter Gabriel at Earl's Court around the time of his Us album, and again, in Sheffield just a few years ago, for his Up album; Hothouse Flowers at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford when they didn't seem to want to leave the stage; Squeeze at Keble College Ball back in the mid-80s (yes, I'm starting to show my age), Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II at the Royal Albert Hall, and the world premiere of Tubular Bells III in the rain at Horse Guards Parade; Blur at the NEC...
And, of course, I've performed in many concerts, or had pieces I've composed played in concerts, and, to me at least, these were unforgettable moments. I will always cherish the performances of In Memoriam by Nottinghamshire Education at the Albert Hall, Nottingham; the concert at the British Music Information Centre in London, given by he Holywell Ensemble, to mark my 30th birthday; and the premiere of Kitty - the diary of Anne Frank at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford particularly stand out.
There is though, one concert that will always stand out for me, and I make no apology for choosing one of my own performances (at least I'm not like Elizabeth Schwarkopf who, when invited onto the BBC's Desert Island Discs, chose 7 of her own recordings plus the prelude from an opera that she was the star to keep her company for all time!) - in 2005, I conducted the Lady Manners School Orchestra for the finale of the Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We played music from Jurassic Park followed by Elgar's Pomp & Curcumstance March No. 1 ("Land of Hope and Glory"). I very much doubt anything will top that for me in terms of a live performance but, who knows, there's still time!
Here are both performances. Yes, there are odd mistakes but, please, don't forget, as Howard Goodall points out in the introduction to Jurassic Park, this is an 80-piece symphony orchestra from one state school.
This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - this is the 10th and final day!
Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig
There have been many fantastic conchs I've been to including: Meat Loaf at the NEC in themid-90s; Peter Gabriel at Earl's Court around the time of his Us album, and again, in Sheffield just a few years ago, for his Up album; Hothouse Flowers at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford when they didn't seem to want to leave the stage; Squeeze at Keble College Ball back in the mid-80s (yes, I'm starting to show my age), Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II at the Royal Albert Hall, and the world premiere of Tubular Bells III in the rain at Horse Guards Parade; Blur at the NEC...
And, of course, I've performed in many concerts, or had pieces I've composed played in concerts, and, to me at least, these were unforgettable moments. I will always cherish the performances of In Memoriam by Nottinghamshire Education at the Albert Hall, Nottingham; the concert at the British Music Information Centre in London, given by he Holywell Ensemble, to mark my 30th birthday; and the premiere of Kitty - the diary of Anne Frank at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford particularly stand out.
There is though, one concert that will always stand out for me, and I make no apology for choosing one of my own performances (at least I'm not like Elizabeth Schwarkopf who, when invited onto the BBC's Desert Island Discs, chose 7 of her own recordings plus the prelude from an opera that she was the star to keep her company for all time!) - in 2005, I conducted the Lady Manners School Orchestra for the finale of the Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We played music from Jurassic Park followed by Elgar's Pomp & Curcumstance March No. 1 ("Land of Hope and Glory"). I very much doubt anything will top that for me in terms of a live performance but, who knows, there's still time!
Here are both performances. Yes, there are odd mistakes but, please, don't forget, as Howard Goodall points out in the introduction to Jurassic Park, this is an 80-piece symphony orchestra from one state school.
This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - this is the 10th and final day!
Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig
Sunday, 27 November 2011
10-Day Music Challenge: Day Four - my favourite 7 bands
Ooo a very tricky one! Trying not to double up with too many artists already listed or likely to come up in later lists is tricky....
Oh bugger it!
Here goes. My favourite 7 bands...
1. The Divine Comedy
2. Hothouse Flowers
3. Pet Shop Boys
4. Elbow
5. The Cure
6. Blur
7. Squeeze
That was definitely the hardest day so far!
What bands would you include?
This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Four:
Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig
Oh bugger it!
Here goes. My favourite 7 bands...
1. The Divine Comedy
2. Hothouse Flowers
3. Pet Shop Boys
4. Elbow
5. The Cure
6. Blur
7. Squeeze
That was definitely the hardest day so far!
What bands would you include?
This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Four:
Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig
Friday, 25 November 2011
10-DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE - Day Two: my 9 favourite songs
Continuing with my 10-Day Music Challenge, here are my 9 favourite songs.
As a composer, it's nearly always the music that attracts me to a song first and the lyrics a distant second, if at all. As you'll see there's even a song in my list that I disagree with lyrics but the music is just so amazing....
Click here to hear my favourite 9 songs as a Spotify playlist (minus the Peter Gabriel which isn't available on Spotify!)
1. I Can See Clearly Now - Hothouse Flowers
Such a great song, and I particularly love the Hothouse Flowers version.
2. Leaving on a Jet Plane
A simply lovely song that takes me back to my Uni days for some reason (no, I wasn't at Uni in the '60s!)
3. Come What May (from "Moulin Rouge")
I love the power and OTT-ness of this - a tour de force, a wall of emotion.
4. Finlandia Hymn - Sibelius
Not because of any religious reasons, as is well known I'm an atheist/anti-theist, but just because it's such a magnificent melody. Along similar lines are I Vow To Thee, My Country and Jerusalem - great tunes, somewhat spoilt with religious lyrics. This version is in Finnish so it sort of nullifies the lyrics if you don't know Finnish!
5. Father, Son - Peter Gabriel
I loved the Millennium Dome for so many things but, in particular, the spectacular show that happened 3 or 4 times every day. The soundtrack was written by Peter Gabriel and this is a very touching song.
6. Somewhere (from "West Side Story") - Bernstein
The best song from the greatest musical ever written. By the time this is sing at the end of West Side Story I'm always blubbing!
7. One Day Like This - Elbow
It's overuse as inspiring background music by lazy television producers has made this a bit of a cliché, but it doesn't stop it being a tremendous song and one I'll always turn up a little!
8. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
I liked this song a lot, then it was used in Sliding Doors, one of my favourite movies of all time!
9. Jai Ho (from "Slumdog Millionaire") - A. R. Rahman
I never understood why Slumdog Millionaire was promoted as a "feel-good movie" with so many awful things happening in it. However, this song is a amazingly feel-good song and deservedly won the Oscar for best song. It's a shame that the Pussycat Dolls put out a version with them warbling over it and unable to pronounce the title but this version, the original is great!
That was VERY difficult! - so many songs I like - so many that just didn't quite make the final cut! I could easily have included songs by Blur, The Divine Comedy, Philip Glass, Ash, Wheatus, Bill Whelan, Dixie Chicks, Seth Lakeman..... the list could go on and on and on!
Click here to listen to my near misses as a Spotify playlist.
What have I missed? What are your favourite songs?
This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Two:
Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig
As a composer, it's nearly always the music that attracts me to a song first and the lyrics a distant second, if at all. As you'll see there's even a song in my list that I disagree with lyrics but the music is just so amazing....
Click here to hear my favourite 9 songs as a Spotify playlist (minus the Peter Gabriel which isn't available on Spotify!)
1. I Can See Clearly Now - Hothouse Flowers
Such a great song, and I particularly love the Hothouse Flowers version.
2. Leaving on a Jet Plane
A simply lovely song that takes me back to my Uni days for some reason (no, I wasn't at Uni in the '60s!)
3. Come What May (from "Moulin Rouge")
I love the power and OTT-ness of this - a tour de force, a wall of emotion.
4. Finlandia Hymn - Sibelius
Not because of any religious reasons, as is well known I'm an atheist/anti-theist, but just because it's such a magnificent melody. Along similar lines are I Vow To Thee, My Country and Jerusalem - great tunes, somewhat spoilt with religious lyrics. This version is in Finnish so it sort of nullifies the lyrics if you don't know Finnish!
5. Father, Son - Peter Gabriel
I loved the Millennium Dome for so many things but, in particular, the spectacular show that happened 3 or 4 times every day. The soundtrack was written by Peter Gabriel and this is a very touching song.
6. Somewhere (from "West Side Story") - Bernstein
The best song from the greatest musical ever written. By the time this is sing at the end of West Side Story I'm always blubbing!
7. One Day Like This - Elbow
It's overuse as inspiring background music by lazy television producers has made this a bit of a cliché, but it doesn't stop it being a tremendous song and one I'll always turn up a little!
8. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
I liked this song a lot, then it was used in Sliding Doors, one of my favourite movies of all time!
9. Jai Ho (from "Slumdog Millionaire") - A. R. Rahman
I never understood why Slumdog Millionaire was promoted as a "feel-good movie" with so many awful things happening in it. However, this song is a amazingly feel-good song and deservedly won the Oscar for best song. It's a shame that the Pussycat Dolls put out a version with them warbling over it and unable to pronounce the title but this version, the original is great!
That was VERY difficult! - so many songs I like - so many that just didn't quite make the final cut! I could easily have included songs by Blur, The Divine Comedy, Philip Glass, Ash, Wheatus, Bill Whelan, Dixie Chicks, Seth Lakeman..... the list could go on and on and on!
Click here to listen to my near misses as a Spotify playlist.
What have I missed? What are your favourite songs?
This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Two:
Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig
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