Joyful and triumphant.

So, browsing Youtube again… Nothing new there. However, I came across this old video of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, also known as the Ode to Joy.

Now this is a popular piece of music, not far behind that (horribly, horribly) overplayed Canon in D by Pachelbel and Orff’s O Fortuna from his Carmina Burana (damn you X Factor). Yet most people only know of the climax, which falls right in the middle, with no buildup, no resolution, no soul. Before today, I would have included myself in this category. No longer.

I guess I’d like to share this with as many people as I can (hah, how many people do I think will read this…). Anyhow…

It starts off with a short introduction by Bernstein. Did I mention a very young Placido Domingo is the solo tenor?

After all that excitement, here’s a literal version of Total Eclipse of the Heart.

 

Youtube has left me in despair!

So I was watching some more youtube videos, and I felt a need to watch listen to some people play Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.

So first I went with the old holdout, Cziffra, and I found one vid of him doing it awesomely, with that identifiable twist to things he usually puts into his playing. The thing which made his performance different, he didn’t seem to take the piece too seriously, after all, it’s supposed to be reminiscent of gypsy music.

The above on the Tube.

Then I watched some Horowitz, I find he tends to play things a little too straight at times, but technically precise of course.

The above on the Tube.

Then Rachmaninoff, a really old recording though. Felt a little too slow at points, though props for making that last line roll so well.

On the Tube.

I noticed something suddenly, in the related videos section. Maksim playing this piece has roughly 850, 000 views. WHAT?! Sorry, but I had to see what this was all about. Yes, Maksim Mrvica, in his crotch-crushingly tight leather pants and wristlets (his usual outfit that is), playing Liszt. Well, it’s alright, really, but hey, stop staring doe-eyed at the camera for goodness’s sake… And it really doesn’t warrant how popular it is compared to the Cziffra recording above, which I found far more enjoyable.

The Tube is wacked.

Anyhow, thus began my examination of the number of views garnered by different players of this particular piece.

Cziffra:

Horribly underappreciated, however this may also be due to the fact that there are about a dozen videos of Cziffra playing this, though this seems to be the one with the best audio quality (from my cursory examination).

Then, Horowitz:

Yeah, Horowitz got quite a few. I still think his interpretation is a little too dry.

Rachmaninoff:

Yeah. Audio for this one is pretty bad though, I think this must be quite an old recording.

Maksim:

Okay, he’s got some technical skill, but I just don’t feel his pieces like I do with Cziffra or even Horowitz. Overrated…

However, he is topped by none other than…
TOM AND JERRY:

It’s a little sad, when you think about it. Then suddenly I had an epiphany. What did the Maksim and T&J vids have that none of the previous ones had? COLOUR. Yes, there is some colour prejudice among Youtube watchers! Who would’ve thought that in this day and age we would still have people who don’t like black and white.

T&J on the Tube.

However, my conclusion is dulled by the fact that Buggs Bunny’s rendition is far less popular than T&J’s…

I even used the mouse as a control factor, there are mice in both T&J’s vid and Buggs Bunny’s…

BBs are small spherical objects, for more universal truths, check the Tube.

The only quantifiable difference is that the level of violence is higher in BB’s than in T&J’s. Oh wait, BB’s has dialogue! Hmm… unforseen errors means my research is untenable. I suppose I should go back and start from scratch, but I can’t be bothered to.

FINAL CONCLUSION:
Cats > bunnies.

Oh, have some Cziffra, because he’s awesome.

 

It’s Acka-dacka dammit! – First thoughts on Black Ice.

My Black Ice CD arrived today. Finally. I ordered it almost – no, over a month ago. Somehow PLAY.com managed to lose my order, but made up for it by sending me two copies as a form of customer appeasement. Apparently the cover design you get is randomised, so I was rather lucky in the ones I got. Reminds me of Pokemon cards. The three possible designs for the regular edition:

I actually didn’t know that the different coloured text also had different backgrounds, since they’re quite hard to see except under bright light.

So I now have the original RED COVER which was the most popular, that is to say I didn’t see it anywhere when I went looking in stores.

I also have the YELLOW COVER which seems to have a more classsically inspired background image (to me anyway). I think it’s actually prettier. (Gasp! I used the word ‘pretty’ in a post about AC/DC.)

So, what do I think about it? Hmm… That is a surprisingly tough question.

From my first listen through, I personally think this album is —– a good one! Definitely value for money, it is their longest studio album to date. However it doesn’t feel very unique track-wise. Many tracks sound kind of similar, and I can’t put my finger on anything. The title track is a highlight of the album, despite coming at the very end… Mmm… BLACK ICE.

After the first listen through I then went through their last album from 2000, Stiff Upper Lip. Now that’s one album where they really have something. Something special. So I feel anyway. However that album didn’t do as well as this one commercially. I guess there’s something to be said about 8 year waits for new material.

Now I realize what I did wrong.

I ripped the CD with Windows Media Player (because it automatically detects the CD and thus I don’t have to fill in the information.) at 320 kbps constant bit rate, which is fine. Then I tried to listen to it using WMP.

Big mistake.

WMP’s equalizer and sound enhancing functions, are, to put it bluntly, crap. Hence, Brian Johnson’s voice, Angus and Malcolm Young’s guitars an Cliff Williams’ bass sort of blended together and mulched up Phil Rudd’s percussion.

Now I’m going through Black Ice one more time, with my trusty Winamp Media Player and a free sound enhancing tool, Hans van Zutphen’s Stereo Tool (v. 3.30). It makes a huge difference. With the default settings for Rock music, I can now hear the slight offset of Angus and Malcolm Young’s guitars in Rock n’ Roll Train, as well as clearly make out the bass, which is nice.

Ah, this is it. What everyone’s so crazy about. Why this album exploded onto the music scene at No. 1 in 29 countries. This is AC/DC at it’s best. Brian Johnson’s vocals sound as good as they ever did (probably due to him kicking the cigarette habit in 2004). Guitars seem a little blues flavoured throughout the album, or maybe it’s just Stormy May Day since Angus Young plays slide for that one.

This is a great, solid album. I can’t believe I almost put it down due to Microsoft skimping on their software. Well, it doesn’t really come as any surprise, considering how they released Vista with so much bloat on it. God that sidebar… and the dock… my CPU was constantly running at 40% before I turned those things off. Aero is bad. Period.

Highlights include Black Ice, Decibel (personal fave), She Likes Rock n’ Roll, and the aforementioned Stormy May Day. The others are good too, but I like these four the most.

So, I propose a toast. TO AC/DC, GODS OF ROCK, MAY YOU HAVE MANY MORE YEARS AND ALBUMS.

Five horns of rock out of five.

PS Yay for my first official review, I guess.

 

Here a min, Theremin.

Have you heard of a theremin? No? Not surprising. Have you heard a theremin in action? Probably. Anytime you’ve listened to the theme of a Sci-Fi movie or TV series, you’ve probably heard a theremin. Watched Midsomer Murders before? The opening theme was done with theremin.

What is a theremin? It is a musical instrument. One that does not need to be touched to be played. Sounds like magic, huh. Well it’s pure science, through the manipulation of radio waves emitted by the instrument, pitch and volume are controlled, resulting in an unlimited range of tones and sub-tones. A Russian named Leon Theremin invented it in 1919, and the rest is history, to reuse a cliche.

Now some samples of theremin music:

Amazing stuff, this one, along with some basic principles of operation.

A very well done Daft Punk cover, complete with helmet.

This one is just good.

 

There are some times in life when even a boy must squee.

And this is one of those times. Metallica came out with their latest album on Sep 15th. It was called Death Magnetic. I listened to some of it on Youtube. It’s good, but Metallica, unfortunately is not always at the top of my playlist.

Now. One month later. (Okay a little over a month.) I just happen to be looking around Wikipedia. And I’m looking at AC/DC. And I find out that their album comes out… TOMORROW. It is called Black Ice. I’ve also listened to it on Youtube, even though Sony BMG is already trying to have the songs taken off. IT IS AWESOME. I WILL SQUEE.

Hence:

SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE-SQUEE!

And now this: Angus Young will still wear his school uniform!

A pic:

Damn. All the tickets for European venues in their tour are already sold out. Apparently within minutes. Well, at least I won’t be jumping up and down with a bunch of 50-year-olds. I’ll just do it in my room. When I get it. =.=