the soundtrack of my year

My year started out with this song. This was a real feeling of congratulation that Christchurch had made it through a massive earthquake in 2010 and, though some buildings had fallen, the city remained intact. No one died. There was a tremendous sense of togetherness. I remember sitting in a pub at the Arts Centre with a cold Pimms and ginger ale on a summer evening looking around me and feeling so lucky to live here. I also remember playing this song to myself and thinking, I'm almost feeling this good, all I need to do now is finish my Masters and I can really feel it:



Then there was the earthquake on 22 February, and I remember wondering if I'd ever have a hope of listening to that song feeling good again, let alone not feeling sick.

For some time afterwards, I listened to this song over and over, and I'm not exactly sure why, but it captured how I felt without actually being at all about earthquakes:



A few weeks after the earthquake, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami happened, and in Christchurch there was this horrible realisation that we weren't as badly off as we could be, and what was happening to the world? And all I could listen to was this song and feel very dark and desperate:



Maybe it was the following songs that pulled me out of this a little bit... they're not particularly positive either but they helped:





I don't know when the turning point came, but during the remainder of the year I came to love Ella Fitzgerald:



... and Mumford and Sons:



Maybe I had calmed down a little? Probably it had something to do with finishing my Masters and learning to think clearly again.

And now it's this:



I'm sure I'll do a "summing up the year" blog post in a wee while so I don't want to steal all my own thunder... but it has definitely been a year of learning to rely on God. Did you know that we can't even rely on the ground beneath our feet? So I've learnt and I'm still learning to put them elsewhere, and I'm happy with the song my soundtrack finishes on.

music I like

Just because. My current favourites.





And, along with just about everybody else:

joy in music

Cadbury's New Zealand branch recently brought out a new feel-good advertising campaign called "Share the Joy". The idea is, people sent in clips of noises of New Zealanders experiencing joy, and Cadbury and a famous guy used the clips to create a song. It's quite a cute idea, I suppose, and you can view it here if you want.

But though the video's sweet I find it doesn't quite succeed in making ME experience joy.

So I've been thinking recently about music that communicates joy in and of itself. I don't mean music with funny lyrics, or music about feel-good topics, but MUSIC that brings a smile to your face just through the way it manipulates rhythm or melody or harmonics.

And so here are some of my favourites. They will make you happier, or you can have your money back.

Ella Fitzgerald. And so here she is, with Mel Tormé, bringing a smile to the face of any one who's human, surely:



And if that wasn't enough for you, here she is, outright hilarious:



Now, who's heard of the Portsmouth Sinfonia? The only rule of admission was that you must not actually be a musician, or you must play an instrument unfamiliar to you. This awesome parody orchestra brought out several records and even toured! Here they are with Strauss' majestic "Also Sprach Zarathustra":



If you want more, I would highly, er, recommend their performance of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

This may be kind of weird, but the haka brings me joy. It's not really supposed to - the form they perform at the rugby is a war haka. It send chills running up and down my spine, but it also makes up for actually having to watch sports afterwards. And this particular haka, before an All Blacks vs Samoa game of rugby, is particularly awesome because both sides have a form of the haka, and they face each other off. Personally, I think the Maori haka is much scarier than the Samoan one. But I am slightly biased:



Stand By Me. It's a happy song. But it's even happier when played around the world by artists playing for change:



And because I'm obsessed with the tin whistle, I add this video. Feet tapping, heart smiling.



Then there's Shura Cherkassky, the pianist. I have never heard ANYONE match his rendition of the polka from Shostakovich's The Golden Age. They're too serious. He was very, very funny. He listened to the piece, instead of just performing it or showing off.

I couldn't find a full recording online but you can listen to it partially here. Otherwise, get hold of volume 3 of the collection of his encores.

Finally, there's Louis Armstrong, with "What a Wonderful World". There is a man who sings in the way the song wants him to.

30 days of song

Some muso friends are doing this meme on facebook. What can I say, I can't resist making lists! However, my music taste is totally uncool in comparison with theirs. Blogging feels strangely, comfortably anonymous - so I've transferred the 30 day song challenge over. Who knows, I may pluck up the courage to actually share on fb also.

day 01: your favourite song (at the moment? hmm)
C'est Moi, by Rupa and the April Fishes

day 02: your least favourite song
Low, by Flo Rida
No link, because it's a DEGRADING song and it makes me want to throw up.

day 03: a song that makes you happy
Something in the Water, by Brooke Fraser

day 04: a song that makes you sad
The Scientist, by Coldplay

day 05: a song that reminds you of someone
Contrapunctus 1, from Art of the Fugue, by Bach
Reminds me of my father.

day 06: a song that reminds you of somewhere
Fish, by Goldenhorse
New Zealand, on a perfect summer's day by the sea.

day 07: a song that reminds you of a certain event
In Christ Alone
After the earthquake on February 22, my flatmates and I were sitting around feeling absolutely miserable. Completely unable to do anything, until we got out our guitars and started singing this.

day 08: a song that you know all the words to
Stuff and Nonsense, by Split Enz

day 09: a song that you can dance to
I Want to Be Your Mother's Son-in-Law, with Macy Gray (from Divine Secrets... soundtrack)

day 10: a song that makes you fall asleep (in a good way!)
No Longer There, by the Cat Empire

day 11: a song from your favourite band
Love is Blindness, by U2
Started to really love this one after I saw the DVD of the Zoo TV concert in Sydney.

day 12: a song from a band you hate
Why would I want to inflict that upon you?

day 13: a song that is your guilty pleasure
Glee Cast, Marry You
Something about this song makes me happy and excited!!

day 14: a song that no one would expect you to love
Single Ladies, by Beyonce
I (also) really love that her live band is all women. So good to see!

day 15: a song that describes you
You Are So Beautiful, by Joe Cocker
:D just kidding. I don't have a clue and can't be bothered thinking existentially right now.

day 16: a song that you used to love but now hate
Miami, by Will Smith
12 years old. Don't judge. (Still have a soft spot for Getting Jiggy Wit It)

day 17: a song that you hear often on the radio
Rolling in the Deep, by Adele
And I don't mind at all!

day 18: a song that you wish you heard on the radio
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3

day 19: a song from your favourite album (at the moment)
Dance Anthem of the 80s, from Regina Spektor's Far

day 20: a song that you listen to when you're angry
Nothing Ever Happens, by Del Amitri

day 21: a song that you listen to when you're happy
I'm Into Something Good, interpreted by The Bird and the Bee

day 22: a song that you listen to when you're sad
One for my Baby, by Frank Sinatra

day 23: a song that you want to play at your wedding
Hawkmoon 269, by U2

day 24: a song that you want to play at your funeral
In a Little While, by U2
Gosh, I really seem to be into U2 for momentous occasions, don't I? I particularly love the version I have linked to - recommended viewing!

day 25: a song that makes you laugh
Northcote (So Hungover), by the Bedroom Philosopher

day 26: a song that you can play on an instrument
Gershwin, I Got Rhythm
OK, so not quite as perfectly as Gershwin himself did in that video...

day 27: a song that you wish you could play
Wanderer-Fantasie, by Schubert
... for starters! First one that popped into my mind, but trust me, there are many more.

day 28: a song that makes you feel guilty
Er... that is one emotion that I have never felt in music.

day 29: a song from your childhood
Phantom of the Opera, from the musical

day 30: your favourite song this time last year
These Roses, by Gin Wigmore
... well, roughly this time last year, anyway.

flags

I've finally bought the new Brooke Fraser album, Flags. I've actually listened to it several times already because not one, not two, but three of my flatmates bought it as soon as it came out! (We like her. Quite a lot.)

It's a lovely album. I have her two other albums, and I don't know what one I would say is the best, but this is definitely a progression from the others - she is obviously not simply repeating more of the same, although she's still got all the wonderfulness of her other stuff - the lyrics, the voice, the musical sensitivity and originality. I heard that with this song she wanted to make sure there were more upbeat songs on it than the last album, Albertine, as it got a bit wearing always performing the more serious, dark ones. And I can definitely see that in this album. The thoughtful ones still remain, though - for which I am glad.

My favourites:
"Something in the Water", the first single, is just a charming, bubbly, happy song you can't help singing along to. It's lovely.
"Who Are We Fooling?", a duet about marriage. Somehow, it manages to be both beautiful and realistic. An amazing song.
"Crows and Locusts" is a story-song, which always appeals to me. I love the creativeness of this one, musically - its slight creepiness, the way it moves around a lot, rather like Regina Spektor in a song like "Human of the Year".

I also like "Betty", "Jack Kerouac" and "Ice on Her Lashes". And basically everything else on the album.

So yeah - I highly recommend this!

I am very excited to be going to the Christchurch leg of the More FM Winery Tour, at the Mudhouse vineyard, on February 26. An outdoor concert featuring Brooke, Opshop and Midnight Youth... as well as picnics, wine, the sun and then the stars - what could be more wonderful?

In other news: I discuss books that are meaningful to me on my other blog. What books would you choose?

who are we fooling?

I have had this song off the new Brooke Fraser album stuck in my head for the last three days, and I still love it. I think that means it's a keeper!!

U2

So I will try to be brief. Ish.

Unfortunately that means this blog post will probably be full of adjectives like AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! AWESOME! instead of an attempt to explain why the things in question were AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! AWESOME! That's okay. Bear with me.

I went to the U2 concert on November 25 in Auckland, and was completely blown away.

Blown away, because I went to the concert almost exactly four years before in the same place, and thought I knew exactly what I was getting. I didn't.

Blown away, because I had thought I was getting over my silly adolescent U2 phase, although I still enjoyed their music. I didn't spend the weeks leading up to the concert psyching myself up or obsessing over what songs they may or may not play. I hardly got excited until the very evening of the concert. And then when the first chords played, this excitement came throbbing back into my veins all of a sudden, and I realised - I really love their music. I jumped up and down, I cheered and whistled, I was as happy clappy as the best of them.

The concert didn't necessarily start out so well. By the time you actually get there, after a tortuous public transport trip (I do not know how Auckland is going to cope when the rugby world cup hits them next year), you hear Jay Z, the support artist, playing ridiculously loudly and groan a little. Then you find out the stands your seats are in are temporary stands, and basically look like a bunch of scaffolding. Whenever people walk particularly loudly, they shake. Whenever people start stomping their feet during a Mexican wave, you have a minor panic attack as the stands tremble. "From Christchurch?" someone next to you sympathetically asks. "Yup," you reply. "I can't look at any type of building anymore without assessing them mentally for earthquake safety."

But once U2 starts playing... this all fades.

The show was incredible. The stage, lights, video, everything... mind-blowing.




The day before the concert, there was another explosion in the Pike River mine. The country was sorrowfully told that there was no chance the 29 miners trapped inside could still be alive. New Zealand is really feeling this one. We're a small country, this kind of stuff doesn't happen that often. We think we're in the first world, that we're invincible, that we can control everything - and then this happens.

Bono spoke. What he said was heartfelt, helpful and understanding. And then U2 played "One Tree Hill", which was written for their Kiwi friend Greg Carroll who died in Auckland, and now was dedicated to the 29 fallen. It was absolutely beautiful, and uplifting, and a fitting tribute to the dead. You can see some of it on this video.

The rest of the concert was amazing too. One of the things I really appreciated about not having been too excited beforehand is that I didn't try and figure out everything that would happen. So when songs came, they were a complete surprise, and I felt like I could really genuinely enjoy the onslaught of songs like Where The Streets Have No Name, part of the excitement of which is the sudden realisation that they are about to play it. It started with a verse of Amazing Grace before the opening chords, which have always been the most electrifying opening to a song that I've ever heard.

Here is my video of the beginning. Unfortunately I missed the verse of Amazing Grace:



The setlist as a whole to the concert can be found here, but I think those two songs were possibly my favourites, although I really did love everything they did. With Or Without You, a song which I have only just begun to appreciate, was a close runner-up to the other two songs, although being a single person I began to feel a little insecure at the number of couples cuddling up around me!




The concert finished with Moment of Surrender from their latest album, and with the crowd holding up their cellphones as candles. Pretttty.

And then we finished on an absolute high and left the stadium, to fight with maybe 60,000 other people to catch the trains out of Penrose Station. (Seriously, Auckland public transport people. How are you going to cope with a world cup if you think it's efficient to try and get that many people across a tiny railway bridge that fits maybe three-abreast? People will be crushed!) Oh well. That unpleasant experience is over now, but the memory of the concert remains!

Wednesday in Auckland: my day in bullet points

- The day dawned bright and early, and I got up at 5:30 to catch a 6:40 flight out of Christchurch. I am always over-confident about my own ability to deal with sleep deprivation when I book flights. Silly me.

- Auckland Airport --> rental house I was sharing with "Adelbert" and "Melinda" and their friends. Very, very nice house. One word - chandeliers. Also, close to One Tree Hill, a place with extra significance for U2 fans (among which I number myself).

- Climbing One Tree Hill. Most of the park surrounding it is covered in sheep that bleat loudly and mournfully at each other. MAAAAAAAA. MAAAAAAA.

It is a gentle climb up with a slightly steep part at the end but very do-able. It was also quite interesting to me in terms of people-watching:
- my typically southerner stereotype of Aucklanders was fulfilled when I saw a man carrying his fat little Pekinese dog up the hill.
- on the other hand, a bunch of buff shirtless Pasifika men were training on the hill, running around and around the steepest part. I enjoyed watching them while I casually strolled up!

- After coming down the hill, busing into the CBD. I remember shopping being more fun when I had lots of spending money. As it is now, shopping can be pretty boring, unless you're in a bookstore. I strolled around the central district for a while, feeling like a gross provincial among all the suits. Felt so much better when I met my friend Amanda for lunch. Amanda is doing an internship at a big law firm, and was dressed in her first proper suit ever, but had swapped her heels for jandals over the lunch break. Hooray! I suddenly felt like I fit in. (We dined at a friendly little cafe called Foodini's on High St with cheapish but lovely food. I would recommend it.)

- Then I lost my phone at a foodcourt very close to where the above photo was taken. Bused back to the house. Saga described in my last blog post. Thank you again, "Roger O'Leary"!

- In the evening, Adelbert, Melinda and I had dinner before their friends turned up, and then we decided to climb One Tree Hill again! Here I am at the top.


- The most exciting part was looking down and seeing Mt Smart Stadium all set up for the U2 concert which would start the next night. This is when I started to feel super-excited.

- At the bottom of the hill there is an observatory, which we visited on the way back. Here I am in a spaceman suit, naturally.
- We looked through telescopes at planets and stars, with a very keen assistant who couldn't help betraying his intense excitement about astronomy. "I just have to show you 47 Tuck," he said, fiddling with one of the telescopes. "It won't be very well illuminated tonight but you'll really like it."
Then, after he set up Alpha Centauri in the lens for us, Melinda had a look. "Oh, it's so pretty, so twinkly with little rainbows!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, deeply apologetic. "The atmosphere is getting in the way."

- Back to the house, where we watched bonus features on the DVD of the current U2 tour, and progressively worked up our excitement.

something cool

I came across this music video by a Kiwi singer I've never even heard of before - filmed in stop motion photography from Bluff to Cape Reinga, the deep south of New Zealand to the northernmost point. It gave me itchy feet and it's pretty awesome, so - here is the link:

Jonny Love, 'Weight of Tomorrow'

[ I would embed it on here, but it's too wide for my blog width! ]