but that doesn't mean we can't still learn!
Okay, so nobody knew who Benny Goodman was. Here's Benny Goodman (playing the clarinet -- about halfway through). That's Gene Krupa on the drums. (He used to be somebody, too.)
And you barely knew who Joni Mitchell was. Here's Joni singing "A Case of You" (live) in 1983. (Here are the lyrics, if you're interested.)
And here's a song of Joni's that I love, "River" as performed by another Canadian, Allison Crowe (lyrics here). It's from an album called Blue, which, if I could only have one Joni Mitchell album, would be the one I would choose (Hejira being second).
I once tried to play this for a class, but they were all talking, so I pulled the plug. They didn't deserve it. Here's the good thing: you only have to listen to this if you want to (and if you talk through it, I'll never have to know).
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9 comments:
Cool! I love big band jazz stuff. You can tell Benny Goodman is really good because his face never turns red and his neck doesn't strain. This is something because it takes a lot of air to play those high notes. It takes me back to when I used to play the clarinet in 5th and 6th grade!
Hello Mr. Mac, Laura and all at Tolland High!
I serve as manager to musician Allison Crowe and I'm delighted to find a mention of Allison in your blog.
Some of my richest learning experiences in school, here on Canada's west coast, emanated from classes with an English teacher, Mr. Ahrens, who brought music into the lessons.
YouTube is so cool for vids. Should you want to hear some audio - for her CDs Allison has recorded "A Case of You" ~ http://www.allisoncrowe.com/03TLBACaseofYou.mp3 as well as "River" ~ http://www.allisoncrowe.com/River.mp3
There's over 100 mp3s @ http://www.allisoncrowe.com/music.html and http://www.allisoncrowe.com/ABC.html
As well as interpretations of rock poets of the '60s and '70s - such as Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Janis Joplin - you'll find Allison's original songs, along with Broadway, Jazz and other genres.
She covers current solo artists including Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco as well as bands - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Matt Good Band+ May you all find some songs to enjoy.
FYI, as Joni essentials, I would choose the same two albums - Blue and Hejira - as you've cited.
I hope you all get through the Winter ok, and soon.
Keep on rockin' in the free world! (that's PJ channeling Neil Young)
Sláinte, Ad
Hello Adrain.. randomness! Something tells me you are not in Block 2 English but whatever, nice to meet you!
I quite enjoyed the Benny Goodman thing to be completely honest. I thought it was going to be something totally different. Like when you played Vincent Black Lightening I was expecting a rock song but it was definitely not rock.
I liked Benny Goodman. Watching him on YouTube reminded me of an I Love Lucy Episode. Ricky's stage looked kind of like his set up :)
You see, this blog is starting to take off! (The "Snowbound" entry got some outside attention, too.)
Now if I could only get the class to start reading it. . . (but I do notice when someone leaves a comment).
I have always loved big band music. My favorite scene in The Mask is the dancing part where Jim Carey starts dancing with the girl, ( I just watched it this morning and I can't remember names). But it is nice to put a face with Benny Goodman’s name. However, I think I have seen his face in older movies that my mom watches on AMC I believe it is. I am now going to look and see if he has ever been in a movie.
I agree with Rob- Goodman's face looks really familiar...
The Allison Crowe video/ song ( My dad fixed our computer- We have sound!!!) sort of reminded me of Fionna Apple's older music (I love mellow jazz-ish stuff w/ piano) By the way, I think it is awesome that people outside of THS have discovered this blog!
I was surprised by Benny Goodman's performance. I expected him to be solo, although I really enjoyed the effect of the whole band. It lead up to Goodman's solo, which I liked.
Yeah, ditto. Benny Goodman sounds a lot different than I expected. I thought "the strains of Benny Goodman" would be slow and sad, like the poem, but I liked that it was catchy. And like Leah said, I thought he would be performing solo... I didn't expect him to be in a band.
And also like Leah said, I think it's cool that people other than THS students have looked at this blog.
I really loved the Benny Goodman link. We always have jazz and all the rat pack stuff playing in both my mom and my dad's house. Back when I was really little and they were still married they used to go swing dancing. I don't ever pay attention to names or anything, but whenever I hear that type of music it always brings me back to those days. And as for the 60s-70s era music (esp. Janis Joplin), my dad never quite outgrew that phase so I get a lot of that at home too (but I love the music so it doesn't bother me)
Hello Bethany, Robert, Leah, Katie, Kira, and, of course, Laura and Mr. Mac and everyone!
hehe you're right... I'm not in Block 2 - though it sounds like fun!
When Allison is not on concert tour, I spend a lot of time online. The web is a terrific place for independent artists to connect with people to share music and chat.
You can be sure there's lots of people reading this blog - most folks tend to surf and read and few comment. I like to say hello ( :
best wishes to you all!
p.s. I like Benny Goodman, too. Good music is all good whatever genre or style! Goodman and combo did some sessions with one of my all-time fave singers, Billie Holiday.
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