RIP David Bowie

The Starman has returned to the stars

Commander Chris Hadfield's Space Oddity

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield has spent almost six months orbiting earth aboard the International Space Station.

His gift to humanity prior to returning to earth was a cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity.

World in Union

The 2011 Rugby World Cup began on 9 September 2011 with the New Zealand All Blacks defeating Tonga 41-10. Every four years, the competition begins with the rugby union anthem World in Union. This was first heard in 1991 at Twickenham sung by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. This year, it was sung by New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. It is probably the best sporting anthem of all time. Of course the tune would be familiar to most people from the Thaxted melody of Gustav Holst's The Planets (Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity) and also in the hymn I Vow to Thee, My Country.

British ITV's introduction to their rugby coverage makes best use of Hayley Westenra's rendition of World in Union

The 2007 All Stars recording for the RWC in France was also well done

I Vow to Thee, My Country

Holst The Planets - Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

How to ruin a good song

The song Downtown was written by Tony Hatch and first recorded by Petula Clark in 1964. Petula Clark's rendition became a huge hit, particularly in the United States and Australia, where it reached number one in the charts.



Unfortunately, in Australia, the tune will soon be associated with a very annoying television commercial.



Sacrilege.

Magic remixed

Magic was one of Olivia Newton-John's biggest hits, written by John Farrar. It featured in the film and soundtrack of Xanadu in 1980.

It has been remixed by Dan Murphy and Steve Peach with Olivia Newton-John recording new vocals in conjunction with humanitarian group ‘We’re Australian Creative Collective Inc’ (WACCI) to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre charity. The track is available for sale on itunes http://itunes.com/OliviaMagic.

The video clip involved over 300 volunteer dancers


See also reporting by Ten News


Additional reporting by ABC 7.30 (ACT and Victoria).

good evening Düsseldorf

The grand final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by Germany in Düsseldorf, as last year's winner was the German entry.

While the results are known by morning Australian time, Australia's national and mostly government-funded multilingual and multicultural broadcaster SBS broadcasts the semi-finals and final at peak viewing times in the evenings.

In fact, Eurovision has a very strong and long-time following in Australia, aside from many Australians having migrated from many of the song entrant countries, there is the kitsch value, which resonates well with a broadly Australian sense of humour.

Winners, Ell and Nikki with "Running Scared" for Azerbaijan


Last year's winner Lena, for Germany, with 'Taken By a Stranger'


Moldova may not have won but those hats begged an explanation (photo not from actual final but a dress rehearsal - by Pieter Van den Berghe of EBU)

Photos below from Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) via Deutsche Welle

Sweden's Eric Saade might have been trying to be Popular by channeling the goddess Kali

Denmark's A Friend in London tried to find a New Tomorrow. Why do Danish musicians always sing in English?

Germany's Lena was Taken By a Stranger, it seems they might be extra-terrestrials

Australian (rock) music for President Obama

During an official visit to the White House, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave President Barack Obama a gift of Australian (rock) music on an iPod on behalf of the Australian people. The full playlist (reported in The Australian by Ben Packham) by song (and originating album though not necessarily the original release) included

Paul Kelly
• To Her Door (Paul Kelly’s Greatest Hits: Songs from the South, Vols 1 & 2)
• From Little Things Big Things Come (Paul Kelly’s Greatest Hits: Songs from the South, Vols 1 & 2)

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
• Bapa (Gurrumul)
• Wirrpangu (Gurrumul)
• Djarimirri (Gurrumul)

Temper Trap
• Sweet Disposition (Conditions)
• Love Lost (Conditions)

Panics
• Don’t Fight It (Cruel Guards)

Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males
• Star of the Sea (Drowning in the Fountain of Youth)

Hilltop Hoods
• The Hard Road (The Hard Road)
• The Nosebleed Section (The Calling)

John Butler Trio
• Funky Tonight (Grand National)
• One Way Road (April Uprising)
• Used to Get High (Grand National)

Angus and Julia Stone
• Big Jet Plane (Down the Way)

The Herd
• I Was Only 19 (The Sun Never Sets)

Jimmy Barnes
• Red Hot (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• That’s Right (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Hallelujah (I love her so) (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• That’s How It Is (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Keep a Knocking (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Reconsider Me (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Shake Rattle & Roll (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Rockin’ Pneumonia (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• A Fool In Love (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• You Can’t Judge a Book (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• I was Made to Love Her (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Young Blood (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• My Baby Just Cares for Me (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)

Ian Moss
• Good Times (Soul on West 53rd)
• Standing in The Shadows of Love (Soul on West 53rd)

Dan Sultan
• Your Love is like a Song (Homemade Biscuits)

INXS
• Never Tear Us Apart (Platinum Greatest Hits)
• Need You Tonight (Platinum Greatest Hits)
• The Loved One (Platinum Greatest Hits)
• New Sensation (Platinum Greatest Hits)

Xavier Rudd
• Let Me Be (Solace)
• Better People (White Moth)

Midnight Oil
• King of the Mountain (Blue Sky Mining)
• Blue Sky Mine (Blue Sky Mining)
• Beds are Burning (Diesel and Dust)
• Short Memory (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)

Nick Cave (and the Bad Seeds)
• Into My Arms (The Best Of....)

Troy Cassar–Daley
• Bow River (Standing On the Outside: The Songs of Cold Chisel)

Kasey Chambers
• Pony (Wayward Angel)
• The Captain (The Captain)

Jessica Mauboy
• Burn (Been Waiting)
• Time After Time (Been Waiting)

Crowded House
• Now We’re Getting Somewhere (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• World Where You Live (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Weather With You (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Something So Strong (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• When You Come (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Four Seasons in One Day (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Distant Sun (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Sister Madly (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Better Be Home Soon (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Mean to Me (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• It’s Only Natural (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Fall At Your Feet (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Don’t Dream It’s Over (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)

Kylie Minogue
• Confide in Me (Ultimate Kylie)
• Where the Wild Roses Grow (Ultimate Kylie)

Megan Washington
• How to Tame Lions (I Believe You Liar)
• Sunday Best (I Believe You Liar)

Bliss n Eso
• Bullet and a Target (Flying Colours)

Yothu Yindi
• Treaty (radio mix) (Tribal Voice)
• Djapana (sunset dreaming) (Tribal Voice)
• Dots on the Shells (One Blood)

Cat Empire
• Hello (The Cat Empire)
• Days Like These (The Cat Empire)

Hunters and Collectors
• Holy Grail (Cut)
• Throw Your Arms Around Me (Natural Selection)
• When the River Runs Dry (Natural Selection)
• Do You See What I See (Natural Selection)

Augie March
• One Crowded Hour (Moo You Bloody Choir)
• Janelle (Standing on the Outside)

Missy Higgins
• Scar (The Scar)
• The Special Two (The Special Two)
• Steer (On a Clear Day)

James Morrison
• Chameleon (Scream Machine)
• God Bless the Child duo with Deni Hines (The Other Woman)
• St Louis Blues (Quartet)
• St James Infirmary Blues (Tribute to Louis Armstrong)

Powderfinger
• These Days (Odyssey Number Five)
• Burn Your Name (Golden Rule)
• My Happiness (Odyssey Number Five)
• Baby I’ve Got You on My Mind (Vulture Street)
• Lost and Running (Lost and Running-Single)

Bernard Fanning
• Wish You Well (Tea & Sympathy)
• Songbird (Tea & Sympathy)
• Watch Over Me (Tea & Sympathy)
• Thrill Is Gone (Tea & Sympathy)
• Wash Me Clean (Tea & Sympathy)
• Which Way Home? (Tea & Sympathy)
• Hope and Validation (Tea & Sympathy)
• Down to the River (Tea & Sympathy)
• Yesterday’s Gone (Tea & Sympathy)
• Not Finished Just Yet (Tea & Sympathy)
• The Strangest Thing (Tea & Sympathy)
• Sleeping Rough (Tea & Sympathy)
• Further Down the River (Tea & Sympathy)
• Believe (Tea & Sympathy)

Clare Bowditch
• Message to My Girl (She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn)
• Modern Day Addiction (Modern Day Addiction)

Guy Sebastian
• Like It Like That (Like it Like That)
• In the Midnight Hour (The Memphis Album)
• (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (The Memphis Album)

Living End
• All Torn Down (The Living End)
• White Noise (White Noise)

Silver Chair
• Straight Lines (Young Modern)
• Tomorrow (Frogstomp)
• Ana’s Song, Open Fire (Neon Ballroom)

Wolfmother
• Joker and the Thief (Wolfmother)
• Woman (Wolfmother)

Tame Impala
• Solitude is Bliss (InnerSpeaker)

Eddy Current Suppression Ring
• Which Way to Go (Primary Colours)

Tina Arena
• Chains (Don’t Ask)
• To Sir With Love (Songs of Love and Loss)

Savage Garden
• To the Moon & Back (Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden)
• Affirmation (Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden)

Lior
• This Old Love (Autumn Flow)
• Tumbling into the Dawn (Tumbling into the Dawn)

Christine Anu
• Island Home (Stylin’ Up)
• Sunshine On a Rainy Day (Come My Way)
• No Woman No Cry (Liberation Blue Acoustic Series)

GANGgajang
• Sounds of Them (GANGgajang)

The Go-Betweens
• Streets of Your Town (16 Lovers Lane)

Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter
• Little by Little (Ruby)
• Coolman Baby (Ruby)
• Nagarrindjeri Woman (Ruby)

Archie Roach
• John Pat (Journey)
• Too Many Bridges (Journey)
• Liyarn Ngarn (Journey)

The Waifs
• London Still (Up All Night)
• Lighthouse (Up All Night)
• Bridal Train (A Brief History)

Renée Geyer
• Heading in the Right Direction (The Ultimate Collection)
• Stares and Whispers (The Ultimate Collection)
• It’s a Man’s Man’s World (The Ultimate Collection)

Saltwater Band
• Compass (Malk)
• Djarridjarri-Blue Flag (Djarridjarri)
• Arafura Sea (Gapu Damurrun’)

The collection certainly reflects the Prime Minister Gillard's taste. No doubt, she was ably assisted by the Australian music industry in compiling the collection.

However, it is disappointing that she has omitted excellent groups such as The Church, Matt Finish, Dragon, The Saints, Australian Crawl, Mondo Rock, AC/DC etc. Oddly, she has included Jimmy Barnes but not his earlier band, Cold Chisel. Indeed, the golden age of Australian rock and pop music was in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s.

Gibberish

Prisencolinensinainciusol was a song composed by Adriano Celentano, a prolific singer and songwriter, and released in 1972.



The song has enjoyed a resurgence following a mention by Boing Boing in 2009 as an illustration of how English sounds to non-English speakers.

While that wasn't the intention of Celentano, it is certainly Gibberish and was not meant to mean anything.

Новый Год the meme

Новый Год (Novy God) means New Year in Russian. It was also the name of a song that was a huge hit for Russian boy band Стекловата (Steklovata) a few years ago.



Despite the catchy tune, the cheap effect of the video clip, has spawned a meme devoted to parodying the clip. Here are a selection

Attempted subtitling based on English phonetic interpretation (there is also a Swedish version)


Swedish miming 'tribute'


Brazilian trash version


Polish mime (one of the earliest ones)


More recently, from Allan Hyde via Twitter (actor in True Blood) of Gourmetfilm's tribute



There are many more on YouTube. World News website has aggregated a few.

Happy New Year!

4'33'' remake from classical to pop

American composer John Cage (1912-1992), composed 4'33'' in 1952 for any instrument, or combination of instruments.

The first orchestral performance of the work was by the BBC Symphony Orchestra on 16 January 2004 at the Barbican Centre.



This year, there is a pop cover of 4'33'' by Cage Against the Machine, for this year's charity single in the UK.



I can't wait for the techno version.

A whiter shade of pale

From 1967. Procol Harum's debut song. It went to number one in many parts of the world and remains a classic today.



According to a BBC report, it is one of the most played songs in the UK in public spaces.

What a great opening to a song with

We skipped the light fandango
turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
but the crowd called out for more

Rest of lyrics

Random acts of culture

Last month I wrote about the best flash mobs. The unannounced and seemingly impromptu opera performances are amongst the best. In the United States, the Knight Foundation is funding 1000 Random Acts of Culture over the next three years to bring such performances into public places.

One of the best of the recent Random Acts of Culture occurred in Miami at Macy's, with 'Votre Toast/Toreador' from Carmen by Bizet, performed by Florida Grand Opera.

Random Act of Culture at Miami's Dadeland Mall from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

The baritone is Jonathan Michie who has a stunning voice.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Everybody Wants to Rule the World was a worldwide hit for British group Tears for Fears in 1985. Curt Smith on vocals.



There is something comforting about this song. To me, it represents the zeitgeist of the 1980s.

Dame Joan Sutherland 1926-2010

Dame Joan Sutherland (7 November 1926 - 10 October 2010)

She was one of the finest sopranos in the world and in history. Luciano Pavarotti, who worked with Dame Joan in numerous operas, described her as having the "the voice of the century".

The Australian Prime Minister issued a statement (in the third person)

The Prime Minister today joined Australians around the nation to mourn the death of Dame Joan Sutherland - a great Australian and one of the nation's greatest voices.

Dame Joan Sutherland died peacefully at the age of 83 with her family by her side in Switzerland.

Dame Joan will be remembered by opera lovers for her extraordinary performances that kept audiences around the world spellbound.

She was widely regarded as one of the finest opera singers of the 20th century, so much so that Luciano Pavarotti once described her as 'the voice of the century'.

The Prime Minister said it was right for the nation to also celebrate the life of Dame Joan who made a tremendous contribution to her nation, to opera and the arts.

Dame Joan touched the lives of so many people around the world, yet never lost sight of her Australian upbringing and her many admirers at home.

She was generous in teaching and supporting new generations of singers and musicians, and until recently could be seen in the audiences of productions in Australia.

The Prime Minister offered her condolences to her husband Richard, son Adam and their extended family at this difficult time.

Born in Sydney in 1926, Dame Joan made her British debut in the Magic Flute in October 1952. Her 40 year career included a 19 minute standing ovation for her performance in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor in 1959.

She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1979 a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1975, Australian of the Year in 1961 and received an Order of Merit in 1991.

Amongst my favourite opera recordings are those with Sutherland in Lucia di Lammermoor and La Traviata (both with Pavarotti).




Lucia di Lammermoor (a veranno a te sull'aure)


La Traviata (sempre libera)


Addio, stupenda

OK Go - even better than the treadmills video

This clip transcends placement in my music blog. From OK Go, it features very well trained canines. Clip from new single 'White Knuckles' from new album Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky: Extra Nice Edition (Amazon.com).



Directed by Trish Sie and OK Go
Produced by Shirley Moyers
Canine participants courtesy of Lauren Henry and Roland Sonnenburg and their team of trainers from Talented Animals

Awesome!

music blog

My much neglected music blog was finally updated with a new entry. http://danielfavemusic.blogspot.com/, introducing a new band from Manchester who are going to be massive.

canine concert 2 - a howling success

I previously wrote about the concert 'Music for Dogs'. This was held yesterday and was a howling success. AFP reported that performance artist Laurie Anderson's 'Music For Dogs', "a surreal hash of slide whistles, synthesiser, strings and saxophone... sent its four-legged patrons into a frenzy."

They were probably barking mad too.



Reuters report


Next time, they should put on Cats the musical.

Counting down to BBC News and an ABC News remix

There is something reassuring about the music counting down to BBC News (or BBC World News). Here is a compilation over time.



In Australia, the music to ABC News was recently remixed.

good evening Oslo

The final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest is on TV tonight, hosted by Norway in Oslo, as last year's winner was the Norwegian entry.

This year, I stayed up through all of the counting... "good evening Oslo, here are the results from the Swedish vote. Eight points go to United Kingdom, huit point pwarnt pour Royaume-Uni ... twelve points go to Greece, douze points pwarnt pour La Grèce" etc. Actually, United Kingdom didn't do so well this year.

Again, there was no longer the undignified nul point pwarnt awarded, as 39 voting countries award points for 1-7, then 8, 10 and 12 so there would be lots with nul point anyway.

Tonight's telecast isn't live so we already knew who the winner is.

Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany with Satellite



Unfortunately, Lena sung in English.

The Belarusian entry sung about butterflies


As always, there is usually a 'boy' band dressed in white. This year, it was Greece


The best part of the broadcast was the Norwegian performance between the entries and voting. The ultimate flashmob all over Europe.

canine concert

Vivid Sydney is an arts festival from 27 May to 21 June 2010.

On 5 June, there will be a concert 'Music for Dogs' at 10am in the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House.

Reported in Sydney Morning Herald. Extract

Music for Dogs - a high-frequency concert that aims to captivate canines while being inaudible to their owners - takes over the northern boardwalk on June 5. It has been inspired by the music that Anderson, a legendary performance artist who is curating the festival with her rock legend husband [Lou Reed], has been playing to her beloved rat terrier, Lollabelle, for 11 years.

"She likes things with a lot of smoothness but with beats in them,'' Anderson said from her Manhattan loft. ''Things with voices and lots of complicated high-end stuff. Chk-chk-chk-chk-chk … that kind of stuff."

The free morning concert will be as short as, well, a chihuahua. "Dogs don't have a giant concentration span - 20 minutes tops,'' Anderson said. ''Actually, I think a lot of shows for people would be improved if they were 20 minutes. Shows are too long - my own included. I dream of making something that's a perfect half hour and then it just goes on and on."

How will humans know if anything is being played? "You can just about hear it sometimes," Anderson said. "And you look at it on the meters and you see what it's doing. And your dog's ears will be twitching."

I wonder if there will be howling from canines who wish to sing along.