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My favorite music

Text: My favorite music

from davfin, 03.10.08

Text

This is based on the radio program and exhibition of photographs that can be found through the local portals section of this site. As the radio program on into the music suggested, Andrew Ford, way back in 2006 asked an innocent question: "What's your favorite music"?

This resulted in me sending quite a long letter to Andrew explaining that this was just too hard. I had none. Music is music. I listen to everything from Bach to the Beatles, Radiohead, Bjork,: My favorite music and or a favorite song was nearly impossible, indeed this portal has inspired me to think about this question again, and what I hope to do over the next few weeks is write an updated version of that letter. And thanks to programs like into the music over the past two years, the question has expanded somewhat. What is it about music and artistic endeavors in general that so bewitches the truly human? Why does Mozart involve me so much and honestly helps me think and concentrate, why does music excite, settle, anger and inspire> Why can a song stop me dead and bring tears to my eyes? How does it motivate and relieve boredom? And most importantly, and this was made most apparent, thanks to the CBC series, The Wire, why has music suddenly become so abused, the sometimes annoying background noise to our world? I suppose the best example of this is the mindless drivel of endlessly repetitive commercial radio. that style of media has close to ruined some of the best contemporary art by turning into a commercial commodity, and nothing more than that.

There, however is an example of how some music you like can totally wrap you up, and for a time you can become quite obsessive about it. Just after three in the morning of Thursday October two, I was Listening to Trevor Chappel's overnight program on local ABC radio. He was asking listeners to ring in with their memories of songs that had been minor or medium level hits on there original release, but had been turned into monster hits at a later stage.

So he played Al hibbler's unchained melody, a 78 my father had. I had not heard that record for years, and while kneading bunyetta's my eyes beaded. I was taken away by Al's soulful and strait down the line singing, the kind of powerful non nonsense blues voice that Duke Ellington loved. Al may or may not have liked the song, but it was always obvious to me that he rehearsed it till he knew it, and probably recorded it in one or two takes. the major his of this song was of course done by the Righteous brothers, and as for as I'm concerned its always been overdone shlock.

Al Hibbler turns this song that was used as the theme for a film I'v never seen called unchained. Its perhaps overly sentimental, but this version stops the world like some of the music of Ravel does. Each word is meant and it floats over a relatively simple string arrangement. Its sung quite fast, rather than being stretched out or turned into a dirge, and then its over. He does a long sweep down to the bottom of his register, then up to the final note, I think the key is B Flat, and the world is right, love is not silly or wrong, it is inevitable, there is always hope and peace.

That's my song at the moment. How about you find a copy

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