Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[Bryan]

18 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

Very sad for sure.  I have an appreciation for country music.  Not what I grew up on, but it grew on me over time!

 

 

 

I read somewhere that people tend to gravitate towards Country and Folk music as they get older, along with classical, I  find it easy on the ear. 

 

Somebody has researched this subject, e,g. here.

[Betty LaRue]

55 minutes ago, Bryan said:

 

I read somewhere that people tend to gravitate towards Country and Folk music as they get older, along with classical, I  find it easy on the ear. 

 

Somebody has researched this subject, e,g. here.

I cut my teeth on country music. My mother always had the radio onto it. There was a singer called Jimmy Rodgers who did a bit of yodeling in his songs & mother learned how to yodel. His songs were more folk music I think.

Many years later when my & my sister’s family & mom went camping at this beautiful lake in SE Oklahoma, my brother-in-law brought out his guitar at dusk & we’d sing country songs around the campfire. He also had a great voice.

We always camped the first week of August. There were other people, some from Texas, Kansas & other places that also camped that same time every year.

When the guitar came out & we started singing, all of a sudden at the edge of the light from the campfire or if it was too hot, lantern light, slowly & quietly people would appear & set up their folding chairs around us.

Everyone would beg my mother to sing an old Jimmy Rodgers song. She was very shy & unassuming, but we’d finally wear her down. One she liked to sing was “Mule Skinner Blues”.

She’s gone these past years, but hunting for this song to paste here, & listening to it, I can see her 5 foot two frame standing in the wavering light belting it out.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=jimmy+rodgers+Mule+Skinner+blues&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a5d7e1bc,vid:SQ0ppOZ967k,st:0

 

Edited February 9 by Betty LaRue

[spacecadet]

On 05/02/2024 at 03:52, Bryan said:

too much water in the mix

It will dry out but at the expense of strength. So you will only be able to drive an armoured car over it, not a Challenger 2.

Forgetting that concrete readymix already has sand in it when using it as a component for mixing concrete from scratch is worse. What you then have, as far as strength is concerned, is, well, sand. With pebbles in it. DAMHIK.

Edited February 9 by spacecadet

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, spacecadet said:

It will dry out but at the expense of strength. So you will only be able to drive an armoured car over it, not a Challenger 2.

Forgetting that concrete readymix already has sand in it when using it as a component for mixing concrete from scratch is worse. What you then have, as far as strength is concerned, is, well, sand. With pebbles in it. DAMHIK.

I'll send the Challenger back then Mark.  Actually the job doesn't look great, there is a crack in the centre and it may have shrunk around the perimeter. I'll give it another couple of days, but may end up taking it out and starting again with considerably less water and no movement of the butt.  If at first etc .......

[Michael Ventura]

On 09/02/2024 at 09:50, Betty LaRue said:

I cut my teeth on country music. My mother always had the radio onto it. There was a singer called Jimmy Rodgers who did a bit of yodeling in his songs & mother learned how to yodel. His songs were more folk music I think.

Many years later when my & my sister’s family & mom went camping at this beautiful lake in SE Oklahoma, my brother-in-law brought out his guitar at dusk & we’d sing country songs around the campfire. He also had a great voice.

We always camped the first week of August. There were other people, some from Texas, Kansas & other places that also camped that same time every year.

When the guitar came out & we started singing, all of a sudden at the edge of the light from the campfire or if it was too hot, lantern light, slowly & quietly people would appear & set up their folding chairs around us.

Everyone would beg my mother to sing an old Jimmy Rodgers song. She was very shy & unassuming, but we’d finally wear her down. One she liked to sing was “Mule Skinner Blues”.

She’s gone these past years, but hunting for this song to paste here, & listening to it, I can see her 5 foot two frame standing in the wavering light belting it out.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=jimmy+rodgers+Mule+Skinner+blues&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a5d7e1bc,vid:SQ0ppOZ967k,st:0

 

 

I visited Jimmie Rodgers' birthplace in Meridian, Mississippi a few years back.  Loved his yodel.  One of my favorite trips ever was driving "The Blues Trail" of Mississippi, such an education!

 

Betty, I envy your musical family, neither one of my parents had musical abilities.  My dad had a lot of vinyl records, so we had jazz, big band, many of the crooners as well as classical music played in the house.  My oldest brother introduced me to funk, R&B, blues and soul music…so now my taste in music covers nearly every genre.  Though, as hard as I try, I’m not getting today’s music so well. A true sigh of age, I suppose.

 

 

 

Edited February 10 by Michael Ventura

[Bryan]

One of the things that continues to bind my relationship with my wife is playing music together. We are neither of us particularly talented but we practice a lot, and, if we choose tunes that aren't too demanding, can make a decent sound. Our kids flew the nest years ago, and, unfortunately, our grandkids live some distance away, so we need to find ways of filling the time, and music is one of them. It helped make the Covid lockdown bearable, and it's something to do when the weather is awful. I'm currently struggling through a piece by Bach, fortunately it's not fast and there aren't too many sharps or flats, but the solo line timing is very tricky. There are rests where you wouldn't expect them and I find it hard to get the correct rhythm. So I've annotated the score with the number of semi quaver beats of each rest etc, and play with a metronome clicking at semiquaver beat. Maybe I take too analytical an approach, but it works for me. The next step will be to set the metronome to a quaver beat and try to gauge the semiquaver rests, I'm hoping that if I practice enough I will be able to master this piece and play without the assistance of the metronome, but, whatever, it's fun trying.

[Ed Rooney]

 

Charlie Parker, the bebop king, liked country music. One night when he was popping nickles into a jukebox, one of his young band members asked "Why are you playing that stuff?"  

 

"The stories, man -- listen to the stories."

 

Sadly, he never heard this piece.

 

Edited February 10 by Ed Rooney

[NYCat]

I love words and one thing that I don't like about the direction music moved is that the accompaniment drowns out the singer. Of course I grew up listening to the Great American Songbook.

 

Paulette

[Ed Rooney]

Me too, Paulette. 

 

Long long ago, I made a pop record for Decca. At the time I thought -- Sinatra would never sing this tune. Decades later, I still think that. 

[Sally Robertson]

3 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Charlie Parker, the bebop king, liked country music. One night when he was popping nickles into a jukebox, one of his young band members asked "Why are you playing that stuff?"  

 

"The stories, man -- listen to the stories."

 

Sadly, he never heard this piece.

 

 

Ed, did you see the version of this that was just performed at the Grammy Awards with Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs? It was beautiful.

 

I wish I could post it here. There was footage of the whole performance that went up on YouTube that I saw last night but it's come down again.

 

Such a warm song with one of the best acoustic guitar riffs ever and a meaningful story.

 

Edit: I just found another video of this same performance but the sound and visuals are not as good. Looks a bit like someone filmed it off their TV. But it's still good to see. I love Tracy Chapman's smile and so much warmth in both their deliveries of the song.

 

 

 

Edited February 10 by Sally Robertson

[Betty LaRue]

Beautiful music. I’m not strictly country music. I like R&B, Blues…I love anything with a soulful beat. I loved Elvis, certain Beatles songs but not everything that came out of their mouths. Bing Crosby, Perry Como, those. The Platters, Bill Haley, Johnny Mathis, Everly Bros, Dean Martin, most of the disco music.

My mom had a record of orchestral music that had Blue Danube & others on it. I would come home from first grade to an empty house, put that record on, lean my face against the player cabinet & listen to the whole thing. To me, that music was very melancholy, & sometimes it made me cry. Other times I’d almost fall asleep standing up!

Michael, those are wonderful images you took of Jimmy Rodgers memorabilia. My mother would have been over the moon to see that.

[NYCat]

4 hours ago, Sally Robertson said:

 

Ed, did you see the version of this that was just performed at the Grammy Awards with Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs? It was beautiful.

 

I wish I could post it here. There was footage of the whole performance that went up on YouTube that I saw last night but it's come down again.

 

Such a warm song with one of the best acoustic guitar riffs ever and a meaningful story.

 

Edit: I just found another video of this same performance but the sound and visuals are not as good. Looks a bit like someone filmed it off their TV. But it's still good to see. I love Tracy Chapman's smile and so much warmth in both their deliveries of the song.

 

 

 

 

I didn't stay up for the entire Grammys but I was happy to see more songs with words I could hear and understand. Am I wrong in thinking that the success of Billie Eilish pushed the music world towards more quiet performances?

 

Paulette

[Ed Rooney]

 

Sally, I did hear the duet but I like the original better.

[John Mitchell]

I've long been fan of Tracy Chapman, and I enjoyed the duet with Luke Combs. I can't make out what most singers are saying these days. I put it down to old age hearing loss. The Beatles were truly a transformative band. Glad I was around in their heyday. Their songs will live on...

[Ed Rooney]

 

Scoushers are loud but what they are saying is a mystery to me. 

 

Edited February 10 by Ed Rooney

[John Mitchell]

26 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Scoushers are loud but what they are saying is a mystery to me. 

 

 

I have the same problem with most politicians, so maybe it isn't all hearing loss. 🙃

[Steve Hyde]

I’m not a big country fan, in as much as what I would listen to at home, but we did drive to Nashville a few years ago whilst visiting my brother in NJ. Played live it’s something else. We wandered into one bar on Broadway, Nashville  in the afternoon, where a band were playing covers. The level of musicianship was amazing.
 

The band had a bucket that was passed around the bar. They asked the crowd to write down any song requests and then place them in the tub. After going around the bar the tub went back to the band who then randomly selected a request, had a brief conflab, and then played it. Just like that.
 

The bands female singer was really at ease talking to everyone between songs. She’d been a backing singer with Dolly Parton and was really entertaining. 
 

We drove on to Memphis from there for a few days and spent an evening in BB Kings bar on Beale St. Another great live music experience.

Edited February 10 by Steve Hyde

[John Mitchell]

5 minutes ago, Steve Hyde said:

I’m not a big country fan but we did drive to Nashville a few years ago whilst visiting my brother in NJ. Played live it’s something else. We wandered into one bar on Broadway, Nashville  in the afternoon, where a band were playing covers. The level of musicianship was amazing.
 

The band had a bucket that was passed around the bar. They asked the crowd to write down any song requests and then place them in the tub. After going around the bar the tub went back to the band who then randomly selected a request, had a brief conflab, and then played it. Just like that.
 

The bands female singer was really at ease talking to everyone between songs. She’d been a backing singer with Dolly Parton and was really entertaining. 
 

We drove on to Memphis from there for a few days and spent an evening in BB Kings bar on Beale St. Another great live music experience.

 

I'm not much of a country music fan either. However, you're right about some of the musicianship. It can be really good, and there are some terrific songs. A lot of popular music performances these days seem to be mainly acrobatic displays accompanied by largely indecipherable, empty lyrics (boy, am I sounding old now). I really miss the fantastic guitar playing of the 60's and 70's. I still love the blues. Montreal, my old hometown, was a regular stop for a lot of the old blues men -- Muddy Waters, B.B King, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton, etc. -- so I was lucky enough to see them live, usually in small venues, when I was a university student there.

[geogphotos]

Country music? 

 

I suppose it isn't a bad tune.

[Ed Rooney]

12 hours ago, Bryan said:

One of the things that continues to bind my relationship with my wife is playing music together. 

 

What instruments do you play, Bryan? 

 

I listen to classical music more than anything else -- baroque, classical, romantic, and modern.

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

I listen to classical music more than anything else -- baroque, classical, romantic, and modern.

 

Me too. Although I'm thinking of starting my own band: "JM and the Curmudgeons" 🤓

[Mr Standfast]

I've always been a folky. A few visits to the land of folk rock and punk folk but always a folky.

 

I like the lyrics, stories really. Stories of the people. Have a google if you're brave enough.

 

Chris Woods, The Cottagers Reply.

Vin Garbutt, Man of the Earth

Christy Moore, Victor Jara

Eric Bogle, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Junw Tabor,  The Writing of Tipperary

 

G'night.

 

🙂

[pazmander]

I think for a lot of people of my generation, born in the 50s, it's still the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and others. I'm always slightly surprised that my kids, in their 20s/30s, like and listen to the same stuff as their old dad.

 

Gareth

 

 

 

 

 

[sb photos]

6 hours ago, pazmander said:

I think for a lot of people of my generation, born in the 50s, it's still the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and others. I'm always slightly surprised that my kids, in their 20s/30s, like and listen to the same stuff as their old dad.

 

Gareth

 

I was born in the early 1950's, and regularly play the Stones and Bowie, especially when on longish car journeys. I've only seen the Stones once at the old Wembley Stadium, but locally Bowie many times, along with many other bands of that era. I have only photographed Mick Jagger and Keith Richard once, not playing but as they walked up the steps to the old Aylesbury Crown Court re Keith's drug charge long ago. Over the years my musical taste has expanded, also listening now to folk and jazz. I never hear my daughter now listening to music, although I do hear her husband, who plays bass in Bristol pub rock bands. When around 14 my daughter did play lead guitar, mainly Kurt Cobain Nirvana numbers with friends, but annoyingly the same track very loud, over and over. Within a year she sold the Peavey combo amp and Strat copy guitar and we had peace and quiet.

 

Edited February 11 by sb photos

[Bryan]

10 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

What instruments do you play, Bryan? 

 

I listen to classical music more than anything else -- baroque, classical, romantic, and modern.

My wife plays keyboard, conventional piano and a keyboard which can be set up as a harpsichord, which is appropriate for renaissance and baroque music. She also plays accordion for a local folk dance group.

 

My dad played clarinet, and I followed that tradition, but for early music, I have a collection of recorders. In some ways the recorders are harder to play as they don't have that assortment of keys that make playing the accidentals so much easier.  I'm very much an amateur, I've never taken any exams or performed for cash.

 

We play at the local National Trust property and the start of the new season isn't too far away, so must get up to speed !

 

I have quite wide musical tastes, grew up with the Beatles etc, but now mainly listen to classical and folk., tend to listen to Knopfler etc in the car.  Never say never, but I find rap hard to appreciate.

 

 

Edited February 11 by Bryan