What you listening to RIGHT now?

Mr Badger said:
It wasn't her voice in that particular song, it was the emotion behind the lyrics; you could tell she felt the pain in every single word she sang. The story goes that this song incurred the displeasure of someone senior in the FBI, who apparently wasn't that keen on a song being sung about lynching, but she carried on singing it anyway.

I forget how many times she was arrested on drugs charges; I know she was jailed for a while on one occasion, and, from what I understand, in 1959 she was arrested on her death bed in hospital on the charge of illegal possession of narcotics and placed under police guard until a few hours before she died, little over a month later, at the age of 44. I wonder what they'd make of that these days? RIP Lady Day.

View: https://youtu.be/9yakzL1Q88c
Click to expand...

Oh..I see. Yes, plenty of emotion and an interesting story behind it too. The emotion certainly came across which I could describe as 'painful' . I did try to listen to the lyrics but was unable to understand her words properly so was just left with her voice so I listened to another song and still came to the same conclusion. I've just listened to it again and still can't properly understand the words. The recording is very old, though, maybe that's it. Another reason is that just about the only genre I don't enjoy listening to is jazz and I see she's listed as a jazz singer. I do like Trad Jazz,though. I recall listening to late night jazz on the radio years ago..too may for comfort..lol..and each player seemed to be doling his/her own thing..lol. I prefer structure.Even today I mute the button on two music intros to TV programmes. The One Show and oddly enough..The Andrew Marr show. Maybe you're familiar with them. Screaming trumpet crescendos in both.

I've just listened to the song you've attached 'The Very Thought of You 'and still don't like her voice but the song is one of my fvourites but sung by Nat King Cole and song Retune has posted and I'm not keen on that either so definitely the voice.

Rather a sad end to her life,then.
 
Retune said:
Billie Holiday or Billie Eilish?!
Click to expand...

You're right. How on Earth did that happen ? The only explanation I have is that I Googled wanting to know what genre Billie Holiday songs were and when you do that sort of Google a panel sometimes shows with several questions/answers and one of them must have been..what genre does Billie Eilsh sing in and I failed to notice..I tend to get a bit tired after a while on the computer..I think probably caused by correcting typos etc..,drives me nuts.. and have obviously read it for..as a you say..Billie Eilish. I've only vaguely heard of her so I played a couple of her songs just now S.he's not for me either. I see she's only 20 years old. I'm a shade older than that..:D
 
JohnC6 said:
Oh..I see. Yes, plenty of emotion and an interesting story behind it too. The emotion certainly came across which I could describe as 'painful' . I did try to listen to the lyrics but was unable to understand her words properly so was just left with her voice so I listened to another song and still came to the same conclusion. I've just listened to it again and still can't properly understand the words.
Click to expand...

There is a live version on Youtube with subtitled lyrics if you look for it; or you could jut do a Google search for them (I'll let you do that rather than provide a direct link, as some people may find them upsetting). It's the words that define this song, and explain the emotion in her voice (and why the American government were allegedly none too keen on it at the time). (y)
 
Last edited:
Mr Badger said:
There is a live version on Youtube with subtitled lyrics if you look for it; or you could jut do a Google search for them (I'll let you do that rather than provide a direct link, as some people may find them upsetting). It's the words that define this song, and explain the emotion in her voice (and why the American government were allegedly none too keen on it). (y)
Click to expand...

I've just watched a Youtube clip of her singing it and it included gruesome photos..hence your reticence to post..well founded too. As you said it subtitled the lyrics..in three languages too..english german and portugese. I wanted to know who wrote the lyrics and what motivated them and came across the original poem. I found it was written by a song-writer/poet called Abel Meeropol (pseudonym Lewis Allen) and he wrote it in 1937 after looking at photographs and that was also the year that a proposed ban on the practice went through the Senate and lost. I thought it was inspirational the way he compared the victims to fruit. I suppose it's why people like him can write lyrics and poetry. As you say,the FBI wanted to stop Holiday singing it because they thought it would cause a riot and probably even more concerning that it would further the nascent civil rights movement so they got her on drug charges after putting an undercover FBI agent into her circle and she spent 12 months in prison but sang it again 10 days after her release. The FBI also went after Meeropol and used his membership of the American Communist Party. They (the authorities in NY) wanted to establish the extent, if any, of the teaching of Communism in public schools. ie state school as he was also a teacher .He was summoned to appear before a committee in New York (1940) that was looking into this and also wanted to know if the ACP had paid him to write the poem. It hadn't.

In 1999, Time magazine named it... Song of the Century and the Library of Congress put it in the National Recording Registry.

What a dark period in American history and it doesn't take much imagination to put the Civil Rights Movement and the current BLM movement into context.

It's been a real revelation looking into this so I'm glad you mentioned it (y)
 
Last edited:
The Bitter Truth/Evanescence
Long awaited new album, must be at least ten years since the last one.

 
J'arrive A Toi (Carla Bruni). I don't have any sort of sound system so this is just an internet version playing through my laptop.
 
One of the few bands that I liked that weren't really hard rock.

 
A coot, a blackbird, a few geese and rather a lot of rooks. I am in the middle of the Lincolnshire wolds while Bestbeloved does her bird survey . Bliss.
 
First time I've heard this. It was included in a Radio4 programme a day or so ago.. Jeff Lynne (ELO fame) fantastic singer..Tom Petty Steve Winwood and Prince who comes on stage near the end and plays a superb backing on his guitar which he throws up at the end and which doesn't come back down.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y


Here's the original by the Beatles (George Harrison) to compare.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJDJs9dumZI


An interesting read about how it was written and changed. https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/while-my-guitar-gently-weeps-story-behind-song/
 
JohnC6 said:
First time I've heard this. It was included in a Radio4 programme a day or so ago.. Jeff Lynne (ELO fame) fantastic singer..Tom Petty Steve Winwood and Prince who comes on stage near the end and plays a superb backing on his guitar which he throws up at the end and which doesn't come back down.
Click to expand...

It's quite a famous live performance. George Harrison's son is playing rythm guitar. And Geoff Lynn is a genius.
 
This singer came for piano lessons from my wife who just took on a couple of pupils ..12-14 year olds because she's enjoyed it so not professional. Blossom had a real talent even back then, playing the piano and cello and writing her own songs. She gave my wife her first CD which she put together herself. Different now....lol. When she comes home from London she'll still give my wife a call and come round for a chat.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWVbb-L7Fvs
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top