Bruce Hornsby - 08/16/11
Yesterday, Erika and I took on the treacherous Tioga Pass, trekked to the titanic Tuolumne Grove (of giant sequoia), and taunted the troubled tourists of Yosemite valley, before finishing our day with a tremendous tour of the historic California gold rush towns along hwy 49.
Getting ready for more fun at Lassen volcanic national park and Lava Beds National Monument so I'll leave with my friend Dagny Haug in charge here. Though she and I don't always see eye-to-eye when it comes to music, I'm always happy when our tastes match up. I'm with her on this one. I like anyone who can tour with the Grateful Dead and make my mother cry at a few notes of "Mandolin Rain". Rock on sister!
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My first semester of college, I took a class in the music department called "The Age of Beethoven". It was as much about the music as it was about the social history of the time. The professor taught it from the piano, playing bits of whatever composition reinforced the historical themes - it was quite an amazing class. It was there I learned about leitmotifs - melodies that the composer would then subtly alter in rhythm or tone until sometimes they were turning somersaults. My enthusiasm for classical music may have ended (that's another story), but I can still appreciate a modern composer who employs classical tricks.
Enter Bruce Hornsby.
Sure, I was aware of Bruce's presence on the radio, but he was just kind of... *there*. My enthusiasm for him didn't sprout until I picked up a copy of his 2004 album Halcyon Days. In absorbing this album, I fell in love with the last track, Lost in the Snow. It tells the story of a kid who goes out
with his family in search of a Christmas tree and gets - you guessed it - lost in the snow. I suppose I can forgive some of the lame lyrics ("Lost in the snow, don't know where to go/Don't know how to cook or how to sew/Maybe I'll make friends with the deer, who knows/They have problems too with this snow") if I accept the conceit that it's written from the perspective of a cold 8-year-old boy... but what fascinates me is the manipulation of the sub-melody.
Bruce takes five ordinary notes, playing them unrelentingly under the lyrical melody, then takes it into a minor key for the bridge and riffs like a champ. After the final verse, he pulls it all back around and ties an elaborate bow to finish the package. When I fell in love with this song, I fell in love with its musical completeness... and as a dormant music theory geek, that's important to me. I hope you enjoy it too.
Lost in the Snow - Bruce Hornsby
2004 - Halcyon Days
Pop - Rock
Track Length - 5:07
Right Click to Download
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Getting ready for more fun at Lassen volcanic national park and Lava Beds National Monument so I'll leave with my friend Dagny Haug in charge here. Though she and I don't always see eye-to-eye when it comes to music, I'm always happy when our tastes match up. I'm with her on this one. I like anyone who can tour with the Grateful Dead and make my mother cry at a few notes of "Mandolin Rain". Rock on sister!
----
My first semester of college, I took a class in the music department called "The Age of Beethoven". It was as much about the music as it was about the social history of the time. The professor taught it from the piano, playing bits of whatever composition reinforced the historical themes - it was quite an amazing class. It was there I learned about leitmotifs - melodies that the composer would then subtly alter in rhythm or tone until sometimes they were turning somersaults. My enthusiasm for classical music may have ended (that's another story), but I can still appreciate a modern composer who employs classical tricks.
Enter Bruce Hornsby.
Sure, I was aware of Bruce's presence on the radio, but he was just kind of... *there*. My enthusiasm for him didn't sprout until I picked up a copy of his 2004 album Halcyon Days. In absorbing this album, I fell in love with the last track, Lost in the Snow. It tells the story of a kid who goes out
with his family in search of a Christmas tree and gets - you guessed it - lost in the snow. I suppose I can forgive some of the lame lyrics ("Lost in the snow, don't know where to go/Don't know how to cook or how to sew/Maybe I'll make friends with the deer, who knows/They have problems too with this snow") if I accept the conceit that it's written from the perspective of a cold 8-year-old boy... but what fascinates me is the manipulation of the sub-melody.
Bruce takes five ordinary notes, playing them unrelentingly under the lyrical melody, then takes it into a minor key for the bridge and riffs like a champ. After the final verse, he pulls it all back around and ties an elaborate bow to finish the package. When I fell in love with this song, I fell in love with its musical completeness... and as a dormant music theory geek, that's important to me. I hope you enjoy it too.
Lost in the Snow - Bruce Hornsby
2004 - Halcyon Days
Pop - Rock
Track Length - 5:07
Right Click to Download
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