was not, for a change lately, Depeche Mode.  It was Nickelback.

What ever happened to the days when I would wake up with Mozart or Vaughan Williams running through my head?  (Actually, I think it was yesterday morning, I woke up with a wisp of Vaughan Williams that wouldn't resolve itself.  I think it wanted to be The Lark Ascending, but it never ( Read more... )

I've been listening to Depeche Mode a lot lately.  Turns out I have all of their studio albums tucked away in my computer.

So this morning, just on a whim, I started Wagners "Ring" -- the stellar peformance under the baton of Clemens Kraus from the 1953 Bayreuth Festival.

Somehow, it's not that great a shift.

I just checked, and it looks as though I have all of Depeche Mode's studio albums -- not counting remixes or "best of" collections.

Precipitated by this.

So I woke up in the wee hours with Kimmo Pohjonen's "Utu" running through my head. Needless to say, that album -- Uniko, a collaboration with Kronos Quartet -- was first on this morning's playlist. The opening of "Utu" suits -- it's mild and rainy (actually quite warm -- almost 70 at 5 am), and it's a nice, slow, almost languid opening. The rest ( Read more... )

Philip Glass: Aguas da Amazona and Koyaanisqatsi.

Now starting Kimmo Pohjonen, Kalmuk, to be followed by Pohjonen and Kronos Quartet, Uniko.

And then, who knows?

Remember when I was trying to decide between Kazaky and traditional Japanese koto music? Well, I finally decided. I bought an album by Kimmo Pohjonen -- Kalmuk.

how much I enjoy Vaughan Williams.  I know, doesn't really sound like me, but it does -- 20th century English Romanticism.  Nice to ease yourself into the day with.

Now that I have a humidifier, breathing is a lot easier.  And the doctor confirmed that I am still alive.

to accumulate seven albums of the music of Arvo Pärt and not have a recording of "Fratres," which is arguably his most popular piece?  (Of course, "popular" in this context is all relative.)

Unless WMP has filed it under something bizarre.

And now I have to get to work

I finally got hold of a real person at Google, and we talked through getting me back into my accounts.  It seems I not only had to delete my cookies, which I had done, but also delete my browsing history.  Who knew?  Anyway, I'm back into Blogger, etc., so if you want to read my updates on marriage news or anything else political/cultural, you can ( Read more... )

It's been two days of doctor visits -- follow-ups from my surgeries earlier this year.  Yes, my bypass is working fine.  First time I've had a blood pressure reading taken from my big toe.  And my kidney function is a little bit better -- doc admitted that my "wait and see" idea was right.  Bottom line on both counts:  whatever I'm doing, keep ( Read more... )