You Can't Put Your Arms Around An Mp3

Duane Pitre & Pilotram "Piano Improvisation for Mr. Cage"

Every year, the fine record label Silber Records has tried to release free compilations around various holidays. One of my favorite releases ever is The Silber Sounds of Christmas. (Click on the link to find out how to get this excellent album.

The most beautiful song of the bunch, IMHO, is "Piano Improvisation for Mr. Cage." Instead of reading your humble correspondent's opinion on the matter, please take pause, download, and appreciate the beauty of the sound.

Listen To: "Piano Improvisation for Mr. Cage"

Sally Shapiro "Time to Let Go"

Sally Shapiro is a mysterious woman; word has it that she's painfully shy,(Sally Shapiro is not her real name) she doesn't conduct many interviews, and that she has no desire to perform live. She is the vocal side of producer Johan Agebjorn, but what she does, she does well. Musically, she reminds me of a Swedish Sarah Cracknell; the music behind her is often murky and emotionally detatched. Her voice, however, is warm and inviting. A rightfully beloved recipient of blog love two years ago, her album Disco Romance is a downbeat but inviting collection of pop perfection. Who cares if she doesn't play live; music this good stands on its own merits.

Listen To: "Time to Let Go"

Disco Romance is available now on Paper Bag Records

The Durutti Column "Snowflakes"

In 1984, Factory Records subsidiary Les Disques du Crepuscle released a double-album of dark, cold songs, entitled Ghosts of Christmas Past. While released at Christmastime, the album wasn't necessarily a Christmas record, but the music found within could easily soundtrack a bleak midwinter.

Label stalwart Durutti Column's music easily fit in with this format; Vini Reilley's gentle melodies are perfect for grey days. His selection, "Snowflakes," is quiet and serene; indeed, his playing sounds like a gentle snow falling. A prolific master of simplicity, this simple song stands as one of his best compositions. Like gossamer, "Snowflakes" really needs no discussion; it's simply beautiful for being thinly beautiful.

Listen To: "Snowflakes"

Ghosts of Christmas Past is available now on LTM Recordings

Bavarian Radio Orchestra "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs, and Orchestra"

 

2001: A Space Odyssey is a cinematic masterpiece, and one element of its brilliance is its soundtrack. To me, it's less a film and more of an abstract musical; there's minimal dialogue, and the interplay between score, screen, and story drives the emotional dynamic of the film. The best example of this is the first seven minutes of the movie: it's sheer darkness, with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra's rendition of György Sándor Ligeti's haunting "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs, and Orchestra" playing, playing, playing, a most disturbing crescendo with no end in sight. Think it's not disturbing? Watch the movie at night with no lights on.In the theatre, it's downright terrifying.

And there's a surprise when the movement ends. I won't tell you what it is, but it's equally upsetting, especially if you've invested your feelings in the previous six minutes.

Listen To: "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs, and Orchestra"