Piece of My Heart
(Photo of Janis in New York by Elliott Landy)
Songs in Our Heart # 29 Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin version) (Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns; released August 1968) [Sheer talent, raw power, high octane emotion.]
Continue Reading →Wuthering Heights
(Image of Kate by Stephen Luff)
Note bSongs in Our Heart # 28 Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush) (Written by Kate Bush; released January 1978) [pure pop + grand old novel + jazz ballet = hit.] Note also the superb homage to Kate by Adelaide Ladies on their “Wuthering Heights Day” in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens:
Continue Reading →Somewhere Over the Rainbow
"Wish upon a star..."
Glenelg v Norwood, Glenelg Oval 24 July, 2016 We stole this one. After a dour tussle carried out for three quarters in a chill, paint-stripping nor-westerly, that grew in intensity throughout the match, the Tigers had a lot of work to do at the last change: The Redlegs had a 25 point lead, having played the ground more intelligently and directly. In the first quarter, with the breeze blowing through all points of the compass at times, they snagged 5 goals without a miss. But the Bays kept at it, with the midfield (special mention to Snook and Earl) winning a lot of contested…
Continue Reading →Hurt
(photo by Joel Baldwin)
Songs in Our Heart # 27 Hurt (Johnny Cash version) (Written by Trent Reznor; released 2002) [The Man in Black’s parting shot, a guilty gift to the world. He had such a great gift for songs of real people in extremis – Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, etc. Yet this is a wonderful song per se, originally performed by The Nine Inch Nails, and though Cash loved its anti-drug message, actually, the meaning is so much wider. Note that the original video with the Cash version is worth buying – it wonderfully complements Cash’s great delivery of the…
Continue Reading →Simone Young, Schubert & Mahler
Adelaide Festival Theatre, 23 July 2016 The ASO, under the great Simone Young, performed a brilliant version of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, the conductor superbly engaged, dominant, physical; synthesizing and wrangling the musicians. The highlight was her cajoling of the cellos in the sonorous solos, extending their moment and heightening the gothic mood of the piece. It made one yearn for the composer’s increased application. If only he had resisted the lure of the pub, and not stayed in his brother’s filthy apartment, he might have finished the Symphony! (And damn you, syphilis!) After the break, we were treated to an intense and fiery 6th Symphony by Mahler. …
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