SAINT OF THE DAY April 14: ST. LYDWINE

SAINT OF THE DAY

ST. LYDWINE
April 14: St. Lydwine is the patroness of sickness Lydwine of Schiedam was … Read More

April 14

St. Lydwine Bl. Peter Gonzales St. Abundius St. Ardalion St. Tassach St. Thomais St. Tiburtius St. Domnina of Terni St. Lambert of Lyon St. Peter Gonzalez St. Benezet

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ( Full Album Remastered 2009) – The Beatles

[youtube.com/watch?v=1T5fqLBhZgo]

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ( Full Album Remastered 2009) – The Beatles

1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – 0:00
2. With a Little Help from My Friends – 2:02
3. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – 4:46
4. Getting Better – 8:15
5. Fixing a Hole – 11:03
6. She’s Leaving Home – 13:39
7. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite – 17:14
8. Within You Without You – 19:53
9. When I’m Sixty-Four – 24:57
10. Lovely Rita – 27:35
11. Good Morning Good Morning – 30:17
12. Sgt Pepper’s (Reprise) – 33:00
13. A Day in the Life – 34:20

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (often shortened to Sgt. Pepper) is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin. The album is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, and has since been recognised as one of the most important albums in the history of popular music, including songs such as “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life”. Recorded over a 129-day period beginning in December 1966, Sgt. Pepper saw the band developing the production techniques of their previous album, Revolver. Martin’s innovative and lavish production included the orchestra usage and hired musicians ordered by the band. Genres such as music hall, rock and roll, pop rock, and traditional Indian music are covered. The album cover art, by English pop artist Peter Blake, depicts the band posing in front of a collage of their favourite celebrities, and has been widely acclaimed and imitated.

From Wikipedia: The Grammy Award-winning album packaging was art-directed by Robert Fraser, designed by Peter Blake andJann Haworth, his wife and artistic partner, and photographed by Michael Cooper. It featured a colourful collage of life-sized cardboard models of famous people on the front of the album cover and the lyrics printed in full on the back cover, the first time this had been done on a rock LP.^[147] In the guise of the Sgt. Pepper band, the Beatles, all mustachioed, were dressed in custom-made satin day-glo-coloured military-style outfits (Lennon inlime, Harrison in tangerine, McCartney in cyan, and Starr in magenta). The suits were conceived by the Beatles and manufactured by the theatrical costumer M. Berman Ltd. in London,^[148] with some parts designed byManuel Cuevas.^[149][150] Among the insignia on their uniforms are: MBE medals on McCartney’s and Harrison’s jackets, the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom on Lennon’s right sleeve and an Ontario Provincial Police flash on McCartney’s sleeve.

The centre of the cover depicts the Beatles standing behind a drum skin, on which are painted the words of the album’s title. The skin was painted by fairground artist Joe Ephgrave.^[151] In front of the drum skin is a series of flowers that spell out “Beatles”. A collage depicts around 60 famous people, including writers, musicians, film stars, and (at Harrison’s request) a number of Indian gurus. The final grouping included: Mahavatar Babaji, Issy Bonn, Marlon Brando, Lenny Bruce, Larry Bell, Wallace Berman, William S. Burroughs, Lewis Carroll, Aleister Crowley, Marlene Dietrich, Diana Dors, Bob Dylan, W.C. Fields, Sigmund Freud, Oliver Hardy, Aldous Huxley,Carl Gustav Jung, Stan Laurel, T. E. Lawrence, Karl Marx, Marilyn Monroe, Sir Robert Peel, Edgar Allan Poe, Karlheinz Stockhausen, H. G. Wells, Mae West, Oscar Wilde, Shirley Temple, Paramahansa Yogananda and Yukteswar Giri.^[152] Also included was the image of the original Beatles’ bassist, the late Stuart Sutcliffe. Pete Best said in a later NPR interview that Lennon borrowed family medals from his (Best’s) mother Mona for the shoot, on condition that he did not lose them. Adolf Hitlerand Jesus Christ were requested by Lennon, but ultimately they were left out.^[153] Images from the session reveal that a cutout of Hitler was indeed produced and brought to the studio, but never incorporated into the final tableau. A photo also exists of a rejected cardboard printout with a cloth draped over its head; its identity is unknown. The final cost for the cover art was nearly £3,000 (equivalent to £46,104 today) an extravagant sum for a time when album covers would typically cost around £50.^[154]

Blue Skies (gypsy jazz) – Gonzalo Bergara Quartet with Leah Z on vocals – Steve’s Live Music

[youtube.com/watch?v=qHqz_AeiyEg]
Gypsy Jazz with the right balance of vocals and hot instrumentals, and above all rock steady driving rhythm. Thanks to Charlie and Steve for bringing this group through Atlanta.

“Blue Skies” performed by Nina Simone

[youtube.com/watch?v=L5q9YGj3hNw]
“Blue Skies” performed by Nina Simone
Recording session: Live in Cologne at One World Music Festival, 7/22/1990

Blue Skies: Willie Nelson & Kenny Rogers

[youtube.com/watch?v=nqjepfQZwzY]
Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers sing “Blue Skies” live from the NBC Kenny, Dolly and Willie special. I won a prime time Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or a Special for my mix of this show.

Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Shostakovich: Ballet Suite No. 4

[youtube.com/watch?v=auH0YLmP5-E]
The Queer Urban Orchestra, under the direction of Nolan Dresden, performs Dmitri Shostakovich’s Ballet Suite No. 4 at our Mysterium concert, March 20, 2011. The work is in three movements: I – Introduction and Variations; II – Waitz; and III – Scherzo.

Great Compositions/Performances: Rachmaninov / Artur Rubinstein, 1947: Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43 – RCA Vinyl

[youtube.com/watch?v=DpEAlVsMs9I]
From the LP shown above, issued in 1954. The recording you hear was made in 1947. Artur Rubinstein is soloist; Walter Susskind leads the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Note: Rubinstein hits a wrong note at the start of variation 19 (at about16:37). I would be interested to know if this error, for which at the time of this recording there was no technology to correct, has been edited in more recently produced CD versions of this performance.

Great Compositions/Performances: Valentina Lisitsa plays Rachmaninoff’s Variation 18 Rhapsody on Themes of Paganini Valentina Lisitsa

[youtube.com/watch?v=yTyiwtfpO8s]
Live footage from the recording session. London Symphony Orchestra , Michael Francis conducting. The recording is available now on Decca. Get yours today! 🙂
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/paganinirhapsody
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LisitsaPaganini

QUOTATION: Rudyard Kipling

Borrow trouble for yourself, if that’s your nature, but don’t lend it to your neighbors.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) Discuss

TODAY’S HOLIDAY: PAN AMERICAN DAY

Pan American Day

The International Union of American Republics (now called the Pan American Union)—general secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS)—designated April 14 as Pan American Day in 1930. Although each member country holds its own celebration, it is at the Pan American Union building in Washington, D.C., that one of the largest observances takes place. Students from all over the Western Hemisphere travel to Washington where, against a backdrop of flags in the courtyard of the House of the Americas, they perform folk songs and dances. More… Discuss

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: ROD STEIGER (1925)

Rod Steiger (1925)

American actor Rod Steiger got his start in the 1950s and quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood. Over the course of the next five decades, he appeared in dozens of motion pictures. He was thrice nominated for an Academy Award and won once—for his portrayal of Sheriff Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night. As a teen, Steiger ran away from home to join the US Navy during World War II, but later his refusal to glorify war led him to turn down the title role in what film? More… Discuss

THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: JOHN WILKES BOOTH SHOOTS LINCOLN (1865)

John Wilkes Booth Shoots Lincoln (1865)

Booth was an American actor and Confederate sympathizer who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC, during a performance of Our American Cousin. Shortly after 10 PM on April 14, 1865, Booth slipped into the presidential box unobserved, shot Lincoln in the head, and vaulted to the stage, breaking his leg in the process. According to witnesses, he then shouted “Sic semper tyrannis,” Virginia’s state motto. What does the Latin phrase mean?More… Discuss

NEWS: KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR SCREEN TIME

Keep an Eye on Your Screen Time

On average, according to a recent survey, adults spend nearly seven hours a day looking at various screens, and this could be putting them at increased risk of eye damage. Opticians are concerned that overexposure to the blue-violet light emitted by smartphones, computer screens, tablets, TVs, and the like could increase people’s risk of developing macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in old age. While for many computers and mobile devices are an unavoidable part of modern life, opticians recommend we at least try to give our eyes regular breaks from looking at them. More… Discuss

ARTICLE: FIGURE SKATING

Figure Skating

Figure skating is a sporting event involving spins, jumps, and a variety of other moves, performed on ice, often to music. The skates used by figure skaters differ from those used in other ice-based sports, as they are designed to accommodate the specific movements common in this sort of skating. For example, they have a set of jagged teeth at the front of the blade that facilitate jumping. How has television played a role in the development of the rules of competitive figure skating? More… Discuss