A survey of Classical Music for 2015

Another bright sunny day so why not get this post written so I can chill a bit later on as after that rotten migraine I need the rest.

Anyway as several of you know I have had a long liking for what is termed Classical music  stemming from actual childhood having had my own meagre record collection from around the age of 8 of my favourite pieces.

Over the years I've added recordings to them, changed formats  as the years have seen the availability of and advent of recordings new media has changed and I've written a bit in the past on the blog about them.

The music of Ravel was one of the first composers I encountered and recently this recording by the distinguished American conductor  Leonard Slatkin, whose career I've followed over the years. The playing by the French orchestra is superb and I can see this and  it's second volume that I also purchased gaining a few awards at the years end.

Bela Bartok's Concerto is a fine example of twentieth century classical music, indeed many have said it has some of the boldness associated with American composers that period so it's fitting this is performed by an an American orchestra and a remarkable female American conductor Marin Alsop who has conducted in many countries including the 2013 Last Night of the Proms in England.

How many of us just loved watching Disney's Fantasia and can remember that series with Mickey Mouse getting in trouble as the Sorcerer's Apprentice?

Well that was written by by France's Dukas and is featured in this excellent modern recording that has plenty of character.

 Finally and fittingly back to violin music and a violinist I first encountered way way back in 1992 in a program of French Sonatas for violin and piano.

One thing technically all these recordings I purchased have in common is that although they are available on regular cd, I bought these as better than cd quality 'High Definition'  24 bit downloads which can be played on a computer.

I play them using my Fiio x3 digital audio players line output through my hifi system as well as on headphones where the smoothness and lack of the low level artifacts that even the best cds have is noticeable.

The Social side

I liked physical play, swinging on things as much as any child ever did even it scared the living daylights out of my parents.

I found it helped me cope and form relationships with others.

I also loved cute stuff and this Katie Kitten Jellycat is one of mine that helps when I struggle with social anxiety as I can keep it on me whenever I go anywhere or see someone I don't really know.

Are You Blue? (Bluetones)

On a bright sunny and distraction free morning I felt like working on this weeks blog entry.
For me one of bright spots of the 90's was a whole raft of British rock bands which reenergized the music business, getting youngsters into stores buying albums and singles as well as attending concerts .

I was well placed to observe this first hand being in the UK at that time and near a university city with lots of music fans who I hung out during lunch breaks with although I was by this point working.

For me outside of Liverpool's Cast, Hounslow's Bluetones held more of a fascination for they played more bluesy rock with well drawn, sometimes quite cutting lyrics looking at people, personalities and relationships.

One their singles they issued often quiet experimental material that wasn't incorporated into their albums and this lead me to track down the deluxe edition of the 2006 A Rough Outline singles collection as it held all the a  and b sides of their singles during this period and even a number of the A sides never made it to albums issued at the time.

The deluxe edition contained an extra disc of b sides in a card slip around cover making this a 3 cd set.

Also recommended studio albums:
Expecting To Fly (1996) -own on lp
Return to the Last Chance Saloon (1998)- very much Tex-Mex influenced
Science and Nature (2000)
Luxembourg (2004) 

Colouring and calling time on patterns of behaviour

 

On a bright sunny not as warm as it was yesterday morning I went in to town, which is almost a history trip in  itself in our district and ventured into the local branch of McColls, the newsstore group in Cheshire passing the weekly outdoor market with the fashion and fruit stores with the store holders engaged in sales patter.

Well with some of my up and down emotions of late I felt the need to have something to do that would be enjoyable so I picked up this Frozen colouring book I could work through armed with my stack of coloured pencils. Given my feminine gurl side was ascendant I so need this.

Going to other things, last week at one site I was talking about about the origins of some of my cycles of behaviour, how they trip me up and what perhaps can be done to break them.

One thing I do need need to be up front about is some aspects of this behaviour is centred in modern contexts that when I was in my teens simply would not of been foreseen because modern life itself is different.

It seems I am going need to learn to leave my netbook well away from my sleeping space rather like my cellphone always is, simply because when it's at hand with it's glowing power lead, I lack the ability not to be able to look up from the bed without wanting to 'just go check' something or other when I really need to be sleeping ready for first thing next morning.

That sounds very much like a modern teen/parent battleground rather than someone who at least according to the law is an adult but does show something of the problems around lack of focus and personal responsibility I have and it might be I need to be given a consequence for that one lapse.

At one site I had an interesting exchange with two people about around the limits of behaviour, how it is that you can reach the point where somebody needs to be saying, “You're out of line and this IS stopping”, although you may not like the fact that they did it.

I was openly moved by their recognition that even if you may be legally an adult and perhaps in some kind of relationship too this doesn't end and that they'd still have a need to be kept in line.

The way this mature young person put it came over to me as a timely reminder to finally accept what she does, that you are not without limits on your behaviour-there comes a point when they WILL be applied-and it's for your own good.

Another young person indicated I need to try harder to improve on my behaviour as they themselves do.

They didn't have to reach out to me but obviously felt I needed this so it's time I took a step forward.

Easter edition

 

On the nom here as you'd kind of expect for an Easter Monday having finished one set of my chores off for today, breaking into an egg with aid of a knife. Before now I've just bashed my way into it with a spoon but I felt like, you know, being a bit neater.

That's the before picture of my Egg!

Not the sort of thing I'd normally post but if you're with cute play, are submissive and maybe have a caregiver in your life this just might be the thing to do.

Have them dress you up in an Easter dress and bonnet for Easter that is! And organize an Easter treasure hunt so you can prance around all frilly hunting for those eggs.

I sometimes think a more coerced approach to bringing my sissiness out would reap rewards when it comes to feeling good about me and being better behaved as that tension just creates issues all the time.

Happy Easter!

Bunny reminiscences

In all the reverberating past presently I'm going through something came to mind that I hadn't shared here.

 Actually for what passes as my formative years, and across two properties we lived in, we had rabbits, you know, pet rabbits, not the sort your butcher may stock. 

They were generally grey rabbits.

Our first property had a fair sized garden so outside of the burrow, they had quite long run and play escaping soldiers in. The amount of times Dad had to go find them doesn't bare thinking about!

Our second properties gardens weren't so good being a Mews development, so the went run in the rear which was a bit better and as far as I can recall they didn't seem to escape so often but I don't if its we'd gotten more wise making it harder for them to escape of if they were more docile.

Rabbits always remind  me of spring and of renewal which at this difficult  time seems an apt thought.

A reflective moment

Every day starts out pretty much as any other for most of us unless we're planning on going somewhere special we follow routines feeling confident that today will be like yesterday and no doubt tomorrow with a change here or there but otherwise of itself uneventful.

So it's hardly a surprise we become accustomed to the idea that everything will remain 'just so' which to be honest is one thing I sure loved when I was younger, the whole certainty with its sense of well-being from repeating that pattern week after week.

Every so often though, something comes along and knocks it over. You feel lost if not numb and bewildered too as it seemed to going along so well.

It is okay to feel that way, sad things happen, we hurt and a good number of us are hurting right now. 

I can't speak for all of you but things often seem to go in cycles and my last lot of cycles have seen me  do different things, learn and improve on skills that I've struggled with, form new and more helpful friendships and understand more about myself and others too.

All those things can and are helping me deal with this because they've given not only ears to listen and understand how I may feel but also the strength to carry on when I just feel like lying there crying (and I know that feeling so well).

You know, those we miss so much would never of wanted us to stay like that forever and you might imagine this friendly nudge coming out urging you on, reminding you can start again, even if we find it hard.

Personally, I feel it's helpful to think about those things that I have reason to be thankful for over the years from the situations that just appeared from nowhere and to which I had no real plan for. 

Just thinking about it, my life has changed quite a lot in the last ten years for the better and much of that isn't down to some super medical recovery on my part but more because I've been working on dealing with more how it's handed out to me, making the most of it smiling even through some of the Meh moments.

It is easy to get into a cycle of beating yourself up when things aren't going to plan, thinking we are useless (been there and done it) or feeling guilty over things that maybe we didn't have that much of a say over but I'm going to try to get on with life the best I can from now on.

That's a much of lesson from my childhood that I can use today and maybe it's of some use to you.