Category Archives: Music
Oscar Night
Welsh singer Shirley Bassey at last night’s Oscars
Did you watch the Oscars last night?
*SPOILERS*
Some of my favorite bits: Adele, the cast of “Les Miserables” performing “One More Day,” Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino’s wins, Barbra Streisand’s “Memories” and Argo clenching best picture. But best moment of the night goes to Dame Shirley Bassey. Utterly breathtaking at the age of 76. She looked and sounded beautiful! What an inspiring performance!
And happy 50th birthday to the James Bond franchise!
Downton Abbey and One Direction “What Makes You Beautiful” mashup
Love this.
Have a lovely Presidents’ Day!
(What’s the story) Morning Glory?
On a recent episode of “Girls,” “Wonderwall” by Oasis was played and it immediately brought back a flood of memories from my time at uni (translation: university).
If you haven’t heard the album “(What’s the story) Morning Glory?”, check it out. (I’m listening to it on Spotify today.) Oasis is an amazing band and this album is legendary in my mind.
Favorite tracks include “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Champagne Supernova” and “She’s Electric.”
New music: The Intermission Project
A friend in the U.K. posted about this new British band from Kent called The Intermission Project. I like their sound. It’s been described as a little Mumford & Sons with soul and I think that’s spot on.
Adele at the Golden Globes
Did you catch Adele’s winning thank you speech at the Golden Globes last night? Loved it! She was so gorgeous and real and refreshing and hilarious!
Check it out if you missed it!
The UK’s Christmas number one
If you’ve ever seen “Love Actually,” you’ll remember those scenes where Billy is hoping that his rip-off of “Love is All Around” will be the Christmas number one and wondered, “What is the big deal about a Christmas number one?”
In the U.S., I have no idea what song is currently number one on the charts and haven’t even heard a chart show on the radio since Rick Dees was doing that kind of show on the radio (and I will not reveal how long ago that was!)
And yet, in the U.K., this tradition is alive and well and a Christmas number one is still considered quite prestigious (since it tends to be the busiest time for record sales). This year’s Christmas number one? “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” the Simon and Garfunkel classic re-recorded by the Justice Collective, which is raising money for the families of the 96 Liverpool fans who were crushed to death from overcrowding at Hillsborough football stadium in 1989. Justice Collective includes Sir Paul McCartney, Melanie C, Robbie Williams and more.
Have a listen!
And by comparison, here’s this year’s Christmas number one in the U.S.: “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars.
The amazing Lianne La Havas
I haven’t heard about British singer Lianne La Havas until NPR’s Morning Edition this week. What a voice! She is like a modern Ella Fitzgerald and writes her own music.
The story referenced this performance that she did on Later with Jools Holland that really put her on the map. They played a clip of it – just her and a guitar – and I had to hear more. I found the clip! Enjoy!
Remembering Mr. Belvedere
This weekend, my husband and I were basking in the glow of 1980s nostalgia, after stumbling upon the theme song to the “Golden Girls” on YouTube.
Where would we all be without YouTube and its endless supply of retro remembrances? After listening to the theme songs from “Charles in Charge,” “It’s Your Move” and “Benson” (which my husband used to watch in England), the YouTube genies suggested “Mr. Belvedere.”
“Ever watch ‘Mr. Belvedere’?” I asked, interested to hear his take on this Briton-in-America story.
But no. Never saw it. Or couldn’t remember it if he had.
I’m not sure why “Mr. Belvedere,” a little comedy about an average middle class family employing a British butler, never made it across the pond. But good news! It’s available now on Amazon.co.uk for Brits who are interested. I know I’d like to see it again.
Good cause, good music
News of this little event popped into my email box and I wanted to share: The Metropolitan Black Police Association is hosting a “Celebration of Life” concert on Oct. 19 at the Royal Festival Hall, as part of an initiative to reduce violent crime in London.
It’s a good cause and a promises to be a good evening of music, with headliners Naturally 7, saxophonist Jason Yarde, reggae singer Peter Hunnigale, hip-hop artist Donae’o, British singer Ayanna and the Lifeforce Band.
Speaking of music, what do you have planned this weekend? We’ll be attending a friend’s birthday party and hoping to catch the last of the summer weather before it starts going all autumn on us. Have a great weekend!
Getting Brave
And hot on the heels of yesterday’s post about Scottish fashion, I bring you the sounds of Scotland.
Well, kind of.
So picture it – we’re sweating bullets out at Disneyland’s California Adventure Park last month, watching the World of Color show (which is really quite beautiful, if you’ve never seen it.) and they’re projecting a few familiar scenes from Disney movies of yesteryear upon this wall of water and then… they play this song that literally transports me out of the sticky summer heat of Southern California and into a lush green meadow near Stirling. It’s a Scottish song, with bagpipes, sung by a sweet honeyed voice and it leaves me breathless.
The song was from “Brave.” Julie Fowlis’s “Touch the Sky.” I’ve not seen “Brave,” but days later, we bought the original soundtrack on iTunes and weeks later, it’s still what we’re listening to. If you haven’t heard it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. Especially if you love Scottish music in the vein of Kate Rusby, John McCusker, Battlefield Band, or want a quick introduction into the genre.
