Post by Stefan Pasti on May 13, 2012 18:38:32 GMT -5
[Note: I make this post (about the compilation "Music and Lyrics I Love) here in the IPCR Discussion Forum to promote a "humanizing" of the discussion here. We are all people, human beings, with many sides and dimensions to our lives. My appreciation and love of the music and lyrics in this compilation could possibly add a dimension to the introductions in this section of the forum; and also help others to understand there are many inspirations--and many possible outcomes-- to the work of The IPCR Initiative.]
[Additional Notes: Here are two links to the 41 page document "Music and Lyrics I Love" in this post: 1) a link to the "2012" webpage at my Collected Writings website writingsofstefanpasti.net/2012-.html 2) a bitly link bit.ly/KvdAng If those aren't visible unless you're a member here, then you can google the title "Music and Lyrics I Love" and you can find the document (it's also accessible at my Scribd page.]
Kind Regards,
Stefan Pasti
From the introduction of the document "Music and Lyrics I Love":
I’m not really sure how I happen to have a special interest in music… probably it is something that started when I was still very young…. One likely “seed-cause”: I remember learning how to whistle to an album titled “Mitch’s Marches—Mitch Miller and His Orchestra”. (There have been many songs since then that I remembered by whistling them to myself until I knew the basic melody.) Also, during the years when I was 8-10 years old, I saw the plays “The Music Man” and “The Sound of Music”, and saw the movie “Mary Poppins”. (There are 19 songs from those 3 musicals in this collection). And I can still remember the yellow colored 78 record we had of Danny Kaye singing “Thumbelina” and “Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen” (from the movie/musical “Hans Christian Andersen”)….
In my adult years, I have had some special experiences with both musical instruments, and collections of music.
1) In the late 1980’s, I was living in North Carolina, and I was inspired—by local music events (like Harvest Festivals featuring Square Dances in the “Apple Barn”), and lots of people around who happened to play an instrument—to to have a go at the fiddle. I didn’t get that far, but I came into contact with a lot of fiddle tunes in the process.
2) I was an Activity Director for elders with special needs for seven years (in the 1990’s); and I did much exploring into music which they would know, to use in sing-alongs, and other music related activities. One of my explorations led to a music collector in Amissville, Virginia, who had most of the 78’s ever made from 1900-1940. He was interested in helping me make custom tapes, and would even play 4 or 5 versions of a song, so I could decide what I would like him to record onto custom cassette tapes.
3) A few years ago I explored learning how to play the hammered dulcimer. In my search for interesting tunes to play, I learned about many of the sources on the Internet for collections of different genres, and many of the ways on the Internet to listen to a sample of a song (YouTube, samples at amazon.com, sources for midi files, etc.).
I like many different kinds of music. Most of the songs in this list are from the American Cultural Landscape (the music that has been most accessible to me over the years); but there are also some very special songs from other countries. I have made some effort to identify the musical genre of the song, etc.; and I have provided selections of lyrics (from the songs with lyrics). Many of these songs, I believe, are examples of a “special match” between the tone of the music and the tone of the lyrics. (Maybe some readers who have not previously been “keyed into” appreciating that special quality of a song, will start to notice it, through careful attention to music and lyrics in this collection.) In addition, when there was a specific version of the song, etc. which I preferred, I identified the performer(s) in parentheses.
I think of this compilation (and the selected lyrics) as a general tribute to the writers, composers, performers, etc.—to all the people involved in the creation, production, and distribution of this music; and as a expression of gratitude for the inspiration I personally discover when I listen to these particular songs. With more time, there is much more which could be added to this collection: more information about names of songwriter’s, dates of publication, background information about the songs, memories which these songs inspire, etc.
I hope readers make many discoveries—or re-discover many special memories—by looking through this list. Readers of this compilation are encouraged to send any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. which are inspired by this list to me, Stefan Pasti (stefanpasti@ipcri.net ).
[Additional Notes: Here are two links to the 41 page document "Music and Lyrics I Love" in this post: 1) a link to the "2012" webpage at my Collected Writings website writingsofstefanpasti.net/2012-.html 2) a bitly link bit.ly/KvdAng If those aren't visible unless you're a member here, then you can google the title "Music and Lyrics I Love" and you can find the document (it's also accessible at my Scribd page.]
Kind Regards,
Stefan Pasti
From the introduction of the document "Music and Lyrics I Love":
I’m not really sure how I happen to have a special interest in music… probably it is something that started when I was still very young…. One likely “seed-cause”: I remember learning how to whistle to an album titled “Mitch’s Marches—Mitch Miller and His Orchestra”. (There have been many songs since then that I remembered by whistling them to myself until I knew the basic melody.) Also, during the years when I was 8-10 years old, I saw the plays “The Music Man” and “The Sound of Music”, and saw the movie “Mary Poppins”. (There are 19 songs from those 3 musicals in this collection). And I can still remember the yellow colored 78 record we had of Danny Kaye singing “Thumbelina” and “Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen” (from the movie/musical “Hans Christian Andersen”)….
In my adult years, I have had some special experiences with both musical instruments, and collections of music.
1) In the late 1980’s, I was living in North Carolina, and I was inspired—by local music events (like Harvest Festivals featuring Square Dances in the “Apple Barn”), and lots of people around who happened to play an instrument—to to have a go at the fiddle. I didn’t get that far, but I came into contact with a lot of fiddle tunes in the process.
2) I was an Activity Director for elders with special needs for seven years (in the 1990’s); and I did much exploring into music which they would know, to use in sing-alongs, and other music related activities. One of my explorations led to a music collector in Amissville, Virginia, who had most of the 78’s ever made from 1900-1940. He was interested in helping me make custom tapes, and would even play 4 or 5 versions of a song, so I could decide what I would like him to record onto custom cassette tapes.
3) A few years ago I explored learning how to play the hammered dulcimer. In my search for interesting tunes to play, I learned about many of the sources on the Internet for collections of different genres, and many of the ways on the Internet to listen to a sample of a song (YouTube, samples at amazon.com, sources for midi files, etc.).
I like many different kinds of music. Most of the songs in this list are from the American Cultural Landscape (the music that has been most accessible to me over the years); but there are also some very special songs from other countries. I have made some effort to identify the musical genre of the song, etc.; and I have provided selections of lyrics (from the songs with lyrics). Many of these songs, I believe, are examples of a “special match” between the tone of the music and the tone of the lyrics. (Maybe some readers who have not previously been “keyed into” appreciating that special quality of a song, will start to notice it, through careful attention to music and lyrics in this collection.) In addition, when there was a specific version of the song, etc. which I preferred, I identified the performer(s) in parentheses.
I think of this compilation (and the selected lyrics) as a general tribute to the writers, composers, performers, etc.—to all the people involved in the creation, production, and distribution of this music; and as a expression of gratitude for the inspiration I personally discover when I listen to these particular songs. With more time, there is much more which could be added to this collection: more information about names of songwriter’s, dates of publication, background information about the songs, memories which these songs inspire, etc.
I hope readers make many discoveries—or re-discover many special memories—by looking through this list. Readers of this compilation are encouraged to send any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. which are inspired by this list to me, Stefan Pasti (stefanpasti@ipcri.net ).