Have you ever listened to Neil Diamond's Tap Root Manuscript? Do yourself a favor and get a copy.

I have been listening to it as long as I can remember (it was released when I was in my terrible two's), and I have long associated it with fun family road trips to Colorado, other parts of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain states, and Canada. (Yes, Canada. We drove 3 days from Texas to visit family in Ontario at Wasaga Beach on the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron).

Putting aside nostalgia, and acknowledging that this marks me as tragically unhip, this album by Neil Diamond is one of my top-25. The high point of the album is the African Trilogy (actually 7 discrete songs), which I would cover in an instant, were I a progressive metal band. The instrumental Madrigal could certainly stand up to some re-arrangement for performance by a group like Yes or Rush.

(Yes, I am procrastinating on the novel).

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Please be sure to visit Elisa Camahort's Personal Weblog to review this week's edition of the Carnival of Music.

She has put together a nice arrangement of diverse themes, including a couple of posts from yours truly.

Next week the Carnival returns to Owlish Mutterings for an encore performance.

As always, check out the archive page for previous editions and to submit posts or volunteer to host.

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Buckethead and his perfidious minions have hosted a "prime" nineteenth Carnival of Music.

Go check it out, and be sure to review the many fine articles linked therein.

Some favorites:

• November Musings' er, musings, about Trent Reznor's background


• The ever-reliable Bart at The Well-Tempered Blog found this interesting toy piano.


• Lynn's submission of this online mandolin collection

Be sure to check the archive page to read earlier entries in the Carnival, to submit a post, or volunteer to host. Many thanks in advance to Elisa Camahort for hosting our 20th Carnival next week.

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Funny how you'll buy things you normally wouldn't as long as it's not really your own money being spent. (This is such a basic human impulse that I'm surprised anyone would be surprised by bloated government spending).

I recently got a $10 iTunes gift certificate as well as an iTunes Music Store card good for 10 songs. As the result, I purchased the William Shatner spoken word collection entitled Has Been.

I never thought I would say this about a Shat album, but, well, GET THIS ALBUM. It is produced by one of my favorite contemporary musicians, pianist Ben Folds, and features such noted guests as Joe Jackson and Aimee Mann.

In particular, check out the song "Common People." It starts off with a great retro new-wave riff straight out of the late 70s/early 80s (high bass guitar, Vox/Farfisa organ bleeping), and Shatner sets the stage with an atypically restrained reading of these lyrics:

And it just gets better from there, with a strong punk/new wave vibe, a children's choir, Joe Jackson singing, and Shatner emoting as only he can.

Check it out. You won't regret it.

Update: I should note that "Common People" was originally written and recorded in 1995 by the UK band, Pulp, on their Different Class album.

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If you have iTunes installed on your computer, go to the Music Store and look in the lower left for the category Celebrity Playlists. Be sure to click "see all" to access all 180 of the lists.

The songs themselves are fun enough to check out. But even better are the comments that the list authors add to explain why they picked the songs on their lists. (It's very bloggy).

Turns out that Penn Jillette (a libertarian comedian whom I shamefully confused with Al Franken for many years) has a playlist. Number one on his list, Sie Glauben Nicht from Alban Berg's opera Lulu, made me laugh out loud for this commentary: "Sometimes you just got to listen to really depressing, 20th Century 12 tone music. If you start thinking that rock 'n roll got far out, listen to this and shut up."

I love it.

The playlists served their purpose, as I found and bought (using a 10-free-tunes code) a few new songs from the Blue Man Group's playlist.

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The Carnival of Music remains in hiatus until we can find someone to host it.

Meanwhile, you may recall that I highlighted the very cool ukulele-ist Jake Shimabukuro in the second Carnival of Music.

Well, INDCent Bill has linked to a very nice video of Jake covering the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Check it out.

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Check out this article on the new Silbermann/Bach-style pipe organ recently completed in Paris.

I have played both electromechanical and tracker (i.e., analog) organs and found the action of trackers to be more immediate and satisfying than the fly-by-wire organ consoles.

Via Lynn (at her nicely redesigned and renamed blog, A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance).

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Devin Hurd is this week's host for the Carnival of Music, now in its 18th installment.

I continue to be amazed and entertained by the breadth of musical subjects, from discussions of microtonal music to Jessica Simpson videos. Keep up the good work, people!

We don't yet have hosts for the next several weeks. I would like to point out that our last Music Carnival in October will fall on Hallowe'en. I'm certain someone would like to solicit and publish some posts about spooky music through the ages... Anyone? Anyone?

Volunteer to host or send your submissions for the next Carnival here. Use The Conservative Cat's handy online submission form here. And check out the archives here.

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Bart Collins at The Well-Tempered Blog turns in a brilliant performance this week for the Seventeenth Carnival of Music.

HurdAudio is up to host next week, and after that we have an open schedule. Check out the main archive for links to past carnivals, to learn about hosting, and other useful information about the carnival.

Please volunteer to host here. Send submissions to the same address, or use the convenient online submission form at Conservative Cat's site.

Enjoy some good music!

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Where does the time go? Has it really been four months since we started the Carnival of Music?

Please check out Professor Spiegelberg's poetic entry this week.

I have updated the main carnival page, addressing the questions of just what is a blog carnival and what does one have to do to host. Check it out, and submit your links to musical posts and your offers to host here.

Thanks for your support!

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Thought I'd put this up while we're on the subject of Neuromancer.

William Gibson's coinage of the word "cyberspace" and his ultra-hip future-pop-culture style led to the description of a lot of fiction in the 80s and 90s as "cyberpunk." There was even a temporary streak of some musical acts that were described as cyberpunk. Most of it noise, which didn't tolerate multiple listenings.

I recently put together a play list of some familiar and not-so-familiar songs, which created a Neuromancer-y vibe for me. I dubbed this playlist "Wintermute" in iTunes. None of these are cyberpunk, though I might call a couple "cybergoth." I think the CD makes for a good walking soundtrack (playing time: almost exactly 1:15).

Presentation Format: Song - Artist - Album (Notes)

• Above - Blue Man Group - The Complex (dulcimer, synthesizer, drums, PVC pipes, and a rock group, layered like a frothy parfait to cleanse the mental palate)


• The Model - Kraftwerk - Man Machine (kinda makes me envision Molly)


• Down in the Park - Foo Fighters - Songs In The Key Of X: Music From And Inspired By The X-Files (awesome cover of the Gary Numan original)


• 3 Libras - A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (these lyrics are evocative of Molly, too)


• Whip It - Devo - Whip It (Heh. More Molly?)


• Judith - A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (gothic metal, though the lyrics aren't relevant to Neuromancer)


• Closer - Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (Ahem. More Molly?)


• The Current - Blue Man Group - The Complex (the trip into cyberspace/inner space begins)


• Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails - Lost Highway Soundtrack (did someone say "trip"?)


• Trip Like I Do - Filter/Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do (Yes. Someone did say "trip.")


• Blue (Remix) - A Perfect Circle - Weak and Powerless CD Single


• I Like To Score - Moby - I Like To Score


• Imagine - A Perfect Circle - eMOTIVe (better than the Lennon original, IMHO)


• We Are All Made of Stars - Moby - We Are All Made of Stars pt. 1 (I love this song. Always reminds me of the excellent star stuff episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos.


• I Feel Love - Blue Man Group/Venus Hum - The Complex (I actually liked the Donna Summer original, one of the few examples of really good disco. This version kicks it up a notch. And, to restate a theme. . . Molly?)


• Ordinary World - Duran Duran - Duran Duran 2 (The Wedding Album) (a gentle landing from the trip)


• Astradyne - Ultravox - Vienna (one of my very favorite instrumentals of all time, and a traditional album closer for mix CDs of mine)

There are probably hundreds of other combinations of songs that would evoke the cool, grungy, electronic, trippy world of Neuromancer, so let me know what your playlist would be...

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Jolly good, I say. Jolly good. Mind the soccer hooligans as you make your way to this week's cricket-themed Carnival of Music at The Rambler.

I was most moved by Helen's account of her visit to Auschwitz.

We need hosts for future carnivals. I would love to see some new faces here. The carnival has grown nicely, and is a good way to showcase both your blog and other bloggers. If you author or run across a post about music that you would like to see in a future carnival submit it here. Likewise, if you would like to host a future carnival, please volunteer here.

Thanks!

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I've been not-very-motivated to blog recently. A number of factors contribute. Perhaps more later.

But before we get too far past September 11, I wanted to note how I observed the date. Our church choir performed Memorial by Rene Clausen. Our sanctuary choir was accompanied by full orchestra, and I played the Glockenspiel and Chimes via the organ console (using sampled sounds).

If you haven't heard this piece, it is a powerful recreation of that awful day 4 years ago. Modern, but tonal with numerous lush romantic gestures and chillingly visual representations of the attacks. It was a perfect way to mark the occasion.

You can purchase a recording of the piece here.

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Like the recapitulation of themes in the last movement of a symphony, Owlish has addressed the dearth of voluntary submissions to this week's Carnival of Music by picking musical posts from the many previous hosts of the Carnival.

The Rambler is hosting next week, and is promising an "ecumenical" carnival, so get your submissions on a wide variety of music to the Carnival's "drop box." We need more hosts, so please volunteer!

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Even if you're triskaidekaphobic, you should find something to like at Chan's edition of the Carnival of Music this week.

Follow all of her links, and discover some new bloggers, some new musical knowledge, or both.

We need volunteers to host future carnivals. It's easy and fun! Sign up here.

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Head on over the pond to Musicircus to check out the 12th installment of the Carnival of Music.

I especially liked the linked articles discussing programming of new music, critiquing copyright extension, and listing a huge number of jazz blogs.

Thanks, Rob, for hosting this week. Great job!

If you would like to host, we have an opening on September 5, and then a wide open schedule from September 19 on. Please let me know if you have a link to include in a future carnival, or if you would like to host.

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I was saddened to read today that Robert Moog, inventor of the line of electronic synthesizers bearing his name, died yesterday of a brain tumor.

Moog instruments play prominent roles in much of my favorite music from my childhood and teen years: from the Moog Taurus pedals and MiniMoogs that brought to life the Rush albums from 1977 through 1981, to the Moog III that Keith Emerson took on tour, to the eerie soundscapes that Wendy Carlos evoked in her soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange.

I own a Moog synthesizer, the Liberation.

Mr. Moog will be missed. I have been meaning to buy the Fjellestad biography, and will now make a point of doing so.

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You know those awful tunes that stick with you, even though you loathe them?

"We Built This City" by Starship is one of those for me.

It seems that this awful bit of "music" also had an annoying enough video to have stuck with John (no relation) at SFSignal. John had trouble finding a clip of the worst part of the video. I was able to find and excerpt the wretched moment for his viewing "pleasure."

Here you go, John.

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Be sure to check out the lovely job that Lynn has done with the 11th Carnival of Music.

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I had never heard (or even heard of) jazz pianist Ted Howe until two mornings ago.

The local University radio station plays an all-jazz format (except for Saturday morning mariachi music and some classical on Sunday). Driving into work on Tuesday I was really digging a solo piano version of It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) by Duke Ellington. I had never heard the arrangement and was visualizing myself trying to learn it by ear. (Ha.)

Anyway, the announcer came on and, instead of blabbing about something else, immediately and helpfully shared the name of the performer and CD: Ellington, by Ted Howe.

When I got home from work that night I downloaded the song from iTunes and previewed the rest of the album. What a wonderful discovery! Excellent piano technique and original arrangements of Duke Ellington standards.

Buy this album. Here's a link to assist you (and I'll leave the link in the sidebar for a while, too):

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