What have you been listening to these five weeks?


It occurred to me today that New York City is quieter; since Sep. 11 the city has been noticeably and unquestionably quieter. It is a part of city living here to have various flavors of obnoxious, angry and often ridiculous rap music rammed down our ears on a somewhat regular basis. I don't refer to some of the more creative efforts of a handfull of talented hip hop artists; I mean the mindless, mechanical thud and obscenity that passes for music for some.

It seems that the seriousness of what has been going on here as of late has caused some of those who felt it was a right to force that kind tastelesness and anger on those around them, to be a bit more sensitive and respectfull.

This is clearly a time of difficult emotions, and speaking from personal experience and that of many around me, finding confort and solace in music is very important. I wondered what music or artists Audiogoners have been listening to lately and what reasons for making those choices there might be?

Regards
frogman
Ditto, cfb, great question, Frogman! Up until this moment, found I'd gravitated [seemingly inexplicably during these recent weeks] to listening to "the sound" of Stan Getz, and in particular, "Cool Velvet Stan Getz and Strings" (Verve), plus some of the Jobim, Gilberto, collaborations. Realize now (by way of F'man's post) that it puts me smack back in that comfy-cozy, safe-haven zone of my parents' living room during those utterly blissful, carefree years that were my 1950's childhood. As well, I've been stuck on Michel Petrucciani's, "Au Theatre des Champs Elysees," one, because I just happened to order it from Amazon prior to the tragic events of 9/11, two, because I find its brilliance beyond words, and last but not least, because of the fact I find the level of beauty in this performance gives rise to a state of melancholia (which here again, by way of this thread, I've come to realize is befitting of the times). BTW, for those unaware, Mr. Petrucciani, three-foot tall, fifty-pound jazz pianist of truly Herculean proportions, died from the debilitating disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, at age 36, in 1999. At any rate, when listening to this body of work, I simply cannot help but reflect upon how blessed we were/are by the existence of this dearly departed genius.
Hi I`ve been listening mostly to 10 yr old praise and worship songs. I couldn`t imagine going through these last 6 weeks without knowing Jesus. Nothing like entering His gates to find the peace that surpasses all our understanding. Good question. dan r
I'd like to apologize to Kelly(a.k.a. cornfedboy) publicly. This is a very thoughtful and sincere thread. I think I may have went a little to far with my slap stick comedy this time.
I've been strangely obsessed with the Magnetic Fields and their 3-disk "69 Love Songs" set. It's wacky and strange stuff, to be sure, but it is also almost hauntingly intelligent when taken as a whole. If I weren't concerned about sounding like an idiot (which I'm clearly not, concerned, that is) I'd say it manages to portray a robust yet celebratory melancholia that is at once (or alternatively) both deeply sad and flippantly irreverent. Yea, whatever, but that's more or less been my mood and the imperfect reflection thereof in the CD player. I'd have to second the Getz/Gilberto collaboration as a fine idea as well.
I too have been listening to a lot of contemporary Christian music. CFB, 'The Word' I'm familiar with is by Sara Groves on her Conversations CD. Great voice, well produced. Some other great voices are Rachael Lampa, Sara Jahn, Jaci Velasquez & Rebecca St. James. I heard Sara Groves in a small venue last month & it was excellent. I've also been listening to my old standby's like Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Timbuk 3, Pink Floyd & mix in some Art Tatum & Muddy Waters, etc. I guess whatever the mood is I try to intensify or modify with the (hopefully) right selection. Glen, I was told by a medical Dr. back in the 70's that I probably had brain damage from using drugs...but I thought your comment was humorous!