Category: Episodes

186. Edvard Grieg

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2018) I have completed episode 186 of my “opus project.” This edition: EDVARD GRIEG. In August we were in Bergen, Norway, hometown of Edvard Grieg, so I was delighted to start this episode there. Other than Peer Gynt, I was not so familiar with his work, but I was pleasantly surprised despite my relatively low interest in Romantic era classical music. Piano is his strong suit, and the array of arranged and original Norwegian songs shows how he helped inspire Norwegian patriotism (that led to independence in 1905).

Favorite piece: Peer Gynt

Favorite chamber piece: String Quartet in G minor

Compared to expectations: same

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185. The Hives

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2018) I have completed episode 185 of my “opus project.” This edition: THE HIVES. Inject this punk-inflected garage rock directly into my veeeeiiiins! Regrettably, I did not come upon The Hives until recently, because It Me. If you don’t know them, make them Your New Favourite Band.

Favourite album: Veni Vidi Vicious

Favourite song: Die, All Right!

Compared to expectations: same

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184. Motörhead

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2018) I have completed episode 184 of my “opus project.” This edition: MOTÖRHEAD. Rock n’ roll to make your eardrums bleed: the way it should be. Lemmy never diverges from the core concept: loud and fast and whisky-fueled, but even over four decades it never got stale. Beauty in its purity. I came late to Motörhead, which was a mistake.*

Favourite album: Overkill

Favourite song: Ace of Spades

Worst album: March ör Die

Best later album: Bastards

Compared to expectations: ↑

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* imagine the enhancement of my musical trajectory if, in 1979, I had bought Overkill instead of Van Halen II

183. The Shangri-Las

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2018) I have completed episode 183 of my “opus project.” This edition: The SHANGRI-LAS. Among the Girl Groups of the mid-1960s, the Shangri-Las have stood out to me. Perhaps it’s their “bad girl” image, or that a couple of their songs verged on social commentary. You may recognize them from “Leader of the Pack” and “Remember (Walking in the Sand).”

Favorite song: He Cried

Compared to expectations: same

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182. Joseph Haydn

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

I have completed episode 182 of my “opus project.” This edition: JOSEPH HAYDN. The Boss of the Classical Period, known as the father of the symphony and the string quartet. His compositional style was bound by the orthodoxy of the baroque period that preceded him, grounded in the Classical sound and forms he helped create, yet never reached for the adventurism of his pupil Beethoven. He was quite prolific; this was a looooooong episode.

Favorite form: Symphony

Favorite symphony: No. 100 in G major

Favorite concerto: Cello Concerto No. 2 in D

Favorite piano sonata: No. 51 in E Flat Major

Favorite trio: Trio for baryton, viola & cello in A major (XI:71)

Compared to expectations: same

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180. Sigur Rós

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2018) I have completed episode 180 of my “opus project.” This edition: SIGUR RÓS. I was in Iceland last month. I already did Björk so I started Sigur Rós while there despite having zero familiarity. I was pleasantly surprised with their alt rock/dream pop/ambient music, which provided a perfect accompaniment for the stunning Icelandic landscape. At times, though, it sounds like they’re trying too hard to get licensed for TV and movie soundtracks.

Favorite album: Ágætis byrjun

Favorite song: Svefn-g-englar

Favorite ambient recording: Route One

Compared to expectations: same

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179. Daft Punk

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2018) I have completed episode 179 of my “opus project.” This edition: DAFT PUNK. I’m not into Electronic Dance Music, but I took a lark on Daft Punk hoping to find another gem like “Get Lucky.” I was not rewarded, with the possible exception of Technologic and Robot Rock. .

Least unfavorite album: Random Access Memories

Favorite song: Get Lucky

Compared to expectations: ↓

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177. Parliament/Funkadelic

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(August 2018) I have completed episode 177 of my “opus project.” This edition: PARLIAMENT and FUNKADELIC. Of course I did the P-Funk together as two halves of George Clinton’s cosmic brain. Ironically, Parliament is funkier, but aptly, Funkadelic is more psychedelic. The copious output is rather eclectic – rock, soul, psychedelic, R&B, rap, and even a country song and a heavy metal song – but at its core, it’s classic funk. With his versatility, irreverence, raunchiness, prolific-ness, orchestration of rotations of talented musicians, and insistence on doing it his way, George Clinton reminds me of Frank Zappa.

Favorite Parliament album: Standing on the Verge of Getting It On

Favorite Funkadelic album: Mothership Connection

Favorite Parliament song: Red Hot Momma

Favorite Funkadelic song: Up for the Down Stroke

Best album title (perhaps of all-time): Free Your Mind … And Your Ass Will Follow

Best album cover (among the greats): Maggot Brain

Secret Sauce: Eddie Hazel (just listen to his work on the song Maggot Brain)

Compared to expectations: same

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