Severus Snape
Proud Member
Yeah, just what the title says. Post your favourites here, and why you like them/their music. This is just meant to be a generic, light-hearted thread. I'm just curious to see how broad our musical tastes are. They don't have to be current, they don't have to be mainstream, they don't even have to sing--you can post composers as well, if you'd like. Anything and everything goes, as long as the person posted writes their own material and/or plays an instrument on the side. Post YouTube videos if at all possible, as well, so that others can get a taste of what you're on about if they so desire.
I'll start first. As you all know, I'm in love with Tom Lehrer, who is a brilliant satirist/singer/writer/pianist/mathematician/Harvard graduate. His lyrics are not only witty, but relevant to the time period of his fame, and he is truly peerless when it comes to his style of music and writing abilities. No other musician/comedian has been able to match him, although others have followed down that path more-or-less [Stephen Lynch comes to mind.] However, none of them have had the brilliance to take a serious topic and make a relevant and sophisticatedly funny song out of it. Here is an example of Lehrer's brilliance, a song pertaining to National Brotherhood Week, which was the one week out of the year when people were expected to drop their prejudices and be nice to each other, for a change. Sounds innocent enough...until you realize that this was during the time when segregation and racism were still very much alive and acceptable in that society, and to have only one week out of the year to treat others as human beings seemed hypocritical. Lehrer wrote this song in protest of that, and successfully managed to get the government to get rid of the holiday, out of sheer embarrassment. Here is that song, along with When You're Old and Grey, one of the most realistic love songs ever written (you get the intro in this video):
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CgASBVMyVFI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another musician who is worthy of notice is Emilie Autumn. Although I don't really like her singing voice, her violin playing is absolutely beautiful. Here is a sample of her playing Bach's Largo for Violin. It's a shame true artists like these don't get half the recognition that mediocre mainstream people get, but in a way, I guess that's a good thing, since then their music is about art and not about selling CDs.
I also love her quote on an interview with Metal Discovery:
"I love dead composers more than anything. That’s still the best music. No three minute rock/pop song is ever gonna be as good musically as that. It could mean a lot to people but, I’m sorry, that shit’s just way better. A Beethoven concerto can kick the ass of any of this shit that I’m singing. You know, no five minute song that I do is gonna compete with that." Talk about humility and honesty! So refreshing nowadays.
Without further ado, Emilie Autumn:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YwaeK6bC5jw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The third is Robert Hill, renown Harpsichordist and Baroque musician. He's Professor of Historical Keyboard Instruments, Performance Practice and Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany. He completed his Ph.D thesis on Bach, apparently, for Harvard in 1987. Truly brilliant! His playing is absolutely beautiful, giving new life to the music of composers like Bach. Here is a sample, taken from his official YouTube channel:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JC7oWQRV6Pg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Truly a delight to listen to. ♥
I'll start first. As you all know, I'm in love with Tom Lehrer, who is a brilliant satirist/singer/writer/pianist/mathematician/Harvard graduate. His lyrics are not only witty, but relevant to the time period of his fame, and he is truly peerless when it comes to his style of music and writing abilities. No other musician/comedian has been able to match him, although others have followed down that path more-or-less [Stephen Lynch comes to mind.] However, none of them have had the brilliance to take a serious topic and make a relevant and sophisticatedly funny song out of it. Here is an example of Lehrer's brilliance, a song pertaining to National Brotherhood Week, which was the one week out of the year when people were expected to drop their prejudices and be nice to each other, for a change. Sounds innocent enough...until you realize that this was during the time when segregation and racism were still very much alive and acceptable in that society, and to have only one week out of the year to treat others as human beings seemed hypocritical. Lehrer wrote this song in protest of that, and successfully managed to get the government to get rid of the holiday, out of sheer embarrassment. Here is that song, along with When You're Old and Grey, one of the most realistic love songs ever written (you get the intro in this video):
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CgASBVMyVFI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another musician who is worthy of notice is Emilie Autumn. Although I don't really like her singing voice, her violin playing is absolutely beautiful. Here is a sample of her playing Bach's Largo for Violin. It's a shame true artists like these don't get half the recognition that mediocre mainstream people get, but in a way, I guess that's a good thing, since then their music is about art and not about selling CDs.
I also love her quote on an interview with Metal Discovery:
"I love dead composers more than anything. That’s still the best music. No three minute rock/pop song is ever gonna be as good musically as that. It could mean a lot to people but, I’m sorry, that shit’s just way better. A Beethoven concerto can kick the ass of any of this shit that I’m singing. You know, no five minute song that I do is gonna compete with that." Talk about humility and honesty! So refreshing nowadays.
Without further ado, Emilie Autumn:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YwaeK6bC5jw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The third is Robert Hill, renown Harpsichordist and Baroque musician. He's Professor of Historical Keyboard Instruments, Performance Practice and Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany. He completed his Ph.D thesis on Bach, apparently, for Harvard in 1987. Truly brilliant! His playing is absolutely beautiful, giving new life to the music of composers like Bach. Here is a sample, taken from his official YouTube channel:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JC7oWQRV6Pg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Truly a delight to listen to. ♥
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