Favorite Composers Archives
A SMILING DUTCHMAN: VAN DYKE PARKS
By on February 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Welcome the inauguration of a new series of posts regarding my favorite composers! Expect more soon.
To begin with, I got chills watching this excellent Dutch documentary from 2002 which, simply put, is viewed like you might read a book:
Of course, this layout is a Real Talk shoutout from Uncle…
There is a lot of information I’d like to share about why I adore Van Dyke Parks as much as I do, but Wikipedia explains it quite well. Pretty much, he’s the raddest dude ever. Film composer, collaborator extraordinarie, sick lyricist, actor (!), composer, arranger…I mean come on! Here’s the short list of awesome people he’s worked with: The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson (also: to top it off, a new one this year), Randy Newman, Joanna Newsom, Jon Cale, Loudon Wainwright III. Know those guys but think you’ve never heard his stuff? Well Zac Pennington reminds us that “his first paying job was arranging ‘The Bear Necessities’ for Disney’s the Jungle Book, and work with Harper’s Bizzare”. God damn. A lucky duck, Zac also shares this rad story: “I met him about a month ago. Really nice guy. He said when he was nine, his boy choir performed for an audience that included Albert Einstein. Van Dyke was the only kid who knew the German words to “Silent Night,” so he sang it for Einstein, who left, got his violin, and came back to accompany the boy. How ridiculously cool is that?”
I end with a secret.
COSMOS WONDER-CHILD
By on April 14, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Kay Gardner
A Rainbow Path
Ladyslipper Records, 1984
Cover art by Gina Halpern
Side One:
01. Processional (Root Chakra, Saraswati Raga in C)
02. Dorian Hills (Belly Chakra, Aeolian/Dorian Modes in D)
03. Awakening (Solar Plexus Chakra, Dorian Mode in E)
04. The Greenwood (Heart Chakra, Lesbian Mode in F#)
Side Two:
01. Castle In The Mist (Throat Chakra, Ionian/Lydian Mode in G)
02. See My Wings Shining (Brown/3rd Eye Chakra, Six-Note Minor Mode in A)
03. Soaring (Crown Chakra, Whole Tone/Melodic Minor Scales in Bb)
04. Fountain of Light (Transpersonal Chakra, First through Fourth Octave Harmonic Scale in B)
Download via drop.io/kaygardner
