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Music: Sharing and Listening - Where words fail, music speaks


ShadySands

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Not the official video, but someones "lyrics" version. Picked this one over the original, because lyrics

 

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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Been listening to alot of eurodance lately and stumbled across a nice E-type remix that I quite enjoyed. I can't find a proper video for it, so y'all will have to live with the shuffle dance instead of the OG artist 😄

 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken

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42 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

Been listening to alot of eurodance lately and stumbled across a nice E-type remix that I quite enjoyed. I can't find a proper video for it, so y'all will have to live with the shuffle dance instead of the OG artist 😄

 

 

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No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.

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and 

am having some regret that our 80s self weren't appreciating stewart copeland in a manner befitting his contribution to the police. at the time we thought mr. copeland good drummer. fool.

HA! Good Fun!

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"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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This has been stuck in my head for about an hour so this is me trying to get it out 

Not there's a Eurodance mix on and my wife is jamming out. I called it Eurotrash and the fake offense was priceless. I actually know most of these songs better than my wife because 90s dance music was my mom's jam. She rolled from disco into dance music. Anyways, now my son wants Michael Jackson videos.

Edited by ShadySands
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Free games updated 3/4/21

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grandma listened to lou reed, the animals, the zombies, etc... and she liked to sing.  we always listen to a couple velvet underground albums on her birthday.

HA! Good Fun!

 

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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Some more nostalgia, Prodigys Breathe.

 

 

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Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken

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It's been a while since I last heard a new Mike Oldfield song...

 

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“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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admitted is not the first time am having shared, but our favorite atomic apocalypse song by a significant amount is...

complete lack o' irony makes the song even better.

...

is tragic this tune never made it into a fallout game. 

sting's russians is high on our apocalypse list but it were a bit too modern for fallout.

vera lynn's we'll meet again is an honorable mention but only 'cause its prominent placement in dr. strangelove.

HA! Good Fun!

ps am recalling @Gorth is a fan o'

deserves a nod. is stunning just how close we came to annihilating ourselves during the cold war. weren't war game's computers-gone-amok or dr. strangelove scenarios but human error which were the most common cause o' almost annihilation. balloons. geese. the freaking moon?  

Edited by Gromnir
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"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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On 2/6/2024 at 1:36 AM, Gromnir said:

am having some regret that our 80s self weren't appreciating stewart copeland in a manner befitting his contribution to the police. at the time we thought mr. copeland good drummer. fool.

He was groundbreakingly good.

Here's an interesting thing about Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic: it's not quite in any normal tuning, it's slightly above D major but below D sharp / E flat. Its duration, as a single, is 3:58. My guess is that the recording was sped up ever so slightly so that the single would fit under the magical 4 minute duration. (Kiss might have done the same with Tears Are Falling.)

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aside, after the police disbanded, sting managed to keep himself surrounded with superlative worthy drummers. 

.

gotta give gordon credit 'cause pretty much every sting solo project were in fact supergroups o' mega talent. got vinnie colaiutatu, dominic miller, and david sancious on ten summoners is impressive... most impressive. nothing like the sun is leaning heavy into jazz, so sting manages to land gil evans, manu katché and branford marsalis? every sting album, even the not so greats, seems to have included the best possible talent.

HA! Good Fun!

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"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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Also, The Summoners Tales, as a production, is unbelievably good. Very rarely do you hear an album that sounds so marvelous. Everything is crystal clear, you can really hear what everyone's doing. The songs are brilliant, too. I think Summoners and Blue Turtles are both exceptional albums, although Sting's solo output does contain some clangers, too.

That song Seven Days, by the way, is a nightmare for a drummer. Vinnie makes it sound SO easy, but it's very tricky, with all the polyrhythms going on. I can play the right notes, but it sounds rubbish, so if anyone asks, I definitely won't be playing it in front of people.

Edited by xzar_monty
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Music from "The Vikings"...

 

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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I was introduced to Phish in late summer 1995. A kid from Burlington popped his new CD into his portable stereo and played it in the lounge where I was living. By the end of Bouncing off of 'A Live One' I was asking 'Who the #@)" is THIS?!'. Long story short, after listening to the rest of that album I was a big time fan in short order.

Not long after this I learned of Gamehendge, like anyone who takes real interest in this band does. At the time Phish was playing a Gamehendge set every once in a great while. The last one was just year earlier in 1994. So I began hoping I would see a Gamehendge set. It was one of my Phish wishes if you would, if not my #1 Phish concert wish, right from the beginning.

Well.... years went by. The band took a hiatus in 2000. No Gamehendge. They came back from hiatus and then broke up in 2004, for what pretty much everyone thought was forever. No Gamehendge ever played. That was it.. last show was 1994. Phish phans would cherish it, and the ones that came before.

To a great many people's overwhelming delight Phish got back together in 2009. I myself didn't hop back on the train until 2016, when long story short.. on whim I went to 12/30/16. The second song in, I thought to myself 'What the hell have I been doing all this time?!?!?'. 12/31/16 was amazing....

I've seen 70+ shows since (Baker's Dozen, ****, YEMSGs, and more). Made many friends. Had more phenomenal times than many if not most adults in the modern era can even imagine to have.

Anon.

Like most any concert goer we all have some songs we want to hear when we go to a show. With most bands it's easy, as they just play a 'Greatest Hits' show, and the same set almost every night. To be clear this is not a knock of those bands. I love a lot of such bands, and have greatly enjoyed many of their live shows. However, you generally only see such a show a time or three tops, because it doesn't change from show to show, city to city, other than maybe one or two songs at most.

Phish always plays a unique show, start to finish. It's extremely rare that you can predict what they will play. About the only 'shoe in' is Auld Lang Syne at midnight every NYE show. Other than that, good luck guessing what they're going to play before they play it.

I've had the privilege of seeing this band the better part of 100 times since the mid 90s. And when anyone asked me what I wanted to hear at my next Phish show, I would immediately think 'Gamehendge', though rarely say it, as it was like wishing to win the PowerBall or MegaMillions. It just wasn't going to happen. So I gave my realistic hopes as an answer, and rarely even discussed Gamehendge, usually only doing so when filling in new phans as to the story and to it's significance.
 

Spoiler

For anyone reading this that doesn't know Phish, or what Gamehendge is... there's just no way I can fully explain without writing a short book (much longer than what I write here). In super duper short though no other band that I'm aware of has anything quite like this in their repertoire. The closest I can compare is The Who's 'Tommy', Genesis's 'Lamb Lies Down on Broadway', etc, but Gamehendge is more to Phish than those examples are to their respective bands. Gamehendge started out as Trey Anastasio's senior thesis in college (he went to school for music). It contains some of the earliest Phish songs, and a musical story, told through the songs. There have been more songs added to the saga over the years, some directly (i.e. 'Llama'; bonus: a fun watch for anyone methinks), some indirectly (i.e. 'It's Ice'), but nothing added directly since the early 90s (until a new addition on 12/31/23). Like any saga, at the core of it are some themes, some of which resonate throughout almost everything Phish has ever done (I would argue the first set on 12/31/23 is loaded with a couple of those themes, and it's not just coincidence those songs were played). So even if the song Phish plays isn't a Gamehendge song, in some ways it is ('Read the @#$(ing book!' (for those who know)). That book, is 'The Helping Friendly Book', sung about and eluded to in multiple songs, talked about by Trey and the band at various yet rare points throughout the years.

The super duper short explanation will point you in the direction of Lizard's lyrics for a taste of what Gamehendge is about.

The Helping Friendly Book, it seemed, possessed the ancient secrets
Of eternal joy and never-ending splendor....

https://phish.net/song/the-lizards/lyrics

Worth noting for the unfamiliar... every Gamehendge song has been played from time to time over the years, just not together since 7/8/94. Some (like 'Colonel Forbin's Ascent' and 'Fly Famous Mockingbird') are very rare (9 times in the last 20 years rare). Some Phish fans have seen hundreds of shows, but have never seen these songs (and they are chased by a great many). Other Gamehendge songs are quite common at shows ('Wilson' has even been chanted at NFL games). 



On 12/31/22 Phish rang in the new year at MSG with a gag that celebrated them turning 40 and had a taste of all of the previous New Year's gags rolled into one as well referenced various people and events that had occurred over the decades (Phish does something unique every New Years Eve show, a special set with a special gag). The gags range in quality from 'damn bleeping cool' to 'mind blowingly awesome'. Well, 12/31/22 was in my opinion the best NYE show musically since the 90s, and best gag they ever did. Was there, super fun time! I mention this because going into 2023, I had an inkling that Phish would do something special. It was their 40th anniversary year (first show being played in early December of 1983), so to me it was a no brainer, though many if not most in the Phish fan world thought that 12/31/22 was the 40th anniversary celebration. I had a few thoughts as to what they might do (with Phish you truly almost never know). They did for their 10th, 20th, and 30th anniversary years (something different each year). Well... they did nothing that I thought they might do, except for that one thing that I didn't even think was really a possibility. No festival, no anniversary show or tour, going into the NYE run at Madison Square Garden in New York. By this time, pretty much everyone thought that the anniversary already had been celebrated on 12/31/22. I was even beginning to think this too, because even though I dared to think that if Phish *might* play Gamehendge sometime in 2023, again I dared to think it like some of us think about what we might do with all that money if we won the lottery. It just wasn't going to happen, so best not spend much time thinking about it.

I had only made it to one show last year going into the run, and I didn't even have tickets for the run. Some life events conspired to keep me away from shows. At the last minute I snagged some tickets for 12/30-12/31/23, was able to meet up with some of my favorite people on planet earth, and went to the Garden. There were rumors that Phish might do Gamehendge, but there are always these rumors every year, for decades now. People trolling, and everyone dismisses them.

Going into 12/31/23, Phish hadn't yet played any core Gamehendge songs during the run (12/28-12/30), so the rumor got a tinsy bit more traction as the days went on, but really not much, because them not playing any core Gamehendge songs over 3 shows isn't that unusual. I expressed my hope to my closest Phish friends in hotel room, but again, thought about it like I thought about winning the lottery. Really.. any long time Phish fan learned long ago to not even really try to seriously predict what the band might do. You just go with the flow... surrender to it, really.

On the night of 12/31 I went to dinner with some friends at a great seafood place near SOHO, and then entered MSG with no real expectations for the show other than knowing it was more than likely to be awesome, whatever it was (I'd seen 5 Phish New Years shows previously; awesome was the norm, hence me going back for more). My mind was blank on what to expect. The first set began with a modern favorite, then kept going. Solid music. The third song was a debut earlier this year and my first time hearing it, I loved it.. .and then came Reba (with whistling). I'd heard Reba many many times in concert. It's a great song. An old Phish classic. One of my first favorite Phish songs back in the day. But.. there was something about this particular Reba.. something in the way it was played that brought me back to a specific memory from the 90s very vividly.. and I began to have some thoughts, an experience if you will (and no... no mind candy was had, only a couple glasses of wine hours earlier was had, I was effectively sober). Skipping the details of that personal experience, I'll just say that I got an inkling that I was supposed to be where I was, in the right place at the right time, and Gamehendge might indeed be coming, but... even with that.. I thought I was more than likely just imagining things. The set went on, as did the experience, as some themes were woven into the music, a message being conveyed. Musically it was a very solid first set. Beautiful.

Then after the standard ~30 minute set break, came the second set, starting out with a Down With Disease, on the 30th anniversary of it's debut . As the set began I was actually still out in the concourse talking to some friends I rarely see (and wasn't sitting with that night) for the first minutes of this song. After we heard the song pick up some heat my friends and I parted ways until after the show, and rushed to our seats. The second set was underway (the average Phish show has 2 sets + an encore, with NYE having 3 sets, with the 3rd set always being the special one with the gag). DWD was great as always but before expected the song came to an end.. and then a moment later... Harpua.

Now, Harpua is a strange song. Not Phish's best song by any means, but when it's played you are about guaranteed to be in for something extra special. It's quite rare, going into this show having only been played 3 times in the last 10 years . I was lucky enough to be at 2 of them. Harpua is a story song, and each Harpua ever played has a unique twist on the story. Keep in mind, this is the second song of the second set. The special NYE gag doesn't usually happen until set 3, yet Phish is telling us with those 'Oom papa Oom papas', that something special is about to happen.

As this Harpua went on, the story unfolded. The band members each sang and said their parts, and then Mike (the bassist) uttered the words 'Colonel Forbin' (my eyes went wide) and moment later 'Helping Friendly Book' in the same sentence and I instantly knew. So I'm sure did almost everyone in that crowd. But we were mostly silent, collectively holding our breathes. Like when a lottery jackpot winner first sees those winning numbers, they must stop breathing for a moment and think 'this can't be real... I need to check this again' and not dare yet truly believe they really won until they can verify it officially somehow. A few moments later that verification came when Trey began playing the opening notes 'The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday'... and beloved actress Annie Golden made it crystal clear what everyone was about to see. Gamehendge....

 

I don't know how many thousand of people had huge smiles on their face and tears in their eyes, but I sure did and I know I wasn't alone in this, not by a long shot. Something I never thought I'd see, something that I barely considered possible, was happening before me.

A Rhombus rose up from the floor to encompass the band... and then Trey began the narration.. .and Colonel Forbin rose onto the stage.

Gemehendge was underway... complete with actors, dancers, backup singers, guest singers, puppeteers, props, a Flying Mockingbird.... a whole theatrical production.


I'm sure in the history of the world as many or more tears of joy have been shed by as many people gathered in one place, but I couldn't tell you when or where that was. Nor do I think could most others. The crowd lost it. Happy happy joy joy multiplied by itself again and again.

As many music lovers who attend concerts has experienced (and even some at home)... sometimes there are songs that you get lost in. Special musical moments that are so good you are taken away to somewhere else. At your average Phish show this happens to me maybe a few times for some moments. The best Phish shows it happens for a large chunk of a set ('Is this still Lawn Boy?'). On 12/31/23, I was taken to that place for the next few hours. 

12/31/23 is the greatest concert experience I've ever had, and I've seen I don't even know how many shows and bands over the years (well over 1000 at least (I used to work in the industry)). I've been lucky enough to see some truly amazing moments in live music. But this one.... this one is in a league of it's own, like very few others are. I've no doubt that at least most of those in attendance that evening agree.


.......... and then a little more than a week after the show.... Phish, a band that truly appreciates it's fans more than most others, released an official video of the entire production, on YouTube, for free... so that all of those phans who couldn't make it to the Garden, all those fans who had this Phish wish for so many years... so they could experience it too. As well the other phans who never really understood why Gamehendge was so special to many of us. After 12/31/23 I think a lot more of them probably understand and appreciate it now.

Somewhere along the way in the future, some people who don't yet know about Phish or Gamehendge will have this gem available to them to see.

 

Anyways.... this went on a lot longer than I initially intended, and believe it or not, I left a bunch out. So much more could be said about everything mentioned above.

It's hard to explain what all of this means to someone who isn't a fan, or isn't familiar with Phish's music. Improvisational music isn't for everyone, I get it. Even for most that appreciate it, it's an acquired taste. Jazz is the most advanced of the musical genres in my estimation, and in many ways the members of Phish are maestros of improv. Once upon a time, I didn't get it either. Fortunately for me I'd gotten deep into Genesis, Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and others of their depth and caliber, as well as even a little classic jazz prior to being introduced to Phish. So I took to Phish like a fish does to water the first time I heard them. If music is the air my soul breathes, Phish is some of the purest oxygen in that air.

But even if you do like improv, you still might not dig Phish's flavor of it, I get it. There's also Phish's antics, sense of humor, hard to explain intangibles, and the innumerable inside jokes that someone who isn't a Phish fan won't get until they've been a fan for awhile, and a long while at that for many of them. i.e. The 12/22/23 gag was probably a really great thing to see for any new fan, but the more you know this band the more you'll appreciate what is on stage before you. Seeing this band live is in one way an inverse experience to seeing most other bands live. The more you see them, the more you tend to appreciate them, and the more you want to see them. That opposite tends to be true for all the bands that play the same songs almost every night, and in almost the same way every time. That gets old, where the improvisational musical adventures of maestros is just about always at the edge of a potentially fantastic new frontier.

I post this largely for the few here who are familiar (it's shared elsewhere as well). I know there are least used to be a few phans here, though I've been away a long while, so am not sure if that's still the case. The music thread on this forum was always one of my favorite threads on all the interwebs, as I always appreciate getting reminded of great music, or introduced to great music I hadn't yet discovered. I've had both experiences many times here over the years, and I thank everyone who has contributed.

To anyone who isn't a Phish fan who made it this far (if anyone did 😅). I say thank you for the read and I hope you picked up something that betters your day, even if the music isn't for you. Though I think that if you made it this far, and you give it a shot, you just might like it. Or if you've got a friend that takes you to a show (there's no better way to learn how to appreciate Phish than to go to a show). Really, if it's even remotely on your mind to maybe go to a show, do it, you'll more than likely be happy you did.

For those that do know, or are curious.... if you haven't yet seen this.... take the time to put this on the big screen, turn up those speakers, and enjoy the journey.

The trick was to surrender to the flow....

 

Edited by Valsuelm
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  • 2 weeks later...

Since I don't have a spotify account to remind me that I love 80's music, I have to remind myself I suppose...

 

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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I saw a clip with this as uncredited background music, and it took me 20 minutes of mental grinding to remember the group and songname. I used to be really good at picking those things up withing the first few bars, but I guess I haven't really used the skill in ages. :(

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Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken

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I was dusting off some old CD's yesterday... yes, I have an obscene amount of those relics. Both CD's and DVD's. Hundreds of each, predating Youtube and streaming because those weren't invented back then 😖

 

 

 

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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Look  at this tech forward guy with his fancy CDs, I still have a couple of drawers stuffed full of cassettes. :p Aaaaanyway, speaking of nineties. Here be a song that I think a lot of people born in the nineties have to thank for their existence, kind of like Hotel California and seventies. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

A bit of nostalgia from my younger years...

 

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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On 3/14/2024 at 2:16 AM, Gorth said:

I was dusting off some old CD's yesterday... yes, I have an obscene amount of those relics. Both CD's and DVD's. Hundreds of each, predating Youtube and streaming because those weren't invented back then 😖

I've got hardly any DVDs but more than hundreds of CDs, I have to say. And while at work in my office I listen to them practically every day, although it's nothing but classical these days, basically -- so an awful lot of stuff is just lying around, quite literally collecting dust. Speaking of dust:

Tori Amos was superb at her best. I remember weeping like crazy upon hearing this for the first time. It was just so beautiful. Her lyrics rarely add up to a coherent whole, but there are some masterful lines -- here she's brilliantly evoking memories and the sense of transient but life-transforming moments, whatever they may be for the listener.

 

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