Strays Dave

. KuruPrionz posted in the current bird calls thread

I did some YT searching and finally found the back and forth chorus I had in mind. This YT suggests it's an alarm call. There are a few hawks in the area. That's my best guess.

I'm not sure if you're referring to the late afternoon chorus I sometimes hear, when they (the birds) take turns calling out - it's almost as if they're taking attendance....I saw a blue jay once making the call , and have assumed it was all blue jays. But likely other birds too. I heard once, either on NPR or a PBS nature documentary that no one's quite sure what they're doing. I am aware of "contact calling" between individual animals. But the chorus calling ? In my back yard I have my pollinator garden. I enjoy witnessing nature.

I finally discovered my mystery bird call. It seems to be the Tufted Titmouse. I keep wondering how bird calls/language evolved. I also wonder how it might have influenced early human music. Pondering the unknowable perhaps.

I'm not interested in Bond. I would pay to see one of the Beatles documentaries coming out...there's the Beatles in India (haven't seen anything about it in theaters), and the Get Back Peter Jackson documentary...Get Back seems to have been hijacked by Disney+....I won't be adding the subscription, but I figure it'll be available elsewhere at some point. But I'd go to a theater. The local Orlando "art house" cinema , The Enzian, would be more likely to screen my Beatles docs. That suits me fine.

I was just thinking about regional road trips and Clarksdale MS came to mind. I love the Rock & Blues museum there, but it's been permanently closed for quite a while. I just googled it and the building and collection "for sale" price has been reduced to $399K. I think this is maybe a $100K reduction - but not sure. I hope this collection will be public in the future. Maybe something for that bluesy baby boomer looking for a retirement project. http://www.blues2rock.com/

Bobby Whitlock's YouTube channel previously had his negative review of the All Things Must Pass remix. Apparently he was intimidated into taking the videos down. I don't know the details - they dance around it in this video.

Not a singer, but Billy Strayhorn worked with and for Duke Ellington from around 1939 till his death in 1967. Ellington once called him his "right arm". Strayhorn mostly, but not always stayed in NYC writing arrangements and composing for Duke. Sometimes Billy got credited and sometimes he didn't. And there was reportedly sometimes murkiness in songwriting royalties. In 1950 Ellington's 1st LP album "Masterpieces By Ellington" was released. It has reverb or echo effect that I don't fancy. It must have been high tech in 1950. Anyway it features concert length versions of many of his favorites, Solitude, Sophisticated Lady, Solitute... The arrangements are masterful with advanced jazz harmony for 1950 - but I read that Strayhorn wasn't credited - for doing the heavy lifting. He kept getting frustrated when things like this happened. A couple of times maybe, he quit. Ellington would sweet talk him and tell him to go to Paris for a few weeks. And buy whatever clothes he wanted...a blank check. He did. Also, Strayhorn was gay back when many people were fired if they were found out. Ellington couldn't give a $hit. So Strayhorn lived openly gay in New York. But it's been suggested that his frustrations fed his increased drinking. Some of this stuff helped support the myth that Ellington was some sort of super-genius. He was great of course. But so was Strayhorn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterpieces_by_Ellington

I don't know much about Brian. But this Moraccan music project sort of reminds me of Beatle George and Indian music. If Brian could have been just a simple pot head. It makes me wonder where a sober Brian might have taken things. And then there's Peter Green.

For me the Stones glory days were the early records up thru Mick Taylor's tenure. "19th Nervous Breakdown" , "Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy For the Devil" etc. I don't know Stones history like many here do. But I had a vague recollection of Brian Jones being involved with an African project of some sort. I googled and found that it was some Moroccan music. That alone makes me curious about him. I like the Stones, but don't really love them. The Grio channel had a biopic last Sunday night: Hendrix. I don't remember being aware of it 20 years ago. I'm hoping that someone is, or has worked on other documentaries....Moby Grape, Captain Beefheart (there are some docs already out there), Peter Green's Fleetwood Mack. Of course other folks here have their own personal lists. But the real issue here is that the players in these bands are aging out and dying. When I read about some rock star dying at 70 or so, I often joke that he was 85 in rock & roll years. '

I watched and liked the Jogging video. Someone commented someplace that the way he describes mundane daily activities is brilliant. I saw a video on YT once with John and Yoko. Yoko did her turkey warble and as I recall , John played with feedback - seems like he had that Epiphone from Get Back (if memory serves me). I think at towards the end John held the electric guitar vertical and banged it on the floor for another effect. So the thought occurred to me that Dawson is sort of a John, without the moderating effect of a Paul. Paul, without John, did a lot of milquetoast (I had to look it up) stuff over the years. I wish he'd found another John. I read that for "Vile" , Dawson searched some sort of database for disgusting descriptions. Could "Vile" be considered a sort of phrase collage ? My question (maybe Craig suggested this) is what else he can do. Can he craft lyrics ? I'm a piano guy, but I think he's sometimes doing fingerstyle guitar - finger plucking ? So a contrast would be great - could he come up with his "Julia" (Beatles Whiter album) ? Or maybe his "Dig A Pony" inspired song ? I just read one of those phone articles about Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" being modeled after Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" - I don't hear one iota of copying or stealing - just inspiring. I think I read that John's (Abbey Road) "Sun King" was inspired by Fleetwood Mac's (Peter Green's) "Albatross). For me, Dawson may be brilliant - if he's not just a one or two trick pony. If all Lennon had ever come up with were "crabalocker fishwife , pornagraphic priestess" sorts of lyrics would he have been brilliant " ?. He came up with so much more. Cannabatized ruminations.

In the context of playing with his band, he's more interesting. His band format brings to mind maybe Sun Ra....or not. But they produce some interesting sonic colorings.

I don't think you are crazy Craig. After Captain Beefheart's "Lick My Decals Off Baby" had poor sales figures, Ted Templeman was recruited to produce the next album (circa 1970) "Clear Spot". "Clear Spot" presented the band with the crayons pretty much coloring INSIDE the lines. IMO, Clear Spot was a brilliant album and should have been commercially successful, but probably the Captain's commercial mojo had passed. Anyhoo, I guess there are lots of niche musicians who have small rabid fan bases. Dawson also has some band recordings that are more conventionally palatable. I wish him well but won't likely be a follower.

Somehow this guy, Richard Dawson appeared as a suggestion on my phone (Amazon). Some reviewer called him brilliant. My 1st thought was the Hogan's Heroes/Match Game Richard Dawson - maybe it was a comedy album. Then I heard the actual guy. A google search said some consider him the British Captain Beefheart. I don't know. He seems to slightly detune some of the lower guitar strings. There's so much music that sounds alike , too much sameness, that a fresh take is welcomed. My thoughts of ground breakers in my musical youth conjures up Captain Beefheart and Ornette Coleman. (circa 1970). Is this guy doing something special ?

A few months back there was a thread on a piano forum...."How to become a virtuoso jazz pianist". As the thread wore on, someone dismissed Dave Brubeck as passable, or something similar. And of course Oscar Peterson is in the "jazz virtuoso" club. I defended Brubeck (one of my piano heroes back almost 50 years ago) - my view is that he created solos with their own personalities. He suffered a back injury diving into the surf in Hawaii while on a family vacation probably in his early 20's. So it reportedly affected his playing facility. No virtuoso as far as ripping his hands up and down the keyboard like Oscar. But Brubeck was brilliant as a musical inventor - as least I think so. "Blue Rondo" is a Brubeck composition. Brubeck's solo on Blue Rondo ala Turk begins around 4:55 - builds and develops - and his dissonant polytonal chords - /https://youtu.be/sFLILnhsW64 I believe Eric Clapton can be a medical or social dufus without negating his musical output. In my formative musical youth, I followed and admired the Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominoes. I haven't followed Clapton much over the years but it's no reflection on him - it's more developing other musical paths. Someone could go back to Louis Armstrong and disregard him compared to someone like Maynard Ferguson. But Armstrong developed his own musical voice and identity. I personally believe Clapton has done that for himself. As for the quality of the output of Cream, Blind Faith and Derek....I don't think the quality of each band's output was by chance. I believe that Clapton like the other pieces in the band combined to make special sounding music in their time. I ran across a Reddit thread some time back that was about Clapton. There were a lot of snide remarks and jokes about crack, smack, booze etc. Clapton reportedly had some a$$hole years, I think mid-to-late '70's. I think Andy Johns (some YT video I watched once) said he didn't like Eric Clapton at all back in the '70's. I think he maybe declined working with him. But in this recent video, filmed in Eric's U.K. home, along with Andy and some U.K. comedian he liked Eric fine. Eric commented he'd been a heroin devotee back in those days. I have two recent anecdotes. First, Bobby Whitlock as told on his YT channel. Sometime back (maybe 20 years back - I can't recall). Whitlock became aware that he hadn't been credited with songwriting on "Bell Bottom Blues". He called Clapton and jogged his memory regarding the songwriting. Clapton said, "you're right....I'd completely forgotten that". Clapton told him he would make things right. Whitlock said the writing credit was corrected and he received all his back royalties. Second anecdote. An article that appeared in my phone's Google news feed...Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's longtime guitar player) said when he met Eric Clapton, Eric gestured to 3 walls lined with guitars (must've been in Eric's house) and said that Hubert could pick out any guitar and keep it. Hubert spotted another guitar that wasn't on offer. He told Eric he wanted that guitar not being offered. Eric told him, "but that's my favorite". Hubert told him he wanted it. Eric agreed, but made him promise if he ever decided he didn't want it anymore, that he'd give it back. Maybe a year or two, Hubert saw Clapton again. Hubert had barely touched the gifted guitar, and offered it back. Eric then asked Hubert, "is there anything you need ? Anything I can do ?" . Hubert said no.

Down here in Orlando we have a lot of cardinals. And I have bird feeders in view of my living room window. For some months I noticed a single repeated note. And it was constant. Repeated usually 3-5 times. But it was lower pitched than I've been able to find on YouTube. This particular call has subsided as far as I've noticed. I still hear the repeated note thing but with more variation. I'm wondering if this singing (3-5 slow repeated notes) was also a nesting behavior. What I'm describing was lower pitched than this YT...

The great thing about this thread is that it got me to pull out my Beatles Fake Book (Hal Leonard). I looked up She's So Heavy and played thru it, singing. And I discovered I can sing in the original key if I drop the B section in D minor, down an octave. So I'm now working on it. I may learn the Gerry and the Pacemakers. What I discovered is that there's a real monkey wrench in Heavy when they play (around 1 min 45 sec) several measures of the E7(b9) with Paul's great bass line. But instead of going from E , up to A (as one ears might likely hear it wanting to go) ...they go down to C - D (melodically) and then the key of D min is established. It sort of jars the ears. This ain't just simple blues like it sounds maybe on first pass. As I hear it. And I almost forgot - the beginning of the song - with it's D min E7(9) Bb7 A7(#5) along with Paul's bass line. - This ain't no ordinary primal blues song. Beatles Fake Book https://smile.amazon.com/Beatles-Fake-Book/dp/B000XY4DII/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+beatles+fake+book&qid=1622923846&sr=8-2

I played a few times in a memory care facility. People with dementia an such. It's nice when you see them react pleasantly to a song they remember from decades ago.

I just pulled up Ferry Cross the Mersey on YT and played along with it in E major. I didn't hear any real invention in the chord changes. LYRICS......................................................................................In the bridge it has an F# min / B / E / (again) F# min / B / E / (and then) We don't care what your name is boy / but we'll never turn you away F# min .............................G# min...........F# maj............................B and back to the verse in E major. I don't hear any real inventive chord changes here. And then I pulled up I Want You (She's So Heavy) and attempted to play along. It's pretty tricky to my ears - pivoting back and forth between the keys of D minor and A minor. And it's not just the fact that it pivots - it's the interesting ways the pivots are executed. The key (for me at least) is to focus on Paul's bass line to figure out what's happening harmonically. In my view, the arrangement redeems this (She's So Heavy) "simple" song. Sure the lyrics are basic and repeated ad nauseum (we all know John could've pulled plenty more lyrics out of his hat) . BUT, the musical content makes it interesting. Along with the "wall of sound" white noise and the continuing (barely audible) vocals against the white noise. And the sudden cut-off at the song's end - I read that Lennon used a pair of scissors to cut the tape at the specific spot where the song cuts off. It's the recording taken in its totality. For me the harmony redeems "She's So Heavy". It would take some time for me to fully get the chord changes. But there's one interesting pivot point with an E7(b9) and another point with an A7(#5) . I invite anyone reading this to take this song apart. The Fabs used arrangements with other (virtually all?) things, most notably vocal harmonies. It would have been interesting to hear the Beatles treatment of "Ferry Cross the Mersy" - catchy harmonies would be one likelihood. I call it the Beatles treatment. And I never heard music nearly as interesting by them post-Beatles. IMO, George came the closest. His "All Things Must Pass" comes to mind - but too much sameness employed in Phi Spector's wall of sound. Which brings me to my assessment: The brilliance in the Beatles was that they avoided cliche. Everyone's mileage obviously varies.

When I listen to the Beatles, I don't just listen for lyrics, chords and melody. For me the greatness of the Beatles is in the sum of the parts in any given recording. I think their brilliance was in their arrangements. Paul's inventively crafted bass lines, their rich vocal harmonies, counter-melodies by George in some of the recordings. Things like the chord voicings used on certain songs, and even the sonics and effects they used in things like "Tomorrow Never Knows". When I googled the Kinks hits in 1966, I saw "Sunny Afternoon" , "Well Respected Man" and "Dandy". I grew up with these songs and enjoyed them. But in my opinion they don't stand up to things like "Taxman" , "And Your Bird Can Sing" , "Good Day Sunshine" and "Elanor Rigby". Like I mentioned before, for me it's the totality of what is heard when playing the recordings. As for the Who, I have to confess that in my opinion, "Run Run Run", "Happy Jack" , and "Boris the Spider" do stand up in comparison. But the stylistic range the Beatles had in songs like "Here There and Everywhere" - and in their harmonic construction... I haven't heard in the Who, and never heard in the Kinks. And hearing Ray Davies assessment of "Here There and Everywhere" as having busy chords.... ? For me it's similar to some of Duke Ellington's music from circa 1935-40. There was plenty of other great music, but Ellington's harmonic content generally outshines the others. But for anyone who's younger than dirt (I'm getting to be older than dirt), one example from 1964, before the Fab ones became so much more exploratory and experimental. I remember playing "If I Fell" on my $20 GE record player when it was current. It sort of turned my ear on it's side - the odd harmonic construction gave it something special. Everyone's musical mileage may likely vary,. I wish I could post a YT link that wasn't so big. And Duke Ellington in 1935 - Reminiscing in Tempo

Ray Davies reviewing the Beatles Revolver seems to me like he was in over his head, Musically speaking. Ray Davies reviews Revolver https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ray-davies-reviews-revolver/

I came across another CTS1 demo, which I watched. Pardon me if I missed something. I'm thinking these portable lap keys would benefit from pairing with rechargeable Bluetooth speakers. I looked at the CTS-1 pdf manual and couldn't determine this. I'm just a piano player, not a MIDI/technical type. Bluetooth out ? I'm thinking of something like a Bose S1 Pro. Small PA type speaker. Andertons A/B Casio CT-S1 with Roland Go piano.

Again, my compliments on the review. And I think 61 keys is perfect. Keep the unnecessary weight down. I picked up my new Casio CT-S300 today. 8 pounds with batteries. I sat on the sofa with it on my lap playing and singing several songs. I see this niche trend as a rich vein to be mined. Of course I predicted Tracy Uhlman would be as big as Lucille Ball back in the '80's. What excites me is to wonder what Yamaha must/should be designing. Lap keys (I coined a term?) could be a terrific new thing. I'm thinking of some sort of lap "table" with curves for the (human) legs to sit in - with a skid resistant mat for the keyboard to sit on. It could have speakers, but also a 1/4 inch and Bluetooth and whatever else. Someone could sit in an armless folding chair - and busk. I have this fantasy on a projected road trip from Orlando to Santa Fe. I have no idea what the local laws would be. But one can dream. Oh, and it would (should) be adequate for sitting in with a band, should the opportunity happen. Now the Casio CTS 300 is fine for sitting on a pillow on a motel room bed. That's what I bought it for (and it has that really cool handle). But I had to indulge my vision of a larger brother to the Yamaha Reface.

Nicely done. And you didn't spend too much time talking , as so many demonstration reviewers do. I ordered the CT-S300 for motel room playing on that road trip I've been fantasizing about.

Like some others have said, I have several hundred CD's. Most recently I bought the Layla album (double CD) by Clapton and the Dominoes. And I recently became aware of Storyville records in London, who carries a lot of nook and cranny Duke Ellington things circa 1945-1952. And there's are evidently dozens of hours of radio recordings sponsored by U.S. Savings Bonds - the Treasury series they're called. So I now have 3 or 4 of those. Everything I'm buying, I now am ripping to both my MacBook and my Windows PC. I'm currently android but if I change over to iPhone, I wanna have my library ready. I think of my phone mp3 library as a sort of corral. And my CD's are the source documents. The backups. I don't have even half of my CD's ripped, but hopefully drip by drip eventually. I love YouTube as a sort of jukebox that I use to pull up specific recordings. I was able to sample the Ellington recordings I mentioned earlier, that way. BTW, I have wondered if making it impossible for me to transfer my library from the computer to my phone might someday become a thing. Could they possibly try that ? Sounds like an Apple move. I don' have or use a continual streaming service. And don't really care to. What I always have enjoyed though, is a NARRATED curated radio show. A little bit of explanation can perk up my interest. I remember (at least I hope I accurately recall) a DJ once saying when he played "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small - that it was Rod Stewart playing harmonica on it. I love historical details. What I hated reading, was a piece, probably by a millennial...something about CD's being so worthless that they were used for target practice someplace. Or something like that. No concern for the contents. Based on history, I think CD's will eventually be valued again. Sometime down the road. Of course wasn't it Solyent Green where they were selling old plastic pieces in the market place ?