music

I realize the slice of people out there who are amused by send ups of classical music is a very thin one, but I am definitely a part of it. (Much to the chagrin of my family, from time to time.) And if you’re one of the few and the proud, then the announcement this morning of the passing of Peter Schickele made you more than a little sad. In the field of classical music parodies, Schickele reigned supreme. (Come to think of it, how many other people are even in that category.) For decades, he told the world all

I used to watch the Grammys every year. I remember always enjoying it growing up, but somewhere along the way, I just . . . stopped. It wasn’t a conscious decision I made one year. I think it just gradually trailed away. I’d forget they were on, or I’d tune in late. I’d catch highlights on YouTube, if I heard something was particularly interesting. And now? I just don’t really care one way or the other. This despite the fact that I really enjoy the Oscars and Tonys and Emmys each year. The biggest difference is that I’m heavily invested

A friend posted about a polka version of Come On Eileen yesterday on Facebook, and suddenly it reminded me of my personal favorite version (the ska cover by Save Ferris.) And so of course I had to look it up on YouTube, which led me to poke around to see what other covers of the song were done. A different friend does a yearly Christmas carol bracket challenge, where she posts about 30-40 different versions of the same carol. They’re paired up one by one, and people vote to determine which is the best version. She’s done it for years,