I am not a fan of German lyrics even though German is my native language. So I mainly listen to songs with English lyrics which also means mainly to English bands, singers, songwriters...
but
(there's always a "but", right?) there are two or three exceptions and one of them is
Roger Cicero. I know that not many of you will know him but sadly he passed away last week as was announced today.
He was an extraordinary singer and songwriter with deep and meaningful and often also entertaining lyrics and he was an amazing singer. He was a musician with all his heart and soul. I am shocked by his death since he was only 45 years old, in good health and on his way to start his new tour but sadly someone had other plans for him.
I will miss him and all the potential songs he would have written in the future. I am a bit lost for words but wanted to at least mention how much I loved and respected this great German musician and for all of you interested, here are some of my favorite songs by Roger.
Welcome to Blogmas! Every
day from December first til Christmas Eve I will post one Christmas
related post, giving you gift ideas, tips, recipes, etc. I
hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
I love Christmas music and I've been listenting to it for weeks and weeks and on good days I have to concentrate really hard not to sing along to the songs while I'm on public transport :)
If you follow me on Twitter you might have read that I was at a concert Monday night. My parents gave me two tickets for David Garrett's concert in Vienna and me and my best friend, who is the only one I know who listens to classic on a regular basis, had such a blast.
David Garrett is a German violinist which is living in New York and he plays a crossover of classic and modern music. I heard him play Beethoven as well as Coldplay or Metallica. I love the sound of the violin in general and his way of introducing the masses to classical music is wonderful.
Okay, let's be honest here too - he's really good looking and funny too. Between songs he told stories about things that happened to him during his last tour and some were so funny that I almost couldn't breeze. A friend of mine went to the last three concerts he played in Vienna and loves him so much and now I totally understand why.
credit goes to my friend Berni
The concert was an entertaining show with lots of good music, wonderful musicians, awesome dancers and David Garrett himself was just to die for (and I don't mean because he was so handsome - which of course played a minor role too). He even had a small stage that was almost next to my seat so he was basically standing 10 meter away.
The playlist included songs like Viva La Vida by Coldplay, the Overture of Carmen, Michael Jackson's Earth song, Beethoven, Chopin, Argentine tango, ACDC's Thunderstruck and many many more.
Here are some of my favorite songs for you:
If you like interesting music and modern takes on classical music you should listen to David Garrett's songs. I will try to get tickets for the next concert he's playing in Vienna because this one was just awesome. I'm still on a high today.
I usually talk about books on the blog
but today I want to talk about something different for a change.
Music!
Music is something that was always present in my family. My
dad plays guitar and mandolin and whenever he's at home (and not
working) music is floating through the apartment.
I have many memories of holidays I
connect with certain CDs, like one trip to Tuscany and the Greatest
Hits album by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones or a trip my mum and I
took to Tyrol with Bryan Adams' So far So good where we had the car
windows down, the music as loud as possible and we were both singing
at the top of our lungs – it was so much fun!
My taste in music is pretty broad
because I grew up with Jazz, Blues, The Beatles, Eros Ramazotti,
Billy Joel, etc. and I was part of the Backstreet Boys and Spice
Girls generation. I'm sure you're wondering where this is going,
right?
On Wednesday there was something called
Pop around the Clock on a German TV channel where they showed 24
hours of different concerts from Queen to Take That and from Paul
McCartney to Robbie Williams. I am a huge Robbie Williams fan!
In
2000 when Sing when you're Winning was released my mum got me concert
tickets for my birthday and it was one of the best concerts I've ever
been to. He is a wonderful entertainer and I love his songs, they
always accompanied me from 2000 on. I was too young for the whole
Take That hysteria but when Robbie started his solo career I was
hooked.
Since then I purchased every album but never again been to
one of his concerts. In 2004 he was in Vienna again and I really
wanted to go but I was away with my youth group during this week and
I would have needed to leave a day earlier and I just couldn't do
that to my kids. This year he's coming again with his Take the Crown
album but I saw it too late and there were no tickets available and
they were so expensive too.
But yesterday evening during Pop around
the Clock there were 90 minutes of Robbie Williams' Take the Crown
tour live from London's O2 arena and it felt like being at the concert. He still
is a wonderful entertainer, enjoyed being on stage again and I
rediscovered me love for his songs and that I still know all the
lyrics by heart.
Robbie Williams is on my music auto-buy
list and I will definitely buy every album he ever produces and still
be singing his songs many years from now.
Especially if he continues
writing lyrics like:
I'm not scared of dying, I just don't want to.
If I stop lying, I'll just disappoint you.
Every day from December the first until Christmas Eve I will accompany
with one Christmas related post, giving you gift ideas, tips, recipes, etc. I
hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy Coming up with posts and writing
them.
What would Christmas time be
without the right music?
Here are some of my favourite
albums.
Diana Krall featuring the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra - Christmas Songs
I know that the title is a bit strange but I always title my TGIF posts as "... in books" but this week it should be "... in music" but decide for yourself.
All of you
familiar with Ginger’s blog know that she is a total music freak and it was
just a matter of time until a musical question would pop up at TGIF.
And here it
is:
Musical
Stories: If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to
see written down in story form?
I love
music, I really do. I think music and books are the two things that keep my
sane in life but this week’s question really took some time to answer.
I would
pick “Goodbye Earl” by The Dixie Chicks. Those three girls always tell stories in
their songs and this is one of my all time favorites.
Dixie
Chicks Goodbye Earl
Album: Fly (1999)
Mary Anne and Wanda were the best of friends
All through their high school days
Both members of the 4H Club
Both active in the FFA
After graduation Mary Anne went out lookin'
for a bright new world
Wanda looked all around this town
and all she found was Earl
Well it wasn't two weeks
after she got married that
Wanda started gettin' abused
She put on dark glasses and long sleeved blouses
And make-up to cover a bruise
Well she finally got the nerve to file for divorce
She let the law take it from there
But Earl walked right through that restraining order
And put her in intensive care
Right away Mary Anne flew in from Atalnta
On a red eye midnight flight
She held Wanda's hand as they
worked out a plan
And it didn't take long to decided
That Earl had to die
Goodbye Earl
Those black-eyed peas
They tasted all right to me Earl
You're feeling weak
Why don't you lay down
and sleep Earl
Ain't it dark
Wrapped up in that tarp Earl
The cops came to bring Earl in
They searched the house
high and low
Then they tipped their hats
and said 'Thank You ladies
if you hear from him let us know'
Well the weeks went by and
Spring turned to Summer
And Summer faded into Fall
And it turns out he was a missing person
who nobody missed al all
So the girls bouth some land
and a roadside stand
Out on Highway 109
They sell Tennessee ham
and strawberry jame
And they don't
lose any sleep at night 'cause
Earl had to die
Goodbye Earl
We need a break
Let's go out to the lake Earl
We'll pack a lunch
And stuff you in the trunk Earl
Well is that all right
Good Let's go for a ride
Earl hey
