15 Jul 2013

I was raised on some Classical Music, but not a lot, so this assignment for Guelph Music Club was a little tricky. I associate most of my favourite pieces with movies. It’s kind of surprising that Classical Music isn’t utilized more in modern cinema. Most movies have an original score, when, if they wanted to save a HUGE amount of money, they could use almost ANY piece of Classical Music they wanted, for little or no cost. Almost all “famous” pieces were composed or written before copyright laws. I’ve read a few books on the evolution of the music industry, Appetite For Self Destruction being my favourite, and it’s weird that we’ve pretty much come full circle. Pre-copyright musicians didn’t get royalties for their recordings either. That’s a whole book on another subject, RANT over, here’s  a couple of my favourites Classical pieces.

Remember, remember…

The only downfall of vinyl is the volume that you can play it at. You can get feedback through the needle or the bass can cause the record to skip itself. As a kid, it was an actual thing for my Dad and his buddies to try and find a turntable/amp/speaker/needle combo that wouldn’t skip when turning up your music. According to legend, in other words, what my Dad told me, certain recordings of 1812 featured ACTUAL CANON FIRE, guaranteed to skip any needle in THE WORLD. The song was also featured in the ending scene of V For Vendetta. I didn’t want to post it and ruin the end of the movie for anyone, so you can watch it here.

What’s In The Box?!?

Already posted as an honourable mentioned by שּׂreckedΔngle™, Bach’s Air on a G String became on of my favourite pieces of Classical Music after seeing Seven. It plays during the library scene, while Morgan Freeman does all the research and thinking. Sometimes when I’m reading or writing, listening to music with vocals can become distracting. I like Bach for those situations.

Beware!!! Sadness Below

I couldn’t remember if there was restriction on year our pieces had to be from for Guelph Music Club. To be honest, I might have skipped this whole assignment if not for Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber from 1936. I started this post back on Thursday at my day job. I searched out this song first, being one of my Top 20 songs of all time, and then had to put my laptop down and stop. I have to confess, I have no idea where this song takes me. I get a little choked up and my breathing gets heavy, every time I hear it. It’s intense sadness hits me in a way no other song does. Whoever had the idea to use it throughout Platoon is a genius.

Now you probably need some cheering up. Crank this! It still sends shivers down my spine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODh8_f9f_2s