Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Friday, August 11, 2006

PS Before I go back to sleep

Since I'm planning on getting up in 3-4 hours. Lately there has been a lot of music that I can sing to on the radio. I mean, yeah, I've been singing along to songs all my life in my chest voice just like most people, and that's okay. But when I took music lessons I learnt to use my head voice, which if I understand the terminology is a lyric first soprano. You know, the type that sound pure and high and is best done with vowels, rather than the more glorious in my opinion mezzosoprano. Basically I have a young girl head voice. The trick is going back and forth as needed in popular music. I'm finding it easier to sing with women (Amy Lee, Dido, Anna Nalick, Sarah MacLachlan, Loreena McKinnitt, to name a few) and men (Coldplay, James Blunt, etc.) without having to transpose it up or sing a high harmony. Still, I have been trying to do better with my chest voice, where it's harder for me to sustain in breathing. A good workout for that is KT Tunstall's 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree'. One for both is Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten'. Anyway, thanks girls (and guys). Keep it coming.

It's funny how some people embrace new music and others don't. I know people who are stuck in the 60s, or only like country, or consider classical the only true music tested by time but also like things like the Black Crowes and 80s music. I also know someone who doesn't consider anything new worthwhile because he hasn't heard it, and if it were that popular, he would, despite the fact he doesn't really listen to the stations that play modern rock, so except for snippets on popular TV shows, he doesn't hear it, and since he's unfamiliar with it, assumes the music is written specifically for the shows. Unfortunately whenever we get into my car, it's unvariably a song he would dismiss as 'noise' rather than one of the ones I really like.

I love all sorts of music, from classical to folk to Celtic to 60s and 70s, 80s (particularly 80s alternative like Depeche Mode, U2, the Smithereens, that sort of thing), Indie rock, and modern rock/adult alternative. I like some country (particularly Old country) and even 2-3 rap pieces. I generally do not like hip hop or rap, particularly the more vulgar or violent works. I don't care for utterly twangy country. I like bluegrass to a point (and here I am living in the heart of it) but prefer blues. In other words I'm not indiscriminate about what I like, but I like a whole range of music. If I ever have children they'll be exposed to a wide range of works, that's for sure. Oh, well, music rant off for the night. What types of music do you like?

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