Amélie-les-crayons (born 1981) is a French singer-songwriter, with an emphasis on theatricality and humour in her performances and that of her group. Amélie started in 2001 in bars and cafés in Lyon, as a solo piano singer. A 6-track CD, Le Chant des Coquelicots, was released in 2002. In 2003, she put a real band […]
March on Washington 2
On the 28th August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave his legendary ‘I Have A Dream’ speech during the ‘March on Washington for Job and Freedom’ in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of […]
Flanders & Swann
Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a school revue in 1939 and eventually wrote more than 100 comic songs together. So we begin with one of their […]
Ace of Base – Discology
Earlier in the week I drew your your attention to the works of Abba, the Swedish pop phenomenon. This put me in mind of the two other great Swedish musical exports Roxette (more of whom in a later post) and Ace of Base. So today I want to remind you of Ace of Base andtheir […]
Der Holle Rache – Which is the Best Version?
“Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” (“Hell’s vengeance boils in my heart”), commonly abbreviated to “Der Hölle Rache”, is an aria sung by the Queen of the Night, in the second act of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte). It depicts a fit of vengeful rage in which the Queen of the Night […]
Seven Nation Army
“Seven Nation Army” is a song by American duo The White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, Elephant, and was released in March 2003 as the lead single. Written and produced by Jack White, the song consists of distorted vocals, a simple drumbeat, and a bass-like riff created by playing […]
Abba – The Last Video
You know how you can be pottering through You Tube and suddenly you come across something that has been viewed over 10,000,000 times and yet had totally passed you by. Well that happened to me over the weekend. My recommendation page suggested that I watch ‘Abba – The Last Video’. Intrigued by the screen shot […]
Bridget St. John – Ask Me No Questions
Bridget St John is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for John Peel’s Dandelion record label. Peel produced her debut album Ask Me No Questions. She also recorded a large number of BBC Radio and Peel Sessions and toured regularly on the British college […]
John Froud – The Man, The Legend!
I met John not long after our arrival in Bradford. As the director of the Zephaniah Trust, based in Shipley, our paths crossed as I sought to make contact with local schools. John is a much-loved visitor (nay legend) to schools across Bradford and beyond, taking regular assemblies to reach more than 10,000 children a […]
Heline – The Finnish Flootist!
Heline is a Finnish flute player. She mainly makes arrangements and covers of known songs, but she also makes some original music every now and then. She first came to my attention when I watched one of her reaction videos on You Tube. She watches videos of other flute players – usually in rock bands […]