In The Bleak Midwinter

I found this awesome recording of "In The Bleak Midwinter" on Smule, check it out: https://www.smule.com/p/395092964_3321441965

https://www.smule.com/KristinEagan1 

The First Noel

I found this awesome recording of "The First Noel - ACOUSTIC" on #Smule: https://www.smule.com/p/722195727_3316723142  

Favorite Christmas Songs

Little Drummer Boy - Pentatonix
           A rum pa pa pum

Carol Of The Bells - Peter Hollens
           Ding dong ding dong, that is their song

Christmas Canon - Trans-siberian Orchestra
           On this night, on this night, on this very Christmas night

Adeste Fideles - Friar Alessandro
           Venite adoremus Dominum

The Boars Head Carol
           Caput apri defero, Reddens laudes Domino

Gloucestershire Wassail
           With a wassailing bowl, we drink unto thee

O Come O Come Emmanuel - Enya
           Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel, nascetur pro te Israel!

Songs about Coke

There are a LOT of songs about cocaine. Here are a few more.

The Weekend's Can't Feel My Face
The song isn't about being so happy in love that his face has gone numb from smiling (although that would be romantic). The lyrics actually reference cocaine, personified as a woman. "And I know she'll be the death of me, at least we'll both be numb. And she'll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come."

Grandmaster Flash White Lines
"My white lines go a long way / Either up your nose or through your vein / With nothin' to gain except killin' your brain"

The Eagles Life In The Fast Lane
“They threw outrageous parties, they paid heavenly bills. There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face”

Interpol Rest My Chemistry
"I haven't slept for two days. I've bathed in nothing but sweat / And I've made hallways scenes for things to regret. My friends they come / And the lines they go by.

Fleetwood Mac Gold Dust Woman
"Rock on gold dust woman / Take your silver spoon / Dig your grave"

Metallica Master of Puppets
"Needlework the way, never you betray / Life of death becoming clearer. / Pain monopoly, ritual misery / Chop your breakfast on a mirror.

Black Sabath Snowblind
Written by Butler not Ozborn "Crystal world with winter flowers turn my days to frozen hours."

Acapella Holiday Music

Oh Holy Night - Elipse 6 Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy - Pentatonix

Angels We Have Heard On High - Home Free Come All Ye Faithful - Greg Sykes

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Committed Song Medley - Indy Dang

Minor Key

Transposing is moving to a different key (C Major to D major).  Changing from Major to Minor and vice versa is called a "change of mode" (C Major changed to C Minor).  C Major changed to E minor is both a change of mode and a transposition.  To get the parallel minor key of the original key, you flatten the third, sixth, and seventh degrees of the key. For example:
E major: E F# G# A B C# D#
E minor: E F# G A B C D 
Here are some examples of songs that have had a change of mode from a major key (written originally) to a minor key.
Hey Jude

Blackbird

Tears in Heaven


Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" switches between A minor and D minor seamlessly.

One Man Band

Nearer My God To Thee

Star Wars

Teenage Dream

Les Miserables

Rolling In the Deep (again!)

Dueling Banjos

Bohemian Rhapsody

Frisson

Sometimes music strikes the body like a bolt of lightning.  A chill down the spine, fluttering in the stomach, a racing heart – the musical movements send feelings surging through your body.

Hello
"Hello from the other side, I must have called a thousand time"

This Is My Fight Song
"I might only have one match, But I can make an explosion"

My Immortal
 "I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone, But though you're still with me, I've been alone all along."

Angel
"And maybe empty, Oh, and weightless, and maybe, I'll find some peace tonight "

Say Something I'm Giving Up On You
"And I am feeling so small, It was over my head, I know nothing at all. "

I See Fire
Now I see fire, Inside the mountain. I see fire, Burning the trees. And I see fire, Hollowing souls. I see fire, Blood in the breeze. And I hope that you remember me"

Rolling In the Deep
"The scars of your love, they leave me breathless, I can't help feeling,  We could have had it all, Rolling in the deep."

Apostacy

Rock stars seem to have it all: incredible wealth, the adoration of millions of fans, a high-flying lifestyle of private jets and exclusive parties. But the fame, fortune and hectic lifestyle leave many stars feeling empty and searching for meaning.

Don't Think Twice
Although he grew up Jewish, Bob Dylan became a born-again Christian in the late 1970s. When touring in late 1979 and early 1980, Dylan would not play his older, secular works, and he delivered declarations of his faith from the stage. Dylan's Christianity was unpopular with some fans and musicians, but he didn't seem to care. Nearly fifteen years later, Dylan was saying that he doesn’t believe in any organized religion and that music was his spirituality

Morning Has Broken
The folk-pop star who became famous as Cat Stevens converted to Islam in 1977 and changed his name to Yusuf Islam the next year. Increasingly dissatisfied with the spiritual rewards of pop stardom, Stevens partially credits his Muslim conversion to a near-death experience.  In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community.  In 2006, he returned to pop music – releasing his first album of new pop songs in 28 years.  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

When Doves Cry
Prince was raised a Seventh-Day Adventist, but the R&B/rock/pop superstar became a Jehovah's Witness in 2001.  His new faith kept him from drinking, swearing, and voting.  He gave up drugs, became a vegan, and no longer played any of the music that made his career famous.

Long Tall Sally
After helping bring rock n' roll into existence, Little Richard put it all aside to focus on his born-again Christianity.  In 1957, when he was at his most popular point, Little Richard quit rock and roll music. He went to Bible college and became a church preacher. He then went on to play only Gospel music for many years.

Coming Undone
After spending 12 years making Korn, and being ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time, Brian Welch explained: "I was walking one day, just doing my Rock & Roll thing making millions of bucks, you know success and everything, addicted to drugs and then the next day I had Revelation of Christ and I was like, everything changes right now!"

Free As A Bird
George Harrisson was often referred to as "the quiet Beatle". Harrison embraced Indian mysticism and helped broaden the horizons of his fellow Beatles as well as their Western audience by incorporating Indian instrumentation in their music.  Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realized a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music."  His drug usage led to his separation from his wife. In line with the Hindu yoga tradition, Harrison became a vegetarian in the late 1960s.  After The Beatles had stopped touring in August 1966, each of the members, to varying degrees, began to pursue his own musical tastes.

Keeping The Faith

The music industry has long been described as a volatile, sometimes evil, environment where talent is often exploited by greedy music execs. Conspiracy theorists take it a step further, believing the industry is controlled by elite groups that use pop stars to spread their satanic agenda to the masses.

War Pigs
Nicknamed “The Prince of Darkness” rock legend Ozzy Osbourne has been dubbed a satanist since his debut with Black Sabbath. The heavy metal singer infamously bit off the head of a dove during a live performance in 1981. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 and has since had a successful solo career, releasing 11 studio albums, the first seven of which were all awarded multi-platinum certifications in the US. Osbourne's longevity and success have also earned him the informal title of "Godfather of Heavy Metal".

The Beautiful People
Marilyn Manson is not just a shock rocker, he was reportedly ordained a priest in the Church of Satan. Over his two-decade career as one of the most controversial characters in pop culture, the rocker has always tried to push the societal envelope, question authority, challenge religion and, of course, make some heavy music. Marilyn Manson is very charitable. Throughout his career, he has supported a variety of organizations that give access to musical instruments and training to low-income children like "Music for Life" and "Little Kids Rock.

Head Like A Hole
Michael Trent Reznor is an American musician, composer and record producer with a net worth of $70 million. He pulled off the unthinkable by forming Nine Inch Nails: he took a deliberately abrasive, noisy music like industrial and streamlined it for the masses to eat up.  "Rock music was never meant to be safe.", he told Los Angeles Times music critic Robert Hilburn. "There needs to be an element of intrigue, mystery, subversiveness. Your parents *should* hate it."

Born This Way
Known for her blatantly sacrilegious songs, videos and live performances, Lady Gaga has come under fire for her dark antics because she regularly incorporates blood, fire and nudity into her live performances. Lady Gaga denounces mainstream pop.  She manages to create records that combine her passions of fashion, music, pop culture, and art to wonderful effect.  She’s over the top and in your face, but she has the talent to back it up. She is a tireless innovator who understands that there is more to being a pop star than churning out records. Her undeniable passion and creativity are plain to see, and her ability to always be self-aware means that she is always growing as a performer, as a singer, and as an icon.

Single Ladies
Beyonce’s “demonic” alter-egos (Yonce, and Sasha Fierce) and performances filled with Illuminati symbols have ruffled the feathers of parents and parent advocate groups alike. Her once kid-friendly pop image as part of ‘Destiny’s Child’ has long been replaced by an oversexualized one. 

Material Girl
Blamed for ushering in a new age of sexual depravity, Madonna has been labeled a devil-worshipper and “servant of the devil” Madonna told Harper’s Bazaar magazine, she is a “big believer in ritualistic behavior” but ‘not a big fan of rules’. Now, Madonna has nothing left to prove except, ironically, that she still has something left to prove. No genre has a shorter memory than pop, where you’re only as good as your last move or you’re a flop. She can’t help being compared to not only all the younger, hungrier pop stars in her wake but her entire three-decade legacy.

Modern Yodeling

Yodeling is the voice being used as a musical instrument, whereby singers are able to change from the vocal register to the head register. A singer voices a pitch in the falsetto register on releasing a note. These songs are not similar to their Alpine counterparts, but they are charming all the same.

Cranberries	Alanis Morissette	Sinead O'Connor
Linda Ronstadt	Michael Nesmith

Musical Artists and Beards

Over time beards, mustaches, and sideburns have gone in and out of style, been grown to new extremes, and taken on larger-than-life personas that have even overshadowed the men to whose faces they’re attached. And in this current era where business wants a clean face, it’s only fitting that I run through 50 years of some of the finest, most iconic facial fur I can remember.

Kerry King	Dave Grohl	Kenny Rogers	Leon Russel
Cat Stevens	Willie Nelson	ZZ Top	Nathaniel Rateliff

Skinny White Boys

Poor, hungry, skinny, and on drugs. These boys paved the Highway to Hell with sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Brandon Flowers	Mick Jagger	Kurt Kobian	Eric Johnson

David Bowie	Axel Rose	Jim Morrison

2x2

Harmony is the blending of simultaneous sounds of different pitch or quality, making chords. Melody is the rhythmical combination of successive sounds of various pitch, making up the tune. With four members each, these perfectly balanced bands are able to use the variety of vocal qualities to create some beautiful music together.

Abba	Mammas and Pappas	The B52s
Little Big Town	Four Non Blondes	Ace of Base

Good Times

The Mamas & the Papas continued to record to meet the terms of their record contract. Their final album was released in 1971. After the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, Cass Elliot embarked on a solo singing career. Her most successful recording during this period was 1968's "Dream a Little Dream of Me" from her solo album of the same name, released by Dunhill Records, though it had originally been released earlier that year on the album The Papas & the Mamas Presented By The Mamas and the Papas.In October 1968, Elliot made her live solo debut headlining in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace, scheduled for a three-week engagement at $40,000 per week, with two shows per night. Elliot went on a six-month long crash diet before the show, losing 100 of her 300 pounds. According to Elliot, the weight loss led to a stomach ulcer and throat problems, which she treated by drinking milk and cream (and regaining 50 pounds in the process). A nervous Elliot was confined to her bed for three weeks before the first performance, as the musical director, band, and production supervisor attempted to put together a show in her absence. She was scheduled to rehearse for a full three days before the show opened, but she managed to get through only part of one run-through with the band before saying that she was losing her voice. She skipped the remainder of rehearsals and drank tea and lemon, hoping to recover and pull herself together for opening night. An audience of 950 people filled the Circus Maximus theatre at Caesars Palace.  Sick and having barely rehearsed, Elliot began to fall apart during the course of her first performance: her voice was weak and barely audible, and the large crowd was unsympathetic, despite the celebrity well-wishers.  Reviews were harsh. Esquire magazine called the show "a disaster" that was "heroic in proportion, epic in scope". The Los Angeles Free Press called the show "an embarrassing drag." Newsweek compared the show to the Titanic disaster: "Like some great ocean liner embarking on an ill-fated maiden voyage, Mama Cass slid down the ways and sank to the bottom." The show closed after only one night. Within hours of the end of Elliot's Las Vegas concert, rumors began to spread that she had been taking drugs during the weeks leading up to it. Eddi Fiegel wrote in the biography Dream a Little Dream of Me that Elliot later admitted to a boyfriend that she had shot heroin immediately before going on stage. Embarrassed by the debacle, Elliot plunged into a deep depression. She was a regular guest on TV talk shows and variety shows in the early 1970s, including The Mike Douglas Show, The Andy Williams Show, Hollywood Squares, The Johnny Cash Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and The Carol Burnett Show. She performed the title song "The Good Times Are Coming" during the opening sequence of the 1970 film Monte Walsh. I find this ironic that the good times are coming to an end. On April 22, 1974, Elliot collapsed before an appearance on the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Elliot played it off in interviews as nothing more than exhaustion. Elliot performed two weeks of concerts at the London Palladium later that summer, at the height of her solo career. Many claimed that all of these shows sold out, but she was often playing to a less than full house after the earliest dates. She called Michelle Phillips after the final concert on July 28, elated that she had received standing ovations each night. She then retired for the evening and died in her sleep, at age 32, 2 months before her 33rd birthday. Sources show her death was due to a heart attack.

Hello Darkness

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ----Martin Luther King.
This is the sound of silence: the quiet undercurrent of a revolution, the calm before the storm. To me, this song also represents the improper communication with our mind. People get a majority of their thoughts from screens i.e. neon gods. If we do not listen to our hearts, and we have no ideas of our own, we will run after things as dictated by screens our whole life. Because we have no idea what we really want and where our happiness lies, we feel hollow inside. This hollowness (cancer) grows bigger, but still nobody wants to touch that sound of silence (mind) and we look outward of ourselves for a solution even though the solution is inside of us. The darkness is not literal but spiritual: it is the darkness of oppression. However the oppression is so entrenched it is almost like a blanket. It is being accepted not fought. It is a shared belief that enables enlightened people to see what others can't. The last verse of Bob Dylan's “Blowing in the Wind” has a kind of osmosis with "The Sound of Silence".
In the dime stores and bus stations
People talk of situations
Read books, repeat quotations
Draw conclusions on the wall ----Bob Dylan. (Love minus Zero)
In the end the silence defeated us all. By refusing to fight the silence we had become deaf, not just to each other but to ourselves. This is not loneliness but isolation. Silence has a sound. It is the sound of oppression.

According to National Rock Review: The original acoustic version of The Sound of Silence made its appearance during the rise of folk rock (1964). The gentle harmonies and acoustic guitar easily captured the attention of a nation during a time of growing social tension (Vietnam). The song’s deep emotion draws in the listener taking them on a journey of deep contemplation.  The Disturbed remake offers everything the original did and more. The remake is haunting, slower, and darker. Disturbed vocalist David Draiman, typically known for his raspy, power metal voice, sings beautifully; his voice is crisp and clear.  The first verse opens with light piano and gentle vocals. Draiman sings softly almost to the point of being a whisper, his vocals floating over the simple piano notes. Strings join in, almost hesitantly, towards the end. As the track progresses, it builds upon itself.  The second and third verses raise the profile of the song. The strings increase in both volume and depth. Light percussion eases into the background. The acoustic guitar and piano feature more prominently. Draiman maintains clean vocals, easily striking the familiar notes as the power of his voice begins to make itself known.  The fourth verse is where Draiman’s vocal power becomes evident, the raspy edge creeping in; he builds tension adding a sense of urgency as if restrained only by the pace of the song.  The Sound of Silence closes with a crescendo of instrument and voice. The listener stirred by the somber anthem is left hanging on wistful yearning.  The visual canvas of the music video matches the feel of the song. Dark, grayscale images of a bleak landscape are punctuated by closeups of Draiman’s face as he sings. The imagery is surreal suggesting a return of music to a forlorn society. While it may seem over the top to some, it is a fitting backdrop for this moving hymn.

Flowers In The Rain

It's about choosing happiness and accepting that this means accepting some measure of illusion as well. Paul goes past those "shadows dark and deep" without entering them. He realizes the facts of the universe that his life will end, flowers bend with the rainfall, and his reflection just shows a small and dark figure (reference to Plato's allegory of the cave). He admits to being blinded and wandering without direction, but he's already demonstrated self-awareness of his self-deception. Whether you're at the top or the bottom of society, you could go to either joy or sorrow, it's all about mindset. So he forms this fantasy, makes it become reality so he can face the world with a smile.

Mini Meatballs

Tasty mini meatballs
Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I had a meatball, yum!
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I had a tasty little rich,
Idle-diddle-daidle-meaty ball.

Throw them in your soup by the dozens,
Just before you chow down.
They make a great appetizer anywhere you go
Try them sauteed with a soy and ginger glaze
Melted with mozzarella all around
The possibilities run the gambit, high and low

I'd fill my freezer with jumbo and mini
every time single time they go on sale.
Buying up as many as the cashiers dare to scan.
Each loud "ooh" and "ah" and "yum" and "lalala"
Lands like a trumpet on the ear,
As if to say "Here lives a cook who can."

Tasty mini meatballs
Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I had a meatball, yum!
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I had a tasty little rich,
Idle-diddle-daidle-meaty ball.

Proposed Mash-Ups

Some songs share similar elements: the refrain, the tempo, the bass line, etc. And it is easy to hear similarities in certain songs.  Here are a few songs I have picked out for you audiofiles that are just ripe for creating me a mash-up.  You know how much I love a good mash-up!

1. Beatles - Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da and Offspring - Get a Job

2. TLC  - No Scrubs and IMx - Stay The Night
Just try not to stare at his crotch while you watch the video.

3.  Sara Barelles - Brave and Katy Perry - Roar

4. Beyonce - Halo and Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone

5. Madona - Express Yourself and Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Perpetual Piffle

It happens at work.  You pass by someone in the halls, or on the way to your desk.  They’re humming something to themselves and you can’t make it out until you get close… and then it's too late.  You won’t be able to wrestle the song out of your head for weeks. You gradually lose all sense of sanity until you’re brainlessly writhing on the floor humming the same tune over and over to yourself.

The Hampster Dance
This song is why therapy was invented.

Crazy Frog - Axel F
This poor rendition of the Magnum PI theme tune was one of the worst pieces of music ever released. Couple that with an irritating CGI frog, and you’ve got a recipe for the most annoying creature ever created by the industry.

Cotton eyed Joe - Rednex
Where do you even begin with this?  Techno plus redneck plus an electro-fiddle. They perfectly captured what dragging a plastic fork across a china plate sounds like if you extended it into a song.

Friday - Rebecca Black
When the 13-year-old had her parents buy her the chance to make her own music video, there’s no way she could have predicted how ‘successful’ that video would be.  It's as if the lyrics were found in a "My First Words" dictionary.

Chinese Food - Alison Gold
It it wasn't so topically offensive,it would make an excellent Disney Kids song.

Crush On you - Nero
The video begins with scenes of a teenage schoolboy romancing four teenage schoolgirls on what appears to be the grounds of a British boarding school. The four girls are then seen together singing along to a karaoke track of the song in a dorm room followed by a scene where they, along with other girls, dance in a circle in a field while wearing white nightgowns.  The video then takes a darker tone, as lightning strikes the dormitory and the four girls writhe on the floor. As the video continues, it is revealed that the girls cast a spell on the boy in front of a love shrine in the dorm room. The video ends with the boy fully clothed and unconscious on a dorm room bed, with his book bag under his arm. Each of the four original girls appear separately and sing into his ear that they have a crush on him.

Mahna Mahna - The Muppets
A sonic earworm of the worst kind. If it is your ringtone you are probably secretly a serial killer.

Ode To Joy - The Muppets
Meep meep meep meep.

Earth Song - Michael Jackson
"What about elephants? Have we lost their trust?" ponders MJ in this moment of multi-millionaire-looking-out-of-his-Lear-Jet-but-trying-to-sing-about-the-issues environmental sincerity.