Memories of Thirds

When I was growing up, yeah, opera was on in the background a lot, but not always, and not so much as I got older. Older, meaning, like 10 or 11. However, there was always singing. My mother wasn't classically trained, but she could (and still can) carry a tune AND she could take any tune and sing a third higher to make harmonies. We used to sing together all the time - not opera, actually, mostly popular music. I remember singing, I Will Survive in the car pretty much at the top of our lungs. Who hasn't? But how many people sing it in thirds with their mother?

I was a Beatles freak growing up. And have you ever noticed, many Beatles songs have harmonies sung in thirds? So I listened carefully and learned all the harmonies. I taught myself the harmonies in thirds for their songs that don't have them. It was easy because it was something my mom I and did all the time. I mean, sometimes you can find it in another instrument, or they do it in one verse and you can apply it to the others, like here. I figured anyone could do it. Some of their songs are too low for me, and they used to be too high an octave above, so thirds were perfect for me. It actually comes in handy, to be able to sing the harmonies for all their songs. In college I had a friend who was more of a Beatles nut than I was. So in the car (where else?) we'd sing - she'd sing the melodies and I'd sing the harmonies. We sounded pretty good together! It got to the point where I couldn't sing the melodies for many of their songs. Then, once I started studying voice, I realized that an octave higher for those too-low songs was actually... easy. So then I taught myself the melodies again. Only now I have trouble remembering all the words... ah well... Incidentally I also blame The Beatles for my previous singing habits of holding out the consonants. <--That link is great for the harmonies too. Consonant holding here too. And I want to point out that this post is taking me forever because I am listening to too many Beatles songs on YouTube AND while getting lost in the chain of related videos I discovered an entire genre of music videos done in Lego.

I originally was going to embed this one, but after watching it I realized that I don't really want that here on the blog... ha! Plus y'all know I favor the girltini menu.

So I'm embedding this one instead. I might have posted it before, and if so, here it is again.

POWER Walk Leads to Revelation re: Men in Eyeliner

Went for a walk all by myself today. On my way out the door Alex said he wanted to come because... "I follow you everywhere." That's right. That's why I'm going ALONE!!!

Set the iPhone iPod to shuffle and off I went.

Very first song is some Mozart thing. Oh yeah, it was Nathan Gunn singing something from Cosi. Don't remember what cuz the truth is (Major Confession Coming) I'm not that familiar with it. So here I go on my Power Walk and there's like 5 minutes of recit. Yep. And I resolved before I started to accept whatever the shuffle gave me. Never thought I'd go out for a brisk walk to the sound of men sing-speaking to each other in Italian. So glad I can check that off my list. So eventually the singing part came along, Mozart, wonderful, blah blah, Nathan Gunn, great voice, blah blah blah... It doesn't need to be said, right?

Next up: Some sort of funky electronic thing. "What is this?" I asked myself, wondering how I could have something on my iPod and not know what it is. It was Duran Duran, "Electric Barbarella." Only some sort of extended dance mix. Now that was more like it.

Then... Adam and the Ants. Antmusic. Sigh. I still remember how crushed I was when I learned that they had broken up before I got to see them. Of course to make up for it I saw Adam solo 6 times and met him once. AND I got snarky with him, after he insulted me. He started it! I'll write about it if anyone asks. I'm still bitter, ha ha. Actually, that's not true. I'm not bitter. I'm proud. I'm proud that I've been snarky with Adam Ant. Yeah, I know I have a problem.

Ok Beatles after that... I honestly don't remember what song because I've been listening to them pretty much non-stop the past few days. Then Queen - Bicycle Race. **link leads to YouTube video that has glimpses and peeks of naked women on bikes, don't click if you're under 18 (You know who you are) or are somewhere that you don't want that showing up on your screen. Click to see this instead. ** When I was a kid and my brothers were teenagers, they saw Queen in concert and I remember them telling me about the topless women riding bikes back and forth across the stage. One brother had a poster too...

At this point I was really wishing I could sing out loud. It was hard not to. How weird would I have seemed - I mean, I had just passed by two women who were out walking with ski-poles. It's 80 degrees Fahrenheit, they were not on their way to the slopes. Seriously, after that I could have done anything, right?

Next was what we here in the I'd Rather Be Sleeping household call The Umbrella Song.

Then, Juan Diego Florez, something from Arias from Rubini. Something I sing along to in the car even though I don't know the words. C'mon, admit it, you do it too.

Still with me? Two more songs.

The Waitresses!!! I Know What Boys Like. I might have started sashaying at this point. Uphill. Cuz I do know what boys like. Is there a special name for an uphill sashay?

And finally, for the final stretch and approach to the front door, good old Harry! Harry Belafonte - Jump in the Line! Couldn't find a real video of it, so I'm linking to the bit at the end of Beetlejuice, even though it's not the "real" version of the song. But it's one of my favorite movies, so deal with it.

Just watched that JDF Rubini video - He still does it for me. Just like Adam Ant did in the 80s. Ok I don't really mean that.

So in the 80s for me it was lots of men in eyeliner. Then I reverted back to opera, which has... lots of men in eyeliner. What was it I just said? Oh I remember -Yeah, I know I have a problem.

My other problem: grammar extremist. "Reverted back." Is that redundant?

The Doubtful Conversion

I have a close friend who claims to hate opera. All of it. She says she was "subjected" to it as a child, and that no child should be forced to hear it. I feel that it's impossible to hate an entire genre of music when the styles within the genre can vary greatly. She said that she and her husband just don't like it. I replied that there are many kinds, and that I like Mozart, especially the comedies. Her reply:

I might like Mozart. I just detest the Italian operas that my family loves. Torture to a child's ear, at least my ears.

I refrained from pointing out that Mozart wrote many Italian Operas. I also didn't mention the obvious - that I heard it constantly as a child and didn't feel tortured, and that Alex asks for it. I assume she was forced to hear those weird screechy Puccini operas. So I sent her a selection from Magic Flute, in German, of when Papageno and Pamina are sneaking out of the temple, and then Monostatos catches them, he plays the bells and the bad guys dance away. I explained the story and what was going on for each section of the music. Her reply:

I listened, I just hate opera style singing. I love Mozart's music, opera just isn't for me. I think the performers have amazing talent, I just don't like it.

Today she came to visit so I put on the English Magic Flute DVD. Alex "let" us watch the overture through the birdcatcher song, then we had to skip to the humming, then all the way to the end to what he calls "The Sad Part," when Papageno is looking for Papagena. She watched, sort of, but then Jim came in chatting about nothing and I had to tell him to leave - she was easily distracted from the screen. That really annoyed me for some reason. I get very focused when I watch and/or listen. I can't half-listen, even if I'm very familiar with it. Anyway, she agreed that this one opera was humorous and very melodious. I practically shouted, "Almost all of Mozart's operas are like this!" but I just said it calmly. For all I know she was saying it to shut me up stop me from playing more.

So I know I've read this in other places, but now I see it's true. You either get it or you don't. If you don't get it, you have no tolerance for it. And that's a damn shame because she's missing out on some beautiful and moving experiences.

She reminded me of a friend from high school who told me she hated the Beatles. How can you hate the Beatles? Their music is so varied. I can understand not liking some of their music, but how can you hate their entire body of work? That would mean that you'd hate a lot of the pop music that came after them, and she was a big music fan. I think she was just being contrary, because she liked to shock people. I mean, it's practically blasphemy to say you hate the Beatles! And being a huge Beatles fan myself, and your typically earnest "Dawson's Creek" type of teenager, I was appalled!