Entertainment.
I just watched episode 1 of the Highlander TV series. It was bad! If it weren't for the naked ladies, I would have turned it off! :P Also, Queen did the theme music for it. That was pretty cool.
I recently acquired some Kronos Quartet CDs for John's birthday (shhhh, don't tell!) I had to listen to so many samples of Kronos' really difficult and experimental works to find some I thought he'd like. (Oh, how my ears bled!)
And the winners were:
Steve Reich -- Different Trains, performed by Kronos Quartet.
One of Reich's definitive works, supposedly. He took sound samples of interviews with people reminiscing about train rides from the early 1940s (including during World War II), then had the strings mimic the pitches of the voices in the samples. It's a really, really cool effect.
Philip Glass -- Soundtrack to the movie "Dracula" from 1931, performed by Kronos Quartet. It sounds old, dark, creepy, beautiful at times and chaotic too.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis -- Soundtrack to the movie "The Proposition." Not Kronos Quartet, but currently on Dave Harrington's playlist. Some of the vocal tracks are so-so (Nick Cave moaning for 3 minutes? Eh.), but the instrumental tracks are dissonant and quite scary. Interesting noises.
And one for myself:
Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire -- The Swimming Hour. I started buying his CDs because people told me he sounds like Rufus Wainwright. Vocally they have a similar quality and phrasing style, but the songwriting is definitely unique. This album is some kind of rock-out violin 60's gospel lovechild. OH yeah.
And one last one:
The New Master Sounds. They're funk. Listen to them, dammit!
