Music clips

"He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified"--Heart of Darkness

Haven't posted any music clips for a while. (The summer makes me lazy, of course.)

Faure, Berceuse from The Dolly Suite.  I'm familiar with this piece because they used to play it at the end of the classical music show on CBC's FM radio, just before the news!

Lili Boulanger, "Pour les Funerailles d'un Soldat." Based on Alfred de Musset's poem "A Soldier's Funeral," this piece was first composed in 1912, on the eve of the Great War. (Lili Boulanger herself died in 1918 at just twenty-five!) You won't forget this.

Irving Berlin, "What'll I do?" A small gem by one of the great American songwriters, here arranged by Nelson Riddle and sung by William Atherton, with the opening credits of the underwhelming 1974 movie of The Great Gatsby. (But isn't that a great credit sequence?) 

Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters, "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo.)" My father used to like this song!

Johnny Otis, "Willie and the Hand Jive." A rock & roll classic, being performed in Juke Box Rhythm, a 1959 movie from prolific B-movie producer Sam Katzman.

The Beatles, "She's Leaving Home" from Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  A melancholy, underrated song from the Beatle's masterpiece album.

The Police, "Mother" from Synchronicity.  A funny song from the group's 1983 masterpiece album.

Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, "Don't Give Up" from So.  A powerful, haunting duet by two singers in top form. (Elton John says the song helped him get sober!)

Dream Warriors, "Wash Your Face in My Sink" from And Now the Legacy Begins.  I'm not a big fan of rap, but I do like the Canadian group who did this 1991 piece.

Mark Ronson, "Uptown Funk." Here it's accompanied by a video of classic movie dancers! (How many can you name?)