Day 20 — Share Your Music: 30 Days, 30 Songs

Maybe not who you think.  Operating on a just in time basis, I knew that today’s tune for the 30 Days, 30 Songs challenge would make itself known to me before the day was out.  And it did.  As I was flipping through my CD collection, it just kept saying “Pick me.”

So I did — Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.  Are you feeling it in your core?  Liquid delight?  Not sure if you know this concerto?  You do.  It has been borrowed extensively for film and television.  The second movement is the most well-known, and that is what I am sharing with you today.  However, you really must listen to the whole concerto.  More than once.  Rachmaninoff makes rock stars of concert pianists.

The wonderful Sarah of Art Expedition is hosting 30 Days, 30 Songs for the month of June. You can see her latest post here.  It is not too late to join in the challenge.  Casual players welcome.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

Day 19 — Share Your Music: 30 Days, 30 Songs

I’ve heard Frank Yamma described as a national treasure.  I agree.  And yet, until recently, I had never heard of him.  Thank goodness, I’ve finally caught up.

Mr Yamma is a Pitjantjatjara man from Australia’s central desert.  He has been writing  songs and performing most of his life — about country, culture, community, life, loss and love.  He sings in Pitjantjatjara and in English.  When he plays for Anangu (blackfella) audiences, he plays fast and hard.  It is a rock and roll dance party.  For us new Australians and other folk, he plays slow.  Mr Yamma has toured internationally with gigs at festivals in the UK, Canada and Spain.

I have included a link to a TEDx event at which Mr Yamma sings two songs.  I’ve chosen this video because it has good sound quality.  The first song — Nguta Waljilpa — is about country in the remote western corner of Australia; the second — She Cried — deals with indigenous issues from a personal perspective.  I must confess, I do like his slow songs.

The wonderful Sarah of Art Expedition is hosting 30 Days, 30 Songs for the month of June. You can see her latest post here.  It is not too late to join in the challenge.  Casual players welcome.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Further Information:
You can read more about Frank Yamma and listen to some of his music at his website here.  Information contained in this post was sourced from an interview conducted by Alister McKeich for NITV.  See the full article here (nb. international readers may not be able to access this site).

Day 18 — Share Your Music: 30 Days, 30 Songs

Somehow I’ve managed to go to on a long and totally unexpected musical journey for this song challenge.  One thing leads to another, as they say.  Sticking with yesterday’s rock ‘n roll theme, today I thought I would go with a cover of another Johnny O’Keefe favourite.  Co-written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O’Keefe, Dave Owens and Tony Withers, Wild One (also known as Real Wild Child), was released by O’Keefe as a single in 1958 and Australian rock and roll was born.  Wild One has been covered numerous times, including by that other wild child, Iggy Pop.

Enjoy.

The wonderful Sarah of Art Expedition is hosting 30 Days, 30 Songs for the month of June. You can see her latest post here.  It is not too late to join in the challenge.  Casual players welcome.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

Day 17 — Share Your Music:  30 Days, 30 Songs

In Australia, Fathers Day is not until September.  However, I would like to play a song for my dad.  He is a great fan of Johnny O’Keefe.  I particularly love J O’K and Margaret McLaren’s rendition of Mockingbird.  However, I understand some people cannot access this due to regional blockers, so I’ve also included another version.

Or this version, if you can’t access the other.

The wonderful Sarah at Art Expedition is hosting 30 Days, 30 Songs for the month of June. You can see her latest post here.  It is not too late to join in the challenge.  Casual players welcome.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

Day 14 — Share Your Music: 30 Days, 30 Songs

As a singer in a gospel choir for over six years, I need to include at least two gospel songs as my contribution to the 30 Days, 30 Songs challenge.  Gospel exponent, Tony Backhouse  (a New Zealander), has done a beautiful arrangement of the fabulously uplifting, Shine On.  I thought I would share it with you so that you could hear how Australians are taking traditional gospel music to their hearts.  If you do an internet search on Tony Backhouse and Shine On, you will come across a very high quality recording on Soundcloud.  Amazing sound, amazing acoustics.

I was fortunate enough to sing in the Australian choir that was formed for the Canberra leg of the Beijing Olympics Torch Relay.  We sang this song at one of the torch relay ceremonies.  If my memory serves me correctly, we assembled on the edge of a very foggy Lake Burley Griffin.  We waited for the torch to appear, then began singing.  The torch bearer then carried the torch across the lake on a boat.  It was very atmospheric.

The fabulously talented Sarah of Art Expedition is hosting 30 Days, 30 Songs for the month of June. You can see her latest post here.  It is not too late to join in the challenge.  Casual players welcome.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.