Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Amy (class of 2025) and features a playlist inspired by Pantone’s 2022 color of the year.
Very Peri Playlist
Songs that I associate with Pantone’s color of the year for 2022, Very Peri!
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features a selection of songs recorded live.
Best Live Performances
There’s an endless number of incredible live performances, but these are some of the ones that top my list. I suppose being able to see the real thing would be better but a YouTube video is a close second, right?!?
Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean” (Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983) – An even bigger cultural reset
Rihanna – “Love on the Brain” (Live at Global Citizen Festival 2016) – Performance I would have traded my left kidney for to see live
Beyoncé – “At Last” (For Barack and Michelle Obama – Inaugural Ball January 20, 2009) – A defining historical moment that never fails to bring tears to my eyes
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
I, like most young cellists, have a love-hate relationship with David Popper. Popper was a prominent composer of Romantic-era cello solo music in the 19th century. He wrote four concertos, although his most played solo piece is probably “Tarantella.” What some may not know is that in addition to these concert solo pieces, he wrote a book of etudes dedicated to strengthening cello technique – 40 Studies: High School of Cello Playing. As the description might give away, the music in this book is not meant for performance in a recital or concert series. These etudes focus on playing in different positions, frequent shifting, bow control, and much more, meaning some of them sound very strange and complicated to listeners. Some musicians consider mastery of these etudes (among other things) a hallmark of a professional cellist.
While playing through such a book may sound like every aspiring young cellist’s dream, many of them are harder to play than they appear on paper. Then, considering the book has 40 separate etudes each averaging about two pages, you can only imagine how much time and dedication mastering each and every one might take. It’s a wonderful resource – if you have the patience to spend countless hours on them.
Since I was first assigned an etude out of this book, I have struggled and fumbled my way through roughly a quarter of the 40 available to me until I ended up with something I was happy with. I can’t say that I got as much joy out of this type of practice as I have on recent solo pieces I have rehearsed, but I also must admit that playing through the etudes strengthened my playing more than I could have imagined. Thumb position used to be a region of the cello I never thought I would be able to wander into confidently, but after playing Etude No. 1 and 5, I feel stronger and enjoy going high on the instrument. If you are a cellist and don’t have a copy of this book in your library, consider picking up a copy from the Music Library!
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Kiran (class of 2024) and features musical discoveries from her study abroad experience in La Rochelle, France.
La Rochelle, je t’aime
This summer I had the opportunity to study abroad on the coast of France with other UR students. I spent a month travelling, learning, and eating a ton of croissants. Every year, Dr. Olivier Delers takes students to La Rochelle, a beautiful city just north of Bordeaux. Our trip also happened to coincide with two major festivals that happen in the downtown area: Francofolies and FERMA La Rochelle. Francofolies is a four-day music festival showcasing some of the most popular French artists, while FERMA is international film festival that takes place the week before.
Prior to my trip, I had listened to mostly Indian and American music. I enjoy listening to music in different languages, so I had high hopes for Francofolies. This playlist is inspired by my favorite French and Belgian artists, some of who I had the chance to see live in La Rochelle. This trip gave me some of the best memories, and I am so grateful to have experienced everything that this city had to offer.
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library Associate Melanie and features some Paul McCartney tracks.
This playlist was inspired by Paul McCartney (sometimes known to British fans as “Macca”) and the delightful quirky streak evident throughout his music career. His odder tracks also highlight the startling versatility of his voice and his interest in experimental recording techniques.
Let’s start with 2 versions of the same song. “Coming Up” was the opening track on the 1980 album McCartney II. The song makes use of synthesizers and sped-up vocals using a vari-speed tape machine.
The video for this version actually premiered on Saturday Night Live on May 17, 1980 and features multiple McCartneys and a couple of Linda McCartneys as a (fictional) band called the Plastic Macs.
This version peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart, while in the U.S. and Canada a live version of the song recorded in Glasgow in 1979 was released and became the hit version peaking at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
McCartney’s old bandmate John Lennon really liked the album version of the song, saying “I thought that ‘Coming Up’ was great, … And I like the freak version that he made in his barn better than that live Glasgow one.” So herewith, a playlist highlighting Macca’s “freaky side”. I might have gotten a bit carried away with this list, but there’s so much fun stuff out there, I couldn’t resist! – MAA
“Où est le Soleil?” (A synth-y electronic vibe en français. The lyrics translate as “Where is the sun? In the head. Work.” From Flowers in the Dirt, released 1989)
“Wild Honey Pie” (A snippet in the key of F# major (that’s 6 sharps!). From The Beatles’ White Album, released in 1968)
“Kreen-Akrore” (A lo-fi instrumental jam session. From McCartney, released 1970)
“Mary Had A Little Lamb” (Not a rocker at all, it’s a cute little children’s song based on the nursery rhyme. A non-album single, released in 1972.)
“Hi, Hi, Hi” (Quite a fun little rocker. Banned by the BBC for sexually suggestive lyrics and drug references. A staple of Wings live shows in the 1970s. Non-album single, released 1972)
“Magneto and Titanium Man” (A comic book inspired song featuring Marvel characters. Endorsed by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. From the Wings album Venus & Mars released in 1975.)
“Temporary Secretary” (Another 1980 track from McCartney II. Described in Rolling Stone as an “oddly catchy electro-pop nugget, about a slightly creepy-sounding guy looking to hire a temp.” Can’t argue with that assessment, really.)
“Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias” (This track from the Beatles Anthology 3 begins as a demo of a song for Cilla Black and morphs into an amusing jam session. Recorded in 1968. Released in 1996.)
“Old Siam Sir” (From the seventh and final Wings studio album Back to the Egg, released in 1979)
“Flaming Pie” (A track from the 1997 album also entitled Flaming Pie.)
“You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)” (A rather nutty music hall comedy number recorded between 1967 and 1969 and released as the B-Side to “Let It Be” in 1970. Listen for McCartney’s sleazy lounge singer character!)
