Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Amy (class of 2025) featuring solo songs by members of the American indie supergroup boygenius.
The boy geniuses
Boygenius, a band comprised of three singer-songwriters (Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus), grew enormously popular over the summer, but the majority of listeners are only familiar with the solo music of Bridgers. As a regular listener of both boygenius and the three artists’ solo works, I wanted to shed some light on some of my favorite songs from each of them.
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.
When wedding music is discussed, the song that comes to almost everyone’s mind is Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D. The simple baroque era piece is everywhere, from TV shows to playlists to lists of the best pieces of classical music of all time. But it’s eight bars of music 28 times, how is it so popular?
I’ll explain. Pachelbel and his musical career are not well-known. The original composition of Canon (and Gigue (yes, there is a second movement to this piece)) in D was most likely written around 1680, but not published until the early 1900s. The piece fell to the wayside, pushed out of the spotlight by composers like Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel (no malice towards these very fabulous composers, their music is beautiful as well).
In a New York Times article, the conductor and organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, Kent Tritle, said the piece just became popular through that recording, just by happenstance. It was then featured in the Academy Award-winning film Ordinary People, which catapulted it to further stardom.
However, the thing that sealed the deal of Canon in D as the perfect wedding song was Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981, which used a baroque processional, shining a light on other baroque composers from long ago.
Canon in D is simple, at its core. And that’s what made people love it. Its use of four instruments and natural progression from simple, quiet notes to a swell of instruments gives an intimate feel to the piece.
It’s also simple, musicality-wise. This canon created what is known as the Pachelbel Progression, which is the same eight chords, typically in a major key, repeated over and over again, which are all built upon the same bass line. The bass line of this canon is an ostinato or a continually repeated musical phrase. In the case of Pachelbel’s canon, it’s the same eight notes all throughout the bass line. These chords are then seemingly played in a round-like way so each instrument plays a similar if not the same melody starting at different times, in this case, that’s the canon part of this piece.
The piece is also simple enough to arrange for any set of instruments, string quartet, organ, keyboard, etc., the only thing holding someone back is the occasion. It is also simple enough for a walk. In a traditional wedding, the bride walking down the aisle is nervous, thus having a steady four-count beat to keep her up and something to focus on makes it so much easier on her. It also makes it easy for her to take her time on her walk, there isn’t a set end to Canon in D, since it is a canon and has the same eight chords, it can just be played forever if needed.
So, in the end, there’s a reason Canon in D is the “wedding song.” It’s simple to play, never-ending, and just a good time. It might be overhyped, but it is near and dear to the hearts of many, including me. This was the first “real” piece of music I learned when I started playing the cello. My aunts were finally allowed to get married and they wanted me to play something for them. My cello teacher at the time pulled out a wrinkled copy of the bass line of Canon in D and let me use it. The notes were easy enough and something I could handle, and it sounded beautiful. Who knew eight notes thrown together would sound so right?
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Amy (class of 2025) which explores how classical music can convey many emotions.
Emotional Classical Music
When people hear I enjoy listening to classical music, they often assume it’s the soft repetitive music most associate with studying. However, classical music is much more than just something to put on in the background. It is compelling storytelling, music I am not able to listen to while working because I am too enthralled by the story unfolding in my ears to pay attention to anything else. This is why I created this playlist: to show new classical music listeners that classical music is not a one-size-fits-all genre, it can convey anything you want it to.
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.
Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black has been my top album since I was 16. Not only is the unique quality of her voice astounding but her lyrics perfectly encapsulate the realities of an abusive relationship.
Back to Black was Winehouse’s sophomore album and the title track, “Rehab,” suggested the album would be nothing like its predecessor Frank (released in 2003). Frank sounded as if Winehouse had taken the lyrics of an artist like Michael Bublé and added a bit of hip-hop to it, the most notable piece was her voice.
These raspy painful notes that begin “Rehab,” a Top 10 hit in the UK and US, point to the three years between Frank and Back to Black being far from easy. After Frank debuted, Winehouse began a very topsy-turvy relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, a music video assistant. Fielder-Civil has come forward and admitted to being Winehouse’s introduction to hard drugs. The two would get into physical and verbal altercations in public, the catalysis of this being Fielder-Civil leaving Winehouse at one point for his ex-girlfriend.
Fielder-Civil leaving was the inspriation for the song “Back to Black.” It described the dark moments of depression she felt after he left. It also described how she went back to abusing alcohol after he left because she didn’t have anything else to cope with.
Another of her famous singles “Love is a Losing Game,” a long metaphor for love being an unfair game, the song, while quite simple with lyrics like “Know you’re a gambling man/ Love is a losing hand,” is considered to be one of Winehouse’s most powerful songs because of its deep meaning.
My personal favorite song, “Tears Dry on Their Own” is an anthem for those who need the hard truth: it is time to get over it. In an interview with BBC, Winehouse described her inspiration for the song: “I was with someone that I couldn’t really be with and I knew it wouldn’t last. But I think because I knew it couldn’t last, it’s kinda like saying, “I’m upset, but I know I’ll get over it, I guess.”
After a stint in rehab and an arrest for marijuana possession, Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in 2008, an award ceremony she was not able to attend as the US denied her visa on grounds of use and abuse of narcotics. That same year, Back to Black was said to be the second-highest selling album in the world. Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011.
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features spring-themed classical music.
Spring-Themed Classical Music That Isn’t Vivaldi
When many think of spring, Vivaldi’s Spring movement of his Four Seasons violin concerto is often what comes to mind. However, there is a plethora of spring-themed compositions from other artists across music eras, including Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”
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.
Slumdog Millionaire flashes between Jamal’s life as a teen and his childhood, showing the realities of living on the streets of Mumbai as a young child. The story is compelling, and the acting is phenomenal, but the thing that makes this film is the soundtrack. With artists like M.I.A. involved, it is easy to understand how this film won the Golden Globe for best soundtrack in 2009. A. R. Rahman, the score’s creator, wanted to create a mix of both modern and old India in the soundtrack.
While this movie discusses and portrays hardship and is not indicative of every success story, I think it gives hope to those who feel stuck and like they won’t succeed. You can check out the soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire at the Music Library!
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features songs inspired by Pantone’s 2023 color of the year.
Viva Magenta
It’s a new year which means that Pantone, a revolutionary color-matching system, has released their color of the year. 2023’s color is Viva Magenta, which is described as a symbol of new strength, bravery, and joy. Pantone Color Institute’s executive director describes Viva Magenta as a color to reconnect us to our spirit and nature. You can find the Viva Magenta phones from Motorola, Spoonflower and Pantone created six different Viva Magenta-themed fabrics. Cariuma, a skate shoe brand, created six different shoe styles that are all Viva Magenta. Here are 12 songs that remind me of Viva Magenta:
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.
Peer Gynt tells the story of a man, Peer, who is in love with a girl he is not allowed to marry. After leaving home, he ends up in the hall of the Mountain King after being captured by trolls. The King of the Trolls upsets him when he refuses to marry the King’s daughter and become a troll. In the end, Peer barely makes it out by running away from the trolls. The piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King” plays when Peer insults the king, and the trolls start to chase him as he runs away.
The drama was written by Henrik Ibsen, who originally did not want the show to ever be performed. However, 7 years later, Ibsen changed his mind and asked Edvard Grieg to write the music for the production. The show premiered on February 24, 1876, in Mollergaden Theatre, Christiania, which is now Oslo, Norway. Grieg re-orchestrated the music before productions in Copenhagen, Denmark. During a revival of the show in 1902, he added new pieces to the show. The score was finally published a year after Grieg died, in 1908.
The piece starts out slow with quiet notes to simulate the quiet footsteps of Peer as he tries and sneaks away from the Troll King. The music grows louder as the trolls slowly get closer to Peer. The music swells as Peter starts running and fighting off the trolls, trying to get away.
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 features a selection of music for a Music Library study session curated by Music Library student assistant Amy (class of 2025).
