Day 17 – Buena Vista Social Club
Today we wanted to mix things up a little and asked our step mum Michaela to choose a video for us. She has been picking out daily video since Day 1 now (from your submissions) but today we asked her to surprise us with her own video choice. It’s something she has seen a while ago and wanted to share with us.
The Buena Vista Social Club CD and DVD have been sitting on the family living room’s shelves ever since we were teenagers but we never watched or listened to it and we’re not even sure why! Today we got a little taster and we think it’s finally time to dust off the ol’ DVD player (who are we kidding, we’ll look for an online version)! 😉
Here’s the short version we watched today: Buena Vista Social Club – the making of (short film – 11 mins)
Who of you have heard the album or watched the documentary?
Thanks, Michaela, for the great video! 🙂
Stay groovy,
Mona & Lisa
Thank you, Michaela! Very informative, interesting and entertaining. I love music, all types… so I loved the music. Won’t add it to my play list, but I enjoyed listening to it.
Watching that the making of documentary, the Buena Vista Musicians were feted outside of Cuba when they were toured, and it is the same as the musicians who part of the Stax/Volt stable in 1967. There is a 2008 documentary about the story of Stax Records and what they remembered their tour of Europe in March 1967, and for the first time Booker T and the MGs, The Memphis Horns toured with the established stars of that label outside of the USA.
They got to London, and Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns, saw several limousines, and wondered who they were for. Then someone told them it was for them to get to their hotel, and then was told, you are going in one provided by The Beatles, and then realised that had the makings of a full time career outside of the Stax Studio and of the then Chitlin Circuit that existed in the USA, and they realised that all of the established musicians in the UK knew of their music.
Watching this days later because I work 12h shifts every Sat, Sun, Mon. anyway…. I’ve heard of this film &/or album. Heard of, but never heard. Curiously, I may be a degree or two separated from some of these musicians. A musician friend from Maui went to Cuba several years ago. Met and played with many musicians. I’d be surprised if he didn’t meet some of these guys.
I agree with my fellow MLT-ers. Bloopers and mistakes (miss takes) are fun! Maybe a compilation post when during the 12 days of Christmas.
I was dancing salsa and into Latin music when the film and album came out.
Cuban rhythms are some of the best in the world. Very infectious.
You should look to visit. Take your instruments and an open mind and they will teach you a lot.
The people are friendly particularly if you play instruments or dance. You’d have a wail of a time!
They will also love your stuff, particularly The Beatles.
I can feel a documentary coming on!
I never heard of this album/DVD. This isn’t the music I would hear on AM rock music stations I listened to.
I would never get sick of seeing you two. Your inner and outer beauty, your warmth and caring, your joyous appreciation for so many things – are all simply wonderful and amazing.
The more I see you the more I think you are treasures of the world…
Never seen the video, Definitely a country that has had many challenges.
Your right Mona we can definitely learn from history ! Nice choice. Michaela !
I need to get Christmas shopping done way way behind.
Music is one of God’s greatest inventions. Every nation, culture, has it’s own form of music, and it surpasses every nationality. This documentary is a good example of this. I’ve always believed that there is only one race, the Human Race, and music can help heal the divide between us. How can we hate each other when we’re all singing along together.
Sorry to hear that Lisa has to edit video every day and is sick of looking at themselves, especially since this is such a treat for us. Watching you both is such a joy. While you are watching videos you almost always have the same look on your face, from confusion to joy, and then laughing together.
I was looking at Tom’s post from either about going to Christkindlmarkt in Pennsylvania and I couldn’t help but think about visiting Christkindlmarkt in Garmisch-Partenkirchen many, many years ago while on a visit to Austria. It reminded me of Christmas in Salzburg which reminded me of your Christmas music which in turn reminded me of how much joy I and many others have listening to your music and sharing it with us along with this yearly Advent Calendar month you take so much time to spend with us. I wanted to thank Tom for reminding of those times and thank you for all you do for your fans. Today, in these times, it is such a blessing to have you and your family bring us so much. So, thank you!
What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
James 4:14
Loved Michaela’s choice today! Lots of great comment too. No, getting too much of the two of you being yourselves is simply “not in the cards”. I vote “Yes” on leaving all the bloopers in.
Your Latin influenced take on “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” from your Christmas album is over-the-moon!
Hasta Man’ana
That’s Ry Cooder playing slide guitar.
His main ‘session musician’ instrument although he plays many other instruments. Cheers
Well done, Michaela! It was great watching Mona and Lisa being totally absorbed in a totally different genre of music. The video gave me the following reactions:
Thank you, Michaela…and thank you, Mona and Lisa, for another excellent Advent day.
I never get sick of seeing you two interact. Show some of the stuff you cut out! BLOOPERS TOO!
Thankyou Michaela. This clip was like visiting old times for me. Alberta (Canada) has a long-standing radio network under the call sign of CKUA, which has very eclectic programming, and it was through this radio station that I first heard The Buena Vista Social Club, as well as Ry Cooder, in his many musical configurations. And I did see the video somewhere along the line, but not recently. At about the same time, I saw in concert, Chucho Valdes (piano), and the Irakere band, also from Cuba, but by then based in New York. This sort of opened the portal to World Music in general, and Latino music in particular. Antonio Carlos Jobim, Shakira, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and the ever-popular Gypsy Kings. Rhythm, and percussion. You can’t sit still!
Ry Cooder was also part of a 1986 movie called “Crossroads” starring the Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio. It was about bluesman, Robert Johnson. It also involved Arlen Roth. That puts you 1 degree of separation away! Crossroads features a dramatic blues guitar battle featuring Steve Vi. https://youtu.be/TD4o3VDnftI
Crossroads was a very underrated and an outstanding movie. It was appreciated by those who have an appreciation of the guitar and the wide range of genres in which the instrument can be applied. Macchio, Cooder, and Roth were outstanding in the film!
A great video. Have you seen the documentary ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’? It’s about The Funk Brothers, the band that played the music on every Motown song. They were in the backbone behind The Temptation, The Four Tops, The Supremes ect. The Funk Brothers played on more hit songs than The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and Elvis combined. It’s a really fascinating doco, worth a watch.
As you say Rory, very much worth a watch. First of all, the work that Joan Osborne did, to bring those musicians together after so many years, and then the reunion concert with her singing What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted, among other Motown classics. A real tour de force!
I think most club members would agree that ten to fifteen minutes a day is not enough time to spend with you. We love watching you react and interact with each other. Maybe a little less editing would give you more time for other things and us more time to be with you. I never really paid much attention to the words in songs, it was more about the music. I for one will miss the everyday contact that you give us. Looking forward to the 23rd. As Ringo always says “Peace and Love”
Another great Advent Calendar episode! I had not heard of this video before. Thank you for sharing it with us. And thank you, Michaela for suggesting it!
Nothing to do with music but I like the fact that there are many older American cars running around there. I’ve heard only the privileged few can obtain new cars while the rest have to keep their old cars running and have difficulty even getting parts.
I don’t know where to begin today! I always love your banter. It is always so funny. And Lisa’s joke was even funnier because of the journey to the punchline.
As a child, after we would go to bed, my father while drinking a glass wine, listened to his Mexican records although some were Cuban sons and rumbas. That music in in my soul. And in the late 80’s, I was really into my Latin roots. I purchased many Spanish language CDs including this CD along with other Cuban CDs i.e. Orquestra Aragon. One thing about this type of music – you have to move and groove with it.
It is sad that (without getting political) after Castro took over, the once beautiful island is in the state it’s in. However, as the Buena Vista documentary proves the music can’t die because it is the “soul” of the nation. On my bucket list – visit La Havana.
And after Castro, many Cubans migrated to Florida where the culture and the music flourishes. Also, many Cuban expats migrated to some of the Mexican coastal states. In Yucatan, especially the two cultures (Mexican-Cuban mixed). Some of the music there is somewhat unique. Anyway, a bit of culture from a Mexican Okie. La Paz este con ya’ll. (Peace be with ustedes).
I love Latin music. Especially the percussive rhythms and use of the Phrygian scales. You simply either have to dance or, if you’re too old, beat on everything around you.
I did hear of the Buena Vista Social Club many moons ago. Great music with the rhythm that makes you want to dance.
I know I mentioned this previously, but I’ll say it again, being it was spoken about –
I had the honor of playing my trumpet at Carnegie Hall when I was 13 years old and in the Manhattan Boro-Wide Band. And Yes, we did Practice, Practice, Practice.
We played classical music and show tunes.
Take good care and have a great day,
Bobby S.
Here is Ry Cooder playing with the Chieftains. “Coast of Malabar”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2KZfFTSHJo
A great choice! The rhythms, language, use of guitars – there’s so much to like in Cuban music. I wonder if American jazz (many of the nightclubs and casinos were set up in Cuba as tourist attractions during a particular period in history) contributed to the brass-heavy arrangements which I find to be so much fun in this music. Mi Tierra, a 1993 album by Gloria Estefan, was her personal attempt to preserve some of this valuable music history.
One of my sister’s teachers stressed that ‘music exists to communicate emotion’. The first ‘music’ a child encounters probably comes from their mother – not necessary fully-formed lullabies, but just soothing sounds. As many others have said so well in these comments: as humans, we have a magical deeply-seated reaction to music.
Thank you for that video Michaela….the only musician I can think of at the moment from Cuba is Ricky Ricardo the husband of Lucille Ball from the I LOVE LUCY tv show in the 50s….before Cuba isolated itself in 1959….No I never heard of this Bueno Vista Social Club until today…and like you I’ll go online for more of this musical history……..as an aside to a previous advent a few days ago about cartoons etc…this morning while at breakfast at the Waffle House in Euless, Tx some patron loaded up the TouchTunes jukebox with Christmas songs and immediately it reminded me of several comments that had been made ..Little Drummer Boy played and I thought of the MLT version and Jingle Bell Rock…and I had made a comment about Alvin and the Chipmunks and be darn all of a sudden there it was on the airwaves of Waffle House Alvin and boys singing their great Christmas song…all the Christmas music and the Advent Calendar episodes just filled me with Joy….so Thank You for doing this every year. ❤️🧡🎄
Great choice. Very interesting. I remember hearing about it when the film came out but never saw it. A lot of comments about music being able to erase borders and bring people from varied backgrounds together. The Chieftains were a band that epitomized that way of thinking. Their collaborative recordings with musicians from all over the world are among their best. Lisa, we were laughing so hard as you tried to tell the joke and almost as hard at Mona’s exasperation watching you struggle. Maybe you could put together a Blooper reel from all the different days. That would be great!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoA-NoldDkE&list=OLAK5uy_mbNYCkC_NLNSleQTc5KGLz9mIHsVc2DMk
I had heard of the Buena Vista Social Club, but never bothered to find out what it was. Looks like it’s worth delving into!
There’s been some discussion here about music and emotion. That connection has always mystified me. Why is it, when we hear “do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti”, we become agitated if we don’t get that last “do”? There’s certainly no survival advantage in music, so it must involve something related to a sense of communication.
That Carnegie Hall joke always reminds me of a bit from the old Jack Benny radio program that I once heard, many decades after it originally aired. Jack is riding through the city and sees a pedestrian frantically waving him down. He asks Rochester to stop the car, and he rolls down his window. The guys says, “Hey, mister! Do you know how to get to the public library?” Jack responds, “Uh… no. No, I don’t.” And the guy says, “Well, you go back three blocks, turn left, and you can’t miss it.”
That was a very interesting video Michaela! Thank you for choosing it. I have not heard that before. Loved Lisa telling the joke. I would never get tired of watching you girls every day. You are both a joy to watch! See you tomorrow.
Great pick Michaela!
I did see at least part of this documentary before.
Cuban music got some extra attention in the 50’s with the “I Love Lucy” show. I remember watching the reruns of that show for many years. For those who don’t know, Desi Arnaz was originally a musician. He and his family were forced to flee Cuba by the The Cuban Revolution of 1933. He later formed an orchestra and became popular in the New York City night club scene. He was on Broadway in “Too Many Girls”, and eventually landed the role of Ricky Ricardo in the “I love Lucy” show. Here’s a clip from one of the shows where Desi and Lucy dance and show off some of their talent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQZ6vOQYdcs
Welcome to the weekend all!
I have neither heard of or seen this before, so thank you a ton Michaela! I love a smooth Latin beat, and there was so much feeling in what I just heard. I will definitely look it up and delve deeper into it.
Some very great replies and comments came out of this too. I will add a touch to what has been mentioned before me that I think is very appropriate. It’s something I borrowed from a fellow guitarist and friend of mine yesterday….talk about timing!
And for you gals, Papa Rudi, and Michaela, just a bit of a chilly update for you over there (and other locations around the warmer climes of the MLT world) winter is returning with teeth this weekend. Come daylight (still dark here right now) and a bit of a reprieve from the overnight temps I’ll be heading out with the shovel (em, no strings attached to mine) the snowblower, and the SxS/UTV plow to maintain our drive after last nights snow. More coming but need to keep ahead of it because tomorrow night it could hit -35 or colder. Sometimes I do wonder why we love living here…
And it’s groovier when you stay warm by the fire ;>}
D
Hi Daryl…your note here on Why Music ? is something I never read before and WOW it is so truthful and full of thoughtfulness that perhaps our schools should really get into teaching our kids to be more aware of music and all it has to offer…thank you for sharing !
Hi Daryl! Thanks for sharing that beautiful poem about music, love it! It’s getting frosty here, but nowhere close to what it’s like where you are. Stay warm and full of great holiday cheer! 🙂
Jung, I’ll send you a pic of the results of my labors tomorrow, probably be out there plowing again after the morning’s calendar episode haha.
My friend that I got that from is a professional guitarist that I jam with and learn as much as I can from on a regular basis. He constantly (but gently) humbles me with his abilities. He and I trade gibes often, he jokes at my playing mistakes and I tease him about his singing voice. ;>)
Daryl, sounds good, would love to see your winter wonderland!
Your poem reminds me of the story of Beethoven, how life and the world failed him, but the music did not and saved him. If you haven’t seen that 1994 flick “Immortal Beloved” I recommend it, had a profound affect on me. After I watched it, I thought perhaps I chose the wrong profession and I should have been a musician instead and started taking piano lessons with aspirations and dreams to be a pianist one day. If Beethoven lived in a different time, he very well may have been a guitarist. It’s a story of life and tragedy and devotion to music.
Immortal Beloved
Well i have been a big fan of the Buena Viasta Social club for many years, saw the movie and have the album, by the way they also were a part of another movie: dirty dancing 2 Havanna nights. This is were i noticed them. I am a great fan of salsa and merengue music and other south american music, its the best danceable music around. This is to be seen in the todays video, as Mona and Lisa cant sit still on it. By the way, i did like your Joke Lisa, it brought a smile to my face for sure. Its really refreshing to see you girls have so much fun. Thank You Michaele for this choice, YOu have a great taste of music!!! I hope you can dance salsa on it with , Mona , Lisa end papa Rudy, make your hips swing
Hello all. I’m sitting now in Plainview, Texas in a dock waiting to get loaded. The driver that left me his trailer I didn’t realize had brown sticky stuff in it along with a lot of wood. I blew the reefer our and then used 1.5 gal of water to scrub it out. They just started to load, I was fretting, so I guess it was good enough. I’m going to the Salt Lake City area for Monday. Then load a load to drop in Caldwell idaho on Tuesday. Getting closer.
I didn’t see this, however being stationed with the 19th Army Band in Fort Dix NJ I was asked to play with a Latin band on my Piano. Not my real instrument. However, a sax friend did rehearse with them. Told me if he heard one more cow bell! Lol I always loved multiple percussion. Played with a few big bands that used it and I’ve played a lot of Latin music in my youth. Miami has a real authentic Cuba music scene. Love seeing the clubs filled with music and dance. Everyone Stay safe. God Speed. Stay Groovy! ❤️🌹🤘
Ps. My Brother should be dropping the MLT Christmas reaction tomorrow. I’ll post on site as soon as I see it. Or everyone could look out for it too. He’s a little later getting stuff out since he’s back in California.
Hello Ladies,
I’ve heard of the Buena Vista Social Club but have never watched any of it till now. I too will have to check it out.
Your alls laughter is infectious. Lisa tryingbto tell the Carnegie Hall joke 🤣 😂 😆
I received my Beautiful Christmas card Thursday. Thank you Mona and Lisa for thinking of me.
Have a Great Weekend
Rick Ross
I was aware of the movie in the 90’s but never had the opportunity to see it so it was very interesting to see this clip. I find the variety of regional and cultural expressions through music fascinating. The differences between those expressions make for rich listening experiences and truly provide windows into other cultural experiences of life on this planet. I hope that we never lose those differences with the spread of American pop culture! Films and albums like this one help to keep those traditions alive. Thank you, Michaela, for this excellent choice for today!
Very well said Jeannette. You would think with the incredible advances we now have in global communication that awareness of cultural diversity and appreciation for its richness would be amplified. Some of this is true, but mostly it seems that what is being presented is a homogenized culture of globalization, with narrow focus and mass marketing appeal. It is as if the messages people receive through technology are becoming more and more removed from real life, and instead a product of algorithms. But, on the positive side, if you are curious and willing to dig, you can find nuggets of real gold, like MLT!
Gold indeed!
So true…the fact that various areas of our world have different genres of music allows us to further understand and appreciate other cultures. I am a big baseball fan and the range of music favored by the players is evident in their “walk-up” songs. Each player gets to select a song to play when he comes up to bat or comes in to pitch. Merengue music is the standard for the Dominican players…sometimes they even record and play their own compositions.
Some players from North America appreciate and like Merengue so much they have utilized it as their “walk-up”, as well as Latin players using North American music.
Good music crosses all borders!
True! Music is definitely one path to world peace and harmony among nations.
This is the joy of this site discovering music that in this world where everything moves so fast ,we can often pass by. This music from the Buena Vistas Social Club is one such album that is worth looking out for. So glad Michaela picked this out. Keep up the good work
Very much agreed, Sara. I have learned so much about musical genres during the time that I have been a member of the MonaLisa Club…not only from Mona and Lisa, but from the club members. Michaela did great in broadening all of our musical horizons today!
Michael, Jurgen, you are both getting into some juicy “what is music and what can it do” stuff I love to talk about. 👍
In the context of the Bueno Vista Social Club and the album, perhaps it’s an expression of the times in Cuba, the joy and hardships, expressed in the most beautiful way, that captures those deep emotions people experience there.
I think music can be a unifier and consoler, but much more. It has the power to bring people across divisions and boundaries together. It can transport you through time, it can motivate you to rise up and overcome anything, it can heal you, the power of music is amazing.
There are volumes written about Bach and how his music utilizes mathematics in terms of symmetry and order expressing the beauty and awe of nature and the universe. I also read articles where music is described as the movement between notes, and it’s in that movement emotions can be expressed. This was explained in context to a Chopin piano piece where the movement between notes can create tension and that tension is resolved when the note reaches a sense of completion or finality. But it’s in that movement to finality that all that emotion happens.
I posted this video in one of my very early MLT Club Forum Ask The MLT posts about what is music? The explanation from the movie Immortal Beloved makes the most sense to me.
MUSIC, WHAT IS IT?
Hi Jung,
as always, I would love to dive into the depths of music with you 🙂 , but this time I didn’t want to go so deep into the subject of “what is music and what can it do”. I just wanted to send a nice musical message from Cuba: because it fits in a figurative sense very well to the topic (Buena Vista) and gets to the heart of the Christmas spirit. But you’re definitely right: Music can heal you when life hurts again, gives you wings when you have to overcome abysses and indeed the power of music is amazing.
What a beautiful expressions of the power of music! This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I worked for many years with students with developmental disabilities and witnessed first hand the power of music.
Thanks Jeannette! That must have been such a rewarding experience to work in that field helping kids with developmental disabilities. I’ve also experienced first hand the power of music to console and heal, and make me feel intense beauty I’ve never felt in any other way.
That scene from the motion picture is definitely getting at it.
Another consideration worth pondering is the necessary distinction between the continuous and the discrete. Notes describe with properties of discreteness. However, when notes are put together in different ways within a musical composition, the notes take on an additional property. The musical composition then has an ability to become seemingly continuous to the listener. For instance, human beings have a built-in feature to retain a melody line in particular. This ability in people is striking to the point that even upon only a single hearing of the melody line, it stays in the memory and instantly recognized even if playing the melody back in a totally different key.
I’ve always noticed that Mona and Lisa hear the same thing as I in Classical Rock music. If I look at one of the communication models, it could be said that we’re decoding certain 60s songs the same way without first knowing one another. So are you, and many others. What is the quality in some of those songs that sticks? I can’t say the frame of reference is anything other than a genuine melody line from those songs.
If I hear the song, Hey Jude on any pitched musical instrument but without the words, I immediately recognize the melody line from the first 2 notes of it regardless of tempo or what key it’s being played back in.
So does Mona, Lisa, and yourself.
Hi Michael.
I think you touched upon something so fascinating and true about music, there is a definite universality about music. In an interview Bob Dylan talks about this “spring well” of inspiration he taps into. In another interview last year on the CBC, they were talking to this very popular producer who has worked with many great country legends and rock stars from Brian Wilson to the Rolling Stones, and he said they are all geniuses and what sets them apart is that they have access to a kind of divine “spring well” of inspiration. Perhaps that is where these amazing melodies that can move us so deeply with universal appeal come from.
You might find this interesting. The greatest maestro of the 20th Century himself talk about Bach and mathematics in music. “Just put a beat behind it!” Love it. I booked marked to that part of the interview, but I highly recommend listening to the entire 4 minutes, it is fascinating what Paul says about music.
Paul McCartney Piano Lesson
I’m in 100% agreement with you about divine inspiration, particularly in how the melody line is being captured by the writer. JS Bach if he were alive would probably say the same thing, and yet he dedicated his sacred music writing to God in the introduction page of each masterpiece. The reason for this observation is not to mislead other to occult automatic writing witchery or some similar tomfoolery nonsense. The writing process still takes work. I understand human beings to be created in the image of God therefore one of our intended activities in life is creating. In the more narrow sense, the creation of something new and at its core essence, non-material, is possible because material is neither created nor destroyed.
We’re getting at what music is, as you so rightly framed the question.
As you can tell from McCartney’s demeanor in these snippets, writing songs is a form of work even if you take the tack that the melody line is given or received by the writer, or that the resolution melody brings falls into the lap after much creative work effort. For Mona and Lisa, it’s a life’s vocation. They knew from infants what their vocation was.
I absolutely adore the fact that they’re real twins. THAT IS SPECIAL.
It also depends if you are thankful to MLT or God for music itself, or some combination of the two. Mona and Lisa create new songs. That’s why I’m here appreciating them in these moments, but I know all reality is decreed by all-powerful Diety. What about the secular? I take the position that even the secular serves the decrees.
Even McCartney noticed some of these same unusual properties of the music he developed a technique for songwriting. I hadn’t seen this McCartney clip before so I’m feeling kind of vindicated a bit by it. LOL.
George Harrison commented once that he asked John for general songwriting advice and John’s first remark about it was to stop what you were doing when you felt it draw near, to sit down, and “finish” the song before moving on to something else, then come back to it no more that 2-3 times if necessary to complete the new creation. I would suppose John meant by this to get the notes in proper order because time after time in the Let it Be and Get Back motion pictures you see John and Paul coming up with how the song goes first before trying out some lyrics that might fit to the notes. This is all incredible songwriting insight.
It’s better than figuring out the Coca-Cola formula to learn how The Beatles wrote their catalog of songs. I can’t believe the information is taken lightly by so many.
Case in point: I figured out that McCartney heard Jackie Lomax’s Sour Milk Sea song that came out in August of 1968 to pull an idea together for the actual song, Get Back. The reason I say this is because George had his conniption fit with the group by that point, John is late getting to Twickenham that morning, and McCartney is with Ringo who together stitched together portions of the hit song when John finally arrives. In the motion picture, Get Back, the now most famous scene is McCartney using his electric Bass as a guitar to strum with while humming “Get Back”… “Get Back” to himself with his eyes closed, and then constructing The Beatles’ entire soon-to-be hit tune around the Jackie Lomax phrase “Get Back” kind of blurted out at the end of Sour Milk Sea. Notice McCartney when strumming the electric Bass and clearly has no lyrics in mind at that point. Instead, he is singing gibberish to himself to keep it going within him until the song begins to gel, captured on magnetic tape to work with it.
When George Martin went over his most favorite Beach Boys song God Only Knows with Brian Wilson present at his piano, it was perhaps George’s wonderment about the same sort of things about these writers he encountered at the recording studio every week. George asked Brian “You do have a blueprint of the song you’ve committed to recording before dropping-in on the studio don’t you?” (paraphrased), of which Brian responds “Yes” to that question. It’s a foregone conclusion Brian is doing the same sort of thing Paul does in this video!
One other hint McCartney gives in an interview a few years ago is he and John both referred to a black box as a concentration point when stringing notes together like peapods. This makes sense because until they work on it and get it onto magnetic tape that’s more indelible, it’s an unknown song, hence a black box. Later in the same interview, McCartney says something like “Songs are written that always existed in eternity but we’re allowed to call the compositions our own”.
McCartney is being generous about songwriting techniques. The way he says it, I’m thinking of a square slab of marble that a sculptor brings out a spectacular bust. The sculptor found it in the square slab of marble, but the bust was always there! It’s mind-bending to see a photograph of a square slab of marble, then a masterpiece sculpture as a before/after.
Same for songwriting, if I understand what McCartney is trying to say.
Thanks, Michaela for introducing or reintroducing everyone to The Buena Vista Social Club.
Merry Christmas,
Mike
Good Morning Ladies,
As I type this(6am),Im getting ready to head to Bethlehem Pennsylvania,to got to the Christkindlmarkt.And also we will take a ride in the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway,along with a few other places to visit.I can assure the both of you,that the whole time spent at the marke, Wonderful Christmastime(your version) will be playing in my head.Have a great day,sending Love and Hugs as always. 💛 💓 🕸 🎅 🤶 ⛄ 🌲 😘
Tom
Loving this years Advent Calendar!!!! 😍 😊
Thanks for always starting my day off with a smile 😊
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdqupRP7UNk
Melody without words.
I remember listening to this and always looking forward to it every Christmas
I was aware of this music scene and I think I saw the documentary before but it was very interesting. Good choice for a chilled out watch.
Interesting how Andrew Carnegie’s legacy continues to this day. You may be aware that he became one of the richest men in the world from the U.S. Steel Trade formed in Pittsburgh but was actually born not far from me in a little cottage in Dunfermline, Scotland (picture below). He also provided public libraries and parks to various towns which is why his name is so well known. He decided to give away 90% of his personal wealth, and supported the founding of internationally renowned landmarks such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Peace Palace in The Hague and the Mount Wilson Observatory in California.
I can understand Lisa’s editing concerns but the final result is great and we love spending time with you every day.
Last weekend before the live stream, it’s getting exciting!
Carnegie is a great example of what an ethical person would do with vastly more money than he could ever hope to spend on himself and his family. Unfortunately, in today’s world it’s very hard for an ethical person to become obscenely wealthy in the first place.
If John Lennon were writing Imagine today, it would probably include a verse about corporate CEO’s using their riches to make the world a better place.
We’ve got the album at home and love it! 🙂
There’s no doubt that music is highly mathematical. Like mathematics, music is a translation into a universal language. What’s going on a lot of the time with music is that words are intentionally made of a lesser concern than the notes because at the tower of Babel, people became divisive.
Time and again, The Beatles explained that the words in many of their songs were essentially meaningless. The words were secondary in importance to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team and as they themselves stated many times, the words they came up for their songs with were usually forced to fit the musical arrangement settled upon first.
The Beatles later on regretted breaking up because of their lost ability to communicate through notes.
It is because of the division of language since Babel that something like music (or mathematics) permits some degree of translation into a universal language. Maybe “modes of expression” better describes the phenomenon of translating into notes.
Human beings experience something special when hearing music because they’re designed to do so. The better the melody line resolves an intentionally introduced dissonance of musical notes, the better the song.
One of the most wonderful things music can do is connecting people from all over the world. No walls, no frontiers, no missunderstanding and no prejudices: simply music.
Chan Chan / Playing for Change
https://youtu.be/WAjRmHODjyQ
I agree! And while playing or singing together, it is very difficult to hate or harbour hostility to one another – in my experience. Also, music bypasses the cognitive brain circuits so that anyone – the cognitively impaired, those suffering from senility, even the comatose – can experience the same emotional impact. That is why musical therapy is so effective.
I know what you mean Jeannette. Music can bring people back to what they once were for a short time. This is what I have experienced in my work with people suffering from dementia: Even if they sometimes forget where they are or what exactly is happening around them, when the music from their most beautiful past is played, their faces light up, their feet, which no longer know exactly where to go, start dancing, and the grace and strength of youth returns for a short time. I think that’s why I like this video (Chan Chan / Playing for Change) so much. Some of the musicians have already reached a wise age, but look at their eyes and their faces while singing or playing an instrument. We humans are still searching for the fountain of youth without knowing that we have already found it long ago: it is music that keeps us young at heart.
I love your idea about music being a fountain of youth! I, too, have seen the impact of music on those with dementia although I primarily worked with students with developmental disabilities. To see a child who appears to be totally unaware of his surroundings, brighten and smile, or to hear an autistic child speak for the first time and make eye contact, these are treasured moments for me in which I witnessed first-hand the tremendous power of music.
Very moving video!
The Buena Vista Social Club is completely new to me, but what I have learned living through times of thick and thin is that music as a phenomenon in life has on occasion served people favorably as an escape mechanism of some kind.
Life presents problems. Without getting into the use of lyrics, music describes one of life’s problems by republishing the problem in notation dissonance amongst the song notes themselves, which is then resolved by a melody line. (a melody line defined as a single line of notes between 2 and 5 measures long). If the melody line is successful — defined as memorable on the first hearing and in any given key, then it’s considered a good song.
The escape mechanism effect (as I understand it) was true for some of the original blues writers and guitarists of the Mississippi Delta region who wrote of deep emotion, extreme poverty, or the hope of the life to come. They played drum sounds with their hands because they couldn’t afford instruments beyond a guitar. That kind of improvising did the job.
In my own opinion, there would be no rock ‘n’ roll without the Blues. Classic Rock originated in the Mississippi Delta region as a one-off variation from the Blues.
I would never get sick of watching you both every morning all year long! LOL, but wouldn’t want you to get too busy from making your beautiful music! Had a vacation day today (Friday) and went out to a 1920s restored village museum that was all decorated in Christmas lights and festivities. Will spend time this weekend taking in Christmas lights at night around town.
I love Latin music thanks to a very good Latin friend I use to know, I could listen to it all day. I very well may have heard some songs from this album because it was in the 90s and my friend use to mention Cuban music and that track you played sounds quite familiar. I will try to find the documentary and listen to the album on youtube.
That was very interesting! I immediately started listening to the album after watching your video. Nobody ever told/taught me anything about Cuba, so it’s very interesting to learn about it like this. The music has such a nice vibe! Some songs do sound familiar so I feel like I must’ve heard it somewhere at some point.
I like how you kept in the parts where you messed up the joke and started again and messed up again, I liked that even more than the actual joke 😉
What a great video! Thank you Michaela.
I did by this CD back in the nineties, and it’s in my music hard drive now. It’s a great album. Dos Gardenias is probably my favorite, but it’s all good.
Back in the late 80’s my dad visited Cuba several times and I got some first hand stories. I always thought it was fascinating, a beautiful country with lovely people, in a very bad situation.
I loved the joke, practice, practice, practice!
It’s so much fun to watch you always!
Thank you!
Tomás
I forgot to mention that I have several Gardenia plants in my garden and when they flower it always reminds me of the “Dos Gardenias” song.