tunequest

Quite the musical week here at tunequest. A little more than usual. First the Ratatat show, now a symphony performance. The Atlanta Symphony put in a wonderful performance of Holst's Planets. From the raw power of Mars to the ethereal ambiance of Nepture, the orchestra dispatched all seven symphonic poems with passion and exuberance. "Wow", I say "Wow." Parts of Mercury felt a little bit off, but it could have just ...

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It's official: Tchaikovsky's No 5 is now my favorite symphonies of his. It had been running neck and neck with No 6 for a very long time, but a recent Berlin Philharmonic listening has pushed it to the head of the pack. In addition to those melodies that you just can't get out of your head, there's this one passage about 8.5 minutes into the fourth movement were the structure ...

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for the week ending may 20, 2006. stats: a superlative week here at tunequest. 394 songs played over 25 hours and 40 minutes. a further 5 songs were removed from the library for a net progress of 399, a new record. frankly, i'm surprised by the results. an afternoon braves game and a couple of extented meetings cut into my normal office listening time and i didn't ...

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At times, i really resent owning a car. Yeah they're convenient necessary for getting around, but with the fueling and maintenance and cleaning and well, effort that goes into having one, there are times when I'd just as soon not have one. (Oh, for a more vibrant public transportation system in metro Atlanta.) Don't get me wrong. I've got a '99 saturn sc2 (aka "the cherry bomb"–it's red) and I ...

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at 5:19 pm eastern, i officially crossed into 4 digit territory. i now have less than 10,000 songs to go before i complete the tunequest. that is of course if i don't add a lot of new songs to my library... for those who are interested, the lucky song was the first movement from dvorak's symphony no 1 performed by the royal scottish national orchestra. good piece, that is. 

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Today's I-285 adventure was sponsored by Philip Glass' 1996 "Heroes" Symphony (or Glass' Symphony No 4), a fantastic orchestral suite in 6 parts that's based on but not an orchestral transcription of the Bowie/Eno album of the same name. Unlike some of glass compositions, which can be inaccessable at times, this symphony is very compelling. Yeah, it's full of his trademark cyclicality, but because it is rooted in a ...

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i heard tchaikovsky's 5th sympony on the way into work this morning and i can't stop humming it. this particular recording is by the leningrad philharmonic and was recorded in 1960. the 5th symphony has a number of very catchy themes that quickly burrow into your head and just get stuck there. every time i hear this symphony, i love it more. it has even eclipsed my appreciation of ...

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Highlights: John Williams score for A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a breathtakingly moving film score, particularly The Mecha World suite. The man was on the mark with that one. In a similar vein, I also enjoyed movements I. and II. from Mahler's 6th Symphony performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as some groovin' Les Baxter. I removed a dull number by Hooverphonic and a non-song by An April March.

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