Nebula the Muse: Part 3

Homelight. Nebula 2019

A bird does not sing because it has the answer.  It sings because it has a song.  Chinese Proverb.

Every life has a soundtrack. Jodi Picoult








I've spoken before about music and how it can uplift my spirit.  Below is my playlist for Nebula:

Nebula the Muse’s Playlist:

Attacca Quartet. “Ent’acte.” Caroline Shaw: Orange, New Amsterdam/Nonesuch, 2019

Bareilles, Sara. “Brave.” The Blessed Unrest, Epic Records, 2013.

Bedingfield. Natasha. “Unwritten.” Unwritten, Phonogenic Records, 2004.

Benatar, Pat. “Invincible.” Seven The Hard Way, Capitol/Emi/Sbk/Chrysalis, 1991.

Caillat, Colbie. “Brighter than the Sun.” All of You, Republic, 2011.

Chapman, Tracy. “Talkin Bout a Revolution.” Tracy Chapman, Elektra Records, 1988.

Coldplay. “A Sky Full of Stars.” Ghost Stories, Parlophone UK, 2014.

Collins, Judy. “The Times They Are A-Changin’” Amazing, Chrome & Nickel, 2015.

Coltrane, John. “Stardust.” Stardust (Remastered ed.), Prestige, 2007.

Cravalho, Auli’i. “Know Who You Are.” Moana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Walt Disney Records, 2016.

Crow, Sheryl. “All I Wanna Do.” Tuesday Night Music Club, A&M, 1993.

Crow, Sheryl. “Soak Up The Sun.” C’mon C’Mon, A&M, 2002.

The Cranberries. “The Pressure.” In the End, BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited, 2019.

Donovan. “Lady of the Stars.” Golden Tracks, Purple Pyramid, 2000.

Earth Wind and Fire. “Star.” That’s the Way of the World, Columbia, 1975.

Etting, Ruth. “Life Is a Song, Let’s Sing It Together.” Easy Come, Easy Go, (Original Recordings 1931-1937), Open Spotify. 2012.

Florence and The Machine. “Shake It Out.” Ceremonials, Republic, 2011.

Jett, Joan and the Blackhearts. “Don’t Surrender.” Notorious, Blackheart/Epic-Sony, 1991.

Hackman, Marika. “i’m not where you are.” i’m not where you are, Sub Pop Records, 2019.

House, Rachel and Auli’i Cravalho. “I am Moana (Song of the Ancestors).” Moana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Walt Disney Records, 2016.

Khan. Chaka. “The Woman I am.” The Woman I am, Warner Brothers, 1998.

La La Land Cast. "Another Day of Sun."  La La Land (Original Motion Picture Sound Cast), Interscope Records, 2016.

Lambert, Mary. “Secrets.” Heart on My Sleeve, Capitol, 2014.

Latifah, Queen. “U.N.I.T.Y.” She’s a Queen: A Collection of the Greatest, Motown, 2002.

Loper, Cindy. “Girls Want to Have Fun.” She’s So Unusual, Portrait, 1983.

Lovato, Demi. “Confident.” Confident (Deluxe Edition), Hollywood Records, 2015.

Madonna. “Express Yourself.” Like a Prayer, Sire/Warner Bros,1989.

Michaelson, Ingrid. “The Way I Am.” Girls and Boys, Original Signal, 2007.

Naim, Yael. “New Soul.” Yael Naim, Atlantic, 2008.

Panton, Diana.  “I Believe in Little Things.” I Believe in Little Things, Independent Label Services, Inc. 2017.

Panton, Diana, “So Many Stars.” If the Moon Turns Green, Independent Label Services, Inc. 2017.

Ross, Diana. “I’m Coming Out.” Diana, Motown Records, 2017.

Spice Girls. “Wannabe.” Spice, Virgin Records, 1996.

Sting. “Sister Moon.” ...Nothing Like The Sun, A&M Records, 1987.

Tank and The Bangas. “Interlude (God Push Me).” Think Tank, Feedbands, 2017.

They Might Be Giants “Put it to the test.” Here Comes Science. Disney Sound/Idlewood, 2009.

Van Morrison. “Moondance.” Moondance (Deluxe Edition), Warner Bros. Records, 2013.

Weather Report. “Milky Way.” Forecast: Tomorrow, Columbia, 2006.

Wonder, Stevie. “Another Star.” At the Close of a Century, Motown Records, 1999

Yellowjackets. “Emerge.” Raising Our Voices, Mack Avenue Records, 2018.

ARTUAL with Jennifer Higdon

Jennifer Higdon and her cat Beau, 

photograph by Candice DiCarlo  (See her work click here)

When anyone is creating anything, it has no choice but to be in that stream. The art I create and the art my colleagues create is part of it. But the question is: how long will it last in the stream? I think of it really as an enormous river, with its shores very distant from each other, and only time will tell what's going to last in the end. It seems to me that all music of our time is connected, but I never think about where I am in the river or how I would be placed by others inside of it.”  ~ Jennifer Higdon.  

Most Classical “top 50 music lists” are made up of male composers who are of European descent. Dead, they still have must have great agents working for them.  These guys continue to get the majority of air time.  In the US 2016-2017 concert season, male composers of European descent made up ~ 98% of the work played in symphony halls.  It is a continued struggle for women and people of color to get their works heard.  

T and I will be heading to Cleveland in April 2019.  Jennifer Higdon’s work Blue Cathedral will be performed by the Cleveland Orchestra.  I’ve heard her piece played on the radio several time, but not live.  I want to do my part for supporting women artists by showing up.

Blue Cathedral is a work written in memory of Higdon’s brother who died of cancer.  In it you hear a dialogue between flute and clarinet. The instruments are the ones she and her brother played.  Listening to the two instruments go back and forth, reminds me of the dialogues I’ve had with siblings both real and imagined.  When I listen to this piece, I am reminded of Copland's Appalachian Spring and Bernstein's “Make Our Gardens’ Grow” Candide -- uplifting melodies that are fresh and full of hope.  In the space of 10 minutes, Higdon takes us to a place of refuge, a sacred thin place to commune with our ancestors and the divine.  

Resource:
O'Bannon, Ricky. (31, Oct. 2016). Data Behind the 2016-2017 Orchestra Season. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. retrieved 31, July, 2018. http://www.bsomusic.org/stories/the-data-behind-the-2016-2017-orchestra-season/