Tammy Bruce: Music Archives

Music Archives

New Portraits of Mozart and Bach

The Mozart portrait is a 200-year-old painting of a man in a red coat, only now identified positively as Mozart. The new image of Bach is not old, but new--modern laser technology has been used to build a portrait of Bach using his skull. Both are amazing and show us more of the humanity of men who gave the world the miracle of God's voice in the guise of music.

Rare Mozart portrait discovered

A portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that lay unidentified for more than 200 years has been proved to be authentic, according to an expert on the composer.

Professor Cliff Eisen from London's King's College has spent more than a year trying to confirm that the picture was of Mozart, who died in 1791. He said: "This is arguably the most important Mozart portrait to be discovered since the composer's death." Its significance came to light after it was bought by a US collector in 2005.

And now for Bach:

Bach from the dead - fresh portrait of a decomposer

"This is the most complete likeness of Bach we can achieve from the information we have," says the forensic anthropologist Caroline Wilkinson.

Commissioned by the Bach Haus museum in the musician's home town of Eisenach, Wilkinson has spent a month reconstructing the "true face" of the maestro at the Centre for Forensic and Medical Art in Dundee, where - apart from archaeological recreations of Pharaoh Ramses II and Saint Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) - she is usually involved in crime cases, rebuilding faces out of remains found everywhere from back gardens to war zones.

Using a bronze casting of Bach's skull (made by the Leipzig anatomist Wilhelm His a century ago), and a portrait painted four years before his death in 1750 at the age of 65 - as well as documents hinting at his health, weight and fondness for beer and schnapps - Wilkinson has created the most definitive image of the composer yet. It is, she believes, about 70 per cent accurate: his friends, apparently, would have recognised him right away. "We made a laser scan of his skull," says Wilkinson. "From there, we recreated all the muscles of his face, taken from our muscle database. Using the detail of the bone, we then recreated his facial appearance." Documents describing Bach's eye problems, including what were possibly cataracts, allowed medical artist Caroline Needham to add the final touches that give Bach a human look.

Neeto.

Posted by Tammy · April 12, 2008 10:45 PM · Permalink · Comments (1)
Art | History | Music | Science & Technology

Andrea Marcovicci at the Gardenia

Andrea Marcovicci

My friend Andrea has a new show tonight (Saturday) as well as next week, March 13-16 in Los Angeles at The Gardenia . This show is selling out, but you still may be able to get in this evening for drinks and the show. I'm guessing dinner may already be sold out. If you miss it tonight, you can make plans for the added dates next week. Here's the coverage from the Los Angeles Times. To make reservations, contact The Gardenia at 323-467-7444.

The fundamental things still apply to Andrea Marcovicci

Put down that martini and whip out your notebook: Cabaret singer Andrea Marcovicci has just taken the stage and there might be a pop quiz on the Great American Songbook.

"How many of you here know where the song 'As Time Goes By' originally comes from?" she'll ask an unwary audience, as hands shoot up. "Wrong! It's not from 'Casablanca.' It's from 'Everybody's Welcome,' a 1931 Broadway show you've never heard of!"

And how about the plot thread linking virtually every movie that Fred Astaire made? "He falls in love at first sight in all of them," the singer tells another audience, brandishing film posters, yellowed newspaper clippings and other memorabilia to prove her point...

The work goes beyond her annual gigs at the Gardenia, the Oak Room at New York's Algonquin Hotel, San Francisco's Plush Room and other high-profile nightclubs. Marcovicci, a longtime Studio City resident, has mentored several young singers who have adopted her "history and singing" approach. She's also taught master classes in cabaret in several U.S. cities and has made 17 recordings.

She casts an intense dramatic spell in live sets, drawing on her background as a stage, television and movie actress (Marcovicci starred opposite Woody Allen in "The Front," a 1976 film about blacklisting). But her painstaking research into the history of pop songs can also lead to moments of wicked onstage humor.

Posted by Tammy · March 8, 2008 05:53 PM · Permalink · Comments (0)
Culture Note | Music

Drug-Addict, Wife Beater Ike Turner Dies

Good riddance. Via the controversial New York Post headline, if a freak like Turner is going to 'beat' a woman to death, let it be like this.

'No comment' says Tina Turner as Ike dies

Ike Turner, the legendary American musician who was perhaps better known for his abusive relationship with his former wife, Tina Turner, than for his contribution to the history of rock’n’roll, died at his home in San Diego last night at the age of 76. It was not immediately known what caused his death.

Tina Turner declined to comment on her former husband’s death. “Tina is aware that Ike passed away earlier today. She has not had any contact with him in 35 years. No further comment will be made,” said her spokeswoman, Michele Schweitzer...

It was Turner’s relationship with a mixed-race Tennessee girl called Anna Mae Bullock, that came to define his public image — much to his later despair and frustration. [His despair?!] [...]

The relationship with Tina was doomed, with Turner allegedly cheating on his wife and becoming addicted to cocaine. The drug addiction culminated in his allegedly beating his wife before a concert in Dallas in 1976. Tina Turner later described how she fled with only 36 cents and a petrol station credit card and spent months in hiding...

His career recovered slightly in his twilight years but many found his denials of abuse towards his wife unconvincing. In his 2001 autobiography, Taking Back My Name, Turner wrote: “Sure, I've slapped Tina. There have been times when I punched her to the ground without thinking. But I never beat her.”

As I said, good effing riddance.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Maynard's Seasonal Trivia

There's magic in music. Part of that magic is in the lyrics, and I'm one of the people that actually listens to words. I recently found there were two alternate sets of lyrics to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

It started with the original bittersweet lines, sung by Judy Garland for the wartime "Meet Me in St. Louis" (see this clip). Later, Frank Sinatra "improved" the song with a layer of sugarcoating. Sinatra's are the "popular" lyrics you're more likely to encounter. But if you pay attention to the endless parade of Christmas music, you'll probably experience both sooner or later.

Posted by Maynard · December 10, 2007 01:30 AM · Permalink · Comments (3)
Hollywood/Films | Maynard Post | Music

50, Even 60, Isn't Fatal

Madonna, now in her 50th year, and not being kicked to the back of the tour bus

For anyone who would let themselves go and make the excuse it's because we're menopausal, or "getting old," or "we can't/don't have to compete anymore," or "life is made for the Under-50 set." And for every 29-year old out there panicking bout turning 30: Get over it! Take good dose of this, the subject of whom is now 49, and will be in her 60th year as her deal ends:

Madonna reportedly near $120 mil record deal

LOS ANGELES - Madonna intends to sign a $120 million recording and touring deal with live entertainment promoter Live Nation Inc. and leave her longtime record label at Warner Music Group Corp., a person familiar with the contract negotiations said Wednesday...

Under terms of the proposed deal, Madonna, 49, would receive a signing bonus of about $18 million and a roughly $17 million advance for each of three albums, the person said. A portion of the compensation would involve stock, the person said...Live Nation also would have to pay $50 million in cash and stock to promote Madonna’s tours, according to the Journal, which broke news of the deal on its Web site Wednesday afternoon.

I'm not a fan, to say the least, of everything Madonna does, but you have to give her credit as a woman and performer who understands how to adapt and remain relevant and powerful in an industry not known for being kind to women of any age. Kudos to her and the message a deal like this sends to every woman, especially as it comes on the heels of the Warner Bros. decision to excise women (all women) from the lead of any of its films.

Posted by Tammy · October 10, 2007 08:54 PM · Permalink · Comments (8)
Authentic Feminism | Celebrity | Music

Kirsten Price. Your New Music for the Weekend

**Bumped up. After missing her last week, Kirsten Price will be on today's Tammy Radio. Here is the video of her new song for your viewing and listening pleasure.**

In "Freedom" from Kirsten Price we're asked what we're going to do with our freedom--a question not only for those for whom it is brand new (like the 53 million people we've liberated since 9/11) but for us who have had the beautiful challenge of it everyday of our lives. Watch the video. It's great music, a terrific message and comes with the bonus of the girl singer being especially hot.

It's not difficult to see why this young British singer/songwriter is a rising star. Kirsten will be on Tammy Radio Saturday at 4:30pm PT (7:30pm ET) live to talk about this new video and its message. I will inevitably get down to the serious business of teasing her about her British accent, all the while making her talk more so we can enjoy it. Fun will be had by all. Won't you join us?

Posted by Tammy · September 29, 2007 04:15 PM · Permalink · Comments (3)
Music | Radio

Sweet God No! What's the Deal with the Hair?

It seems as though the worm has turned enough where there is now so much completely frightening stuff to require Sweet God No! as a regular feature on Tammy Blog. Today's case in point:

The cover of Celine "Let them touch those things for once!" Dion's new album. She looks like Medusa cast in a new Cirque du Soleil show. She also looks like she's going to hurt us, and not in the nicest way.

The Tiny Gay Squirrel says: "Hey, leave her alone. My cousin Marty lives in that hair."

Posted by Tammy · September 25, 2007 01:15 PM · Permalink · Comments (4)
Just Wrong | Music | Sweet God No!

Proof of God, Manifest in Pavarotti

While I see proof everyday in the world around us, it especially became obvious in the voice of Luciano Pavarotti. As all of us reflect on the impending 9/11 anniversary and how it represents the depraved, here is Pavarotti, an example of how God shows himself in humanity. Here he is in 1998 singing what is no less than his signature, "Nessun Dorma" from "Turandot." For you young people, consider this is a live performance by a man who had no need for studio tricks or enhancement, and even represents him when some believe his voice was in decline.

For this sad and reflective weekend, Pavarotti reminds us how beautiful the human condition truly is.

The classic recording of Turandot comes from Sutherland and Pavarotti in 1972. Click on the image below for the Amazon page for the recording. 1972 was the year of his debut at the Met in New York. I was 10 years old, and remember hearing him in an interview. From that point on, I was slightly less interested in the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and much more curious about the glorious sound of opera. Yes, shades of the geek emerging even then. Truly, it was Pavarotti's artistry that helped me to appreciate the beauty and transcendence of music. And, if I may say, he's one of the many reasons why I'm proud to be Italian.

Posted by Tammy · September 9, 2007 02:02 PM · Permalink · Comments (10)
Music

New B-52s Album On Its Way

There was a time, not quite 100 years ago, when the B-52s were the hot band and you might even hear Lena Lovich played on the radio (which still had the dial thingy. No digital push buttons for us!).

Well, after 15 years of a hiatus, the B-52s have just finished up a new album. My prediction: either very, very good or very, very bad. Yes. I am Miss Cleo. I hope it's good.

15 years later, B-52s wrapping new album

Fifteen years after their last album of new material, The B-52s are wrapping up work on their next one.

The quirky dance-pop outfit, which burst onto the new wave scene in 1979 with songs like "Rock Lobster" and cracked the pop charts in the late '80s with the party classics "Love Shack" and "Roam," returned to their hometown of Athens, Ga. to finish recording the as-yet unnamed record...

Schneider said the 11 new tracks will maintain the B-52's danceable, party vibe but will showcase some new directions for a band that, along with R.E.M., helped put Athens on the map as a hotbed of alternative music.

"There's more electronica on it," he said. "It's up-tempo and a bit sexed-up. It's sexier than ever."

Goody.

Posted by Tammy · June 9, 2007 01:21 PM · Permalink · Comments (2)
Music

Marcovicci at the Gardenia in Los Angeles

Andrea Marcovicci

**Bumped up. UPDATE: Daryl Miller at the Los Angeles Times has a great review of Andrea's show. Tonight is the last night of this run. The show sells out so if you want to have dinner as well, call 323-467-7444 for a rez. It's also fun just to show up (no later than 8:30pm would be smart) and hang out in the bar area which, if I don't have a gang with me, is what I enjoy doing.**

Tonight through Saturday at 9pm, if you're in the Los Angeles area, you're in for a special treat--Andrea Marcovicci opens at the Gardenia where she began her cabaret career 22 years ago. Her show for this run, "Just Love-By Request," is a big treat. Here's a bit of the rave review it received when performed at the historic Oak Room at the Algonquin in New York:

To attend an Andrea Marcovicci cabaret performance is to visit Andrealand, a grown-up theme park devoted entirely to nostalgic dreams of romance and music. Guests are greeted by the singer, as radiant as a storybook princess, who leads them on a personal guided tour.

Over here is the "Top Hat" Pavilion, devoted to the music and iconography of Fred Astaire, and over there the moonlit "Way You Look Tonight" Boathouse, where Jerome Kern songs play 24 hours a day. Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart and the Gershwins have their private reserves, and the "I'll Be Seeing You" Library houses the love songs of World War II. There is even a literary wing showcasing the writings of Dorothy Parker and Edna St. Vincent Millay.

The newest feature of Andrealand, unveiled this week at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel, is the Time Stands Still Room, a warm, firelit haven in which Ms. Marcovicci presides over a nostalgic, family style musicale where the song list changes nightly. Requests submitted by guests are put into a top hat passed around by Ms. Marcovicci. She selects songs from it at random, and the program, titled "Just Love ... by Request," consists of a half-and-half mixture of preset choices and requests...

As always, Ms. Marcovicci's interpreting song lyrics in a quirky, passionate speech-song suggests the grown-up incarnation of that special teacher, baby sitter or parent from your childhood whose reading aloud conveyed an irresistible enthusiasm.

For more information or to make reservations, call the Gardenia Supper Club at 323-467-7444.

Posted by Tammy · March 24, 2007 11:50 AM · Permalink · Comments (1)
Culture Note | Music

A City Boy's Guide to Country Music

A post by Maynard

Like it or not, rap music is unavoidable these days. But it's entirely possible to grow up in complete ignorance of cultural mainstays like the Bible or country music. That's what happened to me, and I see some value in balancing the scales. You know, diversity, multiculturalism, all that great stuff they teach us in civics class. I found a useful lesson in my favorite secular authority, The Economist magazine.

I respect The Economist for seeking the objective truth. Because they're economists at heart, they can't really understand what religion or culture is all about, except to the extent that such factors affect the bottom line. But I give them points for trying to unravel these quaint mysteries, sometimes even offering a degree of grudging respect instead of the erudite sneer we often get from our betters.

As a city boy, I admit I don't "get" country music. But I found this guide to country music, written by and targeted for dummies, kind of interesting. As the author says, "If you want to understand America, turn that dial to a country-music station."

Politicians are starting to tune in as well. Perhaps you've heard how the sophisticated Leftists are looking for a new medium to convey their deep respect to the yokels of Jesusland. I sense a trend in the making...

Posted by Maynard · January 3, 2007 03:22 PM · Permalink · Comments (2)
Cultural Commentary | Maynard Post | Music

Andrea Marcovicci Links

**I"ve bumped this up because tonight, Saturday, is the last night of her gig at the Gardenia in Hollywood. You can make dinner/show reservations by calling 323-467-7444, or arrive for the 9pm show by about 8:30pm to guarantee a seat**

Just had Andrea on the show, and wanted to quickly get you the link to her new Christmas CD and her performance at the Gardenia, details of which are at her very own website.

And make reservations for her September 20-23 gig at the Gardenia in Los Angeles early as she sells out. I sometimes end up having to hang out in the bar. God forbid ;)

Posted by Tammy · September 22, 2006 05:47 PM · Permalink · Comments (3) · TrackBack (0)
Culture Note | Music

Marcovicci at the Plush Room in San Francisco

Andrea Marcovicci

With everything going on in the world, we all need a way to escape, even if it is just for an hour or two. If you're a regular reader of Tammy Blog you know one of my great escapes is to see my friend Andrea Marcovicci perform, wherever she might be.

Very often it's the Gardenia Club in Los Angeles or the Oak Room at the Algonquin in New York, but now until July 30 San Francisco has Andrea in the world-famous Plush Room at the York Hotel.

I realize it's our habit to think of going to the movies to escape. But if you want sophisticated entertainment, in a comfortable club environment, cabaret is your answer, and the best is Andrea.

To get to know her a bit better, here's what the San Francisco Chronicle has to say:

Carrying the Torch

In the 20 years since Andrea Marcovicci first swept into the Plush Room, the dark-eyed, intensely romantic singer has gone from a 37-year-old film actress slumming in nightclubs to perhaps cabaret's leading torch song arsonist. She long ago abandoned acting for her true passion -- the club and concert stage...When Marcovicci discusses cabaret, it sounds like a prose ballad: "Cabaret is a healing art. I experience it not only as an artist but as a conduit for other people's emotions, a big part of what I do. People come to me to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays. They come because they've just fallen in love or out of love. They come to me for all those beautiful reasons." [...]

Marcovicci is able to sustain her cabaret career in a diminished circuit of only a few rooms -- the Algonquin's Oak Room, the Empire Plush Room and the Gardenia -- but supports it with pops concerts.

"It's still cabaret, even if you're doing it in concert halls," she says. "Cabaret is a state of mind, no? It means breaking the fourth wall -- talking about what you're singing and not singing over the audience's heads. You're singing in their eyes."

If you're in SF or planning to visit, don't miss Andrea at the Plush Room. You can see her entire schedule, which ranges from California to Colorado to New York at her official website.

Posted by Tammy · July 16, 2006 11:53 AM · Permalink · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
Culture Note | Music | Tammy Notes

Legendary Castrato Farinelli Exhumed

Inexplicably, scientists and historians are intent on foisting one more indignity on 17th century singer Farinelli in their effort to determine the impact of castration on young boys. So, they've exhumed his body to determine exactly how his body developed. What this accomplishes seems limited to finding out if Farinelli was as 'manly' as his portraits indicate, or not.

Hmmm....

Farinelli rises from grave to reveal castrati secrets

ROME - Historians and scientists have exhumed the remains of legendary castrato Farinelli in Italy to study the anatomical effects of castration carried out on young boys to turn them into high-pitched stars of the opera.

Castrati played heroic male leads in Italian opera from the mid-17th to late 18th century when the bel canto was the rage in Europe. Farinelli, born Carlo Broschi in 1705, was the most famous of them all, in a stage career lasting from 1720 to 1737...

"This is the only skeleton of them we have," said Nicholas Clapton, a British expert on the castrati. "We want to know if they were like the cartoons at the time depicted them, tall and dangly, or with women's breasts and large buttocks, or like the grand gentleman in Farinelli's official portraits," he told Reuters.

Lovely. All of this strikes me as just wrong and completely unnecessary.

Farinelli's story was also made into a film in 1994. I saw it when it originally came out, and while I haven't seen it since, I remember liking it. It's been long enough, though, that I really shouldn't comment on it until I see it again.

Posted by Tammy · July 12, 2006 09:55 PM · Permalink · Comments (5) · TrackBack (1)
Art | History | Hollywood/Films | Just Wrong | Music

Hungry Like the Wolf

Yes, we're not only hungry like the wolf, but according to Vladimir Putin, that KGB beacon of freedom and democracy for the world, wolves also listen to no one.

And you thought Duran Duran had a lock on verbal imagery.

We here at Tammy Blog humbly suggest that Mr. Putin may in fact be projecting just a little, teeny tiny bit.

In touch with the ground
I’m on the hunt I’m after you
Smell like I sound, I’m lost in a crowd
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Straddle the line, in discord and rhyme
I’m on the hunt I’m after you
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I’m hungry like the wolf

Stalked in the forest, too close to hide
I’ll be upon you by the moonlight side
Do-do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do, do do
High blood drumming ony our skin it’s so tight
You feel my heart, I’m just a moment behind
Do-do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do, do do

Grrrr......woof from Sea to Shining Sea!!

Posted by Tammy · May 13, 2006 05:41 PM · Permalink · Comments (6) · TrackBack (0)
Music | Politics | Tyrants

Hip-Hop Easter Bunny

The Easter B

As we approach Easter, I've played this little ditty on my radio program for quite a few years now, and felt it only right to share it with Tammy Blog readers.

I bring you the Hip-Hop Easter Bunny--clearly more of an homage to the Pagan Rites of Spring than to the Resurrection of Christ, but heck, God created bunnies too, didn't he? And since God can do anything, I'm sure a singing bunny is more than possible. After all, Sadie & Sydney are singing divas themselves.

Click on the link above, and you'll have to click out of an ad, but it's worth it :)

Posted by Tammy · April 14, 2006 07:36 PM · Permalink · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
Music | Tammy Notes

The Sleeping Lion Finally Gets Justice

And so do his daughters.

Posted by Tammy · March 22, 2006 08:59 PM · Permalink · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
Internationalism | Justice/Judiciary | Music

What the Death of Culture Sounds Like

At least if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has its way. Here's a sampling of Oscar's "Best Songs." For anyone who is still wondering if the American Entertainment Elite are still at all relevant, this list speaks for itself.

1934 The Continenal
1935 Lullaby of Broadway
1936 The Way You Look Tonight
1939 Over the Rainbow
1940 When You Wish Upon a Star
1941 The Last Time I Saw Paris
1942 White Christmas
1943 You'll Never Know
1945 It Mignt As Well Be Spring
1947 Zip A Dee Doo Dah
1948 Buttons and Bows
1950 Mona Lisa
1952 High Noon
1954 Three Coins in the Fountain
1955 Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
1956 Que Sera, Sera
1960 Never On Sunday
1961 Moon River
1962 Days of Wine and Roses
1965 The Shadow of Your Smile
1966 Born Free
1968 The Windmills of Your Mind
1970 For All We Know
1973 The Way We Were
1975 Evergreen
1979 It Goes Like It Goes
1982 Up Where We Belong
1986 Take My Breath Away
1987 I've Had the Time of My Life
1988 Let the RIver Run
1991 Beauty and the Beast
1994 Can You Feel the Love Tonight
1995 Colors of the Wind
1997 My Heart Will Go On
2006 It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp

Posted by Tammy · March 10, 2006 10:30 PM · Permalink · Comments (8) · TrackBack (0)
Cultural Commentary | Music

The Honk of Love

Looks like music evolved very early on, especially in the effort to get a date.

Posted by Tammy · February 4, 2006 11:21 PM · Permalink · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
Animal Issues | History | Music

Song for the Ages

The indubitable Charles at Little Green Footballs brings to our attention a guaranteed addition to the Islamic Hit Parade: "It's in the Koran."

Posted by Tammy · January 28, 2006 07:45 PM · Permalink · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
Music | War on Radical Islam

Happy Birthday Wolfgang!

Today is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. Thank God for Mozart and every other genius who has gifted this world with classical music, a living illustration of what beauty sounds like.

Here's a bit of coverage and odd bits about our birthday boy, who to this day makes all of our lives better:

Jerusalem Post: Mozart at 250: no signs of slowing

It is now 250 years since Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria - and some 245 years since this prodigy among prodigies fashioned his first little pieces for keyboard under the helpful eye of his father, Leopold. The world has changed radically since 1756 but Mozart remains a constant - we continue to regard the mixture of clarity, grace and formal balance in his music with undiminished awe. He seems to have been incapable of vulgarity or overstatement: In his mature works, there is hardly a wasted gesture or a note out of place. And yet it all seems so effortless, so absolutely spontaneous.

The Scotsman: World Celebrates Mozart's Birthday

Monsters and Critics: Dates in Mozart's Life

San Jose Mercury News/AP: Introduction to Mozart's Music

Posted by Tammy · January 27, 2006 02:54 PM · Permalink · Comments (4) · TrackBack (0)
Art | Cultural Commentary | History | Music