pianogonzology

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Haunting . . .

. . . song . . .

(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_That_All_There_Is%3F)
". . . The song [Is That All There Is? by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]was inspired by the 1896 story Disillusionment (Enttäuschung) by Thomas Mann. Jerry Leiber's wife Gaby Rodgers (née Gabrielle Rosenberg) was born in Germany, lived in the Netherlands. She escaped ahead of the Nazis, and settled in Hollywood where she had a brief film career in films noir. Gaby introduced Leiber to the works of Thomas Mann. The narrator in Mann's story tells the same stories of when he was a child. A dramatic adaptation of Mann's story was recorded by Erik Bauserfeld and Bernard Mayes; it was broadcast on San Francisco radio station KPFA in 1964. . ."

I remember this song stirring some emotionality in me as a child during the days of the daytime talk-variety televisions shows such as Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and the like. It's either a very prudent perspective based in reality or a deranged one being expressed by a purely hedonistic personality. Either way, as art, it is the consummate, although somewhat dated, pop song.

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(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Saturday, September 10, 2016

Opus . . .

. . . Schmopus . . .

o·pus

ˈōpəs/Submit
noun
1. MUSIC
a separate composition or set of compositions by a particular composer, usually ordered by date of publication.
"The Gambler was Prokofiev's sixth opera, despite its early opus number"

2. any artistic work, especially one on a large scale.
"he was writing an opus on Mexico"
synonyms: composition, work, work of art, oeuvre, piece, creation
"her latest opus is a critical success"

Tenderloin was Ray Jozwiak's improvisation on Jay Graboski's modification of Third-Hand Intelligence (circa 1997). . . DESPITE its early opus number. . . (go figure!!)

Opus #1(Tenderloin)
©2016 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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Friday, September 9, 2016

Mighty . . .

. . . alrighty . . .

I am never at a loss for amazement at technology, although granted, the capability of the video camera utilized in the making of the video below is far from new, I find the ease, simplicity and user-friendliness in relation to the high quality, both audio and video, which it produces to be simply mind-boggling. When I consider the sound quality of my childhood 'record-player' or transistor radio, or the early video cameras and video cassette players, not to mention the heavy, metal telephone we had from which we communicated with extended family via a 'party line'. . . the size, weight and sheer capability of current a/v products is nothing less than . . . mighty.

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Thursday, September 8, 2016

Advocating . . .

(from Hitch 22; A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens)
". . . When the late Pope John Paul II decided to place the woman so strangely known as "Mother" Teresa on the fast track for beatification, and thus to qualify her for eventual sainthood, the Vatican felt obliged to solicit my testimony and I thus spent several hours in a a closed hearing room with a priest, a deacon, and a monsignor, no doubt making their day as I told off, as from a rosary, the frightful faults and crimes of the departed fanatic. In the course of this, I discovered that the pope during his tenure had surreptitously abolished the famous office of "Devil's Advocate," in order to fast-track still more of his many candidates for canonization. I can thus claim to be the only living person to have represented the Devil pro bono. . ."

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Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Steps . . .

. . . of songwriting are like steps of a business decision . . .

(based upon information at http://www.umassd.edu/fycm/decisionmaking/process/)
Step 1: Identify the decision to be made.
In songwriting-do you want to write a cry-in-your-beer-song-about-a-love-gone-wrong . . . or a JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL?

Step 2: Gather relevant information.
In songwriting-if you know nothing about jazz, stick to the first.

Step 3: Identify alternatives.
In songwriting-the beer song should be a 4/4 country-type ballad with a catchy hook, the instrumental could be a modal configuration, a waltz, a swing in 4 or 8, a searing, uptempo hard-bop number?

Step 4: Weigh evidence.
In songwriting-skip this one.

Step 5: Choose among alternatives.
In Songwriting-see 1, 2 and 3.

Step 6: Take action.
In songwriting-sit down and WRITE the sucker.

Step 7: Review decision and consequences.
In songwriting-play it, (sing it), listen to it. Do you like it? Move on to the next one.

Step Lively
©2016 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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Tuesday, September 6, 2016

They're Only. . .

. . . words. . .

morguefile.com

. . . the result of pondering insults and considering Don Rickles' career . . .

(from http://onelinefun.com/insults/ and https://thetfp.com/tfp/tilted-fun-zone/2530-vulgar-creative-insults.html)
I'd like to see things from your point of view but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass.

Your family tree must be a cactus because everybody on it is a prick.

I'm glad to see you're not letting your education get in the way of your ignorance.

You've only got 3 brain cells left and they're all fighting for attention.

I'd call her a cunt, but she lacks the depth and charm." (William Styron).

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Monday, September 5, 2016

Long . . .

. . . to be Latin . . .

We spin on an axis as bold as love round a sun that’s alight with fire

It’s true our time is marked by the man in the moon

Don’t walk ahead, don’t walk behind, just be my friend and walk by my side

It’s real, this life is by in the blink of an eye.

I live and I long to be Latin as beauty rebels against time

I live and I long to be Latin

The cardinal wish for the scent of the red summer rose.

We have walked the dream palace of yesterday

Where myth is truth and the proof’s hearsay

Memories disguised by the ways that we wish they could be

The drives and input are well defined

Lies rolling off dying tongues chill the soul

Chained in gold we walk a lifelong line.

I live and I long to be Latin. I’m waiting to see my own eyes

I live and I long to be Latin

But what will I wear to the end of the world, my demise?

Upon the chipped dish the rich and pure fare of the love feast, kissing the sky

As we hold hands in a ring, the night to morning link

Contacts with the light

Be my friend, we can walk side by side

Don’t walk ahead you know I won’t walk behind

Though we stumble through our fears and tears

To the cadence and the tune of the spheres.

I live and I long to be Latin to live the fool and die the sage

I reach and intend to be Latin

To make vision real in the face of chance and circumstance

I live and I long to be Latin to take my stand against routine

I live and I long to be Latin

Where living at risk means I can see what others don’t see.

What do you think?
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My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills