Very strange-looking birds in our feeder

Phantom visitor?

Standing in the living room a couple days ago, I heard a knock on the door: Knock, knock, knock. Or one of the two doors. I wasn't sure which.

So I checked the front door first--nobody. No UPS package on the porch, no gift basket, no flaming bag of raccoon poop, nothing.

I checked the back door--nobody. And nothing. The cats were all hanging around.

Now, it's possible we had just received a ghostly visitor. I don't know. However, it's more likely that I mistook some other sound for the door-knocking. For one thing, even though I was only several feet from the front door, I couldn't tell if the sound had come from there or from the back door. Which is odd--you'd think I'd know whether or not it came from the porch, which me being right next to same.

For another, had someone had come up to our back door, most of the cats would have taken off. But there they were, lounging around as if to say, "Hi, Daddy. Who or what are you looking for? Is it time to eat?"

So, I probably imagined things. I suppose a kid could have done it as a prank, but that would have involved some fast running from the side of the road (we're out in the country), partway up the drive, up two short group of steps, to the door, (bam, bam, bam), and then back. That would hardly be worth it. No, I either had an audio hallucination or I misinterpreted some other sound--someone hammering nails, maybe. (No, not into the front door.)

Years and years ago, back in Toledo, I was alone in my family's house when I heard someone walk all the way up the stairs--from bottom to top. I figured that my brother Tal was home. I ran up the steps saying, "Tal, I didn't know you were...." No Tal. No nobody.

(Theremin: "Ooooooo-weeeee-oooooo!")

Did it spook me? Weirdly enough, no. I just shrugged my shoulders and went on with my life. Now, if I ever see a ghost, it'll be a different story. You'll see my outline, cartoon-style, in the door. Marking the spot where I ran through it.

I'd tack on some sort of photo, but I don't want to mess up the text. Google gets weird about that....


Lee

In the mood for mood

Sorry--that's the best title I could come up with at this time. I'll probably think of something better later, at which point I might revise the post. Or not. I do not know.

I'm in a sinus-med daze. I tried to go without an antihistamine for a few days, but I found myself in an allergy-induced daze. So I traded one dazed state for another.

So, this is Thursday, right? On Jupiter? I thought so. Just checking.

So, what we've got here are eight shellac rips (I've always wanted to type "eight shellac rips") dating from 1934 to 1938. We're always being told that mood music showed up around 1951 or so, which I'd be perfectly willing to agree with--but only if, by "1951 or so," the claimants meant the early 1930s. But I don't think they mean the early 1930s. I think they mean 1951 or so.

I hope I cleared that up.

Anyway, I'm re-re-rerunning Andre Kostelanetz' marvelous 1935 version of Don Redman's Chant of the Weed (no, nothing to with the kind you smoke; sorry) in my latest and best version thereof. I even got the final loud chord (where the grooves poop out altogether) to sound halfway O.K. It seems that I've mastered the art of making sound out of little to no sound. Believe me, the grooves simply give out at the end--major tracking error and a worn gramophone needle probably combined to produce this area of non-record.

And I threw in its flip, Rumba Medley. As you'll hear, mood music was in full mood by the mid-1930s. And it could do the Rumba.

I'm also re-rerunning (or maybe simply rerunning) three 1938 Kostelanetz goodies from the Vocalion label. As you'll hear, the "Kostelanetz strings" were already there, though they weren't operating at Music of Jerome Kern force yet.

We also have Paul Whiteman and Nat Shilkret in concert pop mode, which is pretty much what mood music is (concert pop, that is). Concert pop that evolved from the dance music of the 1920s. There, I typed it, and I'm glad.

Here, as early as 1935, we hear mood maturing:

Chant of the Weed (Redman)--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1935.

Rumba Medley--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1935.

Swamp Fire (Moody)--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1938.

The Man on the Flying Trapeze (O'Keefe)--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1938.

Bugle Call Rag--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1938.

Gems from "Lady Be Good" and "Tip Toes"--Nat Shilkret and the Victor Salon Group, 1938. With Jane Froman, Sonny Schuyler, Felix Knight.

Medley of Gershwin Tunes--Nat Shilkret and the Victor Salon Group, 1938. Featuring Jane Froman, vocal.

Deep Purple (Peter De Rose)--Paul Whiteman and His Concert Orch., 1934.



Lee

To zip or not to zip

Actually, I don't have a choice--the option isn't there. You'll recall that folders can no longer be downloaded in their entirety at my hosting site, Box.net (though one Mac owner reports no problems in that regard). The folder-downloading feature had been working fine. Then, suddenly (about two weeks ago), it stopped. Just stopped. As if it had never been there.

I described the problem in full to Box.net (support@box.net). No answer. I re-sent the note and received a reply--a reply that told me nothing. Then reader Byron wrote, eventually receiving the same non-answer. I see no point in writing again, since they're clearly not going to do anything. And, as I type this, the downloading feature is still no-go.

Maybe it'll show up again. Who knows?

I had a similar problem, many months ago, when Box.net's Description feature simply crapped out, leaving me with no way to record such track info as composer credit, year, label, etc. (unless I made all that part of the file name). I asked at least once about that feature and never got an answer.

Then, with the latest site overhaul, the feature returned. Far out.

Anyhow, with folder downloading an impossibility, I'll be going back to one link per file, which is actually a lot easier for me to do. Far less time-consuming.

Ah, zip folders. They were great while they lasted. A short season, but a memorable one.


Lee

Sunday morning gospel--Sing Along with Word, Part 2!

Sunday Morning Gospel is back! So is the "Sing Along with Word" segment thereof. We'll be hearing 18 more selections from the Word label boxed set Sunday Evening Favorites, which, as you can see, I paid $4.99 for--about a buck a platter. Not included in the box was the booklet listing the artists, so we've got to guess. My Word-seasoned ears tell me The Old Fashioned Revival Hour Choir and Quartet, plus J.T. Adams and Men from Texas. (Not "the Men from Texas," apparently, but "Men from Texas.") My ears could be wrong. If they are, then I assume no responsibility for what they've misheard. You're on your own, ears.

Just great stuff. Word had terrific artists and great arrangers, and they managed to keep everything very middle of the road and interesting and heartfelt. People who religiously put down "MOR" are, in my opinion, ignorant. And, yes, you can quote me.

("Extra! Extra! MY(P)WHAE calls MOR-haters 'ignorant'! Extra! Extra!") Roll the spinning-headline stock footage, James. Thank you.

Well, it felt good getting that out.

Yes, MOR can be splendid. At least, when you've got brilliant musical talent cranking it out. Fabulous tunes (many written in the late 1800s) from a fabulous label. Maybe someday I'll run across a copy of the fabulous booklet....

Click here to get to folder: Sing Along with Word, Part 2!

Playlist

Hem of His Garment (George F. Root)
Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart (Leila N. Morris)
We Shall See the King (Lewis E. Jones, who also gave us Power in the Blood)
Tho Your Sins Be as Scarlet (Fanny Crosby-W. Howard Doane)
Oh Say, But I'm Glad (James Sullivan-Mildred Sullivan)
Till the Whole World Knows (Alfred and Bentley Ackley)
Jesus, Savior Pilot Me (Gould-Hastings)
He Lives (Alfred H. Ackley)
Lead Me Gently Home (Will L. Thompson)
My Savior's Love (Charles H. Gabriel)
Wonderful Words of Life (Philip P. Bliss)
The Way of the Cross Leads Home (Jessie Pounds-Charles H. Gabriel)
Draw Me Nearer (Fanny Crosby-W. Howard Doane)
He Hideth My Soul (Fanny Crosby-William Kirkpatrick)
His Way with Thee (Cyrus S. Nusbaum)
Marching to Zion (Watts-Lowry)
Love Lifted Me (James Rowe-Howard E. Smith)
Deep Down in the Sea


Lee