What'chu lookin' at?

Sarge wants to know.  Sarge's full name is Sergeant Stripes (named by her former owner), and she's not quite a sarge, despite the stripes.  More like a petite-pawed Daddy's Girl diva.  And we love her profusely, diva or no.

She's also a messy eater, but don't tell anyone.  Except me, her cleaner-upper-after.

Sarge sent me to announce that my blog will survive (yay!) but with a format change.  A considerable change in format, I'm afraid.  No more vinyl and shellac ripping.  Sad, but true.  My reasons for doing so are too many (and too complicated) to list, but suffice it to say I no longer have the time.  And that's the truth, in spades.  As Bev gets elder, my elder care duties increase--the free time I once enjoyed is no longer available, and this blog has always been time-intensive, due in part to my fanatical devotion to sound editing. And, since I put up a lot of stuff, people expect a lot of stuff (and many expect past "links" to stay unbroken), and it's all my fault.  That is to say, perhaps I've promised a level of output that I can't realistically sustain (minus a staff).  I should have stuck to my original plan of a few tracks per week, but I didn't.  The thing is, when I started blogging in 2005, I had ZERO idea that my past, archived posts would be sitting out there, prompting "Why is the link broken?" comments.  I just jumped into music blogging with both feet, not knowing what to expect.  I remember how stunned I was when I first put up a site counter and discovered how much traffic I was getting.  For all I knew, no one was coming here.  Not.

Anyway, lots of great experiences here.  For one thing, it's great to get noticed in the blogosphere, given the considerable odds against same.  I was even in the Top 40 most visited blog posts back in 2006--briefly, but for a few hours.  I was rubbing shoulders with Crooks and Liars, Michelle Malkin (glegh!), and others.  Just as quickly, I returned to being a regular blog, but what a moment!  And it's been a joy to find that the stuff I put up is stuff people want to hear--and, in some cases, keep.  Especially after my message board experiences, in which my musical interests were met with "Is this guy nuts?" silence, mostly.

Music blogging has been fun and challenging, and I wish I could keep it up.  But with less free time, with a more rabid copyright-cop effort (1950 Merv Griffin Christmas sides MUST be protected from sharing between we cyber-rabble, you understand), and the awkwardness of thousands of "broken" links hanging around like silent ghosts in cyberspace, the writing is on the LP jacket.  I mean, the wall.  But it's been fun.  A million thanks to those who have taken the journey with me (how sappy can I get?), and I hope you'll consider staying on with the revamped MYPWHAE.  I will explain....

The revamped MYPWHAE (and you can tell it's revamped on account of the dropped ( )'s) will feature me playing my own music, i.e. pieces composed by me, as well as hymns, old songs, etc.  In short, an All Lee Blog.  (Notice how I'm avoiding the word "vanity.")  If that's your cup o' Lee, I mean, Joe, I mean, tea, then... stick around.  But I suspect a blog of Lee Music is going to attract, and retain, somewhat fewer followers and visitors than the MY(P)WHAE of old.  Just a guess.

Thanks, all.  And you may have noticed that few archived posts remain.   That's because I deleted them.  Funny--I thought this would be a week-long task, what with 2000+ posts, but I did it in one sitting.  Blogger makes it pretty easy, really.  Deleting the blog would have been easier, but you don't get to keep a blog you've deleted.  So I opted for cleaning out the archives.

Again, a much better option than having dead posts sit around, confusing anyone who stumbles upon them.  And understandably.  So, stick around if you like cat photos and Lee playing hymns, songs, and/or his own compositions (Christmas at Halloween, Halloween in Space, Godzilla Suite, Fiscal Cliff Suite, various preludes, offertories, and mini-fugues, etc.).  The MY(P)WHAE of old, however, is no more.  I write this with a mixture of regret and relief.  I loved it, but minus a staff (and, God knows, a budget!), I really can't do this anymore.  This aging Boomer thanks you for your support.  Those who choose to take off, I'll hate you forever, but otherwise no hard feelings.  (:  Just kidding, just kidding.

Your humble cyber-servant,

Lee

Adventures in phishing

Recently, Bev and I were awakened by what turned out to be a phishing call.  "Unknown Number," read our phone.  A thick-accented young man, yelling like his chair was on fire, informed us that our computer has a virus.  He wanted us to bring up a page and do something.  That's when I hung up.

He called back.  Bev hung up.

He called back again.

Me: Hello?
Him:  HELLO!  WE WERE CUT OFF?
Me:  I'm sorry?
Him: WE WERE CUT OFF.  ARE YOU THERE?
Me:  Yes.
Him:  YOUR COMPUTER HAS A VIRUS.  YOU HAVE TO...
Me:  Whose computer?
Him: WHAT?
Me: Whose computer?
Him: YOUR COMPUTER.
Me: (Click)

He never called back.  Anyway, I will cherish the "Whose computer?" "YOUR COMPUTER" exchange as long as I live.

If we'd asked him who we were speaking to, no doubt he would have responded, "ME."

Lee

This is what I like look when professionally photographed

The first professional, studio-type photo of me since high school, not counting my various driver's license photos (and who wants to count those?).  Taken for the updated church directory, where I will be included as a staff member.  It came out nicely--professionally, even.

The fold in the photo happened during mailing.  I guess there wasn't a cardboard backing?  (I forgot to ask Bev, who opened it.)  Anyway, this is the professional version of what I look like.  Click for larger view.

Lee

The One Horse Open Sleigh (J. Pierpont)

So, I received my eBay copy of the William B. Bradbury tunebook, The Victory (1872 edition), and there on page 74 is James Pierpont's The One Horse Open Sleigh, a.k.a. Jingle Bells. Only with its original melody, which is different in spots from the one we know.

So I put together a recording, with me at the Casio WK-3800 (Patch 071). This is tricky to play, because the tenor part is up top on its own line (and notated an octave up in the treble clef), which makes putting all four voices together a royal pain, since the tenor has to be added to the bass, alto, and soprano, and played an octave lower than written. Therefore, I recorded this four bars at a time and joined the results together. Which is actually less of a hassle than renotating the thing for easier reading.

Except for a couple rushed measures, this came out nicely, I think. Consider it a late Christmas post:

The One Horse Open Sleigh (James Pierpont)


Now you say you've heard Jingle Bells in its original form. Unless you've heard it before, in which case you can say you've heard it again.


Lee

1914 mandolin club 78 is over-the-top amazing

I managed to get two decent label shots out of several--I chose this because it's closer to the label's actual color. It's aqua, but it refuses to come out that way. But this is not important. (Note: Improved hue courtesy of Bob, who tweaked things much closer to the actual color.)

What is important is the incredible performance we're about to hear--a two-selection medley by the Williams College Mandolin Club, 1914. The second strain, taken from Sousa's Corcoran Cadets March, breaks loose into plantation-orchestra territory, with a busy drum backing and (I swear) at least one banjo in the mix. I eagerly await listener feedback, since it's often hard to tell exactly what instrumental line-up you're hearing on an acoustical recording, especially one as casually recorded as this.

"Purely African-American," I decided on my first listen. Sure enough, though the Williams College Mandolin Club was very likely without a black participant, what we're hearing here seems to be imitation-African-American, as black mandolin clubs are described in Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff's Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889-1895.

An initial check suggests that discs like this are rare as hen's teeth. Mandolins show up a lot on 78, but not mandolin clubs. This specific type of string band, from the looks of it, was way under-documented.

This 78 was included for free with an eBay purchase--the dealer figured I'd like it. I like it.

Oh, and dig the talking at the close of the disc--the last three words almost sound like "...carry the backbeat," though I doubt I'm hearing it correctly. Needless to say, the chatter was unintentional.

To the amazing music: The Royal Purple--Come Fill Your Glasses--Williams College Mandolin Club, 1914.


Lee