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There Is No Boring Music


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Cobblers say I. I'd cite 'Happy Birthday to You' as a moronic little tune that has no redeeming features; I've heard all sorts of people try to lift it in all sorts of ways, none successfully.

 

I recall the late Victor Borge making much out of it.

 

- John Wild

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Sing or play with pleasure but only because of the associations. I dispute they like the tune.

 

Do you like it?

 

I do not particularly like it, but I do not really dislike it either. I played it on the bombard to see what effect it has on me out of context, I played it somewhat slower and it isn't that bad if you add some variations.

Anyway any music that stood so long must have some merits; you try to make a birthday song that will replace ''happy birthday to you''! It serves its purpose fantastically.

Wether I like the tune or not, I am not bored when I hear somebody (including myself) sing it!

But I agree with Jim Lucas:

"There Is No Boring Music

just bored listeners...."

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Repeat after me: "Russian Birthday song is better, the music is very good, and the Crock stands under rain".

I dunno, Mischa. I'm rather partial to the traditional Danish birthday song, where each verse ends with "... dejlig chokolade og kager til" ("... lovely chocolate, and cakes besides"). :)

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it's just that I really think there is lots of 'music' out there the world wouldn't miss if it was accidentally lost...

 

I had to smile when I read that 'cos you could equally say "there are lots of 'people' out there the world wouldn't miss if they were accidentally lost..."!!!

 

But that wouldn't be very nice or PC etc. and I think you may treat music and people with the same respect. :rolleyes:

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Am I alone in having reached the age at which I have no particular wish to be reminded that I have reached yet another birthday, irrespective of the quality of the melody or the singing ?

And not yet at the age where you brag about having reached that age?

No, you're far from alone, though there are also many people who never feel that way.

 

And feelings differ according to social expectations. In America it seems that one is expected to fear birthdays that end in zero (except 100, and maybe 90, which may be bragged about). 30, 40, and 50 seem to be particularly frightening. In Denmark, on the other hand, the round-numbered birthdays are considered to be occasions for great celebration, and it's common that the person having the birthday throws a huge party for all his/her friends, usually with at least dozens of guests. Talk about emptying one's wallet! But the songs that are sung -- the Danish birthday song, maybe "Happy Birthday", and usually several songs about the birthday-person, with words written by friends to well-known tunes -- are a consequence of the celebration, not the other way around.

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Am I alone in having reached the age at which I have no particular wish to be reminded that I have reached yet another birthday, irrespective of the quality of the melody or the singing ?

And not yet at the age where you brag about having reached that age?

No, you're far from alone, though there are also many people who never feel that way.

 

And feelings differ according to social expectations. In America it seems that one is expected to fear birthdays that end in zero (except 100, and maybe 90, which may be bragged about). 30, 40, and 50 seem to be particularly frightening. In Denmark, on the other hand, the round-numbered birthdays are considered to be occasions for great celebration, and it's common that the person having the birthday throws a huge party for all his/her friends, usually with at least dozens of guests. Talk about emptying one's wallet! But the songs that are sung -- the Danish birthday song, maybe "Happy Birthday", and usually several songs about the birthday-person, with words written by friends to well-known tunes -- are a consequence of the celebration, not the other way around.

Happy Birthday...Happy Christmas. I am reminded of an anecdote from the late jazz saxophonist Ronnie Scott.

A notoriously cantankerous guest musician at his London Club had come to the end of a pre-Christmas session and on departing in the small hours Ronnie said to him "Have a happyChristmas". "Don't you tell me what sort of Christmas to have"! said the musician as he departed into the night.

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As "boring" is not an objective property of music, you can only speak of people that can get bored in a certain degree.

 

 

... because "boring" is not a quality of a music or of some other subject or object, but a quality of a personal response to something.

 

 

Instead, I would say "There Is No Boring Music

just bored listeners...."

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As "boring" is not an objective property of music, you can only speak of people that can get bored in a certain degree.
... because "boring" is not a quality of a music or of some other subject or object, but a quality of a personal response to something.
Instead, I would say "There Is No Boring Music

just bored listeners...."

Hmm.

 

Henk, I would have given you credit if I'd realized I was repeating you.

But it's clear that we agree (on that point), and it is worth repeating. :)

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Henk, I would have given you credit if I'd realized I was repeating you.

But it's clear that we agree (on that point), and it is worth repeating. :)

Jim,

 

Of course I know you would. It's just to show that the same thought can pop up in different minds at about (more or less) the same moment. This happened to me so often during my research work :(

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Horses Brawl is on my list as the most boring.

Al

Surely not! However, it does depend on what you do with the tune. On my C/G, it starts nicely in D before I push it up to G.

 

Please listen again to one of the "Concertinas at Witney" tapes (Sorry; just realised that it was 1991, and I didn't have a spare copy for you!). Let me try to outline a picture; John Kirkpatrick, Dave Townsend and Jean Megly with what might be described as a "free" arrangement lasting several minutes, and using several notes which most of us either avoid, or didn't realise we had on our concertinas. By the way, John Kirkpatrick was on the Bass Anglo, so he wasn't being the creative one. Add to this Jean Megly stamping his feet after the fashion of a horse pawing the ground, and you'll understand why the audience laughed so much. Yes; I like boring tunes. Was it really 1991?

 

Regards,

Peter.

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Thank you for this link! Gonny practise the song on the concertina. Love it since the first time I heard it in school. I've still got the lyrics a Russian friend of mine once wrote down for me. :)

 

Berna

You're welcome to the infectious desease.

The serias of these puppet animated shorts were not animated well, nor the characters appear to be well designed. Yet immediately after the release they started a global craze, became part of Russian culture, inseparable from Russian/Soviet mentality.

Japanese, who are generally like Russian Art like there is no tomorrow, started a new production of he serias, to which a friend of mine is writing scripts and makes models.

The Japanese are going to produce them in old fashioned way, no CG involved.

There are a bunch of Youtube videos, where Gena the Krock is singing in Japanese.

Like here:

Sounds just like Russian, only strange.

The craze is so big, it sparked lots of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG8SNKcjOwI...feature=related

It can be related to the topic, how to play accompaniment to songs on concertina.

I think it's the classic example of excellent accompaniment, albeit on accordion.

But I'm patiently waiting for the very bad exaples of "Happy Birthday" song.

Edited by m3838
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