Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Friday Music: It's good to let music make you cry

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  • Deborah,

    I heard Beethoven's 5th live for the first time ever last year. I sat there with tears of joy rolling down my face through those dramatic opening chords, and through much of the first movement.

    As for the duet in The Pearl Fishers. It was a three hanky moment when I saw the opera in Adelaide a few years ago.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Grant McDougall,

    Technically Shayne did two gigs at Taste Merchants, a 6pm and an 8pm (I was at the latter).

    Graeme Downes opened both, just him and an electric guitar; it was excellent. He did about eight songs, most from the forth-coming Verlaines' double album (!).It was neat to hear just his voice and guitar. Everyone knows he can do the ornate, orchestrated pop / rock very, very well, but it'd be neat to have him do an album of just voiced and guitar songs, as they came across superbly.

    This was the first time I've ever seen Shayne play an acoustic guitar, again, was really good. He did about 14 songs, mostly new stuff, plus two Dimmer, two SJF and finishing with 'Randolph'.
    The only blight was some schmuck up front periodically clapping and stamping loudly and badly out of time. Thankfully Shayne called him out and the bar owner gave him the death-stare for a while.
    That aside, was a lot of fun. As a ex-Gisborne boy, I was especially happy that Shayne did a song about Mahia, 'What's A Few Tears To The Ocean' off There, My Dear.

    Dunedin • Since Dec 2006 • 760 posts Report Reply

  • philipmatthews,

    Songs that make people cry. Well, this one gets me anyway.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2007 • 656 posts Report Reply

  • william blake,

    Unfailingly renders me helpless.

    Since Mar 2010 • 380 posts Report Reply

  • B Jones,

    Words can get you too. I found myself running at the eyes at breakfast this morning over this:

    I...vowed that rather than let Alzheimer's take me, I would take it. I would live my life as ever to the full and die, ­before the disease mounted its last ­attack, in my own home, in a chair on the lawn, with a brandy in my hand to wash down whatever modern ­version of the "Brompton cocktail" some ­helpful medic could supply. And with ­Thomas Tallis on my iPod, I would shake hands with Death.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Hosking, in reply to B Jones,

    Yeah, I saw that Pratchett quote too...I hope he went the way he wanted to.

    Paul Kelly has done a couple of songs which have choked me up: saw him stun a hall with 'How To Make Gravy' . Wasn't the only one with a bit of surprise ocular leakage.

    Then there's Deeper Water, for a bit more personal reasons, 'cos of someone I tried to help once....

    South Roseneath • Since Nov 2006 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Sometimes just the recording is enough.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • bob daktari,

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    John Lennon covered by an All stars US band brought together for this festival years ago and luckily recorded for posterity. Does steven joyce cry? I guess he'd have to listen first and imagine

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I like the way this thread is going!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Mike O'Connell,

    Not wanting to sound like a cliche but Aldous (Hannah) Harding does a marvellous version of the Roy Orbison standard. I've seen her sing it half dozen times and it never fails to stir the emotions. Couldn't find a video but there's an audio at the Wireless Live session: Aldous Harding. Last song, starts at 20:45 in. Whether just voice or with Simon Gregory on guitar, it's mesmerising.

    This review from a recent session at the Tuning Fork

    Aldous finishes with an unaccompanied version of Roy Orbison’s Crying . No guitar now. Standing. Exposed. And she gives us her all. A huge vocal range from the very depth of her ‘cry-y-y-ying” , slow, breathy, Eartha-Kitt-meets-Edith-Piaf… how one so young can capture the tragedy, the pathos , the loss , as well as the soaring notes and the depths of that song, is an enigma

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 385 posts Report Reply

  • Peter Hoar,

    This is quite tearful music. Best heard in a dark or semi-dark room. Alone.

    Istvan Marta - Doom. A Sigh (Kronos Quartet)

    Auckland • Since Sep 2007 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    This completely undid me, I'd moved to the US in '84 and it was like NZ had fallen off the edge of the earth, someone sent me the EP, we didn't have a record player, it sat around for weeks, I had no idea what it was about, a friend at work made me a tape, I put it on as I got on the train, sat in the BART with tears rolling down all the way across the Bay

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    Some famous faces in that clip - looking very youthful.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • philipmatthews, in reply to Hilary Stace,

    Chris Knox's hair!

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2007 • 656 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    Spike Milligan has a piece in one of his war memoir books about being on home defence in the early part of the war, and sitting in a pillbox with his mates and a record player listening to tunes, with one eye out for the German invasion and the other looking out for any approaching officers. He notes that despite loving the music, there are still certain records he can't listen to as they bring up too many memories, and too many ghosts.

    I found this Pulp tune very difficult to listen to for many years:

    ...and the line about "the child's toy horse ride that played such a ridiculously tragic tune" always made me think of the end credits to the film 'Withnail and I', which I still can't listen to (included here with the preceding Hamlet speech for added poignacy):

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to philipmatthews,

    Chris Knox’s hair!

    Rock Follicles...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Mike O'Connell,

    Looking forward to seeing Sharon van Etten at a sold-out Wunderbar tonight.

    Putting a different spin on things, it kinda makes you weep when the Eagles are still zimmer-framing their stuff, to 75,000 this weekend in Akl. What does the Dude think?

    Hard to believe Joe Walsh was for a brief time part of Herbs, apparently an eventful enough occasion to bring about his now long-term sobriety.

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 385 posts Report Reply

  • hamisht,

    two from me, both from people who knew what was happening at the time:

    Warren Zevon and Glen Campbell

    Since Nov 2006 • 2 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Hosking, in reply to Rich Lock,

    Spike Milligan has a piece in one of his war memoir books about being on home defence in the early part of the war, and sitting in a pillbox with his mates and a record player listening to tunes, with one eye out for the German invasion and the other looking out for any approaching officers. He notes that despite loving the music, there are still certain records he can't listen to as they bring up too many memories, and too many ghosts.

    Yeah, There's another one where he's in action in Italy at an observation post on the wireless with headphones on, moving between signals and hearing desperate communications from men pinned down by the Germans: then he gets a bit of classical music (Bach, I think) from a radio station and the savage surrealism of it all is too much and he bursts into tears.

    One of the other soldiers asks him whats up and he says its the music, to which his comrade says 'must be fucken awful music to make you cry'

    South Roseneath • Since Nov 2006 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to hamisht,

    two from me, both from people who knew what was happening at the time:

    Hi Hamish., thanks for coming by. Key Public Address tip: if you just paste in the URL of a YouTube or Vimeo video (not the embed code) it will automagically embed when you save the comment.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    I wonder if there are gender differences? When the Welsh miners' women sing the feminist anthem Bread and Roses in the movie Pride it's a bit teary

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Hilary Stace,

    I wonder if there are gender differences?

    How did you respond to the Johnny Cash clip above? I wonder if there's something about the emotional life of men in it that resonates with me like Robert Bly's poetry does.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    fade to grey...
    Pix from Steve Strange's funeral last week...
    makes me feel old, oh hang on...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace, in reply to Sacha,

    The Johnny Cash biography I read recently describes the recording of that clip. Quite moving and something very redemptive about it - two old mates (note Rosanne comes in at one point) at the end of eventful lives. I'm a great fan of Johnny Cash (even though he wasn't very good to the women in his life) because there is something about a flawed person trying to do good in his music that is quite appealing. And he had charisma!

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

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