Flamma Flamma

[vaneramos]

Stepping outside my front door at 11:30 this morning

~~~~~~~~~~

Marian and I were talking music on the phone tonight. As I mentioned before, during her last visit she got me hooked on LaunchCast. I became obsessed with seeking out and rating all the musical artists that have intrigued me for the past 20 years, but most of whom I have not had the chance to explore. LaunchCast can be frustrating at times, particularly when it comes to the gaps. Some artists simply are not available, like the late Canadian folksinger Stan Rogers, the Rankin Family or Flock of Seagulls. On the other hand, I'm getting to know a lot more of the music from bands I've so far known only by two or three songs, like the Cardigans and Barenaked Ladies.

In fact I'm even taking some influence from my 13-year-old daughter. More than a year ago when she started experimenting with LaunchCast from my computer, she used my Yahoo signon. When I first listened to my station, it was replete with the Christian metal she was listening to at that time, namely POD, but she was also exploring other bands like Korn. While I had to delete most of that music by rerating all the artists, albums and songs as "never play again," I actually discovered a few songs that I like. By Evanescence, Linkin Park, and even Marilyn Manson!

Marian was thrilled tonight to hear that her tastes were rubbing off on me. But she was quick to point out the influence has worked both ways. The other day riding somewhere in her friend's mother's car, they were listening to Enya and Marian started singing along.

"`You listen to this stuff?' my friend said."

"You still like Enya?" I echoed.

Yes, but that wasn't the end of it. When I started talking about World music, she tried to recall an album I used to play in the car.

"It was, African, but some of it was in Latin." I couldn't figure out what she meant. Then she started singing some of the words: "Flamma flamma."

It was the Fire Requiem by Nicholas Lens. Now this is a sophisticated piece of rock oratorio, reminiscent of Carl Orff's Carmina burana, but taking off in a direction all its own. It features six operatic voices as "the gods" and three ethnic voices from "Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares" who continually mock the seriousness of the gods and the gravity of death itself.

Lens says: "To me, the one thing that makes life bearable is the knowledge that it will come to an end, because accepting this is the only way to unconditionally and freely enjoy life. It has taken many long journeys, both physically and mentally, to reach this obvious insight." This reminds me of something that_dang_otter wrote not long ago, and a state of mind that still eludes me. Anyway, this is fairly serious music, riding a range of feelings from the sublime (excerpt in RealPlayer), to the lugubrious, to the profane and bizarre. I particularly like the voices of countertenor Gary Boyce and the crystalline soprano, Claron McFadden.

"I haven't played that in a while because I figured you didn't like it anymore," I said to Marian. "I guess I shouldn't make assumptions like that."

"Oh well, it's all good," she replied.

And it is good, getting to know her more and more, and finding how much we really share.

Comments

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

some manson i'm crazy about; some i can't stand. depends on which era. he re-invents himself the way madonna does! i've liked some linkin park i've heard, too.

the one time i listened to the bulgarian voices album, it made my hair stand up on end. mystery is right! i'll have to look for the flamma flamma.

it's neat when our kids grow into such complicated and interesting individuals!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I still have never heard the Bulgarian Voices album, although I've heard bits and pieces of songs on the radio. There are only three voices in Flamma Flamma. You can get a hint of what they're like by listenind to the excerpts listed on the Amazon page I linked (sorry the individual audio links didn't work).

Marian is a neat girl, that's for sure. I wish I could repeat more of our conversations, but I just can't! ;-)

[writer00.livejournal.com]

Time to dust off my Flock of Seagulls story. I went to see them in San Diego many many moons ago. The stage was about three or so feet high, so a bunch of people were pushed up against the edge. Mike Score (no longer with the Star Trek haircut, but with a long ponytail in the back, and nothing much in the front) was really getting into it, and went to give some guy next to me a high five. He missed, and hit me in the face instead. Man, he apologized profusely (well, as much as he good while singing Space Age Love Song). At the end of the concert, we hung back, and he came out and chatted with me. At that time, I was trying to put together an arts magazine with a friend, so I guilted him into calling me from the road a few days later, where I recorded a long interview with him and a few other guys in the band. They also sent me a cassette of their new, unreleased single, which I think very quickly faded into obscurity (assuming it was ever released). I think all I have left is the cassette single. Somewhere.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about Flock of Seagulls, and the only song I remember is "Wishing." I have this idea I heard part of a performance they did at Gay Pride in Toronto about eight years ago. Is that possible?

[writer00.livejournal.com]

Hmm . . . I guess anything is possible, but I don't know that they were ever involved in any particular movement, except the bad hair/fashion movement.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Toronto Pride is one of the biggest in the world, along with Sydney and NYC. They wouldn't have to be political to get invited, just willing to identify with a gay audience. I've heard the Nylons perform there, although they're much more famously queer.