Winds of Change

The prompt for this week's Theme Thursday is "Winds." Enjoy!

~DJ Sally~

Z is for Zany

What goes better with Farmville than Cypress Hill? Oh, how many times I have asked myself that question!

This is one of the stranger things I've seen. I guess they chose a funky hip hop track because the subject matter of the video was rather dull.

I suppose I'm easily amused. 

What does this have to do with musical styles?

Well...

There are a myriad of musical styles that can be used in a myriad of ways--some of them completely zany!

Thank you for following us throughout this zany month. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming--which is often quite zany as well!

~DJ Tempest~

Laughing at Inappropriate Stuff: White Guys in Bad Drag

I suppose I shouldn't find this funny, but it's so completely ridiculous that I can't help it.

~DJ Blooming Psycho~

Y is for Yukar

Yukar is both a type of Japanese saga and a style of music inspired by the same. It is part of the culture of the Ainu people of Northern Japan. The Wikipedia entry is here.

~DJ Les~

X is for Do Ya Think I'm SeXy

 As a matter of fact, Rod, I do.

In music videos, there's a fine line between sexy and silly.

Adina Howard does it right.

Miley Cyrus, on the other hand, tries waaaaay too hard and vastly overshoots sexy, ending up square in the middle of Ridiculous.

Don't even get me started on Robin Thicke. Just--ugh. Beetlejuice called, he wants his suit back.

Beetlejuice wore it better anyway.

~DJ Les~

Ambrose Bierce: Die Augen Des Panthers

If you understand German, don't miss this!

Unfortunately, I understand very little German. However, the narrator's voice is so soothing that I enjoyed listening anyway.

~DJ Blooming Psycho~

W is for Waltz

According to Wikipedia, the waltz is a smooth, progressive ballroom and folk dance in triple time, performed primarily in closed position.

The music must have a suitable tempo, such as the pieces in the sampler above.

There was a waltz written for Tempest, Dahlings. It is known as the Two Left Feet Waltz!

~DJ Tempest~

We Interrupt Your A to Z Reading With This Cringe-Worthy Pop Tart Fail

Ugh.
Holy cultural appropriation, Batman!
Girlfriend learned a few Japanese phrases, and now she "totally understands" the Japanese people.
I first found out about this travesty of a video here.

My guess would be that Avril Lavigne hasn't had a hit in a while (has she? I don't actually know, I've never been a big follower.) so she's trying to outdo Miley Cyrus. While she doesn't manage to look quite as ludicrious, she, like Miley, is trying way too hard for sexy. Instead of sexy, she manages to look clueless.

If one wasn't paying attention to the inane lyrics, the tune is catchy and danceable, and Avril doesn't have an unpleasant voice. To any rate, her voice doesn't grate on my ears nearly as much as Miley Cyrus'. However, one only has to watch the video for a few seconds to have an eye-popping, "what the fuck is this shit" reaction. Personally, I think Avril watched one too many Japanese Lolita fetish and cheesy lesbian slumber party videos while in her hotel room on tour. For the record, I have no issue whatsoever with lesbian attractions or interactions. I am ridiculing the type of "lesbian" porn that is created for the male gaze and really does not care a whit about actual lesbian sexuality.
Maybe my friends and I were boring, but I never went to a slumber party where the idea of making out with each other would even have been suggested. I suppose it happens, but not as often as the lad mags would lead hopeful, horny fellows to believe. I think we did each other's hair at one slumber party. Usually we watched bad movies until we were told to go to bed by the hostess' mother, ate lots of popcorn, and talked about guys.
Sorry, Avril, but fail. Oddly enough, Japanese women aren't all cute Anime fembots. They have varied personalities and interests. 
Also, those dancers look depressed to the point of root canal. I suppose I would too if I needed money so badly that I agreed to be in this video.

~DJ Petra~

V is for Verismo

The great Renee Fleming demonstrates and talks about the Verismo style.

According to Wikipedia:

In musicology, verismo (meaning "realism", from Italian vero, meaning "true") refers to a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano and Giacomo Puccini. They sought to bring the naturalism of influential late 19th-century writers such as Émile Zola and Henrik Ibsen into opera. The style began in 1890 with the first performance of Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, peaked in the early 1900s, and lingered into the 1920s. The style is distinguished by realistic – sometimes sordid or violent – depictions of everyday life, especially the life of the contemporary lower classes. It by and large rejects the historical or mythical subjects associated with Romanticism. The term may also be used more broadly to refer to the entire output of these composers and others of the giovane scuola ("young school") who were active in Italy during that period.

Powerful stuff indeed! I admit to only a cursory familiarity with opera. This is right up my alley! So glad to have made this find!

~DJ Tempest~

U is for Underground

Underground music is an extremely broad term. It does not refer to any specific genre or era. The Wikipedia definition follows.

Underground music comprises musical genres beyond mainstream culture. Any song that is not being legally commercialized is considered underground. Such music may tend to express common ideals, such as high regard for sincerity and intimacy, freedom of creative expression as opposed to the highly formulaic composition of commercial music, and appreciation of artistic individuality as opposed to conformity to current mainstream trends. Apart from perhaps the underground rock scenes in the pre-Mikhail Gorbachev Soviet Union, very few types of underground music are completely hidden, however, performances and recordings may nevertheless be difficult for outsiders to find.

Above is some great underground Deep House music. Try it--you may like it!

DJ Rose has been given permission to promote her very underground novel, which was inspired by the tragic life of a figure from the Scandinavian metal underground scene. Please check it out! And spread the word, if you would be so kind.

~DJ Rose~

T is for Techno

Once again, my lazy self is ripping the description from Wikipedia. I'm not proud, but I am tired. So, listen to the music as you read my stolen description.

 Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, in the United States during the mid-to-late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno in reference to a specific genre of music was in 1988.

The initial take on techno arose from the melding of electronic music, in the style of artists such as Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Yellow Magic Orchestra, with African American music styles, including funk, electro, Chicago house and electric jazz. Added to this is the influence of futuristic and fictional themes relevant to life in American late capitalist society, with Alvin Toffler's book The Third Wave being a notable point of reference. Pioneering producer Juan Atkins cites Toffler's phrase "techno rebels" as inspiring him to use the word techno to describe the musical style he helped to create. This unique blend of influences aligns techno with the aesthetic referred to as afrofuturism. To producers such as Derrick May, the transference of spirit from the body to the machine is often a central preoccupation; essentially an expression of technological spirituality. In this manner: "techno dance music defeats what Adorno saw as the alienating effect of mechanisation on the modern consciousness".

Stylistically, techno is generally repetitive instrumental music, oftentimes produced for use in a continuous DJ set.

Music journalists and fans of techno are generally selective in their use of the term; so a clear distinction can be made between sometimes related but often qualitatively different styles, such as tech house and trance. "Techno" is also commonly confused with generalized descriptors, such as electronic music and electronic dance music.

~DJ Cheesy~

S is for Stop! This is getting very Silly!

Sometimes here at KHEL 666, we like to provide you with the silliest of interludes to stir things up a bit.

Also, after all this alphabetical insanity, we are quite insane in the membrane.

Last but not least, Jon Lord is now bringing sweet, sweet music to the Heavens.

You have to watch the video to see why I mention the great Jon Lord. 

Now, prepare to take a very silly trip.

~DJ Tempest~

R is for Rave

DJ Illsa likes electronic music, so this sound appeals to her.

DJ Illsa has never actually been to a rave, and the idea of going to one really does not appeal.

The history of Rave music is interesting, and, I confess, what follows is ripped right from Wikipedia.

Rave music may either refer to the late 1980s/early 1990s genres of house and techno, the first genres of music in the world to be played at raves, or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at a rave, such as house, trance, techno, jungle, drum & bass, breakbeat, happy hardcore, psychedelic trance, breakbeat hardcore and gabber. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres such as glam rock, power pop, psychedelic rock and dub parties.

The genre "rave", also known as 1980s hardcore by ravers, first appeared amongst the acid house movement in Scotland during the late 1980s as a reaction to New Beat. While New Beat usually borrowed an aggressive industrial sound, rave tended to borrow New Beat's elements that were harder than acid house, while retaining the neutral mooded sound of acid house. Rave tended to be a happy genre that favoured synthesized melodies over the duller sound of the TB-303 in order to attract a wider audience. The genre was later re-established as oldskool hardcore, which lead onto newer forms of rave music such as drum and bass and jazzstep, as well as other hardcore techno genres, such as gabber, hardstyle and happy hardcore.

In the late 80s, rave culture began to filter through from English ex-pats and DJs who would visit Europe. However, rave culture's major expansion in North America is often credited to Frankie Bones, who after spinning a party in an aircraft hangar in England helped organize some of the earliest known American raves in the 1990s in New York City called "Storm Raves" which maintained a consistent core audience. Coinciding at the same time, were the "NASA" parties in NYC by DJ Scotto which was featured in the 1995 movie Kids and forthcoming was concert producer p.a.w.n. Lasers in Pennsylvania who later became the most well known laser company at raves in East Coast by cross-promoting these rave events State to State as far south as Florida and Louisiana. After this, hundreds of smaller promotional groups sprung up across the east coast such as Ultraworld (MD,DC), Park Rave Madness (NYC), G.O. Guaranteed Overdose (NYC), Local 13 (NJ), Caffeine (NYC), Liquid Grooove aka Liquified (GA), Columns of Knowledge (CT), Special K aka Circle Management (PA), Zen Festivals (FL), Disco Donnie (LA), Ultra Music Festival (FL), and later the west coast, causing a true "scene" to develop.

~DJ Illsa~

If He Did It Before

If the church I went to in my youth had music like this, I might have been more inclined to keep going!

Happy Sunday, whatever your faith may be.

Peace,

DJ Illsa

Q is for Quan Ho

I'm tired but not proud, so I'm admitting to swiping the description of this beautiful style of Vietnamese music straight from Wikipedia.

 The quan họ style originated in what is now Bắc Ninh Province and was first recorded in the 13th century, and has traditionally been associated with the spring festivals that follow the celebration of Tết (the Vietnamese New Year). Historically, the singing began on the evening before the festival, but today it is much more common for the singing to occur on the main day of the festival. In general, an initial "challenge phrase" (câu ra) from the known body of songs is sung by a pair of female singers, following which a pair of male singers will respond by selecting and singing a "matching phrase" (câu đối), which must repeat the melody of the challenge phrase. Once they are finished, the order is reversed, and the men will issue their own challenge phrase with a different melody. While in the past the singing was unaccompanied, it is common today for the singers to be accompanied by instruments, whether traditional Vietnamese instruments or modern ones such as electric keyboards.

~DJ Cheesy~ 

P is for Politics

EMRALD: Brittney, I bet someone out there is going to say "politics isn't a musical style!"

BRITTNEY: Well, of course it isn't. Don't be ridiculous. But many songs have been written about politics.

EMRALD: Yes, just think of all those great war protest songs during the Vietnam War Era.

BRITTNEY: I may not know a lot about politics, but I know a load of bull when I see it.

EMRALD: The only politics I care about are the politics in the song we're going to play next!

~DJ Brittney and DJ Emrald~

DJ Brittney

DJ Emrald

O is for Opera

I'm barely awake, so I'm lifting the definition from Wikipedia. I love my work, but sometimes I swear the schedule may kill me!

Opera (English plural: operas; Italian plural: opere) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting.[1] Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble.

Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition.[2] It started in Italy at the end of the 16th century (with Jacopo Peri's lost Dafne, produced in Florence in 1598) and soon spread through the rest of Europe: Schütz in Germany, Lully in France, and Purcell in England all helped to establish their national traditions in the 17th century. In the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, except France, attracting foreign composers such as Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his "reform" operas in the 1760s. Today the most renowned figure of late 18th century opera is Mozart, who began with opera seria but is most famous for his Italian comic operas, especially The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze Di Figaro), Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, as well as The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), a landmark in the German tradition.

~DJ Aurora~

O is for Organ

The organ at the Embassy Theatre

Organ is not a style of music, it is a musical instrument which is used in many styles of music, from Baroque to Zarzuela.

I'm going to shut up and play the music: in this case, a talented organist performing some of Bach's finest works!

~DJ Naila~

N is for Neoclassical

From the Wikipedia entry:

Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint. As such, neoclassicism was a reaction against the unrestrained emotionalism and perceived formlessness of late Romanticism, as well as a "call to order" after the experimental ferment of the first two decades of the twentieth century.

Neoclassicism had two distinct national lines of development, French (proceeding partly from the influence of Erik Satie and represented by Igor Stravinsky), and German (proceeding from the "New Objectivity" of Ferruccio Busoni and represented by Paul Hindemith.)

If you don't have ad block (which I do at home, but not on the computer at work) all the ads in the video above are really annoying. Interrupting the Rite of Spring with advertising? Blasphemy!

~DJ Cheesy~ 

http://www.banliveexport.com/gaza

http://www.banliveexport.com/gaza

M is for Metal

Metal, glorious metal! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways, and thy many genres.

Metal was born in the late 1960s in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in the blues, folk rock, and psychedelic rock.

From these mighty beginnings, many innovative offshoots of the genre were formed.

Black Sabbath are one of the greatest forces behind the formation of the metal genre. Deep Purple's hard-driving guitar riffs also played a part, as did Led Zeppelin's mystical lyrics. The term "heavy metal" may have been influenced by Led Zeppelin's lyrics "talk about heavy metal underneath the hood." The heavy sounds of Slade were surely an influence as well. 

Jimi Hendrix' inimitable heavy blues played a part in the development of the metal genre. Steppenwolf was also an influence, with songs such as Born To Be Wild. The heavy, distorted, epic psychedelic sound of Iron Butterfly was also a factor in the early metal periodic table.

Some people feel that metal is an untalented and uninteresting genre. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is as varied as the Universe itself in its expression, and new forms are brought to light in the modern age, as well as new artists adapting the classic styles and making them their own. Metal is here to stay.

~DJ Opal~

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★PLAYLIST★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

I. Motorhead - Ace Of Spades 0:00 

II. Slayer - Hell Awaits 2:49 

III. AcDc - Who Made Who 9:02 

IV. Metallica - Battery 12:30

V. Pantera - 5 Minutes Alone 17:44

VI. Metallica - One 23:32

VII. Anthrax - Panic 30:59

VIII. Skid Row - I Remember You 35:01

IX. Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast 40:15

X. Megadeth - Looking Down The Cross 45:04

XI. Black Lable Society - Stillborn 50:07

XII. Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell 53:23

XIII. Accept - No Shelter 01:07:48

XIV. Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns 01:13:52

XV. Dio - Gypsy 01:19:56

XVI. Mötley Crüe - Wild Side 01:23:35

XVII. Ozzy Osbourne . Dreamer 01:28:18

L is for Lo Fi

Lo-fi refers to the way music is recorded and produced rather than to a specific type of music. The following is stolen from Wikipedia.

Lo-fi (from the term "low fidelity") is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for modern music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an aesthetic in music recording practice. Many lo-fi artists use inexpensive cassette tape recorders. The term was adopted by WFMU DJ William Berger who dedicated a half hour segment of his program to home recorded music throughout the late '80s under the name lo-fi.

I love to support independent artists, and thus, am a fan of lo-fi music in its many genres. The above tracks have a gentle, soothing quality overall. However, much underground metal could be considered lo-fi, and tends to be loud and aggressive.

~DJ Tempest~

K is for Krakowiak

Krakowiak is both a style of joyful, fast-paced folk music and a style of dance which originated in Krakow, Poland. If I attempted it, it would also be the sound that was made as I stepped on my partner's foot. 

It has nothing on the Lithuanian towel-snapping dance. Yes, that's a thing!

Just messing with my blogging teammates, several of whom are Polacks. 

I may be getting my trouble-starting Lithuanian ass towel-snapped in the not too distant future!

~DJ Cheesy~

J is for Jazz

Jazz originated in the late nineteenth century. The style was created by black musicians of the time. It combined African and European forms to create a new style of music. Early jazz drew heavily from the spirited gospel style of music from black churches.

These days, there are a myriad of jazz subtypes. If you're in the mood for jazz while going about your day, the above mix may be just what the doctor ordered!

~DJ Gunnar~

I is for Industrial

This is a new find. I love it! Check it out, you might too.

The description comes from Wikipedia.

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the style is harsh and challenging. Allmusic defines industrial as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music"; "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments (tape music, musique concrète, white noise, synthesizers, sequencers, etc.) and punk provocation".

The following text is mine.

There are subgenres of industrial music, such as industrial rock, industrial metal, and industrial hip-hop. Favorite industrial bands of mine include Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy.

To forestall any upset, in case anyone heard and believed these rumors, Skinny Puppy never included footage from a snuff film in any of their videos. The footage used was from a Japanese horror film series called Guinea Pig.

Enjoy the above music, and, if you're new to the Industrial sound, be sure to check out the bands mentioned above. You're sure to find hours of listening pleasure!

~DJ Adam~

Morrissey: He Knows I'd Love to See Him

It's not part of the A to Z, I just want to play some Morrissey!

~DJ Helena~

H is for Harmony

The Yale Whim n' Rhythm chorus demonstrates harmony (and A Capella) perfectly with this number.

The ghost of Amy Winehouse is tapping her toes in time!

~DJ Tempest~

G is for Glam Rock

Glam rock or glitter rock originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1970's. Outrageous clothing styles including glittery costumes and boots with platform soles were prevalent, and themes revolved around gender-bending and androgynous expression. Male performers wore makeup and heavily styled hair.

Call it glam, call it glitter, call it what you will, it's glorious! The Sweet were kings of glam, and their sound is still sweet as ever as we jump into our Way Back Machine and tune up our FM radios!

~DJ Tempest~

F is for Folk

 A few Folkers from the 20th century Folk Revival period. I could listen to this stuff all day!

The following comes from the Wikipedia entry:

 Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. Some types of folk music are also called world music.

Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers; another is music that has been transmitted and evolved by a process of oral transmission or performed by custom over a long period of time.

Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. This form of music is sometimes called contemporary folk music or folk revival music to distinguish it from earlier folk forms.

~DJ Cheesy~

I found a blog with a blog hop called Monday's Music Moves Me, and opted to share this post! 

~DJ Tempest~

E is for Electronic

There are a wide range of subgenres in the electronic music category, which you can find on this page. The above is a sample.

I don't like radio stations where they talk too much. I know this is a virtual radio station, but I prefer to just shut up and play the music!

~DJ Illin' Illsa~

Looks like you folks get a twofer today! Both DJ Blooming Psycho and DJ Illin' Illsa took on this letter!

E is for Electronica

Fickle Fame by Time Released Sound is glorious electronica. It is the perfect musical accompaniment when you're studying or writing. You might even write a poem such as the one I posted at Poetry of the Netherworld, entitled A Life of Infamy. 

Electronica can take many forms. Sometimes its mellow and soothing, like this piece. Sometimes its more upbeat, such as you might expect at a club. Electronica is a wide-open genre with endless possibilities.

~DJ Blooming Psycho~

D is for Doom Metal

Doom is one of my favorite metal sub-genres. It has a slow, heavy, melodic sound and favors dark and mystical subject matter. The roots of doom metal can be traced to the early 1970's. The genre is heavily influenced by the works of Black Sabbath.

Featured above is an iconic video from one of my favorite bands, Candlemass; the Swedish kings of Doom Metal.

If you're like me and can't get enough Candlemass, I've got another video for you at the end of this post!

~DJ Illin' Illsa~

00:00 Mirror mirror
06:14 A cry from the crypt
13:40 Darkness in Paradise
20:27 Incarnation of evil
27:46 Bearer of pain
35:09 Ancient dreams
42:14 The bells of Acheron
47:34 Epistle No. 81
52:12 Black sabbath medley

C is for Classical

Here is the Wikipedia definition of "Classical Music."

Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music (both liturgical and secular). It encompasses a broad period from roughly the 11th century to the present day. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.

The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to distinctly "canonize" the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as a golden age. The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836.

Yes, the cut and paste was completely lazy of me. I'm also writing entries for several other blogs, and whoever wrote the Wikipedia entry explained it better than I could.

Now, are you up for a Classical Marathon? If so, here's six hours for your listening pleasure!

~DJ Wanda~

B is for Background Music

One might not think much about background music, but it can mean the difference between a bland video and one that catches the viewer's attention. Take a look at this video of snapshots from Debrecen, Hungary. Without the music, it would be just a bunch of pictures, and the viewer would likely become distracted quickly. 

Background music is an important element of movies. Think about a favorite horror movie. It's likely that creepy background music added an element of fear. Personally, I find the music from The Omen to be some of the spookiest I've ever heard. 

As a Catholic (faithful then, fallen now, but once a Catholic, always a Catholic. Some of you will know just what I mean) I found the concepts of The Omen and The Exorcist to be frightening anyway, but the music really added to the eerie atmosphere. However, on its own, I find Tubular Bells to be pretty and soothing. The music from The Omen? I'm not about to sit in the dark listening to that!

Do you have any favorite background music? Sometimes the soundtrack is better than the film itself!

~DJ Opal~

A is for Acapella

From the Wikipedia entry:

A cappella (Italian for "in the manner of the church" or "in the manner of the chapel") music is specifically group, or solo, singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way.

Thus, the song above does not really fit the criteria, because it does have instrumental accompaniment. But it is pretty damn cool nonetheless.

This is actually a much more accurate example of Acapella.

~DJ Blooming Psycho~