March
2017
By Douglas Kent 911
Irene Drive, Mesquite, TX 75149
Email: diplomacyworld@yahoo.com or dougray30@yahoo.com
On the web at http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/. Also be sure to visit the official Diplomacy
World website which can be found at http://www.diplomacyworld.net.
All Eternal Sunshine readers are encouraged to join the free Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/info
to stay up-to-date on any subzine news or errata. If you don’t like the sign-up process just
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Check out my eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/dougsrarebooksandmore
My book “It’s Their House; I’m Just a Guest” is
available in softcover and Kindle from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501090968/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Welcome
to the latest issue of Eternal Sunshine, as we continue to run down to a
fold. By Almost Popular Demand finishes
up, and John Biehl returns in Milk and Trash.
Oh, and Larry Peery won’t leave you alone. See you in April.
MUSIC FOR DIPLOMACY
By Larry Peery
INTRODUCTION TO THE INTRODUCTION
Well, sooner or later I suppose it had to happen J but honestly, who else
but I would dare to write an introduction to an introduction for DW
article? Anyway, be that as it may, much of this piece is based on a
press release I wrote for A&E (Note A&E refers to Ambition and Empire,
not to the A&E Arts & Entertainment network as I first thought.) about
music written during the game scenario. In this article I’ve expanded that
article to include music from the Revolution, Napoleonic, and World War I and
Afterwards periods. The heart of both pieces is the
YouTube links to various recordings. If you’re not going to take the time to
listen to them (and read some of the wiki notes on them) you won’t get much out
of this effort.
ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION
Ok, I’m not a big fan of Baroque music (except for anything with trumpets and
drums). Well, to be honest I don’t even like Baroque music. But, as Alex should
have written when the A&E game started, “You play the notes your dealt.”
(A&E refers to “Ambition and Empire”, a ten-player Diplomacy variant set in
the last part of the 1700s. You can learn more about it at ambition-and-empire-2017@googlegroups.com
or contact Alex at w.alex.ronke@gmail.com
for more information
A&E gives us a peerifect excuse to look into the classical music of the
Baroque and Classical periods. If that doesn’t interest you, read on anyway.
You just might learn something. And to learn even more take time to watch and
listen to some of the YouTube links I’ve provided. Most of the composers,
specific pieces and historical events have write-ups in wiki as well. They
might inspire you to write a bit of music or press for the game! J
Not everyone will like this kind of music, but if you’re the kind of person who
goes into a pizza joint alone and orders the biggest pizza they’ve got with
every possible topping available (except anchovies because only hobby Old Farts
eat anchovies on their pizza); or if you go into Cupcakes R Us and order a red
velvet cupcake with every kind of sprinkle they’ve got; or you bought the 2 LP
disc version of “Victory At Sea” when it first came out ---just so you could
have the 16 inch guns in Part III in stereo; then you’re probably a
potential A&E player and Baroque classical music fan.
Baroque music began around 1600 and faded away around 1750. The best-known
composers from this period are Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel,
Henry Purcell, Georg Philipp Telemann, Jean Baptiste Lully, and Marc-Antoine
Charpentier, In a word; Baroque music was “ornate”, with lots of frills, trills
and high notes. If you want to see an example of what I’m
writing about, look up some of the churches built during this period in the
rococo or “late Baroque” style. Vienna is filled with examples of such
churches, all decorated in white and gold that look like inside-out wedding
cakes.
Music from the Classical period (not to be confused with the term classical
music which applies to all periods of that type of music) began around 1730 and
faded after 1820. The best known composers from this period are Franz Joseph
Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert; other
notable names include Luigi Boccherini, Muzio Clementi, Antonio Salieri,
Leopold Mozart, Johann Christian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Christoph
Williblad Gluck. Classical music was influenced by the art of the ancient
Greeks and Romans with their emphasis on clean lines. With the growing
influence of Protestantism in Northern Europe music changed a lot, and that
includes battaglia or battle music.
Note that I’ve only included some of the composers relevant to my subject. In
addition, some of the Baroque composers were past their prime by the A&E
time period and many of the Classical composers were still in the “child
prodigy” stage of their careers.
Battle music was an important sub-genre of Renaissance, Baroque and Classical
music. The earliest forms of battle music or battaglia were vocal madrigals
which were followed by instrumental battle music. As the 1700s ended battle
music remained popular but was no longer called battaglia due to the declining
influence of Italy in music. Keep in mind that in the earliest period of vocal
battle music performers/composers moved about Europe without regard to
political boundaries. Thus it was not unusual to see a Flemish composer working
in Italy, or an Italian working in Spain, etc. By the end of the A&E period
Italian musical terminology, forms, composers and styles were being replaced by
more nationalistic music and that was especially true in battle music.
For a further discussion of the difference between battaglia and other forms of
martial music see my companion piece in Eternal Sunshine (see below for
information on that).
CHRONOLOGY WITH LINKS
There are several very detailed classical music timelines available
online. I’ve picked a few major dates of relevance to include here. For
more information I suggest a search on wiki, Google, or YouTube for various
composers or specific works. There’s a lot of information there and some of the
most interesting stuff can be found in the less well-known composers and their
works.
My over-view chronology is a list of dates, composers, titles and YouTube
links. It’s pretty inclusive and begins well before the A&E period and goes
up to today’s battle music. Well, sort of. The following wiki chronology
divides some of the key examples into various groups and offers some sense of
organization to the sub-genre of battle music.
c. 1515 --- Janequin “La Guerre” or The Battle madrigal commemorating the
Battle of Marignano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY2rLfhJLmY
1544 --- Matthias Werrecore “La Battaglia Taliana” or Die Schlacht var
Pavia madrigal for 4 voices, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8dikJvoB10
c. 1550 --- Mateo Flecha “La Guerra”
c. 1550 --- Annibale Padovano Battaglia for 8 instruments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOBUd9LIPms
1581 – 1591 William Byrd The Battell for keyboard or brass choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLwebTq9qcc
c. 1600 --- Gabrieli Battaglia for brass choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jD_pg-7tKY,
Battaglia for 8 instruments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=froeMPKV3uk
1624 --- Claudio Monteverdi Il “combattimento di Tancredi e
Clorinda” first use of pizzicato in music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHC0_6OPbX0
1673 --- Heinrich Biber Battalia for 10 voices (solo violin, strings and
continuo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YBOmgi-qSs
1677 --- Lully Te Deum (see below)
1688? --- Charpentier Te Deum (see below)
c. 1700 --- Johann Huhnau’s “The Battle Between David and Goliath”
1727 --- Handel’s Coronation Anthems (see below)
1743 --- Handel’s “Dettingen” Te Deum (see below)
1749 --- Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks” (see below) written for
the peace of Aix la Chapelle.
1751 – Handel “Jephta,” Oratorio
1751 --- The minuet becomes popular.
1751 --- “War of the Operas” (La Guerre des Bouffons) divides Paris into
pro-Italian and pro-French factions
1759 --- Handel dies
1759 --- Haydn: Symphony no 1 in D major
1761 --- Thomas Augustine Arne: “Judith,” oratorio, London
1761 --- Haydn appointed Kapellmeister to Prince Paul Esterhazy
1763 --- Heinrich Biber Battalia for 10 voices (solo violin, strings and
continuo)
1770 --- Handel’s “Messiah” first performed in New York
1772 --- First German performance of “Messiah”
1792 --- Rouget de Lisle’s “La Marseilles” written, first known as “War Song
for the Rhine Army”, adopted as the French national anthem in 1795
1794 --- Mehul’s “Chant du depart”
1796 ---Haydn’s “Mass in Time of War”
1798 --- Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass”
1799 --- Mehul’s “Adrien, Emperor of Rome” opera
1800 --- Haydn’s “Battle of the Nile” a cantata for soprano and piano,
not a sonic recreation of the battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X2ziyN4hFI
1813 --- Beethoven’s “Battle of Vittoria” or Wellington’s Victory
requires muskets and cannons. About as authentic a performance as you can
get, complete with the Household Guards and the Queen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X2ziyN4hFI
1880 --- Tchaikowsky’s “1812” Overture perhaps the best recording available
1938 --- Prokofiev’s “Battle on the Ice from Alexander Nevsky” – Battle of Lake
Peipus (1242) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrsYD46W1U0
1939 --- Shostakovich first movement of “Leningrad” Symphony (fascinating story
about these two works by two great Russian composers and Stalin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrsYD46W1U0
1952 --- Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett “Victory at Sea “(2
vols.) sound track for a television series Probably has destroyed more
stereo speaker system than any other recording ever made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HDIExo2SY
1975 ---Stanley Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon” film music from various
composers of the period You can find the complete movie in Spanish or
German, as well as the soundtrack, on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lzSoKOs1fc
1977 John Williams music for the movie series “Star Wars” an epic space
opera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2pWMeAPrG4
2014 --- Jorg Lemburg’s music for the motion picture “Diplomacy”
MUSIC FOR A&E
As you can see, music for the extended time period of the A&E game was
written for a variety of reasons: coronations, weddings and funerals of
monarchs; celebration of victories, mourning defeats, etc. I’ve expanded the
time period covered here to well before and after the A&E game period
because music did not always follow political events or rulers of the day.
In addition there’s a specialized sub-category of music called Battalgia
“Battle” music; which I will discuss in more detail below. For now let’s
get speakers turned up to max volume and max bass and let ‘em rip!
PLAY LIST
These samples (see the above Chronology for many more) are some of the finest
music of the time of A&E composed by some of the greatest composers ever
for the most important monarchs of their time to mark their major
accomplishments.
Lully Te Deum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY1DPeXqyHM
1677 (This the work during which Lully stabbed himself in the foot with
his conducting stick and eventually died from an infection.)
Charpentier Te Deum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY1DPeXqyHM
Charpentier 1688 – 1698 (Often over-shadowed by Lully, Charpentier was a fine
composer in his own right and a native Frenchman to boot.)
Handel’s Coronation Anthems https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mursg7TZsE
1727: Includes the famous Zadok the Priest, sung at all British coronations.
Handel followed King George to England and engaged in his own war with the
favorite Italian opera composers of the day who
were supported by the Prince of Wales. It’s a long but fascinating story that
you can learn more about from the movie Farinelli. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CmCPiGeHCM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dettingen_Te_Deum
(Handel, written to celebrate a victory over the French) 1743
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ytm36ix2eM
(Haydn’s Mass in Time of War) 1796: There are many fine versions of this on
YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JOwZWR7ZY4 (Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass) 1798. One
of his best last works.
BATTAGLIA
Battle music, or battaglia as it was known in Italian,
is as old as warfare itself. As long as man has had trumpets and drums
he has used them before, during and after specific battles and wars, and wars
in general to celebrate or remember past events.
A battaglia originally originated during the Renaissance and Baroque periods
using music to imitate a battle. The Renaissance battaglia is typically in the
form of a madrigal for four or more voices where cannons, fanfares, cries, drum
rolls, and other noises of a battle are imitated by voices. The baroque form is
more often an instrumental depiction of a battle.
Centuries later the form still exists as any Star Wars fan can tell you. Here’s
a list of pieces wiki thinks are especially important.
Contents
• 1 Vocal battaglia works
• 2 Instrumental battaglia works
• 3 Later battle music not called battaglia
Vocal battaglia works
• Janequin La Guerre or 'La Bataille' - chanson written to commemorate the
Battle of Marignano in 1515, first printed in 1529,
• Matthias Werrecore La Battaglia Taliana or Die Schlacht vor Pavia 1544, for 4
voices - after the Battle of Pavia 1525.
• Orazio Vecchi Battaglia d'Amor e Dispetto - an extended
madrigal dialogue - allegorical and not related to any battle. But
closer to the original battaglia genre than Monteverdi's amor versus guerra,
contrasts in that composer's 8th Book of Madrigals.
• Mateo Flecha La Guerra - an ensalada (music) in Spanish
• Claudio Monteverdi Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624)
Instrumental Battaglia works
• Andrea Gabrieli Battaglia à 8 per strumenti da fiato
• William Byrd "The Battell", for keyboard
• Annibale Padovano Battaglia à 8 per strumenti da fiato
• Heinrich Biber: Battalia à 10 for solo violin, strings, and continuo
Later battle music not called battaglia
• Franz Christoph Neubauer: Sinfonie 'La Bataille' - Battle of Focșani
1789
• Beethoven: Wellington's Victory - requiring muskets and cannons To be
contrasted with Haydn's tribute Battle of the Nile which does not sonically
attempt to depict the battle?
• Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
• Prokofiev: Battle on the ice from Alexander Nevsky - Battle of Lake Peipus,
1242
• Shostakovich: first movement of Leningrad Symphony, despite Shostakovich's
disclaimers
LESSER KNOWN TREASURES
Johann Hanau (1660 - 1722) The Battle Between David and Goliath
Typical of battaglia music of the time this piece consists of eight short
pieces that together tell a story. It’s really not much different than a John
William’s Star Wars soundtrack.
• The boasting of Goliath
• The trembling of the Israelites on the appearance of the giant, and
their prayer made to God
• The courage of David, and his desire to humble the arrogance of his
dreadful enemy, together with his confidence placed in the aid of God
• The struggle between the two and their contest. With his sling David
throws the flint at the forehead of the giant; Goliath falls
• The flight of the Philistines, who are pursued
by the Israelites
• The joy of the Israelites at their victory
• The concert of music by the women in honour of David
• The general jubilation and the dances of joyfulness of the people
No YouTube video of Huhnau’s work exists but here’s a video of Johann
Altenberg’s Concerto for 7 Trumpets from 1795. Altenberg was one of Huhnau’s
musical descendants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed2Ctagmzxw
John Jenkins (1592 - 1678)
• Fantasia "Newark Siege" It’s amazing how much rich
sound can come out of such a small ensemble. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dn4ZLt1T9k
George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) La
Réjouissance (from the Royal Fireworks Music)
You may not know it by name but as soon as you watch the video you’ll recognize
the tune. Perfect recording and its so easy to imagine King George instead of
Queen Elizabeth receiving the acclaim of the adoring masses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BQemxvhhDQ
REVOLUTIONARY & NAPOLEONIC BATTLE MUSIC
As we’ve seen and heard classical battle music evolved from the earliest days
of fighting and musical interests. The Romans had their marches with trumpets
and drums and I’m sure they had words to go with them These
marches were played while the soldiers marched to battle, fought in battle, and
even after the battle if a victory had been won.
In time the battaglia, a sonic description of a battle came along, and
gradually developed from a vocal song to an instrument pieces that grew and
grew in size and complexity as musical tastes and instrument availability grew
At the same time masses, te deums and various
forms of musical remembrance kept the soldier in touch with their more
spiritual side and showed their leaders were, always, fighting on God’s side.
Even the Ottomans and Turks thought that way, as their battle music showed.
Songs and chants often developed spontaneously for non-professional or popular
presentation by soldiers or the common people. In time these tunes evolved as
the needs and wants of the nobility and royalty grew.
And then, as we shall see, simpler songs came back into vogue as the battles
and wars grew more and more horrible. Battles and wars were no longer grand
events to be celebrated but vast carnage to be mourned.
With the passing of the Italian battaglia and Germanic influences in London the
main current of battle music passed to the Vienna of the Habsburgs and the
Paris of Louis XIV. From there it spread all over Europe and even to the New
World.
Let’s begin with a look at some of the best French battle music composers of
the day.
Etienne Mehul, Le Chant du Depart, called “ the most important French
opera composer during the Revolution…the first romantic composer”
• Chant du départ (1794) (see below)
• Chant des victoires (1794)
• Messe Solennelle pour soli, chœurs et orgue (1804)
• Chant du retour pour la Grande Armée (1808)
• Chant lyrique pour l'inauguration de la statue de Napoléon (1811)
Adrien, Emperor of Rome (1799), opera in 3 acts, battle scene http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?n=781c24a6&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5EYYA%5Eus&pg=video&pn=1&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&qs=&searchfor=Mehul+composer&si=245051_working-main-newtest&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt
Wrote 30+ opera over a 30+ year period.
Francois Gossec composed three Te Deums, career
spanned the Revolutionary, Napoleonic and Restoration eras.
Military Symphony by Gossec http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?n=781c24a6&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5EYYA%5Eus&pg=video&pn=2&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&qs=&searchfor=Gossec+composer&si=245051_working-main-newtest&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt&pToken=CAoQAA&ots=1485714812658
Gavotte in D Major (Classical Music for Thanksgiving Dinner) http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?n=781c24a6&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5EYYA%5Eus&pg=video&pn=2&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&qs=&searchfor=Gossec+composer&si=245051_working-main-newtest&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt&pToken=CAoQAA&ots=1485714812658
Andre Gretry career also spanned the three eras. During his career he
served the Revolution, Napoleon and the later Louis. In his old age he was
given a home and a pension. His funeral was attended by all the great composers
of the day.
La Marseillaise Although composed by Claude
Joseph Rouget de L’Isle in 1792 he never signed the manuscript thereby claiming
authorship. It was written in 1792 and adopted as the French National Anthem in
1795. More a cantata than an anthem the work contains eight verses and a chorus
repeated after each verse. Originally called “War Song of the Rhine Army”
(the composer was from Strasbourg) Gossec and
Berlioz also wrote popular and extravagant versions of the anthem. Today
the first verse and chorus, and sometimes the fifth and sixth are verses and
chorus are performed.
Here are three YouTube videos featuring three of Frances’ greatest singers. It
was interesting to note as I went through the YouTube videos that most of them
were by French women singers and the recordings done by men were mostly
foreigners.
Mireille Mathieu sings La Marseilles
http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?n=781c24a6&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5EYYA%5Eus&pg=video&pn=2&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&qs=&searchfor=Gossec+composer&si=245051_working-main-newtest&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt&pToken=CAoQAA&ots=1485714812658
Edith Piaf sings.
http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?n=781c24a6&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5EYYA%5Eus&pg=video&pn=1&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&qs=&searchfor=Le+Marseilles&si=245051_working-main-newtest&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt
Lily Pons sings or more accurately warbles.
http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?searchfor=Lily+Pons+La+Marseilles&n=781c24a6&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5EYYA%5Eus&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&qs=&si=245051_working-main-newtest&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt&ts=1485716539583
The difference between French Revolutionary Music and Napoleonic Battle Music
can be illustrated in their symbols: for the Revolution the guillotine and for
Napoleon the imperial N or perhaps the honey bee. https://regencyredingote.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/the-bees-of-napoleon/
WORLD WAR I AND AFTEWARDS
By the time of WWI battle music had gone out of style and most recordings draw
their music from earlier times. One exception is an ERATO disc that the Musical
Heritage Society re-issued in 1972. It is called “Official Recording in
Commemoration of the Armistice of 1918”. This is quintessential French
battle music from the get go!
So what replaced battle music? By the time of WWI the cycle had come full
circle and simple songs were in favor with both the soldiers in the trenches and the folks on the home front. Here are some
examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH4-fYIfC-E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsynSgeo_Uo&list=PL1mZeR4wTBoxiM86th4lOXhMQN8wDWYAt
Not surprisingly, many of the songs written during the last year or so of WWI
didn’t become widely known but, by the time of WWII, these songs had been
adopted by soldiers and civilians in all the waring countries and became the
popular hits of the day.
ORIGINAL CONCLUSION
Epilogue: "It was in the reign of George III that the aforesaid personages
lived and quarreled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are all
equal now." ~ Stanley Kubrick
As we bid adieu to Prussia in A&E…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdnkV-KWYnI
(Old German military funeral march.)
If you don’t like the above version try this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj7OLU0rZrY
The German equivalent to Taps or Last Post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj7OLU0rZrY
REVISED CONCLUSION
In 2014 a joint Franco-German team produced a motion picture based on a
successful play. It was called DIPLOMACY and received excellent reviews. It was
difficult to do, I’m sure, because the movie retold the well-known story of
what happened in Paris when Hitler ordered the city destroyed and everybody
already knew the ending. Still, the skill of the actors kept the suspense going.
I thought about that movie as I finished up this project. Although I watched it
twice I could not for the life of me recall any of the music used in the movie.
So I went online and checked the film’s wiki entry. I discovered the credited
composer was named Jorg Lemburg, a German. I did a Google search on him and
other than a FB page I found nothing. I thought about that and it drove home
the point that battle music, even in Diplomacy, isn’t what it once was.
30 January 2017, for DW.
XENOGOGIC, March 2017
By Larry Peery
The Grammys 2017: Part 1: The Three Queens: Amazing Women & Amazing Talents
iNTRODUCTION
I don’t usually watch the Grammy Awards every year. In fact I can’t remember the last time I actually did watch them. Instead, I usually read the media write-ups on the awards I’m interested in the next day. However, this year as I read the reports in The Washington Post, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times I realized ---perhaps because the recent political news has made me much more aware of how the media covers the news---that this was a year where the Grammys required some attention. So here are a few thoughts of mine.
Please keep in mind as you read this two things: first, I have never knowingly seen or listened to Beyonce perform, I have only seen a few YouTube videos of Adele performing, and I have seen and heard Susan’s performances on YouTube from her competitions and concerts, as well as purchased several of her CDs. I have equal great respect for all three of them as women of great talent and performers.
TAKES ON THE GRAMMYS: WHAT THEY SAID AND WHERE THEY SAID IT
The WP put its Grammy story top-centered on the front page. Bests, irrelevance, snub, struggle and honor were the key words in their secondary headings. The NYT also put its story top center on the front page. Eye-catching words included: best, worst, dramatic, politics, technical-hiccups and flubs caught the reader’s eye. The WSJ worked the numbers (three times no less) as it is wont to do. Not only did it move the lead story well down the scroll online (e.g. equivalent to page five in a printed paper) it gave a bigger and better picture to Jennifer Lopez and also gave her a minute-plus video with a political message. (Surely it was a coincidence but the WSJ announced the same day that its Commentary Editor was leaving --- no reason given.). The Los Angeles Times had a huge problem with how to handle the Grammy Awards, usually one of its biggest stories of the year, with the breaking news of the leak in the Oroville Dam. It compromised by leading with the dam story, top-center front page with a big picture, and then immediately followed it with no less than five by-lined reports on the Grammys. Still, it was enough to send me online to CNN and USA Today to see if the dam was still holding. (It was, as I write this late Monday morning on the 13th.)
The Washington Post
Grammy Awards
“Adele bests Beyonce, and the Grammys reach peak irrelevance”
This is what Beyoncé's album of the year snub says about the Recording Academy's struggle to honor black music.
New York Times
“The Best and the Worst of the Grammys”
Beyoncé
brought a dramatic spectacle, A Tribe Called Quest delivered politics, and
technical hiccups provided a few flubs.
Wall Street Journal
Adele’s album, “25,” swept the Grammy's and won five awards--including best album, song of the year and record of the year, beating rival Beyoncé in the top three categories.
Adele Dominates the 59th Grammy Awards
British megastar Adele beat out Beyoncé for song, record and album of the year, while Chance the Rapper won the prize for best new artist at a politically charged show.
(Writer’s Note: But Jennifer Lopez got the one minute plus video with a political message and a big photo.)
(But Jennifer Lopez got the 1+ min video with a political message and a big photo that you had to scroll down even further to the fifth screen to see.)
LAT
It took a breaking dam to upstage the Grammys. Perhaps they should have opened the show with a live video of the Oroville Dam over-flowing with Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” playing in the background?
The single won the Grammy Award for the Record of the Year and Song of the Year in the 1971 Grammy Awards, with its album, “The Boxer”, also winning several awards in the same year.
The single won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in the Grammy Awards of 1971, with its album also winning several awards in the same year. The song was composed and written by Paul Simon, performed on the piano with Art Garfunkel doing the vocal solo. Although the composing pair claimed there was no religious message in the song it did have a strong gospel music feeling. It offered a bit of musical Prozac at a time when the country badly needed it. It went on to be number one in thirteen major markets, sold over six million copies and was recorded for over fifty performers.
But, it being Hollywood, the show had to go on and so it did.
“It was Adele’s
night. But it happened in Beyonce’s world.” as one LAT critic put it.
“Adele and David Bowie rack up wins as the Grammys struggle to keep up with the times”, by Randy Lewis
Adele also won points for humility and grace, restarting a tribute to George Michael that she began off-key and paying homage, in the evening’s final moments, to Beyoncé.
“Why were people booing after Adele’s acceptance speech?”
“How the Grammy Awards’ TV ratings compare with last year’s?”
RECAPPING THE AWARDS
Adele has won 15 Grammys:
Adele swept the Grammy Awards on Sunday,
taking home statuettes for the top prizes - album, record and song of the year
- in a shock, history-making victory over Beyonce on a night marked by
political statements and emotional tributes.
Adele, 28, won all five Grammys for which
she was nominated, including for her comeback album "25" and her
soaring ballad "Hello." She became the first person in Grammy history
to win the top three awards twice, following her wins for her last album
"21" in 2012.
Beyonce has
been out there winning Grammys, either as part of Destiny’s Child or as a solo
act, for nearly two decades — and she’s achieved quite a collection in that
time.
Her Grammy
total as of the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday was 22 victories, after she
took home two awards. Despite her losses to Adele in the major categories of
Album of the Year and Record of the Year, she still has a strong lifetime
record.
That puts
her five behind the most total Grammys won by a female artist — that honor
currently goes to Alison Krauss, who’s pulled in 27 Grammys.
Susan Boyle has no Grammys but she has sung for Elizabeth II and Pope Benedict XVI and neither Adele or Beyonce has (yet). Susan has won other awards, especially in her native Scotland, including: Most Popular International Artist, International Album of the Year, Favorite Breakout Music Artist, several World Music awards, and two Grammy nominations.
BY THE NUMBERS
Beyonce Knowles is worth USD 450M, age 35, active since 1997
Adele Adkins is worth USD 125M, age 28, active since 2006
Susan Boyle is worth USD 35M, age 55, active since 2009
There’s no point to listing songs, albums or sales because those numbers change constantly.
Beyonce
Adele
Susan Boyle
While Beyonce and Adele warble it out for “best ever anywhere and everywhere” female vocalist title Susan Boyle is content to recycle her vocal earnings into charitable works as this tabloid story from the Daily Mail reports.
CONCLUSION
As you’ve seen all three of these women have done and are doing amazing things on stage and off. Their past trials and tribulations are nothing compared to the challenges facing them now: coming back, motherhood, and sponging relatives are the new challenges they face as their continue to crack out their recordings and perform their concerts. Hopefully they’ll be providing us with more classy and classic entertainment in years to come.
No openings at present.
Diplomacy,
“Milk and Trash”, 2015A, W 10/S 11
Austria (Jack McHugh
– jwmchughjr “of” gmail.com): Build A
Budapest.. A Armenia – Syria,
A
Bohemia - Munich (*Fails*), A Budapest – Serbia, A Bulgaria - Greece
(*Bounce*),
F
Eastern Mediterranean Supports F Ionian Sea (*Ordered to Move*), A Sevastopol –
Rumania,
A
Silesia Supports A Prussia - Berlin (*Void*), A Smyrna Supports A Armenia –
Syria, A Trieste Supports A Venice,
A
Tyrolia Supports A Bohemia - Munich.
England (Mark Firth
– mogcate “of” me.com): Build A London.. F Denmark - Baltic Sea, F Holland - North Sea,
A
London Hold, A Norway - St Petersburg, F Rome – Naples, F Spain(sc) Hold, A
Syria - Smyrna (*Disbanded*),
F
Tunis - Ionian Sea (*Fails*), F Tuscany – Rome, F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F
Rome - Naples.
Germany (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Build A Kiel.. A Berlin Supports A Munich,
A
Burgundy Supports A Munich, F Gulf of Bothnia Supports
A Norway - St Petersburg, A Kiel Supports A Berlin,
A
Livonia – Warsaw, A Marseilles – Piedmont, A Munich Supports A Berlin
(*Cut*), A Piedmont – Tuscany,
A
Ruhr Supports A Munich.
Italy (John Biehl –
jerbil “of” shaw.ca): Remove F Naples.. F
Apulia Supports A Venice,
F
Ionian Sea - Greece (*Bounce*), A Venice Hold.
Russia (Kevin Wilson
– ckevinw “of” comcast.net): A Moscow
- St Petersburg (*Fails*), A Prussia - Livonia.
Now Proposed - G/R/E/A and G/E/A. Please Vote. NVR=No, NMR=Yes
Deadline
for F 11 is March 28th at 7am my time
PRESS
Flap Jack-Boob:
You're powers of deduction are letting you down--I have not written much
press--and no black press--in this game. I spend most of this soothing john biehl’s
massive ego in Italy and you see how well that went....the bastard NMRed on me
and left me holding the bag.
TotalCon TD:
I played Germany a lot this weekend, two countries simultaneously in two
rounds, but nowhere did as well as I'm doing here, but it was a great
tournament!
By Almost
Popular Demand
The goal is to pick something that fits the
category and will be the "second most popular" answer. You score
points based on the number of entries that match yours. For example, if the
category is "Cats" and the responses were 7 for Persian, 3 for Calico
and 1 for Siamese, everyone who said Persian would get 7 points, Calico 3 and
the lone Siamese would score 1 point. However, the most popular answer in each
category scores zero points! The
cumulative total over 10 rounds will determine the overall winner. Anyone may
enter at any point, starting with an equivalent point total of the lowest
cumulative score from the previous round. If a person misses a round, they'll
receive the minimum score from the round added to their cumulative total. In
each round you may specify one of your answers as your Joker answer. Your
score for this answer will be doubled.
In other words, if you apply your Joker to category 3 on a given turn,
and 4 other people give the same answer as you, you get 10 points instead of
5. Players who fail to submit a Joker for any
specific turn will have their Joker automatically applied to the first category.
And, if you want to submit some commentary with your answers, feel free
to. The game will consist of 10 rounds,
with the 10th round being worth double points. A prize will be awarded to the winner. Research is permitted, but
cooperation or collusion between players is not!
Round 10 Categories – DOUBLE POINTS
For this round you may NOT use the same
answer in more than one category. Each
answer must be different.
1. A vowel.
2. A different vowel.
3. A different vowel.
4. A different vowel.
5. A different vowel.
Allison
Kent hits the low score of 6, killing her chances. Dick Martin and Martin Burgdorf each score a
high of 38 (out of a possible 46).
Andy
Lischett holds on to win, beating Jack McHugh by 6 points. I’ll be in touch about potential prizes in the
near future.
Thank
you to all the players for participating!
General Deadline for
the Next Issue of Eternal Sunshine: March
28th, 2017 at 7:00am my time. Hope to See You Then!