The Filmworks Challenge

Composer John Zorn has written over twenty albums of music entitled 'Filmworks', followed by a roman numeral denoting which album it is. They are, to say the least, not your average listening material. I in fact wrote a Haiku to illustrate his work:

Juxtaposition-

John Zorn's beautiful sectrets,

Forlorn of harmony.

Not much, as Haikus go, but it sums it up. Zorn uses dissonances and silence, as well as some conventional harmony to portray a different perspective. (Incidentally, the albums are not written for films, they're just called that. Don't know why)

As such, I have given myself this challenge: to listen to every Filmworks album, in order, on Spotify during the Summer holidays. There are two or three albums missing on Spotify, but I've still got a good 14.8 hours of listening time.

Thanks for reading, please comment below, and email me with suggestions for any future blogs.

~Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.~

The Santander Banking System

The only way I can really describe this is to do a big list, so here goes:

• I phone Santander to order a Visa Electron card.
• Get redirected.
• Get told I can order it over the phone.
• Get redirected.
• Get told I have to go into a branch to order it.
• I go into a branch and order it, told it will be seven working days.

[Three weeks later...]

• I phone up to see where the card is.
• Get redirected.
• Told it hasn't been ordered.
• Get redirected, to the branch where I 'supposedly' ordered the card from.
• Told, again, it hasn't been ordered
• Get redirected to somewhere where I can order it over the phone.
• Put on hold for four minutes.
• Heavily accented Scottish man tells me it hasn't been ordered.
• He then tells me he can order it.
• Put on hold for six minutes.
• Told by Scottish man he can't order it, I have to go into a branch.

How is anyone supposed to use this system effectively? Not looking forward to applying for mortgages and credit cards...

Thanks for reading, email me at jazzphilosophybiscuits@gmail.com with suggestions, and feel free to comment below.

~Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.~

The HobNob

The HobNob. Probably the heartiest biscuit, maybe because its origins lie in Scotland, 1984. It's made of oats, and they're very good for dunking. McVitie's introduced the chocolate covered variant in 1987, though I prefer the plain one, bigger absorbable-surface-area to volume ratio. Incidentally, if anyone is reading this at around 17:00 on Monday 22nd of March, 2010, I am currently eating a plain HobNob.

This biscuit is worthy of recognition, and I give it a 8/10. 6/10 for the chocolate covered variety.

Thanks for reading, please email and comment.

~Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.~

Picnic

Yesterday probably wasn't the best day for a picnic, weather-wise, but nonetheless I enjoyed it. We were jointly celebrating the birthdays of Jasmine and Vicky, so we had a picnic at Western Park. It was drizzly most of the time, and at some points raining, but it was good. Around 17 people were there in all. There was an impressive selection of food: Crisps, brownies, tortilla chips, 4 litres of Pepsi Max, buns, sandwiches, and 2 cakes.

After the excessive eating, we had a couple of games of 'hide and seek', one game of '1 2 3 dunnya' before heading down to Crookes Valley Park, where we played 'tig', and generally running around the playground. This entailed some sort of spinning contraption, which made me feel quite sick afterwards, swings, a climbing frame and a merry-go-round which had its own pedals!

All in all, despite the mildly miserable weather, great day. If either Jasmine or Vicky are reading, thanks.

Thank you for reading, send all suggestions for futures blogs to jazzphilosophybiscuits@googlemail.com, and comment below.

~Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.~

King Edward VII, Jazz Workshop

For anyone in Sheffield who likes jazz, and would like to play it with others, this is worth taking note of. Saturday mornings, 10:00 until 12:30 at King Edward VII school, Sheffield. The jazz workshop's there are great for beginners and more advanced players alike. I've been going now for a couple of years, and I love it. You learn the theory of jazz, along with learning jazz standards, under the guidance of one of many workshop leaders. You get a huge confidence boost when you play your first solo, however bad it may sound! I remember my first time there, I was extremely nervous, but everyone there, leaders and participants alike, was very nice and encouraging. I recommend this to anyone who's thinking of taking up playing jazz. For me at least, it was/is a very fun and enriching experience.

Thanks for reading, email suggestions for future blogs to jazzphilosophybiscuits@googlemail.com, and comment below.

~Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.~

Mere Christianity - CS Lewis

CS Lewis: converted Christian, also wrote the Chronicles of Narnia series. Good books. Mere Christianity however is his take on the religion. I'll do my best to give a brief overview of the book, though I was only borrowing the book from a friend who now has it back.

He begins by attempting to establish a logical case for Christianity. I quite enjoyed the earlier sections of this book, where he talks about the philosophy and logic that lies with Christianity. I think that this section is mostly for non-Christians, so I enjoyed the philosophy aspect that he gave and the structured, logical way in which he formulated his arguments.

The second half of the book seems to me to be based on the assumption that you are Christian, or at least that you are serious about learning the beliefs. It covers topics such as why Christian theology is important to Christians, moral values, and marriage. Although I preferred reading the first half of this book, I think it was useful for me to read the second half, if only to understand more about the faith that many people I know follow.

In conclusion: I recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians alike, each party can get something out of it, and it's also quite short. A feature I hold in high regards.

Thanks for reading, any suggestions email me, and comment below.

'Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.'

Vlog

My first thought on vlogs was that they'd be a waste of time. They probably are, as this blog probably is, but I do like this one by Luke Cutforth. He's trying to get to 200 subscribers at the moment, so every little helps. Good vlogging Luke, keep it up.

Next post should be on Sunday, unless something interesting happens before then.

Kind Of Blue

Considered to be one of the best, if not the best, jazz albums of all time, Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, 1959, marks a high point in the development of jazz. Though there are only 5 tracks on the original album, each one of them deserves recognition.

So What - The opening track of the album features Bill Evans on piano and Paul Chambers creating the iconic intro. Following each playing of the bass riff, the chords played by the front-line members are stacked up 4ths, with a major 3rd on the top. The chord is E A D G B, followed by D G C F A. That may not mean much written down, but it was such an important chord, it was named the 'So What chord' for its uniqueness.

Freddie Freeloader - In this, Davis replaced Bill Evans with Wynton Kelly, and the solos are played by Kelly, saxophonist John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis. This one is almost a standard 12-bar blues, in contrast to So What's long 32-bar form. I say almost because instead of resolving on the 1st chord of the sequence, the tune is left 'hanging' on chord 7, leaving the form with an unresolved feel.

Blue In Green - The shortest track on the album, at only 5:36, there is debate as to whether it was composed by pianist Bill Evans or Miles Davis. This one is a slow tempo track, and quite laid back. I can't really think of anything particularly special about this track, but there isn't anything wrong with it by any account.

All Blues - Another iconic bass riff by Paul Chambers, this 12-bar blues in 6/8 is famous not only for the bass, but for the rising and falling chords on the instruments other than Davis' trumpet. Another classic, this track features some great solos, and reminds me why jazz songs are often so long. So that they have enough time to develop and express (and John Coltrane is the man for that, try listening to the album A Love Supreme).

Flamenco Sketches - The final track of the album (unless you get the reissue, containing an alternate take of this track, or the Legacy Edition, which is huge), Flamenco Sketches has no written melody. The musicians improvised over a set of chords, which were planned, using different modes (essentially 'jazz scales'). Composed by Davis and Bill Evans.

Thanks for reading, please comment below, or email me with suggestions for topics you would like me to cover.