Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Flower of Scotland: Chance or Intent?
Speaking of Scotland, I'd always been vaguely aware that that other national anthem, O Flower of Scotland, more than a little resembles Verdi's Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from 'Nabucco'. The opening phrase is more or less synonymous.
I'd also pretty much assumed it was a steal, but on closer thought perhaps it's intentional. The Chorus is a lament for/by an oppressed people in bondage, yearning for their homeland. Surely no coincidence. Yet a quick Google search of a link got no results. Can I really be the first to twig? Did the Corries mean it or was it entirely unconscious given the subject matter? Or is it widely known yet just not mentioned tacitly?
I think we should be told. By whom, I don't know. And who 'we' are I'm not sure either.
Helpful, huh?>
I'd also pretty much assumed it was a steal, but on closer thought perhaps it's intentional. The Chorus is a lament for/by an oppressed people in bondage, yearning for their homeland. Surely no coincidence. Yet a quick Google search of a link got no results. Can I really be the first to twig? Did the Corries mean it or was it entirely unconscious given the subject matter? Or is it widely known yet just not mentioned tacitly?
I think we should be told. By whom, I don't know. And who 'we' are I'm not sure either.
Helpful, huh?>
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Crowded House
Hey now, they're back together. Well, as much as they can ever be minus the magic of Paul Hester, but I'm very pleased to hear it nonetheless. (We still those compound words in Scotland, as well as archaics like 'Whilst')
I'll certainly be seeing the new line up whenever they play near enough me to go..one of the best and most underrated bands ever, for my money.
Speaking of which, and probably not entrirely coincidentally, the DVD and CD of their farwell (ahem) gig at Sydney ten years back is now out, and is cracking. Brilliant stuff, with many shivers up spines...none more so than the fabulous version of Whispers and Moans and the ever-tingly Fingers of Love contained therein.
Good to see you back guys, hope its as good as it was before.
Oh aye, speaking of being Scots, remember to get your haggises in (is that haggi? Haggis?) for Burns' Night later this week.
All together now: Fair fa' yir honest sancie face...
I'll certainly be seeing the new line up whenever they play near enough me to go..one of the best and most underrated bands ever, for my money.
Speaking of which, and probably not entrirely coincidentally, the DVD and CD of their farwell (ahem) gig at Sydney ten years back is now out, and is cracking. Brilliant stuff, with many shivers up spines...none more so than the fabulous version of Whispers and Moans and the ever-tingly Fingers of Love contained therein.
Good to see you back guys, hope its as good as it was before.
Oh aye, speaking of being Scots, remember to get your haggises in (is that haggi? Haggis?) for Burns' Night later this week.
All together now: Fair fa' yir honest sancie face...
Thursday, January 11, 2007
New Year and all that
Well, it is.
Cold here too, but shoved on a latitude level with Moscow and Nova Scotia, you'd probably expect that. There are worse places to be.
For the new year I'm going to try to learn some French. I'll probably never master the tenses, the gender and all the difficult bits, but I might at least be able to get by in a sad way if I visit France. Which I do intend to sometime this year. Better than not even trying at any rate.
I'm working on more poetry too: always bits of things left around here and there, some of it barely started and others almost finished. As finished as anything like that can be...always hard when to step back and leave it as it is.
I intend to play more board games this year too. Well someone has to. Between my friends and I, we have quite a few, but we could always do with new ones. Though we don't really have time to play the ones we do have...but still, you never know...
Oh, I'm going to try to update this more often too. Once a fortnight or so at least. Though it'd help if I thought any bugger bar me was reading it. Perhaps that isn't important anyway.
Cold here too, but shoved on a latitude level with Moscow and Nova Scotia, you'd probably expect that. There are worse places to be.
For the new year I'm going to try to learn some French. I'll probably never master the tenses, the gender and all the difficult bits, but I might at least be able to get by in a sad way if I visit France. Which I do intend to sometime this year. Better than not even trying at any rate.
I'm working on more poetry too: always bits of things left around here and there, some of it barely started and others almost finished. As finished as anything like that can be...always hard when to step back and leave it as it is.
I intend to play more board games this year too. Well someone has to. Between my friends and I, we have quite a few, but we could always do with new ones. Though we don't really have time to play the ones we do have...but still, you never know...
Oh, I'm going to try to update this more often too. Once a fortnight or so at least. Though it'd help if I thought any bugger bar me was reading it. Perhaps that isn't important anyway.
