Culture Break: In Memoriam, Chester Bennington

Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park, reportedly has committed suicide:

Law enforcement sources tell us the singer hanged himself at a private residence in Palos Verdes Estates in L.A. County. His body was discovered Thursday just before 9 AM.

Chester was married with 6 children from 2 wives.

The singer struggled with drugs and alcohol for years. He had said in the past he had considered committing suicide because he had been abused as a child by an older male.

"Powerless," which I think is one of the band's most affecting songs:

Culture Break: Qntal: Name der Rose

Qntal is another of those medieval pop groups that were taking the Berlin club scene by storm a few years ago. It's a group on the order of Eurhythmics or Dead Can Dance -- a knock-out singer and a guy -- or in this case, two guys -- who do everything else. This is one of my favorite cuts of theirs, from their 2004 album Qntal III: Tristan und Isolde. It starts off a little slow, but be patient. It's worth it.

Culture Break: Sharon Isbin Plays "Andecy"

I first ran across this piece on one of Sharon Isbin's albums (Journey to the New World, which features, among other things, Joan Baez in an amazing performance). As near as I can make out, the piece was actually composed by Andrew York.

Culture Break: Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries

In honor of the GOP convention:

Because nothing says "presidential" like blowing people up.

Culture Break: R.E.M.: Losing My Religion

Just because I like it.

I have no idea who those people in the initial image are, unless they're the band members all grown up. Must be.

Culture Break: Eid Mubarak, Bollywood Style

Today (actually beginning last night at sunset) marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. So, celebration is in order. "Eid mubarak" is a traditional greeting for the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr) and Eid al-Adha (the month of Dhul Haj).

Since I have a fondness for Bollywood, I thought this would be fun:

No, I have no idea what's going on here, except that, yes, there are Muslims in India.

Culture Break: Benjamin Britten: War Requiem: Agnus Dei

This came up on Box Turtle Bulletin (in a brief biography of Peter Pears), and given the events of the past ten days, it seems fitting:

Culture Break: Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings

As performed by the Kronos Quartet, which is the best version I've ever heard. Since the piece was originally the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11, this seems appropriate.

In memory of Orlando.

Culture Break: Toru Takemitsu: November Steps

One of my favorite pieces by Takemitsu. Conducted by no less than Seiji Ozawa.

(And of course, the comments on YouTube are almost all in Japanese, for some reason.)

Culture Break: Michael Nyman, "Sometime Like Apes" (from "Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs")

Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs is probably my favorite thing by Michael Nyman, although he did a very good soundtrack to Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books, which, like N,S & A, as based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. He also did a ballet based on the same play, so I guess this work was intended to get it out of his system. I might add that Nyman is one of the more protean composers I've run across -- one of those American Individualists who seem to follow no set pattern.

And yes, the video is from Prospero's Books, which, all things considered, is one of the more outrageous adaptations of Shakespeare I've seen.

Culture Break: Jon Balke/Amina Alaoui: Jadwa, from Siwan

This is from the album Siwan, a collaboration between Balke, Alaoui, and a number of other very talented musicians. It's a terrific collection -- a mix of North Africa and Iberia, beautifully rendered:

I've reviewed it, but it hasn't been republished yet at the new Green Man Review, but I do encourage you to look it up.

Culture Break: Journey: Winds of March

This one always destroys me:

Culture Break: Corvus Corax: Saltarello

During one brief period, I got several CDs for review that all seemed to center on the Berlin clubs. One of the most notable was The Best Of Corvus Corax. They started off as an East Berliner street band, drawing their music from medieval sources -- nine men, six on bagpipes, three on drums. This is what they're like in concert:

The album itself is quite engaging. One of these days I'll start poking around to see if there's more available from them -- at the time, "Best of" was the only CD released in the States.

And if you go to YouTube, the comments are from all over the world -- in German, of course, but also greetings from Japan, Serbia, some in what appears to be Portuguese, Spanish, even Irish. They obviously have international appeal.

Culture Break: Eagles: Hotel California

For some reason, I've been listening to the Eagles lately. So, this:

Somehow, this one seems appropriate, what with the Eternal Election Cycle and all.

(No, it has nothing to do with Glenn Frey's passing, although I knew about it.)

Culture Break: Journey: A Twofer

I may have mentioned that I've been making an effort to listen to things that I haven't listened to in a while -- when you've got I forget how many hundreds of albums stored on your computer, you tend to keep going back to a few favorites and lose track of other things that are equally interesting.

At any rate, guess who popped up on my radar this morning:

There's something about Steve Perry's voice -- like, it's perfect.

And then this came up:

I don't love the video, but it's the official video, and the song is one of their best.

I really sort of miss the '80s, sometimes.

Culture Break: Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Winter

This seemed appropriate, the more so since my review of Carmignola's performance on this album has magically reappeared at the new Green Man Review today:

A note: You may have noticed that I prefer to post performance videos of musical pieces. Sadly, the one performance video I found of Carmignola doing this piece is not up to par. Oh, well.

Culture Break: 6 Pack Band: Hum Hain Happy

India's first transgender pop group. See here for more information:

(Yes, I have a weakness for Bollywood musicals.)

Culture Break: Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, Finale

I'm not sure what I think about this, except to note that it's not your standard Swan Lake.

If you're interested in more, here are links to the full ballet, Part I and Part II.

Culture Break: Zoë Keating: Escape Artist

A former co-worker, a violinist herself, introduced me to the music of Zoë Keating, which I find fascinating, so now I'm taking the opportunity to introduce her to you:

She really does amazing things with sound.

Culture Break: Pentatonix: The Carol of the Bells

This has always been one of my favorite carols, and Pentatonix does a bang-up job on it:

Merry Christmas! (See, I have no trouble with wishing people a Merry Christmas.) And a belated Blessed Yule.