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The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Favorite Pairings of Listening and Activities?

 

A reader question:

You can often tell a bit about someone by learning their listening habits.  Some are devotees of TED Talks and podcasts; some are glued to cable news, and some tune their ancient radios to easy listening or oldies.  I like records.  The selection is varied and usually relates to the activity.  A well chosen Stones album like Let it Bleed is ideally suited to house cleaning, Diana Krall pairs beautifully with preprandial martinis, and a large orchestral work, like Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole is lovely for a Sunday afternoon break on the couch.  What does your readership enjoy?

 

48 comments:

  1. Bluegrass for gardening, The Stones' "Exile on Main Street" for a cocktails on a sunny day on the back porch, Irish folk music for a rainy day by the fire, Reggae on a blistering hot summer day, History podcasts for cleaning, puttering about, or long drives.

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  2. Glenn Miller goes with everything.

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  3. We are blessed with 2 classical music radio stations. Our radio is always tuned to one or the other, if not playing some Baroque era CD. We have no television, btw.

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  4. We are all over the place, listening to classical, both records and our superb classical station, jazz, rock and roll, and, when in the car, either NPR or KOOP for Soul Vaccination on Monday and Chateau Daddio on Tuesday. We mainly watch TV for old movies. Exile is a spectacular album, maybe the Stones' finest, but for the cocktail hour we are more Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, or Bill Evans. Debussy piano music like Suite Bergamesque is good, too. For music to work to or work out to, we like ZZ Top and Queen, but Aretha is nice, too.

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  5. There is some debate on this topic but in keeping with the blog's theme on tradition, I prefer listening to music from analog sources. Lately, I've been hunting down vintage vinyl records and even cassette tapes which has making a come back with Hipsters.

    Japanese 70's Jazz is pleasant on rainy weekends. Kiyoshi Sugimoto, Mabumi Yamaguchi Quartet, Ryo Fukui, etc.

    When I'm channelling my inner Heavy Tweed Jacket, I listen to New Order, My Bloody Valentine, Interpol, The Cure, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. I think Radiohead jumped the shark awhile ago.

    Pink Floyd or Nick Drake during long drives.

    When I need to focus on a project, it's Brian Eno or Mono, the talented Post-Rock band from Japan.

    When I'm training at the gym, I usually listen to aggressive tunes which most people find repulsive. Berghain Techno or Industrial Techno.

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  6. Argentine tangos, jazz and classical music is always apropos. I especially like Piazzolla, Gardel, Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, Satie, to name a few. As for singers, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Stevie Wonder, Simon and Garfunkel... again, to name but a few.

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  7. Dave Brubeck records on the record player (vintage Dual, Pioneer, and Advent) for sitting around sipping malt scotch, either alone or with friends.

    Otherwise, the Music Choice Jazz channel on Comcast.

    Let it Bleed for rocking out.

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  8. I like podcasts in the car: Milk Street (I have a crush on Christopher Kimball), This American Life, RadioLab, The Daily, My Favorite Murder (nsfw), and the story podcasts like Serial, S-Town, and TANIS.

    For home/walking/hanging out: 80s stuff and rock & roll; I have teenagers so I listen to - and sometimes enjoy! - their stuff too.

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  9. My tastes, such as they are, vary a lot but it's heavy on European folk music. Mostly I listen to CDs when I'm driving and I sometimes wonder if the tempo of the music affects my driving.

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  10. So many wonderful choices, from Brubeck to Glen Miller, and classical in between!

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  11. Big Band, 50s country, R&B, 50s R&R, Black Gospel, Psychedelic 60s, smooth vocals, a smattering of classical and any playlist with most of these represented. Struggling with listening to only one artist for many songs and that even includes Linda Rondstadt. My latest playlists have included The Band, Blaze Foley and John Prine. Never did inciteful talk shows and now I’m even limiting myself with insightful talk programming.

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  12. We live in northwest Connecticut. It is among the worst places in New England for radio reception. So, we basically use the iPad as a radio. We “stream” WWOZ, (New Orleans Music for the Universe), WHAY, Whitley City Kentucky (Free Range Radio), WHRB (5a-1p Jazz Spectrum) and WHMR for classical. Last but not least there’s “archives.” Who would have guessed that pretty much any Grateful Dead concert that ever occurred can now be heard. We like the early bluesy years with Pig. We like the early 70’s jazzy tempos. And we like spring ‘77 tour that’s in the Library of Congress. Cheers!

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  13. Anything by Vivaldi for any activity.

    Minimalist Trad

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  14. Good question. I listen to a lot of radio, and recently, a lot of podcasts, too. My radio preferences are mostly BBC Radio 4 for any of their programs, really, the new included. I love 'Desert Island Discs' on Sunday mornings after breakfast, and 'Gardeners' Question Time' Sunday afternoons after lunch. 'The Shipping Forecast' is listened to whilst I am in the bathtub Saturday evenings. Radio 4 also has excellent dramas and radio documentaries and I recently discovered BBC Sounds so if I miss anything, I can listen to certain programs. These I love to listen to as I embroider, and most recently, there was a series called 'The Battersea Poltergeist' (8 episodes) that was massively enjoyable...and a bit creepy! Another program I like is 'The Infinite Monkey Cage', a sort of comedy science show hosted by the physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince; it's described as 'a witty and irreverent look at the world according to science' and I enjoy this as I cook. I also listen to quite a bit of Classic FM (again, from the UK). Looking back, I see a pattern where I am listening to either classic jazz or classical music when I am working and on the computer or else gardening; podcasts like the ones I mentioned, I tend to listen to as I cook or embroider. Oh, and I also listen to NPR news during my lunch hour to keep up with what's going on Stateside.

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  15. Chairman of the Board, General Johnston, The Catalinas, The Temptations,The Drifters,The Isley Brothers, Swinging Medallions, Dominoes, The Zodiacs, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs,The Fantastic Shakers,Globetrotters. Any time day or night.

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    1. Wow, you really take me back! Love them all! It's what we in the Carolinas called "beach music." I also love classical music, Motown and Reggaeton (because it livens me up).

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  16. Instrumental jazz, classical music, or Renaissance polyphony (Tallis Scholars) while I’m working. Vocal jazz (Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, June Christy, etc.) or rock, hip hop, country if I’m working but need a ‘lift,’ jazz or blues when I’m reading or puttering.

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  17. Replies
    1. Can't say that I'm a Phan, but they certainly were a big influence for so many! I think we might be the only 90's music fans on this post...

      Gin Blossoms, Smashing Pumpkins, just about anything 90's. More recent music tastes are Biffy Clyro, The Struts, and Courtney Barnett. Recently pulled out the soundtrack to Annie though. And it's that time of year where I need to pull out my Irish music and listen to it! (Although I can honestly listen to that all year long.) And yes, I still have CD's, as well as using Pandora to stream. A few albums and a slew of old 45's still in my collection as well.

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    2. 1.0 Phan here. But as far as activities and music...when I'm in the garden I gravitate to live Dead and JRAD. I also find WMVY nice for relaxing and drinks.

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    3. Me! Love Phish.

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  18. Internet radio stations that pick up streaming services from around the world, such Australia and Ireland. Also, the Antioch Broadcasting Network that plays old radio shows 24/7.

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  19. Rossini's William Tell Overture when cooking indoors, Sinatra outside by the grill, especially the Columbia years in the 60's.

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  20. Classic music on my Alexa echo device.

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  21. Jazz, as well as classical.

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  22. Sunday morning with the papers, a pipe and the Four Freshmen.

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  23. BBC Radio 3, 4, and 4 Extra.

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  24. I'm a fan of Sirius XM's Symphony Hall. I like to have it on in the background while I'm doing work that doesn't require strong concentration and I listen religiously to Robert Aubrey Davis's baroque show on Saturday mornings.

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  25. Calm jazz of various types in the background during dinner each evening and classical music during late Sunday morning breakfasts with The Grand Duchess and Young Master. I spare them and save the 70s-80s hard rock/heavy metal for online listening in my basement office during the day. When I occasionally wake her with breakfast in bed on the weekends, my wife enjoys NPR or German-language news on her laptop or whatever device is within reach.

    Best Regards,

    Heinz-Ulrich

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  26. Bluegrass Junction on satellite radio in the car. John Martyn and John Fahey and JJ Cale just about anytime around the house, interspersed with Larry Coryell, Miles Davis, Mozart, Beethoven, and Boccherini.

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  27. Miles Davis album Miles Ahead while watching the kids play in the surf on the north end of Virginia Beach. Good for sailing the Hampton One too.

    Barney Kessel album Modern Jazz Performances from Bizet's Carmen while enjoying gins and tonic on the veranda.

    Born on the Bayou by CCR while running through the trails of First Landing State Park with friends.

    Cheers

    Will

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    1. Your post takes me back to youthful years in Norfolk. I always loved Hamptons, but sailing in Hampton Roads, cutting in front of the Forrestal in a classic Moth, can be exciting, too.

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    2. Tim, cutting in front of a navy vessel in a moth boat is something you would not want to make a habit of but sounds like fun. Perhaps the Ride of the Valkyries or some other stirring Wagner ditty would be appropriate for such a venture.

      Will

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    3. It was unnerving. We were not visible to the bridge, and needless to say a ship of that size can cut off your air! Fortunately we were upwind and made it with a couple hundred yards or more to spare. Yes, that would have been great musical accompaniment! Ah, to be a thirteen year old again.

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  28. Chopin during any sort of precipitation. From a couch next to a window overlooking the English moors while recovering from the vapors, if at all possible.

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  29. Grateful Dead while doing everything.

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    1. Can one be classified as a “Dead fan” without being associated too closely with “Deadheads?”
      Not that there’s anything morally wrong with Deadheads. But, the music, after all, is what it’s all about. Who else boasts a bass player that does everything in counterpoint? What other band has a repertoire of over 500 songs? Who else commingled into one song “Hey Jude” and “Mr Fantasy?” Who else encouraged live taping of their concerts? Try openly, back in the day, walking into a Rolling Stones concert carrying a state of the art tape deck. You’d be arrested. What other band members took musicians salaries to help assure financial support for their 40 employees? Truly the “long strange trip” was wonderful.

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  30. My new discovery and obsession..."Alexa Play Classical Piano from Amazon Music." Amazingly beautiful station with lots of pieces unfamiliar to me. No old over- played music, but fresh and inclusive of many piano styles.

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  31. The best way to describe my musical tastes is "omnivorous." I listen to many podcasts, audio books, and NPR.

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  32. My grandmother got me hooked on Lawrence Welk, especially Henry Cuesta on clarinet, and I listen to that incessantly. The recordings were wiped out in the 2008 Universal Studios fire, but thank goodness for eBay.

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  33. Ahh, June Christy, "Something Cool" best soft jazz song ever. Thank you March 8, 12:37pm. PA

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  34. Motown, Celtic, and 80s pop.

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  35. Great question! Mozart's Requiem while driving on a moody, windy fall day. A crisp fall day, I love the Handel Trumpet Concerto in D. If it is early summer, in the morning, I adore Mozart Oboe Concerto in C Major KV.314. French pop & jazz (Les Ecrocs, Pomplemousse, Pierre Bensussan, Stephane Grappelli) while drinking coffee in the morning. Mid-day either alt-rock, punk rock or new-grass. Certain moods only Halestorm will do (you know...a little mayhem never hurt anyone). For background while working I like nature sounds or Ramsey Lewis...loop the In Crowd. Skiing: Misty Mountain Hop/Zep. One of my favorite Sirius stations is Bakersfield Beat (a whole lot of Dwight Yoakam and friends). And those NPR Tiny Desk Concerts....and Garden & Gun Back Porch Sessions...Larkin Poe? Kacey Musgraves? There's not enough hours in the day for all my moods and the music I love.

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  36. Arctic Outpost Radio on the net for working from home- very eclectic.

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  37. As I've gotten older, I've learned to enjoy the quiet. I've banished a TV from the bedroom and have never slept better.
    Sunday mornings in the kitchen, I love Joni Mitchell or other 'soft' music while I'm making eggs and grinding coffee.
    After the virus began. I knew I would be staying home more so I invested in a good pair of noise cancelling headphones. My taste in music is on whatever the mood may be from Big Band to The Pixies. I've also *forced* myself to search out *new* music. I think there is a lot of hidden talent and I love finding something new and different.

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  38. Oh gosh, this is tough to answer... I agree with everyone above. Depends on day, time, mood, weather.

    Shirley Horn, first and foremost, and then just about anything could happen.

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