Music

Put on Your Dancing Shoes

Just have to rave more about Sam Robson. Here’s his latest. It’s a stunner. Very symphonic. He brilliantly combines dozens of tracks to create a superlative performance of a movie and Broadway classic. Enjoy. By the way, this hits me on all four cornerstones of a Neo-Renaissance life. Emotional- I often get teary-eyed when I …

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A Season of Loss

It’s been a season of loss for me in December and January. My mother-in-law, my brother’s father-in-law, and a good golf buddy of mine all passed away in the past six weeks. They were all loved by many and will be missed. Each one was a down to earth good person. Not flashy or famous …

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The Key to a Successful Neo Renaissance Life

Renaissance people, or Polymaths, or whatever you call us, are skilled and/or knowledgeable in many areas.  We believe in lifelong learning, and are driven to excel in more than one area. But the core secret or fundamental trait of a true Neo-Renaissance practitioner is curiosity fueled by the desire for new experiences. Scratch the surface …

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An end of the month Zen moment

One of the great singers and arrangers of his generation. Awesome originality no matter what genre of music. So it’s mostly hymns. No biggie. This one is his latest. Take five minutes, get a coffee or tea, sit back and relax with the headphones on and the cell phone off.

Musing on Formal Education

  My wife and I attended her niece’s graduation from Grinnell College the other day. She’s a bright, charming, intelligent young woman who’s already been to China to teach English and is going back later this year for an 11-month stint teaching middle school-aged children. Whenever I attend a graduation ceremony, whether from high school …

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Take Two: Sometimes the Only Thing That Can Relax You is Music

Okay everyone, break time. It’s been a tough day, tough week, tough month maybe. (Tell me about it! I’ve been trying to get this post out for a day-and-a-half. Hoping this gets to everyone in it’s complete form.) You’re frazzled, overworked, under rested, need a break, need some inspiration, some clue that even though life …

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The Day the Music Actually Died

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/artyfakt/4939184801/ Singer-songwriter Don McLean is credited in popular culture for coining the phrase “The day the music died” in his best-known song, “American Pie.” That “day” was the day a plane crash killed musician Buddy Holly, one of McLean’s biggest musical influences. As a baby-boomer, I loved that song (still do), because it hit …

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Music, Jazz, and Improvisation

Music satisfies three cornerstones of a Neo Renaissance (Neo Ren) life: Emotional, Intellectual, and Spiritual. Performing music can often satisfy the fourth cornerstone, Physical. Ever see a fat rock-and-roll drummer? Ever check the lung capacity and endurance of a lead trumpeter for a big-band jazz ensemble? Ever gone to a nightclub, watched and listened to …

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If This Doesn’t Move You, You Must be Dead

A short and sweet post about one of the Neo Renaissance cornerstones, Emotional. In four-and-a-half minutes, you may  experience just about all the positive emotions you can think of. Enjoy. Share with others. Do you have any music to share that has a huge wow factor? Religious or not, this is music at its pinnacle. …

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A Moment of Zen

Under enough peer pressure, sooner or later we all conform. 🙂 The second clip is particularly mesmerizing. http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2013/05/17/184815141/the-little-metronome-that-wouldnt?ft=3&f=111787346&sc=nl&cc=es-20130526

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