Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Spring! Where Art thou

 


So I'm at my new office in the Falls but I am stuck as I have no proper hook up between my monitor(older) and the computer (newer). The Purolator is to be here by latest 10:30 tomorrow. Last week was crazy and I felt like a ping pong ball as to when I would be up in Miserysauga or here in the Falls(too long and boring to explain).  Oh well, I hope I do aok once everything is working. On Saturday, I did my groceries and came out just when it decided to rain or was it sleet, or hail? It was Crap that's all I know and it gave me the idea for my music post especially since it turned sunny after I got into the car. I'm not using "Singing in the Rain" even though I love that song and the movie because I'm afraid I will have to bitchslap Gene Kelly.

1. COME RAIN OR COME SHINE SUNG BY JUDY GARLAND 1963


I believe this was from her TV show but to hear a better recording is from her legendary Carnegie Hall concert but I couldn't find it through blogger. This has been done many times especially by the great Billie Holiday but Judy introduced me to this song so this is why I chose Judy. This song came from a Broadway Musical called St. Louis Woman which ran for 113 performances. It was written by Harold Arlen(Music) and Johnny Mercer(lyrics).

2. THE RAIN IN SPAIN SUNG BY JULIE ANDREWS AND REX HARRISON-1956


Julie Andrews originated the musical performance of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady but, since she was not a famous movie actress, she was left in the dust by the studio and gave the role to Audrey Hepburn. This Lerner and Lowe musical became famous resulting in an Oscar nod for Audrey Hepburn but she lost that year to....Julie Andrews who won for Mary Poppins. 

3. LISTEN TO THE RAIN SUNG BY ENYA-2008


Isn't this pretty? I think it is but I love Enya and have a couple of CDs of hers. This was actually written by Amy Lee when she was still in high school and was released in 2000! She is a co-founder of the rock band, Evanescence. I listened to this one as well which is pretty neat and doesn't truly sound rock to me. 

Having rain, hail, freezing rain, sleet? What Rainy songs can you think of?

15 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    I have formed a mental image of you going all Will Smith on Gene Kelly as he sings in the rain. It is a pleasant thought indeed. :) I'm sorry you are encountering hassles getting settled into your new job. Yesterday's downtime was truly a blessing in disguise, because it afforded you ample time to visit Shady's Place and leave a terrific comment. :)

    Yessum, that does indeed look like a clip lifted from Judy Garland's TV show. To me, it's a Jarring Juxtaposition to compare Judy as a soft, shy girl singing tender ballads in The Wizard of Oz and other early films, with the hard looking, song belting diva of the early 60s. It's scary and disturbing knowing that she was strung-out much of the time.

    "By George, she's got it!" I enjoyed hearing Julie and Rex doing their famous "Rain In Spain" song from the hit musical My Fair Lady.

    Yessum, I enjoy the new age sound of Enya on Evanescence Amy's song "Listen To The Rain." It is uplifting. There are tons of popular songs and many hit records with the word "Rain" in the title, so many that I based a new radio show on them at Shady's Place. Songs referencing rain and other weather phenomena will be introduced in my upcoming series Thunder Down Under starring Australian actress Asher Keddie & Kiwi actress Antonia Prebble.

    One rather obscure rain song that I would like to mention to you is by an artist I discovered one night in 1970 at a boozy, smoky, off-campus party during my college years. Playing on the stereo at that gathering was an album by Portsmouth, NH-based folk-country-blues singer Tom Rush. His sound and style resonated, and I ran out and bought the album the very next day. Listen to Tom Rush doing the pretty, laid-back, evocative "Rainy Day Man":

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnWM4TkXKZI

    I wish you a lovely Wednesday, dear friend BB, and I'll be waiting for you tamale in the balcony-- "At The Movies!"

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    1. It was a tough week for sure. No internet until Wed. late afternoon and Thursday? The Internet konked out 20 times! I hope I can finally start working this Monday:))
      I am glad you enjoyed my choices and, poor Gene Kelly. I don't think Gene would have taken that slap and he would have punched out Will. I am glad you like the next 2 songs also.
      That song by Tom Rush is really quite good and feels right for those times and now.

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  2. Wonderful choices. I used to have the Judy Garland Carnegie Hall CD, may have have given it away when I started downsizing my 'junk'. From my youth I remember The Rain, The Park and Other Things by The Cowsills. I think it was their only big hit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCqg-vhiBAc

    And BTW, another storm is coming our way.

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    1. We were spared the storm unlike Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I still have my Garland album and love it. I listened to that song which was a good one.

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  3. I'm so glad your hellish commute to Mississauga is over! Yes, Spring has been a long time coming. Yesterday and today are finally pretty good. Enya's song is new to me and I enjoyed it - very soothing. Found Judy's Carnegie Hall video!

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    1. Thanks for finding that video! I am glad you liked that Enya song. I have had internet headaches this whole past week but I hope the worst is over.

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  4. I have to ask about the bitch slapping of Gene Kelly...

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    1. Poor Gene. I love that scene but after getting hailed on and seeing nothing but dreary all March I just didn't want to see someone smiling about the rain even if he had a 103 fever when doing this scene.

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  5. Have we had rain before? Because I seem to remember already suggesting Hear Comes the Rain Again by the Eurhythmics!

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    1. Yes, last year and I love that song and chose it last year.

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  6. Ah, the joys of a new job. I hope things sort out soon. As for rain, we don't really do rain here. Not much, anyway. I wouldn't mind some, though, as we are in the third year of a drought. Again.

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    1. I just saw, last week, how much has dried up in just one year. It is actually quite shocking.

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  7. I was up last night when we had a thunderstorm with bits of hail, too. I've heard of all three songs. I can think of several: Carpenters, Rainy Days and Mondays; GNR, November Rain; Prince, Purple Rain; Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, Rain on Me; CCR, Have You Ever Seen The Rain; Grateful Dead, Box of Rain; and BJ Thomas, Raindrops Keep Falling Un My Head. I promise not to write the Gene Kelly one!

    I sure hope your new job gets easier and the songs keep coming!!

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    1. You chose some great songs here about the rain. They are all great to listen to.

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  8. I'm going to go in the opposite direction, sis, and suggest songs featuring the sun. I'll start with an anthem, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." Note the amazing bass playing of Joe Osborne in the second half of the song.

    Next, we have "Sunny Days" by the Canadian band Lighthouse. We talked about them a couple of weeks ago, and how one member of the band - Howard Shore - went on to be the musical director for Saturday Night Live before writing the scores for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

    Finally, I'll opt for the oft-covered "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb. Originally published in the early '60s, many remakes have been issued but the original still holds up best IMHO.

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