Spam Roundup October, 2013

There's spam, and then there's spam so oddly written it's somewhat amusing.  Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.

Torturing syntax should be a crime
 - It's very trouble-free to find out any matter on net as compared to books, as I found this post at this web page.
Trying to decipher this comment, though, is anything but trouble-free.

- I'm gone to convey my little brother, that he should also pay a visit this weblog on regular basis to take updated from hottest information.
I have this image of a man pushing around his little brother in a wheelbarrow....

If you're not part of the solution... 
- І thinκ the aԁmin оf thiѕ sіte iѕ іn fаct workіng hаrd fοr his ωebѕіte, sіnce hеге every mаteгial is quality bаsеd information.
And the more spam like this I get from bots like you, the harder I have to work!

You bet your -- 
- I'll immediately snatch your rss as I can not find your e-mail subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly let me realize in order that I may subscribe. Thanks.
Stop grabbing my rss.

Huh? - 
 - This paragraph gives clear idea in favor of the new visitors of blogging, that really how to do running a blog.
I have no clear idea of what you're trying to say

What a guy! What a world! 
 - Wow, that's what I was looking for, what a material!

Variations on a fastidious theme (see: Fastidious Spam)
 - Hello to all, how is all, I think every one is getting more from this web site, and your views are fastidious designed for new people.

 - Thanks in favor of sharing such a nice thought, piece of writing is fastidious, thats why i have read it entirely
This comment was left for the post "Fastidious Spam" -- of course

Tyberg: Symphony No. 2, Piano Sonata No. 2

Tyberg: Symphony No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 2
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Fabio Bidini, piano
Naxos

Austrian composer Marcel Tyberg's career (and life) was cut short by the Second World War. Despite being a devout Roman Catholic, he was arrested by the Nazis in 1943 because his great grandfather was Jewish. Fortunately, he entrusted his music to a friend before his death in 1944 en route to Auschwitz.

Tyberg didn't compose many works, but the quality of them makes one wonder how he would have fared in a less toxic atmosphere. His second symphony, finished in 1931 is a big, post-romantic composition and reminded me of Erich Korngold's symphonic works. Tyberg seems more influenced by Beethoven than Brahms, however, with simple motives building and transforming themselves in rigorously logical fashion. The overarching themes were expressive examples of post-romanticism -- not as memorable as Rachmaninov's but still quite moving.

JoAnne Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic are thoroughly invested in this work, and that dedication shows. Falletta lets the music stand on its own strengths. The performance presents a well-constructed symphony that should be immediately appealing to  most listeners.

Coupled with the symphony is Tyberg's second piano sonata from 1934. Tyberg was a pianist and organist, and his composition takes full advantage of the instrument. The work ranges over the keyboard, with plenty of Liszt-inspired gestures. If Nicolai Medtner wrote more tightly organized music, he might have composed something along these lines.

Pianist Fabio Bidini performs the sonata with relish, delivering the music with all its inherent drama and brio.

Highly recommended.

Gasoline Alley and the Old Comic Strip Challenge 26

In a sequence that began on April 9, 2013, Gasoline Alley centenarian Walt Wallet receives an invitation to the Old Comics Home dinner. Walt has reminisced before about his fellow characters from discontinued comic strips. And since Gasoline Alley began in 1918, there are quite a few of his contemporaries who have been retired.

Days 26 brings in another character I had been waiting for. Joe Palooka was an amazingly popular strip in the 1940's (running in over 900 papers at its peak). Ham Fisher's boxing champ even survived his creator's suicide in 1955, and the comic strip ran for another 29 years, ending in 1984. So there's a good chance relatively young readers might have first-hand memories of Joe Palooka (as opposed to, say, Old Doc Yak, which ended in 1917). I'm surprised Scancarelli didn't bring him in before, but still glad he made an appearance.

1. Joe Palooka - Joe Palooka (1930-1984) by Ham Fisher
2. Maggie - Bringing Up Father (1913-2000) by George McManus
3. Fearless Fosdick - Li'l Abner (1934-1977) by Al Capp


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Diabelli Project 017 - Fugue for two or more voices

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

My little bits of flash compositions are accomplishing their purpose -- I find musical ideas coming to me more easily. On a good day I feel I could produce them on demand. But the problem is that now some of the ideas I'm coming up with are a little two expansive for the Diabelli Project.

Like this fugue, for example (click on image to enlarge). I hadn't had a chance to add more voices before I ran out of time. If I continued it, I would make it a double fugue -- but that's just me.

What possibilities do you see in this? As always, you have an open invitation to make of this what you will. And I look forward to the results. 

Inukusuit - Soundscapes by John Luther Adams

Inukusuit
John Luther Adams
Cantaloupe

If I had to describe Inukusuit, I’d say it sounds like Edgar Varese’s “Ionization” performed in the woods. But that really doesn’t do justice to Adams’ innovative soundscape. Inukusuit is a work intended for outdoor performance The ambient sounds are an important part of the composition, making every performance unique.

Be warned: Inukusuit require a major time investment (about an hour) to be experienced properly. But it will be worth the effort.

The recording starts with about three minutes of ambient sounds of the forest, before the percussion ensemble makes its presence known. Eventually the ensemble builds to a climax, completely drowning out the sounds of nature. Then the man-made music subsides, and in the end, we are left with only the chirping of birds and wind rustling the trees.

Adams’ music seems an organic part of the landscape. There’s a lot of wooden percussive sounds (including a wooden flute), and the ensemble seems to rise and fall, as if breathing. The disc comes with both an audio CD and a DVD version. And that’s a good thing. Because the DVD, played through a 5.1 home theater system, will get you as close as possible to the performance – which, after all, involves heightening the listener’s sense of space.