Spam Roundup March, 2014

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.

When you can't say something nice... just quote the dictionary
 - lifework liftable liftgate liftoffs ligament ligating ligation ligative. fulhams fullams fullers fullery fullest fulling fulmars fulmine. handbook handcars handcart handclap handcuff handfast handfuls handgrip.


Life on this technological globe we live in!
  - Why viewers still make use of to read news papers when in this technological globe the whole thing is accessible on web?


I'm in favor of any reader who can be fruitful
 -  What's up everyone, it's my first visit at this website, and article is truly fruitful in favor of me, keep up posting these content.

That load looks like logs to me -- not bushes.

Wood there be a connection?
 - Thanks for sharing your thoughts about bush. Regards
[This was posted to the ever-popular The Straco Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering along. Maybe the "bush" refers to the wood on the lumber truck? If not...]

I'm big on touching points
 - Thedse are really enormous ideas in concerning blogging. You have touched some good points here. Any way keep up wrinting.

Not seeing the connection here
My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post's to be exactly what I'm looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn't mind writing a post or elaborating on most of the subjects you write in relation to here. Again, awesome weblog! Also visit my website :: best supplement to build muscles
[This was posted on CCC 079 - Willem Wander van Nieuwkerk -- a profile of a contemporary classical composer. Not sure how our poster's knowledge of muscle-building would fit in.]

Until next time, keep those enormous ideas coming, and we'll see you in the news papers!

CCC 098 - Imant Raminsh

Imant Raminsh, a Latvian composer who now lives in Canada is the focus of this week's Consonant Classical Challenge. Although a violinist, most of Raminsh's music is written for the human voice -- most of it for chorus. Writes almost exclusively for the human voice, mostly choral works. Perhaps because a good portion of his catalog are sacred works, Raminsh's compositional style seems a continuation of tradition rather than a break from it.

His music has very strong tonal centers, with "softer" whole-tone (as opposed to half-step) dissonances. Raminsh has a very distinct compositional voice; his melodies seem to flow naturally from one note to the next without sounding commonplace or cliched.

The "Magnificat" begins softly, with a Gregorian chant-like solo that makes clear Raminsh's connection with sacred music traditions. The relatively simple harmonies and modest ranges of the voices make this a work that can be performed by college choirs, amateur ensembles, as well as professional singers.



The clarity of Raminsh's ensemble writing in his "Ave Verum Corpus" s easier to hear in this performance by a professional ensemble. Every voice has a purpose, and that purpose is to enhance the meaning of the words through harmonic shading.



"Three Spanish Lyrics" is a song cycle, showing Raminsh is eqaully skilled writing for the solo voice. Simple and direct, these three short songs demonstrate his ability to craft a singable melody that's both memorable and engaging.



Imant Raminsh writes music that's meant to be performed -- and it is. His work often turns up on programs for choral conventions and conferences. There's a serenity to Raminsh's music that makes it especially effective for worship. I wish more community choirs would add Raminsh's works to their repertoire.

Recommended Recordings

Raminsh: Earth Chants - The Choral Music of Imant Raminish

Raminsh: Vocal Works

Anima Mea! New Music for Women's Voices

American Grace -- Orli Shaham's album of connections

American Grace
Piano music from Steven Mackey/John Adams
Orlie Shaham, piano
Los Angeles Philharmonic; David Robertson, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Canary Classics

This album is all about connections -- and those connections help make this release such a strong program of contemporary piano music. Orli Shaham and Steven Mackey are close personal friends. His piano concerto "Stumbling to Grace" was composed for her, and in this recording, the performance is conducted by David Robertson, Orli's husband. These close connections facilitate communication, and to my ears, translate into a superior composition and performance.

The music is well-suited to Shaham's technique, and she plays with a deep understanding of the material. And the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Robertson, is right there with her. This concerto, as the name implies, is one with a destination in mind. Disjointed themes gradually coalesce over the course of the 26-minute work, stumbling towards a satisfying finale that pulls all the pieces together. Without a deep understanding of the structure and purpose of all these seemingly unrelated bits, the concerto could come off as rambling mess. In this case, though, composer, soloist, and conductor all seem to be of one mind, And the result is phenomenal.

The John Adams works included are also worth the price of admission. Shaham breezes through "China Gates" with metronomic precision tempered by an expressive delicacy. Hallelujah Junction, a work for two pianos, is another outstanding performance. Jon Kimura Parker and Orli Shaham are perfectly matched, sounding like a single uber-pianist.

Bernard Rands: Piano Music 1960-2010

Bernard Rands 
Piano Music (1960-2010) 
Ursula Oppens, Robert Levin, piano
Bridge Records 

By presenting a selection of piano works spanning 40 years, Bridge makes it easy to hear how Bernard Rands matured as a composer, from strict serialist to a more intuitive (albeit still non-tonal) style.

The release opens with his 1960 composition, "Tre Espressioni." This is an early work, and to my ears, the pointillist atonality sounds a little to academic and emotionless. "Espressione IV," written just four years later for two pianos seems more fully developed. In this case, the two pianos start off with completely contrasting material and gradually work towards a confluence by the end.

In "Memo 5," composed in 1975, I thought I could detect a little bit of humor amid the disjunct tone clusters and rapid passage work. According to the liner notes, Rands wrote it to express his displeasure with "PPP -- pretty piano pieces." His displeasure is made quite clear.

The largest work on the album is Rands' 2007 "Preludes." This collection of 12 preludes was dedicated to composer and pianist Robert D. Levin, and the first letter of each prelude spells out his name (Ricecare, Ostinato, Bordone, Elegia, Ritornello, Toccata, etc.).  Collectively, the set has a greater range of musical expression than the earlier pieces on the album. Some are just as spiky as "Tre Espressioni," but the writing seems more sophisticated and authentic, somehow. Some of the preludes are even somewhat lyrical (but never sentimental).

"Impromptu," finished in 2010 concludes the program in a satisfying fashion. In contrast to the opening work, the contour is smoother, the dissonance less aggressive, and the overall tone more amiable. To me, it sounded like Rands had completely internalized his compositional process, and the work had a naturalness to it that the early piano pieces lacked.

Ursula Oppens and Robert Leven do excellent work bringing Rands music to life. The technical requirements are steep, but both artists never lose sight of the overarching musical organization of the works.

Prickly City's Puppy Cameos - Part 2

Scott Stantis' Prickly City riff on several other comic strips established a pattern in the first four sequences (see Part 1). Set the scene in the first panel, and bring in a dog from another comic strip in the second. But a good deal of humor comes from surprise. And after four days, things get interesting.

The fifth strip continues the pattern. (click on images to enlarge)

This time it's Shagg, from Peter Gurin's Ask Shagg that gets the boot ("asks too many questions").

Then the pattern starts again.... only this time it's not a dog at all.

 
It's Rat from Stephen Pastis' Pearls Before Swine. And one might think that's the end.

But there's one more.

We move from dogs to cats. And with Garfield the sequence stops.

Stantis provided some solid entertainment for comics fans throughout this series. Comics readers wanted to know who would appear next? Daisy from "Blondie?" Rover from Red and Rover? There were many other choices, but none as satisfying as the direction Stantis chose to take. For me, it put the "fun" back into the funny pages.