Amy Winehouse

Is this a twee bit weirdly morbid posting a tribute/obit to Amy Winehouse 5 years on? Well what the heck. Ms Winehouse did something very silly ending in her death- probably totally unpremeditated (she was to be attending one of her best friends wedding the following day).

Always the support has been there for Amy when all around there seemed to be a sea of ridicule when she happened to ‘fell’. I’ve had some very interesting conversations in NY-totally happenstance- about the Oscar winning documentary. What I would agree upon is that it would have been so much greater if interviews were attainable with both police and paparazzi. As with life, there are many reprehensible individuals but there are also humans just doing their job (with a conscience), moreover a tiny few doing their job trying to change things with far more than just a conscience: people who cared about Amy as a human being.

I often wondered (and indeed Amy seemed healthier and somewhat happier in the United States) whether if she’d moved (or at least spent more of her life in America) whether she’d have lived longer. Lived happier. Even had a baby Winehouse;) ! Even another musical incarnation! America’s weird irony is that it can indeed be soul destroying; equally if not more so, be soul giving if you are that talented.

This song link may seem sentimental tosh to some (and is indeed often ‘trotted out’ by award show orchestras when they don’t know what else to play;). But it is a beautiful poignant song sung here by the great Tony Bennett-a wondrous gentleman talent- who loved Amy’s contribution to the world of music far beyond death.

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I could’ve bought a Steinway grand and a recording studio. Nothing wrong with that. Would that have made me any more creative? Not, I think. Riffing here: I totally admire Marvin Hamlisch but the guy who wrote Kiss Today Goodbye (A Chorus Line) in C major is the same guy who wrote The Way We Were in A major. A lot of great songs have been written in C major. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star You’d think C maj had run out of possibilities. Well, maybe. But put some great lyrics with that key and you’d never really know the difference. Funny story: Burt Bacharach had French composer Darius Milhaud as a teacher. Milhaud told him: Never be ashamed of something that's melodic, one could whistle. The great great Adagio of Mahler’s 9th Symphony is in D major. Of course he totally screws with the tonality but you can do so too in C major. Of course, Herr Mahler screwed with everything. That’s why we still adore him.

Weird shit: you start out by writing about Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett and and and one one way ends up in interstellar Mahlerian travel! Holy sweet smellin’ mackerel!  Or is that/this just an ‘Andrew’ thing. I don’t flatter myself that much…

My out of tune Young Chang piano (totally my fault neglected it for 3 winters and summers- minus 10 degrees to 96 degrees)- just goes to show how resilient and good a piano it is;) !!

Abbado (Mahler)

Andrew......

no comparison Nintendoed....: