Wednesday, November 24, 2004

More Christmas Recommendations

The other day, I was driving in to work, fumbling as I did in the storage compartment of the center console (not the one under the passenger's seat; you would be amazed how the state police don't take kindly to seeing a van whiz by with no one visible in the drivers seat...which reminds me of the story about Bill Lear, of LearJet fame, and his daughter) but anyway --

I was fumbling for a CD, having finally gotten tired of the one that I'd been listening to, the last several days, and what I pulled out was one that I'd completely forgotten about -- Bering Strait, a Russian country band. I know, that sounds very weird, but they're pretty talented. I popped it in the CD player and immediately dialed up to tracks 10 and 11, which are both hard-driving could-have-come-from-Nashville pieces. You can hear samples here. Got to say, it perked me right up -- though I think that if anyone had heard me trying to sing along with track 11, the catchily titled Porushka-Paranya, I'd probably have had to undergo an immediate sobriety test.

Another CD that I really like was created by a very talented pianist named Greg Maroney, whose music (samples) can be heard here. I came across him quite by accident -- it turns out that his mentor is the brother of a doctor my family used to have (until she quit for a year to spend time with her children; imagine !). His music is peaceful, but not bland; melodic, but not gimmicky. I'll tell you how good I think he is: even the samples on his web page sound good.

And that's it for now. Got to get to sleep so that I can drive up to the in-laws tomorrow. Should be fun. No, really!

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