Music in my (French) Kitchen ~ A huge thank you to Cathy from My Little Kitchen and Amy from Cooking with Amy for asking me to participate in this fun meme. My apologies for taking so long to finish this but this job/working thang is really cutting into my social life ;-) I've also been sick the past few days and nearly coughed up a lung last night. I am also musically braindead. Cathy, I hate to disappoint you but I’m sure my responses are far from fascinating!
When I mentioned this to my roommate Pierre he laughed hysterically because I am the biggest music nerd (or geek as he calls me) on the planet. Most of the music on my computer is from him and the rest from another chef I worked with last summer in Brittany who was also appalled at my abject stupidity of all things music. Remember, my parents listened to Burl Ives when I was young so I didn’t stand a chance… I did however tell my parents I was going to the library and instead went to a Journey concert in high school. That's about as wild as I got...
What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
A little over 1 gig, about 16 CDs and a handful of random songs worth… do I listen to it all? nooooooooooooo….of course not! but then again my roommates Pierre & John always have their music playing and it's so much cooler and hipper than mine could hope ever be.
The CD you last bought?
I didn’t buy it, I “borrowed” it from my roommates' collection: Frank Sinatra, The Film Collection & Marvin Gaye, Midnight Love
What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?
Gwen Stefani, What You Waiting For & What’s My Life – It’s on Pierre’s iPod which he plugged into the stereo system.
Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
That little light of mine, I’m gonna’ let it shine – I don’t know who wrote it but when my pastor at church sings this, I swear the earth moves… One time I was on the subway in NYC heading home from a typical day at cooking school, dejected and beaten down, and a man started singing this song. There's no doubt in my mind that he was an angel sent down to brighten my crappy day. I was so grateful I gave him $20. I would have given him more if I had it on me…
Anything from The Three Tenors in Concert, with Mehta in Rome 1990 – I LOVE THIS CD! When I taught Italian or Fresh Pasta cooking classes I always had this playing in the background and we’d start with some hot foccacia just out of the oven and a glass of 2000 Ottella Lugana made from grapes from the shores of Lake Garda, outside of Verona. La Dolce Vita! Here's a little background on this historic concert. It gives me goosebumps – what I would have given to be there!
"On the evening of July 7, 1990, in the Eternal City, the phenomenon was born. The stars were shining and the Roman air perfumed and pleasantly cool when the downbeat was given, signaling 200 musicians to begin the overture to Verdi's I vespri Siciliani. Not even the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius, otherwise known as Caracalla and in whose ancient baths the music echoed could have imagined such a sight. Long established as a venue for opera and concerts since their construction nearly 1800 years ago, these noble remains have seen many wonderful spectacles. But that night their stark and beautiful ruins framed three remarkable tenor voices joined together for the first time in one performance. Six thousand lucky souls were there to witness history..."
Tina Turner, Proud Mary – When I was in college and for years after, my friends and I followed a local SF band, EC Scott & Smoke, and EC would always sing “Proud Mary” when we came to see her. The self-proclaimed Empress of Soul has been described as “one red hot blueswoman who vocalizes in a sexy, silky, smokey voice that's perfectly suited to down and dirty blues and sweet slow grooves as well. E.C. always has the finest blues musicians to back her, and her band, Smoke, does. Smoke, that is.”
Tom Jones, Delilah – In the fall of 99, I worked on Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign and one night all of us on the advance team in New Hampshire went out to a bar that happened to have karaoke. One of the guys on the team, I think his name is Mo, to our surprise got up and sang Delilah. I’d never heard it before but we all sang along. This song always puts a smile on my face and reminds me of a wonderful experience with some great people.
Johnny Nash, I Can See Clearly Now – I love this song! It’s the first song on my tape that I made (years ago!) for running (ok, jogging). It makes my toes tap, my heart soar, and my spirit fly…and always puts a huge smile on my face. Like I said, huge nerd!
Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
Abby at Ladie Cutie Troublemaker, Pipstar from Down Under, and Giao from Gnome G & The Walrus & The Carpenter because I’ve enjoyed so much emailing with them the past few months :-)
I'm up to the challenge! I'm working on it. I have a strong start already. Give me a little time. You might wake up to it on Sunday, Paris time.
Posted by: Abby | Saturday, 12 February 2005 at 01:34 PM
yeah! i'm sure your selection will be much cooler and hipper than mine! something for me to look forward to tomorrow morning :-) bon nuit...
Posted by: cucina testa rossa | Saturday, 12 February 2005 at 01:50 PM
Hi Laura - I think this qualifies as fascinating! And how great that you love the three tenors concert as well! I think I played that video tape every day for a month - I was afraid I was going to wear it out. I haven't played it or listened to the CD in quite some time - seems like tomorrow would be a good time to pull it out again!
Posted by: Cathy | Saturday, 12 February 2005 at 07:52 PM
Fun fun blog meme! You've got some great songs in your list there!! =) Unfortunately, I've already been tagged and participated here:
http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=gnomeG&tab=weblogs&uid=196744242
Keep on rocking!! G
Posted by: Giao | Sunday, 13 February 2005 at 08:04 PM