Music Quizzery is Afoot

A quiz stolen from SamuraiFrog:

1. What are you listening to right now?

“The Isle of the Dead” by Sergei Rachmaninov.

2. What song(s) make(s) you sad?

“Rough Boy” by ZZTop, “Brothers In Arms” by Dire Straits, the “Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, “I Can Only Imagine” (a Christian song that we had performed at Little Quinn’s funeral).

3. What is the most annoying song in the world?

I remember in 1994, when there was a pop version and a country version of a tune called “I Swear”, and they played constantly, so whether we had the pop station or the country station on at work, I had to listen to that festering song. Ugh. I also hate “I Believe I Can Fly”; “Mony Mony”; “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat and Tears; “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison; and more than a few others. And while I don’t hate it, I’ve read that the single most successful Beatles song is “Yesterday”, which I don’t like.

4. Your all time favorite band?

Ask me today and I’m saying Van Halen. Ask me tomorrow and I’ll say Pink Floyd. Ask me the day after, I’ll say Blackmore’s Night. Day after that I’ll say someone else. That’s how I roll.

5. Your newly discovered band is?

The Beatles!

6. Best female voice?

You know what? I like Taylor Swift’s voice. Is it the “best” voice going? Probably not, but that’s what I’m going with. Or Marni Nixon. Candice Night, too.

7. Best male voice?

Dougie Maclean.

8. Music type you find yourself listening to most?

Classical or film scores first; Celtic second. Pop and rock, not terribly frequently.

9. What do you listen to, to hype you up?

Anything up-tempo. Like the Bee Gees stuff from Saturday Night Fever.

10. What do you listen to when you want to calm down?

Anything slow or meditative — some Vaughan Williams works well for this, such as the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, or the miraculous “The Lark Ascending”.

11. Last gig/concert you went to?

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

12. Band you find yourself listening to the most right now?

The Beatles.

13. Most hated band?

Despite the fact that Bret Michaels has seemed like a pretty good guy on this season of The Apprentice and the fact that he’s undergoing some health problems as of this writing, I never liked Poison. And I suspect I might like Guns-n-Roses if I could get past Axl Rose’s Godawful singing voice.

14. Song that makes you think?

Anything makes me think. “American Pie” has all those dense references; “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” has all that anti-establishment stuff; anything by Rush has some odd SF and other oddity going through it.

15. Band that you think the world should love as much as you do?

All of them.

16. Coolest music video?

As an avowed lover of overalls, I suppose I’m supposed to answer with “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, but instead I’ll go with “Thriller”. (SamuraiFrog’s answer, “Take On Me”, is right up there, but the way that video is “concluded” by a-ha‘s subsequent video, “The Sun Always Shines On TV”, really casts a pall over “Take”.)

17. Music video with the most babe watch?

Not sure what “babe watch” means. Is it pretty women to look at? Again, nothing lately. I hear Christina Aguilera’s working on something.

18. What do you play/would you play in the bedroom to spice things up?

Blackmore’s Night.

19. Can you play a musical instrument?

I was a decent trumpet player back in the day.

20. Ever been in a mosh pit?

Never. In fact, I’ve never been to a rock concert of any type, unless Trans-Siberian Orchestra counts (which it well might).

21. Are you in a band?

No.

23. Ever dated a musician?

The Wife played the oboe, so yes.

28. Do you wish yourself that you were a musician?

I often wish I’d remained one.

29. Best chick band you know of?

Heart.

31. Last song that you heard on the radio/cd…etc…?

Radio? Not sure. Whatever was on this morning on the way home from church. I tend to not pay attention to the music in the car, unless it’s Prairie Home Companion or some such show.

32. What do you think of Classical music?

It’s my favorite music. People who don’t like classical music just bug the hell out of me — or rather, people who claim to not like it because they’re clearly intimidated by it. It’s just music, people. You listen to it like anything else!

33. What do you think of Country music?

Aside from the “rockabilly” stuff and the creepy Jingoistic strain of country that showed up after 9-11-01, I like a surprising amount of it. I especially love a lot of older country music; Willie Nelson is a genius, and I like Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris a lot. Of more recent ones, Taylor Swift and Jo Dee Messina make me happy.

34. What do you think of Death metal?

I flirted with it in high school, but for the most part, I prefer my metal to have some optimism to it. Or at least be epic in the sense of Iron Maiden if we’re not going to be optimistic. The “Death Metal” stuff strikes me as silly, not unlike those Oakland Raiders fans who dress up as skeletons for the games. I mean, come on, now.

35. Last BIG band that you saw live?

Trans-siberian Orchestra.

36. Are you a groupie?

No.

37. Do you listen to music in foreign languages?

Absolutely — opera and classical in original tongues, Celtic music in Gaelic or other Celtic languages, et cetera. Cantopop in Chinese.

38. What famous musician would you like to [enjoy carnal relations with]!?

Not answering this.

39. Worst concert moment?

I don’t mean to keep bitching about this, but the recent Buffalo Philharmonic concert, when I realized they were playing an edited version of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2. This left a really bad taste in my mouth, and frankly has dampened some of the enthusiasm I was feeling for going back for more concerts.

40. Funny concert moment?

We were recording our annual Christmas program in college for Iowa Public Television when, during a soft passage, one of our percussionists picked up the cymbals, only to have the straps to one of them break. Luckily we were doing this performance for the cameras only; no audience was present.

41. Sad concert moment?

My last concert with the orchestra in college. The orchestra program there was very tiny when I got there, but grew threw the four years until I thought it was pretty good by the end. I was sad that I wouldn’t be a part of it after that.

42. Best local act you can think of?

Hell, I dunno — Ani DiFranco? The Goo Goo Dolls?

43. If you were a musical instrument what would you be?

The Uilleann pipes.

44. Do you listen to the radio?

In the car, and occasionally at home, if I’m home while Prairie Home Companion or Thistle and Shamrock are on.

45. Do you watch music TV?

I watch performances on PBS, if that’s what we mean.

46. Do you follow the music charts, like the top 40?

No. I could not possibly care one whit less.

47. Have you met any famous musicians?

Former Buffalo Philharmonic music director Semyon Bychkov, and I met Wynton Marsalis. I wanted to be more impressed with Marsalis than I was.

48. Are any of your friends/family/etc. musicians?

Not that I know of.

49. Song that best describes your feelings right now?

Geez, I haven’t a clue.

50. Song that describes your life?

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”? Wow, what a boring choice. How about “Comfortably Numb”? “Love Walks In” by Van Halen?

51. Do you know the names of all the band members that you listen to?

No, I’m sure I don’t.

52. Does a musician’s physical attractiveness play a role in the music that you listen to?

No.

53. What famous musician do you want to marry?

Huh?!

53. Favourite movie sound track?

Star Wars. Or Lord of the Rings. Or….

55. Any musician pet hates?

I’ve covered this before, but in the film score fan community, I’ve always thought that the reverence slathered upon Jerry Goldsmith far outstrips the actual quality of a lot of his work.

56. What do your parents listen to?

I can’t really say these days, but their tastes can be really eclectic.

57. What are you listening to right NOW?

“Drink Up Me Hearties” from the score to The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

58. Do you wear band etc T-shirts?

Nope. Never have.

59. Do you cook to music?

Not usually, although I like to. There’s no stereo in there.

60. Do you sing in the toilet?

I’m never in the toilet. If we’re talking about the shower, then…no. I sing in the car, though.

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