We have here a rousing song about humanity’s fundamental perversity. I often sang this back in the ’90s, with Carol Benner playing a vigorous obbligato on the viola.
Entries Tagged as '*Music'
The Worse It Gets, the Better We Like It
April 29th, 2021 · Comments Off on The Worse It Gets, the Better We Like It
We All Work So Hard
April 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on We All Work So Hard
“We All Work So Hard” is a song taking umbrage at the work ethic. It can be found in The Doug Skinner Songbook, so you can sing it yourself.
Fixative
February 22nd, 2021 · Comments Off on Fixative
A piano piece from my student days. These are some of the savory dissonances I was stirring up when I was 18.
Amerigo and Isabella
February 15th, 2021 · 4 Comments
These verses about Amerigo Vespucci and Queen Isabella were originally published in Bedside Nonsense, from Black Scat Books. Here they are set to music, which I recently recorded with a Venezuelan cuatro. Note that for the sake of the meter “Amerigo” is pronounced in Americanese, as I was taught it in school, with the accent […]
Introduction to “Laughter”
January 26th, 2021 · 2 Comments
I’m now recording another album of my songs, and wrote a piano introduction to the round “Laughter”: a chromatic harmonization of that diatonic tune.
If Something Goes Wrong, Just Pretend It Didn’t Happen
January 14th, 2021 · Comments Off on If Something Goes Wrong, Just Pretend It Didn’t Happen
A song about coping with life’s difficulties. This too can be found on That Regrettable Weekend and in The Doug Skinner Songbook.
When a Snowman Melts
December 24th, 2020 · 2 Comments
As the title indicates, a song about what happens when a snowman melts. I recorded this for Meg Reichardt’s Holiday Recording Party, in an arrangement for ukulele, ‘cello, and psaltery. If you follow that link, you can also hear my piano arrangement of “Underjordisk Musik,” a Norwegian folk tune traditionally attributed to the trolls in […]
Careers
November 26th, 2020 · Comments Off on Careers
A brief song about the many careers a child might aspire to. This too can be found on That Regrettable Weekend and in The Doug Skinner Songbook.
String Quartet 1: Eddie Unchained
November 12th, 2020 · 2 Comments
I’ve posted excerpts from several of my string quartets, but neglected the first one, which consists of several pieces from my musical Eddie Unchained. Well, here’s how it begins…
String Quartet 17: Lockdown
November 2nd, 2020 · 2 Comments
My 17th string quartet was written during the pandemic. It consists of two movements: a brisk tune and round, strictly diatonic in C, E-flat, and A; and a slow movement in not-strictly-diatonic G. More may follow.