I'm a Cliche

VA - Unpiecing The Jigsaw - A Tribute To TheVelvet Underground (2009)
MP3 VBR 192 - 320 Kbps | Covers | 298 MB
Genre: Rock, Alternative, Indie | Label: Ozit Records | 4CD

Back to the good…as the now cliche saying goes, The Velvet Underground only had a few hundred fans in and around their time, but every one of them went out and started their own band. And here are a bunch of them doing stuff they like. These are great interpretations of Velvet tunes from talented bands for most of whom this set was my introduction (i.e., Heaven and Hell). Most are not straight up takes, but instead are channeled and re-made through the creativity and style of each of the contributors. Interestingly enough, the Nirvana Here She Comes Now is one of the less re-interpreted pieces of the bunch

Leonard Bernstein - Mahler Symphonies
Classical | 12 CDs | MP3 | kbps 320 | NO BOOKS | COVERS | 1.9 GB
Sony SX12K 89499 | Release Date: 2001

I don't see this as an opportunity to rehearse details of the oft told tale of all the similarities between Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein. In summary, then : the conflict between composing and conducting; the Jewishness and sundry other bits of prejudice; Vienna and New York as significant centres of influence and intrigue; overwork and self-neglect as contributions to an early death. All of that, and more, is easily available from other sources.

The title of ECM's release of works by three composers born in the former Soviet Union perfectly captures the mood of the CD – it is truly mysterious. Although more than half a century separates the first of these pieces from the most recent, they share a sense of otherness that defies easy explanation. The pieces are not so much mysterious in the sense of being eerie (although there are several moments that might raise the hairs on the back of your neck if you were listening alone in the dark); they are unsettling because they raise more questions than they answer.