Musings @musicandmeaning.com

I'm not gonna take it easy. I'm gonna go to bed mad.
"He had a theory that musicians are incredibly complex, and know far less than other artists what they want and what they are; that they puzzle themselves as well as their friends; that their psychology is a modern development, and has not yet been understood." – E. M. Forster

Archive for December, 2002


Sunday, 15 December 2002

WBE: ¡Caramba!

     I just had to add this: I’m listening to Weekend Becomes Eclectic on KCRW…I heard the end of a song, then a faint "One! Two!" count and thought, "Hey, that sounds like Peggy Lee‘s ‘Caramba’ number." Then the flutes came in, and the percussion, and I just started laughing out loud as the track played and I heard Lee’s false start (and her great "I was speaking in Portuguese" joke). I’ve heard "Caramba! It’s the Samba!" many, many times in the past month or two, ever since I rediscovered the singer/songwriter and got hooked to her music. Anyway, why was I laughing? Well, once again, Anne Litt plays something and I can’t believe how apropos it is, and I have a hard time believing that she’s playing it in the first place. My usual reaction when this happens is saying "No way!" and shaking my head, but this time I just laughed and shook my head. It’s true, a huge box set of Peggy Lee’s "singles" just came out, and Litt was offering a track from it, but that specific number…on this day…coincidences abound.

     She’s playing David Gray now. I’ve said it many times: Litt’s show is always great. But the 4 to 5 o’clock hour of WBE never, ever lets me down, since she seems to mingle more old tunes in the hour, and she knows how to close a show. No doubt I will hear some more favorite music before 5 o’clock hits. If she plays Richard Buckner…I just won’t know what to say.

     Thanks again to KCRW and Anne Litt.