Today’s Soundtrack: Buddy Holly and The Crickets

Growing up, I remember my dad listening to classical music, opera, and Buddy Holly.  Perhaps I should explain the seemingly random insertion: my dad is from Lubbock, Texas.  Lubbock’s claim to fame: Buddy Holly.  They went to the same high school.

via Flickr user The Horror

So maybe it’s the nostalgia factor that gets Buddy Holly a special place in my heart; that would probably be a good presumption.  Makes me feel somehow closer to my dad and his experience.  I remember my family went to see The Buddy Holly Story (biographical rock’n'roll musical) almost every time it came to Chicago, and as with most stars rocketed to fame and then making a quick exit, it sure makes a pretty good story.

You only wonder what would have happened in his story had he not died in that plane crash so surreptitiously.

1000 Recordings and Puccini’s Turandot

I have a fascination with opera.  I don’t really know why, it tends to be insanely tragic…but one cannot argue that it is amazing what people can get their voices to do, and certainly if you are going to express some kind of deep emotion, opera seems to complement that quite well.

I remember first reading the story of Turandot in a children’s book, believe it or not, and the illustrations were what really captured my attention.

Now, the music is still absolutely captivating…especially “Nessun Dorma,” probably my favorite from the opera.  And quite common, you have probably heard it if you’ve eaten at an Italian restaurant at some point in your life.  Of course, if you listen to the recording mentioned in the book, with Luciano Pavarotti, you will certainly be even more impressed because he has an incredible voice.

I think the most tragic part of Turandot was that Pucinni was unable to finish it, he couldn’t come up with an ending that satisfied him.  The ending I remember is more of a fairy-tale (thank you, children’s book!) than an opera, and I feel like a happily ever after ending might be a little bit of a stretch. But who knows? If the composer himself couldn’t even finish it, does anyone else really have the right? I wonder.