instrumental music – Page 2

“Gunslinging” flora inspire a musical “interval”

Published December 8, 2023 by Pelidoug

This little interruption to the current “Darling Range flora” series comes to you via the trigger plants having accidentally made me think fondly of the most celebrated theme ever written for a “Western”.

The relevant film was a so-called “spaghetti western”.

Almost certainly, you have heard its theme, but you have probably not heard what John Zorn did to it in 1987.

To put it mildly, the highly creative Mr Zorn greatly admired Ennio Morricone’s “original”, but he was not the least intimidated by it!

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October 30 2023: Darling Range flora, “up close” (#5 in series) + musical bonus

Published December 6, 2023 by Pelidoug

October 30 2023: Darling Range flora, “up close” (#5 in series) + musical bonus

The featured image’s flower heads and the musical bonus have no overt, particular connection.

Both, however, are uncommonly beautiful, exquisitely proportioned, and will reward your close attention.

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Word power: (un)common sense on cats as pets, in Australia (with cat-connected Namibian & Tunisian bonus content)

Published November 15, 2023 by Pelidoug

Word power: (un)common sense on cats as pets, in Australia (with cat-connected Namibian & Tunisian bonus content)

“Our” world is so oversaturated with sensationalism, misrepresentation, haranguing, intolerance, name-calling, “cancelling”, “virtue signalling” and the “100% this versus 100% that” school of argumentation.

It has become an increasingly rare pleasure to read a measured and sensible newspaper article, devoted to a highly contentious topic.

The relevant piece was published this week in the Australian edition of The Guardian.

Fully cognisant of cats’ devastating impact on Australian wildlife, it addresses this question:

can we have cats (as pets) in a sustainable and ethical way?

You may be surprised to know that the answer is yes, albeit yes, if…

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Quirky moments (#15 in series: mammalian avatar, with musical bonus)

Published August 31, 2023 by Pelidoug

Quirky moments (#15 in series: mammalian avatar, with musical bonus)

If you are a Pelican Yoga regular, you have already seen Barbara Cartland’s and Barbie’s avian avatars. (in #10 of the “quirky moments” series)

This post’s “punkish” cub is a member of Africa’s most oft-misrepresented mammal species.

His kind are very much smarter and much more “social” than most humans realise.

Contrary to common human belief, spotted hyenas are primarily predators rather than scavengers.

Lions are much more likely to “steal” from hyenas than vice versa, and spotted hyenas are much the more efficient hunters.

Over the last several thousand years hyenas have had rotten “press”, but they are not rotters.

Nonetheless, the young hero of this post’s appearance and demeanour were decidedly “Rottenesque”.

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Quirky moments (#11 in series: white-throated kingfisher, with musical bonus)

Published August 25, 2023 by Pelidoug

Quirky moments (#11 in series: white-throated kingfisher, with musical bonus)

Members of the kingfisher family are typically very confident; these predatory birds are not much preyed-upon.

Fish are not invariably their primary prey, and not all kingfishers live near rivers or lakes.

Pictured is the most ubiquitous of Asia’s kingfishers, Halcyon smyrnensis – the white-throated kingfisher.

By itself, this perky individual’s demeanour was almost enough to qualify it for inclusion in this series…

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Quirky moments (#8 in series: Madagascan lizard atop Madagascan “lizard”, with musical bonus)

Published August 20, 2023 by Pelidoug

Quirky moments (#8 in series: Madagascan lizard atop Madagascan “lizard”, with musical bonus)

Presumably, the living lizard had no sense of the pictured circumstance’s synchronicity, let alone any awareness that a human passer-by might find it quirky or amusing.

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Grass, winter sun, “desert” (#23 in SA/NT “outback” single image teaser series) + musical bonus

Published July 20, 2023 by Pelidoug

Grass, winter sun, “desert” (#23 in SA/NT “outback” single image teaser series) + musical bonus

Technically, the country in which Alice Springs sits really is a desert environment.

It is, however, far from barren.

Central Australia is beautifully vegetated – botanically “rich”, not “poor”.

Trees and flowers are not its only beautiful plants.

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Zebra finches at waterhole (#15 in SA/NT “outback” single image teaser series + suitably fleet musical bonus)

Published July 11, 2023 by Pelidoug

Zebra finches at waterhole (#15 in SA/NT “outback” single image teaser series + suitably fleet musical bonus)

This post’s photo is far-from-perfect.

Nonetheless, I think/hope it conveys a sense of just how fleet-and-flurrying (and splashy) is the to-and-fro of zebra finches at a drinking/bathing “station”.

In arid regions such “stations” can themselves appear and vanish, very rapidly.

The pictured pool sat at the base of the eastern wall of Jessie Gap on 14 June 2023. (photo is copyright Doug Spencer. Jessie Gap is a short drive from Alice Springs)

Musically, I agree with the listener who suggested that if J.S. Bach had heard Chris Thile play, there’d be a set of Bach mandolin suites.

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Three of the same, with musical bonus (#10 in series: black-winged stilt)

Published May 2, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same, with musical bonus (#10 in series: black-winged stilt)

Two questions arise when considering all three birds in today’s featured image.

The obvious one: “clearly, their wings are not black, so how do they merit their name?”

The other one: “why is Himantopus himantopus in the Guinness Book of Records?”

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3.5 amazing hours, Namib Desert (final episode, with musical bonus)

Published April 18, 2023 by Pelidoug

3.5 amazing hours, Namib Desert (final episode, with musical bonus)

The featured image looks north/ish, to the silhouetted edge of the Namib’s “sand sea”, circa 40 kilometres east of Sossusvlei.

I took the photo at 7.37 pm – Sossusvlei’s sunset time on 21 November 2022.

This little series’ final image was captured 7 minutes later.

Had I had available the necessary time and technology, I would then have loved to listen to a particularly sublime musical creation which I first heard in 1989, and which amazes and inspires me, still.

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Category: instrumental music