Inspirational CD choices

Choice 1: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace – Frank Zappa - Guitar

This is one of the very few pieces of Frank Zappa’s music which I have been able to find which I could stand to listen to. Frank Zappa was a very experimental musician, who usually blended orchestral scores with stand up comedy – a very odd mix by anyone’s standards.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace however is much more simple. It is a 12 bar blues song with Zappa sensitively playing his guitar in his typical quick fingered manor. I find this inspirational because you can hear from the recording (which is at a live gig) that the volume is incredibly loud, yet Zappa manages to play so delicately and with so much feel.

Choice 2: Ravel: String Quartet in F – Assez vif. Tres rhytme - Debussy / Ravel string Quartets

Maurice Ravel was part of the impressionist movement in classical music at the turn of the last centaury. This basically means the music was about setting an atmosphere, and this piece of music contains a lot of this.

Although I’ve not heard a large amount of classical music, I do like the smaller groups of instruments, such as a string quartet. What I like about this type of music is the images it paints in my head, as you think of all sorts of settings and colours. I often find that this can help the creative process when I am thinking of ideas.

This piece of music has many different tempos, and constantly changes its depth as different instruments come into and go out of the composition. There is a strong feeling of movement as the stringed instruments swoop in and out, constantly giving quite an intimidating edge to the music.

Choice 3: How Long Will You Stick Around? - Mouse - Tales

Mouse were a duet consisting of Martha Tilston and Nick Marshall who had an acclaimed reputation on the folk scene a few years back. Martha Tilston would go on to become a solo artist, with an even stronger reputation than she did when performing in Mouse.

After being turned down by several record labels, she decided to set up her own label. She raised the funds by auctioning paintings which would be used on her first album cover, which I think is highly commendable and very industrious.

This song is very delicate, with Marshall’s guitar and Tilston’s voice being the only two elements in the song – but nothing else is needed. This song always reminds me of summer, and the rich, natural colours associated with it.