Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

This is really good. Too bad track one on side two is one of those annoying skips where it kicks back to the start and plays the same one and a half seconds of sound over and over and over and over. Really great to listen to while writing.

[wikipedia]

Rossini Overtures

Um. It would make a handsome gift. I suppose.

Gilbert and Sullivan, The Yeoman of the Guard, Ruddigore, "Highlights"

This was probably my grandfathers. Not the Crab, he was my dad's dad. This belonged to my mom's dad Sidney, I'm guessing. He was big into Gilbert and Sullivan. He was a good guy too and I didn't get to see him enough either. I can still hear his voice. He had a distinctive voice, a little gravelly. And a New Jersey accent, but different than my dad's accent. He grew up in Newark. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. That probably contributed to his accent. He kind of sounded like Gandalf from the old Hobbit cartoon. That's the closest I can describe it. Slightly higher pitched than that, but gravelly, full, melodic. Like banging on a coffee can with a little bit of sand in it. A... particularly melodic coffee can.

I don't know man, I'm not a professional writer. The point is, I can remember his voice. If I concentrate I can hear it in my head. I remember how he smelled too. I don't know what aftershave he used but I can still remember how it smelled. Aqua Velva probably, or something like that. Old English Leather. I don't know. Something old men use.

Sidney was in the airforce in World War II. Only it wasn't the airforce then, it was the Army Air Corps, or something like that, I think. Anyway he was on a bomber crew. They got shot down over Romania. He survived and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp hoping that the guards never figured out he was Jewish.

After that he moved back to Jersey and sold carpet until he retired.

Anyway that's about all I can remember about him, and this probably belonged to him.

Offenbach in America - Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler conductor

Oh, man! Offenbach! And in America! Man, let me tell you, back in the day, we'd kick back with a couple cold brewskies and just CRANK the Offenbach, man. Oh man, those were the days. One time Needles showed up with this old rebuilt Suzuki and we were like, "How the fuck did you afford that, Needles? You're always broke!" And he was like, "Traded it. Straight up for a nickel bag of scag and Offenbach in America." And he was all proud of himself like that was a good thing to do! Needles was an asshole, man.

Yeah, I really have no idea.

Updated 5/4/2014