“Fly Me to the Moon”—a Song for Neil Armstrong.



Neil Armstrong on the moo  Photo: NASA

 Freegal has hundreds of versions “Fly Me to the Moon,” a song that seems appropriate for the man who became fascinated with flying when he first went up in a plane. It was 1936—and he was 6 years old.

You can find versions by Rod Stewart, Kenny G., Tony Bennett, The Boston Pops, Perry Como,  Judy Garland, and Johnny Mathis.

If you like your “Moon” a little different, check out versions by The Alliance (acapella), The Toadmortons (rock), Bulgarian National Radio (big band), Laurie Berkner (childrens),  Ernie Penfold (Hawaiian guitar), or Milana Misic (Finnish pop).

"Hands, touching hands"--"Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond

Photo: Teak Sato

"Sweet Caroline" is one of the top 100 downloads on Freegal.

The Neil Diamond tribute band Super Diamond, was pretty fun. I learned three new things:

1.      The album Hot August Night was recorded 40 years ago, in 1972. (Yes, it’s been that long.)

2.      Neil Diamond wrote the song “I’m a Believer,” the one that the Monkees did so well with.

3.      It’s a lot of work to pretend to be Neil Diamond. After about an hour, I was worried for the performer’s voice, he had to growl so much.

Hot August Night with Neil Diamond (or at least a bunch of guys that look like him)



Photo:Greg Hume

 Any of Neil’s hits you want, they’re on Freegal.

The temp will hit 90 degrees today. Time to go hear a rendition of “Brother Love’s Travelin’ Salvation Show.” “Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone goes…”

It’s Super Diamond! At the Hudson Gardens Event Center.

Why go to hear songs that were popular 40 years ago?  Maybe being a nostalgic geezer has something to do with it. But, you’ve gotta admit, Diamond (and yes, that is his real name) had some good tunes. And that growly voice.

Why go see a tribute band? It’s close and it’s the last concert of the season. It could be good. It could be awful. I’ll let you know.

Freegal has 6 of the Summer’s 10 Biggest Albums

Entertainment Weekly recently put together a round-up of “Summer’s 10 Biggest Albums.” They aimed for a little bit of everything: rock, pop, country, R&B, rap, alternative.

Since Freegal has 6 of the 10 albums listed, you can get a lot of new music for free, legal download, as well as an extensive backlist.

Here is a quick list of the titles. See following blog posts for more detail.

USHER: LOOKING 4 MYSELF

FIONA APPLE:  THE IDLER WHEEL

KENNY CHESNEY:  WELCOME TO THE FISH BOWL

2 CHAINZ:  BASED ON A T.R.U. STORY

WIZA KHALIFA:  O.N.I.F.C.

CHRIS BROWN:  FORTUNE

Biggest Albums of the Summer: Looking 4 Myself by Usher

Rolling Stone gave Usher 4 ½ stars for his newest album.

“If there's anyone in music who doesn't have an identity crisis, it's Usher Raymond,” the mag writes. “The theme here, such as it is, is his own versatility. Club rave-ups, hip-hop ballads, synth pop, blaxploitation funk, a Max Martin song, a Will.i.am jam that borrows from "Uptown Girl" – all here.”

Music ranges from the R&B ballad “Climax” to “Scream,” described by EW as a “straight-up strobe light banger.”

Biggest Albums of the Summer: Welcome to the Fishbowl by Kenny Chesney

Taste of Country gives this album four out of five stars, saying “He’s told the stories of his scars and shared his heartbreak, but never with such confidence and conviction.” The site opines “‘While He Still Knows Who I Am’ is powerful enough to win Song of the Year honors if released as a single.”

Best cuts include “Come Over,” “Always Gonna Be You,” and “Sing ‘Em Good My Friend.”

Biggest Albums of the Summer: The Idler Wheel… by Fiona Apple

“Seven years have passed since her last album…” says EW, “…but judging by the new songs that Apple bowed at SXSW in March—the jazzy art-rocker “Anything We Want,” and the fiery piano ballad “Every Single Night”--her June 19 return will be worth the wait.

Biggest Albums of the Summer: Based on a T.R.U. Story by 2 Chainz

The Wash Post notes that 2 Chainz has received “a burst of new interest” in the last year.

“The new success can be attributed, in part, to a new name and some new necklaces, but the music can also be irresistible. The rapper’s debut studio album, “Based on a T.R.U. Story,” serves as a master class in mainstream hip-hop success.”

Best tracks: “Riot”  “Birthday”  “Extremely Blessed”

Biggest Albums of the Summer: O.N.I.F.C. by Wiz Khalifa

Khalifa is getting as much attention for images of his tattoed bod and furred get-up as for the music in his latest album.

 According to EW he “brings his second set of speaker rattlers…Guests include Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, the Weekend, and whoever else dropped by to share his rolling papers.”

Biggest Albums of the Summer: Fortune by Chris Brown

EW calls it a “smooth intersection of R&B, rap, and thumpy dance-floor rave-ups.”

Billboard indicates that the best tracks are “Trumpet Lights,” “Strip,” and “Turn Up the Music.”

A Song for the Olympic Closing Ceremonies: Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland



Photo: Wikimedia Commons



“Fanfare for the Common Man” has jumped up on the Freegal download charts, probably because its soaring tones and theme echo the feel of the Olympics.

Aaron Copland, though born in the Bronx of Russian-Jewish parents, has captured the soul of the western and Midwestern US in his pieces.

I took a look at where “Fanfare” has been used and it’s all over the American culture spectrum.

It’s popped up in CBS Sports Spectacular, in Navy recruitment ads, the Chicago Black Hawks games, Bob Dylan concerts, the Obama inauguration, and for a procession of Queen Elizabeth II herself.

If you like Copland’s work, I’d highly recommend “Appalachian Spring” and “Rodeo” as well.

A Song for the Perseid Meteor Shower: "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver



Photo: NASA

 Looked up John Denver, and there he was on Freegal, tons of his stuff available for a free download.

"And what does he have to do with the Perseids?" you ask.

When he was 27, he went on a camping trip in Colorado during the Perseid meteor shower, and he was inspired to write his best-known song "Rocky Mountain High."

The line "I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky" refers to the meteors he saw that night. In the still night, he also saw "shadows from the starlight."

I saw him in concert at Red Rocks in the early 80's. Great show.

A Song for Olympic Bronze: 1972 Bronze Medalist by The Bad Plus



Photo: Cottbus



It was surprisingly easy to find a song for bronze medalists. The only problem is that this jazz tune is rather deep and somber, and I think of the bronze medalists as a more upbeat bunch.

Stay with me here. Yes, they took third, but oftentimes I find that they are up-and-comers who were thrilled to make the finals and then even more thrilled to make it into the medals.

I fired up Google to see who had won the most bronze medals in the Olympics. Heikki Savolainen of Finland collected 6 in gymnastics between 1928 and 1952, The most ever won by a woman was also 6. They belong Franziska van Almsick in aquatics 1992-2004.

The Song “1972 Bronze Medalist” is available for free download from Freegal.

A Song for Olympic Silver: Silver’s Blue by the Horace Silver Quintet



Photo: Korall



Here’s a jazz song (available for free download from Freegal) for the silver medalist who’s feeling blue.

I always feel a kinship with the silver medalists. In my senior year of high school I took second place at the state track meet.

Three times. 100 yard dash, 220 yard dash, long jump.

I missed out on first by a tenth of a second, or by a few inches.

The Olympic announcers make it sound like it’s all about who wants it more. But some days you come across someone who can run a little faster, jump a little farther, shoot a little straighter.

I’ve noticed that silver medalists, as a whole, tend to be an unhappy lot. They are usually the ones that thought they had a shot at the gold, but something went wrong and they had to settle for silver.

For all those who came up a little bit short, put on a little “Silver’s Blue,” wallow in a little groovy, funky jazz, and dream of next year.

A Song for Olympic Gold: Fields of Gold





Photo: Daniel Schwen



Though this tune (available for free from Freegal) is most associated with the Winter Olympics, I think it is a nice fit with the summer Olympics, especially since the actual “fields of gold”—the fields of  barley—are ripening right now.

Michelle Kwan skated beautifully to Eva Cassidy’s rendition during her exhibition skate at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Written by the Brit rock star, Sting, in 1993, this tune has turned into a folk song classic. Rumor has it that he wrote this song after buying a property next to a field of barley.

On Freegal, you can find it in just about every style you’d like. I prefer Celtic Fayre’s simple vocal rendition. It seems closest to Cassidy’s. Peter Kater also has a nice piano/guitar version.

But if you want to branch out, you can find it in sax, cello, Finnish, German, Michael Bolton and “Barenaked Celtic.”



Track and Field Music: “Break My Stride” by Matthew Wilder



Photo: ms4denmark



The gymnastics women get the song “Home” by Phillip Phillips. I think that the track and field athletes ought to get “Break My Stride” by Matthew Wilder (available free from Freegal, along with a bunch of his other songs).

It’s catchy, a little bit New Wave, a little bit reggae.

As far as the pop charts go, Wilder is a one-hit wonder never again matching the top 5 success of “Break My Stride.”

But I did a little looking around and found that these guys don’t just sink into the couch eating cheese balls in obscurity.

Wilder wrote and produced the score for Disney’s Mulan (I had to listen to the soundtrack for about sixth months straight when my daughter was little, and I still think it’s terrific) and voiced the character of Ling.

He’s also worked with Puff Daddy, Aaron Neville, Stevie Wonder, and Bette Midler.

Track and Field Music: "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis



Photo: Gio JL



“Chariots of Fire,” which is spoofed as much as it is played in earnest is available to download for free from Freegal.

Didn’t you love Mr. Bean playing it at the opening ceremonies?  Every time I hear that repeating note, I’ll think of him grabbing for a tissue. It was nice to see some ceremonies that didn’t take themselves so seriously.  Pomp and circumstance is great, but a little cheeky British humor adds a little kick.

Still the song is THE theme which conjures up the British and the Olympics, so it makes sense that it’s played at every medal ceremony in London.  Interestingly, it was written by a Greek fellow who is doubtless doing very well with the royalties, even though Greece itself hasn’t collected many medals.

And now that it’s time for track and field, I decided it was time to have the song on my iPhone using Freegal’s handy new app.



Olympic Theme: Bugler's Dream and Olympic Fanfare



Photo: David Holt



You can download the Olympic theme music for free from Freegal.

And here I thought they were songs owned by NBC.

“Bugler’s Dream” by Leo Arnaud is that rousing song with the “bom-bom bom-bom” drums that you hear when Bob Costas first comes on. (Is anyone else beginning to think he’s the Dick Clark of sports? The guy never ages.)

You’ll recognize “Olympic Fanfare,” too, as it plays during quite a few of the transitions. That song was written for the 1984 Olympics by John Williams.

Just search the Freegal database for “John Williams—Greatest Hits” and you’ll find a sort of medley of the two pieces, directed by him.

Next time you exercise, you can play this music and picture yourself an Olympic champion.

Big Green Tractor by Jason Aldean

Photo: Tauno Erik

She has a beemer; he has a tractor. You can get the whole story with a free and legal download from Freegal.

I took a trip last weekend to my parents’ ranch in southern Colorado, the land of barley, potato farms and big green tractors. (Except my parents are International Harvester people, so their tractors are red.)

I have to say, Aldean’s song captures the feel of the fields and open spaces in the summertime. What a way to woo a girl. Put her on your lap and let her drive around on the big green tractor.

These days, the tractors have cabs and music players, so you could plug in this tune, impress your woman and get the potato field plowed. Suppose they have cup holders for your beer, too.

Beats sitting on a metal seat in the heat and the dust and the bugs. Which is the way I had to do it when I was raking hay. No wooing going on there. The only soundtrack was what you could hum to yourself.  But all that is just material for another song…