Turnabout...

The Yin and Yang, a symbol of the interconnectedness and interdependence of seemingly polar opposites. One can not exist without the other against which it contrasts in order to provide meaning. There is no hot without cold, light without dark, joy without sorrow, and so on. Each side carries the seed of the other.

I was sifting through the old vinyl collection when I stumbled across an old favorite. Such a hypnotic and spellbinding musical sound, coupled with great lyrics worth thinking about as I relax and write. Enjoy!

Wrapped Around Your Finger

by The Police (1983)



Lyrics:

You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger
I have only come here seeking knowledge
Things they would not teach me of in college
I can see the destiny you sold
Turn into a shining band of gold

I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger

Mephistopheles is not your name
I know what you're up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition
You will see it come to it's fruition

I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger

Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air you'll never find me
I will turn your face to alabaster
When you find your servant is your master

Oh, you'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger

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Who Says Opera Can't Be Fun?

I'm here to dispel a few notions that Opera is not fun. Opera is the mother of all modern day musicals and the grandmother of all music videos. Long before the movie moguls transported this art-form to celluloid film medium, Opera was the only form of musical theater in existence, and was so for several hundred years before movies. The concept of meshing music with visual imagery is not an invention of MTV. So sit back and take a look at the lighter side of an aria, one that isn't afraid to poke a little bit of fun at itself, giving the audience a little wink and a nod.

The following clip is from the Opera "Les contes d'Hoffmann" composed by Jacques Offenbach and first performed in 1881 in Paris. Our protagonist Hoffman falls in love with Olympia, a mechanical doll. He isn't initially aware that it is a mechanical doll, and its creator has convinced our Hoffman to wear a pair of rose-colored glasses to help with the illusion.

The aria that follows is a Olympia's debut to the public and to Hoffman who really falls in love. She sings "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" (The birds in the bushes). As a mechanical doll however, Olympia is in need of an occasional "adjustment and winding" when she runs out of power. I'd say the following interpretation is quite er... um... interesting. Enjoy!




I've got to hand it to the French - they sure know how to have a bit of naughty fun at the Grand Opera.

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