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Clair deLune, Moonlight Serenade, Tonight Tonight, others?
March 15 2014 | lee martell

Posted on 03/15/2014 8:10:20 PM PDT by lee martell

I'm a night person, and I like music inspired by the night. The biggest void that we know of is the darkness of the night. The darkness surrounds our part of the earth, like a soft heavy comforter filled with down. The night is without shape, and cannot be measured. This unknowable nature of the dark night allows us to easily imagine what is or what should be there. We imagine what is desired or what is dreaded. The night has long served as a catalyst or a muse for creativity. Look to the french composer Claude Debussy, who wrote his signature piece; Clair de Lune in 1890, publishing the final version in 1905. The piano is spare and elegant. The measures allude to the slow drift of cumulus clouds floating at night, translucent with moonlight. This is the third movement from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, which was based on poems of Paul Verlaine.

Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller was released in 1939 on Bluebird Records. The recording used a clarinet led saxophone section, which is widely considered classic Glenn Miller style. The song evolved from a 1935 version of another Miller song; "Now I Lay Me Down To Weep". Jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote about the song's impact and legacy. "Miller exudes little warmth on or off the bandstand, but once the band struck up this theme, audiences were done for; throats clutched, eyes softened. No other record of it's time could match 'Moonlight Serenade' for it's ability to induce a Pavlovian slobber in so many for so long".

A lot of songs by Phil Collins were technically very good, but somewhat formulaic. There is one exception, although this was recorded when he was still with Genesis. The song Tonight Tonight Tonight was released in 1986 on the album Invisible Touch. The music video has an atmosphere reminiscent of the film Blade Runner, which was a source of inspiration for the video. Supposedly, Collins wrote this song after divorcing his first wife Andrea in 1979. He was upset enough to have left Genesis for a couple of months. There is something about this song that is both invigorating, because of the incessant percussion which varies in force and in tempo, and there is also a soothing effect that is imposed on the listener because of the cello like chords that become a dirge, that dirge is your only path away from the chaos. This is not a night song, but listen to the first three minutes of Shaft, by Issac Hayes, those are the kind of 'cello like chords' I'm speaking of, where you are prodded onto your journey, like it or not. **Nights in White Satin is a beautiful, lyrical piece of work, by the Moody Blues. Night Moves, by Seeger worth a mention. **Are You Lonesome Tonight?, by Elvis captures an intimate moment, listen you his voice, which seems to resonate or softly echo. That feels like a though within the head. What other night music is there?


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; Outdoors; Poetry
KEYWORDS: music; songs
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To: lee martell

Excellent description, Lee! I thought it would make a really fine night song, too. :-)


41 posted on 03/15/2014 9:06:55 PM PDT by WXRGina (The Founding Fathers would be shooting by now.)
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To: lee martell

You did say “music,” not just “songs.”

My suggestion would be the Nocturnes of Fryderyk Chopin (which in turn were partly inspired by the Nocturnes of John Field, but Chopin’s are still my favorites).

Each nocturne was supposed to be evocative of some aspect of the night.


42 posted on 03/15/2014 9:07:04 PM PDT by Kyrie (This space for rent.)
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To: lee martell

“Moon Over Miami”


43 posted on 03/15/2014 9:10:09 PM PDT by Exit148
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To: lee martell
Xylophones!! Nobody leads with xylophones anymore. Perfect nightime driving music with the front windows down.

Oh,yes, the "vibes" are the best! It doesn't get much more perfect than that for night driving. :-)

44 posted on 03/15/2014 9:11:14 PM PDT by WXRGina (The Founding Fathers would be shooting by now.)
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To: lee martell

45 posted on 03/15/2014 9:18:03 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Kyrie

Good distinction; music, not just songs or ditties. I’ll have to check out some Chopin. I have not listened to him for a while. Gustave Holst did some interesting work around that era with his most well known work, The Planets. Each planet had it’s own suite written by Holst to match it’s essence in the known universe.


46 posted on 03/15/2014 9:18:20 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: lee martell

NIGHT by Jackie Wilson.


47 posted on 03/15/2014 9:20:06 PM PDT by Argus
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To: lee martell
I See the Moon--The Mariners (1953)
48 posted on 03/15/2014 9:20:20 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: lee martell

There are some songs that to me suggest certain kinds of nights, even if they are not specifically “night” songs. For instance, I associate “Dreams” by the Allman Brothers with steamy summer evenings after a thunderstorm. Several songs from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” say winter night better than anything. Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude says night right now since it is raining. Gregorian chant or works by the likes of Tallis work much better at night, as well as Rachmaninov’s Vespers.


49 posted on 03/15/2014 9:35:08 PM PDT by yawningotter
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To: lee martell
Midnight Train to Georgia

"Super star, but he didn't get far"

50 posted on 03/15/2014 10:08:30 PM PDT by gov_bean_ counter (Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: gov_bean_ counter

Rainy Night In Georgia is another good one. Might be Lou Rawls. He was everywhere back then. Lou used to go on The Flip Wilson Show and when Flip dressed up in drag, using a falsetto, Lou sometimes played the Boyfriend during those skits. Flip’s female character was named Geraldine, I think.
She was Snooki like (before the weight loss).


51 posted on 03/15/2014 10:14:24 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: lee martell

Fly Me To The Moon (”In Other Words” by Bart Howard) performed by Frank Sinatra.


52 posted on 03/15/2014 10:19:38 PM PDT by NautiNurse (Obama sends U.S. Marines to pick up his dog & basketballs. Benghazi? Nope.)
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To: lee martell
Stella by Starlight - Victor Young
Night on Bald Mountain - Mussorgsky
Moon Over Parador - Maurice Jarre, soundtrack
Summer Night on the River - Fred Delius
The Dream of Olwen - Charles Williams
A Night for Love (Suite No. 1 "Fantasy") - Rachmaniov
Dream of a Witches' Sabbath (Symphonie Fantastique) - Hector Berlioz......
53 posted on 03/15/2014 10:20:03 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: lee martell

Paradise by the dashboard light. Meatloaf.


54 posted on 03/15/2014 10:30:29 PM PDT by theneanderthal
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Round Midnight, as only she can.
55 posted on 03/15/2014 10:34:26 PM PDT by firebrand
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To: lee martell

Harlem Nocturne by the Vicounts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAv8yAaHps


56 posted on 03/15/2014 10:54:49 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: lee martell
I'm 77, but I will never forget when at 19, I wanted to be William Holden dancing with Kim Novak in "Picnic" (1955).

That scene was the most appealing demonstration of instant overwhelming natural desire I have ever seen. (click here or here). But it took the blending of "Moonglow" and "The Theme from Picnic" to make the whole scene work. (click here for soundtrack).

What a memory of those days! I think I felt the same way the when I first danced with the girl, the mother of my four children, not long after.

57 posted on 03/15/2014 11:08:12 PM PDT by imardmd1 (Fiat Lux)
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To: lee martell

There’s a Moon Out Tonight - The Capris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVDUFsXK3o

In the Still of the Night - Fred Parris and The Satins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBT3oDMCWpI

Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9muzyOd4Lh8

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Mozart
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eina+klina+nicht&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=2450F9EB5D6B7B54FFC82450F9EB5D6B7B54FFC8


58 posted on 03/15/2014 11:10:07 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: lee martell
Albert King - 'Til My Back Ain't Got No Bone

Buddy Guy - Black Night

Earl King - Time For The Sun To Rise

Elmore James - Held My Baby Last Night

John Campbell - Wild Streak

Nina Simone - In The Dark

Roy Buchanan - After Hours

59 posted on 03/15/2014 11:15:18 PM PDT by 10mm
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To: imardmd1

That was excellent. I watched the scene. Kim takes over. The schoolgirl, poor thing was absolutely outclassed by Kim’s sultry entrance, she presents her woman’s body, a curvy silhoette, all wrapped in soft pink satin. William acts as though a bomb just went off went he sees her in the distance.
I knew that song without knowing what it was called till now.


60 posted on 03/15/2014 11:32:59 PM PDT by lee martell
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