Interactive poll: How are you today?

dr wu23:  Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On:  Absolute classic, of course I’m familiar with it, but boy, does it suit the times.  You sure picked the right thing for the mood.

JD:  Big Pig “Hungry Time”  Well, this is lighthearted, which, I would assume comes from your scent of a delicious dinner cooking.  Never heard this one, a very 80’s kind of bouncy, happy tune.  Hope your ribs turned out great! 

Logan:  Radiohead “Daydreaming”  I actually am not familiar with Radiohead, although I do know the name, believe it or not.  Pretty repeating piano notes and subdued orchestral sound underneath.  A quavering male vocal, with some strings becoming more prominent in the mix.  There are some pretty, angelic wavy choral effects and a big swell in the instrumentation, then a wavering in the mix.  The string section creates a sort of wasplike noise (may be being done on synths. Then a drop back down to piano and some whhhhhuuuuuums (maybe backward vocals?).   I quite liked this one.

tigerfeet:  Pink Floyd “Breathe”  Iconic Pink Floyd song, of course.  And resonated with so many over all of these years.  Important to remind oneself to breathe in tough times.  Very soothing piece as well, as it is meant to be.  Beautiful tune.

I prophesy disaster:  Hope you continue to stay safe in the floods there, flooding is no joke.  Peter Hammill “Porton Down”  A bit jarring start with discordance and an effected vocal, which is appropriate for the piece.  Whangly guitars and vocal continues to shout warnings, with sax joining in to add to the unsettling atmosphere.  Pretty astute lyrically, as far as chemical, ecologic and nuclear warfare.  Van der Graaf Generator “Emperor In His War-Room: The Emperor/The Room” Very soothing after the last piece, with lightness from keyboards and a gentle vocal.  Flute, organ and vocals all become much more strident, than back to the verses, more gentle, and drums softly accent the piece.  Back to the verses/choruses and continues in the same back and forth to the end, with some choral touches and organ notes in closing.  Van der Graaf Generator “After the Flood”  Heavy organs and Hammill’s strident voice, then the chorus is sung in softer tones, but still the singsong sort of style that Hammill affects.  Drops to just voice and acoustic guitar for just a moment, then keys, drums and stridency again.  Flute and sax come to the fore for a bit.  Plenty of cacophony in this piece to the end.  10cc “You’ve Got A Cold”  Kind of a shuffly/bluesy song about having a cold.  Certainly most people can relate to at least having this happen in their life.  May as well sing a funny song, but they should have all held their noses when singing, lol.  Hope yours is gone by bow.  Alice In Chains “Rooster”  High choral oooohs over strummed electric guitar.  Deep voiced male lead singer in a classic rock style (I do remember the band, but not that familiar with the repertoire, good band as I recall).  Kicks into full heavy sound about 1/3^rd in, with a bridge and then back to the song.  Lots of vocal pyrotechnics with the heaviness in instrumentation continuing. Back to the more stripped back, pensive sound of the beginning with a fuzzed guitar lead underneath.  Goes out the way it came in.  Godley & Crème “The Flood”  Sounds of toothbrushing (I think).  Did the guy leave the water on and go to work?  The water sounds get more ominous, like someone sloshing through water.  The pace picks up, with drips and drops and sloshing, now in a recognizable beat.  About halfway in, musical instrumentation kicks in, with electric guitars and then cellos.  More of a string section comes in with some wah wah guitars and plinkies continue with the waterdrop sounds.  The guitar becomes whanging style.  Full band enters with drums and bass and sounds of crowd (didn’t realize it was live), then band exits the stage with a sort of crash sound and the water gurgling away. 

Cristi:  Audioplastik “Distant Skies”  Synths I think are creating the strings and harp-ish sounds.  There is a full orchestral sound swell, then an impassioned vocal.  Sort of a heavy prog sound with lots of electric guitar during the chorus.  Tasty lead guitar as the tension in the piece builds and goes to mostly drums and guitar washes.  Goes back into chorus and comes to a fade, similar to the way the piece started.