Music – Page 4 – Peter Murmann

Enjoy my reflections on the world

Music, The Rest

Kanye West’s “Late Registration”

by: PeterMay 24, 2006

I bought my first hip hop CD, Kanye West’s Late Registration, a couple of months ago after hearing his soulful “Gold Digger.” I suspect that Mr. West does not play a single musical instrument. But this does not make him less a musical genius. West proves that most creativity lies in recombining existing material.

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Jazz, Music

Nina Simon’s “Mississippi Goddam”

by: PeterJanuary 25, 2006

Nina Simone has been one of my favored jazz singers for a long time. I counted myself until January 16th as a connoisseur of her entire work. But on Martin Luther King day I heard her civil rights song Mississippi Goddam on the radio that showed me that having all her „Best of CDs“

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Music, The Rest

The Mysterious Voice of Anaïs Mitchell

by: PeterSeptember 29, 2005

All summer I listened to Anaïs Mitchell’s second record, Hymns for the Exiled, trying to figure out the mysterious quality in her singing and writing that is particularly noticeable in songs like Cosmic American and Two Kids. Her voice is not conventionally beautiful in the way people find Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston amazing vocal

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Jazz, Music

Genius Works Better Alone

by: PeterMay 8, 2005

Starbuck’s sells Ray Charles’s new and last album Genius Loves Company together with a recording of Ray’s greatest hits. I bought this Box of Genius and discovered that a genius works better alone. The compilation of classic Ray Charles hits is infinitely better than his new CD of duets with others stars such as

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Classical, Music

Rachmaninoff “Vocalize” (Op.34 No.14)

by: PeterDecember 19, 2004

Oh, Sergei, What are you doing to our hearts? I just listened to this piece for the first time as a piano and violin duet. Very beautiful. But it is even more piercing when it is sung by the human voice… Oh, Sergei, What are you doing to our hearts?

Listen to Samples from CD

Jazz, Music

Brian Mehldau “Live in Tokyo”

by: PeterNovember 18, 2004

I have been listening for the past week to this wonderful CD and cannot get enough of it. Mehldau’s jazz piano is very reminiscent of Keith Jarrett. But there is something wonderfully lightfooted about the tunes that he assembled in this recording, making his sound quite distinct from Jarrett’s.

Listen to Samples from CD

Classical, Music

Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chlo

by: PeterApril 16, 2004

I have heard the main piece of this synphony many times but never with the ears that were given to me tonight. It reminded me of the momentus transition in the history of life when animals moved from the sea onto the shore. I wonder if I will have same association after having listened to

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Classical, Music

Rachmaninoff’s “Variations Number 17”

by: PeterDecember 22, 2003

Variation Nr. 17 on a theme of Paganini is a very beautiful piece. One does not have to have much experience with classical music to grasp and enjoy the sense of drama and celebration that Rachmaninoff was able put into this composition.

Listen to Samples from CD

Melania – The Film
January 31, 2026
What I may have done in the 14th Century
November 1, 2006
Trump speaks to NY Times for two hours
January 9, 2026
I am sad that David Brooks stops writing in column for NY Times
February 21, 2026
Shameless
January 10, 2026
Home Alone after 35 years
December 27, 2025
Debate 2: Obama won
October 17, 2012
Trumps alternative Oscar award show
February 1, 2026
Train Dreams
February 4, 2026
Jimmy Kimmel’s X-mas Message
December 29, 2025