Page 9 | Music Tales | From Behind the Scenes

Music Period

Country

Songwriter
La Cucaracha: the song about a stoned legless cockroach as a ridicule against Mexican dictator

La Cucaracha is a fiery Mexican song in the corrido style, a poetic form of the ballad genre prevalent in Central…

April 23, 20211 comment
Male Vocal
Vasantrao Deshpande's musical career sparked by Begum Akhtar

Vasantrao Deshpande was an eminent Indian artist best known for his contributions to vocal classical music and the…

April 21, 2021
Music Theory
Popular songs showing the submediant chord in all diatonic modes

In musical theory, the submediant refers to the sixth scale degree of the diatonic scale, and the triad rooted in the…

April 18, 2021
Songwriter
Muskrat Love: the polarizing song of America

Muskrat Love is a sweet and slightly strange song about a romantic relationship between two anthropomorphic muskrats,…

April 16, 2021
Piano
Miroirs: Ravel's piano suite that put his avant-garde friends to work

Miroirs or Mirrors is an essential piano suite by the French impressionist Maurice Ravel, each movement of which is…

April 14, 2021
Songwriter
Seven Seas of Rhye: song of imaginary land brought to life by Ionian and Mixolydian modes

Seven Seas of Rhye first appeared as an instrumental track on Queen's 1973 self-titled debut album and later released…

April 12, 2021
Songwriter
A Dios le Pido: Juanes' Spanish lyrics behind the song success

A Dios le Pido or I beg to God is the best-known track of the Colombian songwriter and guitarist Juanes who made…

April 9, 2021
Songwriter
Makin' Whoopee: cautionary song warning against the trappings of marriage

Makin' Whoopee is an ironic song describing the successive transformation of the relationship between two lovers from…

April 7, 2021
Contemporary Composer
The meaningless song lyrics of Adiemus

Adiemus is a cross-genre project conceived by Welsh composer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Jenkins to refresh…

April 4, 2021
Songwriter
Knights of Cydonia: Dorian-mode refrain boosting best Muse song

Knights of Cydonia by English alternative rock band Muse has been repeatedly placed at the top of many fan-voted charts…

April 3, 2021
Songwriter
Mariposa Traicionera: meaning and flamenco roots of Maná's top hit

Mariposa Traicionera is one of the best-known tracks by Maná, a multi-awarded Mexican quartet whose flexible style…

March 31, 20212 comments
Meditation
Mrityunjaya Mantra: meaning and lyrics of the oldest Shiva chant

The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra lyrics first appeared as a verse in the Rigveda—a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns…

March 28, 2021
Music Theory
6 songs combining harmonic minor and Aeolian mode

The polyphonic structure of Western classical music distinguishes it from other musical traditions such as Indian…

March 27, 2021
Songwriter
Mexicali Blues: debut song by the Grateful Dead's psychedelic poet

Mexicali Blues was first released by Bob Weir, an acclaimed rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of the…

March 24, 2021
Xylophone
Danse Macabre: skeletal images in Saint Saens' iconic xylophone

The concept of the Danse Macabre (literally meaning the Dance of Death) dates back to the Medieval period when European…

March 22, 2021
Songwriter
Tumbling Dice: hundred reels of tape for a messy Rolling Stones mix

Tumbling Dice is the lead single from the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. released in 1972, infamous for its…

March 19, 2021
Songwriter
Livin' la Vida Loca: why is Ricky Martin's best song so catchy?

Livin' la Vida Loca is likely one of the best-known tracks in the entire repertoire of the Puerto Rican singer…

March 17, 2021
Songwriter
Three Little Fishies: origin of the cautionary children's song

Three Little Fishies is a well-known novelty song with cautionary tale lyrics that was first recorded by the Hal Kemp…

March 14, 20211 comment
Piano
Suite bergamasque: did Debussy record his best-known piano piece?

Suite bergamasque is one of the best-known piano works of the French impressionist Claude Debussy written in 1890 and…

March 12, 20211 comment
Songwriter
Pancho and Lefty: gangster song that saved Townes Van Zandt from a speeding ticket

Pancho and Lefty is perhaps the best-known song of American songwriter Townes Van Zandt released on his sixth studio…

March 10, 2021