Mark Likes Music

According to Slate , it " commandeers  the heartache of Gotye’s megahit breakup anthem  and make it about a different kind of heartbreak altogether—this time the sadness over  the loss of the original  Star Wars  films ." Pretty heavy stuff:  More from Paste   and the Hero Complex blog at the  LA Times website. More Star Wars stuff here .

I'm getting ready to leave the city for good, thinking about music that primed me for my time here in the Big Apple. 1. Lou Reed, "Busload of Faith"  When I was in high school, I listened to Lou Reed's New York a lot ...  2. The Cult, "New York City"  And the Cult too. 3. Jay-Z, "Empire State of Mind" On the radio during my last drive from Rochester to NYC Thursday. A friend of mine from out of town, no particular fan of Gotham, once commented that as soon as her plane touched down in the big city, her blood pressure went up. My response: "Yeah; isn't it great?" 4. John Lennon, "New York City"  A bad father with the best intentions: no wonder I can still relate to John Lennon. In junior high, I wanted to be him. 5. Van Heusen and Cahn, "Ring-A-Ding Ding" sung by Frank Sinatra No one singer is more New York than Sinatra. When I was in high school, I played with a pianist who was absolutely n...

Back in 1999, the Rochester Academy of Medicine commissioned Lorenzo Palomo to write a piece commemorating its centennial. The result was Andalusian Divertimento, which   Rebecca Pennys and herNew Arts Trio performed at the 2001 anniversary celebration: Through this project, the Spanish composer met Sid Sobel, a Flower City oncologist with a particular passion for The Sneetches . They hit it off, and Sobel proposed another commission, this one to set his favorite Seuss story to music. Tomorrow, the Oberlin Orchestra gives the world premiere of Palomo's Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches, fulfilling Sobel's dream of using a new medium to convey the story's message of tolerance, and showcasing Palomo's flair for orchestral writing. Unlike so much of Palomo's other music, Sneetches has little of that characteristic (some might say stereotypical) Spanish sound; it does, however, have a strong enough rhythmic flow to move the story along, and lots of catchy melodic hooks...

It wasn't until I heard Justin Vernon's cover of "I Can't Make You Love Me" that I became a Bon Iver fan: There's something about a really well done cover song that makes me smile, and no group out there now has put the energy and care into others' songs like Bon Iver. Here's a top-ten list , compiled by Stereogum. The breadth is pretty astonishing.

I don't know, Matt; this might be the guy : Back in 2001 Christian label Sparrow Records released an album with music by Mathes called Thomas Kinkade: Music of Light . I can't find it on Kinkade's website, but I'm sure it's on iTunes, if you're interested.

On Facebook, Matt Whittall says it's Eric Whitacre : "pure commodity ... predictable, safe and bland." And good looking too. Don't forget good looking, Matt.

On an Overgrown Path recommends Edmund Rubbra 's Sinfonia Sacra for your Easter listening: If you're short on time, Pliable recommends starting at the five-minute mark. It's a complement to St. Matthew Passion or Messiah , from the Good Friday before I was born, and the same year this happened.