SUNDAY MUSIC

This actually rarely happens.  I sat at my computer this morning, and couldn't think of what spiritual subject matter to post on this Sunday.  My TV sports-watching is in the doldrums, for all my fantasy baseball and football teams are essentially out of the running...already for the NFL.  At least I don't live in New York, whose two pro teams are 0-10 for the year, and no one in the upcoming World Series.

I noticed that this is day 292 for the Year 2020, with  74 days remaining, meaning that I am right on track for reaching #1 close to New Year's Eve.  Further, and more importantly, I remain euphoric and in good health, so all is terrifically well in my cocoon called 15 Craigside.  

To celebrate, I'll even skip the usual COVID-19 data from Worldometer (you can click on that to see for yourself about today, which is always abnormally low on Sundays).  Nothing today about this pandemic, nor Donald Trump, which should be a relief.

I will go on to my favorite song #73, where I have two finalists

• The Happy Wanderer:  Frank Weir
• Cruising Down the River:  Blue Baron

Both songs remind me of having fun on a weekend, with Cruising Down a River particularly on a Sunday afternoon.  The Happy Wanderer was actually written by Florenz Sigismund in the 1800's, and was more recently made popular by the Obernkirchen Children's Choir in 1953.  Many were war orphans and they made two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and 1966.

I was not even aware of the Obernkirchen version until I looked into the song.  Frankly, I'm torn, because my heart now is with the children's choir.  However, I grew up with the 1954 Frank Weir record, and every time I hear it, I want to go hiking.  I never do, but I need to maintain some loyalty to my memories, so this latter release is my #73.  Weir, incidentally, is a British orchestra leader who reached #1 in the UK in that same year, with Vera Lynn, of My Son, My Son.

So let me continue on to more music.  What better segue than BTS, showing that music is universal.  Who?  You surely recall Psy's Gangnam Style in 2012.  From South Korea came this middle-age entertainer who went viral and surpassed Justin Bieber as most viewed video on You Tube.  However, the song only reached #2 on Billboard.

BTS not only hit #1 two months ago with Dynamite, but last week added Savage Love, thus simultaneously had the top two hits in the USA.  Dynamite is still #1.  So who are they:

• BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bulletproof Boy Scouts.

• Their genre is KPop.
• There are seven of them.
• They were brought together by Big Hit entertainment, a company that almost went bankrupt in 2007, through auditions in 2010-11.

• 
  The fact that a foreign band made it big in the USA is not new, for we had the Beatles and the British Invasion.  But Asian people look different.
• Whatever it is, it can't be the lyrics, for their Love Yourself album, the first foreign-language #1 album on Billboard in 12 years, are all in Korean.  Dynamite was their first English song, which broke their record on You Tube by receiving 101.1 million views in 24 hours.

• 
  First Asian artists to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify.  In comparison, Ed Sheeran's Shape of You since 2017 has been streamed 2.6 billion times.
• Yet, they do more than love and relationships, and are into bullying, elitism and mental health.

• 
  They're relatable, but humble.
• Dance well.
• Have 23.6 million followers on Twitter and 30 million on Instagram.

• 
  Can you believe that Barack Obama is #1 on Twitter with 123.2 million followers?
• Justin Bieber is #2 with 112.6 million.
• #7 is Donald Trump with 86.4 million.
• Instagram is #1 on Instagram with 367 million, followed by Christiano Ronaldo #2 at 238 million.
• BTS, all of them, addressed the United Nations.

Next, have you heard of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura?  They're equally famous in a totally different way.  This group comes from Asuncion, Paraguay, using musical instruments made of scrap materials collected from the Cateura landfill in Asuncion.  

The origin goes further back to 2002 when Luis Szaran originated the Sounds of the Earth Program, leading to a group of 8-12-year olds forming a national youth orchestra in 2006.  They have a Stradivarius de Cateura, a violin made from an old pan, a fork and other objects from that waste dump.   The've gone around the world and performed internationally with luminaries like Stevie Wonder and Megadeth.

Here is a 60-Minutes feature of this orchestra.  Director of the orchestra Favio Chavez says:

"The idea is now available for anyone. This is something that could be replicated in any part of the world where they have similar circumstances. It can be an inspiration for music to be part of the community where there are not the resources".^[45] Similar musical organizations have been formed in Brazil, Burundi, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Spain.

But nothing is ever perfect, for Chavez has had legal problems dealing with something called transparency.  However, music, indeed, can triumph everywhere...and anywhere.

Finally, just a calming orchestral in the woods.

-