Very Best Way to Keep one's Bonhomie in northern Thailand, or anywhere in Asia: This does work!

[FannnyBoy]

I am not from Canada, however I do know how to keep up my bonhomie no matter where I go in Asia, especially in northern Thailand.

 

Here is how I do it, and I hope that this will work for you, also.

 

My secret sauce is JS Bach.

 

I have loved JS Bach for many, many years, and I take him with me wherever I go.

 

Perhaps you might have a composer you love above all others, too.

 

And, if you do, then I suggest that you find some quiet time during your day to listen to your favorite composer.

 

Why does this work?

 

The reason that this works is because your favorite composer will represent an immutable focus for you and a source of support for you, even when you travel from one place to the next.

 

In the past, one often took with him, or her, one's religion.

But, religion is, these days, often too heavy to carry.

 

And so, if we were to just download a composer like JS Bach to our phones, then this music can become a source of great solace whenever we become disoriented or unnerved by something that we might not have expected in a different culture to our own.

 

Of course, you can choose your own composer, however I chose JS Bach just because he is the very best composer in the world.

 

So, take my advice, and you will be happier wherever you travel in north Thailand or elsewhere in Asia.

 

This is extremely good advice, I am sure.

 

What is your favorite composer?

And, does listening to your favorite composer help you to deal with the challenges of being away from the west?

 

 

[Lacessit]

My taste in music is wide-ranging; however, I understand what you are saying. My favourite Bach pieces are the Grosse and Kleine. Or the Prelude: St Anne. Toccata and Fugue.

For me, there is an underlying joy in all of Bach's music.

I put in the Bluetooth earbuds and relax with music while I am having a massage. Best therapy I know.

 

 

[FannnyBoy]

43 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

My taste in music is wide-ranging; however, I understand what you are saying. My favourite Bach pieces are the Grosse and Kleine. Or the Prelude: St Anne. Toccata and Fugue.

For me, there is an underlying joy in all of Bach's music.

I put in the Bluetooth earbuds and relax with music while I am having a massage. Best therapy I know.

 

 

Yes. What I was saying is that no matter where one goes in Asia, if one takes JS Bach with one, then one can always retreat to the music, and one can, thereby, always feel at home.

JS Bach is unlike any other composer in that he is an order of magnitude about the rest.

 

But, the main point here is to always keep beautiful music on one's phone.

 

Other than classical music, I have not heard beautiful music.

 

Beating on drums is not beautiful, and neither is Pop, etc.

 

Pop music always changes, by definition.

 

But, JS Bach is more enduring.  And, so, it is important to have a tether such as JS Bach, while adrift in SE Asia, East Asia, or even South Asia.

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by FannnyBoy

[AlexRich]

I find that the Black Lace Party Album allows me to cross the cultural divide ... Agadoo goes down a treat after a few Changs!

[neeray]

50s and 60s Rock and Roll still cuts it for me. "Them were the good old days". A teenager and a transistor radio !

[FannnyBoy]

53 minutes ago, neeray said:

50s and 60s Rock and Roll still cuts it for me. "Them were the good old days". A teenager and a transistor radio !

When I think of teenagers, these days, I think of vacuum tubes, actually.

[wgdanson]

Classic FM at night with a game of Sudoku to exercise the brain.

Otherwise Brian Wilson for me.

[soalbundy]

Tchaikovsky's piano concerto No.1 does it for me.

[Lacessit]

6 hours ago, FannnyBoy said:

Yes. What I was saying is that no matter where one goes in Asia, if one takes JS Bach with one, then one can always retreat to the music, and one can, thereby, always feel at home.

JS Bach is unlike any other composer in that he is an order of magnitude about the rest.

 

But, the main point here is to always keep beautiful music on one's phone.

 

Other than classical music, I have not heard beautiful music.

 

Beating on drums is not beautiful, and neither is Pop, etc.

 

Pop music always changes, by definition.

 

But, JS Bach is more enduring.  And, so, it is important to have a tether such as JS Bach, while adrift in SE Asia, East Asia, or even South Asia.

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Bruch or Brahms.  Even Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue".

There are some beautiful songs in pop. "Morning has Broken", "The Prayer", "The Last Farewell", "If tomorrow never comes", "He stopped loving her today", " Sunrise, sunset" to name a few. And what about opera? "Mon couer s'ouvre a ta voix" Cavalleria Rusticana intermezzo, O soave fanciulla etc.

Different strokes for different folks; however, I would be bored with just one composer.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, neeray said:

50s and 60s Rock and Roll still cuts it for me. "Them were the good old days". A teenager and a transistor radio !

I used to have a Dansette transistor radio back in the late 1950s/early 1960s like this one. I used to love listening to him on Sunday afternoons "Pick of the Pops".

 

The theme tune "At the sign of the Swingin' Cymbal.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfiWmHLqlJc

 

[toofarnorth]

4 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Classic FM at night with a game of Sudoku to exercise the brain.

Otherwise Brian Wilson for me.

 

4 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Classic FM at night with a game of Sudoku to exercise the brain.

Otherwise Brian Wilson for me.

Yes , God only knows I still get Good Vibrations from that . Then came Queen , my 5 year old ( yesterday ) grand daughter rocks to that as does my 42 yo daughter.

[ballpoint]

When Carl Sagan was asking for suggestions for recorded material to put on the discs placed in Voyagers 1 and 2, in order to inform about, and showcase, Earth to any intelligent life that may happen to find them, the eminent biologist and author Lewis Thomas said "I would send the complete works of JS Bach,"  and, after a pause, continued; "but that would be boasting". 

[Lacessit]

15 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

When Carl Sagan was asking for suggestions for recorded material to put on the discs placed in Voyagers 1 and 2, in order to inform about, and showcase, Earth to any intelligent life that may happen to find them, the eminent biologist and author Lewis Thomas said "I would send the complete works of JS Bach,"  and, after a pause, continued; "but that would be boasting". 

Fred Hoyle's "The Black Cloud" had a female pianist communicating human emotions via Beethoven's Opus 106. She remarked she could not play it fast enough for the Cloud's intelligence.

[ballpoint]

To me, the "secret" to living a happy life anywhere can be broken down to the following, along with what I do to achieve them since retiring earlier this year.  While others will no doubt have different ways of achieving these, I think the points themselves should be relevant to all:

• Physical exercise - cycling, walking, swimming, kayaking 
• Mental exercise - reading, playing mental and puzzle games, watching informative documentaries and scientific talks online, such as the RI channel on Youtube
• "Blowing off steam" in activities that really have no ultimate purpose other than that you find them a pleasure - riding my motorcycles, driving my convertible, pottering about in the workshop or garden, simply killing time with family and friends
• Eating good tasting healthy food that makes mealtimes a pleasure - mixed salads, fruit and vegetable smoothies 
• Being happy to spend time alone every now and then - music (listening to or playing the piano (badly, but it's still fun)), reading, time on the computer
• Comfortable and quiet bedroom for a decent sleep
• The right people around you, whether it be friends or family

And, perhaps above all, the right disposition.  It may seem obvious, but people with a happy disposition will more likely be happy living wherever they can do the above, whereas the more miserable ones will complain no matter where they are.  If something irks me I will try to resolve it rather than constantly whinging about it to others who are unable to do anything about it. 

 

 

[wgdanson]

44 minutes ago, toofarnorth said:

 

Yes , God only knows I still get Good Vibrations from that . Then came Queen , my 5 year old ( yesterday ) grand daughter rocks to that as does my 42 yo daughter.

I was meaning more of the 'recent' BW albums, Orange Crate Art, Re-Imagines Gershwin, Over my Head, Pier Pressure....fabulous music, and unbelievable vocals.

[FannnyBoy]

I just want to tell anyone who might be interested:

 

There is a huge 50 Gigabyte torrent file which includes all of JS Bach which exists on the internet.

 

All you need to do is to Google it, and then download it.

 

I have this 50 Gbyte file on my phone.  

 

JS Bach is worth it!

 

You can either pay USD600.00 to buy from Amazon, or you can download the same exact thing, 50 Gbytes, from the Pirate bay....

 

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works-Bach-Hanssler-Bachakademie/dp/B00004WJLX/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp?pd_rd_i=B00004WJLX&pd_rd_r=692683d1-a9fa-4703-837f-52701e56c2bd&pd_rd_w=eUpbs&pd_rd_wg=DUplk&pf_rd_p=a6d018ad-f20b-46c9-8920-433972c7d9b7&pf_rd_r=JS3QMQGXCMSWNYK1PVV8&qid=1576708202&refinements=p_32%3AThe+Complete+Bach+Edition&s=music

 

I would prefer that you pay the USD600.00 rather than download for free.

 

Because:  When people get something for nothing, then they do not appreciate it, much.

 

How do I know this?  I know this because I heard this from Dire Straits:  

 

[FannnyBoy]

And, although I do love my JS Bach, .....

 

STILL, I love my MTV!

 

 

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, FannnyBoy said:

And, although I do love my JS Bach, .....

 

STILL, I love my MTV!

 

 

Mark knopfler might be the greatest  guitar player in  history 

 

[FannnyBoy]

There is a very fine torrent of the Hanssler Edition of the 172 CD set floating around on the internet.

 

The size of the torrent file is about 50 GBytes.

 

JS Bach recordings should never be sold.

 

All recordings of JS Bach should be free.

 

There should be a law.

 

No one should be allowed to sell JS Bach for money.

 

JS Bach gave his gift to God.

And, so, JS Bach's music should never be sold.

 

There should be some sort of law which prohibits selling JS Bach covers for money!

 

It's sacrilegious to profit from selling recordings of JS Bach music 

[FannnyBoy]

Also, what I am saying is that, if one is up north during the winter months, then listening to JS Bach is what one should be doing.

 

In the past, I have tried to listen to ZZ Top, for example.  And, there is no beauty in ZZ, for sure.

 

Here is what I'm talking about:

 

 

 

[Damrongsak]

Here's a catchy tune, with E. Power Biggs driving the 1958 Flentrop tracker at Harvard University.

 

 

This is enchanting.  I always liked Elaine Shaffer's playing.

 

 

Julian Bream and George Malcolm made a good team.

 

 

Restful:

 

 

[Damrongsak]

Here's a lovely piece.  (And the song isn't bad either.)