Jan 112011
 

Ryan FleacrestWelcome back to Tuesday Tunes! This week’s feature is a special request by Bee-Bopping Beetle expert Ted MacRae: Flight of the Bumblebee.

Composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov as a transitional piece for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Flight of the Bumblebee is one of the most recognized pieces of music in the western world. Used in everything from cartoons to Kill Bill, there are a hive’s worth of artists performing this selection!

We start with Ted’s favourite, a face-melting, finger-blistering electric guitar solo by Luis Moreno.


That was one hyper bumblebee! Time to slow things down a little, with the most bumbley-bee version I could find. The Canadian Brass is a quintet ensemble known around the world for their crazy skill and light-hearted performances.

A truly eusocial endeavor! That’s it for this week, but I’ve got plenty of entosongs awaiting your auditory organs! Fleacrest, out!

You can purchase a more traditional arrangement from iTunes – The Flight of the Bumble-Bee from The Tale of Tsar Saltan – Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov (The Ampico Piano Recordings)

Jan 042011
 

Ryan FleacrestWelcome to the inaugural Tuesday Tunes! I’m your host, Ryan Fleacrest (best known for hosting ENTO40 and American Emerald), and I’ll be bringing you some of the music industries odes to Odes (and other insects of course), each and every Tuesday! Neatly placed into your blogweek (between favourites such as Sunday Night Movie, Monday Night Mystery and the dual powers of Friday Beetle Blogging and Friday Flower), Tuesday Tunes will showcase a wide array of musical talents and genres, all with an entomological theme, either in the song title or lyrics, album name, or artist! The request lines are wide open, so if you have a favourite song, feel free to pass it along in the comments!

The honoured spot of first Tuesday Tune goes to the Presidents of the United States of America with their lesser known single Ladybug. P.U.S.A. hit the top of the charts in the ’90s with hits like Peaches and Lump, but their geeky style and alternative rock sound have a solid place in my heart!

Join me next week when we continue collecting these entomological treasures! Fleacrest, Out!

Today’s song is available from iTunes – Ladybug – These Are the Good Times People