SI Dining / Music - Mike Oldfield

WEBSITES: What is that tune?
www.whatsthatcalled.com/
Ever need to find out what the addictive tune was in that TV commercial? Go to the site above and find out so you can make an intelligent visit to iTunes.


MUSIC

CLASSICAL
Mike Oldfield
Music of the Spheres
Being a Mike Oldfield addict since Tubular Bells, this is a major work composed in the Classical tradition. I have been OBSESSED by this all summer despite seeing LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT at BB Kings.

I couldn’t help thinking of the “grandeur” of this uplifting piece in two parts and 14 movements. It reminded me in some ways of Holst’s “The “Planets.” Almost an astronomical theme I thought upon listening to it. Dang it if I wasn’t dead on. I went to his website for some background after hearing it three times. I am currently plowing through "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Green and Pythagorus had suggested the title "Music of the Spheres" in times of the ancient Greeks. Hey, no kiddin?

See Oldfield’s comments below. Frankly this has become a very addictive CD, one I find hard to put down for long. It will never get airplay in the US and he will never be featured on a Late Nite Comedy show as a special guest. I consider this one of the greatest pieces of classical music I have heard.

Hayley Westenra is the Soprano that will remind you of Charlotte Church. Absolutely gorgeous, pure voice. He uses a full orchestra with string, horn and woodwind sections. Clearly evident are the Oldfield touches with acoustic Guitar, Piano and Glockenspiel.

Some comments from his website:
Musica Universalis is the ancient theory that every celestial body, the sun, the moon and the stars has an inner music. This is a harmonic and mathematical concept derived from the movements of the planets in the solar system. The music created is inaudible to the human ear.

0A Music of the Spheres is my interpretation of this theory. Every planet and every star; even the whole universe has music within it that no-one can hear, this is what it would sound like if it was set free. This is Music of the Spheres.”

For sample clips go to: http://www.mikeoldfield.com/

Hear an entire segment on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS70GnuNdn8

FOOD - Staten Island
Sapporo Sushi Staten Island
Among the best food on SI. And now for something completely different. What a great local place. Inventive, and pleasant with GREAT FOOD AND get this: SERVICE. Almost impossible to get in this boro of mediocrity. Ping is the genial host that surveys everything. He is a real Captain that watches all the tables and sushi bar like a hawk. He takes real pride in the running of this bustling place in a strip mall. There is ample staff that also pay close attention. A real find for casual dining on Staten Island. This is your terrific weekly “neighborhood place.”

They always have blackboard specials that are worth is but the real secret are their inventive rolls. Cindy Roll with lobster is one suggestion.


ZEST
A newcomer and a winner. Four longs blocks from Hylan Blvd in Clinton near Bailey Seton Hospital is a unique place. Other than Carol’s Cuisine, this may be the only place that serves foir gras on the Island. They even know how to pronounce it. It has just past the one year mark, a milestone that the late Port of Marseilles could not survive for long.

ZEST looks like it is on a track for survival. Sorry that Sweet Basil has gone under. It has the Sweet Basil enthusiasm at their beginning. Dishes like Spring Rolls stuffed with Crab and Shrimp do not remotely resemble the insipid offering of the place around the corner using cheap ingredients. This is packed with shellfish and different dipping sauces. Sauteed calamari with horseradish and polenta, was a nice original here.

977 Bay Street, Staten Island 718-390-8477 Street Parking