Aug 16, 2022
It's past the midpoint in summer in New England, so why not some summer themed music for what may still be lazy, hot days? Today is August 16th, the feast day of Saint Roch, the patron saint of Dogs, so why not celebrate the "Dog Days"? Plus, Saint Roch's name is to be invoked to avoid plagues, so need I say anything more?
The Romans associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog), as well as the brightest star in the night sky. The term "Dog Days" was used earlier by the Greeks in Aristotle's Physics.
The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise, which is no longer true, owing to procession of the equinoxes. The Romans sacrificed a brown dog (Apologies to Angus and Hamish, my two miniature dachshunds!) at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.
I've now done eight previous Dog Day postings, Podcast 292, Podcast 225, Podcast 442, Podcast 492 , Podcast 546, Podcast 588, Podcast 632 , Podcast 695 and Podcast 838 if you'd like some more summer-themed music. There may be a few repeats between these posts, but what the hey. It’s all grooving or relaxing music for soaking in those wonderful warming rays. As they said on Game of Thrones, "Winter is Coming", so let's grab all the warmth we can get.
Musical selections for Podcast 929 include:
Joey Alexander - "Summer Rising"
Elan Trotman's Tropicality - "Thoughts of Summer"
Clark Burroughs Group - "Surf's Up"
Ronnie Foster - "Sultry Song"
Marilyn Scott - "Summer Night"
John Patitucci - "My Summer Vacation"
Al Jarreau - "Somebossa (Summer Breezin')"
The Rippingtons - "Summer Lovers"
John Scofield - "Endless Summer"
Stacey Kent - "The Summer We Crossed"
Michael Henderson - "Stay With Me This Summer"
Blue Mitchell - "Summer Soft"
Bud Shank - "The Summer Wind"
Michael Franks - "Dragonfly Summer"