That White Elephant

Mixtape That You Regret

Getting
From John Flannery
[this page was left blank because I wasn’t creative enough to
think of something to be said]
 Track List

1. American Symphony - Rondo ---------------------------- 3:13

Adam Schoenberg
2. Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ---15:11
Steve Reich
3. Baba Yetu ------------------------------------------------------ 3:35
Christopher Tin
4. Electric Counterpoint – Movement III ------------------ 4:29
Steve Reich
5. Butterfly Etude – Jazz Version ---------------------------- 2:53
Frederic Chopin & Andrzej Jagodziński Trio
6. Picture Etudes: Olive Orchard ---------------------------- 6:00
Adam Schoenberg
7. Piano Concerto in G --------------------------------------- 21:58
Maurice Ravel
8. All of Us -------------------------------------------------------- 6:18
Craig Hella Johnson
9. Summer -------------------------------------------------------- 4:03
Joe Hisaishi
10. Aurora Awakes ---------------------------------------------- 10:53
John Mackey
 Descriptions
American Symphony: Rondo
I played this piece at All-State 2018, and it was one of the best
experiences ever. I worked with the percussion section during
this piece, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The way that each
part comes together creates this cool piece that jives in a really
cool way. That was a weird way to phrase it. Just listen to it, and
you’ll understand.

Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and

Organ
This piece is riveting to me in the way that it progresses. I’ve
listened to it and fell into a deep sleep state. It’s weird, but I love
listening to this piece. And if you don’t like this piece, there’s
another piece by the same composer on this disc. Sorry.
 Baba Yetu
I listened to this piece on repeat for about 2 weeks. No joke. I
actually did the math, and it was, in total, about 20 hours. It’s the
theme song from Civilization IV, which is a video game that Sean
would probably enjoy a lot. If Sean gets this gift, then play
Civilization IV. If someone other than Sean wins this gift, tell Sean
to play Civilization IV.

Electric Counterpoint – Movement III

Back to Steve Reich. This one is different from MfMIVO in the
formatting, so if you didn’t like MfMIVO, you’ll love this one.
Anyway, just listen to it. It’s so cool.

Butterfly Etude – Jazz Version

I thought that Chopin wouldn’t work as a jazz piece. It does. It’s
really cool. It’s a devilish little piece, that has a lot of charm in it.
It’s the jazziest piece on this disc, unless you consider hardcore
classical music as jazz.
 Picture Etudes: Olive Orchard
This piece is beautiful. The lines roll up and down, and the way
that it is composed creates a familiar sound that is just beautiful.
I’m planning on performing it for a competition next year, and
I’m excited. It’ll be fun.

Piano Concerto in G
I performed the first movement for the Young Artist competition,
and won, so I’m a little bit impartial as to how much I like this
piece. I actually chose it for the competition, and I think it’s one
of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It’s so cool.
 All of Us
Breaks me into tears every time. Well, not literally, but close
enough. I learned this for All-State, and I loved every moment of
it. This recording brings out the nuances in the text, and the
beauty in repetition.

Summer
This piece makes me feel at home, at peace. When I first heard
this piece, I instantly repeated it about 4-5 times. It’s utterly
beautiful.

Aurora Awakes
Every time I hear this piece, I get shivers. It’s so beautiful in the
simplicity it has, and it’s beautiful in the complexity. It has a killer
marimba part that I would die to play, along with a piano part
that melts my heart every time I hear it. This is the only way to
end a CD, with the best piece. This is my favorite piece, by far.
 Final Notes
When I got the idea to do this, I went online, and created
a playlist filled with my favorite music. I apologize for the
horrible notes that I wrote about each piece. I wrote
them in about 5 minutes, so they aren’t good. And if you
plan on throwing this CD away as soon as the gift
exchange is done, I don’t blame you. This gift is just
awkward. It’s one of those gifts that make you think
“Why did you have to be thoughtful? That’s stupid.”
That’s why I included the lava lamp and the magazine.
I enjoyed making this CD. I hope you enjoy listening to it.

John Flannery
December 2018