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Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Tom Dunne: Pope Francis struck a hopeful note with his love of music
About 10 years ago I happened across a near mint 78 Gramophone in a charity shop. It was French, about 100 years old and purely mechanical. You had to wind it up. The charity shop fleeced me, but it came with two big leather-bound 'album' sets of 78s, so I went for it. Part of buying such a thing is the joy of wondering who used to own it and what albums did they so treasure. In fact, the records were in those album type of books that the modern word 'album' comes from. They had either been perfectly kept or never used, but possibly 70 years since first purchase were still mint. You can imagine my disappointment when I unpacked them to reveal that I had bought a collection of Latin masses. I couldn't help but wonder who would want to sit home and listen to recordings of a mass? In the Jazz Age, why this? I was a particular fan of 78s at the time. Prices then were through the roof. People were briefly obsessed with these old-fashioned, no longer manufactured, shellac recordings. The bottom fell out of the market as soon as I invested. Years later, I could hardly give them away. But the excitement of winding up the player and putting the needle into a groove, untouched for decades, was still something. I also had some 78 blues records from the 1920s. The shear humanity of the performers, their joy, and vivacity was wonderful. But the masses! I was dumbfounded. The Church by this point didn't really feature in many recordings. The album Pope John Paul II in Ireland had been a high-water mark. But now, Popes just tended to get less that respectful mentions in songs by the Ramones or John Prine. This suited my world view. I don't trust people who don't like music, never have. I warm to those who do and have based relationships on admiration for other people's record collections. If someone says they 'don't get music' watch them closely and check everything they say. Hence the news that Pope Francis had a favourite record shop in Rome came a great surprise to me. I just didn't see that coming. And that he used to drive there in a white Fiat 500 and browse the racks knocked me for six. You don't expect to meet a pontiff in the indie rock section. The Stereosound record store in Rome was a favourite of Pope Francis. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) But it appears there was a lot about Pope Francis that I didn't know. I knew about his prog rock album, Wake Up! but that was no biggie, JP II and Benedict had released similar. But that he had once been a nightclub bouncer in Buenos Aires and owned over 2,000 CDs and 19 vinyl records. No, I hadn't known that. The shop, Stereo Sound, is a family-owned business near the Pantheon. Patti Smith has shopped there and signed an album. In 2022 when it was renovated, Pope Francis blessed the renovations. The owners say he was passionate about music and had been a customer since his days as a cardinal. His music tastes ran to classical, Elvis Presley, gospel records and Edith Piaf. But his favourite was Mozart of whom he said the Et Incarnatus est from his Mass in C Minor is matchless. "It lifts you up to God,' he stated. The idea of a pope, seeing God in the music of mortal men is one of the most uplifting things I have heard in a long time. In makes me think that had we indeed hooked up over the import section of Stereo Sound I'd have had much to tell him. Obviously I'd have started with the Beach Boys' God Only Knows. It's still the one that threads the line between the promise of the divine and limitations of our mortal coil most poignantly. But the joy of The Undertones, The Go-Betweens and the Blue Nile would not be far behind. He has set a high bar this pope called Francis. I await the white smoke with eager anticipation. I have re-watched Conclave just to be safe. But I await with far greater trepidation the first strains of whatever music first comes from the private chambers of the newly elected pontiff. And what of the 19 vinyl albums? What are they and what kind of system had he got? Will they now appear second-hand in Freebird Records? One lives in hope, which is as the great man would have wanted. Read More Culture That Made Me: Music maestro David Brophy picks his touchstones
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Famous birthdays for Feb. 23: Kristin Davis, Niecy Nash
Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include: -- Pope Paul II in 1417 -- Writer Samuel Pepys in 1633 -- Musician George Frideric Handel in 1685 -- Banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild in 1744 -- Writer/philosopher W.E.B. Du Bois in 1868 -- Filmmaker Victor Fleming in 1889 -- Writer William Shirer in 1904 -- College Football Hall of Fame member/former Rep. Tom Osborne in 1937 (age 88) -- Actor Peter Fonda in 1940 -- Football Hall of Fame member Fred Biletnikoff in 1943 (age 82) -- Writer John Sandford in 1944 (age 81) -- Actor Patricia Richardson in 1951 (age 74) -- Musician Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) in 1952 (age 73) -- Japanese Emperor Naruhito in 1960 (age 65) -- Musician Michael Wilton (Queensrÿche) in 1962 (age 63) -- Actor Kristin Davis in 1965 (age 60) -- Businessman/TV personality Daymond John in 1969 (age 56) -- Actor Niecy Nash in 1970 (age 55) -- Musician Jeff Beres (Sister Hazel) in 1970 (age 55) -- Musician Lars-Olof Johansson (Cardigans) in 1973 (age 52) -- Actor Kelly Macdonald in 1976 (age 49) -- Actor Josh Gad in 1981 (age 44) -- Actor Emily Blunt in 1983 (age 42) -- Actor/comedian Aziz Ansari in 1983 (age 42) -- Actor/model Samara Weaving in 1992 (age 33) -- Actor Dakota Fanning in 1994 (age 31) -- NBA player Jamal Murray in 1997 (age 28) -- Actor Emilia Jones in 2002 (age 23)
