Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Idiot Glee
GarageBand has been drinking not me.
I've been playing with the music recording program that came with the computer. I played a track on guitar, which I recorded using the microphone on my computer, then I added a few virtual instruments (dub horns!!) and here is the chaotic result. It's my first attempt, so please don't call me a looser. I plan to write some words, record a vocal track, make a video, which I will then post on youTube, and then await the start of my lucrative recording career.
Brits, Anyone?
Yes, it's that time of year again when the British Phonographic Industry pats itself on the back, and attempts to create publicity in order to offload yet more of the tame bilge that clogs shelves in Tesco.
Fiddling whilst Rome burns, if you ask me.
That said! I love the Brits, I love the spectacle and I especially love the traditional game that myself and Mrs McF play every year whilst watching the Brits on telly.
It's very straight forward; one point for every winner you get correct once the nominees are announced.
This coupled with wine and food leads to lots of enjoyable shouting at the TV.
I always seem to lose for some reason. . . but not this year!!
***update*** we drew; 7 - 7!
a first in brits history.
BOOKS, ANYONE?
As part of our ongoing policy of providing cultural resources to our members, here's a book recommendation.
' SLAM' by NICK HORNBY, I just read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it, as I have everything by him.
You all know of course 'HIGH FIDELITY' which is our group biography, if not, 'get thee to a library!' And if you've got adolescent kids, count them in as well. Oh, and then there's '31 songs' another one written specifically for this audience, here's a brief comment:
Original, well written and wholly lacking in pretension … as good a book about pop music as I have read in many years and the most accomplished of Honby's books so far'
Spectator
"'A book about the joy of listening to great pop songs, about the elusive genius of a catchy chorus ... what shines most is Hornby himself - his wry self-awareness, his disarming honesty. Effortlessly readable, every chapter reminds us how special an observer of human behaviour Hornby is"
Heat
here's a couple of links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2003/jan/19/featuresreview.review
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/nickhornby/index.html
' SLAM' by NICK HORNBY, I just read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it, as I have everything by him.
You all know of course 'HIGH FIDELITY' which is our group biography, if not, 'get thee to a library!' And if you've got adolescent kids, count them in as well. Oh, and then there's '31 songs' another one written specifically for this audience, here's a brief comment:
Original, well written and wholly lacking in pretension … as good a book about pop music as I have read in many years and the most accomplished of Honby's books so far'
Spectator
"'A book about the joy of listening to great pop songs, about the elusive genius of a catchy chorus ... what shines most is Hornby himself - his wry self-awareness, his disarming honesty. Effortlessly readable, every chapter reminds us how special an observer of human behaviour Hornby is"
Heat
here's a couple of links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2003/jan/19/featuresreview.review
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/nickhornby/index.html
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Oh! To be wanted, to be useful
This song "Evil Bee" by Menomena, has been stuck on repeat on my ipod, on my stereo, on my mac endlessly and endlessly and endlessly.
I'd forgotten how great the video is too, it fits the song perfectly and is cut spot on.
The dynamics and instrumentation work really well, and there is longing, tension, and pop hooks at the heart of the tune.
The circular nature of the narrative of the video is impressive, and as for the sub-text - would anyone wish to fathom a guess at what it all means?
Monday, February 18, 2008
Barry Adamson
Quite a few people mentioned The Man With The Golden Arm on RR this week, but I think I said on the blog that for me the Barry Adamson version is such a belter I find the original kind of pales by comparison. Dunno - maybe it's just one of those times when the first version you hear of a track will alway be the definitive one, whether it's a cover or not.
(I'm having the same problems as DsD with podbean titles, so TMWTGA is track 1 and the others are The Big Bamboozle (also nominated this week) and his entertaining jazzed up take on the Bond theme (someone really needs to get him to do a Bond soundtrack sometime))
(I'm having the same problems as DsD with podbean titles, so TMWTGA is track 1 and the others are The Big Bamboozle (also nominated this week) and his entertaining jazzed up take on the Bond theme (someone really needs to get him to do a Bond soundtrack sometime))
Weapons of mass distraction
As we are on a movie theme this week, thought I'd share another poster I came across (from an early Russ Meyer). Evens up the Rammstein posting...
HERE'S A THOUGHT...
There's something that I've been aware of for some time which I suspect is shared by others, and that's the fact that there's often several postings here with musical clips attached but little response in the comments. This could mean that nobody bothers playing them, which I doubt, or that once played no one bothers to comment, either way the poster doesn't benefit from any feedback.
Take this week for example, there's 32 songs listed from Podbean and Deezer: there's only 5 comments.
Youtube has a better batting average, there's 7 videos with 14 responses.
I doubt that this shows disinterest but it would be nice if there was a system that at least showed activity at a musical posting, which were getting played etc. Is that a possibility? Any other thoughts or ideas?
Take this week for example, there's 32 songs listed from Podbean and Deezer: there's only 5 comments.
Youtube has a better batting average, there's 7 videos with 14 responses.
I doubt that this shows disinterest but it would be nice if there was a system that at least showed activity at a musical posting, which were getting played etc. Is that a possibility? Any other thoughts or ideas?
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Helping With Year 1 Homework - An Appeal
OK, I'm a rocker. You all know this. As much as I'd like to claim a wide range of musical tastes and awareness, every so often I have to go back to the above admission.
So when DarceysSis came home from school and said "Dad, we're doing Pavarotti at school" I -
(i) resisted the obvious necrophilia joke - she is only six!
(ii) realised I wasn't going to be much help.
Apart from a dodgy version of Nessun Dorma, the only track I own with Signor Pavarotti's powerful tenor on is this one, from the Passengers (U2/Eno) soundtrack:
She loves this, so much so it has become something of a bedtime comforter when she can't sleep (no jokes, please, I'm serious).
What I need is an introduction to opera for both of us: something with individual tracks short enough to hold the attention of a child whose other current obsession is High School Musical, but powerful enough to appeal to a bloke whose normal fare ranges from Mark Hollis' minimalism to wall-of-sound guitar powerchords. If it is specifically by the recently-deceased ex-goalkeeper, so much the better.
To reveal the full extent of my ignorance, and curiosity, below are the only other two songs with vaguely operatic vocal contributions that I (know I) own. I absolutely love'em both.
Give me some tips please, even if it is for compilations an opera-loving purist would find cheesy. I've decided this is the opportunity to travel a new road!!
Thanks.
So when DarceysSis came home from school and said "Dad, we're doing Pavarotti at school" I -
(i) resisted the obvious necrophilia joke - she is only six!
(ii) realised I wasn't going to be much help.
Apart from a dodgy version of Nessun Dorma, the only track I own with Signor Pavarotti's powerful tenor on is this one, from the Passengers (U2/Eno) soundtrack:
She loves this, so much so it has become something of a bedtime comforter when she can't sleep (no jokes, please, I'm serious).
What I need is an introduction to opera for both of us: something with individual tracks short enough to hold the attention of a child whose other current obsession is High School Musical, but powerful enough to appeal to a bloke whose normal fare ranges from Mark Hollis' minimalism to wall-of-sound guitar powerchords. If it is specifically by the recently-deceased ex-goalkeeper, so much the better.
To reveal the full extent of my ignorance, and curiosity, below are the only other two songs with vaguely operatic vocal contributions that I (know I) own. I absolutely love'em both.
Give me some tips please, even if it is for compilations an opera-loving purist would find cheesy. I've decided this is the opportunity to travel a new road!!
Thanks.
soundtrax
Just playing with some French film soundtracks for old super-8 footage that I shot. An experiment that proves how much music can add to a jumble of images. The first is Duo from Delicatessen, the second is Brouillard from Jules et Jim
*UPDATE* I just tried saving the first film as CD-Rom quality (15 fps instead of 12) And it didn't take much longer, but I think it looks much much better. So I've replaced it, and here's the new version...
*UPDATE* I just tried saving the first film as CD-Rom quality (15 fps instead of 12) And it didn't take much longer, but I think it looks much much better. So I've replaced it, and here's the new version...
MY MOVIE THEMES
Here's my list, some I posted on RR, others I donded. In order they are:
1. 'The Overture' by the Who - Tommy.
2. The love theme by Nino Roto - The Godfather trilogy.
3. Adagio for Strings and Organ by Tomaso Albinoni - The Trial.
4. Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni - Raging Bull.
5. Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams - don't know the film.
6. In Paradiso by Gabrielle Faure - The Thin Red Line.
7. Smile by Charlie Chaplin. - Modern Times
8. Theme music from Modern times by Charlie Chaplin.
1. 'The Overture' by the Who - Tommy.
2. The love theme by Nino Roto - The Godfather trilogy.
3. Adagio for Strings and Organ by Tomaso Albinoni - The Trial.
4. Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni - Raging Bull.
5. Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams - don't know the film.
6. In Paradiso by Gabrielle Faure - The Thin Red Line.
7. Smile by Charlie Chaplin. - Modern Times
8. Theme music from Modern times by Charlie Chaplin.
20th century Chopin
Bill Evans: a selection of film and show themes..
Starting with the incredible "Spartacus". Always looking for near-telepathic understanding among the members of his trio, Evans dispensed with bass and drums and overdubbed himself twice to produce an exquisite rendition of this ballad. From the 1963 album "conversations with myself". An extraordinary experiment in improvisational composition.
The following three tracks are from his last recordings at Keystone Corner in San Francisco, only days before his death. It defies belief to think that at the time of these recordings he was a very sick man, severely damaged by heroin and cocaine use, beset by personal tragedy. The liner notes include a quote by Keystone owner Todd Barkan: "Like what you see before a light bulb goes out-that extra-bright incandescence".
Theme from M*A*S*H, a storming performance.
My Romance, the show-tune by Rodgers and Hart. The 3 minute intro alone probably outside the capabilities of any other pianist.
Days of wine and roses. Mancini's ballad given an uptempo treatment, the trio with Marc Johnson's bass and Joe la Barbera on drums is particularly brilliant here.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Scores of scores
Turns out all it takes is a little complaint and Podbean is nice to me again.
I had forgotten this:
Hung Up On My Baby by Isaac Hayes, from Truck Turner's essential companion, Three Tough Guys, although I have yet to see the latter.
Love the chimey way the guitar sounds.
Love the chimey way the guitar sounds.
And it's up the red carpet for...FP's film music playlist
Now going up the red carpet is not all it's cracked up to be. You actually feel a bit of a dork. You are very aware of how you walk and hold yourself, how well you can walk in those heels...not! And you know that if you trip up, given that the world's cameras are trained on you, you will end up on every joke show from here to Vladivostok. Gulp! it just makes you realise that being an actress in the public eye is a job - it's hard work. They have to learn how to hold themselves, pose on the red carpet, give dazzling smiles to the camera and generally look faaaabulous even when they're feeling like five kinds of sh_te. I do not envy them. Film composers are less in the public eye, though. I wouldn't recognise Danny Elfman if he head-butted me. However, this week's blog has just underlined what a vital contribution they make to the final result and how, indeed, some film soundtracks have outgrown the film and taken on a life of their own. Aaaaaand the FP nominations for the best soundtrack are... 
PRINCESS, HERE'S ONE JUST FOR YOU.
I've been scanning my animal pics all day, you sounded like you needed one, here 'tis.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Fat Jack Bond's Theme
A few film and TV tracks..
Fat Albert Rotunda, Herbie Hancock
Right off, Miles Davis, from A tribute to Jack Johnson. An edit from the original masters.
Space March, Leftfield's remix of..
Capsule in Space, by John Barry. So that's what it sounds like when one spaceship swallows another.
To end with, Sheva by Goran Bregovic from Underground. Especially for Frogprincess.
(Podbean removed)
80's soundtracks were mostly bombastic orchestrals, rock anthems, pop songs or hip-hop influenced synth workouts- I preferred the latter, and Harold Faltermeyer's themes for Eddie Murphy and Chevy Chase were two of the best... I had these tracks on a loop as a 15 yr old and revisiting them has been a pleasure..
Fat Albert Rotunda, Herbie Hancock
Right off, Miles Davis, from A tribute to Jack Johnson. An edit from the original masters.
Space March, Leftfield's remix of..
Capsule in Space, by John Barry. So that's what it sounds like when one spaceship swallows another.
To end with, Sheva by Goran Bregovic from Underground. Especially for Frogprincess.
(Podbean removed)
80's soundtracks were mostly bombastic orchestrals, rock anthems, pop songs or hip-hop influenced synth workouts- I preferred the latter, and Harold Faltermeyer's themes for Eddie Murphy and Chevy Chase were two of the best... I had these tracks on a loop as a 15 yr old and revisiting them has been a pleasure..
The Insurance Company, by Isaac Hayes
Love the way it starts, with that distorded piano, then the beat comes in, then the horns, and then the wah-wah saxophone that first comes in little spurts and then a solo.
Podbean is too slow, so I'm back on the old yt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)