I am going down an ultra odd time signature, prog rock hole right now. Like, fast! I know that in a week or two I will crave nothing more than some Nick Drake or Flying Burrito Brothers. For the moment, however, when I get a free moment to enjoy music, I've found myself digging into the obscure solo discography of Yes, Genesis and King Crimson members. Today, I discovered this song while listening to Spotify in my classroom on my prep period. I paused it and listened to the intro four times in a row. As the students entered the next period, I cued the tune. They looked at me like I was listening to extraterrestrial jazz. That's because I basically was.
Here is a cut from drummer, Bill Bruford's (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, U.K.) second album, "One of A Kind." It's like Daft Punk meets George Duke at a Scientology dance party with members of Return To Forever.... only better! My research tells me (because I couldn't figure this stuff out with my own mortal abilities) that each phrase of the intro piece is 19 beats (eighth notes/quavers) composed of a bar of 7, a bar of 7, and a bar of 5. So that's technically 19/8 time. Wowee Zowee!
Released in 2003, by the over the top, glam metal resurrection act, The Darkness , Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) has been one of my favorite holiday tunes for close to a decade. The royal timbre of the electric guitars and falsetto of Justin Hawkins are undeniably Queen-like. And what Christmas classic is not complete without sleigh bells and a children choir? I can't think of another modern Christmas tune that packs so much melody and action into three and a half minutes. The tune became such a part of my holiday tradition that I finally had to throw down the cash to the buy the import CD single (it was never released domestically). The b-side, I Love You 5 Times, while entertaining is definitely overshadowed by the bombastic grandeur of the lead track. I hope this one finds its way into your holiday playlist, if it isn't there already.
Let's start 2018 with a bang. R.E.M. 's Begin the Begin , a musical manifesto for personal activism, is a great place to start this year sonically. This was the lead song from 1986's Life's Rich Pageant and the first time that listeners could really discern Michael Stipe 's lyrics. His eccentric mumble emerged from its abstract cocoon and transformed into something more pronounced, confident and explosive. Along with Stipe' s strengthened howl, the band's music took on a more muscular tone. Bill Berry 's drums rocked harder and Peter Buck cranked up the distortion. The album was the first time that R.E.M. addressed political and environmental issues lyrically ( Fall On Me, Flowers of Guatemala, Cuyahoga ). Begin the Begin doesn't try to plant the seeds for a bloody revolution or take sides politically. Even Stipe recognizes his own inability to articulate solutions: "Answer me a question, i can't itemize I can't think...
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