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!
Tonight, I offer you a sampling of progressive circus music for steam punks. Belem & The Mekanics is Didier Laloy (diatonic accordion), Kathy Adam (cello) and the composer Walter Hus. Laloy and Adam play along with Hus' 15-piece orchestra, composed of mechanized instruments (organs, accordions and percussion) that are controlled by a computer. The whole affair builds on the idea of the orchestrion, a machine that autonomously plays music to simulate an orchestra -- think player piano, but on a grand scale. Apparently, these were quite popular in Belgium and France throughout the early 1900s. I chose this song, Norvégien , for its dynamics and spotlight of the mechanical tick-tocking rhythm, which eventually builds into a drumbeat (played on the instruments by a computer). If you're interested in seeing behind the scenes and understanding the mechanics of their music, check this out: Here's a little extra homework assignment. Who else has performed...
Imagine if the Beach Boys grew up in Vancouver and had a love affair with Hall & Oates at a Pablo Cruise party in Malibu. That's what Chilliwack sounds like to me. This is their biggest single, My Girl . According to my friend, Aaron from Toronto, this is a "classic from (his) youth." I picture Canadian kids in the early 80s cruising around at malls, eating poutine and wearing Chilliwack shirts. I know this is a total fabrication of my non-existent memory that is mostly rooted in watching Rush's video for Subdivisions one too many times. C'mon, let me have my dream. Meanwhile, you get your dose of Chilliwack. Are you hooked on Chilliwack? Go behind the scenes with them in this "decent" interview on American Bandstand. Why is Dick Clark giving Brian MacLeod such a hard time? Plus, the band records their albums on boats!!!!
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