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!
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!!!!
Sweetbottom - Angels of the Deep . I can provide a totally valid explanation for the existence of this record in my collection. You see, I'd been eyeing this peculiar 12" at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall record shop for about a month. It was in the $5 box. After a few weeks it finally landed in the $1 bin. For the album artwork alone, I thought, this is worth a buck. Four late-70s dudes clad in white, cotton shirts and pants, hairy chests and... white shag carpet. Sweetbottom indeed. Adding to the allure, the notes revealed that the album had been recorded at the Shade Tree Resort Studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin between 1977-78. Could this be like the Great Lakes version of Yacht Rock? Could I be holding some long-forgotten, Midwest soft rock obscurity? I was tempted to cheat and pull out my cellphone to Google them, but then I paused. This is $1 we're talking about. Let's take the risk and live dangerously. As I approached the register, I noted that the ...
Comments
Post a Comment