Bagpipes and swelling harps

2/16/2009 4:53:00 AM

This science thing is beginning to get out of hand. This is the last episode, I hope.

You can now listen to the scientifically engineered world's worst song:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2009/02/the_scientifically_engineered.php

I could take it for 14 minutes, waiting for the R'n'B ballad bit that never came. Was Akon too busy to contribute to this?

On dinosaur saliva

2/10/2009 8:53:00 AM

I got an entirely justified comment on the previous entry: how has science helped you?

Well, it has helped me understand complicated things, such as Stonehenge, which then feed into my songwriting.

I'm glad there are other artists who feel the same way, such as Spinal Tap.

He blinded me with science

2/3/2009 1:36:00 AM

Such a shame I did't have Bill Bryson around when I went to school. My life would have been totally different: much more Einstein and much less Shakespeare.

But it's comforting to note that, when it comes to co-operation, scientists are not much better than high school girls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything

On their hands a dead star

1/30/2009 7:35:00 AM

These are interesting times for anyone following the music industry. First, the Rolling Stone vet Steve Knopper publishes a book on the record industry's certain ruin (Appetite for Self-Destruction). Then, John Kennedy, the industry's top lobbyist, talks to the BBC saying everything is just fine (HARDtalk of 8 January).

Well, at least something isn't right since it's so difficult to buy a record these days. If you're not buying last year's Star Academy, that is.

http://lyricwiki.org/The_Smiths:Paint_A_Vulgar_Picture

Only the light could

1/25/2009 3:07:00 AM

Some acts are simply too horrible for our brain. But if you push them away they will come back to haunt you. Thank God for songs that function as prayers in times like that. Francis Cabrel has many and I've taken the liberty of translating a bit of his below. I will remove it if requested.

We will take off from the same gate
Our eyes on the same shades
For this life and the one next
You will be my only project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkWqQfdv86o

Waiting for the van to come

1/16/2009 5:35:00 AM

It's great to run into an ambitious column. David Brooks does a pretty good job in the NYT with his piece on death. He just makes one remark about scientists that is no longer true. The distinction between an inner voice and an outer voice is not a scientific fact.

When Oasis finished their Brussels show with "I Am the Walrus" on Tuesday these voices sang in perfect harmony.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/opinion/13brooks.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Live in Brussels 2008

1/8/2009 8:36:00 PM

As has become customary, here are some of the highlights from last year, in chronological order this time:

The Cult, AB, 7 March

I've seen some pretty awful performances by these lads (the rock bottom being as a support act to Metallica in 1993). It was somehow reassuring to see them back in shape.

Duran Duran, Cirque Royal, 18 June

The perfect venue for these guys. It's great that they don't even try to hide the kitsch.

Soldout, La Rotonde, 6 November

Felt like the wall of sound was just barely in their hands.

Soap&Skin, Le Witloof Bar, 11 December

This was an extremely shy girl, a grand piano and a laptop. It's always nice to run into something touching, authentic and strange.

What is it good for?

1/5/2009 8:28:00 PM

In the Middle Ages your identity was the same as your profession. You could be a Smith, a Butcher or a Poet and that's all you were. The only question was whether you were any good.

Rupert Smith is definitively a good Soldier. He is proud enough of his profession to tell the political masters that they are very bad at war fighting these days. When will they ever learn?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Smith

Worüber man nicht schweigen kann

12/16/2008 8:13:00 AM

About four years ago today, a great writer, Dietrich Schwanitz, passed away. He was one of those few characters who have been able to address the history of all countries, including his own, with absolute honesty.

If you haven't decided what to read over Christmas yet, get his bestseller on Bildung/Education from 1999. It's available in most languages these days. It will definitely spice up your small talk.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dietrich-schwanitz-754521.html

Know your rights

12/11/2008 8:08:00 AM

The media coverage on the 60th anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was exactly what I expected - lawyers explaining to us the differences between international humanitarian law, customary international law and public international law. I'm sure this was followed with great interest in the Chinese prisons.

God, I wish Joe Strummer was alive.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/clash/know+your+rights_20031891.html

Pad history

12/5/2008 10:04:00 AM

Some sounds have an interesting temporal identity. One of them is the bang of the Simmons SDS-V electronic percussion set which automatically invokes the early '80s and you feel like putting on some black lipstick again. They were those white hexagonal pads you saw on stage in front of the drummer.

Here are some of the masterpieces featuring that beautiful piece of kit:

"Planet Earth", Duran Duran

Fantastic fills that sound like a bunch of meteors coming down.

"Today", Talk Talk

The highlight comes towards the end where Mark Hollis sings "Belle Malissima" and the pads go to a sort of a march beat.

"On meurt tous d'amour", Valérie Lagrance

Interesting blend of French passion and cool English production.

"The Song (We Go)", Ultravox

If my memory serves me well, Warren Cann played this drum part standing up on the unforgettable Monument Tour. Those were the days.

Cranberry sauce

11/28/2008 6:29:00 PM

Some songs are like enigmas. You keep coming back to them and you never quite figure them out. And each time you rediscover them they sound different.

I have two theories about these riddle songs. First, they usually have weird chord progressions. They don't do what you'd expect and leave this uneasy feeling that someone's messing with your musical brain. Second, something strange usually happened during the recording.

42 years ago today at Abbey Road, London one kaleidoscope started to fall into place. That is I think it's not too bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Fields_Forever

I want my G7sus4

11/20/2008 10:38:00 AM

The last time I heard an interesting new chord in a pop song was around the release of Hunky Dory in 1971. Try playing "Life on Mars" and you know what I'm talking about.

The only bright spots I can think of since then were Nik Kershaw ("The Riddle" is more complicated than you think) and Crowded House ("Into Temptation" has all the forms of minor chords I can think of).

Thanks to the software all the major record companies are using, all the chords you hear in pop music will have three notes only and our brains will get smaller.

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1718612

http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2008/11/beatles-hard-days-night-mystery-chord-solved/

It hurts

11/13/2008 7:44:00 AM

... to note that stories are slowly disappearing from songwriting. What we get, most of the time, is "emotions" that are as genuine as decaf.

And it's not that difficult. Put yourself in someone else's shoes. The results can be really touching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbpIw4X7Kww

I get around

11/7/2008 9:54:00 AM

Looking at most web pages you wonder why you're wasting your youth tied to the mouse. Wouldn't  it be better to just go back to bookstores, newsagent's and the last remaining record shops and get something real with a shape, a smell and some real content?

Then, when you're about to log off for good, you run into a web page that's actually inspiring. Here's one:

http://www.panoramicearth.com/

Try to find a hill that you sat on as a child and take a look around. It's mind-boggling. Where did all those trees come from?