Mistergone’s blog

QotW: Just Added...

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:47:46 -0700

What was the last song you added to your MP3 player? (Bonus points, as always, if you share it with us!)
Submitted by Julie.

Most of Sia's music, from what I can gather, is kind of in the Dido/Sarah McLachlan vein - which is fine if that's what you like. It can get a bit tiresome after a while. And given that she holds mostly to that rut, I was very pleased to hear this little gem from her.

It's got a great hook and nice brassy instrumentation that wouldn't sound out of place in a 1970s European film. It's out of the ordinary and I love it. It's one of those songs that I know I'll be listening to steadily for the next week or more.

11 Electric Bird

Sia

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...Half Hour a Week in Which to Get Funky

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:21:09 -0700

I have to work harder to get into the loop. I tend to miss out on some great music because I don't leave myself enough time to scour the net for interesting music. I'm certainly not finding it on the radio!

Take these guys for instance - Bitter:Sweet - a jazzy TripHop duo from LA.

08-Bitter-Sweet-Dirty Laundry

01-Bitter-Sweet-Don't Forget to Breathe

I probably would have missed them entirely if a friend hadn't heard their music and brought it to my attention. Unfortunately, lately that's what I've been relying on for musical finds - friends, advertisements, movie trailers, the sound system at the gym, group fitness classes. This approach has left a lot to be desired, to say the least. I'm not finding a lot of worthwhile new music.

Happily, I've found a few music blogs and vox groups that do point me to new stuff once in a while, but I find a lot of the suggestions do tend to sound the same: guitar-driven indie garage-band crap.

So when something like Bitter:Sweet does show up on my radar I get very excited. I'm really impressed by a few of this act's tracks and, while the album isn't consistently excellent, there's enough good on it to make it worthwhile. Hopefully these two will find their legs and keep putting out new stuff.

Of course...
It's possible that there just isn't all that much interesting music being created after all. Maybe it's not that it's passing me by. Maybe it just doesn't exist. Either way, I suppose it's always good to go back to your stable of reliable artists and enjoy an older track or two.

Bitter:sweet does remind me a lot of DePhazz, a downtempo electronica act that's eclectic, but that usually puts out some great loungy, jazzy offerings. Just for good measure, here's one of the my DePhazz favorites.

The Mambo Craze- De Phazz

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Music QotD: The Sounds of Yesterday

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:26:28 -0800

Who was your favorite band when you were in 8th grade?

Ugh. Unfortunately it was Chicago.

Damn - that's not fair, actually. Chicago has put out some really interesting and progressive music in their day. It's just that, when I was listening to them, they had recently found David Foster as a producer and they were pumping out lame-o ballads (well, I find them Lame-o now, but then...) and synth-pop.

They never managed to get back to the improvisational style that made them popular in the '70s though, and they've pretty much fallen off the map at this point - although, as I understand it, they're still together and making music. I'm just not buying it anymore.

And the song that made me love them was "Hard Habit to Break", not "You're the Inspiration". And for those who don't remember it - here it is. Enjoy.

Chicago - Hard Habit To Break

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Slowly Coming Around

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:37:42 -0800

For years, I have been one who reveled in the outer movements of big romantic pieces - The dramatic, kinetic energy of big orchestras playing quickly.I think it has to do with the fact that I'm generally better able to grasp the structure of the fast movements, in part because the different themes are so well defined, and in part because they tend to be fairly standard in form. The fast movements are usually sonata form or rondo form.

While it happened some time ago, I distinctly remember a shift occurring when I started to get to know Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto - the Emperor concerto. It was one of the first pieces where I not only got a real sense of the structure of the slow movement (sonata form again) but I also felt like each instrument had a driving purpose and I could hear everything that Beethoven intended. I had a real connection with it and it still brings me near tears when I listen to it.

While not my absolute favorite piano concerto overall - although I'm not sure I'd be capable of identifying just one - the Emperor ranks right up there near the top. But the adagio - taken on its own - is easily my favorite slow movement from any concerto.

So I was over the moon to find this recording of Glenn Gould playing it with Leopold Stokowski and the American Symphony Orchestra. Both legendary performers in their respective fields, this was a bit of a dream combo. True, there's always the chance that they might not have shared a vision for the piece, but I was happy to hear they lived up to their reputations.

The whole concerto is beautifully performed, but the slow movement is exquisite. It's taken at a much slower tempo than one usually hears it - which really gives the listener a chance to move in and around the different instrument parts. To feel how the flutes highlight the sigh-like end of the main theme, or how, in the recap, the piano just flat out interrupts the strings when they move too quickly towards the end of the theme, and passes it off to the winds - which enter with so much hesitancy - for a final restatment, with all others playing a simple supporting role.

It's played so tenderly, so clearly, and so eloquently - I can't imagine a better performance. The Emperor certainly helped me to better embrace slower movements because of it's clear structure. If other slow movements were played with the clarity and sincerity shown in this performance, I'm sure my preference for fast movments would be at risk.

Adagio Un Poco Mosso

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Not unlike TMBG

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:00:23 -0800

Sometimes sounding like it's played on a cheap casio keyboard circa 1983, I've been nonetheless impressed lately with the music of HP Mendoza.

I found Mendoza completely by accident when I came across a film called "Colma: the Musical" - a film about three high school grads and their lives after high school. Mendoza starred in the film and also wrote all the music which, I have to say, is pretty catchy.

Unfortunately, the film's soundtrack isn't available for free, but Mendoza's own solo albums are, and you can download'em on his website.

And his stuff is still well worth a listen - especially for fans of They Might Be Giants. I've been a fan of TMBG for years, but they long-ago abandoned their early sound (also cheap-keyboard-driven) and matured into a fuller-sounding band. That's not a bad thing, but I do still like their older stuff - and Lincoln ranks among their best albums.

Organ Donor

H.P. Mendoza

Mendoza's music doesn't have the consistency of TMBG, but his latest effort, Nomad, is at least halfway there. It's an improvement on his first - Everything is Pop - which was more miss than hit. Nomad's songs shift between quirky (both lyrically, like Organ Donor - the most TMBG-inspired track on the album - and musically, like In this Light) to sweetly funny (Wet Dreams and Funny Schemes), and, at its best, a little dark (Dewey Decimal, and Run Away before it gets too Good).

Still, despite his budget, he's not cutting corners on his musicality. He might be limited in what he can produce technically, but his music is full of interesting harmonies and catchy melodies - even if the drumbeats sound like cheese.

TMBG fans should definitely check this out.

Dewey Decimal

H.P. Mendoza

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A little tribute to the 'King of Pop'

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:12:51 -0800

Wow, what a great song! Okay, I haven't been very good at keeping up this blog, but I was so blown away by this catchy little number that I just had to share, in case you haven't heard it.

Justice - D.A.N.C.E (Version Finale)

The group, Justice, reminds me a bit of Daft Punk, but their music seems to match my taste a bit more. It's really chopped up, but most of it has a really nice electronic sound to it. Very chunky and distorted. This track, D.A.N.C.E. is a bit of the odd man out, but it's still one of the best on the album.

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Fauré for Me

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:30:43 -0700

My friend recently picked up a book of Gabriel Fauré's music scored for piano. I borrowed it to see if any of it was playable with my limited skills, and it turns out I could conceivably play several movements from Fauré's Requiem -- among other pieces. I was thrilled.

I hadn't listened to it in a while and I was reminded just how lovely the Fauré Requiem is. It's interesting since he had no point in writing it other than to see what he could come up with for this classical form. Despite that, Fauré produced one of the most tranquil and peaceful Requiems I've ever heard. There's really very little bombast here, and while bombast has it's place, sometimes it's nice just to have something to sooth you. It's worth a listen if you get a chance.

Fauré - Pie Jesu

London Musici, Richard Marlow Conducting

In terms of versions, I'm not too fussy on big orchestras playing this. The delicate nature of the music lends itself well to a smaller ensemble. This version featuring Richard Marlow conducting London Musici and the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is pretty well perfect in my opinion. That, and the fact that it's couple with some great Maurice Duruflé's pieces make this Conifer Classics recording one of my favorites.

Now I better go practice the Agnus Dei.

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Great and Dreadful Covers

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:41:28 -0700

Rules for Remakes

A few weeks ago I was driving home and flipping through radio stations (my CD player is on the fritz). I managed to tune in just as one station was playing a cover version of "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel. And you know, at first, I was almost uncertain it WAS a cover. Other than lacking Paul Simon's distinctive voice, the song varied little from the original. It was more like a cover-band version of the original - a tribute if you will. And I was forced to ask: What's the F%$&ing point?!

S&G did that song just fine the first time. I love covers as well as the next guy. Go ahead and give us your take on a classic hit, but if you don't have anything new to say about the source material, don't say anything at all. Write your own music. And if you're not good enough to do that, make way for someone who is!

There are plenty of great covers out there and there's plenty of shite. This isn't a best/worst list, but there are some lessons to be learned from those who have done it well, and those who should be playing their local Kiwanis club. First up - the Do's.

Five Great Cover Versions

The Bee Gees

Feist

Love You Inside Out - The BeeGees vs. Feist

Feist's version of this BeeGees hit brings down the tempo, but keeps just enough of the cheezy synthesizer sounds to let this song sound good in 2007, even if it's likely to sound very dated in about 10 years. It's a fate that befell the original after all. Inside Out had a great chorus and enough of a funk groove to make it big on the charts. It has suffered in later years - garnering little airplay because it didn't hold up when synthesizers went out of fashion in the '90s. This remake slows it down a bit and, while it loses some of the funk, it put a bit more emphasis on the verses, and pares down the accompaniment enough to give Feist's somewhat delicate voice a chance to shine. That and our current sensibility to retro-'80s synth-pop means this version sounds fresh...for now.

Lesson: Music that's sounds dated, but is from the period that is currently in vogue among retro circles, makes excellent source material.

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Tori Amos - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells like Teen Spirit - Nirvana vs. Tori Amos

That had to be tough. A hard driving "alternative" rock song that was pretty much credited with popularizing a new style of rock music. Taking that as your source material - trying to make something new into something new - was a big challenge. Tori's pared down, piano accompaniment and slowed-down tempo make this song sound completely different. In fact I've played it for people and they had no idea it was the same song. That's impressive. Both versions have something wonderful to offer - a subdued aggressive energy or a dense piano-laden laziness - and they both stand on their own.

Lesson: Give your source material a completely different feeling using new instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics. It won't work for every song, but there's gotta be a lot of source material that it would work with.

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

Nelly Furtado - Crazy

Crazy - Gnarls Barkley vs. Nelly Furtado

Similar to the lesson above - Nelly's take on this very catchy Gnarls Barkley hit is a pared-down version accompanied by acoustic guitar and a male voice on harmony. It's a sweeter version. The original had great energy and a wonderful vocal performance but it was almost over-produced. So, paring it down was a more obvious way to go. The original version of this song had a fantastic hook - just a great and original melody line. But there was nothing awe-inspiring about the production/instrumentation that made me say "don't touch this song, it's already perfect."

Lesson: Take source material that has a weakness (or don't try to remake songs that are already perfect).

.
This is just as an aside but, in my opinion, there are few "perfect" pop songs in the world. So please please please, never try to remake Under Pressure by Queen and Bowie. Everything about that song is perfect and it has aged really well. From the baseline to the desperation in Freddie's voice, and the easy way that he and Bowie have with one another. I can't imagine improving on that song.

David Bowie & Queen - Under Pressure

Queen with David Bowie

I am however, still waiting for someone to remake She's a Maniac by Michael Sembello. That hit from the movie Flashdance had so much energy and was such a great pop song, but it's really dated now. An update is warranted. Anyone have any ideas how to keep the energy but lose the cheese?

Michael Sembello - She's A Maniac

She's a Maniac

Nine Inch Nails - Hurt

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Hurt - Nine Inch Nails vs Johnny Cash

Nine Inch Nails had a really productive period with the Downward Spiral album, and Hurt was one of the best songs on it. While I always found it a bit too awash in keyboard sounds, it was nothing if not forceful. The heavy bass chords made certain of that. So when Johnny Cash - a country legend - decided to cover this song by an Industrial-music artist, I was skeptical. But it worked beautifully - not least because Johnny's voice had become aged and sounded fragile. His own capabilities as a singer completely changed the feel of that song - and we've wound up with a incredibly different take on the same song. It's still slow and a bit of a downer, but now it's much more fragile and heartbreaking.

Lesson: Use what you've got. If you're a hard rock singer and you decide to cover an AC/DC song, don't expect it to leave much of an impression.

ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me

Erasure - Lay All Your Love On Me

Lay all your love on me - ABBA vs. Erasure

Erasure did a great job with its album ABBA-esque. They released four ABBA covers, but managed to steer clear of "Dancing Queen". Remaking Dancing Queen would have been a huge mistake - not because it's inherently perfect, but because it's ABBA's signature song, and with ABBA not likely to ever reunite it would be sacrilege to take that song on. Not to mention people have so many fond memories tied to the original. A remake couldn't help but fail. Of the songs they did cover, Lay All Your Love on Me was the best. Erasure took a lesser-known ABBA hit and ramped it up. Yes It's cheesy, yes, but so was ABBA, really. Cheesy in a good way - and that's simply amplified here. ABBA put out great club hits, and this is nothing if not a great club cut.

Lesson: Pick a lesser-known song from the original artist. You'll have a better chance of turning people on rather than turning them off as they compare your work to the original.

And now... the Bad

Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me

George Michael (with Elton John)- Don't let the sun go down on me

Don't let the sun go down on me - Elton John vs. George Michael

I can't think of a more perfect example of a cover that is essentially the same as the original. George Michael's version of this simple beautiful Elton John ballad is an absolute knock off, right down to the guitar harmonics leading into the first chorus. All that changes is some of the ornamentation in Michael's voice. it's not enough. In fact, the only part of the remake that I like is when Elton John enters for his half of the song. His voice has become so much stronger since his original version and this is an artist at the peak of his career singing one of his hits. It's like a concert. Michael's addition is basically as a backup singer here. Save your money and buy Elton's Live in Australia album to get a great version of this song without Michael, and with Elton singing in his mature voice.

Lesson: Involving the original artist doesn't necessarily mean the version will improve on the original, especially if you don't bring something new to the table.
.

The Beatles - Blackbird

Sarah mclachlan - Blackbird

Blackbird - The Beatles vs. Sarah McLaughlan

I don't know if I've heard ANY good Beatles covers. It would be difficult given just how amazing those four guys were, especially in the later years - and not just in terms of a melody line, but in terms of the depth of their arrangements and instrumentation. It would be hard to outmatch them. With this bland remake, McLaughlan had a real opportunity to take Blackbird and add to it. But all we get is a simple version with guitar? Why bother. The only real change is to a woman's voice. Why not change the instrumentation to Piano at least - isn't that McLaughlan's instrument? - like Tori Amos did for Smells like Teen Spirit.

Lesson: Don't try to remake a Beatles tune unless you're going to change it completely.

Lou Reed - Perfect Day

Duran Duran - Perfect Day

Perfect Day - Lou Reed vs. Duran Duran

This was a tough call for me, because I'm not a huge fan of Lou Reed's vocals, so I actually prefer the Duran version in some ways, but if I'm looking at it objectively, the Duran version is basically a straight-up remake with a little smoother vocals, the Duran electronic wash, and their staple fretless bass sound. It lacks the clarity of the original, not to mention the piano ornamentation. In all fairness, this song does have a Duran-ness to it, so in a way they did make it their own, but it's still such a different version from the original that it needed to be made.

Lesson: Despite your desire to offer a 'tribute' to another band by 're-doing' their music, they have, in all likelihood, already done it better. Play it for your friends, but don't use it as filler for an album when you know a better version exists.
.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal

Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson vs. Alien Ant Farm

I'm not a huge Michael Jackson fan, but this was always one of my favorites of his. I never thought it got a fair shake - especially when crap like "The Way you Make me Feel" was reaching #1. So I was excited to hear someone was going to do a remake. Then I heard it. You know, punk or speed metal or whatever that thrashy stuff is, just has very little musical merit. All you get it a heavily distorted voice and the remnants of some guitar chords, and a drum line. There's not room for anything more in terms of arrangement. The original had some really nice vocal backing that's just completely gone in the remake - or actually replaced by some silly falsetto that sounds completely mocking of the original.

Lesson: don't make something that's less than the original. Paring something down can work to help bring out something you might not have heard in the original. Ramping it up and distorting the crap out of it just takes away from what was probably a better song than what you've wound up with.

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb

Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb.

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd vs. Scissor Sisters

I love the Scissor Sisters. They have a great sound of their own, but while this was a hit, it kind of irked me. The original Comfortably numb is pretty near a perfect song in my opinion, and yes I know that's subjective, but there's great guitar work, beautiful orchestration and characterization in the vocal work from the two lead singers (this is from a concept album after all). I find this remake almost strays too far from the original for me, but not so much that I hate this version. There is something redeeming about it. It's not going to replace the original as my favorite, but this version has it's place. It's a song that was obviously styled for play at a dance club, so SS deserves credit for not just grabbing a sample from the original and simply reworking it into some shell of the original. It goes a bit too far from the source, but I suspect that's partly due to my love of the original. Okay, so maybe this isn't the best example, but I'm tired.

the lesson is not to stray so far from the original that you lose everything good about it.
You can probably think of a better example for this lesson.
I'm done.

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A little faster please

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:27:46 -0700

One of the most famous piano solo pieces is almost always played wrong, in my opinion. Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# min, no matter how well it starts, always loses it once the main theme returns to close the piece out. In almost every recording I have, the pianist goes back to Tempo I for that section - despite the fact the piece grows steadily faster leading to the falling octaves in the middle of the piece.

Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# min

Even Van Cliburn - an artist as acclaimed for his skill at interpreting Rachmaninoff - mucks it up.

And you know what? I used to love hearing it that way. That was until I heard the composer's own interpretation. Rachmaninoff was mostly too early to leave any actual recordings (there are a few, but they are of poor quality) but he did leave piano rolls from the Ampico piano roll company -- a technology that allowed the piano to reproduce not only the notes, but also the dynamics the player intended.

Those piano rolls were used to produce this album of Rachmaninoff playing his own works and transcriptions. And one of the highlights is his performance of the C# min prelude.It's the first and only time I've ever heard it with the recapitulation done at a fast tempo - and it just fits the piece so much better given that it has increased in tempo throughout to this point. Have a listen.

Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# min.

Sergei Rachmaninov

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Glasswerk

nobody@vox.com(Mistergone) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:39:58 -0700

Philip Glass seems to have become the composer of film music - often stealing from his own earlier works to complete a film score. Not that there's anything wrong with that - he's written some wonderful music, and why not set it out for a wider audience than will likely hear it in a concert setting. (Ah movies, the great equalizer!). At least he's not pilfering from other composers like James Horner does. Hack!

Anyway, like I said, there's some great Glass music in the archive. His solo piano stuff is gorgeous. But for my money, his violin concerto is probably one of his best works -- especially given that the concerto form itself has been around so long and there are so many fantastic examples of how to do it right. For Glass to take on that form and still come up with something so unique, interesting (let alone mesmerizing) is a feat to be admired.

The third movement (check it out below) is one of the most driven movements of any music that I've heard. The simple repetitive nature of it belies the fact that it would be music that just makes you want to run or jump or speed around on a motorcycle. I think it's the alternating between the simple arpeggiated violin and the full tutti orchestra that gives it so much momentum.

And then the way it just kind of withdraws in the last couple of minutes is so tender. It just disappears into itself. Have a listen:

Glass - Violin Concerto - 3rd Mvmt

Glass/Kremer

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