Reaction to Osama Bin Laden’s Death

2 May

The Scene at Ground Zero (New York) Last Night After News of Osama Bin Laden's Death Was Shared

Folk/Punk singer Frank Turner responded to news of Osama Bin Laden’s death in a Twitter post inspired by the apt words of Mark Twain. “”I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” And, that’s about how I felt when I was blindsided by the monumental news while watching the Mets vs. Phillies game on ESPN last night. In a meticulously organized military operation conducted by a group of multi-skilled special soldiers, Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head in a voluminous compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan yesterday. The news was remarkably propagated to the entire connected world within seconds. Oh, the wonders of technology.

It is stunning news. I was debating what diction to use on this post, and stunning stood out. That is how I felt and still feel. The killing of the single most hated person in America since Hitler is a tremendous feat that certainly portrays power and eventual success. I do not want to come off as jingoistic, but this death oozes American nationalism, and I do think it is good for our struggling country. Yes, it is eerie that we are celebrating a death, but as Twain hinted at, most American’s woke up this morning and saw a noticeable face printed in the newspaper – a face immediately linked with utter hatred – and smiled. I did the same. I was 11 when the Twin Towers fell. I watched them fall over and over again on television in a horrifying phantasmagoria. In my opinion, there are only a few heinous crimes worthy of the death penalty, and Bin Laden deserved what he got. I only wish it came sooner.

I believe it is only appropriate to leave this as the sole news item in today’s Music News. I do feel obligated to provide you with a song that somehow can encompass these events. Famous American classics have been overused already, so instead I turn to something a little unconventional.

He’s Gone. He’s Gone. And nothing is gonna bring him back.

Video and Audio Music News – Fleet Foxes Full New Album STREAM – Football – Rock Eleanor

28 Apr

Helplessness Blues Stream

Folk-rock extraordinaries Fleet Foxes will release Helplessness Blues to the public on May 3, but because of the wonders of the Internet, and the kindness of Rolling Stone Magazine, eager listeners (like myself) can stream the entire album from Rolling Stone. That’s right.

Follow this link: http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/fleetfoxes.html

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FOOTBALL! and ELEANOR!

Today is an admittedly short version of Music News, because of this writer’s busy day. For those that are still reading this post (most have probably entered the sylvan realm of Fleet Foxes), I will now provide you with the video aspect of this special Music News. Today holds two truths. First, the NFL Draft is on tonight at 8 p.m. Secondly, hard-rock guitar instrumentals of “Eleanor Rigby” can be awesome. Here are two videos displaying these truths.

Football

Eleanor


The Psychedelic Experiment – Art Rock – Emerson Lake & Palmer “The Three Fates”

27 Apr

Totally Arting It Up

Psychedelic music inspired many talented performers to explore rock n’ roll’s endless possibilities. At its root, psychedelic music is experimental, and like any pioneering scientific discoveries, it engenders more research and, well, experimenting. While psychedelic music has numerous sub-genres, even more striking is the amount of genre manipulation that happened after the wave of psychedelia came to a near-end in the late 1960’s. I say near-end because psychedelic music never truly ended. But since it experienced a wave of popularity in the mid-late 60’s, it naturally became less popular. I know that I called this section the 60’s psychedelic experiment, but it is equally important to describe music that was created directly after the initial boom. I’m talking about the early 1970’s, which saw the rise of progressive rock and art rock, two genres that owe their creation to the success of psychedelic music. In a sense, art and progressive rock are both the complex expansion of psychedelic experimentation featuring music that concentrates on intricate and lengthy melodies combined with either a classical musical approach or more modern representation.

How did that paragraph go down? Smoothly, I hope. Seriously, the progression of Rock music is sometimes bulky, and this time period saw several changes to how rock would evolve. Art and progressive rock evolved from psychedelic music. Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) was composed for Keith Emerson, from the psychedelic rock band The Nice, Greg Lake, from the late 60’s prog-rock band King Crimson, and drummer Carl Palmer who played in the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster. These three musicians composed one of the first Art Rock supergroups and their music reached for the classical portion of Art rock.

In my opinion, art and progressive rock are practically the same term. But, one of the key differences is progressive rock tends to focus more on guitars. As evidenced by the piece I am including, ELP swayed more towards piano and keyboards.

“The Three Fates” is the first song off of side two of their debut eponymous album. It is split up into three parts, each named for a mythical figure (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos). The piano playing is extraordinary. Keith Emerson is skillful beyond words. The ode to classical music is clear and this classifies the music as 1970 Art rock. So, you may be thinking, how does this apply to psychedelic music? Travel to around 5:30 in the song. Okay, this is Jazz-rock. But, wait, what are all of the background sounds and the musical layering and strange notation. Yes, this is psychedelic music of the 1960’s kicked up a notch to fit into the genres of Jazz and Classical. It is Art rock, and a perfect example of the evolution of psychedelic music.

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The Collaboration That is Rome – Lollapalooza’s 20th Anniversary Line-up

26 Apr

Rome to release Album May 17 (US)

A good film is composed of a solid combination of actors playing roles successfully. A band is not very different, and an album created by a collaboration of artists working towards a goal is practically the same thing. The band Rome sees four artists joining forces on a “different” project inspired by the film soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone, an Italian composer most famous for his film scores of spaghetti westerns.

Brian Burton (a.k.a Danger Mouse), Jack White, Norah Jones, and composer Daniele Luppi recorded their soundtrack-inspired album in Rome’s Forum Studios, a facility Morricone helped establish, with the help of musicians that have worked with Morricone. Rome takes from the rich musical tradition of Italy. It is no surprise that Danger Mouse considers the album to be about love.

Yes, I know what you are saying, Danger Mouse is today’s version of Bob Dylan. But let’s put the prolific producer/musician’s appearance in most modern music aside. I am very much looking forward to Rome’s debut album which is set to be released on May 17 (US). Rome is, in all sense of the term, a Supergroup. We know that the release is going to be good, but how different will it be. Can Rome fuel a new spaghetti western inspired genre, like an Italian classical folk rock extravaganza. A few songs have been released. Here is “Black.”

Danger Mouse’s influence is heard best in the chorus. The verse is folk combined with Norah Jones’ dreamy voice. “Black” is melancholic and, perhaps intentionally, the evanescent keyboard riff in the chorus is rather unsettling. The entire piece emits a frightening buried melody and, since this album is inspired by film scores, it fits perfectly.

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Lollapalooza Line-Up

Lollapalooza is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and the line-up for this three-day festival at Chicago’s Grant Park has been released. This year’s headliners do not include Lady Gaga’s crowd-surfing star-boob act that took last summer’s crowd by storm. But, who knows, if Cee Lo Green gets angry at the festival he may do something even crazier.

The festival, which runs from August 5-7, will be headlined by Eminem, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Muse and My Morning Jacket. Some other highlight acts include Bright Eyes, The Cars, Cee Lo Green, Kid Cudi, Girl Talk (will be performing in a new 15,000 person dance tent).

Three in Three: The Musical Grab Bag That is Greg Dember

25 Apr

Mini-Piano - My Instrument of Choice

Greg Dember is a professional musician. Many times you come across a band composed of musicians that stick to the script and play music that is conventional and unexciting. It’s not that they don’t take risks because they want to be mundane. They don’t take risks because they do not have the musical ability to do so. Dember, a technical piano player from Seattle, has been punching out creative melodies since the 90’s, and his March release of his second solo album Water Makes Waves is proof that he does not like to settle for boring rhythm and melody. Instead, Dember creates an album that I coin an Indie Grab Bag, jam-packed with horns, strings, synths and intriguing harmonies. The album is imbued with innovative sounds, and part of the excitement of listening is that you just don’t know what will come next.

“How We Met” is just one example of Dember’s music. It begins with a comfortable piano riff that stays neatly in the background when Dember’s soothing folk voice joins the piece. The soft string section adds scene to the song and creates an almost Ben Folds-like indie sound. At around two minutes listeners are treated to a hint of horns that come and go quickly, replaced by the impressive piano melody that transforms into the base of an instrumental that features violin plucks and drawn-out, but contained, horn appearances. It is a full-bodied song and, like a good ale, goes down smoothly. It is also a solid preview of the rest of the album which, while being different and creative, never loses its flavor.

Check out more of Dember’s music: http://www.gregdembermusic.com/

Interested in being featured on the Music Court? Send your information to musiccourt@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to take a listen.

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