"...and our football team."
I apologize for the lag in posting over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I'm going to play a little bit of catch-up. I hope you had all your Thanksgiving dreams come true. Although, does anyone really aspire to anything on Thanksgiving besides self-inducing a tryptophan coma? Mission accomplished.
The reason Ben Folds originally stuck out to me as needing to be featured on this blog was because of his truly unique resume of musical projects. Below, I've highlighted some of the more creative projects Folds has been a part of.
Concert w/ WASO (2005) - After setting out on his solo venture, he organized this concert, at which the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra was his backup band.
University A Cappella (2009) - Ben Folds challenged composers around the world to submit a cappella arrangements of his songs, and thousands responded. College a cappella groups from across the world submitted recordings of their versions of Folds's music. Folds chose the best dozen-ish, contacted them, directed them, and worked with them to produce recordings to put on the album. But, the really impressive part of the album is the two songs that Folds does himself - overdubbing his own voice to create a rich, full sound. Hear him showcase his creative arranging talents on the song "Effington" - the song from which I pulled the quote for the title of this very post. The song was born when Folds was driving through Effingham, Illinois on his way to Normal, Illinois, hence the name of his preceding album, Way to Normal. **Sidenote: The football team in Effingham, IL is the Effingham Flaming Hearts. How glorious is that?
Chatroulette, "Ode to Merton" (2010) - One day, a man named Merton started going on Chatroulette.com and playing songs on the piano for the random people who appeared on his screen. Wearing thick-rimmed glasses, many people thought this was Ben Folds. Ben Folds thought this was awesome. So, under the banner of "Ode to Merton", Ben started doing Chatroulette sessions live at shows. Here is a collection of some of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfamTmY5REw
Lonely Avenue (2010) - This year saw the release of a collaborative album between Ben Folds and beloved English author Nick Hornby. Hornby wrote all the lyrics and Folds wrote and recorded the songs.
“Rock and roll is - and should be - a kid's place.” - Ben Folds
11.24.2010
Ben Folds is High on Altoids
Two years ago on November 11th, I saw Ben Folds perform at Grady Gammage auditorium. To set up for one of the songs from his then-newly-released solo record, Way to Normal, he presented the audience with two empty Altoids cans. When an Altoids can is placed over a certain section of piano strings, those notes make completely different sounds when played. A tinny, rattly noise is made - more percussive than tonal. And with Folds' ninja fast piano fingers, he can make some pretty interesting riffs. When that sound is passed through a distortion pedal, it takes on a whole new life. The following clip is from a different concert, but it's the same song, "Free Coffee," with an accompanying explanation (warning - F-bombs!).11.23.2010
Ben Folds: the freckles in our eyes
There is so much good Ben Folds stuff to show but, given the theme of the blog, I'm going to stick with the less conventional, lesser known material he has recorded.
One great thing about Ben Folds is that he always finds new ways to "play" his piano. Banging it with his elbows, stomping on it with his feet, tapping and scratching the piano strings with a microphone, etc. At live performances, when he plays "Free Coffee," he takes time to explain his method of placing empty Altoid cans on certain areas of the piano strings to produce a crackly, staccato tone.
While I'm perusing through live videos to find one with decent audio, here is Ben Folds doing a really creative cover of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights," using all sorts of improvised instruments.
One great thing about Ben Folds is that he always finds new ways to "play" his piano. Banging it with his elbows, stomping on it with his feet, tapping and scratching the piano strings with a microphone, etc. At live performances, when he plays "Free Coffee," he takes time to explain his method of placing empty Altoid cans on certain areas of the piano strings to produce a crackly, staccato tone.
While I'm perusing through live videos to find one with decent audio, here is Ben Folds doing a really creative cover of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights," using all sorts of improvised instruments.
11.22.2010
Whatever and Ever, Amen
Ben Folds Five.
Ohhh, they had that "Brick" song, right? Right, back in 1997. But the band's front man and principle songwriter was not destined to be forgotten in the canon of one-hit wonders, even if he wouldn't be a superstar by most definitions. The band had recorded a self-titled album in their house in 1995, followed by probably the best sophomore follow-up album by a rock band in the last 20 years, Whatever and Ever Amen. These albums established them as having a unique approach to alternative music. They had a musical complexity that proved to balance their affinity for lyrical and thematic crassness (i.e., "Song For the Dumped") Following this album, the band released a collection of live recordings, B-sides, and new songs called Naked Baby Photos. In 1999, they released their final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, a departure from their familiar jazz-infused "punk rock for sissies" sound they had carried previously. They introduced more experimental elements into their sound and got a little less aggressive and a little less crass (but only a little).
11 years later, Ben Folds is sans the "Five" (which was really only ever a trio) and still one of the hardest working artists in rock n roll today. The first major thing he did after the band's breakup in 2000 was go on tour by himself. The tour was titled "The Ben Folds and a Piano" tour, and it featured Ben Folds (wait for it!) by himself, playing a piano and singing songs. I was in attendance at the Arizona stop during this tour, and this was the first time I remember being utterly blown away by Folds' musicality. Showing that he had the chops to carry big, loud, complex music by himself was the perfect launching point for what the next ten years had in store for him. So, I'm starting Ben Folds week at the beginning of his solo career. He'd just exited a great band and no one that knew his material expected him to stop writing any time soon. So, with a holster already full of songs he'd played with his old band, he strapped on his backpack and got into a van.
Enjoy this initial video - Ben Folds performing "Last Polka" completely solo. Make sure you get to at least the 30-second mark to see where he really starts working that damn piano. With his elbows and stuff.
Ohhh, they had that "Brick" song, right? Right, back in 1997. But the band's front man and principle songwriter was not destined to be forgotten in the canon of one-hit wonders, even if he wouldn't be a superstar by most definitions. The band had recorded a self-titled album in their house in 1995, followed by probably the best sophomore follow-up album by a rock band in the last 20 years, Whatever and Ever Amen. These albums established them as having a unique approach to alternative music. They had a musical complexity that proved to balance their affinity for lyrical and thematic crassness (i.e., "Song For the Dumped") Following this album, the band released a collection of live recordings, B-sides, and new songs called Naked Baby Photos. In 1999, they released their final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, a departure from their familiar jazz-infused "punk rock for sissies" sound they had carried previously. They introduced more experimental elements into their sound and got a little less aggressive and a little less crass (but only a little).
11 years later, Ben Folds is sans the "Five" (which was really only ever a trio) and still one of the hardest working artists in rock n roll today. The first major thing he did after the band's breakup in 2000 was go on tour by himself. The tour was titled "The Ben Folds and a Piano" tour, and it featured Ben Folds (wait for it!) by himself, playing a piano and singing songs. I was in attendance at the Arizona stop during this tour, and this was the first time I remember being utterly blown away by Folds' musicality. Showing that he had the chops to carry big, loud, complex music by himself was the perfect launching point for what the next ten years had in store for him. So, I'm starting Ben Folds week at the beginning of his solo career. He'd just exited a great band and no one that knew his material expected him to stop writing any time soon. So, with a holster already full of songs he'd played with his old band, he strapped on his backpack and got into a van.Enjoy this initial video - Ben Folds performing "Last Polka" completely solo. Make sure you get to at least the 30-second mark to see where he really starts working that damn piano. With his elbows and stuff.
11.18.2010
I Am the Fun Blame Monster!
http://tinysong.com/ipNL
Listen instantly to "The Late Great Libido"
from Menomena's I Am the Fun Blame Monster
I Am the Fun Blame Monster was Menomena's first release (the title is an anagram for "The First Menomena Album"), self-released in the summer of 2003. Originally, with the release came a hand-assembled 80-page flipbook, designed and created by band member Danny Seim. I very much wish I had one of these in my possession so I could make a gif animation for you. But I don't, soooo instead I MS Painted my own awesome artistic rendering of the fun blame monster.
The song linked above is a laid-back yet still captivating song from the band's debut. Much of it is saxophone-driven with a rhythm section behind it which is somehow both calming and frantic. While recording this album, they realized that their looping software, programmed by band member Brent Knopf, acted more effectively as a songwriting/recording tool than a live tool. This song offers a pretty good illustration of the cut-and-paste composition technique the band uses. Give it to me straight, TapeOp.com:
Listen instantly to "The Late Great Libido"
from Menomena's I Am the Fun Blame Monster
I Am the Fun Blame Monster was Menomena's first release (the title is an anagram for "The First Menomena Album"), self-released in the summer of 2003. Originally, with the release came a hand-assembled 80-page flipbook, designed and created by band member Danny Seim. I very much wish I had one of these in my possession so I could make a gif animation for you. But I don't, soooo instead I MS Painted my own awesome artistic rendering of the fun blame monster.
There are ten mono tracks, each of which can play or record four phrases. So
when one of the band members feels particularly inspired, he will plug in
and start by playing his instrument along with the click track. It's always
improvised. That person will play four variations (A, B, C and D) of a
phrase, in groups of four measures, although the software can be set for a
different number of measures. Then another person will go back and overdub
four variations of another part, based on the previous person's work. So
each track will record four loops, which the band will choose from later. As
you can see, this creates many separate but intertwining loops, with the
opportunity for many variations. This is how they create most, but not all,
of their songs.
when one of the band members feels particularly inspired, he will plug in
and start by playing his instrument along with the click track. It's always
improvised. That person will play four variations (A, B, C and D) of a
phrase, in groups of four measures, although the software can be set for a
different number of measures. Then another person will go back and overdub
four variations of another part, based on the previous person's work. So
each track will record four loops, which the band will choose from later. As
you can see, this creates many separate but intertwining loops, with the
opportunity for many variations. This is how they create most, but not all,
of their songs.
To view Todd Bayles's full, in-depth article/interview about the band's recording/composing process, click here for the .pdf
11.16.2010
Evil Bee!!!
Menomena writes their songs with the assistance of a computer program.
Calm down, hipster. Before you begin your analog purist retort, would it make a difference to you that Brent Knopf of Menomena programmed the whole damn thing himself? Is that still DIY enough for you? They call the program Deeler and it is a customized Digital Looping Recorder written in the MAX/MSP programming language (I don't know what that means, really). I have some more extensive information on DEELER that I will cover in subsequent posts. But for the right now, their bio has this to say:
Calm down, hipster. Before you begin your analog purist retort, would it make a difference to you that Brent Knopf of Menomena programmed the whole damn thing himself? Is that still DIY enough for you? They call the program Deeler and it is a customized Digital Looping Recorder written in the MAX/MSP programming language (I don't know what that means, really). I have some more extensive information on DEELER that I will cover in subsequent posts. But for the right now, their bio has this to say:
Menomena is a band with no primary songwriter, and their albums develop through a slow exchange of song ideas - usually via email.
For some reason, the words "no primary songwriter" get me excited. A band can really own an original sound when they can claim that each member plays equal-ish parts in the songwriting. The songs spring forth from their combined imaginations and melt together into this sound you can't quite put your finger on - abrasive, yet still pretty. I'm keeping the text short on this baby, because the video below is about to blow your mind.
11.15.2010
Mmmm, Menomena, nom nom
I kind of hope you tried to say this post's title three times fast. It's tricky.
So, to kick things off on a Monday, I have a band from Portland that has been on my mind recently.
Menomena (pronounced like "phenomena," except with "men") is three dudes from P-town who have a refreshing approach to recording their music. They record organically, beginning with something simple being looped, and building from that. Their biography on http://menomena.com paints a picture of the band crafting each song like old ladies carefully quilting patches together for a blanket.
In this case, the old ladies are gnarly, bearded dudes and the quilt is a song called "Muscle'n Flo," which is a good starting point for introducing these fellas.
Meet Menomena and nom on my money, men!
So, to kick things off on a Monday, I have a band from Portland that has been on my mind recently.
Menomena (pronounced like "phenomena," except with "men") is three dudes from P-town who have a refreshing approach to recording their music. They record organically, beginning with something simple being looped, and building from that. Their biography on http://menomena.com paints a picture of the band crafting each song like old ladies carefully quilting patches together for a blanket.
"First, we set the tempo of the click, which is played through a pair of headphones. We then take turns passing a single mic around the room. One of us will hold the mic in front of an instrument, while another one of us will lay down a short improvised riff over the click track. We usually start with the drums. Once the drums begin looping, we throw on some bass, piano, guitar, bells, sax, or whatever other sort of noisemaker happens to be in the room."
In this case, the old ladies are gnarly, bearded dudes and the quilt is a song called "Muscle'n Flo," which is a good starting point for introducing these fellas.
Meet Menomena and nom on my money, men!
Mission Statement?
Initial blog post. Testing, testing.
This blog's for music, mostly. I may feature other artistically relevant things, at my own discretion.
My name's Trevor. I love both writing and music, so I'm doing the whole "combining my loves" thing by writing about music. I have a lot of things that I think about music. My friends consider me a generally good resource for new music and good taste. They also don't mind when I use them to compliment myself.
Basically, there is so much creativity in today's musical world that I can barely even handle it. Music provides such loose guidelines and is so indefinite that practically anything that produces sound waves could be argued to be music in some form. But I'll not be focusing my entries towards the totally avant-garde, because let's face it, some of that shit is unlistenable. My goal is to find a band every week, and feature a different song each day that illustrates the magical balance between creativity and listenability. It's a hard chord to strike, but there are lots of bands who nail it. So, I'm here to present to you the cool stuff that goes on between John Cage and Taylor Swift. I'm dedicated to sharing the artists who can appeal to a wide range of people while still holding artistic expression and innovation as priorities. These are the people who can make a living from their art, and with dignity.
Oh, and also, I'll be making this up as I go.
This blog's for music, mostly. I may feature other artistically relevant things, at my own discretion.
My name's Trevor. I love both writing and music, so I'm doing the whole "combining my loves" thing by writing about music. I have a lot of things that I think about music. My friends consider me a generally good resource for new music and good taste. They also don't mind when I use them to compliment myself.
Basically, there is so much creativity in today's musical world that I can barely even handle it. Music provides such loose guidelines and is so indefinite that practically anything that produces sound waves could be argued to be music in some form. But I'll not be focusing my entries towards the totally avant-garde, because let's face it, some of that shit is unlistenable. My goal is to find a band every week, and feature a different song each day that illustrates the magical balance between creativity and listenability. It's a hard chord to strike, but there are lots of bands who nail it. So, I'm here to present to you the cool stuff that goes on between John Cage and Taylor Swift. I'm dedicated to sharing the artists who can appeal to a wide range of people while still holding artistic expression and innovation as priorities. These are the people who can make a living from their art, and with dignity.
Oh, and also, I'll be making this up as I go.
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