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Wilfully Obscure: The Wrens - (the incomplete) Overnight Success demo (1997):
Not as sonically sweeping as any of their proper albums, these half-dozen tunes are still about as intoxicating as anything you’re likely to hear Wrens-wise. A major treat for those of you who’ve only been exposed to the official releases.
Hearing something I’ve never heard from one of my favorite bands is a fast trip to Bonerville.
My God, I hope they put out another record. Just so much.
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Genesis - “Dancing with the Moonlit Knight” (Live; Shepperton; 1973)
> DAN: Wasn’t Peter Gabriel in [Genesis] for a while?
>
> MERLIN: Yes. Also, Paul McCartney was in The Beatles.Man. They were just SO good.
RELATED: Phil Collins forty years ago? So handsome.
RELATED RELATED: Holy shit. Steve Fucking Hackett. Insane. The man pretty much invented the modern hammer-on as we know it today.
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Electric Light Orchestra - “Do Ya’” (Live; Midnight Special; 1977)
This song hits me right square in my Very Special Boner Place.
We’re going to be doing some of our new album for you tonight, and it’s going to be accompanied by a laser beam show—which we believe is the first time a laser beam show has been used on TV.
Historical, really.
Also: white cello that moves. Nothin’ wrong with that.
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“Sick of Myself” - Matthew Sweet
A chance at greatness
Just to make this
Dream come into play,
I don’t know if I’ll find a wayOne of the great, unsung patron saints of nerds. So great.
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Paganini’s 24 Caprices are some of my all-time favorite pieces of music, and this is my favorite performance of the 24th.
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I only wish I had time to see how it sounds.
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I mean to quit stealing as soon as I steal for the last time.
John Roderick - “Carparts”
Just lovely. So great.
I’m really lucky to get to hang out with this deeply talented asshole.
Love that guy. Outstanding mic skills.
[see also]
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The Long Winters - “The Commander Thinks Aloud”
The prettiest, saddest song about a space shuttle crash you’ll ever hear.
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Hey, I’m Mary Timony. While Carrie sings, I’m just gonna space out over here and tear it the hell up with my guitar playing like it’s no big deal, that cool with you? Yeah, I’ll probably even do some tapping up on the neck while I just kinda float around in a cloud of awesome. It’s all good.
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Had to be done:
“Piano Man” as interpreted by me pretending to be Tom Waits.
Vocals only because I can’t play an instrument. If someone wanted to do backing tracks for whatever reason, they could download the .MP3 track here.
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Yeah. He went there.
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Exhausted:
“Because every win
on this record’s
hard-won.”Being a love letter to The Wrens and their 2003 album, The Meadowlands. Composed of an improbable combination of gushing prose, digital audio recordings, live and promotional music videos, a handful of amusing quotations, an anecdote involving the rock band, “Creed,” one grudging acknowledgment of a web property that rhymes with, “witch dork,” plus a sampling of band photographs, curated from the modest portfolio of your author. Who is a fan.
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DISCLOSURE! Actual Shazam Results
Okay, smart ass. Let’s see your Shazam confessions at
#shazamwontlie.And NO FAIR DELETING.
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Connected by Strings
Revolver (album) [“Eleanor Rigby”]
George Martin used to claim that his composition was inspired by the Bernard Herrmann score for François Truffaut’s film Fahrenheit 451, however this is not possible because the film had not yet been released. The writers of the book Recording The Beatles theorized that Martin was probably referring to the score from Psycho, which was also scored by Herrmann. Martin has since altered his telling of the story and agrees that he was probably thinking of the score to Psycho. The strings were recorded without reverberation, and compressed, giving a stark, urgent sound.
For 35 years I’ve listened to the wonderful song that became (at least in some small and probably unconscious way) part of the inspiration for my daughter’s first name.
But, holy Christ. I’d never heard the Herrmann/Psycho influence. Until now. And now it’s all I can hear. Which, in its way, is kind of awesome.
In particular:
- “Eleanor Rigby” 0:13-0:19
- “Eleanor Rigby” 0:22-0:26
Compare with a Psycho excerpt:
Man, nobody did it like Bernard Herrmann. His stuff still sounds as taut, fresh, sophisticated, and unknowable as it did the day it came out. Hard to imagine a handful of Hitchcock classics without him (and Saul Bass).
Then there’s Taxi Driver.
And, as far as Psycho goes? Imagine if Hitch had stuck to his guns and gone with his original decision to keep the shower scene unscored.
Hitchcock originally wanted the shower scene to play with no music. In post production, while the director was out of town, Herrmann composed the famous theme and showed it to Hitchcock with the music upon his return. Hitchcock had to admit his original notion was an “improper suggestion.”
“ER” MP3 Source: Revolver Deluxe Vol. II (Purple Chick). If it exists. And if I have it. Which I’m not saying it does. And I’m certainly not implying I do. Although it would be an awesome not-to-miss addition to any Beatles nerd’s collection. If it exists. Which I’m not saying it does.
