Music

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In 1964 Terry Riley composed ‘In C‘; a piece comprising 53 sections that should be played in order but any of which can be repeated. The piece ends when the last player has finished the 53rd section. Riley’s recording of the piece was released in 1968 following it in 1969 with A Rainbow In Curved Air – two records that a young chap at the time would enjoy very much.

Today, in the post gramophone world, there is a webiste that gathers multiple recordings of In C and allows the visitor to enjoy them all at once. The site suggests adjusting the rate at which the recordings play so that they are all synchronised but I cannot imagine any sensible listener wanting to do that.

Screenshot of Incync site

Éliane Radigue at the Co-op.

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It was just a few days after the Guardian had an article about the delightful drone of the refrigeration cabinets at a Sheffield Co-op store:

…that we learned of the death of Éliane Radigue at the age of 94. Some of the comments to the article describe the musical sounds of some European trains which loops nicely back to Radigue’s apprenticeship with Pierre Schaeffer in the 1950s as he used recordings of trains in his own works.

But this is Éliane Radigue’s Islas resonantes created on her ARP 2500.

At least Apple’s Music app has figured out how to spell her name with the erroneous Radique variant now redirecting to the correct form.

Flaky Sabbath

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Will the flaky Sabbath mural at the tattoo place in Hulme be retired once Black Sabbath finally retire?

Sabbath mural

I was never a fan although it was claimed that their roadies lived locally in the house with the deep purple (see what I did there?) curtains that were always drawn. Our teenage vocabulary was insufficient to describe the imagined debauchery within; but they were probably just sleeping having worked all night.

A Music Questions Challenge

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Having seen this on starbreaker it would be impolite not to respond.

The Questions:

“What are five of your favorite albums?”
The Bothy Band
Escalator over the hill
Grounation
Second Star to the Right (Salute to Walt Disney) – now available in another version: Pink Elephants on Parade.
Trout Mask Replica

“What are five of your favorite songs?”
Songs are not music. If I wanted the intrusion of words I would read a poem.

“Favorite instrument(s)?”
Marimba

“What song or album are you currently listening to?”
Jasmine Wood – Piano Reverb

“Do you listen to the radio? If so, how often?”
Yes. BBC Radio 3. Daily.

“How often do you listen to music?”
Daily.

“How often do you discover music? And how do you discover music?”
Frequently. Subscribe to The Wire. Various blogs such as: A closer listen, The Quietus etc., radio.

“What’s a song or album that you enjoy that you wish had more recognition?”
Song: Let the Great Big World keep Turning:

Album: Bees on horseback.

“What’s your favorite song of all time?”
I do not like/favour songs.

“Has your taste in music evolved over the years?”
Not much. As long as it is an interesting noise and does not try to ‘talk’ to me or tell me a story it will probably taste good.