Monday, March 14, 2005
Consider my last post as a foreward
Or something. I can't really think of how to build on that little stroke of genius myself. Still, it brings me to the topic for today, being cross-genrefication. Columbia House, in one of the rare moments during which they aren't trying to drown me in junk mail, shipped me my (I can only hope to be) last CDs from them. I don't think I'm free, at least not in the classical sense in "being unrelated of and having no connection to" but I think I might be able to ward off their weirding ways for a little while longer.
The CD in question, since although Wilco is pretty good it has no place in this little ditty, is The Symphonic Pink Floyd. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, in what I assume to be one of their more Out There performances, recorded an album of what could be considered the greatest songs of the Waters/Gilmour era of the Pee-to-tha-Eff. Another Brick, Comfortably Numb, Time, Money, Great Gig, all the least weird, yet still stand-out tracks from Dark Side and The Wall. (I'm disappointed they didn't include Pigs, being the best Pink Floyd song EVAR, but at 15 minutes, I can understand why not.)
I'll jump straight to the point: it works. The LPO has accomplished the archeological task of carefully studying and unearthing the music in these songs, dusting off the Rock and carrying it in padded crates over to the orchestra pit. Symphonic Floyd sounds epic, like the soundtrack to an opera, but at the same time it never really loses the melancholy that made it what it was. You could argue that some tracks sound better than others, and to an extent that's somewhat true. Yes, the swinging gait of Money is diminished somewhat by orchestral posture and timing, and Another Brick In The Wall is nigh-unrecognizable, aside from the recurring chorus theme that drifts in and out of the foreground. Still, one can't really say that the tone or overall mood of ABitW is that different from the original. On the whole, I think that Us and Them, The Symphonic Pink Floyd is a paragon of bringing Rock the city mouse out to the homestead where Classical the country mouse lives.
Let's say that taking what is essentially a popular modern genre and dressing it up as a classical work of art isn't your bag. What about going the other way? What if you take classical cellists and get them to play some Metallica and other heavy metal? How about taking inspiration from the works of Bach or Beethoven and writing your own Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor (Op. 1)? I suspect that if you were to dismiss the LPO playing Breathe In The Air, you would probably simply sniffle and wave away those. Fine! Be a snob. I don't care. Nyah.
What I'm getting at, is that I think one can do a lot more in covering a song than simply recording it with your voice instead of the original singer's. I for one would like to see a cover album consisting of songs done in a way I would never have expected. Bluegrass done as post-grunge. Thrash metal done as acid jazz. What could that possibly sound like? I have no idea, but I'd like to hear it. ¶ 9:03 p.m.
Or something. I can't really think of how to build on that little stroke of genius myself. Still, it brings me to the topic for today, being cross-genrefication. Columbia House, in one of the rare moments during which they aren't trying to drown me in junk mail, shipped me my (I can only hope to be) last CDs from them. I don't think I'm free, at least not in the classical sense in "being unrelated of and having no connection to" but I think I might be able to ward off their weirding ways for a little while longer.
The CD in question, since although Wilco is pretty good it has no place in this little ditty, is The Symphonic Pink Floyd. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, in what I assume to be one of their more Out There performances, recorded an album of what could be considered the greatest songs of the Waters/Gilmour era of the Pee-to-tha-Eff. Another Brick, Comfortably Numb, Time, Money, Great Gig, all the least weird, yet still stand-out tracks from Dark Side and The Wall. (I'm disappointed they didn't include Pigs, being the best Pink Floyd song EVAR, but at 15 minutes, I can understand why not.)
I'll jump straight to the point: it works. The LPO has accomplished the archeological task of carefully studying and unearthing the music in these songs, dusting off the Rock and carrying it in padded crates over to the orchestra pit. Symphonic Floyd sounds epic, like the soundtrack to an opera, but at the same time it never really loses the melancholy that made it what it was. You could argue that some tracks sound better than others, and to an extent that's somewhat true. Yes, the swinging gait of Money is diminished somewhat by orchestral posture and timing, and Another Brick In The Wall is nigh-unrecognizable, aside from the recurring chorus theme that drifts in and out of the foreground. Still, one can't really say that the tone or overall mood of ABitW is that different from the original. On the whole, I think that Us and Them, The Symphonic Pink Floyd is a paragon of bringing Rock the city mouse out to the homestead where Classical the country mouse lives.
Let's say that taking what is essentially a popular modern genre and dressing it up as a classical work of art isn't your bag. What about going the other way? What if you take classical cellists and get them to play some Metallica and other heavy metal? How about taking inspiration from the works of Bach or Beethoven and writing your own Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor (Op. 1)? I suspect that if you were to dismiss the LPO playing Breathe In The Air, you would probably simply sniffle and wave away those. Fine! Be a snob. I don't care. Nyah.
What I'm getting at, is that I think one can do a lot more in covering a song than simply recording it with your voice instead of the original singer's. I for one would like to see a cover album consisting of songs done in a way I would never have expected. Bluegrass done as post-grunge. Thrash metal done as acid jazz. What could that possibly sound like? I have no idea, but I'd like to hear it. ¶ 9:03 p.m.
