Author: Renfield

spider gourmand
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Another Beatles Book?

You’d think the Beatles and Dylan had been examined from every possible angle, but nope.  Here’s a chronological look at their careers in parallel, with plenty of commentary on their influence on each other, friendship, rivalry, etc. I’m about three fourths in, and I’ve enjoyed it.  Good mixture of things I know, things I’d known and forgotten, and things I’d never known.  It’s always interesting and moves along.  A few of the analogies seem a bit forced, but of course no two people will agree on everything.

As I’m biased towards music over lyrics, I might have preferred a book on the Beatles and Brian Wilson, but no doubt they had fewer interactions.

One minor peeve.  Like just about every other Beatles book, the quote about “Aeolian cadences” and Mahler’s Song of the Earth rears its ugly head like it’s evidence of the Beatles’ artistic viability.  I don’t get why these journalists who are obviously good at research never bother to examine that quote.  “Aeolian cadence “ has about as much meaning as “C major time signature” or “F minor drumstick.”  Or “the explosion left a 15 mph deep crater. “ It makes no sense.  And the song in question, “Not a Second Time,” absolutely does not end with the same chords or chord pattern as Song of the Earth.  There’s no room for debate on the matter, it’s factually wrong.

I can’t believe that quote is still getting recycled.  Just put it in the trash.

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Favorite 7ths

It’s March 7, so here are my favorite 7ths.  Rather than blab for twenty paragraphs, I’ll let these things speak for themselves.  I like how Szell takes the catchy second movement fast, closer to a true allegretto than the others.  Some other recordings do that, but I don’t remember hearing one that didn’t have some disqualifying issue for me.

Also, a special shout out to Sir Thomas Beecham with the Royal Philharmonic.  I like it as much as the ones above but figured I should stop at three.

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My Favorite Fifths

Of Beethoven, not booze.  Haven’t had a drop in a year, and what better way to celebrate than with this monument to triumph? If you buy into the finale as revolutionary triumphalism (I partially do), then who better to perform it than musicians from the city that stormed the Bastille?  Markevitch must have understood that, because he got the sometimes lazy Lamoureaux orchestra to catch fire like few versions I’ve heard.  It also helps that some members of the Lamoureaux also played with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire of Paris, who had the longest unbroken tradition of Beethoven performance in history (they were formed in 1828 specifically to perform Beethoven) until the French government in its infinite wisdom broke them up sometime in the 60’s.  You hear the traditional French orchestral sound in all its unblended glory–thank God they and others were recorded for posterity in the 60’s and earlier.  Their characteristic sound has disappeared.  French orchestras now sound like everyone else.

George Szell, who turned the Cleveland Orchestra into a world-class ensemble (they were Stravinsky’s favorite orchestra and one of the “big five” who dominated classical music in the US from the 50’s-80’s–the others were Boston, Phildelphia, Chicago, and New York) made three “official” (i.e. commercial releases recorded under controlled circumstances) recordings of the fifth, all great.  But this live one with the Vienna Philharmonic (another group with a long tradition in this music) absolutely smokes.

If you Google top recordings of Beethoven’s fifth, you’ll find that everyone recommends Carlos Kleiber/Vienna Philharmonic as “the best. ” It’s excellent, but I find these to have more mojo.  Anyway, the idea of there being a “best” in a work capable of infinite interpretations is just silly.

Other of my faves are any of the recordings by Otto Klemperer, whose son played Col. Klink on Hogan’s Heroes.  If you don’t mind inferior 40’s to mid ‘50’s sound quality, there are also stunning 5ths by Erich Kleiber (father of Carlos), Bruno Walter, and Wilhelm Furtwängler.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s something to liven up the dullest holiday of the year (for me at least; I hope you’re loving it, but I care nothing for turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie or football).  Anyway, I’ve read over the years that the Quadrophenia tour was a mess.  Here’s one reason why.

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More AI Fun

These AI exposes popped up in my feed this week. The blatantly cynical fakery is actually pretty funny.  I also like the Goonies shirt.

Apparently gullible music lovers trend Christian. 

The existence of AI music doesn’t bother me.  To my ears, much of the generic, auto-tuned, committee-written pop music of the past 20 years sounds like AI anyway, so why not?  Music is  strictly utilitarian for many people, something to have in the background while working.  Or to soothe them after work.  Or to fill the air at some god awful party.  If AI works for them, that’s their business.

Of course there’s an ethical issue with the fake charity, but I can’t get very worked up over that either.  That kind of crime requires enablers. Caveat emptor.

 

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Hey Punk!

It seems like everyone and his grandmother recorded “Hey Joe.”  I don’t know who wrote it or who did it first, but the single we had lying around the Renfield household was by the Leaves. That’s the template for the garage-rock take on the song.  The Standells are also in that vein.  The Byrds cleaned it up a little.  Love recorded a more garagey and psychotic take on the Byrds’ version ( I’m assuming Love’s came afterwards).  Everyone knows Hendrix’s cover, which stands in its own category.  As does the Mothers’, which came at the height of Zappa’s hippie-skewering phase.  After all these years I still find this hilarious, especially the dueling monologues, one in each channel, during the closing mayhem.

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Ye-Ye Rocks Out

There’s been a dearth of ye-ye goddesses around here lately.  As remedy, here’s a track unusual for its distorted guitar.

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I’m Not Impressed

This goes absolutely nowhere.  I think AI will end up being just another tool.  Many young people already prefer older music, and I think that will continue the more artificial music becomes.

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Pachel-Rebellion

We’ve discussed Pachelbel’s annoying Canon, one of the most loved and hated of works.  Here’s a version I can almost get behind.  This is played by some early music specialists (who are good when they stick to early music) in a way Pachelbel would recognize, and unlike the arrangement you usually hear, it actually moves along.  On the other hand, the lush, syrupy version heard in waiting rooms, elevators, and businesses seeking an ambience of upscale exclusivity, is a 1960’s arrangement by the French conductor Jean-François Paillard.  It doesn’t move; it  just sits there and oozes.  And it takes way too long considering it’s the same damn thing over and over.  It’s a heavily romanticized take on a baroque piece, sort of equivalent to Muzak Beatles.

When the early music version was released, some purchasers angrily returned it because they wanted the jewelry store version.

While writing this, I was trying to remember what TV ads featured the Canon.  I incorrectly remembered it as being in one of the  Grey Poupon ads.  A quick YouTube search revealed that one of those ads used part of one of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.  When I arrive in the Great Beyond, J.S. Bach is going to KICK MY ASS.  Because the Canon is still trash; it’s just way better trash when played fast.