Watching Sound

Via the On Being Blog, here is a wonderful visualization of a Beach Boys' vocal sample. It uses a "mathematical relationship between a the circumference of a circular surface and pitch."

Friday 80s Flashback for July 19, 2013

"Look at what's happened to me: I'm an accidental superhero!"

[This Looks Like a Job for a Hero! -- Redux] -- I am attending the San Diego Comic-Con this week, and I don't have time to write a new post. So I figured I could re-use the heroic SDCC theme from the 2011 Flashback. I'm fully immersed in movies, comics, web-series, video games, and other media that deal with heroes, anti-heroes, reluctant heroes, and the occasional, honest-to-badness villain. I'll do my best to have a new playlist of 80s music next week. But until then, you can read and hear a flashback of a Flashback after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for July 12, 2013

[Sharknado] -- I admit it. I watched Syfy's latest craptacular film, Sharknado. But I watched it with the rest of Twitter nation, and I had a howling good time reading the snarknado of tweets. And, although I had something else in mind for this week's Friday 80s Flashback, I knew there was only one way to cap this evening: A retrospective on Great White!

Vocalist Jack Russell and guitarist Mark Kendall had known each other, and had sometimes worked together, since about 1978. However, Great White didn't form until the latter half of the 80s, when Russell and Kendall finally coalesced as a band with drummer Gary Holland and bassist Lorne Black. They supposedly chose their name after Kendall's nickname -- he was called "Great White" after his naturally white-blonde hair, white Fender Telecaster guitar, white jumpsuit, and white shoes. It's a good thing whitening toothpaste wasn't available at the time. He could have seriously blinded people! Fortunately, no one overly suffered that bright image.

Great White remained more or less active until The Station Nightclub fire which killed almost 100 people in a Rhode Island nightclub in 2003. There are now two separate incarnations of Great White. One came out of a 2006 reunion tour, but had to replace an ailing Jack Russell in 2010. And the other, known as "Jack Russell's Great White," was formed by Russell after his recovery, but it features an all-new lineup. There is currently a legal battle of Sharknado proportions over the name and logo.

But here at the Flashback, we're not concerned with a band's current legal woes -- we need concern ourselves with only the music they once produced. Which tunes have the most teeth for this blog? Read and hear more after the break. Oh, and watch out for the spandex and hair spray.

Friday 80 Flashback for July 5, 2013

"Old Glory, Patriotic Rustic Peeling American Flag"
Some rights reserved by Beverly & Pack

[Red, White, and Blue] -- You can look elsewhere for the history of "God Bless America" or facts about the Declaration of Independence. However, I think 80s rock goes hand-in-hand with celebrating the Fourth of July. And if you're visiting my blog, I'm guessing you agree with me, right? For this year's celebration of Independence Day, we're looking at songs that are red, white, or blue. To find out what tunes made this week's star-spangled playlist, read and hear more after the break.

Happy Fourth of July! (Sorry Gotham)

Friday 80s Flashback for June 21, 2013

[Go Insane] -- My theater's current production is a play set in the late 80s. So, in preparation for last weekend's tech rehearsal, I researched Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts from 1984 through about 1989. While I found precious few tunes I could use in the show, I did come across a real gem of 80s music production: Go Insane (1984) by Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham is probably best known as a guitarist, songwriter, and singer for two incarnations of Fleetwood Mac. Well, that, and his often tense and "mythologized" relationship with former girlfriend and bandmate Stevie Nicks. But he also has a solo career with six studio and three live albums to his credit. The studio releases are of the greater interest here because they demonstrate that his true instrument is the recording studio. And his studio prowess is probably best demonstrated on Go Insane, with all of its wonderful 80s pop excess. Unfortunately, the evolution of consumer music from LPs, to CDs, and finally to downloads means that the music buying public cannot appreciate some of Buckinham's quirkier moments: On the LP version, "Play in the Rain" is the last track on side A, and it features a locked groove which allows the closing bit of the song to play continually. After you flip the record, you are treated to "Play in the Rain (Continued)" as the opening track of side B.

I could not find "Play in the Rain," and I have not had time to upload it. So you won't find that transition in this week's Flashback playlist. But if you want to know which Insane tracks are featured, you can read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for June 14, 2013

[The 'Mats are Back!] -- This week I heard some news that made me cautiously optimistic about the state of music: the surviving members of the Replacements will perform together on stage for the first time since July 4, 1991. For those who don't know -- or, perhaps, don't remember -- The Replacements formed in Minneapolis in the late 70s. According to drummer Chris Mars, the band's name reflected their sense of a secondary status: "Like maybe the main act doesn't show, and instead the crowd has to settle for an earful of us dirtbags" [Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. 2001. p. 199]. They were never commercially successful, but they did receive critical accolades and have been cited as a major influence for many bands.

The Replacements (or, simply, The 'Mats to their fans) are probably my favorite of what I call the "sloppy" American rock & roll bands. Their sound was informed by a combination of the arena blues-rock of their collective youth and the post-punk that was in vogue when they took up their own instruments. Now, they never achieved a high level of proficiency as musicians during their time together, but they did evolve from garden variety garage band to a genuinely tight if oft-times shabby outfit. Their songs touched upon the pains of growing up, hating your job, and relationship issues, and they did so in their own loud but tuneful manner. I've chosen a few songs from their 12+ year career. I hope they are among the setlist for Riot Fest Chicago. Read and hear more after the break. And if you're interested, you can download a copy of the Replacements' last show in Philadelphia, played July 28, 1987.

Friday 80s Flashback for June 7, 2013

[Be Fast, Be Clean, Be Cheap - Redux] -- I missed posting a Flashback last week. And this week really got away from me, too. So, let's flashback to a Flashback I originally posted in June of 2011. In that month, I began sharing tracks from a mixtape I made in the late 80s. We now go to that Flashback in progress ...

Another week has blown by and I barely have time for a proper Flashback. I do, however, have time to share with you the first three tracks from a compilation tape I made in the latter half of the 80s. The name of the compilation, and our theme this week, is "Be Fast, Be Clean, Be Cheap," after the song by Age of Chance. Although that tune lent its name to this week's flashback, it will not make an appearance today. I'm going with the first three songs from side A of the cassette, and "Be Fast" is track number 6. Maybe it will make an appearance in an upcoming flashback. At any rate, I'll bet you are wondering what did make the list. For that, you can read and hear more after the jump.

Look! I still own the cassette!

An Anthem for Memorial Day (Redux)

[First posted on 5/31/2010]

The video in this post features Josh Groban performing an operatic version of one of my favorite tunes: "Anthem." The song comes from the 1980s musical, CHESS, by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson. Although the show is very much about the board game of chess, it is even more about the politics of relationships ... and nations.

In the storyline, "Anthem" is performed by a Russian chess player -- a champion -- on the occasion of his defection from the U.S.S.R., but there is nothing in it to make it specific of any particular nation. I, therefore, find it very inspirational and appropriate for Memorial Day. For it is the love of our nation that our veterans served in the armed forces. It is for the love of this land that so many soldiers laid down their lives.

Check out the lyrics:

No man, no madness

Though their sad power may prevail

Can possess, conquer, my country's heart

They rise to fail

She is eternal

Long before nations' lines were drawn

When no flags flew, when no armies stood

My land was born

And you ask me why I love her

Through wars, death and despair

She is the constant

We who don't care

And you wonder will I leave her -- but how?

I cross over borders but I'm still there now

How can I leave her?

Where would I start?

Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart

My land's only borders lie around my heart

See also: Memorial Day themed Friday 80s Flashback for 5/25/2012 post.

Book Review: Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have both the hardcover and audible versions of this book. I listened to Jenny read her book (is there anything better than an author SINGING chapter titles?) while driving to and from visiting my father in Select Specialty Hospital in Johnstown, PA ... and I finished the book as I drove home after his funeral. If that sounds depressing, it is nothing compared to what Jenny had to go through to have her daughter. Now, don't get me wrong (and I'm trying to avoid spoilers here), but there is only one seriously depressing chapter in the whole book, and Jenny even warns you so you can skip it if you want. And while it might sound as though I should not have been in the mood for Jenny's stories, they were EXACTLY what I needed on those 5 hour road trips. So, the best review I can give this book is that it distracted me when I needed it most. But not just any old distraction would have done. It is a testament to Jenny's prowess as a storyteller -- or, perhaps, as a vocalist -- that I was pulled into her world and did not want to leave it. Even if there was a slight chance I might end up elbow deep in a cow's vagina. (OK, that might have been a slight spoiler there). Thank you, Jenny. Now, where is volume 2?