It’s late this week, but you probably didn’t notice. Better late than never, I guess.
This week the podcast clips all come from an episode of The F Plus Podcast all about the “Concave Earth” theory. It’s pretty nuts, I hope it makes you chuckle.
The music is courtesy of a suggestion from recent subscriber Kelly, who said, “Prog”. It turns out Prog can mean a lot of different things, but the one thing that all of the music on this week’s show has in common is that the bands involved (except I think Killing Joke) were on the wikipedia page for “progressive music".
I don't know if I'm gonna be doing the big write-ups on this blog every week. It's a heck of a lot of work. I've found an easier way to insert links, so you can click through to find the info that I might have put into a blog entry. Let me know if you prefer the longer entries or the shorter, link-filled ones like this one. Leave a comment below!
A bunch of mostly electronic, mostly synthetic, mostly soundtrack stuff this week.
I have a heck of a lot of stuff like this, so this might be part one of two. Sorry to anybody who was expecting a week of turkey-themed music…
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is known professionally as Vangelis. He has released his own albums but is primarily known as a soundtrack guy. He got an Oscar for “Chariots Of Fire” but I prefer his Blade Runner soundtrack. There are multiple versions of that movie, so there are similarly multiple versions of the score. The one these cuts are from is called the “Definitive Edition”, whatever that means. I’ve edited the first three tracks of the album together as one track.
Magic Sword is a mysterious masked trio from Boise, Idaho. They haven’t done any movie scores yet, but I first heard them in a trailer for Thor: Ragnarok. They do make comic books for which their music serves as a score, so there’s that.
Smgsap is another group from the Soundwalk, this time 2004. Their piece was just about the right length to fit under Jesse Thorn’s dramatic recitation of M.O.P.’s “Ante Up”. I was originally going to set that to music, but someone else did already.
Director John Carpenter is one of the only directors I know who composes (and performs) the score for his own big-budget Hollywood movies. I have a few of his scores, many of them made in collaboration with sound designer Alan Howarth, but the main title from 1981’s Escape From New York kept going through my head so I had to include it here.
Wendy Carlos is yet another “electronic music pioneer” (apparently my fave type of musician). She is mainly known for the album “Switched-On Bach” from 1968. This album, performed on a Moog modular synthesizer, sold over a million copies and is credited with popularizing the synthesiser as an instrument. That recording led to her scoring the Stanley Kubrick films A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. The latter experience proved so unpleasant that she vowed never to work with the director again. Tron’s director was presumably nicer.
Clint, Travis, Justin, and Griffin McElroy. Photo by me.
The Adventure Zone is one of my favorite podcasts (for my other faves see the relevant blog posts). It’s three brothers playing Dungeons & Dragons with their dad. Griffin McElroy, the youngest brother, is the DM (Dungeon Master) writing the story and controlling the fates of Justin (oldest) Travis (middlest) and Clint (dad). In its earliest episodes it was kind of just an “out of the book” adventure, but pretty soon Griffin began expanding the story. One of the things he started to do was include original music. Inspired by Mort Garson (whose “Deja Vu” served as the theme of the show), Griffin’s electronic compositions added a depth that was also reflected in the increasingly complex and exciting storyline. I really can’t recommend the show enough, it’s really a top-notch ride from start to finish. Also it’s hilarious.
illustration by Oliver Barrett
Mort Garson was a Canadian-born composer/arranger/session musician in the Sixties, but my favorite works of his are the albums he recorded on the Moog synthesiser. Starting in the late Sixties, Garson was one of the many to release Moog records following the success of Switched-On Bach. His were among the best, which is why he kept making them throughout the Seventies alongside his (presumably better-paying) work for record companies and movie studios. This track is from Mother Earth’s Plantasia, a 1976 album of
“full, warm, beautiful mood music especially composed to aid in the growing of your plants”
I don’t know how effective it was. We recently got a Spathiphyllum so I figured this would be a good track to choose. I think it sounds like a game show theme, which makes sense because Mort Garson composed somegame show themes.
Stranger Things is an almost quilt-like sci-fi series on Netflix, in that it's asembled from pieces of other works. Depending on your familiarity with the source material, you can play spot-the-influence with the show, which I’ve heard annoys some people but doesn’t bother me.The music is an example of that, drawing heavily on the moody synth soundtracks of John Carpenter. This is the extended version of the opening title theme, which echoes (is echoed by?) the Magic Sword track that follows.
TONTO is an acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra", called “the first, and still the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analogsynthesizer in the world” although there is some dispute. It is certainly enormous. Tonto's Expanding Head Band was British duo (Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff) who only released two albums but were quite influential through their work with other musicians such as Stevie Wonder.
That basically covers it for this week! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or reply wherever you’re reading this. Talk to you next week!
Enjoy!
- Rev. Dr. Dr. Phill
Opening/The First Test/Los Angeles, November 2019 - Vangelis (1982)
The Way Home - Magic Sword (2015)
3.13 - smgsap (2004)
Jordan Jesse Go Ep. 411: Night Pees with Alison Rosen 1/18/2016
Main Title [Escape From New York] - John Carpenter & Alan Howarth (1981)
SHOWS WHERE I LISTENED TO A FEW EPISODES BUT DIDN’T CONTINUE
(that doesn’t mean they’re not good)
Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend - A twice weekly podcast hosted by veteran interviewer and everyone's new best friend Alison Rosen featuring surprisingly honest conversations that are equal parts silly, serious, revelatory and sometimes involving a sombrero. Plus an eternal quest to find out if that thing you think or do is normal in a segment called "Just Me or Everyone?" - http://ariynbf.libsyn.com/rss
Baby Geniuses - Baby Geniuses is a show for people who know stuff and people who don't know stuff, but would like to. Every week, comedian and super-genius Emily Heller and cartoonist and mastermind Lisa Hanawalt, challenge their guests to share some knowledge on any topic they want. - http://babygeniuses.libsyn.com/rss
Cocktail Enthusiast - Cocktail Enthusiast is an exploration of cocktails and spirits, mixology and drinking culture, and provides discerning readers with cocktail recipes, liquor reviews and drinking news. This podcast will bring you booze industry professionals and highlight the current state of the spirits industry. - http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:161875142/sounds.rss
FanBrosShow - The Fan Bros Show are the Multicultural Maestros. Fan Bros discusses the week in geek while keeping an ear to the street for the topics and controversies that affect the world of fandom--all from the perspective of people of color. Show hosts DJ BenHaMeen and Tatiana King Jones serve as the cultural guides for this unique show, along with a revolving cast of guests that run the gamut of industries--from hip hop and politics, to comics, movies, television and video games. - http://feeds.podtrac.com/vZEXwaruRy29
The Flop House - Funny Talk About Film Flops. A comedy podcast examining the worst in recent film. With your hosts Elliott Kalan, Dan McCoy, and Stuart Wellington. - http://theflophouse.libsyn.com/rss
The Greatest Generation - A Star Trek podcast by two guys who are a bit embarrassed to have a Star Trek podcast. We're reviewing Star Trek: The Next Generation from start to end! New episodes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Now with Deep Space Nine, & occasionaly Discovery! - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheGreatestGeneration
House to Astonish - Paul O'Brien (The X-Axis) and Al Kennedy (One Hundred Days of Comics) present a roundup of comics news and reviews, with nary a 'meh' to be heard. Also featuring the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and more. - http://feeds.feedburner.com/libsyn/RtZR
Inside the Desert Oasis Room - Fun conversations with artists, musicians, entertainers, historians and more in the tiki, hawaiiana, island, surf, lowbrow and alternative cultures! - http://polynesianpop.podomatic.com/rss2.xml
Into It with Elle Collins - A podcast about everything you love. Each week Elle Collins and a guest discuss a different pop culture topic. - http://intoitpodcasts.com/podcast?format=rss
Journey Into Misery - Journey Into Misery is a podcast that seeks to explain complicated comics characters, continuity and concepts to a patient and perpetually perplexed newcomer to the medium Hosted by Kieran Shiach, with permanent second-chair Helena Hart. - http://journeyintomisery.libsyn.com/rss
The JV Club with Janet Varney - Remember what it was like to be an awkward teenager? And remember how some things haven't really changed that much for you since then? Join proud dork Janet Varney as she explores the highs and lows of the bygone years with some of her favorite women as they talk their way through the terrible teens into adult-lescence. Warning: This Podcast Contains Sincerity. I only listen to episodes with guests I know, which tends to be the male guests during the "Boys of Summer" shows. They're great, though. - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheJvClub
LESS THAN LIVE with KATE OR DIE - A bi-weekly podcast about comics from all angles. Join New York Times best-selling comic creator Kate Leth as she discusses the world of comics and what she's been up to lately. Kate answers questions from listeners and she interviews her friends and favourite creators in the comic industry. So join her on this journey into geek culture! - http://lessthanlive.libsyn.com/rss
Lou Reads the Internet for YOU! - Lou Reads the Internet for YOU. Giving voice to stuff you didn’t want to hear or know about. - http://loureads.com/feed/
The Midtown Comics Podcast! - Straight From The Worlds Most Famous Comic Book Store. Midtown Comics is the largest retailer of comics, graphic novels, manga, and collectibles in the U.S.! It only makes sense that we have a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the hottest comic creators, debates on the best books of the week, trivia segments, and musical interludes! What's more? Listen to win prizes and have your comic questions answered each week! - http://midtowncomics.libsyn.com/rss
Minority Korner - Stop on by Minority Korner, a new podcast, every Friday. We'll visit neighnborhood Korners like: good ol race korner, the gender fun korner, sexy ass LGBTQIIALMNOP (there's a lot of letters there) korner, pop culture korner, politics korner, nostalgia korner, all from the lens of these two crazy minorities. Learn. Laugh. Play... like Blue's Clues! Only... more Black, Queer, and Lady Like! - http://minoritykorner.libsyn.com/rss
You Are Not So Smart - You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self delusion that explores topics related to cognitive biases, heuristics, and logical fallacies. David McRaney interviews scientists about their research into how the mind works, and then he eats a cookie. - http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:16745745/sounds.rss
