For seven years, Christopher DeLaurenti went to orchestral concerts wired, wearing a leather vest with microphones nestled in the shoulders and cables running down the back. Come intermission, when the audience wandered out, Mr. DeLaurenti perked up. The DeLaurenti concert going vest had microphones sewn into it.
He made his way toward the stage. With his MiniDisc recorder running, he secretly captured the random sounds that followed: woodwind noodles, honks of oboe reeds, the murmur of voices, the scraping of chairs.
Mashups, I know, are sooooo 2006, but still they persist. Sounds For The Space-Set is a new collection from mashartists RIAA (22 free mp3s). Sun Ra meets Space Odditey mates with the Four Tops– and that’s just in the first song. Try “Salvador Dali Teaches Rex Harrison How To Say ‘Butterfly'” (Dick Hyman “The Moog and Me,” Salvador Dali interview, Chicks on Speed “Wordy Rappinghood”):
“The Wonder Is All Around Us” (Vangelis “Alpha,” Dr. Michael Shermer and James Randi interview: “Skepticality” podcast interview, Ken Nordine “Satellite”):
This week’s HV cast is from the Song and Memory series. What song from your past brings back a strong memory? Kelly Kinsey tells us about a Beatles tune that takes her back. Produced by Ann Heppermann, Rick Moody & Kara Oehler, “Eleanor Rigby” (mp3 3:23):
I-10 west outta New Orleans goes right thru the Atchafalaya swamp. Right thru it, several times; the highway’s held up on posts for miles. Was listening to a country station playing the trad stuff: Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and this one from George Strait… but before I post the song, I gotta give it setting.
Ok, think driving 85mph toward a skyfull of Louisiana sunset; air full of mositure and swamp smells, cranes flying overhead, passing places named Lake Ponchartrain, Whiskey Bay, and Bayou Teche; the windows rolled all the way down, but the radio turned up plenty loud to hear it clear over the wind and engine noise. Now, outta the speakers pours George Strait “Amarillo by Morning”:
High time in NYC, HV style. Dinner with Ann & Kara (they’re thinking of a new road-trip on the Can-USA border radio series), then we all had drinks w/ BenW (“multi-media platforms” for American Experience, including vid-diaires via video phone from Tohono O’odham Indian rez.) My fren Scott Edmonds (who designed orig HV site) was monitoring a community ceramics guild and has a new start-up, Smatter TV. And the next nite SarahV brings me to Beethoven’s 9th at Lincoln Ctr. Was in town to record at the Bronx Zoo:
Stayed in the low-rent district of the Bronx, in middle of wondrous Co-op City. As I was leaving the hotel, so was a band of grizzled musicians packing up their van. “Who is ya?,” sez I. “The Gourds,” sez they. Outta Austin TX, The Gourds are cult faves for their bluegrass vers of Snoop’s “Gin &: Juice.” They just played my Montana town. We smoked and yakked and they gave me a CD. From Blood of the Ram, The Gourds “Wired Ole Gal”:
I love travelin’ the good ol’ USA picking up strange vibrations from the ray-dee-oh. Glided thru the Mass. backroads today dialed into WERS (Emerson College). Mid-afternoon an All A Cappella show came on. The excellent woman DJ laid down track after track of instrumentaless vocals, college and pro. Even the white folk do black folk songs were worth a listen cuz of the stupendous arrangements. Here’s an except the University of Virginia Academical Village People doin’ Jackson 5 “I Want You Back”:
and Voices of the Dark Side w/ Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage’:
John Cage performs — using Water Pitcher, Iron Pipe, Goose Call and a slew of other musical implements — in 1960 on the game show I’ve Got a Secret: video at WFMU’s BOTB: John Cage on a TV Game Show in 1960 video
I’m visiting a friend in Jacksonville, watching his son pitch for Edward Waters College, “a private Historically Black College.” The stadium, James P. Small Field, was once home to the Jacksonville Red Caps of the Negro LeagueBaseball team, and before that the spring training camp for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Satchel Page, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth all played here.
Now the field sits in the middle of a residential African-American section of town, and is a bit of a community park. Neighborhood people wander in and out enjoying some college ball on a sunny Florida afternoon.
There a DJ in the stands mixing on a makeshift home stereo, set up on a table in the front row. Each EWC team member has his own song, which the DJ plays as each player comes to bat. And in between we’re treated to a mix of rap and soul. All above is a long way of saying, that’s where and how I hear this killer dance tune. So lace up your dancing sneakers on, it’s the Mississippi Cha Cha Slide, AKA Stomp by Mixx Master Lee (mp3):
Astute observers of mutlicultidancicology will note this updates Casper’s all-over-utube Slide. Ya Cha Cha wit yur left. Now Stomp.
Stark Effect makes music sampling found-sound. The sound is found on other folks’ computers with the filename: “mic in track,” which is the title of his CD and free downloads. Try “Testing 1-2-3” (3:05):
Sez Stark:
A “mic in track” is a recording made on a PC using MusicMatch Jukebox, a music utility packaged with many new PC’s that allows the user to record from the microphone input of the PC’s sound card and save the recording in mp3 format. The default filename is “mic in track” followed by a number.
BTW, Stark Effect is aka Dr. David Dixon, CalPoly physics prof. “The Stark effect is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external static electric field.”
‘Case you never hear the cut-up mix-artiste People Like Us (aka, Vicki Bennett), a huge hunk of their catalogue is offered as mp3s. One of my fave PLU trax is “What’s Love?” (5:03):
Here’s another PLU (w/ Matmos & Wobbly) I heard on a recent Some Assembly Required podcast, “Arkansas Explorer” (5:13):
There’s a buncha great Chet Atkins vids @utv, like “Chet Atkins – Mr. Sandman (TV 1954)”:
Saw Chet in the 70s here in MT. Ranked among my most memorable concerts, and audiences: The men arrived in suits, boots and bollos; the women in beehives, a la B-52s, ‘cept these t’weren’t no new wavers, quite the opposite, a wave as old as wind thru the wheat, everyone come to see a country pickin’ legend . Want more? Try “Dark Eyes” and Don McLean’s “Vincent.”
In the comments to the Young Folks post here last week, a couple HV producers (AnnH and JMenj) linked to some immensely amusing videos, Loney, Dear’s “I Am John”:
This week’s HV cast is for Poetry Month. Sonia Sanchez performs her poem written to “all you young girls.” Produced by Steve Rowland and mixed by Joe Waters (a commission from WXPN with funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts) with original music by Jamaaladeen Tacuma. “Song #2” (mp3 1:56):
WFMUs blog-post of Kurt Vonnegut MP3s reminded me the SoCal prog-rock pop band, Ambrosia, put Kurt’s couplet from Cat’s Cradle to music (circa 1975)– “Nice, Nice, Very Nice”:
Here’s one of the mp3s posted by WFMU, from Ice-9 Ballads by Dave Soldier w/ Kurt Vonnegut Jr , “Annihilation Life”:
Last post had old folks doing “Young Folks.” On a related power-chord, here’s the oldest band in the world, The Zimmers (lead singer Alf is 90), doing “My Generation”:
OK, it’s official. Peter, Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks” is a music phenom. I can’t play it (on KGLT-Bozeman) w/o someone calling and demanding details. Personally, I think the song’s just OK, but combine that listener response with this tres kewl vid:
And here’s where phenom-ville starts- Old folks (mostly) have now done “Young Folks” bluegrass-style (dawn Landes & the WEST Band):
“Vox Humana” is the theme of this month’s Radio DavidByrne.com, his 3-hour monthly webcast. Sez Bryne: “I’ve recently stumbled on a bunch of wonderful recent recordings that feature spoken word or the human voice manipulated in various ways — it almost makes me think this might be a time when this vague genre might be flourishing. Really exciting and sometimes funny stuff. Not quite singing, most of the time, but definitely musical. I have read that singing uses one side of the brain and speaking the other, and this stuff probably bridges the gap.”
The a web-stream playlist (128K mp3; also in iTunes Radio: Eclectic) is stuffed w/ great musical Spoken-Wierd, including Joe Frank, Eno, Waits, T.Heads, the Books, Beefheart, and lotsa stuff by the talented SLC composer, and bud of HV, Phillip Kent Bimstein.
Found this at PRX Youthcast blog; quoting Kiera Feldman:
“‘As Slow As Possible’ by John Cage is my new favorite song. It takes 639 years to play. This is what it currently sounds like:”
“(Feel free to listen at your convenience–the next note won’t be added to the song until July 5, 2008). ‘As Slow As Possible’ is scheduled to conclude September 5, 2640.”
Kiera asks, if she played it at a party, “would you dance?” The piece is known as ORGAN 2/ASLSP (“as slowly and softly as possible”, reads Cage’s score).
NY Times article, Favorite Intermissions:
Mashups, I know, are sooooo 2006, but still they persist. 
This week’s 
High time in NYC, HV style. Dinner with 
Stayed in the low-rent district of the Bronx, in middle of wondrous Co-op City. As I was leaving the hotel, so was a band of grizzled musicians packing up their van. “Who is ya?,” sez I. “
I love travelin’ the good ol’ USA picking up strange vibrations from the ray-dee-oh. Glided thru the Mass. backroads today dialed into WERS (Emerson College). Mid-afternoon an 
John Cage performs — using Water Pitcher, Iron Pipe, Goose Call and a slew of other musical implements — in 1960 on the game show I’ve Got a Secret: video at WFMU’s BOTB: 
Baseball team, and before that the spring training camp for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Satchel Page, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth all played here.
‘Case you never hear the cut-up mix-artiste 
This week’s 
“Vox Humana” is the theme of this month’s 