Glenn Gould Chair

April 1st, 2008 · 1 comment or link to (permalink)

Nobody played Bach like Glenn Gould - literally. He made uncontrollable noises while hunched up over the keyboard, perched on an ancient chair with a broken seat that he carried with him for performances. Now someone has made a replica of the completely knackered Gould chair, for over a $1000.
Glenn Gould Chair
Unlike many eccentric ‘artists’ Gould is the real deal, so obviously odd that his manner does not seem affected and his mastery is genuine.

Roll Up: Get Your Own Glenn Gould Fucked Up Chair Here

1 comment » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: Uncategorized music

Composer of the Classic Electronic Track, Popcorn, Playing it 40 years later, on a Grand Piano

March 29th, 2008 · 1 comment or link to (permalink)

Popcorn was the classic electronic piece from the 60’s used countless times as backing music to represent modernity. Here, its composer, Gershon Kingsley, plays it today, on a concert grand. I love this. Below is the original for comparison.

I have also made a Wist of various versions of Popcorn, here »

1 comment » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: music nostalgia

George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic)

March 22nd, 2008 · 2 comments or link to (permalink)

George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic) Exclusive!

2 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: music

Shane MacGowan: The Great Hunger

March 6th, 2008 · 4 comments or link to (permalink)

bbc
59 min 54 sec Mar 1, 2008 myspace.com

I’ll just repeat what I said about MacGowan in the Nick Cave post:

“The Pogues front man, although Irish, is a once preppy schoolboy from one of the most exclusive private schools in England, who created a fake persona of an Irish drunk, in the name of authenticity - to the point where it actually became real. MacGowan is, no doubt, both a genuinely troubled genius and self-indulgent, racist, self-parody of an Irishman.”

And that’s about someone I really like.

BBC Documentary Shane MacGowan

4 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: biography music

Biography of Nick Cave

February 28th, 2008 · comment or link to (permalink)

On the one hand, I have always liked Nick Cave, as one of the more cerebral pop stars, on the other I can’t help thinking that he fits the mould of self inflicted misery that is ultimately a pose.

In broad strokes, but not in the details, Nick Cave shares something with Shane MacGowan. The Pogues front man, although Irish, is a once preppy schoolboy from one of the most exclusive private schools in England, who created a fake persona of an Irish drunk, in the name of authenticity - to the point where it actually became real. MacGowan is, no doubt, both a genuinely troubled genius and self-indulgent, racist, self-parody of an Irishman. Cave’s heroin raddled persona, epitomized by his cameo as the bohemian Berlin singer in Wings of Desire is similarly caught between gritty realism and pretentious poncery. I’m not sure which is real, but the music is nonetheless decent, proving, ironically, that neither image nor integrity is everything.

47 min 32 sec Feb 19, 2008

comment » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: biography music