Podcasts

The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Velvet Underground and Nico have been labelled as one of the most influential bands in recent music history.  Though they weren't well received during the release of their debut album titled The Velvet Underground and Nico, its sound and subject matter helped to raise the bar on what parts of the human experience can be put into song.  We will discuss this subject a little more in this podcast, as well as look at some fantastic photos of the band that will forever capture the mood, style, and grit of The Velvet Underground and Nico.  I would like to say thank you to Lisa Law @ www.flashingonthesixties.com for allowing me to use her pictures in this podcast.

Understanding Minimalist Music

Following is the script to the podcast above almost in its entirety.  I removed the introduction and explanation as to why it was done with a voice modulator.

Script

To get to a more in depth understanding of Minimalist Music, a number of musical terms must first be defined and understood.  Definitions will be provided

Minimalism is defined as a reductive style or school of modern music utilizing only simple sonorities, rhythms, and patterns, with minimal embellishment or orchestration complexity, and characterized by protracted repetition of figurations, obsessive structural rigor, and often a pulsing, hypnotic effect.

This hypnotic effect is caused, usually, by shifting the time and tempo elements of a piece and its cell components.

A cell, in music, is defined as an isolated melodic or rhythmic section of a piece of music that is the building block of the piece’s theme and context as is represented in it’s simplest form, usually contained within a single measure.

Omar Khokher has likened this “cell” idea in music, to the splitting of the atom as a way of describing this most simplistic form of a piece of music.  One could think of this music in the same way as you could picture your own physical make-up in the way it is composed of the same cells multiplying over and over from its original state… as a whole, creating you as an individual human being.

If you listen to a piece of Minimalist Music, such as the beautiful work by John Adams, which has been playing in the background of this podcast from it’s beginning, entitled Act 1, Scene 1: Beginning, from the Nixon In China album, you can easily identify the repeating cells that make up this piece of music as a whole.

Once one realizes how this works, which by now, you should… it is very easy to overlay this idea on our loop based music, our DAW’s, the rhythm machines of today and follow the family tree of this musical concept from it’s inception in the minds of the forerunners of the experimental music, Downtown Scene of New York in the early 60’s to our present day Ambient sound and electronic dance music of virtually every form.

Cumberland Falls Jam Session - Memorial Day, 2012

This past Memorial Day, in the DuPont Lodge at Cumberland Falls of South Eastern Kentucky, I got the privilege of experiencing an old-time mountain tradition.  This tradition, called a Jam Session, has been a staple of mountain living since the first travelers settled in the hills of the Appalachian Mountains, and is still alive and well to this day.

There weren’t any “big names” taking center stage there, and the tunes being played were just as varied as the stories each one would tell, yet… somehow just as familiar and pleasant as the smile on each performer's face. 

The location itself lent an air of history and southern comfort to the experience that I doubt will soon by forgotten by anyone in attendance.  The DuPont Lodge itself was originally built during the depression era by the Civilian Conservation Corps and upon burning down, was reconstructed in 1941 by the Works Progress Administration.  The lofted ceilings, and rustic tree-trunk and stone construction, are a perfect compliment to the sound of the acoustic instruments being played during this event.

The great-room, lobby, and patio were utilized by different groups of friends, neighbors, and newcomers as different styles, tastes, and talents found their common ground.  Whether one enjoys Bluegrass, Gospel, Honky-Tonk, Folk, Country, or Celtic… it was all there.  Banjos, fiddles, an upright bass, a few dobros, 6-string acoustic guitars, and even a viola were present.

I spoke to a gentleman on fiddle named Herman Keller.  When asked how long he’d been playing, he replied, “I’ve been playing fiddle since I was 9 years old.  I’m 76.”  He hardly stopped playing the entire evening.  In fact, while the other performers were mulling over the next song to be played, whether it took a few seconds or more, Herman would play a little jig or just a snippet of a song, to fill the gaps.  I even got introduced to his fiddle, which he stated was his inherited fiddle from his father’s side of the family.  It was 115 years old with pieces on it made from a deer shank.

A lot of the performers play for their local church or with their friends and neighbors at home, simply as a way of showing their love and fellowship for one another, and that being their only reward.  However, there are those few who find themselves in a music studio, from time to time.  Those who do, will tell you their studio pieces may sound a bit more polished, but the style and down-home grit will always be there. 

Improvisation is the word of the day at the Cumberland Falls Jam Sessions, and that is what makes this more of an experience than mere entertainment.  You will hear one suggest a song to play from across the room, only to hear the others respond with, “Well, I haven’t played that one yet but we’ll give ‘er a shot.”  From covers of well-known artists, old and new, to originals that have never been heard outside of Kentucky, one can truly realize why music has always been in the lives of these musicians.

I would recommend the Cumberland Falls Jam Sessions to anyone who seeks out and enjoys a touch of history, music, and kinship.  It is truly a rewarding and fun experience for all.

The Benefits of Copyright:  A Real World Example

Welcome, to yet another weekly podcast pertaining to the common threads present within the world of music.

There is a common thread that runs through all creative pursuits, whether exercised or not, that has been specifically put in place to protect our rights as we, as artists, pursue our dreams and our life’s ambitions.  This common thread is called: Copyright.

To let you better understand the true value of copyright I am going to use some real world examples that should be familiar to most of you... namely: Nursery Rhymes.

The sheet music you see in this podcast can be found at BlueBonkers.com.  I recommend you check them out, as they are a great resource.