Recent tribute to You Forgot It In People …

Our minds were positively altered because by You Forgot It In People. Twenty years later after first hearing, there still are tracks that bring us to tears.

TL; DR: ♥️ Middle Kids and Mduo Moctar deliver.

We appreciate all of the artists covering this challenging work. There are a couple of gems on this album from folks perhaps unfamiliar to you.

For the original album tracks having the most emotional impact upon us, it’s a challenge for anyone to offer something either new or even sufficiently affirming given the source material and the variety of textures in all the live performances by Broken Social Scene.

There were two such occasions:

  • Cause = Time by the Middle Kids
  • Stars and Sons by Toro y Moi

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Composers: Achieving Repetition Equalibrium

I have no authority for saying so, but from what I’ve read and listened to, this I believe:

  • Humans are highly developed pattern recognition engines.
  • Human brains react positively to a new pattern when it is repeated.
  • Upon repeated exposure to this new pattern, human brains ignore the original pattern and instead focus on subtle differences among the original pattern and it’s repetitions.

If the signal is of musical form, how is this exploited by composers and music arrangers?

Here’s my simplistic take:

One strategy is to alter the “top” (melody) and repeat the “bottom” (harmonic structure). Not unlike classical composers “Theme and Variation” motif. See Mozart, et al.

photo

Another strategy is: alter the “bottom” (harmonic structure), and repeat the “top” (melody). It’s most prevalent in jazz and to some degree in modern rock and hip-hop.

(insert photo of most representative composer here)

Of course this is a sophomoric generalization and a vast over-simplification. But it’s something to think about when inventing an arrangement.

(so many more references to musical works)

 

 

Brief retreat to mope-core

Stumbled upon a recording of friends singing backed by my silly strumming.

https://soundcloud.com/queue-empty/i-want-you-to-want-me?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=DAF69424E7EB43E1A5C3AF929AD9D7F6&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

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Who was Amy?

If were someone to ask me who could curate all of popular music in America over the past 50 years, my first thought is Questlove.

Evidence: https://www.autostraddle.com/questloves-amy-winehouse-uncensored-celebrity-encounters-102326/

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Rilo Kiley 2002

The performance of this epic song is likely adjacent to its recording. The audience discovered the conviction from the performers in real time.

Jenny doing all the things, Mike Mogis being essential and Blake with perfect color counterpoint to Jenny, and then there’s that bridge passage…

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Prince Rogers Nelson

I must share a couple of items regarding the legacy of Prince Rogers Nelson, an artist who defied expected norms in his musical works and gender expression.
 

The first is this tribute by D’Angelo featuring Princess of his 1986 song, Sometimes It Snows in April (lyrics).
 
The second is some thoughts of his fans. A sample:
 

I’m very happy from somebody from another planet came and shared his music with us.” — Grecko.

Pour one out for him.

Huzzah GenZ Collage Radio!

Every-other Thursday’s WMBR Breakfast of Champions DJ, Abby Lyda, has been treating listeners with expert bin-diving finds, recalling the exemplary talents of a former Thursday stalwart, Keith Sawyer.

Firstly, Abby cited artists like Low Cut Connie and Emmit Rhodes

I’m also comforted anyone under 25 years old knows, for example, the early works of Todd Rundgren.

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