Jonathan Harnum's Blog, page 25
October 19, 2018
Ear Candy: Down Home Girl (cover by Rainbow Girls)
The Rainbow Girls channel is here. Show ’em some love!
On gospel, Abba and the death of the record: An audience with Brian Eno
He’s been a Roxy original, the inventor of ‘ambient’, Bowie’s muse, the brain in Talking Heads and U2’s ‘fifth man’. Now Eno tells Paul Morley where he’s heading next:
snip:
“Instruments sound interesting not because of their sound but because of the relationship a player has with them. Instrumentalists build a rapport with their instruments which is what you like and respond to. If you were sitting down now to design an instrument you would not dream of coming up with something as ridiculous as an acoustic guitar. It’s a strange instrument, it’s very limited and it doesn’t sound good. You would come up with something much better. But what we like about acoustic guitars is players who have had long relationships with them and know how to do something beautiful with them. You don’t have that with synthesisers yet. They are a very new instrument. They are constantly renewing so people do not have time to build long relationships with them. So you tend to hear more of the technology and less of the rapport. It can sound less human. “
And:
“One of the innovations of ambient music was leaving out the idea that there should be melody or words or a beat… so in a way that was music designed by leaving things out – that can be a form of innovation, knowing what to leave out. All the signs were in the air all around with ambient music in the mid 1970s, and other people were doing a similar thing. I just gave it a name. Which is exactly what it needed. A name. A name. Giving something a name can be just the same as inventing it. By naming something you create a difference. You say that this is now real. Names are very important.”
And:
“Instead of shooting arrows at someone else’s target, which I’ve never been very good at, I make my own target around wherever my arrow happens to have landed. You shoot your arrow and then you paint your bulls eye around it, and therefore you have hit the target dead centre.”
and, and, and. Just go read it:
October 15, 2018
Ethan Hawke & Ben Dickey discuss BLAZE
One of the best interviews I’ve seen in a looooong time. Maybe ever. Lots of important ideas in here.
October 14, 2018
How to truly listen: Evelyn Glennie
As Louis Armstrong used to say, “Here’s one of the good ol’ good ones.” Check it out.
October 12, 2018
Psychological Effects of Singing
Is it the singing or the social interaction that makes us happy? Maybe it’s both. Somebody needs to compare choir singing with singing alone. Any researchers out there?
Click through to check out this brief summary:
The psychological effects of singing can help prevent depression due to the social and educational opportunities. See the psychological effects of singing.
October 6, 2018
Hear the Earliest Surviving Radio Broadcast by Duke Ellington, A Historic Find
Duke Ellington was among the preeminent American composers of the 20th century, and the most exhaustively studied of all jazz artists. There are more
Source: Hear the Earliest Surviving Radio Broadcast by Duke Ellington, A Historic Find, in Deep Dive | WBGO
How Myelin Sheaths Speed Up the Action Potential in Neurons
Chapter 4 in The Practice of Practice briefly covers how myelin can help the brain perform more efficiently. I got to wondering how myelin actually works. Here’s a good explanation:
September 28, 2018
Inside Prince’s Brilliant ‘Piano and a Microphone 1983’ Recording: Songwriting/Practice Insight
If you’re even remotely interested in composition, songwriting, or practice, you should have a listen to this. Prince, in his studio, noodling with ideas. It’s like he’s in the back room, just hanging out, playing. He might have the sniffles.
The album/demo, A Piano & a Microphone 1983 was just released. Check out samples from all the tracks here, with a couple of videos below.
We so rarely get to see artists at work, doing the real work, the crafting of their chosen form. We see the finished product all the time: the polished error-free recording, the masterpiece hanging on the wall, the gorgeous weld, the superb souffle. But seeing a glimpse of the gearwork behind the clock face is a priceless glimpse into Prince’s process.
When someone asked Eric Clapton, “What does it feel like to be the best guitar player in the world?” he replied, “I don’t know. Go ask Prince.” And yet on this album, he’s at the piano. Learning another instrument is never a bad idea. Check him out:
The audio engineer who recorded it and one of the artist’s Revolution bandmates explain why it’s a pivotal recording in his life.
Click through to read the whole story: Inside Prince’s Brilliant ‘Piano and a Microphone 1983’ Recording – Rolling Stone
