Your Scene Sucks #2 -- Crustpunk

By far the smelliest of all the scenesters, the Crustpunk embodies the D.I.Y. punk ethos with his nihilistic attitude and “freegan” diet. Typically an extremely unkempt individual with patches and pins barely holding together his soiled wardrobe, the Crustie goes months on end without bathing, ensuring his unemployment.

When not attending politically radical protests and Food Not Bombs events, the Crustie can be found panhandling on city streets with his banjo and emaciated dog at his side. Despite being anti-corporation, the majority of his earnings goes towards beer. The Crustpunks are also anti-authority, anti-work, anti-government, anti-religion, anti-showers, but are somehow not anti-five-day-old-burrito in the Trader Joe's dumpster.

Even though he lives a nomadic lifestyle squatting in abandoned buildings and train-hopping, the Crustie never strays too far from home. Eventually he'll need to hit up mom and dad in the suburbs for more cash, so he can stay poor.

Famous Crusts:
Leftover Crack
Allstar F*ing Hipsters

Best Hype Men #2

Erotic Volvo from Misty's Big Adventure. Amazing.

Best Hype Men #1

Flava Flav - Obvcourse

Steve's Picks: Hip Hop Tumblr

Hey all,

I'm giving Tumblr a try.

If you like HOCUS POCUS, GORILLAZ, BEASTIE BOYS, TINCHY STRYDER, GOLIELOCKS, KRS ONE, SKINNYMAN, HYPONOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE, SNOOP DOGG, SAUL WILLIAMS, PROFESSOR GREEN, DR DRE, THE STREETS AND MUCH MUCH MORE then check it out!

http://assortedheroes.tumblr.com/

Much love,

Steve

"He's so ... real it's unbelievable!"

So I got "The Freewhellin' Bob Dylan' out of my local library, inspired by two things: reading Patti Smith's autobiography "Just Kids" and the recent death of his then muse, Suze Rotolo. I'm listening to it on my drives to work. I have to agree with Harry Jackson's quotation: you cannot deny the REALITY of Dylan's music.

Track 1 - "Blowin' In the Wind" - Overplayed, yes, but still TRUTH. Dylan: "I still say that some of the biggest crimials are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and they know what's wrong. I'm only 21 years old abd I know that there's been too many wars ... You people over 21 should know better."
Track 2 - "Girl from the North Country" - A beauty. Sweet and soulful, one of my favourite tracks on the album.
Track 3 - "Masters of War" - Quite hardcore, really.
Track 4 - "Down the Highway" - Very bluesy, very cool. I like this one too. Country drifter lovesick blues.
Track 5 - "Bob Dylan's Blues" - Spontaneous and fun, very enjoyable to listen to.
Track 6 - "Hard Rain" - A very rich, lyrical song with a catchy chorus. Written during the Cuban Missle Crisis, it contains fear, despair and hope. A real activist song. Each line was intended to be a whole song and as I listen to it I can imagine a series of images: the bleeding black tree, the endless graveyard, the dead seas, the girl and the rainbow.
Track 7 - "Don't Think Twice, It's alright" - Regularly covered. Bitter and sweet.
Track 8 - "Bob Dylan's Dream" - Another great son about nostalgia and cameraderie. A real 4 o'clock in the morning song. We've all felt like this, and we'll go on to think it more as we grow old. It's a song about growing up.
Track 9 - "Oxford Town" - A song about segregation, murder and injustice. James Meredith. Stephen Lawrence. Victoria Climbie. Signs of the times.
Track 10 - "Talkin' World War III Blues" - Pyschoanalytical tale of an individualistic culture. A great half-improvised story, too. Something called the "Talking Blues". A bit like freestyling. Perhaps that is why the album is called "Freewheelin'" ...
Track 11 - "Corina, Corina" - Yep.
Track 12 - "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance" - A great song! In one word: Loopie.
Track 13 - "I Shall Be Free" - More freewheelin' / stlying. This, the final track on the album, is witty, odd-ball and addictive.

SM

The 'Art' of Rap - Introduction

Inspired by Henry Louis Gates Jr's article in FT Weekend Magazine - or to be more truthful, Kagan McLeod's illustrations of hip hop stars - I have decided to review a few hip hop 'artists' and rate their quality.

Here is the 'mark scheme':

Freshness (Originality):
Embodied by Will Smith, 'The Fresh Prince'(#68), 'freshness' is an important factor in hip hop. Awful hip hop is a quick-fix of sluggish, bloated, unimaginative dross that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. But listening to rap music should be as invigorating as eating a breath-mint or the endorfin-flood of a sprint: freshness. Saul Williams (#6) compares this experience of freshness to sitting on a mountain top.

Roots (History):
A word synonymous with Reggae - but don't you know that 'rapping' originated in Jamaica when MCs would 'toast' - talk - over their sound systems? - so it makes perfect sense to use 'roots' to refer to a genre which, like the face of Janice, looks awe-fully backwards but also hopefully forwards. For an example of this listen to 'Be Healthy' by Dead Prez (#23).

Gangsta (Suffering):
For me the worst thing about hip hop, but an essential element in the formation of the genre and the creation / destruction of many of rap's heroes. Luckily there have always been peace-makers: from Africa Bambaataa (#78) to KRS One (#66) see below...

Soul (Hope):
Not just a reference to the soul music genre - although this is no doubt important and influencial - but also an endurance of spirit: compassion, love, community spirit / justice that groups like Public Enemy (#71) up-hold (despite the drugs and violence of the gangsta culture).
"I pray to God; I feel like I've got a church in myself," (Public Enemy, 'Bring That Beat Back')

Lastability:
This can be a good thing - like the legacy of 'The Message' (#80) - or a bad thing - stereotypical tat which has had a great impact on culture such as the Black Eye Peas.

Finally, dedications:
I have dedicated some of these tracks to friends who have introduced me to some of these artists and also to friends and family who will hopefully share the happy memories that these tracks produce in my mind.

Thanks

Art of Rap 3

Inspired by Henry Louis Gates Jr's article in FT Weekend Magazine - or to be more truthful, Kagan McLeod's illustrations of hip hop stars - I have decided to review a few hip hop 'artists' and rate their quality.

#61 Tupac: Freshness: 7 Roots: 3 Gangsta: 10 Soul:6 Lastability: 10 'Classic' Track: 'Changes' ... or that one with Elton John haha
#62 NWA: Freshness: 6 Roots: 3 Gangsta: 10 Soul: 1 Lastability: 10 'Classic' Track: 'Straight Outta Compton' Trivia: Dedicated to Compton Road, Lindfield, West Sussex
#63 Kool Keith
#64 Biz Markie
#65 Big Daddy Kane
#66 KRS One: Freshness: 8 Roots: 10 Gangsta: 6 Soul: 9 Lastability: 9 'Classic' Track: 'Sound of the police' Also try: 'U Must Learn'
#67 Rakim
#68 Fresh Prince: Freshness: 10 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 0 Soul: 6 Lastability: 10 'Classic' Track: 'Fresh Price Theme tune'
#69 Doug E Fresh
#70 Slick Rick: Freshness: 9 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 6 Soul: 4 Lastability: 6 'Classic' Track: 'The Ruler's Back' Dedicated to Sam Dransfield
#71 Public Enemy: Freshness: 9 Roots: 10 Gangsta: 4 Soul: 10 Lastabiltiy: 10 'Classic' Track: 'Public Enemy Number 1' also try: 'Welcome to the Terrordome'
#72 The Beastie Boys: Freshness: 9 Roots: 7 Gangsta: 0 Soul: 7 Lastability: 9 'Classic' Track: 'Integalactic' also try: anything they have ever done -- it's all good. Dedicated to Harry Hasson.
#73 Schooly D
#74 The Fat Boys: Freshness: 6 Roots: 1 Gangsta: 0 Soul: 3 Lastability: 5 'Classic' Track: 'Are you Ready for Freddy?' Also dedicated to Ham.
#75 Rammelzee
#76 Run DMC: Freshness: 8 Roots: 6 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 6 Lastability: 10 'Classic' Track: 'It's Like That'
#77 Kool Moe Dee
#78 Afrika Bambaataa
#79 The Sugarhill Gang: Freshness: 5 Roots: 7 Gangsta: 5 Soul: 6 Lastability: 9 'Classic' Track: Rapper's Delight'
#80 Melle Mel: Freshness: 9 Roots: 9 Gangsta: 7 Soul: 9 Lastability: 8 'Classic' Track: 'The Message'
#81 Gil Scott Heron: Freshness: 7 Roots: 8 Gangsta: 1 Soul: 9 Lastabiltiy: 7 'Classic' Track: The Revolution will not be televised'

Art of Rap 2

Inspired by Henry Louis Gates Jr's article in FT Weekend Magazine - or to be more truthful, Kagan McLeod's illustrations of hip hop stars - I have decided to review a few hip hop 'artists' and rate their quality.

#33
#34 Mos Def: Freshness:8 Roots:9 Gangsta: 5 Soul: 8 Lastability:9 'Classic' Track: 'Hip Hop' / Anything off 'Black on both sides'
#35 Talib Kweli: Freshness:7 Roots:6 Gangsta: 1 Soul: 8 Lastability:6 'Classic' Track: 'Get By'
#36 Will I Am Freshness: 1 Roots: 1 Gangsta: 0 Soul: 0 Lastability: 9 (unfortunately) 'Classic' track: 'Where is the Love'
#37 DMX: Freshness: 5 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 9 Soul: 5 Lastability: 6 'Classic' Track: N/A
#38 Rahzel: Freshness:6 Roots:6 Gangsta:3 Soul:3 Lastability:3
#39 Eminem: Freshness: 7 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 3 Soul: 5 Lastability: 10 'Classic' Track: 'Real Slim Shady' Trivia: Dedicated to my brother Aled Seago, who once performed an Eminem song dressed as the rapper. He even dyed his hair.
#40 Puffy: Freshness: 1 Roots: 3 Gangsta: 3 Soul:0 Lastability: 8 'Classic' Track: 'Bad Boys for Life'
#44 Xibit: Freshness: 2 Roots: 2 Gangsta: 5 Soul: 1 Lastability:6 'Classic' Track: Hosting Pimp my Ride
#45 Jay Z: Freshness: 5 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 7 Soul: 0 Lastability: 9 'Classic' Track:
#46 Coolio: Freshness: 8 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 4 Soul: 4 Lastability: 8 'Classic' Track: Keenan and Kel Theme Tune
#47 Outkast: Freshness: 8 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 3 Soul: 7 Lastability: 8 'Classic' Track: 'Miss Jackson'
#49 Notorious BIG: Freshness: 7 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 10 Soul: 6 Lastability: 10
#50 Nas: Freshness: 6 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 8 Soul: 5 Lastability: 8
#51 Lauren Hill: Freshness: 9 Roots: 9 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 10 Lastability: 8 'Classic' Track: 'Everything is Everything'
#52 The Fugees: Freshness: 9 Roots: 8 Gangsta: 4 Soul: 9 Lastability: 9 'Classic' Track: 'Ready or Not'
#53 Wu Tang Clan: Freshness: 8 Roots: 7 Gangsta: 7 Soul: 5 Lastability: 9 'Classic' Track: 'Enter the Magic Mystery Chambers' (Beatles/Wu Tang Mashup) Dedicated to Tom Caruana
#54 D.I.T.C.: Freshness: 7 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 9 Soul: 2 Lastability: 6
#55 Bootie Brown: Freshness: 6 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 6 Lastabilty: 4: 'Classic' Track: Gorillaz 'Dirty Harry'
#56 Del Tha Funky Homosapian: Freshness: 6 Roots: 6 Gangsta: 3 Soul: 7 Lastability: 5 'Classic' Track: Gorillaz 'Clint Eastwood'
#57 Hieroglyphics: Freshness: 6 Roots: 7 Gangsta: 3 Soul: 7 Lastability: 4 Classic Track: Don't Hate the Player Hate the Game
#58 Black Thought: Freshness: 8 Roots: 10 Gangsta: 3 Soul: 7 Lastability: 8
#59 snoop dogg: Freshness: 7 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 9 Soul: 2 Lastability: 10 'Classic' Track: 'Gin and Juice' - "Home Boy Alone"
#60 Cypress Hill: Freshness: 6 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 10 Soul: 4 Lastability: 7 'Classic' Track: 'Insane in the Brain' feat. The London Philharmonic Orchestra dedicated to Greg Jones

The Art of Rap 1

Inspired by Henry Louis Gates Jr's article in FT Weekend Magazine - or to be more truthful, Kagan McLeod's illustrations of hip hop stars - I have decided to review a few hip hop 'artists' and rate their quality.

#1 Lupe Fiasco: Freshness:7 Roots:4 Gangsta: 0 Soul: 5 Lastability:2 'Classic' Track: 'Kick Push'
#2 The Game: Freshness:4 Roots:5 Gangsta: 7 Soul: 3 Lastability:2 'Classic' Track: N/A
#3 Kayne West: Freshness: 8 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 4 Soul: 4 Lastability: 8 'Classic' Track: 'Jesus Walks' Trivia Fact: Kayne West is pretty much over-rated...
#5 T.I.: Freshness: 5 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 6 Soul: 4 Lastability: 5 'Classic Track': N/A
#6 Saul Williams: Freshness: 10 Roots: 10 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 10 Lastability: 9: 'Classic' Track: 'Amythist Rocks' or anything he has ever done Trivia Fact: Saul Williams inspired me to explore poetry, hip hop and pretty much everything that is good and true.
#17 Aesop Rock: Freshness: 6 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 1 Soul: 5 Lastability: 6 'Classic Track: That one off Tony Hawks
#18 Nelly: Freshness: 4 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 5 Soul: 3 Lastability: 6 'Classic' Track: N/A Trivia Fact: I dressed up as Nelly for a Halloween (?) party at uni
#19 50 Cent: Freshness: 3 Roots: 3 Gangsta: 8 Soul: 1 Lastability: 4 'Classic' Track: The 'In the club'/'Thomas the Tank Engine Theme tune'
#20 Rah Digga: Freshness: 3 Roots: 4 Gangsta: 2 Soul:6 Lastability:3'Classic' Track: 'This Ain't No Lil' Kid Rap'
#21 Jay Dee (J-Dilla): Freshness: 6 Roots: 5 Gangsta: 5 Soul:6 Lastability:5'Classic' Track: 'Front Street'
#22 Ludacris: Freshness: 5 Roots: 2 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 2 Lastability: 5 'Classic' Track: N/A
#23 Dead Prez: Freshness: 6 Roots: 10 Gangsta: 5 Soul: 9 Lastability: 6 'Classic' track: 'Hip Hop' but I like ... 'Be Healthy'
#28 Abstract Rude: Freshness: 6 Roots: 6 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 6 Lastability: 6 'Classic' Track: Pigeon John 'Life Goes On'
#29 Wildchild
#30 Madlib: Freshness: 10 Roots: 6 Gangsta: 2 Soul: 8 'Classic' Track: MadVillian 'All Caps' Trivia Fact: Dedicated to Pete Brown. God bless ya, Brother.

Now with labels ...

For the like 5 people who read this blog, I have made it easier to find things. I have labelled everything under the following:

"Art" -- the thing that I've "written" the most about at the moment. This tells you that I am a visual-thinking person (who likes searching for images on the internet...) I've also included my creative writing / the writing of others in this label, for better or worse ...

"Blogs" -- I LOVE writing about blogs: blogs that I have found, celebrity blogs, blogs that my friends are writing ... check this one out often!

"Music" -- like the art, I guess.

"Politics" -- agh, what am I talking about?? Usually things that interest me, that I have no authority on whatsoever ... I'll come back to this one ...

"Religion" -- the term "religion" is a bit of a drag, but it's what I live and breathe for, what gets me up in the morning; when I am (often) completely broken my the world -- believe me, I feel like this a lot!!! -- it is by the grace of God that I'm where I am right now. Again, not authority on what I write; I'm just a guy trying to work this stuff out ... check out some of the blogs on the righthand side for more wisedom on the subject.

"Teaching" -- A little bit about teaching. Know less than I do about this than I do about politics ...

So there you go: to conclude, I never really know what I'm talking about.

SM

5 Cool Instruments - 5: The Double Bass

So me and my brother were having a, shall we say, lively debate about the coolest instrument and I thought I would produce a count down of the 5 coolest instruments in my humble opinion.

Now I not one man's 'cool' is another man's 'square', so we will do the cool test:

The following image is an example of the kind of cool we are aiming for:



So now we know what cool is. Thus we have the double bass. One of my favourate instruments and undeniably cool; it's got ROOTS in the some of the greatest music genres of all time (see below) it has a lush, smokey and sensuous sound (see from the jazz solo), but it is also suprisingly versitile(see remaining links - esp. Stanley Clarke!!!)

Marco Panascia solo jazz bass Blues in F by Charlie Parker (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4Hx0VfUbTw

BLUES, BABY! - Willie Dixon - Bassology (1966):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcqqyL-Y6Go&feature=related

Tony "Slash" Redhorse from The Rocketz = rock 'n' roll (2009):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xIcndVBLSc

The sensational Stanley Clarke discusses the double bass (2007):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3jT0uaZw0&feature=related

However, as Stanley Clarke says it is slightly limited by its sound and shape -- it is also prone to be tarnished with the brush of novely music which, whilst not always *totally* awful, is certainly not cool in the Kia Ora sense(see The Baseballs). But if it is played by something who really knows what they are doing, then it can be thoroughly interesting, unusal and entertaining.

So double bass. Number 5.

Night on Bald Mountain: Episode 1

Hey folks!

Inspired by the writings of Kayleigh and other literary-herberts, I thought I'd give poetry another go - plus I'm feeling particularly angsty at the moment :)

This poem is inspired by / rips off a lot of things: the classical piece by Modest Mussorgsky and the Fantasia movie. I will also use it to respond to poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and fiction of Neil Gaiman. We'll see how it goes; this is not normally what I write about. Cheers. SM

Night on Bald Mountain
I.
A green glow threw the crags of Bald Mountain into light. Spikes of rock jutted against the sky, a wash of blue and black, light emitted from the mountain’s roots, outshining the full moon that hung round as cheese nestled in the veins of cloud.

It was midnight. Not a soul was stirring in the peasant village nestled at the foot of the mountain. The publicans had all reeled home to their wives and their beds, the taverns doors closed, the chestnut seller’s coal extinguished and his barrow parked in the stable.

Not a soul was stirring in the humble peasant village, save one. Jarred awake by some evil, abstract and instantly forgotten dream I arose from my chamber to take a turn about the garden and clear my head – grumbling all the while; blaming the reveries on the richness of my supper.

Looking back on that fateful night, I believe that my soul had some foreknowledge of the events about to ensue, a foreboding felt deep within my sub-consciousness that worried and warped my lonely dreams. Whether right or no, I found myself awake and starring up at Bald Mountain.

Starring up at that imposing sight, the breath-taking mass of immovable rock of inconceivable scale, an overwhelming feeling of insignificance hit me in the chest and its sting brought tears to my eyes. I could not explain it, but I felt confronted and humiliated, heart-broken, spurned to the edge

-- not banished to the perimeters of society, but of existence itself, the perpetrator of some metaphysical crime, a desecrator of the laws of the universe. Those were my feelings, (as best I could describe them) as I looked up at that terrible grey mount that filled the world, its sharp stabs raking the sky.

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #7

Ok, this might be spiralling out of control a bit ...
As well as being on the 'Clockwork Orange' soundtrack with a load of other classical music (natuarlly), sections from Gioacchino Rossini's 'The Thieving Magpie' can also be found lurking in Ren and Stimpy -- I actually found it in the 'Space Madness' episode when Ren is having a steaming-hot, anti-gravity bath.



Next, we have a series of American-style marches courtesy of Sousa such as Semper Fidelis, , Stars and Stripes Forever and The Liberty Bell March for all those patriots out there.



And obviously you've got to have the cat theme from Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev, Sergei) to represent Stimpson J. Cat:



Well, there are many that I have missed - but I think my brain will explode if I do any more. See the links I put up during the second post for more and better details:

http://stevegrins.blogspot.com/2010/06/music-of-ren-and-stimpy-2-tchaikovsky.html

SM

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #6

I'm so glad that I've found this! Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain.

Now this is a powerful tune! Again, this can also be found on an Earthworm Jim soundtrack - this time from the first game, a level called 'What the Heck?'. After the climax the music changes to elevator music occassionally punctured by screams of agony. Great level!



I can also remember that this is in a episode of Ren and Stimpy. You know, it might even be the episode in which Stimpy erases history but pressing an irresistible red button.

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #5

Richard Wagner:Ride of the Valkyries:



Used alot in cartoons -- notablity in the Looney Toons masterpiece 'What's Opera Doc?'


But then the tune is used in everything from Casper to Apocalypse Now ...

Returning to space with the 'Blue Danube Waltz' by Johann Strauss II. This is a classic that has accompanied various cartoon characters and, of course, 2001 Space Odessey...



Johann Strauss II 'Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka': sounds like running down a hill. Used in chase scenes everywhere: from the James Bond film 'Moonraker' and Tom and Jerry cartoons.

And now we are going into proper Tom and Jerry territory with Aram Khachaturian's 'Saber Dance' (from Gayane). It's about to get frantic! A classical mosh pit anthem.



Thus ends the frantics

SM

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #4

I am loving the waltzes at the minute! Moving on to Léo Delibes and the Coppelia Waltz. This is very Ren and Stimpy: smooth, gliding with bold flourishes and a brilliant ending. Closing my eyes I can see the ballet played out; the complex relationships between the moving bodies, the drama and the pomp - all of which can be seen in a good episode of Ren and Stimpy.

OK, if you have ever seen a cartoon and one character creeps up on an unsuspecting prey, they will have been accompanied by Delibes' 'Pizzicato'. When you hear it you will understand.



Speaking of pomp, we move on to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches. EVERYONE will have heard No. 1. from some wedding or another.

Charles Gounod - Funeral March of a Marionette: Ren and Stimpy are walking. They walk over various challenging terrain: mountains, desertsm - perhaps as members of the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen. Ren and angry as usual and Stimpy is trying to console him.



Edvard Grieg (we're in for some good tunes here!) - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 - Anitra's Dance: agian, this is a great piece of music that would be played whilst dialogue is happening, like in the kitchen or somewhere. Really nice, really subtle fine art.
Grieg 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' A.K.A. the Alton Towers theme tune. Had a million covers - including a techno remix (which is probably awful) and by metal string quartet Apocalyptica. Heavy!
'Morning': a beautiful piece of music that has been and always will be used to signify the sun dripping into the sky, animals unfolding from the shadows and bushes and someone sitting up in bed and stretching.

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #3 / The Music of Earthworm Jim

'Funiculi Funicula' by Luigi Denza will be played at my wedding. No doubt. This tune signifies a proper knees-up-mother-brown. Other raving nerds will instantly recognise this from the 'Italian Medly' soundtrack of Earthworm Jim 2, level 'Puppy Love' in which Jim has to transport a small army of pink/purple puppies from one tall building to another using a giant marshmellow. More fun than you can shake an X-Box at.

See this played on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuDDvXJDwxQ



On researching EWJ via wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworm_Jim_2#Soundtrack ) I remembered that the game also throws up some classics:

'See Jim Run, Run Jim Run' - according to YouTube comments this is Chopin, I'll get back to you on that..

and of course, the legendary 'Blind Cave Salemandar' soundtrack is Ludo: "Moonlight Sonata" 1st and 3rd movements

Not to mention the various Tangos and Polkas, the perfect soundtrack for gliding across abstract landscapes using snot as a parachute or fighting giant reanimated t-bone steaks.

What a rich cultural tapestry we weave.

SM

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #2 Tchaikovsky Special

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Ren and Stimpy use Mr. T A LOT, but there are some proper CLASSICS which are the staples of not just R&S but EVERY CARTOON EVER. You can tell I'm excited cuz I'm a-using capitals.

So: "Sleeping Beauty" (Waltz) is pretty much Disney's but it is a cracking dancing choon, a heady, blissful melody. Reminds one of cavorting in space.



Second is Swan Lake. Not sure where this comes in the ballet, but THIS ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph3h2IJAsgk ) just screams Ren & Stimpy just from the plucky intro. Again, another barn-stormer.

A Big Finally then is, of course, The Nutcracker Suite. If I could pick one piece of music to describe my memories of R&S, the 'Dance of the Reed Flutes' would be a seriuos contender. It is just matches the content of the show perfectly. You can imagine them in the kitchen with their Powdered Toast (!) as you listen to this tune. 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' is a bit over-done, but still a classic. Very Christmassy and mischievous. Again, the 'Russian Dance' is very Christmassy - probably more Home Alone or Jingle all the way than Ren and Stimpy in my book (anyway). Quite a good tune though; you can imagine everything spiraling out of control. To finish off the Tchaikovsky chapter we have 'Waltz of the Flowers'. Again, a proper tune that is a tad overplayed (?). A brilliant harp bit at the begining and a catchy tune that you will be whistling for days. It gets you waltzing around the room with the lamp imagining that you are in a ballroom. :)

For more Tchaikovsky tunes that are used in Ren and Stimpy see 'Music of Ren and Stimpy' ( http://wikibin.org/articles/music-of-ren-and-stimpy.html ) which is where I have stolen most of my information.

Whilst on the subject also check out this blog which started it all for me:

Secret Fun Blog - I found this whey-back-when I was at university. It was and still is the best thing ever. This guy is a true hero. If you are a Ren and Stimpy fan check it out!:

http://secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2006/11/ren-stimpy-production-music.html

The Music of Ren and Stimpy #1

So I was thinking about Ren and Stimpy - particularly the awesome music in it. There are some great links to it all which I will put up later, but I thought I would trawl through the mass of classical music used so brush up on the classics. Ren and Stimpy was an amazing program. Fine art and a cracking children's cartoon.

In no particular order:

#1 Camille Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals ("Aquarium" - a wonderland-style piece that reminds me of ice caves and "Fossils" - a fun, skeletal xylaphone piece that has the flavour of an early Mickey Mouse cartoon) brilliant music already!

#2 Johann Sebastian "The Big Dog" Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (something you would hear at a wedding), Toccata and Fugue by Bach (Transelvania theme tune - brilliant, brilliant music)

#3 Luigi Boccherini - Menuet, from String Quintet No. 5 in E. ... also known as the Smarty Arty theme tune. Legend.

#4 Frederic Chopin: Funeral March -- who knew??

#5 Jeremiah Clarke: Prince of Denmark's March (a.k.a. "Trumpet Voluntary) -- again, very weddingy

Friends in Places

I love having amazingly talented friends. If you like poetry or music, El and Andy have recently created nice new websites show-casing their shizzle.

Check them out:

El: http://elgruer.com/

Andy http://andyhudsonmusic.com/

Both good to the extreme.

I am also massively pleased to post about Ham's band The Lost Girls ( http://www.myspace.com/thelostgirlsuk ). Definitely a Slits, X-Ray Spex grrl punk vibe. But then they are a bunch of girls. And Ham. Def some DKs in their as well. Very good. Can't wait to see them live.

It's all just so overwhelmingly fun.

SM