More of a head record than anything with dated "trippiness" well intact. This one is often compared to the United States of America album, but the United States of America album is way better.
― Flour of my secret, Sunday, 19 February 2006 21:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 21:29 (eighteen years ago) link
(x-post, yeah, the appearance of the thing in 1960's TV soundtracks is what makes me imagine that one of them might have turned up on some rock record - did you listen to p cirocco's improv pieces? Incredible - it sounds like Vangelis' CS80!)
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Sunday, 19 February 2006 21:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 21:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 21:52 (eighteen years ago) link
I'm not implying the USA was one of these, just that often the trashier, crasser stuff of the sixties beats the USA's well-intentioned and well-informed avant-dabblings, by and large.
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 21:56 (eighteen years ago) link
― William Selman (William Selman), Sunday, 19 February 2006 22:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 22:24 (eighteen years ago) link
Jesus, I would kill to hear this.
(Also agree about "Wooden Wife"--though its awfulness has nothing to do with synthesizer use.)
― Marcel Post (Marcel Post), Sunday, 19 February 2006 22:42 (eighteen years ago) link
I know it's reductive...but it's true. There's subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and about a thousand other kinds, no need for a filter necessarily, an oscilator, played melodically, is a synthesizer.
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Sunday, 19 February 2006 22:54 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 22:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 19 February 2006 22:58 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 23:06 (eighteen years ago) link
Rather, USA used ring modulators and oscilators; the latter are the primary signal generator in synthesizers and were readily available. They supposedly had a primitive synthesizer built for them by Richard(?) Durrett. I have never seen much info on the Durrett though.
Stockhausen (at least his classic 50s and 60s recordings) used oscilators as a sound source that he recorded to tape and then manipulated by editing, pitching up and down and layering.
― William Selman (William Selman), Sunday, 19 February 2006 23:10 (eighteen years ago) link
I think this is true also. The vocals for example on "Love Song for the Dead Che" are really lovely. This is helped by the fact though that lyrics are for the most part the only passable ones on the record...
― William Selman (William Selman), Sunday, 19 February 2006 23:14 (eighteen years ago) link
I'm not understanding the emphasis on "melodically."
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 19 February 2006 23:19 (eighteen years ago) link
― trees (treesessplode), Monday, 20 February 2006 00:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 20 February 2006 00:58 (eighteen years ago) link
I guess that is why you define the electronic tools USA used as synthesizers then.
The Moog was the first ever synthetic instrument that was able to play melodies.
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 20 February 2006 01:07 (eighteen years ago) link
Never mind the fact that the RCA could damned well play melodies too, if you're gonna go with that really rather partial definition.
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 20 February 2006 01:26 (eighteen years ago) link
geir doesn't really read
― miltonloggedout, Monday, 20 February 2006 01:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― miltonloggedout, Monday, 20 February 2006 01:31 (eighteen years ago) link
-- Michael Daddino, February 19th, 2006.
And indeed, you'd be right. :) Thanks for the info; at the very least I owe you a drink in Seattle if you'll be up there for the EMP.
― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 20 February 2006 03:52 (eighteen years ago) link
― moriarty (moriarty), Monday, 20 February 2006 04:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 20 February 2006 05:04 (eighteen years ago) link
Definitely sounds like Moog at the end of "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" (actually sequenced as the beginning of "She's a Rainbow" on the CD). Someone mentioned "2,000 Light Years from Home" upthread, too - main keyboard part is Mellotron, but there's Moog in the instrumental section.
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 20 February 2006 05:42 (eighteen years ago) link
Weren't snthesizers big old room sized thingies back in the 1960's
― startrekman, Monday, 20 February 2006 05:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 20 February 2006 07:30 (eighteen years ago) link
??? I thought you said above "a synthesizer is is an oscillator", oscillator being singular rather than plural. I'm also not sure the above clarifies anything regarding your use of "melodically" to define a synthesizer, as opposed to, say, rhythmically. And uh I said USA used a Durrett.
Shamefully, I've never listened to a whole Jefferson Airplane record, but based on an admittedly sketchy listening of the After Bathing at Baxter's (via er iTunes snippets) I hear maybe a clavinet on "Two Heads" and possibly "A Small Package" unless that's a real harpsichord.
After doing some Slsk research I also hear possible Moog action on "2,000 Light Years from Home" and would love to get some independent confirmation via liner notes or what have you.
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:03 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:25 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:39 (eighteen years ago) link
also not sure where Mother Mallard fits in, later? But always mentioned in this context, perhaps as much because they were a rock band who came out of arty synthesizer backgrounds and not the opposite?
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:11 (eighteen years ago) link
― exploder, Monday, 20 February 2006 16:42 (eighteen years ago) link
Sure. But to be pedantic, that tune wasn't really released until the 90s, even though it was recorded in 1967.
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:08 (eighteen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:15 (eighteen years ago) link
Geir: Sure. But to be pedantic, that tune wasn't really released until the 90s, even though it was recorded in 1967.
Geir, what part of "not-released-in-its-time" do you not understand?
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:32 (eighteen years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 20 February 2006 19:08 (eighteen years ago) link
-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), Today. (later) (link) (admin) (userip)
Oh come on Geir, I'm sure I saw a pic of you on your site playing a synthesiser, so there's no excuse for this! Surely you have heard of the Ondes Martenot, aptented 1928?
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/martenot/
It's not that obscure! Orchestral works by Messiaen, Hohenegger, maurice jarre. It had an equal-tempered keyboard, so you could, if you wanted to, play melodies on it. Beautiful, haunting "singing" tone as well.
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Monday, 20 February 2006 19:16 (eighteen years ago) link
Not rock or "rock" of course but, since this seems to be the main thread the Novachord is mentioned on, came here to note its use on Vera Lynn's 1939 recording of "We'll Meet Again." I think the one used in Dr. Strangelove is later, maybe the one from the film of the same name.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1xrofiEa4w
― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 12 January 2022 17:31 (two years ago) link