Category Archives: WMOM

WMOM: Music of Magnesia

Flim & The BB’s: God I Miss This Band

Some of the best and craziest jazz ever.  These guys were one of the first to DIGITALLY record music (at the birth of the Compact Disc).

This is a video of them doing the song “Toy Chest”.

 

I have almost every one of their albums (at least I did on cassette and some on CD).

Some of the most whistle’able tunes ever created. Guaranteed, if you listen to any of their music, you will whistle or hum it immediately after you hear it. The musicianship is astounding but the song writing is sooooooooooo sticky.

It’s also fun to watch the videos as they are such a time piece. Notice the old IBM PC AT and the first generation Macintosh behind keyboardist Billy Barber. This song is “Sideman”. Also notice how sticky the melodies are on these songs. Its like a drug!

…also couldn’t forget the song “funhouse” (so glad someone posted these on youtube).

This song stuck in my head so much, I couldn’t rest until I could at least FAKE the main theme of this song on a keyboard. It’s not that hard, but my god does the melody stick. Intoxicating!!!

Listen and get infected.
(and the sad part is. I still cant find all of their music on the internet 🙁 ) You can hear most, if not all, of their music on WMOM (of course).

snow, Snow, SNOWWWW! (and Rosemary Clooney cannot sing!)

snowdead

 

This song is played on the Mike O’meara show when they discuss the snowy forecast.

It’s Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney.  Rosemary has got to be one of the most talentless singers ever.  Between her and Keeley Smith,  I don’t know who is more boisterous and flat.  The opening attempt at harmony makes Hozpitality sound good.

Play this song as you throw out your back shoveling.  Be sure to be playing this as your car skids out of control on the highway ending your meaningless life in the…

snowwwwwwww…. Snowwwwwwwwwww…. SNOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW….

A Hozpitality Bit – Synchroid Inclusion

So I was bored while everyone was watching the Winter Olympics in SoCheee and I started playing with the Synchroid Application (“App”) on my Android phone. Synchroid is a simple application where you scribble sound on the phone screen and you can reprocess it through a few synthesizer processors to make a nifty loop. I came up with a loop today in Synchroid that, probably because of Olympic level boredom, sounded TO ME like a nifty musical loop. I couldn’t get enough of it, so I decided to put it into a song.

SYNCHROIDINCL

What is special about this is, it would be the first time I made music with:

1. The Korg Kaossilator Pro
2. Pre Built Acid Loops
3. The Bass Guitar
4. and MY TELEPHONE using Synchroid (this of course being the unused tool in my music making thus far).

It came out neat. I put in the loops from the Synchroid phone app first, then the Pre Built Acid Loop drums, and then a drum loop from the Kaossilator. At this point I thought, it had been a while since I broke out the bass guitar, dusted it, tuned it and (once again) TRIED to play it. This is why you hear the shoddy sloppy bass playing in the back of the whole thing.

BOTTOM LINE: I had fun doing it and it killed a few hours. It’s only 2:18 minutes so, tell me what you think of Synchroid Inclusion.

Once Again, Trevor Horn Kicks Ass!!!

Listen to his timid, meager voice at the beginning, then watch this man tickle a 5 string bass…

IT IS SO COOL TO SEE THIS PERFORMED LIVE!!! (and with the Mysterious Anne Dudley on keys).

Blew my mind! CRAAAAAAAAAAAAANK IT UP!

(“….I just need a bass…. THAT’S IT! START THE CAR, ANNE!)

And as always, I am musically obsessing. Here’s another video of Trevor playing AND SINGING. I have always loved his voice. He sounds so geeky, British and timid. This song is on constant rotation in my head lately. I THINK the lyrics are about dying or afterlife (everything sounds past tense’y). Probably the happiest song about dying or afterlife I’ve ever heard. It’s from the album The Producers, Made In Basing Street. This album contains some of the best music producers of my life time: Trevor Horn (of course)(bass/voc), Lol Creme(guitar), Steve Lipson(guitar), and Ash Soan(drums). I CAN NOT STOP LISTENING TO THIS ALBUM. IT’S INFECTING ME!!!

RIP George Duke, “I Need You Now”…

For those who know me, I’m a miserable person. Music is usually one of very few cures for my ailment. As I get older, the people I have grown to love and follow are falling off like flies. We lost a great one in the music of Chad today.

George Duke and a Synth
George Duke

The man was one of great Jazz keyboardists.  The news was, of course, for a musician of such talent and depth, completely muted or uninformed at best.  It was mentioned in my research that he died of complications from leukemia. This IS INDEED what is TRULY sad.  This guy was as diverse as anything could be in the musical realm.  From R&B, Jazz, Progressive, Blues, Fusion… you name it, he was legendary.  From jazz, to R&B, to soul, to pop to his work with Frank Zappa (if you’re lazy, and want to hear wicked george duke keyboards and synth, start at 6:36). It was always fun to see how Frank Zappa brought out the crazy in him:

Notice how fast he plays the keyboard and listen to what the hell he was doing with synthesizers in 1974. Amazing. He was mostly known as a song writer, keyboardist, and excellent singer (who really knew how to multitrack his own voice to perfection)… (also had a great fro)… But what most don’t know is he was a great trombone player. Listen to the trombone breaks in this, from my favorite album “A Brazilian Love Affair”:

A lot of critics accused him of pandering in the 80’s to the pop taste, but personally, I thought his music sounded more busy and jazzy than ever. Listen to the bass line in this bit… This is an underrated classic (i think).

I know I know… It’s very 80’s and really corny, but listen to the musicianship in this… The bass and songwriting mostly stick in your head like sugary glue. Good stuff… AND NOBODY COULD WORK A KEY-TAR LIKE GEORGE! And the guy has the fastest right hand on a keyboard I’ve ever seen. He put emotion and soul into an emotionless instrument, the keyboard. Truly legendary.

On a final note… His music is very positive in lyric and in tone. It has made me feel happy, good or empowered many times (this is quite a long time as I’ve been listening to him since I was 8). His latest album “Dreamweaver” is a big bag of varying style. He put it together in tribute to his wife Corine who passed away almost a year ago. It is rumored that he really took a beating from this. He comes out about it in this promo for the album.

His music is about the music which is what I like most. He doesn’t always take a vocal. Sometimes guests do all the singing. If there is one song he does that gives me goose bumps, this one is it. It’s called, “I need you now”. I dont know why, but it’s my favorite. It’s the one I enjoy the most. I like how George comes in on verse 2 and translates it all. Today…. It makes my eyes water and gives me goose bumps… I’ll miss him.

Had to add this video at a later date. THIS WHOLE SHOW BLEW MY MIND! Crank it up!