ennio morricone

so today i've been listening to the soundtrack for the movie 'there will be blood' composed by johnny greenwood. its a series of beautiful pieces that according to some critics, really creates the mood which gives this film it's dark and sombre mood

it got me thinking of other film composers and one guy whom i especially love, and that is ennio morricone. ennio is probably most famous for his compositions for "the good, the bad, and the ugly" and "fistful of dollars", although he has actually composed music for over 500 film and television productions. whilst reading about this guy i found a very interesting quote in regards to the instruments he used for his scores, thus creating his unique style. "Leone hired Morricone, and together they created a distinctive score to accompany Leone's different version of the Western, A Fistful of Dollars (1964).[8] As budget strictures limited Morricone's access to a full orchestra, he used gunshots, cracking whips, whistle, voices, guimbarde (jaw harp), trumpets, and the new Fender electric guitar, instead of orchestral arrangements of Western standards à la John Ford. Morricone used his special effects to punctuate and comically tweak the action—cluing in the audience to the taciturn man's ironic stance.[8] Though sonically bizarre for a movie score, Morricone's music was viscerally true to Leone's vision."

so as you can see he used all these different sounds out of necessity due to budget restraints. its actually the use of these sounds and the way he used them musically that distinguished ennio morricone from a tonne of other film composers. i absolutely love this guy and i also love his use of the fender electric guitar, an instrument close to my heart haha

anyway if you love interesting music and composition i suggest you find some soundtracks that he's worked on and i'm sure you'll hear some truly amazing pieces

CBGB's

a couple of years ago i was living in new york city and somehow couldn't escape the influence that a place like CBGB's had on the city, or on the world of music and fashion for that matter. i've always been a fan of bands like blondie, the ramones, and talking heads, but living in new york just brought it all to life. music is part of the movement of new york and every hood has it's preferred style of music. jazz, hip-hop, punk, no-wave, it all comes from here. there is such a culture of sound and style here that you cannot help but feel inspired just by walking down the street

when i first arrived in new york i didnt have any friends so i'd spend my time just walking the streets and soaking it all in. one place i was continually drawn to was the lower east side. for some reason this place felt like home to me, and no wonder, it's the birthplace of punk and all that's good about music

probably the most iconic landmark in this area is CBGB's. CBGB's is where a tonne of my favourite, and very influential bands started out. bands like the ones mentioned above, bands like television, patti smith, bad brains, the misfits, suicide, all got there start or made their name at this venue

my friend miles green's band played there when he was young and according to him the place was a haven for interesting acts, artistic freedom, and a good vibe. i'd go as far as to say that without this venue and the acts that started out in it, music might not have evolved as it has

if you like any punk, post-punk, post-hardcore, indy, electronic, folk, anything at all thats cool then chances are there has been some influence from a band that's played CBGB's, especially the early days. unfortunately the venue is no longer there in the original form but the music that permeated from that place will live in forever

four tet....that dude was born in 1977

last night i put on 'late night tales' by four tet (keiran hebden) and it reminded me of how sick this guy is. it also dawned on my that he is the same age as me and has been producing phenomenal music and remixes for well over ten years now. in that time i've been fart-arsing around, tinkering here, playing about there, and mostly daydreaming about the day i produce some magical shit

four tet has done remixes for the likes of madvillain, aphex twin, bloc party, etc, which goes to show you his skillset is appreciated by some great acts, but also his original stuff is pure class. i say if you like stuff along the line of tortoise, or anything jazzy and experimental then this guy is definitely worth checking out

holly miranda - the magician's private library

just a quick note to say how much i'm loving this album at the moment. i'm a big fan of anything producer dave sitek (tv on the radio, yeah yeah yeahs) is involved with and this is no exception. there are some familiary sounds in the production to some of dave's other projects but it's definitely fresh and sounds luscious

holly's voice is incredible and as you've probably read kanye west has been giving her big ups. pitchfork gave it an ok review but sometimes i wonder with those guys, personally i hate pitchfork's reviewers, i think they're dipshits but hey i'll leave that for another blog

i suggest you check this album out if you like moody female vocals, good production, and a mellow vibe. kinda reminds me ever so slightly of goldfrapp's felt mountain as far as the mood is concerned. there you go, two albums worth checking out

on another note holly is playing show's in sydney as part of the vivid festival, not sure if she's done but if you get a chance try to check her out. she's way cute too

ode to the digitech whamy

ever wonder how guitarists like tom morello, johnny greenwood, and jack white get their guitar to squeal? i used to listen to them and think "boy they must bend those strings hard" until i find out their secret. its called the digitech whammy and it's got to be one of my favourite pedals at the moment

the digitech whammy has a bunch of effects like dive bomb and drop tune but i think the raddest sound comes from the 2 octave up effect. this is the effect that you hear on all those white stripes albums and it makes the guitar squeal like a pig, and as unattractive as that may seem, i for some reason love it!

now if you want to hear the digitech whammy in full glory you can listen to 'elephant' by the white stripes and you will hear this effect all over the album. on 'seven nation army' you'll hear the drop one octave down setting and most of the guitar solos you'll hear the one or two octave up settings. and if you want to hear it mixed up with a thousand other effects until the guitar no longer sounds like a guitar anymore go and listen to anything ever done by tom morello. not only is tom one very intelligent individual he flipped the meaning of guitar playing on its mutherfuckin head

bang!

downloading music? you're ripping yourself off

you know when i was a young man i used to put a lot of research into my music, as a matter of fact i still do. i would read interviews with my favourite musicians and see what they were listening to, i would ask the guy at the record store what he was getting into, i would demo out CD's at the store, and then i would pick out what i thought were going to be the best albums. every album i bought was with my hard earned cash. there were times a friend burned a CD or recorded a mix tape, and there's nothing like a good swap with your friend, but most of the time it was me getting excited about a band, then going to the store and buying the CD

there were plenty of times i bought a CD and on the first listen would be incredibly disapointed. i once bought 'the very best of marvin pontiac' from amazon.com and it cost me $75 after delivery fees etc. i nearly cried when i heard it first, thinking this is absolute crap. but because i paid $75 i made myself listen to it over and over till i liked the album. actually i was working a bar in london once and a famous DJ and i started talking and he mentioned the album and i told him i had it. he was very impressed and then i thought to myself "that wasn't such a bad purchase was it?"

the point i'm trying to make is, because i paid for the album i made myself listen to it. if i've paid for something i will generally listen to it until i start to like it, otherwise it was a waste of money. thats not to say that you must like all the music you buy, but the dollars spent make you value the product a little more

now i have a problem with people downloading music for free. i'm not going to jump to the stealing argument but rather i'm going to say that when you get something for free you tend to value it less. i know people who download so much music, listen to it once, dismiss it without giving it a real listen, and then proceed to move on. i think this really diminishes the value of what the artist spent weeks, months, or years creating

i believe if you really value music, art, film, etc you try to contribute to it, but also you really try to delve into what you have before you. by downloading excessive amounts of music how can you really value what you have? it just becomes a cheap commodity that is easily expendible. you know i have a deep connection with every music purchase i've ever made and for this i am eternally thankful

now i'm not trying to preach to anyone and i'm not saying that swapping music with friends, or even the odd free download is wrong. i just think that being greedy is really cheating yourself. some of my favourite albums took over ten listens or even more to really get into and i couldn't imagine my life without these little gems. its all about respecting yourself and your love for the art, along with respecting the individuals who make a living from giving us this joy

later

the big pink vs kevin shields

about eight months ago i bought 'a brief history of love' by the big pink and instantly fell in love with the album. the sounds are amazing, great guitar tones, curious lyrics, and beautiful use of distortion. the album was mixed by rich costey and i reckon this would've been a tough job due to the layering of sounds on the album. however rich seems to blend the frequencies together perfectly and it's still banging when the volune is turned up

after the first few listens though i couldn't help but ask myself how this album would've sounded if kevin shields of my bloody valentine never existed? i mean to me the album is very different to anything my bloody valentine did, but then again the first thing that comes to mind when listening is kevin shields must've been a big influence on the sounds here. now here's the thing with influences, or as i like to call them subconscious influences. sometimes you have no inclination to sound like anyone in particular but the sounds you produce, the way you play, or the notes you use seem to be very similar to a particular person or sound. i'm not sure if this is because somewhere in our subconscious mind we keep refering to this or if somewhere in our mind we like what we hear

eitherway if you're a fan of the big pink i would suggest checking out anything by my bloody valentine. to me kevin shields, with limited technical ability has probably influenced the guitar world more than someone like slash has. not to say slash isn't rad but there wasn't anyone who sounded like kevin before, however there are many who sound similar to him after. he is a frequency master of the highest order