On WednesÂday night, Peter Gabriel brought his 46-piece orchesÂtra to the Ed SulÂliÂvan TheÂater in New York City and treatÂed the audiÂence to a 65-minute conÂcert feaÂturÂing orchesÂtral verÂsions of some clasÂsic Gabriel songs: Red Rain, SolsÂbury Hill, Biko, IntrudÂer, MerÂcy Street, WallÂflower, San JacÂinÂto, Rhythm of The Heat, SigÂnal to Noise — they were all on the setlist, though not in that parÂticÂuÂlar order. The conÂcert, preÂsentÂed as part of the Live on LetÂterÂman webÂcast series, feaÂtures songs and musiÂcians appearÂing on Gabriel’s latÂest LP, New Blood.…
ElecÂtronÂic musiÂcian John Boswell has just released the 12th installÂment in his “SymÂphoÂny of SciÂence” series. Onward to the Edge celÂeÂbrates the advenÂture of space exploÂration and feaÂtures the auto-tuned voicÂes of astroÂphysiÂcist Neil deGrasse Tyson, parÂtiÂcle physiÂcist BriÂan Cox and planÂeÂtary sciÂenÂtist CarÂolyn PorÂco. It’s a mashup of mateÂrÂiÂal from four sources: Tyson’s My Favorite UniÂverse video course, Cox’s BBC series WonÂders of the Solar SysÂtem, a TED talk by PorÂco and scenes from NationÂal GeoÂgraphÂic’s A TravÂelÂer’s Guide to the PlanÂets.
The “SymÂphoÂny of SciÂence” grew out of Boswell’s 2009 video, A GloÂriÂous Dawn, which stitchÂes togethÂer scenes from Carl Sagan’s CosÂmos and Stephen HawkÂing’s UniÂverse and has been viewed over six milÂlion times on YouTube. You can downÂload a free digÂiÂtal album of all 12 songs from the series, along with a bonus track, here. H/T BoingÂBoÂing
KelÂlogÂg’s first startÂed marÂketÂing Rice Krispies way back in 1928, and, ever since, we’ve grown accusÂtomed to wholeÂsome adverÂtisÂing camÂpaigns that feaÂture the carÂtoon masÂcots Snap, CrackÂle and Pop. (See ad from 1939.) For a brief moment in 1964, all of this wholeÂsomeÂness was put aside when the J. WalÂter ThompÂson ad agency worked with the Rolling Stones to creÂate a hipÂper, more inspired jinÂgle. The resultÂing comÂmerÂcial aired briefly only in the UK…
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CelÂlist Yo-Yo Ma is famous for his eclecÂtiÂcism. From Baroque chamÂber music to traÂdiÂtionÂal ChiÂnese melodies, Ma delights in disÂsolvÂing barÂriÂers. His latÂest genre-hopÂping project is The Goat Rodeo SesÂsions, an invenÂtive blueÂgrass colÂlabÂoÂraÂtion with bassist Edgar MeyÂer, fidÂdler StuÂart DunÂcan and ManÂdolinÂist Chris Thile. VocalÂist Aoife O’DonoÂvan joins the group on two songs. The expresÂsion “goat rodeo” refers to a chaotÂic sitÂuÂaÂtion where a group of peoÂple with difÂferÂing viewÂpoints have to work togethÂer to avert disÂasÂter. When the group showed up recentÂly at Google’s New York offices for a brief perÂforÂmance and disÂcusÂsion (see above), Ma comÂpared The Goat Rodeo SesÂsions to the ecoÂlogÂiÂcal “Edge Effect,” where conÂtrastÂing eco-sysÂtems come togethÂer. “You have the least denÂsiÂty of life forms, but you actuÂalÂly have the most variÂety of new life forms,” explained Ma. “I think we all probÂaÂbly, as a group, enjoy going to the edge because it’s thrilling to disÂcovÂer new life forms. It’s thrilling to take from what you know and try someÂthing that realÂly hasÂn’t quite hapÂpened in the same way before.”
All of this proÂvides a good excuse to post anothÂer favorite video of ours — CSN’s one-time bandÂmate Neil Young playÂing Ohio, a now canonÂiÂcal song from the protest moveÂment songÂbook. The hauntÂing clip was recordÂed live at Massey Hall in 1971, and appears on one of the finÂer acoustic guiÂtar LPs.
“Music,” GotÂtfried LeibÂniz famousÂly said, “is the pleaÂsure the human mind expeÂriÂences from countÂing withÂout being aware that it is countÂing.” ComÂputÂer artist AlexanÂder Chen makes this pleaÂsure visÂiÂble with Baroque.Me, his geoÂmetÂric comÂputÂer aniÂmaÂtion of the PreÂlude to Johann SebasÂtÂian Bach’s CelÂlo Suite No. 1 in G major.
Chen visuÂalÂized the piece by imagÂinÂing a harp with strings that would autoÂmatÂiÂcalÂly morph into difÂferÂent lengths accordÂing to the prinÂciÂples of PythagoreÂan tunÂing. “It’s math based on the fracÂtion 2/3,” writes Chen on his blog. “I startÂed with the longest string, setÂting it to a symÂbolÂic length of pixÂels. When cut to 2/3 length, it goes up a fifth. Cut its length by 1/2 and it goes up an octave. 3/4 length, one fourth. From these simÂple numÂbers I calÂcuÂlatÂed the relÂaÂtive string lengths of all the notes in the piece.” He used eight strings because the PreÂlude’s phrasÂing is in groups of eight notes. The strings are “plucked” by two symÂmetÂriÂcal pairs of nodes that revolve at a uniÂform rate, rather like a digÂiÂtal music box.
Chen, 30, lives in BrookÂlyn, NY, and works in the Google CreÂative Lab. One of his most popÂuÂlar pieces for Google was the Les Paul DooÂdle, which allows users to digÂiÂtalÂly strum the guiÂtar strings. Chen grew up learnÂing music and comÂputÂer proÂgramÂming in parÂalÂlel. He plays the clasÂsiÂcal vioÂla, but with the Bach aniÂmaÂtion he wantÂed to remove the perÂformer’s interÂpreÂtive eleÂment from the music. “It’s a piece that I’ve heard a lot since I was a kid,” Chen told the BBC recentÂly. (See the “MathÂeÂmatÂiÂcal Music” podÂcast, Nov. 3.) “PeoÂple always bring difÂferÂent levÂels of expresÂsion to it. PeoÂple play to difÂferÂent temÂpos and they add a lot of dynamÂics, or less dynamÂics. But what I wantÂed to let the comÂputÂer do was just kind of to play in a realÂly neuÂtral way, because what I realÂly wantÂed to express was how much emoÂtion and intenÂsiÂty is just in the data of the notes themÂselves. I think that’s realÂly where the beauÂty of the piece at its core is.”
To hear the PreÂlude with the interÂpreÂtive eleÂment back in, you can watch this video of Pablo Casals perÂformÂing it in 1954:
1959. It was a pivÂotal year for jazz. MusiÂcians startÂed breakÂing away from bebop, explorÂing new, experÂiÂmenÂtal forms. And four absoluteÂly canonÂiÂcal LPs were recordÂed that year: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis; Time Out by Dave Brubeck; MinÂgus Ah Um by Charles MinÂgus; and The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette ColeÂman. 1959 also found AmerÂiÂca on the cusp of great social and politÂiÂcal upheaval. InteÂgraÂtion, VietÂnam, the Cuban MisÂsile CriÂsis — they were all comÂing around the bend, and someÂtimes figÂures like MinÂgus and ColeÂman comÂmentÂed musiÂcalÂly on these events.
This transÂforÂmaÂtive periÂod gets niceÂly covÂered by the recent BBC docÂuÂmenÂtary, 1959: The Year that Changed Jazz. The outÂtake above focusÂes on Ornette ColeÂman and his innoÂvÂaÂtive work as a free jazz musiÂcian. If it whets your appetite, you can dive into the full proÂgram on YouTube. The docÂuÂmenÂtary feaÂturÂing interÂviews with Brubeck, ColeÂman, Lou Reed, and HerÂbie HanÂcock is availÂable runs roughÂly 60 minÂutes.
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletÂter, please find it here. It’s a great way to see our new posts, all bunÂdled in one email, each day.
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
A quick fyi: We preÂviewed the title track a few weeks back. Now, you can stream the full album for free, courÂtesy of NPR. But don’t delay, the free tracks will only linger for a limÂitÂed time.…
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