Known for being something of a music engineering pioneer, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne recently gave a talk at TED regarding how architecture helped music evolve. He obviously knows a lot about the subject, both historically and experimentally, as his 2008 “Playing the Building” project suggests. I never got a chance to visit the installation in NYC (something I still kick myself for every now and then), and this video only makes me wish I had.
Check out the lecture below to see how Byrne succinctly follows the reactionary relationship of music to architecture (in all senses of the word) –from early civilization playing outside all the way up to modern day pop music on your iPod.
Not much I can say about this track + video (other than this project is causing me to become increasingly interested in Imelda Marcos’ life), so I’ll let David Byrne say it himself:
There are six of these videos that have been completed for this project. Most, like this one, use news and archival footage to, well, show that every word of the song is true! Most of the lyrics on this one are lifted gently from interviews and quotations — the “please don’t” chorus especially. At some point as first lady, Imelda began to feel that she could help Philippine interests by charming world leaders into seeing things her way. “Handbag diplomacy” she called it — as she liked to imply that to solve a problem, she could bypass President Marcos and just grab a handbag and hop on a plane with some of her assistants. It sometimes worked! There was, for example, an Islamic-backed insurgency rising in the south of the Philippine archipelago, and she thought that a leader in that part of the world, Qaddafi in this case, might help pull the plug on that support if he saw things her way. Apparently he did — the funding stopped and the insurrection lost momentum, and she later described him as a pushover, a mama’s boy.
Am I the only person that finds this fascinating? I can’t wait for the full double album on April 6.
Watch the video and listen to another track from this album, “Never So Big” featuring Sia, after the cut. (more…)
By “popular” “demand” I’m continuing what I started with last month’s Ghostface Millah Mix Volume 1 by giving you, dear readers, whatever excellent new music I’ve acquired or gotten-into of late. I present to you the Ghostface Millah Mix Volume 2.
If I do say so myself, it’s better than the first. For starters, it’s longer which means more goodness for you, and, just like last time, it’s a decent combo of blogosphere well-knowns and some deeper cuts from recently released albums to which I just can’t stop listening.
1. “U + Me =” – Dan Black (off UN, released in the U.S. on 12/21/2009)
2. “VCR (Matthew Dear Remix)” – The xx (off unknown)
3. “Take It Easy” – Surfer Blood (off Astro Coast, released 1/19/2010)
4. “Backseat” – STAYGOLD feat. Damien Adore & Spank Rock (off unknown)
5. “You Must Be Out of Your Mind” – The Magnetic Fields (off Realism, released 1/26/2010)
6. “Answer to Yourself” – The Soft Pack (off The Soft Pack, released 2/2/2010)
7. “Good Intentions Paving Company” – Joanna Newsom (off Have One On Me, out 2/23/2010)
8. “Please Don’t” – Santigold (off Here Lies Love, out 2/23/2010)
9. “I Can Talk” – Two Door Cinema Club (off Tourist History, out 3/1/2010)
10. “In the Sun” – She & Him (off Volume Two, out 3/23/2010)
11. “Stylo” – Gorillaz feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack (off Plastic Beach, out 3/9/2010)
12. “No Hassle” – Robyn feat. Diplo (off unknown)
We started as a three friends having conversations about music during lunches together at the office. Since then we have expanded to seven members, including a Chi-town native, and the conversations have gotten bigger and better. The Round Table has grown into a casual setting where music aficionados can gather to discuss all things music. Topics include (but not limited to) artists and bands, new music releases, concerts, recording industry news and concerns, and the occasional nugget of entertainment gossip. We have tastes that cover the entire music spectrum and love to share them (and our opinions) with each other. We are The Round Table! Come join the conversation!
Known for being something of a music engineering pioneer, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne recently gave a talk at TED regarding how architecture helped music evolve. He obviously knows a lot about the subject, both historically and experimentally, as his 2008 “Playing the Building” project suggests. I never got a chance to visit the installation in NYC (something I still kick myself for every now and then), and this video only makes me wish I had.
