Anywho, these guys are more than satirists, but pretty savvy musicians. It takes a creative mind to come up with compositions, then they splice-slice-dice live non-musical footage into the compositions. The rhythms need to be kept to some extent so the speech can still be understood, but there are snips and repetitions so it slides right into the musical groove. It also allows satiric emphasis- you hear what the creators want you to hear again and again. The visual element gets spiced up by having the creators green-screen themselves to provide musical/satiric foils to the actual news bits. The music makes it memorable and catchy, but the real point is the political satire.

While a lot of the messages are liberal in nature, the musical style is pretty standard pop music. The heavy electronics, the ubiquitous auto-tune, and the ostinato and repetitions are very “pop”. I think the music genre lends a topical aura to the source material: that which is literally topical. While it definitely makes a splash today, the musical workmanship in the future will probably only be admired for its innovation, rather than as a work of art. You don’t go listen to old episodes of Auto Tune the News because the news is out of date, therefore the video is out of date. Topical becomes stale, stale becomes history, history becomes retro, and retro churns out hipsters and thrift stores, and who really likes thrift stores? Really? You just want to admire old things for being old. “These dresses are so silly! Let’s go get a bubble tea.”

Out of date isn’t necessarily bad. Some choice phrases (“Very thin ice,” “Hide yo kids, hide yo wife”) make the music a little catchy, but you sing that on the streets and people will give you the crazy eye. [aside: I may have turned the auto-tune remix of the double rainbow clip above into my ringtone. Listen to the end, and you'll see the whole troupe doing a live version. ] But still, there used to be lots of classical compositions that “quoted” other popular composers in their works…and nobody knows who those quoting composers are. They were topical. Now they’re forgotten (mostly).

Old clips of the Daily Show? Entertaining only because of the gags, not the news. There’s a huge difference between John Stewart making an impeachment joke about Clinton when Clinton is in office versus out of office for 8 years. It’s old. Yeah. Get with the times.

What I think is fascinating is how the lyrical vocal line is accentuated by the latin rhythms and the light backups. Oh yeah, the faux-trumpet break is pretty sweet and serves as the homerun gimmick, but the reason why Nota won was not because of nailing gimmick after gimmick (which they did, btw), but the musical choices that set up those homeruns. Each one of their performances features some ethnic flavor that makes each one stand out, but the underlying musicality is why they walked off as champs.

To use a cake metaphor…they had really good cake. Yeah, the frosting and decorations made Nota distinctive and gave them that necessary push to top the Bubs and Voices of Lee, but they developed something good and did it right, then added the buttercream to eke out the top slot.

Listen closely to the arrangement and see how the ensemble works: you can easily hear the soloist, the backup hits are light, there is smart use of silence and noise, and the percussion sets up a groove and establishes a mood without overshadowing the solo. The interplay between the singers links the musical phrases (watch how one hits the splash cymbals on the VP) and the choreography has direction: “We are here. We are now moving here. We are spreading out…to do something wicked cool. We come back together.” The choreography underlines the music, rather than the other way around.

A take-away from their arrangement is the use of sustained bass notes. When the bass activates and starts jumping around, there’s a rise in the energy level, but when it’s sustained it sets up a smooth groove. Also, the root of the chord provides a strong tension with the vocal line, which sits on the dissonant 4th and 2nd scale degree a lot. Milking that tension makes it delicious when it resolves…down (b’dum, crash).

And yeah, the trumpet break is pretty ballers too.

Stayed tuned in the coming months for a lot of activity on this site. We’re gearing up for a new school year and there will be plenty of thunking happening. In the meantime, enjoy this incredible stop motion video someone forwarded me. Notice especially the absolutely stellar image quality that is a result of using a still camera and not a video camera to take the photos, then editing it into a movie. I can’t imagine all the work involved!

As it is late in the evening, here is a thing that always gets me. It’s a simplicity of line and the stuff of a good performance. I have heard that in his day Satie wasn’t taken very seriously, or thought of as a composer of trifles. I think the melody speaks for itself. 

I like this audio, don’t know about the video though. Interestingly, at least for me, rearrangements of this melody for other instruments simply lose the feel. It’s such a wide open, resonant texture…

I wonder what tunes TC would write. Probably the sequel to "I'm On A Boat," titled "I'm On a Plane."

A little while back, Public Radio did an excellent series of programs on American Music, called “American Mavericks.” Fortunately for us, you can read and listen to the great stuff online, even if you missed the radio broadcast (as many of you probably did).

Ironically enough, many of these programs were used in my American Music History class. Now I’m actually doing the readings…

If this video is as advertised, it’s fascinating to listen to.  It’s got schmaltz dripping from it in ways that many would find truly cringe-worthy, especially given the way that people tend to hear this work played today.

Just how serious a work is this to be considered?  Almost a symphonic composition, almost a piano concerto, almost a jazz work.  But a fantastic part of the American canon nonetheless.

Here’s the original rant, which was followed by a techno remix, R&B/Club remix, and my personal favorite, a Newsies trailer re-release.

Oh, how technology and cheap beat machines have revolutionized the political cartoon.

Always listening for new things

There was a whole phase in contemporary music when quoting famous pieces was in vogue. The art of “mashup” is when your material is, essentially, other people’s stuff (plug for Girl Talk; I never danced harder at a concert). Brahms is said to have sketched his first symphony on a Beethoven symphony framework…was it number 5, or 9?

Anywho, if you’re looking for a great place to get a plethora of different a cappella tunes, check out A Cappella U. The host, Joey C, has been doing it for several years now, and he gives all sorts of styles and versions that provide juicy material for an arranger. You can download the free podcast here, or you can sign up and pay for 2 bucks an episode to get the full tracks.