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subego · Apr 28, 2012, 04:32 AM

bird's lament MOONDOG video by helenechaudeau - Photobucket

No idea why this one has really grabbed me by the balls, but I'm going to pass it around anyway.

I'm also very bad at knowing which instrument is which, so if you're the type who knows instantly, I'd dig a listing of what's in the arrangement.

Sorry for the hissy recording. That was the best I could find. Most of them were a recording of a different (live?) version.

chabig · Apr 28, 2012, 05:12 AM

Those are saxophones.

subego · Apr 28, 2012, 05:18 AM

Everything?

subego · Apr 28, 2012, 06:37 AM

And as evidence at how much I suck at this, I guessed oboe or something.

I was hoping I was at least in the right family. Sheesh.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 28, 2012, 06:56 AM

Close. Sound generation is very similar.

Except oboes have double reeds and sound harsh and terrible.*

Saxophones and clarinets have a single reed, which is why they sound softer and more fluid.

*) There's the old joke:
What does an oboe sound like, played forte (loudly)? PFEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHPPPP!
What does an oboe sound like, played piano (softly)? pffpfpfffffffffPFEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHPPPP!

ghporter · Apr 28, 2012, 09:49 AM

Very nice music, thanks for pointing it out.

Sax sounds "brassy," with a single reed and a particular shape to the mouthpiece (different from clarinet, so even brass or silver clarinets sound like clarinets, and wooden (there are a few) saxes sound like saxes). Oboe sounds warmer, more like a clarinet in tone, but Spheric is right-it's can sound really harsh in isolation. Or not... Listen here

Waragainstsleep · Apr 28, 2012, 10:39 AM

Mr Scruff - Get a Move On - YouTube

abby · Apr 28, 2012, 11:44 AM

such a nice beat! relaxing!

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep

Mr Scruff - Get a Move On - YouTube

ohh! thanks for sharing this! i like this type of music. somehow relaxing but with a twist

subego · Apr 28, 2012, 03:50 PM

Much good clarification and expansion.

Thanks all!

subego · Apr 28, 2012, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep

Mr Scruff - Get a Move On - YouTube

Which did you hear first?

Waragainstsleep · Apr 28, 2012, 06:19 PM

I used to listen to Mr. Scruff when I was back at Uni in the early 2000s. Rather my girlfriend did but I didn't mind.
I saw him live a few years ago too.

I can't say I never heard your version before but when I clicked the link I recognised it and figured I'd share.

subego · Apr 28, 2012, 08:55 PM

Which is most appreciated.

I'm curious, does the original sound "not right" to you because of having listened to the remix (I imagine) a fair amount of times? I mean, they're obviously at different speeds, but beyond that.

besson3c · Apr 29, 2012, 12:37 AM

Subego, FYI, "Bird" was the nickname of one of the most famous saxophonists that ever lived, Charlie Parker. Good sax choir stuff, thanks for sharing!

Waragainstsleep · Apr 29, 2012, 05:44 AM

I wouldn't say it sounded wrong. I listened to your link and it struck me as familiar. I thought about it for a moment and realised it was a Mr. Scruff track so I had a rummage through his catalogue on the iTMS to work out which track it was and then hunted down a youtube link for you guys.

abbaZaba · Apr 29, 2012, 11:19 AM

having heard and loved the Mr. Scruff track before I heard Bird's Lament today, I'll admit I like Moondog's best. slower tempo adds more emphasis for me

subego · Apr 29, 2012, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Subego, FYI, "Bird" was the nickname of one of the most famous saxophonists that ever lived, Charlie Parker. Good sax choir stuff, thanks for sharing!

I thought it was a Clint Eastwood movie.

Seriously though, once chabig said sax I put it together.

subego · Apr 29, 2012, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep

I wouldn't say it sounded wrong. I listened to your link and it struck me as familiar. I thought about it for a moment and realised it was a Mr. Scruff track so I had a rummage through his catalogue on the iTMS to work out which track it was and then hunted down a youtube link for you guys.

Do you have a preference?

I'm not necessarily going somewhere with this, I'm just interested if people like remixes vs. originals plotted against which they've heard first.

For me, I almost always like the original more. It's creepy. Doesn't matter which I listen to first, doesn't matter if it's a piece which is supposed to be remixed (like say, a spare Lady GaGa track).

Edit: I don't want the above to make it sound like I have damp enthusiasm for Mr. Scruff, he's obviously going in a direction I like, and new music is something I treasure, so thanks for that.

Waragainstsleep · Apr 29, 2012, 07:29 PM

Remixes are seldom an improvement but there are the odd exceptions. A friend of mine once put that vocals only Alanis Morisette track (I think it was on the end of Jagged LIttle Pill) to music and I heard his version first and thereafter the original sounds a bit wrong to me.

I think these two bits of music are too difference for me to compare that way. Each has a time and a place they'd sound better and I can't think of a suitable time and/or place where you'd actually struggle to pick between them.

besson3c · Apr 29, 2012, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by subego

I thought it was a Clint Eastwood movie.

Seriously though, once chabig said sax I put it together.

It was also a Clint Eastwood movie. The Clint Eastwood movie was about Charlie Parker, and called "Bird" because this was his nickname.

besson3c · Apr 29, 2012, 07:46 PM

I don't think remixes are supposed to be an improvement. To me, remixes are sort of like making scrap book collages of things where the end result is making something new by mashing up existing things.

This premise is a big part of what so-called "New Media" is all about. As far as this aspect of new media is concerned, it relies on old media for material, and is difficult to compare.

subego · Apr 29, 2012, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep

I think these two bits of music are too difference for me to compare that way. Each has a time and a place they'd sound better and I can't think of a suitable time and/or place where you'd actually struggle to pick between them.

This is a really excellent point.

One of the reasons I'm interested in this phenomenon is because of songs where only the remixes have gotten airplay. I end up tracking down both the remix and then the original song, only to find the original far superior in my mind.

In my head this was some cigar chomping executive with no taste in music keeping these cuts off the radio, but now you've pointed it out and I've thought about it, the original cuts just wouldn't be a "good fit" on the stations where I heard the remixes.

The two tracks which come immediately to mind are "6 Underground" by the Sneaker Pimps and "Paper Doll" by Kittie. You could have gotten away with the first on a more indie AOR station, but the second would only fly on a college station. It's not like either of them are way out there either, they're just... spare.

So, it is a cigar chomping executive, only he has taste in music, but he deserves to die in a fire along with his terrestrial radio demon spawn.

Waragainstsleep · Apr 30, 2012, 06:58 AM

I love the Sneaker Pimps first album. Shame they lost their singer.

Yes, radio in this day and age is a dreadful way to listen to music. Its mostly in the pocket of the record companies, even the BBC who basically have the power to make a track win or lose in the UK seem to be their slaves instead of the other way around as it ought to be.