Hocus Pocus by Focus
This is probably in my top 3 favorite progressive rock songs and is definitely one of the coolest pieces of music I've ever heard. It seems like they just don't make music with this kind of ENERGY anymore. Or maybe the drugs were really just that good
( Read more... )
Click to view
Implementing BOTH konnokol (Indian vocal percussion; pronounced a 'conical'), yodeling, AND prog! What a cocktail, eh?
Anytime I've let people listen to THAT particular song, they've brushed it off as a preposterous novelty. Fuck those guys LOL. I'd even be down for some embellishment with Tuvan throat singing at this point. LOL. (I did here one live album with Victor Wooten and several accompanists lately with one core accompanist being some professional Tuvan throat singer I'd never heard of. That was pretty interesting. When cultural fusions take place and they actually merge WELL and complement one another, it can outstanding.)
I'm not going to claim I'm a HUGE Focus fan or anythin', but everything I've heard so far by Focus, I've enjoyed quite a bit, I must say! They seem to be VERY consistent in their material too. I listened to a few songs by Henry Cow around the time I first her Sylvia / Mother Focus. I had a lot of high hopes from Henry Cow based on some tracks off Leg End, but when I exposed myself to more of their repertoire . . . I was disappointed. But Focus? Consistent.
-- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - --
Reply
-- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - --
Also, these guys are definitely worth checking out at least once
Pre-1969 -- fairly obscure even then -- t'was their only LP ever to be released, but hey, it's good stuff. Cuttin' edge for its day.
Noah Presents Brain Suck:
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/08/can-i-tell-you.html
(I'd recommend starting with The Other Side Medly)
Reply
Reply
Whenever I independently come upon some noteworthy band or song, bringing it up to Mike is pretty pointless unless the band/musician didn't even begin performing 'til the early 90's or afterward, (i.e. Todd Snider).
I almost always get a "been there, done that, heard 'em, who cares" reaction. LOL. "Never thought much of Henry Cow."
Well, I take that back. There's one case of someone active between early 50's late 60's he'd never heard of & seemed intrigued by. Louis Thomas Hardin (A.K.A. Moondog). He was a vagrant who played on the streets of New York city, was blind, and dressed himself as a viking (that sort of introductory description probably wouldn't make anyone want to hear anyway of this guy's work LOL).
Mike is now convinced John Lennon got the idea of "Johnny and The Moondogs" (consisting of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Hanton, & Lowe -- pre "Beatles" -- when they were still kickin' it in Hamburg) from Louis Thomas Hardin because at one point in time, both happened to release a track entitled "Two Minutes of Silence". Not that original of an idea. Pure coincidence.
When I asked how would John have even KNOWN about a street musician in NY when he came up w/ the "Johnny and the Moondogs" thing, Mike says Yoko probably told him LOL. Don't think there's any connection. The band comprised of John Lennon & Lowe, George, & Colin adopted that name in '59. Lennon and Yoko didn't meet 'til '66.
God damn I've clearly spent way too much time over here with this guy.
OK, a little Moondog just 'cause I brought him up:
http://www.mushrumps.com/mp3s/Moondog%20-%20Down%20Is%20Up.mp3 <--liked the use of counterpoint here, anyway.
Apologies for my anonymity. Was thinkin' bout makin' new LJ account (deleted old one in '07). Looked to see if people were even still active. Looks like several people in my microcosm of associates still do.
Reply
I was thinking the poster was either you or him... similar writing styles it appears. I have only started using LJ again very recently, shortly after New Year's I believe. I stumbled back one day and found recent entries on my friends page (gasp!) so I've mildly stuck around.
The clip you linked was interesting... I'd like to hear more but the track was only a minute long. XD
"Two Minutes of Silence" made me think of some composition by (artist's name) titled something like 4:54 or some amount of time like that. It was basically the guy sitting at a piano doing nothing, and the sounds on the track come from the rustling and other ambient sounds you'd hear when a full auditorium/concert hall/etc. was "quiet". Do you know the piece I'm talking about?
Reply
Leave a comment