John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1946 - 48)

The prepared piano is a piano which has had objects placed between or on the strings, or on the hammers or dampers. "Preparing" the piano in this way alters the instrument's timbre, creating a whole new range of sounds. No musician is more associated with the prepared piano than John Cage, who used it extensively and popularized it.

Sonatas and Interludes is probably his most accessible and popular work. It was inspired by Cage's study of Indian philosophy, and the composition is partly a pursuit of the Hindu ideal of tranquility. The preparation of the piano involved placing nuts, bolts and pieces of rubber in between and wrapped around the strings. For the most part, the sounds created are either sonorous bell tones or more percussive than a usual piano (though not in this piece, Cage attempted to recreate an entire percussion ensemble using just a prepared piano).

These compositions have practically nothing in common with classical sonata form (his choice of that particular term seems completely arbitrary). Cage borrowed heavily from Eastern music, in particular traditional Indonesian gamelan (a heavily percussive ensemble). The main appeal of Sonatas and Interludes (for myself at least) is the rhythmic structuring. Cage's approach to rhythm is deeply mathematical, placing every note very specifically. Exactly what the patterns are is way, way beyond me. Still, while most listeners may not be able to understand why, one can't help feel the intensely ordered nature of the music. It's pretty cool.

John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

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Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)

A request by Mark. Timeless classic etc.

Also I'm pretty sure that this cover is responsible for my first encounter with breasts not belonging to my mother.

Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)

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Philip Glass - The Qatsi Trilogy (1983, 1988, 2002)

Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance, Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation and Naqoyqatsi: Life as War comprise a trilogy of films by director Godfrey Reggio. The films consist primarily of slow motion and time-lapse photography images of cities, landscapes, and people. There is no dialogue or narration. The three films explore the relationship between humanity, technology and nature. So far, I've only seen the Koyaanisqatsi, the first in the trilogy, and it was phenomenal.

A huge component of what makes these films so powerful is the music of minimalist composer Philip Glass. While preparing the first film, Reggio was determined to have Glass soundtrack it. However, when he approached the composer, he was immediately rebuffed. Glass alledgedly told him simply, "I don't do film music." Reggio persisted, and after several more refusals, he prepared a photo montage of of material from the film and put it to Glass' music. After watching it, Glass immediately agreed to produce the score.

The music is breathtaking. The films may contain no dialogue, but the Glass's compositions are expressive enough to create a narrative of their own. Koyaanisqatsi, in keeping with its chronological place in Glass's discography, is most similar to his earlier minimalist works. However, its symphonic grandeur keeps it from being overly esoteric. The music mirrors the movie's point: there's a clear contrast between the 'music of nature' and the 'music of technology.' As the film builds its chaotic atmosphere, the music follows as the tempo and dynamics pick up, and the looming calm of organs and strings give way to blaring horns and synthesizers.

Powaqqatsi kicks off in somewhat different fashion: chaos. The first track is a jumble of percussion behind the voices children's choir. Synthesizers are much more present than on Koyaanisqatsi, but they work seamlessly with the orchestra, and the overall feel is still one of symphonic majesty. Vocals, often children's, pop up here and there when you least expect it. Some of the tracks throw so many parts together that it sounds like a mad clutter, but Glass fits it all in just right.

In many ways, Naqoyqatsi seems almost a return to the style of the first soundtrack. For one thing, the same booming chants show up on the opener as on Koyaanisqatsi. However, there's also a much more naturalistic feel than on the second installment, perhaps as a counterpoint to this film's more advanced digital techniques. A chance meeting with Yo-Yo Ma resulted in Glass enlisting the legendary cellist's aid, and Ma's cello makes up the centerpiece of the soundtrack. All the pieces are thematically linked so seamlessly that the entire album possesses a sense unity absent from its predecessors.

Typical of Glass, all three albums contain significant elements of world music. A wide variety of instruments, ranging from a traditional orchestra to didjeridoos and the like, as well relatively subdued electronics. Like all good soundtracks should, these albums stand up as great works independent of the film. However, from my experience with Koyaanisqatsi, they are tremendously enhanced by the visual experience, and I highly recommend seeing any of these if you get the chance.

Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance (1983)

Philip Glass - Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation (1988)

Philip Glass - Naqoyqatsi: Life as War (2002)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (1959-1960)

A description by Thomas May:

"One of the ironies of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's career is the way in which his radical approach to music--once the epitome of the most esoteric avant-gardism--has been filtered into popular culture. The influence of this visionary pioneer of electronic music extended to the studio experiments of the Beatles (particularly in Sgt. Pepper's) and can still be heard in the sampling of today's techno records. The seminal Kontakte (1959/1960) introduced a brave new world of aural experience, replacing traditional music's linear flow of development with the concept of "Moment Form"--Stockhausen's catchphrase for concentrating on the validity of the "now," of each particular musical gesture independent of its larger context. He originally conceived of the work as purely electronic sounds, but this second version introduces two live players (a pianist and percussionist) interacting--in points of "contact"--with a prerecorded array of frequencies. On first impression, Kontakte may seem nothing more than a 35-minute babble of chaotic noises (though it is, paradoxically, planned to a very high level). Forget about the theory, forget about the once-utopian dreams of giving music the prestige of scientific objectivity, and just listen to the stream of electronic burps, squawks, whizzes, and--toward the conclusion--serene cloudlike mists as they metamorphose. It's a stunning soundscape and document of a particularly potent period of revolution in modern music. "

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (1959-1960)

Jamie Lidell - Multiply (2005)

Once upon a time, Jamie Lidell was a laptop-twiddling techno producer and one half of beat-blasting duo Supercollider. But he wanted to SING! So he did. Multiply is, at first listen, a blast from the past, an attempt to bring 70s disco and soulful Motown back to life. And Lidell's got the voice to do it too. He belts his tunes with as much soul as Otis, Marvin or Prince ever put out. The production might sound equally retro at first, which would make this album nothing more than a quality throwback, but it doesn't take too long to realize there's something distinctly modern going on here. Clearly, Lidell couldn't just totally ditch what he knew, and he throws in all kinds of glitchy beats and digital flourishes that'll suddenly remind you what decade you're in. He also does a whole bunch of crazy fooling with his vocals, beaboxing here and there or cutting up little bits of singing up and looping or layering them, making for an even more unusual background to his soulful singing.

Jamie Lidell - Multiply (2005)

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