freezepop

A week ago as I was huddled in Chicago trying to warm up from the sub-zero temps, I received a text from my sister:

//

#06: Read Text
From: Hannah
>Have u heard the band freezepop<
CB#: Hannah
4:22P Mon Jan21

#05: Sent
To: Hannah
>No what do they soúnd like?<
CB#: Phone
4:52P Mon Jan21

#05: Read Text
From: Hannah
>Good electroclash similar 2 ladytron but more upbeat<
CB#: Hannah
4:54 Mon Jan21

//

I suppose a fitting way to find out about the group.

I later discovered that my sister heard them through my dad who was broadcasting their music on his phone (one of those all-in-one phone-camera-mp3 player-pda gadgets). Yeah, a bit odd for a 57 year old man, I know…

With track titles such as : :

* ninja of love
* i am not your gameboy
* less talk more rokk

their cheesy quality was kind of expected….sort of like an actual freezepop. Sweet, sticky, bright colors ……not as classy as an ice-cream cone or even an ice-cone & while there are a variety of colours it doesn’t really matter a whole lot which you chose. But refreshing fun fun fun nonetheless. I’m sure, though, that if I listen too much I may get a brain freeze (seriously)

Anyway …. Their songs have been featured in several video games –including :Guitar Hero, Karaoke Revolution and Dance Dance Revolution. Apparently they have quite the following from gamers out there. Here is a video by one of those who mastered Guitar Hero.

yep. freezepop get bonus points for making gamer-kids physically active.

loquat

lo·quat (lō'kwŏt', -kwāt')
n.

1. A small evergreen tree (Eriobotrya japonica) native to China and Japan, having fragrant white flowers and pear-shaped yellow fruit with large seeds.
2. The edible fruit of this plant.

(American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed., 2006)



No, this is not a dendrology lesson- rather- it is a discussion of the San Franciscan band taking their name from this tree/fruit. I'm not exactly sure how or when I first heard of them; however, this past autumn/early winter (coincidentally the same time flowers appear on the tree) as I was living and working within Mesa Verde National Park, I was revisiting some of the music I already possessed & came across Loquat's EP Before the Momentum. Their music popped out with their catchy yet sentimental pop-hooks.

Notable tracks include:

Half-Assed Mechanic
Swingset Chain
There is a Light That Never Goes Out (cover of The Smiths)

Their sound seems to fit their name. Sugary melodies of Kylee Swenson's vocals are accompanied with a blend of acoustic and electronic support. Their tunes have a slight melancholy yet upbeat mood -- sort of like a daydream/nostalgia of childhood. They have an aura in several songs that make me feel they've been in a soundtrack to a film along the vein of Garden State.....perhaps there is a slight resemblance to Frou Frou or Massive Attack (which would explain the cinematic mood)-- but with a less spacey/ambient vibe... ? ...

Anyway, they are putting out a new album here in 2008 - " The Secret of the Sea." Harder Hit, one of the songs they're using to promote it has a stronger electronic tinge & has me hooked.

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Klaus Nomi

Well, to go along with interesting characters - I thought I'd recognize a 'new find' -- Klaus Nomi.
I'm not sure how I'd never heard of him before. . . . While Nomi somewhat resembles Peewee Herman caught in Fritz Lang's Metropolis, he is an innovative artist with significant gusto from the 80's who may best be described as a 'new wave opera singer' --Like W. Carlos, Nomi blended musical styles - fusing opera & baroque with the 80's rock/synth style & vibe of the time. Sadly Nomi's musical career was short-lived, ending in 1983 with his death stemming from AIDS.

the begining of my demise: an exordium

I never thought it would come to this. . .

My rambling words potentially diffused throughout the world.

My primary intention for this blog is to provide a record of what I'm listening to and how it transforms with the wind of time. While I could (& possibly should) have simply created a Word document & said fin, my egocentric urges prevailed with the assumption that 'you', whomever you may be, is interested.




The artist of the day is "Walter/Wendy Carlos"

A fitting choice for the beginning, since I've listened to Carlos since I was a kid. Switched-On Bach (1968) was one of the few records that my Dad held on to from his college days. The record was monumental for electronic music, popularizing synthesizers (at the time the Moog) & coincidentally also bringing classical music to the masses, being the first classical album to hit platinum. Carlos went on to create several other classical 'moogs' : such as Switched-On Bach II, The Well-Tempered Synthesizer, and notably the soundtrack for Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange before having a sex-change in 1972 (hence the 2 names). Switched-On Brandenburgs (Wendy Carlos' debut) followed along with soundtrack work for The Shining and Disney's Tron.

While Wendy still is involved with the science of synthesizers, she has moved her focus to other art forms, becoming a renowned photographer of solar eclipses & drawing kittens.


Regardless of the sci-fi / geek tendencies throughout Carlos' life - Walter/Wendy pioneered into the abyss of the unknown, providing the base work for musicians to come - proving the ability to tie classical ideas with the modern world & igniting the beat of the electronic music movement.