Friday, March 23, 2007

still toasty from a 10 am to 7 am work burst on the doc score. im still bored of me and my opinions but i did find a cool fifteen minute talk given by michael shermer, the leader of the skeptic society, i thought i would share. what will be of particular interest to you music folk is near the end he does an interesting demo about our perceptions of rock music being played backwards and our ability to hear hidden messages. this was a big deal, when i was a kid, with all the 'rock is the devils music' types. of course his talk has good information as well but if you dont normally consider yourself the dweeby thoughtful type, it is entertaining and its only fifteen minutes long. Check it.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

eric- i myself have always wondered about playing music backwards. i few years ago, i looked at a led zeppelin fan website. they had sound clips and if stairway to heaven is played backwards, it says "here's to my sweet satan". no joke. it's really cool how that shit works.

well anyways, about the palladium shows, 4 tracks on kettle whistle were recorded there on 12-19-90. i really love how you guys sounded live. do you think if you ever really became frends w/ perry again there would be a JA reunion? that would be fucking awesome.

i also wanted to ask you about polarbear's 1st ep. is there anyway i could get it sense it's outta print? im sure it wont be at the local record store. i have W.S.I.O.N. and now i just need to have the 1st ep to make my pbr collection complete. cant fucking wait for the solo album!
thank you eric.
ALEC

Dani Tull said...

ah, I could listen to backward drums all day long.
fyi,
There’s a wickedly poignant documentary called Dream Deceivers that explores the influence of Heavy Metals subliminal messaging through the use of backward recordings, in this case it’s Judas Priest that are on trial for the double suicide (attempt) of two Reno Nevada teens (1985).
Metal fan or not, it’s makes compelling social anthropology…
It’s up on google,
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5636910946432086857

Also, a question for Eric or anyone else, I too am in the thick of composing a film score, it’s for a film by artist Jim Shaw, it’s part period Zombie film meets New Age/Busby Berkley thing, anyway, the score is very much in the vein of Bartok (with a theramin), I am working from a small digital library of Orchestral instruments and must purchase a wider range of a more authentic sounding software.
I’m looking at “EastWest Symphonic Orchestra”. Advice ? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Eric:

I saw your earlier post about David Bowie. I don't know if you've seen this but it is an amazing clip of Bowie's cameo on Ricky Gervais' BBC show Extras. His Pug Nose song is incredible, he should release it as a single.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4NRtyXMXwcs

Chris Cassidy said...

still toasty from a 10 am to 7 am...wow, you have sessions that long? holy moly. i'm jealous. gonna listen and respond soon.

matt volpe said...

EA,
Wow, that Skeptics guy was on fire, very witty and "Stairway to Heaven" played backwards was a really wild...I guess its up to the viewer to determine whether Zeppelin intended that or we as humans are always looking for something that's not really there and basically molding what we absorb to be customized to what we want to hear. Fascinating example of that if so.And if you play the JAWS theme backwards, you may even hear it ever so slightly, matt volpe, matt volpe. Hee hee...

Glad to hear your sessions for the doc scoring are going well, hope to hear it one day. That's wild that you went almost 24 hours there...If I ever went that long in my little recording room here at the house my wife would call 911. Seriously though, it sounds like it'll be a very creative score. Great dedication.

I'm glad to hear you cleaned up Brahms. Would you know if it is an Amercian Fender P Bass or Japanese or Korean? Did you record play live primarily with this in Jane's? Did you switch to Fender Jazz bass in PB and Alanis? Sorry for so many questions... I play a G&L 2000 with zillion shark stickers all over it.

With regards to Dani's question--the only loop software I know is Mac's Garageband--I believe they may have a jam pack (that's what their loops are called) that is similar to that style of sypmhony you are looking for.The thing is I do not know whether you can use these jam packs in logic or pro tools.

David--that extra video with Bowie was HYSTERICAL!!! I laughed my little butt off so loud I just woke my kid...whoops...

Anyways, keep pluggin' along Eric and write again soon..all the best amigo, Matt

Anonymous said...

Yea that stairway to heavens backwards i think was deliberate, i played the song backwards using audacity this free song program i use to record my demos and experiment with stuff etc. And it is the heres to my sweet satan is all thei. I also recorded the live version of teh song, cropped out that part of the sung with the bussle in the hedgrow, and its even more clear. Which i find kinda cool. I think that stairway to heaven is better backwards the forwards, i mean its a beautifully crafted piece of music, and backwards its really cool the guitar riff. Interesting video too i like it. But now for my deconstruction, polar bear question. I WANT THE Cd's of both but since amazon dont give you any monehs, is there any other way?

Anonymous said...

I know that this won't help Eric monetarily, but to those interested in getting a copy of the POLARBEAR EP on the cheap, I got a new (factory sealed!) copy from the seller "Surplusrecords" on the website musicstack.com a few weeks back for $6.28 US, web address to follow:

http://www.musicstack.com/item/727378/polar+bear/polar+bear+ep

Great EP, but even better is the mint (stated to have never been played) copy of POLARBEAR's ice-blue vinyl I got off Ebay around the same time I got the EP. The seller was "Waif", and the guy seems to have pretty much everything from Man's Ruin Records up for auction or "buy it now".

I love both the EP and vinyl. The EP is awesome for short car rides (I should really pay more attention to the road), and I've been totally meditating to the vinyl in the evening lately.

Eric, in a music industry where musicianship and creativity are slowly being killed by flavour-of-the-weak American Idol losers, thank you for making music that doesn't suck.

Fred said...

Hey! listen to this: "yreva cire", don't know what it means, i mght call the censors? anyway, i'm a huge fan of your bass playing since the Jane's days; and god, the Deconstruction album is AWESOME, great lines, ideas and textures! your playing is very rythmic and melodic at the same time! respect! Fred.

Anonymous said...

Some say the arrow of time is backwards. Thus we the idea that if a question is posed, the student already knows the answer. You can only be reminded of what you already know. Backward speech is not the work of the Devil. The Devil is a concept created by x-ians in order to displace their own shadow. The Right Hemisphere of the brain can help one figure out the encoded nature of our life. Everything is encoded. The puzzle box of life...

Brian Smith McCallum said...

EA,

Unfortunately can't access Shermer content @ work. Network admin prohibits downloads and software upgrades. Kind of paradoxical given that I work in "information environment". In any case, will slurp it up @ home on desktop or laptop. Curious to know if you've read any Sam Harris - - End of Faith and Letters to a Christian Nation? If so, any feedback?

-ea. said...

alec- hard to say. if perry and i were friends would that affect the idea of a reunion? mmmmaybe. thats a big maybe. there are many reasons that all interweave and overlap why i have continually said no over the years. but that said, i have made many musical decisions for many personal reasons that had nothing to do with the quality of the music or musical circumstance.

ep. when you find one let me know. i dont have one either.

-ea. said...

dani- hi dani and hello to yvonne bas tull. i have seen the doc you mentioned. really affecting. poignant as you say.

youve probably got this sussed by now but i asked the composer on the doc im doing about what sound library he was using for the temporary cues he was playing us (his cues are actually being recorded by a live symphony). he said east west. they sounded good. i have been using miroslav in reason. hate it. the best orchestral sounds i have are akai samples i got from biff a while back. tough to work with though because i dont have an akai sampler so the interface is a bit of a clusterfuck.

-ea. said...

david- i did see that clip. saw it on the show actually. im a fan of the show and of gervais' podcast. good stuff.

-ea. said...

chris- i went that long because i was given a deadline of sorts. as it turned out, i kept myself up and disrupted my wifes sleep by making noise all night in the house for nothing. but it is also sort of fun to work that way occasionally.

-ea. said...

matt volpe- brahms was the bass that my folks bought me for christmas when i was seventeen. only bass i ever played live until pbr. did some recording with in janes but tried some other basses too. i didnt like playing anything else. just brahms. that is actually why i decided to stop playing it in pbr. wanted a psychic/spiritual break from my past. meant alot to me personally to do that little rite of passage.

Chris Cassidy said...

kudos eric, i am in a routine of late/long nights working on my films and such while the wife gets her beauty sleep. headphones, final cut pro and snack or two and i'm set. i get the best stuff done during the wee hours.

matt volpe said...

Hey EA, That sounds like a good move to use another instrument when starting a new chapter like you did. I'm glad to hear it was a refreshing change to do so. That's funny, my parents got me my first bass on Christmas too when I was 19. A yamaha bb200, bright red, loved that bass. unfortunately lost it as I forgot it in a NYC cab after new years show at cbgb's in '95. I was so distraught over that. But I've since been using G&L and music man and a '75 p bass, all great tools for the trade! Anyways, take care and talk soon, Matt

Dani Tull said...

hey eric, i'll pass on the "hello" to yvonne, i'm sure she'll appreciate it.
and thanks for the info about symphonic files. in response to my question, i did recieve a few emails
that all endorsed eastwest.
budget and talent permitting i'll replace with live performances too.
also, if you're ever in need of a recording studio for mastering or whatever, check out http://www.catasonic.com/
we've used them for a few projects , it's as great place to work !
i'm looking forward to your record. best, dani

Anonymous said...

Jane's was such an iconoclasic band....brahms was obviously personal to you, but it was nevertheless a signifyer to those watching. Really interesting incongruity.

Be well,

SR

-ea. said...

spencerblake and fred- thanks.

-ea. said...

george d- i appreciate the thought but dont worry about the money for the music. i would say that if you want it, just like sex, you should get it any way you can.

-ea. said...

michael- thanks for the link. anabelle and i recently framed one of those blue vinyl mans ruin records. frank does such cool looking stuff. i also have a framed kozic polarbear poster he did for a show we played up in sf very early on.

-ea. said...

chris c. brian- i havent actually read a word of either book but i sort of followed harris through the mediasphere on both book tours. listening to him in debate and on radio shows etc. smart guy. how did his books read?

-ea. said...

chris- i can relate to appreciating the special space of the wee hours. unfortunately i have an addiction to surfing in the morning and i have a wife i enjoy seeing so i find it tough to combine all three. i think i read, years ago,somewhere that the author jerzy kosinski broke his 'nights' up into two little blocks. sleeping for four hours during the day and four at night. always thought that seemed like the way to do it. sleep from 10pm-2am and from 11am-3pm.

Anonymous said...

Eric,

i was wondering if your gonna tour for your solo album, ive got the chance to see you guys live back in 1990 in Montréal Canada. At that time it was called the show of the year!

The reason im writing to you Eric, its because i wanna make sure that ''if you tour'' you will include Montreal on your tour dates.

You are one of my favorite artist, and definately my favorite one when i was a teen. Keep it up

Martin Simard

Anonymous said...

Eric,

Regarding the use of your music without your consent that I spoke about a little while back...it's happened again. This time I have the info for you to look into it.

History Channel
"Decoding The Past"
Episode: Vampire's Secrets

They used literally about 5 seconds of Gimmee, where the organ-loop gives way to that little drum roll. It occurred about 69 minutes into the two-hour show, that's including commercials. So a bit over halfway through. Apparently they thought no one would notice it...

It was eerily similar to the last time this happened, the TV was on for background noise as I was on my laptop and I nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard it (OK I admit I actually did jump out of my seat). This is actually a DIFFERENT episode than the first one I previously mentioned (which I still believe was about witches) - and still can't remember the exact name of - and this one had a production date of 2007 according to the DirecTV guide (the other was 2006), so this is a recurring thing for them, using your music.

Feel free to have Andy Troy contact me at swervie@gmail.com if he should require any more info/have any further questions.

Anonymous said...

Hi EA
I was just painting and listening to Why Something and I started to read the lyrics and I noticed their is no date on the CD, Was that a conscious decision to help keep the album timeless or just something overlooked?
Hope your morning surf was good.
rp

Anonymous said...

Eric you really a very cool guy, and when i get my credit card in oh.. about 1 1/2 months i told myself a long time ago one of the first and probably only things im gonna do is by decon and polar bear for my rapidly growing collection of music/reference/inspiration/enjoyment. Im just listening to the stuff off of myspace right now and its really great.

But ive been doing that for the past 6 months, oh well. Gotta wait on visa's.

DroneCareers.com said...

Eric, funny, I thought the "backwards kills" movement was shit cooked up by the religious right to grab market share. Tommi and Ozzy were messing around in the control room adding some "mystery" in the mix . Its funny how it blew up from what appears to be a silly little joke to make Vince Neil look like a devil god.

I have to say Lolapzza 1 in Cleveland was probably my last concert even though I have seen many since. It was completely insane with killer performances and a lot of fun. Rollins and Siouxsie were bad ass as usual. Living Colour, damn I miss those guys. But I have to say please forgive my hometown for acting like such animals. Did Perry and Trent end up injured that day? I remember Body Count actually running security on the stage while you guys tried to play your set. And people started throwing stuff...we were so pissed at that idiots and it was such a different vibe from the other cleveland area shows you played in the past. Anyhow, for my friends and I it was one of the best days of our lives but we didnt want to see anyone get hurt. None of these current festivals can compare to what was happening then.

Brian Smith McCallum said...

EA,

Re: Sam Harris' writings . . . Lettes to a Christian Nation is a veritable treatise, tract, manifesto. It is elegant, erudite, and lucid. Quick read, too. Would recommend an Amazon purchase or library checkout of it.

healtopalm said...

This is totally off topic but am wondering, are you taking any classes this term?

I am following up last term's Biology with Economics. In my mind, the two subjects couldn't be more different.

I am struggling because the basis of economics just seems so wrong on so many levels. But I have to say that I have a new understanding of the state our country and how and why some of this country's most important decisions are made.

I have to say that I am glad that I am taking the class now that I am older. I don't think it would have been as meaningful to my 20 year old self.