From Et Pharmacistic Paradoxia Sent Thu, Jul 2nd 1998, 05:32
From Et Pharmacistic Paradoxia Sent Thu, Jul 2nd 1998, 05:32
On Wed, 1 Jul 1998, albatross wrote:
> "strings of life" is the original song, the classic that people are
> talking about when they mention the song. "strings of the strings of
> life" is an extended take on the song that leaves out most of the
> percussion. i actually listen to it more than the original.
>
>
> an interesting and related side-note: there's an interview with derrick
> where he talks about how he writes the whole track without drums and
> just adds them for effect later. that may explain why his music is funky
> as shit and a lot of idm is the un-funkiest music ever: he concentrates
> on _rhythm_ (aka groove, aka "the funk") first.
Yeah, funny I just listenned to this this morning and sat down to my drums
to play along. It appears to be designed completely around a 4OTF bass
drum and then it just isn't there in the mix. I was listenning to the
version that has like 3 bass drum hits about 85% thru the track.
spine-tingling! also, the piano part is quietest where the bass drum
would hit, well, there is only a quiet, low piano note there, whereas it
has a syncopated piano chord prog on the remaining 7 8th notes. This
makes a definite "hole" which is never filled through the whole buildup of
the melody, but, man sitting on a drum set you know what to do! THUMP!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! 1, 2, 3, 4...
I would guess that he was trying to do something funky on the piano (there
are a lot of background bleepy bits that come and go, plus one string line
that swells and end very abruptly and repeats) and then he finally
removed the obivous bass drum so that the piano and strings could take
an lead role as percussion. It makes for a very positive groove!
What makes this song so great to me is the "missing" 4OTF bass drum that
insinuates the dance pulse, and is held back like the final chord of a
blues jam. I've heard it said that what makes the blues jam keep you ears
hanging on so long is that hinting at the last satisfying element of the
chord progression but never quite giving over to it. I've felt this with
Albert King, Willie dixon and some Leadbelly. I think "Strings of Life"
totally pulls those, uh, same, uh ..strings (oops, pun accidental i
swear!)
Well, the Strings of Life track does this chord prog like 1,2,3,3,3,3,3,3.
That just leaves me wanting that 4th chord in the circle.... but it never
arrives... so tantalizing!
solenoid
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