The last time I wrote about beat frequencies and harmonies, it was in praise of the smooth consonance of Deep Dark Wood’s Sugar Mama. It’s a song with sweet pleasing harmony and one of my favourite soul soothers to turn to when I need a few moments of calm escape. Today I’m feeling all about the opposite: a Song of the Week in praise of dissonance! Continue reading “In praise of lo-fi dissonance with Eric’s Trip”
Category: Song of the Week
Neil Young and Sidney Wilson’s winning engineering fair project
Yes, I just served up a 15-minute Song of the Week. And I’m not sorry. An extended Neil Young guitar solo is totally worth it. It really starts to get good around the halfway mark. This thing of beauty, though, owes at least something to a largely unacknowledged pioneer: an electrical engineering student named Sidney Wilson. Continue reading “Neil Young and Sidney Wilson’s winning engineering fair project”
Walking with a Ghost: A Musical replication study
Last week, I got on the topic of replication studies. Dan Mangan’s new EP got me thinking about how our human desire to be pleasantly surprised is one way of thinking about why readers, reviewers and editors often prioritize novel findings over careful verification. This week, I’m pleased to present what I think is my favourite musical example of a replication study. Continue reading “Walking with a Ghost: A Musical replication study”
Scientists and Dan Mangan both Want To Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down
Dan Mangan is no stranger to using scientific references and metaphors to communicate larger meanings about life. His lovely track About as helpful as you can be without being any help at all uses a quote from science illustrator Charlie Harper to beautiful effect (and was a previous Song of the Week). The song that follows it directly on the album (2011’s Oh Fortune) is called How Darwinian and pivots on the lines I should know better by now/there’s only so much to go around. Continue reading “Scientists and Dan Mangan both Want To Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down”
Feistodon and the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration
Last week I wrote about my pick for the 2012 Polaris Prize, a prize awarded to the best Canadian album of the past year based solely on artistic merit. My pick was YT//ST from art-punk-Japanese opera-and more-inspired duo/group YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN. Like that panel that chose the short list, I find their work often surprising and original. But while I heard they put on a great show at the gala, they were not the eventual winners. Continue reading “Feistodon and the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration”
The Finch and Pea 