tunequest

Continuing the tunequest within a tunequest today, I listened to a handful of tracks by Argentine composer Luis Bacalov during the morning's rainy commute to the office. Bacalov rose to prominence writing film music for 60s and 70s era spaghetti westerns and hard boiled Italian dramas. Prolific, he's got more than 140 composer credits to his name and even won an Academy Award in 1996 for ...

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Back before all this digital music and internet mumbo jumbo, finding a live recording of a band's performance was a tricky proposition. You basically had to stumble upon one by knowing someone who was in a bootlegging circle and was willing to make a cassette copy (leaving you with a reduced quality duplicate). Alternately, you could have searched the racks at used music stores to find ...

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At pretty much the first listen, a live version of this song got me hooked on Mouse on Mars, the German team with the heart of gold that expands minds while keeping the beat. In the summer of 2000, this song was the catalyst away from my college-era exploration of club and trance style electronic music, leading me toward the so-called postrock and "intelligent dance music" ...

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Cornelius is more than a man, more than a musician. He is an idea, the result of thousands of years of simian evolution combined with Japanese tech brilliance and flair. Fortunately for the world, he uses his powers for good, spreading grooves and good cheer from the Land of the Rising Sun to all points on this earth. If there's any doubt that Cornelius is Japan's greatest ...

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Beck's song Where It's At took the world by storm in 1996, forever banishing the idea that he was a one hit wonder and showing that he was an innovative and exciting musician. Several singles of the song were released during the year, each featuring a different set of remixes (for a total of seven), including an infamously lame version by Oasis' Noel Gallagher. That's OK though, ...

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Puffy Amiyumi is a very mixed bag musically. Despite the girls' massive popularity in Japan (and moderate success in the States), I often find myself highly conflicted about their music. I can't decide whether it's superficial pop or subtle Japanese brilliance. Some of it is downright annoying and I occasionally consider purging it from the library. But damn, these girls like to toy with my emotions, and ...

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Widely cited as the most influential post-1950s jazz pianist, here's Bill Evans (with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums pay attention to those) from The Tokyo Concert, recorded at "Yubin Chokin Hall," Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 1973. The song is Up with the Lark. [audio:061104UpWithTheLark.mp3]

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Always the maestro; always the master. The track is Introductions from The Russia House. Jazzy and smooth, Goldsmith plays it cool for you. I generally find the timbre of a solo saxophone rather grating. Plus, it's usually too "adult contemporary/smooth jazz" *ahem-kennyG-ahem* for my tastes. But that melody that starts around 2:11 is addictive as all get out. Pure genius. [audio:061101Introductions.mp3]

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A Night at the Drugstore, found on National Skyline's 2001 album This=Everything. The band started by Hum's bassist after that band's demise. This song is smooth and laid back with a looping, but grounded ethereal quality. [audio:061031NightAtTheDrugstore.mp3] I think it belongs on your iPod; I know it's happy on mine.

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