iloveshortsongs

Silent Night, Holy Night - John Fahey (1968)

Sleep in heavn’ly peace, dear follow’rs.

(Source: hellhoundonmytrail)

Minute Quartet - Piero Milesi (2000)

From the sequel to the 1980 Miniatures album compiled by Mott The Hoople keyboard stud Morgan Fisher. We’ve dipped into first volume twice now, but here we have the idea revived in the 21st Century.

Here’s what Fisher’s website has to say of the project:

A full 15 years after the first “Miniatures” album, Morgan decided it was time for a sequel. He thought that with the speed and efficiency of the internet, this new album could be put together in much less time than the first one.

Actually - mainly due to the much more international scope of this sequel - it took six years to complete! But it certainly was worth the effort. This astounding album brings together 60 musicians and creative artists of all genres - contemporary classical, funk-rock, ambient electronic, free jazz, liturgical chant, world techno, etc., etc., - the bizarre, the eccentric, the contemplative, the rebel-rousers, the pioneers, the philosophers (insert a string of “etceteras” here).

Hailing from 18 countries and five continents, each artist expresses their unique message in just one minute (give or take a few bars).

Piero Milesi is an Italian composer who scores films, does arrangements for Italian pop stars. (e.g., Fiorella Mannoia, Luciano Ligabue) He is also a sound artist, generating sound installation pieces.

Here, he seems to attempt to take a long form score for some epic film or dance performance and squeeze all the dramatics into one minute. The rises and falls, the joy and the heartache; it all gets condensed into a wonderful little package.

His work has been called “light, fluent and most attractive” by the London Times. I’d have to be inclined to agree.

Bedroom Music - Best Fwends (2007)

I first discovered Best Fwends when they opened for Matt & Kim in early 2009. Though little known in the States, they’ve become rather popular in Europe. Bedroom Music, the first song they ever recorded (though not released until their 2007 A-Z compilation Alphabetically Arranged), was featured in a UK Bacardi ad.

Their show could only be described as high-energy, two dudes tearing up the stage with inflatable gargoyles, a van seat, an iPod, and not much else. Their music has been described as punk, though they claim they aren’t talented enough to have a specific “sound.” I dare you to not dance along to this.

College - Animal Collective (2004)

Years before Merriweather Post Pavilion and the ensuing embrace Animal Collective received from the hipster community at large was Sung Tongs, their first critical darling and arguably the album that put the Collective on the maps of the hippest hipsters. Interesting, considering only two of the normal foursome (Avey Tare and Panda Bear) play on this record.

In the middle of the chants and squeaks that constitute most of Sung Tongs is College, a helpful 55-second little piece of advice that sounds equally influenced by The Beach Boys as it is by nightmares.

Symphony for Toy Piano in G Minor - E (1992)

Long before EELS became the darlings of alternative rock with Novocaine For The Soul in 1996, Mark Oliver Everett (sometimes known as E) cut two albums as a solo artiste, A Man Called E & Broken Toy Shop.

Both are filled with odd pop songs that, while bogged down at times with oppressive early-nineties production, still shine after almost two decades.

E, always a peddler of plinkity-plonk sounds, was no doubt inspired by his small toy piano and felt it was time for it to take its rightful place in the spotlight at the orchestra hall.

Perfect Love - The Residents (1980)

Everybody’s favorite eyeball buddies have a kind of hate/hate relationship with pop music. In 1976, they released what could possibly be deemed the first punk record, a mangled and distorted version of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Also in ‘76, they released The Third Reich N’ Roll, an album as devious and hellish as its title suggests. More pop songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s warped and twisted until nearly unintelligible — yet fascinating to listen to.

So time marches on and the Rez form some very compelling theories about pop music. They posited that essentially every pop song, when distilled of all its unnecessary baggage, such as repeated choruses and bridges, has about one minute of actual content to its name.

With that in mind, they set about writing and recording the wondrous Commercial Album. With help from avant-pop luminaries such as Andy Partridge, Lene Lovich and Fred Frith, they formed their very own Top 40 of one minute compositions.

Uncle Willie’s Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents had this to say of the tunes:

Due to the self-imposed time limitations, the lyrics for each song usually consist of no more than two to three sentences and last about thirty seconds. In spite of this economy of words, bright, bizarre, disturbing, languid, sad, ethereal, and silly images abound. The ability to create such complete and compelling images with so few words is an extraordinary talent indeed.

Another innovation that accompanied the release of the album was the creation of One Minute Movies. The collaboration with filmmaker Graeme Whifler was some of the earliest programming on a fledgling MTV and is now part of the film/video collection at the MoMA in New York City.

Sweet Trinidad - Van Dyke Parks (1971)

Warm up your wintertime with a trip down to Sweet Trinidad, courtesy of Van Dyke Parks. Parks has ventured down many musical highways in his day, collaborating with everyone from The Beach Boys, Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr to (more recently) Inara George from the indie synthpop sensation The Bird & The Bee.

He was even the film The Swan with Grace Kelly & Alec Guinness when he was 14.

In 1971, he released an album of calypso and calypso-influenced music inspired by the greats like Lord Nelson, The Mighty Sparrow, and The Attila.

The song is a longing for home back in Trinidad, despite making a mint in the land of the Yankees:

From Miami to New York to Los Angeles
Wherever I play the people mighty pleased,
Yankee dollar real appeals to me
Never forget sweet “la Trinity”

Thanks to thewaytokilladeadfeeling for posting this.

Megaton Walk (From Earthbound) - Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, Toshiyuki Ueno (1994)

Really, I picked this track because I have a lot to say about it.  Ned wanted to post some Earthbound music on here but I said nay, I must do it.  But then I got lazy.  NOW WITNESS THE NEW AND IMPROVED ME!

First thing about this song, is that it’s not really a song.  It’s more like a segment of a loop that was taken out of context.  All of the Earthbound music I have, and may post are the same.  Second is that if you listen and pay attention the loop is CLEARLY the beat from the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) — With edits of course.  From what I remember, the video game never directly references the Beatles (don’t hold me to it, there could be a line or two of dialogue that does.)  But the game definately has a visual style that’s like something out of Yellow Submarine or a Peter Max painting.  With acid trips, zombie hippies, and an ending that may or may not represent a metaphysical abortion this game was all about the sixties man.  and the 80’s and 90’s.  but, you get it.

Peter.

Sandwich - Jad Fair (1993)

Jad Fair sure is one weird bird. A major player in the lo-fi alternative scene for many years, he co-founded the band Half Japanese and has worked with other home recording maestros like R. Stevie Moore and Daniel Johnston.

Way back in ‘93, for reasons known only to him, he released an EP entitled Short Songs. This is the penultimate track on side two.

At eight seconds, it’s a powerhouse.

Visit his website, apparently, he’ll write and record you a personalized song for ONLY 300 USD. A steal.