Yes indeedy. On “nine-oh-nine” (of course), “The Beatles” for Rock Band will be released. Will I be the undisputed champeen of the world at it? Mm-hm.

Now I must buy it, or at least pre-order it. Then I need #1 Son to have another RB party in his garage this fall. I must seek him out this day.

The video screenshots look pretty good, and it goes without saying that the music is dynamite. The likenesses of the Fabs are hardly compelling, but that could just be me showing my ignorance of the difficulties in turning human features into computer generated images. But really…couldn’t they have just used tracing paper? Cripes.

Kidding.

Years ago, one of my students asked me, “What was so fantastic about the Beatles? Why do you think they were so important?” Heh. She stood there awhile.

OK, I’m off. I have a really nice Monday planned. I am going to school for the day — because I want to. Hoddy-a like that??

Fink out.

Go ahead. Name any R & B artist since 1970, and any rapper. They all have one thing in common. They have George Clinton to thank.

Spacey, loopy, crazy, confusing, but amazing George Clinton. You don’t need to understand him; one doesn’t question the Georgeness of a thing. You just nod and say, “Yep. That’s where the funk comes from.”

And what is “Georgeness?” Here is Clinton’s response when asked in a 2006 NPR interview to describe exactly what he does:

“Psychoalphadiscobetabioaqua- doloop — the art of dancin’ underwater and not gettin’ wet. That’d be my job…”

And there you go. That’s his job. Well, that, and living out the effects of an awful lot of weed over the years. Seriously though, he is the undisputed king of funk — the music that gave you your rap and hip-hop artists. George says you’re welcome.

He seems like he’d be a lot of fun (albeit completely perplexing) to talk to. I’ll bet his concerts are cool — maybe Lars can weigh in on that, since he’s been to one. Clinton has like 30+ people in his band; not even he knows them all. I’ll bet *you* could steal away on the bus, grab a trumpet, and just stand up there and pretend…and no one would know the difference. Heh. That would be the Georgeness.

My favorite Parliament/Funkadelics tune is “Flashlight” – here is 30 or so seconds of it. Clinton’s music is heavily sampled, and has been for decades by ____________ (fill in the blank with just about any rapper since 1990). I don’t know how many artists have sampled this, but now you know where it originated.

So thank George today. And me. You can thank me. I didn’t do anything, but you can thank me anyway.

FO

Photo credit: Nitin Vadukul

Yeah, I hear a collective groan and forehead slap from all the muzik geeks. Heh, sorry…

I’ve been to a couple Cleveland Cavaliers games, and watched a bunch of them on TV — like yesterday, when they smoked the Pistons. Just before the action starts, the arena speakers blast out a positively deafening refrain, getting the crowd ready to rumble. But it’s not Zeppelin or Jay-Z or Aerosmith or Queen — rather, they play something written in 1936 by Carl Orff.

So yeah. Carl Orff. A “classical” musician, born in Germany in 1895. He is best remembered — even by those who have no clue it’s his work — for the secular cantata, Carmina Burana, based on 13th century poetry (which was pretty bawdy and profane, and therefore just a bit controversial). I giggle every time I hear it at an athletic event or in a movie, because it’s cool that a long-hair gets his due on the basketball court or the cinema soundtrack.

[I own the Robert Shaw/Atlanta Symphony version from 1990, which I think is the all-time best, if you ever want to borrow it.]

The Knot-Sees really dug it, too, back in the 30s. While completely a 20th-century composition, its medieval-period text is alarming and provocative. The piece is chock full o’ hedonism, from earthy references to women and sex, to knee-slapping drinking songs that accuse everyone from kids to the archbishop of tying one on. Truthfully, you ain’t lived till you’ve seen and heard 80 men sing “In Taberna” (In the Tavern).

Having sung Carmina twice in my career (it is great fun, but a huge, demanding work, especially for the soloists), the now-familiar opening always brings back fond memories for me. Often referred to as simply “O Fortuna,” its title is actually Fortuna, imperatrix mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World), with “Fortuna” depicted as the mystical female creature who controls the Wheel of Fortune, and thus, the fate of humankind. Certainly you’ve heard it. Bet you have. It’s the most ripped-off/flattered piece of “classical” music in history, with the possible exception of the first four notes of Symphony #5 by Beethoven, or maybe the 3rd movement of Chopin’s Piano Sonata #2 (the “Funeral March” theme).

Anyhow, if you’re not sure, here it is. But save for its apocryphal and pagan sound, it really doesn’t have much to do with victory, or domination over one’s opponent/oppressor. On the contrary, the translation reveals quite the dismal picture. You can follow along with the text below, if you like (the entire work can be found here):

But hey. That can just be our secret.

Have a dandy Sunday. Today I get to meet Bando at Panera for brekky. Yummy.

FO

Hey – bet you thought I forgot about RtB today. Nothin’ doin’. Just haven’t gotten to it until now.

I read an article last night about a time capsule that was found underneath the Paris Opera House. It contains wax gramophone records of music of the time (1907), which will now be digitized and re-released by EMI. How cool is that?

Makes me think of Alessandro Moreschi, the “Last Living Castrato,” whose voice I heard on one of those scratchy Edison records from 1904. He was in his seventies by then, and largely unable to control his voice, but you could still hear the raw power of a man’s body supporting a female-sounding voice. It’s amazing. You can hear it here.

And now, fiends, I must study before it’s time for bed. Miles to go before I sleep…

Fink out.