Alan Vega was the vocal half of the synth duo, Suicide. Vega is no longer with us. Rev’s scary, repetitively sequenced synthesizer drives their songs accompanied by Vega’s frenzied, reverb-drenched rockabilly delivery. A very influential band whose work would impact many future musicians. Their early stuff is rawer and more intense.
A rousing, electrified musical number from ’70’s supergroup, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I always play this song around Christmas time because it just radiates that time of year for me. The song itself is an ode to England and its majesty but ignoring the lyrics and listening to the music itself is a Christmas time treat. If that makes any sense. Swirling organs and flavorful synthesizer phrasings from Keith Emerson. Percussion professor Carl Palmer adds his intricate drum fills. String whiz Greg Lake also provides the shimmering, powerful vocals. A delight. Break out the cordials!
A self modulating video synthesizer is demonstrated here. Lots of pretty, shifting color patterns and an interesting audio soundtrack accompaniment follow. Maybe best to absorb in small doses? Noodling can be an intense experience at the time of creation but later playback always begs editing. Deciding what to cut and what to leave in can be an agonizing experience!
I always liked this song from the band Hawkwind. It is an uplifting pop song with synthesizer sound wash and varied instrumentation thrown on top. Hawkwind has a long history. You might be interested in learning more about these “cosmic warriors” who constituted part of a music genre labeled “Space Rock”. Try checking out the book “Space Daze”. This video is a little weird, though, as is the lead singer’s getup.
With the sad passing of Monkees member Davy Jones, I wanted memories of better times and found this freak out from The Monkees LP, “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” Early use of the Moog Synthesizer and Monkee hijinks amid all the pretty flashing lights highlight this promo piece.