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Title: Thinking Outside the Bachs: 2nd Verse
Unlike Herman’s Hermits well-known line—“Second verse, same as the first”—from their 1965 pop hit, “I’m Henery the VIII, I Am,” the second verse of “Thinking Outside the Bachs” isn’t and picks up where the first one left off.
- Music: Does it Matter Anymore? - we humans have been listening to music in its various forms for millennia, but its prominence as an art form may be changing in modern times, not necessarily through any fault of its own.
- (I know…) It's only Prog Rock (…but I like it) - during all those thousands of years, different genres of music have come and gone; some more successful than others. There are even some examples of types that flourished, died away for a while and then came roaring back, bigger and better than ever before.
- The 30 Year Dream - many people have a wish, sometimes unfulfilled, about playing some sort of a musical instrument. If you haven’t yet attained your goal, don’t give up, but stick to your dream; it may only be a matter of time, before wish becomes reality.
- Another World: “Sonic Seasonings” - one of the most powerful aspects of music is its ability to aurally take us to other places; real or otherwise. Ambient, a brand-new genre of music, which came about in the early 1970s, continues to play a role in today’s music scene, as many of us try to find a way to cope with all the hustle and bustle of modern life.
With over five decades of an active interest in music—from listening to it, performing it, and producing soundtracks in professional studios on two continents—author Tom Callen offers up a variety of essays; both light-hearted and more serious, on the subject.
Short excerpt: “When ‘Sonic Seasonings’ was created, it was literally plowing a new and untouched field, so there were many questions about these 20+-minute long pieces that had to be answered. Even their lengths were non-standard as compared to much of the contemporary music being released at the time. Who ever heard of a whole side of a vinyl LP that contained only one piece of music? What was the correct balance to be struck between just how many—and what sort of—natural sounds could be combined with the music. How should the music itself be constructed so that it best compliments the included sounds of nature. No one had done anything like this before, so finding the correct path was fraught with all sorts of hazards that could have thrown Carlos and her friend and producer, Rachel Elkind-Tourre (1939 -), off course.” -- excerpted from the essay “Another World: ‘Sonic Seasonings’”
- Music: Does it Matter Anymore? - we humans have been listening to music in its various forms for millennia, but its prominence as an art form may be changing in modern times, not necessarily through any fault of its own.
- (I know…) It's only Prog Rock (…but I like it) - during all those thousands of years, different genres of music have come and gone; some more successful than others. There are even some examples of types that flourished, died away for a while and then came roaring back, bigger and better than ever before.
- The 30 Year Dream - many people have a wish, sometimes unfulfilled, about playing some sort of a musical instrument. If you haven’t yet attained your goal, don’t give up, but stick to your dream; it may only be a matter of time, before wish becomes reality.
- Another World: “Sonic Seasonings” - one of the most powerful aspects of music is its ability to aurally take us to other places; real or otherwise. Ambient, a brand-new genre of music, which came about in the early 1970s, continues to play a role in today’s music scene, as many of us try to find a way to cope with all the hustle and bustle of modern life.
With over five decades of an active interest in music—from listening to it, performing it, and producing soundtracks in professional studios on two continents—author Tom Callen offers up a variety of essays; both light-hearted and more serious, on the subject.
Short excerpt: “When ‘Sonic Seasonings’ was created, it was literally plowing a new and untouched field, so there were many questions about these 20+-minute long pieces that had to be answered. Even their lengths were non-standard as compared to much of the contemporary music being released at the time. Who ever heard of a whole side of a vinyl LP that contained only one piece of music? What was the correct balance to be struck between just how many—and what sort of—natural sounds could be combined with the music. How should the music itself be constructed so that it best compliments the included sounds of nature. No one had done anything like this before, so finding the correct path was fraught with all sorts of hazards that could have thrown Carlos and her friend and producer, Rachel Elkind-Tourre (1939 -), off course.” -- excerpted from the essay “Another World: ‘Sonic Seasonings’”
99 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 16, 2021
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