This track was created basically as the introduction to our CD. It was originally a song of sounds, with no lyrics; however, as we personalized it, lyrics crept in. The tune, Also Sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss, was a powerful, triumphant entry for us onto the musical scene, and also for the listener onto the CD. This track really personified who we were as a quartet. We had musical talent, and an appreciation for classical music. However, at the same time, while creating the music we had the inner desire to twist things a little bit--personalize the music, be a little goofy (ok, a LOT goofy) and even ad-lib a little bit. This interaction of musicality and goofiness can be seen throughout this tune, and throughout our CD.
The track begins innocuously, with the now-famous three bell-tones. Even here, we can see our commitment to goofiness. Instead of creating pure, clear tones, we decided that the sound of a didgeridoo would be most enjoyable. This effect was created by, while holding the tones, mouthing the three syllables of the word "Oreo" over and over.
If you listen very carefully to the second group of bell-tones (now in normal tones), you can hear a prelude of what is to come. Very faintly, in the background almost, you can hear the minor chord being resolved; a second later, it actually becomes resolved.
The second timpani solo was performed by Jacob Stewart, in obvious homage to Cinderella and the classic hit Bibbety Bobbity Boo. The third group of bell-tones was linked to this timpani solo, as we followed Jacob's "Boo" with "Boos" of our own.
The tune finishes with a climactic crescendo. This crescendo has some ad-libbed parts to it. This recording is the only performance we gave with Jacob Broderick's La La La at the end before the grandioso Wopple.
And with the ecstatic Wopple, we see an introduction into the new-found vocabulary of the Ninety and Nine. Not only were they proficient musicians, but they were regular contributors to Webster's Online Dictionary. A Wopple is *to the best of my knowledge, Jacob and Peter are more well-versed on the subject* a tin can with both sides taken out, to be struck with golf clubs in the game Woppolo. This is just one of the new words and objects the Ninety and Nine have added into today's everyday lexicon--more will be drawn out in this annotated anniversary album.
The reader of this annotated version of the Ninety and Nine debut album will surely notice that this song actually has two names: Also Sprach Zarathustra, and Lamb. The first name was plagiarized from Richard Strauss--he gave the song such a good name that we decided to keep it. The second name, Lamb, was a code name used by members of the Ninety and Nine amongst themselves when referring to this tune. It may be a previously unknown fact that all 30 tracks on the CD have secret code names, each with their individual story and (often stretched) connection to the song in question. This song was originally entitled "Also Sprach Zarathustra." The German philosopher Friedrich Neitzche (who has become the butt of many jokes, based on his baseless claim that God is dead) wrote a book entitled "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Strauss liked the book so much that he used the title of the book as the name for his song. So in realality, we were actually plagiarizing Nietzche. In another of Nietzche's works, he explains the strife between the lower and upper classes with an analogy of lambs and birds of prey. The lambs feel a lot of anger and hatred towards the birds of prey, because they eat the lambs, carry them away, and basically make life miserable for the lambs. However, the birds of prey do not feel a similar animosity towards the lambs. To quote Nietzche, the birds say, "We don't despise these little lambs at all; we even love them: nothing is more tasty than a tender lamb." This connection between the tune and the Lamb from Nietzche was the basis behind our calling this track Lamb.
And so concludes the annotation of our introductory track. We hope you feel the joy and power that we felt as we sang this inspiring hit, along with the triumph of the final sforzando and exclamatory Wopple.
The track begins innocuously, with the now-famous three bell-tones. Even here, we can see our commitment to goofiness. Instead of creating pure, clear tones, we decided that the sound of a didgeridoo would be most enjoyable. This effect was created by, while holding the tones, mouthing the three syllables of the word "Oreo" over and over.
If you listen very carefully to the second group of bell-tones (now in normal tones), you can hear a prelude of what is to come. Very faintly, in the background almost, you can hear the minor chord being resolved; a second later, it actually becomes resolved.
The second timpani solo was performed by Jacob Stewart, in obvious homage to Cinderella and the classic hit Bibbety Bobbity Boo. The third group of bell-tones was linked to this timpani solo, as we followed Jacob's "Boo" with "Boos" of our own.
The tune finishes with a climactic crescendo. This crescendo has some ad-libbed parts to it. This recording is the only performance we gave with Jacob Broderick's La La La at the end before the grandioso Wopple.
And with the ecstatic Wopple, we see an introduction into the new-found vocabulary of the Ninety and Nine. Not only were they proficient musicians, but they were regular contributors to Webster's Online Dictionary. A Wopple is *to the best of my knowledge, Jacob and Peter are more well-versed on the subject* a tin can with both sides taken out, to be struck with golf clubs in the game Woppolo. This is just one of the new words and objects the Ninety and Nine have added into today's everyday lexicon--more will be drawn out in this annotated anniversary album.
The reader of this annotated version of the Ninety and Nine debut album will surely notice that this song actually has two names: Also Sprach Zarathustra, and Lamb. The first name was plagiarized from Richard Strauss--he gave the song such a good name that we decided to keep it. The second name, Lamb, was a code name used by members of the Ninety and Nine amongst themselves when referring to this tune. It may be a previously unknown fact that all 30 tracks on the CD have secret code names, each with their individual story and (often stretched) connection to the song in question. This song was originally entitled "Also Sprach Zarathustra." The German philosopher Friedrich Neitzche (who has become the butt of many jokes, based on his baseless claim that God is dead) wrote a book entitled "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Strauss liked the book so much that he used the title of the book as the name for his song. So in realality, we were actually plagiarizing Nietzche. In another of Nietzche's works, he explains the strife between the lower and upper classes with an analogy of lambs and birds of prey. The lambs feel a lot of anger and hatred towards the birds of prey, because they eat the lambs, carry them away, and basically make life miserable for the lambs. However, the birds of prey do not feel a similar animosity towards the lambs. To quote Nietzche, the birds say, "We don't despise these little lambs at all; we even love them: nothing is more tasty than a tender lamb." This connection between the tune and the Lamb from Nietzche was the basis behind our calling this track Lamb.
And so concludes the annotation of our introductory track. We hope you feel the joy and power that we felt as we sang this inspiring hit, along with the triumph of the final sforzando and exclamatory Wopple.
No comments:
Post a Comment