From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V3 #350 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Monday, December 28 1998 Volume 03 : Number 350 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Alloy: Raymond Scott (Dolby's predecessor?) rant ["Michael and Denise] Re: Alloy: Sharing ["Michael and Denise Luckey" ] Re: Alloy: Raymond Scott (Dolby's predecessor?) rant [RThurF@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Raymond Scott etc [RThurF@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Sharing [Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com>] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 08:42:02 -0800 From: "Michael and Denise Luckey" Subject: Re: Alloy: Raymond Scott (Dolby's predecessor?) rant Quite an interesting background to this gentleman's music but you forgot to tell us where we might begin to look for it Robin! M. L. - -----Original Message----- From: RThurF@aol.com To: alloy@smoe.org Date: Saturday, December 26, 1998 9:50 PM Subject: Alloy: Raymond Scott (Dolby's predecessor?) rant > >One of the Christmas gifts I received from my dear husband is a cd called 'The >Music of Raymond Scott - Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights'. I had asked >for this on the recommendation of a friend.. because Carl Stalling - Warner >Bro's/Looney Tunes music composer - holds a very special place in my heart :) >and bandleader/composer Raymond Scott was one of Mr Stalling's inspirations. >What I didn't know was that Raymond Scott was also a prolific inventor & an >early innovator of electronic music. I found it extremely interesting, and >immediately thought of Thomas who is so similar in many respects. > >I know that Thomas has always worked very strenuously to develop new ways of >achieving his compositional goals through creative uses of technology (the >scope of which I still have not fully grasped) and even through complete >reworkings and invention... Raymond Scott did so as well. Among Scott's >inventions was one of the first (1948) electronic synthesizers which could >imitate a chest cough, kitchen clatter, the sizzle of frying steak, and jungle >drums. Another was the Clavivox, which was designed to imitate the difficult- >to-play Theramin by sliding smoothly from one note to the next on a keyboard >without a break. Scott also holds the patent to the automatic scanning radio >which tunes in at pre-programmed intervals to radio stations around the >country, so that he could hear what was being played. > >He is credited with developing the first programmable polyphonic sequencer >(the foundation of modern dance music), early trigger delays, dual delays, >variable envelope generators, an analog waveform generator, and the >'Electronium', which was an "instantaneous composing machine" which could >"synchronize entire musical compositions through the complex random generation >of sequenced tones, rhythms, and timbres." It was designed solely for the >simultaneous and instantaneous composition-performance of new music. It is >asserted that, though the Electronium has since been far exceeded by computer >devices, the concept of what he was trying to do "was in effect what is now a >MIDI-composition studio." > >I've been trying recently to learn more about Thomas Dolby's composition >style, and to me it sounds like he and Raymond Scott even thought of music in >much the same way, lifting out different bits & pieces of music that they >liked & rearranging them together, working it the way a visual artist works a >collage. Scott composed without writing anything down, playing each part on >the keyboard for each musician in his band & making him memorize it by rote. >It was extremely painstaking for everyone, this music is incredibly intricate. >It was as if he were using the band as the elements in a modern-day >synthesizer. He would have LOVED Thomas' present set-up, with the sample >library, synthesizers galore, etc etc. > >Incidentally Raymond Scott is still alive & in his 90's (though now in poor >health) His last known composition was in 1986, using the MIDI technology >which he helped develop. I definitely recommend everyone give his music a >listen if you can find it!! > >Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 08:44:20 -0800 From: "Michael and Denise Luckey" Subject: Re: Alloy: Sharing You must have a psychic link to TMDR as I don't believe anyone I know of has ever gotten a personal response via the Headspace address! M. L. - -----Original Message----- From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> To: Alloy Date: Thursday, December 24, 1998 4:47 PM Subject: Alloy: Sharing > >I wrote another note to TMDR and thought some people here might enjoy the >following from his reply: > >(I wrote) >>Anyways, thank you for all that you have written and produced. >BTW, Prefab Sprout was a wonderful Dolby-wanna-be band (they even sound >like you in "Faron Young").<<< > >(TMDR wrote) If only you knew... if anything, it's the other way around. I >wish I >could be more like Paddy in some ways, he's such a pure, unfiltered talent. >I don't think he has any aspiration to be like me, he just likes the way I >produce his stuff. Actually the only song I ever did which he complimented >me on was 'I love you goodbye'. >-- >Thomas Dolby Robertson >CEO, Headspace Inc. > > >Happy Holidays! > >Rochelle >Powered by "Queer" by Garbage ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 12:57:56 EST From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Raymond Scott (Dolby's predecessor?) rant In a message dated 12/27/98 8:40:16 AM Eastern Standard Time, LUCKEY7@prodigy.net writes: << Quite an interesting background to this gentleman's music but you forgot to tell us where we might begin to look for it Robin! >> Dave found my copy in the jazz section at Tower Records here in Boston. I'm sure he could be found on the internet too.. or just tune into the Cartoon Network to those luscious old black&white cartoons, and the original classic vintage Looney Tunes incidental music (Raymond Scott composed the much-used 'Powerhouse', among many others) If you prefer modern cartoons, Scott's music can also be heard on Ren & Stimpy :) Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 15:50:00 EST From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Raymond Scott etc mind you the actual music of the two composers is nothing alike (Dolby & Scott..) I was just struck by the oddly similar creative processes and groundbreaking electronics/computer backgrounds they both seem to have. Scott's music is more of an 'illustrative jazz' with titles such as 'Bumpy Weather in Newark', 'Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals', 'Reckless Night on Board an OceanLiner' etc. which might make a person nervous if they tried to just sit & listen to it without having a cartoon in front of them :) Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 18:13:33 -0500 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Alloy: Sharing Message text written by INTERNET:alloy@smoe.org >You must have a psychic link to TMDR as I don't believe anyone I know of has ever gotten a personal response via the Headspace address! M. L. < That's the same address I used when I sent the letter to TMDR that he responded to so wonderfully. I honestly don't know of another good E-mail for him. I definately consider myself lucky! Rochelle ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V3 #350 ***************************