Anyway, looking forward to more in this vein.

And now: All aboard the Derail Train! (sorry Cooper. I’ll try to give the input that I can concerning the Synthestras when I can.)

Napoleon Tex has excellent melodies and vocal layering going on. I think the only real elephantine portion of the song lies in the harpsicord/bass line. It kind of sounds a little too clunky compared to the rest of the layers in the song. It fits, but I believe that’s where the elephant lies. It would certainly be interesting to hear the band give it a go.

And I’ve really been enjoying the X-mas Palsy demo. It’s got such a great groove to it. It mooooves. It doesn’t have the same, wild dance feel that Club Oslo or Chapel of Love have, but it’s more of a confident, straight forward kind of dance track. Played live, it’s even that much better. Well done. I sure hope it makes the cut.

From there, you have to know how to notate each instrument properly, in the correct transposition, etc. In the case of the harp, notation of pedal settings is required. Gahh!

To answer your question, usually it’s either/or. In the past, I have used Finale, music notation software, and written each piece a note at a time. This current example was done via sequencing– my first attempt, in fact.

The basis for the composition was a loose series of intervals – tritone followed by major or minor thirds. There is no melody, per se, only gestures or block chords containing these intervals. In underscoring an image, I have discovered it’s almost always more interesting to provide “color” rather than homophony or “melody/accompaniment.”

That’s not always true. Cf. “Star Wars” where just about every character has a melody (“leitmotif”) attached to him. Howard Shore’s score for “Lord of the Rings,” which I initially was very disappointed by, is also makes use of the Wagnerian leitmotif. I’ve since come around– it’s not his best score, but it fits the picture very well, for the most part. [I thought the scoring for the sequence in the Dwarrowdelf-- where the merry band is surrounded by orcs-- with its triumphant brass strains was puzzling, at best.]

We’ll definitely give “Napoleon” a whirl over the next month or so. Speaking of “elephantine,” the current DH! priority is to phase out Jonny’s hulking sampler (which is responsible for many back injuries and taking out the tail light of his new car) and phasing in a new laptop, so we won’t be having regular rehearsals for a week or so.

We’ve played “Xmas Palsy” live now twice– it’s a real barnburner! Got a great response both times and feels really good to play, at least for me. It’s about as simple as simple gets and is easy to key into.

Plug and play, baby, plug and play. And it’s a plug and play world, isn’t it?

and to derail the conversation again. I too am a fan of Napoleon Tex. I see your point of it being elephantine (but since when has being “elephanite” been a had thing?). It would be interesting to hear the band give it a go.

And for the lucky souls at the last show. how was xmas palsy? I have come to really like that song. Jim feel free to comment as well — what has the band brought to it?

To answer your question: yes and no. In my opinion, the way film music should sound was the way in which it was written 50 or so years ago, when it appropriated techniques used in the “modernist” era. So, this is definitely a nod to that time.

I wanted to give this a more cartoonish or whimsical flavor as well, which accounts for the elevatory flute/harp figures, etc. I guess in retrospect, it sounds pretty “retro.”

Also, I am directly copping orchestration/composition techniques from the 50’s/60’s for learning purposes, so if it sounds a little like the incidental music from classic Twilight Zone or even The Andy Griffith Show, then my mission here is accomplished!

There’s some decent stuff going on here. The lower chord clusters work well for instance. I’m just not sold on the “faux jazz” thing. It really locks the orchestration into a particular era of film-making/film-scoring (about 50 years ago or so). Are you meaning the music to evoke that particular era?

BP

It’s gratifying to hear that you prefer listening to a live recording. Live recordings always bother me a little– with the notable exceptions of Bob Marley, Prince and the Residents– because I feel like the inevitable chaos of live performance detracts from the music. That you would spend time listening to a DH! live recording is high praise, indeed! Thanks!

Have you heard the album version of Club Oslo on Cast Out Devils? It’s much more gritty than the demo which is, admittedly, a pinkies-out affair.

“Napoleon Tex” has been getting a consistently good response from listeners. Frankly, I’m a little surprised– originally, I felt like it didn’t work that well given its elephantine construction. But… the people have spoken! I’ll be discussing that one with the rest of the band over the next month or so.

Comments like yours are comments we crave, JS– keep ‘em coming!

Lastly, I’m a HUGE fan of your Napoleon Tex song! I actually find it really “groovy”, and I can’t wait to see it in your new album.