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We are an optimistic species. Even in our stories about the end of the world, the world doesnât actually end. In reality, it will. In the season one finale of Ghost Echoes, we study the apocalypse. Ragnarök. The Great Tribulation. The End. Alas, we're not alone -- we're with Nico.
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Music and Sound Notes:
-- This episode contains excerpts from âFemme Fatale,â by the Velvet Underground, and âThese Days", âEulogy to Lenny Bruceâ, âFrozen Warningsâ, âNibelungenâ, âYou Forget to Answerâ, âThe Endâ, âDas Lied der Deutschen,â and âWin a Few", all by Nico.
Further reading, listening:--For biographical information on Nico, see the documentary Nico: Icon and this Guardian story by Simon Reynolds. This episode also contains clips from Susanna Nicchiarelliâs excellent biopic Nico, 1988.
--For more on the 1910 Halleyâs comet panic, read Matt Simon in Wired. And for more on the UFO cult Chen Tao, see Encyclopaedia Britannica.
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June Campbell Cramer, known to all as Lady June, was one of the greatest party hosts of her day. She was the connective tissue that held whole musical scene together. She was the countercultureâs landlady. And she was also an artist in her own right. On this episode of Ghost Echoes, we crash a house party and do a bit of psychedelic people watching.
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Music and Sound Notes:
--This episode contains excerpts of three tracks from Lady Juneâs Linguistic Leprosy: âSome Day Silly Twenty Three,â âTo Whom It May Not Concern,â and âAm I.â
Further reading, listening:
--Details on Lady Juneâs life were gathered from Marcus OâDairâs Robert Wyatt biography Different Every Time, as well as various online sources. These include her obituary in the Independent, an interview in Facelift Magazine, this feature on a fansite for Canterbury music, these reminiscences from Juneâs fellow Deia residents, the AllMusic review of Linguistic Leprosy, and Lady Juneâs own semi-autobiographical poem Rebella.
--The complete story of the wealthy Texan optician and Soft Machine patron Wes Brunson can be found on Aymeric Leroyâs blog about the Canterbury Scene.
--The full text of Robert Gravesâ Goodbye to All That, complete with the prologue he wrote nearly thirty years later, can be found here. Joan Didionâs âGoodbye to All Thatâ is in Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
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Fehlende Folgen?
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Roxy Music and King Crimson shared a label. They nearly shared a lead singer. And Crimsonâs lyricist produced Roxyâs debut album. In this deleted scene from the second episode of Ghost Echoes, we compare and contrast two bands that ought to have been more similar than they were.
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On May 28, 1974, the worst orchestra in the world performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Thatâs not so unusual. The Albert Hall isnât Carnegie Hall. Itâs not an exclusive, prestigious venue where only the greatest may perform. It is simply Londonâs most historic gathering place. Many strange and marvelous things have happened there, including militant political rallies, beat poetry, and appearances by celebrity ghosts. In this episode of Ghost Echoes, we present you five extraordinary evenings at the Albert Hall.
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Music and Sound Notes:
-- The episode opens with the Portsmouth Sinfoniaâs performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handelâs Messiah. The section on the opening concert of the RAH features the final chorus from Arthur Sullivanâs cantata On Shore and Sea, performed by the soloists, chorus and orchestra of the Imperial Opera, conducted by Michael Withers. The final section on the RAH in the 60s contains snippets from Creamâs performance of âSpoonfulâ in the hall, and Pink Floyd rehearsing âA Saucerful of Secretsâ with Rick Wright on the grand organ, just before the show that got them âbanned for life.â
Further reading, listening:-- A great deal of basic information came from the official Royal Albert Hall website.
-- Information on the suffragette movementâs meetings in the RAH came from this piece by Susanne Keyte in the Telegraph, and History is a Weapon, where you can read Emmaline Pankhurstâs full speech.
-- This contemporaneous account in Time Magazine helped flesh out Arthur Conan Doyleâs seance. The audio of Conan Doyle speaking about spiritualismâas well as the audio of âConan Doyleâ speaking at a seance four years after his deathâare from the collection of the British Library.
-- John Bennettâs Krayology was enormously useful for the section on the Kray twins. More detail came from Steve Bunce in the Independent.
-- The International Poetry Incarnation is discussed at some length in the documentary A Technicolour Dream. It is also the subject of the documentary Wholly Communion, which is where the clips of Ginsberg and company come from.
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After leaving the Velvet Underground, John Cale split his time between state-of-the-art experimental music and sweet symphonic pop. On his fourth solo album, 1974's Fear, those two sides finally converged. In the seventh episode of Ghost Echoes, we learn how and stumble into a revelation involving Velvet Underground's catalogue.
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Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, Hawkwind singer Robert Calvert's 1974 solo debut, has two stories to tell. One of them is about what became of the German air force after World War II. The other is about a young boy who wanted to be a pilot, but ended up a poet instead. In the sixth episode of Ghost Echoes, we receive two postcards from mid-century Europe.
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Music and Sound Notes:-- The Hawkwind tracks heard here are âSeeing it as You Really Areâ from their self-titled debut, âSilver Machineâ from In Search of Space, and Calvertâs recitation â10 Seconds of Foreverâ from the Space Ritual live album.
-- Songs and sketches excerpted from Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters include âFranz Josef Strauss, Defence Minister, Reviews the Luftwaffe in 1958. "Finding It Somewhat Lacking in Image Potentialâ, âAircraft Salesman (A Door in the Foot)â, âBier Gartenâ, âThe Widow Makerâ, âInterviewâ, and âCatch a Falling Starfighterâ.
Further reading, listening:-- A treasure trove of documents relating to Robert Calvert can be found on Aural Innovations. Other useful writing includes Joe Banksâ piece in the Guardian, and The Saga of Hawkwind by Carol Clerk.
-- General information about the state of the German air force after WWII came from this piece in Aviation History. More specific information about the Starfighter bribery scandal and its aftermath came from this 1976 New York magazine piece and this post from The Aviation Geek Club.
-- The episode of The Adventures of Dan Dare excerpted here is âRevolt on Marsâ from 1953, originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg. The documentary about Germany after the war is âA Defeated People,â produced by the British War Department in 1946.
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The Portsmouth Sinfonia billed themselves as âindisputably, the worst orchestra in the world.â They have brought joy into the lives of millions. In the fifth episode of Ghost Echoes, we learn about the importance and healing effects of failure.
Music and Sound Notes:
-- The recording of Vivaldiâs Concerto for two trumpets heard here is NOT Matthew Parsons and his colleague Glenn Skelton. It is in fact Michel Rondeau (presumably double tracked) and organist Alaine Letendre, sourced from Musopen.
-- Hereâs Chi-Chi Nwanokuâs BBC performance of Failing by Tom Johnson.
-- The snippets heard shortly after are from âIt Never Entered My Mindâ performed by the Miles Davis Quartet, the third movement of Bachâs Italian Concerto performed by Glenn Gould, the first movement of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto performed by Patricia Kopatchinskaja with Teodor Currentzis conducting MusicaEterna, and Hans Abrahamsenâs let me tell you as sung by Barbara Hannigan with Andris Nelsons conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
-- All the tracks by the Portsmouth Sinfonia are from their debut album, The Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays the Popular Classics. The works excerpted from here are Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, the first movement of Beethovenâs fifth symphony, and âThe Blue Danubeâ by Johann Strauss II.
Further reading, listening:-- Information on the Portsmouth Sinfonia came from Cornelius Cardew: A Life Unfinished by John Tilbury and this piece by Eric Grundhauser.
-- Thanks to Berlin Atmospherics for the applause SFX.
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Itâs a story weâve been telling for centuries, in spite of the damage itâs caused. The story of the sculptor Pygmalion and his statue Galatea crops up everywhere from Broadway musicals to glam rock records to computer programming. In the fourth episode of Ghost Echoes, we take inventory of Galateas.
Music and Sound Notes:-- âIn Every Dream Home a Heartacheâ can obviously be found on Roxy Musicâs For Your Pleasure.
-- The recording of the doll song from Offenbachâs Tales of Hoffmann is performed by Joan Sutherland with Richard Bonynge conducting lâOrchestre de la Suisse Romande.
-- The excerpts from the My Fair Lady film soundtrack are âWouldnât it be Loverlyâ performed by Marni Nixon and âIâve Grown Accustomed to her Faceâ performed by Rex Harrison.
-- Kate Bushâs âMistyâ is on her album 50 Words for Snow.
Further reading, listening, etc.:-- Ovidâs Metamorphoses has been translated into English by many, including A.D. Melville. Information on Project Borghild and sex dolls generally came from Anthony Fergusonâs The Sex Doll: A History and âA (Straight, Male) History of Sex Dollsâ by Julie Beck in the Atlantic. On Bernard Shawâs Pygmalion, Charles A. Berstâs Pygmalion: Shawâs Spin on Myth and Cinderella was useful, as were this story from Studio 360 and Bernard Shawâs own preface and postscript to the play. Hereâs âThe Sandmanâ by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Examples of conversation with ELIZA came from this piece by Oliver Miller in Thought Catalogue.
-- The marching band audio in the Project Borghild scene comes from this archival video. All excerpts from Pygmalion are from the 1938 film version starring Wendy Hiller and Leslie Howard. The montage towards the end features clips from Her, Ex Machina, Battlestar Galactica, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.
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In the third episode of Ghost Echoes, the secret rules direct us towards a reluctant radical in Robert Wyatt. The eclectic English musician is in good company, though, and you'll find out why as we twist and turn through a number of historical similarities and coincidences. Along the way, we'll also learn that a revolution is not a dinner party.
Music and Sound Notes:
- The music in the first section about Robert Wyatt includes âMarchidesâ by Matching Mole, and âAlifibâ by Robert Wyatt.
- The following section about Cornelius Cardew includes the first movement from Haydn's String Quartet Op. 54, No. 1 performed by Marlburo Music.
- âBrandy As In Benjâ by Matching Mole starts the next section about Wyatt. Three more songs from Little Red Record close out the section: âRighteous Rhumba,â âGloria Gloom,â and âStarting in the Middle of the Day We Can Drink Our Politics Away.â
- The next Cardew section contains "Paragraph 7" of The Great Learning performed by the Scratch Orchestra, a repeat engagement by AMMMusic, and Karlheinz Stockhausenâs Kontakte. The recordings of Cardewâs propaganda songs appear on the CD Consciously: âSong for the British Working Class,â âFounding of the Partyâ and âThe Workers of Ontario.â
- The following sections contain âFoxy Ladyâ from a Jimi Hendrix bootleg from a 1967 show in Stockholm. And a recording of Cardewâs ThĂ€lmann Variations by Frederic Rzewski. (This recording is all the more poignant considering that Rzewski was a friend of Cardewâs, and a colleague in radical politics, though he did not escape censure by Cardew in Stockhausen Serves Imperialism).
- Finally, the ending is set to two Robert Wyatt songs: âSea Songâ and âShipbuilding.â
Further reading, listening:
- My two main sources for biographical information were Cornelius Cardew: A Life Unfinished by John Tilbury and Different Every Time: The Authorized Biography of Robert Wyatt by Marcus OâDair. This piece by Edward Fox was useful for some details surrounding Cardewâs death.
-Clips of Wyatt speaking come from the BBCâs The Voices Of⊠and the short clip of John Tilbury comes from this video.
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The first Roxy Music album brings together a patchwork of inspirations and influences from across the decades. In the second episode of Ghost Echoes, we stroll spontaneously into the movie theatre of the mind and examine a few of them. Hereâs looking at you, kid.
Music and Sound Notes:
- All of the Roxy Music tracks heard here for illustrative purposes are from their debut album. They include: âRe-Make/Re-Modelâ, âVirginia Plainâ, âBitters Endâ, âChance Meeting", and â2HBâ.
- The recording of Rachmaninovâs second piano concerto near the start is by an anonymous soloist and symphony orchestra, from Musopen. The excerpt from Brief Encounter itself features a recording of the same concerto by Eileen Joyce with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Muir Matheson. The NoĂ«l Coward song heard shortly after is âThe Partyâs Over Now,â from the musical Words and Music.
- The segment on pop art features excerpts from Buddy Hollyâs âEverydayâ and David Bowieâs âAndy Warhol.â The section about musicians who went to art school features tiny extracts from âAll Your Loveâ by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers; âImagineâ by John Lennon; âBrown Sugarâ, âSome Girlsâ, and âHonky Tonk Womenâ all by the Rolling Stones; âWhole Lotta Loveâ by Led Zeppelin; âPinball Wizardâ by the Who; âTubular Bells, Part 1â by Mike Oldfield; âBikeâ by Pink Floyd; âLaylaâ by Derek and the Dominos; âThe Village Green Preservation Societyâ by the Kinks; âSeaside Rendezvousâ by Queen; âYour Love is Kingâ by Sade; âCommon Peopleâ by Pulp; âYouâre So Greatâ by Blur; âMan-Sizeâ by PJ Harvey; âPaper Planesâ by M.I.A.; âKiss With A Fistâ by Florence and the Machine; and âLondon Callingâ by the Clash.
- The recording of Wagnerâs âRide of the Valkyriesâ used here is by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Uwe Mund. The brief excerpt from the start of Das Rheingold is the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Marek Janowski, and the horn call from GötterdĂ€mmerung is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly.
- The music that finishes the episode off is from the end of Max Steinerâs score for Casablanca.
Further reading, watching:
- The two main sources for biographical information were Michael Bracewellâs Re-Make/Re-Model and Simon Reynoldsâ Shock and Awe. The Brief Encounter section is loosely inspired by Roland Barthesâ essay âLeaving the Movie Theatreâ from The Rustle of Language. The list of art school alumni who went on to pop stardom comes from Pretentiousness: Why it Matters by Dan Fox.
- The BBC documentary at the beginning of the pop art section is âPop Goes the Easel,â an episode of Monitor, hosted by Huw Wheldon and directed by the great Ken Russell. The interview clips with Ferry are taken from a Channel Four documentary called This is Tomorrow. - The images in this blog post were the main source for my descriptions of the Roxy Theatre.
- Other film and television clips come from Brief Encounter; Whatâs Opera, Doc?; The Wizard of Oz; Casablanca and Now, Voyager.
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In the inaugural episode of Ghost Echoes, a suffragette reinvents a bawdy theatre, a professor locks his students in a classroom to see what happens, and a piece of avant-garde music with clearly delineated rules inspires a music history podcast with secret rules.
Music and Sound Notes:
- The music that starts this episode and recurs later is "Paragraph 7" of Cornelius Cardew & The Scratch Orchestra's The Great Learning. The full piece is a huge work in many parts (âparagraphsâ), but this record contains only paragraphs two and seven.
- The Emma Cons section features the first movement from Haydn's String Quartet Op. 54, No. 1 performed by Marlburo Music (in the section about the Old Vic) and the March from Holst's Second Suite for Military Band performed by the USAF Heritage of America Band (in the section about Morley College). Also, thereâs a quick snippet of âMarsâ from Holstâs The Planets, plus cameos from Graham Chapman and John Cleese in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Fawlty Towers, respectively.
- The strident bit of noise that repeats for comedic effect is not straightforwardly by Cardewâit is an extract from AMMMusic, the debut record by the free improvisation group AMM, of which Cardew was a member.
- The section about Cardew's classes at Morley College contains cameo appearances by John Cage's Variations I as recorded by the Motion Ensemble, and Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel from the Houston Chamber Choir's 2016 recording. (Cardew's students probably didn't actually perform Rothko Chapel, but they did study music by Feldman and this is a representative example.)
-Later, there's a brief incursion of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gruppen, performed by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln with three conductors: Bruno Maderna, Michael Gielen and Stockhausen himself (it's a very complicated piece).
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Ghost Echoes is the story of music -- and everything else.