SOUNDTRACK: THOR HARRIS, DUMB NUMBERS-“Carol of the Tubular Bells” (2019).
I really like Joyful Noise Records. They release some really beautiful music as well as some really out there stuff. They are the home of Kishi Bashi and Ohmme as well as a number of other terrific bands. But they also release lots of noisy chaotic bands (call it joyful noise perhaps).
For 2018 they released JNR Holiday Party, Vol. 2 and eclectic bunch of holiday songs.
This song was recorded by Thor Harris & Dumb Numbers with David Yow, Ohmme, and CJ Boyd.
Thor Harris is, well, his Wikpedia page says he is “an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman.” Musically he is a composer and percussionist who plays every instrument in the universe (on his last album he was credited with marimba, flute, vibraphone, voice, organ, duduk, tubular bells, gongs ,etc.”
Dumb Numbers is the project Adam Harding whose musical style has been described as doom, sludge, and “swooning feedback pop.” He has worked with all kinds of people including David Yow, singer of The Jesus Lizard.
That’s the background for this nearly three minutes of bizarreness.
The song starts with a toy piano playing Carol of the Bells. Soon enough, OHMME sing beautifully the actual song, including the ding dong ding dong. Meanwhile the counterpoint vocals (normally “Hark how the bells, Sweet silver bells…”) features David You singing “Don’t go insane, don’t go insane” to that melody.
That’s all that Yow sings, over and over for nearly 3 minutes. And he clearly starts to go a little insane. His vice fades to a whisper, turns into a rant, and sometimes even gets back on track to the timing. Meanwhile OHMME sounds really beautiful.
Around 2 minutes in, Yow seems to have lost it entirely, mumbling incoherently until he screams “look out mama, there’s a….”
OHMME stop singing and then the melody of “Carol of the Bells” suddenly morphs into Mike Oldfields’ “Tubular Bells” and the song takes on a whole new tone.
As the song fades Yow screams “Faaaaaaaaalllllllll on your knees.”
This is the song you play when you want everyone to leave your Christmas party.
You can watch Yow sing over the backing track here.
[READ: December 16, 2019] “Show Me Your Dantes”
This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my fourth time reading the Calendar. I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable. Here’s what they say this year
The Short Story Advent Calendar is back! And to celebrate its fifth anniversary, we’ve decided to make the festivities even more festive, with five different coloured editions to help you ring in the holiday season.
No matter which colour you choose, the insides are the same: it’s another collection of expertly curated, individually bound short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.
(This is a collection of literary, non-religious short stories for adults. For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.)
As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check back here to read an exclusive interview with the author.
Want a copy? Order one here.
I’m pairing music this year with some Christmas songs that I have come across this year.
This story was delightfully surreal. I am very intrigued that it is an excerpt from an upcoming novel which is the second of a trilogy about character named Prin. Initially I thought Prin was a woman, because, why not. But that was quickly settled, when it was obvious Prin was a forty-year old man.
The excerpt starts with Prin being interviewed by a Charlie Tracker. Charlie asks him what he knows about this job and Prin says that if he got the job he would be working with Charlie but would be working for Hugh, Charlie’s son.
The story seemed to be pretty normal–a man getting interviewed–until Charlie says he is impressed that the Prin wore new shoes to the job interview, “most of the professors I’ve met over the years show up in shoes they stole from hobo camps.” Since I didn’t know when this story was set I didn’t know how literal that was meant to be. (Apparently not at all).
As the interview gets going Charlie offers to let Prin see “the finest private collection of Dante manuscripts and Dante memorabilia in the United States.” Charlie is a little disappointed that Prin wasn’t more excited about that but Prin says he’d be more excited if he knew what this position was all about.
Charlie gives a lengthy and affecting explanation of how he got into Dante (it had to do with the Vietnam war and a very disturbing scene). We also learn about Charlie’s business background and how he succeeded after the war. (more…)
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We saw Kishi Bashi back in November and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been too. The spectacle was amazing. We were in exactly the right place to help him crowd surf and he played the encore in the middle of the audience. It was also his birthday.
I Just Read About That... 