113 plays
Billy Green - The Death of Doctor Death
If you’re like me, the only thing you enjoy more than autoharp is lots of autoharp. I have good news, dear denizens of the digital ditty dispenser - Christmas just came earlier than your father at a steam bath. Here to autohump all of our hear-holes is The Death of Doctor Death by Billy Green, from the OST to 1969’s Stone.
Before composing the score for Stone, Billy Green was best known as the guitarist of the Doug Parkinson-focused band Doug Parkinson in Focus. After composing the score for Stone, Billy was still best known for his work with Doug Parkinson In Focus, which is understandable after you see the trailer for Stone. Basically your standard Satanist Aussie Vietnam Vet Biker Whodunnit, Stone appears to have been shot on a waterlogged super-8 by a subnormal with cataracts.
Sample dialog: ‘They live in a fortress, by the sea… Vietnam veterans.. with their own style of life.’ (Cut to naked splash fight).
Highlights of the trailer: Pinball machine getting shot by crossbow; tits.
Besides winning the Deadly Death: Little Deaths 2010 Award (‘The Deadie’) for most use of the word death in its title, this vignette, presumably from Dr. Death’s death scene, nicely blends biker-crank psychedelia with the drama of classic spaghetti western soundtracks. May all our death scenes involve so much autoharp and crossbow.
172 plays
Frédéric Chopin - Op. 28, Prelude No. 4
Back in the day the second best Beatle, John Lennon, came up with his idea for “Because” (Abbey Road, 1969) when he overheard his number one girl/band-breaker-upper Yoko Ono playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano. Lennon asked Yoko to play the chord sequence back to him, only this time in reverse, and then wrote “Because” based on that ‘new’ melody. Borrowing ideas or melodies from past songs is certainly nothing new, just ask Coldplay, but not all artists are quite as clever as Lennon was. A couple months back we posted “Jane B.” by Deadly Death pinup girl Jane Birkin, from her 1969 album Jane Birkin Serge Gainsboug. Allmusic.com credits “Jane B.” to Gainsbourg, which is interesting as its melody is lifted entirely from one of Chopin’s more famous preludes, Prelude No. 4, “Suffocation”. However, according to the Deadly Death legal department, this is all legit. Copyright laws are different in many countries, most, if not all, classical music is public domain, and shit gets real confusing when it’s 200 years old and the composer has been dead for 100 plus years… Publishing royalties need not be paid out, but I would hope the artist gives props. Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is if you ever wanted to record and release your skat version of “Flight Of The Bumblebee”, now’s the time yo.
Fun Fact: Prelude No. 4 “Suffocation” is one of the most famous pieces Chopin wrote, and was played at his funeral in 1849.
