The Power of Context
At the end of this entry is a link to my mash-up of 'Help Me Somebody' ('HMS') by Brian Eno and David Byrne, using bits of a sermon by Reverend Wright.
Here is the original version:
One of the original interpretations comes from a Brian Eno fan site, in which the 'lyrics' are transcribed. Apparently the sample of the preacher was a part of a sermon by Reverend Paul Morton in New Orleans in June 1980 which addressed the evil of rock music. In it David Byrne was accused of promoting "spiritual weirdness."
The 'lyrics' of HMS were as follows:
Talkin' funny and lookin' funny and talkin' 'bout "Nobody loves me" you make yourself look bad.
Help me somebody.
You need to take a good look at yourself and see if you're the kind of person that God wants you to be.
It's no big thing, it's a small thing, what... people... think.
Help me somebody.
There's no escape from him. He's so high you can't get over him. He's so low you can't get under him. He's so wide you can't get around him. If you make your bed in heaven he's there. If you make your bed in hell he's there. He's everywhere.
Woo! Help me somebody. Woo! Help me somebody.
Reverend Wright's 'lyrics' are:
God damn America
The government lied
No no no
Rich white people
God damn America
Help me somebody
The government lied
Help me somebody
No no no
Rich white people
He doesn't fit the model
Rich white people
He doesn't fit
God damn America
Help me somebody
The government lied
Help me somebody
No no no
God damn America
It's in the bible
For killing innocent people
Help me somebody
***
One has to admit that the media are full of appropriations such as this, coming in the form of news reporting, which the viewer gives consent to truth, when if fact it can be sliced and diced into the verisimilitude of truth. News has become more of a collage than actual journalism, as sound bites are strung together with 15-30 second commercials (and in the Web 2.0 world, downloaded and joined together in social networks.)
As I prefer to make music the 'old-fashioned' way, it's interesting to explore music collage, mash-ups, or other dadaist compositional techniques like musique concrete. The latter really doesn't apply here because there is very little manipulation of sound sources. It is rather the musical equivalent of cutting up magazines and pasting them in a collage, and then varnishing it with social commentary. In this case, I am not showcasing Wright, nor am I resonating with his teachings. This is merely an example how cutting/pasting and changing the order of things can give the impression of truth, or an expression of opinion, both of which cannot be proven.
The original version of HMS appeared on Brian Eno and David Byrne's album 'My Life In The Bush of Ghost (1982). The album incorporates recordings of Arabic singers, radio disk jockeys and an exorcist synchronized with the instrumental tracks.
My track demonstrates how one can mash-up an alternate version of reality by cherry-picking bits of media to rearrange the sequence of events in a different context. I've referred to this as 'musicism', i.e. using preexisting music to create new music rather than doing it with a traditional instrument. The late 'photographer' Robert Heinecken called himself a 'photographist' as he never really used a camera to create images, but rather appropriated scraps laying around, which is what this is--although mine has a layer of self-reference with the original version by using Reverend Morton's chant 'help me somebody...' with Wright's 'the government lied...', 'rich white people', etc.
I am also interested in the music of language (See my essay titled 'The Music of Language, The Music of Place' where i discuss this at length.)I thought Wright's sermon was very musical and melodic (as are most preacher voices) and I wanted to explore it further.
Read 'The Music of Language, The Music of Place'
***
Help Me Somebody (Jeremiah Mix)
Help Me Somebody (Jeremiah Mix w/ added bass and guitar) 5/3/08
Here is the original version:
One of the original interpretations comes from a Brian Eno fan site, in which the 'lyrics' are transcribed. Apparently the sample of the preacher was a part of a sermon by Reverend Paul Morton in New Orleans in June 1980 which addressed the evil of rock music. In it David Byrne was accused of promoting "spiritual weirdness."
The 'lyrics' of HMS were as follows:
Talkin' funny and lookin' funny and talkin' 'bout "Nobody loves me" you make yourself look bad.
Help me somebody.
You need to take a good look at yourself and see if you're the kind of person that God wants you to be.
It's no big thing, it's a small thing, what... people... think.
Help me somebody.
There's no escape from him. He's so high you can't get over him. He's so low you can't get under him. He's so wide you can't get around him. If you make your bed in heaven he's there. If you make your bed in hell he's there. He's everywhere.
Woo! Help me somebody. Woo! Help me somebody.
Reverend Wright's 'lyrics' are:
God damn America
The government lied
No no no
Rich white people
God damn America
Help me somebody
The government lied
Help me somebody
No no no
Rich white people
He doesn't fit the model
Rich white people
He doesn't fit
God damn America
Help me somebody
The government lied
Help me somebody
No no no
God damn America
It's in the bible
For killing innocent people
Help me somebody
***
One has to admit that the media are full of appropriations such as this, coming in the form of news reporting, which the viewer gives consent to truth, when if fact it can be sliced and diced into the verisimilitude of truth. News has become more of a collage than actual journalism, as sound bites are strung together with 15-30 second commercials (and in the Web 2.0 world, downloaded and joined together in social networks.)
As I prefer to make music the 'old-fashioned' way, it's interesting to explore music collage, mash-ups, or other dadaist compositional techniques like musique concrete. The latter really doesn't apply here because there is very little manipulation of sound sources. It is rather the musical equivalent of cutting up magazines and pasting them in a collage, and then varnishing it with social commentary. In this case, I am not showcasing Wright, nor am I resonating with his teachings. This is merely an example how cutting/pasting and changing the order of things can give the impression of truth, or an expression of opinion, both of which cannot be proven.
The original version of HMS appeared on Brian Eno and David Byrne's album 'My Life In The Bush of Ghost (1982). The album incorporates recordings of Arabic singers, radio disk jockeys and an exorcist synchronized with the instrumental tracks.
My track demonstrates how one can mash-up an alternate version of reality by cherry-picking bits of media to rearrange the sequence of events in a different context. I've referred to this as 'musicism', i.e. using preexisting music to create new music rather than doing it with a traditional instrument. The late 'photographer' Robert Heinecken called himself a 'photographist' as he never really used a camera to create images, but rather appropriated scraps laying around, which is what this is--although mine has a layer of self-reference with the original version by using Reverend Morton's chant 'help me somebody...' with Wright's 'the government lied...', 'rich white people', etc.
I am also interested in the music of language (See my essay titled 'The Music of Language, The Music of Place' where i discuss this at length.)I thought Wright's sermon was very musical and melodic (as are most preacher voices) and I wanted to explore it further.
Read 'The Music of Language, The Music of Place'
***
Help Me Somebody (Jeremiah Mix)
Help Me Somebody (Jeremiah Mix w/ added bass and guitar) 5/3/08
