[David Herrick]

I couldn’t find that SNL sketch, Jung, but if you search on “classical music in cartoons” on YouTube you can find plenty of compilations.

It’s not classical music, but this has been my favorite music-related cartoon since I was a little kid:

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/one-froggy-evening-1955-with-michigan-j-frog

 

[David Herrick]

Yes, thanks for the great read, Jacki!  I can’t get enough of these behind-the-scenes Beatles stories.

I’m stunned by Allan Rock’s claim in the caption of the last photo, that John requested that the car radio be turned up so he could sing along with “Get Back”.  I know that Canadians don’t lie, but that just doesn’t sound plausible.

 

[David Herrick]

I vaguely recall seeing these Bugs Bunny bits back in the day, Jung.  I had no idea that it was Liszt, of course.  The animators were very clever in the way they created visuals to go with the music.

There was a Saturday Night Live sketch a long time ago which was a commercial for a compilation album called something like “Classical Music You Know From Cartoons”.  It featured the standard format of playing clips from the compositions as the titles scrolled up the screen, but it included parenthetical subtitles such as “Kill the Wabbit”.

 

[David Herrick]

I got a “Stay groovy!” sticker.  It never occurred to me that those goodies might not be distributed identically.  I guess I’m thinking too corporately.  But yes, the bonus items really make one feel valued.

 

[David Herrick]

You’re right, Jung, with regard to both the resemblance and MLT’s versions.  It’s driving me nuts because this “new” song sounds so familiar, but I can’t pin it down to any one song I already knew.

I did notice that the line “Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright” is almost identical musically to “When you walk through my door, you’ll be home” from the Turtles’ “You Don’t Have to Walk in the Rain”, but I’m pretty sure that the Who song came first.

 

[David Herrick]

Jacki, we’re on the Fahrenheit scale down here, so 40 degrees sounds very refreshing.  And temperatures in the 20’s sounds like… glaciers.

 

[David Herrick]

I didn’t know this song either, Jung, or anything by the Who for that matter.  I wouldn’t have guessed that they ever did anything that sounded as early-British-invasion as this, so I suppose I’ll have to go explore their catalog now.

 

[David Herrick]

I got mine on Monday, so JP and I can confirm that they’ve at least reached the eastern U.S.  But yeah, it might take a while for them to make it up north, what with all the intervening glaciers.

 

[David Herrick]

This is very interesting, Jung.  I never pictured people swooning over classical music.

Given that Liszt died in 1886, nine years after the invention of the phonograph, I was wondering if any portions of his later concerts were recorded.  It turns out that the first recording of piano music is from an 1888 performance by British composer Arthur Sullivan.

After hearing it, Sullivan recorded a spoken message for Thomas Edison in which he said that he was “astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever.”

Rather prescient, wasn’t he?

 

[David Herrick]

I think I’d throw a little comedy into the mix and go for Jack Benny’s violin, Tom Lehrer’s piano, or Steve Martin’s banjo.

 

[David Herrick]

I can kind of relate, Jung.  I often flesh out thoughts during long walks, although my usual setting for creative inspiration to solve problems is the shower.  I had always assumed this was Murphy’s Law in action:  I can only come up with ideas when I’m somewhere that I can’t write them down.  But I guess walks, showers, and sleep all share that element of low sensory input that frees your brain up to focus on internal business.

 

[David Herrick]

This is very interesting, Jung, and quite true in my own experience.  I’ve only written about half a dozen tunes in my life, but every one of them has come to me all at once either in a dream or immediately after waking up.

 

[David Herrick]

Jacki, it sounds like you’ve got a good mix of creative and analytic processes going on.  I’m looking forward to what you finally settle on.  (No rush, though!)

Jung, once I’ve finished fine-tuning the song and have practiced it enough to get through it without any mistakes, I’ll certainly share it.  Right now I’m being naughty and trying to throw in a non-Ionian chord here and there to spice things up a little.

I’d love to hear what you can come up with on the piano!  Given this deeper understanding of music theory, I’m very optimistic about the possibilities for songwriting.  It may not change the world, but just to be able to tell someone “here’s a little song I wrote” would be very empowering.

 

 

[David Herrick]

This is incredible, Howard!  I’m amazed at both the inspiration to attempt something like this and the skill to carry it out.

 

[David Herrick]

I’m quickly learning why songwriters say to start out with some chord progressions and then fit a melody to them:  it’s proven to be impossible for me to go in the other direction.  I had written a two-part vocal harmony that sounded good on its own, but chord sequences that follow those combinations of notes have turned out to sound so incredibly contorted and random that I’ve gone back and slightly changed some of the vocal parts to fit the closest Ionian mode chords.

It definitely has to be Ionian:  it’s a happy, early British invasion type tune, with jangly guitars (in my mind, at least).  I think I’ve managed to salvage it now.  The chords seem to flow naturally, and the melody nestles into them well.  I just wish I could get my ukulele to jangle.