Floyd the Ripper

Jack the Ripper

The website of Belgian Rock-in-Opposition band Univers Zero states, "If Stravinsky had a rock band, it would sound like this . . .". Certainly the band has unconventional rock instrumentation. Oboe, bassoon, violin, viola, harmonium, and organ join more traditional instrumentation. Although the band added electronic instrumentation later on, this piece is from the earlier album Heresie, which Last.fm tells us has been called some of the "scariest music ever committed to record". It is dark. It begins slow and ominous, a steady forboding tone emerging from the voices of woodwinds and strings, laying the groundwork for the tension to build. By the time the percussion joins, one can easily picture the work's namesake pursuing his victim. The non-traditional rock instrumentation works to particularly good effect here; the woodwinds and strings provide the right texture to characterize the feeling of dread in the piece. Despite the march to the inevitable frightening climax, there remains enough space for the soloists to work and express themselves.

Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3

My random selection for today. Despite being a fan of progressive rock, I never really got into Pink Floyd. The Wall is the only work with which I'm familiar. I haven't listened to it in awhile, so it's difficult to give impressions, particularly so when given such a brief portion of a larger work. Whether justified or not, the overdubbed audio at the beginning of the track may indicate an aspect of the band which may explain why I never became more of a fan. Beyond that, this is largely the famous "Brick in the wall" chorus which many people have likely heard in some context.