Making Glenn Gould Come Alive in the 21st Century

Glenn Gould is one of the most famous and celebrated musicians Canada has ever produced.  His music and his ideas about art, technology and performance are still being felt today.  Don't believe me?  Watch and learn.

I'm part of an organization called The Glenn Gould Variations.  I wish I had seen this in time for our big conference at the University of Toronto last September.  I think we'll have to get these guys involved this year.

Thanks to Stuart for the link.

Windows 95 Secret

First, if you're still using Windows 95, it's time to upgrade.  But if you ever used Windows 95, you'll be familiar with the little musical flourish that you heard when you booted up for your machine.  Ever wonder where that came from?

Microsoft spent huge dollars developing and marketing this thing.  This was the version that saw the debut of the ubiquitous “Start” button, which is how the Rolling Stones came to be paid $14 million for the use of their song “Start Me Up” in the marketing campaign. 

But what is NOT so well known is the fact that Microsoft hired the producer of albums like U2’s The Joshua Tree to compose the boot-up music. 

Brian Eno–U2's favourite producer–was paid $35,000 to come up with that three-and-a-quarter second boot-up flourish.  Imagine that assignment: “We want you to come up with music that’s inspiring, emotional and futuristic–and it has to be less than four seconds long.” 

He did it—and for a while, it was the most-heard musical work in the world.  (Think about it:  It was heard by people around the planet every time they started their machine.)

Why Is That Clash Song Called "Train in Vain?"

The hidden track on the Clash’s London Calling album is “Train in Vain.”  Even though it was never listed in the original liner notes, the song ended up becoming a top 25 hit in Canada in the spring of 1980. 

But that’s a weird title.  Why is it called “Train in Vain” when those words are never mentioned anywhere in the lyrics?

According to singer Mick Jones, it was just an afterthought.  It was originally scheduled to be a freebie giveaway through one of the British weekly music papers, but the band decided it was too good for that, which is how it ended up as a last-second (and unlisted) selection on London Calling.  

They also didn’t want to call it something obvious like “Stand by Me.”  Instead, they co-opted the title of an old blues song by Robert Johnson called “Love in Vain.” 

I wish there were more to the story, but there isn’t.  It was just the Clash trying not to do the obvious.

The Clash - Train In Vain by Lartmement

Dave Grohl's Chewing Gum Habit

If you’ve ever seen the Foo Fighters, you may have noticed that Dave Grohl is always, ALWAYS chewing gum.  I’ve met the man dozens of times and every single time, he’s chomping on some gum.  Same time ever time I’ve seen the Foos play live. 

It’s a health thing, actually.  Hear me out.  

Dave sings with a lot of enthusiasm and punctuates a lot of songs with big screamy parts.  Chewing gum, he says, keeps his mouth and throat lubricated, thereby making it (a) easier to scream and (b) keep him from doing some real damage on his vocal cords. 

At last check, Dave says the best gum for the job is Dentyne Ice.  Glad I could help.

Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard Wants to be Fed to the Sharks

If you have a will (and you should), it should outline your wishes for what will happen to your mortal remains once you shuffled off to join the Choir Invisible.  Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam has thought this out very carefully.  He wants to be fed to the sharks. 

Actually, it’s a little more involved than that. 

He has stipulated that once he goes, he wants his body frozen.  After it’s been turned into a chunk of ice, he wants to be thawed—and THEN fed to the sharks.  No word if he wants to be cut into bits first. 

Here’s a quote:  "I've been trying to talk to the band into making sure they follow through with this idea.  No one else in the band has gone for the shark idea.  I'm the only one who seems that macabre.  Being tossed into the ocean seems like a good theory to me." 

He's apparently dead serious.