I was thinking that what made synthesizers so great in the early '70s was that they were synthetic per se. Maybe the makers were trying to synthesize the sounds other instruments made, but the technology just wasn't up to it, so instead they made these awesome sounds no one had ever heard before. Before too long, before even the '70s were out, synthesizers did a pretty good job of making ersatz versions of other instruments' sounds, and the interest leaked away pretty quickly. ('80s synth-pop helped, of course.)
I think it would be fun to get a hold of some Moog and A.R.P. synthesizers and get up a '70s synth choir. Then again, I also think it would be a good idea to start a rock'n'roll church, where a large group would more or less sing gang karaoke. And to start a kazoo choir, more or less along the lines of the contributors to Mr. Yankovic's "Smells Like Nirvana" video, though at the moment I'm more captivated with the idea of doing "Black Dog" kazoo style. (Also the Columbia Kazoo Choir, open to all, might be a nice counter-balance to another similarly alliterative group which is much less open and drastically less fun.)
See? I'm just full of ideas!
a '70s synth choir
ReplyDeleteWould you call it ELO?
I wonder if, at the time, the more adequately synthesized sounds of "real" instruments had something of an uncanny valley effect among general listeners? Interstingly, at the same time synthesized music of any kind was running into the mainstream backlash against anything "disco," outside the mainstream, Chicago House was being born and kids in the Bronx were starting to rap over sampled Kraftwerk beats.
ELO started all this. I still can't believe I can't find the long version of "Showdown" on YouTube. (A propos of next to nothing, I was looking at the credits for "Dark Side of the Moon" I think whereon Rick Wright was said to play an ARP string synthesizer. In, uh, 1972. I'm unsure whether or not it sounded anything like strings.)
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing about hearing; if you can't tell fake strings from real strings, you can't tell. So probably not a lot of uncanny valley there, unless people go to the show, see there's no orchestra and feel cheated.
Instead of "ELO" you should call your synth-choir "J-ELO."
ReplyDeleteWEEB-ELO! BIG-ELO!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of synths that don't sound like anything, Fox just played "Have A Cigar." Love that intro!