4 ms·

The pinnacle of Philip Glass parodies, and an honest, nuanced one, was (the now forgotten?) P.D.Q. Bach's Einstein on the Fritz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v

The pinnacle of Philip Glass parodies, and an honest, nuanced one, was (the now forgotten?) P.D.Q. Bach's Einstein on the Fritz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumLxMLBv-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumLxMLBv-Y Glass's work in his earlier years was more iterative than repetitive, and often performed with the ferocity of a tornado. People mock his work, especially his later, softer work, but those early pieces as originally performed really rip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRerJeYmUgY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRerJeYmUgY

ChancyChance 4y ago
That second link is a perfect example. I was introduced to Javanese Gamelan before I ever heard Glass, and when I finally did it felt like someone had pushed it to the limits of speed and precision.
frereubu 4y ago
I love the earlier, even more minimal pieces like Music With Changing Parts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uy_Ag7ETA4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uy_Ag7ETA4 And I love the parallels to things like I Am Sitting In A Room by Alving Lucier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAxHlLK3Oyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAxHlLK3Oyk (If you're not familiar with this piece, it might be worth reading about it first - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Sitting_in_a_Room https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Sitting_in_a_Room) I hesitate to say this because it depends on your tastes, but I'd recommend setting aside the time to listen to these beginning to end if you can. You'll probably feel a bit fidgety for the first 10 / 15 minutes, but in my view it's really worth persevering because I find the payoffs are worth it.
- khazhoux 4y ago
  > I'd recommend setting aside the time to listen to these beginning to end if you can "Music in 12 Parts" is my go-to for cross-country flights. Always a pleasure.
  - frereubu 4y ago
    Thanks for the prompt - going to listen to that again today!
leephillips 4y ago
The P.D.Q. Bach is awesome; I’d never heard that. Maybe it is largely forgotten, but thanks for dredging it up. Shickele is a genius. (I couldn’t stand to sit though the whole movie in the OP.)
Slow_Hand 4y ago
Came to say this. I think many people overlook the intensity of his early work. Einstein on the Beach is an evergreen favorite of mine. It feels thoroughly modern and holds up well. It's been a longtime desire to experience a full production someday.
- kjellsbells 4y ago
  It's on in Argentina this summer! You always wanted to visit Buenos Aires, right?
rocket_surgeron 4y ago
The first time I ever heard Philip Glass was a performance he did on Saturday Night Live. To put it mildly, it was fucking wild. It blew my 13 year old mind. I had never heard anything like it. I went over to my neighbor's house to get the TV guide the next day so I could read who the musical guest was because I had missed it. It's known as one of the weirdest episodes of SNL ever: https://www.vulture.com/2013/03/the-weirdest-episode-of-the-weirdest-season-of-saturday-night-live-2.html https://www.vulture.com/2013/03/the-weirdest-episode-of-the-... It was a "lost" episode that I searched online for for decades. Luckily a VHS copy emerged in 2020: https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-11-e-13-george-wendt-francis-ford-copolla-phillip-glass https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-11-e-13-ge...
Sirvadi 4y ago
That Einstein on the Beach: Train piece exactly hits the sweet spot for me. I have some other stuff by Glass, Steve Reich and Keith Fullerton Whitman that are some of my most played songs but wasn't aware of that Glass piece - thank you! You've given me days of (cumulative) happy listening.

ChancyChance 4y ago

That second link is a perfect example. I was introduced to Javanese Gamelan before I ever heard Glass, and when I finally did it felt like someone had pushed it to the limits of speed and precision.

frereubu 4y ago

I love the earlier, even more minimal pieces like Music With Changing Parts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uy_Ag7ETA4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uy_Ag7ETA4 And I love the parallels to things like I Am Sitting In A Room by Alving Lucier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAxHlLK3Oyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAxHlLK3Oyk (If you're not familiar with this piece, it might be worth reading about it first - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Sitting_in_a_Room https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Sitting_in_a_Room) I hesitate to say this because it depends on your tastes, but I'd recommend setting aside the time to listen to these beginning to end if you can. You'll probably feel a bit fidgety for the first 10 / 15 minutes, but in my view it's really worth persevering because I find the payoffs are worth it.

khazhoux 4y ago
> I'd recommend setting aside the time to listen to these beginning to end if you can "Music in 12 Parts" is my go-to for cross-country flights. Always a pleasure.
- frereubu 4y ago
  Thanks for the prompt - going to listen to that again today!

leephillips 4y ago

The P.D.Q. Bach is awesome; I’d never heard that. Maybe it is largely forgotten, but thanks for dredging it up. Shickele is a genius. (I couldn’t stand to sit though the whole movie in the OP.)

Slow_Hand 4y ago

Came to say this. I think many people overlook the intensity of his early work. Einstein on the Beach is an evergreen favorite of mine. It feels thoroughly modern and holds up well. It's been a longtime desire to experience a full production someday.

kjellsbells 4y ago
It's on in Argentina this summer! You always wanted to visit Buenos Aires, right?

rocket_surgeron 4y ago

The first time I ever heard Philip Glass was a performance he did on Saturday Night Live. To put it mildly, it was fucking wild. It blew my 13 year old mind. I had never heard anything like it. I went over to my neighbor's house to get the TV guide the next day so I could read who the musical guest was because I had missed it. It's known as one of the weirdest episodes of SNL ever: https://www.vulture.com/2013/03/the-weirdest-episode-of-the-weirdest-season-of-saturday-night-live-2.html https://www.vulture.com/2013/03/the-weirdest-episode-of-the-... It was a "lost" episode that I searched online for for decades. Luckily a VHS copy emerged in 2020: https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-11-e-13-george-wendt-francis-ford-copolla-phillip-glass https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-11-e-13-ge...

Sirvadi 4y ago

That Einstein on the Beach: Train piece exactly hits the sweet spot for me. I have some other stuff by Glass, Steve Reich and Keith Fullerton Whitman that are some of my most played songs but wasn't aware of that Glass piece - thank you! You've given me days of (cumulative) happy listening.