4 ms·

One of the first popular Moog songs -- the original Gershon Kingsley "Popcorn": http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSRCemf2JHc http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSRCemf2JHc

by acheron 12y ago

ginko 12y ago
This is predated by Switched-On Bach, one of the most successful classical music albums in history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6I33iW1kmw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6I33iW1kmw
- leoc 12y ago
  That's not the original, of course: Carlos is a notoriously active sender of YouTube takedown requests.
  - CamperBob2 12y ago
    :( History will record the 21st century as a time when artists stopped trying to emerge from obscurity and started trying their best to disappear into it.
- robert_tweed 12y ago
  Popcorn has the distinction of having been composed specifically for the Moog; as far as I know it was the first piece of music composed for a synthesiser, as opposed to a reinterpretation of a piece originally composed for traditional instruments.
  - acjohnson55 12y ago
    As a purely electronic piece, it's predated by Silver Apples of the Moon, by Morton Subotnik [1], the first electronic album to be produced in the record industry. I had the pleasure of taking a class by Mort at NYU and learned a lot from his philosophy of music. He provided the musical philosophy behind the design of Don Buchla's eponymous electronic sound platform [2]. Mort is responsible for the Buchla's lack of a familiar 12-key per octave keyboard. Mort felt that as long as they were synthesizing sound from scratch, there was no reason to box themselves into traditional scales, which result from the harmonic nature of sounds produced by resonant instruments (like winds and strings). By contrast, Bob Moog created a synthesizer that is very much within the tradition of classical music. I imagine that this continuity, exemplified by Switched On Bach, is probably why the Moog is the far more famous instrument today. It's a much easier on ramp for musicians used to traditional instruments. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Apples_of_the_Moon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Apples_of_the_Moon. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchla_Electronic_Musical_Instruments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchla_Electronic_Musical_Inst...
    - TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
      Both were predated by music made on the original Columbia-Princeton synthesizer (academic/experimental) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Mark_II_Sound_Synthesizer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Mark_II_Sound_Synthesizer And by Raymond Scott, who had been using custom electronic circuitry for ads and commercial music since the 1950s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy77ioKI4lQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy77ioKI4lQ Scott was a genius because he realised that you could not only make sound electronically, you could build hardware that would compose music. Everyone else is still playing catch-up with that idea. There was also a fully electronic score by Bebe and Louis Barron for a film called Forbidden Planet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet#Soundtrack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet#Soundtrack Moog basically made the technology self-contained and sort-of affordable. With a Moog you had a complete keyboard synthesizer in a box, and you didn't need a room for it. My favourite Moog music is the classical albums made by Isao Tomita in the 70s. I don't think anyone else has come close to the inventiveness, poetry, and sheer programming genius in the sound design. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv97o588sLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv97o588sLY
stephenhess 12y ago
Interesting. Makes sense why a lot of synths come pre-programmed with a "Popcorn" patch.
- ibisum 12y ago
  The Popcorn sound was as ubiquitous in 70's synth music as the DX Bass sound was in 80's music, as the Pizzo sound was in the 90's, and so on .. each generation has their favourite factory preset. ;)

One of the first popular Moog songs -- the original Gershon Kingsley "Popcorn": http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSRCemf2JHc http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSRCemf2JHc

by acheron 12y ago

One of the first popular Moog songs -- the original Gershon Kingsley "Popcorn": http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSRCemf2JHc http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSRCemf2JHc

ginko 12y ago

This is predated by Switched-On Bach, one of the most successful classical music albums in history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6I33iW1kmw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6I33iW1kmw

leoc 12y ago
That's not the original, of course: Carlos is a notoriously active sender of YouTube takedown requests.
- CamperBob2 12y ago
  :( History will record the 21st century as a time when artists stopped trying to emerge from obscurity and started trying their best to disappear into it.
robert_tweed 12y ago
Popcorn has the distinction of having been composed specifically for the Moog; as far as I know it was the first piece of music composed for a synthesiser, as opposed to a reinterpretation of a piece originally composed for traditional instruments.
- acjohnson55 12y ago
  As a purely electronic piece, it's predated by Silver Apples of the Moon, by Morton Subotnik [1], the first electronic album to be produced in the record industry. I had the pleasure of taking a class by Mort at NYU and learned a lot from his philosophy of music. He provided the musical philosophy behind the design of Don Buchla's eponymous electronic sound platform [2]. Mort is responsible for the Buchla's lack of a familiar 12-key per octave keyboard. Mort felt that as long as they were synthesizing sound from scratch, there was no reason to box themselves into traditional scales, which result from the harmonic nature of sounds produced by resonant instruments (like winds and strings). By contrast, Bob Moog created a synthesizer that is very much within the tradition of classical music. I imagine that this continuity, exemplified by Switched On Bach, is probably why the Moog is the far more famous instrument today. It's a much easier on ramp for musicians used to traditional instruments. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Apples_of_the_Moon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Apples_of_the_Moon. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchla_Electronic_Musical_Instruments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchla_Electronic_Musical_Inst...
  - TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
    Both were predated by music made on the original Columbia-Princeton synthesizer (academic/experimental) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Mark_II_Sound_Synthesizer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Mark_II_Sound_Synthesizer And by Raymond Scott, who had been using custom electronic circuitry for ads and commercial music since the 1950s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy77ioKI4lQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy77ioKI4lQ Scott was a genius because he realised that you could not only make sound electronically, you could build hardware that would compose music. Everyone else is still playing catch-up with that idea. There was also a fully electronic score by Bebe and Louis Barron for a film called Forbidden Planet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet#Soundtrack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet#Soundtrack Moog basically made the technology self-contained and sort-of affordable. With a Moog you had a complete keyboard synthesizer in a box, and you didn't need a room for it. My favourite Moog music is the classical albums made by Isao Tomita in the 70s. I don't think anyone else has come close to the inventiveness, poetry, and sheer programming genius in the sound design. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv97o588sLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv97o588sLY

stephenhess 12y ago

Interesting. Makes sense why a lot of synths come pre-programmed with a "Popcorn" patch.

ibisum 12y ago
The Popcorn sound was as ubiquitous in 70's synth music as the DX Bass sound was in 80's music, as the Pizzo sound was in the 90's, and so on .. each generation has their favourite factory preset. ;)