My dad is a damn good musician. He was in rowdy bands touring europe before I was born, he's been a music teacher my whole life, he got me my first guitar, he pointed me in all the right directions when I was learning how to play it, when he heard me listening to Rancid and NOFX he suggested I try Dead Kennedys and Oingo Boingo, and he made sure music was all around me and my sisters for our entire upbringing. He drove me to practices as a 14 year old, he helped record my first demos in a teenage band with Nat.
One of his more recent personal projects is called "One Day in One Hour / 1d1h", which is a captivating auditory exploration of an every-man's trial through the grind of office work. It is not background music, it is meant to be listened to. From the CD Baby link:
"Many contemporary listeners, especially those who have grown up with minimal exposure to western classical music, have had little contact with the concept of program music. The term ‘program’ is believed to have first been used by Liszt to describe music attempting to communicate extra-musical ideas such as a poem or a story. There are many examples of program music that pre-date Liszt however. From text painting in madrigals, to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, to Beethoven’s 6th and the works of Berlioz, many composers have engaged in this kind of musical story telling.
This work was begun in a spirit of fun and adventure. It is the composer’s hope that you the listener can experience it in the same light-hearted manner."
I have heard it in various stages of completion and seen it performed live with accompanying dancers and imagery. The piece is compelling, complex, catchy, and interesting. It definitely isn't the racket Akimbo is known for, but nonetheless I highly recommend it to everyone here.
Samples and MP3s available, full album is $9.99
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