The Dr. Rhythm Top 10 is music that represents talent, artistry, innovation and unique style. We encourage you to research and discover this music on your own.
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Wendy Carlos
"Switched On Bach"
The highest grossing Bach album ever! Wendy Carlos made the Moog synthesizer her servant, re-creating Bach like it never had and never will be heard again. Keep in mind the Moog synthesizer is a pretty complex beast, and to create realistic classical instrument sounds was far from a simple task. Carlos also was known for composing the film scores for Tron and A Clockwork Orange.
"Kraftwerk"
"Trans-Europe Express"
For this German synthesizer band it was all about the future, and speed. Many of the great Kraftwerk songs mention one of these two items. Trans-Europe Express uses an iconic synthesized voice with an eerie melody that persists through out. A synth masterpiece.
The Who,
, "Baba O'Reilly"
Very rarely does a classic rock song use a synthesizer as the rhythmic and harmonic drone simultaneously. But the Who did it twice! As of lately the Who appear in every version of CSI has used a Who song for their intro. But take notice of the 30 second solo in this classic tune.
Tangerine Dream, "Phaedra"
Phaedra is a good example of the affinity the Moog had for sonic exploration withinambient textures. This was the allure of the Moog synthesizer, it was like a magic box that could create something entirely new from scratch.
Giorgio Moroder, "The Chase"
Not only was it music for the film Midnight Express, but now appears as bumper music for the late night radio show "Coast to Coast AM" hosted by George Norry. Moroder was a wizard when it came to using synthesizers, and his late 1970s electrified disco gave a huge push into the 80s with House music in Chicago.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Toccata"
Adapted from Alberto Ginestera's Piano Concerto no. 1, ELP makes an impressive rock orchestration of this masterpiece. Keith Emerson is really the brain-child behind the whole thing and despite it originating from a classical piece, it clearly rocks.
The Animals, "The House of the Rising Sun"
Maybe not the absolute first synthesizer solo ever, but definitely early in the game. Recorded in 1962, the Animals were eventually part of the British Invasion, where they brought long hair, crooked teeth and gianormous keyboard synthesizers.
Laurie Anderson, "O Superman"
It is not really the solid use of the synthesizer that makes this song so memorable, but how the synthesizer is used to alter Laurie Anderson's voice. In this song she uses a vocoder paired with a synthesizer to tune and distort her voice. The song itself is incredible, let alone the technological tricks.
New Order,
"Bizarre Love Triangle"
The 80s revisited with this New Order, synth-pop classic. This is what the post-war pioneers were afraid of when they began experimenting with these primitive machines, that someday the 80s, thirty years later, would exploit these instruments like an oil well in Texas. Though it is still quite fun to listen to.
Duran Duran, "The Chauffeur"
Another 80s classic with some fabulous syntastic playing. This song made the BBC's top synth songs, and it made the cut for ours too.
In the 1970s hearing a synthesizer like in Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" or Paliament's "Flashlight" was an exotic experience. In the 1980s, synthesizers ran rampant. Today, in 2008 digital synthesizers are used in almost every genre of popular music. They are embedded into software and anyone can create 'music' in a matter of minutes using programs like Garagband, Logic, Reason, Acid or FruityLoops. It is a ubiquitous technology. You can even create ringtones on your cellphone.
You do not have to spend much time listening to music to understand that digital synthesizer technology is more widely used than any other competing instrument in contemporary popular music. But what is a synthesizer exactly? It is a machine that makes sounds from either pre-programmed algorithms, or sometimes recorded samples. True synthesis is the former, algorithms, or processes that describe the behavior of a sound through time. A synthesizer creates sounds from scratch.
It is now a widely practiced art form, with many companies and individuals mastering various synthesis techniques, from Stanford University to Yamaha. But where does this practice begin? How do we go from classic rock to synth pop in a matter of ten years or so? Would you believe it begins just after World War II?
WWII resulted in a large amount of government agency towards the expansion of communications and electronic engineering. France put large amounts of funding into recording technologies and radio communications. This resulted in the first experiments with musical sampling by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry. The premise was: how can a sound appear musical, if it was not intended to be music? Schaeffer recorded the noises and whistles of trains and edited the first musical collage from non-musical sounds.
In Germany, there was another group investing in telecommunications and electronic signal processing which ultimately trickled down to a small group of people who began the first methodical experiments with synthesizer technology. One of them, Karlheinz Stockhausen, created a new musical language in which to use these giant machinic beasts. Keep in mind, a synthesizer in 1951 is not the kind you may know and love today. These were room-sized machines with knobs, switches, patch cords, levers...a veritable nightmare. However, with time one could create, theoretically, any sound from the tiniest of building blocks.
So what happened was a small community of "mad scientist" composers banded together, there was a French team and German team. The French argued for using samples to create complex music and the Germans argued for synthesizer-controlled music. Each had their merits and each had their drawbacks. It was weird, wet and wild music, nothing that you would perhaps even consider traditional "music." But it was a great start.
In the 1960s a few of these instruments adopted keyboard interfaces, which made the facility of these instruments much more natural. Robert Moog, of the Moog synthesizer, was one of these pioneers. Many stated fear that these new sound machines could and would be end of the human musician, seeing as how these synthesizer could replicate any sound, what was stopping someone from making an entire orchestra. In the streets, musicians rebelled (in their own musical way.) However, the reality was the complete opposite. Musicians did not want to replicate sound, but make new sounds. Sounds that no one had yet heard.
By the 1970s experimental rock and avant-garde musicians are exploring the most complex of synthesizers. Groups like Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles (mid 1960s actually,) Kraftwerk and the Who were on the edge of the electronic synthesizer future.
But something happened. A few people invented digital sound, and subsequently the digital synthesizer. It was cheaper, smaller, faster, lighter...it reminds of the abominable 'Le Car' my family drove, until we realized it was not even as strong as a soda can. The sound inordinately suffered with many of these digital machines. But it gave a larger number of people access to these sounds. It was much easier to create synthesized sounds using these new digital synthesizers. By the time we arrive in the mid 80s these machines have infiltrated all facets of music. We can even identify musical time periods based on these sounds.
The synthesizer had humble begins. It was forged from a series of governmental experiments to engage a greater command of technology. The new weapon to win wars. Everyone post WWII was afraid of it happening again. As the money flew around, a few "mad scientist" composers were at the bottom collecting the loose change and building a whole new language of music.
In good musical health,
Dr. Rhythm
"Brit's 'Womanizer' "
Ask the Doctor - 9.27.08 (want to ask the doctor? click here)
Dear Dr. Rhythm,
What do you think of B. Spears' new single, "Womanizer?"
ZL
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Dear ZL,
For those that have not yet heard the new single released September 26th, 2008 you can listen using the portal on the right. I usually do not judge music in such a way as to say, "I like it," or "I don't like it." But this song could be the first step to a new Spears Empire, if she makes the right decisions in her song choices.
"Womanizer" begins much like a typical Prodigy tune circa 2002, but evolves into a swingy, electro-pop blues thing with a semi-rememberable chorus repeating the phrase, "Womanizer, Womanizer, You're a Womanizer, baby." Overall, it should get a B+ for production value. The reason it is not in the A range is because it borrows a whole bunch of pop clichés and seems to be trying too hard.
What Spears could be really good at is evolving away from the "pop sound" and more into the solo arena, much like Sara Bareilles, or the recent indie-pop singer Yael Naim. Emphasis on the word, "could." Spears does have a good voice when it is not ultra-EQed and post-processed, and when she is not using that "whiny" nose-filtered, head-voice thing she does like in "Oops, I did it again." If she could harness her real talent and move away from the Garageband synthesizer, perhaps she could find a whole new voice in the world of music.
For now she seems to gravitate towards the scantily-dressed, over-electrified, glit-pop that seems to make more insta-money. Though perhaps when she turns a ripe 27 years old on the "Circus" album debut December 2nd, she will realize that the glit is not good for the gander. I do not really know what that last sentence means, by the way, but it sounds good. Very similar to what I think Britney is doing in this song.
Be bold Brit. Take a stand. Put on some clothes, and stop kissing guys in the airplane bathroom!
In good musical health,
Dr. Rhythm
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"Rolling Stone Bashes Gov. Palin "
Dear Dr. Rhythm,
How do you feel about Rolling Stone's recent article about Sarah Palin, essentially trying to deface her to their audience?
JSM----
Dear JSM,
I am not surprised at Rolling Stone making such a shameless political claim. RS is not really about music, but entertainment. That is why I started this site, because Rolling Stone is a gossip and opinion magazine. They have no education other than cheap journalism and really do not understand the larger community of music outside their little diminishing rock audience.
One thing I would like to say to Rolling Stone readers is that you are being manipulated by this magazine. This recent article shows where their interests really lie. What business does a "music magazine" have with politics?
Moreover, why should anyone believe RS is reporting real facts? They alternate between "facts" and "myths" in the mentioned article as though they have actually personally investigated these issues as real journalists, despite the problem that most of their "facts" are wrong. Even a common bystander with a newspaper can attest that their facts are completely and utterly wrong.
Please, great readers and patrons of Dr. Rhythm, do not be fooled when music magazines, musicians, actors, etc. make ridiculous political claims and statements. Make your own decisions based on your own research and understanding. Do not just trust CNN, MSNBC, or FOXNEWS, verify, verify, verify. And most important, do not use Rolling Stone for accurate political commentary!
