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May 26, 2005
Reams of reams
Jonny Greenwood - Smear
You could say that this sounds positively Hitchcockian, but then you would be wrong (and besides, it's more like Hermannian, if you're going for the Hitchcock connection). But it's tempting, given the thin, wailing sound of the two Ondes-Martenots used in this piece, which could be mistaken for two victims (of sorrow, or crime) shrieking in tight, alarming harmony. 'Smear' moves away from the mournful, in parts, and sounds almost revelatory- at certain stages in this piece, it seems like there should be someone ready to whisk a curtain back to show off a grand, rolling landscape (in a way, I think that this would be a perfect candidate for a new version of 'Fantasia'-esque animation).
This was performed most recently at the Ether Festival, in London, at the end of March. Greenwood (who, in case you didn't know [unlikely], is the guitarist/resident instrument genius for Radiohead) has performed this along with the London Sinfonietta a few times in the past year or so. One of the great things about this piece is that, towards the end (around the 7 minute mark or so), it's almost as if the orchestra is playing two entirely different works at once- the sort of elegiac theme that starts out at the beginning of 'Smear' is preserved, but there's also this strange and great background explosion of hyper-circus strings and horns at the same time). [note: I just realized, while I was writing this, that the 'background explosion' that sounds like a second piece of music actually is a totally other work- the London Sinfonietta's website has embedded music, and I left the page open while I was listening to 'Smear', and Oliver Knussen's 'Two Organa' was playing. Not to slight either work, but the combination of both pieces, esp. if 'Two Organa' is started right at 'Smear's 7 minute mark, is exciting and gorgeous, semi-reminiscent of Black Dice's 'Miles of Smiles' piece. Would it be ridiculous to request a mash-up of 'Smear' and 'Two Organa'?]. I'm pretty sure this hasn't been released anywhere yet as a recording, but, if you want to support Greenwood (who no doubt is a struggling artist, barely able to feed himself), you can buy "Bodysong", his solo soundtrack composition, here.
Posted by Kevin at May 26, 2005 08:33 AM
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