Re:sound #104: The Music of Everyday Things Show

This hour: melodies from the world around us.*Note: due to rights issues, not all pieces in this show can be streamed on our website.

Schwinntonation
by Katie Mingle (Re:sound premiere, 2009)
So you thought your bicycle was for getting from place to place, did you? Well, so did we. But it turns out that a bike can be a veritable orchestra for your listening pleasure. At least it is when it's in the hands of Charlie Malave and Russell Weiss.

Starry Night
by Mazen Kerbaj (Kerblog, 2006)
During a war, the everyday sounds of the world around you can be terrifying -- fighter planes flying low over your city, for example, or explosions in the far (and not so far) distance. In 2006, during the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, blogger, artist, and musician Mazen Kerbaj responded to these sounds by making music out of them. He took his trumpet out onto his balcony in Beirut and improvised a duet with the Israeli fighter pilots flying overhead.

Bent
by Delaney Hall (Re:sound premiere, 2009)
Open up a simple electronic children's toy, scramble its circuits, poke around, and you can find a whole world of weird sounds inside. In fact, a little toy like a Speak & Spell, which you can get at any crappy thrift store for about two dollars, can be transformed into a sophisticated synthesizer with just a screw driver and a little bit of spit. It's true.

Sounding Post
by Nina Perry (Falling Tree Productions, 2008)
When you think about it, musical instruments are made from everyday things too: metal, plastic, string and wood, shaped in such a way to produce and reflect sound. Nina Perry, a sound artist and composer from London, decided to investigate the particular musical qualities (resonance, tone, pitch, timbre) of various kinds of wood, in a sonic journey from the instrument back to the tree.

Four Teapots
by Laura Vitale and Rick Moody (Re:sound premiere, 2009)
A stovetop composition.

This episode of Re:sound was produced by Delaney Hall.