Composer Reacts to Cardiac - RES (REACTION & ANALYSIS)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on RES
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You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned you might be missing the bigger picture.
It’s very hard to judge Cardiacs based on a few individual songs. I got hooked on Cardiacs back in the early 90s at music college when there was a very intense cult following of them in my area (Wakefield/Leeds UK). I first saw the Maresnest video at a party and found them really interesting but then borrowed the Heaven Born And Ever Bright album which totally hooked me.
Ironically that isn’t the kind of album that most Cardiacs would recommend for a first listen but it might suit you because it is a little more restrained and, I guess, commercial.
Before Cardiacs I was a huge Zappa fan so I guess that helped. But you are right in saying they have a style of their own. Very hard to compare with anything which is why they’re equally loved and hated. They do write much more restrained stuff though. You really need to hear a full album multiple times. The chaos starts to dissipate as you become familiar with the melodic and harmonic shifts.
By the way, the Sing To God album is a masterpiece on every level.
Great channel. Been watching for a while. Love the analyses.
Holy shit yes. No one reacts to Cardiacs. Seriously one of the most underrated bands in history. Credited with creating the genre Pronk aka progressive punk. So many songs you could do. Nurses Whispering Verses is one of my favorites. Is This The Life is probably their most popular and for good reason.
Casi prefiero que sea una banda desconocida,por lo menos aquí en España,la banda se conoce por Is This The Life,pues se pinchaba en las discotecas de la pre-rutadelbakalao,respecto a las etiquetas o género,para mí la banda es inclasificable,salud!
R.E.S. is like many early Cardiacs songs about war. Spesifically WW1.
This is actually one of few Cardiacs songs we have a confirmed meaning for cause of this bit in an old interview with Tim:
Interviewer: "You use the metaphor of the playground, in the song RES to refer to a soldier on the battlefield."
Tim: " Yeah, its just how the soldier sees it or how I'd see it in his shoes-the complete and utter weirdness of it all. I mean it was just so mental, the first world war wasn't it. Its like he sees it from the childish point of view and its summed up in a childish view to him. I like seeing clips from old news reel of that time. I think what fascinates me is the total patriotism of it all. The jolly men leaving for war and wanting to join up and then they came back and told how terrible it was. It shook a lot of sense into people about the horrors of war. That was was a watershed, it made people start thinking that was was a bad thing."
Wow, rereading the lyrics in that context makes so much sense. Also, the jerky nature of much of the rhythms remind me of those WW1 newsreels where the playback is slightly too fast and the soldiers look like weird toys or automatons.
@@chriswarehamsame thing goes for the music video
Woo! My request is here! Thanks for checking it out. Your analysis is wonderful as always. I know you're now pretty familiar with this band's style, but the main reason I wanted you to hear more is that the way you break songs down is so interesting and satisfying to hear.
May edit this comment later to add a couple thoughts of my own, but this was great, thanks.
Edit with additional thoughts:
"Let me know why you keep coming to them, why they're one of your favorite bands."
There's a lot to love about them. There's so much going on beneath the chaos. Once you let them sit with you, these songs can be really catchy. I don't think there's a Cardiacs song I've heard that *hasn't* at some point wormed its way into my head for at least a little bit. And sometimes, the songs can beautiful, in a very strange way completely unlike anything else.
I should say, though chaos is very much part of the style, most of the songs aren't *this* chaotic. The typical Cardiacs song is somewhere between Manhoo and Loosefish Scapegrace, RES and Tarred and Feathered are among only a dozen or so that really push it.
I do think this song earns the chaos though. The general interpretation is it's something about war, a soldier confronted with anxiety and fear of death and a deeply felt loss of individuality while on the battlefield. It's not told very directly, no Cardiacs lyrics are. I think a song about war deserves to be this chaotic doesn't it? Though probably not this upbeat haha.
Once more, really glad to see this up, and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on tomorrow's!
Oh, and if you want to dive into an album, I'd recommend "A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window" *or* Songs For Ships and Irons.
Completely agree about the depth and hearing new things on repeat listens. There is certainly a lot going on in these Cardiacs tracks, moreso than most are going to pick up on a first listen.
The whole "That's the way we all go" finish of R.E.S. is a motif to the very first track A Little Man and a House in which they also repeat "That's the way we all go". It makes for a great call back to nearly book-end the album, given there is the very grand sounding The Whole World Window.
This album is an absolute masterpiece.
Exactly this. This album cries out to be listened to as a whole - the way the tracks follow on from each other, how the mood changes and the themes and lyrics circle back, and it all builds up to the wonderful spine-tingling finale of The Whole World Window. Few bands (especially these days) make albums that work so perfectly when listened to from beginning to end, it's an incredible skill. It was my first Cardiacs album and is still my favourite, and often gets me very emotional even after all these years. I'll never tire of it, in fact I still discover new things in it.
The chaos is not intrinsic to them; it's intrinsic to specific songs that you've been recommended. I think people keep on recommending you the most chaotic and eccentric compositions because they make for more entertaining reaction videos. As a composer, Tim Smith was actually capable of showing quite a bit of restraint. Many of their songs are more straightforward rock songs. After digesting their whole catalog, it becomes more apparent that these chaotic songs aren't meant to show off Tim's compositional skills or to be complex for complexity's sake, rather, they were simply the type of stuff he genuinely wanted to write in that given moment; it's just him having fun.
I implore you to investigate some of their more restrained compositions! They really are just as mindblowing and gorgeous. Some specific recommendations:
Lilly White's Party - from Smith's side-project, "The Sea Nymphs"
Sleep All Eyes Open -- From Guns
Heaven and Helen, Core, and Day Is Gone --From the album Heaven Born and Ever Bright.
Swimming with the Snake, Savour, Veronica in Ecstasy, and Bug from Heaven --From Tim Smith's solo album, OceanLandWorld. (Just as good if not better than any Cardiacs album)
Odd Even, Bellyeye, Flap Off You Beak, and Nurses Whispering Verses --Sing to God.
A Little Man and A House --From the album of the same name (almost)
Gina Lollabridgida --From The Special Garage Concerts or The Seaside
And that's just the beginning.
Cardiacs are difficult but rewarding.
I've had mixed reactions to Cardiacs in the past, loving one track and disliking the other, but I've always admired their originality. This one lies somewhere in the middle. Again, I have immense appreciation for their originality, and I definitely love certain sections of this, but I think as a whole it doesn't quite come together into a coherent whole experience. In general it has a very postmodern feel to it in how all these disparate genres just butt up against each other without much regard for making it all make sense, where the surprise of the new section and the reaction that creates is part of point of the experience. I can often enjoy that aesthetic if I find each section compelling, or if the surprises are so fun that I do find myself enjoying them, but I was a bit mixed on this one. Some sections had me thinking I'd heard enough rather quickly, while others had me really enjoying it. I'm probably going to have to do a discog run for them eventually because bands this original are too few and far between to ignore.
I think you are in need of more Cardiacs. The "chaos" is illusory. Every cow bell every triangle was meticulously placed. They performed these tracks live just as well as in the studio. And yes even the "digital" chops.
Absolutely! There is no chaos. Although I would argue that they actually played these songs ever BETTER live.
My favourite Cardiacs tracks are Fiery Gun Hand and Will Bleed Amen, but I think you may be better served listening to Dirty Boy for a more flowing sound from them. 90s Cardiacs are more produced and slightly less chaotic than early 80s Cardiacs.
I think you've definitely been thrown into the deep end of their catalogue. This and Tarred & Feathered are arguably the most chaotic tracks they ever made. I get that people request them as they get the most extreme reactions, but doing this does a disservice to showcasing the breadth of the band's sound as they quite understandably get written off as a one trick pony.
I would argue that the majority of their work leans towards the more beautiful melodic elements rather than the madcap seeming randomness that songs like this have.
Fair point. I personally hold RES up as one of their greatest but you're right that it is completely off the deep end. Well, this isn't his first time with the band, he's heard Manhoo and Loosefish Scapegrace in addition to Tarred and Feathered, so I figured he knows what to expect enough that he'd be ready for a crack at one of my favorites. And it did seem like he enjoyed the song.
I *may* request another Cardiacs track in the *eventual* future considering just how much I adore this band and loove the way Bryan breaks down songs. I'll make sure it's something tamer though as that's a side of the band he hasn't fully seen yet. Next up is Dog-Like Sparky though, as I already requested it the same day I requested RES.
@@-100-percent He needs to be introduced to the track Dirty Boy!
@@BlueCrayon77 Oh yeah, Dirty Boy would be great! Though I'm a bit worried to submit a special selection for it considering that the other reaction channels that have tried it complained about the lack of dynamic range.
That 6 / 4 duality you mention I believe can be referred to as "hemiola", and it is something Tim Smith (leader of Cardaics) frequently used!
Love Cardiacs 🙂
There's an early Cardiacs track, where they sound like they're channelling Zappa. Tim Smith was amazing!
th-cam.com/video/wChtk8W759Y/w-d-xo.html
"That's the way we all go", is a theme that appears all over the Little Man and His House, and the Whole World Window album. You might enjoy the first song on that album, actually (the title track). It's a more moderate song, so another option to try for that "more normal Cardiacs song" you were looking for.
One thing that might affect how things are structured is that Tim was completely self-taught. He worked out how to read music by matching a score for The Who's Quadrophenia to the record, and figuring out what things meant. (No Internet back then to just search online, and text books would've been harder to come by, too. They weren't rich, either.) He taught himself the language his own way. That makes his use of that language ecclectically authentic.
I think if you watch the All That Glitters is a Mare's Nest concert video you might get more of what he was all about. (They focused a lot on the stage show and the broader entertainment aspect - things like the Alphabet Business Concern back story they made up for videos they made. He didn't compose things just to make clever music. The cleverness was used for the sake of playfulness, and the playfulness was used to try to make the fans feel happy and satisfied and "without any pointy elbows" - to use one of his English phrases.)
They made their own videos. (Sarah Smith might've had a hand in this. These days she's an artist by profession, and the last I heard, she was being exhibited by the Royal Academy - which is quite a big deal - as in you've "made it" as "serious artist" in the UK if you're accepted by the RA).
Here's one of those (the Little Man and his House, as above). th-cam.com/video/LSbRmyVMRhU/w-d-xo.html
(The music is a different version to that on the album. There are multiple versions of quite a lot of their songs.)
Possibly the most "progressive" song on that album was *The Breakfast Line* (well after the circus music, anyway :-) ) There are echoes of R.E.S. and The Residents (The Act of Being Polite) in the beginning. Strings kick in at about 2:30, followed by more "progressive" themes or whatever they're called. (The new Gong has used this in a show).
th-cam.com/video/gZ47K6GjYJM/w-d-xo.html
Every song starts from a segue from the previous song, so ideally you should listen to the album as a whole if you get the time. (So much music, so little time, I suppose.) It's hard to listen to this one without hearing Victory Egg follow (all about generals selling our dead meat by the pound, so the lyrics can get quite serious).
The feeling of 3 (or 6) against 4 is called a Hemiola, the feeling of a triple and duple meter simultaneously, is a major element of the feeling of Cardiacs music. Seems to be something Tim was particularly interested in playing around with.
Also your comparison of language and music is interesting, because as someone who has listened to them for years now, Cardiacs musically speaking are using their own vocabulary. It takes some time to understand the context of the writing. Relistening is always rewarding. You could, in the literature world, compare them to a writer like Thomas Pynchon, whose books most people can't make it through because of the density and heaps of references that you don't understand. That can definitely turn people off in books or music. And recommending songs to people is difficult because everyone will absorb it differently.
Good call. I need to remember that 3 or 6 against 4 is the same as 3 against 2 , which the latter my brain immediately understands is a hemiola. And yeah, I totally agree about multiple listens. The more depth a song has the less you'll understand it on a first listen and Cardiacs has depth and layers for days!
I saw them at a festival in about 1990 when they played this tune, I thought I was blacking out and coming round during the next song 15 times
Man, I prefer the Seaside version of this track so much more, not gonna lie.
If you're gonna go with a full album I'd actually start with the EP compilation Songs for Ships and Irons (which is where Tarred and Feathered and Loosefish Scapegrace come from). It's the sweet spot where it's all instrumentation rather than production and it really indulges the poppier side at times. Even though it's a comp, it feels like a cohesive album (or as cohesive as Cardiacs can be, natch).
RES is such a good example of what Cardiacs do: write 20 of the earwormiest riffs (though the main riff of this one is borrowed from The Residents, hence RES) and smash 'em together. My favorite music's always something you have to sit down and parse out layer by layer, instrument by instrument, moment by moment.
What Residents song?
@@LifeOfBryan8 iirc, The Act of Being Polite
I couldn't really choose a version (though I do like this one a little more) so I sent him the little man version on bandcamp and the seaside version with video on youtube and let fate do its thing.
these guys are literally incredible
Check out The Duck And Rodger The Horse! Too many Irons In The Fire is also great.
I think that a little man and a house and the whole world window album is a great start to discover them.
It's because of that album i fell in love with them and is a great introduction to the style of Cardiacs. In the beginning
i was like this is just chaos. But after a while beyond the chaos you can find beautiful songs with great melodies and
ideas. Also the song A man and a little house the opening song of that album uses the same theme that returns in Res (that's the way we all go).
Because of that there's more a story in the whole album.
Bryan, you are the best for covering more Cardiacs tracks. Thank you
Probably one of my favourite songs ever now
Creeping ever nearer to Dirty Boy by Cardiacs!
They would play this live perfectly…. Including the “digital” chops, they were that good
I think he is under estimating the sheer musical talent that the Cardiacs had. A band so tight even a metronome would hang it's head in shame.
Saw this track live many times ftom 84 too 86
It is a quantum superposition of 4/4 and 6/8 - if you believe that stuff?
Lack of cohesion? Just think of the press that Yes album Relayer got back in the seventies. Now that's a prog rock unmissable, though. Now, check the "that's the way we all go" section at the end. It's that 6 against 4 again!
Cardiacs are brilliant
Highly highly highly highly highly recommend anything from the album Guns. Maybe the song Sleep All Eyes Open.
*Anything, from any Cardiacs or Tim Smith recording. Ever.
@@MartinHiggins1972 Fair point!
Loving the Cardiacs reactions.
This is simply the best 17 minutes song that lasts only 5. Masterpiece.
You know, I’m really warming to this band.
My Friend Mark Fryer was born exactly 10 years before you, on March 31st 1978. He even looks a bit like you, has his hair long in a ponytail now as well.
Just you wait until you listen to A duck and Roger the Horse 😂😂😂
Another brilliant reaction and analysis
I think Cardiacs always recorded on a really tight budget and they wanted to get the biggest bang for their buck - they worked really hard to make their records sound rich on a shoestring and I think that's why at points the vocals become very secondary to the instrumentation.
I've been a Cardiacs fanboy since the 80s but this was one of the few tracks I always had trouble with, as the whole stop-start time signatures bit just irritated me, it came across like showing off rather than music. Once it gets to the end bit it's good but the earlier parts of the track are a bit of a slog. I think Tim just over-indulged on this one, but then he was just a baby when he wrote it.
So I take it you're a rhythms composer? I've noticed you mainly harp on the meters and rhythms of Cardiacs and hardly any chord progressions or harmonies. In my opinion, the most interesting and engaging aspect of them is the actual music theory they employ, rather than their ever-changing rhythms.
It seems the chords and melodies go right over your head! Haha.
Either way, your review is very appreciated as any mention of Cardiacs is a welcome one 👍
To me this song is awesome.. should all music be like this? Definitely not, but I find it really enjoyable tracking with the changes and it makes sense to me at least. I think for some it would help to listen enough times so you know what to expect
Man you have to give a listen to Blindness by The Fall.
And this record was panned when it came out.... go figure. They were to far ahead of the curve. Time has finally caught up.
Sounds like a jam on acid.
😍❤😍❤😍❤😍❤😍❤😍❤😍
I think you should give “Satan is the Whistler’ by Rheostatics a listen.