the pipes the pipes are calling
March 16, 2016 6:37 AM Subscribe
“if he were a man of strong mind, it only gave him fits; but a person of mere average intellect it usually sent mad.” That's what Jerome K. Jerome said about bagpipes in Three Men in a Boat. But here's 16 Songs Actually Improved By Bagpipes according to A.V. Club.
Every bagpipe thread must contain a link to Rufus Harley's version of "Eight Miles High", methinks.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 6:46 AM on March 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 6:46 AM on March 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
Let us not forget "Under the Milky Way" by The Church. Amen
Actually, in TFA, it turns those weren't bagpipes in the song after all!
As a former member of The Church, guitarist Marty Willson-Piper has participated the recording of a song which has often been falsely accused of featuring bagpipes—for the record, the sound you hear on “Under The Milky Way” is actually a Synclavier—
posted by Kitteh at 6:51 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Actually, in TFA, it turns those weren't bagpipes in the song after all!
As a former member of The Church, guitarist Marty Willson-Piper has participated the recording of a song which has often been falsely accused of featuring bagpipes—for the record, the sound you hear on “Under The Milky Way” is actually a Synclavier—
posted by Kitteh at 6:51 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's nice, thanks.
posted by methinks at 6:52 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by methinks at 6:52 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Needs more Dropkick Murphys and Real McKenzies.
I sometimes think that it is impossible to make punk rock with bagpipes that I won't love.
posted by 256 at 7:00 AM on March 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
I sometimes think that it is impossible to make punk rock with bagpipes that I won't love.
posted by 256 at 7:00 AM on March 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
I don't need bagpipes. I own a cat...
posted by jim in austin at 7:07 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 7:07 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
daggit, I read the article but not closely enough apparently and am now deeply concerned about my perceptions of the universe.
posted by radicalawyer at 7:16 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by radicalawyer at 7:16 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
When I was in High School or thereabouts there was a guy who used to practice his bagpipes in a disused parking lot behind a bank near the center of town. It was very cool to be walking around on a nice fall day and hear faint bagpipe music drifting along the wind. The first time I heard it, however, I spent several anxious minutes trying to track down the hard-to-source sound to make sure it was real and I wasn't having a stroke or something.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:20 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 7:20 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Perhaps, as JKJ warned, you were addled by the pipes' malignant shrieks?
posted by wenestvedt at 7:21 AM on March 16, 2016
posted by wenestvedt at 7:21 AM on March 16, 2016
Re: AC/DC:
The song’s best aspect, and what makes it an inherently unique song is the call and response between Young’s signature guitar sound and Scott’s blaring bagpipes, as if these two musicians are talking to each other through their instruments, goading each other on and pushing forward.
I'd tend to agree with this.
Part of the problem, though, is that sometimes the only encounter people have had with the instrument is one lone piper. Now that's not necessarily a good or bad thing (it rides on the quality of the piper) but a proper intro is with a proper pipe band.
As an instrument, it's a strong spice and doesn't agree with everyone's musical palate. But, like a ripe cheese, those who like it like it alot.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:21 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
The song’s best aspect, and what makes it an inherently unique song is the call and response between Young’s signature guitar sound and Scott’s blaring bagpipes, as if these two musicians are talking to each other through their instruments, goading each other on and pushing forward.
I'd tend to agree with this.
Part of the problem, though, is that sometimes the only encounter people have had with the instrument is one lone piper. Now that's not necessarily a good or bad thing (it rides on the quality of the piper) but a proper intro is with a proper pipe band.
As an instrument, it's a strong spice and doesn't agree with everyone's musical palate. But, like a ripe cheese, those who like it like it alot.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:21 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Came to see if "Come Talk To Me" was included, was not disappointed. I approve.
Am also suggesting the cut "Sacred Heart" from the Celtic/Goth/Punk/Whatever-they-are band Cu Dubh.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:15 AM on March 16, 2016
Am also suggesting the cut "Sacred Heart" from the Celtic/Goth/Punk/Whatever-they-are band Cu Dubh.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:15 AM on March 16, 2016
Holy shit...I did not know that it was actually Bon Scott playing the pipes on "It's A Long Way To The Top." I didn't think it was possible for that song to get any more awesome, but here I am.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Great find, thanks for sharing.
I hadn't heard of several of these songs, and I'm going to listen to them all, but I have a minor quibble already in the direction of AV Club: Rilo Kiley, “A Better Son/Daughter”, which I listened to just now for the first time, has a bagpipe-y sort of melody in it, but that's definitely an electric guitar and not a bagpipe.
"16 songs, some of which would be improved if they actually had bagpipes in them"...?
(not such a catchy title)
posted by illongruci at 8:29 AM on March 16, 2016
I hadn't heard of several of these songs, and I'm going to listen to them all, but I have a minor quibble already in the direction of AV Club: Rilo Kiley, “A Better Son/Daughter”, which I listened to just now for the first time, has a bagpipe-y sort of melody in it, but that's definitely an electric guitar and not a bagpipe.
"16 songs, some of which would be improved if they actually had bagpipes in them"...?
(not such a catchy title)
posted by illongruci at 8:29 AM on March 16, 2016
"Some men there are love not a gaping pig,
Some that are mad if they behold a cat,
And others, when the bagpipe sings i' th' nose,
Cannot contain their urine."
Merchant of Venice, Act 4, scene 1.
posted by Paul Slade at 8:32 AM on March 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
Some that are mad if they behold a cat,
And others, when the bagpipe sings i' th' nose,
Cannot contain their urine."
Merchant of Venice, Act 4, scene 1.
posted by Paul Slade at 8:32 AM on March 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
Holy shit...I did not know that it was actually Bon Scott playing the pipes on "It's A Long Way To The Top."
Bon Scott played flute, recorder, and bassoon in his old band Fraternity, so learning bagpipes was probably pretty easy for him.
posted by rocket88 at 8:36 AM on March 16, 2016
Bon Scott played flute, recorder, and bassoon in his old band Fraternity, so learning bagpipes was probably pretty easy for him.
posted by rocket88 at 8:36 AM on March 16, 2016
What song isn't improved by bagpipes?
I'm not certain that bagpipes help the album version of Eric Burdon and the Animals' "Sky Pilot".
posted by ogooglebar at 8:36 AM on March 16, 2016
I'm not certain that bagpipes help the album version of Eric Burdon and the Animals' "Sky Pilot".
posted by ogooglebar at 8:36 AM on March 16, 2016
Q: What's the definition of perfect pitch?
A: Throwing a set of bagpipes out the window and having them land on an accordion.
Q: What's the difference between Highland and Uilleann pipes?
A: Highland pipes burn longer but Uilleann pipes burn hotter.
Q: What's the definition of a gentleman?
A: Someone who knows how to play the pipes and doesn't.
Q: Why do bagpipers walk when they play?
A: To get away from the sound.
posted by The White Hat at 8:40 AM on March 16, 2016 [8 favorites]
A: Throwing a set of bagpipes out the window and having them land on an accordion.
Q: What's the difference between Highland and Uilleann pipes?
A: Highland pipes burn longer but Uilleann pipes burn hotter.
Q: What's the definition of a gentleman?
A: Someone who knows how to play the pipes and doesn't.
Q: Why do bagpipers walk when they play?
A: To get away from the sound.
posted by The White Hat at 8:40 AM on March 16, 2016 [8 favorites]
How about some happy hardcore?
Scooter - I'm Ravin
scooter - The Sound Above My Hair
"Definition of a 'gentleman' - someone who knows how to play the bagpipes but doesn't,"
posted by cirhosis at 8:41 AM on March 16, 2016
Scooter - I'm Ravin
scooter - The Sound Above My Hair
"Definition of a 'gentleman' - someone who knows how to play the bagpipes but doesn't,"
posted by cirhosis at 8:41 AM on March 16, 2016
Ha.. Jinx The White Hat
posted by cirhosis at 8:42 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by cirhosis at 8:42 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
The 1978 film version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' had a totally incongruent bagpipe section randomly playing during part of a chase scene. I thought it was brilliant.
There's also a similar random appearance of bagpipes in the wrestling scene in 'Tales from Gimli Hospital'.
posted by ovvl at 8:52 AM on March 16, 2016
There's also a similar random appearance of bagpipes in the wrestling scene in 'Tales from Gimli Hospital'.
posted by ovvl at 8:52 AM on March 16, 2016
Irish taverns have basked in the sweet trill of bagpipes since the late 1500s, and even lay claim to one of the most popular types of bagpipes: the uilleann pipes
Here's a bagpiper in Ireland in 1581! And here's some Irish people, um, I don't know, pulling down their pants at a feast?
Probably should figure out what they're doing in case I am called on to do it at St. Paddy's tomorrow.
posted by maxsparber at 9:05 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here's a bagpiper in Ireland in 1581! And here's some Irish people, um, I don't know, pulling down their pants at a feast?
Probably should figure out what they're doing in case I am called on to do it at St. Paddy's tomorrow.
posted by maxsparber at 9:05 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I actually like bagpipes, not just because of the whole Celtic-ancestral-pride thing; but also because of a childhood thing. The church we went to when I was a kid was St. Margaret's, in the super-teeny town of Scotland, CT. And this particular St. Margaret was thus the Scottish one, and so on her feast day every year, they got a piper to do all of the music for the service. The priest and the piper would always start the processional to begin mass out in the parking lot for dramatic effect, with the piper leading the way; slowly they would march towards the church and up the steps, and then down the aisle up to the altar, the piper playing "Amazing Grace" or something the whole way.
I should add that the building itself was very, very small, about the size of your average small town grade school cafeteria. So being in a room that size while a bagpiper was also playing was profoundly exciting for all the kids.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:07 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I should add that the building itself was very, very small, about the size of your average small town grade school cafeteria. So being in a room that size while a bagpiper was also playing was profoundly exciting for all the kids.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:07 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Needs moar Corvus Corax (with special guest stars Wadokyo)
posted by JohnFromGR at 9:23 AM on March 16, 2016
posted by JohnFromGR at 9:23 AM on March 16, 2016
I can't believe Three Men in a Boat is being cited here. My philosophy of life (one of them, anyway) is summed up in that quirky book:
posted by headnsouth at 9:30 AM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
"Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you needNotice there are no bagpipes.
a homely home and simple pleasures,
one or two friends, worth the name,
someone to love and someone to love you,
a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two,
enough to eat and enough to wear,
and a little more than enough to drink;
for thirst is a dangerous thing."
posted by headnsouth at 9:30 AM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
My high school's football team was the Highlanders,* and the marching band back in the 60s and early 70s was a bagpipe band, complete with sword dancers. Unfortunately, by the time I got to high school myself, interest had dwindled to point where the band consisted of three pipers, with no drummers or dancers, so they no longer marched at halftime. Really sad.
*They were also known as, I shit you not, the Clan. I really hope they don't use that nickname any more.
posted by ogooglebar at 9:32 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
*They were also known as, I shit you not, the Clan. I really hope they don't use that nickname any more.
posted by ogooglebar at 9:32 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
that's definitely an electric guitar and not a bagpipe.
I think Zappa had some kind of bagpipe-like sound he used sometimes, too
posted by thelonius at 10:03 AM on March 16, 2016
I think Zappa had some kind of bagpipe-like sound he used sometimes, too
posted by thelonius at 10:03 AM on March 16, 2016
My high school's football team was the Highlanders,* ... the band consisted of three pipers, with no drummers or dancers, so they no longer marched at halftime.
Three is too many. Where Highlanders are concerned there can be only one.
posted by headnsouth at 10:09 AM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Three is too many. Where Highlanders are concerned there can be only one.
posted by headnsouth at 10:09 AM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Well, this exists!
List of nontraditional bagpipe usage.
Which brings me to the marvelous use of bagpipes in Belle & Sebastian's Sleep the Clock Around.
posted by redsparkler at 10:18 AM on March 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
List of nontraditional bagpipe usage.
Which brings me to the marvelous use of bagpipes in Belle & Sebastian's Sleep the Clock Around.
posted by redsparkler at 10:18 AM on March 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
As a person of some Scottish ancestry, I've always loved bagpipes. When we moved to Tripoli, Libya, in 1955, I had no idea there was a bagpipe-like instrument there -- the zukra. I first heard it in a trio played by desert nomads who'd come to the big city to play on the streets for tips. I was entranced.
posted by MovableBookLady at 10:20 AM on March 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by MovableBookLady at 10:20 AM on March 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Adrian Belew demonstrates the Zappa bagpipe thing that I was thinking of
posted by thelonius at 10:27 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 10:27 AM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
i'm stoked that rilo kiley song made the list - it's so ingrained in my psyche from listening to it on repeat from age 14 to uh...last week that i got chills without even actually hearing it
posted by burgerrr at 10:37 AM on March 16, 2016
posted by burgerrr at 10:37 AM on March 16, 2016
I remember this album from Brother making a bit of a splash with my high school theatre friends. We took a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and this was a good album to feed our excitement. It's solid 90s alt rock that takes some classic Scottish pipe melodies, adds drums and bass, makes use of pipe solos instead of guitar solos, and has the odd bit of didgeridoo for good measure.
posted by cubby at 11:14 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by cubby at 11:14 AM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also improved: Starfleet funerals.
Also too, Big Country (Stuart Adamson RIP) knew how to make a guitar sound a bit like the pipes.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:26 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also too, Big Country (Stuart Adamson RIP) knew how to make a guitar sound a bit like the pipes.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:26 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I feel like there should be an Arab Strap song on this list. But Chemikal Underground related, I've always loved the opening suggestion of bagpipes (which are not actually bagpipes) in this extravagantly melancholy gem.
posted by thivaia at 3:18 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by thivaia at 3:18 PM on March 16, 2016
That could almost be titled "all the songs we can think of with bagpipes"
posted by evilDoug at 5:34 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by evilDoug at 5:34 PM on March 16, 2016
Oh, man, I just read the Wiki link and it reminded me of Kate Bush's "Sensual World", in which she actually makes bagpipes sound SEXY.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:50 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:50 PM on March 16, 2016
"Sexy" you say? Then you need "do you think I'm Sexy" on the pipes, 1 and 2
posted by jadepearl at 6:50 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jadepearl at 6:50 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
This isn't necessarily about the quality of the song, but it's distinctive -
Here's a guy dressed as Kylo Ren balancing on top of a BB-8 droid and playing "The Final Countdown" on a set of flaming bagpipes.. Because why not.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:08 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Here's a guy dressed as Kylo Ren balancing on top of a BB-8 droid and playing "The Final Countdown" on a set of flaming bagpipes.. Because why not.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:08 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Growing up in Southern Ontario, every single parade I ever saw had a pipe and drum band. Is this not the case other places in NA? It was always my favourite part of a parade.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:25 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:25 PM on March 16, 2016
Am I totally out to lunch or are the "pipes" in the Flogging Molly song actually an accordion? See live video here.
posted by some chick at 7:58 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by some chick at 7:58 PM on March 16, 2016
And the pipes in the Rilo Kiley song are keys, since 1. there are no bagpipes listed on the contributors, 2. Stereogum notes they are keys, and 3. they sound like keys. Some Chick: Bagpipes Detective.
posted by some chick at 8:08 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by some chick at 8:08 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Do any other large men of Celtic descent get really really emotional when hearing a pipe band? Like, I'm ready to go punch McGregors for what they did during the last cattle raid emotional? It's weird.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:09 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:09 PM on March 16, 2016
My grandfather is an american man from long island, in the mid nineties he was hired by a Dutch themed amusement park in Japan to play bagpipes for about 4 months. PUZZLE THAT ONE OUT.
posted by Ferreous at 9:05 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Ferreous at 9:05 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Every bagpipe thread must contain a link to Rufus Harley's version of "Eight Miles High", methinks.
The one that always got me was his Chim Chim Cheree. Saw him open for Sun Ra many years ago in D.C. – a memorable evening.
p.s. Bagpipes on a Parliament LP? Mind officially blown...
posted by LeLiLo at 9:15 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
The one that always got me was his Chim Chim Cheree. Saw him open for Sun Ra many years ago in D.C. – a memorable evening.
p.s. Bagpipes on a Parliament LP? Mind officially blown...
posted by LeLiLo at 9:15 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I used to be really obsessed with bagpipes, to the point that I'd have dreams about playing different kinds of pipes for the first time. All kinds, from bubbly Northumbrian pipes to, well, also sort of bubbly Sicilian zampognas, to the Tunisian mizwad - I wanted all.
Sadly, money and concerns about the sanity of my neighbors prevented me from ever realizing my dreams.
Still, uh, if you have any questions about bagpipes I will be happy to talk obsessively at you about them.
posted by teponaztli at 4:37 AM on March 17, 2016
Sadly, money and concerns about the sanity of my neighbors prevented me from ever realizing my dreams.
Still, uh, if you have any questions about bagpipes I will be happy to talk obsessively at you about them.
posted by teponaztli at 4:37 AM on March 17, 2016
Metafilter: like a ripe cheese, those who like it like it a lot.
posted by cubby at 6:22 AM on March 17, 2016
posted by cubby at 6:22 AM on March 17, 2016
I, unironically, love the bagpipes.
I used to live near a park where someone, no idea who, would practice at sundown for a while.
Loved it.
I now live near a 12-year-old trumpeter. Not so much.
posted by Mezentian at 6:31 AM on March 17, 2016
I used to live near a park where someone, no idea who, would practice at sundown for a while.
Loved it.
I now live near a 12-year-old trumpeter. Not so much.
posted by Mezentian at 6:31 AM on March 17, 2016
Grier Coppins formerly of Rare Air deserves a mention here
posted by abhardcastle at 6:41 AM on March 17, 2016
posted by abhardcastle at 6:41 AM on March 17, 2016
Am I totally out to lunch or are the "pipes" in the Flogging Molly song actually an accordion?
It does sound like an accordion, yeah.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:45 AM on March 17, 2016
It does sound like an accordion, yeah.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:45 AM on March 17, 2016
What song isn't improved by bagpipes?
I just came across a reference, in Ben Yagoda’s book The B-Side, to Dinah Shore singing The Scottish Samba (1950). That one might qualify.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:18 PM on March 23, 2016
I just came across a reference, in Ben Yagoda’s book The B-Side, to Dinah Shore singing The Scottish Samba (1950). That one might qualify.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:18 PM on March 23, 2016
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posted by radicalawyer at 6:43 AM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]