Comments on: Sweet Zombie Jesus! We've Traveled Through Time!

Sweet Zombie Jesus! We've Traveled Through Time!

WCityMike — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:20:38 -0800

"Psyche Rock," by Pierre Henry (1967) vs. "Theme to 'Futurama'," by Christopher Tyng (1999ish). Fatboy Slim remixes "Psyche Rock" (also featured 9:20 into here) vs. "Theme to 'Futurama' (Remix)". Discuss amongst yourselves.

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:22:26 -0800

Yes, they are quite similar-ish. See also Coldcuts Atomic Moog.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:24:27 -0800

And, for that matter, listen to the opening bars of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" while you're at it (via).

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:26:14 -0800

And, of course, rumor is that "Psyche Rock" was purposefully engineered to be a re-think of "Louie Louie." (Listen to its chord progression, not the vocals.)

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:27:24 -0800

Here's a link for Artw's suggestion.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:35:01 -0800

Tangential to but not directly on point would be a comedy routine I enjoyed today which also addresses similar chords amongst tunes.

By: BobInce

BobInce — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:37:26 -0800

Ah, someone else noticed Teen Spirit then eh? (Nirvanarama - Smells like Bender)

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:38:50 -0800

wayne fontana and the mindbenders, 1965

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:42:41 -0800

Wow, "Psyche Rock" is one of my favorite songs (it's those damn bells that do it) and Pierre Henry deserves a lot more acclaim than he's ever gotten. Thanks for the post. FYI, the Fatboy Slim remix is on this comp, which is really sweet overall, including St. Germain's beautiful, beautiful "Jericho Jerk." Great stuff.

By: jjg

jjg — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:42:59 -0800

When "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came out, I posited that it would make a fine medley with "Louie Louie" and "More Than a Feeling". Then "Futurama" came along, and I added that to the list. A hundred years from now, we'll all be dead, but this chord progression will live on.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:45:56 -0800

"Same chord progression, uh, A D E D."

By: Admiral Haddock

Admiral Haddock — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:08:49 -0800

Kids with Guns.

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:24:46 -0800

First, rendering the astounding and richly detailed Futurama opening on low-res YouTube is nastier than a green snake in a sugarcane field. Second, have you ever wondered how odd it must be for Billy West to have whole scenes where he just talks to himself (as Fry, Prof Farnsworth and Dr. Zoidberg, for starters)?

By: dorian

dorian — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:36:58 -0800

basically futurama could not license psyche rock so sorta stole/ad-libbed-from-memory. I like the quentin cook version. good post. I miss phil hartman

By: effbot

effbot — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:06:13 -0800

And talking about Nirvana, there's of course this (1985) and this (1992).

By: generichuman

generichuman — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:07:03 -0800

I vaguely remember them saying that on the DVD commentary. They desperately wanted to use psyche rock as the theme song, but they couldn't get permission. So, they winged it as a kind of tribute.

By: asok

asok — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 03:02:22 -0800

Aha. So all the answers are in the DVD commentary. Always worth a listen, unless it is the commentary on Shrek or Conan the Barbarian.

By: DU

DU — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:24:40 -0800

Warning on the Futurama DVD commentary: The guy who voices Bender is essentially a human form of Bender, minus the awesomeness and of course not a robot.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:25:03 -0800

> Pierre Henry deserves a lot more acclaim than he's ever gotten. Um? He's pretty well known, for an obscure taste. Variations for a door and a sigh (which should more properly be called Variations for a door, a sigh, and a musical saw) caused quite a bit of talk when it came out, among folk inclined to like avant garde French electro-acoustica. It had everything you could possibly want from a musical saw, a great squeaky French door (barn door? it's a veritable pipe organ of a door) and a lady going oh. oh Oh. OH OH OH OH! Ohhhhhh." Imagine that combo plus enough inventiveness to make you want to listen to an hour-long piece by such an ensemble, frequently with a large shit-eating grin on your face. Mérite un détour.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:44:35 -0800

P.s. a small non-musical pleasure, the Biography in the "Pierre Henri (1967)" link is the best Frenglish I've seen in a while. p.p.s Pierre Henri (1927). But great links, thanks.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:52:43 -0800

Ok, that's just bizarre, I have the album, the fat boy slim remix single as well, and just last night I found that one of my fave DJ's was sampling a bit of it in a Missy Elliot mashup.. and now, this post. y'all have been spying in my headphones haven't ya?

By: grubi

grubi — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:27:00 -0800

y'all have been spying in my headphones haven't ya? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

By: 40 Watt

40 Watt — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:30:55 -0800

Let's not forget how nicely Psyche Rock plays with Purple Haze.

By: davejay

davejay — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:31:06 -0800

I have the remastered Perry and Kingsley collection "The Out Wounds From Way In!" and there's a song on there I always hear and immediately think of the Futurama theme -- it has the bells and everything. Yet the song Psyche Rock isn't listed on the discography. I'll check it out when I get home and follow up.

By: davejay

davejay — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:31:30 -0800

Er, PerrEy.

By: InnocentBystander

InnocentBystander — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:56:22 -0800

The Avant Garde Project has two early OOP albums from Pierre Henry available here and here.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:13:58 -0800

WTF asok? THe commentary on Conan the Barbarian rocks! "Here I am making the sword, and here are some dogs, and here I am punching the dogs"

By: InnocentBystander

InnocentBystander — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:34:58 -0800

Actually guys, maybe you can help me out. There are certain pieces of music I like, but I have no idea what you'd even call the genre or where I can find more like them. But included among them would be this Psyche Rock Piece, the Futurama Theme, and also Quincy Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova" (AKA the Austin Powers theme) and a Mint Royale tune called "From Rusholme With Love." (if you remember the Tom Cruise version of Vanilla Sky, it played over the scene of the empty Times Square) I know this is kinda vague, but every now and then I encounter a piece I *really* dig and I have no idea how to describe it or find more. Any idea?

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:31:07 -0800

WTF asok? THe commentary on Conan the Barbarian rocks! "Here I am making the sword, and here are some dogs, and here I am punching the dogs" Exactly what I was thinking! The Conan commentary may actually be better than the original film. The highlight for me is when one of Conan's trainers first cusses Conan out and then slaps and knees in the nuts one of his fellow students, who's pointing and laughing and totally not expecting it; Ahnuld explodes into deafening laughter and says something like, "Oh, he is not laughing now!" Comedy. Gold.

By: asok

asok — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:00:19 -0800

OK, it has an appeal all of it's own then. 'Now I am running'. Also the directors dirty-old-man asthmatic breathing whenever a lady appears on screen is amusing/deeply disturbing. Personally, I turn off the sound and pop on an album if I find myself watching a film such as this as the loss of dialogue tends not to detract from the enjoyment of the film.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:52:47 -0800

You're completely bonkers. Conan has an awesome soundtrack in addition to it's awesome comentary track, and some of the best dialogue ever. I will now listen to the lamentation of your womenfolk.

By: haunted by Leonard Cohen

haunted by Leonard Cohen — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:39:54 -0800

Thanks for connecting the dots for me WCityMike, it drives me nuts when I watch the show every night on Adult Swim.