Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour
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| FilmWorks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour | ||
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| Soundtrack by John Zorn | ||
| Released | 1989 | |
| Recorded | 1989 | |
| Genre | avant-garde | |
| Length | 53:30 | |
| Label | Tzadik | |
| Producer(s) | John Zorn | |
From the obi card:
The holy grail of Zornthologists is finally available in a newly remastered definitive edition.
Released in Japan for only a few short months in 1990, this is the original music zorn created for a series of four shorts by one of Japan's most endearing cartoonists: Kiriko Kubo.
A long time champion of Warner Bros. cartoon composer Carl Stalling, Zorn considers this to be his finest and most personal take on cartoon music to date, a genre that has influenced him deeply. The all-star band includes Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Arto Lindsay, Robert Quine, Wayne Horvitz, Bobby Previte and Cyro Baptista.
From the liner notes:
You are holding in your hands one of the rarest items in my discography - a CD I've been trying to re-release for years. I tried every possible approach to try to get the rights back from CBS Sony but to no avail. Then a funny thing happened...MASADA was scheduled to perform at the Knitting Factory the ten days of Hanukah - December 1996 and a week or so before the dates I got a phone call from Michael Dorf. Apparently Sony wanted to rent the Knitting Factory space for a private party one night smack in the middle of the run. Would I consider giving up one of the nights? Of course my first response was "NO WAY - TELL THEM TO FUCK OFF," and then I remembered this recording. If I've got something they want (this night in December) - perhaps they'd give me something I want. Absurd, you say? Ridiculous? Never happen? That's what I thought, but I took a chance and laid the deal in Michael Dorf's lap: a night for their party of squares in exchange for the rights to CYNICAL HYSTERIE HOUR, which had dropped out of print six months after its 1990 release. Dorf seemed positive he could do it - and can you believe it - he really did! Without him this music would still be one of my highest-priced collector's items. Thanks again, Mike.
It was at Yuji Takahashi's house that I first became aware of Kiriko's work, in Tokyo about 1984. I was immediately struck by the quaint and quirky originality of her vision, and impressed by the sureness and cleanliness of her line. We quickly became friends and when COBRA was recorded she kindly agreed to draw the cover designs. A few years after that she began the ambitious project of animating her strips. The first tests were quite encouraging (and are available on Filmworks III) so she went on to create four seven minute cartoons, inspired by the classic Warner Bros. work of the 1940's.
I am particularly proud of this music. As a long time fan of cartoon music it was extremely intimidating for me to try to voice myself in this genre that I have championed and that has influenced me so deeply. I was determined to create an original sound world to go with Kiriko's images and characters, one that appealed equally to children as to adults, and I found one with the aid of some of the most exciting musicians on the scene. A basic theme and set of chords tie the varied episodes together, but the instrumentation is slightly modified for each separate cartoon, focusing on punk rock guitars, dark foreboding strings or upbeat percussion.
There are beautiful moments in all of the tracks, but some of my favourites are: Bill Frisell's banjo solo on YAKISOBA (5), Quine and Ribot's punk guitars on PUNK ROCK HERO (8), Ribot's beautiful and melancholic banjo solo on TSUNTA'S THEME (10), Carol Emanuel and Marc Ribot's counterpoint on SCARY MOONLIGHT (15), Jill and Maxine's beautiful string blends and comping on THROUGH THE NIGHT (12), and of course the SURFING SAMBA (23) where Cyro's beautiful and complex percussion orchestra perfectly highlights [bill frisell|Frisell]]'s Astronaut-style surf guitar. All in all this is a real treasure, and thanks to Michael Dorf it is no longer a hidden one. The next step is to try to see them synched with the cartoons.
John Zorn NYC 1997
[edit] Track Listing and Liner Notes
Trip Coaster
- Hysteric Logo – 0:24
- Walk to Park - 2:10
- Coaster 2 - 0:47
- Fighting Pirates - 0:26
- Yakisoba - 1:14
- Coaster Trip - 1:39
Recorded at Shelley Palmer Studio, NYC, October 1988
Mixed at Key-Stone, Tokyo, June 1989
Bill Frisell - electric guitar, banjo
Carol Emanuel - harp
Wayne Horvitz - keyboards
Christian Marclay - turntables
Kermit Driscoll - acoustic and electric bass
Cyro Baptista - Brazilian percussion
Bobby Previte - drums, percussion
Ch Ch Change
- 1st Hit/2nd Hit - 0:27
- Punk Rock Hero - 0:56
- Abacus Waltz - 0:38
- Punk Rebel/Tsunta's Theme - 3:36
- End Title - 0:13
Recorded at Shelley Palmer Studio, NYC, October 1988
Mixed at Key-Stone, Tokyo, June 1989
Robert Quine - electric guitar
Marc Ribot - electric guitar, banjo
Arto Lindsay - electric guitar
Carol Emanuel - harp
Peter Scherer - keyboards
David Hofstra - acoustic and electric bass
Cyro Baptista - Brazilian percussion
Bobby Previte - drums, percussion
Through the Night
- Through the Night - 1:30
- Home Sweet Home - 1:43
- Making Ramen at Midnight - 0:32
- Scary Moonlight - 1:55
Recorded at Shelley Palmer Studio, NYC, January 1989
Mixed at Key-Stone, Tokyo, June 1989
Marc Ribot - electric guitar, banjo
Carol Emanuel - harp
Jill Jaffe - violin, viola
Maxine Neuman - cello
Peter Scherer - keyboards
David Hofstra - acoustic and electric bass, tuba
Cyro Baptista - Brazilian percussion
Ikue Mori - drum machine
Bubblin' Singin'
- My Favorite Things - 2:18
- Omelet Punk - 0:20
- Classical - 0:16
- Stink of an Onion - 0:34
- Onion Samba - 0:59
- Omelet Punk 2 - 0:16
- Me and My Hamburger/Final Samba - 1:05
- Surfing Samba - 1:10
Recorded at Shelley Palmer Studio, NYC, October 1989
Mixed at Key-Stone, Tokyo, June 1989
Bill Frisell - electric and acoustic guitar, banjo
Robert Quine - electric guitar
Carol Emanuel - harp
Peter Scherer - keyboards
David Hofstra - acoustic and electric bass, tuba
Cyro Baptista - Brazilian percussion
Bobby Previte - drums, percussion
Arto Lindsay - vocal Kiriko Kubo - vocal
