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GrafHaarschnitt View Drop Down
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    Posted: April 24 2023 at 12:56
Hey fellow proggers,

I am writing my final paper for my musicology studies on the topic of Cardiacs.
More specifically I am reviewing "A Little Man And A House And The Whole World Window" under the premise of conceptalbum.

Full Album:

A Little Man and A House Video: (Sorry, I donīt get the hyperlinks working)

For that premise I also try to summarize their specific style and theoretical groundworkings. With these two in Mind I will also open up the question about "culture criticism" both through lyrics and music inherently. The Cardiacs use time signature and especially tonality very anarchisticly contrasting.

I wanted to ask if any of you have special insights in:

- the music theory of the cardiacs
- your opinion on whether its a conceptalbum and if true what it might be about
- have or know good transcriptions for that record (I have some from Musescore)
- know good literature about the "concept album"
- have an original album copy of the album (and maybe could send me pictures of the booklet of some of the first pressings? Maybe even vynil?)
- attending a cardiacs concert at the time and how you perceived the mood of the audience.
- know original reviews of that time?
- anything really related to that specific album or Cardiacs in general is appreciated greatly ; )


I am also interested in an idea that I call "Cardiacs as the inventors of hyperpop". By overemphasizing elements like the hook, An overtly extreme but otherworldly catchiness, Or danceableness. In a way the cardiacs might try to show manipulation in pop music by overcomplicating rhythms that are actually quite simple in nature and substituting rows of basic cadences with manic (functionally) chromatic chords. All the while hammering down simple major chords in a punky anarchic fashion. But maybe this is just a funny idea and after all smiths music is just about freedom of the form, like so many prog bands work. (Devin Townsends Empath comes to mind).

I know this is quite a lot, but I didnīt wanna start a myriad of threads and for once in my life use the potential of knowing a bunch of very sweet music nerds.

I am very thankful for any collaboration and opinions !!


Edited by GrafHaarschnitt - April 24 2023 at 13:05
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Manuel View Drop Down
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Points: 12399 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 24 2023 at 13:04
Quite an interesting concept. I would love to read your fina work.
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Logan View Drop Down
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Points: 32698 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 24 2023 at 14:29
I was hoping that a degree was being offered on Cardiacs maybe through the The Alphabet Business Concern Academy. ;) Good luck, I love Cardiacs and know the album well, but doubt I would have much of value to add unless some posts spur some thoughts. As for hyperpop, maybe it was something of an influence, but I think that genre is much later. I would research if ones recognised as hyperpop cite Cardiacs. That sort of quirky manic energy can be found in various Pronk/ Post Punk and Zolo acts. This Heat, Camberwell Now, Divo, and the recent black midi all have those qualities to me. Bjork has hyperpop qualities, I think (or is it hyperballad?). All the best.

Edited by Logan - April 24 2023 at 14:32
Just a fanboy passin' through.
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I prophesy disaster View Drop Down
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Points: 4596 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote I prophesy disaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 24 2023 at 15:48
Originally posted by GrafHaarschnitt GrafHaarschnitt wrote:

I wanted to ask if any of you have special insights in:

- the music theory of the cardiacs
 
No, but I did suggest some time ago that the homogeneous combination of prog and punk is carnival music.
 



Edited by I prophesy disaster - April 24 2023 at 16:04
No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man.
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Lewian View Drop Down
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Points: 14110 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lewian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 24 2023 at 16:28
I love Cardiacs and this album but probably can't contribute anything deep here, particularly as I tend to not care much for lyrics.

However I suspect that Kavus Torabi might be quite approachable, and might tell you something on "the music theory of the Cardiacs". Actually I don't know, he may or may not respond (the only thing I know is that he tends to mix with the audience after gigs), but you could try contacting him via his bandcamp page. https://kavustorabi.bandcamp.com/
Maybe William D. Drake is also worth a try. https://williamddrake.bandcamp.com/
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chopper View Drop Down
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Points: 19944 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 25 2023 at 02:13
You could also try Jon Poole of Lifesigns, he was the bass player in the Cardiacs at one point.
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runciblemoon View Drop Down
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Points: 24 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote runciblemoon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 25 2023 at 02:27
Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

You could also try Jon Poole of Lifesigns, he was the bass player in the Cardiacs at one point.


*Guitarist. Jim played bass. "A Little Man..." was before his time in the band, but he was definitely a fan around the time when it came out, and was in a group that was heavily Cardiacs inspired, alonside future Cardiacs drummer Bob Leith (Ad Nauseum).
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runciblemoon View Drop Down
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Points: 24 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote runciblemoon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 25 2023 at 02:42
Originally posted by GrafHaarschnitt GrafHaarschnitt wrote:

I wanted to ask if any of you have special insights in:

- the music theory of the cardiacs
- your opinion on whether its a conceptalbum and if true what it might be about
- have or know good transcriptions for that record (I have some from Musescore)
- know good literature about the "concept album"
- have an original album copy of the album (and maybe could send me pictures of the booklet of some of the first pressings? Maybe even vynil?)
- attending a cardiacs concert at the time and how you perceived the mood of the audience.
- know original reviews of that time?
- anything really related to that specific album or Cardiacs in general is appreciated greatly ; )


Hello. Cardiacs are my favourite band. I am not a music theorist but it always warms my cockles to see people taking Tim's music seriously, so I will try and point you in some useful directions.

Firstly, there's the Cardiacs Museum, which is a great resource for memorabilia, press cuttings, transcriptions etc. Quite a treasure trove.

Secondly, you may want to get in touch with the man behind this lovely video, who was a composition student and was pivotal in Tim receiving his honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Lastly, there's the Facebook group. Lots of lovely pond-dwellers there who might be able to fill in gaps for you, and would certainly be able to provide eye-witness accounts of the early days (I sadly only got to seem them live a couple of times in their final years).

As for your question about whether or not it's a concept album, I've honestly never quite made up my mind on that. I generally feel like it is at least a loose concept album, centred on the anxiety and paranoia of just trying to exist in a world that can often feel hostile, confusing and overwhelming. I certainly don't think it is attempting to tell some kind of coherent narrative though.

[edited to add in the links because I am a numpty]


Edited by runciblemoon - April 25 2023 at 02:45
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