Newsreel of Léon Theremin (Lev Termen) demonstrating the Theremin in 1927. Note the title: Musical Mesmerism:
About the first release of the Hammond organ
Philips Pavilion (review)
Excerpt from Louis and Bebe Barron, soundtrack to Forbidden Planet (1956)
Jean Michel Jarre in concert
Documentary about Louis and Bebe Barron on the soundtrack for Forbidden Planet (1956)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK3czDsHZbE#t=53
An excerpt demonstrating the soundtrack blurring the lines between music and sound effects in Forbidden Planet:
David Lynch, Eraserhead (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/yqlqp3OT13U?start=662&end=708
BBC Radiophonic Workshop sound effects in Private Dreams and Public Nightmares (1957)
Arthur Hoérée, soundtrack for Rapt (1933)
Toru Takemitsu, soundtrack for Woman in the Dunes (1964)—watch 2:25:30 until end
https://youtu.be/qa_xg0suuzc?t=2h25m3s
Raymond Scott, music for Lightworks commercial (1960)
Raymond Scott, music for Vicks commercial (1964)
Suzanne Ciani, sound logo for Coca-Cola commercials (1979)
Suzanne Ciani: A Life in Waves (2017 documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiXMsLkHFkg
Electrosoniks, “Song of the Second Moon” (1957)
Pierre Henry, music for the ballet Mess pour le temps présent (1967; this performance from 2016)
Mad Professor explains King Tubby’s basic technique in making dub music (from the late 1960s on):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebW5iWrZxVQ&t=600
Demonstration of using a spring reverb unit as an instrument (as in dub music)
Sun Ra and his Arkestra performing on Night Music (television series, 1989)
Sun Ra and his Arkestra in Space is the Place (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgRA9W4aZwA#t=726
Sly and the Family Stone, “Family Affair” on There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)
Stevie Wonder working with the TONTO synthesizer system
Björk Guðmundsdóttir, on translating culture to music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNFktYapxWY#t=30
Not on the test but of possible interest:
Anaïs Nin’s poetry, experimental film, and Bebe and Louis Barron’s first film soundtrack
Forbidden Planet came out in 1956, but the Barrons’ first film soundtrack came in 1952, a setting of their friend, Anaïs Nin’s poem, “Bells of Atlantis,” with film created by Nin’s husband, Ian Hugo.
And here is the result, Bells of Atlantis (1952)
BBC, Doctor Who, and Delia Derbyshire
The theme song for the Doctor Who television series was composed by Ron Grainer, and he gets credited as the composer. Indeed, he wrote the pitches and rhythms, as you hear them here:
But you might argue that what’s most significant about the Doctor Who theme isn’t the pitches or rhythms, but the timbres, and Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was responsible for the theme as we know it. Unfortunately, since she wans’t the composer, there wasn’t always a way to acknowledge her contribution in the credits.
Here’s a documentary on Delia Derbyshire and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop:
And here is an album of her solo compositions, Electrosonic (1972)
The Space Race and Space Age Pop
1957 was when the Phillips Corporation produced the first fully electronic pop music by the Electrosoniks, mentioned above. It may strike you as quaint and light for pop music, but it fits the attitude (if not the sound) of other hits in the same year:
1957 is also the year that the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik:
Remember in chapter 1 when the author discussed how aerospace achievements were shaping popular imaginations? It wasn’t just Phillips and the Electrosoniks. Note the brief “musique concrète” moment followed by space-age-enamored lyrics in this song, Sputnik (Satellite Girl)” by Jerry Engler and the Four Ekkos in 1958.
You’re more likely to have heard this later hit yourself on oldies radio. “Telstar” performed by The Tornados in 1962, produced by Joe Meek—the innovative and early star music producer whose name now lives on in audio effects processors.