Mr. Rogers Introduces Kids to Experimental Electronic Music (1968) | Hacker News Reader

Mr. Rogers Introduces Kids to Experimental Electronic Music (1968)

openculture.com

132 pointstintinnabula26 comments

Bruce Haack was a genius. There are songs on The Electric Lucifer[1] that would sound ahead of their time if they came out today (and that record was released almost 50 years ago). Of late he seems to have been canonized as one of those auteurs who is totally unappreciated in his time but winds up influencing everybody.

The experimental children's records mentioned in the article are absolutely worth your time, as well as the aforementioned Lucifer, but anyone interested should also hear "Party Machine"[2] (co-produced by Russell Simmons) and the 32 minute epic "Icarus"—both bonus tracks on Haackula[3], a 2008 collection of previously unreleased material. There's also some really good stuff on Bruce Haack Remixes[4] which came out on Stones Throw in 2012.

One of my favorite rap songs in recent memory is Micah James' "Blow Job (Give Up)"[5] which samples and builds on a Haack song by the same name.

[1] http://www.discogs.com/Bruce-Haack-The-Electric-Lucifer/mast...

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cox-6Lwx0Nw

[3] http://www.discogs.com/Bruce-Haack-Haackula/release/1377215

[4] http://www.stonesthrow.com/store/album/various/bruce-haack-r...

[5] https://micahjames.bandcamp.com/track/blow-job-give-up

> There are songs on The Electric Lucifer[1] that would sound ahead of their time if they came out today

Uh. When was the last time you listened to this stuff?

I don't know if I would call it ahead of it's time today, but I definitely think it's on par with a lot of electronic music today. It's actually quite good!

Well that was quite cool. Theres that drum beat that you expect to kick in any moment but never does, which is kind of disappointing, but still its a cool track (just begging for a remix).

I have to say though, that video was weird. You've got Mr. Rogers who, judging by the looks, sells vacuum cleaners for a living, joined by Mr. Bruce, who would not look out of place in a Tarantino movie about a guy selling drugs in Las Vegas truck stop parking lots. Then in waltzes a scantily clad lady that proceeds to perform weird movements with kids who have apparently no idea whats going on, but decide to play along due to a lack of other options. I feel I've been missing out in my youth.

She's not scantily clad. Her leggings go almost down to her ankles. Her suit is probably brightly-colored and only looks scandalous in your brain when you fill in a different color. e.g. http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/leotards/cl1270.aspx?posit...

I will not let facts mess with the scandalousness of my memories. At least I've Learned Something Today about leotards.

This is a great post. I cannot believe "Party Machine" is from '78. Holy crap, that's unbelievably contemporary.

It kind of goes to show how similar many of the music making tools are today, but here's a guy putting together an amazing jam and Carter was still in office.

Speaking of rap/hip hop I wasn't born in 1968 but I a Canadian kid was on a vacation in NY in 1977 but it was in August.

I thought it would have been interesting if I had been there in NY city in July 1977 when the big blackout occurred. Apparently looting of stereo equipment is what (maybe) spurred the new art form of hip hop sure it's debatable but it sounds cool. I'm not even a fan of rap or hip hop but it would have been fun to have been there for it.

It's also interesting that rap/hip hop was born about a month before Elvis died it's like to ages of music colliding one birth and one death.

Mr. Rogers' enthusiasm and curiosity was so genuine it pulls you in. He was just as enthused about what was being taught as any of the kids watching. No wonder he connected with kids in such a unique way.

I worked as an instructor at a coding bootcamp for a year (the past year actually) and I always felt a little like I was channeling Mr Rogers. I loved him as a kid and as an adult it was very apparent to me that the reason I loved him was because he was so enthusiastic about what was going on. I taught with similar enthusiasm and got great feedback from students and my employer. I think that it held the students' attention and help them grasp new and challenging material. Enthusiasm is often lost in education because at the end of the day it is a J-O-B and it can be difficult to maintain a certain level of enthusiasm.

"[Mr. Rogers' guest Haack composed] several more, all them weirder and more wonderful than maybe anything you’ve ever heard. (Don’t believe me? Take a listen to “Soul Transportation,” “EIO (New MacDonald),” or the absolutely enchanting “Saint Basil,” with its Doors-y organ outro.) A psychedelic genius, Haack also made grown-up acid rock in the form of 1970’s The Electric Lucifer, which is a bit like if Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice had written Jesus Christ Superstar on heavy doses of LSD and banks of analog synthesizers."

Another piece of 1960s kiddie psychedelia was H.R. Pufnstuf. The "straight guy" (Marty) of the two Krofft brothers always said that there was no LSD involved, but others there at the time disagree.

So "Syd" Krofft could have been a nickname for "acid"?

Heh. Neat idea, but I don't think so. I just think it was a thing creative people did back then.

I sold my old Klipsch speakers to Sid and visited him a couple of times at his very funky Mulholland Dr. house. There was a stool there, made of chunky wood, that he said, with a boyish smile, he had carved out "in the shape of Marilyn Monroe's rear." It was not a good fit for my own posterior.

This reminds me of the "Experimental Music on Children's TV" Tumblr. http://emoctv.tumblr.com/

Honestly, it's one of my favorite Tumblr feeds.

There's a similar, and also very adorable, video of Herbie Hancock (of "Rockit" fame) on Sesame Street 15 years later: http://www.openculture.com/2012/10/watch_herbie_hancock_rock...

Thanks, that is the one I thought of when I saw the headline. Great video. Though now that I watch these with my kids, my favorite episode is the one where he goes to a restaurant and they make him a cheese sandwich. It's just so darn normal.

> Herbie Hancock (of "Rockit" fame)

I'm just being a grumpy old jazz fan, but it bothers me that he's not known for anything but Rockit. Even if it's just to note that he was sampled in "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),").

I know, it's not a culturally salient genre anymore, and I should shut up. Sorry.

Well, I'm an admirer of Herbie Hancock and I don't know what "Rockit" refers to. I hope that makes you feel better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY

I'm all about Watermelon Man.

Kids are still learning jazz and other music history in schools that have good music programs.

Speaking of “Rockit”, does anyone have the lyrics? All sources seem to categorize it as strictly instrumental, but you can hear a distorted voice, and the music video clearly shows him speaking into a microphone.

Kinda think Mrs. Nelson in underdressed for the occasion....

With that said, I've always found that the greatest musical works are created under great constraints. Eddie Van Halen did amazing things with his electronics to get extra performance out of them that just didn't exist back then- everyone just sounded like eric clapton or jimmie page.

When I first began recording in the mid 90's I had to rig up two computers to do a digital 8 track recording because I couldn't afford a real one. Refining my process within those constraints I believe made a much better result than if I had something like Garage Band. It required a ton of creative engineering and that excitement that was reflected in the music.

The guy in this video is doing some really amazing stuff with such simple electronics.

Huh, I have a reading a few books on the history of synths and I've never heard of this guy

_________

If anybody's interested, some of the better books are

- Synth Gods (Rideout)

- Electronic Music (Collins/Schedel

- Listening thru Noise (Demers

- Electronic/Experimental Music (Holmes

(there's a complete book listing in the back of Burkholder et al, History of Western Music)

Mr. Rogers' curiosity and enthusiasm is inspirational. This video by PBS is a lovely tribute to a great human: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFzXaFbxDcM

This video is begging for a remix.

For what such a remix would probably sound like, check out Ruckus Roboticus (particularly his "Never Play with Scratches" album). Lots of mixing on mid-century children's records (among other things).

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