User Pick of the Day (#12): Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks

Anonymous · 2014-03-28T15:07:31-04:00

Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks Chart: Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by satiemaniac Rank on User's Chart: 1 Year: 1968 Rank on BEA Overall: 1,487 Average Rating: 74/100 Summary Info: The debut album from Van Dyke Parks, an American musician otherwise known for his heavy involvement in Brian Wilson's Smile project. Prior to the release of this album, Parks had worked as a session pianist for a number of high-profile acts and was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with contemporary pop's reliance on traditions connected to the British invasion. This album was his attempt to provide a uniquely American pop experience, including elements of bluegrass, ragtime, and folk, among others. Van Dyke Parks's thorough deconstruction and analysis of pop music is first and foremost an intellectual exercise, taking the small flourishes, crescendos, and instrumental tidbits that tie us to our favorite pop songs and making dynamic, soundtrack-resembling sound collages out of them. Parks, though, has the advantage over a variety of more academic composers or cleverer later musicians of having been himself intimately involved in some of the best pop music ever made. Because of that, fleeting moments of sereneness, immense beauty, and the giddy joy that only a certain kind of baroque pop can give on a dewy spring morning are intact and a mile-a-minute as Parks frees himself from the traditional structures of repetition that drill such ideas into your head. The result is a much more abstract and lasting slab of pop than most. Details on the implementation and chart selection process of "User Pick of the Day" can be found here and here, respectively. A chart documenting the previous picks can be found here.

Goto page Previous 1, 2

View previous topic :: View next topic

satiemaniac

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

Are you at Tulane?

mhm :3

Kool Keith Sweat

satiemaniac wrote:

mhm :3

I applied to Nicole Gasparini for grad school but got rejected

satiemaniac

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

I applied to Nicole Gasparini for grad school but got rejected

oh, sorry to hear that. i assume you've come to campus before - did you enjoy your time here, at least?

Kool Keith Sweat

satiemaniac wrote:

oh, sorry to hear that. i assume you've come to campus before - did you enjoy your time here, at least?

I enjoyed Bourbon St. as I usually do

New topic Closed

Topic Posters
All times are GMT>
Goto page Previous 1, 2

Page 2 of 2

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Topic	Author	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Sticky: User Listening Log Masterlist	mickilennial	Music Diaries	6	07/06/2019 09:09 StefanR10
Sticky: Song Quote Suggestions	JohnnyRocketFingers	Suggestions	2468	04/13/2026 08:04 albummaster
Sticky: Release Day Eve: Anyone got something...	Repo	Music	194	07/03/2026 08:34 albummaster
User Pick of the Day (#30): Colossal ...	RIHYONCE	Music	12	04/16/2014 02:40 Anonymous
User Pick of the Day (#79): The Disin...	Guest	Music	8	06/13/2014 13:09 Facetious