Author Archives: Ryan Mark Elliott Music

Moving Pictures at 40

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This is one of my favourite albums of all time.

Rush’s career in the 70s was defined by them finding their sound and establishing themselves as a progressive rock band. The debut album having a clear influence from Led Zeppelin, the introduction of Neil Peart’s lyrics and drumming prowess on their second album ‘Fly by Night’, a flop that was critically panned in their third album ‘Caress of Steel’ and then a ferocious response that could be considered more of a double down than a pivot in their breakthrough album ‘2112’.

The band was relentless in their work ethic. Making records, then touring and they had started to pay their dues towards the latter half of the 70s with the subsequent releases ‘A Farewell to Kings’ and ‘Hemispheres’ which include some of the most fascinating, fantastical concepts and outright crazy musicianship.

Towards the beginning of the 80s, Rush went through a more stylistic transition with the biggest transformation in Neil Peart’s approach to lyric writing with less of a concern on big fantastical concepts and more of the human condition. The 1980 album ‘Permanent Waves’ certainly did this extremely well and then the overall sound aesthetic was taken up a notch with the 1981 album ‘Moving Pictures’ where the band truly captured lightning in a bottle.

Tom Sawyer is an absolutely iconic way to open an album and demonstrates an extraordinary level of focus and artistic execution.

Red Barchetta is a rocking nostalgia trip on the thrills of driving in an old school car.

YYZ is one of the best instrumentals that Rush ever penned down (Along with La Villa Strangiato) , based on the morse code for Toronto airport.

Limelight is one of Rush’s most poignant songs, where Peart explores his notions of fame and the difficulty he had with it interfering with his personal life.

Camera Eye is the epic number and one of the last songs that Rush would use extended form and focuses on city life in both New York and London.

Witch Hunt is a fantastic meditation on the Salem witch trails that covers the theme of discrimination and prejudice in a way that is as relevant as ever.

Finally, Vital Signs is about adaptability and the way in which humans can ‘elevate from the norm’.

Rush elevated from the norm and beyond with Moving Pictures and I keep my description of the record sparse for the experience of listening to it is where the magic is.

Every track is superb and the whole album is a masterpiece.

The age of algorithms

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We are living in a world that is increasingly dominated by the influence of algorithms.

Algorithms alone are neither inherently good or bad but it is worthwhile to spend time knowing how they work and that behind them is someone programming them.

They have become increasingly useful in terms of diagnosing cancer patients for instance, or helping prevent crimes. However, the interactions that people have had with algorithms on a day to day basis has not been exactly anything remotely positive.

It was recently flagged on Instagram and Facebook for instance, that algorithms were programmed in a way that was racist and suppressing the voices of black people.

Furthermore, algorithms used in advertising are becoming increasingly invasive and most people do not know how much of their privacy they have given away on social media.

There are many examples where algorithms have gone rogue and have resulted in disastrous results as highlighted in this article.

The way algorithms were used in the distribution of GCSE and A level results was an outright disaster and disgrace.

In terms of consumption of information and media, the situation can easily be regarded as a mess. There has never been more advertising, but equally so much of it has never been ignored as much as it has today. I am constantly recommended things that don’t particularly interest me and YouTube especially pushes the myth of scarcity to the point that YouTubers were burning themselves out to try and get a consistent amount of eyeballs on their content.

Google searches result in different results for different people and therefore providing a catalyst for misinformation and people not being able to agree on the facts.

The fundamental things that algorithms lack is sonder and empathy; an understanding of the emotion and complexity and unpredictability of humans. Nothing will ever replace the power of word of mouth or the felling to tension and eventual willingness for someone to enrol on a journey of learning or a problem being solved.

Algorithms alone cannot tackle complex problems.

Facebook’s motto for a long while has been ‘move fast and break things’. In the instance of algorithms, it is well worth stopping to take a breath, consider the ethics and implications of living in a world increasingly dominated by algorithms and consider the potential of ways in which they actually improve the way we operate instead allowing them to run amok and causing unnecessary damage.

Leave that thing Alone – Rush Cover

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We are still in lockdown and unable to get together in a room to play together which really is rubbish!

Nevertheless my band, Kinky Wizzards managed to pull together a performance of ‘Leave that thing Alone’ by Rush. They were recorded using our phones and hobbled together in editing by our very own Jiffy who spent the entire time kicking and screaming with Imovie.

You can hear our own music by visiting our website, https://kinky-wizzards.com/. Our albums are on Bandcamp and streaming services.

Bubble

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My friend and fellow composer Charlotte Jenkins presented her film and music live from the Dora Stoutsker in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

‘Bubble’ explored the trauma of the events of 2020 and experiences during lockdown. It was done in a way that was thoughtful and sensitive and I was pleased to have been asked to be involved with the electronics. It was my first live performance in front of a socially distanced audience since last March.

Crossing the finish line of ‘good enough’.

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I don’t own decent cameras and Final Cut Pro.

So when it came to me and the boys from Kinky Wizzards deciding to do a virtual cover together, we had to film ourselves on our phones and make do with the audio and video.

Jiff then worked his socks off on IMovie to sync it all together. After hours of working with the software limitations and tearing his hair out, he’s got it ready to ship tomorrow. (Watch this space).

It’s not ideal to not have the resources but doing it is a lot better than not doing anything at all.

Just because we don’t have the fancy gear does not mean we can’t not make something happen.

Collaboration

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A few weeks, ago, I hit a brick wall.

I’ve spent lockdown relentlessly creating and whilst I’m proud of that, I’m also susceptible to getting into mental knots, especially when so much of the work I am doing is in solitude.

Cue a rest day, recharging my batteries and a walk for clarity. All of which helped, but when it came to moving my project forward, the key to unlocking it was two phone calls with my collaborators.

They were able to see things I could not, they brought a new level of energy, excitement and feedback that made me realise the further potential of the work I am doing.

Everyone who has ever made something, especially if it’s successful has had an environment and community around them to levitate their work, which is why the idea of lone genius is a myth.

Creative work happens when we do the work, but it also happens when we know to ask for help and welcome on board the expertise and insight of others.

Dignity

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What impact do you want to have on others?

Do you want to lift people up, make them feel good about the work they are doing and who they are?

It is easy for us to fall in the trap of looking down on others and putting ourselves first and it is surprising to see how behaviour and ego can change when a person receives a promotion or when they interact with another person in an occupation they deem below them.

There are little things we can do to ensure we treat everyone around us with dignity, from acknowledging them, sharing gratitude for the work that they do and treating each other with empathy.

These moments can matter, and can be the difference in shifting how the day goes by for another person.

Penny For a King?

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Penny for a King?

A product of isolation.

My fellow musicians, Rich and Dean (who are currently based in Hong Kong) decided to put an album of original songs together, to which I had the pleasure of working on.

The album is a mixture of rock, grunge and blues with a plethora of attitude. There are riffs galore and it was really fun to mix.

You can listen to it via the following links:

Frustration can be a good thing.

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If you are working towards a goal and trying to achieve something, feeling frustration is a natural part of the process.

The frustration of not being able to succeed in what you are doing (yet).

If you are frustrated, you are working towards flow and conscious of the fact that you are making mistakes and not quite where you want to be (yet). It can be a useful motivator, a challenge to overcome and it is very often that moments of frustration also can lead to moments of a high level of learning.

If we can perceive the process of frustration as a good thing and use ‘yet’ as a useful lever to move ourselves forward, we will reap the rewards.

Keep going.

Building technical control

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One of the best books I ever used to learn to develop and expand my guitar technique was Troy Stetina’s ‘Speed Mechanics for Guitar’.

He’s a monster guitar player but explained perfectly in the paragraphs amongst the exercises as to why we were doing the exercises and what benefit they had.

An entire section of the book was dedicated to the left hand whilst the other focused on the right. Amongst them were details on finger movement efficiency, dexterity and independence as well as a wide range of different movements that are idiomatic for the electric guitar.

The main idea that was re-enforced throughout the book was that speed is a pointless goal unless you aim for accuracy as well.

As I worked through the book along my metronome as a teenager, there were things gradually improving throughout the entire manner to which I played. I felt more in control, used the required amount of energy but nothing excessive and could play passages I thought were well beyond my ability.

These technical exercises played and still play a vital role in my journey for control on my instrument. Looking at the little details and the small steps you can take to level up is always something worth dedicating the time towards.