Friday morning economic meltdown music, continued again

Alternate post title: Another Side of the IJG.

Specifically: a new thing called "Hard Times / The End of Money."



It's still a bit of a draft -- in particular, I think I overcompensated for some of the problems in the live recording -- but what the hell.

We actually introduced this at our New Year's Eve show this past December. What can I say? The real-world context has become more dire in the ensuing months, and so I ended up putting together something that has a certain melodramatic flair. Not sure if that's good or bad.

It still has that absurdist IJG stamp, of course. Particularly in the juxtaposition of scenes of honest-to-goodness poverty with scenes of bourgeois consumerism, or whatever you want to call it. Again, I probably went overboard. So sue me (I have no money, so you'll get nothing!).

The opening chorale is an arrangement of the Stephen Foster chestnut, "Hard Times." With particular deference to the following lines: "While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay / There are frail forms fainting at the door / Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say / Oh hard times come again no more."

The rest of the tune is my fault.

Unlike most of our other videos, footage of the band (c/o Matt Lichtenwalner, via Tany Ling's camera) plays a pretty minor role in this piece -- mostly it's ephemeral cinema from my usual treasure trove, the Internet Archive. Sources include instructional films about economics, documentaries on rural poverty and suburbia, and a slew of old television commercials.

Make of it what you will! Just remember it's a work-in-progress.

(The sillier side of the IJG will return in the next video, I swear.)

Audio recorded by James Dethlefson and crew at CSUB (thanks again, guys!), during our show on April 3.

Reeds: Gavin Templeton, Cory Wright, Evan Francis, Brian Walsh, Damon Zick, Gabriel Sundy.

Brass: Dan Rosenboom, Kris Tiner, Joshua Aguiar, Ian Carroll, Mike Richardson.

Rhythm: Dan Schnelle, Oliver Newell.

Vox: Tany Ling, Jill Knapp.

Composition / conducting: Andrew Durkin.