One thing that strikes me as setting apart Yello from the other techno/synth/dance groups of their era, and even ours today, is their ability to tell stories in music. Someone has likened Yello songs to soundtracks to movies - well, that's almost true, but you dno't really need the movie.
The best example of this is "The Race", my personal favorite. On the surface its a great bass tester and is a great driving tune. Then you listen to it a few times and notice the amount of layering involved in the song - in some places I count over 12 separate beats/effects going at once - it's a
real aural treat.
Then you listen to it with your mind's eye and see the movie the "soundtrack" was made for. Your opinion may vary, but this is what I got out of it:
A race car driver, full of confidence, brags to reporters "Count on me, I'm gonna win the race".
But in the back of his mind an unease sets over him. Is he really as good as he thinks he is? (rhum badi bum a wit da ring do)
The cars start out, and for a while all is good - he's holding his own, maybe making progress towards the front. This is the "driving" part of the song - a little bit of looping here, but nothing that makes you think "extend-a-mix". Back to the movie:
Then, doubt attacks his mind. "I need this race!" His heart is pounding, his nerves tuned way past normal human reflexes.
He must be in like second or third place, and the race is almost over. It's now or never. The pressure to succeed rises like some monstrous beast in his heart.
Then, a strange calm comes over him. He is one with his car, and at peace with himself. He's not doing this for the reporters anymore, or his fans, or his sponsors. He races for himself now. The hawaiian guitar kicks in (?). And now we hear his immortal words, in his gravelly voice: "I am the fast
lane of the street I'm driving. Somewhere, sometime, I am arriving - every day, and every night."
Maybe he's taken the lead, and the success of it, or the open road ahead of him that inspires this rush. Maybe the pure, sweet allure of 300+ km/h is what causes this. We don't know.
Then, in true movie style, rounding the last corner and sprinting for the finish line, disaster strikes. It could be an exploding tire. It could be his steering, or his engine. It doesn't matter.
The screaming guitar tells it all - his car spins out of control, the crowd leaps to its feet, screaming, and Boom - he hits the wall and writes off his car.
We don't know if he lives or not...
Anyways, short essay version: I see a man driven by some incredibly powerful desire, or maybe he's trying to find redemption for something by winning this race. He loses the race, but wins something else - peace with himself.
----------------
One other thing, as a footnote almost, about most Yello songs - they do not lend themselves to remixing easily. Take a listen to any Yello song, and imagine where you could cut it and loop a sequence over and over again. Even a song like Oh Yeah, which at first glance looks like they set the drum
machine on auto-repeat and went for coffee, is quite complex. In almost every remix of Yello songs, they have to be almost re-written from scratch, and just re-use the samples.
Compare this with a song by Madonna for instance, that can be cut in any number of places and stitched back in seamlessly. I can do it with my humble home computer and Microsoft's Wav Editor and I can't tell where the splices are. With Yello, there is much more forethought involved in the song. I
really really like it a lot.
-Trav!
---
"Daddy, why do those people have to use Microsoft Windows?"
"Don't stare, son; it's not polite."
# Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list?
# Send the command "info yello" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com.
# To post, email yello@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender.
# Yello discography available at http://www.swcp.com/lazlo-bin/discogs?yello
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 5.0.1459.41">
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Ok, forgive me for what may seem like a silly question (if only cos i havent asked it for so long!!) ;-)</FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">My other half thinks that the spoken part in 'Dr Van Steiner' is none other than Orson Welles, taken from a movie possibly? Can anyone help out with this?</FONT></P>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Thanx and regards,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Jacq</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Sydney, Oz</FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="MS Sans Serif">*************************************</FONT><B></B>
<BR>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="MS Sans Serif">Anvil Technology Pty Ltd</FONT></B>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="MS Sans Serif">Email: admin@anv.com.au</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="MS Sans Serif">Phone: 61 2 9362 9262</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="MS Sans Serif">Fax: 61 2 9362 9263</FONT>
</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>
# Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list?
# Send the command "info yello" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com.
# To post, email yello@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender.
# Yello discography available at http://www.swcp.com/lazlo-bin/discogs?yello
