Richard Georg Strauss

Well, not really. I generally find classical works to be a bit meh, with the exception of some of the more doom-laden stuff like Wagner and Holst; and even then, it's not anything that I would generally choose to listen to.

But this week, in between feverish bouts of engineering coursework and the occasional mild panic attack, I've been somewhat slightly obsessed with his "tone poem" Also Sprach Zarathustra and it's many cover versions.

Also Sprach Zarathustra is more commonly known as The Music From 2001: A Space Odyssey. For reference, here is what it should sound like.

Even for an uncultured philistine such as myself, it's hard to deny that it's a pretty powerful piece of work. The first version of it that I ever owned was in fact far more appropriate for an uncultured philistine such as myself; it was by Toadliquor, a filthy doom/sludge/grind outfit that I had never heard of and know almost nothing about. The disc came as a freebie bundled in with some other stuff I got from the good people at Southern Records - thanks chaps.

Some years ago, my private braincare specialist/local smutmonger/friend Tim pointed me in the direction of this Deodato Funk Odyssey version from an album full of lounge covers of film soundtracks. Gotta love a bit of funk.

But I think my favourite version is this next one, on account of the sheer eye-swivelling lunacy of the concept.

It's by the Portsmouth Sinfonia, an orchestra for which the entrance requirements were that players either had to be non-musicians, or play an instrument that was completely new to them.

It shows, I think.

Website: http://www.richardstrauss.at/html_e/17_willkommen/0fs_index.html

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/straussoperas

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Strauss

Botch

The first I heard of Botch was when they decided to quit being a band. A number of people seemed very upset about this; but having never heard anything by them, I found it hard to understand why...

Still, they seemed to be held in high enough regard to be worth checking out at some point; so when I found a copy of Unifying Themes Redux lurking in the murky depths of a second hand record shop, I grabbed it.

It turned out to be a collection of early releases and a few live tracks, and it was (and still is) quite splendid. Phrases like "jagged" and "angular" get thrown around quite a lot when discussing this kind of jagged and angular hardcore, but I don't like to use them because a) it's derivative and predictable, and b) those words don't really mean anything when applied to music. That said, Botch's jagged and angular hardcore is both jagged and angular. And pleasingly unpredictable.

And noisy.

Website: http://americannervoso.com/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/botch

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botch_(band)

Akimbo

Akimbo are a three-piece from Seattle. They have been through eleven guitarists, and their myspace bio reads "Eat beer. Shit riffs."

And that's pretty much everything I know about Akimbo.

These hairy noisemongers crank out a thunderous racket that reminds me a little of early Keelhaul, only with slightly less berserk time signatures and more unnecessary drum solos. This is a good thing.

Website: http://livetocrush.blogspot.com/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/akimbo

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akimbo_(band)

Gary Numan

I've always been aware of the existence of Gary Numan, of course. No matter what you like listening to, it's damn near impossible to not hear Cars at least once before you die. But I've just never really cared.

Until the other night that is, when I saw this clip of iconic eighties wish grant-o-rama Jim'll Fix It.

The first thing that hit me was that the kid with the bowl cut was probably trying hard not to reflect on how much cooler he thought this was going to be. Then I realised that I'd heard this song before... this is the one Alan Partridge played air bass to... this song's amazing! AMAZING!!!

Once my hysteria had abated somewhat and my breathing and heart rate had returned to normal, I got onto the Spotifys to find out exactly which Gary Numan song it was...

...and hours later I found that I was still there, listening to almost everything he'd ever done ever (I think it's fair to say that the fifteen years following the release of I, Assassin were not his best).

Even the new stuff is cool; it's nice to see the cycle coming around, with Numan taking influence from the more modern acts he himself gave inspiration to (NIN, Marilyn Manson et al).

And just as a side note, I also really like the cover artwork to debut LP The Pleasure Principal, in which a suited Numan sits at a desk viewing a glowing red jelly pyramid with a mixture of suspicion and contempt.

Brilliant.

Website: http://www.numan.co.uk/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/garynuman

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Numan