Sorry

Sorry for all the technical problems and site changes. I've reposted the last full article, a partial one, and the rest will be reposted soon.

Neutral Milk Hotel

In their great 1998 album, In the Aeroplane over the Sea, they used the following instrumentation:
guitar
vocals
organ
floortom
bowed fuzz bass
tapes
shortwave radio
drums
trumpet
flugelhorn
trombone
euphonium
horn arrangements
singing saw
bowed banjo
accordion
home organ
air organ
fuzz bass
harmony vocals
one-note piano
zanzithophone
saxophone
uilleann pipes

more information on these coming soon

The Didgeridoo

or is it didjeridoo? Both spellings are common, but didgeridoo is the preferred spelling according to Robert Christopherson's all encompassing text on the instrument, History and Science of the Didgeridoo, 3rd Edition, 1979. He also goes into detail about the other uses of the instrument that made it especially important to the aboriginal peoples of Australia. As you can see in this picture, the object made a formidable weapon if needed, and it was sometimes prefered as a club rather than traditional weapons because it is hollow and easy to transport. You can also see that it appears as if he is smoking a large pipe, and according to Christopherson, it was traditional for the elders to smoke the mescaline from indigenous cacti. Even the sound the didgeridoo makes had importance beyond the musical quality in warring times because it was used to frighten any opposing tribes into submission before fighting even began. More of this fascinating information can be found in Christopherson's book if you can get a hold of one.