Re: Elevator music
Palle Zetterstrand (superfly@etek.chalmers.se)
Thu, 14 Sep 1995 07:51:55 +0200 (MET DST)
>
> There's a line between MUZAK and the space age bachelor pad stuff
> discussed and to my ears it's a pretty big one but I can see how it
> can sound the same. Using Esquivel as an example, he really sincerely
> believed he was doing cutting age strero sound sensations (and I'm
> not saying he wasn't, just that his music, despite being corny to
> cynical modern ears, was sincere). MUZAK hired orchestras to do hack
> versions of then contemporary and classic hits in a muted mellow
> relaxing and motic\vating manner. It's a realtively recent thing to
> have original versions of hits, brought on by competition like AEI
> (who I used to work for, sadly).
> The book is probably interesting in its story of MUZAK using music to
> motive workers (and disputing the fact) and perhaps Esquivel and his
> pals maybe were contracted by Muzak, but elevator music and Space Age
> Pop (as it's called this week) are different.
>
I'm sorry that I didn't explain the book more in detail. It deals
with all kinds of "mood music". There was a chapter entitled Space age
bachelor pad music with info on Martin Denny if I remember correctly.
There are chapters on Mystic mood orchestra and other of that sort and
he writes abt the various recording techniques.
-Palle Zetterstrand