The Music Tapes is an experimental pop music and performance art project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster (also of Neutral Milk Hotel). The Music Tapes is characterized by unusual orchestrations (such as singing saw and bowed banjo), the use of musique concrète and narrative storytelling, vintage home-recording practices, and musical inventions (like the 7-foot Tall Metronome and Static the Singing Television). They are also known for their unique live performances, such as the Caroling and Lullaby tours that bring them into the homes of fans, and theatrical shows like The Traveling Imaginary, which takes place in a circus tent.
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or tapes:
“The basic difference between classical music and jazz is that in the former the music is always greater than its performance—Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, for instance, is always greater than its performance—whereas the way jazz is performed is always more important than what is being performed.”
—André Previn (b. 1929)
“Everything our children hear, see, and feel is recorded onto a cassette. Guess who is the big star in their movie? You are. What you say and, more important, what you do, is recorded there for them to replay over and over again. We all have videocassettes. Adults just have larger libraries of tapes available.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)