DrRoy is on the right track. The song is about the beginnings of electronic music. Wendy Carlos (electronic music pioneer) was born Walter Carlos, but later had a sex change: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Carlos (Wendy was the operator later).
Stanley is Stanley Kubrick, who used Wendy Carlos' music in A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.
Delia is Delia Derbyshire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire or BBC radiophonic music fame. They were making electronic music in the 60's long before digital synths, and even before analog synths by laboriously splicing tape samples. Delia largely stopped making music when it became too "easy" with the introduction of custom built synthesizers. (Delia, said she wasn’t proper, clocked her) That line also maybe makes a play on the distinction between feeding cut tape through a tape machine at different speeds (no clock) vs. the Moog, which used a clock signal to generate its tones.
I'm probably missing a lot here, since I don't get the reference to graduation or the degree show. But I would say the lyrics definitely have a significance.
I'd guess that...
Early on, the experiments with synth work live were "disasters" because nobody really knew what to do with this amazing new technology.
So the shows were a disaster.
And I guess it felt pretty heavy, heavy, heavy.
I'd guess that...
Early on, the experiments with synth work live were "disasters" because nobody really knew what to do with this amazing new technology.
So the shows were a disaster.
And I guess it felt pretty heavy, heavy, heavy.
DrRoy is on the right track. The song is about the beginnings of electronic music. Wendy Carlos (electronic music pioneer) was born Walter Carlos, but later had a sex change: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Carlos (Wendy was the operator later).
Stanley is Stanley Kubrick, who used Wendy Carlos' music in A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.
Delia is Delia Derbyshire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire or BBC radiophonic music fame. They were making electronic music in the 60's long before digital synths, and even before analog synths by laboriously splicing tape samples. Delia largely stopped making music when it became too "easy" with the introduction of custom built synthesizers. (Delia, said she wasn’t proper, clocked her) That line also maybe makes a play on the distinction between feeding cut tape through a tape machine at different speeds (no clock) vs. the Moog, which used a clock signal to generate its tones.
I'm probably missing a lot here, since I don't get the reference to graduation or the degree show. But I would say the lyrics definitely have a significance.
I'd guess that... Early on, the experiments with synth work live were "disasters" because nobody really knew what to do with this amazing new technology. So the shows were a disaster. And I guess it felt pretty heavy, heavy, heavy.
I'd guess that... Early on, the experiments with synth work live were "disasters" because nobody really knew what to do with this amazing new technology. So the shows were a disaster. And I guess it felt pretty heavy, heavy, heavy.