where did the music come from?

[LMFAOschwarz]

I was watching Conscience of the King, and noticed the Star Trek theme playing at the party. I think it was heard in the bar in Court Martial, too. Is that a "current" hit, or is it what we would call elevator music?

Either way, it's a charming period touch that probably would have elicited guffaws if it were tried on The Next Generation.

Are Uhura's songs popular "crowd pleasers" or are they original works? For that matter, would there even be such a thing as popular music in this time period?

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Sure! Remember Spock's jam session with the bicycle-wheel girl in The Way to Eden?

 

[Christopher]

I was watching Conscience of the King, and noticed the Star Trek theme playing at the party. I think it was heard in the bar in Court Martial, too. Is that a "current" hit, or is it what we would call elevator music?

Either way, it's a charming period touch that probably would have elicited guffaws if it were tried on The Next Generation.

But it's appropriate. The ST theme was written in the popular song style of the '60s, essentially a pastiche of "Beyond the Blue Horizon" with a bossa nova rhythm. So hearing it as diegetic party music isn't a surprise. It was actually pretty common for TV shows and movies to feature arrangements of their own themes, or of the featured love theme, as source music for party or dance scenes.

Are Uhura's songs popular "crowd pleasers" or are they original works? For that matter, would there even be such a thing as popular music in this time period?

Uhura's song from "Charlie X" is based on a traditional Scottish folk song by Robert Burns. "Beyond Antares," on the other hand, is an original song (by Wilbur Hatch and Gene L. Coon), and I've always figured it was a popular song of the early or mid-23rd century.

 

[Timewalker]

For that matter, would there even be such a thing as popular music in this time period?

Why wouldn't there be? Throughout human history, ever since we learned how to make music, every era has had its version of popular music.

Most of what was popular before tends to be considered hopelessly old-fashioned, tame, or boring in later times (unless you happen to enjoy older music), and we can't begin to guess what might be popular 200-300 years from now. Who knows - maybe lyres or harpsichords will come back into style and people will recite poetry to musical accompaniment, but not necessarily sing.

 

[plynch]

I was watching Conscience of the King, and noticed the Star Trek theme playing at the party. I think it was heard in the bar in Court Martial, too. Is that a "current" hit, or is it what we would call elevator music?

Either way, it's a charming period touch that probably would have elicited guffaws if it were tried on The Next Generation.

But it's appropriate. The ST theme was written in the popular song style of the '60s, essentially a pastiche of "Beyond the Blue Horizon" with a bossa nova rhythm. So hearing it as diegetic party music isn't a surprise. It was actually pretty common for TV shows and movies to feature arrangements of their own themes, or of the featured love theme, as source music for party or dance scenes.

Are Uhura's songs popular "crowd pleasers" or are they original works? For that matter, would there even be such a thing as popular music in this time period?

Uhura's song from "Charlie X" is based on a traditional Scottish folk song by Robert Burns. "Beyond Antares," on the other hand, is an original song (by Wilbur Hatch and Gene L. Coon), and I've always figured it was a popular song of the early or mid-23rd century.

I think it's the chord changes of Out of Nowhere, not Beyond the Blue H. I never knew either of the other tidbits, Burns or Hatch/Coon, so thank you.

 

[Christopher]

Yes, it has "Out of Nowhere"'s changes (my father once suggested that Dennis McCarthy's use of that song as source music in TNG's "The Big Goodbye" was an in-joke), but "Blue Horizon" has been cited as the main influence.

 

[Warped9]

I don't recall offhand, but are the songs, with Uhura's vocals, included in the TOS CD set?

 

[Christopher]

I don't recall offhand, but are the songs, with Uhura's vocals, included in the TOS CD set?

Yes. "Beyond Antares" is part of the "Conscience of the King" program, and "Charlie is My Darling" is under "Source Music and Alternates."

 

[CorporalCaptain]

So, here's "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (music by Richard A Whiting and W. Franke Harling, words by Leo Robin) sung by Jeanette MacDonald (year unknown, and evidently could be any one of three recordings) [confidence, that this is correct attribution, is high, but not total]:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZDTaFRu1kI&start=200[/yt]

Courage's theme comes through loud and clear to me.


Here is "Out of Nowhere" (composed by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman), sung, in the original recording, by Bing Crosby in 1931 [again, confidence, that this is correct attribution, is high, but not total]:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLfNuPNDVOw[/yt]

Here, the harmony in Courage's theme is coming through clear as a bell to me.


I hope these are the correct songs. Thanks for the insights, guys! The thread topic is wonderful.

 

[Forbin]

Is there such a thing as popular music NOW? I've lost track since, oh, Michelle Branch. Nothing "current" that I hear seems to have a definable style. Or at least a good one.

Kids these days and their noise!!

-Grumpy Old Forbin

 

[TowerPower]

I hate current 'popular' music. All the stuff I see anymore is garbage. I think I heard one song by One Direction that was fair. Don't care for any of the people on the award shows. What happened to good music? The country field has gotten ridiculous.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Recorded music today is so compressed to shit that it sounds flat. Rock music especially.

 

[plynch]

Yes, it has "Out of Nowhere"'s changes (my father once suggested that Dennis McCarthy's use of that song as source music in TNG's "The Big Goodbye" was an in-joke), but "Blue Horizon" has been cited as the main influence.

Okay, I can hear that in the big sweeping intervals in the melody for sure. Thanks again.

 

[plynch]

If you are looking for the standards, the Great American Songbook (songs like "Out of Nowhere" and vocalists like Ella, Sinatra, Bennett, as well as modern practitioners, I highly recommend the new streaming channel from WNYC hosted by the great champion of this music, Jonathan Schwartz.

His dad wrote "Dancing in the Dark" and many others and Jonathan grew up with these composers and singers, was a cabaret singer himself, and is a radio legend in NYC. He used to program the vocalists/standards (Sinatra, Ella etc.) channel on XM.

He still does three-hour live segments most days of the week. The rest of the day fills out with either other shows hosted by people (Michael Feinstein, John Pizzarelli) or pre-programmed. Great variety amongst the recordings of these great songs, too -- not all the same ol' versions.

WNYC has apparently been floored by the world-wide support for this; it began only in November. And no, unlike some other poster in the bbs thread about the new Trek book, I am NOT in any way associated with this endeavor! Just a huge fan already. Give it a try: http://www.wnyc.org/series/jonathan-channel/

edit: sorry for double post; assumed soimebody would have posted; got interrupted in the writing of post
2. After I wrote it yesterday I heard "Out of Nowhere" sung by a young, tenorish Crosby on the JonathanChannel; probably early '30s.

 

[Lee]

^^^ Thanks plynch! I grew up listening to Jonathan Schwartz every weekend.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

2. After I wrote it yesterday I heard "Out of Nowhere" sung by a young, tenorish Crosby on the JonathanChannel; probably early '30s.

Was it possibly the version I posted upthread here?

 

[plynch]

2. After I wrote it yesterday I heard "Out of Nowhere" sung by a young, tenorish Crosby on the JonathanChannel; probably early '30s.

Was it possibly the version I posted upthread here?

So it was; wouldn't play on the flash-hating ipad, so I bypassed. You seemed unsure of date and particulars iirc. 31 it was. Scroll down http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Crosby/crosby1a.html for its details if anyone cares.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

2. After I wrote it yesterday I heard "Out of Nowhere" sung by a young, tenorish Crosby on the JonathanChannel; probably early '30s.

Was it possibly the version I posted upthread here?

So it was; wouldn't play on the flash-hating ipad, so I bypassed. You seemed unsure of date and particulars iirc. 31 it was. Scroll down http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Crosby/crosby1a.html for its details if anyone cares.

Nah, there's no way I could possibly know for certain, based on the info that was there, which recordings those were. But I thought it would be helpful if we could actually hear what was being discussed, and I was hoping that people could confirm the attributions.

 

[Ssosmcin]

So it was; wouldn't play on the flash-hating ipad, so I bypassed.

For a moment, I thought you said "flesh eating iPad."