04. Jacquard Causeway (6:35)

[aperture]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_music#Biological.2Femergent

Wow, cool. In fact, as I was writing that post, I had this idea in my head that Jacquard Causeway kind of sounds like the melodies are living things which could be reproducing and evolving by a natural process. Of course, in the hands of BoC, a song like that lasts for six minutes, whereas an actually avantgarde and experimental composer would have it lasting for six hours, surely.

I was sitting on this idea for a bit too.. like an ode to the idea of progression/evolution/iteration itself. Neither positive nor negative, and perhaps a good introduction to the nihilistic aspects of the story. It could represent life, it's reiterations and inextricable connections to the world, or the path of the evolution of technology and its attendant consequences, or the interplay of both. I think it communicates patterns that have been and will keep spinning along for many more generations. A tapestry of history made of more threads than can be sorted. It sounds new and promising at first, but becomes a lament.
Perhaps The Causeway is the precarious ridge traversed between pre-civilization and excess civilization. The unavoidable meshing of these worlds into a new one where both kinds of inhabitants are forced to build nests from the same insurmountable compost heap. Our mess cant be cleaned up, so it becomes merged with the planet we inherited. This could be the soundtrack of the stumbling way forward through that new world. I think some of these songs are more specific than others and encompass greater or shorter timescales, this being one of the larger ones seen through a wider lens.

[FernieCanto]

You want to say that most of all hateness coz of non-deterministic sounds which are not used to hearing in music? i'd said almost all BOC songs have own randomness, but JC has it a LOT. With every new quarter. Moreover, very massive bit.

I don't think the difference is exactly on "how much" randomness there is. I think the most striking aspect of Jacquard Causeway is that it gives the impression that the composers are not in control of the music: they just started the process and watched it happen. Of course, when you look at it more closely, you see that there is a lot of control: the chords that appear at the end are not only deliberate, but they are the intended right since the beginning. But still, the feeling is that the music is left to its own devices, to find its own way out. And considering that they mentioned The Disintegration Tapes in one of the interviews, I wouldn't doubt they had that idea in mind. Stuff like Brian Eno's tape experimentations would be a very natural source of inspiration for them as well.

[Fireal420]

this fan video seems exactly like how boc we do it.

[Magrathea]

Not strictly music related, but geneticist Albert Jacquard passed today at 87.

[rainier]

I can't believe human beings made this song. This shit is wild.

[Mindshifter]

The title could also be a reverence to the natural hexagon stones in Ireland; Giant's Causeway. Certainly has something Boc-ish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant's_Causeway

[Radiobuzz]

There is a very peculiar sound at 3:27 on the right channel.

[Fireal420]

There is a very peculiar sound at 3:27 on the right channel.

i cant catch the sound your a referring to, i gave it a few tries to find it.





anyway. i love this track so much, its def. one of my all time favorite boc songs. the timing seems so off beat and yet everything seems to blend together so nicely. i can only imagine how incredible it would sound live.

[Tenfoureightytwo]

The title of the song could also refer to Jacques Dudon is a French just intonation composer and instrument builder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Dudon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_intonation

It seems BOCish to me.

Can anyone hear anything that resembles one of Jacues Dudon's instruments in the song?

Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XowQdFGXGd0

[Fireal420]

i still find this to be one of BOC's most impressive tracks

its funny seeing how hit or miss this track is with most people though. some fans love it, some fans loathe it. that makes it great.

[ParticleGhost]

You want to say that most of all hateness coz of non-deterministic sounds which are not used to hearing in music? i'd said almost all BOC songs have own randomness, but JC has it a LOT. With every new quarter. Moreover, very massive bit.

And considering that they mentioned The Disintegration Tapes in one of the interviews, I wouldn't doubt they had that idea in mind.

The disintegration tapes are amazing.

[donacidae]

I've become seriously fascinated by Jacquard Causeway.

As is often the case with BoC songs, the title gives us the seeds, some suggestions of a vague significance. I love that in this case it's a double suggestion, of Albert Jacquard's take on human 'progress' and also the simple significance of the mechanism, the machine invented by the other Jacquard, Joseph Marie. Those to me are the starting clues,...Then the rest is suggested by the music itself.

When I listen I hear a perfect expression of the human condition at this point in history. The mindless, off kilter beat representing industry, technology. The overlapping synths to me are like the cries of souls, trapped in a meaningless, directionless existence, as one dies another takes over, and to what end?

[sunshine recorder]

to me it sounds like a live jam over a loop using all the little melodic interludes they,ve created over the years,like its from the atp recordings,ala julie and candy soundboard version

[TontoExpands]

There aren't any BOC tracks I hate, so I am not sure what's up with all the hate with this one. I think it's a strong track and fits right in on the album. I would rate it 8/10. Sounds like a late night B-movie sci-fi film score would sound from 1981. I think it's those who dislike the album just don't like this type of sound.

[polarbear]

http://vimeo.com/69572175

nice video!

[Lens Larque]

I've become seriously fascinated by Jacquard Causeway.

As is often the case with BoC songs, the title gives us the seeds, some suggestions of a vague significance. I love that in this case it's a double suggestion, of Albert Jacquard's take on human 'progress' and also the simple significance of the mechanism, the machine invented by the other Jacquard, Joseph Marie. Those to me are the starting clues,...Then the rest is suggested by the music itself.

When I listen I hear a perfect expression of the human condition at this point in history. The mindless, off kilter beat representing industry, technology. The overlapping synths to me are like the cries of souls, trapped in a meaningless, directionless existence, as one dies another takes over, and to what end?

Your idea: This track suggested to me progress and evolution. The keys at the start I thought are naive and primitive and become these full forms at the conclusion.

[lyst]

This song sucks dick. That is all.

[Opothecary]

This song sucks dick. That is all.

Such an insightful post - WATMM is that way ------->

[arvy]

nice video , feeling some postapocalyptic-kafka touch

[energywarning]

I've become seriously fascinated by Jacquard Causeway.

As is often the case with BoC songs, the title gives us the seeds, some suggestions of a vague significance. I love that in this case it's a double suggestion, of Albert Jacquard's take on human 'progress' and also the simple significance of the mechanism, the machine invented by the other Jacquard, Joseph Marie. Those to me are the starting clues,...Then the rest is suggested by the music itself.

When I listen I hear a perfect expression of the human condition at this point in history. The mindless, off kilter beat representing industry, technology. The overlapping synths to me are like the cries of souls, trapped in a meaningless, directionless existence, as one dies another takes over, and to what end?

Your idea: This track suggested to me progress and evolution. The keys at the start I thought are naive and primitive and become these full forms at the conclusion.

Being that Jacquard was a humanist and defended causes that were environmental/defending rights, the idea of a "causeway" related to him is like a metaphorical representation of his ideas giving a great direction to overcome something more turbulent and chaotic. But the song's structure always sounds so heaving and at odds with something...much like that "directionless existence" described here. Finding its way towards "Collapse" and, more directly, "Telepath," seems to make sense giving the apocalyptic nature of the album.