Little Fluffy Clouds

I have a definite soft spot for The Orb, and I suspect it is due to this song.

mp3: The Orb - Fluffy Little Clouds

It's true, you might have heard this song before, if you watched TV in the late 90's and ever happened upon a commercial for the new VW Beetle.

I've gotta say. It's beats, keyboards/pitch producers, and cut&paste when done the right way that make me incredibly happy. This song actually features a sample loop of minimalist composer Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint (originally recorded and performed for guitar by Pat Metheny, but is apparently also arranged for guitar ensemble). Sadly, I have been listening to both this song and Electric Counterpoint for well over four years and it took me until somewhere in the middle of LAST WEEK to go "huh," check Wikipedia, and then kind of want to hit myself in the face.




The other pasted clip featured in this song is from an interview with Rickie Lee Jones, a sample which was found on a promo CD. According to Wikipedia, Steve Reich was cool about his work being sampled, but Rickie Lee Jones was not down with the interview being used. Fascinating.

The other point I want to emphasize is that those VW commercials from the mid-90's featured some interesting tunes. The Orb, Hooverphonic, Nick Drake, Stereolab, and even Fluke. Maybe they still do. I don't know. I need to actually watch TV, apparently.