Blogocentric Formulations

Explosive

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DAY 11

Song: "Explosive"
Artist: Bond
Album: Classified (2004)

Apparently 2004 was a good year for music, because this is the day in a row I'm featuring a song from an album released that year. I didn't actually discover Bond until a few years after that, but ironically I had an album of theirs in my collection for years. I used to work at Borders Books & Music and having a friend working in the music department meant I got to grab a few promo CDs every once in a while, when the store was done playing them (or decided not to play them at all). One of the albums that I grabbed was Bond's first album Born (2000), but I never got around to listening to it until almost a decade later.

And thus my love for "classical crossover" begun.

I've always loved classical music; I studied a bit of music in college and I've always been impressed by the arrangements of classical pieces, especially when they involve a whole orchestra of instruments or even - my personal favorite - a string quartet. There's just something so impressive about being able to combine compositions for multiple instruments into a cohesive piece, and there's something relaxing about a piece of music with no lyrics, where you can just appreciate the instrumentals components. The problem I have with a lot of classical music, though, is that a lot of it sounds alike to my untrained ear. Sure, I can usually pick out the Beethovens and the Bachs and the Mozarts and the popular pieces from Vivaldi, but if we were playing the "who composed that tune" game, I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a piece from Puccini, Brahms, or Debussy... they all sound kinda equally somber and slow to me.

So imagine my surprise (and delight) when I finally popped that Bond CD into my player and heard a vibrant, energetic instrumental music from a string quartet of classically trained musicians! I think Born is their better album, but "Explosive" is my favorite song they've done. I think it's really cool that a band like this (and others, of course) have found a way to take their passion and expertise in classical music and combine it with popular arrangements that really showcase the versatility and range of these instruments that are so often forgotten in modern music. Seriously, when was the last time you heard a cello, or a viola on the radio?

I think the video is kinda cheesy (and their label definitely exploits the fact that this Australian/British string quartet is composed entirely of attractive young women), but the composition is great. It's one of the few instrumental songs that I can put on a workout playlist right next to my high-energy rock and hip hop.