Peter’s fantastic, historic and educational vintage tape looping and Dr Who posts made me think of the BBC and theremins (yes, I’m fully aware that there were no theremins used for the Dr Who theme, but the myth is too strong), and the person who best combines the BBC and theremins: Bill Bailey.
If you’re not familiar with Bill Bailey, have I got a treat for you! I’ve never encountered anyone who combines music and comedy to such great effect (If you know of someone else with these skills, please tell us in the comments). Fortunately there is a huge volume of his stuff available on Youtube, so I can share some of his genius with you.
Tribute to Kraftwerk
There’s a little bit of theremin in that video, unfortunately his best theremin/electronic music bits aren’t included in any of the short clips I could find, so I’ve added some choice cuts, and if you feel the need for more theremin you can spend some quality time on Youtube or buy his DVDs: Bewilderness or Part Troll.
Catastophic Technical Failure at a U2 Gig
Foreign Police Sirens
The Power of Guitar Effects Pedals: Hillbilly Bowie and Stairway to Heaven
CBS and BBC News Themes: Apocalyptic Rave
By now you probably have an idea if you’re ready to waste the rest of your day watching this troll-like figure. If you are: Youtube is your buddy, and as a final prize for anyone who made it this far: he has been working on some medieval porn music.
Bill Bailey – Medieval Porn Music