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Biography
The Langley Schools Music Project is a collection of recordings of children's choruses singing pop hits by the likes of The Beach Boys , David Bowie , and Paul McCartney . Originally recorded in 1976–77, they were rereleased in 2001 and became a cult hit and a notably successful example of outsider music .
History
The project was undertaken in 1976–77 by Canadian music teacher Hans Fenger with students from School District 35 Langley|Langley School District in British Columbia . Recordings were made in a school gym in Langley, British Columbia (city)|Langley , in Metro Vancouver . Two LP album|LP s were released, Lochiel, Glenwood, and South Carvolth Schools in 1976 and Hans Fenger/Wix-Brown Elementary School in 1977. Fenger later said:Liner notes, Innocence and Despair :I knew virtually nothing about conventional music education, and didn't know how to teach singing. Above all, I knew nothing of what children's music was supposed to be. But the kids had a grasp of what they liked: emotion, drama, and making music as a group. Whether the results were good, bad, in tune or out was no big deal -- they had élan. This was not the way music was traditionally taught. But then I never liked conventional 'children's music,' which is condescending and ignores the reality of children's lives, which can be dark and scary. These children hated 'cute.' They cherished songs that evoked loneliness and sadness
The recordings were little known until Brian Linds, a Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria record collector, found the first record in a thrift store in 2000. He sent it to Irwin Chusid , a proponent of outsider music. After ten labels had rejected them, Bar/None Records released Innocence & Despair , a single-CD compilation of the two LPs.
Response
Innocence & Despair quickly created an international buzz, making many end-of-the-year best album lists in 2001.
Fred Schneider called the project "a haunting, evocative wall-of-sound experience that is affecting in an incredibly visceral way".Citation needed|date=January 2010 Neil Gaiman commented, "I wish every school taught music like this. I wish every piece of music recorded in a school gymnasium were this haunting... and then I suspect that, if I listened to them right, maybe they would be." Citation needed|date=January 2010 Richard Carpenter (musician)|Richard Carpenter described the vocals on "Calling Occupants" as "charming".Citation needed|date=January 2010 David Bowie said the version of "Space Oddity" was "a piece of art that I couldn't have conceived of", describing the vocals as "earnest if lugubrious" and the backing arrangement as "astounding".Citation needed|date=January 2010
Influence
VH-1 coordinated a reunion of Fenger and dozens of his former students in 2002, and produced a documentary about the project. Richard Linklater 's 2003 hit film School of Rock was inspired by the Langley CD. http://www.jimdero.com/News2003/Sept28SchoolofRock.htm High fidelity: Jack Black stays true to his 'School' Jim DeRogatis, 28 September 2003 When Spike Jonze approached Karen O to write the soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are (film)|Where The Wild Things Are , he gave Innocence and Despair as an example of the desired "simple melodies that were emotionally complex—something that both kids and adults would appreciate". http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/an-interview-with-karen-o-of-the-yeah-yeah-yeahs.html An Interview With Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Charles McNair, 15 September 2009, Paste
In 2010, the Langley School recording of " Good Vibrations " was licensed for the soundtrack of the film Catfish_(film)|Catfish . It can also be heard in the film's http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=BuE98oeL-e0 trailer.
Track listing
col-begincol-break;Lochiel, Glenwood, and South Carvolth Schools: Recorded and released 1976 # You're So Good to Me (originally by The Beach Boys ) # To Know Him Is To Love Him ( The Teddy Bears ) # Help Me, Rhonda ( The Beach Boys ) # Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity ( David Bowie ) # I'm Into Something Good ( Herman's Hermits ) # Band on the Run (song)|Band on the Run ( Wings (band)|Paul McCartney & Wings ) # Rhiannon (song)|Rhiannon ( Fleetwood Mac ) # Little Deuce Coupe (song)|Little Deuce Coupe ( The Beach Boys ) # Saturday Night (Bay City Rollers song)|Saturday Night ( Bay City Rollers )
;Hans Fenger/Wix-Brown Elementary School: Recorded and released 1977 # Venus and Mars/Rock Show (originally by Wings (band)|Paul McCartney & Wings ) # You're Sixteen ( Johnny Burnette ) # Wildfire (song)|Wildfire ( Michael Martin Murphey ) # In My Room ( The Beach Boys ) # I Get Around ( The Beach Boys ) # The Long and Winding Road ( The Beatles ) # Desperado (song)|Desperado (The Eagles (band)|Eagles ) # Good Vibrations ( The Beach Boys ) # God Only Knows ( The Beach Boys ) # Sweet Caroline ( Neil Diamond ) # Mandy (song)|Mandy ( Barry Manilow ) # Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft ( Klaatu (band)|Klaatu )
col-break;Innocence & Despair: Compilation of the two previous albums, released 2001 in North America by Bar/None Records and in Europe by Basta Records. #Venus and Mars/Rock Show #Good Vibrations #God Only Knows #Space Oddity #The Long and Winding Road #Band on the Run #I'm Into Something Good #In My Room #Saturday Night #I Get Around #Mandy #Help Me, Rhonda #Desperado #You're So Good To Me #Sweet Caroline #To Know Him Is To Love Him #Rhiannon #You're Sixteen (Basta Records release only) #Little Deuce Coupe (Basta Records release only) #Wildfire #Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
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See also
Outsider Music
PS22 chorus|PS22 Chorus
References
Refimprove|date=January 2010reflist
External links
http://www.bar-none.com/langley-schools-music-project.html The Langley Schools Music Project Bar-None Records
http://www.keyofz.com/keyofz/langley/ The Langley Schools Music Project: Innocence and Despair at Songs in the Key of Z (outsider music site)
Category:Outsider music|Langley Schools Music Project, The Category:Langley, British Columbia (district municipality)
