The 1948 book Cybernetics: Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, by mathematician Norbert Wiener from MIT played an important role in the development of the Barrons' composition. The science of cybernetics proposes that certain natural laws of behavior apply to both animals and more complex electronic machines.
By following the equations presented in the book, Louis was able to build electronic circuits which he manipulated to generate sounds. Most of the tonalities were generated with a circuit called a ring modulator. The sounds and patterns that came out of the circuits were unique and unpredictable because they were actually overloading the circuits until they burned out to create the sounds. The Barrons could never recreate the same sounds again, though they later tried very hard to recreate their signature sound from Forbidden Planet. Because of the unforeseen life span of the circuitry, the Barrons made a habit of recording everything.
This time of year the constellation Lyra
is in the eastern sky when the night turns dark
but the constellation is getting higher
and with two others, Cygnus and Aquila,
will form the Summer Triangle overhead
during the next few months. I see it through trees
in the east now, Vega bright without optics,
and the rest of Lyra the lyre visible
in binoculars looking through shifting leaves.
The musicians who did the movie soundtrack
for “Forbidden Planet” built their instruments
using circuit designs that were unstable—
The electronic instruments made music
but burned up, destroyed themselves in the process.
Because Vega is bright and Lyra is small
it’s one of the first constellations I learned
and I’ve followed it rising in the summer
my whole life. Vega is as bright this evening
as when I first looked as a child and Lyra
is as beautiful now as it was back then.
I used to think electronic instruments
that burned up when they were making their music
were very cool, really art, a reminder
of the transitory nature of all things.
I was thinking, putting my binoculars
on the shelf. Vega is as bright this evening
as when I first looked as a child and Lyra
is as beautiful now as it was back then.
I used to think electronic instruments
that burned up when they were making their music
were very cool, really art, a reminder
of the transitory nature of all things
but now that makes me laugh because musicians
are also unstable designs that burn up
when they make their music but the burning up
part isn’t art, although the music might be,
the burning up part isn’t art, it’s just age.
Lyra’s a constellation shaped like a harp
and it’s beautiful, if you know where to look,
and it doesn’t change so it’s hard not to smile
at those stars. Vega is as bright this evening
as when I first looked as a child and Lyra
is as beautiful now as it was back then.
is in the eastern sky when the night turns dark
but the constellation is getting higher
and with two others, Cygnus and Aquila,
will form the Summer Triangle overhead
during the next few months. I see it through trees
in the east now, Vega bright without optics,
and the rest of Lyra the lyre visible
in binoculars looking through shifting leaves.
The musicians who did the movie soundtrack
for “Forbidden Planet” built their instruments
using circuit designs that were unstable—
The electronic instruments made music
but burned up, destroyed themselves in the process.
Because Vega is bright and Lyra is small
it’s one of the first constellations I learned
and I’ve followed it rising in the summer
my whole life. Vega is as bright this evening
as when I first looked as a child and Lyra
is as beautiful now as it was back then.
I used to think electronic instruments
that burned up when they were making their music
were very cool, really art, a reminder
of the transitory nature of all things.
I was thinking, putting my binoculars
on the shelf. Vega is as bright this evening
as when I first looked as a child and Lyra
is as beautiful now as it was back then.
I used to think electronic instruments
that burned up when they were making their music
were very cool, really art, a reminder
of the transitory nature of all things
but now that makes me laugh because musicians
are also unstable designs that burn up
when they make their music but the burning up
part isn’t art, although the music might be,
the burning up part isn’t art, it’s just age.
Lyra’s a constellation shaped like a harp
and it’s beautiful, if you know where to look,
and it doesn’t change so it’s hard not to smile
at those stars. Vega is as bright this evening
as when I first looked as a child and Lyra
is as beautiful now as it was back then.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forbidden Planet: An Introduction
Expeditions And Wilderness Parties
This Bright Old World Of Ours As A Rune
Blows Against The (Expensive) Empire
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