Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Little Fluffy Clouds

Music in this episode: The Orb - “Little Fluffy Clouds” (1991) Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports - “1/1” (1979) Rickie Lee Jones - “Chuck E.’s in Love” (1979) A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones (1989) Ennio Morricone - “L’uomo dell’armonica" from C’era Una Volta Il West (1968) Harry Nilsson - “Jump into the Fire” (1971) Twin Hype - “Serious Attitude” (1989) Pat Metheny - “Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast” (1989) Karlheinz Stockhausen - “Gesang der Jünglinge” (1955) References Sound on Sound - Classic Tracks column on “Little Fluffy Clouds” [https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-orb-little-fluffy-clouds] Justin Morey - “Ambient House: ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ and the Sampler as Time Machine” [https://unipress.hud.ac.uk/plugins/books/19/chapter/28] Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

My daughter loves the 80s

Music in this episode: Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon - “Stranger Things Title Sequence” (2016) Kate Bush - “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” (1985) The Clash - “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (1982) The Who - “Baba O’Riley (ConfidentialMX Remix)” (2019) Cyndi Lauper - “Time After Time” (1983) Wham! - “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (1984) Madonna - “Material Girl” (1984) Metallica - “Master of Puppets” (1986) Dead Or Alive - “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” (1984) Diana Ross - “Upside Down” (1980) The Bangles - “Manic Monday” (1985) Prince - “Starfish and Coffee” (1987) Michael Jackson - “Thriller” (1982) Michael Jackson - “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (1982) Michael Jackson - “Billie Jean” (1982) Dolly Parton - “9 to 5” (1980) See also Bernadetta’s first podcast appearance: Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Mama se mama sa mamacoosa

Music in this episode: Michael Jackson - “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (1982) Manu Dibango - “Soul Makossa” (1972) Manu Dibango - “Mouvement Ewondo” (1972) A Taste of Honey - “Boogie Oogie Oogie” (1978) Manu Dibango - “Electric Africa” (1985) Michael Jackson - “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (home demo)” (1979) Fugees - “Cowboys” (1996) Will Smith - “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” (1997) Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz (feat. Chauncey Black) - “Startin’ Somethin’” (1998) Björk - “I Go Humble” (1998) Missy Elliott - “Intro/Go To The Floor” (2002) Rihanna - “Don’t Stop the Music” (2007) Charles Hamilton - “Brooklyn Girls” (2008) Geri Allen - “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (2013) References My MusicRadar column about this song [https://www.musicradar.com/news/michael-jackson-wanna-be-startin-something] Nelson George - Thriller: The Musical Life Of Michael Jackson [https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/nelson-george/thriller/9780306819070/] Manu Dibango and Danielle Rouard - Three Kilos of Coffee: an Autobiography [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo3638401.html] George Echu - “Multilingualism as a Resource: the Lexical Appropriation of Cameroon Indigenous Languages by English and French [https://www.inst.at/trans/13Nr/echu13.htm]” Ben Zimmer - “Ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa [https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1542]” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Songs vs Grooves

Music in this episode: The Beatles - “Yesterday” (1965) James Brown - “The Payback” (1973) Parliament - “Flashlight” (1978) Michael Jackson - “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979) Dizzy Gillespie - “Manteca” (1957) Small correction: I describe this as a one-chord groove. It mostly is, but it has a B section with a complex jazz chord progression. Underworld - “Rez” (1993) The Orb - “Little Fluffy Clouds” (1991) Run-DMC - “Sucker MCs” (1983) Ella Fitzgerald - “Wait Til You See Him” (1956) Ella Fitzgerald - “Wait Til You See Him (De-Phazz Remix)” (2002) Simon and Garfunkel - “Sound of Silence (The Golden Pony Remix)” (2014) James Brown - “Get Up (I Feel Like Bein’ A) Sex Machine Parts 1 & 2” (1970) James Brown - “The Funky Drummer Parts 1 & 2” (1970) James Brown - “Give It Up Or Turnit a-Loose” (1970) Grateful Dead - “Dark Star” (1969) Grateful Dead - “Beautiful Jam” (1971) The Beatles - “Hey Jude” (1968) Stevie Wonder - “Living for the City” (1973) Sabrina Carpenter - “Espresso” (2024) The Temptations - “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” (1966) Herbie Hancock - “Chameleon” (1973) Count Basie - “One O’Clock Jump” (1937) Eddie Harris - “Freedom Jazz Dance” (1961) Miles Davis - “It’s About That Time” (1969) Steve Reich - “Music For Pieces of Wood” (1973) Philip Glass - Music in Contrary Motion (1969) performed by James McVinnie Steve Reich - “Electric Counterpoint” (1989) performed by Pat Metheny Alessandro Piccinini - “Passacaglia” (1639) performed by Ronn McFarlane Frédéric Chopin - “Nocturnes, Op. 9, No. 1 in B-Flat Minor” (1832) performed by Arthur Rubinstein The Incredible Bongo Band - “Apache” (1973) Ethan Hein - “Chopin - Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 - Apache Mix” (2021) Ethan Hein - “JS Bach - Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor - Chaconne - Afro Rock Mix” (2026) John Cage - “The Perilous Night” (1944) performed by Ensemble Musikfabrik References: Anne Danielsen - Presence and Pleasure: The Funk Grooves of James Brown and Parliament [https://www.weslpress.org/9780819568236/presence-and-pleasure/] Richard Ripani - The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950-1999 [https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/T/The-New-Blue-Music] Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Sonnymoon for Two

Music in this episode: Sonny Rollins - “Sonnymoon For Two” (1958) Sonny Rollins - “Sonnymoon for Two” (1958) Charles Mingus - “Mood Indigo” (1960) Charles Mingus - “Jelly Roll” (1959) Melvin Bliss - “Synthetic Substitution” (1973) Miles Davis - “Oleo” (1954) Miles Davis - “Doxy” (1954) Sonny Rollins - “St Thomas” (1957) George Symonette - “Sponger Money” (1957) Here’s a chart of my “Sonnymoon for Two” reharmonization [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2d8ysn6k3miin90y1a8l5/Sonnymoon-for-Two-harmonized.mscz?rlkey=8xpqswpwbskdtvmq7fqvlllqg&dl=0] - I put chord symbols on as many chords as I could, though some of them defy analysis. Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]