Ask Geir Hongro

Gier,

During the Battle of Okinawa, do you think that General Buckner was correct to follow his strategy of attrition by frontal assault, or should he have taken the advice of General Geiger, and tried to outflank Ushijima by an amphibious assault on the southern beaches?

You mean a European or an African swallow?

Mr. Hongro…

I see on the Under pressure thread that you like a lot of David Bowie's music.

Do you dislike his songs "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fashion," due to the rhythm sections dominating the tune's melodic qualities? And do you also dislike the guitar solos (played by Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp) since both are not in the song's tonalities?

No, I don't dislike those although they aren't among my favourite Bowie picks either. And as for Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp, I can tolerate guitar solos not being particularly tonal - they are just solos after all. I prefer the considerably more melodic guitar work of Steve Hackett though.

Dear G. Hongro,

What is your opinion on the music from Kid Icarus? link here
I know it's just a video game, but there is some lovely melody and counterpoint to be found within these compositions, no?

SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK
SMELL YO DICK

Actually thanks for showing me there's a lot of old gaming nostalgia on Youtube. I didn't know.

(And as for "Smell Yo Dick", there are at least a billion other recent popular songs that sound completely alike)

And "Bombjack" rules:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eer6CSb2mOY

Geir, my question was sincere -- do you have an opinion on Kid Icarus?

I tried listening to it, but you know those game tunes have a tendency to stick in your ears after a while after playing the game. Probably a nice tune, but in the case of computer games, a really sucky and old-fashioned sound tended to put me off anwyay. :)

And by 1986, Rob Hubbard, Martin Galway and Ben Daglish had revolutionized 64 music to such an extent that Nintendo music sounded dated by comparision

what authors do you like to read?

beecher stowe?

oh snap

Geir, which of these dances is the most poular in Norwayland: The Twist, The Macarena or The Mashed Potato? If you were to invent a dance, how would it go?

Geir, which of these dances is the most poular in Norwayland: The Twist, The Macarena or The Mashed Potato?

No idea, but The Macarena is surely the most unpopular. :)

If you were to invent a dance, how would it go?

Sitting in a chair in front of the stereo in a dark room without moving, listening to music at a moderate loud volume and taking in all of the details of the music while still not moving a muscle. Called the "listening dance" or the "hi-fi-dance". Music: Preferrably prog, but also works with slightly sophisticated pop or even classical music.

And "Smell Yo Dick"

xpost
I thought the moves may be something like that. Have you ever 'cut a rug' when accidentally visiting a club or a wedding reception for example?

There´s a new sensation
A fabulous creation
A danceable solution
To teenage revolution
Do the Hongro
When you feel love
It´s the new way
That´s why we say
Do the Hongro
Do it on the tables
Quaglino´s place or mabel´s
Slow and gentle
Sentimental
All styles served here
Louis seize he prefer
Laissez-faire le strand
Tired of the tango
Fed up with fandango
Dance on moonbeams
Slide on rainbows
In furs or blue jeans
You know what I mean
Do the Hong

Had your fill of quadrilles
The madison and cheap thrills
Bored with the beguine
The samba isn´t your scene
They´re playing our tune
By the pale moon
We´re incognito
Down the lido
And we like the strand
Arabs at oasis
Eskimos and chinese
If you feel blue
Look through who´s who
See la goulue
And nijinsky
Do the strandsky
Weary of the waltz
And mashed potato schmaltz
Rhododendron
Is a nice flower
Evergreen
It lasts forever
But it can´t beat Hongro
The sphynx and mona lisa
Lolita and guernica
Did the Hong

Geir, are you a fan of the more melodic strains of symphonic and folk black metal from your fine country?

Sitting in a chair in front of the stereo in a dark room without moving, listening to music at a moderate loud volume and taking in all of the details of the music while still not moving a muscle. Called the "listening dance" or the "hi-fi-dance".

Geir,

SUP?

http://www.totalmedia.com/images/maxell.jpg

Geirs of War

Metal Geir Solid

What books do you like to read?

How do you feel about Koji Kondo?

Geir, are you a fan of the more melodic strains of symphonic and folk black metal from your fine country?

No. I cannot stand music that features screaming or grinding vocals.

What books do you like to read?

Books about music, I guess. :) I don't read a lot of fiction really.

What are your favorite books about music?

Surely you can cite some non-music books that mean a lot to you, mr Hongro!

Is there anything specific about music that you enjoy that you don't in other arts?

You don't like it when they scream and shout, when they work it on out?

Who are your favorite rhythm section?

The thread that never gets old.

Sitting in a chair in front of the stereo in a dark room without moving, listening to music at a moderate loud volume and taking in all of the details of the music while still not moving a muscle. Called the "listening dance" or the "hi-fi-dance". Music: Preferrably prog classic rock, but also works with slightly sophisticated pop singer-songwriters or even classical heavy metal music.

This was me...when I was a bored 15-year-old.

How do you pronounce "Geir Hongro"?

Is there anything specific about music that you enjoy that you don't in other arts?

Given that I am heavily into music and not that much into anything else: Lots. Cannot really compare though.

Who are your favorite rhythm section?

Probably Bill Bruford and Chris Squire.

How do you pronounce "Geir Hongro"?

Gair Hongru.
with the "a" pronounced as in "jam" rather than as in "bar". And the "u" roughly as in "Blur" (really a nonexistant sound in the English language though). Also, the "r" is of course the Norwegian one - like in Spanish or Italian.

the answer to rev's question kinda ruined my night because "geer hongroh" >>> "gair hongru"

Geir, What James Brown tracks do you like? I'm sure there must be something you like.

Geir, you always claim percussion is unimportant, what were the key decisions you made when programming the drum track for Talking To A Computer?

Geir, What James Brown tracks do you like?

"Living In America" is OK. And that's about it, I think. "It's a Man's Man's World" has some interesting chords, but is dragged down by an extremely pointless and repetitive melody.

Geir, you always claim percussion is unimportant, what were the key decisions you made when programming the drum track for Talking To A Computer?

I was actually kind of into stuff like Break Machine, Rocksteady Crew etc (well, even Video Kids ;) ) at 14, which was when I originally made the song. And the drum track in the current version is based upon the drum track I programmed on my rather primitive Korg drum machine in 1985, which was meant to sound like a "breakdance" rhythm. (very influenced by Paul Hardcastle's "19" if you listen cloesr to it) It wasn't originally programmed for that song, I just ended up using it for it, and it probably would have been a more straight 4/4 had I composed the song now.

At this time, virtually everything in the hitlists (also included the hip-hop stuff) had a melody, so I hadn't developed a hatred for all things non-melodic yet, as they just didn't exist to me at all, other than some weird "blip blop" music that modern "classical" composers made and nobody liked. It wasn't until "Walk This Way" that I started hating rap with a passion (the electro had always been my reason for liking some early hip-hop and "Walk This Way" wasn't electro anymore), and it wasn't until "Pump Up The Volume", "Dig This" and "Theme S-Express" (all of which I weirdly kind of like by now) that I decided I hated all things non-melodic.

It wasn't until "Walk This Way" that I started hating rap with a passion

http://www.dynamicforces.com/images/Origins2signedbyStanLee.jpg

i love talking to a computer

what is soul?

Which song of yours was the one that got played twice on Nowegian national radio?

That one.

What advice would you give a young music enthusiast who is coming to understand more clearly that the rhythmic aspects of music are incapable of affecting him in the nearly the same way as melody or harmony does?

ok wow @ "walk this way" as the origin of geir

geirthink?

geirmind?

hongrobrane

What advice would you give a young music enthusiast who is coming to understand more clearly that the rhythmic aspects of music are incapable of affecting him in the nearly the same way as melody or harmony does?

Oh, there's so much great music to discover out there that has been more or less "underground" for the past 20 years ;)

Don't ask Geir (fuck me!)

Geir, the year is 1958, rock and roll is in it's first flush of youth. Strange and interesting things are happening in jazz and classical music. Phil Spector and Marvin Gaye have just begun their careers. What would 1958 era Geir listen to?