Car Radio Rant

Composer's Note:

Car Radio Rant is an invective against one of those modern-day pests which eat away at the inner life of the musician. From its text, the “message" should be self-evident.

This piece should be performed with great brio, capturing the sheer, brutal energy of the thing it is taking to task.

The pianist should perform with the left-hand only, except for the one section where two piano staves are provided (corresponding to the text, “Even in the privacy of one’s own home…”). One further exception is noted on page 1.

It is recommended that the pianist have some sort of vocal amplification, either a boom-mounted air mike which does not obstruct his/her keyboard activity, or better, a remote headset mike. Amplification should only be enough to ensure comprehensibility of the text at every point of the piece.

The vocal part ranges from more conversationally spoken (marked [Fr] for “free”) to rhythmicized speech to sprechstimme (where some sense of pitch should be projected). All three are clearly differentiated by respective styles of notation.

Please note that except in the two-handed section, and the one indicated “loco” passage, the piano part is always one octave lower than notated.