Name That Tune in Six Prompts

World on the Wire

Mark Rushton’s Abundant Spare Time is a weekly email on Substack where I talk about my ongoing work as a recording artist and visual artist.

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This 154th weekly email is brought to you by the Mark Rushton Gallery, for printed and original artworks. License my music, sound fx, and illustrations at Pond 5 for your creative project. I’m on Bandcamp and all the usual streaming services.

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This week’s topics:

• Using the Next Thermal Ribbon Printer

• Name That Tune in Six Prompts

• Pantha du Prince - “Welt am Draht”

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Using the Next Thermal Ribbon Printer

My old thermal ribbon printer kept throwing an error code that I couldn’t clear, so I bought a new one a few weeks ago from China and it arrived this week. They’re fairly cheap, about $60.

I like taking my photos, processing them in the app they provide, printing the photos onto spunbonded olefin using the thermal ribbon printer, and then applying ink.

The thermal ribbon is a lower heat, otherwise the spunbonded olefin would melt. I could use spunbonded olefin in my Epson ET-3843 printer, but I would need to buy a different kind of olefin with an “inkjet coating” and the effect wouldn’t be anything like what you see above.

I plan to create a second edition of my “zine” (also titled “Mark Rushton’s Abundant Spare Time”) soon using all of these printing options. It’ll be a 2-page collage that will also employ my Hermes 3000 manual typewriter. This edition of the zine will be printed on my Epson and mailed out to local videographers to let them know I produce music and have sound fx available as stock music for their projects. (more about my first promo zine here…)

If you don’t tell anybody what you do, they won’t know. I’ll explain why using original music and local composers is much better than relying on “Aye Eye” slop or anonymous nobodies.

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Name That Tune in Six Prompts

Earlier this week, I was watching the Rick Rubin interview with artist Ed Ruscha. Ruscha looks and sounds great for being 88 years old. He looks and talks like he’s maybe 70.

Rubin’s theme music was very familiar to me, but I couldn’t remember the title or artist.

So I asked the word robot, which I’ll show here. Man, these “aye eye” things are garbage. Look at how stupid this becomes. I can’t believe anybody uses this junk.

Why do I use it? Because it proves my point. Question in bold. My comments in BOLD UPPER CASE.

Q: What is the theme song to rick rubin's podcast?

The theme song for Rick Rubin's podcast Tetragrammaton is an original composition created specifically for the show. However, the exact title and artist of the theme music are not publicly listed on the official Tetragrammaton website (THEN IT WENT ON AND ON AND ON)

Q: It's not an original composition. It's a song, or a cover of a song, from the late 60s

The theme song for Rick Rubin’s podcast Tetragrammaton is a cover of the 1967 song “Summer’s Almost Gone” by The Doors. The version used in the podcast is a haunting, slowed-down instrumental cover that sets a reflective and atmospheric tone for the show. This choice aligns with Rick Rubin’s aesthetic—minimalist, introspective, and rooted in classic music history. The original song appeared on The Doors' 1968 album Waiting for the Sun. (ABSOLUTELY NOT IT)

Q: no, that's not it... it's an instrumental song from the late 60s or early 70s. it was a hit.

the most likely candidate is: “Albatross” by Fleetwood Mac (1968) - It’s a dreamy, slow instrumental track. Released in 1968, it became a UK number-one hit. Known for its ambient, oceanic vibe, which fits Rick Rubin’s aesthetic perfectly (NOT EVEN CLOSE)

Q: it goes like, "Da... da... de da da da... da da-da dahhh, de da de dah dahhh

the most likely candidate is: “Love Theme” by Barry White (from the Love Unlimited Orchestra, 1973) It's a smooth, orchestral instrumental with a memorable and romantic melody. (DEFINITELY NOT, I DON'T NEED TO LISTEN TO KNOW IT’S WRONG)

Q: no that's not it. It has a baroque feel to it

further investigation into Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, the theme song is widely believed to be: “Adagio in G minor” by Tomaso Albinoni (arranged by Remo Giazotto)….. (CLOSE WITH THE INITIAL PART OF THE MELODY, BUT THEN IT QUICKLY CHANGES)

Q: what were some instrumental US hit songs in the late 60s that would have been played on AM radio with a baroque feel?

Likely Candidates with a Baroque/Classical Feel - “Love Is Blue” – Paul Mauriat (1968) - A lush, orchestral instrumental with a distinctly baroque-pop vibe. Reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

(BINGO - THAT’S IT, “LOVE IS BLUE” BY PAUL MAURIAT, A NUMBER ONE HIT FOR FIVE WEEKS IN EARLY 1968)

ALSO SUGGESTED, BUT WRONG, WAS THIS:

“Classical Gas” – Mason Williams (1968) A virtuosic guitar piece with orchestral backing. Peaked at #2 and won three Grammy Awards. Has a classical-meets-folk feel, often mistaken for a baroque piece.

Q: Have Mason Williams and Ed Ruscha been lifelong friends?

Yes, Mason Williams and Ed Ruscha have been lifelong friends. Their friendship began in fourth grade in Oklahoma City, where they lived just a few blocks apart. In 1956, they took a pivotal road trip together from Oklahoma to Los Angeles—Ruscha to attend art school at Chouinard, and Williams initially pursuing a career as an actuary before becoming a musician and writer.

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, they collaborated on several creative projects that blended art, humor, and conceptual experimentation. Notable examples include:

"Royal Road Test" (1967) – a book documenting the results of throwing a Royal typewriter out of a moving car, with Ruscha as the driver and Williams as the thrower.

(DIGGING INTO THINGS ON MY OWN, I FOUND A BOOK CALLED THE MASON WILLIAMS READING MATTER)

Q: What is the book "The Mason Williams Reading Matter"?

"The Mason Williams Reading Matter" is a 1969 book by Mason Williams, best known as a musician and humorist (notably for his Grammy-winning piece Classical Gas). The book is a quirky, humorous, and experimental collection that blends poetry, prose, visual wordplay, and conceptual art.

Here are some key details:

Genre: Poetry, humor, and nonfiction.

Tone and Style: Absurdist, playful, and intellectual. It includes musings on language, science, and culture, often with a surreal or satirical twist.

Notable Content: One of the recurring jokes in the book is a mock-serious discussion about the question “What is Acrostic?” which leads to a humorous tangent about “What is acoustic?” and the answer being “42”—a number later made famous in Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, though Williams used it earlier.

Length: 145 pages. Publisher: Doubleday. First Published: January 1, 1969.

The book reflects Williams’ deep interest in conceptual art and wordplay, aligning with the kind of experimental humor and visual thinking he shared with longtime friend Ed Ruscha.

(RIGHT UP MY ALLEY, SO I ORDERED A COPY FROM EBAY AND IT’LL BE HERE NEXT WEEK. THANKS, DUMB ROBOT!)

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Pantha du Prince - “Welt am Draht”

Soon, our oldest daughter, Isabel, will be off to Košice, Slovakia, for most of the next year to teach as part of her Fulbright Scholarship award. More about that here.

In the past year or so, I’ve really taken to studying “old world architecture” via YouTube videos, and she’s promised to send back lots of photos of castles, cathedrals, and other “old world” buildings in the area and with her travels.

Pantha du Prince (Hendrik Weber) makes instrumental electronic music that I think can’t help but be influenced by “old world” architecture in Europe. He has produced albums using carillons. Most of his electronic oeuvre often has electronic “bell sounds” and percussive elements sprinkled throughout. I find his music extremely appealing. Almost everything he has released sounds very original. I know Pantha du Prince when I hear it.

This homemade video, put on YouTube in 2010, was probably the first thing I saw using Pantha du Prince’s music. I’m amazed it’s still out there! Usually these things get taken down. And while it doesn’t have any “old world architecture” in it, you do get to see a lovely European train ride in the winter. To me, this is visual perfection for the music.