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==Composition==
==Composition==
The track is a [[sound collage]] and simply constructed: it consists of the duo singing "[[Silent Night]]" two-part [[harmony]] over an [[arpeggio|arpeggiated]] [[piano]] section.{{sfn|Bennighof|2007|p=32}} The voice of the newscaster is that of [[Charlie O'Donnell]], who was then a radio disc jockey. As the track progresses, the news report assumes a greater presence through an increase in volume. "The result rather bluntly makes an ironic commentary on various social ills by juxtaposing them with tenderly expressed Christmas sentiments."{{sfn|Bennighof|2007|p=32}} The mix on the track purposefully clashes with the piano accompaniment mixed solely to the left channel and the news solely to the right channel while vocals remain in the middle.
The track is a [[sound collage]] and simply constructed: it consists of the duo singing "[[Silent Night]]" in two-part [[harmony]] over an [[arpeggio|arpeggiated]] [[piano]] section.{{sfn|Bennighof|2007|p=32}} The voice of the newscaster is that of [[Charlie O'Donnell]], who was then a radio disc jockey. As the track progresses, the news report assumes a greater presence through an increase in volume. "The result rather bluntly makes an ironic commentary on various social ills by juxtaposing them with tenderly expressed Christmas sentiments."{{sfn|Bennighof|2007|p=32}} The mix on the track purposefully clashes with the piano accompaniment mixed solely to the left channel and the news solely to the right channel while vocals remain in the middle.


The following events are reported in the order given:<ref name="linernotes">{{cite AV media notes | title=[[Collected Works (Simon and Garfunkel album)|Collected Works]] | year=1990 | others=[[Simon & Garfunkel]] | type=liner notes | publisher=[[Columbia Records|Columbia]] | location=[[United States|US]] | id=C3K 45322}}</ref>
The following events are reported in the order given:<ref name="linernotes">{{cite AV media notes | title=[[Collected Works (Simon and Garfunkel album)|Collected Works]] | year=1990 | others=[[Simon & Garfunkel]] | type=liner notes | publisher=[[Columbia Records|Columbia]] | location=[[United States|US]] | id=C3K 45322}}</ref>
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* [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] reaffirming plans for an [[Chicago Freedom Movement|open housing march]] into [[Cicero, Illinois]], a suburb of [[Chicago]]. It is stated that [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] sheriff [[Richard Ogilvie]] urged its cancellation, and that Cicero police plan to ask the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] to be called in.
* [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] reaffirming plans for an [[Chicago Freedom Movement|open housing march]] into [[Cicero, Illinois]], a suburb of [[Chicago]]. It is stated that [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] sheriff [[Richard Ogilvie]] urged its cancellation, and that Cicero police plan to ask the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] to be called in.
* The [[grand jury]] indictment of [[Richard Speck]] for the murder of nine [actually eight] student nurses.
* The [[grand jury]] indictment of [[Richard Speck]] for the murder of nine [actually eight] student nurses.
* Disruption by protesters at [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]] hearings into [[Opposition to the Vietnam War|anti-Vietnam War protests]]
* Disruption by protesters at [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]] hearings into [[Opposition to the Vietnam War|anti-Vietnam War protests]].
* A speech by "former Vice-President [[Richard Nixon]]" to the [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]] [actually to the [[American Legion]]] urging an increase in the war effort in Vietnam, and calling opposition to the war the "greatest single weapon working against the US".
* A speech by "former Vice-President [[Richard Nixon]]" to the [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]] [actually to the [[American Legion]]] urging an increase in the war effort in Vietnam, and calling opposition to the war the "greatest single weapon working against the US".


== Cover ==
== Cover ==
[[Phoebe Bridgers]] released a cover version of this song in 2019. The song featured Bridgers and [[Fiona Apple]] singing over a different news report read by [[Matt Berninger]]. The news featured the announcement of a settlement that would not force the [[Sackler family]], owners of [[Purdue Pharma]], to admit wrongdoing in the deaths of hundreds of thousands related to their opioid products, the first all female spacewalk, the [[murder of Botham Jean]], the Supreme Court hearing [[June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo|the case of a restrictive abortion law from Louisiana]], and the testimony of [[Mick Mulvaney]] in the [[first impeachment trial of Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Shaffer|first=Claire|date=2019-12-12|title=Phoebe Bridgers Covers '7 O'Clock News/Silent Night' With Fiona Apple, Matt Berninger|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phoebe-bridgers-7-oclock-news-silent-night-fiona-apple-matt-berninger-925711/|access-date=2020-11-14|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>
[[Phoebe Bridgers]] released a cover version of this song in 2019. The song featured Bridgers and [[Fiona Apple]] singing over a different news report read by [[Matt Berninger]]. The news featured the announcement of a settlement that would not force the [[Sackler family]], owners of [[Purdue Pharma]], to admit wrongdoing in the deaths of hundreds of thousands related to their opioid products, the first all female spacewalk, the [[murder of Botham Jean]], the Supreme Court hearing [[June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo|the case of a restrictive abortion law from Louisiana]], and the testimony of [[Mick Mulvaney]] in the [[first impeachment trial of Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Shaffer|first=Claire|date=December 12, 2019|title=Phoebe Bridgers Covers '7 O'Clock News/Silent Night' With Fiona Apple, Matt Berninger|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phoebe-bridgers-7-oclock-news-silent-night-fiona-apple-matt-berninger-925711/|access-date=November 14, 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
Line 42: Line 42:
== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|last=Bennighof|first=James|title=The Words and Music of Paul Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShBhKL-9SLIC|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-99163-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Bennighof|first=James|title=The Words and Music of Paul Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShBhKL-9SLIC|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-99163-0}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.paulsimon.com/song/7-oclock-newssilent-night/ |title=Songs + Lyrics: ''7 O'Clock News/Silent Night'' |work=Paul Simon official website |access-date=19 April 2017}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.paulsimon.com/song/7-oclock-newssilent-night/ |title=Songs + Lyrics: ''7 O'Clock News/Silent Night'' |work=Paul Simon official website |access-date=April 19, 2017}}


{{Simon & Garfunkel}}
{{Simon & Garfunkel}}

Latest revision as of 22:45, 16 October 2024

"7 O'Clock News/Silent Night"
Song by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
ReleasedOctober 10, 1966
RecordedAugust 22, 1966
Genre
Length2:01
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bob Johnston

"7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). The track is a sound collage juxtaposing a rendition of the Christmas carol "Silent Night" with a simulated "7 O'Clock News" bulletin consisting of actual events from the summer of 1966.

Composition

[edit]

The track is a sound collage and simply constructed: it consists of the duo singing "Silent Night" in two-part harmony over an arpeggiated piano section.[1] The voice of the newscaster is that of Charlie O'Donnell, who was then a radio disc jockey. As the track progresses, the news report assumes a greater presence through an increase in volume. "The result rather bluntly makes an ironic commentary on various social ills by juxtaposing them with tenderly expressed Christmas sentiments."[1] The mix on the track purposefully clashes with the piano accompaniment mixed solely to the left channel and the news solely to the right channel while vocals remain in the middle.

The following events are reported in the order given:[2]

Cover

[edit]

Phoebe Bridgers released a cover version of this song in 2019. The song featured Bridgers and Fiona Apple singing over a different news report read by Matt Berninger. The news featured the announcement of a settlement that would not force the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, to admit wrongdoing in the deaths of hundreds of thousands related to their opioid products, the first all female spacewalk, the murder of Botham Jean, the Supreme Court hearing the case of a restrictive abortion law from Louisiana, and the testimony of Mick Mulvaney in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Bennighof 2007, p. 32.
  2. ^ Collected Works (liner notes). Simon & Garfunkel. US: Columbia. 1990. C3K 45322.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ Shaffer, Claire (December 12, 2019). "Phoebe Bridgers Covers '7 O'Clock News/Silent Night' With Fiona Apple, Matt Berninger". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

Bibliography

[edit]