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Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in 1977, originally as Cardiac Arrest, led by Tim Smith. Noted for their complex, varied and intense compositional style〔(1987 live review of Cardiacs at The Marquee Club, London, UK ) by Christopher "Push" Dawes in ''Melody Maker'' (copy of text hosted on Cardiacs homepage)〕〔(1987 live review of Cardiacs at Dingwalls, London, UK ) by Andy Hurt in ''Sounds'' (copy of text hosted on Cardiacs homepage)〕〔(December 1988 live review of Cardiacs at Town and Country Club, London, UK ) by Stephen Dalton in ''New Musical Express'' (copy of text hosted on Cardiacs homepage)〕 and for their eccentric, theatrical stage shows,〔(Live review: Cardiacs – The Wedgewood Rooms, 22 November 2007 ) from ''The Dreaded Press''〕〔("Ginger’s Secret History of Rock’n’Roll (pt. 7)" in Classic Rock magazine ) (Ginger from The Wildhearts describing Cardiacs and retrospectively reviewing ''On Land and in the Sea'')〕〔("Cardiacs at the Garage: it's history" ), article in ‘Perfect Sound Forever’ by Martijn Voorvelt (April 2004)〕 they have been hailed as an influence by bands as diverse as Blur, Faith No More and Radiohead.〔("Meet the most influential band you've never heard of" ) (Cardiacs article by Tom Goodhand in The Yorkshire Post, 9 November 2007〕 Cardiacs have released eight studio albums plus a number of live albums, compilation albums and singles between 1980 and 2007, and are best known for the 1988 minor hit single "Is This the Life?" They are also noted for attracting strongly diverse responses: they have remained one of Britain's leading cult rock bands during their four-decade-spanning career, but have also attracted virulent critical attack (including a lengthy editorial ban from the British music magazine ''New Musical Express''). The band has been on indefinite (and possibly permanent) hiatus following the 2008 hospitalisation of Tim Smith after a heart attack and series of strokes.〔(Cardiacs tribute album to raise money for paralysed singer Tim Smith ) – article in ''The Guardian'' by Ian Gittins, Thursday 3 February 2011〕 ==Musical & lyrical style== Cardiacs' music is noted for balancing the attack and 'raw energy' of punk rock with the intricacies and technical cleverness of early British progressive rock. The band also incorporates elements of other musical forms such as ska, mediaeval music, folk music, heavy metal, hymns and corporate anthems.〔〔〔 The music magazine Organ once commented that "one Cardiacs song contains more ideas than most other musicians' entire careers."〔(Biography of Cardiacs @ Organ Magazine homepage )〕 The broad combination of styles in the band's music has sometimes been referred to as "progressive punk" – or "pronk" – and has led to Cardiacs being labelled the primary exponents of this musical style. Tim Smith rejects the term, and prefers the description "psychedelic" or simply "pop".〔〔〔(Reviews of Cardiacs' 2003 concerts at the Garage, London ) (archived on Cardiacs homepage)〕 Musicians which the band have cited as Cardiacs influences include XTC, Van der Graaf Generator, Gong, early Split Enz, Devo, Gentle Giant, Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, early Genesis, Deaf School and Wire.〔("Why A Heart Attack Must Not Arrest The Cardiacs" ) – article by Graham Bendel in ''The Quietus'', 4 May 2010〕 Smith has stated, "I don’t know what influences us really, I wouldn’t say that we are influenced by any actual bands in particular".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Interview with Tim Smith in Margen Magazine, April 2001, by Luis Gonzalez (archived on Cardiacs homepage) )〕 Tim Smith has denied that Gentle Giant was an influence on the band, but Sarah Smith says that they were.〔〔 Earlier lineups of the band were sextets and octets employing extensive use of saxophones, percussion and live keyboards. From 1991 onwards, the band was a rock power quartet centred on two guitars (with the remaining keyboard and percussion parts sequenced on tape). Vocally, Cardiacs employ a distinctive singing style centred on Tim Smith's lead vocals (reedy and high-pitched, with a strong punk-styled Estuary English accent) and choral sections (varying from yelled to falsetto) involving most or all of the band. Smith's singing style has been described by music critics as 'skittish'; it has also been commented that his singing voice sounds very similar to his speaking one. The band's music is written almost entirely by Tim Smith, although contributions have been made by other group members. Smith is also responsible for the majority of the band's lyrics, which are written in a cryptic fractured form of English alternately hailed as poetic or nonsensical. He has generally refused to discuss their content, preferring to keep the words and their inspirations shrouded in mystique and allowing for fan interpretations. Smith has also sometimes employed a cut-up lyrical approach drawing on the works of (among others), William Blake, Charles Kingsley, William Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot. Two favourite cut-and-paste sources are Pedro Carolino’s ''English As She Is Spoke'' (a failed Victorian English-Portuguese phrasebook once hailed by Mark Twain as a perfect example of absurdity)〔(Mark Twain, "English as she is taught: Being genuine answers to examination questions in our public schools" ), 1887〕 and the nineteenth-century Irish poet George Darley. Fans have also spotted references to the films ''The Night of the Hunter'' and ''Eraserhead'' in Smith's words and music videos.〔(Notes on poetry quoted/paraphrased in Cardiacs lyrics ) on Cardiacs fansite. Retrieved 13 November 2008.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cardiacs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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