ANDY WEBSTER
An unspecified number of recordings of tribute bands playing the iconic intro to Rainbow's 'Kill the King' are looped one after the other. The piece consists solely of the opening refrain—a bombastic rock reinterpretation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"—endlessly repeated. As one tribute band reaches the climax of the song's introduction, another begins, and the verse never arrives.
This sound work explores the concepts of anticipation and repetition in rock music. It presents a series of almost-moments that are continually postponed, stripping away the spectacle and leaving only the unsatisfied promise of what's to come. The work creates a palimpsest of cultural reference—from Judy Garland's wistful original to Rainbow's hard rock appropriation to various tribute renditions—each layer adding to a complex cycle of cultural recycling.
Listeners are confronted with a never-ending cycle of introductions where the familiar becomes absurd through repetition. Expectations are built up and then denied, with no defined duration. Like the yearning expressed in the original song, this perpetual state of introduction without resolution transforms what should be a peak moment of rock spectacle into a Sisyphean experience.
In its monotony, the piece turns a moment of anticipation into a potentially never-ending experience. It and serves as a deadpan commentary on tribute culture and prompts reflection on the ritualistic nature of fandom, the transformation of musical time, and a collective participation in cycles of nostalgia.