No World Order
Encyclopedia
No World Order is an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...

 (under the pseudonym TR-i), released in 1993. It was heavily influenced by electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

 and rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...

.

Interactive release

This CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

-only recording was available in an interactive version on Philips'
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....

 short-lived CD-i
CD-i
CD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard used by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was developed by Philips and Sony...

 format, as well as the Macintosh and Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 operating systems. The interactive version included the ability to alter the playback of the music by selecting a pre-determined sequence by either Rundgren or one of his four guest producers - Don Was
Don Was
Don Was is an American musician, bassist and record producer.-Life and career:Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year...

, Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...

, Hal Wilner and Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...

. The interface allowed the listener to control various aspects of music playback. If the user did nothing, the Rundgren mix would start and play through to the end.

The interactive interface presented standard playback controls and the following major functions, plus a help function:
  • Program
  • Direction
  • Form
  • Tempo
  • Mood
  • Mix
  • Video


The material on the disc was approximately 990 4-bar
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...

 musical segments. Each was a portion of one of the songs, accompanied by metadata describing the character of the segment - tempo in BPM
BPM
- Organizations :*BPM , a satellite radio channel*BPM , an American magazine* Bank Pertanian Malaysia, a financial institution in Malaysia* Banca Popolare di Milano, a financial institution in Italy...

, mood, chorus or verse, etc. Each segment was available in multiple mixes as well, from instrumental to a capella. As the listener adjusted parameters, the currently playing segment would finish before starting a new segment, ensuring a seamless listening experience.

The interface had the unique (at the time) property of allowing the user to select a range rather than a single value when adjusting a parameter. One could select a fast tempo, reducing the range so only that fast tempo segments were played, or increase the range so medium to fast were played, weighting towards fast.

Rundgren demonstrated No World Order and the Philips CD-i system at record stores and electronics retailers after the release of the disc, and can be found on YouTube: Part 1 and Part 2.

The tour for the album was designed to maximize interactivity with the audience, allowing members to dance on a raised portion of the stage, and even to guest solo on guitar.

The interactive program received "Best Composition/Arrangement" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, and the "Best Interactive Disc of the Year" Award from Video magazine.

Standard CD release

A non-interactive, audio-only CD was released simultaneously with Rundgren's preferred sequence. Even this version, however, played on the theme of interactivity and orderlessness: its nearly continuous flow supported random play, and its paper insert could be refolded and reinserted so as to display any of 16 alternate versions of the cover art.

Another version of the album, No World Order Lite, was released the following year, presenting the same material in a more song-oriented format.

In Japan, a promotional disc called "NWO (Version 1.01)" was released that contained alternate versions of some of the songs.

No World Order track listing

All songs by Todd Rundgren
  1. "Worldwide Epiphany"
  2. "No World Order"
  3. "Worldwide Epiphany"
  4. "Day Job"
  5. "Property"
  6. "Fascist Christ"
  7. "Love Thing"
  8. "Time Stood Still"
  9. "Proactivity"
  10. "No World Order"
  11. "Worldwide Epiphany"
  12. "Time Stood Still"
  13. "Love Thing"
  14. "Time Stood Still"
  15. "Word Made Flesh"
  16. "Fever Broke"

NWO (Version 1.01) (1993) track listing

  1. "Fascist Christ (Fax Version)"
  2. "Property (Video Version)"
  3. "Day Job (Radio Version)"
  4. "Fascist Christ (Radio Version)"
  5. "Fever Broke (Xaos Version)"
  6. "Property (Lost Version)"
  7. "Day Job (Club Version)"
  8. "Fascist Christ (Broken Version)"

No World Order Lite track listing

  1. "Worldwide Epiphany"
  2. "Love Thing"
  3. "Property"
  4. "Day Job"
  5. "Fascist Christ"
  6. "No World Order"
  7. "Time Stood Still"
  8. "Proactivity"
  9. "Word Made Flesh"
  10. "Fever Broke"
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