tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27873913479540278252024-03-12T19:52:32.662-07:00d e a t h o f t h e l e f t u n f i n i s h e dSome of them said it was the most destructive thing they'd ever heard...myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-86355413849906231162009-12-01T02:16:00.000-08:002009-12-01T02:36:31.466-08:00Sinikka Langeland "Starflowers" (ECM Records, 2007)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5X8HyWKIiUjq_MDObi02hcrt69i2ElJILfeMOZqYrJLuUauxFII6uv1NB6xjBRwOpDjSOH1rhOhRDDTol7l6jkKFEBANHVtS_ytgOJiKTkYEQOHTWkQ8cToB_9xBCon4OEWfBcnhwsvz/s1600/folder.jpeg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5X8HyWKIiUjq_MDObi02hcrt69i2ElJILfeMOZqYrJLuUauxFII6uv1NB6xjBRwOpDjSOH1rhOhRDDTol7l6jkKFEBANHVtS_ytgOJiKTkYEQOHTWkQ8cToB_9xBCon4OEWfBcnhwsvz/s320/folder.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410211296026644386" /></a><br /><p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:">Artist: Sinikka Langeland<br />Album: “Starflowers”<br />Release Date: May 28, 2007<br />Genre: Norwegian-Folk, Kantele-Music, Nordic-Traditions<br />Mood: Autumnal, Intimate, Wistful, Plaintive<br />Reminds Of: Eivind Aarset, Jacob Young, Arild Andersen, Susanne Abbuehl<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.jazzchicago.net/reviews/sinikka.html">JazzChicago</a>, <a href="http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/spirit/content/audio-review-sinikka-langeland-starflowers">Spirituallity&Health</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starflowers-Sinikka-Langeland/dp/B000PGTHOY">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7473217/a/Starflowers.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?pid=998529">HbDirect</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Høstnatt På Fjellskogen<br />2. Den Lille Fløyten<br />3. Sølv<br />4. Treet Som Vekser Opp-Ned<br />5. Saltstein<br />6. Sus I Myrull<br />7. Støv<br />8. Stjernestund<br />9. Langt Innpå Skoga<br />10. Det Er Ei Slik Natt<br />11. Vindtreet<br />12. Elghjertet<br />13. Har du Lyttet Til Elvene Om Natta?</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><br /></span></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">ECM has always looked for new ways to interpret traditional music from different cultures. As far back as 1973, saxophonist Jan Garbarek's Triptykon used a traditional Norwegian folk song as the starting point for open-ended improvisation. More recently, British traditionalist Robin Williamson has teamed with artists normally associated with free improvisation for The Iron Stone (2007), combining original and traditional music with contemporary and centuries-old words, for some adventurous and often edgy free play that breaks down every barrier of convention in its path while remaining somehow reverent to its sources. </span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">Born to a Norwegian father and Finnish mother, singer Sinikka Langeland is in many ways Williamson's Northern European counterpart. Her approach has gradually evolved towards original music that explores the dichotomy of her dual-lineage through more archaic forms, and the freedom of open-minded interpretation. Starflower, her ECM debut, combines her cross-cultural, cross-temporal writing with the poetry of Hans Børli. Langeland has recruited, with the additional advice of label owner/producer Manfred Eicher, a group of Scandinavian/Finnish artists commonly associated with jazz, but who have all proven themselves capable of meshing in any context. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">Langeland also plays the kantele, a 39-string Finnish table harp. It's a lush yet fragile sound that defines much of Starflowers as does her voice, which possesses strength equally capable of subtly delicacy. </span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><o:p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">Starflowers reveals its breadth gradually. Opening gently, with only Langeland's kantele and voice, it establishes a flexible time sense that's long been a powerful interpretive device in solo performance, with Langeland stretching and compressing time as she pleases. The ensemble magic unfolds on " Den Lille Fløyten," with trumpeter Arve Henriksen's shakuhachi-like trumpet, Trygve Seim's resonant tenor, Anders Jormin's robust bass and Markku Ounaskari textural percussion working naturally in similarly elastic time. Slowly they move towards a firmer pulse for a hauntingly beautiful solo section, with Henriksen and Seim simpatico at the most subliminal of levels. </span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">Langeland creates narrative continuity throughout the set by using the same theme on the melancholy kantele/bass/percussion trios of "Sølv" and "Støv," the former featuring Jormin's pizzicato, the latter his arco. "Støv" leads into "Stjernestund," which begins with a percussion solo that's all color, ultimately returning to Langeland's theme from "Sølv" and "Støv" as a vocal interpretation of one of Børli's darkest yet most evocative poems. </span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">There are moments when the ensemble approaches greater abstraction. "Elghjertet" begins in darkness, with Langeland's recitation supported by Seim and Henriksen, who continue to transform their instruments in unexpected ways. A kantele pulse finally emerges, but the approach remains free, even as the others begin to coalesce around it.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">The album closes with the expansive "Hard du lyttet til elvene om natta," which melds initial melancholy with a finale of greater optimism. It's the perfect ending to an album that, in its allegiance to both modernity and antiquity, is one of ECM's most appealing explorations of seemingly disparate concepts that ultimately feel completely at home with each other.</span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">(source: AllAboutJazz)</span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2009/12/sinikka-langeland-starflowers-ecm.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="'font-family:"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Unattached to any </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">specific time or space…”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-5281229347894570532009-03-26T01:48:00.000-07:002009-03-26T02:23:40.574-07:00Klaus Nomi "Klaus Nomi" (RCA Records, 1981)<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SkTaqbCOeEWueDbnql457vI79UTyshVRxuLMrL7Mh_-4XHQML06iLG3knU15g4vVoc90DZsIyUW_9VGj4ZSDDvxDekjEYhC_SI8HTPa6ynV5zwrAij4FtBRPuWyGe6W13F3_8e9gT9Xb/s1600-h/folder.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SkTaqbCOeEWueDbnql457vI79UTyshVRxuLMrL7Mh_-4XHQML06iLG3knU15g4vVoc90DZsIyUW_9VGj4ZSDDvxDekjEYhC_SI8HTPa6ynV5zwrAij4FtBRPuWyGe6W13F3_8e9gT9Xb/s320/folder.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317416820177874898" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Klaus Nomi<br />Album: "Klaus Nomi"<br />Release Date: 1981<br />Genre: Synth-Pop, New-Wave, Dark-Cabaret<br />Mood: Theatrical, Irreverent, Cold, Dramatic<br />Reminds Of: Fad Gadget, Soft Cell, Lene Lovich, Sparks<br />What People Think: <a href="http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/klaus_nomi/klaus_nomi/">RYM</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1387614/a/Klaus+Nomi.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Klaus-Nomi/dp/B0000072LJ">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Keys Of Life<br />2. Lightning Strikes<br />3. The Twist<br />4. Nomi Song<br />5. You Don't Own Me<br />6. The Cold Song<br />7. Wasting My Time<br />8. Total Eclipse<br />9. Nomi Chant<br />10. Samson And Delilah (Aria)</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">One of the first prominent persons to die of AIDS, Klaus Nomi mixed rock and disco stylings with a classical and operatic repertoire. He was born Klaus Sperber in Berlin in 1945, but moved to New York in the mid-'70s, working as a pastry chef and nightclub singer. One of his sets impressed David Bowie, and Nomi soon found himself backing the star on Saturday Night Live. He began touring Europe and the U.S. as a cabaret act and signed to RCA in 1980. His first single was a cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love," and his 1982 debut album included compositions from Chubby Checker alongside Charles Camille Saint-Saëns. Nomi later worked with famed electro producer Man Parrish, but covered baroque composer Henry Purcell as well as Donna Summer. He died on August 6, 1983, after which several compilations were released plus a live date in America.<br /><br />It only takes a quick look at the cover to get a reasonably decent idea that this isn't your typical pop album: Decked out in a grossly oversized suit and heavy theatrical makeup, Klaus Nomi is not your typical pop singer, either. Both the cover and the music within lean heavily to the dramatic -- Nomi's delivery is all in a very operatic falsetto, though most of the music itself is more of the early-'80s European dance school (indeed, one of his collaborators here was Man Parrish, probably best-known for his later work with Man 2 Man). Only one of the tracks here was self-penned; rather, Nomi gets down to work here as an interpreter, turning in suitably skewed versions of "Lightning Strikes" and Chubby Checker's "The Twist." The real highlights here are his take on Kristian Hoffman's song "Total Eclipse," and a rather straight (ahem) reading of the aria from Saint-Saens' classical work Samson and Delilah. It's pretty hard to imagine your typical classical music buff embracing this song, let alone the entire album, but fans of off-kilter pop music will certainly find a lot to love about this album.<br /><br />(source: allmusic.com)<br /><br /><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2009/03/klaus-nomi-klaus-nomi-rca-records-1981.html">"I'm a simple man, I do the best I can, I got a simple, simple plan, I hope you understand"</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuSrsGzhD9U">Watch Klaus Nomi performing "Total Eclipse" live...</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ4__PGjFQI">A short interview of Klaus Nomi...</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Nomi">Read more on wiki...</a><br /><br /></span></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-64118221159853881412009-01-23T01:23:00.000-08:002009-01-23T01:45:20.761-08:00Autechre "Incunabula" (Warp Records, 1993)<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQoc2c9Kw0LGkqM0WsAu00B_Pv6n-0PEeoWkc9CRXx8siwUWcI0tqv0MQrMB92BxtY2CcryAx2jCWGrg8AmN4uVBm5XTvQVJ6VuTomA7H5K-J84PPnzO-xFc_qs8eEbz8zcxcMJm7aMZz/s1600-h/incunabula.jpeg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQoc2c9Kw0LGkqM0WsAu00B_Pv6n-0PEeoWkc9CRXx8siwUWcI0tqv0MQrMB92BxtY2CcryAx2jCWGrg8AmN4uVBm5XTvQVJ6VuTomA7H5K-J84PPnzO-xFc_qs8eEbz8zcxcMJm7aMZz/s320/incunabula.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294417779713393826" /></a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Autechre<br />Album: "Incunabula"<br />Release Date: November 29, 1993<br />Genre: IDM, Experimental-Techno, Ambient-Techno<br />Mood: Trippy, Hypnotic, Quirky, Slick<br />Reminds Of: Aphex Twin, Plaid, Mouse On Mars, Boards Of Canada<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:bx6cmpnf9f8o">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Incunabula-Autechre/dp/B000003RG9">AmazonUsersReviews</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6857582/a/Incunabula.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Incunabula-Autechre/dp/B000003RG9">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Kalpol Introl<br />2. Bike<br />3. Autriche<br />4. Bronchus 2<br />5. Basscadet<br />6. Eggshell<br />7. Doctrine<br />8. Maetl<br />9. Windwind<br />10. Lowride<br />11. 444</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Way back in 1993 and 1994, Warp Records released a series of albums under the "Artificial Intelligence" series that have all nearly gone on to be classics. One of these releases was Autechre's Incunabula, and although they've done some more experimental and fairly interesting work since then, this album will always be their benchmark. It's one of those rare electronic releases on which individual tracks all manage to sound different, yet the album has an amazing cohesive quality. Not only that, but it's one of the major releases that helped to spawn the whole "IDM" (Intelligent Dance Music) movement and propel Autechre into the spotlight.<br /><br />Over the course of nearly 78 minutes, Sean Booth and Rob Brown take you to a world where machines rule, but instead of sounding harsh or industrial (except slightly for a couple moments), they draw you in even more with their delicate and overlapping sounds. It's a highly melodic trip through a warm bubblebath of electronic textures that will make you feel like assimilation with machines maybe isn't such a bad deal after all.<br /><br />If you've seen the movie Pi, (and especially if you own the soundtrack), you've already heard the first song on this album entitled "Kalpol Intro." It's a moody, gurgling track that provides the perfect, short beginning that helps tickle your inner ear and lead you along and into the rest of the disc. Mixing seemlessly into the next track (as every song on the album does), the group gets things moving a little more with the track "Bike." After a shimmering opening part, it moves right along with a shuffling little beat and some seriously deep backend bass.<br /><br />Basically, you're not going to go wrong with this disc if you like electronic music that isn't the run-of-the-mill dancefloor bilk. Whether the group is cranking out the awesome "Basscadet" (probably the most upbeat song on the album with a muffled kick drum and all kinds of blips and squeaks) or the slowly-progressing epic of "Windwind," nearly every single moment on this disc is interesting and changing. Although some of the noises used on the album sound a little dated, the arrangements of the actual songs themselves are timeless and the disc flows from beginning to end without nary a hitch.<br /><br />It's moody, shimmering, and beautiful and quite possibly one of the best intelligent electronic music albums ever made. If you've heard newer material by Autechre and it's a little too cut up for you, don't write them off. Instead, head for this album and listen to it several times over. Play it loud on a good stereo or headphones and hear the subtle layers and textures. If I had to choose only 5 electronic albums to take to an island with me, this would be one of them. <br /><br />source: AllmostCool.org<br /><br /><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2009/01/autechre-incunabula-warp-records-1993.html">"The album's title is a Latin word, the plural of incunabulum, the term used for printed books published prior to 1501, or more generally for something in its infancy or early stages or development..."</a></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-14327762118897585342009-01-04T03:32:00.000-08:002009-09-06T04:49:30.373-07:00Kammerflimmer Kollektief "Cicadidae" (Staubgold, 2003)<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSrQYMgeFknRBg_bLzWA2Ahs2lQS3WDFKQXQcJ6rgs1aMfV3FCKDkBHOnqGhRHi1heRHMHl8JOKyZOG2Ili3wbT1f355GQ2RJ54-ZuRdDRaehk8ZCPxlWintJI1m1-rWYhd3rUJLXLc2U/s1600-h/Kammerflimmer+Kollektief.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSrQYMgeFknRBg_bLzWA2Ahs2lQS3WDFKQXQcJ6rgs1aMfV3FCKDkBHOnqGhRHi1heRHMHl8JOKyZOG2Ili3wbT1f355GQ2RJ54-ZuRdDRaehk8ZCPxlWintJI1m1-rWYhd3rUJLXLc2U/s320/Kammerflimmer+Kollektief.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287400844225676578" /></a><br /></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Kammerflimmer Kollektief <br />Album: "Cicadidae"<br />Release Date: April 14, 2003<br />Genre: Abstract, Neo-Classical, Chamber-Music, Post-Rock<br />Mood: Sophisticated, Autumnal, Fractured, Elegant<br />Reminds Of: Jaga Jazzist, Flanger, Triosk, The Cinematic Orchestra<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.discogs.com/release/309307">Discogs</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cicadidae-Kammerflimmer-Kollektief/dp/B0000ALFYI">Amazon</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=42309&highlight=42320">Boomkat</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cicadidae-Kammerflimmer-Kollektief/dp/B0000ALFYI">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6129273/a/Cicadidae.htm">CdUniverse</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Neumond Inselhin <br />2. Sie Tranken Regen <br />3. Über Die Wasserscheide <br />4. Blood <br />5. ...Denn Nacht Ist Jetzt Schon Bald! <br />6. Sie Tranken Regen (Version) <br />7. Mantra <br />8. Eierdaunen (Gerupft) <br />9. Irgendwann: Frühling <br />10. There's A Weight On You, But You Can't Feel It <br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Good electronic music should be a dissociating experience, taking you away from whatever you're doing without holding you captive to some narrative or tired verse-chorus-verse strong structure. It's about mood and the ability to spirit you out of mundane logics to hear the isolated beauty of pure sound and noise -- the creation of an active background soundscape that pokes and prods at your consciousness and never drowns it.<br /><br />Which describes perfectly Kammerflimmer Kollektief's Cicadidae. At work, when I'm performing some dreary, repetitive task that requires a modicum of attention (but not much more), it's a perfect soundtrack. No single mood ever dominates and Cicadidae, the third release by the German six-piece, is by turns ominous, dreamy, driving and creepy. It is never boring or predictable.<br /><br />In fact, for electronica -- a label that sells short the work's ability to cut across genres -- the range is striking. Opener "Neumond Inselhin" charges forward with a piano melody washed by synthesizers, and shuffling jazz beats aren't rare on the album. But most of the songs are less than directed, made up as they are of meandering fuzz and chirps and chimes.<br /><br />The overall feeling is one of disembodied beauty -- the piano and droning guitars -- always on the verge of plunging into chaos and confusion, represented by some screeching free jazz elements. But while Thomas Webber, the man behind Kammerflimmer Kollektief, never loses control of the compositions, his restraint is never heavy-handed. The work has a light, airy quality.<br /><br />All of this, plus the band's name, which translates to "Shimmering Collective," makes the work sound more academic than it is. In reality, Cicadidae is, quite simply, beautiful, evocative mood music that even in its defiance of genres is always focused and never extravagant. It's certainly worthy of place on the shelf next to Aphex Twin, Portishead and Phillip Glass.<br /><br />(source: prefixmag.com)<br /><br />After blowing me away with a debut release (that was largely the work of one man - Thomas Weber), the Kammerflimmer Kollektief disappointed me with each of their subsequent releases. Always one to give someone a second (or third) chance, I bided my time for the domestic release (it was released on Staubgold in Europe) of Cicadidae and settled in with the group once more. Once again, the sound of the group has changed somewhat, but this time it's for the better. Whereas the debut Mäander mixed sampled beats and a healthy dose of noise with some instrumentation, their second (Hysteria) and third (Incommunicado) were varying degrees of improvised and slightly deconstructed jazz that also found the one-man operation expanding into a full-fledged group.<br /><br />Whereas those last two releases were simply too loose and rough around the edges to hold my attention much, Cicadidae really feels like the group coming together and working as a solid unit. In 10 tracks and just over 40 minutes, the release exudes a warm calm that works in subtle ways and actually seems to move in the exact opposite of their random noise freakouts of previous efforts. From the opening track of "Neumond Inselhin," it's clear that this is a different release from the group. An upright bass and very quiet percussion provide a thin skeleton on which quiet rises of strings, guitar melodies, and processed noise (including a slight harsh moment around the mid-point) and chimes ride. It's celestial electronic jazz, and it's one of the best tracks that the group has done to date.<br /><br />Elsewhere, the group mixes a touch of spaghetti western in with their sound ("...Denn Nacht Ist Jetzt Schon Bald!"), slow-burning, dark lounge ("Blood"), and even a touch of dub ("Eiderdauned (Gerupft)"). As can probably be surmised from the above, the release is cinematic as all get-out. "Sie Tranken Regen (Version)" is all alternately quivering and hushed layers of strings and horns that slowly slink around one another and build into a haunting close while "Mantra" mixes some dusky piano and guitar into another slow-burner that pays off with a nice tension.<br /><br />There are a lot of groups right now that are doing their own take on jazz and electronic music, but like Jaga Jazzist and the Tied And Tickled Trio, Kammerflimmer Kollektief is definitely carving out their own path. It's different than either of those groups, yet fans of either would probably find something to enjoy in this release (although it inhabits much quieter corners). As with other times a group has came back and surprised me after letting me down a bit, I'm glad I gave the group another chance. <br /><br />(source: allmostcool.com)<br /><br /><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2009/01/kammerflimmer-kollektief-cicadidae.html">"The kind of music that makes the heart feel tangy beauty and longing captured in pristine simplicity, yet it has the noise and imperfections of the real world..."</a></span><br /><br /></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-81365849152962813172008-10-29T06:07:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:55:11.639-07:00John Cale "Paris 1919" (Reprise Records, 1973)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr94yRNnYPaQS-vlKd_POVP9dLSBTcrmzlM-7KaAK2KTG5MkvkW18TtV1tFiVt0oto43A3ppBsBoiSAQqbNE3MtAMLc4ukQIJWKbAHsOhRV-Lx5ig_eOhm3CRh2qOTsBseXlYtB78OkKf_/s1600-h/1919.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr94yRNnYPaQS-vlKd_POVP9dLSBTcrmzlM-7KaAK2KTG5MkvkW18TtV1tFiVt0oto43A3ppBsBoiSAQqbNE3MtAMLc4ukQIJWKbAHsOhRV-Lx5ig_eOhm3CRh2qOTsBseXlYtB78OkKf_/s320/1919.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262563782736282498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Artist: John Cale</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Album: "Paris 1919"</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Release Date: March 1973</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Label: Reprise Records</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Baroque-Pop, Chamber-Pop, Art-Rock</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mood: Nostalgic, Gloomy, Literate, Somber</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Reminds Of: David Sylvian, Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake, Nico</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What People Think: </span></span><a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38184/John_Cale_Paris_1919"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">PitchforkMedia</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">, </span></span><a href="http://tinymixtapes.com/John-Cale"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">TinyMixTapes</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wifexqw5ldhe"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">AllMusicGuide</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Definitely Worth Buying: </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paris-1919-John-Cale/dp/B000005JAB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Amazon</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1243694/a/Paris+1919.htm"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">CdUniverse</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tracklist</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1. Child's Christmas In Wales</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">2. Hanky Panky Nohow</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">3. The Endless Plain Of Fortune</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">4. Andalucia</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">5. Macbeth</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">6. Paris 1919</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">7. Graham Greene</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">8. Half Past France</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">9. Antarctica Starts Here</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br /></span><span class="content"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Like Frank Zappa, John Cale is a fascinating, mercurial figure. Everything he has done over the years—from his electric viola work and his development of destructive sound effects for the Velvet Underground onward—bears witness to a formidable intelligence and a commitment to what remains viable in the avant-garde tradition. Last year, Cale released his first Reprise album (following two excellent albums for Columbia), The Academy in Peril, which Warners justly called their first "classical" album. Paris 1919, by contrast, is pop-oriented with strong classical underpinnings. Indeed, it comes far closer to being a finished work of art than any previous attempt to effect a rock-classical synthesis.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The subject of Paris 1919 is nothing less than the entirety of Western European high culture, viewed roughly from a post-World War I, Dada-Surrealist perspective. The album is an epic reassessment of history, geography and art itself. Much of its music is in the Pink Floyd-Procol Harum genre—densely textured and post-Romantic. (Paris was produced by Floyd-Harum wizard Chris Thomas.) The strings of the UCLA Symphony Orchestra are used to magnificent effect, enhanced with what sounds like a mellotron.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Cale's lyrics are something else entirely. He has scored a major coup by adapting, often brilliantly, the spirit of Dada-Surrealist poetry into the pop idiom. The contrast between the somewhat destructive playfulness of Dada and the Romantic thrust of the music sets up tensions that are never resolved, nor are they meant to be. At its most accessible, the poetry is highly allusory and multifaceted. The clearest example is in the album's most beautiful cut, "Andalucia," in which impressions of a woman, a place and history are woven inextricably into a moving and mysterious entity: "Andalucia, when can I see you/When it is snowing out again/Farmer John wants you/Louder and softer closer and nearer/Then again/Needing you taking you keeping you leaving you ..." The song and the arrangement are ravishing, and to top it all off, Cale sings with a plaintiveness reminiscent of Steve Winwood.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">On other cuts that have a similarly heavy sound, the lyrics are more playful: "There's a law for everything/And for elephants that sing to keep/The cows that agriculture won't allow ..." is one of several hilarious pronouncements made in Cale's "Hanky Panky Nohow," a song that, paradoxically, has a mystical, sensuous musical setting. The central image of the title cut, whose arrangement is somewhat similar to Nilsson's wonderful "Mourning Glory," is that of a woman appearing as a ghost "from the clock across the hall." And a typically Surrealist fascination with time appears again in "Half Past France." The album's one all-out rocker is the screaming, tearing "Macbeth," which perfectly conjures up the ghostly violence of the play.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Though at first all of this might seem simply to be sublime nonsense, much of it improvised, Cale employs imagery that is fundamentally cohesive in an impressionistic way and further unified by its elegiac spirit. His cerebrations are as Romantic as they are anti-Romantic, perhaps more the former, since the music finally impells us to take him very seriously. Wit, humor and irony are here in abundance. So too are metaphysical contemplation and sadness.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Paris 1919 is one of the most ambitious albums ever released under the name of "pop." In spite of and because of its irreconcilable contradictions, it requires a great deal of listening in order for its full implications to be perceived. As usual, John Cale is several steps ahead of the times. It is up to us to catch up with him. Paris 1919 is a pop masterpiece. </span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">(source:TheRollingStone.com)</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/10/john-cale-paris-1919-reprise-records.html">“I don’t care…People always bored me anyway…”</a></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /></span></span></p><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:161; 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margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: times new roman;"><o:p> </o:p></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-11859648285268870192008-10-03T04:38:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:49:20.217-07:00Yasushi Yoshida "Little Grace" (Noble Records, 2008)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4A7FX3JmWfTzx4zyZnQKWa0LNMuprjeySGRnZq8AG1AAKsT9KfJqEXN926qmQwmlv43wIrn57uFvPLr9GfB-QIvr7ajAWXY4acecko4gvaT7-VguZgBn_fSzJpg2SuuRgiHFbEQ0xJ6Gt/s1600-h/folder.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4A7FX3JmWfTzx4zyZnQKWa0LNMuprjeySGRnZq8AG1AAKsT9KfJqEXN926qmQwmlv43wIrn57uFvPLr9GfB-QIvr7ajAWXY4acecko4gvaT7-VguZgBn_fSzJpg2SuuRgiHFbEQ0xJ6Gt/s320/folder.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252891192837165282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Yasushi Yoshida<br />Album: "Little Grace"<br />Release Date: April 25, 2008<br />Label: Noble Records<br />Genre: Neo-Classical, Post-Rock, Instrumental<br />Mood: Literal, Intimate, Elegant, Sophisticated<br />Reminds Of: Max Richter, Balmorhea, Tape, Rachel's<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/st/2008/05/yashushi-yoshida-little-grace-noble/">The Milk Factory Review</a>, <a href="http://www.tokafi.com/newsitems/cd-feature-yasushi-yoshida-little-grace/">ToKafi</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.dotshop.se/ds/release.php?code=CXCA1228">Dotshop.se</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Permanent Yesterday<br />2. Greyed<br />3. Little Hand<br />4. Thread Still<br />5. Lasted In Different View<br />6. Three Winters Our Trace<br />7. Under Calf, Winged Steps<br />8. Lullaby For Rainsongs<br /><br /></span> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Few areas of the world have been as exciting to watch as the experimental community in Japan over the past half a decade. What was originally dominated by noise and psychedelia-oriented music has slowly transformed into a sea of post-rock, ambient, and electronic artists, exposing a magnitude of creative musicians with large ambitions and a wealth of talent at their disposal. While this is undoubtedly a counter-culture movement amongst the very pop focused Japanese mainstream, it is having a much larger and significant impact on the global scale.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Although many have celebrated the evolution of ambient music within the boundaries of Japan, which has broken through a decade-old stagnation of the generation with a more humanistic approach to the whole process, it has really been the electronic circuit which has received the most critical acclaim and will probably leave a lasting impression decades to come. The innovation comes in the natural blending of unnatural pairs of genres, particularly the classical and glitch IDM influenced genres. The two most noteworthy pioneers of the field are undoubtedly found in <strong>Katsuhiko Maeda</strong> (a.k.a. <strong>World's End Girlfriend</strong>) and <strong>Kashiwa Daisuke</strong>, both label mates of <strong>Yasushi Yoshida</strong>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Maeda is the eldest of the group, with a discography that now spans almost a decade and a career that demonstrates strong sonic development through time. His work is the strongly influenced by the avant-garde, and, in general, his compositions represent sketches or snapshots of a sonic landscape that is constantly evolving and largely chaotic in nature. Daisuke's approach is much more narrative in nature, as he takes a longer form to allow the pieces to fully illustrate his themes and paints a full portrait for the listener. While both pull from very similar worlds for influence, they achieve stunningly different results, although comparisons between their work is surely evident.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Yasushi Yoshida's debut, <em>Secret Garden</em>, was very much in line with this world. <em>Little Grace</em>, his newly released sophomore effort, is as well, but it'd be difficult to draw such a conclusion without knowledge of <em>Secret Garden</em> and seeing the progression in action. On the surface, much of <em>Little Grace</em> sounds like it's in comfortable proximity to the works of contemporaries <strong>Olafur Arnalds</strong>, <strong>Peter Broderick</strong>, and maybe even <strong>Balmorhea</strong> (and, let's be honest, they all love <strong>Rachel's</strong>). It has all the required ingredients -- piano, strings, a slow, emotional air -- and the pieces are composed in the general neo-classical style that has now become standard. However, tracks like "Greyed," "Under Calf, Winged Steps," and "Untitled" should tip us off that there's much more going on below the surface than just pretty neo-classical music (<em>not that there's anything wrong with that...</em>), harking back to the works of his Maeda and Daisuke in true cutting-edge style.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Indeed, on closer inspection, even the seemingly straightforward classical pieces are less predictable than Yoshida's peers. The lengthier pieces ("Thread Still" and "Three Winters Our Grace") are accomplished tracks that stretch the imagination and offer a few extra tricks during the expanded time frame. Meanwhile, the shorter tracks ("Permanent Yesterday" and "Lullaby for Rainsongs") adhere closely to stock neo-classical formulas and provide a solid foundation/anchor for the album to flourish from. Essentially, Yoshida provides a spectrum of tracks that highlight the movement of his music from the experimental to the conservative, but in doing so he also doesn't give up the things that made him love the combination thereof in the first place. Although the electronic component is drastically reduced in <em>Little Grace</em>, it is still present and, for the most part, used subtlely. This is brought to the fore in the more experimental tracks, but then fades back into supporting role (if any at all) during the rest of the album.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="" lang="EN-US">There's no denying that Yoshida has created a timeless, exhilarating album that many will quickly fall in love with. But, for several reasons, I'm unable to give this album my full support. First of all, I feel that Yoshida is, at times, trying too hard to distance himself from Daisuke and Maeda, and in the process sacrifices the electronic component which is largely what gives his work a voice and separates it from his Western peers. There are many moments on the album that slide into generic neo-classical territory, which is not something you typically see on many Japanese releases. Secondly, his newfound style hasn't quite been developed as fully as his older work, which had the benefit of appealing to the work of his influences. A little more tinkering would flush out the Yoshida sound to great lengths. Lastly, upon analysis of the album and the progress of Yoshida's work, I can't help but conclude that this is a transitional album and his next will be a more satisfying release. <em>Little Grace</em> looks to be wedged between his past work and a more organic work that awaits in the future; we've yet to see his masterpiece, but we're still getting a pretty good view in the meantime.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"></span>(source: thesilentballet.com)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/10/yasushi-yoshida-little-grace-noble-2008.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“The human capacity to suspend disbelief and get caught up and live through such travails…”</span></span></a></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-77184603607836118872008-10-01T09:21:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:22:47.414-07:00Kim Hiorthoy "Fantasin Finns I Varkligheten-Japan Selector" (P-Vine Japan, 2002)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A6gsBUdWXZz-1ElNx6YGFflcBpe3oq-FE985sPbXtR1TdtIhDhTxjOD4dlVcNNrJgBkqkTn1tPuS9f1qQDNtnO0mahhLdzDaAK4SPgxU1hBu6rcP29jTz8S1THahRKoFtX-z0KDdlS3k/s1600-h/folder.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A6gsBUdWXZz-1ElNx6YGFflcBpe3oq-FE985sPbXtR1TdtIhDhTxjOD4dlVcNNrJgBkqkTn1tPuS9f1qQDNtnO0mahhLdzDaAK4SPgxU1hBu6rcP29jTz8S1THahRKoFtX-z0KDdlS3k/s400/folder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252223721209762658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Kim Hiorthoy<br />Album: "Fantasin Finns I Varkligheten-Japan Selector"<br />Release Date: 2002<br />Label: P-Vine Japan<br />Genre: Folktronica, IDM, Minimal-Techno<br />Mood: Fractured, Sophisticated, Enigmatic, Intimate<br />Reminds Of: Four Tet, To Rococo Rot, Lars Horntveth, Xela<br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fantasin-Finns-Varkligheten-Japan-Selector/dp/B00006BGPL/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222878548&sr=8-14">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Door Open Both Ways<br />2. Jeg Er Bare Her<br />3. Juli<br />4. Politiska Dikten Atervander<br />5. Det Var En Fridfull Och Mycket Spannande Dag<br />6. Giving And Taking Book<br />7. Nu Kommer Kathrine Inn, Hon Lutar Sig Mot Dorrposten<br />8. Ingen Vet Om Fremtiden Kommer<br />9. Forskjellige Gode Ting<br />10. Hip-Hop Is A Way Of Life<br />11. Institutt For Kritisk Praksis<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">On his records Kim Hiorthøy combine weird beats, lo-fi/leftfield electronics, field recordings, electro-acoustic sounds and samples, resulting in a sound all his own. His debut album "Hei" was released in 2000 to rave reviews around the world. His second record, "Melke", a collection of remixes, 7 inches, rejected tracks and tracks for compilations, was released in 2002. His live sets differ somewhat from the records; with faster speeds and louder beats they sometimes end up as tiny techno raves, if perhaps weird ones at that. Hiorthøy is also a graphic designer, mostly recognized for his work for the Rune Grammofon label and rock group Motorpsycho. A book, "Tree Weekend", was published by Die Gestalten Verlag in 2000.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: </span></span><a href="http://www.smalltownsupersound.com/v1/artists.php"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">smalltownsupersound.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">This Japanese-only release from Kim Hiorthøy combines tracks from his first two albums with some exclusives—is it worth tracking down? Well, depends on how much you like your electronics on the experimental side. Me, I love it, so it was worth it. “Jeg Er Bare Her,” for example, glides along on a lovely electronic melody, grounded by a mid-tempo kick drum, and augmented by samples of high-pitched squeals and low thrummings. Hiorthøy’s combination of techno rhythms with simple but effective melodic lines at once sounds unfamiliar and soothing (like the near-pastoral tones of “Ingen Vet Om Fremtiden Kommer”). In terms of the previously released tracks, “Politiska Dikten Återvänder” skitters along on its xylophone-enhanced drum ‘n’ bass beats, while “Nu Kommer Cathrine Inn, Hon Lutar Sig Mot Dörrposten” layers on an intercepted phone call. The short and quiet “Det Var En Fridfull Och Mycket Spännande Dag” is a mini-meditation on rhythm and repetition, while “Forskjellige Gode Ting” takes that idea through a nine-minute journey. Despite the inclusion of tracks that appear elsewhere (every trainspotter's nightmare), FANTASIN FINNS I VARKLIGHETEN - JAPAN SELECTOR is a completely worthwhile collection.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: discogs.com, user: scoundrel)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Weird fun, Scandinavian style - clean, convival and utterly wonderful" (Mojo)</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/10/kim-hiorthoy-fantasin-finns-i.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“I don't know if it is behind everything I do, but I definitely believe in working with an attitude of knowing as little as possible about what you are about to do in order to not be constrained by efforts to 'prove' anything and also to be as open as possible to whatever it is you are about to do. To approach things without the limitations of professionalism.”</span></span></a></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/interviews/khiorthoyiw.htm"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Read the Milk Factory interview with Kim Hiorthoy…</span></span></a></p><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-49359722309149813102008-09-30T03:06:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:25:07.881-07:00Steve Reich "The Desert Music" (Nonesuch, 1985)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXutRP1bPkbYDGBy037pJInV40X6hPmTCd5YqLe2WoxO17Ir-9BdlWJpHdlBFizy-M1JK117yprWFWMb-v25cQtY1MRnEJbWK75-L1t0N5zlWRcrSIYiCMUwPl7vZn1f-j1CvR86Oyt-Y/s1600-h/stevereichdesertmusic.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXutRP1bPkbYDGBy037pJInV40X6hPmTCd5YqLe2WoxO17Ir-9BdlWJpHdlBFizy-M1JK117yprWFWMb-v25cQtY1MRnEJbWK75-L1t0N5zlWRcrSIYiCMUwPl7vZn1f-j1CvR86Oyt-Y/s320/stevereichdesertmusic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251756009590420178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Steve Reich<br />Album: "The Desert Music"<br />Release Date: December 11, 1985<br />Label: Nonesuch<br />Genre: Minimalism, Avant-Garde, Chamber-Music, Modern-Composition<br />Mood: Theatrical, Hypnotic, Eerie, Detached<br />Reminds Of: John Cage, Terry Riley, Philip Glass<br />What People Think: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desert_Music">Wiki</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Reich-Desert-Michael-Tilson/dp/B000005IXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222764946&sr=8-1">Amazon Editorial Review</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Reich-Desert-Michael-Tilson/dp/B000005IXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222764946&sr=8-1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1242734/a/Reich:+The+Desert+Music+%2F+Thomas,+Brooklyn+Philharmonic.htm">CdUniverse</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. The Desert Music: First Movement (Fast)<br />2. The Desert Music: Second Movement (Moderate)<br />3. The Desert Music: Third Movement Part One (Slow)<br />4. The Desert Music: Third Movement Part Two (Moderate)<br />5. The Desert Music: Third Movement Part Three (Slow)<br />6. The Desert Music: Fourth Movement (Moderate)<br />7. The Desert Music: Fifth Movement (Fast)<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Borrowing its title and text from a book of poetry by William Carlos Williams, Steve Reich's The Desert Music (1982-1984) is not a pictorial work, but is, nonetheless an evocative one. The Desert Music addresses the idea of mankind's awareness of his own condition, a subject that appears in one way or another in each of the three included poems. From Theocritus: Idyll/A version from the Greek, Reich sets the words "Begin, my friend, for you cannot, you may be sure, take your song, which drives all things out of mind, with you to the other world." Part of the text from The Orchestra reads: "Is there a sound not addressed wholly to the ear?... I am wide awake, the mind is listening." The connection between these phrases and the desert is indirect but sure; as Reich points out, it was in Sinai, not Jerusalem, that the children of Israel received revelation and guidance from God, and in the wilderness that Jesus confronted his temptations. And, referring indirectly to the deserts of Alamagordo, New Mexico, where the first A-bombs were detonated, Reich quotes again from The Orchestra: "Man has survived hitherto because he was too ignorant to know how to realize his wishes. Now that he can realize them, he must either change them or perish."</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Desert Music is characterized in part by a recurring element: harmonic progressions that unfold as rapidly repeated chords, without melodic or rhythmic adornment. The work's episodes of development and reflection are arranged into an arch form (ABCBA). The first and fifth movements share the same harmonic material, while the second and fourth -- settings the same text -- are both in a moderate tempo and use similar harmonic progressions. The central movement, the longest in the work, exhibits its own symmetrical form, beginning and ending with the same text. The middle portion, the work's focal point, sets a text from The Orchestra that sheds light upon the relationship between text and tone in The Desert Music: "It is a principle of music to repeat the theme. Repeat and repeat again, as the pace mounts. The theme is difficult but no more difficult than the facts to be resolved."</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: AllMusic.com)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span></o:p></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/09/steve-reich-desert-music-nonesuch-1985.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“The particular is the nub of the universal…”</span></span></a></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-23427277726357501072008-07-09T01:58:00.000-07:002008-07-11T03:40:18.038-07:00For Against "December" (Chameleon, 1988)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzoNYBGzjPpRyBrTzxkbOKZqYLBoFfjevWmG2mgQ0yuF7tw90h5P9LUUtQAqR5RVJFfRhg1ODSM33JmPtKMKgvpH9ByZD9hJu9-kYgNmWYvRfdJf8n8LMdoLxsreGZihTgYEWR7qqR8Bk/s1600-h/forAgstdecember.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzoNYBGzjPpRyBrTzxkbOKZqYLBoFfjevWmG2mgQ0yuF7tw90h5P9LUUtQAqR5RVJFfRhg1ODSM33JmPtKMKgvpH9ByZD9hJu9-kYgNmWYvRfdJf8n8LMdoLxsreGZihTgYEWR7qqR8Bk/s400/forAgstdecember.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221704455594824642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_2LILupPDPvk/SHR1w7I4GDI/AAAAAAAAALQ/NBQPTm9knJM/s1600-h/forAgstdecember.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_2LILupPDPvk/SHR1w7I4GDI/AAAAAAAAALQ/NBQPTm9knJM/s400/forAgstdecember.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220927351398340658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: For Against<br />Album: "December"<br />Release Date: 1988<br />Label: Chameleon<br />Genre: Indie-Pop, Dream-Pop, Shoegaze, Post-Punk<br />Mood: Intimate, Gloomy, Bitter, Wintry<br />Reminds Of: The Sound, REM, The Chameleons UK, Echo & The Bunnymen<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1129286989314054">SplendidMagazine</a>, <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/f/foragainst-december.shtml">PopMatters</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6990851&cart=744242545">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.redsunrecords.com/product_info.php?cPath=79&products_id=764&RSRsid=aef876c4f9c609983109709d8accfb91">RedSunRecords</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Sabres<br />2. Stranded In Greenland<br />3. Svengali<br />4. They Said<br />5. The Effect<br />6. December<br />7. The Last Laugh<br />8. Paperwhites<br />9. Clandestine High Holy<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;">Nebraska's lone entry into the dream pop world, For Against initially consisted of bassist and vocalist Jeffrey Runnings, guitarist Harry Dingman, and drummer Greg Hill. Dingman and Hill left after 1988's <i>December</i> to form the Millions, and they were replaced by Steven "Mave" Hinrichs and Paul Engelhard after a replacement lineup failed to work out. (Dingman later returned for 2008's <i>Shade Side Sunny Side</i>.) Since its inception, Runnings' band has consistently produced a drifting yet distinctly rhythmic sound, soldiering through the myriad alternative scenes of the '80s and '90s. With one foot in the British post-punk of Joy Division and the other in the gliding atmospherics of Kitchens of Distinction, For Against are treasured by shamefully few; geography and infrequent touring have not helped.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p>For Against's stark and chilling second album is their best, one of the most powerful dream pop releases of the late '80s. Harry Dingman's icicle shots of chiming guitars, Greg Hill and Jeffrey Runnings' agile rhythmic thrust, and Runnings' boyish (but every bit as forceful) vocals rarely combine for a less-than-riveting listen. With its fluid bass-and-drum punch and enveloping twists of guitars, <i>December</i>'s most fitting reference point is the Chameleons' <i>Script of the Bridge</i>. Balancing the aggressive with the reserved just as well as its prime inspiration, <i>December</i>'s nine songs float, skip, and roam with a level of immaculately-paced grace that can't be heard on most albums of the era. Runnings' anguished expressions of despair, resentment, and embittered bile hit with the same scythe-like precision of Bob Mould's best output -- in fact, given the atmospherics and complementary production at play (including the ideal amount of reverb), the songs are even more haunting than Mould's relatively pure-pop leanings. "The Last Laugh" is one of the first places to go for an example of the album at its best. After Runnings accuses a partner of giving him a nervous breakdown and pleads to get his life back, the song shifts into a dextrous tempo change that recalls the controlled jerkiness of post-punk's upper tier and spins catharsis back into fraught tension. At 36 minutes, <i>December</i> plays briefly but leaves the effect of an epic. Understated but full of ambition, it's a sticky trap. Though it was released on a respected label -- albeit one with limited distribution and exposure -- it's frustrating to think of how revered it would've been if it had instead featured a 4AD catalog number.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p>(source: AllMusicGuide)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/07/for-against-december-chameleon-1988.html">“Deceptively boyish delivery…”</a></span></span>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-5650020927676870972008-07-06T04:20:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:26:22.844-07:00June Of 44 "Four Great Points" (Quarterstick Records, 1998)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lG8g98hxnM23ebMe7LWMpl_yk0RL58lDP7ZzPvFgkLUncI9y-MUMG2tIhSmg8jgwS5wVEXWjbFRUYgF_DzaypiZteOrErBDm_f3VayO9sQuYxKc5hZHABcOH98w05PxmHZou0VG6g-2p/s1600-h/4greatpoints.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lG8g98hxnM23ebMe7LWMpl_yk0RL58lDP7ZzPvFgkLUncI9y-MUMG2tIhSmg8jgwS5wVEXWjbFRUYgF_DzaypiZteOrErBDm_f3VayO9sQuYxKc5hZHABcOH98w05PxmHZou0VG6g-2p/s320/4greatpoints.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219861152966638626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: June Of 44<br />Album: "Four Great Points"<br />Release Date: 28 January 1998<br />Label: Quarterstick Records<br />Genre: Math-Rock, Post-Rock, Indie-Rock, Post-Hardcore, Noise-Rock<br />Mood: Cathartic, Brooding, Nocturnal, Detached<br />Reminds Of: Slint, Tortoise, Rodan, Gastr Del Sol, Trans Am<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.music-city.org/June-of-44/Four-Great-Points-73112/">MusicCity</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1123474/a/Four+Great+Points.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Four-Great-Points-June-44/dp/B0000037OR">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Of Information & Belief<br />2. The Dexterity Of Luck<br />3. Cut Your Face<br />4. Doomsday<br />5. Does Your Heart Beat Slower<br />6. Lifted Bells<br />7. Shadow Pugilist<br />8. Air #17<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">OK. I'll admit it. I cried during "Titanic." So laugh, tough guy! I won't be in the theatre while you're watching "Firestorm."</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">But like yourself, I also thought it really kicked ass when all those people died. Come to think of it, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Four Great Points</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">' opening track is pretty analogous to the emotional ebb and flow (and sink) of America's celluloid zeitgiest extravaganza, "Titanic." Twin guitars sparkle off each other like Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The bass (arctic water) splashes and upholds the gargantuan drums (steel hull). Beautiful, breathy vocals waft over the bow... Lookout! The Chorus! (Iceberg!) Guitars scree distress signals and resonate cacophonous pangs! Lead vocalist Sean Meadows (cruel fate) screams, "Your time! Has come!" Then the baby blissfully sinks into Aqualand. June of 44's rock proves there is grace in disaster.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Songs like "The Dexterity of Luck" and "Cut Your Face" are standard math rock, but these equations are fueled by chaos theory and funky fractals; they're not the sleepy pre-Algebra of JV bands. June even dabbles in dub (ala Tortoise) without trying too hard. I could go on and on about the bands June of 44 brings to mind -- Rachel's, Fugazi, Tortoise, Polvo, Slint -- but they rise above simple fusion. If indie rock is Greek mythology, June of 44 is Neptune.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">OK. I'll admit it. I wept to the opening melody and lyric, "This is the greatest place on earth." So laugh, tough guy. I won't be in the room while you're listening to the Deftones. But hey, I also air guitared and ruptured my third vertebra headbanging to the thick riffs.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(Source: PitchforkMedia)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">June of 44's fourth full-length, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Four Great Points</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, is their most experimental effort to date -- fractured melodies and dub-like rhythms collide in a noisy atmosphere rich in detail, adorned with violins, trumpet, severe phasing effects, and even a typewriter.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(Source: AllMusicGuide)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="'line-height:" lang="EN-US"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/07/june-of-44-four-great-points.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“June Of 44s’ name refers to June Miller, wife of author Henry Miller, and the year author Anaïs Nin began writing about June in her diaries…”</span></span></a></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-498686278041188002008-06-21T06:12:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:29:21.190-07:00Slowdive "Just For A Day" (Creation, 1991)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJdilfV1BO6HW_WJeVLm2NrG6r7CtDLhfhyphenhyphenp3lqG8zyARP1wKEGTIJufx4vHwovDDgzFXlBqndg_5CRNSyC4jrsOsvSeTsAZfqNf-Rhp-PPmfgkRmeZ4J2ejsYhlJ84BuoZdRWJJOWYD6/s1600-h/justfor_aday.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJdilfV1BO6HW_WJeVLm2NrG6r7CtDLhfhyphenhyphenp3lqG8zyARP1wKEGTIJufx4vHwovDDgzFXlBqndg_5CRNSyC4jrsOsvSeTsAZfqNf-Rhp-PPmfgkRmeZ4J2ejsYhlJ84BuoZdRWJJOWYD6/s320/justfor_aday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214322707568108690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Slowdive<br />Album: "Just For A Day"<br />Release Date: September 2, 1991<br />Label: Creation<br />Genre: Dream-Pop, Shoegaze, Indie-Rock<br />Mood: Intimate, Ethereal, Gentle, Bittersweet<br />Reminds Of: Ride, Mojave 3, My Bloody Valentine<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9ftxqu5ldje">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=19694">Boomkat</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=19694">Boomkat</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Day-Slowdive/dp/B000BJRJAO">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Spanish Air<br />2. Celia's Dream<br />3. Catch The Breeze<br />4. Ballad Of Sister Sue<br />5. Erik's Song<br />6. Waves<br />7. Brighter<br />8. The Sadman<br />9. Primal<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Named after a word in one of Nick Chaplin's dreams -- not from a Siouxsie and the Banshees single -- Slowdive formed in Reading, England, in late 1989. The group orginally consisted of Neil Halstead (guitar/vocals), Rachel Goswell (guitar/vocals), Christian Savill (guitar), Adrian Sell (drums), and Chaplin (bass). Formed when they were mostly in their teens, Slowdive was initially lumped in with the remainder of the early-'90s British shoegaze scene; Slowdive's later releases extended upon the likes of the Cocteau Twins and the more atmospheric sides of post-punk, and they closed out their career with an excellent and misunderstood ambient LP.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Signing with Creation, Slowdive's early singles received glowing press and chart placement. Their debut single, Slowdive, thinly veiled an indebtedness to the Byrds and My Bloody Valentine, with no traceable punk influence. (In fact, they were probably amongst the first batch of young rock bands to ignore the movement.) Just after Slowdive's recording, Sell left for university. Neil Carter subbed for less than a year, lending his skills to the follow-up single, Morningrise; former Charlottes member Simon Scott hopped on board prior to the band's third single, Holding Our Breath. The sleepy escapist psychedelia of both Morningrise and Holding Our Breath made significant impressions on the British indie chart. The press dubbed them part of "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" -- a small, loose, conglomerate of like-minded bands who could be seen at each other's shows, frequently hanging out together within the same circle. This "scene" included Lush, Moose, Swervedriver, Curve, and Blur. Not associating with themselves as a move of self-importance, grandstanding, or high society, it was merely a means for those involved to get into shows for free. Most of those involved were university dropouts on the dole. A dastardly move by the press, the tag just made it easier for them to lasso a group of bands into the to-be-expected derision. With the Brit-pop trend close behind, they could cast aside their champs of yesterday with one fell swoop.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">For some, Slowdive will always encapsulate all that is wrong about the so-called shoegazing movement. The disaffected vocals, bowl-headed haircuts, the over-reliance on FX pedals and their vague lyrics were all at odds with the music media's then obsession with grunge and Britpop. Certainly, Slowdive weren't to everyone's taste but in a relatively short time they produced three largely excellent albums; each of which featured a signficant development in their sound and now well-respected as essential references in the dreampop movement. As if to prove that Slowdive were always more concerned with melody than they were given credit for, founder members Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell now ply their trade in the spare, more countrified work of Mojave 3.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Their debut album 'Just For A Day' has - on the whole - aged surprisingly well and is a more focused effort than one could reasonably expect from the band members who were still in their early twenties at the time. Granted, the vocals tend towards the effete but there were already signs of the tougher, more robust effects which would be perfect by their second album. Evidence of this is plain to see on the sinister finale 'Primal' and three minutes in to 'Catch The Breeze' as the floating melody is cruelly overtaken by a heavier, darker surge of guitar. In contrast, at this stage of their career, Slowdive were more comfortable with glacial soundscapes of which 'Celia's Dream', the mournful 'Ballad Of Sister Sue' and the gorgeous instrumental 'Erik's Song' stand out the most.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: Leonardslair.co.uk)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/06/slowdive-just-for-day-creation-1991.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“For all that I have is written in waves…”</span></span></a></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-5519148546202880472008-06-17T00:25:00.000-07:002008-07-06T09:11:51.892-07:00Charalambides "A Vintage Burden" (Kranky, 2006)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaR3KITQLzgXIGKf6amEA46-jFljC5a5PJOXOm6KbYU7t5eyRVQNCoi09rpS4nxT_njT8jZpOpoDDeBxXzGGpYYNZl4H2j3Y2cyw69tPGfdvyVjdZcUdoaJFi88okMehuVQqAOyd18jGy9/s1600-h/avintageburden.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaR3KITQLzgXIGKf6amEA46-jFljC5a5PJOXOm6KbYU7t5eyRVQNCoi09rpS4nxT_njT8jZpOpoDDeBxXzGGpYYNZl4H2j3Y2cyw69tPGfdvyVjdZcUdoaJFi88okMehuVQqAOyd18jGy9/s320/avintageburden.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212749184519495506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Charalambides<br />Album: "A Vintage Burden"<br />Release Date: May 23, 2006<br />Label: Kranky<br />Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Psych-Folk, Post-Rock, Freak-Folk<br />Mood: Brooding, Literate, Fragile, Autumnal<br />Reminds Of: Tunng, Flying Saucer Attack, The Sunburned Hand Of The Man<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfrxqldldke">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/36656-a-vintage-burden?artist_title=36656-a-vintage-burden">PitchforkMedia</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=21748">Boomkat</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7058518/a/Vintage+Burden.htm">CdUniverse</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. There Is No End<br />2. Spring<br />3. Dormant Love<br />4. Black Red Blues<br />5. Two Birds<br />6. Hope Against Hope<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;">Texas group Charalambides, considered by many to be the quietly serious godfathers of the whole freak-folk movement, have been turning out shimmering hush-folk masterpieces on cassette, CD-R and CD, since the early ‘90s, way back before there was any kind of movement to lead. Their journey has found them pursuing a singular vision of the transporting possibilities of simple repetition, uncluttered melody, largely acoustic instrumentation and freely expressive vocals. Eschewing drums or swollen band line-ups, Charalambides has remained a duo, sometimes a trio, dedicated to exploring the spaces between notes, the significance of silences, the subversion of expectations within the basic idea of the song. Along the way, on albums like 2004’s <i>Joy Shapes</i>, they have charted some extreme regions, unearthing strange ghosts, almost falling off the edge of the world in their pursuit of unfettered exploration. So, it’s not too difficult to see <i>A Vintage Burden</i>—recorded by the core duo of Tom and Christina Carter—as a return from the outer edges, back to the warm certainty of lyrics, verses, structure. It is certainly their most accessible album in quite some time, with the exploratory impulse subsumed into the confines and comfort of song. If anything, this album almost sounds like the weary come-down after the trip’s strange and unsettling peak. Which isn’t to say that this is anything like a mainstream rock or folk album: this is still pretty unusual stuff and the six tracks here demonstrate a distinctly skewed take on the song cycle with a deliciously psychedelic flavour, much of it due to Christina Carter’s beautiful, haunted vocals and particularly her penchant for multi-tracking—as on the spacious opener “There Is No End”. Here, against a simple, unhurried six-note motif plucked out on a muted electric guitar, she creates a wispy, ethereal, many-voiced presence, which she wraps around herself like a cloak, giving her the security to really stretch out in wordless abandon without making herself vulnerable. It’s a wonderfully rich and enveloping technique, coming on like a more organic version of Fursaxa’s experiments with the time lag accumulator. Elsewhere, though, there are more conventional approaches to the notion of song, yielding genuinely moving results. “Spring” is like a shower of refreshing rain on a dusty landscape, with its hopeful message and almost unbearably beautiful delivery. Christina sings “Do not wait / Go outside / Sky is blue / Full of stars… Love is in the air / Let it shine / It will shine.” Tom’s guitar actually sounds like it’s smiling, right up until an almost impossibly happy ‘60s riff comes in just 30 seconds from the end of the tune, assuring us all, once and for all, that everything really is going to be alright. While Christina’s style and delivery remains utterly her own throughout these acoustic country dirges and psychedelic blues-folk ballads, the closest point of comparison to any other vocalist is on “Dormant Love” where she burns through an atmospheric electric mist to sound almost like a free-folk reincarnation of Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser. The one instrumental track here is a 17-minute showcase of Tom Carter’s shimmering guitar styles. Starting out with rudimentary acoustic strumming, the piece gradually accrues layers of pedal steel wails, electric finger picking, and blistering fuzz soloing—coming on like a one-way donkey ride into the Texas desert with the hallucinations cascading down around you and the horizon bending in the heat. This album is like a vivid dream of once-lost items falling gently like leaves from a clear blue desert sky: familiar and strange, happy and disconcerting, beautiful and unsettling—and with a deeply trippy soundtrack. What’s not to like? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;">(source: PopMatters)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;">“A Vintage Burden’s embrace is still emotional, still heartbreaking, still sad, and at times still chilling, but somehow, it’s less of an exercise to wrap your arms around it.”<o:p></o:p><br />[COKEMACHINEGLOW]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p>“Let it wash over you, let it slowly but surely catch your attention, and steadily let the music build its case for how engrossing it can be.”<o:p></o:p><br />[PREFIXMAGAZINE]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/06/charalambides-vintage-burden-kranky.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">“Picking up the pieces isn’t a speedy process…”</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-23031841013498110692008-06-14T07:13:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:30:15.985-07:00The Pop Group "Y" (Radar Records, 1979)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7h0JKpztIlF1_ORVryYGKJGUoPznLQJayx6J1pGN-yocKQ0fu9PTTIhArlX3_CtlDO8EOEbbtjtGAKEB7fc_E1O4mZZQ8ogSxyzRTGiMkdxv7HjzDXMgTOcUDF46h9g0AW8nnUT3KltnS/s1600-h/pogroupy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7h0JKpztIlF1_ORVryYGKJGUoPznLQJayx6J1pGN-yocKQ0fu9PTTIhArlX3_CtlDO8EOEbbtjtGAKEB7fc_E1O4mZZQ8ogSxyzRTGiMkdxv7HjzDXMgTOcUDF46h9g0AW8nnUT3KltnS/s320/pogroupy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211741205836297154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: The Pop Group<br />Album: "Y"<br />Release Date: April 1979<br />Label: Radar Records<br />Genre: Post-Punk, No-Wave, Experimental-Rock, Noise-Rock<br />Mood: Dramatic, Intense, Cathartic, Literate<br />Reminds Of: The Slits, Sritti Politti, Public Image Ltd., Swell Maps<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9frxqehldfe">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=32884">Boomkat</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=32884">Boomkat</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Y-Pop-Group/dp/B000N3TYII">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. She Is Beyond Good And Evil<br />2. Thief Of Fire<br />3. Snow Girl<br />4. Blood Money<br />5. We Are Time<br />6. Savage Sea<br />7. Words Disobey Me<br />8. Don't Call Me Pain<br />9. The Boys From Brazil<br />10.Don't Sell Your Dreams<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">When The Pop Group first came onto the scene in late 1978 they were being hailed in the UK press as one of the saviours of rock and roll, and with good reason as the group's music made almost everything being created at the time seem old hat over night. The Pop Group's debut single "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" released in 1979 was an instant classic and one of the landmark recordings of the 1970's, it was a seething tense piece of aggressive funk/punk/dub/free jazz that demanded attention. It sounded like nothing in the world at the time of it's release and gave me the same feeling as when I heard Public Image Ltd.'s first single, it seemed to hint at endless possibilties for rock and roll. The B side "3:38" should also mentioned this was a pulverizing dose of mind-numbing dub that seemed to look ahead to Pop Group lead singer Mark Stewart's trailblazing work in the 80's with Mafia. A CD re-issue of "Y" in 1996 strangely omitted this great track from the release, WHY?</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Anyway the original release of "Y" opened with a stick of dynamite called "Thief of Fire" which was the group at it's best, this is a blistering ride through the bushes of Viet-Nam highlighted by Simon Underwood's funk/dub bass playing, the twin Beefheart guitar attack of Gareth Sager and John Waddington, and Mark Stewart's shrieking "my face is on fire" vocals, Sager also provides some squealing saxophone in the song's mid section. I remember a Melody Maker piece on the group around the time of the release of this album where the band admitted to listening to loads of King Tubby and Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" while they recorded the album, which makes perfect sense.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The next track on the album is a very experimental piece called "Snow Girl" which is driven by some Cecil Taylor type piano, shotgun blasts of guitar from Waddington and Sager and gutwrenching bass slaps by Underwood, Stewart provides a bizarre but strangely catchy vocal. The next track is the truly frightening "Blood Money" which is a nightmare soundscape where Stewart screams bloody murder in the background, he seems to be screaming about spiders being all over his chest, he sounds like Damo Suzuki on that track on Can's "Tago Mago" where Damo seems like he's being tortured, the music on "Blood Money" is thrilling it's a real meltdown of all the instruments into one, Gareth Sager plays some sax lines that sound like the bagpipe wizard Rufus Harley.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"We Are Time" is my favorite track on the record and comes at you like a commando raid on your brain, this track is truly terrifying and singer Stewart sounds like he is coming out of his own skin, the guitar playing by Sager and Waddington is dazzling. The group then throws you a big league curveball called "The Savage Sea" this one opens with an almost melodic piano and it could almost be a Pop Group ballad!, Stewart is a little more restrained on this number, I think the piano part was nicked by The Teardrop Explodes on their great B-side "Window Shopping For A New Crown Of Thorns" and The Pop Group's influence can also be felt on the Teardrops other freakout B-side "Strange House In The Snow".</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Words Disobey Me" is another wildly experimental piece in the style of "Blood Money". "Don't Call Me Pain" opens with a sax riff that sounds like it is being played by Traffic's Chris Wood, on this one Stewart screams "Don't Call Me Pain, My Name Is Mystery" and who am I to doubt him, the song is wrapped up with a fine free jazz baching track. With "The Boys From Brazil" it's back to free jazz territory, again Sager's sax reminds one of Chris Wood while Underwood plays a great funky bass riff, the guitars collide with each other at the end and it is just plain awesome. The record finishes with a stripped down dirge called "Don't Sell Your Dreams" where Stewart sounds totally spent and on the verge of collapse, the musical backing is superb, full of space and it reminds me of the Pharoah Sanders group on "Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt" the guitar playing is full on Sonny Sharrock!, the record then just fades quietly into oblivion leaving you feeling totally drained.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">After playing "Y" you wonder how the group ever hoped to top it, they never did, but their second album was great as well but just not as good as "Y", few albums are. The Pop Group finished in 1981 and splintered into groups like Rip, Rig and Panic, The New Age Steppers and most importantly Mark Stewart and Mafia, Stewart really carried the flame from the original Pop Group and much of his work with Mafia is on par with the best of The Pop Group yet his records have been totally ignored.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Y" is the best place to start to get to know the music of Mark Stewart and company, in my opinion it's one of the most original and inspiring records ever made.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: Headheritage.co.uk)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/06/pop-group-y-radar-records-1979.html"><span style=""><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"It was a very young attempt to mix up poetic, existensialist stuff with political yearnings. The idea of love as a revolutionary force-the way it kind of switches on a light, makes you hope for a better world..."</span></span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-42379927959963449012008-05-31T11:20:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:31:09.878-07:00Television Personalities "And Don't The Kids Just Love It" (Rough Trade, 1980)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VVzU41QAyBQB5acPbMtkEB1-46D_y6lZrCB9FiolcZiSn8iQuCmyrRepamJ2o92BLaBZLLEBc8ixoj2j8xIdN9njyUlw7IFfROelcwh7vNoGbPquOnmUV3RQK888RL7akpbfwoEaBFYo/s1600-h/anddontthekidsjustloveit.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VVzU41QAyBQB5acPbMtkEB1-46D_y6lZrCB9FiolcZiSn8iQuCmyrRepamJ2o92BLaBZLLEBc8ixoj2j8xIdN9njyUlw7IFfROelcwh7vNoGbPquOnmUV3RQK888RL7akpbfwoEaBFYo/s320/anddontthekidsjustloveit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206610029726641186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Television Personalities<br />Album: "And Don't The Kids Just Love It"<br />Release Date: January 1981<br />Label: Rough Trade<br />Genre: Post-Punk, New-Wave, Indie-Pop<br />Mood: Rousing, Witty, Boisterous, Freewheeling<br />Reminds Of: Robert Wyatt, Syd Barrett, Swell Maps<br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Kids-Just-Love/dp/B000062UTR">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=3406152&cart=726466216">CdUniverse</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. This Angry Silence<br />2. The Glittering Prizes<br />3. World Of Pauline Lewis<br />4. A Family Affair<br />5. Silly Girl<br />6. Diary Of A Young Man<br />7. Geoffrey Ingram<br />8. I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives<br />9. Jackanory Stories<br />10. Parties In Chelsea<br />11. La Grande Illusion<br />12. A Picture Of Dorian Gray<br />13. The Crying Room<br />14. Look Back In Anger<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The first full album by Television Personalities, recorded after a four-year series of often brilliant D.I.Y. singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage Filmstars, is probably the purest expression of Daniel Treacy's sweet-and-sour worldview. The songs, performed by Treacy, Ed Ball, and Mark Sheppard, predict both the C-86 aesthetic of simple songs played with a minimum of elaboration but a maximum of enthusiasm and earnestness and the later lo-fi aesthetic. The echoey, hissy production makes the songs sound as if the band were playing at the bottom of an empty swimming pool, recorded by a single microphone located two houses away, yet somehow that adds to the homemade charm of the record. Treacy's vocals are tremulous and shy, and his lyrics run from the playful "Jackanory Stories" to several rather dark songs that foreshadow the depressive cast of many of his later albums. "Diary of a Young Man," which consists of several spoken diary entries over a haunting, moody twang-guitar melody, is downright scary in its aura of helplessness and inertia. The mood is lightened a bit by some of the peppier songs, like the smashing "World of Pauline Lewis" and the "David Watts" rewrite "Geoffrey Ingram," and the re-recorded version of the earlier single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives," complete with deliberately intrusive prerecorded bird sounds, is one of the most charming things Television Personalities ever did. This album must have sounded hopelessly amateurish and cheaply ramshackle at the time of its 1981 release, but in retrospect, it's clearly a remarkably influential album that holds up extremely well.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: AllMusicGuide)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="'line-height:" lang="EN-US"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/television-personalities-and-dont-kids.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“Can you hear this angry silence…?”</span></span></a></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-57498627177578349242008-05-14T05:13:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:31:33.592-07:00"Eternity And A Day" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (ECM Records, 1999)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNTYGZ1s36xKUGiOEmA3eO2VJY62hPC464cjrLzSjLeOdGwmn228gx9pdxAYS6ZJZTqWPm-hdIEvKhWWSq_MPAA_gBHQTyWTM56NISbzLPUqS1FNi2cQ9P3G1dBTFeHthBOTkk4RVCc2d/s1600-h/eternityday.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNTYGZ1s36xKUGiOEmA3eO2VJY62hPC464cjrLzSjLeOdGwmn228gx9pdxAYS6ZJZTqWPm-hdIEvKhWWSq_MPAA_gBHQTyWTM56NISbzLPUqS1FNi2cQ9P3G1dBTFeHthBOTkk4RVCc2d/s400/eternityday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200206249204991058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Eleni Karaindrou<br />Album: "Eternity And A Day" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]<br />Release Date: 1 October 1999<br />Label: ECM Records<br />Genre: Soundtrack, Classical, Chamber-Jazz, Instrumental<br />Mood: Elegant, Sophisticated, Passionate, Spiritual<br />Reminds Of: George Russell, Henry Mancini, Don Ellis, Jan Garbarek<br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eternity-Day-Soundtrack-Eleni-Karaindrou/dp/B00001IVNC">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Hearing The Time<br />2. By The Sea<br />3. Eternity Theme<br />4. Parting A<br />5. Depart And Eternity Theme<br />6. Borders<br />7. Wedding Dance<br />8. Parting B<br />9. To A Dead Friend<br />10. Eternity Theme Variation I<br />11. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation I<br />12. Bus (Pt. 1)<br />13. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation II<br />14. Bus (Pt. 2)<br />15. Trio And Eternity Theme<br />16. The Poet<br />17. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation III<br />18. Depart<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Film composer Eleni Karaindou was born in the Greek mountain </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">village</span></span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> of </span></span><st1:placename st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Teichio</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> and raised in </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Athens</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, going on to study piano and music theory at the Hellenikon Odion. Relocating to </span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Paris</span></span></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> in 1969, she studied ethnomusicology for five years before returning to </span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Greece</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> to found the Laboratory for Traditional Instruments at the ORA Cultural Centre. Karaindrou's most successful collaboration was with filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos, with whom she first teamed in 1982, going on to score features including 1991's </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Suspended Step of the Stork</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, 1995's </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ulysses' Gaze</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> and 1998's Palme d'Or-winning </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Eternity and a Day</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">. Although primarily aligned with the Greek film industry, Karaindrou also worked with noted European directors including Jules Dassin and the great Chris Marker.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Eternity and a Day</span></span></span></i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is about an elderly writer, Bruno Ganz, who discovers he has only a short time to live and must decide what to do with his remaining time on earth. The album is both shorter and considerably more varied than its predecessor. Again the music is scored for string orchestra and soloists, this time oboe, bassoon, French horn, mandolin, accordion, piano and two clarinets. Over the course of 18 tracks Karaindrou weaves a series of melodies around a central "Eternity" theme, cues ranging from the eloquent piano solo (played by the composer) "By the Sea" to a traditional wedding dance, various ensemble pieces, a touching elegy for string orchestra and clarinet, "To a Dead Friend" to finally a wind trio against strings for the moving finale, "Depart". More varied and thus more accessible, it is perhaps the better choice for the newcomer to Karaindrou's music.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: AllMusicGuide)</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/eternity-and-day-original-motion.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“As you are writing…The ink grows less…The sea increases…”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-36948887934046145202008-05-10T08:25:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:32:25.691-07:00Ornette Coleman Double Quartet "Free Jazz ( A Collective Improvisation) (Atlantic, 1961)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNspsL4zNv4X6mcAKEYOaYfKtROZokKKgFKuFUeAeNaZTxqLe7QOfZdADVoQQCk8shJ-eFOOHvAT595juzjVaFTZ-IGocCMnVBp5-BZ4Ji1JZzhyphenhyphengeY2AjCiRxifjE2uAL0r5ZbxneUZk6/s1600-h/freejazz.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNspsL4zNv4X6mcAKEYOaYfKtROZokKKgFKuFUeAeNaZTxqLe7QOfZdADVoQQCk8shJ-eFOOHvAT595juzjVaFTZ-IGocCMnVBp5-BZ4Ji1JZzhyphenhyphengeY2AjCiRxifjE2uAL0r5ZbxneUZk6/s400/freejazz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198771144067652994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Ornette Coleman Double Quartet<br />Album: "Free Jazz (A Collective Improvisation)"<br />Release Date: 1961<br />Label: Atlantic<br />Genre: Free-Jazz, Improvisation, Avant-Garde<br />Mood: Passionate, Knotty, Sophisticated, Provocative<br />Reminds Of: Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Louis Jordan, Arnett Bobb<br />What People Think: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Jazz:_A_Collective_Improvisation">Wikipedia</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Collective-Improvisation-Ornette-Coleman-Quartet/dp/B000002I55">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1096673/a/Free+Jazz.htm">CdUniverse<br /></a><br />Tracklist<br />1. Free Jazz<br />2. First Take<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">One of the most important (and controversial) innovators of the jazz avant-garde, Ornette Coleman gained both loyal followers and lifelong detractors when he seemed to burst on the scene in 1959 fully formed. Although he, and Don Cherry in his original quartet, played opening and closing melodies together, their solos dispensed altogether with chordal improvisation and harmony, instead playing quite freely off of the mood of the theme. Coleman's tone (which purposely wavered in pitch) rattled some listeners, and his solos were emotional and followed their own logic. In time, his approach would be quite influential, and the quartet's early records still sound advanced many decades later.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">As jazz's first extended, continuous free improvisation LP, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Free Jazz</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> practically defies superlatives in its historical importance. Ornette Coleman's music had already been tagged "free," but this album took the term to a whole new level. Aside from a predetermined order of featured soloists and several brief transition signals cued by Coleman, the entire piece was created spontaneously, right on the spot. The lineup was expanded to a double-quartet format, split into one quartet for each stereo channel: Ornette, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Billy Higgins on the left; trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell on the right. The rhythm sections all play at once, anchoring the whole improvisation with a steady, driving pulse. The six spotlight sections feature each horn in turn, plus a bass duet and drum duet; the "soloists" are really leading dialogues, where the other instruments are free to support, push, or punctuate the featured player's lines. Since there was no road map for this kind of recording, each player simply brought his already established style to the table. That means there are still elements of convention and melody in the individual voices, which makes </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Free Jazz</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> far more accessible than the efforts that followed once more of the jazz world caught up. Still, the album was enormously controversial in its bare-bones structure and lack of repeated themes. Despite resembling the abstract painting on the cover, it wasn't quite as radical as it seemed; the concept of collective improvisation actually had deep roots in jazz history, going all the way back to the freewheeling early Dixieland ensembles of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">New Orleans</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">. Jazz had long prided itself on reflecting American freedom and democracy and, with </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Free Jazz</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, Coleman simply took those ideals to the next level. A staggering achievement.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/ornette-coleman-double-quartet-free_10.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something...”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-3640444570013379682008-05-06T00:17:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:52:30.952-07:00Arnold Dreyblatt "Animal Magnetism" (Tzadik, 1995)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzp-H3Zn2xwpZEhdrB_vFyHp1Eg3LON_OQIYryRLsSsqfE0PkBdb6nkTlkQEC0zqMGc8Zv_GRd7grv859wnW10bMXgQvnFMRg7Mq4AUQlqwhVGFWFqmkCBcbDfsa27EaY-kc3VhUCrXgWC/s1600-h/animalmagnetism.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzp-H3Zn2xwpZEhdrB_vFyHp1Eg3LON_OQIYryRLsSsqfE0PkBdb6nkTlkQEC0zqMGc8Zv_GRd7grv859wnW10bMXgQvnFMRg7Mq4AUQlqwhVGFWFqmkCBcbDfsa27EaY-kc3VhUCrXgWC/s400/animalmagnetism.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197161183741136226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Arnold Dreyblatt<br />Album: "Animal Magnetism"<br />Release Date: 23 May, 1995<br />Label: Tzadik<br />Genre: Avant-Garde, Microtonal, Minimalism, Sound-Collage<br />Mood: Playful, Manic, Cathartic, Quirky<br />Reminds Of: LaMonte Young, Alvin Lucier, Elliott Sharp<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:h9fyxqthldke">AllMusicGuide</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1164479/a/Dreyblatt+Animal+Magnetism+%2F+Orchestra+Of+Excited+Strings.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Magnetism-Arnold-Dreyblatt/dp/B000003YSM">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Point Rotation<br />2. Next Slide<br />3. Animal Magnetism<br />4. Group Velocity<br />5. Side Band<br />6. Flashbulb History<br />7. Epilogue<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Arnold Dreyblatt's compositions have been recorded for such leading avant-garde music labels as Hat Hut, Tzadik and Table of Elements. The </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">New York</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> native studied film and video at SUNY with Woody and Steina Vasulka, and earned his masters from the Institute for Media Studies. In the mid-'70s, he studied composition with Pauline Oliveros and LaMonte Young, then learned from Alvin Lucier until getting his masters in composition in 1982. By that time, Dreyblatt had already been directing his own music ensemble, the Orchestra of Excited Strings, for three years. In 1984, he moved to </span></span><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Europe</span></span></st1:place><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> where, in addition to composing, he began using texts and images in his installations and performances. He has received numerous grants and stipends including the Overbrook Foundation, and the Philip Morris Art Prize. Dreyblatt has been a guest composer at </span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Amsterdam</span></span></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s STEIM, </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Berlin</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s Kunstlerhaus Bethanien and more. He has been commissioned by Ars Electronica, Podewil/US Arts Festival, as well as for his production 'Who's Who in Central & East Europe 1933' for </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Berlin</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s DAAD-Inventionen '91. He has also created two independent yet interrelated art works in collaboration with the University of Lüneburg's Kulturinformatik Department, entitled "Who's Who in Central & East Europe 1933" and "Memory Arena." As of the late 1990's, Dreyblatt still resided in </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Berlin</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"While I really like everything of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Arnold</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s, especially the more "heroic" parts of </span></span><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Nodal Excitations</span></span></em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> and </span></span><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Propellors in Love</span></span></em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, this is the record that really steps out as the first genuinely new sound in maybe 10 years. It's as if the Dirty Dozen Brass band got a hold of some of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Arnold</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s records and decided to give it a go. I cannot overstate how unbelievably brilliant this record is. When played loud, I firmly stand by my declaration that it is one of the 4 or so best records ever made". - Jim O’Rourke</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><o:p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span></o:p></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"The bright, punchy staccato nature of Dreyblatt’s compositons allude to some of Michael Nyman’s early ensemble works, a character further emphasized by the dynamic constraints of the instrumentation... ...Dreyblatt wants you to listen through the beats in order to connect with the overtone structures and resonant sound features bouncing off the rhythmic surfaces... ...I’ve certainly grown to love it.“ - David Illic, </span></span><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Wire</span></span></em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Magazine Soundcheck Winner October, 1995</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"This particular release from 1995 is initially striking because of its pure energy. I guarantee that it's one of the few releases you'll find featuring "classical" instruments which encourages you to "listen at maximum volume!" Dreyblatt also uses a wider palette than most Minimalists, as his </span></span><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Orchestra of Excited Strings</span></span></em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> actually consists of strings, horns, percussion, and just-intonation guitar. Yet he holds the same concern with microtonal structure that Conrad does, just through more propulsive music. Some people back in the Seventies used to talk about how the music of Steve Reich and Phillip Glass was somehow related to "rock," but those charlatans don't have anything on Arnold Dreyblatt. - </span></span><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Pataphysics Research Journal </span></span></em></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span><p><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/arnord-dreyblatt-animal-magnetism.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“If you REALLY wanted to scare somebody, wouldn't you find a new way to do it…?”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-11133474615552429832008-05-04T07:27:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:33:35.687-07:00Scott Walker "Tilt" (Drag City, 1995)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGaea0t52h7k3fsUMeTYBjJpQB8etCG6raMFeouwOLV2RQ8X6ZGGVkDBWqzGm2FjwrQ2RaA2XiHLF8ggxlYO_Cde5UQ8Q9QJw7tkPmZvXIQ9VslHCtgqRWnOfO9dm8maZO3pBfFSDdzfas/s1600-h/tilt.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGaea0t52h7k3fsUMeTYBjJpQB8etCG6raMFeouwOLV2RQ8X6ZGGVkDBWqzGm2FjwrQ2RaA2XiHLF8ggxlYO_Cde5UQ8Q9QJw7tkPmZvXIQ9VslHCtgqRWnOfO9dm8maZO3pBfFSDdzfas/s400/tilt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196530592347770194" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Scott Walker<br />Album: "Tilt"<br />Release Date: May 1995<br />Label: Drag City<br />Genre: Avant-Garde, Experimental, Baroque-Pop, Minimalism<br />Mood: Brooding, Theatrical, Bleak, Autumnal<br />Reminds Of: Jacques Brel, Nico, Brian Eno, Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=6725">SputnikMusic</a>, <a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jun2002/scot-j04.shtml">WorldSocialist</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tilt-Scott-Walker/dp/B0000019R2">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1050107/a/Tilt.htm">CdUniverse</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Farmer In The City<br />2. The Cockfighter<br />3. Bouncer See Bouncer<br />4. Manhattan<br />5. Face On Breast<br />6. Bolivia '95<br />7. Patriot (A Single)<br />8. Tilt<br />9. Rosary<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tilt</span></span></span></i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> was Scott Walker's first album following over a decade of silence, and whatever else he may have done during his exile, brightening his musical horizon was not on the agenda. Indescribably barren and unutterably bleak, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tilt</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is the wind that buffets the gothic cathedrals of everyone's favorite nightmares. The opening "Farmer in the City" sets the pace, a cinematic sweep that somehow maintains a melody beneath the unrelenting melodrama of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Walker</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s most grotesque vocal ever. Seemingly undecided whether he's recording an opera or simply haunting one, Walker doesn't so much perform as project his lyrics, hurling them into the alternating maelstroms and moods that careen behind him. The effect is unsettling, to put it mildly. At the time of its release, reviews were undecided whether to praise or pillory Walker for making an album so utterly divorced from even the outer limits of rock reality, an indecision only compounded by its occasional (and bloody-mindedly deceptive) lurches towards modern sensibilities. "The Cockfighter" is underpinned by an intensity that is almost industrial in its range and raucousness, while "Bouncer See Bouncer" would have quite a catchy chorus if anybody else had gotten their hands on it. Here, however, it is highlighted by an Eno-esque esotericism and the chatter of tiny locusts. The crowning irony, however, is "The Patriot (A Single)," seven minutes of unrelenting funeral dirge over which </span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Walker</span></span></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> infuses even the most innocuous lyric ("I brought nylons from </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">New York</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">") with indescribable pain and suffering. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tilt</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is not an easy album to love; it's not even that easy to listen to. First impressions place it on a plateau somewhere between Nico's Marble Index and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music -- before long, familiarity and the elitist chattering of so many well-heeled admirers rendered both albums mere forerunners to some future shift in mainstream taste. And maybe that is the fate awaiting </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tilt</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, although one does wonder precisely what monsters could rise from soil so belligerently barren. </span></span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Even Metal Machine Music could be whistled, after all.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: AllMusicGuide)</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/scott-walker-tilt-drag-city-1995.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“If I’m using politics, I’ll use it to talk about an inner state rather than a political state. They’re related. It’s a way to break out of the [traditional] songwriting format. I’m looking inward—that’s why you get a solitary feel from the music. I’m composing something of myself through fragments.”</span></span></a></span></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-15819476046010067962008-05-03T02:31:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:34:10.293-07:00Jackie O-Motherfucker "Fig. 5" (Road Cone, 2000)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOCwgklPow2LBnWsAOtxkEkVU65ILYYG64H-bxpW5-4JuxiV2pLgf4yR7fj686KKeZNArUuUErGSS0GUGfTTJa-iABEoZ9oKyMKQJ3RSReG4ruqvZHlqY4Iyr98xv1m_CEoM2FXS010Z3/s1600-h/jackieo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOCwgklPow2LBnWsAOtxkEkVU65ILYYG64H-bxpW5-4JuxiV2pLgf4yR7fj686KKeZNArUuUErGSS0GUGfTTJa-iABEoZ9oKyMKQJ3RSReG4ruqvZHlqY4Iyr98xv1m_CEoM2FXS010Z3/s320/jackieo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196083194194480434" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Jackie-O Motherfucker<br />Album: "Fig. 5"<br />Release Date: 2000<br />Label: Road Cone<br />Genre: Experimental-Rock, Post-Rock, Improvisation, Noise<br />Mood: Theatrical, Uncompromising, Searching, Confrontational<br />Reminds Of: Volcano The Bear, Vibracathedral Orchestra, White Rainbow<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.psychedelic-music.net/pmdb/db3/BrokenFace.php4?review=19">TheBrokenFace</a>, <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3vfexqlkld0e">AllMusicGuide</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fig-5-Jackie-O-Motherfucker/dp/B0007TJYU6">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.emusic.com/album/Jackie-O-Motherfucker-fig-5-MP3-Download/11023439.html">Emusic</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Analogue Skillet<br />2. Native Einstein<br />3. Your Cells Are In Motion<br />4. Go Down, Old Hannah<br />5. Amazing Grace<br />6. Beautiful September (We Are Going There)<br />7. Chiapas! I Must Go There!<br />8. Michigan Avenue Social Club<br />9. Madame Curie<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In </span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">America</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, we have monuments instead of mythology: bright obelisks and classical statuary erected as perpetually new in the place of the perpetually old. This is, after all, the </span></span><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">New World</span></span></st1:place><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">; we dedicate these talismans against ruin across the landscape almost as if to keep history itself at bay, to keep time from catching up with us. Underfoot are bones and detritus, though, the debris of the little nameless events that are excluded from American history. It's all a rather shallow grave when you think about it. Jackie-O Motherfucker's unprecedented </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Fig. 5</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, the group's first CD release, presents a dim and unsettling archaeology of American music. Released in the wake of the American century, it's the first unapologetically brilliant piece of experimental music I've heard this year. Somehow constructed bereft of any postmodern irony, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Fig. 5</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> transforms a commanding grasp on the celebrated tributaries of American music-- jazz, Appalachian folk, soul, African-American spirituals, West coast surf-rock, Protestant hymns, Louisville post-rock, bluegrass, electronic noise-- into an autochthonous gospel. Jackie-O Motherfucker-- two multi-instrumentalists, Tom Greenwood and Jef Brown and the cadre of eclectic talents with whom they surround themselves-- abandoned the remix loop jazz-fusion of their first two albums (available only as LPs) and literally emerged from the basement and the soil with a masterpiece. The gust-blown digital hum of the first track, "Analogue Skillet," underpins plucked and scraping strings, like a bow on the nervous system itself. It's buzzing neon yielding to something like a screen-door creaking on its rusted hinges behind wind chimes in "Native Einstein," a kind of front porch minimalism. There's a faint chorus of young girls counting down in the recesses, playing Double Dutch in the road. The strings sound like saws; the lone sax whines like an animal. The scene is replaced by the solemn repetition of guitar twang; "Your Cells are in Motion" is the working man's Mogwai: a funereal procession of rising guitar and faint vocals coalescing steadily into shantytown post-rock, tarnished but true. Labradford will spend the entirety of their career trying to create this song and never get it right. The choral "Go Down, Old Hannah," performed here by the Amalgamated Everlasting Union Chorus Local #824, is a prison camp work song dating back to the turn of the century-- a plea for sunset to end the workday. "Amazing Grace," the slave trader John Newton's ubiquitous 1779 hymn to God, is barely recognizable as Appalachian free jazz: steely banjos and twittering horns that sound like bagpipes are equal parts mountain folk and Pharoah Sanders. The lilting "Beautiful September" provides an interlude of catchy No Depression dream-rock. But the album's centerpiece is clearly the tribal 24-minute "Michigan Avenue Social Club," a track that sounds at times like dismembered Gershwin, and at other times like Cul de Sac with horns. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Fig 5.</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> fades out on the brief, chirping "Madame Curie," dissolving into the earth from which the whole work arose. For all its disparate strands, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Fig. 5</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is surprisingly cohesive, constructing some ratcheted new sound with junk and memory rather than laundering old sounds with the irony and veiled contempt of other pastiche exercises. The disc itself is packaged in an oddly fascinating die-cut cardboard folio, complete with snippets of Alan Lomax's celebrated American ethnomusicology. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Fig. 5</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is slow and plodding like time itself. This work, again, simply has no precedents. Or rather, its precedents lie in the dusty anonymities of American musical history, instead of the proud and touted monuments of our cultural past. Listen to it once if you can. It is our secret national anthem.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: PitchforkMedia)</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/jackie-o-motherfucker-fig-5-road-cone.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“Apocalyptic dirge, the monotony of life, light the whole world on fire and destroy it…”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-58630088180647260622008-05-02T00:31:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:35:07.599-07:00Aesop Rock "Labor Days" (Def Jux, 2001)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibl5NCe9WAOJuCdxZzqmHgKzjL0qO59NSMRi4HnsOG2OpiKzWG5t0ToxOocapw7xC4e53_gGnhPra0UbVkp-K-pAefaM0KJMVooRKcSx6J4irIOrjel0msgCAe78_CyCjdGxsGyfIu90K8/s1600-h/labordays.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibl5NCe9WAOJuCdxZzqmHgKzjL0qO59NSMRi4HnsOG2OpiKzWG5t0ToxOocapw7xC4e53_gGnhPra0UbVkp-K-pAefaM0KJMVooRKcSx6J4irIOrjel0msgCAe78_CyCjdGxsGyfIu90K8/s320/labordays.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195682757213605154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Aesop Rock<br />Album: "Labor Days"<br />Release Date: 18 September, 2001<br />Label: Def Jux<br />Genre: Underground-Hip-Hop, East-Coast-Hip-Hop, Abstract-Hip-Hop<br />Mood: Thuggish, Hostile, Confrontatiotal, Menacing, Druggy<br />Reminds Of: Kool Keith, Mr. Lif, Atmosphere, Rjd2, MF Doom<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0cfixql0ldse">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=6172">SputnikMusic</a>, <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/a/aesoprock-labor.shtml">Popmatters</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/2098956/a/Labor+Days.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Labor-Days-Aesop-Rock/dp/B00005O4UY">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Labor<br />2. Daylight<br />3. Save Yourself<br />4. Flashflood<br />5. No Regrets<br />6. One Brick<br />7. The Tugboat Complex, pt. 3<br />8. Coma<br />9. Battery<br />10. Boombox<br />11. Bent Life<br />12. The Yes And The Y'All<br />13. 9-5ers Anthem<br />14. Shovel<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Your humble reviewer is not hugely invested in the state or the fate of hip-hop. A lot of folks are, though, sometimes to an unfortunate extent-- hip-hop spends almost as much time drawing lines and fighting over its own image as the punk and hardcore zines do, albeit more entertainingly. One of the results of this is that a whole lot of hip-hop records are basically about hip-hop: the mainstream stuff (aka "real" hip-hop) offers up further meta-explorations of a few MC-persona archetypes, while the undie stuff (aka "real" hip-hop) dedicates itself to the Ancient Skillz of crate-digging, battle rhyming, and either picking on the mainstream or spitting abstract jumbles of wordplay. The former is how we get stuff like P. Diddy saying, "I don't write rhymes, I write checks"; the latter is how we get stuff like the Anti-Pop Consortium, who sound godlike in ten second snippets but prove mind-numbingly tedious by fifteen. Aesop Rock is one of those MCs who have stumbled upon a blindingly intelligent solution to this state of affairs: he's ignored all of that baggage and made a record that's mostly about something. That something is work. Labor-- effort in its broadest sense-- is a topic he treats sometimes pedantically but often more thought-provokingly than not only the bulk of hip-hop, but the bulk of </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">any</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> genre. It helps that </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is as terrific a record as anyone could ask for, really, and you should buy it, and here's why. First: Aesop Rock is a terrific MC. His flow is rapid but clear; his interjections, double-time verses and sing-song bits are arranged with near-symphonic skill. He's also calm and confident, avoiding both the egomaniacal swagger of a lot of mainstream and the egomaniacal jerkiness of a lot of underground, while nicking their finer points as well. Better than that: Aesop Rock's flow is brilliant, a combination of mindbending wordplay ("Who am I?" he asks, then answers: "Jabberwocky Superfly!"), in-rhymed poetics ("You won't be laughing when the buzzards drag your brother's flags to rags"), and surgically sharp, eye-rolling dismissals of anyone he disapproves of: "If you had one more eye you'd be a cyclops," runs one, "which may explain your missing the premise." Aesop Rock says more astoundingly intelligent things per minute than the entire combined rosters of a lot of other labels. Second: Blockhead, who produces much of this record, does an equally terrific job. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is bound for constant comparisons to Cannibal Ox's </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Cold Vein</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, the other Def Jux Edgy Intelligent NYC MCs with Stark Progressive Beats record to crop up on 2001's year-end lists. And while the comparisons are valid ones, lyrically and often sonically, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> differs by trading in </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Cold Vein</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s minimalist grind for an equally minimal but remarkably lush, cinematic spread of subtly weaving beats and sinuous, somber, minor-key instrumental arrangements that sound as if someone has been doing his crate-digging in the klezmer, bouzouki, and koto piles of the "World Classical" section. "Daylight," the record's initial standout, works from a long, plush melodic loop with a wood flute sighing over it (there are a lot of woody flutes on this record-- enough to make you wonder if Blockhead wouldn't have done a better job than RZA on the </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ghost Dog</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> soundtrack). Meanwhile, "Save Yourself," the record's </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">real</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> standout, consists of a slow-motion lope constructed from staccato bass blips, an east-Mediterranean guitar pluck, and wispy female cooing. "</span></span><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Battery</span></span></st1:place><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">" stretches the limits of hip-hop pastoralism with a bass-and-cello figure and more of those fluttering coos with Ace intoning, "Brother sun, sister moon, mother beautiful," and, "I painted a sunny day on the insides of my eyelids." If most hip-hop chases a futuristic, brightly lit city vitality, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is laid out peacefully on a rainy plain somewhere. And if </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Cold Vein</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> sounds like the grind of inscrutable machinery, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> waits a couple hundred years for those machines to be covered with moss and vines. When it all comes together, on "9-5ers Anthem"-- a track which pairs a sprightly bassline with handbells (handbells!) with Ace in top form, spitting out brilliant parallel metaphors for quotidian employment-- it seems so all-consumingly </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">right</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">: hip-hop bouncing confidently along, actually saying something </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">about</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> something, and saying it well and smartly. Aesop Rock </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">does</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> have a message here, which you'd expect to be a bad thing but isn't, really, insofar as the message is a pretty reasonable one. Ace's message is that life can be hard but that's all the more reason to shut your mouth and work on something that makes you happy. Essentially. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> gets cartoonish only once, on "No Regrets," which is still a decent and sensitive track but which we won't really get into here because on the other hand, it's the inherent pragmatism of Ace's theme that allows for his wonderfully apologetic complaints about 9-5 employment. Not to mention all those glorious eye-rolling disses: "Keep me posted," he says, "as to when you grasp something mature to sit and soak about, Mister, and I'll consider picking up your record. "That last line's from "Save Yourself," which collects Ace's comments on the How We Do Hip-Hop question-- he's undie, of course, here with his sonically progressive Def Jux release, so clearly he's going to drop some invective on this Important Issue. His take, though? Forget it: "Maybe you ought to try saving something other than hip-hop," insightful advice no matter what genre you insert at the end. "Pistons pump perfect," he says, then, "what you're holding ain't really broken." And for the duration of </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Labor Days</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, it's pretty clear that in the hands of someone with something to </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">use</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> it for, it's not, not at all.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: PitchforkMedia)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p face="times new roman" style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/05/aesop-rock-labor-days-def-jux-2001.html"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"We the American working population hate the fact that eight hours a day is wasted spent chasing a dream of someone that isn't us. And we may not hate our jobs, but we hate jobs in general that don't have to do with fighting our own causes…"</span></span></span></a></p> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /></span>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-24244796644799584422008-04-22T04:09:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:40:59.415-07:00You're no good to me dead...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxCg4Jmf2I2SLPtl0KadxJ2XqgKcPIrUSHxWtUVhqU-uFNcmawxJdbcD_ATQNBIuy-n9qpPZvGV7uqKBSm2oSu5I0yr3Y0mnST8JWpr9cAhbMJ4L9wzaSCxC3Q1TYmk5btJWQQTxYlGs1/s1600-h/you're+no+good+to+me+deadNEW.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxCg4Jmf2I2SLPtl0KadxJ2XqgKcPIrUSHxWtUVhqU-uFNcmawxJdbcD_ATQNBIuy-n9qpPZvGV7uqKBSm2oSu5I0yr3Y0mnST8JWpr9cAhbMJ4L9wzaSCxC3Q1TYmk5btJWQQTxYlGs1/s320/you're+no+good+to+me+deadNEW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192025811604393234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Hello there,<br />First thing: Thanx for the support, the interaction and the feedback, I'm a newbie in the blogging era, so any advice is more than welcome.<br />Second thing: I really got tired of re-uploading all the links in this blog. They are constantly being deleted. So do you have any ideas of how should we keep it going? Some sort of a mailing list or something, I don't really know...<br />Please leave your thoughts & ideas, they could be more than useful for this blog to stay alive....<br /><br />Love<br /><br />Death Of The Left Unfinished</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /></span>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-73291173958964409842008-04-20T01:06:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:40:35.843-07:00Lightning Bolt "Wonderful Rainbow" (Load Records, 2003)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZoNYGy6AN2ddLdPAgYsultMppl8iDq6lQ0vlEsJVKnhXAArCCIRrIWbG121r31mGyudkMc1P2hQDDV-ZFVeqj3mqPgbDF7iqugizj-DodDhY0rUYGWwahtAImF9uS68GOo8x7PrWOrlh/s1600-h/wonderfulrainbow.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZoNYGy6AN2ddLdPAgYsultMppl8iDq6lQ0vlEsJVKnhXAArCCIRrIWbG121r31mGyudkMc1P2hQDDV-ZFVeqj3mqPgbDF7iqugizj-DodDhY0rUYGWwahtAImF9uS68GOo8x7PrWOrlh/s320/wonderfulrainbow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191237903299987874" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Lightning Bolt<br />Album: "Wonderful Rainbow"<br />Release Date: 24 February 2003<br />Label: Load Records<br />Genre: Noise, Noise-Rock, Experimental-Rock<br />Mood: Uncompromising, Suffocating, Insular, Visceral<br />Reminds Of: Boredoms, Black Dice, Arab On Radar, Ruins<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gpfoxqtaldde">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19397-wonderful-rainbow">PitchforkMedia</a>, <a href="http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=2995">SputnikMusic</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Rainbow-Lightning-Bolt/dp/B00008NGDD">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/5543292/a/Wonderful+Rainbow.htm">CdUniverse<br /></a><br />Tracklist<br />1. Hello Morning<br />2. Assassins<br />3. Dracula Mountain<br />4. 2 Towers<br />5. On Fire<br />6. Crown Of Storms<br />7. Longstockings<br />8. Wonderful Rainbow<br />9. 30000 Monkies<br />10. Duel In The Deep<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Oh shit.” </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Inevitably, that’s what music is all about. Be it a crossfade, a sax bleat, guitar solo, or some wicked algorithmic programming, we listen to music to find those moments when you lose the right words and just lock in on the sound of something, the force of it. Not to reduce theoretical studies to a base oversimplification, but ultimately that’s what you look for – someone, some sound to make you look at the bottom of your drink and just say, “Oh shit.” Lightning Bolt’s music is entirely made up of these moments and sounds – riffs linked with breakdowns, disfigured vocals that resonate like mechanical laughter, splattering, tapped out basslines and breakneck drumming all adding up to one continuous moment, one single jaw-dropping experience. </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Oh shit.” </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The genius part about Lightning Bolt, the part that takes them from being a great band to a flat-out amazing one is that they take those revelations from so many different places and twist them all together. 2001’s essential </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Ride the Skies</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> sounded like a collision between Derek Bailey’s most non-idiomatic improvising and Eddie Van Halen’s pinpoint over-the-top fret board taps. At the same time, it was filtered through a cracked lens of hardcore and metal, lifting distorted bass sounds from Flipper, the teetering aggression of bands like Scratch Acid, and the flat out bombast of groups like Slayer. Adding more to the mix were the obvious influences from Japanoise bands like Ruins and Boredoms. The amazing part comes from taking all these sounds and turning it into something that doesn’t dwell on its references, but rather becomes its own entity – one with an intense mixture of fun and chaos. </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Take “Assassins”, the second track from </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Wonderful Rainbow</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, for example: a quick screech, and then the sonic equivalent of getting smashed in the chest by a truck. Brian Gibson carves a monolithic bass riff out of his 3,800 watts and smacks it full on against Brian Chippendale’s drumming – a scattering, clattering mess of constant bass drum slams to build the tension, and then a release with enough manic fills for six other bands, all the while chattering through his distorted microphone (conveniently attached to his throat via a jaunty knit mask). </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Dracula Mountain” doesn’t let you collect yourself either, with galloping drums and a naïve sing-song melody that stops on a dime and lurches into a massive swath of off-time, bass drum heavy thumping and perfectly timed snare cracks and high note snatches. And of course, just when you get used to the sheer force of it all, that naïve melody comes back, bringing with it a serpentine little bass riff, some rhythmic tom work, and a plunge into what sounds like a </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Munsters</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> theme song outtake. </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“2 Towers” highlights manic improvisation before quickly developing a harder edge, with Gibson burrowing his riffs straight into your skull while Chippendale shifts the rhythm, alternating his fills with simple, pure heavy handed precision. And this is all while building it to a breakneck climax of insane bass work and hyperkinetic drumming. “On Fire” sounds like an alarm call with piercing bass lines that work their way to a low end throb while the drums pound away happily, showing that as hard as Chippendale plays, he matches it with a light handed precision, pausing only for a moment for Gibson to sound off, then launching back into the fray twice as hard. </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Gibson starts tapping out the high notes of “Crown of Storms” only to quickly flip it back, contrasting a thumping low-end bass blast with Chippendale’s measured snare cracks. He works the tapping back in, letting the ascending melody rise as he tries to smack it back down. The pace quickens, the drums’ antics increase, until Gibson and Chippendale detonate everything – blast beats and squalling bass lines fighting for air in the relentless din. “Longstockings” almost sounds spare by comparison, with its simple, clean and melodic bass line and the straight-forward drumming and distorted vocals. It then falls, however, into one of the most intense and abstracts burst of noise on the record. “30,000 Monkeys” is Lightning Bolt firing on all cylinders – at times intricate and complex, and at other times hitting with the force of a jackhammer. “Duel in the Deep” finishes out the record on perhaps its most intense and noisy notes – equal parts aggressive and ominous warped shards of bass. </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In the end, though, words fail me. I have such a hard time describing Lightning Bolt because it’s impossible to talk about their intensity, their talent, and the great music they create and do it all equal justice. If you want a truly accurate picture of Lightning Bolt, you just have to see them play. They destroy any notion of a fourth wall when they set up on the floor, feeding off the disheveled and energized masses as much as the crowd soaks up everything they have to offer. It’s truly an amazing thing. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Wonderful Rainbow</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> is a brilliant record and has upped the ante tremendously for Lightning Bolt. They managed to take every single aspect that made </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Ride the Skies</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> such a great record and intensify it severely, all the while showcasing incredibly tight and complex musicianship – knowing when to hold in the reins and when to set them on fire. And yet it all seems so effortless. Every time I listen to them I feel like I just stumbled into the practice space of the greatest band in the world, only one that doesn’t know it or care. They just hammer away making music for the pure unadulterated fun of it, while all I can do is sit here and think, “Oh shit.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="justify"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">(source: DustedMagazine)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p class="justify"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/04/lightning-bolt-wonderful-rainbow-load.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“At its best, though, this album is like having a beautiful girl hit you repeatedly over the head with a baseball bat. Imagine all the best aspects of Fred Frith, Derek Bailey, the Ruins, Slayer, and Ornette Coleman all thrown into a blender together. Then imagine them on speed. This one's a keeper.”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-52890477649422843212008-04-14T23:57:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:36:32.533-07:00Deerhoof "Milk Man" (Kill Rock Stars, 2004)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjk1bbcM9TQA58hGT1Zo2ZsgUP_PuBmuyKFbv_SUgF_HY_Zu5khBNKLhmQdnYruidMQjLIHl_ap9xaD4v46qiEpEO3V8CiER9QZGAAPFk95ZhahQxQGUTTUu8QkFbTmYZbuwTMwy50vjW/s1600-h/milkman.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjk1bbcM9TQA58hGT1Zo2ZsgUP_PuBmuyKFbv_SUgF_HY_Zu5khBNKLhmQdnYruidMQjLIHl_ap9xaD4v46qiEpEO3V8CiER9QZGAAPFk95ZhahQxQGUTTUu8QkFbTmYZbuwTMwy50vjW/s320/milkman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189366478218610530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Deerhoof<br />Album: "Milk Man"<br />Release Date: 9 March 2004<br />Label: Kill Rock Stars<br />Genre: Indie-Rock, Noise-Pop, Experimental-Rock<br />Mood: Energetic, Irreverent, Naive, Innocent<br />Reminds Of: Erase Errata, The Microphones, The Breeders<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=10776874371140725">SplendindMagazine</a>, <a href="http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1330">DustedMagazine</a>, <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/d/deerhoof-milkman.shtml">PopMatters</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6674258/a/Milk+Man.htm">CdUniverse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milk-Man-Deerhoof/dp/B0001EFV6I">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Milk Man<br />2. Giga Dance<br />3. Desaparecere<br />4. Rainbow Silhouette Of The Milky Rain<br />5. Dog On The Sidewalk<br />6. C<br />7. Milking<br />8. Dream Wanderer's Tune<br />9. Song Of Sorn<br />10. That Big Orange Sun Run Over Speed Light<br />11. New Sneakers<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Deerhoof follows </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Apple O'</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, an album that won the group ever-growing critical and popular acclaim, with </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, an album even more conceptual and song-oriented than its predecessor. Inspired by the spooky yet adorable work of illustrator Ken Kagami -- whose art graces the album's cover and liner notes -- </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> tells the tale of a masked, pied piper-like being who lures children into his dreamland and then traps them there. The vision and the visuals surrounding the album are a perfect fit with Deerhoof's music, and, perhaps befitting </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s status as a concept album, this time around the band incorporates more prog rock-like keyboards and other electronics into its sound. The pretty ballad "Dream Wanderer's Tune," with its lyrics about kings in castles in the sky and its playfully elaborate keyboards, exemplifies Deerhoof's move to more intricate, contemplative music. Since the album is relatively restrained, it's not quite as buoyant as </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Apple O'</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> or </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Reveille</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, and it lacks a little bit of the delirious overload of Deerhoof's earliest work, but that doesn't mean that it's less distinctive. "Desapareceré" is one of </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s best and most unique tracks, mixing clicking and shuffling electronic drums with sugary synths and Spanish lyrics into a very different take on electronic pop; "Dog on the Sidewalk" consists mostly of bubbling and fizzing electronics and Satomi Matsuzaki's deceptively simple vocals. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> does have its fair share of noise, particularly on the instrumentals "Rainbow Silhouette of the Milky Rain" and "That Big Orange Sun Run Over Speed Light," as well as on "Song of Sorn," which starts out as a burst of noise and ends up oddly, but distinctly, poppy. This poppiness is responsible for many of </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'s best moments, including the sunny title track and "Milking" -- which are among the most straightforwardly melodic songs Deerhoof have ever written -- as well as the sweet final track, "New Sneakers," which does indeed capture the childlike glee of new shoes in lyrics like "Skipping all over with these shoes/Oh speed." </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> isn't all sweetness and light, though: Greg Saunier's lumbering drumming adds an extra edge to the monster party that is "Giga Dance"; "C"'s brittle vocal melody is mirrored by guitars that are pretty at first but then turn loud and thrashy. But even in its louder moments, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk Man</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> is a surprisingly subtle album, and one that takes Deerhoof's music in quietly exciting new directions.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(source: AllMusicGuide)</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“A perfect album, except perfect is the wrong word for a band so dedicated to kitchen-sink oddness.” [SPIN, Mar 2004, p.96]</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“So horribly untrendy it’s a new-black must-have, ‘Milk Man’ is the essential oddity of 2004, and a more-than-worthy successor to 2003’s magnificent ‘Apple O’’.” [LOGO]</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“The album is most similar to Apple O', but while Apple O' seemed to have a somewhat lethargic quality, Milk Man sounds fresh and fully inviting. And it's a lot better.” [TINY MIX TAPES]</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/04/deerhoof-milk-man-kill-rock-stars-2004.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“Near-telepathic singularity of thought…”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-17370930024715100782008-04-12T06:50:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:39:45.400-07:00Bat For Lashes "Fur And Gold" (Echo Records, 2006)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzr4Ei_UxoAF5NGiLGjR-DBfKBge1O121y4MmoFY-63ZmnW-GE8JWwd7Umie0G3rYjvvTGVtBs-DLcPoOLGjBHYwHScaZQc0_xdvCPRAtciX9lcpVIqEIGPN6rpvWNTFsIb0NkUHcNiDW/s1600-h/batforlashes.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzr4Ei_UxoAF5NGiLGjR-DBfKBge1O121y4MmoFY-63ZmnW-GE8JWwd7Umie0G3rYjvvTGVtBs-DLcPoOLGjBHYwHScaZQc0_xdvCPRAtciX9lcpVIqEIGPN6rpvWNTFsIb0NkUHcNiDW/s320/batforlashes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188357907065817970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Bat For Lashes<br />Album: "Fur And Gold"<br />Release Date: 11 September 2006<br />Label: Echo Records<br />Genre: Indie-Electronic, Folktronica, Freak-Folk, Singer-Songwriter<br />Mood: Gloomy, Bittersweet, Austere, Intimate<br />Reminds Of: Cat Power, Bjork, Pj Harvey, Kate Bush<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=15009&c=3">FilterMagazine</a>, <a href="http://www.calendarlive.com/music/reviews/cl-ca-rack29jul29bat,0,5213084.story?coll=cl-albumreviews">LATimes</a>, <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1222">SlantMagazine</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/3433858/-/Product.html?source=689&Cur=257">Play</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fur-Gold-Bat-Lashes/dp/B000RHRFUO">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. Horse And I<br />2. Trophy<br />3. Tahiti<br />4. What's A Girl To Do<br />5. Sad Eyes<br />6. Wizard<br />7. Prescilla<br />8. Bat's Mouth<br />9. Seal Jubilee<br />10. Sarah<br />11. I Saw A Light<br /><br /></span> <p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Bat For Lashes</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, the musical alter-ego of one Natasha Khan, has attracted much (inevitable) comparison to Björk and Kate Bush, and to some extent this holds water. There’s the same maverick female singer-songwriter thing going on, and Bat For Lashes has the same love of wrapping raw emotion in surprising sounds and arrangements so that the impact jumps out at you from several different angles at once. However, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Fur and Gold</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> is far from an influence-hugging act of mimicry: the sound couldn’t possibly be stolen goods when it’s so exactly sculpted to fit Khan’s voice. Her vocal, whether in soft/atmospheric or bold and striking mode, always fits perfectly into the fabric of the music, adding to and becoming part of the atmosphere rather than superimposing itself over it. Around and between the vocals, seemingly delicate instrumentation is woven together in such a way as to lend it a complex, layered strength. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Fur and Gold</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> doesn’t so much use hooks as suggest them: whispering hints of melody, shared out between the violin, harpsichord and oddly mechanical sounding handclaps, provide enough of a tune to let the song worm its way firmly into your mind without ever overwhelming the atmospheric complexity of the whole. And that coherent atmosphere is the root of </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Fur and Gold</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">’s power. By welding the mysticism, dream imagery and fairytale* quality of the lyrical content to the ethereal yet powerful music, an emotional rawness is balanced by a sense of distance and mystery which persists through repeated listens without feeling tired or spent. Although occasional slips into a more conventional or less complex sound sometimes loosen the album’s grip on the listener, it’s never long before the spell re-establishes itself. An entrancing, wonderfully surprising record which manages to feel both refreshing new and strangely timeless. </span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">(source: DrownedInSound)</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Fur and Gold announces Natasha Khan's Bat For Lashes as a talent impossible to ignore and beguiling to behold, an album that, time and again, plucks one away from the mundane and offers a bewitching alternative galaxy of delights.” [MUSICOHM.COM]</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Bat For Lashes' debut, Fur And Gold, is an album that delivers the listener from any form of humdrum existence into a deeper realm of dream and dementia.” [HOT PRESS]</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“Fur and Gold is not the greatest album of the 2007, but it’s certainly the most breathtaking.” [POP MATTERS]</span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/04/bat-for-lashes-fur-and-gold-echo.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“But we do the dishes, we make the bread, we are powdered ashes in the light of the beauty…”</span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787391347954027825.post-63165840836769858672008-04-09T22:12:00.000-07:002008-10-29T07:42:08.542-07:00Frog Eyes "The Golden River" (Animal World, 2003)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZhfGEDY1a1HIJC4thghn_7U5BFDRa7P9nmk21b9vFSTg_Bz64caDH-xBYaIs_8A4Kg4YtmbxP5PYF-0DgOV3Oc7_P0k0ctX6SUe9VA8vHGlwxVOTpHQQor4tYv1Oq1Ooo_Lx9TjBbHMQ/s1600-h/thegoldenriver.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZhfGEDY1a1HIJC4thghn_7U5BFDRa7P9nmk21b9vFSTg_Bz64caDH-xBYaIs_8A4Kg4YtmbxP5PYF-0DgOV3Oc7_P0k0ctX6SUe9VA8vHGlwxVOTpHQQor4tYv1Oq1Ooo_Lx9TjBbHMQ/s320/thegoldenriver.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187480861859072866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Artist: Frog Eyes<br />Album: "The Golden River"<br />Release Date: 1 July 2003<br />Label: Animal World<br />Genre: Indie-Rock, Experimental-Rock, New-Wave, Post-Punk<br />Mood: Nihilistic, Manic, Angst-Ridden, Theatrical<br />Reminds Of: Destroyer, Captain Beefheart, 16 Horsepower<br />What People Think: <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:axfuxq8ald6e">AllMusicGuide</a>, <a href="http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1035">DustedMagazine</a><br />Definitely Worth Buying: <a href="http://www.insound.com/Frog_Eyes_The_Golden_River_MP3/productmain/p/INS32206/">InSound</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Golden-River-Frog-Eyes/dp/B000ERU518">Amazon</a><br /><br />Tracklist<br />1. One In Six Children Will Flee In Boats<br />2. Time Reveals Its Plan At Poisoned Falls<br />3. Masticated Outboard Motors<br />4. Miasma Gardens<br />5. A Latex Ice Age<br />6. Orbis Magnes<br />7. Time Destroys Its Plan At The Reactionary Table<br />8. Soldiers Crash Gathering In Sparrow Hills<br />9. World's Greatest Concertos<br />10. Picture Framing The Gigantic Men Who Fought On Steam Boats<br />11. The Secret Map Flees From Plurality<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It's unfortunate that imagination is so frequently seen as antithetical to sincerity. We expect personal truths and broad revelations from musicians, but we often expect these insights should be delivered through a mundane, relatable form of honesty. Sure, singers often borrow words, ideas and emotions from the experiences of others, ranging from friends and family to long-dead or non-existent cultural and historical figures. But these identities are almost always kept somehow separate from that of the singer, who in turn manipulates these secondary personas into acceptable personal statements and observations. Though Carey Mercer's voice is heard throughout </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Golden River</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, the identity of the album's narrator always seems to be shifting and slipping. The album is less a work of cognizant storytelling than a fever dream. Personal and cultural memory bleed together, as Mercer spins fractured images lifted straight from the pages of Grimm Brothers fairy tales and Homeric Epics. And yet, nothing about </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Golden River</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> seems contrived or gratuitously literary: its otherworldly sonic and lyric richness is matched at every turn by the striking immediacy of Mercer's wide-eyed delivery. The result is a record every bit as stunning and imaginative as it is memorable and affecting, and one of the most unique and interesting I've heard in ages. "One in Six Children Will Flee in Boats" opens the album with a flimsy, strummed guitar figure that's immediately, strikingly overshadowed by Mercer's breathy gasp. Suddenly, a rich swell of guitar, drums, and keyboards evokes a grandiosity bringing to mind glam-era </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Bowie</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">; Mercer captures the Thin White Duke's anthemic and melodic delivery, but couples it with a frenzied, grizzled intensity and the gruff, world-weary sensibility of Tom Waits. Mercer matches this intensity lyrically, singing "Over that ridge, a hunter lives/ Stake him out with broken gifts/ By the light, by the merry men/ Who gave his lives when he gave knives to children/ Raise him up, stake him up/ Grab the sun and drink his blood in cups!" Out of context, it may seem nonsensical, but the conviction with which Mercer sings renders it an unnervingly powerful image. After an ethereal instrumental break, "Time Reveals Its Plan at </span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Poisoned</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Falls</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">" plays up the operatic nature of Mercer's voice, as he rattles off funhouse mirror images of a royal court and hissed accusations of jealousy. Rather than simply sounding crazy, he conveys the doomed frenzy of a prophet. About halfway through the song, he sings as if possessed by the spirit of the monarch whose death he has forseen: "I'm the head of the queen/ I float around the night unseen/ And I know when to scream 'oh baby wake up!'" At a mere 1:29, "Time Reveals Its Plan at </span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Poisoned</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Falls</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">" is both a vivid fantasy and a desperate plea to return to consciousness and reality, a potent juxtaposition that Mercer hints at throughout the record. A procession of similarly strong songs follows, each one sonically rich and brimming with melody and imagination. Only "Orbis Magnus" temporarily shifts the tone of the record to one of unadulterated, introspective sadness. In a subdued mumble, Mercer intones: "You can have boyfriends, but not men/ You want your words to be penned/ There's women on the barge, on the waters that bend." Here, Mercer seems to embody the timeless trope of the lonely monster, his previous outbursts reduced to a barely-contained air of self-loathing. </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Golden River</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> closes with two of its strongest tracks. "World's Greatest Concertos" is a fit of gleeful self-destruction, as if Mercer has finally been driven mad by the images he has seen, shouting "Encapsulate the body and emasculate the body/ And hold the burning waters, the tubs of burning waters/ Holiday!/ The trees are bones and dipped in wazing burning cones and call a celebration/ The master's burnt in his burning station." Mercer's shrieking falsetto it segues into the sublime "Picture Framing the Gigantic Men Who Fought on Steam Boats", the most beautiful song on </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Golden River</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> and also quite possibly the most unsettling. The vocals are slightly more subdued here, cushioned by breathy backup singing provided by Carolyn Mark. Right before it ends, "Picture Framing" takes on a somber and ominous tone, as Mercer repeats, "I'll keep on sailing on/ Until the rosy-pink dawn," cleverly citing a Homeric epithet to suggest that his voyage will, in fact, never really end. It's a stunning moment of resignation, as the narrator accepts his place in this terrifyingly vivid fantasy world. This album seems to exist in a world apart from our own. From Melanie Campbell's insistent, simple, and often strangely cartoonish drumming to Carey Mercer's fantastical lyrics and overwrought delivery, </span></span><i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Golden River</span></span></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> taps directly into your imagination, short-circuiting any traditional notions of what should constitute "sincere" and "emotional" music. These songs are the lost soundtracks to those frantic, epic dreams that you can never remember in their entirety, but stay with you for the rest of your life.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">(source: PitchforkMedia)</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://deathoftheleftunfinished.blogspot.com/2008/04/frog-eyes-golden-river-animal-world.html"><span style=""><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“It is all about a world that is both idiosyncratically imagined and unsettlingly relevant...”</span></span></span></a></p>myrkursolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191609461280373262noreply@blogger.com1