Youth and Death

One reason Humans remain young so long, compar'd to other creatures, is that the young are useful in many ways, among them in providing daily, by way of the evil Creatures and Slaughter they love, a Denial of Mortality clamorous enough to allow their Elders release, if only for moments at a time, from Its Claims upon the Attention. (Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon, p. 37)

Reading List, Week of 2014-06-08

Reading List 2014-06-09:

*Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart (started)
*Miracles: Poems by Children of the English-Speaking World. Collected by Richard Lewis (started)
*Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Laughing Policeman (started/finished)
*Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Man on the Balcony (started/finished)
*Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Man Who Went up in Smoke (started/finished)
*Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. Roseanna (started/finished)
*Perry, Thomas. Poison Flower (finished)
*Stebbins, Jon. The Beach Boys FAQ (finished)

I started this wonderful series of Martin Beck mysteries: ten Swedish novels from the late '60s and early '70s that basically defined the police procedural, collectively known as The Story of a Crime. "Started," as in: devoured.

Playlist, Week of 2014-06-08

Playlist 2014-06-09:

*League of Automatic Music Composers: The League of Automatic Music Composers, 1978-1983
*Muhal Richard Abrams: 1986-03-28 Charlottesville VA (cassette)
*AMM: The Crypt: 12th June 1968, The Complete Session
*AMM: 1988-01 BBC Maida Vale Studios (CDR)
*AMM: 1990-03-31 Zurich (CDR)
*AMM: Uncovered Correspondence
*Anthony Braxton Quartet: 1983-10-01 Mulhouse, France (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome Project: 2010-01-31 Vancouver (CDR) (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: 1973-11-03 Vienna (CDR)
*Miles Davis: 1973-11-15 Paris (CDR)
*Miles Davis: 1974-01-26 Willimantic, CT (CDR)
*David Fiuczynski: Planet Microjam
*Ganelin Trio: Baltic Triangle (side 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Duets with Tyshawn Sorey and Special Guest Hugh Ragin
*Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris: Testament: A Conduction Collection "Conduction 22, Documenta: Gloves & Mitts, Part 1”
*Oliver Nelson: Blues and the Abstract Truth
*William Parker: Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy
*S.O.S.: Looking for the Next One
*Various artists: That's What I Call Sweet Music: American Dance Orchestras of the 1920s
*Beach Boys: That’s Why God Made the Radio
*Archie Bell & the Drells: Tighten Up
*Scott Brookman: Smellicopter (selections)
*Scott Brookman (unreleased selections 2014)
*James Brown: Motherlode (selections)
*Guided By Voices: Under the Bushes Under the Stars
*Guided By Voices: Hold on Hope
*Lucia Pamela: Into Outer Space with Lucia Pamela (selections)
*Kelley Stoltz: Double Exposure
*Lewis Taylor: The Lost Album (selections)
*UYA: Hairpin (cassette>wav) (side B)
*Various artists: Bolus of Pop Chyme/7-Inchers of Pleasure (cassette compilation)
*Who: The Who Sell Out (1995 reissue)

War, Peace, and Pierre

Gordon Thomas is one of the best film writers out there.  He has written an excellent review of one of my favorite films: Sergei Bondarchuk's excellent 7-hour epic War and Peace.  Check it out here!



This is the version I have. Evidently there was also a UK version put out by Artificial Eye, but it's out of print. The Ruscico version is still around and is well worth it.

And look here for more of Gordon's film writing for Bright Lights Film Journal.

Playlist, Week of 2014-06-01

Playlist 2014-06-02:

*AMM with John Butcher: Trinity
*Miles Davis: 1973-10-29 Copenhagen (CDR)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1936-1940 Variety, Vocalion, and Okeh Small Group Sessions (disc 6)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 2: Studio Sessions Chicago 1957, New York 1962
*Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (disc 3)
*Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound Ensemble: Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin’ Shoes
*Parker/Guy/Lytton/Schlippenbach Trio: 2x3=5
*Subtle Body Transmission Orchestra: 2013-10-05 Atlas, Washington, DC (video>mp3)
*Subtle Body Transmission Orchestra: 2014-05-03 Mt. Rainier, MD (video>mp3)
*Sun Ra: Discipline I (cassette compilation)
*John Zorn/Yamantaka Eye: Nani Nani
*John Zorn: Astaroth: Book of Angels Vol. 1: Jamie Saft Trio Plays Masada Book Two
*Acid Mothers Temple: Pataphisical Freak Out MU!!
*Lily Allen: Alright, Still
*Scott Brookman (unreleased selections 2014)
*Roky Erickson & the Aliens: The Evil One
*Guided By Voices: Class Clown Spots a UFO
*Robert Pollard: Mouseman Cloud
*Yellow Dress: Faint Music//Ordinary Light (streaming)

Every time I listen to Roscoe Mitchell I am reminded that I don't listen to him enough! Of course, that's true for many artists I listen to. Still, this one's one of my favorites: marches, funk, abstract sound, free bop, and as always: Mitchell's sometime acerbic, always gut-bucket/free/powerful playing. He's definitely one of my all-time favorite saxophonists.

Reading List, 2014-06-01

Reading List 2014-06-02:

*Perry, Thomas. Poison Flower (started)
*Clowes, Daniel. The Death-Ray (started/finished)
*Sanson, Matthew. “Imaging Music: Abstract Expressionism and Free Improvisation,”  in Leonardo Music Journal, 2001 (started/finished)
*Coover, Robert. The Adventures of Lucky Pierre: Directors' Cut (finished)
*Stebbins, Jon. The Beach Boys FAQ (in progress)

Records Create the Landscape

In response to my quote about AMM and the importance of documentation, Dan Barbiero responded with his review of this book that deals with how recordings of the early experimental music of John Cage and others helped shape and exert its influence. There are some interesting thoughts here, and Dan teases them out nicely. I've often been impatient with those who say that recordings can never capture the experience of being at a performance and hearing the music live. In so many ways, that goes without saying, but on the other hand, I'd rather listen to a recording of a Charlie Parker performance from 1948 than read about it. Thank goodness someone was there pushing the buttons. I am glad to have recordings of me and my brother from 1977. We did a lot of stuff together, more than I can remember, but I can at least approach some of that sonic intensity through the magic of tape.