ning nong says

2009-05-23T09:47:00.001-07:00

The new Taiga Remains/RV Paintings split LP on UK label Blackest Rainbow is one of the finest drone-related records I have heard in some time. Both artists deliver dense side-long pieces that are full of tension. It's refreshing to hear a drone-based record that is miles away from the current wave of synth-obsessed borderline-New Age projects that seem to be popping up weekly (although I like some of that stuff as well...). Both of these sides present a darker and more organic approach, which is more in line with classic scrape-and-creak recordings by Organum and Andrew Chalk. The RV Paintings CD on Root Strata was excellent, and the piece featured here, "Emission Spectrum", of similar high quality. The four person group (including Brian Pyle of Starving Weirdos, whose new CD Into An Energy on Bo'Weavil is also excellent) uses all manner of acoustic instruments (cello, harmonium, percussion, etc) to create a thick, shifting, ominous cloud of drone activity. The Taiga Remains side, "Mengku From Mensa" is a gorgeous piece involving sole member Alex Cobb (who runs the excellent Students Of Decay label) playing guitars, electronics and objects. I'm not always the biggest fan of the Split LP format (where do you file them?), but when the sides are this well matched and as solid as both these projects, the format is irrelevant.

A Greater Escape

2008-12-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

The self-titled debut LP by The Good, The Bad & The Queen, released in 2007, is a far greater achievement than might be expected, given the group's lineup. Masterminded by ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn, the group also includes Paul Simonon (former bassist for The Clash), Simon Tong (second guitarist in The Verve), and pioneering drummer Tony Allen (Fela Kuti's saving grace). Although that does sound like a supergroup, seriously: when was the last time Simonon's name was attached to something forward-thinking (Havana 3AM anyone?)? And, sure, I liked Blur when I was in my late teens, but I haven't been able to revisit much of their output in the last 10 years. The idea, however, that Tony Allen's peerless drumming is what would give relevance to this gang of British Pop used-to-be's is entirely wide of the mark. In the footage I have seen of the group, Albarn is clearly having some "classic British bad teeth" issues. The guy is clearly a lifetime away from chasing the pop stardom he once achieved in Blur. His songwriting for The Good, The Bad & The Queen inhabits a distinctly melancholy universe, while the album somehow comes off as uplifting. It is precisely this tension that makes the LP such a success. A moody affair from start to finish, the album features many inspired textural effects from Albarn and Tong, using organ, melodica and general atmospheric sound to enhance the pop group structure. Simonon plays to his strengths, keeping a steady, dub-inspired feel throughout, reminiscent of "The Guns Of Brixton". This helps to ensure an ominous tone, and also gives Allen room to flourish. Having said that he is not the focal point of the group, Allen's effortless-sounding rhythms certainly add a unique feel to many of Albarn's strong songs. His playing has a feel that sits in a strange zone in between a shuffle and a straight four, and the complex rhythms he invents sound as if they just tumble right out of his head. Several of the songs either feature no drums at all, or include Allen only in codas. The sparse nature of the instrumentation allows for each nuance that IS added to have maximum effect. The idea that Dangermouse has done post-production sounds like a nightmare, but he also shows restraint and only adds to the affair, especially on "Herculean". It's curious that although Albarn had a hand in starting the Honest Jon's label (which co-released this LP with EMI), he doesn't merely draw on it's roster, or it's World Music leanings, for The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Although Allen is an Honest Jon's mainstay at this point, the rest of the lineup have been brought into what must have been a truly unique and challenging situation. Rather than sounding like Albarn's reflection of the Honest Jon's universe, this LP simply sounds like the product of a man who has matured, and is drawing on seemingly disparate elements to realize a unique vision. I really hope it's not a one-off.

Microcastle

2008-10-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Deerhunter's new album(s) Microcastle/Weird Era Continued strike just the right balance between simple pop songwriting and complex arrangements. When Microcastle was leaked on the Internet, leader Bradford Cox decided to include an entire new album as a bonus CD with physical copies of the album. Rather than just an extra CD full of outtakes, live tracks or other throwaway material, Weird Era Continued is just as solid as Microcastle itself, containing 13 tracks in 42 minutes. Cox's strength is that he adds to his already-strong songwriting by using textures from a variety of influences, while not merely reconstructing others' achievements. I was struck by the fact that on Cox's blog his downloadable mix CDs always feature a Beach Boys tune. It is only with this reference that the Beach Boys influence becomes apparent in his own arrangements, which also owe a lot to the hazy indie rock of the early to mid 90's. Clearly he uses these influences as tools in a greater whole, rather than trying to recreate Pet Sounds (or Loveless) exactly, as someone such as Sean O'Hagan has built his entire career on. The greatest modern pop music is a synthesis of many styles, but still reflects the mind of it's creator, and Cox seems to achieve this effortlessly. The "Be My Baby" drum pattern of "Vox Humana" works so well because it is only a small element of the otherwise un-Spector-like song, and the only example of such direct quoting on the entire double CD. In this era of quick duplication and oversaturation by a constant flood of CDr and cassette releases (even sometimes from "rock" bands, not just Noise artists), it's refreshing to see someone take a year or more between LPs and make them as rewarding as Microcastle/Weird Era Continued.

germs

2008-08-31T12:29:00.001-07:00

I've been catching up on listening to/learning about L.A. punk lately. I saw The Germs movie with a friend who was actually there at the time. This was a fortunate thing, because I got asides like "No one would have been singing along at their shows" and "that club had NO lights or curtains". It's frustrating that the film makes Darby out to be a triumphant rock star, at least at times, in full control of his faculties on stage, captivating the audience. Watching the actual footage of the band from The Decline Of Western Civilization shows that this was clearly not the case. Although the biopic was a polished let down in many ways, it sparked my interest in the actual group, and I am now reading the book "Lexicon Devil" about Darby Crash and The Germs, with the L.A. Punk overview "We Got The Neutron Bomb" next in the pile. Listening to the Germs (G I) LP, the thing I find most striking is that Crash is at once barely coherent/the weak link, AND the focal point/strength of the group. Without such a solid band behind him he surely would have appeared more wasteoid than visionary. Pat Smear must be one of the most underrated guitarists of the original punk era, and Don Bolles is a solid and inventive drummer. Lorna Doom certainly got by, having never picked up a bass before their first shambolic gig. Although there is so much music out there today that's exciting, it's frustrating that 1977 is something that will never happen again. Any number of bands can recreate the sound and look of times gone by, but there's something magical about the first time someone took a musical style to the next level. Sure, Crash and friends were influenced by Bowie and Iggy, but the heights they took that influence to provoked an excitement I can never truly experience. It's promising, though, to still find large areas of music history that I somehow missed.

hobble nong

2008-07-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

I twisted my ankle in the 1st half of tonight's basketball game but we won 100-87 so it's OK. When I got home I hobbled into the other room and got out Tarkus by ELP. I don't think I'd give this record so much leeway if I wasn't a drummer. Carl Palmer's got it...

honest

2008-07-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Honest Jon's label of the UK is really on a roll right now. In the last 6 months they have released a fantastic Algerian traditional music CD, several amazing Tony Allen remix/rework 12"s (highlights from the series are collected on a recent CD/2LP), a CD/2LP of West African music in the UK from the late 20's, and the lush debut CD by chanteuse Simone White. Their forthcoming titles are just as exciting. These include the imminent release of a collection of early 78s from the EMI Archives and a collection of music from Baghdad from the late 20's, and later an album by The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (all 7 are sons of Sun Ra trumpeter Phil Cohran). Last night at The Lincoln Center in New York City label co-founder Damon Albarn pulled together the various interests of the label and presented a fantastic 2 hour performance under the banner "Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's Revue". It's remarkable how well the 20-odd performers from various countries and musical styles worked together. They were all on stage for the duration of the single long set, and performed in different combinations, some also solo. Present were Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Afel Bocoum, Kokanko Sata, Lobi Traore, Simone White, Candi Staton and band, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, guitarist Simon Tong and, oddly, Victoria Williams. The Revue format worked extremely well for the Honest Jon's stable. Southern Soul singer Candi Staton, who has released new material through the label, as well a compliation of her late 60's/70's work, seemed especially at home in the Revue context. A highlight of the set was hearing The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble perform "Sankofa" (a standout track on the recent Allen remix/rework comp) with Tony Allen on live drums. The seven horn players have a generally bad-ass vibe about them and proved that they are a devastating unit, capable of playing in a classic Afrobeat style on Tony Allen's numbers, while also making Victoria Williams's caterwauling almost bearable by providing a tasteful backdrop. The night succeeded in presenting an overview of the label's far-reaching diversity. As the crowd was being seated, the late Moondog was being played over the sound system, from a compilation of his work released on Honest Jon's. Sure enough, during the show Albarn, Staton's drummer and the Hypnotic Brass performed a version of his "Rabbit Hop", after which Albarn announced that it was a Moondog tune and that he had "lived just up the road". Newcomer Simone White dazzled the audience with 2 solo numbers, one from her solo debut CD I Am The Man and one I did not recognize. Kokanko Sata, Lobi Traore and Afel Bocoum all appeared on Albarn's Mali Music album, which launched the label in 2002. Sata plays a traditional eight-stringed lute, and is said to be the only woman who is capable of playing this difficult instrument. Bocoum had the appearance of a Malian John Lee Hooker. Damon's contribution, aside from the obvious organizational duties, was understated. He mostly provided organ and melodica accompaniment, and danced a lot. The closing number was the only one he sang on, and it tied the evening together with a big blowout at the end. No encore, no intermission. Everyone seemed pleased, as well they should have.

Heavy jams

2008-06-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

My life is a complicated web of amplifier moving.

suicide

2008-06-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

UK label Blast First (Petite) has just issued a box set of live Suicide recordings from 1977-78. I had the fortune of being tortured by hearing all 6 CDs (with 2 or 3 shows on each) within a two-day period. Although I will never really know what it was like to have been there while all manner of blunt, and not-so-blunt, objects were being thrown at the band (Jim Reid of The Jesus And Mary Chain confirmed that an axe indeed went whizzing by Martin Rev's head in Scotland - an AXE!), the set definitely captures the general atmosphere of tension during these opening-slot assaults. The only previously (legally) released set included is the infamous "23 Minutes Over Brussels", during which rabid Belgian Elvis Costello fans interrupted "Frankie Teardrop" with abuse and general malcontent, which escalated into a full-on riot. The chronological presentation of the shows is enlightening. By the time the lengthy Noise number "Harlem" was added to the set the duo had become an ugly, road-weary force to be reckoned with. The sound quality varies, as can be expected, but the historical importance of these amazing performances makes it worth it. The live versions of familiar first-album tracks like "Cheree" and "Rocket USA" make the debut album itself sound quite slick. A key component to Suicide's success was that they fed off the crowd's negative energy and spit it back at them, and this major part of their story doesn't come across on studio albums. The brilliance of their unique sound is that it references the most classic rock-and-roll while sounding utterly alien and inventive. My favorite Suicide story is the one in which they showed up to a huge stadium show, opening for The Cars, and unloaded one keyboard and one amplifier from a tiny car. They bewildered, and even angered, The Cars road crew before playing one note. If you get the urge to hurl an axe at your stereo, just remember you can always take the CD out and put in This Year's Model.

Innards

2008-05-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

A small cut I didn't know I had on the top of my head started bleeding (just a little) while I was listening to the new Oscillating Innards CD on Troniks.

Stump Removal

2008-05-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

Although there were many other amazing sets, Saturday night at No Fun Fest was owned by The Nevari Butchers at the early hour of 8PM. When Aaron Dilloway told me last week that "I've just been in the driveway playing a wheelbarrow and shovel and it sounds GOOD. I think I'm gonna ditch the synth and bring this stuff to No Fun", I thought he was joking. When I began making my way up the stairs to the main stage, halfway through a great set by Pax Titania, I had no idea that I would actually see said garden equipment all miked up, next to a table of electronics and a synthesizer. Having the right combination of gear is one thing, but what Dilloway and cellist Hans Buetow unleashed was nothing short of genius Modern Composition. The set began with Dilloway scraping the insides of the wheelbarrow with a large metal shovel, and slowly evolved into ominous cacophony. Buetow, mostly known for his role in John Olson's Graveyards, coaxed sounds out of his cello that no one in the room thought possible. Dilloway spent the middle section of the piece adding sparse shards of noise to doom-laden synth patterns reminiscent of his Spine Scavenger project. By the end of the set he was back cultivating aural mayhem with the wheelbarrow, bringing the piece to a dizzying finish. It's heartening to see that becoming a father has only given him new, and quite unique, inspiration for his art. Don't let him near your shrubbery though...

I

2008-05-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have never chewed a piece of gum.

True Psychedelic Noise

2008-05-10T17:24:00.001-07:00

Far too many albums are referred to as "psychedelic" these days. Many of these releases, especially reissues, consist instead of mediocre blues-based rock and roll. The Fall Of Nature, the new one-track CD by UK duo Sutcliffe Jügend, is truly psychedelic noise music, in that it is a thoroughly disorienting listening experience. After a gradual 5-minute fade-in, the group engage in 35 minutes of dense drone layering, forming a solid, yet shifting mass of sound. This tactic is an about-face from the last SJ offering, 2007's This Is The Truth, which assaulted the senses via several shorter blasts of shrill feedback, manic vocal shrieking, and what is commonly referred to as "power electronics". Although the last 18 minutes do include those elements, The Fall Of Nature is a triumph which shows that SJ have more depth and diversity than some may have imagined. And you don't need to be mellowing out under a blacklight poster of Father Yod for it to make you feel far out.

Education

2008-05-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

I wish that upon graduation from High School I was handed a black and white photocopy of the Nurse With Wound List in place of a diploma.

Today

2008-05-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to IKEA, the place where relationships are put to the test.

True Sun Worship

2008-05-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hartmut Geerken compiled and self-published a hardcover discography of Sun Ra's recorded output that is exhaustive, and includes pictures of many handmade Saturn LPs. I have been told that the book is now so rare that even if I was wearing the thickest gloves I could not touch it. When I first saw the recent 2XLP by Geerken on the Italian Qbico label, I was taken by the black and white photos of him looking like some kind of wild-yet-benevolent, psychedelic viking. Amanita was recorded in 1995, and features Geerken playing a Sun Harp GIVEN TO HIM by Sun Ra. The first 2 sides of the album find Geerken strumming the thing incessantly and letting out a few howls here and there. This is pure expression. Side 3 includes shorter pieces that are the real gems. On this side we hear what could pass for a field recording of an old man fumbling for lost keys amidst a pile of stringed instruments and rusty pipes, while vocalizing in a style that would not be out of place on the Revue OU box set. Had sides 3 and 4 not saved the set from being monotonous cacophony, this set would still hold value for me as a conceptual artistic expression of one's reverence for an important figure, using a primary physical object in a symbolic fashion. If the set seems expensive, just remember it is the least expensive item available with Geerken's name on it. As long as you wash the mustard off your hands, you can even manhandle mine without gloves on.

Crackers

2008-05-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

My favorite kind of snack crackers are Bremner Wafers (the plain ones).

True Soul Seekers

2008-05-03T12:42:00.001-07:00

I have not been overly impressed by the musical content of most of the releases being issued by The Numero Group, although their packaging and design is fantastic. I consider it to be a venture established to expose under-appreciated and little-known Soul labels. While this is a jackpot for the Soul enthusiast, I could stick with Stax, Chic and other better-known examples of the genre and have enough of this type of music in my busy life. However, the new Numero CD (Numero 21, soon to be released on vinyl as well) Soul Messages From Dimona, is significant on another level. It's a compilation that focuses on the original music recorded in the 1970's by a group of African-American Hebrews who relocated from Chicago and Detroit to Dimona, Israel. Not only is it amazing that these people uprooted their lives in order to follow their beliefs, but the music is also amazing. Like Sun Ra, they abstained from drink and drugs, thus avoiding one of the major stereoytypes associated with music-based culture. Also similar to the Arkestra, they were known to engage in rigorous all-day practice sessions. I am not a follower of "religion", but these people's devotion is compelling. Also, the picture on the front of the slipcase, which depicts many of the players dressed in robes and turbans, makes The Polyphonic Spree look like they're on their way to a Halloween party.

Today

2008-05-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today I stepped on a nail sticking out of the floor in my loft.

True 1977 Punk Rock

2008-05-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Much has been said about the Japanese band Les Rallizes Dénudés by those who seek to have their senses overwhelmed by heavy, noisy rock music. I had heard them, and been somewhat unconvinced, on dozens of occasions before they finally melted my mind. Although there are several grey-area CD sets documenting their legendary performances, there is only ONE that I have heard (so far) that is just the right side of lo-fi-yet-clearly-recorded. le mars 1977 à Tachikawa (2XCD, Over Level) captures the band at the height of it's powers. It is mind-boggling to think that this was happening in the year that was ground zero for "punk rock". This music is about a hundred times "punker" than anything that was going on in London at The Roxy that year (no slight to Pink Flag, of course...). The group's signature sound not only features ear-splitting feedback guitar, but often layers this on top off bass lines lifted from girl-group hits (CD1, track 2) and the general feel of hazy surf-rock ("Enter The Mirror", a live staple). Anyone with even a passing interest in Keiji Haino should seek out this particular set. If you end up searching out the expensive multi-disc CD volumes that seem to appear and disappear like ships dotting horizons on otherwise pitch-black nights, you may still refer back to this double CD as some sort of pinnacle.