(via CHOCOLATE BOBKA) video: The Report “Trailer”

CHOCOLATE BOBKA: video: The Report, Bleeker/Mtn Man “Oh Boy”.

The Report, if you don’t already know, is a 100+ page bi-annual journal, compilation and DVD package, containing the weirdest, wisest musings on culture, art and music. Contributors include Dent May, Ben Chasny, Rob Mitchum (Pitchfork), Devin Wolfe (Naturalismo), Justin Gage (Aquarium Drunkar), Molly Sarle (Mountain Man), Matt Mondanile (Ducktails, Real Estate), Sawyer Carter Jacobs (Underwater Peoples, Family Portrait, Emilie Friedlander (Visitation Rites, Arthur Mag, Tiny Mix Tapes), Madalyn Merkey (Irma Vep Tapes), and Cian Traynor (SeeWhatYouHear, Guardian), amongst many, many others. The cassette compilation, which also comes as a digital download, features a bevy of exclusive unreleased tracks, as well as songs that simply were overlooked or are soon to be released.

The Report from Chocolate Bobka on Vimeo.

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Music, Photos, Video , Chocolate Bobka, The Report

The Necks at Issue Project Room

It’s hard to overstate how much I love this band.  Such a curious and openhearted sort of improvisation. From their two night stand at Issue Project Room last week.

Filed under: Live, Music, audio , Issue Project Room, The Necks

Weasel Walter Quintet at Silent Barn

Pleasantly surprised that this looks like more than a one off group and that they’re playing off of sheet music, hence the presence of a tune!  And it’s great.  (via Nat Roe)

Filed under: Live, Music, Video , Darius Jones, Matt Nelson, Peter Evans, Tom Blancarte, Weasel Walter

Golden Hits on the Free Music Archive

Completely feeling this out of the blue. I was having a conversation at work the other day about dublab and decided to do some digging around on their site and the Free Music Archive.  Golden Hits is a new seemingly improvised drone outfit featuring Dntel and a bunch of other “labrats.”  Fine sounds out of LA. Such style! Way more at the Free Music Archive.

Filed under: MP3 Bloglinks, Music , dublab, Free Music Archive, Golden Hits

iPad + Music Composition and Performance

(Lawrence Casserly of Evan Parker’s Electroacoustic Ensemble)

Watching the iPad video yesterday (and discussing with bandmate Pete) piqued my curiosity about the device’s musical potential. The release of the iPad is pretty exciting for followers and makers of electronic music, particularly improvisors.  It’s really only a matter of days before musicians start showing up on stage sporting one or more iPads.  For one thing, it’s big enough to display actual piano keys (or some version of a guitar neck), but also could function the same way any trigger pad like a tenori-on or monome or even a Wii remote or any other midi/OSC controller functions.  There are synth apps for the iPhone that already have Pd and Max/MSP guts (like RjDj).  This is a big (and relatively affordable) evolution in electronic music.  It will be exciting to see how experimental musicians use the iPad in the coming months, particularly in performance.

Filed under: Creativity, Live, Technology , iPad, Lawrence Casserly

A Portrait of Eliane Radigue

via Fabio and via Pete Shambler.  Amazing short portrait with some revealing facts about Eliane Radigue’s process.  Some beautiful Radigue reissues are just out on Important Records and, if you can find it, Kyema, Intermediate Studies, is very much worth spending some time with.  I would love to hear this music live. The little nugget at the end about Eliane currently working with only acoustic instruments is pretty fascinating as well.

Filed under: Creativity, Music, Musicians , Eliane Radigue

Playlist for The Long Rally with Scott McDowell – January 26, 2010

Playlist for The Long Rally with Scott McDowell – January 26, 2010
Tuesdays 6am – 9am on WFMU 91.1fm 90.1fm wfmu.org
Drawing an endless knot.

January 26, 2010: Focus on Sanity

Artist – “Song” – Album (Label) *=New

Grachan Moncur III – “Hipnosis”
Yoshi Wada – “The Appointed Cloud” – The Appointed Cloud
Yo La Tengo – “Everyday” – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
Skygreen Leopards – “Summer Alchemy” – One Thousand Bird Ceremony (Soft Abuse)

James Blackshaw – “Echo and Abyss” – Litany of Echoes
Richard Barrett – “Adrift (in memory of Paul Rutherford)” – Adrift (Psi) *
Four Tet – Much Love to the Plastic People: DJ Mix 2009 *

Ornette Coleman Trio – “European Echoes” – Live at the Golden Circle, Volume 1 (Blue Note)
Ornette Coleman – “Toy Dance” – New York Is Now (Blue Note)
Ornette Coleman – “Focus on Sanity” – Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings
Don Cherry – “Eternal Rhythm, Part 1″ – Eternal Rhythm
Memorize the Sky – “In Former Times” – In Former Times (Clean Feed)

Spiritualized – “The Straight and the Narrow” – Let It Come Down
Tirath Singh Nirmala – “Oakenin” – Growing into the Wind (Rhizome) *
John Edwards – “Matter” – Volume (Psi)
Zelienople – “Aging” – Give It Up (Type) *

Vibracathedral Orchestra – “Resonance Session” – Resonance Session (VCO)

The Long Rally with Scott McDowell playlists: http://wfmu.org/playlists/MD
RSS feeds for The Long Rally with Scott McDowell:
Playlists RSS: http://wfmu.org/playlistfeed/MD.xml
MP3 archives RSS: http://wfmu.org/archivefeed/mp3/MD.xml

Generated by KenzoDB ( http://kenzodb.com ), (C) 2000-2010 Ken Garson

Filed under: Radio , The Long Rally, WFMU

Score for John Butcher Group’s somethingtobesaid

The written score for one of my favorite releases of 2009, the John Butcher Group’s somethingtobesaid.  Pretty interesting to read through the score.  I found this posted on the BBC3 website but I couldn’t seem to find the link so you can download here: somethingtobesaidscore.pdf.

Filed under: Creativity, Music , John Butcher Group, score

The Weasel Walter Welcome Wagon

via Village Voice – The Weasel Walter Welcome Wagon.

I have to figure everything out again. I was fairly comfortable on the West Coast, but it seemed static at the end. And I’m against stasis.

Weasel Walter Quintet is playing this Saturday 1/23 at Silent Barn. Welcome to the east coast, Weaz.

Filed under: Musicians , Weasel Walter

A Conversation with James Salter

A conversation with James Salter, author of Solo Faces and screenwriter of Downhill Racer. – By Michael Agger – Slate Magazine.

A somewhat wasted interview with James Salter but I’ll take anything on one of my favorite writers.  I understand that Criterion is promoting their new print of Downhill Racer but the author really missed a chance to talk to James Salter, who seems to be a kind of legendary conversationalist the likes of which don’t exist any more.  I purchase a used copy of A Sport and a Pastime any time I see one.  I’ve yet to read Solo Faces, but it is generally not thought to be Salter’s best book. On the other hand, Downhill Racer is a great film.  Already anticipating the biography for more juice on Salter.

Filed under: Books, Creativity, Interviews , James Salter

Playlist for The Long Rally with Scott McDowell – January 19, 2010

Playlist for The Long Rally with Scott McDowell – January 19, 2010
Tuesdays 6am – 9am on WFMU 91.1fm 90.1fm wfmu.org
Drawing an endless knot.

January 19, 2010: Keep You Beautiful

Artist – “Song” – Album (Label) *=New

Grachan Moncur III – “Hipnosis”
Fabio Orsi – “3″ – I’m Here
Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides – “side b” – Poisson

Marconia Notaro – “Sinfonia em Re” – No Sub Reino Dos Metazoarios (Time-Lag)
Silver Jews – “New Orleans” – Starlite Walker (Drag City)
Chocolate Watchband – “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” – The Inner Mystique (Sundazed)
Six Organs Of Admittance – “1000 Birds” – Electric Six Organs

TTT featuring A.R. Penck – “Be Cool in Munich” – Be Cool in Munich Part 2
The Band – “It Makes No Difference” – Northern Lights, Southern Cross
Spectre Folk – “Sat Around” – Compass, Blanket, Lantern, Mojo (Arbitrary Signs) *

Greg Davis – “Lucky” – Primes (Autumn) *
Blood Stereo – “For Heavy Lung” – For Heavy Lung
Hospitality – “Liberal Arts” – Hospitality (no label) *
Bunda Love – “Puff” – Beards & Calves (Funhole) *
Greg Kelley & Alex Neilson – “Passport to Satori” – Passport to Satori (Golden Lab) *

Chicago Underground Trio – “Laughing with the Sun” – Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey) *
Tirath Singh Nirmala – “Riding Evy Gust” – Growing into the Wind (Rhizome) *
Nikasaya – “Ufun Taxi” – One Summerheim *
Tindersticks – “Keep You Beautiful” – Falling Down a Mountain (Constellation) *
Josephine Foster – “Exultation is the Going”

Majutsu No Niwa – “Journey to the End of the Night” – Frontera (Musik Atlach) *
MV & EE – “Moment Spacing” – 7″ (Golden Lab) *
Puffy Areolas – “Lutzko Lives” – 7″ (Columbus Discount) *
Zola Jesus – “No Time” – Sacred Bones Records Winter 2009 1-sided LP (V/A) (Sacred Bones) *

The Long Rally with Scott McDowell playlists: http://wfmu.org/playlists/MD
RSS feeds for The Long Rally with Scott McDowell:
Playlists RSS: http://wfmu.org/playlistfeed/MD.xml
MP3 archives RSS: http://wfmu.org/archivefeed/mp3/MD.xml

Generated by KenzoDB ( http://kenzodb.com ), (C) 2000-2010 Ken Garson

Filed under: Music , The Long Rally, WFMU

Bobby Charles RIP

Bobby Charles, the wonderful songwriter, passed on yesterday at the age of 71.  His self-titled Bearsville LP with The Band backing him up is a straight masterpiece.  I even named my own band after one of his tunes.  RIP Bobby.

Bobby Charles – I Must Be in a Good Place Now

Bobby Charles – Homemade Songs

Filed under: Musicians , Bobby Charles

The Lost Electric Six Organs Of Admittance Album

via Silver Currant: The Lost Electric Six Organs Of Admittance Album.

I don’t know if I posted about this before, but it’s such a monster.  It’s one of those things that I feel privileged to hear, given the backstory and the quality of the music on these tapes.  Ethan Miller (from Comets on Fire, who posted this originally on his Silver Currant blog) really nails the source of its beauty: a raw reckless energy and a sense of excitement contained within these tunes.  Go read and download NOW.

Six Organs of Admittance – “1000 Birds”

Filed under: Creativity, MP3 Bloglinks, Musicians , Ethan Miller, Six Organs of Admittance

New Mexicoe – Flood Music

(This is a mirror post from the New Mexicoe tumblr).

39 minutes.
Audio: 12/30/09
Video: 10/25/09

This is Colonial Recordings USA #093.  Also available as a limited-run cassette.

Filed under: Cassettes, Music , Colonial Recordings USA, Flood Music, New Mexicoe