Probably my last post of the year

And i really just dont have that much to say. Vacation is nice, but it makes me lazy. Ive written a number of tiny little piano pieces specifically tailored for beginners. Its the only kind of composition i can really tolerate right now. I think I've written about 8 of these little things. They're nice, maybe i'll post them sometime.

um. What else. Ive continued to browse youtube on occasion, i stumbled upon a good performance of Shoenberg's gorgeous Verklarte Nacht. ( I found that after listening to Blondie... hahaha.) And realized that the wierd and unpleasant world of blindingly ignorant youtube trolls makes its way to shoenberg videos too. Bizarre and stupid comments litter this video of six nice musicians just doing their job... (and doing a great job that would make Schoenberg proud) I cant really say much in the face of so much stifling idiocy (its more a problem of "where to start tearing down this monolithic tangle of crap?") So i just generally ignore what people post on youtube.

Probably the best for my sanity.
____

So thats the last post for the year of 2007. Onto 2008.

When did my perception of the passage of time become so warped? I swear time seemed to pass slower when i was little. The years just seem to speed up as they go.

End of Quarter Laziness

im just sitting around, being rather un-productive. eating, surfing Youtube,etc. Anyway, the other day I found a video of my favorite work of Philip Glass, Music in a Similar Motion ( its broken into two videos, actually, since it goes over youtube's video time limit.)

And its lovely. During my roadtrip across California and Oregon this summer it was music that kept me calm in stressful moments of (generally California) driving. My passenger was not always pleased, but he was able to deal with it, and i think it might have even rubbed off on him.





So here are some pics from said roadtrip..
.

The Collective Memory Of Men With Beards

I think it'd be a good band/song name.

and their first album could be entitled Waterboarding.

...it would be about surfing, of course.

An Ethnomusicological Moment

Did you know that the Chicken Dance of french origin? INDEED IT IS. It even has words too. In french, however, it is called the Duck Dance (Le Dance des Canards)

Regardez:

Yesterday i found this so beautiful i couldn't help but start crying like a baby



Sometimes i do that and its kinda embarrassing. Oh, and then i write posts about it and put it on my public music blog for everyone to see. Kinda pathetic, but i think its sincere, and there are only maybe 3 people who read this anyway. i hadnt heard this amazing music in over a year, so maybe thats why. Or maybe im just a big sob.


I love bulgarian women.

Terry Riley- Music for the Gift III

I stumbled upon this little gem on Youtube just today, so i thought i'd share it. Im no expert on Riley's music, but i do love it, and every now and then something just appears online that really just faciniates me, like this little piece. Its tape-looped jazz quartet from 1963, and this avant-garde work really sets the stage for what came directly after it- In C, and consequently the entire minimalist "idea". Whats surprising is how early it was made, and yet its still so refreshing. These kinds of pieces support my thinking that Mr. Riley is one of the most under-rated of major composers from the last 50 years

Some Music from al Magrebia.

I thought, since i dedicated the post below to morocco in pictures, i should post a few words, too, so i'll do that now-

North african music was a highlight of my travels, Berber music in particular, which was played loudly in front of restaurants and cafes, in front of shops and in houses in the High Atlas. Im certainly not the first to be surprised by its beauty and freshness, theres a lot of study by ethnomusicologists (For good reason!) of the beautiful and alluring art they create there.

People sing in north Africa, and they dance; music is embedded in the culture. The elaborate echoing Adhan sent out from loudspeakers on the mosque every morning (woke me up always at 5:30, particularly on fridays) calls the faithful to prayer (and they do go! oh they do). Then they ring out 4 more times before days end, every day framed with short musical prayers. It reminded me i wasnt in france anymore, and that in fact i was somewhere far more interesting.

Currently im listening to the gorgeous music of Larbi Imghrane (the link is a good preview of his music) which fuses traditional berber songs with more modern instrumentation and electronics. The rich in lyricism and beauty. The CD i own, is Series of immortal songs, volume 1: The best of Raiss Ahmed Bizmaven- bought in Marakech's Djemaa El Fna square (photos 5 and 6 in the previous post). Mr. Imghrane is pretty famous in morocco, so its possible to find lots of his music online, thankfully. Unfortunately i cant read Arabic, so i dont know the name of my favorite song on my Cd, track 4, but i can assure you its really lovely.

A section from the first track of my CD HERE, forgive the cheesy video. Its in a Berber dialect, by the way, not Arabic, so most Moroccans probably dont know the words either.

Al Magrebia me manque.

Eargasm-

I guess this is a continuation of my series of posts dedicated to my favorites. And Youtube. Sure, you could call me lazy for just posting some video without any substantial thinking put into a post, but i'd just remind you that no considerable amount of thinking has ever really graced these pages (except for that time i was listing off favorite forms of chocolate. Thats a toughie) Anyway, i gotta go back to my exam now. its schoola time!

My Favorite Glass

Ok, yeah, more Youtube, but this is some GOLD. Here are brief clips from the early 70z of the ensemble practicing the gorgeous music in changing parts , and later we hear a brief bite of music in a Similar motion (my favorite work), as well as rare footage of Einstein being performed.


I fucking love this stuff, i eat it up. The best part is that every different performance i hear makes it sound so new and fresh, its so new and daring still. God i love it.

My Favorite Liszt:

Performed by people younger than me... AAAAAAH!



Just look at that kids freaking eyes! i love it. Excellent performance of Liszt's 12th (my favorite) etude, Chasse-neige.... "snow hunt" i guess is what it translates to. Anyway I love this music and i hadnt heard it in a while, so here is a great performance.

Terry Riley is Double Parked

this is the most awkward and bizarre interview ive ever seen:

Debussy- Nuages, favorite music

When asked the question "Whats your favorite piece of Debussy?" I have to hesitate. I guess the answer "everything" doesnt really fly, so i narrowing it down is my only option, and it comes down to this languid piece of sublime eargasmic goodness. Sure his Etude pour octaves, his Sons et parfums qui tourne dans L'air du soir, his Reflets Dans L'eau, his Images Pour Orchestre, are everything that is sublime in music and in art, but this one is the most dreamy, melancholy and visual- at least for me. Then again, who better to romanticize clouds than someone raised in Seattle?

Well, its been 6 years now, time flies. Since its a music-themed blog i should probably say about music, and that will be this: im not a fan of music that commemorates tragedy. Ive never heard adam's Transmigration, or the dozens of requiems by dozens of hero-composer types who pretend to live in the late 19th century. it doesnt interest me.

I anticipate the media will be buzzing about this date as if it has something more than a symbolic meaning. Anyway, there are greater tragedies that have been unfolding since 2001. But i doubt Darfour or civilians in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Lebanon and northern Isreal will be discussed today.

Its so short and jumbled and jangled, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say abou a massacre, things like 'Poo-tee-weet?'.

I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee.

-Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

For any francophones out there i present this incredibly amusing Comic, And anyone who has ever dealt with the french postal service may understand exactly what this about, you might not even need to speak french to get the message.

i have to get minor toe sugery today. Stupid big toe and its problems.

Currently listening to Glass. I figured out how to open two winamps at once and thought it'd be fun to make a recording of me playing music in 12 parts at the same time. Like tape looping, except with winamp, and no loops are involved, just me sliding the music around as i feel fit. Its fun.... More on that craziness later.

Also, my 30 some second frucked up version of music in a similar motion. and some random improv.

To be honest, the etude below is a little too adams-y for my tastes, a little too old-fashoned. Also, sorry for all the mistakes in the recording.

Oh well.

Etude For Octaves

Linkie

New animal Collective-

Currently in Vegas. Enjoying myself.

In the bay area...

Currently just north of San Jose. Staying with family. Visited San Francisco again today, did a few of those tourist things, it was lovely. Nice day, not too cool either, sunny. Reading Vonnegut, and thinking about relocating to the bay area. I should ask Mr. Gable about it. I wouldnt mind living in a tiny little studio. My sister just moved into a studio in downtown seattle. She looks out over skyscapers, im envious. Then again, here in san fran, the financial district here is not somewhere i'd really want to live. I would prefer somewhere a little towards the west, in one of those beautiful old neighborhoods where everything seems lovely. Im too idealistic. But i guess thats what happens when you grow up feeling stranded in the suburbs.

In two days im going to Barstow. Not on some harry Partch homage trip, just a stop to sit in a pool and see death valley the following day. Im taking it easy here, no 12 hour drives for me.

I had a dream recently in which i was listening to a recording of a compostion i had writtten (which exists only in the dream) And then, as often happens in dreams i was magically and inexplicably transported back to an actual performance of my piece, watching the musicians do their thing. It was such a satisfying feeling. As i remember it, the music was very much like Cages variations I (as performed by Patricia Kopatchinskaja.) In my version it was all the same except the trio of violin,piano,singer/vocalist was all amplified. The piano part was pure...well, me: decending appeggios of minor sevenths and open fifths with a tinge of dissonance and post-minimalist mannerisms, but the vocal/spoken parts were pure cage.

Speaking of cage, my friend recently had on some prepared piano pieces by Aphex Twin. I had never heard them, but they were preeeetty nice. I need to get myself a copy.

Animal Collective - Did you see the Words

So i figure i should streamline my links, just a little, since im linking to a number of sites for which the motivation was "maybe i'll visit them if i link to them" But in reality I gathered up a collection of links that hold little interest to me. I could go and talk shit now about some of the sites ive linked to, and how i regret the fact that their site once interested me (and no, im not talking about northwest palms and subtropicals, they're most definitely staying) But that wouldnt be very nice. would it?

And in addition Im just talked out about a lot of classical music, or at least that music in the general repertoire . I said what i had built up over my teenage years, my feeling and comments about composers and their music, ideas i was unable to communicate to anyone, and today i dont see myself adding anything too significant to a discussion on Brahms' sublime 4th symphony- for example.

But this page still remains my little link-repository. When im bored i go back here to check out what other sites have to say, But should i come up to that moral crisis of whether or not to privlege certain sites or not- and what a banal moral criss that is

Messing Around

A Nocturne is what i want to call this , not because it is one, but because i think its a nice name. I'll hold the pretention for this second one, and call it what it is-

me messing around
some shit made with the same amazingly limited recording abilities
....again-

I wish i owned a synthesizer.

27 Shocking revelations for a Conservative Classical musician/composer/critic

Shocking Revelation #1) Classical music isn’t inherently superior to other kinds of music.
2) Just because its written down doesn’t mean its superior to non-notated music
3) The western orchestra has changed less in the last 150 than it has in the entire history of its existence, these last 150 years being the period of the most radical social and technological developments in the history of humanity.
4) The classical musical institutions are swamped by conservatism and a fear of change, and resists adapting to new musical ensembles..
5) Just because its in the form of, or called a symphony/ string quartet/sonata doesn’t mean its a dignified or a quality piece of music.
6) Popular music is not the devil
7) Just because its popular doesn’t mean its not good
8) music which is complicated is not necessarily (and often not) better or superior to other kinds of music
9) Music that is simple, or that uses simple harmony is not innately inferior
10) Minimalism is not evil or necessarily insane
11) What John cage did actually IS music
12) Composers today are just as smart as composers from the 19th century.
13) there are many good composers who are alive today and writing great music.
14) Most of what vivaldi/telemann wrote is not really worth listening to.
16) The musical public today is smarter and better educated than they were in the 17th 18th, 19th and early 20th century.
17) Some of the best music made in the last 80 years has been by non-classical musicians.
18) Amplification is not an evil or heretical practice and the microphone is a legitimate piece of musical equipment
19) acoustic music is not superior to electronically amplified or modified music.
20) pure electronic music is legit, as much so as a string quartet
21) the electric guitar is a good instrument and is safe to play, write for and listen to.
22) its ok to have amplification in an opera, string quartet, or what have you
22) Classical musical institutions are often swamped by disgusting, insane cultural-imperialist ideas and dogmas.
23) Its ok if not everyone loves classical music
24) "classical music" is actually a ridiculous expression and a moronic way of classifying things, (how can Palestrina and Stravinsky sensibly be classified the same way? or Bach and Debussy? Monteverdi and shoenberg? etc)
25) Many classical musicians, critics and composers have tried to isolate classical music from the rest of the world for the last 60 years
26) Many classical musicians, critics and composers are self-pitying.
27) "Classical music" Is Not going to die anytime soon

old improvs

This is a collection of old(er) improvisations, dating from the dustbin of history (2006) recordings that i felt were somewhat sub-par, so i havent published them until now, But i figure i've thrown worse things onto this blog than what im about to present. (they're not that bad, right?) Anyway, here they are:

Febimprov- On the electric piano, just some random stuff.
June3- This formless blob of somewhat contrasting sounds includes the addition of distortion fuzz from overloading the mic.
Feb2- This is my favorite of the three, and the least poor, i imagine. It changes character at the end.

So thats that for now. Still in Emrbun, taking the night train to paris tonight, and Im leaving for the States wednesday, I dont know when i'll be back to europe.

self portrait in B minor

I gave a little concert for friends before leaving Nantes, so these are pictures from that day, These are my friend Immanuelle's photos

If i had photoshop and knew how to use it, i could remove the red-eye... ah well

from copenhagen

A concert in the glyptotech, a wonderful sculpture museum

Beethoven and "child mozart" in the glypt

more glypt, this time,Liszt!

and elsewhere in the city....

Carl Nielson (as a naked child on a horse?)

Copenhagen was beautiful, if somewhat, ahem, expensive. I had a great time there.

Back in beautiful, beautiful Embrun, France

Sometimes i really love france. Im leaving here in a week, unfortunately... but i'll be back at somepoint in the future.

Im leaving nantes now, for the last time. Its actually leaving me a little more than melancholy. Im going to deeply miss the wonderful people ive met here, my group of international friends. Im already planning on a trip to algeria and to quebec in the nearish future, to be a tourist and more importantly see friends. I miss morocco, i miss stockholm, and i will miss Nantes, profoundly. Whats worse is that its all transient, even i were to come back next year, all the people im close to will have already left.

in copenhagen

For the weekend, taking the night train to stockholm monday night, Copenhagen is a beautiful city, but its raining and the weather is shit. It feels like February in seattle, for fuck sake. Im kinda peeved, but what can you do, and i suppose this way its more "reality" travel , since i figure the weather is frequently like this, no? Anyway, it is beautiful, but personally, i much prefer warm climes.

Nachoqatsi

From Youtube:

na - cho -qatsi (from the Hopi language), n. 1. Nacho life. 2. Life eating
nachos. 3. Life eating crispy tortilla chips smothered in cheese. 4. A way of
life that celebrates the consumption of nachos

Anyway, i just figured i should post this awesomeness.

Also, the official trailer for the violent videogame Grand Theft Auto 4 uses music, cut and mixed, from koyaanisquatsi with similar styled NY computer graphics. I doubt Philip would be pleased by that one, however.

So since there are no pianos in france ive been releasing all my anxiety by drumming on things. various things, water bottles, tables, chairs kitchen utensils, it bothers some friends and it... well, no, i think it just bothers them. Anyway, when i was in maroc i had the opportunity to buy a lovely handmade drum for a little less than 20 dollars. I figured for an authentic, nice drum i cant get a better price elsewhere and i just when ahead and bought it.

anyway, for archival purposes im posting this humble (really humble) little recording of my near incompetence playing a drum. Hell, i dont even know what proper drum playing sounds like or what the is name for mine in particular. Vive l'ignorance!. Maybe i'll figure these things out someday.

Pines of rome

Just a few...

In marrakech

this world class city is filled with gardens and beautiful things. Im currently in one of the ubiquitous cyber cafes checking email and registering for university housing for next year... and oddly, Philip Glass' heros symphony was just playing on the radio, accompanied by some french dialogue. French is everywhere here, which makes it very easy for me, but then again, they all then assume im french, which kinda bugs me. Do i LOOK french? apparently. Then again, a salesman in the atlas mountains asked if i was berber.

Shukrun.

well, sort of. he guessed practically every other european nationality beforehand "french?" no, "spanish?" no, "Italian?" no, "Belgan?"no, "Swiss?" no, "German?" no "Portugese?"no... Why not Isreal though? I guess i didnt look jewish enough, ha. But what does it matter if i cant pass for arab. im still semitic, damnit! hahaha.

Again more arab music,

im enjoying it.

beautiful, beautiful country

In Morocco

This is a spectactular country. Currently in Ouarzizate, going to marrakesh tomorrow. I visited Zagora and some sahara sand dunes yesterday. Incredible countryside, and music and bread everywhere.

seriously.

I love arabic music.

un chat compositeur

Et Voila.

Il a l'air d'etre un grand musician.

kinda like those cat playing piano videos Alex Ross posted, but this one is my favorite.

So sarko won

No surprises here. lets just hope he's just not crazy. also some cars are apparently burning in the banlieu. its become a "fashon" here to burn cars, the french are not impressed anyway.

What else.

well, on the 14th im headed to Rome, then Napoli to see Pompeii and Herculanium, and then Paestum as well. Then on the 22nd im headed to see my sister who is living with a family in marocco. I'll be in marrakech, plus ou moins, for the week or so. Im really excited for my trip, and marocco in particular.

Im speaking french every day, and comfortable, generally, in doing so. its chiant, as i would say, that right now when im getting to the point of "fluency" that im soon going to leave.

Saw Rigoletto last night here in Nantes. Nice opera house. Have to say, didn’t get anything in terms of a coherent plot. The scenery didn’t exactly explain much to an opera novice like myself. It appeared at first to be set in a 17th century anatomy lecture hall, and never really changed too much after that. Sure there were fog machines and a boat in the end, but nothing ever really appeared different, they were always in that strange round room. Essentially it appeared like a series of tableaux of various contrasting melodramas without any kind of connection between it. Im not quite sure what happened, there was a kidnapping, and several people singing and then the lead lady dies laying down in the end by throwing her arms up and saying "bleaah!"

ok, the last bit i made up, but that’s what it seemed like, and there was definite arm moving going on. Anyway, the music was lovely, i want to get a CD of it, even if i couldn’t discern any kind of message or story. It was a pleasant exercise in abstracted contrasting histrionics.

And it reminded me of that euro-trash question on the recent meme i filled out.

From the cathedral of Toledo, Spain

Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007

Currently in Sevilla, Spain, and writing from my hostal. Seen Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Cordoba and most of the major sites in this city, so im heading back to france land soon and i know im going to miss iberia. Granada seems livable, as does cordoba, and i need to learn spanish, should i even try to study abroad again? well, maybe i should graduate first.

and pictures will come soon.

More youtube

This time, three videos of Glenn Branca.

Here's my her0 in action in a loft in NYC from 1978. Things you can do with an electric guitar that you can't do with a piano, unfortunately. Its almost as much performance art as music.

... and this last one is the most dramatic though much less dynamic, certainly the most visually striking. This beautiful 19th century beaux-arts concert hall filled with music so viceral, so severe and acidic that you almost expect the traditional-looking audience to react in outrage. I think this is one of my favorite videos on youtube.... almost surreal to hear that music in what appears to be a bastion of the old world.

Alright, i'll play along. This is a little meme from Soho's site, and since i have the time to kill on this monday afternoon...

1. Name an opera you love for the libretto, even though you don't particularly like the music.

uh, i dont really listen to much opera other than einstien on the beach, and i think i'd be bored by that libretto (par contre, i love the music). I think for me this works in reverse. I dont know any opera text i like better than the music, the texts are usually rather banal.

2. Name a piece you wish Glenn Gould had played.

HA, if i liked Gould this might work. Uh, i dunno, John Cage's Sonatas and interludes. He probably could have done those fairly well.

3. If you had to choose: Charles Ives or Carl Ruggles

Ives. I sadly only know Ruggles through the written word and nothing more.

4. Name a piece you're glad Glenn Gould never played.

Anything Debussy post-1900. Images 2 contains some of the most delicate music ever written for piano.

5. What's your favorite unlikely solo passage in the repertoire?


hm. these questions are getting harder. Define solo and repetoire. haha.
does the flute in the begining of the orchestral version of Ravel's Barque sur l'ocean count? i think thats several flutes anyway. The opening to the Rite of Spring but i don't know how thats unlikely.

6. What's a Euro-trash high-concept opera production you'd love to see? (No Mortier-haters get to duck this one, either—be creative.)

again with the opera. ok, Puccini's Manon, sung and acted while suspended from bungee chords.
Imagine the chorus. heheh.

7. Name an instance of non-standard concert dress you wish you hadn't seen.

anything too rich looking, jewlery and that crap. I think people who exceed a certain income level and show it off should be forbidden from entering the concert hall.

8. What aging rock-and-roll star do you wish had tried composing large-scale chorus and orchestra works instead of Paul McCartney?

uh. George? i really dont know. Someone from they might be giants, they made good music.


9. If you had to choose: Carl Nielsen or Jean Sibelius?

this is a retarded question. Sibelius wins 16 times over. Just listen to his 4/5/6/7th symphonies and dare to tell me otherwise.

10. If it was scientifically proven that Beethoven's 9th Symphony caused irreversible brain damage, would you still listen to it?

Well, no. no i wouldnt, and I think beethoven would support me on this, as he has 8 others to enjoy afterall. its not the END of the world if i dont listen to the 9th, since it appears most people manage to get along just fine without listening to it... How long before y0u'd get brain damage? could i just do the last movement without the medical problems?

Recently, i've been more or less focusing my musical attention on Last.fm, listening to various radio stations, and generally being awe-struck by the incredible diversity and sheer number of groups of musicians i had never heard of who are/were making very interesting music. on my page (shamless plug) theres a list of all of this music i've up until now been unfamiliar with-

Stereolab,Prefuse 73,The Residents, Philip Jeck, Deerhoof, Four tet, Jackie-O motherfucker, Charalambides. I had only heard of Stereolab, and only the name, and im really impressed by all of this stuff and i hope to hear more. The dazzling array of music thats presented on Last.fm leaves me humbled, I dont by any means have anything close to a big picture of independent music today, and i dont know if that would ever be possible in the first place.

Im traveling to Spain on the 3rd till the 12th.

Hoping for a heat wave.

Political dead-end #1

Recently a friend sent me a link to a post on a blog called This Modern World by tom tomorrow. Anyway, its a ridiculous thing i saw on this site. Apparently theres something called the Conservapedia, (À cause de* liberal bias!) ....anyway, Im not going to get upset by this black hole idiocy and write some sprawling rant, i think, instead, that its more productive to laugh at it.

But im dancing around the subject, the real reason im posting here is because of dinosaurs.

...

err... actually conservapedia's hillarious and pitiful article on dinosaurs. HERE you can find it, but just in case you're lazy like me, i'll quote it for fun. Its too good not to be quoted.

There are a number of lines of evidence that point to dinosaurs and man coexisting. For example, explorers have reported seeing a live dinosaur. A thousand people reported seeing a dinosaur-like monster in two sightings around Sayram Lake in Xinjiang according to the Chinese publication, China Today. An expedition which included Charles W. Gilmore, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology with the United States National Museum, examined an ancient pictograph which is claimed to portray dinosaurs and man coexisting.....

I saw a picture once of a giant cat on a monorail, and im sure more than a thousand people have already seen it. Here, now conservapedia can write an article about the existence of it!



and a little later...

Some Christians reject the Theory of Evolution and the current science community consensus of the age of the earth. Of those Christians who reject evolution, the Young Earth Creationists believe, based primarily on Biblical sources, but also drawing on Archeological and fossil evidence, that dinosaurs were created on the 6th day of the Creation Week as a final addendum to the wonders God created, approximately 6,000 years ago; that they lived in the Garden of Eden in harmony with other animals, eating only plants; that pairs of various dinosaurs were taken onto Noah's Ark during the Great Flood and were preserved from drowning; that fossilized dinosaur bones originated during the mass killing of the Flood; and that some descendants of those dinosaurs taken aboard the Ark still roam the earth today...

and finally....

Because the term only came into use in the 19th century, the Bible obviously does not use the word "dinosaur." However, they are alleged to be mentioned in numerous places throughout the biblical account. For example, the behemoth in Job and the leviathan in Isaiah are sometimes said to be references to dinosaurs, although some reject this view, saying that behemoth was a hippopotamus and leviathan was a crocodile. There is a problem with this view, however, such as the fact that a hippo doesn't have a "tail like a cedar" and a crocodile does not accurately match the description of leviathan.

Now i have bascially quoted the ENTIRE article for you. That whole... whats it called, "science" crap that's those dirty evolu-atheists promote, that liberal bias, is left out. No other possibilities are given. so case closed, god created the dinosaurs and noah lived with them and put them on his boat.

The end.


Anyway, i figured this would make a good companion post to PWS' utterly true post about Conservatives and science.

WebernUhrWerk- pure computer music!

so today i downloaded this program WebernUhrWerk for shits and giggles on this here laptop. I enjoy it so far. Its a very simple program, straightforward and limited in what it does(draw paralells here), nonetheless it produces true, authentic computer music derived from webern's last tone row, ad infinatum. I could listen to serialism constantly for days without ever hearing an exact repetition (i know this prospect must really excite all of you) It'd be nice if could enter in my own tone row and see the effects, but still, i gotta admit, its kinda cool, how many times have computers actually created something... uh, artisticky? . Though my feelings on seralism are, uhm, mixed, i really do enjoy webern from time to time.

thanks to karlheinz Essl for the invention, who actually has an enormous opus of his own compositions available for download on his site, pretty cool stuff, and i think i'll be exploring it for the next few days.

Dolmen Music

Went to Karnag (carnac in french) today in brittany. This was my birthday present.

And exactly what i wanted.











































Sarah here is posing for a perspective of the size....

Aug 2006 improv, l'isle joyeuse(?)

Alright, not much news, im currently on vacation and am going to start traveling again in march. For the moment i will post this seriously piss-poor recording of a (thankfully) short excerpt from my own, uh, take on Debussy's classic piece l'isle joyeuse. (the french title sounds a lot more impressive than the happy island)

yesterday i listened to my handful of shitty-recorded improvisations that i've made over last summer and kept on this computer. Most of it is crap, but this one i think is mildly less crappy than the rest. Playing debussy beforehand helped, though i dont think theres a real resemblance between this music and debussy, maybe they're vaguely similar. It appears i have the remarkable ability of sustaining fff for excessive periods of time, which results in audio-overload for the recording device and lots of noise, but, uh... thats the fun of it.

Anyway, Here's the stuff im talking about.

Im currently revisiting my rather small collection of Arcade Fire tracks*, after the ump-teeth person tried to tell me their music was in some way strange or bizarre, a claim which has not ceased to amaze me. Bizarre? them? no, Stockhausen is bizarre, Xiuxiu is bizarre, but these guys? The first time i even listened to the group i nearly dismissed it all as being too kitch, too pop, all melodies i'd heard before, but maybe after Broken social scene and Animal collective as an indy benchmark, i may have been a little harsh.

Dare i quote myself. **

I was expecting more of an adventure and I ended up with a sort of bus tour, with a comfortable seat that looks out at interesting things through the safety glass of the rock tradition, [edit] things that you never quite get to.

and i still feel that way, but now, looking at it from a brighteyes perspective, or whatever, i can see how their re-hashed 50s-esque ballades in 3/4 could seem a little unusual. Granted i don't know their entire opus, i could be missing out on some fun radicalism that's hidden behind the regular harmonies and mildly expanded instrumentation.

Alright, i'll stop spitting venom. I dont deny these guys have talent, they do, and i know they're capable of creating something great and there are already moments of sheer beauty in their work, a passage in The backseat, for example. But strange? eccentric or even close to the avant garde? i have yet to hear it. Again, i could be just not hearing the right works, so im going to have to listen to this perceived "wierdness" from their own computers.

_____________

*(9 tracks currently, i used to have more, but i remember was bored with a lot of them and got rid of many)

**linkie!

Music From home.

A recent post on ANABlog reminded me of the existence of KEXP, and furthermore the existence of Sonarchy Radio, which is, like the rest of KEXP, an eclectic mishmash of various groups and styles, sonarchy in particular has the focus towards the unusual and experimental.

My mother, when not listening to NPR in the car, usually listens to KEXP, one of the few quality stations in seattle, with a typical program of quirky, fun and interesting music. Besides being the companion piece to NPR, it offers respite to the Haydn and Boccerini induced boredom of KING, our Classical (with a capital C) music station, during their frequent passages into the dull but completely listenable.

Anyway, the most exciting part of this for me is that i can actually listen to this music on French internet, which is rather picky and often not working (draw parallels here). So im in internet radio pig heaven.

Apparently its John Adams' Birthday. Or was, recently, and he's 60 years old (meaning he's my fathers age and i never realized this)...and Philip glass just turned 70, as did Steve Reich.

Madness.

I wish i could get my hands on some more adams recordings. I would enjoy having El Nino again, or Nixon, and im interested in this newfangled Flowering Tree piece, or actually any of his newfangled pieces. Generally i find his music to be gorgeous but a little to conventional for my tastes, yet its always intelligent, full of surprises and even innovation, so more often than not his works get five thumbs up from me.

Just my two cents.

Ingram marshall - savage altars

and much love for non-pop. While i've been lamenting my loss of iridian and post classic radio (due to french internet, which is apparently incapable of playing or touching anything live365) I've been blind to other, non-internet-radio sources for the streaming of contemporary music. Why didnt i click on that non-pop link i so frequently saw on the new music reblog? I've been missing out. Ah well, now theres a lovely library for my ears to consume, even if the music isnt always my favorite.

For some reason, it took me a while to figure out this is the same guy who wrote that fog tropes track im already familiar with. The piece i heard here, on a podcast dated november 26th, 2006 is some sumptious, sprawling neo-y-romantic-y work that has some post-minimal mannerisms.

the terry riley work also on this broadcast is his The Harp of New Albion, III: Riding the Westerleys , employing gorgeous just intonation... and like the glass performance recently posted, its also a work from the year i was born.

Oh sweetnesss that is all sweetness. Some of you may yawn or have already seen this but the motherload for a glassfan has been found at youtube, some videos of a much younger, longhaired vaguely stallonesque looking radical playing what is my favorite excerpt from Einstein, (train) in a recording i'd never heard. Theres also a second part where they perform the spaceship section of einstein.

Each recording of glass' early work sounds vastly different from the next, and this is no exception, allowing the listener familiar with other recordings (me) to enjoy subtlies never before made so audible, and i do have to say, im a fan of this particular performance. There are also a few words from the maestro himself in middle of the two recordings.

This discovery certainly isnt mine, so i owe it to Soho the Dog, who posted Glass' performance from the year of my birth (1986) of Rubric on an unnamed american late night tv program, which is also a quality recording. This is the point where i mourn the fact that contemporary music could have continued to play a role in american television, but seems not to. A comment on Soho's blog mentions ornette coleman being on this program at one point.... hm.

Apparently Jenufa is going to play in Nantes around my birthday next month, and while opera usually fails to interest me, im a janacek fan, so im going to see if i can get some cheapish tickets these next few days.

Any reviews of the opera? i understand its one of his earlish works in the genre and in general, and i tend to favor his later work, so im not so sure if the material will have the same sharpness and originality that i normally enjoy, but i've read it was a sort of breakthrough for the composer (and it is janacek), so im not concerned about quality.

So i get out of the loop for a week or so...

And look what happens.

So Chavez has apparently legislatively coronated himself (quel surprise) and Boston literally turns into a exposition of the profoundist of hysterica,l bureaucratic stupidity. And these are the people supposed to protecting the US? What an embarassment, again for the entire city and homeland security, what incredible ignorance.

Morons... morons.

____________

Meanwhile im basking in Beethoven, remembering my fondness for the waldstien, the 6th and 7th symphonies, eroica and diabelli variations. Beethovens late music was always my favorite.

The rondo of waldstein makes me cry.

Im not ashamed of this fact.

And speaking of this, at Leclerc, the mega shopping store that i go to in order to save money, they were playing a pop-diva-fied version of the second movement of the 7th symphony. It was odd to hear, but it reminds me that there is a ton of music that could be transformed into rock, the Waldstein, for example would be awesome if played by some virtuoso group.

Terry Riley - You're no good

That Terry Riley (re?)Mix, You're nogood, reposted (and hosted) by Mr. Gable at aworks has been stuck in my head for days, floating in and out. I listened to it once (well, maybe twice) and its stuck- but theres no wonder in that, but this post has opened a link to two newish blogs which hold my interest (the two that posted this before Mr. gable and long before me) The colorfully named Dinosaur Gardens and music for maniacs. Both will probably be frequenly visited by yours truely.

I was taken back at first by the music's radicalism, particularly the excruciating opening which reminded me of no other riley i knew, followed by what might be possibly classified as pop-art music.All of the blogs above do a better job at describing the piece than i, and you'll have to go to Aworks to hear it.

test

test.

I just "updated blogger" now its in french, too. Ah well, no problem. Hopefully this gets published.

Frank Zappa- I promise not to come in your

So internet has arrives in the dorms. Unfortunately its crappy internet (ah, la belle france), so when i went about trying to post these few words ( below), i accidentally only ended up getting the first part of the title. (frank) and then i couldn’t go back and edit the post because the internet is rather... uh, special (though, to be honest, i kinda like a post that just says "frank", very reductive, you know, reminds me of a video i saw on you tube with john cage... but im rambling (and using too many (parentheses))). So ive been unsuccessful with blogger since, im back in my ordinary location,across the parking lot outside in the cold mooching wifi in a closed uni building next door

The first 10 seconds or so are a zappa cover of the first part of Philip Glass’ Music in 12 parts (transposed to some different key).Gorgeous guitar work runs throughout the piece, but those beginning 10 seconds are still my favorite. what can i say, im a minimalist fan before a zappa fan.

So far the only other zappa piece I’ve really latched on to his El condor Pasa. im not sure where el condor it comes from, but its certainly beautiful, and doesn’t follow the same kampy in-your face-satire that most of the zappa im familiar with does.

Frank

John Zorn- Bikini Atol

....And 38 hysterical seconds later winamp’s shuffle feature changes it to Arvo Part. Interesting choice. Well, 46 seconds later, to be exact. Im still on vacation here, and without too much to do. The greatest task for today has been making a decision on how to prepare the chicken for dinner.

I think ive decided on mustard chicken.

Terry Riley- Rainbow in Curved air.

Youtube has become an easy way for me to become acquainted with some unknown contemporary music...and amateur art-video. There are three of these short videos which use this music, so im really only familiar with fragments, but I love them all the same. If I had the chance, when I have a chance, I might ask such a CD for a birthday present. Gorgeous stuff.

and while im at is, i'll also profess my love for adult swim comedy. This clip, also from Youtube involves "an old friend", a bebop cola machine, who contains such flavors as orangette coleman, fizzy gillespie, and dave bruberry.

uh, more pictures. N'importe quoi.















Embrun, Jardins De Luxembourg (paris), Lyon, Annecy, Lyon, Paris