This is the experimental music item. Feel free to talk about late 20th century classical ala Cage, Xenakis, ambient, Future Sound of London, free jazz, Ornette Coleman, and experimental pop, Brian Eno, Bill Laswell, John Zorn, etc.205 responses total.
20th century classical, qu'est-ce que c'est? i wouldn't consider ambiant, or future sound of london classical... but i don't know a whole lot on the subject... something i've just barely looked into..
When I have some time I'll have to write about Harry Partch, I'm a big fan of his work.
re #1 That's why this is the experimental music item, and not the 20th century classical item. My definition of experimental is broad, but includes music that expreiments with timbre, elements not normaly considered musical like sounds from the environment and city, exteme impovisation, and dissonance..
A good book on the subject that I'm reading currently is "New Sounds: A Listener's Guide to New Music" by John Schaefer. He divides music by styles instead of labels like "performance art" and "Minimalism." Each section has a brief history of a style followed by a discography. I've found a lot of cool music I want to try already and some that I never really thought of before (like the Beatles "White Album" in the electronic section for its use of tape manipulation in "Revolution No. 9").
I got "New Sounds" from the library. It is great! I carry my list with me whenever I go to a record show or used store. I've got a copy of Phillip Glass' "Low Symphony" that is very listenable. Has anyone heard "Heros" yet?
re #4 I used to listen to revolution #9 just about every day after High School. I would like to read that book it sounds fascinating. Does it go into music concrete (tape manipulation & splicing)?
Hmmmmm...I keep *almost* buying The Future Sound of London's _Dead Cities_. It alternately impresses and annoys me -- there are moments of brilliance when it breaks free of the obligatory mire of technospeak.
Hmmm if you want to try out FSL you might listen to lifeforms first from what I have heard of "Dead Cities" Lifeforms is a more varied album. FSL is in a bit of rut now.
Re #6: The first chapter of "New Sounds" deals with music concrete and other forms of electronic music. It also lists some classical pieces that use the theremin.
I've found ambient music to be very intriguing. It's tangential to conventional music-- the emphasis is more on creating an environment for an experience than stating a thought (especially a complete thought). I usually like this genre of experimental music as compared to free jazz. My mind wanders and gets lost in it. It also sometimes augments my feelings of loneliness (which sometimes I need). Free jazz seems very emotionally stable to me-- which at times makes it hard for me to appreciate. I usually take it best in a classical form-- say a la Spirogyra or some other elevator music. To be honest, I think free jazz is more fun to play than to listen to because it's the musicians that seem to be most involved in the experience. Literally, they are musically conversing with each other. Free jazz is also the most demanding to play, however; it requires you to improvise as freely as you would carry on a complex discussion. I think it would be unfair to leave Jimi Hendrix out of the forum here. Granted, most of his experimentations were probably drug-inspired, or rather, came about by the perspective of a drug-induced state, but he is well known for his experiments on the electric guitar. His music foreshadowed heavy metal, he made at least one musical quotation (see "Smashing of Amps"), and he did try to create musical experiences. Re: #4. Minimalist music, I think, is a description of style rather than a mere label. It's the basics, pure and simple. Although not all composers utilize the minimalist style, many are ending their pieces with basic musical elements.
I guess you could talk about Hendrix, here. His version of the "Star-Spangled Banner" is definitely one of the more unique covers of a song.
I'm more curious about current and semi-current experimental, at the moment: Zappa, Zorn, Glass, Frisell, Tape-beatles, Negativland, Anderson (Laurie), Belew, Oswald...
I have heard of all these people except the "Tape Beatles," who are they and what do they do?
Matthew: The Tape-beatles are a sound-collage/multi-media-performance band from Iowa. The album _The Grand Delusion_ (1993) is a fine example of their audio talents.
Has anyone heard any EBN (Emergency Broadcast Network) albums?
Matthew: I recently picked up Zorn's _The Classic Guide to Strategy_. It ought to keep me busy listening for a few years. I couldn't resist buying an album where people employed duck calls and buckets of water to produce music...
Wow...harry partch AND adrian belew mentioned in the same item....I'm impressed.
Who's Harry Partch?
I just found the Zorn/Lewis/Frisell _News For Lulu_! Very nice...
I found this cool CD and book set at Schoolkid's. I don't remember the exact name of the CD compilation, but it was music with new experimental instruments. Each track is new and uses a different instrument. The set sells for $30, but it's for sale at $27 right now.
Hey, if that book has a foreward by Tom Waits, then it is the one I've been planning to buy.
Re #18: Harry Partch was a composer who basically decided that western music was headed in the wrong direction, and broke away from it. He went on to develop his own tuning system (based on 43 notes to the octave), his own instruments, his own forms, etc.
Re #21: Yes, Scott, it's the book you're thinking of.
I'll repeat what orinoco wrote in #22, but I'll be more long-winded
about it.
Harry Partch was a middle-of-the-century American composer who
decided to scrap Western music and build his own. He came up with
his own scale & notation system -- if I remember correctly, he felt
there was something more "ancient" or "natural" about the system
he developed. And he built his own instruments, leaning heavily towards
percussive things. He wrote a book, GENESIS OF A MUSIC, which you can
probably browse at Borders to get a sense of his theoretical
underpinnings.
Partch also had some ideas about performance; he had a concept of
performance as musical theatre, with the instruments on stage and
the musicians as actors in costume.
The problem with developing your own instruments and your own
tuning and notational system is that your work is going to have trouble
outliving you. Partch died in 1976. About five years ago there was
some foofaraw when Partch's instruments were turned over to
Dean Drummond & his group Newband; Drummond & co. were going to
duplicate all the instruments and start touring & recording Partch's
work. But outside of that initial publicity burst, and one short
Partch composition on a Newband CD, I have heard nothing.
Probably some web searching is in order.
Cribbing from a CD booklet for THE MUSIC OF HARRY PARTCH:
"By all accounts, Harry Partch (1901-1976) was an extraordinary
character. A truculent, hard-drinking independent who shunned the
musical mainstream -- even the avant-garde musical mainstream -- and
lived much of his life in the California desert, he fashioned
instruments out of surplus airplane fuel tanks, Pyrex chemical jars,
artillery shell casings, bottles and old keyboards. Partch invented
his own tuning systems (dividing the scale into 43 notes) and took
at least as much inspiration from the percussive, ritualized music
of the Far East as he did from Western Europe; his music combines
rhythmic and tonal sophistication which a direct, near-primitive
mysticism. The result, as listeners to this CRI compact disc reissue
will quickly discover, is some of the most distinctive music
yet produced in the United States."
(as they say on The Tonight Show: more to come...)
yah. what he said.
An Alta Vista search on "harry partch" did indeed turn up some interesting things. There are three recent recordings of Partch material by other musicians. Two of them are of pieces I already have -- "Barstow" and "Daphne of the Dunes", from the wonderful old Columbia LP THE WORLD OF HARRY PARTCH. But I'll probably try to get these new recordings anyway. They were offered by an online retailer specializing in "experimental" music, and I've forgotten the URL, darn it. There's also a comprehensive Harry Partch web site under construction down in San Diego. One of the characteristics of Partch's music which I have not yet mentioned is his accessibility. I got interested in his music when I was 14, and hardly a musical progressive.
Excellent! I like him, already, for all those reasons... I am going out to look for more about this fellow! Thank you for all the details!
I just managed to find _The Music of Harry Partch_. Wow. I'm impressed! So was a friend of mine. That's two more Partch fans...
re: the expurgated responses: you are *such* a perfectionist... :) I wonder what it would take to get Sony to either reissue, or license to CRI, the WORLD OF HARRY PARTCH album from the early 1970s?
In pursuit of Harry Partch recordings, the other day, I managed to discover an interesting set that can be ordered called _Historic Speech-Music Recordings from the H. Partch Archives_. It's a several-disc set that seems to include complete versions of about four to six pieces. The price runs about $75, though...
Does anyone know if Partch's GENESIS OF A MUSIC is still in print? I can't find it anywhere, and the library wants their copy back or they're going to come after me with large pointy objects. mziemba--what pieces of his are on that album? I think I know the one you're talking about, but I'm not sure. Also, I belive there's a Kronos Quartet recording of an arrangement of Barstow. Purists would hate them for not using the original instruments, but it's there. I haven't heard it myself, so I don't know if it's any good.
Oh, so *you're* the one who has it out. I went looking for it the other day, delighted to find that the library carried it. Unfortunately *someone* had it checked out. Now it looks like I won't even get a crack at it? Harrumph...
It looks like Partch's _Genesis of a Music_ is put out by Da Capo publishers, responsible for some fairly astute books on music. Da Capo's still around, and I see no reason why this would be any more obscure than other material on their roster, so I'm guessing it's still available.
Amazon.com shows GENESIS OF A MUSIC as "Publisher Out Of Stock." Poot. They also list a title I had not seen: BITTER MUSIC: collected Journals, Essays, Introductions and Librettos edited by Thomas McGeary, $45.
What? I thought he had lost Bitter Music. If I recall correctly from GRENESIS, (which is back at the library now, Mark), he had kept a journal as a hobo called Bitter Music, but then lost it. Did someone find it, or did he reuse the title?
Wonderful! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I looked for Partch all day and couldn't find his music on CD, tape, or vinyl. I tried Encore, SKR, Schoolkids, Discount Records, and Wazoo, I guess that leaves Tower and that other record store near Tower. :-(
I happened to notice today that Schoolkids' Partch bin is empty.
Hey, the Bang on a Can All-Stars will be at the Power Center, Saturday, April 5, 8P! I've heard some of the stuff that's come out of this project, and it's definitely interesting. Experimental pieces/experimental percussion. I hope someone else can go, because I can't!
I'll try, definitely. YOu know how much tickets are?
Well, Bang on a Can All-Stars with the String Trio of New York is apparently a University Musical Society of the University of Michigan offering. (313) 764-2538 ought to yield an answer to that. I have yet to see a show there, so I'm not familiar with the price structure (although I hear it's a fantastic place to see a show).
Ok. Got Partch's _Genesis of a Music_. I'm immediately impressed at the beauty of the instruments. I thought they were going to look pretty disheveled and junky, but they're rather streamlined. I can see where the carpentry came in!
Just found at the East Lansing Where House Records, of all places: an album of the Harry Partch song cycle "17 Lyrics of Li Po," performed by "intoning voice" and tenor violin. Will report further. This is a 1995 release on Tzadik Records, part of a series which includes two John Zorn CDs. (I found a reference to this in my web searching, but I was using Lynx on some lynx-hostile web pages so I didn't fully understand the reference.)
Driving in Indiana this week, I ran into a really slow construction jam. I was idly searching the radio for traffic updates (some sites will have an AM tape loop that gives construction traffic details), and ran across some kind of data signal. It was like 3 or 4 morse code characters endlessly repeated. The cooworker I was driving with figured out that it could be counted in 7/8, and it was nicely hypnotic. If I'd been driving alone, I could have listened to it for hours. I wonder what other signals I could find if I got a shortwave or a scanner?
I've seen _17 Lyrics of Li Po_, but haven't heard it, yet. I'm curious to hear more about it. There was a copy of this at Tower Records in Ann Arbor, in the classical section last week.
scott--another fun game with a radio is to turn it to midway between to close stations. With luck and patience, you can get a combination of the two mixed together. The most interesting juxtapositions I've found was NIN and a gospel group whose name I don't know. Recently, I got a hold of some pieces of Crumb's: _Idyll for the Misbegotten_, _Vox Balaenae_, _Black Angels_, and _Madrigals_. _Black Angels_ was on a Kronos Quartet album with some other stuff, and is easily the wierdest of the bunch. It is billed as a string quartet, but it drifts a bit from the traditional form, using electric instead of acoustic instruments and including percussion. This means that they can get some bizzare noises out of their instruments, including shreiks, moans, and something sounding like a swarm of insects. _Vox Balaenae_ is a close second, in my opinion. It is written for amplified flute, amplified piano, electric cello, and crotales (little things that look like tiny cymbals and sound like bells), and includes such insanity as singing through the flute while playing, mucking around inside the piano a la John Cage, and making a noise on the cello that sounds like seagulls. The other two I haven't listened to much. _Idyll_ is for flute and percussion, and the _Madrigals_ are for voice, flute, percussion, and I think a couple other instruments I'm forgetting. Definitely crazy stuff.
I found the "New Band" recording of Partch on the Original Partch instruments. I like the Partch piece "Daphne of the Dunes" a fair ammount, but the the pieces by the members of the ensemble leave me a little cold.
Check out http://www.dnai.com/~jinetwk for some stuff about Partch, including a list of other web resources.
Raven, where did you find the Newband recording with "Daphne"? Mark, you should probably borrow my copy of "Li Po" before you spring for your own.
PJ's it was a new CD in their "New Music" section. They also had another another New Band rewcording with a shorter Partch piece on the CD.
I think the Partch tome that's on its way includes "Li Po". So, I'll undoubtedly hear it.
DV- you asked what pieces were on _The Music of Harry Partch_ and I missed
the question, earlier. Allow me to respond, now...
* final scene and epilogue of _The Bewitched_ (1955)
* "Castor and Pollux" from _Plectra & Percussion Dances_ (1952)
* "The Letter" (1943)
* excerpts from the film _Windsong_ (1958)
* "And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma" (1963-64,66)
Yeah, I've heard that one. That was the CD from the public library that got me hooked.
Have to check out Partch, haven't listened to his stuff. . . Alot of what I play is "new improvised music" or however people are calling it these days. . ."free jazz", whatever. I think it definitely started out in some respects as sounding kind of flat and complex, like if you listen to the album Free Jazz, but there's alot of directions it's gone since then. For instance, I would consider "Bitches Brew" or "It's about that time" to be free jazz, too, and there's nothing flat about either. . .or Marylin Crispel, or Zorn, or Dave DOuglas, or wow, a whole slew of poeple. . .it *is* something where there are extremes of quality. It's usualy either REALLY amazing at what it's trying to be, or REALLy bad. . . I just tgot a couple of albums with Bill Frisel, he's such a beautiful amazing player, man, I got the one with the violinist and the tunes from the Far Side(forgot the name) and Paul Motion On Broadway(which has him on it) whew, he's so amazing. . . Anyone else listen to Orange than Light Blue? Or Only a Mother? Or the Art Ensemble of Chicago? Or the New York Composers Orchestra?
Katt: I've got that Frisell album. Great one! I was sorely tempted to buy his new one, which is apparently a bluegrass/country outing, can you believe that?
Yeah, I'd heard about that-it must be really surreal, spacey bluegrass. . .
I think the new Bill Frisell is in one of the listening stations at Schoolkids; it was either there or Borders. It didn't float my boat, but...
Borders I think... It's sort of DaDa country like Robin Holcome.
I wish they had an experimental music station at borders. . .
Just heard Bitches Brew a few weeks ago, and it completely blew me away. Speaking of weird bluegrass, could someone reccomend me a Bela Fleck album?
Well I like the stuff he does with Tony Trischka better than his solo stuff which is a little smooth and new age for my taste. The Tony Trischka CD "World Turning" is wonderful and has an intersting mix of bluegrass, banjo jazz, and banjo alternative music with Peter Buck of REM playing Bazouki, and members of the Violent Femmes as well.
Mmm, that sounds interesting...
Actually, a really cool Bela Fleck album is the recently released _Tabula Rasa_ on Water Lily Acoustics, featuring Fleck on banjo, V.M. Bhatt on slide guitar, and Jie-Bien Cheng on erhu. It's wonderful, and prompted me to look for a Jie-Bien Cheng album, as well... (but I suppose this is leaning towards the world music conference...)
Hmm...new age banjo could be frightening, but I think "World Turning" does sound more interesting.
Based on Raven's suggestion, I picked up a copy of Tony Trischka's WORLD TURNING disc this weekend. I misread response #63; there doesn't appear to be any Bela Fleck appearance on this disk, though just about everybody else in the world is on it :) (Alison Kraus! Syd Straw!! William S. Burroughs!!!) First play reaction: very nice, even if we are most likely discussing it in the wrong item... I'm not really aware of Trishka, so if someone wants to enlighten me about his career...
But, Bela Fleck is, indeed, on _Tabula Rasa_, and it's a very cool album...
Hmmm I thought Fleck was on at least one track on "World Turning," I know he was Bela Fleck's teacher for a while. I just looked he isn't on the album. Well it's a good CD anyway. :-)
Bela Fleck just put out a two-disk set with a whole BUNCH of people, Branford Marsalis, and Chick Corea, and oh, whole bunmch of others. It's an amazing disk, all live. . .it's called LIve Art.
hmm...might have to get my hands on that one..
I found it at Borders-they were even playing it over the loud-speakers. . .
Good taste? At Border's? How shocking! <g>
Well, Borders *proper* has no tyaste-they're a huge media conglomerate that bows out to agencies like everyone else. But som,e of the people who work there know their stuff.
Yeah, I used to know one of the people there, back before I discovered all the local stores that aren't servants of the devil.
Yay! _Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones_ is now in hand. Too cool for words! ellipsis arts... hit the mark on this one!
Hmm...still haven't been able to get my hands on that one.
I played it for a friend, and he was so intrigued, he went out and nabbed a copy that day. I think both Borders and Schoolkids' are out of it, at the moment. Several disappeared at Borders from the time I saw it there, last week, until the time I grabbed their last copy. They've got a play copy at Borders...ask to hear it if you'd like to get a taste in the meantime...
I'm interested in hosting an evening of ecclectic musical exchange sometime this fall. Raise your hands if you're interested...
<raises hand>
Me too
Me too. (I'd say me three, but I only have two hands to raise, so...)
I'd say me 29, but I'm too mainstream
Yes that sounds wonderful, count me in...
Cool. I'd like to mine our collective expertise and curiosity in real time, for a change, and get a chance to meet a few new faces. Your handles have all been noted, so look forward to future news as plans develop...
I'm interested also. I'm not quite sure what it is you're suggesting, but I'm interested anyway.
I'm suggesting we get together one evening this fall, at my place, to share our common interest in experimental music. Bring any music, instruments, or ideas you'd like to share. I might pick up the Theramin documentary for a showing, as well.
Sounds very cool.
Yes, count me in, perhaps we should bring blank tapes as well? :-)
Also a good idea...
With your participation, it will undoubtedly be a nice evening...
*sigh* I know precious little about experimental music, I live too far away, and I'll be in school :(
Jon- got some power tools? Got some spare time? ...
Mark, I'm not good with power tools, or handcrafting instruments. Then again, I haven't necessarily tried. I'm just not as talented with my hands-- that is, doing the math right to get the specs correct. I could see if a friend of mine still has that beer keg I gave him for safekeeping (although I doubt he still has it). I was thinking about making it some sort of steel drum years ago.
Jon- sometimes intuition leads us on remarkable journeys.
imagination.... its the key to the entire universe except the the bathroom
Many moons ago back in middle school, I took this class where we made dulcimers out of cardboard & wood kits, and then learned how to play them almost quasi somewhat competently. I should get in touch with my old music teacher and find out where she got them - the kits would be heaps of fun to experiment.
Something to think about. Actually, the challenge to scrape enough money up to go to Ann Arbor is more formidable. (I would appreciate it if you could contact me, Mark, on this subject-- I won't be able to come this fall, but I need a place to stay)
I think that the cardboard dulcimer kits may be available through Elderly Instruments in Lansing; wouldn't hurt to give Herb David a call here in Ann Arbor.
I didn't even think about that. I'll look into it. Thank you. Looking back at the one I made in middle school, the only part that you'd really need a kit for is the neck and tuning pegs. The cardboard body, bridge, nut, and so on could easily be made out of normal objects. (oh, and....100th! woo!)
I've seen kits for nice quality ones in the Elderly Instruments catalog. Might ask at Shar Music here in Ann Arbor; they do a lot of student stuff (the make violins, mainly)
The problem being 'quality' usually means 'expensive', and you feel guilty doing sadistic things to them.
I can even check into Herb David for you. I know someone that works there... There's also a dulcimer store over in the north campus area, if memory serves.
Wow...who'd 'a thunk it?
Scott H.- I seem to recall you mentioning wanting to start an alternative drum corps. There's a good article in September's _Experimental Musical Instruments_ on modular PVC pipe drums that you might want to check out. You can find a copy at Main Street News, right now, if you hurry...
Also...I checked my contact at Herb David. They have dulcimers, and dulcimer kits. I'm not sure if they have cardboard dulcimer kits, however.
Hmm...any idea of prices? I've been playing around with my old cardboard one some. The main problem is that it requires what I find an awkward playing position - horizontal on your lap, fingered with the left hand. Those who are accustomed to something like the guitar, violin, or 'cello would have to find a way of resonating it that didn't interfere with playing it in another position, or would have to electrify it.
You'll never guess what just showed up, after *months* of waiting...
All four CDs of it?
Yes, indeed..._Enclosure-2: Historic Speech-Music Recordings from the Harry Partch Archives_... Includes some great liner notes, a few excepts from speeches, and a wealth of musical material. Fantastic!
Wow! Incredible! Is this availible generally now, or is this a special order you've been waiting for, or what? Incidentally, I got a chance to listen to some of the suff off Gravikords, Whirlies, and Pyrophones the other day. Some very cool stuff, and some very silly. The ones I found the most interesting were the circuit-bent instruments - made by short-circuiting normal audio circuits. There was one called the Trigon Incantor built around a Speak -n- Spell, for instance, that made truly bizarre vaguely-speech-like sounds.
Yeah, the circuit-bending stuff was probably my favorite, along with the daxophone. I managed to hear a whole album of daxophone material, however, and it was a little hard to stay with it for that long. The circuit-bending seems like it would be more promising in full-album format. The Harry Partch set I mentioned was something I had to special order. It took quite some time to get, and I was even informed that it was probably out of print, at one point. I had pretty much given up on the idea of hearing it, when, out of the blue, I got a call from SKR Classical about it. I was amazed that they were able to pull through for me on it, but, then again, I've always received excellent service there.
*sigh* The obscure things I'll never get to hear..
Very cool. So what all is on the recording?
Heh. Last night someone was playing some story over a Harry Partch piece around 1A on WCBN 88.3 FM. It worked very nicely, making both the story and the piece even a little more interesting. I think Harry would've approved, given his appreciation for the tonality of speech and his interest in making approachable experimental art. Man, I love college radio...
And, they were also playing what could've only been some Negativland around 4P. Two stars for `CBN in one day!
Was it from the new Negativland Dispepsi? Which BTW is a funny biting look at the soft drink industry though perhaps not as engaging as their earlier albums such as Escape from Noise.
Cool...new Negativland out? Didn't know about it. Guess I'm going to the record shop, today... It sounded like it was from the _Over the Edge_ radio program series -- the last, religious one...
Dispepsi is excellent, probably NegLand's greatest work. It's a lawsuit in the making, so hurry and get it.
No kidding...I didn't see it at Schoolkids'. Any ideas where it might be?
Hmmmm...never heard of Negativland. What kind of music is it, Mark?
Well Negativland I think is best described as collage "music." Their earlier efforts are almost random collages of snipets from ham radio, comercials, training films, etc. Their later work is also collage but tends towards very humorous political satire. Negativland was mired in a lawsuit in the late 80s-early 90s over thier "U2" parody which sampled U2 and Casey Casum sp?? in a very humorous way. They lost the lawsuit and were forced ot pull the U2 cd from the shelves, since that point they have been very outspoken advocates of "fair use" (short samples of copyright materials). Probably the best cd to introduce yourself to Negativland in "Escape from Noise<" I also like "A Big 10-8 Place," and the new CD Dispepsi.
Wow! Interesting.....I'll have to see if I can find some. Thanks, Matthew.
Dave- Negativland practice the high art of sonic collage. Cool stuff. _Escape From Noise_ is definitely classic. Two similar outfits are The Tape-beatles and John Oswald, although Oswald's stuff tends to be almost too densely packed, at times. The Tape-beatles did a very cool _Grand Delusion_ album.
Heh heh heh....I can see now that I'm *never* going to catch up with *all* the different music I want to own. Before I can get stuff I know about, I find out about even more stuff. The human life span sure seems short.
Not truly experimental, I suppose, but would anyone care to provide an overview of the discography of The Art of Noise? I found a cache of their CDs used, and I vaguely recall there were a handful of recommended ones and lots to avoid.
Ken-
_(Who's Afraid of?) The Art of Noise!_ (1984)
_In Visible Silence_ (1986)
_In No Sense? Nonsense!_ (1987)
_Below the Waste_ (1989)
I found _In Visible Silence_ to be their most intriguing and polished
effort. Contains the recognizable "Peter Gunn", the Max Headroom'ed
"Paranoimia", the enigmatic "Instruments of Darkness", and the word-playful
"Opus 4".
_In No Sense?..._ struck me as similar, but not as interesting.
_(Who's Afraid of?)..._ is touted as fairly good, but I never
liked it as much as _In Visible Silence_, and even found it fairly cloying,
at times.
_Below the Waste_ is probably fairly forgettable.
I'm surprised that, with the current discussion of the Art of Noise, nobody has mentioned that the band teamed up with Tom Jones on a cover of "Kiss," originally done by The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (when he was _still_ known as Prince).
...appearing on _The Best of the Art of Noise_ (1988) compilation -- perhaps the handiest AON album to acquire...
I went back to that cache of AON albums -- Wazoo in East Lansing, if anyone else wants a stab at them -- and IN VISIBLE SILENCE was not among them. I have a vague recollection that we own one of the other discs, argh...
I've either heard or acquired any I wanted to, but thanks for offering.
Question for orinoco: in the item about the Twisted Village store (item:99) you mentioned "three volumes of the new CRI Partch collection." I haven't heard about this; can you elaborate? (I moved the question here to keep all the Partch stuff in one item.)
Well, I bough one of those three, which has '11 intrusions', 'Plectrum and Percussion dances', and 'Ulysses at the Edge'. One of the other two has 'The Wayward' in it's entirety, and I don't recall what's on the other one besides 'Daphne of the Dunes' and 'Water, Water'.
Hehehehehe...I *finally* found Negativland's _Dispepsi_. Listening to it, now...
And your opinion, Mark?
After several listenings, I'm not as impressed with it as I was with _Escape From Noise_ or _Helter Stupid_. It's interesting, but just doesn't have the same punch that these two did. It's struck me that they've gotten less intense in the past several years. I can't see it as a direct result of their _U2_ fiasco, either. Their most powerful material so far didn't require half the sensationalism that they attempted with _U2_. It seems to me that they've been so busy focusing on flash, that they've really allowed the technique to suffer. Don't get me wrong...I think their ideas are interesting...but it seems like they're getting overtaken by the adrenaline of picking a fight, without spending enough time working on their left hooks...
I can see, er.. hear that. It's hard to top the intensity of _Esacape.._ and _Helter Stupid_.
What would you recommend as a good access point to The Residents?
Well the residents are pretty hard to access, but my favorites are "The Comercial Album" which is 40 1 minute songs, Eskimo which features some Inuit instruments and comes in white vinyl (very hard to find), and their cover of Elvis songs just to see the king have his crown knocked off.
My copy of _The Bewitched_ came in! My copy of _The Bewitched_ came in! <dan is _happy!_>
_Eskimo_ sounds pretty interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.
Dan- cool! Let us know what you think of it...
It's...interesting. But we already expected that. Frankly, I like some of Partch's other stuff a lot better, but this was sort of a 'must-own' thing, if only because I'm a fanatic.
This afternoon seppuku and I were fooling around with a metal bowl - which I had discovered had a nice gong-like sound when you hit it - when we made another discovery. At seppuku's suggestion, I filled it halfway with water, and we found that this made the tone 'wobble' a little. So just recently, I tried stretching a few old guitar strings across the opening of the bowl - I was impressed at the results. Plucking the strings gives a nasal sound with a bit of wobble due to the water sloshing around, and when one string is plucked the other vibrates a little, making a nice subtle drone. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to get more than one note per string, so anything based on this would have to be more like a harp than a guitar, but I'll be messing around with it a bit more in the next few days. My next project is to try to get more strings to fit, to the point where I can play a melody of some sort on it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Wow that is a strange synchronicity, I was just messing with a metal bowl in my kitchen and noticed the wah wah sound of it's chime, so I then tried filling it with water to increase the wah. Great minds think alike. :-) The guitar strings are a nice touch.
Synchronicitous indeed! (is that even a word?) I just stopped by Herb David to grab some tuning machines - it turns out that's the technical term for those tuning-peg-with-gear deals that guitars have. I'm planning on putting on six strings to begin with, but I think I'll be able to use the edge of the bowl as a bridge, which means 12 notes - i.e. a chromatic octave, or nearly so. This will mean some hammering and sawing and suchlike, meaning it may be awhile before it really comes together.
*lumen is in awe*
Hey, I haven't gotten off my ass and _done_ anything yet - save that awe for when it's deserved :)
it's the principle of the thing-- I doubt I could actually make an instrument, much less conceive of one.
(Hey, orin's a geek of high degree... what do you expect? :)
Geek? Well, I consider it 'cool' in my case..
So he's a cool geek... Yeah, I'll give you that. But still a geek of high degree.
You just have to come to terms with your inner music geek.
IT WORKS! <dan is a happy crazy music geek> I've twiddled the design a bit more, and it really works, and sound comes out and everything :) Yeah, I'm a bit manic - can you tell?
Hey congratulations does it sound like a harp with a wah peddle?
Dan- very cool! Thanks for sharing your ideas and enthusiasm, here. I'd like to get a look at this beast, sometime. Perhaps it can form the centerpiece of discussion at our first experimental music gathering (which is due to happen fairly soon, now that my schedule is a little more open).
Experimanetal music gathering I'm very interested. Please e-mail me when that happens. I have been know to experiment with guitar tunings, and my latest kick is playing bass with a guitar slide. Plus I like to listen to all kinds of experimental music.
Bass with a gutar slide - sounds neat. 'This Beast' sounds...well, it sounds pretty metallic, because it has steel strings and a metal body, and there is something of a wah effect - kind of like a sitar without the drone, I guess. Yeah, experimental music gathering would be cool. Let me know. oh, raven, is this a standup bass, or a fretless bass guitar, or what?
Well it's a fretless bass now. :-) I'm not all that good in terms of knowing scales etc, but I think I have a good ear for what sounds interesting. Plus I have a digital delay that can be used to create interesting layered sounds.
That sounds really neat - I'll have to hear it sometime.
A new Harry Partch web site for those who are intersted - good stuff, and it's maintained by one of the players in Partch's ensemble, Gate 5. http://corporeal.com/ (I think that's it, anyway)
I've got a couple loose guitar pickups I will likely never use, if anybody has a burning desire to amplify some ferrous-metal object.
Hmm...I may or may not be forced to take you up on that one, scott. :)
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If you're into Fred Frith, take note of his appearance on the soundtrack to _The Tango Lesson_.
Has anyone had a chance to catch Fez around the Detroit area? They apparently employ a Theramin, pump organ, and hub caps along with more traditional intruments in their tunes. They just played the Pontiac Arts Beats and Eats Festival, September 6, 1998, but I'll have to dig for upcoming performances.
I love me those theremins. Of course, haven't figured out how to play it yet. sorry for the digression
Locally, Mr. Largebeat also uses a lot of theremin . . . .
Mark, what exactly is a Theramin?
It's a box with two antannae sticking out of it. One antenna is for volume, and the other for pitch. By placing your hands near the antennae you control the instrument. They are very difficlut to play. If you're in Ann Arbor, I think Liberty St. Video has the excellent film "Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey"
Mr. Largebeat will be playing a theremin with his band on Oct.31 at the Arbor Brew Company at 9:00 pm. It's a Halloween party!
Theramin?>>>I beleive Raymond Scott was one of the pioneers http://RaymondScott.com for more great sounds check out http://www.killpopradio.com
News flash!!!! A sequel to "Whirligig, Gravichords and Pyrophones" has been issued! Called "Orbitones, Spoon Harps & Bellowphones", it has more of the same kinda stuff. I got my copy at Borders (neat display on the checkout counter, with both CD/books available, and a little 5-note xylophone made of wrenches and plumbing parts is part of the display). It is now a CD-sized hardcover book, and the first one is also in that format, instead of the earlier large paperback in a box format. I have it here, but I have another purchase on the CD player at the moment.
And.... it's good! It features more professionals than amateurs than the first CD, but that is not really an issue in any way. Tom Waits does a neat piece, John Cage, and a thing from the show "Stomp". Plus some neat obscure things. Highly recommended!
Woohoo! I'll have to go take a look at that one.
Yes, but does it have a daxaphone?
It has a Maginificent Bellowphone, and a Pencilina, and some other neat things.
I'm starting to think about another experimental music meeting sometime after the holidays... maybe have some interesting things to play on, like springs with contact mics and such. Anybody interested?
But of course...
I have a theremin...of course, haven't really gotten the hang of how to play it correctly, but it makes some really kewl sounds. Got to play with an original at the UofM antique electronic instrument show they were having.
OK, tentative: 2nd Experimental Music Gathering Sunday, January 17, afternoon Scott's house (in Ann Arbor) (feel free to suggest alternate days/dates) I'm going to construct some fun things for this one, with contact mics or something.
Sounds fun. Sunday afternoons in general work, I'm not sure if that one does, so I guess count me as a tentative 'yes' for the 17th. Where'd you get yr theremin, isis?
I ordered through Big Briar, Bob Moog's company. They come either fully assembled or in kits. Mine was already assembled for 300.
I should note that this gathering is open to all participants in the Music conference...
I've seen the documentary on Theremin, and it's *fascinating*. Highly recommended. Fez will be opening up for Poignant Plecostemus at the Blind Pig this Friday, January 15. I have now listened to their album, _Elixir_ (1997), which is deliciously good. I'll be at the show. Anyone else interested in joining me? Doors open at 9:30P. I'm hoping to make the Sunday gathering, following, at Scott's.
It is official: Sunday 1/17 at 1:00 pm, at my house. Send mail for directions!
This is a test! This is *only* a test!
Okay, I'm not sure if I can come or not...I need to be on Central Campus at 3:00; if I can get a ride there from someone then I'll be able to come, otherwise I'll need to miss this. Argh!
I'll give you a ride if needed.
Cool. Thanks a lot, Scott. I should be there, then.
Surprise! Ann Arbor has its very own experimental music genius: Frank Pahl. Catch him in The Scavenger Quartet at the Blind Pig Thursday, May 6 at 10pm. They're opening up for The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love. Check him out!
Ah, right, now I remember. He was in "Only a Mother", right?
i thot frank was from detroit.
Here's a very tenuous announcement: On NPR the other day I turned the radio on just in time to hear the end of a promo for a concert [somewhere] [some date]. Not sure exactly who was being announced, but the background music (apparently the artist) was by ZGA, which is a Russian experimental music group featured in one of those compilations mentioned earlier in this item. Anybody know anything?
I bought a CD by ZGA a while back. Most of it sounds to me like beating trash cans with sticks. Then again, most modern music has been described that way at one time or another...
chuckles
re>#181 Isis, if you don't mind me asking, how much (in dollars, yes, and maybe UKP if you know the exchange rate) did you pay for it, you lucky, lucky person????
I'm afraid you probably won't get an answer to that query, Patchie. resp:181 was from 1998, and Anne/isis who wrote it is long gone.
(true, although her "jasmine" account still exists.) ;)
i listen to experimental music. like e.a.r. if anyone knows what that is. experimental audio research. cool stuff.
Isn't that Kevin Shields' current (to use the term loosely) project? What's it like? I presume it's not stylistically similar to MBV, but how would you describe it?
carson, sometimes I wonder if you're a social butterfly or a stalker. d=
I think he's a social stalker. Hmmm... sounds like a great band name.
<laughs>
You have several choices: