”The more susbtantial an individual’s aesthetic experience is, the sounder his taste, the sharper his moral focus, the freer—though not necessarily the happier—he is.."
This track has aged like the finest vintage wine. For Time Zone, Afrika Bambaataa brought together John Lydon and Bill Laswell, and coming from his own original bass in Kraftwerk, this is one of the few real Rosetta Stones in popular music, a song that is not only ass-kicking in its own right but unlocks the possibility of every mix of African-American culture and white bourgeois attitudes. It’s as important as Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, and if you can’t hear that, then you’re just not listening.
“I strongly disagree with much of…this essay…but it’s incredibly well-written and thought-provoking, and definitely worth a read. This is the kind of writing that I would hold up as a perfect example of why blogs are not merely fun and interesting, but also serious and important.”
This is about the best of America, and this, not the middle-aged white guys in midwestern diners that David Brooks and those who want to be him talk with (or invent) to get the pulse of “real” America, this is the real America.
Over the past five years or so, I’ve gotten deeply into the blues. It took me a long time to get at the core of what’s happening, the fantastic range of nuance, the layers of meaning, and especially the utter lack of fucking bullshit. You cannot bullshit with the blues. It is one of the few cures in the arsenal of resistance to the crushing bullshit of late-capitalist, decadent America. Dig it.
“I strongly disagree with much of…this essay…but it’s incredibly well-written and thought-provoking, and definitely worth a read. This is the kind of writing that I would hold up as a perfect example of why blogs are not merely fun and interesting, but also serious and important.”
I’ve been trying to work myself back into listen to music in my personal library. Even though I’ve managed to recover from the bulk of my major depression, the process of choosing and sticking with something is still weighted and thwarted by substantial anxiety.
But I got through Mahler 4 this morning, and now I’m trying my beloved Sibelius in the rotation. Playing a game with myself to listen all the way through the First and Second symphonies to get to the glorious Third.
“Anyone who can write with insight and authority about Alas No Axis, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello…Missy Mazzoli and William Britelle, and…Mahler…is okay in my book.”
This entrancing video is a teaser from an upcoming release on the Soap Library cassette label. The album is Foliage of Caves (May 1) by Gryphon Rue, and everything is the produce of the playing and manipulation of one instrument, itself mainly known as a tool: a saw.
You’re impressed, I see. I’ll say no more. Order the cassette at Bandcamp, it’s a limited edition of 50 copies. And check out some other Soap Library releases—I recommend Eve Essex’ Here Appear and Some from Jeff Tobias. There’s also a good label sampler:
“Anyone who can write with insight and authority about Alas No Axis, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello…Missy Mazzoli and William Britelle, and…Mahler…is okay in my book.”
Herbie turned a forever-ageless 80 earlier this month. He still makes music and plays like this.
“Hang Up Your Hang Ups” is my very favorite track from his funk era, it’s on Man-Child which you should own, along with Thrust, Sextant, and Head Hunters. This stuff is all at back-catologue prices—Thrust is $4.99!!!!!— and is prime choice.
“Anyone who can write with insight and authority about Alas No Axis, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello…Missy Mazzoli and William Britelle, and…Mahler…is okay in my book.”
“I strongly disagree with much of…this essay…but it’s incredibly well-written and thought-provoking, and definitely worth a read. This is the kind of writing that I would hold up as a perfect example of why blogs are not merely fun and interesting, but also serious and important.”
Roy Nathanson plays with his neighbors in Ditmas Park
The Endangered Quartet is saxophonist Roy Nathanson, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, bassist/vocalist Tim Kiah, and violinist Jesse Mills—sort of a version of the Jazz Passengers. They have an album, Heart, scheduled for release on May 22, on Panoramic Recordings (that’s the jazzish arm of the excellent New Focus Recordings new music label).
This is in the vein of a Jazz Passengers album: made with skill, taste, imagination, and a balance of irreverence and love for the material, like the jazz/bluegrass style on “Goodnight Irene” and the delicate and plangent arrangement of Bach’s Chorale BWV 244/44.
As for the mood…it’s real. My own moods are frustration, despair, hopelessness, and also determination. This music gives me an ache, one that I’m not always prepared for. That means they’re reaching me, so pre-order and prepare. (If the world is safe by then, there’s a scheduled releases show on May 22 at Joe’s Pub—otherwise, online only).
“I strongly disagree with much of…this essay…but it’s incredibly well-written and thought-provoking, and definitely worth a read. This is the kind of writing that I would hold up as a perfect example of why blogs are not merely fun and interesting, but also serious and important.”
The Big City 
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