Monday, May 29, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 5/27/06 - 5/29/06

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CHATHAM, RHYS: Die Donnergotter (The Thundergods) 2LP and An Angel Moves Too Fast to See LP (both Table Of The Elements) - Like so many artists from the NYC avant garde scene over the years (Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, and so on), Chatham’s work is better known for the influence it had on those who followed and has been “heard” mainly as filtered through the music of those who he influenced (Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth, and so on). Very little of Chatham’s own material has remained available in print. Thankfully, the fine folks at Table Of The Elements have been doing their part over the years to make us more aware of Chatham’s work through an ongoing series of reissues. “Die Donnergotter” reissues a compilation which included most of Chatham's most famous pieces, the highlights of which are the title track and, “Drastic Classicism”. "An Angel Moves Too Fast to See" is Chatham’s legendary composition that was scored for an orchestra (army?!?) of 100 electric guitars! Essential music that’s great to have available for a wider audience once again!

Note, if you already own the 2003 3CD Compilation on Table Of The Elements, with the similar title of, “An Angel Moves Too Fast to See: Selected Works 1971-1989”, then you already have all the material on these two releases and more, but, if you’ve missed out on Chatham’s works up until now (or you just want this material on cool vinyl - my only reason for buying these titles filled with material I already own, I’ll admit!), then get hip and pick these up today!

MV & EE WITH THE BUMMER ROAD: Mother of Thousands 2LP (Time Lag) - I’ve got to admit that I think that a) the whole MV/EE thing is way overhyped and b) they were better when acting as part of a greater whole in the Tower Recordings. So, I’ll admit that I was skeptical about this new double LP release from MV, EE, and The Bummer Road on Time Lag that has been getting lots of hype as being their best work to date. Reluctantly, I’ve got to admit that it is. There are several tracks of fairly pleasing acid folk, most notably, “Sunshine Girl“ and “Canned Heat Blues“. That being stated, however, about 50% of the material here is still only semi-competant basement ramble that, quite frankly, is no better than the hundreds of hours of tapes that I have of me and my friends jamming, so I could hardly call this release an unqualified winner. If you’re really into the whole acid folk, basement psych, drone raga scene, then you probably want this. If not, well...you’ve been warned. A keeper, but barely, for me.

Damn, it's been a good run for me; again, nothing in the "did not add" category! I must not be experimenting enough!

Running Count For The Year

Adds 70/58%

Did Not Add 51/42 %

Friday, May 26, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 5/21/06 - 5/26/06

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CORSANO, CHRIS And Ben Chasney/Metzger: S/T Split LP (Roaratorio) - So, of course, the big deal side of this split LP (which comes in a cool poplar veneer jacket!?!) is supposed to be the Corsano - Chasney side, coming off their recent collaboration on the most recent Six Organs Of Admittance release. Their side, however, contains some fairly uninteresting improvisational percussion and guitar clatter. The saving grace is the side by Paul Metzger, on which he combines droning tampura and guitar, excellently punctuated with trippy, ringing, tones from modified music boxes to create a satisfying late night psychedelic raga.

ELLMAN, LIBERTY: Ophiucus Butterfly CD (Pi) - When it comes to current Jazz, my interest is mainly in Free Jazz. This CD by Henry Threadgill associate, Liberty Ellman, is a rare exception. It combines a nice array of instruments and styles. There are a couple of jaunty stompers, a slow bluesy moaner, a couple of experiments in electro-ambinence, a track that features a heavy eastern influence, with lots of bells, and the releases's highlight, the outstanding, "Chromos", features a tuba! One of my favorite Jazz releases of the year, so far.

YEAR OF: Slow Days LP (MORR Music) - Interesting and gorgeous sounding LP of electronica, marred somewhat, IMHO, by irritating vocals. "Calling Sky", in particular, is outstanding!

Running Count For The Year

Adds 67/57%

Did Not Add 51/43 %

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 5/16/06 - 5/20/06

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BLACK ANGELS: Passover 2LP (Light In The Attic) - This is a perfect example of why I feel fortunate to have enough money that I can experiment, instead of only being able to buy things that I have some reason to believe (previous history, label identity, etc.) I'll like.

I knew nothing about this band, but I was intrigued by the cool, textured, psychedelic black and white gatefold jacket, so I picked it up. Turned out to be some pretty cool contemporary psych-influenced rock, as informed by a musical tradition beginning with 60's underground heros such as the 13th Floor Elevators and the Velvet Underground (check out, "Call To Arms"), carrying right through to the 80's with say, Spacemen 3, and bringing it into the present artists such as the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Not life changing, but pretty damn enjoyable.

EDDIE MARCON: Shining On Graveposts CD (Preservation) - This new duo, composed of Japanese Underground veterans, delivers a dose of atmospheric acid folk. Almost too light, at times, for me, but still has some worthy moments.

Did Not Add

HOWLING RAIN: S/T CD (Birdman) - Ya know, I really like Comets On Fire and I also hate to dis locals. That all being stated, however, I couldn't dig this release of contemporary choogle with overwrought vocals.

Running Count For The Year

Adds 64/56%

Did Not Add 51/44 %

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Fundamentalism - Any Way You Go It's A One Way Road Trip Down The Highway To Hell!

Ironic, isn't it, that the most vehement supporters of Imperial America's widespread military actions, often using the rationalization that that such actions are necessary in order to defend ourselves from the dangers of evil, fundamentalist Islam, are, in fact, themselves Christian Fundamentalists?

Wikipedia (at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalism) describes Fundamentalism as follows:

"Fundamentalism" describes a movement to return to what is considered the defining or founding principles of the religion. It has especially come to refer to any religious enclave that intentionally resists identification with the larger religious group in which it originally arose, on the basis that fundamental principles upon which the larger religious group is supposedly founded have become corrupt or displaced by alternative principles hostile to its identity.

This formation of a separate identity is deemed necessary on account of a perception that the religious community has surrendered its ability to define itself in religious terms. The "fundamentals" of the religion have been jettisoned by neglect, lost through compromise and inattention, so that the general religious community's explanation of itself appears to the separatist to be in terms that are completely alien and fundamentally hostile to the religion itself. Fundamentalist movements are therefore founded upon the same religious principles as the larger group, but the fundamentalists more self-consciously attempt to build an entire approach to the modern world based on strict fidelity to those principles, to preserve a distinctness both of doctrine and of life.

Fundamentalism is therefore a movement through which the adherents attempt to rescue religious identity from absorption into modern culture, where this absorption appears to the enclave to have made irreversible progress in the wider religious community, necessitating the assertion of a separate identity based upon the fundamental or founding principles of the religion.

Fundamentalists believe their cause to have grave and even cosmic importance. They see themselves as protecting not only a distinctive doctrine, but also a vital principle, and a way of life and of salvation. Community, comprehensively centered upon a clearly defined religious way of life in all of its aspects, is the promise of fundamentalist movements, and it therefore appeals to those adherents of religion who find little that is distinctive, or authentically vital in their previous religious identity.

The fundamentalist "wall of virtue", which protects their identity, is erected against not only alien religions, but also against the modernized, compromised, nominal version of their own religion. In Christianity, fundamentalists are "Born again" and "Bible-believing" Protestants, as opposed to "Mainline", "liberal", "modernist" Protestants, who represent "Churchianity"; in Islam they are jama'at (Arabic: (religious) enclaves with connotations of close fellowship) self-consciously engaged in jihad (struggle) against Western culture that suppresses authentic Islam (submission) and the God-given (Shari'ah) way of life; in Judaism they are Haredi "Torah-true" Jews; and they have their equivalents in Hinduism and other world religions. These groups insist on a sharp boundary between themselves and the faithful adherents of other religions, and finally between a "sacred" view of life and the "secular" world and "nominal religion". Fundamentalists direct their critiques toward and draw most of their converts from the larger community of their religion, by attempting to convince them that they are not experiencing the authentic version of their professed religion.

For religious fundamentalists, sacred scripture is considered the authentic, and literal word of God. Fundamentalist beliefs depend on the twin doctrines that God articulated his will precisely to prophets, and that followers also have a reliable and perfect record of that revelation. Since Scripture is considered the word of God, fundamentalists believe that no person has the right to change it or disagree with it. As a result, people are "obliged" to obey the word of God. The appeal of this point of view is its simplicity: people must do what God tells them to do. END

So, in a geo-political atmosphere, such as we have today, in which the governments of nations are directly (i.e, Iran, etc.) or indirectly (i.e. the United States! I highly recommend Kevin Phillip's fine book, "American Theocracy", for more on that subject) controlled by religious fundamentalists, whose attitude towards those holding differing views is "my way or the highway", is it any wonder that the world is on a collision course for disaster?!? Of course, not! Especailly given the fact that there are multiple large, strong, groups that hold diametrically opposing views! Now being merely intolerant, on a personal level, of others' opposing views might be stupid and counterproductive, but it's not necessarily that dangerous to the world at large. Taking actions, however, to impose their beliefs on everybody else throughout the world via the control of various nations is another matter entirely and is, quite possibly, the greatest threat to the future survival of humanity! Even more of a threat than global warming, over population, or disease and so on.

And the real threat revealed by this analysis of the philosophies of religious fundamentalism and their impact on the actions of many present day governments is only exacerbated by the fact that you have unethical scumbags (as oppossed to well-meaning, but, perhaps, merely misguided "men of God") leading the charge for their forces worldwide!

The murderous and hypocritical actions of Osama and Co. are well documented and I carry no water for them. That all being stated, I'm an American and I can only do so much about them. I'm sure, however, many people (in fact, sadly, a much larger number than I would hope) would be surprised to learn that many of the trusted, respected leaders of their Churches, their "men of God" are just as dispicable as Osama and just as unworthy of being followed/supported.

Take Pat Robertson, as just one example. Yeah, everybody knows about all the whack comments he's made over the years (and his words should surely be both stupid and ugly enough to undermine his credibility and fitness to lead as a "Holy Man"), but his actions are twice as disgusting and dangerous.

For example, from The Nation (at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050919/blumenthal), we get the following:

Far from the media's gaze, Robertson has used the tax-exempt, nonprofit Operation Blessing as a front for his shadowy financial schemes, while exerting his influence within the GOP to cover his tracks. In 1994 he made an emotional plea on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from the Rwandan civil war to Zaire (now Congo). Reporter Bill Sizemore of The Virginian Pilot later discovered that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for the African Development Corporation, a Robertson-owned venture initiated with the cooperation of Zaire's then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

After a lengthy investigation, Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs determined that Robertson "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements and other implications." Yet when the office called for legal action against Robertson in 1999, Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, a Republican, intervened with his own report, agreeing that Robertson had made deceptive appeals but overruling the recommendation for his prosecution. Two years earlier, while Virginia's investigation was gathering steam, Robertson donated $35,000 to Earley's campaign--Earley's largest contribution. With Earley's report came a sense of vindication. "From the very beginning," Robertson claimed, "we were trying to provide help and assistance to those who were facing disease and death in the war-torn, chaotic nation of Zaire."

(Earley is now president of Prison Fellowship Ministries, an evangelical social-work organization founded by born-again, former Nixon dirty-trickster Charles Colson. PFM has accepted White House faith-based-initiative money and is currently engaged in hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana. Earley remains a close ally of Robertson.)

Absolved of his sins, Robertson dug his heels back in African soil. In 1999 he signed an $8 million agreement with Liberian tyrant Charles Taylor that guaranteed Robertson's Freedom Gold Ltd.--an offshore company registered to the same address as his Christian Broadcasting Network--mining rights in Liberia, and gave Taylor a 10 percent stake in the company. When the United States intervened in Liberia in 2003, forcing Taylor and the Al Qaeda operatives he was harboring to flee, Robertson accused President Bush of "undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels to take over the country." END

And you wonder why, so many people, like myself, reject all forms of organized religion (forgetting about, for the moment, all the philosophical/logical inconsistencies inherant in all religious systems of belief; I refer you to http://www.ravingatheist.com for lots more resources on that topic!) - because people do not want small minded, regresssive groups led by immoral scumbags to impose their definition of "morality" on America (and, by extension via foreign policy, the world!) through legislation, and use the government (and taxpayer money) to further their religious agendas!

Yep, whether you live in America or the Middle East (or anywhere else for that matter - in today's world, do you really think you can escape the fall out if you live in Australia or some other remote place? Ha!), whether you're Christian, Muslim, or Jew (or Hindu or Buddist, etc.), the facts are clear that with Fundamentalism - Any Way You Go It's A One Way Road Trip Down The Highway To Hell! These religious fundamentalists, of all stripes, must be stopped in their tracks now, before they destroy the entire planet!

Monday, May 15, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 5/13/06 - 5/15/06

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BORIS: Pink CD (Southern Lord) - While I'm actually among those lucky enough to have the original double vinyl issue, this recent re-issue on CD by Southern Lord gives me the opportunity to comment on this great release. Boris is in fine form on, "Pink", putting all facets of their sonic attack on display, from killer stoner rock, to scorching distorto punk, and noisy, doom drones. Among their best!

ESPERS: "II" LP (Drag City) - Weeks and Co. combine fragile, ringing, acoustic guitars, organic drones, exquisite vocals, and killer fuzz guitar to deliver another awesome dose of acid folk. An instant classic!

UFOMAMMUT: Godlike Snake LP (Beard Of Stars) - My exposure to Italian stoner doom outfit, Ufommamut, came with their second release, "Snailking". I also have their third (and latest release), "Lucifer Songs". So, I was quite pleased to see that this, their debut, had been re-issued (on limited vinyl) by Beard Of Stars. This may be my favorite release by them, as it's a little less slow grind and a little more heavy spacerock oriented than their other two releases.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Too Fucking Funny

So Mark Fuhrman has written a book about the Kennedy assassination. Let me get this straight - the bungling detective whose, err, "contributions" to the shambolic prosecution of OJ Simpson led to a not guilty verdict is going to solve one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time?!? Yeah, right. Sure.

BTW, I also do wonder how having "documented racist" and "incompetant police officer" (I know, probably redundant!) as the highlights of your CV, can lead to becoming a media celebrity instead of being known as a pathetic loser?!? Oh, only in the right-wing dominated American media - and all this time you've been hearing about/thinking there was a liberal bias to the media?!? And why should I be surprised? This is nothing new. After all, convicted felons such as Oliver North and G. Gordon Liddy are also held up as heros and have been turned into media celebrities.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 5/6/06 - 5/12/06

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THE KILIMANJARO DARKJAZZ ENSEMBLE: Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble CD (Planet Mu): This duo combines an unique mix of elements to create a release with tracks ranging from loungy, dark, film noir-type soundtrack jazz (material that would sound comfortable on, say, some of John Zorn's, "Filmworks" releases) to bombastic "electrockica" (the highlight being the amazing, "Lobby"!). Not uniformly successful - based on the name, I had hoped for a little more of an organic jazz influence/sound, whereas, in reality, this is mainly jazz (and to a lesser extent, rock) informed electronica - but interesting and certainly worth knowing about. I'm looking forward to seeing how they may develop in the future.

ODAWAS: Vitamin City CD-EP (Birds And Rockets): Liked their recent full-length debut so much that I tracked down their "demo" EP, too. More classic and indie rock informed lo-fi goodness. Sweet!

YOUNG, NEIL: Living With War CD (Reprise): OK, guilty pleasure time. Actually, I'm a little disappointed with this. Given the subject matter, I expected this to be more aggressive and rockin'. Probably would have been better (and more rockin') if Neil had teamed up with Crazy Horse again. They always provide the best support for Neil, IMHO. Instead, this sounds similar to Greendale, only not quite as engaging, at least to these ears, as I actually liked Greendale quite a bit. Still, tracks like, "The Restless Consumer", "Shock And Awe", "Let's Impeach The President", and " Lookin' For A Leader" are pretty solid, especially lyrically.

Did Not Add

SHEARWATER: Palo Santo CD (MSR 040CD): Overwrought pop/rock that didn't work for me.

Coming up

A spate of releases from Boris, the new Espers, and more!

Friday, May 05, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 4/22/06 - 5/5/06

Well, I've been busy, so I've been slow to process and post the results of my latest musical expeditions...

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EXTRA GOLDEN: Ok-Oyot System LP (Thrill Jockey) -Two guys from D. C.'s Golden meet two guys from Kenya's Orchestra Extra Solar Africa. The result is an interesting mix of African rhythms and guitar work augmented with a light psychedelic (i.e., lots of wah wah, etc.) treatment. Unlike so many other attempts at blending seemingly disparate musical cultures, this sounds very natural and unforced. Like people of like minds trading ideas and licks and having fun. Quite enjoyable and unique.

KANE, JONATHAN: I Looked At the Sun CD-EP (Table Of The Elements) - A driving beat and clean, repetitive guitar figures (augmented by tasteful, atmospheric pedal steel !) are combined to create a unique musical space where the blues and the minimalist sounds of the 60's NYC avant garde happily co-exist. Excellent!

Hey, after playing this EP and last year's, "February" (see below) in succession, I was inspired to put on Terry Riley's, "Reed Streams", which is a good thing and, IMHO, proves the connection between Kane's music and the greats of the early 60's NYC avant garde. Yeah, I know Riley wasn't a NYC guy, but, at various points, he travelled a similar sonic path as Conrad, Young, et al.

KANE, JONATHAN: February CD (Table Of The Elements) - Liked the recent EP enough to check out his release from late last year, too. Sonically similar, though a little more aggressive and dense, with "Sis" and "Motherless Child" being the highlights. Another winner!

PAIK: Monster Of The Absolute CD (Strange Attractors Audio House) - Paik takes the next logical step in their musical progression. Overall, this is pretty similar to their previous releases (i.e., heavy, stoney shoegaze/psych), but a little more "direct" (i.e., a little cleaner production, drums farther up in the mix, some more up tempo tracks, etc.) sonically. Still quite enjoyable, but not a threat to either, "Corridors" nor, "Satin Black" as my favorite Paik albums.

FAKE, NATHAN: Drowning In a Sea of Love CD (Border Community) - OK, so electronica isn't my strong suit, but I do try to be aware of all types of music and I have certainly bought some electronica releases that I really enjoyed (Stars As Eyes, etc.), so I do buy some electronica from time to time. Sonically, this ranges from trippy electro pop ('Bawsey', etc.) to driving Kraut-inspired rockers like the album's highlight, "The Sky Was Pink". Overall, I found this release to be quite satisfying. It's still pretty hard for me to describe in words which/how/why some electronica works for me...

Did Not Add

ROOMMATE: Songs the Animals Taught Us CD (Plug Research) - ...and some doesn't. Although, it was close. The interesting moments just didn't outnumber the less interesting moments.

RED KRAYOLA: Introduction LP (Drag City) - Mayo's band was great in the 60's and has had a few good moments since their heyday, but, despite all the hype to the contrary, this isn't one of them - ZZZZzzzz.