Youtubin': The KLF - "White Room" Movie

It's 1:34 AM eternal......

PST

Steve Reich w/ Kronos Quartet & Pat Metheny - Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint (Nonesuch, 1989)

 

These scans of the CD booklet tell the story of "Different Trains" best (here's a link to all the scans someone generously posted on discogs) :

 

 I like the idea of the piece incipient and brewing in Reich's mind as a child making cross-country trips on trains...

Really, I wanted to post Pat Metheny's lovely recording of "Electric Counterpoint" after hearing it for the first time, with fresh ears, after many years this past week (scrounging up burned CDs you've left at a friend's place can be a Proust Jr. memory hunt...!!!). Certainly some of the most inventive looping guitar music I've heard...even if it was overdubs.

"Pat Shreds"... I should really make a T-shirt that says that...

 

Enjoy 

Tri Atma w/ Klaus Netzle - Yearning and Harmony (1983, Fortuna)

Jiro over at Panther Club turned me on to this group, his description is a great place to start to learn about Tri Atma. What's important to know is that Clara Mondshine (aka Walter Bachauer) and Claude Larson (aka Klaus Netzle) are involved. If you're familiar with their output, you'll know a little better what to expect.

Nothing like Germans getting a little silly. On first listen, I was thinking of Oregon and Between, and then the electronics enter, channeling the best of Pyrolator and Netzle's solo work as Larson (which I should really put up soon). 

Some really enjoyable music, crossing Eastern/folk/kosmiche/new age styles, blurring the lines between "depth and surface."

(There's an alternate posting of this song on youtube with nude beach bums throughout! Saucy!) 

For fans of: 

- Claude Larson

- Clara Mondshine

- Pyrolator

- Between, but then silliness

Enjoy

Youtubin': Reebop with Phantom Band

This footage is incredible, apparently uploaded by the guitarist himself, Dominik Von Senger.

Youtubin': "Hang Up Your Hang Ups"

Thought about this phrase, then remembered the seminal track (BTW, saw a killer band cover/repurpose Herbie's "Future Shock" last night)...

 And a great user-created video of New York on the silver/big screen to boot!

Here you go, high-school me, enjoy...

Youtubin': Dustin Wong

Can't say enough good things about this wonderfully kind human being and his music, past and present (Ecstatic Sunshine, Ponytail, solo performance...).

A wonderful memory/privilege of mine: watching his performance in my and my roommate's basement a few years back.

 Here's a beautifully shot clip from France:

And from my favorite venue in the world:

 

Please support him by buying his records here and here (2nd is an excellent Bmore label)

Youtubin': Environments Tape (Gentle Rain in a Pine Forest)

Thanks to Sounds of the Dawn blog for sharing. This is just what I needed tonight - raindrops, wind, and the occasional bird call. I need to find me some more of these tapes!

Side 1:

Side 2:

Double Fantasy - Universal Ave. (Innovative Communication, 1986)

(and because I couldn't resist...)

According to the record's back cover and discogs, Double Fantasy was made up of these two fellows, Charly McLion and Dreamstar (I think the back cover has the latter listed as dREAMSTARRR, or something silly like that - and yeah, I feel like Dreamstar is the one w/ sunglasses on. Blondie looks more like a McLion). 

Beyond all that silliness, this is a pretty tight record. I would describe it as faux kosmische, like some dudes really indebted to Gottsching and Rother but with cheesier production value. So, great.

Here's a nice write-up on the Innovative Comm. label by Jiro doing his radio show over at Panther Club. Can't get enough of that site or Ying Yangs.

My favorite flavor:

 

Enjoy (ripped from the vinyl as two tracks)

Youtubin': Kenny Graham and his Satellites - "Sunday"

From this album...

William Allaudin Mathieu - "Available Light" (Windham Hill, 1987)

 

Some heady piano music from William Allaudin. Some wiki info on him here, wouldn't have thought he was involved with Second City! 

It was a pleasure to find that Greg Davis, a great musician in his own right, posted two of W.A.'s records over at CV blog - snap those up before the links die...

Oh, and as an added treat, Bobby McFerrin guests on the song "To the Well," nice.

Something you won't get on this record, but I can't resist posting it here, thanks to "Sounds of the Dawn" blog for upping it:

 

Enjoy...

Mark Isham and Art Lande - "We Begin" (ECM, 1987)

I can't get over that cover... I like to imagine this as the soundtrack for the choreographed dancing with silk scarves that happens on this otherwise deserted baseball field at twilight, each twilight...

(???)

Floating trumpets, electronic rhythms that sound like they came from the percussion bay of an 80's digital keyboard, swelling themes on ride cymbals that ride onto infinity... (stop me)

A taste:

Enjoy

(By the by, this is one long .wav file zipped to a .rar, I dled it originally as an .ape file, had no idea what that was, then converted it to .wav - so no breaks! Enjoy the ride)

"Hubble's Hubble"

Hubble - Hubble's Hubble from teresa eggers on Vimeo.

(For info on the album from a few years back: http://northernspy.11spot.com/hubble-hubble-drums.html)

Youtubin': David Van Tieghem on Letterman

PETER Gordon, David, Peter Gordon and the Love of Life Orchestra...

Diversifying...

I started a new blog, it will consist of cell phone photos I take around town, internet provided visual stimulants, and youtube clip musical interludes.

http://windoze13.blogspot.com/

Double trouble

Youtubin': Oneohtrix Point Never @ Café du Nord, SF, CA, 2010

Synth envy, sampler envy...

Info on this festival, long past, is here - not surprised root strata had something to do with it...

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette - Standards, Vol. 1 (ECM, 1983)

Saw these guys over at UCLA tonight. The kind of captivating performance you'd expect from three of the best at what they do - the first two songs were subdued, then Keith started in with one of those funky stride melodies, a little Afro-Cuban rhythm... some magical playing, and plenty of wry, I'm-not-really-trying-to-entertain-you-with-my banter from the man at the keys. When someone's crickets ringtone went off during a ballad, I thought he was going to give us a good tongue-lashing...

Here's the album that started off the Standards group 30 years ago. Seems appropriate... enjoy it, weird Keith whines and all! Yeah, there was a lot of that tonight, and a lot of butt wigglin'...

(They played this tonight for one of the encores, it made the lady in front of me really happy...)

Enjoy

Youtubin': Jaco Pastorius - "Portrait of Tracy"

Hot damn!

Youtubin': Mayumi Miyata Plays the Sho

Beautiful, circulating sounds...

Here's some info on the instrument, which I wasn't familiar with until stumbling upon her record on root strata, excellent luck...

Mix: Long Sayonara to Summer

Ippu-Do: Aqua Fantasy (Excerpt) 
Lester Bowie: Rios Negroes 
Crosby, Stills, and Nash: Wooden Ships 
Chick Corea and Gary Burton: Children's Song 
Irmin Schmidt: Der Tote Bin Ich (Solo) 
Milton Nascimento: Anima 
Will Ackerman: Pacific I 
Steve Tibbetts: Vision 
Joachim Kuhn: Housewife's Song 
David Sylvian: Red Guitar 
Jan Garbarek: A.I.R. 
Durutti Column: For Belgian Friends 

d/l: http://tinyurl.com/lv2aoez

Long Sayonara to Summer Mix by Rsmclaughlin0 on Mixcloud

Youtubin': Ray Lynch - "The Oh of Pleasure" (w/ Laser Show!)

This is deep at dinner time too... this was the least annoying video counterpart to this song on youtube, I promise.

YOUTUBIN': Yellow Magic Soul Mass Transit System

I love their matching shirts. Also, this is some pretty good (= bad?) lip synching...

(I Love) Youtubin': Bill Withers Live on the BBC in the Year Nineteen Hundred Seventy-Three

Late night homespun wisdom included.

Youtubin': Yukihiro Takahashi - "Flashback"

Featuring his YMO colleague Harry Hosono on bass. An endearing live performance...

Youtubin': Naná Vasconcelos

Stumbled upon this incredible video of Naná on another plane with his berimbau, thought I'd share it. Complementing it is this breathtaking duet between Naná and Milton Nascimento on the latter's "San Vicente" - I love how Naná's role is pretty much sound ghost on this one. He should start doing solo ambient shows with that delayed mic, or a recording with loops in Brian Eno's Ambient series (if I could turn back time)...

Youtubin': John Fahey, "Red Pony"

I post this video on some social media platform I'd say, oh, every 6 months. It gives me that dose of prime Fahey I need to get through the day. Hope it lights a fire for you.

Max Roach - Percussion Bitter Sweet (1961, Impulse)

Damn, did I see some good jazz tonight... Players working with one another, listening, a mix of individuals styles always contributing to the sound of the whole, rhythm... if you get a chance, see this group when they come to your town.

Jazz is ______:

- Touch, the patience/audacity to work against the beat of the rhythm section, until you burst into sync with arpeggio runs on that sweet sounding hollowbody

- Big ringing McCoy Tyner chords filling it out on baby grand

- The delicacy and deliberation (and wrist control!) on the kit

- Walking bass

- Those BIG open notes jutting out of the trumpet pointed triumphantly at the ceiling/sky

- Green leather boots, polka-dot pocket squares, and a nearly brimless hat 

Going off this rush, I share with you one of my favorite all-around jazz records, one I started thinking of during the evening (probably because of the hand drums on "Garvey's Ghost," a tune that always blows me away thanks to the late, inimitable Ms. Abbey Lincoln). Chances are you know it already, but if not, give it a spin, it'll have you from the start.This is a powerful stuff, with taste at every turn, and the flooring runs of Eric Dolphy on whatever he chooses to blow into at the time. 

A shot of Abbey, just 'cause:

"Garvey's Ghost":

Here

Twofer D.B. Thursday: David Borden & Mother Mallard: "Anatidae" (Cuneiform, 1985) and "Migration" (Cuneiform, 1988)

[The title should read: Twofer D.B. Thursday: David Borden & Mother Mallard: "Anatidae" (Cuneiform, 1985) and "Migration" (Cuneiform, 1988)

Sadly, this post cannot (yet) be a twofer, because I went back and listened to my rip of "Anatidae" and some serious bitcrushing pops up on the second side - not sure how that happened. Also, it's no longer Thursday. I'll re-rip and post the first record soon.]

So, yes, this summer I've been pretty quiet/absent from this blog (though I've been doing a lot of pilfering from other's pages - thanks!)... but now I have a lot of recorded vinyl and mp3s floating somewhere on my hard drive just waiting to be shared. Stay tuned.

In light of this, thought I'd share two somewhat recent finds with you, both by David Borden and his (New) Mother Mallard (Band). Maybe you, like me, heard about Mr. Borden through his being repped by Oneohtrix Point Never, Laurel Halo, etc. (here's the tracks to prove it, though I've not had the pleasure), maybe you knew him already, the important thing is to check these out. Definite Michael Nyman or Steve Roach/Reich (take your pick - less moody than the first) - wave-y synth soundscapes and repetitive rhythms, female vocals riding on top... my kind of classical ;)

"Anatidae" features the guitar stylings of Mr. David Torn (heads up to a certain opium hum-an out there...)

More info on Mr. Borden is here.

Also, this comic strip is a way better promo than mine...

Here ("Migration")

Side A:

1. Trains I (maybe the worst synth timbre I've ever heard on this and "Trains II" - can you spot it?)

2. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Part IV

Side B: 

1. Dick Twardzik

2. Enfield in Summer

3. trains II

Nostalgia of Island Mix - please enjoy.

Nostalgia of Island Mix by Rsmclaughlin0 on Mixcloud

Testpattern - Après-Midi (Yen Records, 1982)

So, as sometimes happens in this anonymous exchange we know as file sharing / music blogging, I get a little greedy, sucking up all there is to listen to without providing anything in return. If there's anything my apprenticeship in P2P / torrent file sharing should have taught me (or that one Beatles song), it's that you've got to give a little to get a little. Rest assured, I've been here, but behind the scenes, checking my sidebar links daily to see what you've served up... (premature P.S.: I promise I've got a summer mix coming out that will doubt feature plenty of your featureds, just 'cause...)

So how do I try and repay this debt? By shamelessly re-posting something from YING YANGS blog. I should say, it would be rather difficult for me to do otherwise, as I'm still across the Atlantic with no recording equipment to rip records (or money to buy records, for that matter...etc.,etc.). Plus, really, who cares? This is all just a preamble, I'm sure the fine folks at that blog don't care that I reflect their awesomeness by re-posting this gem, which is probably the album I've listened to the most all summer.

Why? 

1. It continues my obsession with the Japanese - Francophone synth-pop connection (if only superficially; if I remember correctly, no french lyrics, lots of english). 

2. This is one of the great Yen Records releases I've been able to dig up online, apparently the group's only full-length, produced by the boys of YMO themselves, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. Subheading: Why great?

2 bis. Talk about your eclecticism via synth-pop! From all out ambient numbers reminiscent of fellow J-synth heads Inoyama Land ("Ocean Liner") to chilly new-wave songs ("Souvenir Glace" - OK, fine, at least 1 song en français) to bouncy arpeggiators recalling Harmonia's 1st album's 1st track ("Ring Dance") - OK, I'll stop gushing, just give it a spin...

As it's Friday...

Enjoy!

(Real P.S.: featuring a remix of "Modern Living" that, franchement, I like better than the original...)

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Thousand Knives of... (Denon, 1984)

So...I've been gone a bit. This is where I am right now:

C'est nuageux, mais ça n'est pas grave. 

These electro jams provide a nice soundtrack for this promeneur solitaire. There's a strange Franco-Japanese 80's pop connection I've got to figure out, stay tuned.

À bientôt!

(Not on this album but oh so nice summer vibes:)):

Enjoy

Charles Lloyd - Soundtrack (Atlantic, 1969)

"...I want to transform things 

and make this a blissful 

place. I dream of the day 

when man can live in harmony. 

There's still all that ugliness 

out there and I want to 

wipe it out with beauty..."

- CHARLES LLOYD (from LP back cover)

Charles Lloyd, tenor sax & flute

Keith Jarrett, piano

Ron McClure, bass

Jack DeJohnette, drums

A band briefly together in the late 60's, I know they made this recording and the beautiful Forest Flower but not sure what else. Not sure where it was recorded. Like Jarrett's best solo work of the 70's, a solid, funky foundation that goes pretty far out, but nothing you could call "free" or "out-", not to my ears. Gorgeous jazz for late nights or sunny days.

Side A - "Sombrero Sam", "Voice in the Night" 

Side B - "Pre-Dawn", "Forest Flower '69"

Enjoy

Dynamic Touch Mix

Dynamic Touch Mix by Rsmclaughlin0 on Mixcloud

Another one down..

...and Singer Saints II blog (singersaints2.blogspot.com) is down. Don't know whether it was forced or by choice...but I'll miss it! Hopefully you'll be around with another iteration, Joe Sarno!

Ryuichi Sakamoto - 左うでの夢 (Left Handed Dream) (Alfa, 1981)

This is the Japanese release, vastly different from the U.S. recording I found in the past (No Robin Scott vocals, this is all Ryuichi!). Get ready for some MIDI-fied renditions of traditional-sounding Japanese numbers, some ready-for-dance-floor or midnight-drive-through-the-postmodern-city tracks... Although Brian Eno's hand isn't directly in this, some songs, like "Living in the Dark," definitely sound like the paranoid-jazz rhythm sections of Another Green World. And keep an eye/ear out for Adrian Belew pulling out the stops on tracks like "The Garden of Poppies."

A tight, at times funky, ear-candy filled release from one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Here you go...

Chet Atkins - Chet Atkins in Hollywood (RCA, 1959)

I've been sitting on this one for a while. First record I bought upon my arrival to L.A., not quite Hollywood, but I can see the sign. Anyway, this is sounding pretty good on these first 90 degree days...

As usual, the man with the guitar can sling tasteful licks over even the schmaltz-iest of accompaniments. "Estrelita" and his version of "Jitterbug Waltz" are particularly lovely. And "Armen's Theme" is my favorite, if you want to hear a smart reimagining of it and other sunny numbers, check out Co La's version on "Rest in Paradise." 

In fact, here's that version now: 

Here you go

(As for the upload, I found out it's actually a re-recording Chet did in '61 with the orchestra tapes. If it's any consolation, I like this better than the original vinyl I have...)

Alice Coltrane - Eternity (Warner Brothers, 1976)

Alice Coltrane is one of those artists whose recordings I love to stumble upon. I haven't really sought out all she's done in her career (unlike other musicians, whom I seem to have a freakish memory for), but at all the points that I've discovered - from Journey to Satchidananda to her tape releases (my favorite of which you can find here) - she gives nuanced, joyful, and powerful performances.

On this one, she's got a lot of friends (check out this extremely detailed discogs post for the lineup), and the first song sums it up with its abrupt shift from organ introspection to an outburst of soul - there's a lot going on! The middle tracks on each side offer some of the meditative playing I'm familiar with... All in all, a great balance of funky rhythms and spiritual textures, with a little Stravinsky to top it off. Thoroughly enjoyable - I love those weird portamento tones she gets out of that organ! 

Here's my jam, all ten minutes: 

Enjoy! (I ripped this as sides 1 & 2, excuse my laziness)

Pre-Taped Imaginary Radio Show #3: Baracumbara Mix

Baracumbara Mix (Pre-Taped Imaginary Radio Show #3) by Rsmclaughlin0 on Mixcloud

Antonello Salis and Nana Vasconcelos - "Lester" (Soul Note, 1987)

So, the hotel room I'm in has a wifi connection so slow it's making me dream of screeching dial-up noises and the family PC... but I'm not going to let this sudden wind of blogging inspiration go unheeded. I've been away for a bit, wondering about the point of doing this, feeling like there's very little "community building" going on, just a lot of download-and-run (like I'm one to talk)... then one of my very favorite blogs, Invisible Arteries, got shut down...

All this to say, no big revelatory moment about why I'm suddenly anxious to post again. I think I'm still working towards that ideal of music sharing in an internet community, with no illusions (at least) that one day the daily effort that goes into blogging could disappear. Despite all this, I enjoy the search, finding something new to listen to, and someone with a fresh perspective on the music that strikes them.

***

Nana Vasconcelos is someone I've been listening to quite a bit over the past few months, from his work with Codona to his solo excursions... This session of duets with Antonello Salis, an Italian pianist (who says in the liner notes that his then-inspiration was Keith Jarrett... a man after my own heart), sounds like a perfect match to me. With Salis on piano and accordion and Vasconcelos on everything else under the sun, what we get is something improvised, yet more energized/dense that his Codona forays...

Here's the title track as a preview, an astonishingly beautiful number whose mood parallels a Chris Marker short that stands as the cutest internet cat video of all time:

And the cute cat for comparison (thanks as usual, Jason Urick)...

Here

Youtube: Talking Heads - Born Under Punches (from the Live in Rome '80 video)

Thanks to "tpatgod2007", however inscrutable your username, for this post. 

Can anyone help me out with something? I think it might be because I live in the black hole of creative music, Los Angeles, but, other than the occasional touring act, I haven't seen any good live music lately. That's why seeing videos like this (you can see the full video here) have such an effect on me. I mean, they had to be the best live band of their moment! So dynamic, sounding like world-beat, fusion, funk... exciting stuff 30+ years later.

Anybody wanna start a band like this with me, get in touch.

Oh yeah, what's Adrian Belew doing ALL THE TIME in this song!?!?

Brian Eno TV Documentary: "One Eno" (1993)

I'm thinking that I'm going to continue to make this blog more multifaceted, rather than keep on posting screenshots, youtube clips of songs, etc. on my facebook feed haphazardly. I plan to do most of my online gathering on this page from now on...

In the spirit of this, today I'll leave you with a half-hour documentary in three parts made for French TV about (and more than likely by) Brian Eno. While you do have to sit through a clip of U2's Zoo TV score (people always seem to focus on his production career - sorry, Brian, IMHO no one can make U2 sound good) - you also get some tasty teases of his video work that I'll be sure to try and track down in the future. Also, as a whole, I think it's well-done and funny (the narrative is Eno talking to a beagle), and even innovative, especially how the video starts to mimic Eno's strategy of taking and looping bits and pieces of sound (here, sound and video). Given the lack of video documentation of his work, I would say this is a must-see for Eno fans. Mes remerciements à NafouteVHS pour nous avoir partagé!

1.

2. 

3. 

If anyone knows where to find a full video of "Contemporary Data Lounge", lemme know.

Enjoy!

Robert Wyatt - Eps, Disc Two (Thirsty Ear, 1999)

This post has everything to do with the fact that I've been listening to Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding" over and over today. You can get the back story on the song here, needless to say, that would've been a cool party to go to... 

The second disc of this great compilation features the 1982 Rough Trade single along with its two B sides (his "Memories of You" and the cover of "'Round Midnight" are both lovely) along with two other numbers, the spoken-word "Pigs" (another fave of mine) and the stark "Chairman Mao".

I try to hold back on hyperboles and the cult of genius these days so... this guy is something special. 

Here's a live performance of the song on the Old Grey Whistle Test with his typical sense of humor on display: 

The single's cover art, quite nice: 

Here you go...

(Let me know if the rest of the comp. is of interest)

Various - Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical (Sire, 1989)

I knew about David Byrne's interest in Brazilian music from his release of (several?) Tom Zé albums on his Luaka Bop label, but it was still an unexpected treat to find this compilation of some of the best-known names in MBP doing songs of which I was often unfamiliar. Jorge Ben, Maria Bethania, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento...they're all here. While the fare is mostly removed from the psychedelic energy of tropicalia and mixes samba with bossa nova, I love the melodies these artists create, weird noises and trippy soundscapes aside. I'll try to scrounge up the liner notes by Arto Lindsay and David Byrne, as well as Arto's English translations of the lyrics; the two do a good job of getting across the stakes of this music during Brazil's period of military dictatorship in the late '60's / early 70's. 

Here's a doc I found, an interview with David Byrne and a friend, on his projects about and interest in Brazilian music - haven't gotten a chance to watch it yet but will soon...

Beleza Tropical (Umbabarauma): documentary with David Byrne, Susan Young and Charlie Gillett from Susan Young on Vimeo.

(Two notes: Unavoidable fuzziness on the first track, which you probably have anyway [it's on J. Ben's "Africa Brasil"], and, weirdly, I just noticed that the last track listed on the LP back cover, " Terra" by Caetano Veloso, is not on the physical LP...)

Música

Steve Roach - Empetus (Fortuna, 1986)

I was first turned on to Steve Roach by my friend Tim over at Invisible Arteries blog, who posted this one a while back and has been killing it re: synth music and ECM releases, two things I'm hooked on these days.

This is quite a different affair from "Structures from Silence"; save the last song, "The Memory", everything's developing a lot faster, with sweeps and swells galore. And as opposed to the earlier record, these are all shorter, dense pieces. I'm starting to see where people like Stellar OM Source, Laurel Halo, OPN, etc. are getting their ideas...

(Note: I've ripped this as two tracks, and there's some crunchiness at the beginning and in the middle of the first side. Lo siento.)

A taste: 

Also, I'm finding it funny how extremely different yesterday's and today's posts are.

Here

Wings - Wild Life (Apple, 1971)

(Paul and company... adorable)

Yes, I fawn quite a bit over this handsome guy, who used to play a funny-looking bass in... some band (Nirvana!). I'm really asking for it on this post, both from my Paul-hating friends and Paul's legal team (Sorry guys! You say the word and I'll take it down).

Recorded after Paul and Linda's "Ram", a great all-around 70's rock record that stands the test of time I.M.O., they recorded this more laid-back affair (with pretty much the same band - I always thought Denny Laine played on the former record?). Unlike some post-Beatles outings for Paul (his self-titled, "Red Rose Speedway", etc.) and fortunately for us, there's no filler on this one, and quite a few hidden gems. I'm listening to the B side right now and "Some People Never Know" followed by "I Am Your Singer" is pretty hard to top for late-night vibes. Of course, Paul can be accused of tossing off some pretty flimsy material, and I'm a pretty easy sell on him... hmmm, try it for yourself, why don't you? Highly recommended for a quiet dreamy evening.

If you needed any coaxing, here's some ear candy in the form of tasty reggae-fied guitar after this:

 

BTW, this file has four extra songs not accounted for on the original LP... or on any CD reissue listed on discogs. But hey, you get "Another Day", a lovely little number...

Here