Time Isn't on My Side

VI. Duende Overload

2009-05-10T09:56:00.000-04:00

One of the difficult things about improvising, or performing, or any type of creation really, is reaching that level, duende, where everything seems to click, the instrument melts into you, and the music just happens. I know that I’ve never reached it. Duende is a word that literally means ‘quality of passion or inspiration’, in some sense, a sort of ‘spirit’. This past week my Improvisation in Music class gave a performance for the end of the semester. It was eight pieces of music that had all been improvisations by various members of the class, and the title of the concert was “Duende Overload”. However, I feel like it just wasn’t as good as it could have been, for a few reasons.

In Stravinsky’s Poetics of Music a somewhat atypical though, in my opinion, very practical theory on the creative process is given: It doesn’t start with inspiration, but rather the desire to create. As Stravinsky says, “inspiration is chronologically secondary”. Furthermore, he goes on to mention that inspiration can’t be contrived; you can’t go looking for it, you can’t arrange for it, it just happens, but only after you’ve already made the decision to create a work. Duende, I feel, is an augmentation of inspiration. It’s the conjoining of both inspiration and expiration (expiration in its literal sense- exhaling of the breath- though the meaning is figurative), where as soon as a musical idea comes to mind, the body creates it on the instrument, as if the performer were acting like some sort of real-time conversion software, importing inspiration and immediately converting it and then exporting it as an audible format.

If duende is an augmentation of inspiration, then it follows that it cannot be contrived. I felt that naming the concert “Duende Overload” was a contrivance, and may have been the cause, at least in my case, for a performance that just wasn’t of the same caliber as some previous performances.

Take a listen to these two recordings. The first was recorded a few weeks ago. Though the key was agreed upon in advance, we had never actually played the piece. The second recording is the same piece, same musicians, recorded at the concert we gave. It was only the second time we played the piece, but I think it wasn’t of the same quality, perhaps because we went into it expecting what would happen.

The first performance

The second performance

Or maybe I’m just being hard on myself? I don’t know. Stravinsky gives this quote from scripture in his Poetics, “spiritus ubi vult spirat”. That is, the spirit breathes wherever it wants.

V. Braincore 3.0

2009-05-08T10:24:00.008-04:00

On the 25th of April my band played a show at University of Southern Maine with a few fellow bands from our state. The lineup was TBA, Pamola (my band), Eyes Like Fire, Joseph Merrick, and To the Barricades! -- all local hardcore-oriented bands. It was a great time, with some great music.

Here are links to the bands' Myspace pages:

TBA
Pamola
Eyes Like Fire
Joseph Merrick
To the Barricades!

And here are links to a couple demos made available online (including my own band's):

Eyes Like Fire's EP
Pamola's 2009 Demos

I also picked up TTB!'s split with this other excellent Portland-based hardcore band, Dylan Bredeau, on 7". At some point in the future I'll digitize it. However, I'm hesitant to share it and the EP I got from Joseph Merrick without permission, so I may hold off on that.

But I will post these videos, also taken from the show:

Here is TTB!

And here is Joseph Merrick

This was Joseph Merrick's last song from the set, but they had no lyrics for it. So, instead of just playing an instrumental piece to end, they invited anybody who was interested to grab a mic and shout/scream/say whatever he/she wanted. It was awfully entertaining.

It also reaffirms one of the things I love most about this sort of music. I remember reading somewhere Ian Mackaye talking about the DC scene in the 80's, and how at any minute anybody could easily cross the line from being in the audience at a show to being in a band at the show, from spectation to performance, and vice versa. Of course, the Maine local music scene in no way resembles DC. We have far fewer bands, fewer kids to attend shows, fewer venues to play, and greater distances separating us (both Joseph Merrick and my band had to travel about 1.75 hours to get to this show). But the spirit and sense of community is still present, as I think it is in most punk scenes.

This video, while at times humourous or unintelligible, is a reminder that the division between performer and spectator is in many ways contrived and arbitrary. Here is a depiction of audience members (who in some venues are encouraged to sit down, shut up, and pay attention to the performers on stage) improvising along with the band, actively participating in the creation of music, and journeying together as explorers of a musical world, not being shepharded along by some omniscient musical demi-god up on stage.

Regraped and Shiny Beast- Split

2009-04-21T10:13:00.002-04:00

Regraped were a Math-Rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina, active from 1992 to 1997. It was formed by Steve Hren, Ben Iddings, Kip Larson, and Brian Quast (who is currently drumming and recording with polvo!). I’m not exactly sure who plays what or does what, as information on this band is scarce. The most interesting thing to note about this group is the lack of guitar, most often a staple in this sort of music. Instead, two basses are used, like Dianogah, though much more stripped down and at times abrasive.

As for Shiny Beast, I have no information. I’ve been looking around on other blogs, record label sites, google, but have found absolutely nothing. They seem to be almost entirely instrumental, at least going from this release. More Math-Rock, with odd metres and this wonderfully scratchy guitar. These guys could also be from North Carolina, judging by the sound, but that is only a conjecture.

This split (1994, Fort Hazel) is pretty solid. Both bands hold their own quite well. It’s a 12”, so they each get roughly 20 minutes. At times I feel like that might be a bit much, especially on the Shiny Beast side (no offense to the band). I’m in no way adverse to instrumental rock music, but I feel like there isn’t enough variety on the Shiny beast side to hold my attention from start to finish. The tracks tend to blend together. For this reason, I think the music would have been much better suited to a shorter format.

The Regraped side is much more interesting. There is a vocalist, which automatically draws us humans in a little bit more than otherwise. The two basses are utilized very well, shifting between rhythmic chugs and the occasional melodic figure atop Brian Quast’s (at least I’m assuming it’s Brian Quast) excellent drumming. This is another way in which the Shiny Beast side is just a little weak- their drummer is good, but not terribly so, and this style of music can be awfully demanding on drummers.

But please don’t think that I’m bashing Shiny Beast here, they are a great band on this split and I really wish I could find more information about them and recordings of them. It’s just that Regraped are in top form on this split, and it’s hard not to make comparisons when two bands put out an album together. Shiny Beast are good, but Regraped are a little stronger here.

On the Regraped side, ‘Constrictor’ and ‘Jabba’ are two personal favorites of mine. ‘Constrictor’ has these great drum n’ bass grooves that give way into textural passages of noisy bass, sometimes overdriven. The vocals are strained and fervent, reminding me of David Yow, though not quite so deranged. ‘Jabba’ has sections that push forward and rock out, treating the basses like guitars, getting full sounds and chords. Very good. Great use of dynamics, with more great vocals.

On the Shiny Beast side, ‘Squirrel Fur Coat’ is a very great track, sounding at times like a more predictable Breadwinner, with a very active bass and, as usual, very noisy and scratchy guitar work.

I apologize if this post seems disorganized, brief, uninventive, etc. etc. As I keep saying, it’s been a busy semester, and I’ve wanted so badly to post more often and share more music. If this post seems rushed or forced, it’s because I couldn’t allow myself to let any more time pass before I posted again. With the semester ending in a few weeks, I’ll have more time to post more regularly. I have so many albums I’ve wanted to cover.

Last, if anyone has more information on either of these two bands, then please share. I’m a little nervous on posting this partly because I know so little, that what I do know, I hope it’s correct.

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IV. Phenomenology of Music- The Ontology of a Piece in Benson's "The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue"

2009-03-25T11:41:00.006-04:00

Very sorry for lack of posting. This semester has been unbelievably busy- in a good way- and has left me with little time to reflect and write about music. I can promise to be more consistent, but I'm afraid I'd break that promise. I'll promise to try. I'm very anxious to post more music soon, I have several records that I can't wait to share and discuss, including Gastr Del Sol, Regraped, and members of the June of 44 Genealogy. This post is on a chapter I read from a book for my class on Improvisation in music. I couldn't find a usable picture for cover art, but the link to the book on Amazon is included at the end. This was not written as carefully as an essay should be- it's more of a reflection and reaction, so if I'm unclear then please say so.

A chapter from Bruce Ellis Benson’s "The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue" titled ‘The Ergon within Energeia’ attempts to deal with issues of identity and distinction between the many aspects of music- work vs. piece, the score vs. the sound, and performance vs. improvisation vs. composition.

An important distinction is that between the ‘work’ and the ‘piece’. As Benson sees it, ‘work’ carries a sense of completeness- it contains within itself all the possible interpretations, even those unimaginable by the composer, and would seem to require only the score to be real. The ‘piece’ carries a sense of incompleteness- it’s changing, growing, being interpreted and reinterpreted over and over, every new performance and experience enriching and changing the precise identity of the piece—sort of an existentialist view.

Benson’s problem with the concept of the ‘work’ is that it would seem to be ‘superhistorical’, able to exist without any history of performance and interpretation, while having its origins in some historical moment. It would seem to be a sort of Platonist interpretation- the ‘work’ being in a sense ‘recollected’ by the composer, having its existence outside of history, represented by the score. For Benson this is a problem, and he seems to move toward the more Existential concept of the ‘piece’- always changing.

The piece ‘opens a world’ in which we ‘dwell’. It requires preservation as much as it does creation. It would seem that when the composer writes the score, he or she is creating ‘potential’ music, or envisioning this world while not actually dwelling within it. Performance is required to make the piece more ‘real’- as this is the point where inhabitants begin to enter and live in the ‘world’ of the piece. Every new inhabitant is crucial, even if he or she follows the conventions of former inhabitants. A jazz musician may improvise a solo on a piece’s debut performance, then a month later another musician may improvise his or her own solo based on that original solo. A few years later a third musician may borrow ideas from the second solo and use them in a new solo, or perhaps as an elaboration on a melody that occurs elsewhere in the song. Every interpretation is important, even reinterpretations of reinterpretations.

Benson makes the analogy to language- any speaker will over time develop his or her distinct style of speech— oft-repeated expressions, peculiar ways of phrasing certain constructions. I for instance often say “don’t worry about it” followed by some piece of advice whenever a friend presents to me a dilemma or a problem. Even though I constantly repeat the phrase, it enriches the conversation in a distinct way and is in no way redundant— context is important, which leads perfectly towards Benson’s Existentialistic concept of the piece- I ate breakfast yesterday after a lifetime of activity, then again today I ate breakfast after a lifetime of activity, but today’s ‘lifetime of activity’ includes an entire day’s worth of events that had no part in yesterday’s ‘lifetime of activity’, making each act of eating breakfast in a sense different.

So, if the identity of the piece is always changing and being enriched, how do we discern what is and is not a form of any given piece? Benson suggests Wittgenstein’s ‘family resemblance’ as the method. That is, we don’t use some essential characteristic (like the score) as the way by which we decide when two performances are of the same piece, but instead look at the ways all the performances have overlapping similarities with one another, like how members of a family may not all have the same nose, but mom and her daughter may share hair color while the son and mother share eyes and the father shares with his son a particular bone structure and the daughter and father have the same complexion.

However this notion of identity has me a little concerned, because at this point I’m not sure how to talk about a piece of music. Can I still point to one specific instantiation of the piece, for instance, Fugazi’s recording of ‘Shut the Door’ on ‘Repeater’, or must I point to all instantiations, which would include the video of Fugazi performing an altered version of ‘Shut the Door’ I posted on this blog some time ago and the recorded version and any other live renditions I can discover? I think I’m safe just pointing to one instantiation, but following Benson’s argument it would seem that to use only one instantiation would be to use an inexact and ‘incomplete’ form of the piece. Not sure what to do there.

Benson’s argument eventually comes to link Performance and Improvisation very closely. Each act is both a ‘presentation’- featuring alterations, however slight, that hadn’t yet occurred in the piece and ‘representation’- reproducing recognizably the elements of the piece, enough so that by means of family resemblance we can discern the identity of the piece. It’s important to note that Benson doesn’t think of this process of improvisation and performance, this continuous changing and enriching of the piece, as continual ‘progress’. He very beautifully says the whole point is to make the music “say something to and be useful for us”. Later on he says, “Pieces of music are synonymous with musical practice”. It’s all about entering the ‘world’ of the piece, dwelling within it, and altering it to suit your tastes.

Amazon

III. Improvisation, Conversation, Argument

2009-03-11T11:46:00.003-04:00

The philosopher in me loves arguments, debates, and conversations. Different perspectives or ideas bouncing off one another and (hopefully) progressing forward together towards some (un)anticipated goal, or conclusion. It’s why Plato wrote dialogues, not monologues. Of course we have examples of philosophers who were of the opposite belief- Descartes felt he could achieve significant certainty on his own, proceeding carefully and methodically. Either method works to some extent, either one is useful. However I tend to think that it is the conversation that can yield the most interesting results. Each participant has a vast catalogue of opinions and thoughts that differ from the other participants, meaning that there are certain connections and realizations that one person will arrive to while others do not.

Improvisation works the same way. Solo improvisation is powerful and successful when the improviser is proceeding methodically or recklessly, but not apathetically. However with a solo improvisation I would think that the likelihood of excellent accidents or realizations occurring would be diminished. But in a group there is a much greater chance that someone will do something that for some reason evokes an unexpected reaction/contribution from some other player. Just like a conversation- whether or not there is an intended end, the path will be full of unexpected/unforeseen steps.

An absolutely necessary aspect of an improvisation/conversation is listening closely. It is perhaps the most important part. If inattentive, then it will be harder to process and connect what others are doing to what the improviser/converser has stored in his or her mind. There is a brief time within which to react, and not listening actively may lead to missing the chance to react.

Here is a video of Don Caballero performing “You Drink A lot of Coffee for a Teenager”. This is Don Cab’s final 90’s lineup- Damon Che on drums, Ian Williams on guitar, and Eric Emm on bass. The current Don Cab lineup retains only Damon Che and is considerably less impressive. I’ll be posting more thoroughly on Don Cab in the future, so for now I’ll be brief. Don Cab were an instrumental ‘math-rock’ group from Pittsburgh that recorded on Tough & Go records through most of the 90’s. Early records had a distinct Slint/Breadwinner influence while their later records (up until the excellent ‘American Don’) started to move towards more tapping, looping, and polyrhythm akin to Pele.

Don Caballero were clear that what they performed was never ‘improvised’, and that each song was tightly and carefully composed. But as you watch this video it is clear that though their songs were so carefully crafted performance still required an intense amount of listening and reacting, which in a sense does qualify Don Cab as improvisers.

Also, seeing as how Don Caballero recorded on Touch & Go I should mention that, if you haven't already heard, Touch & Go are stopping many of their label operations, laying off some employees, and ceasing Production and Distribution deals that they have struck with several other independent labels from Chicago and elsewhere. It's too bad, T&G has always been an excellent label and I hope they can survive this economic crisis and continue to put out great music in the future.

II. Specialization

2009-02-10T23:25:00.005-05:00

There certainly is a way in which Specialization is restrictive. Obviously, Specialization contains within itself a great deal of restriction, as it dictates that the Specialist study and perfect a single method, occupation, instrument, etc. This could be a musician who perfects classical violin, a composer of swing jazz, or a dancer who only knows ballet. We prize virtuosos, and we enjoy listening to the fastest guitar shredder, the most gifted pianist, or watching the most graceful dancer of classical ballet. We love to behold perfection.

But then consider the music of Java, Gamelan. I’ve been studying Gamelan in one of my classes, and it is in such stark contrast to our Western sense of music. If pieces are written, it is only a sketch, and often only used by the players outlining the main melody. The players who play the high pitched melody lines often elaborate and ‘improvise’ by doubling their parts, repeating sequences of notes, etc. to fill in empty spaces caused by the rhythm halving its tempo, a change called Irama. There is no equal temperament or standard tuning, so every Gamelan ensemble sounds different and familiar pieces will sound different every time. Furthermore, many musicians play multiple instruments, and everyone is familiar with all the other parts.

Gamelan has a sound that relies on the integration of every instrument’s repetitive part into the overall blend. In some ways it represents the community- each member contributing his or her respective part for the general welfare and continuation of the group. I have to wonder if these different approaches to music- the communal nature of Gamelan and the specialized nature of Western Classical- have powerful effects on the way the cultures think.

Specialization, though it can easily be incorporated into an ensemble, is in many ways an individual-oriented phenomenon. Could this promote an emphasis on the individual, and therefore the precedence of the individual over the community? Also, is it a good thing for knowledge to become compartmentalized?

I like to think of knowledge as pitches in a chord, and as the chord sounds, the different pitches collide with one another, producing overtones that would not have been so easily audible if the pitches had been sounded by themselves. Specialization requires intimate knowledge, but if the Specialist X has intimate knowledge of things A and B and Specialist Y has intimate knowledge of things C and D, then isn’t it a possibility that some advanced knowledge contained within C or D could react with something contained within A or B to illuminate some problem or lead towards new knowledge? It’s true that we do communicate, and often times specialists from different fields collaborate closely. But if Western culture is slowly fostering a sense of traditionalism, specialization, and individualism, then how long until we begin to collaborate less frequently?

I think ‘total integration’, as Anthony Braxton (Father of Tyondai Braxton, from Battles) says, is necessary to remind people that things blur together, and the lines between disciplines are in many ways arbitrary. Here is a quote from Anthony Braxton that was used in a text for one of my music classes,

“I think that everything is connected and that the challenge of the next time period is not simply the advancement of a concept of entertainment or of music as separate from life, but rather the move towards three-dimensional, holistic experiences with music, image logics and dynamic spirituality all connected—including physicality, dance, movement. I’m looking for total integration.”

Though the terms relate to the arts, I think Braxton’s views here can be applied to most disciplines- Philosophy, physics, prose, mathematics, etc. More Holistic views could complement our Reductionist views, leading to better understanding overall.

Anthony Braxton at Last.fm

Rachel's- Handwriting

2009-02-10T21:04:00.004-05:00

Rachel's are a post-Rodan group featuring primarily Jason Noble (of Rodan and Shipping News), violist Christian Frederickson and pianist Rachel Grimes. However over the years many friends have collaborated and contributed, making the group feel more like a collective. Rachel's began in Louisville intitially as a solo project for Noble, and is currently on a hiatus. This is Rachel's debut album, Handwriting (1995, Quarterstick). This album is justified as a part of the June of 44 genealogy in that Jeff Mueller is credited on this album as the Orator, which could possibly refer to the indecipherable words being spoken during the ambient section of 'Full on Night'.

Handwriting opens with ‘Southbound to Marion’ - A repetitive, pensive, brooding piece that utilizes piano and strings and acts as an overture of sorts for the rest of the album. There are a couple distinct sections, each one subtle, and generally on the softer side of dynamics, making the crescendo toward the end even more impressive. A brief and pretty coda ends the piece on a soft but firm note.

‘M Daguerre’ is a jarring stylistic contrast to ‘Southbound’, kicking things off with a sinister jazzy groove. The guitar makes an appearance, thunderous and wind-like, supporting each other part. The groove continues, with the strings providing support and occasional melodies. Suddenly the music shifts into a more classical-infused passage, with more melancholy tones that breaks down into free, open noise. Scratchings, noodlings, scrapes. From this point there begins an alternation between the jazzy groove and the more classical passage, until out of this passage rises a stirring harmonic figure. The piece morphs into an awe-inspiring, magnificent blend of drum set, strings, and piano that pushes forward, the guitar supplying an almost ambient texture to the overall sound. The contrast between the beginning and the end of ‘M Daguerre’ is stunning, and beautiful.

‘Saccharin’ continues the dark, brooding sort of sound heard in the opener, using only strings. The strings become more active, pulsing forward and growing in both volume and intensity. And then they cease, and there follows a moment of silence. From this point, the piece finishes with a slightly more optimistic-sounding string arrangement. “Frida Kahlo’ offers a nice change of pace from the dark and unsettling sounds of ‘Saccharin’, featuring only the piano playing a short and captivating composition. The changes in tempo, the pushing and pulling of the beat, really demonstrate the freedom the pianist has, and the way in which the pianist is able to improvise in a subtle way on a composition.

‘Seratonin’ brings back more strings, playing a haunting piece with a dark, tense mood. I have to admit, the beginning of the first melody reminded me of the theme from ‘The Godfather’, a movie I don’t care for too much. After over two minutes of this suspenseful feeling the strings hold a chord for a few seconds, and after it fades into silence, a less unsettling section comes in, and end the piece on an anxious, timid feeling.

‘Full on night’ features a sparse and lovely guitar intro that picks up into a beautiful movement of piano, drum kit, and guitar in a 5/4 groove that is soon punctuated by the sparse guitar from the beginning. Bass, Piano, and Drums seem to come in and out in waves, occasionally backing up the guitar and often leaving it by itself. The music begins to fade as the sound of a train moving in the distance arises. There then follows several minutes of tape loops, ambient and dark. There is an incoherent voice over a loudspeaker, the sounds of metal scraping against metal, atmospheric churnings, and engines chugging. The contrast with the beginning of the track is intriguing, and the reason behind the sudden appearance of tape loops is unknown. A very interesting piece.

Handwriting closes with ‘Handwriting’, a short and somber piece that restates themes from ‘Southbound to Marion’ in a new key, book ending the album in a way that seems to suggest that there is a logic to the sequence of tracks.

I think this due to some terms used in a review of ‘Handwriting’ found here that describes the album as “Aural Cinematography”. The more I thought about this, the more I realized that this album does in fact have that sort of ‘film-score’ quality to it. It seems to tell a story without words, though the details of the story are entirely left up to the listener. It is because of this that I find this album to be rewarding with every listen, and certainly a terrific example of post-rock that brings something unique to the table.

Rachel's on Last.fm
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I. Improvisation

2009-01-26T23:32:00.007-05:00

I have trouble distinguishing between what is and isn’t improvisation.

I know from my experience as a jazz bass player that a walking bass line for any particular swing chart will be different each and every time the chart is played. However not in such a way that the listener will notice and catch on thinking “My, what good improvisation in the bass”. Rather, each and every time will sound similar enough so that no one will really catch on, including the bass player. Because in that example, the bass player creates the line from the guidelines written on the chart: Chord Changes, important rhythmic figures, and every now and then a few written notes, for harmonic reasons. Because chords often change once, twice, or three times a measure the options for the bass part are not limitless. They are very strictly governed by both what chord is being played at that moment and what chord is coming next.

That is something important to note- that not only what is happening, but what will happen next are crucial in improvisation.

I find some of the methods used in many post-hardcore punk bands for transitioning from one section to another to be similar. However in this case it isn’t a harmonic figure that is being improvised, but rather the duration and precise components of a passage. A Passage may be shortened or lengthened through use of communication or some sort of cue that would signal the beginning of the next section. Due to the variable length and semi-openness of sections such as these, the instruments will often improvise on simple rhythms, pitches, with feedback, or other sorts of noise.

Check out this video of the great Fugazi (Fugazi fans have more than likely already seen this as it’s featured in “Instrument”) for an exhilarating example of this sort of improvisation.

The reason I have trouble distinguishing between what is and isn’t improvisation is because even the standard version of any song will vary every time its played. When the players take their breaths, how loud the crescendos become, the tempo, the energy, etc. will all affect the performance. Sometimes a verse may get repeated by mistake, and everyone just goes with it. Sometimes someone will go into the ending far too soon, or play a section too early. For me, there is a way in which these all fit into improvisation as the ‘unforeseen’. They force players to listen and react in a sort of dialectic.

That dialectic, that argument from more than one side moving toward some mutual gain, is a great way to think about improvisation, and music in general. My favorite music is the music in which players are clearly feeding off each other and complementing and supplementing each other, going for the same things differently.

Ornette Coleman comes to mind.
Free Jazz was pretty intense the first time I heard it. I struggled with being able to understand why I thought it was music and not noise, as one would think that a collective of eight musicians playing whatever they felt would be. But even in Free Jazz there are moments were things seem to cohere. The players, all top notch, pick up on each other and support by repeating small phrases, rhythmic figures, knowing when to come in and drop out. It's incredibly exciting to hear.

Ornette Coleman on Last.fm

Codeine - The White Birch

2009-01-14T20:14:00.006-05:00

I really must apologize for being so inactive. Honestly, it mostly boils down to laziness. I've been on winter break from school, which means I've been sleeping in, catching up on odd-jobs and random projects, working with my band, and visiting friends and family. I started to do this Codeine piece before New Years day, but just haven't gotten around to completing it until tonight. I've been reading all the blogs that I frequent, however, and have read a lot of great thoughts and opinions on 2008's music. I don't see myself doing a best-of list or comp anytime, because I just don't know enough about the new releases to do it adequately. And besides, I struggle enough as it is deciding what's best and what's not for myself, I wouldn't want to inflict that indecision on whomever happens to read this blog. So, once again, apologies for being so inactive. I promise that I shall strive to be more consistent, to post at least once a week.

I read somewhere, sometime ago (forgive me, I’ve forgotten where and when), that Codeine’s ‘The White Birch’ and Rodan’s ‘Rusty’ (both released in 1994) were the last of the ‘classic guitar albums’. I have no idea what that statement intends to claim, but I think it does right by grouping Codeine and Rodan together as kindred spirits. They are similar in a few ways. Each band was making music in a post-spiderland environment with aims to develop some aspects of Slint’s Louisville-sound while discarding others. They relied on dynamics and contrast between the abrasive and gentle. I would include Hoover in this comparison, but I feel they were too firmly rooted in DC hardcore (not that that’s a bad thing). As a side-note, I received Spiderland and Rusty on vinyl from my girlfriend as Christmas gifts. So I’ve been planning some double post on the two (two of my most favored albums ever) for some point in the future. Or has that been done too many times before? Oh well.

Codeine are one of those bands from the 90’s that took a Slint idea and ran with it. They were among the pioneers of the slowcore sound, which, in their case at least, is really just a slightly slowed variation on the Louisville sound. Here is found beautiful use of dynamic contrast, plaintive lyrics and vocal delivery, strategically placed drum accents, and rich, full passages of guitar melody and texture. Think Slint’s “Washer” with an even more obvious Neil Young influence (i.e. Neil Young during his Crazy Horse days) plus some slightly more adventurous and jazzy chord voicings and phrases.

This is Codeine’s final album, The White Birch (1994, Subpop). It is the first and therefore obviously only release to feature Codeine’s replacement drummer, Doug Scharin (Chris Brokaw was the original). Also of note is the inclusion of David Grubbs (of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr Del Sol), who had collaborated with Codeine before on Barely Real and a Tour EP in Germany. Playing guitar is founding member John Engle, with other founding member Stephen Immerwahr (of Come) on Bass and Vocals.

Codeine’s sound hasn’t changed a whole lot from their previous albums; though I think what little change has occurred has been for the best. Doug Scharin’s drums perfectly support the ringing guitar sounds, without being too upfront (I feel Chris Brokaw’s drums were a bit too insistent at times) and the addition of David Grubbs I’m sure is partly responsible for some of the tracks having more atypical structures and sounds (atypical for Codeine, that is).

‘Sea’ is a beautiful song. No doubt about that. The dynamics are top-notch, jolting you from mellow and soft passages of thoughtful guitar texture to moments of sheer triumph, with volume and reverb knobs turned up to create a wall of clanging, thunderous sound, all the while maintaining a well-crafted atmosphere of melancholy (a trademark of this band). ‘Loss Leader’ continues in this vein, juxtaposing tranquil verses with powerful sections of crashing chords, led by Immerwahr’s delicate vocals and melodic bass.

‘Wird’ is another standout track. It is an elaboration on ‘W’, found on Codeine’s Barely Real EP, itself a piano composition written and performed by David Grubbs. The song is mostly instrumental, recalling those long and haunting passages from Spiderland, with odd rhythms punctuated by Scharin’s snare nailing beats 1 and 3, as opposed to the typical 2 and 4 accents. This is probably Codeine at their most adventurous, and dissonant. However it is a striking song and really stands out- not just from this album, but from their entire catalog.

After ‘Wird’, the album closes with ‘Smoking Room’. It is a short and pretty song, and very somber. No dynamic contrast here. Just glassy guitar chords behind Immerwahr’s soft voice carried forward but sturdy drum and bass work, until it fades out, as the band just repeats the same chiming chords over and over.

You can certainly hear the Louisville sound on this album, especially in the extensive dynamic contrast. In fact it should be noted that during Codeine’s final days, it was in Louisville native Jeff Mueller’s basement that the band rehearsed. It was because of this that Jeff Mueller would soon ask Doug Scharin to be apart of his post-Rodan project, June of 44. Codeine are originally from New York, though, and therefore bring something different to the table. The vocals are rarely shouted, but are instead delivered softly and thoughtfully. This is beautiful, fragile music.

Codeine on Last.fm
Purchase from Interpunk
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Vineland- Two 7" Records

2008-12-14T11:06:00.007-05:00

Vineland is a little obscure. I hadn’t heard of them until Wilkos illuminated me, and since then have found very little information regarding the band. They have a grand total of 13 listeners on Last.fm, a little surprising considering two things: this band is pretty decent, and one of the members is ex-Bitch Magnet.

However it does seem that maintaining a solid line-up was tough for Vineland. They went through several drummers and a few second guitarists in their several years together, with the only constant being Jon Fine, the ex-Bitch Magnet singer/guitarist/writer of the group. I’ve been able to find only two records, though from what I’ve read (a brief bio plus interview with Jon Fine hosted by a former Vineland guitarist here (also the page where I found the above image)) it seems like much more music has been recorded. Anybody know where it is?

Vineland fits into the June of 44 Family Tree through drummer Doug Scharin. And though that site I linked earlier in this post indicates that Doug’s position was always considered temporary, he made his mark enough so that Vineland’s inclusion in the June of 44 Genealogy is justified. The latter of these two records, Obsidian / Thicket 7” (1996, Zero Sum Records) was recorded in Doug’s New York loft, with him playing drums. The first of these albums, the Archetype / Unfriendly 7” (1993, The Matt Label, Land Speed) does not include Doug Scharin, however I am including it to make available all of the Vineland material I have and have been able to find.

The vocals on these records are decent. I do like the low-level mutterings and singings on Obsidian though. The guitars have that Bitch Magnet sort of sound, overdriven and almost fuzzy, often loud but still a bit melodic. I think I prefer the guitar work on the Obsidian 7”, it gets a little more atonal at points, and the compositions are longer, allowing time for the band to really flesh out each song. As expected, Doug does a great job holding down the rhythms and keeping everything tight. His drumming on the final song, Thicket, is great. Come to think of it, Thicket is probably the stand-out track here, at least in my opinion. It has the all-mighty Octave-interval in some of the guitar parts, great drumming, and a lengthy (too-lengthy?) section in the middle where only the guitar is hammering out a few tones, sort of hanging in the air, waiting for the rest of the band to join. I daresay, the Obsidian 7” has a few moments that remind me of Rodan- something I did not expect or even notice until right now.

Vineland on Last.fm

Archetype / Unfriendly 1993

Obsidian / Thicket 1996

Rambling: Some updates, some projections, and a video

2008-12-03T20:04:00.003-05:00

Lack of updates recently. School has kept me busy, among other things. However once I do get around to posting on a more regular basis, I assure you all that more of the June of 44 Project will be posted along with some other most excellent vinyl treasures I have come across.

Speaking of the June of 44 Project, a new friend, Wilkos, has graciously shared with me a number of records related to June of 44 (some of which I had never known to exist) along with his knowledge of the band and personal experiences with them. Honestly, I can not adequately say how thankful I am for those albums and because of him this Project has potential to be comprehensive and complete, though it will take some time.

Some bands I anticipate to cover in the coming weeks:

-Vineland
-HiM
-Rachel's
-Codeine
-Harkonen (Not J044-Related, but Awesome Nevertheless)

Who knows when these posts will occur. I have finals coming up soon, and some other business to take care of, but I do intend to get this all done by Christmas.

My band played a show last weekend in a basement. Our drummer's basement actually, and our friends were there. Some people thought it was just a practice. The quality is a bit rough, and everything is not clearly audible (especially the vocals) but you might be able to get something out of this. Critique it, please. We're still developing, still trying things out, jumping around from one idea to another, and still getting to know our new vocalist (this is the second time he has ever played with us) so any criticism is encouraged. I'm the guitarist with the hat, who sings a little.

Enjoy? Once again, I apologize for low quality.

Rodan- Aviary

2008-11-24T16:06:00.006-05:00

Rodan is one of those classic bands. The kind that, if you dig them and they mesh with you well, you’ll never forget. I find them to be absolutely beautiful, and consider their final LP “Rusty” to be one of the most important records in my musical experience.

Rodan formed in 1992 in Louisville, Kentucky, home of Slint, Crain, Will Oldham, and many other great artists. Like Slint, Rodan created thoughtful songs that made use of sharply contrasting dynamics over sometimes odd but tight rhythms with emotional, impressionistic lyrics and vocals. Rodan is notorious for having been the first band for some of indie-rock’s finest, much like a Hoover of the Louisville area. Jeff Mueller (Guitar and Vocals) would later go on to June of 44 and The Shipping News, as well as appearing on numerous other recordings throughout the 90’s. Jason Noble (Guitar and Vocals) would start Rachel’s and hook up with Mueller again for Shipping News. Tara Jane O’Neil (Bass and Vocals) would have a great career with bands like The Sonora Pine, Retsin, and terrific solo work. Lastly Kevin Coultas (Drums) helped out many of the aforementioned bands with percussion work.

Aviary (1993, Self-Released) was Rodan’s first recorded output, limited to 200 copies on cassette. The quality isn’t terrific, and you can tell the tracks came from several different recording sessions, but it shows the great music this band was making so early in their short life. The six tracks of “Rusty” are present on the cassette, in rougher, slightly different forms. “Shiner” sounds great on this album in my opinion, being a little more slowed down. “The Everyday World of Bodies” is just as amazing as ever, though I do prefer the “Rusty” version. And “Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto” is still wonderful, though not quite as powerful.

One clear difference on Aviary is the vocals. The band hadn’t quite figured out everything at this time, and so there are moments that just don’t compare with the re-recorded versions of the songs. For instance, Tara’s singing on this version of “Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto” just sounds a little held-back, a little timid.

Perhaps most important here are the tracks that never made it anywhere else. “Tron” and “Darjeeling” were never recorded for any other Rodan releases, though they did show up on a couple of compilations and “Tron” on the Half-Cocked soundtrack. They’re fine tracks, though I can see why they weren’t selected for “Rusty”.

Aviary is one of the earliest examples of the Louisville Sound embracing the adventurous hardcore punk of DC, using that influence to bolster its brooding post-rock and signature loud/soft dynamics over irregular beats. Though “Rusty” will always be the standout album (alongside possibly The Peel Sessions, which are overlooked though equally as excellent), Aviary was important as it was the first, and it showed what promising sounds would come from this band. I can only imagine how exciting it would have been to be a Louisville native in 1993 and to hear this tape for the first time, before anyone really knew what this band was doing.

This is a good collection of songs, and definitely recommended for any fan of Rodan and the Louisville Sound. It is a bit long and not easy to sit through (mostly due to recording quality, not music quality), but I still recommend it, if at least for historical significance.
Eventually I’ll get to the later Rodan releases, including the Peel Sessions, the How the Winter Was Passed 7”, some live material, and of course, Rusty.

Rodan on Last.fm

June of 44 Genealogy Project Beginning/ Rex- s/t

2008-11-22T12:42:00.006-05:00

This marks the first official installment of my June of 44 Genealogy Project- inspired by and an extension of- Gabba’s Hoover Genealogy Project, being documented over on Hardcore for Nerds. The eventual goal of mine, however unrealistic it may seem, is to document the many, many records and bands that have featured some member from June of 44.

Why June of 44? June of 44 may seem an odd choice, partly because when it formed the members had already been involved in a number of important but unique projects, and it would make more sense to trace a band that began without any previous recording experience, like Squirrel Bait (which is another family tree that I think should be explored in the future sometime), which then splintered off into numerous great bands.

However June of 44 is a bit different, more of a collaboration of delegates from distinct and influential scenes which I think enriches their genealogy and makes for interesting research and study. There is such a variety of great groups connected to Jo44, ranging from the groundbreaking slowcore of Codeine and Rex to the post punk of Lungfish, Jazz-punk of THE BOOM, Louisville rock of Shipping News, dub of HiM, and many other odd and exceptional projects.

One thing to keep in mind, this Genealogy Project will be documenting all June of 44-connected records: Pre, Concurrent, and Post, not just the bands that formed after June of 44 disbanded. I’ve already posted two albums in the Genealogy, June of 44’s Engine Takes to Water and Tropics and Meridians, but this will be the first post since the formation of the Genealogy Project.

Rex is a group with its initial beginnings here in my home-state, Maine, in 1991. However it wasn’t until Doug Scharin relocated to New York and had logged time working with Codeine that Rex really came to life. This is Rex’s self-titled debut (1995, Southern). The personnel of Rex are Doug Scharin, the mastermind and drummer, Curtis Harvey on guitars, Phil Spirito on Bass, and Kirsten McCord on Cello. The album is gentle and intriguing. Though this group is often lumped into the Slowcore genre, I find this album to be more of a folk-inspired, minimalist form of post-rock. The dynamics can swell from gentle to loud, but for the most part the album tends to move around slowly, moseying back and forth through long, often repetitive passages. Acoustic instruments find their way onto the album, often creating an alt-country sort of vibe complete with tasteful, atmospheric slide-guitar work.

If you’re expecting to hear the cathartic slowcore of Codeine or the tight and aggressive rock of June of 44, you’ll be disappointed. This album definitely takes its time, and on occasion might even be a little boring. It surely pales in comparison to Rex’s later masterpieces, but I still find it to be a compelling and great record. When the album does shine, it shines brightly and fervently. And when the album starts to become repetitive and too-drawn-out it allows for the listener to reflect and think and digest. It’s a great record for a car-ride through the back-roads of Maine and really crafts a sparse, gentle, and delicate atmosphere.

Lastly, I feel Rex is worth hearing because it was Doug Scharin's first avenue through which he had the majority of creative control, and he really is a quite brilliant musician.

Rex on Last.fm
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Polvo- Today's Active Lifestyles

2008-11-13T10:38:00.005-05:00

Polvo again. What can I say? I love this band. The title of this blog is taken from them, from this album actually. An obvious nod to The Rolling Stones but with a pessimistic twist. I’ll attend to posting a larger variety of music on here eventually, I just need to get some of this stuff out of the way and into your computers, so you can hear it and decide for yourself if it’s as remarkable as I claim.

To review, Polvo is a band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina that was active through the 90’s on Merge and Touch and Go records. They were a group that sort of represented the line between art-punk like Sonic Youth and more accessible guitar-led punk, like Fugazi or Rodan. They certainly had a sound of their own, and deserve to be remembered as one of the great bands of the 90’s and among the best within guitar-led rock.

Today’s Active Lifestyles (1993, Merge) could be their definitive moment. I think it’s the most coherent album of theirs, and though I love their later material, this one just has a certain feel to it. It starts off with “Thermal Treasure”, an incredible song that exemplifies perfectly the guitar skills of Bowie and Brylawski and the complex (for rock music, that is) compositional abilities of the group. Polvo, like other art-punk bands (Sonic Youth, Unwound, etc.) make use of alternative guitar tunings, and it is noticeable right away. However it sounds natural and doesn’t feel forced, and complements the sound well. “Lazy Comet” starts in an asian mode, and not just for flair. Polvo, during their career, developed quite the interest in exploring asian music and instruments, and each release of theirs was influenced more and more by this.

“My Kimono” is a lovely instrumental interlude. Two guitars and nothing more. Again you can hear the eastern influence. I can’t really describe it well. Some will hear it and be turned off immediately by the scratchy tones and unsteady pace, while others will instantly adore it for its organic nature.

Great instrumentals and rocking tracks continue throughout the album, and I know that for me there isn’t a single track I dislike or ever feel like skipping. However I think I love the final three tracks most of all. “Time Isn’t on My Side” is an amazing song, featuring some keys playing an upbeat melody over twisting, quivering guitars and a crashing, booming rhythm section. “Action Vs. Vibe” starts slow then picks up into something fast and energetic, again with more wonderful guitar playing. The vocals, as usual with this band, are kept low in the mix, keeping the focus on the group. But if you have the time, read them. They can be surreal and abstract and playful. Always fun, always interesting. After “Action Vs. Vibe” fades out you hear a droning guitar line crescendo into the red, which gives way to the final track, “Gemini Cusp”.

“Gemini Cusp” is brilliant. A lot of eastern feel on it, great vocals, and solid rhythms. The main feature here, and in fact on the whole album, is the guitar. It just astounds me how complex and intricate the arrangements are while maintaining abrasion and excellent dynamics. I think it’s the dynamics in this song that get me every time. All of a sudden you find yourself alone with one of the guitars droning on a note and then the rest of the band crashes together at once. The contrast of loud and soft continues throughout the song, and it is utterly captivating.

I apologize if this write-up reads more like a ramble. I’m listening to the album as I do this and I must admit that it occupies more of my attention than anything else at the moment. This is definitely one of my favorite albums (I think I have a lot of those, come to think of it), and I could not recommend it enough. I encourage you to listen.

Polvo on last.fm
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Unwound- Leaves Turn Inside You

2008-10-27T11:26:00.005-04:00

My jaw dropped when I first heard this album about one year ago. I was quick to champion it as one of the best I had ever heard, and a year later it is still one of my favorites. Maybe “one of the best” is a little much, and of course only an opinion of mine, but I was so profoundly struck by this masterpiece that I felt I had to sell it as best as I could to whomever would listen.

Unwound was a band from Olympia, Washington, near Seattle, which has come to be known in US media (MTV, VH1) as one of the US’ indie-rock hotspots. They started out in the early 90’s under the name Giant Henry and before that, The Young Ginns. They were always a three-piece, with Justin Trosper writing, singing, and playing guitar, Vern Rumsey on bass, and Sara Lund on drums (she replaced her friend Brandt Sandeno very early on in Unwound’s history). They are often cited as one of the best live bands of their era.

They worked with a number of independent labels, most notably and importantly Kill Rock Stars, on which they had their first release (and KRS’ first musical release). You can hear in their music a number of influences- Trosper is an enthusiastic record collector- ranging from the jazz of Ornette Coleman to Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Television and Fugazi that together create a sound defined by tight rhythms, atypical and often abrasive guitar playing, and abstract, impressionistic lyrics dealing with a range of personal feelings and thoughts.

This is their final release, the double LP Leaves Turn Inside You (2001, Kill Rock Stars). It was recorded at MagRecOne, Unwound’s own recording studio located in the basement of their house near Olympia over a two-year period. It is the most carefully crafted of their releases and shows off the technical prowess and advanced producing abilities possessed by the band.

While their earlier releases evolved little by little from agitated post-hardcore noise to groovy, agitated art-punk (I’m doing my best here- I really have trouble describing their stuff), Leaves Turn Inside You advances wildly to create a sound that, as I read once on a forum (I apologize, I have forgotten the forum in which I read it and the author of this quote), “Sounds like a punk record from 2021, not 2001”.

The album is beautiful. I’m posting it now because I feel it goes well with the time of year (here in Maine the air is starting to get very chilly and the trees are all losing their leaves) and feels like the time of year. I really don’t know how to describe this album. There are moments of post-rock, like on “Terminus”, a stand-out track, and melodic, full instrumentation utilizing effects more frequently than in the band’s previous efforts. The opening track, “We Invent You”, is epic and masterful. The album closes with the magnificent “Below the Salt”, a 10-minute, brilliantly beautiful song that just defies any attempt at description or labeling. The final track is rather peculiar. First it restates the themes of the first track then breaks into some jazz. Not bad, just odd. Perhaps when I’ve investigated this album’s lyrics and song-structure more thoroughly (so far I’ve only been able to submerge myself into its massive body of wonder) I’ll have a better idea of why the ending track is as it is.

Regardless, this album needs to be heard. I encourage all to listen. The first time through may be puzzling, trying, or tiring, but I really feel like this album could become one of those classic and inspirational Greats, like Spiderland.

Unwound on Last.fm
Purchase on Vinyl from Insound

Faraquet/Akarso- Split

2008-10-23T09:45:00.003-04:00

Faraquet were/are a band from the DC area, and put out one full-length on Dischord. They came into being towards the end of the 90’s and brought a very distinct sound to the Dischord roster, creating long, complex pieces that feel so much like jazz jams at one instant then math-rock exercises at another. They can really groove. The guitarist/singer Devin Ocampo described himself as a drummer, for that was his primary instrument when Faraquet began. His experience as a drummer can be heard in his guitar playing, which is rhythmically diverse and locks in well with the rhythm section in a way that would make many jazz guitarists blush. Chad Molter had only started to learn drums when this band was formed, which blows me away because the drumming on this album is rhythmic and tight. Bassist Jeff Boswell is a great musician in his own right, and especially on Faraquet’s Dischord release really was responsible for holding the pieces together with his colourful and dependable bass lines. Devin and Chad played in Medications, another sick Dischord math-rock band, after Faraquet’s break-up. However recently Faraquet got back together and I think another album is coming.

Akarso was a band from Milwaukee. They broke up in 1999. This is the only recording of theirs I have ever been able to locate or even hear, and it is most excellent. Their music is forceful and evokes a range of influences, from Shellac to Drive Like Jehu and of course the balls-out moments of the DC and NY Hardcore scenes. I think the bio for them on Last.fm describes their music best, “…you can’t help wondering what kind of coffee these guys have been drinking”. The guitar playing on their side of the split is terrific, turning on and off on a dime, piercing the grooves with high-end squeaks or supplementing them with thunderous rhythmic chords. The vocals are nuts. Truly nuts. As if the vocalist were more creature than man. I wish I could hear more from these guys.

This split (1999, 404 Records) is great, and worth hearing by any fan of mathy, jazzy, spazzy, noisy, caffeine-saturated rock.

Faraquet on Last. fm
Akarso on Last.fm
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Polvo- Cor-Crane Secret

2008-10-15T16:56:00.006-04:00

Two posts today.

Polvo are a band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that formed around 1990. In their later releases they developed a very recognizable sound dominated by the complex and interwoven guitars of Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski. They are, in my opinion, one of the great guitar-led bands of the 90’s.

This is their first full length, Cor-Crane Secret (1992, Merge). It’s pretty good. The first thing you hear on the opener, “Vibracobra” are the twisting guitars of Bowie and Brylawski. This track exemplifies well the similarities that can sometimes occur between Polvo and Television’s respective sounds. If you don’t know whom Television is, please check them out, especially the album “Marquee Moon”. “Kalgon” is a great snapshot of the sort of excellent and creative guitar playing that Polvo capitalizes on. There are hints of Sonic Youth (who were also greatly influenced by Television) and the noise/math-rock of the Louisville/Chicago areas.

This entire album is great. Their later releases progressively incorporated more Eastern music influences, which sound amazing, but are not present so much on this release.

“Can I Ride” is another great track, filled with wonderful guitar and complex sections. What is great about Polvo is their accessibility. They take the arty, complex sounds of Sonic Youth and fit them into more manageable, engaging songs. You could say Unwound did the same thing except with hardcore punk rather than the indie of Polvo.

“Well is Deep” starts off with an interesting guitar line played by Bowie, the acknowledged guitar whiz of the group (though Brylawski is exceptional in his own right). The song ends with guitar solos that build up into powerful pulses that give way to the closer, “Duped”. “Duped” is an excellent instrumental track that is thoroughly engaging and reveals more upon each listen.

This is a great album, though probably the least innovative of Polvo’s full lengths. However that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth hearing. It remains excellent overall and is a very impressive debut. I’ll be sharing some of their later releases on this blog eventually.

Polvo on Last.fm
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Meaning of Life (Revised)

2008-10-15T16:52:00.003-04:00

Here is a revision of my paper on what I feel to be the Meaning of Life, for me that is. It was written for a class at my college and the first draft was the first post I made on this blog. Feel free to criticize or comment. Please do, in fact.

My freshman year of high school I selected at random a book from my mother’s bookshelf. It was Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground. For me the book illuminated possibilities for literature I never would have expected at that time and was my first encounter with any of the myriad types of existentialism. For the rest of high school I kept busy reading more Dostoevsky, Camus, Kafka, Nietzsche, and other writers. I had never before been a follower of any religion, and during this time I considered myself an existentialist.

But I think I missed the point. I was so eager to put on an identity and stick to it that I ended up letting the identity shape me, rather than the other way around. I had felt, and still feel to some extent, that every decision should be difficult to make, and should be thought through completely. I’m not sure exactly how, but the difficulty of deciding combined with the existentialist thought that I decide who I am morphed into indecision and eventually apathy. I stopped caring about most things, besides music. By the end of my senior year I was troubled and due in part to the apathy plus a developing anxiety disorder, depression, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts I almost failed my senior year of high school and for one week was hospitalized at the Acadia Hospital.

My problem was that I hated life. Life is full of suffering, conflict, and fear, among other things. I allowed and wanted those things to bring me down. Soon I realized that I could choose not to let those things bother me, and though I couldn’t ignore the suffering in the world, I could make the best of it. Essentially, I decided I should try to embrace life.

I feel that embracing life is one aspect of its meaning. To hate life is to be miserable and can only lead to ruin. I try to fill mine with as much music as possible- learning new instruments, writing music, and exploring all the existing recorded music. Distractions like that are important I think. Beloved hobbies and activities are what allow me to unwind and create memorable experiences. They enrich life. Without them, even the embraced life will be missing something I think.

But the experiences that are unwanted and hated, the ones that cause suffering, are still valuable. They are tests for the mind and body to overcome. They are reminders that nothing will stay forever untouched, that the body and mind must keep moving to deal with them. I don’t fully agree with Nietzsche on this point. In Gay Science Nietzsche also argues that suffering is important and necessary, but for him it must be born alone. You must “live in seclusion so that you can live for yourself”. Pitying is wrong, for it removes one from his/her seclusion, and then forces him/her into another’s. However I feel that Nietzsche is taking it too far (perhaps deliberately, for he could be at times, in my opinion, a theatrical writer). I feel that exposing my suffering to others can lead to solutions through conversation and collected experience. To intervene in the suffering of others will also increase experience with suffering. It’s not like being handed the answers for a big test, but rather being tutored. There will still be development, and the sufferer should still adapt.

Adaptation is important. The mind must adapt in order to handle and process new ideas, language must adapt to express the new ideas, the body must adapt to handle the environment outside it.

The mind should always be learning and should always be further enriched by new experiences. Knowledge will react with other knowledges and from these interactions will come the ideas that are shared between them, like the overtones that are heard though not intonated when a chord is sung or played well by adept musicians. For me, most literature, art, music, and film is important. I treasure the process of collecting and increasing my knowledge in those areas.

I still love Notes from Underground, and I understand why the Underground Man hates the stonewalls that men of action use to navigate their journey while the Underground Man can only stop and stare at them. Stonewalls should be stared at, and their natures should be explored, but they cannot be treated as impasses. I do choose who I am, and those decisions should help me develop my mind and body. But the choice is fully mine. I liken it to the process by which Igor Stravinsky began any composition: It starts with the desire to create. Inspiration is secondary, and can never be contrived nor precede the desire to create. The more boundaries that are decided upon, the more space the piece has within which to develop and expand, and the more intriguing it may be. It should be, as Stravinsky stated in his Poetics of Music, “the idea of discovery and hard work that attracts me”. In the end I should be able to consider Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence and answer “Would I live my life again, moment by moment, exactly as it just happened?” with, “Yes.”

June of 44- Tropics and Meridians

2008-10-09T11:57:00.006-04:00

The name June of 44 evokes, in my mind at the very least, images of striving and struggle- all in black and white- most probably due to the famous Invasion of Normandy by allied soldiers in WWII. For this reason my mind receives “June of 44” with an implicit tone of melancholy. But I can safely say that even without these smuggled linguistic and mental associations June of 44’s “Tropics and Meridians” (1996, Quarterstick)would be a marvelously gloomy album and for my money among the finest of 1990’s rock.

The album begins with the 9 minute “Anisette”, a true masterpiece and one of the most sublime songs of the Louisville Sound.

(As a brief aside: I use the term ‘Louisville Sound’ partly due to the location from which this band and several other great bands (Rodan, Shipping News, Slint, Squirrel Bait, etc.) emerged and also because I have trouble describing the genre of these groups. To say any combination of ‘Math-rock’, ‘Noise-rock’, ‘Alt-rock’, ‘Post-rock’, ‘Indie-rock’ etc. wouldn’t quite do it justice).

“Anisette” starts with a mesmerizing 5/4 drum and bass groove delivered by Doug Scharin and, of course, Fred Erskine. Soon thereafter Jeff Mueller and Sean Meadows enter with muted guitars that eventually give way to full-on noisyness. One of the most impressive traits of June of 44 is the interplay of Mueller and Meadows’ guitar lines. A careful listen will reveal pleasing and intriguing moments of synchronization and abrasion, and I cannot stress how rare I believe it is to find two guitarists who interact so well.

Some of the trademarks of the Louisville Sound are prolific dynamic contrast and the use of natural, sincere time meter changes. Both abound on this album, and “Anisette” provides an excellent example. I’ll say this again, “Anisette” is a masterpiece. It needs to be heard. Jeff Mueller’s vocals are ragged and raw, and complement well the urgency of the guitars. You’ll also find moments that resemble Rodan in that chaos will evaporate into tranquility. The use of dynamics towards the end of the song are lovely and truly worthy of note.

After “Anisette” finishes with a bass and drum groove “Lusitania” starts up. Another great example of dynamic contrast, and one of the first songs where Mueller begins to utilize other methods of vocals delivery other than yelling or speaking. Another standout on the track is Fred Erskine’s bass that locks in with the drums and provides so much support for the song. There is at one point, just before the end, where the music stops and after a brief pause comes back in full force, reminding me again of Rodan.

“Lawn Bowler” closes up the first half with an excellent instrumental spanning nearly 8 minutes. The guitars are excellent and react with one another so well. This song demonstrates well how, when appropriately applied, unorthodox time signatures can feel so natural and do not necessarily have to serve the purpose of confusing or tricking the listener.

The second half starts up with “June Leaf”, a brilliant song that, in a manner similar to “Anisette”, exemplifies the ideals of the Louisville sound. It also features vocal contributions from Erskine and, I think, Meadows. It is tough for me to clearly make out the voices, for they are buried within the music.

“Arms over Arteries” is a dissonantly beautiful song. Jeff Mueller sings in a soft voice that suits the music well and is a rather new feature of his delivery. The instrumentals are seamless and range from intricate to sparse, however always grounded by Scharin’s inventive drumming. What makes this song so special is that it foreshadows future developments of June of 44, showing that the band are quite capable of soft and mellow yet dissonant. Come to think of it, as I listen to the song right now while writing this, I am realizing that comparisons can be drawn between it and Codeine’s “The White Birch”. Soft, delicate, and dissonant.

“Sanctioned in a Birdcage” closes the album and is a wonderful contrast to the preceding track and an excellent album closer. The instrumentals are among the best on the album, resembling more of a noise-rock jam than intricate interplay, and create such a sense of chaos. Overhead are heard the poetic and concerned words of Jeff Mueller, as he demonstrates his anxieties about our society through powerful metaphor and a vocal delivery I can only describe as “bothered”. Doug Scharin’s drumming is perfectly suited to the music, and Fred Erskine is in excellent form, creating sick grooves and powerful bass-statements. The guitars clang and clash, producing noise and feedback that creates an environment as hostile as the one that Jeff Mueller’s lyrics describe. A wonderful track.

I highly recommend this album. It is pensive, frustrated, and beautiful. It is my favorite June of 44 release (though they’re all great in my opinion) and an important album for me in my development as a musician.

June of 44 on Last.fm
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Breadwinner- Burner

2008-10-02T10:24:00.005-04:00

Breadwinner’s Burner (1994, Merge) is the complete recorded works of one of math-rock’s prime movers. To be honest their presence on Merge can seem a little out of place, as Breadwinner are a band of hardcore origins (guitarist Pen Rollings was a member of the Virginia-based Honor Roll) that deliver heavy and complex riffs over unbelievably tight bass and drum interplay by Robert Donne and Chris Farmer, respectively. There is very little in common with other great Merge acts like Polvo and Neutral Milk Hotel.

It is interesting to note that this band existed for nearly three years (1990-1992) and yet this collection of two 7”s and three unreleased tracks is just about 20 minutes in length. However the brevity is understandable when you listen to the music. The pieces range in length from 26 seconds to 3 and a half minutes, yet are absolutely filled with time changes, jagged melodies, and grooves that seem to have no steady idea of time but rather constantly changing, organic rhythmic patterns.

What jumps out first is Pen Rollings’ guitar. The guitar lines seem to exist in their own universe, periodically bumping into the world of the rhythm section. This isn’t metal shredding or noise-rock like Steve Albini; it’s just heavy, vigorous, and unpredictable guitar force. That’s right, Force. His guitar is insistent, from the opening scratches of “Tourette’s” to the final, whining jam of “Turtlehead”.

The opener, “Tourette’s”, is an excellent song and a good display of what this band is about. The drums are frantic and the guitar is constantly defying the expectations of the ear. The bass locks in with the guitar for the most part, creating a heavy wall of riffage that is mesmerizing. From there the album goes into “Ditch”, a great example of the drummer’s organic approach to keeping the beat. While the bass and guitar repeat a few phrases the drums pound on, toying with the emphasis of the phrases and altering the feel of the rhythm. “Kisses Men on the Mouth” is in the same vein as the first two tracks, though at times more hurried and more energetic, making it still a great track. The closer for the first half is “” (untitled), and is very different from the preceding tracks, and also the longest on the record. The bass and drums are locked in a demented groove that repeats, with the drummer elaborating from time to time. The focus is on the guitar (as usual), which swirls between Black Flag-esque heavy chords and feedback noise to crunchy, noisy guitar play. Certainly a highlight for the first half.

“Prescott” is another complex and riff-oriented piece that features a brief guitar solo reminiscent of “Free Jazz” and a lot of play between the time meters of the guitar and the rhythm. “Mac’s Oranges” is similar, with another atonal solo and more heavy grooves. “Knighton” is more of what you should expect, with another impressive array of time changes and guitar play. “Exploder”, at 26 seconds, is just that: an explosion. It is similar to the album opener, but shorter, with frenzied drumming and an assault of notes being played by the guitar. The album then closes with “Turtlehead”, which starts with whiny feedback over a tight groove that bears resemblance to some metal bands. It then picks up into more crunchy guitar phrases and exemplary drumming.

To be honest, there is little deviation from Breadwinner’s standard formula on the record. As you may have gleaned from my review, each track is a display of fierce and unpredictable guitar over tight and complex grooves or drum patterns. But at 20 minutes I don’t see this as a problem. Each track presents its own ideas and its own patterns, and from start to finish is a rewarding listen. The guitar playing is top-notch, and for any fan of math-rock, this is a must have.

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June of 44- Engine Takes to the Water

2008-09-30T12:39:00.015-04:00

June of 44’s debut album Engine Takes to Water (1995, Quarterstick) is a terrific first outing for a collective of veteran independent post-whatever musicians. Here are dynamics, whispered and shouted vocals, and melodic yet grating guitar work, traits that have been mastered by leader Jeff Mueller (formerly of Rodan) and his three band mates: Doug Scharin (of Codeine), Fred Erskine (of Hoover, The Crownhate Ruin, Abilene, and many many others) and Sean Meadows (of Lungfish).

The album begins with the muted harmonics of Jeff’s guitar, accentuated with small and subtle sounds from the other instruments. As it builds a dissonance emerges and gives way to a Slint-esque song, “Have a Safe Trip, Dear”. However to say ‘Slint-esque’ may be misleading. This is a band of extremely well developed musicians, and not just an emulation of Slint. The opening track is long- 8:26- but not dull. It is a great example of what this band has to offer and does well to begin the album, acting as a sort of Overture.

Jeff Mueller’s voice confidently quivers and trembles as he speaks, as if he were being shook from behind. His yells are raw, passionate, and aggressive. His guitar playing is exceptionally inventive, and he and band mate Sean Meadows create interesting interplay between their guitars as they weave noisy, melodic, and intense parts that work both for and against one another.

While this album evokes the work of other great Louisville acts, June of 44 are certainly offering their own take on that sound. “Pale Horse Sailor” offers an unconventional dissolution of rhythm and melody, with grating guitars, a pulsating bass, and Doug Scharin’s spontaneous, out-of-time drumming that create an arrhythmic atmosphere that will either intrigue or repulse listeners. “Mindel” functions as an energetic and chaotic piece that will remind the listener of Jeff Mueller’s former band (Rodan for those who don’t know), and does well to navigate the band back ad terram firmam.

The second half of the album is relatively more somber than the first. The music is more subdued and subtle, the guitars sounding off beautiful harmonic guitar riffs, the drums serving more as foundation than drive, and Fred Erskine’s bass pulsating along, laying down tight grooves. The Album closes with two distinctly different tracks. “Take it with a Grain of Salt” (the one aggressive track from the second half) and “Sink Is Busted”. These two tracks act as foils: loud to soft, noisy to melodic, aggressive to subdued. Jeff Mueller seems to have a thing for juxtaposing different musical aesthetics, and that contrast makes the end of the album a rewarding listen. In saying that the last track is soft, melodic, and subdued, I by no means intend to say it is boring. It is a great song- captivating, interesting, and it offers a great example of the Louisville sound in its more quiet and peaceful incarnations.

Overall, I think this album is a great debut for a collective of four music veterans. For those familiar with the Louisville sound, this is a new perspective. For those unfamiliar, this is an intelligent and worthwhile independent album that offers something genuine.

June of 44 on Last.fm
Purchase from Interpunk

First draft of a light paper I am to write for a class on what I feel to be the Meaning of Life.

2008-09-30T09:44:00.001-04:00

My freshman year of high school I selected at random a book from my mother’s bookshelf. It was Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground. For me the book illuminated possibilities for literature I never would have expected at that time and was my first encounter with any of the myriad types of existentialism. For the rest of high school I kept busy reading more Dostoevsky, Camus, Kafka, Nietzsche, and other writers. I had never before been a follower of any religion, and during this time I considered myself an existentialist.

But I think I missed the point. I was so eager to put on an identity and stick to it that I ended up letting the identity shape me, rather than the other way around. By the end of my senior year I was troubled, and caught up in apathy and indecision. I had- and still do- always felt that every decision should be difficult to make, and should be thought through completely. But I let that indecision become apathy, and due in part to the apathy plus a developing anxiety disorder, depression, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts I almost failed my senior year of high school and for one week was hospitalized at the Acadia Hospital.

My problem was that I hated life. Life is full of suffering, conflict, and fear, among other things. I allowed and wanted those things to bring me down. I realized that I could choose not to let those things bother me, and though I can’t ignore the suffering in the world, I can make the best of it. Essentially, I decided I should try to embrace life.

I feel that embracing life is one aspect of its meaning. To hate life is to be miserable and can only lead to ruin. I try to fill mine with as much music as possible- learning new instruments, writing music, and exploring all the existing recorded music. Distractions like that are important I think. Beloved hobbies and activities are what allow me to unwind and create memorable experiences. They enrich life. Without them, even the embraced life will be missing something I think.
But the experiences that are unwanted and hated, the ones that cause suffering, are still very important. They are tests for the mind and body to overcome. They are reminders that nothing will stay forever untouched, that the body and mind must keep moving to deal with them. Adaptation is important. The mind must adapt in order to handle and process new ideas, language must adapt to express the new ideas, the body must adapt to handle the environment outside it.

The mind should always be learning and should always be further enriched by new experiences. Knowledge will react with other knowledges and from these interactions will come the ideas that are shared between them, like the overtones that are heard though not intonated when a chord is sung or played well by adept musicians.

I still love Notes from Underground, and I understand why the Underground Man hates the stonewalls that men of action use to navigate their journey while the Underground Man can only stop and stare at them. Stonewalls should be stared at, and their natures should be explored, but they cannot be treated as impasses. I do choose who I am, and those decisions should help me develop my mind and body. But the choice is fully mine. I liken it to the process by which Igor Stravinsky began any composition: It starts with the desire to create. Inspiration is secondary, and can never be contrived nor precede the desire to create. The more boundaries that are decided upon, the more space the piece has within which to develop and expand, and the more intriguing it may be. In the end I should be able to consider Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence and answer “Would I live my life again, moment by moment, exactly as it just happened?” with, “Yes.”