Thursday, July 26, 2007

Anthony Braxton: 3 Compositions of New Jazz (1968) makes ya think about labels!

braxton looking cool and genius like
Anthony Braxton: 3 Compositions of New Jazz (1968)

This is great. Reading his biography on all-music a lot of words were used to attempt to label his music.

jazz...not jazz
classical jazz?
experimental avante-garde classical jazz?
wynton marsalis says it's not jazz
but then wynton
limits himself
by being tied to the past
the past needs to be
preserved
admired
and used as a
launching pad
into one's own
creative impetus
a stimulus
to explore and create.

"Composition 6E" is very dissonant and drips of tones slip through...lots happening...space is very important, as Sun Ra says: "Space is the Place!"...

"Composition 6D" is more brassy (does that make it jazz????) and sound fills the spaces more fully...sorta rocks in it's own way...not that i'm trying to label the music per se...just rocks in a "metaphorical" sense...

"The Bell" starts with Leroy Jenkins playing some awesome violin...just wailing like on the porch of the symphony stage...very beautiful...

Anthony Braxton is someone I've known about, but only recently started "hearing". There's an ocean of sounds by Mr. Braxton to delve into (he was very prolific) and there's no reason to hesitate...the water is warm...if occasionally complex...
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Links

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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Boogie Shoes Bonanza: colosseum, crazy horse, electric prunes, index, jane, joseph, residents, src and the incredible ya ho wa!!!

What has been making my boogie shoes shine lately? What musical noises has captured Harvey Dog's inner imagination?

Let's take a quick look at a few recent treasures.
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Colosseum: Valentyne Suite (1969) great beginning ("the kettle") that captured the ears immediately...fantastic musicians...jazzy with a definite blues influence...dick hiseman is an amazing drummer...fill, fill, *splash* do do do...great stuff, and definitely will be checking out the rest of the discography.

Crazy Horse: Crazy Horse (1971) finally got a chance to listen to this, and was very impressed. An excellent solid **** album...some nice shaggy rock'n'roll playing with a couple of classics baby...i don't wanna talk about it and downtown are awesome songs and too bad the charlie got a hold of danny and bye bye the rhythm section off to play with Neil who knew a good thing when he saw it...

electric prunes kicking ass 1967
Electric Prunes: Stockholm '67 (1997)
WOW!!!!
PROTO PUNK!!!
MC5 BEFORE MC5!!!!
THESE GUYS R A W K !!!!!
GET THIS MOTHERFUCKING LIVE CLASSIC
DISCOVER THE PRUNES!!!!!!!!!!
***** FUCKING STARS

Index: Index (1967) interesting...weird combo of psychedelia and garage minimally recorded but has depth and a cool cover of 8 miles high which pierces the notes harder than mcguinn...sounds fairly dark for 67...

Jane: Together (1972) in all the rock music books (rolling stone record guide, music hound, all music guide, illustrated encyclopedia of rock) purchased over many many years i never saw an entry for jane...an apparent mystery band (they still have no bio listed in allmusic.com)...great prog rock without getting masturbatory...will be looking into these guys...

Joseph: Stoned Age Man (1970) this was a nice find...big bluesy rock done with confidence and panache...fantastic one-off worth hearing...

Residents: Demons Dance Alone (2002) and it brings a tear to my eye...poor little demons need sympathy too...more thoughtful for the residents and extremely enjoyable...

SRC: SRC (1968) detroit's other band besides stooges, mc5, amboy dukes...what a scene detroit musta been in the late 60s!!! great fuzz drenched acid soaked guitar and organ...check out these guys...

father yod kicks some ass
Ya Ho Wa: Contraction (1973) Kohutek (1973) What a find this was!!! father yod and his band of "little kiddies" who did about 60 albums in 2-3 years and released 9 of em i believe...father yod spews out his wisdom over a backing of incredible free form playing...awesome awesome awesome...i need to do a more extensive bio of these guys and gals...
blowing the mind
exposing basic truths
more harmony
less judgement please
free the fear
live life here
open ears
eliminate judgement
arrogance
there needs to be some other way
hordes of the depressed
aimlessly wander
losing potential
in a sea of fear
tap potential
free the fear
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Links

Colosseum Home Page
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Page
Awesome detailed Electric Prunes Web
The official Electric Prunes site
Jane Home Page in English and German!
The Residents Official News Blog
Psychedelic Tribal Music Presents Ya Ho Wa
Perfect Sound Forever interview living Ya Ho Wa's
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Doyle Mizutani Toyozumi rock Tokyo 1997


Arthur Doyle, Takashi Mizutani & Sabu Toyozumi: Live in Japan 1997 (released 2003) give er ***** captain

Wow!!! This is incredible...these guys waste no time getting into it. If this was actually the first song of the concert,well, unbelievable. They start with a flurry, and get incredible sounds out of their instruments. I really like some of the tones Mizutani gets out of his electric guitar. Arthur is so intense, his stamina is incredible. Around 9 minutes into "November 8th or 9th, I Can't Remember When" [aside: great title!], they start to get spacey, but in an intense scary way...
intense melodies
scream silently
into the space of time

Takashi and Sabu are great on "Alabama and Mississippi Reunited".
heavy
ominous
vibrations
warning sirens in the distance
then right next door
flee shout the generals
hiding out
in their bunkers
while the war inside rages
Arthur comes in on the flute and he takes things to another dimension. Is this the reuniting? Is this a good thing??

"I Pass, Then Resist" starts off with a beautiful melody by AD. Beautiful song. "I'd Live in Her World, Then Without Her in Mine" sounds like it could be done by the Acid Mothers Temple (or maybe I'm on ahcid!!!). [aside: Now wouldn't that be an interesting collaboration?? Arthur Mothers Doyle's Temple]

I really like AD's flute playing. It adds a lightness to the proceedings...yet still ominous! "Love Heal" is like that. Then Arthur starts using his voice as an instrument. [aside: Mole, ya gotta hear this!] His voice is incredibly expressive. Words are not necessary for Arthur!
nothing said
nothing said
everything said!!!

"Joy" ends the proceedings on a meditative
thoughtful
conclusion.

Incredible stuff...

I also have "Songwriter" and it's also worth hearing. Arthur solo in a living room bringing his music to life...what could be better?
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Arthur Doyle Links

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Friday, July 06, 2007

AMM: AMMMusic 1966

Ammmusic cover
AMM: AMMMusic (1966) ***** Wow!!! I finally listened to this and it's some wild shit. I read some of the comments on the great "Rate Your Music" site, and it's interesting reading the comments of the people who don't like this...at all. If you're expecting verse-chorus-verse-chorus etc. normal chords etc a melody etc (though I feel there is melody contained within) then forget it. You'll think it's noise.

HOLD ON...don't run away so fast!!!

The key to this music, [aside: unless you're a hi-falootin music theorist] is to let it flow over your body
over your soul
let it take a hold of you
take you for a ride
hear that noise?

it's no mosquito
it's no albatross
it's the sound of
life
of death
of everything

the sound of a radio
in the distance
weaves in and out
of the improvisation

no categories
not classical not jazz not rock not avant-garde
but emotion through instrumentation
The sound of the cello always gears me up a bit, and the drumming is amazing! It blows me away that this was recorded live in June 1966. If you're interested in music that pushes the envelope on what music is all about, then check this baby out. I will be looking out for more AMM!!!
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Here's a cool web site called European Free Improvisation Pages, I came across in searching for more info about AMM (who have a page). Lots to explore within!!
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AMM Links

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Here in Haida Gwaii with the ocean outside my window...

do do do looking out my backyard
Greetings bloggers

The move has been completed (except for a few more address change shit and stuff), and we are living in beautiful Skidegate, BC on Haida Gwaii with the Pacific Ocean in our backyard.

awesome place
nice people

Things move slower here, so we ended up just getting the internet (and tv) last night!! That's what happens in a small place. The satellite guy was on holiday, no other hi-speed, no Telus, no DSL, no cable...you just have to learn patience, grasshopper.
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I've been out of the loop lately, but the cds are finally unpacked!!! It only took 2 weeks!!!
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Listening to Cannabis: Joint Effort (1972) and was expecting some crazy psych shit...BUT, it is actually solid lightweight psych folk. Think of The Byrds around the notorious era, and there you go. A pleasant endorsement, but nothing earth shattering.
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The whole Chris Benoit story has confused baffled frightened and flabbergasted me heavily. I was an indy pro wrestler for 4 years and even 10-15 years ago he was someone you watched tapes of to learn how to work a match. I heard nothing but nice things about him from the boys.

He was, obviously, juiced to the gills, but that doesn't make people kill their wife and son. There's a lot of serious issues that the whole incident should raise, so that the whole industry can become healthier...what made him snap? domestic issues? probs with the son's health? getting older and seeing the end in sight? secret dark issues that unfortunately came out in the most vile way imaginable?? or the 10 months of steroids every 3-4 weeks for a year, on top of 20 years of steroid use, painkillers, gbh??? what makes people, who seem so strong, succumb to their inner demons?? or are they outer demons??? is it society's (ie. the media) fault that so much importance was/is placed on the physique of pro wrestlers???

Since so many people seem to know what caused this, here's my guess. And it's only a guess...none of us except the deceased have a fucking clue!! (also the toxicology reports still haven't come out) He left the docs, went home and in some form of roid rage (more a cocktail of steroids, stress, domestic issues, painkillers and god knows what else) he killed his wife (Nancy...also a hell of a wrestling performer) during a domestic dispute. Then...I get the feeling that's when he really lost it. The last day of his son's life must have been a living hell. What could possibly be going through Benoit's mind during this time??? Then he killed his son...and the next day he couldn't live with his demons anymore so he killed himself.

Hopefully, some good will come out of this and more lives down the line will be saved, BUT haven't we all thought this before? And the way the wwe has responded (continuing big pushes of Lashley & Batista, defending a ridiculous drug testing procedure, saying out loud STEROIDS ARE BAD, WE TELL OUR WRESTLERS NOT TO USE THEM but then telling the wrestler "but hey here's a number to call that'll help put some meat on your body...if you want to move on up the ladder") it doesn't sound like much will change. Just like any corporation...who wants to change things when you're making money hand over fist? Even if it's killing people. Ask Bush...ask every fucking leader in the mid east. The guys in power want to stay in power, and change may cause them to lose some of that power...and that's a no-no.

* sigh *

I'm still very confused and upset about this. I just found out a couple of days ago. Back to the music next post, but I had to get some of this shit inside me out.
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