Red Bull Music Academy has posted a nearly two hour video interview/”lecture” with Stephen O’Malley to Vimeo. The interview features a snippet from O’Malley’s forthcoming collaboration with Mika Vainio as well as a film clip from This Is How You Will Disappear, the Gisèle Vienne play for which KTL provided the music. Toward the end of the interview […]
The fundamental elements of singing and vocalizing are easy to miss in most music. All singers, even the very worst, unconsciously coordinate the various processes required to sing musically, so that respiration, phonation, resonation, and articulation collapse into sung phrases or wordless melodies. Phil Minton and Audrey Chen work to undo that coordination. They break […]
Below you’ll find “Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer,” a short documentary made in 1963 by David L. Wolper. In it, Bradbury gives advice to fledgling writers, reflects on the dangers of new technology, and stresses the importance of the subconscious mind for his thinking. I pulled this from a post over at Dangerous Minds, […]
The only new album on the list this month comes from the Phil Minton/Audrey Chen Quintet on Sub Rosa. Everything else is a reissue or a new collection of older music. Impulse’s release of John Coltrane’s complete Sun Ship sessions snuck in right at the end of April, but didn’t make the list because I […]
Band of Horses appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night and covered “I’ve Been Riding with the Ghost” clad in Magnolia Electric Co. t-shirts. I don’t follow Band of Horses, but this isn’t a bad cover. The ladies singing harmony sound fantastic and it’s good to see other musicians paying tribute to Jason’s work. In […]
I can’t count the number of times I’ve sang along to “White Lightning.” Embarrassing videos exist to prove it. It’s one of my favorite country songs. Maybe one of my favorite pop songs period. George Jones died today in Nashville, TN. He was 81 years old. If you want to read a colorful, sad, and absolutely […]
With just a few exceptions, I’ve not spent much time exploring the rocky world of private press records. Numero Group is responsible for a lot of what I know—the rest has come to me by word of mouth, various blogs, or through work. I’m not even sure I know what qualifies a record as “private […]
Just before Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s capture on Friday night, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham suggested that Tsarnaev should be treated as an enemy combatant of the United States, allowing investigators to interrogate him without first Mirandizing him. Following his apprehension, it was made clear that the FBI intended to do just that, by invoking a little known “public […]
In case you missed it, Arkansas State Representative Nate Bell had some kind words for Boston today…
From Eddie Gale’s Ghetto Music. Allmusic gives it five stars: The aesthetic and cultural merits of Eddie Gale’s Ghetto Music cannot be overstated. That it is one of the most obscure recordings in Blue Note’s catalogue — paid for out of label co-founder Francis Wolff‘s own pocket — should tell us something. This is an apocryphal […]
It may be that hearing metal means something different than hearing music. Like the Constantin Brâncuși sculpture to which its subtitle refers, Michael Pisaro’s Hearing Metal 2 subsists more in the grain and shape of its materials and less in the will of its author. It is composed and performed, and has a beginning and an ending, […]
In 2005, when Camper Van Beethoven’s gear was stolen on tour, Jason Molina ran into David Lowery and offered to lend him some of Magnolia Electric Co.’s equipment. They became friends and, later that year, met in Richmond, Virginia to record some new songs Jason had in the works. Before he could finish, Molina’s mother […]
I’ve watched the video of the first explosion too many times to count. I knew some people who were nearby, who watched it all unfold. The first images of the injured and the blood-stained sidewalks were almost too surreal to believe. The sight of that fireball in downtown Boston, where I’ve walked many times, turned […]
From Digital Music News, an animated GIF showing how people have purchased and listened to music over the last 40 years. The numbers are based on RIAA revenue figures starting in 1973 and continuing through 2012. If you look at the original post, you can view each slide one at a time. It’s hard to […]
Back after a short vacation. In the wake of Jason Molina’s death, I listened to almost nothing but Magnolia Electric Co., Songs: Ohia, and Jason Molina solo records. It’d been forever since I listened to much singer/songwriter stuff, so April turned into something of a binge. I hosted the Brainwashed Podcast dedicated to Jason Molina […]
Savannah’s Graveface Records is preparing a Jason Molina tribute album due out toward the end of April. Called Weary Engine Blues, confirmed contributors to the project include John Vanderslice, Mark Kozelek, Damien Jurado, Alasdair Roberts, Scout Niblett, Will Johnson, Will Oldham, and many more. The cover art is by Jason Molina. Not sure how limited this […]
Tributes and stories about Jason Molina are being shared by musicians and fans on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and on the Magnolia Electric Co. website, where Molina’s entire discography can be streamed for a limited amount of time. The following are just some of the tributes that I think are worth sharing. Will Johnson’s memories of the Molina […]
“When I die / put my bones in an empty street / to remind me of how it used to be / Don’t write my name on a stone / Bring a Coleman lantern and a radio / Cleveland game and two fishing poles / and watch with me from the shore“ Jason Molina passed […]
Autechre’s Exai and a surprise reissue of Gila’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee top my favorite records for February 2013. The list is short this month as most of my attention was focused on a few releases—including the Wandelweiser set on Another Timbre and the Autechre EP box set—but a ton of new music is on the […]
For every stubborn fan who thinks their best period ended with LP5, there are plenty of others who have found something to love in Autechre’s post-Confield run. Expectations and ideas about what Autechre should sound like aside, there’s actually plenty there to love. But Exai is one of their best albums, period. Forget about their past work. Without the […]
