da da da da dadadada DUM

WTF? LOL!

the right notes in the wrong order

FTW! tEoE remix Bleeding Heart Narrative

and remember kids…

It takes just fiiiiive minutes.

some actual tEoE News

yeah, one fine day.

Oh, finalmente un po’ di tempo per concludere Death Note (riprendendo dal numero 6, visto che le uscite bimestrali mettono a dura prova la mia memoria…), tirarsi avanti in Grey’s Anatomy (impietosamente abbandonato a se stesso all’inizio della quarta stagione), ascoltare qualcosa di nuovo (tipo i Godspeed You! Black Emperor) e farsi megapipponi mentali con l’Algebraic Topology di Hatcher!

By the way, ribadisco che la jersey dei Celtics (quella con i numeri neri) è una figata pazzesca, sarà che mi ricorda la divisa del pugile in Voglia Di Vincere 2, film che da piccolo idolatravo come pochi… E che inoltre -passata l’euforia iniziale- la Princeton Offense con il roster di Phila non c’azzecca proprio nulla! 5-8 scrotaioli!

P.s. Si può essere zii del proprio zio? o.O

So, here we go. The start of the new Millennium, and with the huge technological and musical advances of the 100 years prior, music had the opportunity to completely change faces. The growth of the internet, especially in file sharing sites, was at a peak in the early 2000s, with dial up gradually being replaced by broadband, meaning users could download files at a faster rate, and of course share their musical experiences, recommendations and creations online too. Within the studio, more digital effects were being made and experimented with, especially Antare’s Auto-Tune, a feature so over-used this decade that it has spawned dozens of spoof songs and videos, especially on YouTube.

Interestingly, I didn’t really discover or hear of any of these albums that I am about to talk about the year they came out. However, I feel these are the best albums in my opinion that came out in 2000. And they are in no particular order.

1) Deftones – White Pony

I have talked about this album in previous blog entries; stating that it is an album that changed my life. I still hold this opinion today. I first heard this album in 2001, a friend of mine gave it to me on CD, and I recorded it to tape, seeing as I only had a portable tape player at the time to bring to school with me. That tape eventually got played out. Listening to White Pony was unlike anything I had ever heard before. My still rather untrained musical ears did not fully appreciate it at the time, but the production of this album was unlike anything I heard in Rock at the time. Songs like “Digital Bath” and “Elite” instantly struck a chord with me, whereas the epic “Change (In the House of Flies)” and “Passenger” got a deeper appreciation as I got older. To me, this album has everything I ever want in music. Dreamy, almost ambient landscapes, heavy passages, fantastic drumming and great vocals, both clean and screaming. White Pony is a timeless album that really shows Deftones’ maturity, coming from their heavy 1997 classic Around the Fur (another personal favourite of mine.) The whole album really has a very dark, haunting aura, and the album greatly needs to be played at a loud volume in order to be fully appreciated. I still get chills when I listen to “Teenager” and the amazing bridge in “Knife Prty”. This is one album I am never, ever going to get tired of. One of my favourite albums ever. Oh, and I eventually bought the CD

2) At The Drive-In – Relationship of Command

The album that introduced me to the world of post-hardcore music, and of course the ever interesting worlds of Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez. The very first thing that grabbed my attention in this album was the lyrical content, again, it was unlike anything I had heard before; almost like Cedric was just randomly putting words he found in a dictionary, but somehow they at times made sense in context to the message of the song. I first heard this album in 2004, when I was discovering some bands like AFI for example. They complemented both my love for Progressive music, and for Alternative and Punk music that I had at the time. “Arcarsenal” is still to me one of the greatest album openers, so heavy and gets you ready for what is ahead. Unfortuately, I haven’t gave this album a good spin in recent months, but it’s still up there with one of my favourite albums of the decade.

3) Pain of Salvation – The Perfect Element, Part I

Out of this whole list, this was the album that I discovered the most recently (2007). While I did give it somewhat of a listen a few years prior (and really dug “Rope Ends”), I never fully got into it until I met one Daniel Acheson, who introduced me to the world of Pain of Salvation. I was looking for music similar to Dream Theater, and Daniel recommended PoS to me. Good recommendation! The Perfect Element Part I really is an amazing concept album, up there with the all time greats like Dark Side of the Moon and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Again, this album has everything – unbelievable singing by Daniel Gildenlow, both in clean, falsetto and unholy high screams; heavy riffs that are also complemented by beautiful acoustic passages, whether it be on piano or guitar; and almost tribal like drum passages at times. For anyone who likes a good album with a story behind it, I recommend this highly.

4) Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

And here is another album that introduced me to the world of post-rock. Grand, majestic and uplifting are the 3 perfect words for this album. Many have called this a masterpiece, and I would agree with them. 2 disc masterpiece at that. This is just one of those albums that you can turn on, and just sit back and enjoy what unfolds infront of you. Musical texturing at it’s best, a quality many bands have tried to emulate, but many fail at. A truly great work.

So, there you have it. My picks of 2000. Next up, you guessed it. 2001. Keep checking back for 2001!

I’ve been meaning to post this here for ages, it’s a collection of songs that myself and JP Keenan churned out during our time working together. We shared a keen interest in a good handful of bands, Mogwai, Redhouse Painters, Wilco, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Broken Social Scene and Sigur Ros. It was one of the most productive periods of music making I’ve been involved in, JP is a hard taskmaster and he milked all kinds of music from my finger-ends and I like to think I returned the favour.

My favourite track is probably Tick Tock with Sleep a close second. All tracks are offered as a free mp3 download, just click the relevant button.

The project eventually morphed into a live band that I couldn’t commit to, they’re alive and well and writing some amazing songs. You can find out a little more about them at heatvslight.co.uk

I listened to post-rock so much in college I can still feel my life adhering to a constant state of crescendo. I’ll be walking down the street and suddenly it’ll be like the beginning of the first 28 Days movie, a lone mind-guitar chiming in the background; others will join in, the tempo quickens and I end up running away from invisible, swelling orchestras. 

It sounds exciting but, more than anything, it’s scary. Bands like Mogwai, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Mono, Explosions In The Sky, Apse, Tristeza, Saxon Shore, Unwed Sailor … they’ll haunt … your dreams.

Finfangfoom, named for a reoccurring Marvel comic-book character – are what you would call a post-POST-rock band. Their guitar arpeggios, bass gallops and high-hat taps drain every ounce of drama from every measure, to be sure.

But there’s more to it than that; Virginia, we have vocals! Finfangfoom’s singer sounds a lot like Jake Snider from Minus The Bear, maybe with a deeper timbre. I can take ‘r leave the vocals, but they’re not near as annoying as those of Minus The Bear because the arrangements are fluid and consistently engaging.

Despite this quality, I don’t care for Foom’s breed of p-p-rock enough to recommend Monomyth with too much enthusiasm, especially when bands like Appleseed Cast, Isis, Pelican, Red Stars Theory (well, maybe not them) have done this before and done it just a lil’-bit better (save Two Conversations; yuck).

There are times, mostly during “Exploding Coast,” where F-f-foom show signs of breaking out of their shell. In the end though, tedium becomes a part-time companion Monomyth can’t shake.

I guess it doesn’t get plainer than that. As with groups like Anoice and many of the herd mentioned four paragraphs up, I respect what they’re doing but, respectfully, often reach for something else when it’s time to ROCK-circa-ROLL.

Décidément, 2009 est une année diesel… J’ai vu mon film de l’année le 4 novembre, et j’ai découvert mon groupe de l’année quelques jours plus tôt. Attention, ne mettons pas tout dans le même panier : Le Concert était certes un bon film, dont je garderai un bon souvenir, mais le groupe dont je vais vous parler, c’est plus que ça.. Il se hisse directement dans le top-ten de mes groupes préférés, et postule en tant que 6e “inoubliable”, aux côtés de Archive et Girls in Hawaii, notamment…
Et, une fois n’est pas coutume, je vais vous présenter ce groupe, dont finalement je ne connais presque rien ^^. Ça va sans doute me forcer à faire un post moins long :p . Donc voilà, ce groupe mystérieux, il s’agit de Kwoon.

Kwoon, c’est d’abord un projet, puis plusieurs musiciens qui se greffent jusqu’à sept aujourd’hui. Kwoon, c’est ensuite un album, sorti en 2006 a priori, qui certes n’a pas percé sur NRJ -tant mieux me direz-vous- mais fait son petit chemin dans le coeur des fans et dans la presse spécialisée (Elegy ça existe encore ). Kwoon, enfin et surtout, c’est de la musique ; et quelle musique… Il paraît que c’est du Post-rock, on le décrit parfois en ambient/atmo, on lit ici et là “féérique”, “onirique”, “envoutement”, “voyage”, ainsi qu’une quantité de superlatifs laudatifs…
Kwoon, ce n’est pas descriptible, parce que Kwoon, c’est ça :

Une musique douce qui emmène l’auditeur, et d’un coup une montée en puissance, un peu d’électrique, toujours bien dosé, afin de donner de la consistance au tout. Prenez le meilleur des mélodies de Air, Archive, prenez la mélancolie de Radiohead, Aaron, Girls in Hawaii, prenez les introspections de Tangerine Dream ou Pink Floyd… Pour ceux qui connaissent, ça rappellera Godspeed You! Black Emperor, mais en plus facile d’accès (s’il y a des metalleux dans la salle, GY!BE n’a rien a voir avec Emperor, comme je l’ai au départ cru ^^).
Ce n’est clairement pas de la musique qu’on écoute pour se réveiller le matin ou pour danser ; c’est de la musique qu’on écoute pour apprécier la mélodie, pour s’évader… C’est de la Musique…

Le mauvais côté de découvrir le groupe très tard, c’est qu’on a loupé la tournée ainsi que les concerts en appartement – nouvelle mode à Paris, très sympa mais parfois réservé à des groupes très fermés. Le bon côté, c’est qu’on a moins longtemps à attendre le second album, et trois ans et demi après Tales and Dreams, le groupe s’apprête à sortir : When the flowers were singing (Edit : le second album sortira le 10 décembre, format Digipack ; comme le premier, disponible au format numérique sur amazon et autres itunes, et en physique exclusivement sur leur site). Dès qu’il y a plus de news je vous tiens au courant.

En attendant, just enjoy…

http://kwoon-music.com/

]]> http://duelo.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/buscadora-de-estrelas/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:51:45 +0000 danielmls http://duelo.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/buscadora-de-estrelas/

* Título estilo versão brasileira Herbert Richards. O original é Starsearcher, como é possível ver embaixo, na caixa do Youtube. Poderia ser pior, alguma coisa do tipo “Viagem insólita”, “Um Futuro Muito Louco”, ou então os clássicos título-spoiler (marque o texto entre as setas para para ler) –>“Robô suicida e a Salvadora da Esperança”<–.

O vídeo é sensacional, e tem a trilha toda de trechos de Godspeed You Black Emperor! e Explosions In The Sky.

Ah, e foi feito por um universitário como trabalho de conclusão de curso. Classy.

Enrolei muito? Lá vai então.

Som dere nerder som kan binærkoder utenat (og/eller dere som var lure nok til å søke opp en binary translator) vet har jeg det ikke helt supert for tiden. Jeg hadde det ikke supert i sommer, og nå har jeg det ikke supert, bare at noen ganger kan jeg gjøre ting som gjør deler av livet litt supert likevel, så jeg klarer meg jo. Og som Eivind sa, så hjelper det med eplemost på bare jazz.

Men altså, i dag sov jeg altfor lenge, jeg sov såpass lenge fordi jeg satt oppe og tenkte. Så la jeg meg, og tenkte litt, før jeg tok meg en røyk og tenkte. Jeg tenkte til og med når jeg satt på do. Jeg må slutte å tenke. Så inviterer Ebba meg hjem hos henne for å drikke te og ikke tenke. Hun bor litt langt unna, så jeg hørte gjennom Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven av Godspeed You! Black Emperor på veien dit mens jeg spiste pølse og tenkte.

-Han ved siden av meg har samme hår som han fyren vi traff tilfeldig mens vi gikk tur med hundene, -Konows Gate, -Denne sangen hørte jeg faktisk på når jeg venta på at hun skulle komme hjem fra skolen, -Ullgenser, -Skjerf, -Hun jenta smilte til meg, smilet ligner på..

Ja dere skjønner nok greia.

Hvordan dette er mulig vet jeg ikke, men tvert jeg fikk en klem av Ebba forsvant alt dette, og alt som stod i tankene mine da var øyeblikket der og da.

Jeg er litt loka, som Ebba så fint sier det.

Dette er også litt loka: Bell Ringer Fail

Soundtrack: Thomas Dybdahl – Rain Down On Me

Speaking to a friend last night, he recommended a song by the band Slint. This track is off the soundtrack to the controversial 1995 Larry Clark film Kids (see wiki if you don’t know about it). The movie’s soundtrack was put together by Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr fame which also included tracks by Daniel Johnston and The Beastie Boys.

Slint were a post-rock band from the early ’90’s. This 7 minute track Good Morning Captain (from the band’s second release, 1991’s Spiderland) was once compared by the Guardian to Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven saying “the extraordinary Good Morning Captain is [Slint's] Stairway to Heaven, if it’s possible to imagine Stairway to Heaven bleached of all bombast.” If your a fan of Godspeed You Black Emperor! or Mogwai, this is for you, as the album has been created by these band’s and other in the genre as an influence on their sound.

The Royal Ballet's Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor. Photo: Nick Mead / ROH ©

Concepts such as coding, decoding, generative systems, algorithms, computer programming, neuroscience and cognitive mapping seem more akin to geek lingo than ballet choreography and yet all these notions inform Wayne McGregor’s dance making.

Having trained in modern dance, McGregor is the first resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet to come from outside the company. Literally and figuratively breaking the line of succession, he said at the time of his appointment that he would not try to be like Ashton or MacMillan. Indeed, while his predecessor MacMillan  looked for inspiration in the human soul, McGregor seems intent on examining the human body and the sensorial experiences and responses derived from it.

Wayne McGregor in a Nutshell

Born in Stockport in 1970, McGregor studied dance at University College, Bretton Hall (Leeds University) and at the José Limon School in New York. In 1992 he started his own company Wayne McGregor | Random Dance and in the same year was appointed choreographer-in-residence at The Place, London.

He was appointed the Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet in 2006 following successful productions such as Qualia, Engram and the much lauded Chroma. In addition to regularly creating works for Random Dance, he has also choreographed for several ballet and opera companies around the world, including San Francisco Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, English National Opera and La Scala.

His interests outside dance have resulted in several other associations which include curating a festival for the Royal Opera House (Deloitte Ignite, 2008) and choreographing movement for movies, plays (“Fram” at The National Theatre and the recent “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”), musicals and art galleries (the Hayward Gallery, Canary Wharf and the Pompidou Centre).

McGregor was involved earlier this year in a collaboration between the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera companies – directing and choreographing the Baroque double bill of Acis and Galatea and Dido and Aeneas, which have been recorded for DVD release. His new production for The Royal Ballet, Limen, premieres this week.

McGregor’s dance vocabulary is full of contrasts. It combines speed with clarity of movement, fluidity with angular moves and sharp edges. Sometimes his choreography may also incorporate elements of classical ballet and the majority of his pieces for the Royal Ballet have featured female dancers en pointe. Although he says he has not completely discarded the possibility of narrative works, this vocabulary is generally used to create and structure abstract pieces with a contemporary relevance inspired mainly by visual arts, architecture and, last but not least, by science.

Using science to understand art and creative processes is a topic that fascinates McGregor. Since 2002 he has been involved in a research project with a group of neuroscientists (from the Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego) and psychologists to explore questions around how choreographic ideas are transmitted to dancers. Via this project he also hopes to learn more about how he and his colleagues actually do what they do. His appointment as the Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer extends beyond creating ballets for the company and  involves nurturing, inspiring and transmitting all this creativity and knowledge to future generations of choreographers.

Often in my own choreographies I have actively conspired to disrupt the spaces in which the body performs. Each intervention, usually some kind of addition, is an attempt to see the context of the body in a new or alien way. Wayne McGregor

Sarah Lamb and Federico Bonelli in McGregor's Chroma. Photo: Johan Persson / ROH ©

Works for the Royal Ballet

Symbiont(s) – The Clore Studio (2000)

Definition: An organism in a symbiotic relationship

Conceived for the intimate space of the Clore Studio (ROH) in close collaboration with the dancers, Symbiont(s) was McGregor’s first piece for The Royal Ballet at a time when Anthony Dowell was still the company’s Artistic Director. It also marked the first time McGregor choreographed a role for dancer Edward Watson, now a leading presence in most of McGregor’s works. It featured seven dancers in a series of duets, solos or trios en pointe and off pointe. Its central duet danced by Watson and Deborah Bull was later used on tour. Symbiont(s) won a Time Out award for Outstanding Achievement in dance.

Brainstate – Linbury Studio (2001)

Brainstate was a collaboration between dancers from The Royal Ballet and from Wayne Mcgregor’s own company Random Dance (18 male and female dancers in total). It was done as a closing piece for an “all McGregor” evening alongside other work by Random Dance and a re-staging of Symbiont(s).

Qualia – The Royal Opera House main stage (2004)

Definition: A raw & sensory experience

Qualia marked Wayne McGregor’s debut on the big ROH stage, following an invitation from Monica Mason, who had just been appointed as the Royal Ballet’s Artistic Director. It featured four lead dancers (Edward Watson, Ivan Putrov, Jaimie Tapper and Leanne Benjamin). Its highlight was a “sensorial” pas de deux for Watson and Benjamin which would later be used in various galas.

Engram – Linbury Studio (June 2005)

Definition: Patterns of neuro-physiological change thought to relate to storage of memories in the brain.

Part of the “Inspired by Ashton” programme, Wayne McGregor cast two of the Royal Ballet’s most classical dancers, Alina Cojocaru and Federico Bonelli, for a pas de deux set to art rock music (By Canadian group “Godspeed You Black Emperor” or GSBE). Engram showed these dancers under a different light, combining McGregor’s notions of angularity and rhythm with classical steps. 

Chroma –  The Royal Opera House main stage (Nov 2006)

Definition: The purity of a color or its absence from white or grey

For Chroma, McGregor worked with a small group of ten dancers. Some were already familiar with his work, others less so. It was the first time McGregor’s male muses Steven McRae, Eric Underwood and Edward Watson appeared together in one of his works (this trio re-appeared in Acis & Galatea and will be seen again in Limen) alongside ballerinas Alina Cojocaru, Tamara Rojo and Sarah Lamb. Chroma is McGregor’s only piece for the Royal Ballet which is performed completely off pointe.

Featuring a minimalist set designed by architect John Pawson to make the audience focus on the dancers’ very detailed articulations and in the “colour” provided by their own movements, Chroma was made in three weeks. The work is set to music by modern composer Joby Talbot, including several orchestrated tracks from The White Stripes (Aluminun, Blue Orchid and The Hardest Button to Button).  A hit with audiences and critics alike, Chroma won a number of prestigious dance awards, including the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award (Best Dance Production).

Nimbus – The Royal Opera House main stage, as part of “The World Stage Gala” (Nov 2007)

Definition 1: a cloud or atmosphere about a person or thing; 
2: an indication (as a circle) of radiant light or glory about the head of a drawn or sculptured divinity, saint, or sovereign; 
3: a rain cloud

Nimbus was created one year after Chroma, specifically for the “World Stage Gala”. It was McGregor’s first official piece as the Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer. Set to Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat A, it is a 10-minute short work performed by Marianela Nuñez, Zenaida Yanowsky, Eric Underwood and Edward Watson.

Infra – The Royal Opera House main stage (Nov 2008)

Definition: Below

Alongside his productions for operas Dido & Aeneas/Acis & Galatea, Infra is perhaps the closest Wayne McGregor has come to narrative work.  Juxtaposing his choreography with Julian Opie’s LED backdrop of pedestrians, a haunting score by Max Richter and lighting by his longtime collaborator Lucy Carter, it infers relationships, ruptures, actions and reactions against the backdrop of our chaotic modern lives.

Dido & Aeneas – Acis & Galatea – The Royal Opera House main stage (March 2009)

McGregor directed and choreographed the Baroque operas Dido and Aeneas (a production he had originally done for La Scala) and Acis and Galatea bringing a rare collaboration between The Royal Opera and dancers from The Royal Ballet. Both productions have been recorded for DVD release.

Limen – The Royal Opera House main stage (Nov 2009)

Definition: 3. Psychology, Physiology. The threshold of consciousness.

Limen, McGregor’s new 26-minute piece for 15 dancers (eight men and seven women) premieres this Wednesday. According to the choreographer it will be a meditation on ‘thresholds of life and death, darkness and light, reality and fantasy’. As he has done before with Chroma (John Pawson) and Infra (Julian Opie), Limen will feature an artistic collaboration with Japanese contemporary conceptual artist Tatsuo Miyajima.

Miyajima has designed a giant wall of blue LED lights flashing on and off which will reflect the individuality of each dancer and their unique personal movements. Limen will be set to a cello concerto by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho whose distinct sounds combine orchestral music and electronics.

A list of McGregor’s choreographies for Random Dance, including current piece Entity as well as past productions Erazor, Amu and AtaXia can be found here

Videos

• A short feature on Chroma [link]
• A short feature on Infra [link]
• Trailer for Infra [link]
• A short feature on Limen [link]

Eric Underwood in McGregor's Chroma. Photo: Dee Conway / ROH ©

Extracts of Reviews and Selected Praise

Of Qualia

At moments the choreography is in danger of seeming like a box of McGregor’s cleverest tricks – shapeshifting moves that flash through the dancers’ bodies, kaleidoscopic patterns of shape and line. But there is a genuine seam of strangeness in the work and, with the help of an eerily atmospheric score by Scanner, McGregor seems to put his dancers in touch with a future the rest of us haven’t really glimpsed. Judith Mackrell at The Guardian [link]

Of Engram

Cojocaru can make almost anything look good, but both McGregor and Brandstrup clearly understand how Ashton’s ballerina-worship can serve a dancer of today. McGregor turned her into a vision of fluidity in Engram, morphing between classical purity and eerie abandon. Dancer Federico Bonelli was her shape-maker, manipulating her to pulsating music by Montreal art-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor. A video montage of Ashton and his muses was a reminder of how he delighted in showing off a dancer’s virtuosity. Jann Parry at The Guardian [link]

Of Chroma

Chroma is exceptionally well judged. The 30-minute piece for 10 dancers is sombre and playful in turn, with the flesh-coloured costumes evoking an intense humanity, and the stunning “infinity” set by architect John Pawson both revealing the dancers and immersing the audience. Lucy Carter’s votive candle-like lighting intensifies the effect. Sarah Frater at The Evening Standard [link]

It is osteopathy as choreography, bones and musculature pulled and twisted, the dance fighting to escape from the sinuosities, the flexings and contractions of the body. It is movement introverted, self-obsessed, self-regarding, brilliantly done by its cast (who were deservedly cheered to the echo) and unable to escape from its formulaic, almost dogmatic manner. Clement Crisp at The Financial Times [link]

Of Infra

Beneath the ordered surface of our daily routine, McGregor tells us, complicated forces are at work. We must connect, because all else is terror and the void. Edward Watson, clearly McGregor’s male muse, seems to pulse with angst – all torque, sinew and pale intensity. Eric Underwood burns with almost as cool a flame, and 20-year-old Melissa Hamilton, plucked from the corps de ballet, slashes the choreography to the bone with glittering, scalpel precision. Luke Jennings at The Guardian [link]

It’s a perfect abstract representation of the lines, quoted in the program, from T. S. Eliot’s “Wasteland”: “Under the brown fog of a winter dawn./A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many.” The dancers, who slowly accrue onstage as Max Richter’s haunting melodies for strings begin over random noises (machines, voices), are the flesh-and-blood incarnation of the digital crowd above, and Mr. McGregor imbues them with a touching humanity, even as they move in unimaginable ways. Roslyn Sulcas at The New York Times [link]

Upcoming Performances at the ROH

Agon/Sphinx/Limen – 4-18 Nov 2009, as part of The Royal Ballet’s Autumn Triple Bill.

New Watkins/Rushes – Fragments of a Lost Story/Infra – 19 Feb – 4 March 2010, as part of The Royal Ballet’s Winter Triple Bill.

Chroma/Tryst/Symphony in C – 22 May – 11 June 2010, as part of The Royal Ballet’s Summer Triple Bill.

Sources and Further Information

1. Wayne McGregor’s Complete List of Works from Random Dance’s website. [link]
2. Wayne McGregor Official Website [link]
3. Wayne McGregor, a biography by Judith Mackrell. From the Chroma programme
4. Wayne McGregor interviewed by David Bain. Ballet Association Report, June 2007. [link]
5. Discover Limen on the ROH Website [link]
6. Wayne’s World: When Ballet met Science. Euan Ferguson, The Observer, October 2009. [link]
7. Wayne McGregor: Zen and the Art of Dance. Interview with Wayne McGregor by Judith Mackrell, The Guardian, October 2009. [link]
8. Step by Step guide to dance: Wayne McGregor. By Sanjoy Roy, The Guardian [link]
9. Dido & Aeneas DVD [link]

Bon bon, arrivée de nulle part, personne ne s’attendait à voir surgir ce groupe post-punk/pop du sud de Londres. Arrivée dans ce monde où tout le monde veulent remplir leur son d’instrument synthétique ou de million de bruits provenant de centaines d’instruments (en cherchant à être le plus innovateur possible), The xx arrive avec leur pop froide et vide mais tout aussi innovateur a nous offrir un album profond et foutrement bien foutu (Désolé pour l’expression). Plusieurs les considèrent comme les Kubrick de la musique.

En Effet, il nous tranporte dans un monde de suspense qui nous met mal à l’aise à la première écoute mais, qui, à force de découvrir les petits détails de cet opus, nous apparaît beaucoup plus familier et finit par nous envouter complètement.Tout flotte sur cette album, des voix qui nous transperce de pureté, des guitares qui laissent nous submergé de son, un vrai environnement monochrome.

The xx nous offre ce fabuleux premier album, sans prétention et sans frou frou. Titre à surveillez: Crystalized, Shelter et Infinity. Un dernier mot, TROUBLANT.

(8,2/10)

PROS: nothing is overdone | little surprises | satisfying

CONS: far too short

Surprisingly, when Bon Iver’s new EP dropped on January 20th, things were kosher.  For an album so critically acclaimed as his debut LP For Emma, Forever Ago, it seemed as though future works would be doomed to fall short in the eyes of purists. But the release did well from the beginning, entering the Billboard 200 at number sixteen.  Blood Bank, which is comprised of three new tracks plus one track left off For Emma, proves that Bon Iver is no one hit wonder.

The title track to Blood Bank – the track left off For Emma – begins with a chorus of oohs, setting the mood for the EP.  The subdued electric guitars and semi-cryptic lyrics allow Bon Iver to tell a story yet leave you questioning it.  Lyrics like “That secret that you know/ But don’t know how to tell” and “it’s just like the present/ to be showing up like this” cast a certain feeling of regret and sorrow on the track.  But unlike For Emma, the songs on Blood Bank have a more accepting tone to them.  Things may not be ideal, but everything will be alright.  The end of the title track echoes this sentiment with its repeated “I know it well…”

“Beach Baby” shows once again that Vernon is more than willing to allow his instrumental skills to take the back seat in favor of emotional song writing.  With its subtle waltz strumming and clever, melancholic melody, “Beach Baby” is easily the high point of Blood Bank.  Vernon’s voice is smoother in this piece than in any song on For Emma and is nicely matched by a solo slide guitar that takes over once the lyrics have finished.  The tragic flaw to this piece, however, is its brevity.  It is not only the saddest, most heart-felt song on the EP, but at just over two and a half minutes, it is also the shortest.  It is hard to resist putting this track on repeat.

Birth and procreation are certainly important themes in Blood Bank, and no song makes it more obvious than “Babys”.  In stark contrast to the sadness of “Beach Baby”, “Babys” rings out driving piano notes and exclaims that “summer comes/ to multiply/ to multiply!”, and there is no hiding behind the amorous line “my woman and I know what we’re for”.  Though the piece may seem out of place at first – perhaps his happiest sounding tune thus far – it serves as a much needed resolution to the heart ache of Vernon’s other songs.

The final piece, “Woods”, is a departure from the lonely-cabin folk found in most Bon Iver songs.  Layer upon layer of auto-tuned versions of Vernon’s voice are slowly added together to create a beautifully lush chorus of soulful wails.  While auto-tune seems like the very last thing one would ever expect Bon Iver to utilize, the song is masterfully crafted and legitimately sounds like it belongs with the songs of For Emma and Blood Bank.

The songs on Blood Bank certainly live up to those on For Emma, but Blood Bank has one huge flaw: the whole release is far too short.  True, it is an EP – not a full-length.  But when Vernon creates tracks that draw you in as much as those found on Blood Bank, you want to follow him a bit longer.  The EP’s four tracks come to less than seventeen minutes total – that’s shorter than Om’s “Flight Of The Eagle”, Joanna Newsom’s “Only Skin” and just about every song written by Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Blood Bank is out now on Jagjaguwar on CD, 12” vinyl and digital download.

(4 out of 5 beards)

Track Listing

01. Blood Bank
02. Beach Baby
03. Babys
04. Woods

Godspeed You! Black Emperor es, quizá, mi banda de rock, así, en general, favorita de todos los tiempos. Todas sus canciones de todos sus discos me gustan. Sin excepción.

Alguien ha montado un vídeo con fragmentos de la película documental Nuit et Brouillard, de Alain Resnais, y el tema Moya de Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Sólo vean y escuchen.

Impressive side project from members of A Silver Mount Zion; Sackville; and Canadian post rock giants Godspeed You! Black Emperor… The three that make up the Mile End Ladies String Auxiliary are Becky Foon on cello; Genevieve Heidsteck on viola; and Sophie Trudeau on violin. As well as working together on the “Set Fire To Flames” band, they have also appeared with A Silver Mount Zion; Sackville; and Canadian post rock giants Godspeed You! Black Emperor, which all in all reads as quite an impressive CV!

Their debut album is a 23 minute adventure into the weird and wonderful, with 4 songs – one by all three ladies together, and the rest a solo orientated piece by each musician. The songs are often disconcerting or possibly unnerving, with cello drones and bizarre discords topped off with high pitched strings layered over each other, bringing a sharp twist in the traditional string trio format.

The songs are of minimal composition, with an avant-garde feel, blending in angst and melody. There is a definite punk ethic fused in here, manipulated into energy and carried through with the strings. For those who like a singalong, this is not for you – for those who like something completely different, and especially fans of the afore-mentioned bands, this could be what you’re after.

The release is titled From Cells of Roughest Air. Read more reviews and sample “Low Pressure Phenomena” here.

My mind has decided that it has had enough of artistic endeavors. It’s unfortunate for my mind that my heart feels differently… and the heart always wins, right? I want to type and feel that familiar [click click click click click click click click] joy as the letters transform into sentences and paragraphs, the thoughts flowing out into emotional prose. I sit and I want to create. But I sit and I feel stuck, in the muddy swampy pit of too many thoughts and not enough direction. I need more plot points, I need my character to do something, but all she wants to do is feel. She has to feel within the context of something.

I have a second, third, forth (?) idea running around in my head. My next piece will be a rendition of something famous. The plot points will be laid out, so I don’t have to figure that part out, once I have a rough outline. The characters can feel as they wander from point to point.

At some point my heart and my mind will be in the same place at the same time and the magic will happen. Until then, it’s Godspeed You! and I’m not going to listen to my mind.

For now, I’ll leave you with this:

//

]]> http://themuseinmusic.com/2009/10/14/the-dead-flag-blues-by-godspeed-you-black-emperor/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:33:29 +0000 Fred http://themuseinmusic.com/2009/10/14/the-dead-flag-blues-by-godspeed-you-black-emperor/

Stream it at their last.fm page, among other tracks.

From F#A#oo. These guys are it, the alpha and omega of modern music. See also the extensive live bootleg GYBE section at Clinical Archives.

Constellation’s GYBE home page states unambiguously that the band “announced an indefinite hiatus in 2003.” In the meantime, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band continues to record, and there is always the days-old Evangelista LP, which I have yet to hear. Give me a day or two.

I’d give my car to Joe the Plumber if it would guarantee us a new Godspeed studio album.

Af: Mikkel Maier Henriksen

Skyerne trækker sammen, lyset forsvinder og langsomt begynder det at ruske i træerne. Temperaturen falder og fremkalder kuldegysninger. Regndråberne falder først stille, men kommer langsomt hurtigere. Blæsten tager til og hyler over landskabet. Så åbner himlen sig, regnen plasker mod taget i kaskader og vinden får det til at knage i selv solide bygninger. Da man endelig tror, at det ikke kan blive voldsommere, viser naturkræfterne for alvor deres magt. Selv store træer væltes med øresønderrivende drøn og stormen river bygninger omkuld.

Associationerne er ikke langt væk, når legendariske Godspeed You! Black Emperor, post-rockens måske største band, folder sig ud. Ingen er bedre til langsomt at bygge op fra det spinkle og skrøbelige mod et tordnende, episk og majestætisk klimaks, der kan forvandle højtalere til pindebrænde og få underkæber til at dingle slapt. På én gang mestrer Godspeed det smukke og det apokalyptiske.

Canadisk kollektiv i dvale
Godspeed You! Black Emperor henter deres navn fra en gammel japansk dokumentar om en motorcykelbande ved navn The Black Emperors. Bag det dramatiske navn gemmer sig et musikerkollektiv fra Montreal, Canada. Gruppens størrelse varierer, men inkluderede både strygere og en mere traditionel rockinstrumentering.

Gruppen har officielt holdt pause siden 2003, men flere interviews peger på, at de ikke har planer om at spille sammen igen. Flere medlemmer spiller dog videre i forskellige projekter, herunder A Silver Mt. Zion.

Bandet nåede i løbet af sin eksistens at udgive tre albums og en EP. Af disse er album nummer to, Lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven!, efter min mening højdepunktet og samtidig et godt sted at starte for nye lyttere. Albummet står stadig som et monument i post-rockens historie, og efter min mening blandt de bedste albums i dette årti.

Kompromisløst
Godspeed var inspireret af post-rockens pionerer, som f.eks. Tortoise, og er siden selv blevet et uomgængeligt fixpunkt i genren. Mange nyere bands er klart influeret af Godspeeds lyd og nummerstruktur. Selvom bands som Explosions in the Sky, Mono og Mogwai har lavet fremragende musik, har de efter min mening ikke nået samme episke højder som deres canadiske forgængere. En af Godspeeds store styrker er gruppens størrelse og bredden i instrumenteringen, der tillader en meget varieret og storslået lyd.

Godspeeds musik er milevidt fra det kommercielle. Numrene er typisk over 20 minutter lange eposer, der giver sig tid til at bygge op. Ofte består numrene af flere forskellige dele, som det også kendes fra klassisk musik.

Brug af forskellige lydklip er også karakteristisk for Godspeed, fx i min personlige favorit ’Sleep’, hvor en mand i sit livs efterår fortæller om sine minder fra Coney Island og slutter med ”Things change, you see. They don’t sleep anymore on the beach…” Så er der dømt gåsehud, mens violinerne starter den langsomme opbygning mod en melankolsk og uundgåelig kulmination, efterfulgt af en udtoning, der afløses af den triumferende og opløftende afslutning på nummeret. På dette tidspunkt er det svært ikke at klikke på repeat for lige at få endnu en tur i rutsjebanen.

”We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death”
Selv om numrene er instrumentale udtrykker Godspeed alligevel stærke politiske budskaber ved koncerter, på album-indpakningen og gennem de soundbites, der er en del af mange numre. Canadierne tegner et billede af et kapitalistisk samfund i frit fald mod undergangen.

Pessimismen og det apokalyptiske udtrykkes klarest i starten af gruppens første udspil, F# A# ∞, hvor monologen i åbningsnummeret fortæller brudstykker af historien om, hvordan verden kollapsede.

Når Godspeed-maskinen tromler afsted, føler man sig som et lille menneske fanget i en gigantisk atomar trykbølge, der truer med at vælte en bagover og sprænge de blafrende trommehinder. Dette er musik, der skal ledsage store øjeblikke. Det er musik til bjergtoppe, katedraler, krige og katastrofer. Det er musik til verdens ende.

Godspeed var min egen indgang til post-rock genren, og kræver ingen særlige forudsætninger. Du kan passende starte med at downloade denne gratis og helt lovlige koncertoptagelse fra 2003. Ellers er album nummer to, ‘Lift your skinny fists…’ et godt sted at starte.

Today we’ll speak with someone who has seen the future that is our children. The future sez “Start buying krugerrands now!”

So…the kids these days. What are they listening to? How bad is it?

I think teenagers’ taste in music are as all over the place as they always have been, only they’re typically listening to the derivatives of derivatives. Very few of the students would be able to tell me who M.I.A. is, but they all have about 13 different songs that sampled her second album liberally.  Then you have some students who genuinely confuse me because they like groups that are just so…odd. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Really? Or like if a student tells me they LOVE Nine Inch Nails; I really have a tough time understanding how anyone under the age of say, 21, might even know who Trent Reznor is.

Then you have the “Guitar Hero Generation,” as in, kids who are into really shitty rock music that should have been forgotten over a decade ago, but has resurfaced via plastic toys. It has to be from these “music” “games” or from their live-at-home uncles who blast hair metal at their basement-white-power meetings.

Or maybe both. So, in short, it’s pretty bad.

I think you’re underestimating the majesty of Bone Thugs:

As someone with good taste do you find yourself offering suggestions to the wee ones in the hopes of being the cool older brother tastemaker figure you never had?

Absolutely, yes. It never really works out, though. I think my taste in music has become so obtuse at this point that I have trouble understanding what might be “too much” for most people. I think it’s like spicy food for me. At a party, my friend asked me if the Tostitos salsa was hot. I told her it tasted like tomato sauce, but then she tried it and proceeded to cry while dousing her mouth with beer.

So when a student tells me they’re into “metal” or “hardcore” and I proceed to put on something like Lightning Bolt, it has yet to really work out.  The recommendation makes sense to me, but I tend to forget that, even though Lightning Bolt is loud and aggressive, the lyrics are fairly inaudible and generally never talk about how parents are mean.

I’ve always been tempted to try to get some of my more open-minded students into Coil, but I’m currently untenured and afraid of lawsuits.

Lesson plans – what’s a good soundtrack? Or is the sound of industrial education the dead silence of John Dewey’s crypt?

I can’t tell if you’re speaking literally or figuratively, but I’ll just answer this in whatever way feels right.

I’m the type of person who has trouble doing any kind of writing while music is playing.  Music with lyrics, at least.  So whether I’m revising version #396 of that short story I’ve been writing or I’m attempting to create the most intricately-woven and spectacular lesson of all time (that encompasses every NY State Educational Standard), it has to be something driving, repetitive and not too much of a distraction.

Rapoon works pretty damn well in this regard or sometimes Godspeed You! Black Emperor.  “Motherfucker = Redeemer” tends to be my “get shit done right now” song.

On that note, is there a modern industrial music, i.e. something meant to contain, encompass and reflect the emptiness – real or imagined – of our culture? (I think so and its name is hip-hop)

While industrial music was pioneered by artsy people with artsy feelings about their not-so-artsy world, hip-hop is not only a reflection of current musical aspirations, but is the thing-in-itself.

But on a less mean note, I tend to think that this whole push towards noise in the current “underground” or “indie” or…well, whatever the hell we’re calling decently popular but not extremely popular music these days, is the logical extension of industrial. I don’t really think it’s a conscious thing so much as it’s the result of a generation that has become increasingly desensitized to melody and structure.

On a scale of one to ten, how hardcore is your crush on Trent Reznor? How were the NIN shows? You went to several dozen.

I’m going to have to go with a 9.5/10 on this one.  If I’ve had multiple dreams involving someone I don’t actually know, I’m going to have to assume I’m crushing on him big time.

The NIN shows are a bit hard for me to gauge. It’s always nice to seem them play, but none of the shows felt quite as “awesome” as shows in previous years had been. I partly attribute this to getting older, partly to having seen the band so many times, partly to an increasing lack of tolerance for ugly, large, sweaty and smelly fans and partly to a rather unchanging setlist throughout the years.

NIN is a band that has occupied a very undesirable space in the music world for a long time, I think. Trent is the kind of guy, I imagine, who really is in this gig because he loves to create and experiment with music, but his band is far too popular for the shows to be an all-out mind fuck. The majority of the people want to hear “March of the Pigs” or “Head like a Hole” and all the other popular songs. They aren’t bad songs at all, but there comes a point, for me at least, when I feel like I’m not sure how amazed I can be when I’ve heard a particular song live for the fifty-millionth time.

The last show I went to had some songs that had never been played before, some remixes and some covers. This was neat, but, in general, the shows lacked a certain amount of spontaneity that I’ve come to appreciate from concerts moreso than hearing a band play “that song.”

On that note, what’s the best show you’ve seen all year so far?

A father loves all his children equally, Mike.

Ok well we know that’s not true, so…let me think.

Hmmm…it’s pretty hard, considering I’ve seen a ton of great shows this year.

But…I’m going to have to say it’s a tie between Michael Gira and HEALTH. Both shows absolutely floored me in a punch-in-the-gut kind of way, but for wildly different reasons.  They were the type of shows that help reaffirm why I continue to seek out music and see it live.

Final question: juggalos. What is your perspective on the problem of the Insane Clown Posse? Are they merely Kiss but somehow shittier?

I think the Insane Clown Posse would be much less of a problem if it had more of a sense of humor about itself.  The fact that so much of it is deathly serious (to some fans, at least) makes it hard to see the group as anything other than a giant waste of time. ICP is like Tool, but like, the 99-cent Store version.

But knowing the type of kids who generally get really into them, in some ways it appears like the most structured thing that exists in their lives.

And that’s a bit more realistic than I was hoping to get with these questions.

It’s been far too long.

And a few older ones I’m not sure I ever uploaded:

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven

Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Impresiona solo de leer el propio nombre. Es una de esas reseñas que tenía ganas de realizar, pero que sinceramente da “miedo” por donde empezar. Y es que Godspeed You! Black Emperor (desde ahora GY! BE) son palabras mayores. Considerado por los expertos el mejor grupo post-rock de la historia, y personalmente hablando, su Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven su mejor disco, es un grupo tan increíblemente grande, complejo, denso y profundo que es realmente fácil quedar en “ridículo” hablando de él cuando intentamos centrarnos únicamente en su sonido, y sobre todo en boca de una persona relativamente ajena a la música.

Es por esto mismo que esta reseña va a ir más orientada a las sensaciones que produce el disco y más alejada de su faceta puramente musical.
Este doble disco en clave de sinfonía compuesta por 4 movimientos de más de 20 minutos de media por tema impresiona desde antes de empezar a escucharlo. Pero una vez dejado de lado el shock inicial de ver la propia duración de los temas (algo por otro lado habitual en todos los discos de GY! BE) descubrimos un disco realmente mágico, profundo y bello, pero a su vez doliente. La sensación que produce este disco es realmente extraña y es algo que jamás había experimentado antes, pero es sorprendente que un disco tan denso, tan complejo y tan jodidamente duro (emocionalmente hablando) llegue a engancharnos tanto como este Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, y que pese a su lento desarrollo nos produzca esas ganas cuasi “masoquistas” de escucharlo de nuevo y adentrarnos de nuevo a descubrir esos pequeños detalles que lo hacen tan especial; detalles que aunque escuchásemos el disco 100 veces más seguiríamos descubriendo.

Y sí, la ignorancia en ocasiones es muy atrevida, así que simplemente recomiendo dar una oportunidad a este disco y a GY! BE, quizás una escuchar rápida no es suficiente, quizás el momento en el que se escuche no sea el adecuado, pero es un grupo que tarde o temprano acaba calando, y no únicamente por razones puramente musicales, si no porque este grupo, personalmente, va mucho más allá de su aparente fachada de grupo denso y complejo, y es una sensación que nadie debería dejar escapar.

Static, el segundo corte del disco, es uno de mis favoritos. El fragmento inicial de la radio simplemente pone los pelos de punta.

At the tone… 3 hours, 21 minutes [...] universal time

and so I went through that window
and the tower of hell and the great serpentines of the highest order
and I went through that when I showed you chart #3
the question is asked and learned and someone who can turn this _ of this horrible _ of my _
All infront of me can now ask me a question
you need to ask, from the right _ or the right _ out of Urim and Thurrim
I can give you unspoken words that’s never been spoken, it’s not in your bible
Yet, it does clarify what is spoken in the bible…

Disco uno
1. “Storm”
* “Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven…”
* “Gathering Storm/Il Pleut à Mourir [+Clatters Like Worry]“
* “‘Welcome to Barco AM/PM…’ [L.A.X.; 5/14/00]“
* “Cancer Towers on Holy Road Hi-Way”
2. “Static”
* “Terrible Canyons of Static”
* “Atomic Clock.”
* “Chart #3″
* “World Police and Friendly Fire”
* “[...+The Buildings They Are Sleeping Now]“

Disco dos
1. “Sleep”
* “Murray Ostril: ‘…They Don’t Sleep Anymore on the Beach…’”
* “Monheim”
* “Broken Windows, Locks of Love Pt. III.”
2. “Antennas to Heaven”
* “Moya Sings ‘Baby-O’…”
* “Edgyswingsetacid”
* “[Glockenspiel Duet Recorded on a Campsite In Rhinebeck, N.Y.]“
* “‘Attention…Mon Ami…Fa-Lala-Lala-La-La…’ [55-St. Laurent]“
* “She Dreamt She Was a Bulldozer, She Dreamt She Was Alone in an Empty Field”
* “Deathkamp Drone”
* “[Antennas to Heaven...]“

Descargar: GY!BE – LIFT YOUR SKINNY FISTS LIKE ANTENNAS TO HEAVEN

Have you ever heard of the New World Order? I doubt you have. Don’t feel bad though, most haven’t. Those running the New World Order have tried their hardest to keep their workings a secret from the public. And they’ve been for the most part successful. For those familiar with George Orwell’s “1984”, that is what the New World Order is working towards; a dystopia of intellectual slavery. For those unfamiliar, I am here to inform.

I know it sounds far-fetched, and you’ll read this with a block of salt. Or maybe you think I’m writing this purely to entertain you. Or maybe you won’t waste your time with something so stupid. Or maybe you’ll become offended. Or maybe you’ll write me a threat. Regardless, you’ll probably ignore what I’m about to tell you. But please, please understand that you’re the one who needs to read this more than anybody. You’re the one who needs to hear my words. You’re the one who needs to act on this. If you don’t, there’s no possible way this can be stopped.

The Zeitgeist Movement will be able to tell you all about the New World Order clearer than I ever could (I’m writing this just as much for me as for you), but The Zeitgeist Movement is trying to kill two birds with one stone. They’re trying to inform and take action. You simply cannot inform a population to what they’ve purposely been kept ignorant from for two centuries and expect them to believe you and act on it. In a way, The Zeitgeist Movement is the victim they warn against becoming.

I’m not here to force you to start a revolution, and I’m not here to shove my beliefs down your throat. Simply, I’m here so that maybe you’ll open your eyes a little bit. So that maybe your distrust for the government will grow. So that maybe you’ll read between the lines of your Newspaper. And if you do start a revolution, I’ll be right next to you.

My original intention was to write one piece about the New World Order, then it changed to a five piece segment covering “who, what, when, why, and how”, but now it’s become this. The New World Order is simply too significant and vast to cover in any conventional method. I don’t even know how I’m going to attack this, but in that I find motivation and inspiration instead of despair.

As I already said, I’m writing this just as much for me as for you. I’ve already lost nearly all my hope for humanity, because everybody has become so selfish. I don’t mean selfish as a synonym for greedy. Selfish as in everybody is so concerned with their bills or their car or their house or their job that nobody takes pause for anything else. Nobody takes pause to think about anything that doesn’t affect or concern them…which is solid evidence that the New World Order is a part of our lives. I’m so sick of seeing everybody as just another head in the herd. Those running the New World Order believe an animal capable of superior intelligence but chooses not to use it is no better than an animal without superior intelligence.

SOUNDTRACK: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY-The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place (2003).

Explosions in the Sky play beautiful, lengthy almost cinematic instrumentals.  They are primarily a guitar-drum band, (but they do add bass from time to time).

Each of their albums is practically symphonic in its beauty as most of the songs start slowly, sparsely, with a few guitar notes.  They have simple melodies that fold in on themselves.  When the (often martial) drums are added, it brings a depth to the song that lets you know this isn’t simply some kind of ambient background music.

Mogwai is probably the most likely comparison point, yet Mogwai’s instrumentals don’t have quite the expansive feel…Mogwai tends to rock a little harder too.  In some respects, Godspeed, You Black Emperor are another touchstone for epic instrumentals, and yet they really don’t sound anything alike.  EITS’s songs are definitely rock: the guitars are clearly guitars, and when the bands rocks (and they do) it is definitely the rock of a guitar band.

The tracks are haunting (as is the bands’ name, the album name, and the song titles: “First Breath After Coma”; “Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean”) and yet they are ultimately uplifting, reaching crescendos that are hard not to be bouyed by.

Even as instrumentals, the tunes are so engaging that they quickly move to the front of your activity.  You can’t go wrong with any of thier discs.

And, yes, I chose this, their third album, to stand in contrast with the DFW piece below.

[READ: September 15, 2009] “The Planet Trillaphon as It Stands in Relation to the Bad Thing”

This is listed as fiction according to the awesome DFW site The Howling Fantods.  (And indeed, Tin Roof has republished it as fiction too).

And so I went into this story expecting some kind of young (he was a junior in college when this was published) fantasy story ala Vonnegut (Tralfamadore and all that).  Well, don’t make that mistake going into this.

This is some heavy shit.  And one can only hope that it is as fictional as everyone ascribes, although really, that seems unlikely. **  [Please see my update at the bottom for my clarification on this rather naive sentence].Trillaphon is the narrator’s misremembering Tofranil, the antidepressant that he has been taking.  The narrator feels that he is living off of Earth since taking the medicine. And yet, when he was on Earth, he was always chased by The Bad Thing.

The Bad Thing is that part of you that makes every atom in your being feel like it has an upset stomach and is on the verge of throwing up.  The Bad Thing makes the narrator see an open wound in the side of his face which he attempts to self-sew-shut with carpet thread. It also forces him to pull as many electrical appliances as he can into the bath with him, shorting out the power (the only thing that saved his life).

This is heavy going, deep, psychologically harrowing stuff.  Especially if you assume it to be true, and especially when you know that the author has taken his own life.  I hate to read into any works like this, but it really is quite difficult not to.

And yet it is also astonishingly honest (if, again, it is true) for a college student to publish this in the college’s journal.

If you’re interested there’ a PDF available here.

[UPDATE: September 25, 2009]

Okay, so Ifeel that I may have gotten a little too caught up in the whole DFW saga while reading this story.  Realistcially, the story is not “true.”  Despite its deep insights into depression, I don’t think that DFW actually tried to take his life with toasters and things like that.

One of the problems of reading a story like this while knowing what the author did years later is that you can do just what I did to it: making it more real than it actually is.  So, while yes, I think that DFW had to have known some pretty heavy stuff at this point, I firmly believe that it is correctly labeled fiction and should be treated as such.  And I feel a little silly for getting as wrapped up with it as I did.

I feel compelled to re-read it as simply a fictional story, and I suspect I will one of these days.

It’s still harrowing shit though.

[UPDATE: October 7, 2009]
I have written a new, totally revised review of this story.  It’s available here.