I've finally exhausted all my leads to find two CDs: Necropolis,
Amphibians and Insects (music composed by Adolphe Woelfli but possibly
performed by SPK, I *am* a bit confused on this point) and Dead Ringers:
Music from the films of David Cronenburg, which was mentioned a while ago
on this list. With regard to the latter, I have contacted abvout a dozen
soundtrack specialists with no luck. Is it even still available?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Marianne
- -
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 09:57:26 -0800
From: Jim Flannery <newgrange@sfo.com>
Subject: Re: (no zorn content) Woelfli and Cronenburg
perdida wrote:
>
> Necropolis, Amphibians and Insects (music composed by Adolphe Woelfli but
> possibly performed by SPK, I *am* a bit confused on this point)
That album contains music composed by Woelfli, and was organized by
Revell from SPK; SPK does the title track (which also appears on _Zamia
Lehmanni_) and about three others; the rest of the LP contains
interpretations by DDAA (Deficit des Annees Anterieures) and, if memory
serves, Nurse with Wound.
I've never actually seen a CD of it, perhaps it was vinyl only?
Woelfli's "compositions", if you've never seen them, are pretty open to
interpreation -- they're basically decorative borders around his
drawings, and may contain seven, eight or more lines per staff and no
bar lines, so the degree to which any of the tracks actually bears a
resemblence to the "score" that inspired it, uh, varies.
- --
Jim Flannery
newgrange@sfo.com
- -
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 12:59:40 -0500
From: wlt4@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: (no zorn content) Woelfli and Cronenburg
>Necropolis, Amphibians and Insects (music composed by Adolphe >Woelfli but possibly performed by SPK, I *am* a bit confused on
If I remember right this album is more a tribute to Woelfli than actual compositions of his (using "composition" quite loosely). It was by Graeme Revell not credited directly to SPK.
Lang
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 13:02:19 EST
From: JKlein2373@aol.com
Subject: Re: Ken Burns
Hi all,
I recently interviewed Ken Burns at length, and while I agree that there are
some problems with his Jazz documentary I must come to his defense on a few
points.
1) While I agree that the series is deficient on the last forty years, some
people on this list have already pointed out the lack of big movers and
shakers from the late '70s to the present. There's plenty of stuff I - we -
love, but I can only imagine the problems inherent in ending a 17 hour film
with a few more hours on fuzak, improv, noise, and cross polination stuff
like M-Base or even Zorn. History is still being written, and Burns indicated
he would like to come back to this film a few years down the line.
2) There are several glaring omissions in terms of interview subjects, but
Ken told me that in many cases attempts were made to talk to these folks but
several prohibitive problems prevented it. This list includes giants like
Ornette, who was contacted but who proved relatively uncooperative.
3) Some critics have mistakenly asserted that Ken Burns knew nothing of jazz
before he started, which is apparently also untrue. His dad was a huge jazz
fan, and Burns worked in an Ann Arbor record store for four years in the late
'60s and early '70s (I think). Burns has always claimed that he didn't own
that many jazz records, and that's because he grew up listening to his
father's. Incidentally, a few of the loudest anti-Jazz critics had apprently
been contacted for the film but then cut when they proved too snobby.
4) The inevitable argument that I have come to appreciate: since jazz
accounts for about 2% of all record stores, anything that gets people to buy
albums from Armstrong through Davis is a good thing. Jazz best-ofs are
questionable, but at least Burns was able to combine catalogs for more
definitive samplers (if that isn't too much of an oxymoron). He told me,
really, that the best-of sets were aimed at the average Walmart shopper in
the middle of nowhere. If Jazz leads just a handful of people into a lifetime
of appreciation for the form then I have no real complaints. One can quibble
with omissions, but few can argue about Burns' inclusions. He was encouraged
by the number of people complaining that his 17 hour film isn't long enough,
and I suppose I would be, too. He also said that so far he's received more
angry letters re: omissions in response to his Civil War and Baseball series,
which again might stress how minor jazz might be in the grand scheme of
things right now. Hopefully Jazz could in part jump start some of that and
send people out for more of what he covers. I mean, how could anyone enjoy a
one-disc Armstrong and not want to buy the Complete Hot 5s and Hot 7s? Ken
told me he's bought about a dozen of them himself for friends.
See, people complain that Burns' history is incomplete, but Jazz also stands
as one man's testament to his love for the music. We'll see if that
enthusiasm spreads at all, but a lot of the main criticisms seem based on his
omissions, and as we all know there will always be "someone else" who should
have been included. You have to stop somewhere, right?
Josh
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 12:31:55 -0500
From: perdida <mbraendl@yorku.ca>
Subject: (no zorn content) Woelfli and Cronenburg
Hi all,
I've finally exhausted all my leads to find two CDs: Necropolis,
Amphibians and Insects (music composed by Adolphe Woelfli but possibly
performed by SPK, I *am* a bit confused on this point) and Dead Ringers:
Music from the films of David Cronenburg, which was mentioned a while ago
on this list. With regard to the latter, I have contacted abvout a dozen
soundtrack specialists with no luck. Is it even still available?
