Didn't Zappa say something to the effect of: Critics are ignorant to music, and they're writing to an audience that's ignorant about music. I think it's in The Real Frank Zappa Book. I seem to remember his rant against critics as quite funny.
He really hated these guys, and I think he realized early on that they were driven more by profits than opinions or "writing to inform."
Steve Spangler
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:37:48 -0500
From: wlt4@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: Zappa and Penman: do we need critics
>He really hated these guys, and I think he realized early on that >they were driven more by profits than opinions or "writing to >inform."
Yeah, music criticism is an easy path to riches and fame. I remember Robin Leach interviewing Christgau like it was only yesterday and of course Simon Frith had to flee to the Bahamas to avoid those huge British taxes. Hold on, my broker is calling....
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Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 09:43:43 -0800
From: "s~Z" <keith@pfmentum.com>
Subject: Re: Zappa and Penman: do we need critics
Packard Goose from Joe's Garage:
Maybe you thought I was the Packard Goose
Or the Ronald MacDonald of the nouveau-abstruse
Well fuck all them people, I don't need no excuse
For being what I am
Do you hear me, then?
All them rock 'n roll writers is the worst kind of sleaze
Selling punk like some new kind of English disease
Is that the wave of the future?
Aw, spare me please!
Oh no, you gotta go
Who do you write for?
I wanna know
I believe you is the government's whore
And keeping peoples dumb
(I'm really dumb)
Is where you're coming from
And keeping peoples dumb
(I'm really dumb)
Is where you're coming from
Fuck all them writers with the pen in their hand
I will be more specific so they might understand
They can all kiss my ass
But because it's so grand
They best just stay away
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, Joe, who did you blow?
Moe pushed the button boy
And you went to the show
Better suck a little harder or the shekels won't flow
And I don't mean your thumb
(Don't mean your thumb)
So on your knees you bum
Just tell yourself it's yum
(Yourself it's yum)
And suck it 'till you're numb
Journalism's kinda scary
And of it we should be wary
Wonder what became of Mary?
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 09:56:22 -0800
From: Tosh <tosh@loop.com>
Subject: Re: cecil taylor again
If I may add one more thing, and actually I think someone else made this
point: Seeing Cecil Taylor live is the very definition of 'amazing.' I saw
him in a Hollywood club maybe ten years ago. Seeing him was like watching a
classic Warner Brothers Cartoon. I swore I saw the piano keys leap into the
air and back into the piano. Very controlled intensity that left me
sweating just by siting there. I don't think a recording can capture that.
- --
Tosh Berman
TamTam Books
http://www.tamtambooks.com
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 13:39:07 EST
From: JonAbbey2@aol.com
Subject: Re: Zappa and Penman: do we need critics
In a message dated 2/14/01 12:45:00 PM, keith@pfmentum.com writes, among
other simplistic Zappa lyrics:
<< Journalism's kinda scary
And of it we should be wary
Wonder what became of Mary? >>
I'd say these three lines, in and of themselves, go a long way towards
bolstering Penman's case.
Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 18:41:54
From: "William York" <william_york@hotmail.com>
Subject: patton, etc.
>Okay kids. Today's assignment:
>I've only heard FNM and a few Bungles. What's the list of essentials for
>someone wanting to buy his son a stack of Pattons? (so he can then >borrow
>them...)
>Thanks for responses,
>RL
My opinions ...
1. Mr. Bungle: Disco Volante - This is my favorite 'rock' album of the 1990s
and one that I played over and over for months after getting over my initial
phase of being just a little repelled by it. Roughly comparable to Naked
City, but with much more of a studio focus. Incredible amount of detail,
excessive organ, heavy death-metal guitars, jazz breakdowns (with Trevor
Dunn playing a lot of double bass and Graham Connah doing piano on a few
tracks).
2. Mr. Bungle: California - more accessible than the above, but not quite as
extraordinary as Disco Volante to me. However it may be a better
introduction if someone is looking for something a liitle more song based.
There is a heavy influence of stuff like Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, even a
little Tom Jones and Neil Diamond. But my favorites are "Golem II," which
sounds like a cross between Devo and Parliament, and "Ars Moriendi," which
seems pretty obviously inspired by Taraf de Haidouks or some other Romanian
groups, but with the addition of some great dm guitar breakdowns.
3. Faith No More: Angel Dust - i have to admit that I never payed any
atention to this band in high school and by college I wouldn't have deigned
to listen to them as I was in a pretty snobby, experimental music-only sort
of phase. But if you get past the mainstream-ish production, there is some
really unusual and varied stuff here. Nothing as complex or weird as Mr.
Bungle, but, for a well-known band that just sold two-million copies and had
allthose hits (like "Epic"), this is pretty out on a limb. They never really
got much credit for doing this, though, I don't think.
Also, one major thing to point out is that Mr. Bungle is actually very
collaborative -- it is not just Patton's band. On Disco Volante, he only had
a hand in writing three or four songs; Trey Spruance (guitar) and Trevor
Dunn (bass) wrote most of the stuff, and Spruance did the production, which
is amazing. He also produced California, which is even more elaborate.
One other thing, I wouldn't over-emphasize the connection of Patton with all
the new rap-metal bands such as Limp Bizkit. I think that is pretty
insulting (even if FNM's "The Real Thing," etc. did influence this stuff). I
think bands like estradasphere, carnival in coal, and a bunch of the more
'extreme' metal bands who have listened to Bungle/Patton are more worthy
heirs to this 'tradition.'
Anyway... sorry for the length, as well as for annoying anyone who hates
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
- -
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 10:52:08 -0800
From: "s~Z" <keith@pfmentum.com>
Subject: Re: Zappa and Penman: do we need critics
>>>I'd say these three lines, in and of themselves, go a long way
towards
bolstering Penman's case.<<<
I'd say that Penman thinking
precious time should be taken
to make such a case goes a long
way towards illustrating Zappa's
satire.
- -
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Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 13:52:40 -0500
From: kurt_gottschalk@scni.com
Subject: "jazz" in real life
in a newsday article looking at the jazz scene in the aftermath of the jazz tv
show, gene seymour says:
Meanwhile, since the series began last month, jazz record sales are estimated to
have gone up to a 4 percent share of the total number of records sold in the
United States. Before, the numbers were close to 2 percent.
and talks about a packed house to see wynton at the knit, among other phenomena.
it's an ok article. i'll send it to whomever wants.
but i've noticed big crowds lately. packed houses the two nights i went to see
other dimensions in music at the knit, a good crowd for roy campbell's shades
and colors of trane at the brecht forum, and two pretty full sunday nights at
downtown music gallery (although they were for decidedly nonjazzy improv sets).
has anyone else noticed a hoppinger scene of late? are everyday mortals, at
least for the moment, bothering to go out and check live music?
jess wonderin
kg
np: pj harvey - is this desire? (not jazz)
- -
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 13:58:29 EST
From: BlackBook78@aol.com
Subject: Re: patton, etc.
Interesting that you mentioned those albums. I recently started my Patton collection with:
Fantomas
Mr. Bungle-Disco Volante
FNM-Angel Dust
I've yet to listen to Fantomas, but I agree with the statements about DV and AD. Five years ago I would have never imagined buying a Faith No More album, and of course the only song that stood out was Epic, which I classified simply as a moderately interesting rock song with a good ending, but didnt necessitate me to buy the entire CD.
Now how do people feel about Funkadelic, particularly "Maggot Brain"?
- -
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 14:13:10 -0500
From: kurt_gottschalk@scni.com
Subject: George T. Simon, dead at 88
Grammy-winning music critic Simon dead at 88
By LARRY McSHANE
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Music critic George T. Simon, the original Glenn Miller Band
drummer who swapped his sticks for a pen and eventually earned a Grammy for his
acclaimed liner notes, has died at the age of 88.
Simon, a big band expert who also co-wrote songs with Duke Ellington and Alec
Wilder, died Tuesday night at New York University Medical Center. The cause of
death was pneumonia following a battle with Parkinson's disease, a friend,
archivist Grayson Dantzic, said Wednesday.
The native New Yorker was part of a musical family: his brother Dick, the co-
founder of the publishing house Simon & Schuster, studied to be a classical
pianist, and his nieces include Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Carly Simon.
Simon was born May 9, 1912, the son of a milliner. At Harvard University, he
organized his own band before graduating in 1934 and taking a job at Metronome
magazine - a national music publication where he was soon championing big-band
music.
Simon earned $25 per month for his work.
In 1937, while still writing for Metronome, he sat in with the fledgling Glenn
Miller Band and played the drums as the band recorded its first half-dozen
songs.
He then opted for writing over drumming, and became Metronome's editor-in-chief
in 1939. For the next 16 years he held the job, championing artists from Frank
Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald to Peggy Lee.
During World War II, he played with Miller's Army Air Forces Band and recorded
"V-Discs" for the soldiers and sailors overseas, persuading top musical acts of
the day to volunteer their time.
His music career also included writing lyrics for songs by Ellington and Wilder
- - the latter under the pseudonym Buck Pincus. He served on the advisory board
for the New York Jazz Festival from 1960-72.
As a writer, he worked for the New York Post and the now-defunct New York
Herald-Tribune. He also served as executive director of the National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Grammy Awards.
Eventually, Simon wrote several books on the swing era: "The Sinatra Report" in
1965, "The Big Bands" in 1968, and "Glenn Miller and His Orchestra" in 1974.
"The Big Bands" was honored with an award from the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
"Simon tells it like it all was," Sinatra wrote in a jacket blurb for the prize-
winning book.
In 1977, Simon won his Grammy Award for best album notes - his contribution to
the collection "Bing Crosby: A Legendary Performer." Simon was hand-picked by
Crosby to write the liner notes for the release.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Beverly Jean Simon; their children,
Julie Ann Simon, of Oakland, Calif., and Thomas Simon, of New York City;
grandchildren, Jenny, Max and Andrew; six nieces and a nephew.
- -
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 14:24:33 -0500
From: Matt Teichman <mft4@cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: cecil taylor again
Well, whatever their formal differences, I think we can lump them together
historically. Although Taylor may not have been a direct influence on
these artists (i.e. they may not have listened to his records 24/7) I think
it's safe to say that his influence reached all freejazzers indirectly at
the very least, especially pianists.
Of course, my music history knowledge is next-to-nothing and any
corrections on the part of a more knowledgable party are welcome.
>Are you "lumping" these artists in a group? I think
>maybe because there's more to Cecil's music than to
>any of these other artists. It's harder to digest.
>The apparent similarities, the energy and generic
>concerns "free jazz, etc.", are only superficial.
- -
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 11:35:13 -0800 (PST)
From: Scott Handley <thesubtlebody@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: What's the list of essentials for Patton?
The absolute essential is the ADULT THEMES FOR VOICE
album on Tzadik. I couldn't dig the PRANZO
OLTRANZISTA (Tzadik) very much, though you might like
it, and there's a cast of luminaries there. Also, for
extreme dada noise magic, maybe you'd like Patton's
collaboration with Masami Akita aka Merzbow, MALDOROR;
not my cup of tea, but if you might light it. But the
ADULT THEMES solo voice record is mandatory listening:
Patton strips self of rawk, big guitars, and real-time
cartoon google, to do something beyond strange. Many
of my friends who like mostly hip-hop and death metal
seem to dig this the most. An insane essential.
I'm assuming Bungle fans have already checked out the
