I don't think this album is necessarily as terrible as many seem to find it, despite the truly nauseating, self-congratulatory artist bio he includes in the liners. The fact that its Zorn by himself, undiluted, is what I find most appealing about it, actually. Hermetic is certainly the apt word choice here. The use of gratuitous in this instance actually is an interesting choice for an artist who's released 15+ albums of cliche-ridden pseudo-post-Ornettish post bop. All in all, though, I think the Locus Solus comment of (paraphrasing) 'people either loved what I did or hated it' is the perfect description of his career.
Honestly, this record already seems to be inspiring slightly more interesting discussion than the 'this record is awesome' type usually bestowed upon more crowd-pleasing sort.
That said, I still find 'Elegy' and 'Absinthe' to be the last truly stunning Zorn works, with a number of nice-but-not-stunning things occasionally surfacing since then. I'd put Songs from the Hermetic Theater in that latter category.
- -Matt mitchell
Hi Matt and all, I agree with you that these compositions are not exactly comparable to other existing electronic groups. IMHO, Autechre wouldn't be a good comparison. I really think that they thoroughly work their structures and sounds to the smallest detail. I'd dare to say (as I stated here when I heard "Songs from...") that this album doesn't go ANYWHERE as a whole. It seems gratuitous to me, which is an adjective I had never applied to Zorn before. I could like a record or dislike it but never regarded one of his albums as pretentious shit. When someone does something in the "press-a-button" vein, I hate him/her trying to sell the stuff to me by using an intellectual alibi. I would love to give an in-depth opinion on these compositions, but it's been impossible since I find them extremely shallow. Greetings, Efrn del VAlle n.p: David Slusser "Delight at the End of the Tunnel"
- -
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 21:48:20 -0300
From: mwoodwor <mwoodwor@is2.dal.ca>
Subject: minutemen's ghost dog
Hey - a few months back somebody mentioned the two main books that
the movie Ghost Dog was either based/inspired on - or that was actually
featured
in the movie - just wondering if someone could let me know what the names of
those books were again.
Also, thanks to someone's rec. on this list I bought Minutemen's -
Double Nickles on the Dime - FANTASTIC Album. Just wondering if any
of their other stuff compares or what anyone has to say about any of
the Firehose albums.
BTW - 2 cents worth for more 'harcore' stuff - I think the new
Candiria is great.
Mike.
- -
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 21:12:22 EDT
From: JonAbbey2@aol.com
Subject: Re: minutemen's ghost dog
In a message dated 7/19/01 8:50:13 PM, mwoodwor@is2.dal.ca writes:
<< Also, thanks to someone's rec. on this list I bought Minutemen's -
Double Nickles on the Dime - FANTASTIC Album. Just wondering if any
of their other stuff compares or what anyone has to say about any of
the Firehose albums. >>
the only other disc they made which is on the level of Double Nickels is
Post-Mersh, Volume Two, which compiles the EPs Buzz or Howl Under The
Influence Of Heat and Project Mersh. from track 6 through the end of the disc
is my favorite stretch of listening by this remarkable, somewhat overlooked
band. D. Boon's death was a genuine musical tragedy.
unfortunately, their brilliant cover of Steely Dan's Dr Wu isn't on my 1984
vintage Double Nickels CD, although according to Amazon, it's on the current
version. still missing is their equally brilliant take on Van Halen's Ain't
Talkin' Bout Love, which was on the original double LP.
the Firehose stuff I heard at the time was so much worse, it wasn't even
comparable. buy everything by the Minutemen before you start delving into the
Firehose catalog.
Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com
- -
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Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 20:55:52 -0500 (CDT)
From: Paul Audino <psaudino@interaccess.com>
Subject: Re: Mr. fela arto vandermark
On Tue, 17 Jul 2001, mwoodwor wrote:
> Finally, thanks to all who gave me input on checking Prince out in Montreal -
> the show turned out to be a blast. Although he played with the audiences mind
> for the first set (long improvisation/jams that sounded about 2 steps away
> from elevator jazz/practically no reconizable songs/Prince not really
> singing/moving, sometimes leaving the stage), the second set was a different
> beast altogether - Prince even teased the chrowd and asked "who was the guy
> who was out here earlier?" everyone went nuts - of course he ended with a 15
> minute version of Purple Rain! Still, I wonder how Test was that night.
Glad you enjoyed it. The show apparently got some rave reviews to the
point that Prince was going to release some of the gig via his online
music distribution system, www.npgmusicclub.com. Unfortunately, the sound
quality on the recordings wasn't up to his standards, and he nixed the
idea ;(
> As for other current listening - I know it's been said before, but everyone do
> yourself a big favour and go out and buy 15-20 Fela Kuti albums and hunker
> down in the house for a week or two. It may be some expensive shit! to buy
> that many albums, but boy oh boy it is goooooooooooooood.
MCA Records is rolling out Phase II of their Fela re-issue program
starting this week. They will re-release 15 Fela CDs (many of them
2-for-1 albums) domestically in the US over the next month or so. This
will complement the 10 2-for-1s they issued last year. This current wave
of releases includes many (all?) of the Fela albums issued by Celluloid.
The person who controls the Celluloid catalog (as well as the catalogs of
associated labels such as Subharmonic, M.I.L. Multimedia, etc.) has a
reputation for being non-artist friendly, so I encourage people to
purchase the MCA versions and not any remaining copies of the older
issues.
- -
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 20:03:25 -0700
From: Skip Heller <velaires@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: minutemen's ghost dog
> Hey - a few months back somebody mentioned the two main books that
> the movie Ghost Dog was either based/inspired on - or that was actually
> featured
> in the movie - just wondering if someone could let me know what the names of
> those books were again.
>
> Also, thanks to someone's rec. on this list I bought Minutemen's -
> Double Nickles on the Dime - FANTASTIC Album. Just wondering if any
> of their other stuff compares or what anyone has to say about any of
> the Firehose albums.
>
> BTW - 2 cents worth for more 'harcore' stuff - I think the new
> Candiria is great.
>
> Mike.
>
>
> -
>
It might have been me shreiking for DOUBLE NICKELS. It's one I've advocated
forever. Basically, everything the did up to and including that record is
immortal. No punk rock group played so together. PARANOID TIME and WHAT
MAKES A MAN START FIRES? both rule.
skip h
np: the new, unreleased leon parker disc
- -
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 20:05:13 -0700
From: Skip Heller <velaires@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: minutemen's ghost dog
>
> the only other disc they made which is on the level of Double Nickels is
> Post-Mersh, Volume Two, which compiles the EPs Buzz or Howl Under The
> Influence Of Heat and Project Mersh. from track 6 through the end of the disc
> is my favorite stretch of listening by this remarkable, somewhat overlooked
> band. D. Boon's death was a genuine musical tragedy.
I didn't care for PROJECT MERSH. The tunes were too long and pproduced for
my taste. But BUZZ is definitely the real deal. How I forgot to mention it
is beyond me. "Felt Like A gringo" is just amazing (and scarily accurate).
skip h
- -
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 23:27:47 EDT
From: JonAbbey2@aol.com
Subject: Re: minutemen's ghost dog
In a message dated 7/19/01 11:03:42 PM, velaires@earthlink.net writes:
<< I didn't care for PROJECT MERSH. The tunes were too long and pproduced for
my taste. >>
that's actually what I like about them. it's interesting to hear them work in
the longer three or four minute form, and they're pretty great at it.
Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com
- -
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 20:40:06 -0700
From: "s~Z" <keithmar@msn.com>
Subject: Re: minutemen's ghost dog
Hagakure : The Book of the Samurai
by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, William Scott Wilson (Translator)
Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, et al
Saw firehose on a bill with Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra
at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica many years ago. Stunning
evening of music. Can still see Haden thrashing his string bass in
a set ending collaboration with firehose at full volume. Then the
Liberation Orchestra with Nels Cline on acoustic guitar the
evening of his wedding! Strange and wonderful evening.
- -
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 22:00:59 -0700
From: Skip Heller <velaires@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: minutemen's ghost dog
>
> Saw firehose on a bill with Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra
> at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica many years ago. Stunning
> evening of music. Can still see Haden thrashing his string bass in
> a set ending collaboration with firehose at full volume. Then the
> Liberation Orchestra with Nels Cline on acoustic guitar the
> evening of his wedding! Strange and wonderful evening.
>
I alway thought Charlie should have collaborated somehow with George Hurley.
To me, he is the Joe Chambers of punk rock drums.
As for fIREHOSE, their first album, RAGIN' FULL ON, really got my blood
going, but each effort sounded weaker and weaker to me. And Watt's solo
