December 2002 - zorn-list - mailman.xmission.com

Re: Merzbow recommendations?
by Kurt Gottschalk 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

hey, steve - the merzshow is what you'll get on many of the records, which is what makes many of the records expendable imnsho. i did dig the gig (and good to see you there, too), but of the ones i've heard, i don't need to hear them alot. i think he's mostly a live experience. that said, i do really enjoy 'music for bondage performance' 1 & 2 (two releases on Extreme). intense, but quite different. more textured. and if you didn't get on the email list at the show, opposite records (opposite(a)icu.com) has some good prices on some of the titles. seconds, to, the the ups for 'eh'. nice record, tho i find it, for reasons completely opposite of merzbow, harder to listen to at home than out. kg np: polwechsel + fennez 'wrapped islands' _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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Re: Merzbow recommendations?
by Caleb T. Deupree 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

I'd also recommend 1930 for a 'normal' Merzbow release. I also enjoy finding the oddball releases, and I have two that I'd recommend. The first is a collaboration with Christoph Heemann entitled Sleeper Awakes on the Edge of the Abyss, on Streamline. Merzbow provided the raw material, with Heemann doing the post-processing. Almost a dark ambient release. The second is great fun, Merzbow performing live as a DJ on an ERS release, Live at Radio 100. Hearing the Beach Boys and Louis Armstrong coming through the noise is exhilarating. -- Caleb Deupree cdeupree(a)erinet.com

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Re: Relaxing Music
by William Crump 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

Funny this topic should come up. I'm art director for a bimonthly magazine, and when crunchtime comes, the magazine wraps me up with about six 8 a.m. to midnight days in a row. I'm just finishing the latest issue (my rant on English and journalism Saturday morning used up hours I didn't really have to spare, but it all worked out), and realized that for the last few days, I've been listening to a lot of Yo La Tengo, with some Kinks tossed in. YLT's "Fakebook" is especially soothing. William Crump ---------- From: "Zachary Steiner" <zsteiner(a)butler.edu> Any good, interesting recommendations for music to listen to when you are under stress? Thanks.

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Re: Goldberg Variations (no zorn)
by Herb Levy 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

I'm still doing a lot catching up on digests so this is a little late. Eriedell(a)aol.com wrote: >I also picked up the new 3 disc Sony release of Glenn Gould's >recordings of the Goldberg Variations. .... >In case >anyone is wondering the third disc of this set is an interveiw disc which I >have yet to listen to entirely. I cut it off after a few minutes the first >time I put it on because Gould sounds as if he's gone sadly crazy and I was >afraid it would spoil my experience of listening to him play. By the way, >I've boycotted paragraphs. >andy You might should know that the interview with Gould on this disc is an entirely scripted interchange between Tim Page and various Gould personae. More of a play than a spontaneous conversation. Some of Gould's work in this format was great both funny & informative, but I haven't spent any time with this disc yet. -- Herb Levy P O Box 9369 Fort Worth, TX 76147 herb(a)eskimo.com

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Re: Naxos Jazz
by Steve Smith 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

In a nutshell, Naxos Jazz indefinitely suspended its jazz series because it had fundamentally misunderstood one key difference between selling classical and selling jazz: namely, that in classical music, the "hook" is normally repertoire, which means that at the right price, you can sell Bach, Beethoven, Bartok or Birtwistle played by just about anyone if the consumer is looking for a piece by one of those composers, or even a representative sampling at little cost (and thus little risk). On the other hand, in contemporary jazz (and by that I mean jazz being made by living artists today, not "smooth jazz"), the "hook" is nearly always the performer, and many performers -- including most in the Naxos Jazz series -- were relative unknowns. Naxos doesn't work with the kind of extensive marketing and promotional budget to "break" an unknown artist and develop his or her public, and without such a hook, they couldn't even develop buyer loyalty to the label. (Added to that, their A&R was handled by Mike Nock in the bustling jazz hub of New Zealand and their marketing was being coordinated by someone in Hong Kong...) Naxos did discover later that there was a great deal of money to be made in historical jazz reissues, where a Lester Young or Stan Kenton is as developed and recognizable a brand name as Beethoven. Those discs sell themselves, and quality-wise, I find them all highly recommendable. Right now, Naxos is in the process of reevalutating the possibility of a contemporary jazz line, and assessing just what it would take to make a successful run of it. Meanwhile, it comes as little surprise that their latest non-classical venture is a burgeoning new world-music line, where again, "South Africa" and "Cambodia" are as recognizable as "Bach and "Mozart," perhaps more so, and no further sales push is necessary at that price point. Personally, I think that with very little extra effort (like a strategic licensing agreement with King, whose excellent World Music Library series seems to be more or less unavailable at present), Naxos could carve a niche in this market as substantial as their classical presence. But as long as jazz is more wedded to the individual artist than to the concept of "repertoire," Naxos is going to have a hard time staking its claim. Steve Smith ssmith36(a)sprynet.com NP - Evan Parker, "Aye 2," 'The Ayes Have It' (Emanem)

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Faust + Tony Conrad
by Arthur Gadney 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

Hi, Any comments on the anniversary version of the Faust with Tony Conrad double CD? How different is it from the single CD version? Cheers. _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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re: Merzbow recommendations
by Bruno Bissonnette 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

Definitely get "Rainbow Electronics" on Alchemy, it's the tops. The second one (on the defunct Dexter's Cigar label) can be skipped. Also absolutely necessary is "Noisembryo", the label is Eskimo I think. "1930" on Tzadik is very strong, one of the last great analog works by Akita, and easily available. "Aqua Necromancer" is fine, smoother Merz, his tribute to prog rock. After that, you can try a few things in the laptop realm. Some "hardcore" Merzbow analog snobs hate it (because it's more loopy and droney, less harsh), but I think it's a wonderful evolution. Check out "Dharma", and especially "Hard Lovin' Man". _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus

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Re: Merzbow recommendations?
by Kris Visser 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

I think '1930' from Tzadik is a really excellent album from Merzbow and good to start with. Incidentally it's on Zorn's label, but I don't choose it for that reason. This has more dynamics variety, but still is a typical Merzbow-album. Highly recommended.

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RE: Merzbow recommendations?
by Andy Marks 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

For starters, I usually recommend "Music for Bondage Performance 2" on Extreme. I'm not sure if that's still in print though. Used to be pretty easy to order. It's not quite as ambient as the first and there are quite a few tracks, most in the 4-7 minute range, as opposed to the 1 74 minute track or 2-3 20+ minute tracks you find on some Merzbow releases. I think "Amlux" is his latest and as such there's a good chance that it is most similar to what you heard at Tonic. I've never heard "Amlux" myself but I've read many positive reviews on the Net. "Pulse Demon" is pretty good and should still be available. Actually, you can download "Pulse Demon" (in addition to "Venerology", "Tauromachine" and a couple others) in it's entirety from emusic.com if you sign up for their 14 day free trial. I haven't seen many Merzbow MP3 on the file-sharing networks (Kazaa, Gnutella, etc).

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Re: Chung's Messiaen
by thesubtlebody 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

While there's discussion of Messiaen, has anyone heard "Des Canyons Aux Etoiles", particularly the recording just (re)issued by Montaigne? I'm curious if this is a remarkable composition among Messiaen's others. I've never heard much about it. -----s np: Sofia Gubaidulina, "Viola Concert" (D-G, 20/21) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com

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