Best of 2007 - Music

Best of 2007: Music

1. Tuxedomoon 7707 - 30th Anniversary Box Contents:

Vapour Trails
(CD | new album | 2007)
Muchos Colores • Still Small Voice • Kubrick • Big Olive
Dark Temple • Dizzy • Epso Meth Lama • Wading Into Love

Unearthed: Lost Cords
(CD | previously-unreleased recordings | 1977-1997 )
Day to Day • Remember • III (April in Afghanistan) • Somnambulist
Heaven and Hell • Atlantis • Up All Night • Loplop's People • Devastated
Brad's Loop • Allemande Bleue • No Business Like Show Business
Cell Life • Oceanus • Work Coda

Unearthed: Found Films
(DVD | archive & unreleased material| total time 160 minutes| 1977-1988)
I. Ghost Sonata (an opera without words)
II. A Thousand Lives By Picture (nine music videos)
III. Mythical Puzzle (a travelogue)
IV. Jetwave (a multimedia loft jam)
V. Colorado Suite (early studio explorations)
VI. No Tears (accelerated memory)

162o7 (39°N 7°W)
(CD | a concert recorded in February 2007) (Crammed)

2. Robert Wyatt Comicopera (Domino)

3. Gudrun Gut "I Put a Record On" (Monika Enterprise)
FYI: her best of 2007 is here.

4. Fennesz Sakamoto "Cendre" (Touch)

5. Burial "Untrue" (hyperdub)

6. The Durutti Column "Idiot Savants" (Fulfill)

7. Frank Bretscheider "Rhythm" (raster-noton)

8. Hans Appelqvist "Sifantin och mörkret" (Hapna)

9. Christina Kubisch "Five Electrical Walks" (Important)

10. Berg Sans Nipple "Along the quai"

11. Pelle Carlberg "In a Nutshell" (Labrador)

***********************************************************
Reissues:
Harmonia "Live 1974"
Young Marble Giants "Colossal Youth" (Domino)
"The Fruit of the Original Sin" Compilation (LTM)
"Ghosts of Christmas Past" Compilation (LTM)
Kraftwerk "Ralf & Florian"
The Durutti Column "Sporadic Three" (Kooky) [older material made available for the first time]
************************************************************
Films about music:
Scott Walker: 30th Century Man dir. Stephen Kijak (film site)
Control dir. Anton Corbjin
Screaming Masterpiece dir. ARI ALEXANDER ERGIS MAGNÚSSON(film site)

Happy Christmas 2007

Best Wishes.

Last Show of 2007 - Playlist "Off the Cuff" WZBC NCP

Fri Dec 21st 2007 7.00pm–10.00pm
Like everything else, times are approximate. Spinitron and this station are not liable for errors or omissions.

Lawrence “Lowlights from the Past” from Lowlights from the Past and Future CD
July Skies “Garden Constellations” from Dreaming of Spires CD ALBUM
Polyphonic Size “Kyoto” from B9 BIS (Belgian Cold Wave 1979-1983) (LTM)
Anne Laplantine “Keep Me Updated” from Nordheim CD ALBUM (Gooom)
The Pale Fountains “Benoit's Christmas” from ghosts of christmas past
George “The New and Better Heart” from A Week of Kindness (Pickled Egg 2005)
Vitesse “The Saddest Day” from A Certain Hostility (Parasol 1999)
The Names “Tokyo Twilight” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Burial “Etched Headplate” from Untrue CD ALBUM (Hyperdub 2007)
Ken Ishii “Loop” from Garden on the Palm CD ALBUM (Sony)
Supermayer “Two of Us / Geigermix” from Total 8 (Kompakt)
Prothese “Tumeurs” from B9 BIS (Belgian Cold Wave 1979-1983) (LTM)
Acetate Zero “A picture you can't flash” from VA: bucolique vol 01 (Arbouse)
Wally Van Middendorp “raving lunatic #2” & Paul Haig “Chance” from some of the interesting things you'll see on a long distance flight (LTM)
Screen Prints “Blew Through - Valentine From Vilnius” from Perfect City (20 Songs 1998-2000) (Earworm)
Antena “Noelle a Hawai” from Antena EP (Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1982)
Robert Wyatt “Stay Tuned” from Comicopera (Domino)
The Durutti Column “One Christmas for your thoughts” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Anna Domino “Zanna” from anna domino CD ALBUM (LTM)
Mark Van Hoen “Dark Roads” from the warmth inside you (Very Friendly 2004)
Yann Tiersen “La terrasse” from tout est calme
Michael Nyman “cream or christians” from ghosts of christmas past CD COMP
John Cale “Paris 1919 (live)” from Fragments of A Rainy Season (Hannibal 1992)
George “This will not stop” from A Week of Kindness (Pickled Egg 2005)
Desormais “broken images and packets of light” from Iambrokenandremadeiambroken... CD ALBUM (intr_version)
Cabaret Voltaire “Invocation” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Isolation Ward “Lamina Christus” from B9 BIS (Belgian Cold Wave 1979-1983)
Tuxedomoon “Weinachts Rap” from ghosts of christmas past CD COMP
Gnac “Vertical Features” from The Arrival of the Fog (LTM)
Robert Wyatt “Just As You Are” from Comicopera (Domino)
Wim Mertens “Let Him Go” from Shot and Echo CD ALBUM
Jay-jay Johanson “Fire” from Poison CD ALBUM (Labels)
Nine Horses “birds sing for their lives” from Money For All (samadhisound)
The Sound “Winter” from shock of daylight (Statik 1984)
Young Marble Giants “Brand - New - Life” from John Peel Session 1980 (Domino)
Young Marble Giants “Final Day” from John Peel Session 1980 (Domino)
Christina Kubisch “Atocha” from Five Electrical Walks CD ALBUM (Important)

my last show of 2007

I'll be on the air tonight from 19:00 to 22:00 EST (7 - 10pm).

My next radio show after that is on Friday, January 4, 2008.

Stay Tuned.

on the air - right now - wzbc

you can listen online until 10pm EST.

enjoy.

The Fly tonight in London - charity DJ benefit night with sets from Electrelane, Alex Paterson (The Orb) and others

Friday 14th December in aid of The Anti-Trafficking Alliance which is a London-based charity that campaigns against sex trafficking and funds projects to support survivors. We'll be DJing at the night. It's at The Fly on New Oxford Street, London. Here's the line-up - Live:Charlotte Hatherley, Adrian Sherwood, Dot Allison, It Hugs Back, Freddie Stevenson. DJs: Alex Paterson (The Orb), Electrelane, Anjali, Sinqueso Sisters, The Broken Hearts. It's from 8pm - 2am and costs £7 on the door. All money raised goes to The Anti-Trafficking Alliance. Have a look at this website for more info on the charity. http://www.atalliance.org.uk

Last Week's Playlist - wzbc

"off the cuff" (NCP) with George

Fri Dec 7th 2007 7.00pm–10.00pm

Like everything else, times are approximate.

Bachi Da Pietra “non io” from Non Io CD ALBUM
Mark Van Hoen “Dark Roads” from the warmth inside you (Very Friendly 2004)
Sleeparchive “Pulkovo” from Sleeparchive | Antti Rannisto CD SPLIT
Wally Van Middendorp “raving lunatic #1” from some of the interesting things you'll see on a long distance flight (Les Disques Du Crepuscule)
Paul Haig “Scottish Christmas” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Robert Wyatt “Stay Tuned” from Comicopera
The Durutti Column “One Christmas for your thoughts” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Fennesz Sakamoto “amorph” from Cendre CD ALBUM (touch)
Tuxedomoon “Weinachts Rap” from ghosts of christmas past CD COMP
Janek Schaefer “Between the two” from In the Last Hour CD ALBUM
Brian Eno “The Big Ship” from Another Green World CD ALBUM
Antena “Noelle a Hawai” from Antena EP (Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1982)
Gnac “The Arrival of the Fog” (LTM)
Blaine L. Reninger “Side Wind” from Instrumentals (LTM)
Robert Wyatt “A Beautiful Peace” from Comicopera
Michael Nyman “cream or christians” from ghosts of christmas past CD COMP
Harmonia “notre dame” from Deluxe CD ALBUM (Lilith 2006)
Robert Wyatt “Be Serious” from Comicopera
The Names “Tokyo Twilight” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Christina Kubisch “Night Shift” from Five Electrical Walks CD ALBUM (Important)
Cabaret Voltaire “Invocation” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
The Sound “Winter” from shock of daylight (Statik 1984)
Penguin Cafe Orchestra “The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter” from music from the penguin cafe CD ALBUM (EG Records 1976)
July Skies “Countryside of 1938” from where the days go (make mine music)
The Durutti Column “Snowflakes” from Ghosts of Christmas Past
The Montgolfier Brothers “Journey's End” from All My Bad Thoughts (Vespertine & Son)
The Lost Jockey “Matters of Theory” from the fruit of the original sin (LTM)
Emak Bakia “How much time means (forever) ?” from Jane CD ALBUM
Mark Van Hoen “the warmth inside you” (Very Friendly 2004)
Brian Eno “Bone Bomb” from Another Day On Earth CD ALBUM
Young Marble Giants “Final Day” from John Peel Session 1980
Arbol “Aroma - Agios” from arbol (indus sonica 2001)
Karlheinz Stockhausen “Stimmung” CD ALBUM (Harmonia Mundi & Hyperion 2007)

a more light past

Sitting in my room now, warming up the place a bit. I have to sift through a number of essays and articles soon. I took some time off from my usual consumption to read a few novels. Now I'm getting back on track. I'm apologize if that last post seemed a bit incoherent, it was something I had to write at the time. A strong bout of anxiety and general loneliness came over me I suppose. Sometimes its the best thing in the world to be alone. On other occasions, it is healthy to have some welcome company. Perhaps that's all I needed. It doesn't matter now. This week has been going by at a steady pace. The rain and the ice have worked together to make the sidewalks impenetrable. How unfortunate, I tread carefully always forgetting to factor in extra time for the longer commute. One morning I'll remember I suppose. I've been completing further studies in the history of European cinema. The junctures between film and politics. I still have quite a ways to go but am confident I'll get there soon.

Stay tuned.

Nightwalks

I have to go out to clear my head to prove to myself that there is life beyond these four walls. I've had such a lovely day today. Then I got home and then circumstances beyond my control brought me down. I read a little, then one of my roommates came home. After a brief discussion, we decided it was time to watch the final episode of Blake's 7. It was better than I expected. I am still in shock. It will take a while to recover from that one. A nice emotional shock sometimes proves cathartic in its own way. Blake's 7 is truly one of the great Sci-fi series. Now its over and I need to escape for a while. Possibly walk around in the cold and observe. Possibly walk around in the cold and listen to the recent Robert Wyatt album "Comicopera". I need to feel what its like, to observe the horizon line once again with the sky above my head. I don't need to meet other people.

I just need to experience space once again.
Tomorrow let the cycle begin again anew.

Karlheinz Stockhausen - composer, born August 22, 1928; died December 5, 2007

Good obituary in the Guardian UK and another from the CBC
and in Le Monde (with YouTube clips).

UPDATE: an Introduction and remembrance of Karlheninz Stockhausen, as published in the Guardian UK.

A Zed and Two Naughts - this Saturday at the MFA in Boston

More information on Peter Greenaway's film.




Once again:

A Zed and Two Naughts dir. Peter Greenaway
playing at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts - Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 3:40pm

WZBC - Playlist - Nov. 23 2007 - "Off the Cuff"

Fri Nov 23rd 2007 7.00pm–10.00pm
Like everything else, times are approximate. Spinitron and this station are not liable for errors or omissions.

Christina Kubisch “Homage With Minimal Disinformation” from Five Electrical Walks CD
Opto “5.10 a.m.” from 2nd CD ALBUM (hobby industries www.hobbyind.com 2004)
Gas “Nach 1912” from Pop Ambient 2007 (Kompakt www.kompakt-net.de 2006)
Barbara Morgenstern “eine verabredung” from Raumschiff Monika
Bertuf “Ecotone” from Bucolique Vol. 1 CD COMP (Arbouse Recordings)
Robert Wyatt “A.W.O.L.” from Comicopera (Domino 2007)
The Durutti Column “the eye and the hand” from The fruit of the original sin
Dream Makers “Helen's Song” from From Brussels with Love CD COMP
Tuxedomoon “ninotchka” SINGLE (Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1982)
L'ensemble Raye “Un Square au Printemps” from Comme un pinson dans l'eau LP
Hans Appelqvist “wanxian - tank att himlens alla stjarmor” from Sifantin och morkret
Wim Mertens “Let him go” from Shot and Echo CD ALBUM (Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1992)
Robert Wyatt “A Beautiful Peace” from Comicopera (Domino www.dominorecordco.com 2007)
Gnac “Examples of Bad Driving” from The Arrival of the Fog
Les Hurleurs “Chrysantheme” from ciel d'encre
Young Marble Giants “Brand - New - Life” from John Peel Session 1980
Young Marble Giants “Final Day” from John Peel Session 1980
Locust “Folie” from Morning Light CD ALBUM (R&S Records 1997)
The Durutti Column “party” from The fruit of the original sin
Mark Tranmer “scoop of ice cream moon”
Robert Wyatt “On the Town Square” from Comicopera
The Montgolfier Brothers “All My Bad Thoughts”
Wim Mertens “Wandering Eyes” from Shot and Echo CD ALBUM
Steven Brown “Sous quelle etoile suis-je ne?” from a tribute to polnareff CD COMP
Fabio Viscoglisiosi “rumbubble” from fenomeno (Microbe www.microberecords.com 2007)
Lilacs “Young and Supernatural” from Crooning on Venus COMP
Nine Horses “birds sing for their lives” from Money For All
The Lost Jockey “Matters of Theory” from the fruit of the original sin
Jay-jay Johanson “Mana Mana Mana Mana” from Whiskey CD ALBUM (BMG Sweden 1996)
Chessie “the firefly” from Night Owls CD COMP (Deluxe www.deluxerecs.com 2001)
Mark Van Hoen “when tomorrow comes” from playing with time CD ALBUM (Apollo 1998)
The Hafler Trio “alternation, perception & res” from A Bag of Cats CD ALBUM
Christina Kubisch “Security” from Five Electrical Walks CD ALBUM

O a beautiful song

I had a dream a friend was singing
It was a beautiful song
her voice was pure and cute

I've been away too long

Last weekend went fairly well, at least during daylight hours. Night was spent at home reading and wondering, hoping the house would stay quiet a little longer. I suppose there is little to say at the moment. I've been out of practice. I've been busy worrying about other things and not this. That will soon change. People still listen and actually enjoy it from what I can tell. It may be a small contribution but it helps me to partially justify this mess--as if that were what was needed. It is a short week, I imagine a few long days at work and then quiet for a bit. I look forward to such things.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Live at Union Chapel 2007

PENGUIN CAFE

Tuesday 11th December - Wednesday 12th - Thursday 13th December
08:00 PM


performed by musicians of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Penguin Cafe, the brainchild of the late English composer and multi-instrumentalist Simon Jeffes, play pastoral, playful music that grabs hold of the imagination and the spirit. To mark ten years passing since Jeffes' death, the musicians of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra are getting back together to give two concerts on Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12, and Thursday 13 December at Union Chapel, a venue Simon loved to play.

Tickets: £20 adv + booking fee

Doors Open: 7.00pm

*******************************
UPDATE:
Concert as reviewed by John L. Walters in the Guardian UK.

Upcoming Events - in Massachusetts

A few things of interest I've noticed coming up in the next few days:
Tonight at the Middle East in Central Square, Cambridge

November 8th at P.A.'s Lounge, Somerville:
Thursday - Nov 8 2007
Ponies in the Surf
Castanets
Deer Tick
Tigersaw
Age Restrictions: 18+
Doors Open: 8:30PM

This weekend Popfest! New England is going on at the Sevens in Northampton.

Sunday Night (11th November) at TT the Bears in Central Square (my counterpart from New Zealand), David Kilgour, is playing.

Tuesday Night (13th November) at PAs Lounge in Somerville:
WZBC & Radio Khartoum Present...
Windy Smiles (w/Mem. Reports/Carlisle Sound)
The Hepburns (Wales)
Anthony Rochester (Tasmania)

That's all for now.

regading CONTROL

Things I enjoyed about CONTROL:

1. the black and white photography

2. hearing 'warszawa' in the background when Ian chats with Annick
(it made me want to listen to LOW by David Bowie, which I haven't done in far too long.)

3. the general experience of the film fit the subject

Varvalia Lodenko (Excerpt)

A brief excerpt from Jordan Stump's translation of MINOR ANGELS by Antoine Volodine.

12.

Varvalia Lodenko

Varvalia Lodenko laid down her rifle, took a deep breath, and said:
'Oh mindless men! Oh spineless women!'
'Before us lies the land of the poor, a land whose riches belong only to the rich, a planet of flayed earth, of forests bled ash-dry, a planet of filth, a vast expanse of filth, oceans that only the rich can cross, deserts polluted by the playthings and blunders of the rich, we see before us cities whose keys lie in the hands of the multinational mafia, circuses whose clowns are controlled by the rich, televisions devised for their entertainment and our stultification, we see before us their great men standing high atop a pedestal that is nothing other than a barrel of bloody sweat shed by the poor, or yet to be shed, we see before us the glorious stars and all-knowing celebrities, who, for all their much-vaunted dissidence, never once express any opinion that might in any way undermine the long-term strategies of the rich, we see before us their democratic values conceived for their own eternal preservation and our eternal inaction, we see before us the targets they have singled out for our loathing, always subtly, with an intelligence far beyond our folk-understanding and with a gift for duplicitous language that obliterates our poor-folk wisdom, we see before us their fight against poverty, their assistance to the poor, their emergency aid programs, we see before us their free distribution of dollars to keep us poor and them rich, their dismissive economic theories and their ethic of hard labor and their promise of universal riches to come, in twenty generations or twenty thousand years, we see before us their omnipresent organizations and their agents of influence, their spontaneous propagandists, their infinitely expanding media, their heads of family scrupulously faithful to the most luminous principles of social justice as long as their children have a guaranteed place on the right side of the scales, we see before us a cynicism so well oiled that the merest allusion to its existence, condemns you to a place of invisible marginality, close to madness, far from any drum, far from any follower, I stand before all this, in an empty land, speaking words that expose me to insults and condemnation, we stand before all this, which by rights should stir up a worldwide tempest of rage, a pitiless surge of extremism, ten decades at least of pitiless reorganization and reconstruction by our own rules, free of all religious logic, free of the financial logic of the rich, outside their political philosophies, without a second thought for the howling of their final watchdogs, before all this we have stood for hundreds of years, and still we have not found the way to plant insurrection, at the same time and on the same date, in the minds of all the billions of poor folk to whom it has never yet occurred, how to make it take root and finally flower. Let us find the way to do this, then, and let us do it.'
Here ended Varvalia Lodenko's speech.

Minor Angels
Antoine Volodine
Translated and with a preface by Jordan Stump
Published by University of Nebraska Press
Hardcover
2004. 166 pp.
978-0-8032-4672-0

Control - in Boston October 26!!!

One Week Only!
Starts Friday, October 26 at the Kendall Square Cinema

Director: Anton Corbijn

Cast: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson, Toby Kebbell, Harry Treadway, Andrew Sheridan, Robert Shelly

MPAA Rating: R

Run Time: 2hrs 1min

Release Year: 2007

Country Of Origin: UK

Repairs

I've been absent, I suppose from all this. I generally observe and keep myself busy with reading-- all the films I want to see are foreign and undistributable in this country. What else is new? Most fixed points stay right where they are pausing for adjustment as the earth turns on its axis. A plum situation if you ask me. I'm trying to keep my mind as focussed as possible and entertained, is that the right word? There always seems a fine line between happiness and pleasantries and abject humiliation. I tread it carefully-- one defines one's inner vision.

James Blackshaw - Tonight in Boston

from the most recent non-event update:

Wednesday, October 10. 7:30pm. $8.00.

End of an Empire Presents:

James Blackshaw (Tompkins Square, Important Records)

plus Black Forest/Black Sea (Secret Eye)
and Eli Keszler (Red Horse, Jandek)

Mills Gallery
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont Street
Boston (South End)
617.426.8835
http://www.bcaonline.org
Show starts promptly at 7:30pm and is all ages.

BIO:

Performing and recording since 2003, James Blackshaw's name is frequently mentioned alongside the likes of Jack Rose, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Sir Richard Bishop and Glenn Jones as one of the most foremost modern pioneers of solo acoustic guitar music. Now at the age of 25, Blackshaw, an untrained musician born and still residing in the suburban environs of Greater London, draws as much inspiration from early religious music, South-Asian folk music and composers such as Arvo Part, Simeon Ten Holt, Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine as he does from John Fahey, Robbie Basho and the early Takoma Records roster, constantly breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat limited medium. In his part improvised and part written songs, Blackshaw makes expert use of Eastern and Western scales, chord changes reminiscent of European classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalistic, yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with a rare sensitivity that conveys both immense beauty, hope and sadness.

"In recent months, 24-year-old UK guitarist James Blackshaw has burst fully-formed onto the folk underground, his remarkable talents already seeming at peak maturity... Blackshaw has established himself as an instrumentalist of astonishing grace and delicacy, seeming as though he's gobbled and digested whole the primitive folk canons of Takoma and Vanguard. Relying primarily on 12-string guitar, Blackshaw's intricate creations web together Robbie Basho's wayfaring mysticism, Ben Chasny's soft-focu sed acid tongues, and the rustic fantasias of Sandy Bull... Blackshaw is able to differentiate himself through his exotic lyricism, stray pan-ethnic flourishes and pure unmasked virtuosity." - Pitchfork

http://www.jamesblackshaw.com/
http://www.myspace.com/jamesblackshaw
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=James+Blackshaw

Upcoming End of an Empire Shows:
November 2: Alasdair Roberts, Charalambides, and Heather Leigh Murray at the Nave Gallery
November 13: Tiny Vipers and Alela Diane at Venue TBA

For more information on End of an Empire go here.

Upcoming Non-Events:
October 12 (this Friday!): Local Experimental Music Showcase IV with Tim Feeney & Vic Rawlings, The Human Hairs, and Max Lord at Studio Soto
October 26: Julien Ottavi (France), Seth Cluett, and Mike Bullock at Studio Soto
November 10: Tatsuya Nakatani and David Stackanas at Studio Soto

matters of theory

I'm barely coherent now waiting for things to begin. What happened of late? I've been going out more, perhaps not enough. The last book I read was "In Patagonia" by Bruce Chatwin-- it made me wonder if a friend had that in mind before heading South. Some nights of interest are starting up here locally with more of a Sixties vibe to them-- they might be regular events for me, much like in the mid-nineties. Its better than waiting for the right bands to come around. A couple of screenings to report on shortly to ease the pressure of wondering what to do next.

I finally saw "30th Century Man", the new documentary on Scott Walker. The team behind it did a really good job at revealing a driven, enigmatic figure. I like how the film focuses on his creative life than his personal situation. The broad range of interviews from luminaries such as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker and others really brought a sense of immediacy to the project.

I still have various publications to sift through now. Perhaps something will come of this.

Another note: I'll be on the air this Friday-- with the new music as always.

Lightning Strikes - new Jay-Jay Johanson

Lyrics to one of Jay-Jay Johanson's forthcoming songs (courtesy of his myspace page):

Lightning Strikes:
I CLOSE THE CURTAINS
WON'T LET THE DAYLIGHT IN
PUT OUT THE CANDLES
POUR ANOTHER GIN

AND WHEN THE LIGHTNING STRIKES
THE THUNDER'S NEVER FAR AWAY
AND YOU'RE THE LIGHTNING LIKE,
I'M THUNDER ON A FOGGY DAY
OR SO IT SEEMS. or so it seems

DARKNESS APPROACHING
GUESS THERE'S A STORM BREAKING IN
RAINDROPS INCREASING
STRONGER GETS THE WIND

AUTUMN BROUGHT SHADOWS
MY DAYS OF MOURNING ARE THRU
GONE IS THE SORROW
THE WAY MY LIFE HAS GROWN

WHEN THE LIGHTNING STRIKES
THE THUNDER'S NEVER FAR AWAY
AND YOU'RE THE LIGHTNING LIKE,
I'M THUNDER ON A FOGGY DAY
OR SO IT SEEMS. or so it seems

CHORDS ON MY PIANO
FADING AWAY IN THE ROOM
THE TICKING OF A CLOCK OR
IS IT A METRONOME

AND WHEN THE LIGHTNING STRIKES
THE THUNDER'S NEVER FAR AWAY
AND YOU'RE THE LIGHTNING LIKE,
I'M THUNDER ON A FOGGY DAY
OR SO IT SEEMS. or so it seems

Last Night's playlist - wzbc - "off the cuff"

"off the cuff" (NCP) with George 09.21.2007 07:00PM to 10:00PM

07:09PM Christina Kubisch "Zeitlupe" from "The Hidden City" (CD) on Sub Rosa
07:12PM Skanfrom "Confused Machines" from "Hand Picked Fragments"
07:15PM Lawrence "Superpitcher - Happiness (Lawrence Remix)" from "Lowlights from the Past and Future" (CD) on Kompakt
07:25PM Tuxedomoon "Some Guys" from "Solve Et Coagula" on Cramboy
07:35PM Gnac "The Arrival of the Fog" from "The Arrival of the Fog" on LTM
07:38PM Fabio Viscoglisiosi "fenomeno" from "fenomeno" on Microbe
07:41PM Rothko "Zurich Trains" from "Bucolique Vol. 01" on Arbouse
07:46PM David Kristian "sound absorber" from "music from the mermaid room" on Wikkid
07:57PM The Lost Jockey "matters of theory" from "the fruit of the original sin" on LTM
08:03PM Winston Tong "Dream Assassins" from "Theoretically Chinese" (CD) on LTM
08:08PM Gudrun Gut "Sweet" from "I Put A Record On" (CD) on Monika Enterprise
08:13PM Alva Noto "Prototype N." from "Clicks + Cuts" on Mille Plateaux
08:19PM Nine Horses "birds sing for their lives" from "Money For All" on samadhisound
08:28PM The Passage "Drugface" from "Seedy"
08:32PM Droids "Rennaissance de l amour" from "l'age d'analogue" on hobbydeluxe
08:40PM Zazou/Bikaye "Binagwe" from "Guilty!" on Crammed Discs
08:45PM Fabio Viscoglisiosi "Gymnasium" from "fenomeno" on Microbe
08:47PM Gabrielle Lazure "Children's Tale" from "From Brussels With Love" on Les Disques Du Crepuscule
08:54PM Hans Appelqvist "tank att himlens alla stjarnor" from "Sifantin och morkret" (CD) on Hapna
09:00PM Mark Van Hoen "put my trust in you" from "Touch 25" (CD) on Touch
09:05PM Jay Jay Johanson "Breaking Glass" from "the long term physical effects are not yet known" (CD) on EMI
09:08PM The Names "music for someone" from "The fruit of the original sin" on Les Disques Du Crepuscule
09:10PM Francois De Roubaix "Pour Qui Pourquoi?" from "Dernier Domicile Connu" (CD)
09:13PM The Durutti Column "weakness and fever" from "The fruit of the original sin"
09:18PM Acetate Zero "a picture you can't flash" from "VA: bucolique vol 01" on Arbouse
09:22PM Holger Czukay "Ode to perfume" from "On the Way to the Peak of Normal" (CD) on Mute
09:42PM Desormais "Devant et Dessus" from "climate variations" (CD) on intr_version
09:48PM Marcus Schmickler With Hayden Chisholm "Infinity in the shape of a Poodle" from "Amazing Daze" (CD) on Hapna

Tomorrow Night - River Gods

I'm DJing this Thursday at River Gods near Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 125 River Street:
WZBC Presents

Countdown from 10-11:
Our favorite tracks from our favorite discs of July

Plus 2 Featured DJs:
8:30 - 10: George with a lively journey composed of quieter
electronica and indiepop happiness.

11-1: Justin with an emphasis on ambient krautrockish sounds.

Tonight's Featured DJs from WZBC 90.3 FM:

George hosts a program on WZBC every Friday from 7-10 p.m. The
program is called Off the Cuff: An investigation into the anxiety
created by the pressures and loneliness of modern life.

****************

I hope to start a little bit early-- we shall see.

Excellent "Control" Article

Katrina Onstad looks at Anton Corbjin's "Control" in her article Ode To Joy.

Official site.

untitled

1. She's oceanic - but she's not listening

2. She crossed a field and never came back

3. I close my eyes to escape from memory

Control Party - Photo exhibit - in Paris

Back from vacation

I actually feel refreshed. I spent the week with my parents on Cape Cod. I haven't been there in over a decade. A lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same. The vacation was relaxing for once. I didn't feel as if I were off in a foreign city trying to maximize all the time I had available to see as much as possible. This trip was spent mainly by the seashore and in small towns. I went cycling about 44 miles one day-- which was exciting but a bit baffling due to limitations of the rental bicycle. After awhile it was fun but felt vaguely pointless because I couldn't get as much power out of the bike as I wanted and moderately cruised along past young families, teenagers and old people. After all that's what the Cape is all about -- roaming teenage gangs (with their parents not too far behind) and old people. Nights were spent reading; I brought 5 books with me and read 3 1/2 of them. The books I read were: "The Whistleblower: Confessions of a Health Care Hitman" by Peter Rost, M.D. (about exposing Pfizer), "Miracle Cures and Bloodletting" by Vincent Lam (a collection of short stories about a group of Doctors in Toronto), "The Big Clock" by Kenneth Fearing (an excellent Noir-type mystery) and "The Moro Affair" by Leonardo Sciasia -- all very enjoyable and compelling in their own ways.

I am slowly returning to work now. I have this steady compulsion to not stay at home as much and to go out and do things. Some friends are DJing tonight-- I may go check that out for a bit.

Other events that are coming up soon: I am DJing the early set at River Gods in Central Square Thursday September 13th. I'll keep you updated about that.

Playlist from August 17 2007

George ""off the cuff"" (NCP) Aug 17th 2007, 7.00PM to 10.00PM
Played Artist Song Disk Year Label Note
The Durutti Column INTERLEUKIN 2 for anthony IDIOT SAVANTS 2007
Gudrun Gut Move Me I Put A Record On 2007 Monika Enterprise
Jimi Tenor Take Me Baby (original) Take Me Baby Warp
Moebius - Plank - Neumeier Pitch Control Zero Set 1982 Sky
Hakan Libdo Clockwise (Apparat Mix) Clockwise - Rmxs EP 2004
Frank Bretschneider all summer in a day Rhythm 2007 Raster-noton
Jay-jay Johanson I want some fun On the Radio 2002
David Kristian Oncet music from the mermaid room Wikkid URL
Sleeparchive null sekunden Hospital Tracks 2006 Sleeparchive
Wio Pumpinyrchest V WIO 2001 K-raa-k
Kraftwerk Heimatklange Ralf & Florian 1973 Philips
Magnetic Fields Summer Lies The Wayward Bus 1991
The French Impressionists Boo Boos Gone Mambo/my guardian angel The Fruit of the Original Sin 1981 Les Disques Du Crepuscule
Hiroshi Fujiwara Getting Over You (Mil'o's Natureboy Remix)Remixes
Arthur Russell This is how Another Thought Point Music
Nine Horses Money For All Money For All 2006 samadhisound URL July Skies Waiting to Land (Epic 45 reworking) where the days go
Blaine L. Reninger & Steven Brown The Lorelei / Overture the night watch
Eyeless in Gaza Invisibility Voice - The Best of Eyeless In Gaza 1980-1986
Signal Malimo Robotron 2007 Raster-noton
Jimi Tenor A Daughter of the Snow Europa 1995 Sahko Recordings URL
Section 25 Looking from a Hilltop (edit) the night watch LTM
Wilfried* This Is My House Songs for Mum & Dad 2002 Prohibited
Hans Appelqvist Wanxian Sifantin och morkret 2007 Hapna
Hans Appelqvist tank att himlens alla stjarnor Sifantin och morkret 2007 Hapna
Arbol Aroma arbol 2001 indus sonica
Arbol Agios arbol 2001 indus sonica
Nine Horses birds sing for their lives Money For All 2006 samadhisound
Jay-jay Johanson She Doesn't Live Here Anymore She Doesn't Live Here Anymore 2006 EMI Sweden
Domotic smiles again smiles again 2003 Active Suspension URL
The Durutti Column the eye and the hand The fruit of the original sin
Herman Dune & Julie Doiron Have you seen the moon? Performance #1 2001 Intercontinental EMAIL
Haswell & Hecker Movement 2 Blackest Ever Black 2007

Playlist from August 10, 2007 - (in memory of Anthony Wilson)

"off the cuff" (NCP) with George 08.10.2007 07:00PM to 10:00PM

07:02PM The Durutti Column "INTERLEUKIN 2 for anthony" from "IDIOT SAVANTS" on fullfill
07:06PM Radio Dept "It's Personal" from "pet grief" on Labrador
07:11PM Vitesse "The Saddest Day" from "A Certain Hostility" on Parasol
07:14PM Yann Tiersen "La terrasse" from "Tout Est Calme" (CD) on Labels
07:17PM John Foxx "spiral overture" from "cathedral oceans III" (CD) on fullfill
07:23PM Opto "4.34 am" from "2nd" (CD) on hobby industries
07:27PM The Durutti Column "the eye and the hand" from "The fruit of the original sin"
07:37PM Harold Budd "As Long As I can Hold My Breath" from "Avalon Sutra" (CD) on samadhisound
06:39PM Wim Mertens "multiple 12" from "The Fruit of The Original Sin" on Crepescule
07:42PM Piano Magic "Artists' Rifles" from "Artists' Rifles" (CD) on Rocket Girl
07:48PM Ø "side A" from "Ikuinen" (12 Inch) on Sahko
07:54PM Sleeparchive "Track4" from "The Sliverbird Casino" on DNP
08:02PM Be Music "Theme" from "Cool as Ice" (CD) on LTM
08:05PM David Kristian "sound absorber" from "music from the mermaid room" on Wikkid
08:14PM Red Turns To... "Deep Sleep" from "Deep Sleep" (12 Inch) on Factory Communications
08:19PM Gudrun Gut "Move Me" from "I Put A Record On" (CD) on Monika Enterprise
08:23PM Section 25 "The Process" from "From The Hip" on LTM
08:28PM New Order "Video 5-8-6 (Edit)" from "Twice As Nice" (CD) on LTM
08:35PM The Names "Nightshift" from "the night watch" on LTM
08:42PM Cabaret Voltaire "Yashar" from "Differen Colours, Different Shades"
08:48PM Telex "i don't like music" from "I don't like remixes" (MP3) on Crammed Discs
08:52PM The Wake "Host" from "Harmony & Singles" on LTM
09:06PM Rhine River III "an end remains" from "The fruit of the original sin"
09:07PM Stockholm Monsters "Kan Kill!" from "All At Once" (CD) on LTM
09:14PM The Passage "Devils & Angels" from "Seedy"
09:17PM The Magnetic Fields "Summer Lies" from "The Wayward Bus" (CD) on PopUp
09:20PM The Durutti Column "Please Let Me Sleep" from "IDIOT SAVANTS" on fullfill
09:28PM Tuxedomoon "New Machine" from "Desire" (CD) on Crammed Discs
09:34PM Nine Horses "birds sing for their lives" from "Money For All" on samadhisound
09:42PM Richard Jobson "the happiness of lonely" from "The fruit of the original sin" (LP) on Crepuscule
09:48PM The Durutti Column "the missing boy" from "LC" (MP3) on Factory Benelux
09:53PM Kraftwerk "Heimatklange" from "RALF AND FLORIAN" (LP) on VIRDIGO

Tony Wilson died today

Report from Manchester Evening News here.

Good interview with him in Spike Magazine circa May 2005

Also - the Guardian UK has a good set of articles on the man, the myth, the legend.

started the show off with Interleukin 2 for anthony by the Durutti Column

"Interleukin-2 is used to battle renal cell cancers,
which would explain the title and the dedication of
the song on idiot savants.

Extended Remix - On the air

I am on the air tonight from 6 to 10:30pm (1800-2230 EST)
I'm bringing more than the usual set up.

listen in.

WZBC 90.3fm

Room for one more! {Boris Karloff / Val Lewton Double Bill}

Tonight at the Harvard Film Archive -- two Horror classics.

Produced by Val Lewton - Starring Boris Karloff

THE BODY SNATCHER & ISLE OF THE DEAD.

Enjoy.

I'm on the air

right now. 90.3 fm WZBC. Enjoy it -- I'll be back in two weeks. My friend Chris is doing NCP next week. I'll be in Montreal racing about the city.

I promise I'll post more shortly-- for now enjoy the music.

Raster-Noton R.P.M. (Revolutions Per Minute) - tomorrow night - in Cambridge, MA

from the flyer/press release:

Thursday, June 28

Non-Event and Make it New present

Raster-Noton R.P.M. (Revolutions Per Minute):

SENKING, FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER, and OLAF BENDER
(Boston debut for all three artists)

Middlesex Lounge
315 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
(617) 868-MSEX
Doors: 9pm, Show: 10pm
Admission: $7 | 21+
http://www.raster-noton.de
http://www.nonevent.org
http://myspace.com/makeitnew
http://www.middlesexlounge.com/
http://www.rarefrequency.com/nonevent/

SENKING is Cologne's Jens Massell, who also records as
Fumble and as part of Poto & Cabengo. As Senking,
Massell makes darkly atmospheric music that is deep,
dubby, and intensely cinematic. His most recent CD,
List, is out now on Raster-Noton. This will be his
first U.S. performance.

FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER is a founding member of
Raster-Noton and one of the pioneering figures in
ultra minimal post techno. Using the most basic sound
sources--sine waves and white noise--Bretschneider
creates minimal, flowing pieces with delicate textures
and complex rhythmic patterns.

OLAF BENDER is a founding member of the Raster-Noton
label, as well as its lead designer. Bender (formerly
known as Byetone) creates his music digitally,
assembling sine tones into complex sound fabrics of
deep sub-bass and rhythmic clicks and crackles. He
creates abstract animations to support his abstract
music -in this way the rhythm of music is transformed
into a graphic equivalent, which Bender controls in
real time.

Playlist - June 22, 2007

George "off the cuff" (NCP) Jun 22nd 2007, 7.00PM to 10.00PM

7:07PM / Vitesse / the saddest day / A Certain Hostility / 1999 / Parasol / / /
7:10PM / Young Marble Giants / Music For Evenings / Salad Days / 2000 / VinylJapan /
7:13PM / Tuxedomoon / A Home Away / Cabin in the Sky / 2004 / Crammed Discs / / /
7:16PM / Tuxedomoon / East/Jinx / Desire / 2006 / Crammed Discs / / /
7:31PM / Christa Pfangen / the nail, the eye / Watch me getting back the end / 2006
7:36PM / Young Marble Giants / Eating Noddemix / Salad Days / 2000 / VinylJapan /
7:38PM / Hans Appelqvist / Wanxian / Sifantin och morkret / 2007 / Hapna / / /
7:43PM / Hans Appelqvist / Tank att himlens all stjarnor / Sifantin och morkret
7:45PM / Tuxedomoon / In the Name of Talent (Italian Western II) / Ten Years in One Night (live)
7:53PM / Sleeparchive / Track 4 (Recycled) Live at Tokyo Hotel/The Sliverbird Casino
8:00PM / Andrea Parker /Lost Luggage / Kiss My Arp Instrumental / 1999 / Mowax /
8:06PM / The White Noise / Love Without Sound / An Electric Storm /
8:09PM / Eyeless in Gaza / Invisibility / Voice - The Best of Eyeless In Gaza
8:12PM / Limp / City Speaks Tonight / Orion / 2001 / Morr Music / / /
8:18PM / Tuxedomoon / Everything You Want / Pinheads on the Move / 2006
8:22PM / Windsor for The Derby / Logic and Surprise / Acuarela Songs 2 / 2003
8:29PM / Penguin Cafe Orchestra / Air A Danser / preludes, airs & yodels /
8:31PM / Ultramarine / british summertime / Every Man and Woman Is a Star / 1992
8:40PM / Hans Appelqvist / Freckenages spa / Sifantin och morkret / 2007 / Hapna /
8:45PM / Young Marble Giants / Credit in the Straight World/Salad Days/2000/
8:51PM / Florida / The Girl on the Escalator / Monika Force / / Monika / / /
8:52PM / Fennesz Sakamoto / trace / Cendre / 2007 / Touch / / /
9:01PM / The Durutti Column / Sketch for Summer / The Return of... / / Factory
9:05PM / Seigen Ono / criminal investigation / forty days and forty nights / / kitty
9:11PM / Alva Noto / Prototype N. / Protoypes / 2000 / Mille Plateaux / / /
9:16PM / Tuxedomoon / New Machine / Desire / 2006 / Crammed Discs / / /
9:22PM / The Passage / Horseplay / Pindrop / / / / /
9:25PM / Colleen / babies / everyone alive wants answers / 2003 / Leaf / / /
9:33PM / Marc Leclair / 114e jour / musique pour 3 femmes enceintes / 2004/ Mutek_Rec
9:48PM / Young Marble Giants / Final Day / Colossal Youth / Les Disques Du Crepuscule / / /

Playlist - June 15 2007

Fri Jun 15th 2007 7.00pm–10.00pm

Aube “DS III” from Duplex-Sphere CD ALBUM (Ultra-Mail Productions 2004)
Tuxedomoon “Again” from Desire CD ALBUM (Crammed Discs www.crammed.be 2006)
Hans Appelqvist “wanxian” from Sifantin och morkret (Hapna www.hapna.com 2007)
The Radio Dept “It's Personal” from Pet Grief (Labrador 2006)
Lawrence “Superpitcher - Happiness (Lawrence remix)” from Lowlights from the Past and Future CD ALBUM (Kompakt)
Piano Magic “{Son de Mar} soundtrack” CD ALBUM (4AD)
Thomas Belhom “oblique” from Cheval Oblique CD ALBUM (Apparent Extent)
Couch V B. Fleischmann “12 sind nur 4 rmx” from Do You Think That I'll Be Different when You're Through? CD COMP (Hausmusik)
People in Control “When It's War” 7-INCH SINGLE (Crammed Discs)
Seigen Ono “the first weather forecast” from forty days and forty nights (kitty)
Steven Brown “Audiences + Stages” from Decade (LTM)
Benjamin Lew “Ces personnages” from Le Parfum du Raki
Scott Walker “The Cockfighter” from Tilt CD ALBUM (Drag City)
John Foxx “The Shadow of A Woman's Hand” from cathedral oceans III CD
Hans Appelqvist “Tank att himlens all” from Sifantin och morkret (Hapna)
Coti “You were one once too” from Lido/Lato CD
Scanner “flow” from Flower Echoes CD
Zazou/Bikaye “Binagwe” from Guilty! (Crammed Discs)
Richard Pinhas “Iceland” from So Young But So Cold CD COMP
Arbol “aroma” from arbol (indus sonica 2001)
Ecstasy of Saint Theresa “Her Eyes Have It” from Free-D CD ALBUM (free 1994)
The Durutti Column “The Missing Boy” from Live at the Venue London LP ALBUM (1981)
AXOLOTL “Memory Theater” CD ALBUM (Important www.importantrecords.com 2007)

recent articles of note - large update

12 Nations put on Copyright Piracy List, Alice Rawsthorn on Design for the Unwealthiest 90 Percent, Tyler Brûlé on Trade Shows, Alice Rawsthorn on Milan's supersized creations, The French are on Kings Road, Mark Kermode gives a brief introduction to British End-Of-The-World Cinema, Bidisha talks of Zombie Films, as the House of Hammer Horror rises the dead, [Jonathan Miller's documentary on Atheism still controversial in America, Jonathan Glancey on Norwegian Architecture, Mark Di Ionnio on how Food Companies have Marketed us to Death, reports on Poorly Designed Crop Insurance and who benefits in America, Jeffrey H. Birnbaum reports on the Farm Bill, a book review of the recent Sassy book which explores the like between indie and populist, Natalie Hanman can't stand The Simpsons" and I'd have to agree, Eric Alterman's report from Planet Republican, John Harris weighs in on the Sixties and its diminished 'values', the CBC looks at Leisure Time, Peter Bradshaw's top ten picks at Cannes, the CBC on CONTROL - Anton Corbjin's Ian Curtis biopic and Peter Bradshaw's praise for the film-- [Admittedly, given that fact that it is Corbjin's project, it must look stellar--as so much of the band's existence is known through his photographs. A pity it wasn't shot in Macclesfield though.], Quintessential English Eccentric Isabella Blow Passed Away and her husband reflects on her Originality Author Lloyd Alexander Passed Away, Antony Gormley's latest exhibit explores a tastefully English Fog, Colby College in Maine receives a large gift of American Art, and A distinctly Belgian Contest for the Birds.

*****************
The Legacy of Rachel Carson is Celebrated this Weekend.

*****************

A slideshow of Montreal's Sanchez Brothers' work.

**********
The World Without Oil Scenario
**********
Harold Pinter Retrospective at the HFA

my top 25 recently played

The Wrong Girl 3:40 Belle And Sebastian 1998-10-05 Black Session
In The City 3:24 The Durutti Column Sporadic Three
More Than This (Live) Continuous Electrelane Singles, B-sides & Live
The Girl On the Escalator 4:01 Florida Monika Force
Bright Lights & Wandering 8:47 Future Conditional We Don't Just Disappear
We Don't Just Disappear 4:27 Future Conditional We Don't Just Disappear
Endless Soul 2:28 Josef K Endless Soul
It's Kinda Funny 3:43 Josef K Endless Soul
Sorry For Laughing 2:59 Josef K Endless Soul
Beetles And Spider Kate Wax The Dark Heat Collection I
Choses À Faire Continuous Keen-O (are Arlo Bigazzi . Blaine L. Reininger . Pier Luigi Nobody Knows How And Why Jazz 2 5/3/07 6:52 PM
Rock Critique 4:18 Notre Dame Comment L'amour EST Mort (Compilation Of Arnaud Fleurent-Didier's And Ema Derton's Songs)
Musikbyrån makes me wanna smoke crack 3:14 Pelle Carlberg Everything. Now!
I love you, you Imbecile 2:56 Pelle Carlberg In a Nutshell
Penguin Cafe Single 6:18 Penguin Cafe Orchestra A History (Disc 1)
Chinatown Steven Brown Zoo Story - Original Soundtrack Album
All Night Long Steven Brown Zoo Story - Original Soundtrack Album
Come Get Me 2:22 14 Iced Bears CD86 (Disc 2)
Our Change into Rain is No Change at All (Talkin' 'bout Us) A Sunny Day In Glasgow Scribble Mural Comic Journal
Through Wounds We Soon Will Stitch 4:16 A Whisper In The Noise RhÃÂÃÂÃÂ Lovely Festival Compilation, Presented By The Silent Ballet 1
A Picture You Can't Flash 3:59 Acetate Zero Bucolique Vol. 01
whenever we're together Allen Clapp Available Light
Something Strange Happens 4:11 Allen Clapp & His Orchestra Montecarlo
Anorak City 2:18 Another Sunny Day
Les Demoiselles De Rochefort(Chansons Des Jumelles) 3:43 Antena

Running about in the Rain (Electrelane in Boston)

The strangely perverse weather we've been having in Boston lately -- 50F temperatures, darkness mid-afternoon, thundershowers, and tornado warnings in the Western part of the state-- did not stop me from attending last night's concert at the Paradise. Electrelane was excellent from start to finish. I do enjoy the album despite the fact that it has received lukewarm reviews in some places. Admittedly, it is hard to reconcile the merits of their first album, Rock It to the Moon, with the Gang of Four-style pop that's on the new disc, "No Shouts, No Calls". The set last night dispensed with the first couple tracks off the new album immediately and then followed with a good mix of newer tracks and cuts off the first disc.

On the air again....May 4, 2007

7-10pm EST WZBC. more music, less commentary-- I'll keep it interesting.

Klima on France 2

Klima est aujourd'hui dans l'emission CD'AUJOURD'HUI de France 2.
Diffusions a 18h45 et 1h10.
Egalement disponible sur le net

Klima features on French TV, France 2, today, on the programme CD'AUJOURD'HUI.
Broadcasts at 6.45pm and 1.10 am.
Also available online

Congorama.

I saw the excellent CONGORAMA at the Boston Independent Film Festival. For now I'm going to list a series of good articles about the film:

ExploringThe Ties that Bind Belgium and Quebec by Matthew Hays

Congorama Wins 5 Prix Jutra

Congorama OpensMontreal Film Festival.

People have asked me why this is happening

I don't have an answer, at least not one they want to hear at any rate. The film festival starts tonight. This year's line up looks alright however not as promising as the one circa 2005. That was indeed a time to remember. In terms of programming, on a certain level I can understand why some basic so-called indie romances are included however they just don't provide any interest for me-- at all. I'd prefer more somewhat didactic documentaries, or ones that are at least educational to a certain degree-- something that the Canadians and Europeans seem to excel at.

Speaking of Canadian film-- that is to say Quebecois cinema-- "Congorama" (dir. Philippe Falardeau is one of the last films that Jean-Pierre Cassel starred in before passing away. I'm looking forward to that as well as Sarah Polley's (who is also on this year's Cannes jury) first feature film: "Away From Her". At any rate, this is all due to materialize in the near future.

What has piqued my attention in the many news stories regarding this year's Cannes Film Festival are Fatih Akin's new film "Yasamin Kiysinda", which includes Hanna Schygulla among its cast, and a film version of Marjane Satrapi's work Persepolis.

Recent Articles of note

The Minitel evolves; Public Art & Plagiarism are considered ; Pop music is sacred; sports get exclusive; Newspapers don't know how to handle blog comments; drugs and morality get the spotlight; The curse of retro-cinema is upon us; more end of the world scenarios profligate; Jean B and Kurt V passed away; Troxler's Swiss poster Tradition; Excellent look at the Ennio Morricone series that's been about; Jacques Rivette resurfaces; How to tell real drugs from fakes; what cyberchat does to the brain(cuts off inhibitions); A look at current Swedish Design; British seaside towns are in decline; Germany is booming.

That's most of what I've enjoyed reading in the past month or so news-wise.

*********************
Kick off your weekend with an informative look at theAu Pairs.

Independent Film Festival Boston 2007 - tentative schedule

Below is my tentative schedule for the IFFB at the end of this month.
This is all subject to change.

Wednesday April 25, 2007
7pm “Fay Grim” dir. Hal Hartley at Somerville Theatre

Thursday April 26, 2007
Somerville Theatre
7pm “Congorama” directed by Philippe Falardeau

9:45pm “Great World of Sound” directed by Craig Zobel

Friday April 27, 2007
Somerville Theatre
6:45pm “The Cats of Mirikitani” directed by Linda Hattendorf

9:45pm “Monkey Warfare” directed by Reginald Harkema

12:00 “The Beach Party at the End of the World"
dir. by Kevin Wheatley & Jonny Gilette

Saturday April 28, 2007
Somerville Theatre
12:00pm “Lake of Fire” directed by Tony Kaye
12:15pm “The Unforseen” directed By: Laura Dunn

6:00pm “Away From Her” directed by Sarah Polley

10:45pm “The Living and The Dead” directed by Simon Rumley

Sunday April 29, 2007

12:00 “King Corn” directed by Aaron Wolfe at the Brattle

Somerville Theatre
3:00 “Strange Culture” directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson

9:00 “Fido” directed by Andrew Currie

Monday April 30, 2007
Somerville Theatre
5:15pm “Pretty In the Face” directed by Nate Meyer

Playlist - April 6th 2007

I'll be on the air this Friday the 13th and Friday the 20th of April.
Details are at WZBC

"off the cuff"
Fri Apr 6th 2007 7.00pm–10.00pm
Like everything else, times are approximate.

John Foxx & Louis Gordon “Car Crash Flashback V2” from Sideways (Metamatic)
David Sylvian “Pollen Path” from Dead Bees on A Cake CD ALBUM (Virgin w 1999)
The Berg Sans Nipple “Aquarium Life” from along the quai (Team Love 2007)
Num9 “The Wait” from The Glow-worm's Resistance CD ALBUM (Acuarela)
The Durutti Column “Birthday Present” from Sporadic Three (Kooky 2007)
At Swim Two Birds “falling from trees” from returning to the scene of the crime... (Green UFOs www.greenufos.com 2007)
July Skies “Garden Constellations” from Dreaming of Spires CD ALBUM (Rocket Girl)
Thomas Belhom “electrolyse” from Cheval Oblique CD ALBUM (Apparent Extent)
Holiday for Strings “Pain Au Chocolat” from CD (stilll 2007)
Hugo “la collection” from 20 Ways to Float Through Walls (Crammed Discs)
Florida “The Girl on the Escalator” from Monika Force (Monika)
Section 25 “The Process” from From the Hip LP ALBUM (Factory 1983)
Future Conditional “Bright Lights & Wandering” from we don't just disappear (LTM)
Martial Canterel “Ascent” from confusing outsides LP (genetic music 2005)
Vitamins for You “Luxury and Hope” from Saturday Morning Empires (intr_version)
Arthur Russell “Keeping Up” from Another Thought(Orange Mountain 1993) To Rococo Rot “Testfeld” from .cd (Kitty-yo www.force-inc.com)
Arbol “Summer and You” from Acuarela Songs 3 CD COMP
Pan American “train station” from Personal Settings CD COMP (Quatermass)
Jay Jay Johanson “Fire” from Poison CD ALBUM
Lazerboy “the day the earth caught fire” from a murder in the company of vespertine
Anna Domino “Zanna” from anna domino CD ALBUM (LTM)
Purple Confusion “Return to Nassau” from the sound of the atom splitting (Gooom)
Mobius - Plank - Neumier “Pitch Control” from zero set CD ALBUM (Captain Trip) M83 “Night (remixed by ISAN)” from Goom Tracks Vol. 2.5
Tuxedomoon Vs. DJ HELL “Luther Blisset” from Sonar 2002 CD COMP (sonarmusic)
Wilfred* “Loved Ghost” from Songs for Mum and Dad
The Village “Childhood” from "the Village" (Elefant www.elefant.com)
Languis “Far Away Days” from Unithematic CD ALBUM (Simballrec)
Francois De Roubaix “Commissaire Moulin - Indicatif” from Anthologie Vol. 1 CD ALBUM
Thick Pigeon “Silhouettes” from Crepuscule for Cafe Apres-midi (Victor Entertainment (Japan) 2001)
David Kristian “Fragmented Skyway” from Sweet Bits CD ALBUM
Future Conditional “Your love leaves me colder” from we don't just disappear (LTM)
Harmonia “sehr Kosmisch” from musik von harmonia CD ALBUM (Lilith 2006)

The act was committed (Excerpt)

Where were you? Again, it hits me like a blow to the head knocking me backward and unsettling my stomach. The work was done. The act was committed. In essence, Itself, at work and at play. My time is much too valuable for these kinds of pursuits. I fall into them much too easily. Am I always determined to suffer on this earth? Am I always bent on complaining about such inconveniences? I can’t make any accusations at this stage. I suppose I knew I didn’t want it anyway. Worthless and tragic as it is. I’m going to bed early tonight. I cannot stand the sight of other people. My sickness won’t allow it now. It flares up in my lungs and causes my dry throat to retch in pain. I hoped for a new beginning, some other side of happiness. Now that’s all gone. Such pain, such annihilation, the buildings were razed to the ground and now there’s nothing left. Life still exists of course, trying to create some semblance of a normal existence. Obeying ancient rituals to restore humanity to the scarred souls of the few survivors. The bandages aren’t ready to come off yet. The plaza is empty now. I wait for a sign and dismiss it as soon as it arrives. One cares not for such deterrence. Especially in the heart of one so young and capable of anything as yourself. As your work and its life. As it continues to breathe and reproduce within itself. My madness, my cyclical need for renewal. The unconscious debt of my forefathers. The sound of the radiator singing to my ears. I cannot listen anymore. I am called to attention. I am working. That in itself will set you free—won’t it? Where are the darkened halls, the dismantled corridors of time gone by? When will these disruptive changes occur? She waited and watched. Not making a sound. The plain and sketchy way her fingers gestured before my eyes. On days when I thought her mercy would be enough! The pleasure I took in seeing her alive and well—in my arms once again. Spotless and devoted. A chance for another conversation. We were lovers, let me make this clear, I don’t know what she saw in me but finally something connected. There is a new kind of life gestating already. I cannot sense it in this decayed state. The old wooden walls of the overly large room in which I rest free from photographs and other voices. The room is my own jailer. Its backwards comfort keeps me here on nights like this. The thin sheets of glass barely protect the broken hinges of the storm windows. They make a terribly loud rapping noise. It creates a perverse rhythm in my life. The street below is full of children coming home to play in the snow. They need neither the future nor any material possessions. They are consumed by the newness of the physical world. I shudder at them though! My mind has been plagued with its own inconsiderate thoughts and conclusions. I have never been able to see the beauty around me. What it unconsciously sets out to do is perhaps better than any reality I ever faced. I took a lover. I involved myself in the kind of noncommittal relationship that is so common nowadays. I have no need for pretense or equivocation now. History did not exist for Strindberg. He, like Corto Maltese, did not like the lifeline he’d been given, so he decided to cut his own. The force of the present and how much I have ignored it. I am not a kind, loving person at all, quite the contrary. I fight for my own existence every day of my life. Never charmed by pleasure or lust—always insisting on something more, something that isn’t right for one to feel at this age. Caught in the blue viscous liquid that is despondency.

Serge Daney: Postcards from the Cinema

I just placed an order forPostcards from The Cinemaby Serge Daney; translated by Paul Grant, published by Palgrave MacMillan. I can't wait to read this. I've head so much praise about his ideas.

UPDATE: A good overview/review of Daney's writings that have been translated into English can be found here.

From the publisher:

"Description
Postcards from the Cinema is the book Serge Daney, one of the greatest of film critics, never wrote. It is based around an interview that was to be the starting point for a book, a project cut short by Daney's death. Postcards turns a history of cinema into a profound meditation on the art and politics of film. Daney's passionate and lucid engagement with film, combined with his concern for journalistic clarity, effectively created film criticism as a genre. Equally at home with the theories of Deleuze, Lacan and Debord as he was with the movie-making of Bunuel, Godard and Ray, Daney was also a fan of Jerry Lewis and Hitchcock. At the same time - and before his time - he championed the critical analysis of television and other audio-visual media. Long-awaited, this is the first book-length translation of Daney's work, testimony to a life lived with a fierce love of film.

Author Bio
Serge Daney was a writer, and eventually editor-in-chief, for the highly influential film journal Cahiers du Cinéma. He went on to write for the newspaper Libération, and founded the film journal Trafic."

FUTURE CONDITIONAL "WE DON'T JUST DISAPPEAR" (LTMCD 2478)

FUTURE CONDITIONAL

Every once in a while a new pop album comes out that takes hold of you from the first listen, "We Don't Just Disappear" by Future Conditional is one of those albums. I had high hopes already for this disc (so much that I decided to pre-order it) based on the concept and personnel involved. The notion of Glen Johnson and Cedric Pin (of Piano Magic) collaborating on a disc heavily influenced by early OMD, early Human League, Kraftwerk, early New Order and Section 25 circa "From the Hip" was more than enough to keep me intrigued. The album exceeds my highest expectations-- it plays like an unreleased masterwork from Factory Records' heyday. The album starts with a series of 'clicks' reminiscent of the theme to the cursed Scottish television program "The Omega Factor" before becoming an analogue synth charge: "I have trouble holding on, I have trouble staying straight" Dan Matz (of Windsor from the Derby) sings to a singeing-dry electronic beat. It is the perfect opening to an album filled with so many highlights. Angele David-Gillou (of Klima & Piano Magic) sings "You never got over the last girl that kissed you..." on "Crying's What You Need" a track that seems like a perfect rejoinder to New Order's "Perfect Kiss". The album ends with Bobby Wratten (of Field Mice & Trembling Blue Stars) singing on "Your Leaves Me Colder", as if assessing all the stories of love and loss that have come before on the disc, before the beat fully stops and the song ends in a chant:

THE NIGHT IS YOUNG
THE STARS ARE OUT
THE SONGS ARE SUNG
THEY'RE ALL ABOUT

THE BROKEN HEART
THE FINAL KISS
THE ONE WE LOST
THE ONE WE MISSED

If only more songs could haunt me in the same way.

UPDATE: Its now available for download on emusic.

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from the website:
WE DON'T JUST DISAPPEAR (LTMCD 2478) £10
The debut album (2007) from Future Conditional blends classic analog synth-pop with sleek retro-futurist beats, and features a stellar array of guest vocalists including Melanie Pain (Nouvelle Vague), Bobby Wratten (Field Mice, Trembling Blue Stars), Angele David-Guillou (Klima, Piano Magic), Dan Matz (Windsor For The Derby) and Carolyn Allen (The Wake). As Glen Johnson explains: "Future Conditional isn't just an exercise in nostalgia. We are, in some way paying homage to the groups we love and inspire us, but we're also experimenting with the glacial electro/human emotional interface. The future is a robot with a human heart."

Full tracklist: Bright Lights & Wandering, Broken Robots, We Don't Just Disappear, Switchboard Girl, Substance Fear, Crying's What You Need, The Volunteer, The Last Engineer, Typos, Your Love Leaves Me Colder.

2007 Rhâââ Lovely Festival

This music festival in Belgium is coming up fast and is pretty hard to beat. Thanks to the Silent Ballet for providing free downloads of a compilation featuring bands from this year's festival. Enjoy.

P.S. FYI- the 'agenda' section of the Rhâââ Lovely Festival website provides a good listing of upcoming concerts in Belgium-- where the active music scene never rests.

a bit of a wash

Last weekend went alright, as weekends go, relatively uneventful and somewhat plain. I finished Jan Kjaerstad's "The Conqueror" (review shortly forthcoming) and started "That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana" by Carlo Emilio Gadda (recently reissued by NYRB). Its a book I'd purchased used years ago after reading a reference to it in one of Jonathan Rosenbaum's film reviews (probably either in Movies as Politics or Placing Movies). The fact that its being reissued is certainly good news. It is definitely a unique "murder mystery" that more probably investigates the sickness of a society, but not without humor and a touch of the absurd. Apart from that, I finally got around to seeing the movie "Dirty Harry" as it was playing at the Brattle this weekend. Having read J. Hoberman's The Dream LifeI was more than prepared for the picture however, in retrospect, I didn't imagine the film to be so cartoonish. So much of the film felt like a very low-grade morally loaded argument. More sledgehammer tactics to make views from the periphery seem like the only sensible position to adopt. Oh well. Things are brightening up at the moment, weather-wise at least. I still have another issue of the NYRB to sift through, amongst other things. I have also been steadily transcribing other earlier journals, to be served up in some for or another, expect some of that shortly.

That's all for now.

P.S. I will be on the air this Friday, March 23, 2007.

First Signs of...

The first Sunday in March I spent walking about listening to music and watching. I went across town with some kind of objective in mind, that I quickly dispensed with after a moment's consideration. For reasons I cannot entirely explain I became saddened and filled with an intense overwhelming fear. I could not isolate this in order to understand it and prevent it from further inhibiting my movement. Still, I proceeded on, I came to a hill and worked my way up. I noticed most people around had on winter coats and such. I let the mild 10 degree increase in the temperature go straight to my head and had left the house in jeans, a fred perry and zip-up jacket. As I walked up the hill, I noticed the lawns of the houses mostly empty and scarred from the ice and snow of just a few days past, with the exception of a few at the very top. There was a tree on the front lawn, beside that tree were a couple of Robins, as my eyes moved slightly past the few birds, I noticed a couple more and a couple more, then I noticed some in the tree and on the lawns of either house beside this one. The ground was filled with a plothera of Robins. I looked up at the gray, overcast skies, and back down at the many birds about and smiled.

Later in the day I told a friend of my observations, this led to much joy and shared smiles amongst us. Perhaps things are brightening up after all.

Times of Perilous Discovery (Excerpt)

FESTIVAL DAYS


Times of Perilous Discovery. Watch Out! These fields will be forever darkened. To happier times. I come home to this same sense of distress and disregard for the future. How you mediate time is what it comes down to: we have to look out for each other. She did it on purpose. She did it to get rid of me. I was too much of a burden. Escape—for freedom’s sake! Now that they separated—the real battle begins. Foolish Motives—kept half in reality and half in fantasy. The truth—when will I cross it again? Placed in such a stale room waiting for the hour to come. She wanted to stub a cigarette out but none was lit. The best she could come up with was to grind her heel in the dust. She wanted to be a futurist but couldn’t keep up with herself. So many loose ends—broken by the fear of absolute desire. Act at once or leave it all alone. What you do shouldn’t be done. Stay clever like this and you’ll never leave the house.
“It didn’t work out but it was fun while it lasted.” J-F said about his last girlfriend.
Turmoil ‘hidden’ beneath an open surface.
“I never lied to you. She said—do you know that? She actually felt like telling me that!” J-F continued, wallowing in his pint. I hoped it wasn’t to make me comfortable. I had too much else on my mind. I hoped my progeny wouldn’t go through this same mess. Perhaps the next time it won’t be so apparent. You’ve seen it all before—what good are my words when they delete the possibility? How good are these clichéd moments? I don’t think of you very often.
Past the white porcelain banisters and onto the marble floor below. Teasing out the warm strain. The difficulties of an unrecognized half age. I call to you like a child once more. I home and dream of exits—different passages from this shallow plane. It will work out. I see her now in that lovely blue gown crossing the floor, approaching the arches that led to the sea. Perhaps then, then it will make sense. The island, the sorcerer, the girl—other frozen traps of belonging—breaking away from the sequences. I layer this fiction with blood and violence. The words examine all I could ever love—shaking away on a night such as this. Back into it—drifting after the planned excursion. You see all these tortured words—look at my skin; the absence of marks—try to live this way for a second and you may understand. I am pushed and realize there is nothing left alive.
Her eyes blinked for a second. I witnessed it all in close-up, the relaxed facial muscles, the absence of thought, the pale skin.
Work in a new form—stop bothering us all with recycled trash. Oh, but we can’t move—a likely forum for interruption. My teeth came down hard at the thought. I nearly bit my tongue. The blood came rushing into her cheeks.
We colored outside and over the lines—didn’t we?
“I confided in you and you abused my trust.”
I didn’t believe any of it anymore—the language is gone. Its rubbish for the Silent Cinema. The images do justice to the text. Our relation is strained, I sense that—you don’t feel as much as you should and I—my desire is wrapped in so many secluded gems. The connection is too forced. She lets out the sigh I’m waiting for: now the adrenalin kicks in. I’m not allowed to smile yet. The sky turns from pale blue to ultramarine—her dress shimmers in the wind. I want to raise a glass but put my arm around her waist instead. Should it start now? Yes. It is time. Simplify things. My dreams overlap and envelop each other until I can’t read them any more. It arrives now, I suppose it was always there—only now, it’s prominent—I sense her smell. Things aren’t collapsing now—its difficult to describe, the disparate origins have formed a tapestry of sorts—a coherent goal: yes, it’s starting to gel.
Ask what color this scene is—I cannot tell you: my eyes are shut. I don’t want this sensation to end.
We are together on the bed, covered in flowers locked in a suitcase moving from stations to the all-consuming end. Like the liquid that issued from between her thighs. I wondered what was inherent in the middle. The minute hand hadn’t moved very far—twenty minutes passed at most. She joined me on the terrace. I smiled finally as she approached. Her arm extended, I kissed her hand. People, other couples were out there dancing to our left. The square was filled with as many people—lovers, scoundrels, foreigners, and children, all lost in the crowd.
One can still find a legitimate reason for sending a postcard.
Pick a cut and I show you the wealth of the ages. I’ve set it up and off before. Along these white walls with blue trim. “That’s the empty room—it’ll be our nursery when the time arrives.” I said with a smile, my eyes bursting with happiness to look at her.
“Why do you think its over? It’s barely even begun—you must understand that.” J-F told Jurgen in all sincerity. To escalate their fraudulent works. One day, I’ll tell you how it all should be—domestic rupture, life in the cities, a suicide of morals.
Past the dilapidated apartment complexes, into the cleanlier city center.
The beautiful parts of the city are home to students, foreigners, and the well-off. When did I sell what I loved—no, I don’t think I profited from that, I gave it all away freely. Letting it clog my own worthless sense of sunshine. I don’t like paying for the abuses the misconceptions of others. “Let them drown in their own confusion.” What is the range of this distraction? You—the charm is gone: you’ve worn it out.
Questionable displays of anatomy: My eyes: your skin. The predictable misery of it all: Description? Another sweet conceit: The rooms, the color of the lights, the people present, the smell of the air and her perfume, the cut of the dress she wore and how long before our tempers gave way. It’s a lying sense of collared shame. As I listen to songs of forgiveness and passion. The sickness burns my lungs apart.
I don’t want her to see me like this. I know it will pass. Reissue it with different packaging. It’s inevitable. Another section of this fiendish plot. I can feel the presence of another directing us toward destruction.
“She was here. You’ve missed her apparently.” I was left with the salty residue of her tears on these sheets. Isn’t culture so much more refined these days? Yeah, but in the end it only makes matters worse. Crime’s become just as sophisticated by half. Inquires? Domestic tension—as they say. Quickened journeys. What’s the point of travel? Real experience? Guilt? Such travesties—cutting apart examples every day. The process starts over—I cannot help it. Do you recall the sound of such things?
Festival Time. The streets are lit, the arches filled with streamers, long paper chains covering all the main shopping districts. Each restaurant has added its own special touches to the traditional Festival Menu. The performers from out of town have arrived. They’ve taken up residency in the various hotels near the theater district, while some have camped out on the park’s grounds. One can see the vendors with their carts setting up—selling useless gifts or food—each with its own specialty or gimmick. I knew better than to give in. After a few drinks however, it seemed like a good idea—as my stiff judgment waned.
“You’re too young to be disillusioned.” I remember telling her—she wasn’t jaded, she just had no trouble recognizing all the symptoms.
Perfection—let’s be progressive. Your rationale seems insignificant when put into perspective. Too much decay. Disturbing compression. I wish it would all subside. I can’t be any clearer. Take out the filter and clean it!
“Isn’t there some kind of detergent I can use?”
Why do these stories persist? Forward all kinds of subjects related to the project at once. Odes of love or fetish objects. Clouded eyes—perpetrating the dismal presence of misguided wants. Other pockets of shame. The shifting of words. I’ve been off to a slow start. I expected to accomplish more. Writing here—in this dry heat on this white table.

The Way It Begins (excerpt)

A curiosity at length—brushing past the days as I prepare for the reality around me. A better, bitter size of worth exclamation and degradation—where will this lead? There are other ways to handle it, surely. None of them have proved sound. I hold the keys to my sadness, my sorrow, my poetry. It is better to be alive, awake, and working. I wish I could compose my own happiness. Why should I tell you anything? When will the sky break past the trees? When will I realize that complaint means the end of it all? The difficulties are difficulties—nothing more. The strain of living—snuffed out by information overload. I am not able to keep up with the cost. Moving along slowly—she stopped. I heard nothing. Silence. The difference of rooms. Antiquated subject matter beyond belief—it’s a past time, something I don’t think of very often. I stamp out my own misery rather quickly. I transfer this thought to a new plane. To move on it—to reassess the joy within such motives. Snaps of childhood—other careless treats. The one time I want you. Pictures of birds singing with difficulty. Always challenging such bliss. I have tried, I worked at it. I gave it what I could without punishing myself. The rain subsided. Perhaps better things are to be expected. Perhaps they will come at a later date—when I am awake enough to understand such reasoning. The absence of conscience—almost approaching abject malice. A dismal state of affairs. Eliminating such healthy behavior. No negotiations—the ambassador had not arrived. A step forward. I count the days, the hours and the minutes until something better comes along.
I feel a little out of it today. My senses continue to arrange themselves in a disparate manner. Searching for a beginning—how might this work and what can it possibly promise? The details—you’re just drifting now—you couldn’t just produce (it) when it was required. You couldn’t sense how hard it is for me. What was I demanding, once again? When did it eclipse me? To make nothing willing or worthwhile—why is such idiocy permitted? How can this knowledge break apart my reality? In the beginning—was it all a cover story? I was replicating past sins—I suppose—nothing I’d particularly cared to relish. This is a month of blood and growth—away from the pain of being, far from this body. Carefully thought out plans. I’m losing touch with the challenge of the idea—its all too personal—such promises are meant to be broken. This city will swallow me whole. She is already away –must I remain dormant once again? I don’t want to destroy anything. There are other possibilities. Other times. I want to move on. Do something besides listen to such sadness.
We define each other. They stray from the truth. These insights horrify me. I don’t want to accept it. The feeling causes too much pain and trouble. How many characters? Very few. The events of the past have an effect on the present. They don’t just die out. They carry the sudden memories of each other in their absence. The meeting was quick, there wasn’t time to think—interim before her schedule kicked in again. He couldn’t reach her after they tampered with her life. Too much has been said—the way I do business means nothing—I will never understand. I will never learn what it means. My life is wrong. I should put an end to it. Desperation and Dialogue. I want to hear her whisper in my ear once again. Such studies form the basis of truth. Why do you persist? When will you shake this sickness? It upsets me too much. Alternate studies. Other kinds of action. My mind is flooded with all I cannot be. They aren’t ideals, they aren’t my goals.
“Thanks. I’d rather walk to the station—if its all the same to you.” She said and walked away. Down through the streets that, try as she might, she could not familiarize herself with.
It was this practice, this miserable study, this disgrace of action—tempting her away from him. She tried, beyond the sickness of secrets, she tried, phenomenally confusing him—pushing him into despair. The waking rocks on the surface of all our lies. She blinked at him, tried to smile, then left.
Such studied portrayals of our own delicate realities—all this does is ease the tide. Does it make you sit down and reconsider what she said? No. Not even for a second—as it so happens. None of it pointed to the truth—that was Triestessa’s sweet fantasy. She had experience—and that was better than any mystical idea. Evidence saves us from belief. Your words aren’t believed—your actions are. You must understand this, don’t you? We’ve tried. You wouldn’t let it go. We exploited it. Whatever I said before doesn’t count. It only pertains to what happened to you. Why is such behavior tolerated? How can it be—if it no longer exists/
We can do this later certainly, it doesn’t have to happen now.
“What do you think? Do you approve?” She asked, with hopeful eyes.

************************

- Arbol Japan Tour March 2007 -

This just in:

-ARBOL JAPAN TOUR IN MARCH 2007-
Arbol is goin' on a "1 month" adventure tour around Japan starting on the 11th of March in Osaka. Miguel Marin aka Arbol has been lately working on soundtracks for films and music for the dance company "Erre que Erre".
Arbol is working on his 3rd and new album "you travelled my heart Inside Out" (with the help of musician Jordi Saludes) which will be released under
lejosdiscos/emiliirecords on 29th Sept 2007 and sees collaboration from Suzy Mangion,Haruna Komatsu and Fernando Lagreca among others.

Osaka 11march "Avan Music Festival" (arbol,jackieomotherfucker,merzbow)
Tokyo 17march Arbol/Eri Makino at AOI HEYA Shibuya.
Tokyo 23march Arbol/mito at O-nest Shibuya.
Tokyo 24march Arbol CMFLG party at Bul let's Roppongi.
more info

Punk is not dead!

Just like the scene from "Gegen die Wand" (Head On) dir. Fatih Akin...

Case in point -- this was recently on the Boston Globe's website:

kids today: They're narcissistic // Archives 2/13: They're hooking up // Message Board: Are they getting worse?

perhaps there's hope after all.

UPDATE: Mark Morford weighs in on this non -issue.

UPDATE: Mark Morford on innocence

Does it make a story?

re: FESTIVAL DAYS

Those are from a longer work I wrote years ago. There is a definite story there but I don't think its finished yet. Or it needs to be reworked. Maybe I could explain it to you and you could suggest things. I think some parts of it are really good and others need to be put in the bin. How does it make you feel?