David Lynch Presents: Interview Project

David Lynch is one of my favorite directors and story-tellers, even if I can’t always make sense of what’s happening in his films. It appears his talent runs in his blood. His son recently started something called Interview Project, which is exactly what it says it is. All the surrealism, humor, sadness, and joy typical of a Lynch film is provided by real-life people this time around. The films are simple, but that’s part of their beauty. I’ve been watching these interviews for a little while, now and I thought I’d say something about them because I like them so much. You can watch them for yourself here: http://interviewproject.davidlynch.com

Cheers!

6/28: strawberries, cherries, and an angel’s kiss in spring

I fell in love with Lee Hazlewood after discovering that he wrote “These Boots Were Made for Walking.” I’d always secretly loved that song, but never looked into the writer responsible for it (probably because Billy Ray Cyrus made it too embarrassing for awhile). After a little time and with a little luck, I stumbled upon Cowboy in Sweden in the WZBC archives. Once “Pray Them Bars Away” began to play I knew that I had found something very special.  Hazlewood’s distinctive voice and pseudo-country arrangements struck a chord with me. His deep vocals, sarcastic tone, and knowing attitude betrayed a dry sense of humor and intensity harbored by many of my favorite artists, not to mention the cut of his sharp wit and earnestness. He had all the grit and attitude I associated with outlaw country tempered by romantic inclinations and a slightly more psychedelic sound. I kept poking around and found out I liked nearly everything he did.

He’s known and admired for a variety of records and songs, but my favorites come from the time he spent working with Nancy Sinatra. Her sweet voice contrasted against his gritty delivery made for some electrifying moments. His colorful brass accompaniments and dramatic string arrangements, which are characteristic of his work with Nancy, complimented his direct approach to melody and storytelling, which borrowed heavily from folk and country traditions. His sometimes mythical and exaggerated lyrics contributed to the  melodrama and passion that came with his style, but they also surpassed it. It’s impossible even now to impose easy categories on his work. With elements of rock ‘n’ roll, folk, country, and pop at his disposal, Hazlewood crafted songs that tugged on the heart strings and played with the soul. His sense of humor was never far off, however, and it served as the ying to his melodramatic yang. Just watch the interaction between Nancy and Lee in “Jackson” to see what I mean.

I haven’t stopped listening to Fairy Tales & Fantasies: The Best of Nancy & Lee since I obtained a copy of it. Unfortunately, like most of Hazlewood’s discography, it is out of print and fetches ridiculous prices nearly everywhere. Hazlewood is as strong a songwriter as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, or Hank Snow, but he remains perhaps less known than any of them thanks to the obscurity of his records. He’s influenced countless musicians, written some of their best hits, and been covered by everyone from Primal Scream and Einstürzende Neubauten to Slowdive, Benoît Pioulard, Hooverphonic, Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch, Lamb’s Laughter, and Boyd Rice. Even Entombed has gotten in on the Hazlewood cover action. You can find the originals here:

• “My Autumn’s Done Come”
• “Sand”
• “Some Velvet Morning”
• “Sundown, Sundown”

Plenty of other Lee Hazlewood songs can be found online and at Youtube. I hope you enjoy him as much as I have been.

Lots of music news is out there this week, but I think I’m most excited by what’s coming out of  James Kirby. I have mentioned History Always Favors the Winners on this site before, but Kirby has been hard at work the last couple of months and has updated his site numerous times since that post. His current musical direction is completely unlike anything he’s done in the past.  It is titled Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was and, while it shares some characteristics with his output as both The Caretaker and The Stranger, it is far more musical and emotionally naked than anything he’s done before. His website made it obvious that I could expect something new and different from him in the near future, but I was absolutely floored upon hearing Kirby’s latest stuff. Hopefully I’ll be able to play some of this new music for you on my next show, but you can explore Kirby’s website, now and listen to the radical new direction he’s taken for yourself. It’s absolutely beautiful.

I also mentioned that Magnolia Electric Co. has a new record coming out. You can find details, as well as a free MP3, over at the MEC website.

More reviews will come in the following days. Perhaps another mix will make its way to the web before my next show. Check back for updates.

Thanks for listening!

Laughter, 6/28:

LISTEN TO HOUR 1

LISTEN TO HOUR 2

01. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood “Summer Wine” from Fairytales and Fantasies (1989) on Rhino — originally released in 1966

02. Andwellas Dream “Man Without a Name” from Love and Poetry (2009) on Sunbeam Records — originally released in 1969

03. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band “Autumn’s Child” from Safe as Milk (1967) on Buddah

04. Deerhunter “Game of Diamonds” from Rainwater Cassette Exchange (2009) on Kranky

05. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy “Poor Shelter” from Young Widows Split Series Pt. 1 (2009) on Temporary Residence

06. Magnolia Electric Co “Little Sad Eyes” from Josephine (2009) on Secretly Canadian

07. Pink Reason “Borrowed Time” from Borrowed Time 7″ (2008) on Fashionable Idiot

08. Wooden Shjips “Aquarian Time” from Dos (2009) on Holy Mountain

09. The Black-Eyed Snakes “Smokestack Lightnin’” from It’s the Black-Eyed Snakes (2001) on Chair-kickers’ Music — original by Howlin’ Wolf

10. The Olivia Tremor Control “A Sleepy Company” from Black Foliage, Volume 1 (1999) on Flydaddy

11. Venetian Snares “Ongyilkos Vasarnap” from Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett (2005) on Planet Mu

12. Arthur Russell “Your Motion Says” from Love Is Overtaking Me (2008) on Audika

13. Young Widows “King of the Back-Burners” from Young Widows Split Series Pt. 1 (2009) on Temporary Residence

14. US Christmas “The Light and Trails” from Eat the Low Dogs (2007) on Neurot

15. Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound “Clive and the Lyre” from When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009) on tee pee

16. Charlemagne Palestine / Christoph Heemann “Saiten in Flammen” from Saiten in Flammen (2009) on Streamline

17. Jandek “Your Other Man” from Blue Corpse (1987) on Cordwood

18. Sunn O))) “Big Church” from Monoliths & Dimensions (2009) on Southern Lord

19. V/VM “There Was a Fish… (Missoula, MT Edit)” from There Was a Fish… in… the Percolator (2008) on V/VM Test

20. Constrastate “In Absentia” from English Embers (1996) on Dirter Promotions

21. Benoit Pioulard “Alaskan Lashes” from Flocks (2009) on Blue Flea

22. Brent Gutzeit “”So… Why Don’t You Just Get a Job?” from Losing Every Day (2003) on Kissy

23. Taj Mahal Travellers “The Taj-Mahal Travellers Between 7:03-7:15P.M.” from July 15, 1972 (1972) on Sony Japan

Review: Dirty Projectors, “Bitte Orca”

Every word, rhythm, and melody that seeps from David Longstreth’s brain reeks of insincerity and pompousness. The most recent fruit of his ego, Bitte Orca, has come to be pornography for writers and aimless hipsters hungry for something “eccentric” and “unusual” over which they may pant. In truth, it’s a dull and transparent mish-mash of pop styles seasoned with empty gestures and overwrought arrangements.

That self-important musicians are writing and performing angular pop because it’s experimental, man doesn’t surprise me. People without ideas or genuine motives are constantly creating all kinds of art and entertainment for all kinds of reasons, but most of them don’t become self-righteous monstrosities and generate critical behemoths like Bitte Orca. Praised for its ostensibly experimental character and thoughtful arrangements, in actuality the Dirty Projectors’ latest is little more than a masturbatory device for a faux-intellectual lead man with delusions of grandeur. Dusted Magazine’s Bill Meyer was right in calling out Longstreth’s personality in his review of the album because it bleeds through the music like a cut that won’t heal. He’s a shameless and distasteful self-promoter carrying an air of superiority around on his back like a cross made from iron.

That fact wouldn’t matter so much if it didn’t come out in the music the way it does. Plenty of smug jerks have written perfectly good music with a few words from James Joyce, William Blake, or some other iconic artist swimming around in their head. But, the Dirty Projectors sound like a band forcing themselves through odd meters and off-kilter harmonies. The music wants to spread its wings and fly, but the band has tied a ten-ton stone of musical bravado to their performances for no other reason than that they’re capable of doing so. In addition, Longstreth can’t sing to save his life and when any of the three female members take the lead vocal role they put on a cute and vacant quality that is more repulsive than attractive. One must assume from reports that this is all Longstreth’s doing. He desires nothing more than to make his meticulously designed arrangements sound like spontaneous and joyful music, but like the singing the music is an empty shell of styles compressed and slapped together for the pleasure of compressing and slapping things together. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this and such playfulness has likely spawned plenty of great ideas, songs, and albums, but over its 40 minutes Bitte Orca travels nowhere and develops little more than a sugar-rich stomach ache. Throughout the record over-the-top four-part vocal harmonies clash with haphazard string arrangements, a semi-irregular, half-danceable rhythm section, and dynamic shifts that might surprise someone unfamiliar with Slint. On the surface it’s all very surprising and unique, but with time it sinks in and becomes all too familiar. I’ve heard this sort of thing from more competent bands. None of them are particularly obscure and many of them were exploring disparate musical styles before Longstreth was even born, which makes all the talk of inventiveness associated with this record even more null and void.

Of all the songs, only “Two Doves” exhibits the restraint necessary to blend pop music with big ideas. Though it pretends a kind of baroque or classical influence, it’s a pleasant song in which Longstreth’s predisposition for highbrow indulgence is succumbed by a sweet melody and a hint of genuine emotion. No amount of planning, scripting, rehearsing, or reading can possibly be a substitute for that one important ingredient: honesty. A little mental instability might not hurt, but Longstreth could only hope to be as insane as his heroes. Pretending a reclusive and unstable mental disposition may be his next move, though. I can see it, now: the New York Times reports that Longstreth has surrounded his musical equipment with relics from the Nietzsche estate and plans on releasing a pop opus titled Glory to God and His Unwilling Participants. Wouldn’t that be wacky, fun, and smart?

I’ll apologize if this happens. It wouldn’t surprise me if Longstreth attempts it.

—

Bitte Orca is available on Domino
Samples are available at Brainwashed.com

Review: Benoît Pioulard, “Flocks” and “Lee”

Thomas Meluch’s music is always thick with atmosphere and always utilizes textured or ambient sounds, but seeing him live was a surprise. Bathed in steaming noise, Benoît Pioulard’s performance in Boston was a psychedelic jam that heavily favored his abstract side. The two 7″ records he had with him on that tour provide a sense of just how diverse an artist he is and one of them has me excited about the prospects of a Benoît Pioulard noise record.

Flocks is an 11-plus minute EP that features a dark, nearly resigned tone and more of the haunting melodies I have come to expect from Benoît Pioulard. The A-side, “Maginot,” begins with the dark tolling of a bell and puts some industrial atmospheric effects to good use. These are cut off as Meluch lends his drifting voice to a choppy acoustic guitar accompanied by percussive effects, bells, and a fluid lead guitar. As the song progresses it becomes more layered and acquires an exotic, yearning character before degenerating into a sweet mess of sound effects and sustained notes. The B-side is a noise epic reminscient of the material played during his live show. “Alaskan Lashes” obliterates Meluch’s angelic voice and eschews his melodic inclinations in favor of churning wheels, pressurized intensity, and grinding mayhem. It is a deep, bellowing blast of sound that broods and boils before it suddenly disappears. I hope this is a sign that Meluch has similar music on the way because both of these songs are superb.

Lee, on the other hand, features two covers, both described as old favorites by Meluch. The first is an excellent rendition of “Sundown, Sundown,” originally written and performed by Lee Hazelwood with Nancy Sinatra. Meluch erases all the punchy orchestration of the original and replaces it with a hazy and sullen performance that retains the core melody and romantic tone. Meluch’s spectral voice is in total contrast to Hazelwood’s grittier delivery, but the subdued tone generated by Meluch’s playing compliments his softer performance perfectly. The B-side is a cover of The Ink Spot’s “Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat,” a doo-wop song from the early ’40s. Meluch maintains the simplicity of the original and puts all the focus on his vocal performance and a plodding bass line. The song’s bookended by some static effects that sound like Meluch’s signature more than anything else. It’s a nice song, but the original doesn’t appeal to me as much as “Sundown, Sundown” does, so I can’t get myself as excited about it.

Both records are currently available, but were released in limited quantities.

—

Flocks is available on Blue Flea
Lee is available on Hall of Owls
Samples available at Brainwashed.com

Review: Gary Wilson, “Lisa Wants To Talk to You”

I’m never sure whether I should dance, laugh, or squirm to a Gary Wilson record. All three are understandable reactions to his porno lounge sound, a fact that makes his music all the more uncomfortable. Lisa Wants To Talk to You comes on strong with saccharine keyboards and guitars, but is full of strong melodies and the same compellingly bizarre lyrics that have always characterized Wilson’s obsessive world of women and loss.

Lisa Wants To Talk to You begins and ends with the rain, radio, and chaotic energy of “All Alone in Endicott,” a reference to both Wilson’s hometown and his never-ending quest for companionship and sexual gratification. Little more than collages of seemingly random sounds, these pieces bookend an album that is otherwise rife with the music of AM radio and nightmare lounge performances. At the center of it all is Wilson and his pleading, sometimes pathetic vocals. Throughout the record he daydreams about making out with his old crush Mary, reminisces about his past with Lisa and Linda, and bemoans the existence of Karen, who seems to haunt him and his conscience even more than Mary does.

From start to finish Wilson is alone Endicott, all of his stories and fantasies just a strange blend of fiction and history playing out in his head. The drama and psychological nudity of Wilson’s lyrics make for an awkward and sometimes embarrassing experience. It’s tempting to reach out to Wilson and stop him from broadcasting his thoughts; they are a little embarrassing and often border on the neurotic. For the most part the music does little to cure that feeling, but from a certain perspective there’s as much humor on Lisa Wants To Talk to You as there is unnerving confession. Whether it is Wilson’s unflinching directness, his off-key delivery, or the clash between his dream world and reality, there’s something funny about this album that has nothing to do with its perversity or anachronistic musical style.

From beginning to end there are some excellent songs shot through with solid grooves, fat bass lines, and layered melodies. Songs like “Come On Mary” and “You Are Still My Girlfriend” have incredibly catchy hooks. They shed the lounge act sound and appeal to more than just the kitschy side of my brain. “Karen Had A Secret,” on the other hand, is dark enough to set off stalker alarms in my head. Wilson’s whispered vocals and the bitter subject matter are genuinely frightening, especially when contrasted with the record’s otherwise bright aesthetic. If played by other bands, many of these songs might be one-dimensional odes bordering either on the too-serious or the too-indulgent, but Wilson injects his music with layers of ideas, moods, and feelings. The wonky keyboards, sleazy veneer, and elevator vibe might put some listeners off, but Lisa Wants To Talk to You will reward any patient listener willing to venture in Wilson’s world.

—

Lisa Wants To Talk to You is available on Human Ear Music
Samples are available at Brainwashed.com

This Isn’t a Political Blog, But…

Andrew Sullivan has been covering news concerning the Iranian elections in a way that no major network has and he’s been doing a good job of it. If you’re at all interested in what’s happening in Iran, I think you’ll find this link very informative. The color change is for solidarity with the Iranian people.

That is all.

6/14: Jóhann Interview + Videos + New Show

Finally getting around to updating the website. As promised, you’ll find Jóhann tour dates posted below along with links to a few of his videos on Youtube and to the interview I played during the show. Many thanks to Adam Wiltize for conducting the interview and sending it my way.

My review of the new Foetus retrospective is available below, but after playing two songs from that release on the show, I feel the need to re-emphasize just how excellent it is. New Xela and SoiSong made it to this week’s broadcast as well new music from the Raster-Noton label and a great cut from the new Kreng album on Miasmah. Be sure to give that one a look; I’ll probably feature it again next show.

As always, this show will be available for exactly two weeks and then will become unavailable. That’s just how the ZBC Archives work. There’s a way to download the original file if you’re looking to do so. A quick Google search will reveal all.

Thank you for listening. I’ll have some more here for you in the coming days.

TOUR DATES (all shows 8pm):

• 25th June, Le Poisson Rouge, Wordless Music, New York, USA
• 26th June, Cambridge YMCA Theatre, Boston, USA
• 27th June, St. Mary’s Hamilton Village – thegartherings.org, Philadelphia, USA
• 28th June, Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA
• 29th June, Lakeshore Theatre, Chicago USA
• 30th June, Southern Theatre, Minneapolis, USA

DOWNLOAD/VIEW:

• Jóhann Jóhannsson Interview w/ Adam Wiltzie of Stars of the Lid
• “Sun’s Gone Dim” from IBM 1401: A User’s Manual
• “IBM I” from IBM 1041: A User’s Manual
• “Odi et Amo (Live)” from Englabörn

DOWNLOAD 6/14 SHOW (includes interview): part 1, part 2

01. Fridge “Version” from Eph (1999) on Go Beat

02. Oneohtrix Point Never “When I Get Back From New York” from A Pact Between Strangers (2008) on Gneiss Things

03. Trans Am “Cocaine Computer” from Future World (1999) on Thrill Jockey

04. SoiSong “T-Hu Ri Toh” from xAj3z (2009) on Self Released

05. Foetus “Primordial Industry / Industrial Go-Slow” from Limb (2009) on Ectopic Ents

06. Jóhann Jóhannsson “The Rocket Builder (Io Pan!)” from Fordlandia (2008) on 4AD

07. Kreng “Kolossus” from L’Autopsie Phenomenale (2009) on Miasmah

08. Grischa Lichtenberger “Calipso” from ~Treibgut (2009) on Raster-noton

09. Jóhann Jóhannsson “Melodia (Guidelines for a Space Propulsion Device Based on Heim’s Quantum Theory)” from Fordlandia (2008) on 4AD

10. Xela “Untitled (Side A)” from Heirs of the Fire (2009) on SMTG Limited

11. C-Schulz “Flimm I” from 5. Flicker Tunes (2004) on Sonig

12. Xeno and Oaklander “Vigils” from Vigils (2007) on Xanten

Friendly Reminder: On the Air Tomorrow

Hello,

Just a quick reminder for everyone. I’ll be on the air tomorrow from 4pm until 6pm. The station is 90.3FM in and around Boston, but you can tune in via the station’s website, right here. In case you can’t tune in, the show will be archived for the standard two weeks over at the ZBC Archives.

I’ll be broadcasting the interview with Jóhann Jóhannsson that I mentioned, as well as lots of new music, mostly ambient or noise-based. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on the air and I have plenty of new and interesting things for you.

Talk to you then…

Mix: Melody Explosion in the Rossface Event + Jóhann Jóhannsson Tour and Interview + More

A friend of mine took a listen to the last mix I posted and promptly told me that he wasn’t really into folk or country and that he’d like to hear more “in your face melodies” in future mixes. That’s him up there, his head exploding with Robert Crumb characters and all the awesome melodies I’ve packed into this mix. I’m not sure what counts as “in your face,” but there’s nary a trace of folk or country on this one and plenty of big melodies made to satisfy all the acoustic guitar-haters out there. As always, if any of the bands featured want this mix removed, shoot me an email and I’ll take down the link.

I’ll be on the air one week from today from 4pm to 6pm. I have lots of great new music to play for you that I’m very excited about. I also have a pre-recorded interview with Jóhann Jóhannsson in my possession, which I’ll broadcast in honor of his first American tour. That starts on the 25th of this month in New York. He’ll be playing in Boston on the 26th at the Cambridge YMCA Theatre.  You can check out the rest of the tour dates over at his Myspace site. The interview was conducted by Adam Wiltzie of Stars of the Lid. If you can’t listen on Sunday, I’ll post the interview to this site after the broadcast.

Hope you enjoy the music. New reviews will be posted in the next day or so.

DOWNLOAD: Melody Explosion in the Rossface Event

01. Death, “Let the World Turn” from …For the Whole World To See [1975, re-released 2009]
02. Cranes, “Everywhere” from Forever [1993]
03. Squarepusher, “Massif (Stay Strong)” from Big Loada [1997]
04. Einstürzende Neubauten, “Sand” from Halber Mensch [1985]
05. Tinariwen, “Cler Achel” from Aman Iman [2007]
06. Can, “I Want More” from Flow Motion [1976]
07. Ween, “The HIV Song” from Live At Stubb’s, 7/2000 [2002]
08. Tobacco w/ Aesop Rock, “Dirt” from Fucked Up Friends [2008]
09. AFX, “Reunion” from Chosen Lords [2006]
10. Trans Am, “I Want It All” from Red Line [2000]
11. Wire, “Champs” from Pink Flag [1977]
12. Battles, “S Z 2″ from B EP [2004]
13. Keith Fullerton Whitman, “Stereo Music For Farfisa Compact Duo Deluxe, Drum Kit” from Multiples [2005]
14. Matmos w/ Terry Riley, “Hasish Master” from Supreme Balloon (LP only track) [2008]

Live 6/2: Oneohtrix Point Never, KFW+Geoff Mullen, Brendan Murray, and DJ Ning Nong

Excellent show at the Piano Craft Guild on Tuesday night. Was very taken by Brendan Murray’s set. It was my first time hearing him. Murray started by generating a basic tone. He would then derive new tones from that first one and layer them, creating a massive and sustained harmony that filled the room. He repeated this process a couple of times, generating a complex wall of sound from a series of very basic tones. Eventually a series of glitched up rhythms made an appearance; they would bounce about the room as Murray manipulated a current of digital sound beneath their hypnotic pulses.  He finished his set with washes of ambient noise and rhythm that brought groups like Mirror and Troum to mind. The whole set felt very deliberate and controlled and it was my favorite part of the night. Keith Fullerton Whitman and Geoff Mullen played a set completely different from the one I saw at the Middle East. Far less menacing, their set also featured some rhythm, but of a much more distorted and primitive kind. Mullen played with an unidentified device, bending and destroying his beats while Whitman pulled a barrage of bird sounds from his synthesizers. Their set seemed a lot quieter than last time, which ended up being a problem for each of the performers. There was a lot of low end happening, but it didn’t quite reach the gut-rumbling levels I recall from the Middle East show.

Point Never’s set was not at all what I expected, but engrossing nonetheless. I’m used to Daniel Lopatin’s marriage of soundscapes and Vangelis-esque melody, but for this show he created a massive body of sound with his keyboard, some basic drum sounds, and his voice. The set began with some manipulated percussion, which was looped and distorted in a multitude of layers. I was surprised by how nakedly identifiable they were. He stuck to mixing these drums sounds up for a short amount of time and then switched to his emblematic, keyboard-based sound. The arpeggiated melodies immediately developed into a swaying rhythm and Lopatin used that element as a foundation for the rest of his set. He slowly added vocal effects, percussive hiccups, and random tapes noise to his already full sound, eventually producing a wall of shifting noise. Everything culminated in this mass of frequencies, which was eventually replaced by little more than an organic whoosh.

The low end at The Piano Craft Guild could have used some more oomph and I would’ve loved to have heard everyone on a bigger sound system, but the space itself handled all the big sounds very well. Would love to see more shows played there.

Here’s some photos from the show. Thanks for reading. Expect another mix to hit the site this week.