Lou Reed David Bowie 1979
Story time

"Don't you EVER say that to me!"

Goblin King
Bowie 😭

OH INDEED
Poster hinting at the return of the KLF under their JAMMS guise

A bit older but more contemporary than rave archaeology:

this
and that with soundtrack

2017 could use some punk magic.

From the rave to the festival
Overthinking my commute soundtrack: I could listen to LFO. Or I could listen to the new Audion. The excitement of LFO is the palpable feeling of a new world coming into existence. LFO's sounds are both a reference to the new world of rave and the central shared experience - the reality - of that world. The excitement of Audion is the excitement of what's possible now, but also the excitement of stripping away, rather than building up. Dance as escape not from ordinary boring reality, but from an ever-present central shared experience. Escaping from mediated reality to now.

"yes and i will cook there"

Come ON
do it

Brian Eno on walking away from success
"Now, the workaday everyday now, always looks relatively less glamorous than the rose-tinted then (except for those magic hours when your finger is right on the pulse, and those moments only happen when you've abandoned the lifeline of your own history.)" - via

Doing It For Themselves
Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox recording

Mersey Beats
I'm going to try something new in 2015: I'm going to write at least a little about every book that I read. (Ok, I'm going to try. This isn't a job.) I just finished "Tune In", the first volume of a projected three-volume history of the Beatles by Mark Lewisohn. It was really surprisingly fascinating and I want to try to explain why before all the images and impressions the book created fade from my memory.

Why do you care about those old men anyway?
I feel like an apologia for Beatles fandom is kind of required at this point. They're so central to the rockist canon, such a touchstone for the type of reactionaries who would dismiss hip-hop, techno and everything living and vital that I care about in music, that caring about them enough to read a book on them (three books!) seems suspect.

First, a generic defense of the study of history:it's not only not opposed to a progressive outlook, it's an important part of any understanding of the present. I say this as foundation-laying, I doubt any of the three people reading this would disagree.

Second, a more specific understanding of the Beatles - actually grokking their context, their rise, their loves, hates and ambitions - helps in understanding them as a specific group of people operating in a specific context, reacting to the music around them, expressing a particular Liverpool sensibility. All the talk about them as "timeless, central to rock history, giants" just obscures who they actually were and why they did what they did.

Finally, their rise coincided with - helped bring about - the rise of a new kind of music, a new youth culture, a new music industry ... every stage of their story so far involves people doing things no one had ever done before. Even if you think rock would have reached more or less the same place without them, a lot of things changed in the Sixties and the history of the Beatles is a fantastic lens for viewing it.

I'm pretty sure you were going to tell us about a book
It's engagingly written, a tiny bit amateurish in the best sense of the word, astoundingly well researched but wearing that lightly, and packed with memorable quotes and scenes. Lewisohn does well sketching milieu, and this is the foundation of the book.

Say something about the Beatles? anything
They weren't fantastic musicians, Paul maybe excepted. Fantastic singers and songwriters, yeah. But it's funny to think about how many people yearning tiresomely for "musicianship" put the Beatles at the top of their list.

They wanted to make black music. They had other influences, but when Little Richard told them they had that "authentic Negro sound" I can't imagine how happy they must have felt.

They were direct, funny, often assholes. Lewisohn keeps emphasizing how they refused to do anything that felt fake, that they were always true to themselves. He maybe hits that point too hard but you do finish the book feeling that part of their success came from aggressive disregard for what other people wanted or expected. I'm not sure that I would have been friends with John, but I would love to have spent time in his company. Even just reading the book you get inspired by how original his behavior - all of their behavior - was. You start to feel it's possible to live life less by rote.

Finally, when the group starts producing great work (they definitely didn't always) there starts to be a steady stream of little eruptions in the book, the Beatles doing something new and amazing. I'm not sure how much of this is their musical originality. Maybe Lewisohn could have done more to show how novelty comes from recombination - but he already does quite a bit of that. Maybe they had something.

R.I.P. Mark Bell
20 years after Frequencies still vital and urgent:



What it's all for. Ken Downie posted "you made a difference" about Mark today and I felt a little odd about it. But on reflection, yes.

GOLF
"Its Been A Week Since The Carnival"

"Like Your Ideas. We Live In A World Where People Dont Even Like Their Own Ideas, That Why You Have People Copying One Thing Thats Working So Much"

Laurie Anderson on Lou Reed

It was spring in 2008 when I was walking down a road in California feeling sorry for myself and talking on my cell with Lou. "There are so many things I've never done that I wanted to do," I said.

"Like what?"

"You know, I never learned German, I never studied physics, I never got married."

"Why don't we get married?" he asked. "I'll meet you halfway. I'll come to Colorado. How about tomorrow?"

"Um – don't you think tomorrow is too soon?"

"No, I don't."

I thought they had repudiated Chiastic Slide but it's not true
hooray

"i had a guy round fixing my boiler a couple of years ago when i was doing tac lacora so i played him that cos he was asking
he just said 'who listens to this then? loads of guys sitting in their houses smoking weed?'
and i went 'yeah, pretty much'"

I guess what I love most about this interview is that they are clearly fully committed to it. You want to know if they have any deep theories about music? They will answer. What would they do if one member died? Answered. Haiku, if you please? Here's one. These guys do not do anything by half measures.

I need a tumblr
But this was tumblr before tumblr, and I'm loath to leave it. Anyway. What does Bill Drummond have to say?

The root of suffering is desire

Laurel Halo

aquifer mp3

So now Brooklyn is turning out awesome electro-techno. Not fair.

Electronic musicians in Brooklyn

That's some OG New York synth wizard, Oneohtrix Point Never in the middle and Laurel Halo to his right.

"One of my friends brought his daughter round – she’s 14, and she had her iPod on. And I said to her, what are you listening to? And she said, it’s this group called Joy Division. And I had to smile a little bit."
- from an interview with Bernard Sumner

A short documentary about Kate Bush

Oh, you know, just makin some sounds
A photo of Kate Bush at a Fairlight synthesizer

Another dash of McCartney
A friend of mine was in the same NYC studio while Paul was putting together some of "Memory Almost Full" [album released 2007] and his story is Paul was super nice and asked him if he wanted to come downstairs and take a listen to some tracks he was putting down. My friend obliged and once they were in the room Paul proceeded to sit behind the drumkit and overdub some stuff, singing along. After they were done Paul supposedly asked for "your honest opinion" and my friend could only come up with "Yes, Sir Paul, sounds great!" I told my friend he probably wanted to hear "Could use a tighter snare sound" or something.
From a thread entitled "I hate Paul McCartney so much".

Composer John Adams turns out to be a fine writer on his new blog. I wonder if the lucky tagger knows where his work ended up.

If you insist upon a river of time
We live in a time I think not of mainstream, but of many streams, or even, if you insist upon a river of time, that we have come to a delta, maybe even beyond delta to an ocean which is going back to the skies.
-John Cage

I'm following: @skinnermike (aka The Streets: real, updates a lot), @brian_eno (probably fake, updates reasonably often), and @davidbowie (probably real, never updates.)

Duke Ellington, on junkie musicians
"I never did understand that. I'm a cunt man myself."

RIP Karlheinz Stockhausen

Laptop orchestras
Possibly the most easily predicted link from this blog ever. Berlin's laptoporchester is my favorite out of this bunch of laptop orchestras from around the world. My first reaction was that this is a bit gimmicky, but actually I think there's a stupendous amount of possibility here. Of course the eternal question with live electronic music remains - why not just set everything up beforehand and hit play?

Holy shit: Mike Banks from Underground Resistance coaches high school baseball
Wire interview
Some of the kids make it, and some of them don't. I lose some of them to the war. Some of my baseball players, they're young, they're full of testosterone, they want to prove themselves, so some of them join the Marine corps. One of my favourite players, man, he joined the Marine corps. I was so sad, because I thought he could have made it in baseball. But the recruiters, like in that Michael Moore movie, they're on their ass, they're challenging these boys, almost like challenging their manhood. It's a kid, and of course he's going to step up and defend his manhood, so they end up joining. It's tough. I lose some of them to that, I lose some of them to the street, some of them start selling drugs, that drug life is so appealing to them, cos of the money. Some of them carry on with baseball. It's like slavery. You lose two thirds of them on the trip. I'm thinking about not continuing coaching, because you lose so many of them.

Dude, Mike Banks lives it.

via ilm

Like finding out your girlfriend is a basketball fan
"Nintendo" translates into English as "Leave Luck to Heaven".

Too many half-empty rooms and blank white walls even for me.

LA-based dj, show at the Red Buddha on Cahuenga on the 20th. Hip-hop and grime and such. Betting on white belts and fauxhawks in the crowd, but whaddaya gonna do.

BRAAAAAINS

You will receive email confirmation of your order shortly.
So I just ordered all 11 of the Analord records.

I'm actually thrilled to be back into Aphex again, somehow it helps me feel more whole again. I loved him beyond reason for the longest time, and when I stopped feeling his work it was disheartening, literally, in that it suggested that my emotions were fickle, not connected to substance in any important way. I spent years living in his world and then - nothing? So reconnecting with this stuff has sort of strengthened my feeling of identity, like I'm reconnecting to my 20-year-old self.

Ironically, it was another Warp record that triggered this little avalanche today, Jamie Lidell's Multiply. I read an obnoxious set of posts from Momus chastising Lidell for abandoning the revolution and cashing in on his avant-cred by recapitulating the styles and gestures of the masters. Infuriatingly on-the-mark.


And that's what I love about the best Aphex, it's not trying to be anything else. It's not entirely correct to say that's it's forward-looking: a lot of his best melodies are wistful child-like stuff. But it's imaginative and compelling, like a new organic thing.



So given the fact that, based on what I've read, this whole series is a self-consciously retro move on RDJ's part, I could be setting myself up for a lot of disappointment, drukqs-style. But I found just enough favorable reviews online (some from surprising sources) that I started to get excited about the idea of wading through 11 slabs of afx vinyl.

And what pushed me over the top, I suppose, was a loyalty to me circa 1998, when I immersed myself in a sound, subjected myself to the discipline of new genres. Which is the opposite of what I'm doing now. But the idea of force-feeding myself academic electronic music, or classical music, or anything else really, is not appealing to me right now.

But in the future ... well, anything's possible.

Ensemble Alarm Will Sound recorded Acoustica, a set of Aphex Twin covers. I winced when I heard about it, but it sounds as if they've put the appropriate amount of work into the arrangements and come up with some really stunning stuff.

... Ok, I've listened to a bunch of sound clips now, and I'm just torn.

Adam Freeland on KISS
Haha he trainwrecks mixes too!

indie star girlfriend's blog
that dude from the strokes, with the hair? this is his girlfriend's weblog.

kode9
London darkdubstep producer's blog.

why i believe the inevitable autechre backlash has gone too far
Lamb - Gold (Autechre mix)
Push Button Objects - Non-Existant (Gescom mix)
Funkstorung
Second Bad Vilbel
fold4 wrap5

aphex will rise again
"You probably don't remember this, but there was a time when RDJ was GOD! I mean RDJ was the most important man in the fucking universe, you thought it, your dad thought it, and every last music journalist made it a point to make sure you did not forget it. I don’t care how big of a Detroit fascist you are (and I was the biggest one this board has ever witnessed!) you knew RDJ was the dope shit, you knew, your dad knew, and every last person who knew anything about electronic music knew it. That is cool and the gang, because if you don't like Aphex you are an idiot. RDJ is definitely one of the top 5 most important producers of the last decade and Blue Calyx [sic] alone is better than your entire record collection."

aphex twin discography
In 2020, when I finally redesign this site, I will rip off that page shamelessly.

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Advice for Clever Children

one should not serve any existing demands

Loops are good to dance to...

a really effing good guide to Stockhausen
Stockhausen on Hymnen

"What I am trying to do, as far as I am aware of it, is to produce models that herald the stage after destruction. I'm trying to go beyond collage, hetrogeneity and pluralism, and to find unity; to produce music that brings us to the essential ONE. And that is going to be badly needed during the time of shocks and disasters that is going to come."

It's got to be hard to be that arrogant and yet be essentially ignored by the listening public.

dear aphex twin,

dude i am SO SORRY i told people i thought drukqs was disappointing when it first came out. i was wrong. please forgive me and release more music. k tx.

STUSH
My favorite mc right now.

hyperdub interview with wiley
Wiley Kat evades some questions about Dizzee's stabbing. Also, the LP will have a track about 9/11 called "Ground Zero":
You know when the building fell down? Imagine travelling through the streets, through all that dust. I want them to understand that I understand. I felt it.

luomo
He's playing LA March 19th.

Bob Mould has a blog!
Tell us what you're listening to, Bob!

ben nevile
Funkiest of Mutek 2002.

out now! richard davis. safety. download _.mp3meaning
Some ilmites saying this will be better than the new Luomo.

The sounds of 808state
Unreleased/live tracks ("Acid Jam (808 live at Manchester New Century Hall Rave)" from 1989!), full gigs! Midis! And a big ol' picture of Bjork if that wasn't enough.

Beatles Songs
"In the world? He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles."

reckankomplex
"the reckankomplex is home to ascii * blitter * dj hekla * gai/jin * hrvatski * reckankreuzungsklankewerkzeuge * keith fullerton whitman."

Man Parrish
Electro-hip-hop pioneer gives his stuff away.

Keith Fullerton Whitman: Pitchfork Interview
They mention the 2001 Squash Finals.

More on the squash courts show: this newsgroup posting is way better than any of the promotional material I put together. I missed it first time around.

I should put another show together.

dizzee rascal interview at hyperdub
The Streets' Mike Skinner was recently asked: "what's the future?" He simply replied: "Dizzee Rascal."

Watch my hit rate jump.

roll deep
Dizzee Rascal's crew.
+(new site)
+(old site)
The old site has some stuff the new site doesn't - mixes, interviews, lyrics.

via pietrobot:

  • -- LEXAUNCULPT DJ-SET -- -- 12:30a - 1:45a
>>Feat. Tracks from the upcoming 'The Blurring of Trees'
on Planet-Mu, Fennesz, Coil, Brian Eno, My Bloody Valentine,
Skinny Puppy, Arvo Part and many other selected influences!

//-- Full Playlist //--

//-- Full Show Stream //--

//-- Full Show Download //-- (77.9 mb @ 64kbps for 166'11")

//-- Lexaunculpt Pictures //--

"lex-an-koo"

dooce: anvil latrine
Right on. We need Britney, now more than ever.

William Fields's Weblog
So Bill apparently lives across the street from me and makes beats. Maybe I'm his evil twin.

KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF KLF

speedy j
Worst site navigation ever. Hint: hold down the spacebar, click the mouse, then release the spacebar. Lots of free music though, and we are in a recession, if you hadn't noticed.

update: apparently,
"It's not supposed to be a walk in the park." -- Speedy J (*)

* -- Actual quote
So, my bad. I guess.

The Streets
Fucking .co.uk! Fuck yeah!
(Also: videos.)

sex and sunshine
Talking about Neu!, whose first three album were just rereleased by Astralwerks.

Jorrit Dijkstra
Jorrit Dijkstra is an electronic musician a wind instruments player, saxophone mostly, who uses electronics to transform his sound and augment build his compositions improvisationally constructed pieces. He's based in Boston, miraculously. His live shows combine the spontaneity of instant improvisation (basically impossible for most laptop performers) with the expanded possibilites of electronic music. Needless to say, this is really weird shit. Recommended.

Disquiet: articles: Twine
Interesting to watch some idm listmembers in the process of blowing up. Recorder was dark, sometimes pointlessly ominous, but the album has some great sounds on it. The whole idm crowd, we're not into art, we're just a bunch of sensualists looking to have our eardrums tickled nicely.

Livesexact
It's Cambridge/Somerville electronic music producer day! Livesexact is Fischerspooner for geeks, crossed with Alec Empire on Ecstasy.

simpleasurez
Piekoz got a cd out.

Jorge Ben Discography
Summer is almost here.

A long as hell five-part set from Mix Master Morris. From four years ago. In the same amount of time the Beatles went from Help! to Revolution 9. But still, sounds fresh. "It's time to lie down and be counted." As long as Morris is around I'll know there's someone else who understands that the best part of any party is the morning after. (a more recent set)

all at radio valve

Murcof apparently has an album coming up on Leaf. Must check that out. (Also: artist site)



"Kylie Minogue is the new Missy Elliot." -- boom selection

NYC electronic events calendar, courtesy of Secret Agent Gel. Whose name is Corey, oddly enough.

nuance recordings, Boston house label that puts out Morgan Page.

Boston-idm REPRAZENT! My boy Chuck been kicking the mad idm flava since back in the day, yo. First in a series.

Ben Recht is local fields, under which guise he produces excellent electronic music. Apparently his recent stuff is micro-house; I'm dying to hear it. Nice guy too. Boston boy; resident at the Cellar on Saturday nights.

This is Lukas Bergstrom's weblog. You can also find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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