time comes undone

This is Jesse Kudler’s gear table. He and Chris Cogburn played the second set of the third show of June from the Church of the Friendly Ghost. They played a set of found sound semi-improvisational pieces, as well as a short encore (their “hit single” as Chris put it). The objects and instruments you see here include percussion, guitar, pedal, mixer, bow, tape decks, hair brush, handheld fan, other assorted noise-giving objects. Chris and Jesse create their own means of playing these objects, and their own ideas about how these sounds fit together to become music. They invent techniques and structure, and must carve out their sound in time and space without the aid of an established form.

The show was the same combination of music and performance art that I’ve come to expect from a Chris Cogburn collaboration. The movements they use to grasp their tool, invoke the sound, and replace it again are so seamless, graceful and deliberate. The subtle choices they make about how to play these are delightfully inventive. I watched Chris set a drum stick upright atop his drum and roll it between two palms while a string of bells dangling from his pinky tinkled and rang as a side effect; then he periodically lifted the bell hand in a looping motion that traced across the air an invisible half of a figure eight. That figure eight gesture was remarkable to me, because it was so insignificant to the sound but so satisfying to watch. Chris’s performances always have an almost ceremonial quality to them, because of the attention to presentation, mood, and the visual aspects of the performance.

This kind of music has a trance-like effect on me. Watching something so delicate and precise demands a higher amount of focus than usual. The volume is so hushed and the movement is so slight. Listening to this show reminded me so keenly of an experience I once had in my teens. I had politely accepted an invitation to my best friend’s bible study, which concluded with a living room full of young people speaking in tongues. They all preferred a very understated, almost whispered, low toned style of non-verbal vocalizing, creating a choir of quiet, atonal utterances. It was a hair raising and deeply calming experience. I feel the same sensory overload and inner still when I listen to the stylized, minimalist music Chris Cogburn makes.

I’ve been tagged by Mr. Ned Raggett to write about 7 songs I’m listening to lately. Well Mr. Ned, I shall do you one better with this online playlistmajigger, in addition to some words!

7 songs of nariposa, IMEEM playlist:
http://www.imeem.com/people/BCG1TGv/playlist/yU6GPubo/7_songs_of_nariposa_music_playlist

Mr. Ned’s blog on the subject lives over here: Seven songs, then seven other blogs. The fact that I have to scroll down just to finishing reading the paragraph about a single song should tell you two things. One, he’s an ex college radio DJ. Two, music criticism is inherently hilarious.

Ned already knows he’s the first person I thought of when I read this Onion story: Food Critic Tears Radish Canapés With Salmon Mousse A New Asshole. The point being that oftentimes the amount of energy invested in dissecting the original item of interest faaaar exceeds the amount of attention that original item deserves. Funny! Make no mistake, I resemble that too.

God bless the Ned Raggetts of the world. As I recently pointed out to my friend melnicki, the shared community surrounding any piece of art is half the enjoyment. His point was that he should be able to create art anonymously, without having his story interfere with the appreciation of it. My point was that the fanboy frothing about the art is a separate and worthy thing in and of itself. What will we do if we don’t know your name and can’t talk about your story as it relates to your art? As my music director would say, you alienate music nerds at your own peril. Unless anonymity is part of your brand (like Jandek), deliberately handicapping the fanboy frenzy ensures that your audience will remain small.

Now here are the words about the shitty songs I like:

1. Yo La Tengo “The Story Of”
I bought “Beat Your Ass” last year sound unheard, gave it a listen, thought it boring and sold it back the next week. Somehow missed this song, which I saw them perform at SXSW this year. So I bought the album back again.

What can I say? It’s classic Yo La. Nice big fuzzsicle. Suck it.

2. Joan of Arc “Mike Kinsella & Ben Vida”
Don’t even start with me haters (you know who you are). This sounds nothing like other Joan of Arc albums anyway. This album came out three years ago but I’m listening to it now. I probably loved it three years ago too, forgot it completely, then was free to discover it all over again as if it were new.

This is not the most exceptional track (that honor goes to track #7 if you’re curious). It’s just a gritty, badly tuned acoustic guitar duet. I don’t care if it is a gimmick by now, I just love messy, imprecise, intentionally detuned beater guitar songs. It is almost a cliche now, but it’s so pretty and earnest. Fills your ears with the buzz of slightly missed frequencies. It’s no wonder Ben Vida is on this track; his other projects (Town & Country, Bird Show, Singer) all have songs that play with the notes between the notes, to beautiful effect.

3. Susan Alcorn “Second Turning of the Wheel”
She tore it up at SXSW this year, playing backup pedal steel to Jandek’s band. Now I love pedal steel, the more cooing and supple the better. But what Susan Alcorn does with pedal steel bears no resemblance in sound or appearance to anything anyone else does with pedal steel. Seeing her playing live was the equivalent of Jimi lighting his guitar on fire — she totally killed it! It was a flailing, full-body, virtuoso jam out, and the sound was totally unrelated to what you think of as traditional pedal steel.

This album she put out last year, And I Await the Resurrection of the Pedal Steel Guitar, doesn’t sound much like the the Jandek show, other than that it is extremely innovative and experimental. It sounds like Fripp/Eno, that same variety of eerie, lunar-landing ambient rock. Does great things at 3:30.

4. Modest Mouse - “Workin on Leavin the Living”
I started listening to this again because I saw that Built To Spill will be performing their album “Perfect From Now On” at ATP New York 2008 (which by the way, I’m attending!). I thought to myself, well if it has to be lo-fi indie pop masterpieces, I would much rather hear Modest Mouse perform “Building Nothing Out of Something,” the album of my summer of ‘99.

“Workin on Leavin the Living” is its standout track, because like everything else, I like my pop droney. It’s a churning, reel of a tune, fit for whirling dervishes and raised palms. If seven minutes fit into a locked groove, I’d listen to this forever.

5. The Dodos “Fools”
The Dodos were completely new to me when I saw them perform at SXSW 2007. Two of their songs from that set stuck in my head so tenaciously that I remembered the words when I heard them performed again at their Big Sur appearance later that year.

Having seen them again at SXSW 2008, I’m now sick again with the same affliction, and the song this time is “Fools,” from their newest album “Visiter.” The album version here sounds relatively staid compared to their energetic live performances, where Logan rises to his feet to work his drumkit over with full body strokes, and Meric nearly falls out of his chair tossing his head back in song.

6. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra “1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound”
Finally! The Silver Mt. Cetera makes an album that I don’t forget about inside of a week. This song gives the impression of Polyphonic Spree big chorus element to it, though it is probably just layered vocal tracks (I’ll find out soon enough — they’re performing at ATP 2008 too!). Pay no mind that they have the pretense to call themselves an orchestra; this song is rock. Gives you a bang, so you know when to clap.

7. Aaliyah “Are you that somebody?”
Self explanatory. RIP, babygurl.

Ready … set … tag, you’re it!

• 1. Atrocity Jukebox
• 2. Womblife
• 3. Another Lousy Solipsist
• 4. The Mahathera Phang
• 5. in case of mishaps
• 6. The Music Listener (get a real blog! myspace sucks!)
• 7. Bill ™ (get a real blog! myspace sucks!)

Instructions:
“List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.”

I was forced to endure an absurd presentation skills training earlier this week as part of my required duties. I could go on and on about how idiotic this class is, but one good thing did come of it. For the first morning, we were supposed to have done some pre-work notes on a topic of our choosing. I came to the class unprepared, and was given 20 minutes to put together a 4 minute presentation to be given to the class. I spent the first 5 minutes deciding on a topic and the last 15 minutes trashing the curriculum rubric and instead writing the piece word for word. I told the instructor that I haven’t held a pen since grade school and I’m not about to start again now, fired up my laptop, and hammered this out:

All those UIL extemporaneous speaking exercises came back to me in a flash, and I was able to churn this out in 15 minutes. I’m mighty proud of this! This is blog-ready copy right here, and I didn’t even cheat and clean it up!

I pretty much said “fuck this, I’m leaving” to the presentation class after that.