Beach Boys - Smile Sessions - another Christmas gift.
Something always bothered me about Brian Wilson's 2004 version of Smile. I mean it was good, but it wasn't this good. Hearing this (and listening to my old bootlegs in anticipation of getting this) made me realize what the problem was: Brian Wilson's Smile was nothing more, nothing less, than a re-recording by the original artist. And those always suck (well, they always suck in pop/rock; a classical performer or a jazz musician can always re-visit a piece; that's a new version, not a re-recording, and blues artists can make every song more or less identical, and I'll keep listening; that's hypnotism). 2004 Smile was good, and the group doing it was very talented and all, but it wasn't the late 60's Beach Boys. It wasn't this. And I kinda wish I'd never heard 2004 Smile, but I guess that was what opened the door for this, do I guess it's ok.
[/rave]
The long and short of it is that this is real good.
George Harrison - All Things Must Surface and All Things Acetates - outtakes and demos from the All Things Must Pass sessions - available at big O zine.
Picked up on this from several year-end best of lists, but so far to me (admittedly on first listen and very first impressions) it just sounds a bit unfocused and aimless. I tried the Destroyer album on spotify that made #1 on emusic's list, and didn't get through that either. I must not be in a very patient frame of mind this morning.
With credit in hand I'm running into the same problem on my SFL as with end of year lists. I know which albums I want next within a given genre, but there are several genres there; how do I compare albums across different genres? I have two warring impulses right now. In principle I think everything should get a fair listen, yet the only way to manage the impossible quantity of recs at this time of year is to dismiss anything that doesn't immediately grab me.
Listening to this and a few other things (including the Grouper album listed above and bvdub's other recent release) is crystallizing something for me. There's a direction some ambient music is going in that involves a lot of use of dreamily indistinct loops of voices and layers of indistinct, glossy haze. And that stuff seems to be placing well on end of year lists. I am realizing I really don't care for it very much. When I compare it to, say, Nest or Deaf Center, where there is a clarity and precision to each of the sounds even when it's drone,there's a world of sonic difference. And Deaf Center topped my end of year list, so it's clear which way my ear leans. Always helpful to learn something about my preferences.
Hoping For The Invisible To Ignite by Farewell Poetry
I downloaded this a few days after posting my best of 2011 list to MiG. If I had downloaded it a week earlier it would have been in the top five at least; I'm tempted to add a footnote. Of all the stuff I've downloaded recently this one most makes me want to just start at the beginning again when it finishes playing. I will be writing a "vital album" piece on this one for MiG.
Oh fuck, I am now listening to the most beautiful album ever...
Araxi Karnusian's ensemble Strange Sounds - Beautiful Music. Album = "Interrupted". It just dropped on emusic. It's a couple years old, but I don't give a shit; I mentioning it.
An army of saxes and clarinets, piano, bass, drums, and a string quartet.
It's as if they made a big band album out of Benjamin Koppel's "Adventures of a Polar Expedition".
The irony of that album being unavailable to you is that, I think, some of those musicians are from your backyard, and it may not have been recorded that far from you either.
It's on the YVP label, IIRC, and I'm surprised that's not part of your region. But then again, they are just now hitting the US, too, so maybe it'll hit your zip code before long.
Comments
Craig, have you met this list?
Craig
(ok, not really; I just thought this cover would look good next to B'now's)
Beach Boys - Smile Sessions - another Christmas gift.
Something always bothered me about Brian Wilson's 2004 version of Smile. I mean it was good, but it wasn't this good. Hearing this (and listening to my old bootlegs in anticipation of getting this) made me realize what the problem was: Brian Wilson's Smile was nothing more, nothing less, than a re-recording by the original artist. And those always suck (well, they always suck in pop/rock; a classical performer or a jazz musician can always re-visit a piece; that's a new version, not a re-recording, and blues artists can make every song more or less identical, and I'll keep listening; that's hypnotism). 2004 Smile was good, and the group doing it was very talented and all, but it wasn't the late 60's Beach Boys. It wasn't this. And I kinda wish I'd never heard 2004 Smile, but I guess that was what opened the door for this, do I guess it's ok.
[/rave]
The long and short of it is that this is real good.
Julian Lage - "Gladwell"
Craig
Craig
Craig
Grouper, A.I.A. Alien Observer
Picked up on this from several year-end best of lists, but so far to me (admittedly on first listen and very first impressions) it just sounds a bit unfocused and aimless. I tried the Destroyer album on spotify that made #1 on emusic's list, and didn't get through that either. I must not be in a very patient frame of mind this morning.
With credit in hand I'm running into the same problem on my SFL as with end of year lists. I know which albums I want next within a given genre, but there are several genres there; how do I compare albums across different genres? I have two warring impulses right now. In principle I think everything should get a fair listen, yet the only way to manage the impossible quantity of recs at this time of year is to dismiss anything that doesn't immediately grab me.
Acoustic Tales by Field Rotation
Hmm. This is nice.
ETA: Very nice actually. Well worth a listen.
Craig
Listening to this and a few other things (including the Grouper album listed above and bvdub's other recent release) is crystallizing something for me. There's a direction some ambient music is going in that involves a lot of use of dreamily indistinct loops of voices and layers of indistinct, glossy haze. And that stuff seems to be placing well on end of year lists. I am realizing I really don't care for it very much. When I compare it to, say, Nest or Deaf Center, where there is a clarity and precision to each of the sounds even when it's drone,there's a world of sonic difference. And Deaf Center topped my end of year list, so it's clear which way my ear leans. Always helpful to learn something about my preferences.
KWJAZ
Hoping For The Invisible To Ignite by Farewell Poetry
I downloaded this a few days after posting my best of 2011 list to MiG. If I had downloaded it a week earlier it would have been in the top five at least; I'm tempted to add a footnote. Of all the stuff I've downloaded recently this one most makes me want to just start at the beginning again when it finishes playing. I will be writing a "vital album" piece on this one for MiG.
Araxi Karnusian's ensemble Strange Sounds - Beautiful Music. Album = "Interrupted". It just dropped on emusic. It's a couple years old, but I don't give a shit; I mentioning it.
An army of saxes and clarinets, piano, bass, drums, and a string quartet.
It's as if they made a big band album out of Benjamin Koppel's "Adventures of a Polar Expedition".
- Sounds very nice but it seems to be unavailable in Europe.
The irony of that album being unavailable to you is that, I think, some of those musicians are from your backyard, and it may not have been recorded that far from you either.
It's on the YVP label, IIRC, and I'm surprised that's not part of your region. But then again, they are just now hitting the US, too, so maybe it'll hit your zip code before long.