Ian MacKaye and Steve Albini are two musicians who have helped sculpt my relationship to music and the world around me. Their music, thoughts, and words have punctuated my life. I first encountered Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, Big Black, Rapeman, and Shellac during my adolescent immersion into the world of Punk and Hardcore, and have remained a steadfast fan of each effort ever since. Continue reading “Ian MacKaye & Steve Albini in conversation”
Month: January 2016
the marvel of the child prodigy u. srinivas
I am devoted to Indian Classical music. Two of my most ambitious pieces of writing on The Hum were dedicated to it – Introductions to Indian Classical Music Part 1 and Part 2. My collecting of this music often borders on obsessive – something not helped by the rarity of recordings in the West. Among the scarcest and most sought after are by the child prodigy mandolin player U Srinivas.
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Steve Reich at UC Berkeley University Museum 11/7/70
at home with morton subotnick and joan la barbara
Continuing the spirit of the last post on Joan La Barbara – here’s a video from a while back. It’s a lovely window into the shared life of two remarkable members of the NY avant-garde. Let their lives be lesson.
the beauty of joan la barbara (scores and photographs)
I’m a huge fan of Joan La Barbara. Her LP The Voice Is The Original Instrument is one of my favorite documents of the 1970’s NY avant-garde. La Barbara is a master of advanced vocal technique. In addition to her own remarkable creative output, she’s had a long career working with many of the greatest names in avant-garde composition – John Cage, Robert Ashley, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, Alvin Lucier, Gordon Mumma, David Behrman, David Tudor, and her husband Morton Subotnick. In my wanderings around the internet I’ve come across some of her wonderful scores and images of performances etc. I thought I’d pass them along. To see and learn more visit her website. Continue reading “the beauty of joan la barbara (scores and photographs)”
Rising Tones Cross (Full Film)
Rising Tones Cross is easily one of the best film documents of Free-Jazz from the late 70’s and early 80’s. Made by Ebba Jahn, and released by FMP in 1985, it features Charles Gayle, Rashied Ali, Peter Kowald, John Zorn, Billy Bang, William Parker, Jeanne Lee, Charles Tyler, Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, Don Cherry, Peter Brötzmann, Jemeel Moondoc, David S. Ware and Frank Wright among many others. An absolute delight.
a short film fragment about harry bertoia
great new john corbett interview at bomb magazine
the wonders of french television during the 1970’s
Before its corporate mechanization in the 1980’s, television took a while to find its feet. Its programming was narrow, geared to the desires of viewers, and often quirky. It took risks and experimented. There are countless documents of TV from the 60’s and 70’s which are wonderful and exciting, some of the best of which are from live music programs made in France. They often embrace the wilder elements of the creative process and stray from mainstream. Here are five of my favorites.
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