There's a lot I could write just now - but I'm somewhat hampered by a cut across my right index finger. I guess the knife was blunt enough to slide off of the onion, but sharp enough to slip into me. The research has been good, and varied, of late. All over the place, just the way I like it. And I feel close to making things again - that is, things of my own, rather than bringing my own sense of order to that which is the work of someone else (although that's fun and exciting in its own way, don't get me wrong). Sound, images....bits, pieces, and assemblages of all shapes, sizes, and colours. I'm beginning to see and hear them in my mind again. Ways of getting there, that will make the getting there worthwhile. Improvised blocks, stumbled upon, to stand alone, be combined, or worn and shaped into something else entirely. Maps to read, others yet to be drawn and followed, to who knows where.
"It was cheap, it was fun - go and do it". In many ways, it is now cheaper, more fun, and easier to go and do it than ever. And a lot of the time, that makes me feel like every one else is likely doing it, so why should I even bother? I lose sight of the fact that I'm never an entirely satisfied consumer - though goodness only knows how. Nobody should ever let the mass-media firehose drown out who they undoubtedly are - go ahead, critique the untouchable, challenge the undefeated, shoot the bulletproof....just because "it" is everywhere, your "it" is different from everyone else's, and therefore has an inherent value all of its own.
Jack of all trades? Jack of one trade? Better to be the jack of those that actually interest you, that strike a chord. Sure, some will call you a dilettante, an eccentric. So what? At least you'll be passing the time (at worst), and perhaps even happy (at best). Find your ways (you want more than one, trust me....seek and ye shall find).
I'm just asleep with my eyes open half the time - although I will admit that, every once in a while, it's exactly where I want to be.
More to come. Some sooner, and hopefully even more later. We'll see. </Andrew> <!--2/25/2008 09:19:00 PM-->
There has been a definite absence of sign-posts in recent times, despite much drifting in search of something to find a way - not the way, but some way. It's no good following arrows in one specific direction, only to find that they've taken you somewhere that turns out to be not what you were looking for. Although it's never too late to turn back, or take a detour. There's always time for that.
Progress isn't always easy though, when you don't really know where to go - or what you may do when you get there. You can always improvise - but that comes with risks. One of which is that other people can easily interpret your actions (or inactions) as something other than what you intended. Another that what can emerge is informed by your intentions, without actually being a clear or definitive statement on that intent. Just don't stick to the script - there's no solution in doing that.
Head to the shop for a map, and always end up coming back with something else instead. Probably the wrong shop. Probably the wrong day. Somewhere, the right shop exists. Barely any customers, but those who find it are glad to have done so, and return often, sometimes as often as they can. They know what it is. Others just pass by, not out of spite or intent, or even interest. Perhaps in a quieter part of town, on an unassuming back street. Modestly signed, welcoming. Some days, nobody comes in - the sign is turned to 'Closed', with a sigh. Though the emptiness is tempered with the knowledge that someone will be by soon. They'll all find it in the end.
No signs, no map, no shop. Though I haven't felt much like looking, or shopping, of late - which doesn't mean to say I haven't been thinking about it.
The shelves have been overwhelming. The media, massed, too loud and with so little to say, that it isn't even worth listening to in the background. If I did care, I'm beginning not to. But to tell the truth, I didn't, particularly, in the first place.
So I retreat, into spaces old and familiar, for now. Some good, some bad. The good ones can be great, and the bad ones can be awful. But at least their familiarity means you can remove yourself from them somewhat, and know exactly where you are, without continuing fear, or danger.
We're all heroes and villains. Both. Sometimes you call one, and the other comes running. You may admire one, though be better to know the other. Just remember they're mutually dependent. There'd be no heroes without villains, no villainy without heroics.
Wrap your troubles in dreams. Then make a list, and find a way. Not the way, but some way. Some way out of here. </Andrew> <!--1/13/2008 03:33:00 PM-->
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
<Andrew>
Time to re-awaken the blog, I think. Another year, after a bit of a nap.
The label he partly owned sparked my initial interest in independent music. And record collecting. And wanting to start a label of my own. He was one a handful key influences that made me want to work in broadcasting. Despite everything life threw at him, he remained rooted in his ideals. His politics, his geography, his reality. He said it how he saw it. He knew what he was (the film based on his life covers this wonderfully), and he was just fine with it.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, I am a worrier. For example....:
I worry that impatience and laziness have somehow crept wholesale into our present day existence, under the guise of "convenience".
Which is not to dismiss technology as a contrivance - more its sociological impact. Nor should it distract us from wanting to make the impossible possible, in a reasonable sense.
All this, from the person who wanted to study art (and was accepted - and should have accepted the acceptance, particularly over some elements of what proved to be the alternative), yet could never draw, paint, crayon, or anything else. I suppose I lived in a world of concept over object. Perhaps I still do. I really ought to care, and perhaps, tomorrow, I shall. But, for now, research (of the laziest kind, obviously). </Andrew> <!--8/06/2007 08:12:00 PM-->
Monday, July 23, 2007
<Andrew>
The initial reason for posting this, is because it's funny - it's what "The Soup" does best (should it be doing anything else?). But then, there is a somewhat darker, and more socio-political undertone to the humour. People will buy anything - particularly when it's marketed as an "escape". And carries a brand name they can identify with. Smart, very smart. These folks, and Chelsea Handler's shows, just go to show that even the E! network can be credible....albeit for 1 hour per week.
Lately, I am dogged by the feeling that maybe something so good isn't going to happen - perhaps to me personally (why else would I be feeling it?). I am usually far more of a realist, than a fatalist, or pessimist. Perhaps it's connected to all of the dark clouds that have been in the sky this past week - who knows? Maybe they're following me. Worries litter the paths I tread - mostly about this, or that. Searching aimlessly, accumulating dust, age, and weight (in all its forms), wondering if I've run out of people to fall out with....such is my track record. Sometimes more of a broken record.
Patience, persistence, pleasure, and pain. Each is a must for any researcher. I trawl for the facts, for the words, the information. I cast my net daily, and dutifully reel it in. Alas, sometimes it is empty, and sometimes so full, the abundance is but a waste of such riches.
Such is the nature of data - it may find you, sooner or later. </Andrew> <!--7/23/2007 07:37:00 PM-->
Thursday, July 12, 2007
<Andrew>
While Michael Moore's latest film, Sicko, about the health care (or lack thereof) of the United States, and other parts of the world (France, Canada, Cuba, and the UK), is a thoroughly excellent, insightful, and cleverly assembled piece of work - sad to say that even socialised health care systems, such as the National Health Service in the UK (with which I am very much familiar, as you may expect), have many faults and conflicts of their own - although I would say that these mostly appear to stem from the bureaucracy that would want to govern it, as opposed to the hospitals, and the people that staff them.
A case in point - I was most saddened to read today of the fact that Tony Wilson, former operator of Factory Records, and a figure in music, and the arts in general, who I have greatly respected for many years, has been refused permission by the NHS to obtain a drug (which his hospital doctors recommended) to prevent the growth and spread of the kidney cancer he was diagnosed with toward the end of last year. As such, he is having to obtain this privately, at a cost of GBP3500 (US$7000) per month, and is currently being assisted in doing so by a fund set up by current and former friends and associates. Very, very sad indeed, both for the man himself and his family, and as a reflection of what the NHS has become, despite the picture of perfection Mr. Moore paints in his film.
Something I found particularly moving, was Wilson's reason for never seeking private medical insurance of his own - "....because I am a socialist".
Don't get me wrong though. Of course I'd much rather be living within a society that had socialised medicine for its population, as opposed to one that seems so vehemently opposed to it - just as something, is always better than nothing. </Andrew> <!--7/12/2007 10:14:00 PM-->
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
<Andrew>
I had been wondering why my blog had been getting a lot of hits over the past few weeks, and why nearly every single one of them was coming from Canada. And today, I found the answer - I had, unwittingly, become tangled up in the phenomenon that is....Canadian Idol.
Thankfully, it looks as if he was voted off at the Top 18 stage....although perhaps if he'd won, I could have sold his record label the domain name for an exorbitant fee. Never mind.</Andrew> <!--7/10/2007 12:52:00 PM-->
Sunday, July 08, 2007
<Andrew>
Ladies & Gentlemen, may I present to you, from 1979 - the original blue screen of death!
Another uncertainty about 1970's Britain, and again, one I've written about before (albeit briefly), was whether there would be anything on the television. And, when I say "anything", I don't mean anything worth watching....I mean, anything - at all.
(A fantastic, and fairly thorough, overview of industrial action in British broadcasting can be gleaned here.)
And when ITV did come back, after strikes kept it off the air for over 10 weeks, from August to October of 1979, this is what they gave us (unearthed, of course, courtesy of YouTube....):
Thanks 2DPlay for allowing me to waste even more of my time with things like this....
And no thanks to the Swedish police/government for pulling low-down stunts like this. And not for the first time, even.
Been spending my time working, traveling (file under: "working"), reading and researching, as always. Generally avoiding the sunlight, in other words. Current areas of (re-)focus include analogue synthesis (this has been fairly mind-blowing in places....I am neither a musician, or an electrical engineer, so neither extended learning curve really works too well), and 'radical' art....in particular, from Britian, and even more so, from the 1970's and early 80's. When the dream died - someones dream, at any rate. And its reflection upon my past.
It makes me wonder about a lot of things. In a sort of "Where did we go wrong?" way. Though it's not all necessarily good - more about positioning really. Social, political, and geographic positioning. In particular, it conjures one image in my mind, one that is remembered, but somewhat faded around the edges. A lot my 1970's memories are like that. It is the image of the old council rent office in Burwash Road, on the Hangleton estate, where I grew up. It's been closed for a long time now - converted, ironically, into a flat that someone now lives in (I believe the upstairs part was always a flat, or offices or some sort). There was a small council works depot around the back - a couple of vans, some tools and bits, for the people that did the maintenance on the houses and streets. The rent office was a stark place, even for a government building (stark places) at that time (a very stark time). The outside, and inside, were painted in a cream paint that seemed to turn more yellow every time you saw it. Inside, the floor was bare and always rather dusty and dirty. In the autumn, the wind would blow leaves in, most likely from the park just along the road. There was a notice board, always covered in bits of paper, usually of the governmental (copies of the Rent Act, and so on) or public information variety - "Keep Rabies Out Of Britain", etc., and one about Colorado Beetles that I know I've written about before. It was not a very big space, internally, by any means, which was very oddly lit (almost too brightly, but that may have been the yellowing walls playing tricks on my young eyes), and was divided in two by a wall. At one end, nearest the door, there was a small counter, with a vented glass screen, behind which the cashier sat, in accomodations only slightly less bare and dusty than on the other side of the partition. You walked up a small flight of brick steps to get to the entrance, and above your head was the weathered old sign, that provided the only indication to those on the outside of what it was (everyone on the estate knew full well what it was, of course).
There didn't used to be as much graffiti around Brighton and Hove back then, compared to now, and what there was usually took some sort of political tone - whether on a local, national, or global level. Obeyance and resistance was everywhere, often side-by-side.
Coming back to positioning, though - you knew where you were. And you knew who you were, for better or worse. It didn't have to be a bad thing, and it gave you something to shout about, for or against. The Rent Office signified the availability of social housing - somewhere to live, for a fair rent, and without a private landlord. It also signified (working) class consciousness - something Margaret Thatcher (and Ronald Reagan) did so much to assuage....aiming to remove the "undignified" distinctions of class, which they saw as a stigma completely bereft of benefit, while raising the walls of class disparity to their highest ever levels (through efforts, such as utility privatisation, which made the rich even more wealthy, yet made the poor truly poorer....more than mere money, they lost their say, and their services).
It seems so much was lost, yet so much else gained, during the 1980's. The losses seem ideological, and often fundamental. The gains seem material, and technological. As new paths and distractions opened up, and allowed us to live, each day, as never before, did we allow others to become so overgrown and neglected?
History books are full of this stuff. And what remains of those lives, those years, and their changes, have become little more than footnotes. My mind will never recapture and re-focus all that I wish I could recall, and investigate, of what I remember of life then, and the whole torrent of circumstances that surrounded it. Uncertainty as to whether the electricity would go off, the buses were running, the post would be delivered, or the shops would have bread....
But it gave you something to shout about, for or against.</Andrew> <!--7/08/2007 09:31:00 AM-->
Monday, May 14, 2007
<Andrew>
Sometimes the very things which are there to assist, do nothing more than get you waylaid. All media form part of the problem (solution), and the internet, of course, is prominent among them, in the present tense. For people like myself, whose 'research' and interest is largely non-specific, and often without a predetermined focus, it presents something of a minefield. At best, you leap from trap to trap, plucking fragments of information from the jaws before they snare you. At worst, time passes, words and images pass by, yet nothing happens - boredom reigns, and boredom gains, on me. Actions are supposed to have reactions. I drop stones into puddles, and don't hear the splash, or see the ripples. Such are the perils of being an avowed generalist....wide open spaces. The specialists earn the big money, and can fill notebooks and auditoria with words on their chosen field - but they're ultimately boring. And likely almost as unfulfilled, outside of what their specialty can provide. I'm not saying the generalists are in some way 'right'. Or happier, or more popular - far from it, I should think. Merely that I've never been so driven or single-minded as to want to be a specialist. I don't have what it takes, and it wouldn't take what I have.
I have yet to hear any new (as in, 2007) music this year that has truly moved me - really made me stop in my tracks and listen, or engaged me to the degree that I know music can. It somehow sounds emasculated and emaciated - as if rock & roll has been quietly ousted from alongside sex and drugs, within the triumvirate of 20th Century vices.
Conversely, I've heard some great 'old' music this year - whether it be from recent reissues, or second-hand vinyl acquisitions.
And, funnily enough, as a general train of thought, I've recently been pondering the shock of the old, as it relates to the arts, and also in terms of general gesture. Can't help but think it comes back to stones and puddles again. Not just letting go, then listening, and watching....but the question of who is throwing the stones, and jumping in the puddles? It's as if people have no wish (more in the psychological sense, in addition to the physical one) to get their hands dirty, or their feet wet. We have a greater amount of history to reflect upon, and a far greater amount more information regarding that history, and an even greater amount of access to that wealth of information, than any of our ancestors ever had before us. Is it only serving to make us more apprehensive about picking a stone up, or making a leap?
While mailing a package earlier today, to avoid the long line at the Post Office counter, I used one of those fairly new automated postal machines. As many people doubtless know, one unfortunate aspect of these devices is that they contain a camera, which takes a picture of everyone who uses it. This picture is then linked to the log entry of your transaction, and the unique indentifier code printed on the mailing label you affix to your item. It's difficult to not feel some degree of paranoia about it, and to not think of some way in which you could circumvent its insistence on tracking what you do. We're practically forced to think of using only randomly purchased stamps for postage. And making visits to the Post Office after hours, wearing gloves and a balaclava, paying only in well worn coins....
During the skirmishes that led up to Communist uprising in Laos, both the government troops, and the rebels, were desperately short of money, equipment, even the will to fight one another. As such, presence became everything. The Pathet Lao took to using a tactic called the "lucky pebble" - nothing more than a rock with a note tied to it by a string. Some rebels would gather outside an army post, and the rock would be tossed over the surrounding wall, or fence. A government soldier, on hearing the stone land, would untie the string, and read the note, which would commonly say something to the order of, "This stone could have been a bomb. You would do well to surrender." And, very often it seems, they would. Defeated, by gesture alone.</Andrew> <!--5/14/2007 02:12:00 PM-->
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
<Andrew>
Simmering under the weight of expectation, and often aimless self-education. What am I getting out of it? Junk mail - in both electronic, and paper variants? Waiting. Thinking about the book that we perhaps all should write. The one that explains who we are, and what we do, and why we do it. Something that we could all offer, tout, and distribute to others as the need to took us, in order to give us an extra foot in the door. Anyone seeming unsure, or those we'd like to be more certain. Seems though like it'd all end in tears (boxes of them, unopened, under the bed or in closets), or be mistaken for some sort of religious pamphlet. Trust organised religion to make people wary, even of free stuff (junk mail?).
The cul-de-sac - only one way out. The way you came in. Then, adding water to whisky - there's no way. Half again may skim the finest edge from one, yet a drop could drown another. A long walk with no map. A trail of ruined drinks, strewn like malted breadcrumbs, to help you find your way back - preferably via an alternate route with better scenery.</Andrew> <!--5/02/2007 09:22:00 PM-->
Saturday, April 28, 2007
<Andrew>
Despite having begun this year with a marked desire to want to spend more time writing, in some shape or form, I have actually probably written less this year than during any other since learning to write. I often seem to approach it as a task too difficult, or heavily weighted, to approach at any given time, or something that I do not particularly want to do at the times that present themselves for me to do it. I have no desire for it to become something that is not enjoyed, or that does not occur with some degree of a natural process. Like any form of expression, it should not be forced. It does not need to be over thought, or too heavily laboured - and there lies a lot of the fault, a lot of the faults. The point at which the ground begins to crack, the paper to fray and tear. Like a musician searches for the lost chord, the golden section, the artist for the colours and shapes in their mind - there is no perfect sequence, amount, or order. There is no winning word.
(Reaches for metaphors - plenty within touching distance):
You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. A ticket costs, say, a dollar, a pound, a unit of your currency. The risk is relative - for some the financial risk involved is higher than for others, but the thought process is the same. You've got to be in it to win it. Speculate (words) to accumulate (text). The mechanism behind the lottery does not discriminate, or is, at least, supposed not to, but I will leave any such conspiracy theories aside for now. Purchasing further tickets only superficially increases your odds (many words, or few words - it's all still communication, and it's only opposite is non-communication). There are no marked cards or fixed ballots, no 6 perfect lottery numbers - a sequence that is destined to appear with any more frequency than others. Research, on a personal level, is more likely to inform your choices than anything else (days of the week, months of the year, birthdays, ages, lucky numbers, etc. - our personal mythology, in other words). Experiments, based upon that research, will ultimately prove how useful the research was - but even participating in such experiments highlights the worth of conducting the research. We may not scoop the jackpot, but we have not failed. Similarly, there is no perfect sequence of words - all words are equal within the greater pool of words, draining into the ocean of language, whose tides ebb and flow against the coasts of interaction, fringing the land masses of humanity.
Letters, numbers, symbols. If we don't use them we don't take risks. All risks are relative to the individual. All individuals possess personal mythology. The past is done. The tree fell, and someone heard it. The numbers were drawn, whether you bought a ticket or not.
Someone may have slipped a ticket into your pocket. </Andrew> <!--4/28/2007 09:29:00 AM-->
Monday, April 09, 2007
<Andrew>
And so, the blog has moved - somewhat (skipping from one domain, to the other), and has lain dormant for a while. Not ignoring you - just not saying anything. Which is something completely different. As is having nothing to say, which is also not the case. The impetus is what's been missing. There are words, but no reason, and not much focus.
I don't like it when I don't write though. Because I really ought to be. I rarely realise this, but when I do, it's usually enough of a jolt to get me to actually do it for a while afterwards.
I should probably be writing about music. I've done it before. I should probably be writing about any things that I like, really. I could occasionally touch on that which is tolerable, and trust that people would know that I do not like something if, at some point, I do not mention it. That way, I won't have to whine about them. Which is not to say I shouldn't complain. The world isn't fair, after all. And it isn't fair because you/I/they don't control it. We only control ourselves. We control our input, and we control our output. Some kind of input should produce some kind of output, or so says science.
The small print: I am not an enlightened participant. I just participate. I am not an informed consumer. I just consume. I am not a writer. I just write. But never underestimate research, experience, or connections. All data is relative. So how does it relate?
As individuals, the odds are stacked against us. Six billion to one. We're already failing, and it's destined to continue. Fortunately, such a reasoning conspires to make everything which is not a failure, into some kind of success.... </Andrew> <!--4/09/2007 09:00:00 PM-->
Things are starting to happen (although slower than perhaps we would have liked) over at The Phonographic Society....so much still to do to. Such grand, yet austere, plans. It's all about the music. That, and I have my Saturday evenings back, which has been almost unexpectedly nice.</Andrew> <!--2/11/2007 10:43:00 PM-->
Monday, January 29, 2007
<Andrew>
The playlist from the last ever Curious-Blue on KAOS Radio, is now posted over here. The future begins today. Well....it started about 8.01pm on Saturday, really.</Andrew> <!--1/29/2007 05:57:00 PM-->
Sunday, January 21, 2007
<Andrew>
Two pieces of toast (for the pedantic, Islands Bakery Oat & Wheat Berry). Left slice - thinly sliced Fontina cheese, with fresh Thai basil leaves. Right slice - thick cut orange and ginger marmalade. No butter, no condiments, cup of Typhoo tea on the side. Simple pleasures....
And, in other food and drink related news, North Coast Brewing's "Old Rasputin" has a new challenger in the heavy-like-lead stout arena....Deschutes' "The Abyss". Stuffed with licorice and molasses, then aged in French oak barrels. 11% alcohol, 22 ounce bottle, sealed (very appropriately) with black wax. My tip with this is to buy two - drink one now, and put the other in a cool, dark place for about a year, or longer if you can stand it. Previous experiments with such beverages indicate it'll be worth every day of our restraint.</Andrew> <!--1/21/2007 12:08:00 PM-->
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
<Andrew>
So, it's official - the very last edition of Curious-Blue on KAOS Community Radio, 89.3FM, will occur on Saturday, January 27th. It's been a long old ride, and it's never been anything less than a pleasure to share music and thoughts with people, in the simple hope that they may enjoy it.
It's been anything but fun to put up with certain things about KAOS though, and so I really think it's time to do something different. Something where I can continue with what I was doing before, in a more '21st Century' kind of way - online, accessible on demand....but still good music, available for whomever may want to discover and listen to it.
So, coming soon will be a new website, to compliment this existing one (which, just like this blog, is not going away), to play host to this new endeavour:
What is the The Phonographic Society? Is it a club, some sort of library, a comment on modern existence? Sort of all 3 really. Records have never gone away, and even if they ever were ever completely killed off, music would continue to exist, in some other form - even in virtual forms like downloads, where the subject is divorced from the object. We're surrounded by sounds - they're everywhere. We're all part of society, therefore we're all part of The Phonographic Society....
Oh, and er....*cough*, we're on MySpace now too. And yes, we hate MySpace. But we've learned to live with it, so we may as well dive in:
This selector needs to keep selecting. What's your selection? Won't you select with me....?</Andrew> <!--1/16/2007 02:51:00 AM-->
Friday, January 05, 2007
<Andrew>
Despite it being the very antithesis of everything I would claim to represent about the world of music, I have been unable to shift the whistling refrain to Scorpions' "Wind Of Change" from some region or other of my skull. No, I haven't taken leave of that last bit of my senses - it mostly stems from my wise-cracking with Mr. Vengeance about all the changes looming over me since the New Year (although, in truth, they actually all existed previous to Janaury 1st). And it's mostly not the song itself that's the source of the humour - more the way it was referenced in an episode of "Brass Eye" (and one which after many years, and many viewings, still remains pointedly funny). And, oddly enough, the wind is howling away outside again, the rain lashing down with it too, by way of accompaniment. In fact, I should type this a little faster, as the lights keep flickering (still a bit nervous about such things after last months 4-and-a-bit days without power - as are most other people who live hereabouts!).
Anyhow - winds of change, that's where we were. They're blowing through work, through my creative outlets, through my thinking (when I let them) - pretty much everywhere. So it's too bad that a lot of the actual minute-to-minute of 2007 so far has felt like '2006 Part 2 - Electric Boogaloo'. But not all of it - to say that would not be strictly fair. Either way, I'm still fairly happy, even while others may still be making up their mind. Not there's anything wrong with pauses for thought - sometimes mine last for months (regular readers will be all too aware of this....).
Watched some TV for the first time in ages this evening - not been able to hack it for much longer than a few minutes these past few weeks. Wherein there was some inspired back-to-back comedy from BBC America ("Black Books", which I'm usually not all that fond of, but loved tonight, running into two episodes of "Spaced", which can be hard to keep up with, as it's often hilarious in several different ways simultaneously), flowing straight into the Friday night love/hate-fest that is "The Soup" - which has been steadily gaining in appeal, and admiration from me, despite the obvious paradox of its very being (the show it's OK to love, on the network you'd really love to hate - and often do. Except there's other networks that are actually far worse. And it's not all that bad from time to time. Did I just write that?).</Andrew> <!--1/05/2007 11:44:00 PM-->
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
<Andrew>
Happy New Year. 2006 was shown the door, and it wisely retreated. No, there will be no formal resolutions from me - surprise, surprise. You really ought to know how I feel about goals by now. Trust though, that there will be some action(s) in 2007. I've been thinking, I've been plotting. And perhaps for once, I'll actually deliver. That's confidence for you. My hope is that creativity and joy will find us all, and that when they can't, there will at least be some form of relaxation/sedative on hand to assist, until such time as they seek us out again....and they always do.</Andrew> <!--1/02/2007 10:33:00 PM-->
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
<Andrew>
While I'm sure that a few of you (I am aware that may be an exaggeration) are enjoying the comparative glut of postings I've been crafting here of late - do remember that this is a time for reflection. Which is not to say I'm about to let you down again - but what else is a fella supposed to do with the last few days of the year? The dead space at the end of 2006, while we wait for January 1st, so that we can not only do something, but gain renewed license to feel good about it too. Chalk it up as a goal, an improvement, a step forward, in spite of the rain, the cold, and the darkness.
The fact is, change happens. Sometimes it is obvious, and welcomed - other times it is invisible, or dreaded. Some believe in coincidence, some in fate. Change is everywhere. Be sure that you cannot hide from it.
Having been absent from the news for a couple of days, I only found out this morning about the death of James Brown. Through all of his ups and downs, for better or worse, one fact remains - that the rest of us will always have to make do with being Soul Brother # 2....</Andrew> <!--12/27/2006 10:35:00 PM-->
Saturday, December 23, 2006
<Andrew>
Moving slowly towards the new social-ism. 2007 may yet be the year of the charm offensive, although - as it's me - it will also be littered with offensive charm....
Some words that I'd had in my head for a long time (where they were doing no good whatsoever, obviously) recently appeared in a christmas card I received - "I always consider you a good friend, even if we go months without chatting". This is not something unusual for me, and it's not something I'm terribly proud of, even though I couldn't care less most of the time, and would rather exist solely in mine, B., and Moggy's little fortress....plotting, bonding, researching. I either care if the outside world is there, or I don't - that's the rather blunt truth of it, in black and blue. I sometimes think I'm heartless, and I'm glad that other people usually (yeah, usually) disagree. Because then I can forget about it for a while, and move on to tomorrow.
Last night, Myself and Mr. Vengeance partook of our own (second annual, even) holiday party - celebrating not only that we have a few days off work, but also that it's time to reflect, and project. Tango whiskeymen are we - negotiating the hidden pathways of the mind, by Bushmills and Snow Cap.
On the record player, in t'other room, while I type - Jeanne Shy, "Night Dancer" (RSO 12", 1979). Another 99 cents worth of glittering pleasure, and one which people who know me well, would find rather appropriate (and amusing).
On the iPod recently - Downtown 81 and TV Party. Cannot lose the images of New York City, gaunt and hollowed out (much as London appears in countless late-1970's episodes of "The Sweeney"), or of Arto Lindsay, playing guitar as if the strings were shearing off his fingers, one by one, and singing as if he's crunching on his own teeth, then spitting pieces of them out.
(Incidentally, Brinkfilm has some choice footage of DNA peforming live at their site - unfortunately, as it's a fairly low bit-rate stream, the sound suffers greatly....)</Andrew> <!--12/23/2006 12:20:00 PM-->
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
<Andrew>
Did 2006 merely consist of my ever-hastening descent into utter disco/punk/experimental/art mayhem? Surely not. Cannot I also be seen regularly jaywalking out East, whilst occasionally wearing ill-fitting suit jackets....?
Did Time Magazine name "You" as their Person Of The Year, out of laziness, or respect? I guess only "we" can decide, by way of a paradox. I suppose it depends on who you trust.
Expect more before the end of the year, lest the date should expire on my thoughts....</Andrew> <!--12/20/2006 08:06:00 PM-->
<Andrew>
Top 20 tunes of 2006, in some sort of order, but no particular one....:
Padded Cell - Konkorde Lafayette (DC Recordings) Blackbelt Andersen - Snake Eyes (Full Pupp) Agora Rhythm - Crossroads (Nite Grooves) Emperor Machine - Bodilizer Bodilsizer (DC Recordings) Cro-Magnon - Galactic Mellow (Jazzy Sport) Rondenion - Outer World (Still Music) Studio - Life's A Beach (Information) A Made Up Sound - Late Drive (Philpot) Fat Camp - Wanna Be (Popular People's Front) Beatfanatic - Broken Descarga (Soundscape) Digital Mystikz - Ancient Memories (DMZ) Escort - Karawane (Escort) The CJ & O Band - J'Ouvert (Electric Souls) Italoboyz - Bubble & Click (Einmaleins) The Haggis Horns - Traveller (Part 2) (First Word) Innocent Sorcerers - One Dollar Race (Raw Fusion) Manmade Science - Difunkt (Philpot) Justus Kohncke - Overhead (Kompakt) Lexx - Slow Burning (Bear Funk) Lindstrom - The Contemporary Fix (Feedelity)</Andrew> <!--12/20/2006 06:06:00 PM-->
Clayton Way. The End. March 15th, 1973 - December 18th, 2006. 33 years, 9 months, and 3 days of memories....</Andrew> <!--12/18/2006 06:44:00 PM-->
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
<Andrew>
"I am still alive" - On Kawara (as referenced elsewhere).
The end of the year approaches like a train about to smash into the buffers at the end of the line - that's really what it feels like. Winter has bought darkness and cold, and I've felt it when and where I've been paying attention, but some days I just feel enveloped in a fog....a fog partially consisting of memories, of hopes, of thoughts, and - very occasionally - the actual day-to-day of my existence. The food that I eat at least resonates (been making Moqueca lately, and doing fairly well), as do the ever-tempting winter beers that permeate the frosty shop shelves of the Northwest at this time of year. The usual favourites hold their own (Deschutes Jubelale, Alaskan's entry with the spruce tips, the ever-ace New Belgium, and 1-2 knockout of Lagunitas' heavyweight Brown Shugga), and it's just as well, as there seems to be a shortage of fresh challengers this time around.
Also in the process of beginning to mail out holiday cards - and with most of them going overseas, now really is the time to get going on it, too (before you all think I'm crazy in yet another way). Despite the fact that I try to make it all as un-production-line-like as possible, that is always what it seems to turn into. A stamp here, a label here, some writing here and here, lick there, press, and out the door it goes, thank-yer-veh-much. Being so far away from family, the receiving of cards on festive occasions holds a good deal of importance, regardless of where they come from. It just means something to get one, and to give them too. It's an easy thing to overlook, but it's nice to see them around the house, and to know that someone, somewhere still remembers you. No matter how hard I try to make it for them.
So - there you go. I'm offically not ignoring the blog anymore, and bothering to drag my lazy backside to the keyboard to do something other than researching old disco records that only 3 other people (and, yes, that may be an exaggeration) on the planet care about, and be passingly sarcastic to people. Or write e-mails to which people do not respond. Or listen to mixes, mixes, mixes, especially if they're interesting.
And, speaking of mixes....well, more about mixes later. I have a plan.</Andrew> <!--12/06/2006 09:50:00 PM-->
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
<Andrew>
Been without internet for the past couple of days (thanks Comcast, he said sarcastically) - not that there's anything much to say, and not really anyone much to say it to, even if I did. Careering headlong toward the end of the year. Creeping darkness, and yielding to the routine. Rain, rain, rain.</Andrew> <!--11/14/2006 09:11:00 PM-->
Sunday, October 01, 2006
<Andrew>
Long time no post - sorry. Have been away. Am back now. More to follow. (Picture - in the blur beneath Old Street, Sept. 2006. By way of contrast, here is the very first picture of myself at an Underground Station - Oxford Circus, Feb. 1989....just goes to show what 17-and-a-bit years can do).
It would be fairly easy to write yet another letter to KAOS, and make a case for changes for the common good. To point out further instances of the lack of respect and fairness shown to the experimental/indie/other programming, in the face of the pats on the back, and praise all round, for the folk, blues, country, and jazz shows. Shows that are 'easy' in more than one sense of the word - easy listening, largely non-challenging in format and content, and available elsewhere on the radio dial (or internet) in similar forms. I'm not saying the hosts of those shows don't bring their own knowledge and talents to bear - they most certainly do - but their efforts are applauded, and written about, and singled out for attention at every opportunity, despite the long-standing innovation, commitment, self-promotion (KAOS sure as hell isn't going to do it for us), and constant movement in the pursuit of ideas of countless other volunteers, whose only 'crime' is to passionately love music that they don't like. Ideas and innovation that benefit KAOS, and have thoughout its history - remember, it's forward thinking, and new, unique approaches that earned it the historical significance it claims to hold so dear. We should be striving to be different, not the same. But the fact is, KAOS as an entity is not striving at all - individual volunteers are striving for their own survival, but that's about it. Plus, when it comes down to it, friends and allies who have departed the station over the past few years, have stated these very same points repeatedly, to no effect or avail. No love, no respect, no caring, and no clue about what it is we're trying do. Yet none of their feedback bought about an improvement in this situation, which is rather sad really, and defeated the object having been asked to provide it in the first place.
Locally, there's shrinking contributions and listenership to contend with, yet a huge untapped new community of online listeners potentially exists, who are for the most part frankly ignored, or treated as something of a minor inconvenience (remember the DMCA? KAOS does, worse luck).
Then, there's the identity crisis - KAOS is far more a Freeform Radio station, than it is a community radio station. Yet some at the station find that word 'freeform' so problematic - they take it too literally, and feel that it implies utter chaos. Chaos at a station called KAOS? Perish the thought - what would people think? (truth in advertising, perhaps?) KAOS is freeform in format, in content, in ideals (allegedly) - in everything but name and affiliation, in fact. And that we're turning the other cheek to stations like KDVS, WFMU, international outlets like Resonance FM, and countless others like them, is hurting us....truly limiting our reach, our potential, our profile. The leadership seems resigned to the fact that the station has lost the stature it once held, in this age of technology, and 24-hour global media. So why have the stations I've mentioned above made it work? Even if we could make some small steps towards this, that would be something....
Not that there is any kind of plan for the future (even the near future) to improve upon any of those factors. No goals, no milestones, no clear agenda - not even a written rule book, or any semblance of unity. Except for disaffection, and this weird compulsion we all seem to share for showing up every week to try to do the best radio shows we can, for free, in our time.
And still they don't respect us?
Yes, this would have made a nice letter to the Powers That Be. But I'm tired of being the dissenting voice. There are others within the KAOS volunteer ranks currently, and formerly, who agree with these basic points, though they obviously have their own, more clearly defined opinions - I can't speak for them. So what I would encourage them to do, is share those thoughts with station staff, volunteers, listeners - whether directly, or indirectly. In any way they can, any way they feel like.
My cards are on the table. But you knew that anyway.</Andrew> <!--8/24/2006 10:39:00 PM-->
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
<Andrew>
No movement, no updates. Sometimes I think I could just sleepwalk through my days and no-one would notice, not even me. Sometimes it's disheartening to be an under-utilized resource - to feel that there's little-to-no use for this knowledge that I've acquired, and precious few people to discuss a lot of it with even. I suppose that's what outlets like this blog are for. But it only helps sometimes, and occasionally, not at all. There's so much I could be doing....but I can't even remember the last time someone even asked. For a piece or writing, a piece of music, an idea, a contribution. All the while I'm just throwing things out there. They could be tickets to somewhere new, for discovery. Or paper aeroplanes in flight. Or countless messages-in-bottles, tossed into an overflowing sea of data. Internet as landfill anyone....? Discuss.
By the way, 1995 just called, and asked MySpace to give AOL the very worst of its generic pap-crap content back. Would someone please oblige? Please?
Yes, I need to punch my way out of the paper bag. Does it show?</Andrew> <!--8/22/2006 09:41:00 PM-->
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
<Andrew>
I am frustrating myself this week - it's all I can do to avoid just going to bed, and pulling the covers over my head. I seem to flip-flop between action, and inaction. Ideas and apathy. Progress and stasis. The old highs and lows, again.
I had some thoughts toward expanding on some recent interests, into the form of an article for the KAOS Program Guide - as it has been some years since I've written one, and there's rarely anything in there that I find to be of anything more than fleeting interest. So rather than idly complain, I thought I'd better pick up a pen. I had several possibilities in mind, and ended up pursuing some threads from my recent post regarding cassettes. However - and I knew this full well - this is a subject upon which it is nigh on impossible to just scratch the surface....as it rapdily collapses under you, creating caverns of possible reference. In all fairness, it's a subject that deserves a hefty book to be written about it (and a book, I might add, that casts the net a good deal wider and deeper than the informative, but woefully limited, "Cassette Mythos"). It's something I would gladly pursue even, were I able to devote enough time and energy to the project, due to the backing of an extremely patient, supportive, and generous publisher. So no chance of that, then! I have but a genuine love and enthusiasm, a certain way with words, and something to type on....and that's enough for a lot of people (as it is for me, in miniscule, non-specific doses - such as these blog posts!). I am too much of an explorer and researcher, and a rather lousy editor. A regular Mr. Extended Remix, that's me. There's something to be said for strictures and discipline (of the right sort....).
Conversely, I so rarely have anything much to say these days. And when I do say things, I occasionally find myself wondering why it is that anyone would want to listen? Either way, people probably just think I'm weird. And for different reasons. I should just make them all mix-tapes....then they would know that I'm weird, rather than just having vague suspicions.
I never set out to be evasive, you know. It just happens. Even when I try not to.
Not a lot of great new music around at the moment - I think everyone's gone off on holiday or something. A lot of great re-issues of old music around though, fortunately, plus plenty of stuff from the last few years that are well worth dusting off for a Summer outing. I need a more orderly system of organizing my vinyl though, I think. That particular lightbulb flickered into life again a few weeks ago, after spending about 20 minutes looking for one specific record to play on my show....working up a fair old sweat, and almost missing the bus to take me out there, in the process.</Andrew> <!--8/16/2006 09:55:00 PM-->
Friday, August 11, 2006
<Andrew>
I'm considering some changes to the radio show, in terms of the breadth of its musical content, to keep things fresh, challenging, and a little less 'fixed' - and throughout its history, such changes are nothing new. In actual fact (and by way of proof, you might say), it made think about giving this old article of mine a reprint (it actually used to live somewhere on this website, back in 2003!), as it applies to this concept of renewal, and rubs shoulders rather nicely with my thoughts on cassettes from yesterday. Maybe you've seen it before, maybe not - in any case, here it is again. A glance to the past, with a nod to the future....:
Persistence Of Listening - Some thoughts on contemporary electronic music. Written 27th-28th May 2001.
Originally published in the KAOS Program Guide, September/October 2001.
KAOS, Olympia Community Radio, for those who know it within the community, is a radiophonic by-word for musical difference. Sometimes that difference amounts to hearing locally produced music, a performer from halfway across the world, or fair representation for artists on smaller, independent record labels. But sometimes "different", at least on the surface, appears to present more of a challenge. As some of you may know, I present a program called Curious-Blue, with a focus toward contemporary electronic music (for want of a better term), and music, which, to varying degrees, has had an effect on how it has arrived at where it is now, and how it may proceed. Ever since the show began, in December 1997, I've received numerous telephone calls from listeners while on the air, with regard to the music playing at that particular time. Some are enthused, others in disbelief, others still quite furious. The basic attraction/repulsion generating this revenue for our local telephone companies usually stems from music, which would perhaps be considered by many people to fall under the heading of "experimental". Yet it is not at all easy to categorize, or describe the music that stirs up these emotions, and that is the main reason I decided to write this article-not to attempt to offer an "explanation", nor an "excuse", but to extend a hand, so that perhaps you may wait a little while before you reach for the volume knob on your radio (whether you intend to turn it up, or off), in the hope that what at first may just appear to be sheets of static coming over the airwaves, or a high-pitched tone interspersed by cavernous rumbling, could prove to be just a fragment of an object far larger in size, and more complex in shape.
There are many things to consider when you hear just about any piece of music, or for that matter, any sound. How were the sounds made? What inspired someone to produce, or gather these sounds? What were they thinking of? Do I like/dislike what I am hearing? Most "experimental" music, electronic or not, has a particular concentration of these thoughts, and many others, behind it. To give an example, two artists could arrive at what may appear to be a similar musical result, with completely different intentions, using different equipment, and completely different composition methods. Yet, two others could pursue a similar aim, yet end up sounding the polar opposite of one another. Technology and computers, free improvisation, varying methods of composition, political and theoretical thought, the musical heritage of ancient peoples, the sounds of the world around us, and much more besides, all may have a role in informing the outcome. This, in part, is what has driven my own enthusiasm for this music. You never quite know what you're going to get, or what you're going to make of it this time around. But the chances are, you'll learn something from it regardless, even if, upon the tenth listening, the thing that you've learned is that it really isn't something you like. Persistence though, is something that definitely pays off.
A few of the comments that I often hear leveled at music of this kind, are that it's too repetitive, or too fragmented, that it doesn't go anywhere, and even that it just all sounds the same, noisy and garbled. To take the first two of these points together, repetition, or fragmentation of rhythm has always been inherent in the structure of music, one obviously being the inverse of the other. Some musicians will want to base their music around a tightly organized rhythm, finding a groove and locking into it, while others will want to operate free of such constraints, and see where it will lead them. Both methods, even when pushed toward their extremes, are equally capable of producing engaging, often entrancing music. A sound with a pulse, whether steady or not. Pieces that at first listen may not appear to go anywhere, may actually already be where they wanted to go. Minute shifts in pitch, rhythm, or timbre, often characterize these passages, some more perceptibly than others. Of course, sometimes the point may very well be to not go anywhere, but to stretch a sound out, toward a logical breaking point, or in blissful ignorance of it. It's also worth noting the precedents to such sounds that exist in nature, birdsong and rainfall being two I immediately think of, as have many composers and performers over the course of history. And what of the influence of the world's traditional and ethnic music, the complex arrangements and resonant tones that come from Asian percussion ensembles, such as the Indonesian gamelan, for example? Noisy and garbled some of this music may be (and what is wrong with a little garbled noise in our lives, like our telephones, cars, televisions, and other mechanical/electrical gadgets? Do I need to go on?), but it is physically impossible for 2 pieces of music to ever be the same. Of course similarities do exist, but they are only ever superficial. You may not think it, but even if you listened to the same song, from the same CD, twice in a row, the second time you heard it would not be the same as the first, for any number of reasons. Perhaps, during the second time, you scratched your ear, a police car drove past the window, or you altered the volume slightly. All of these things would have had an effect on what you would have heard. All in all, within many of these criticisms lies the very energy that propels music, and the "experimental" artistic ethic. It's worth remembering that however prickly its exterior may seem, this music is never created for the purpose of exclusion, nor should it be seen to take the form of some kind of endurance test; how much louder, more piercing, more dissonant will it become? How much more can you take? In truth, it is nothing more sinister than a snapshot of someone's own personal representation in sound - an invitation to a meeting of minds, a conversation between the author, and the listener. And as I mentioned, it certainly can be a learning experience, and not one with a steep curve attached to it either. All that it takes is to listen, and make up your own mind.
One of the most exciting possibilities in music, is picking out elements of where it came from, watching its evolution into something else, and wondering where it may go in the future. Taking electronic music in particular, in the past, it has been something of a divided community. On the one hand, there is the music that originated in the "Classical" realm, from composers with an academic background in music, and on the other, that which came from the "street", through popular music, often with a leaning toward the dance floor, leading us eventually to Reggae, Disco, Hip-Hop, House, Techno, Jungle, and a 1001 other off-shoots and sub-genres. Despite this historical insularity, there has always been a certain amount of crossover in technique between the two groups (the perfect example being John Cage's use of turntable manipulation in a composition as early as 1939, a long time before "scratching", or "beat juggling" caught on with DJ?s), as well as within the separate camps themselves (Jamaican Reggae DJ's talking over their selections, known as "toasting", and the tight, repetitive beats of Soul and Funk, leading to Hip-Hop for example). But we've finally reached the point in time, where these divisions have blurred so much, that they've become largely irrelevant, replaced by a unity, and a greater understanding of this historical significance. The beats filling nightclub dance floors may mean as much to a Classical composer today, as the possibilities held within alternate forms of musical notation to a dance music producer. I dare say that your average glow-stick wielding weekend club raver may not think that they have much in common with a stiffly dressed member of a concert hall audience, but the endless possibilities this music presents will only continue to erode this already precarious middle ground. I program the music for my show with this ideal very much in mind, so while it may seem strange to follow thumping hardcore Techno, with a 1950's tango orchestra, then a lengthy passage of heavily computer-processed guitar playing, there is a common thread that links it all. The sometime disjointed structure this may appear to bring to my show, is shared by the often similarly disjointed nature of contemporary electronic music itself. My own extension of this concept, you might say.
Although I always try to listen with open ears, I am obviously as prone to prejudice, and personal taste, as anyone else. Should any such declaration be necessary, I fully admit to being an avid music lover, a statement you could probably hear being spoken by just about any KAOS DJ, as well as the vast majority of our listeners. I always hope that feeling is reflected in the way I present my show. My own love often extends to acquiring this background knowledge of the music itself, whether it be through the sleeve notes on an album, a book, a magazine, or a website. I try to pass along as much information as I can about the music, and artists, that I play, and will also often shed some light onto the processes that went into the sounds, in the hope that someone, somewhere, may possibly be interested enough to listen and look a little further, or at the very least, to let people know how those noises that mildly irritated them for the last 10 minutes were made. Sometimes these comments are off-hand, and occasionally while on the air, even I'll grow tired of the sound of my voice, but hopefully it is at least somewhat informative, if not always exactly illuminating.
Incidentally, I have no formal education in music myself at all. The only reason I'm where I am today, as far as my musical leanings go, is through listening, and persistence of listening. Hearing that occasional sound that would make my jaw drop, set my mind racing, or stand the hair on the back of my neck on end. These small sparks that emerged from my radio over the years, started this fire that now engulfs your radio every two weeks. Just remember that even if it does burn slightly out of control at times, something a little more temperate will probably follow along behind it. And, even though I've now written this piece, I hope the telephone calls will continue to come in during my show. Any reaction, after all, is always better than no reaction at all. </Andrew> <!--8/11/2006 01:52:00 PM-->
Thursday, August 10, 2006
<Andrew>
Whither cassettes? - the death of which have been widely trumpeted for years by all and sundry....yet they still refuse to go away (and have even made something of a resurgence in the face of CD-R's, at the grass roots level - the cassette underground....and take a look at Fusetron's new releases list if you don't believe me). The humble cassette embodies an ideal that is literally so wrong, it's right. They are so prone to deterioration, so variable in quality (and of a quality that was never 'quality' to begin with!), and so inconvenient - in an era that thrives on fast, random access to information, nothing surely represents linearity, and the preceding era, more than the cassette. Those that want to rewind or fast-forward to exactly what they want, or - beyond that, even - those that want to listen, progressively, to AN ENTIRE SOMETHING as it 'slowly' makes its way there (in real time, in other words), have certainly grown fewer and fewer in number. Yet, looking back, it was the cassette underground that sign-posted the way to safety (and with it, specialty) in the first place - and, in particular, Throbbing Gristle's obsessive tape recording, and subsequent releasing, of every live performance they ever made - and Industrial Records subsequent forays into cassette-label territory with other artists (Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, William S. Burroughs, and others). While TG were likely not the first to do this, it undoubtedly had a huge impact - and was certainly one of the telling factors that led to the creation of a worldwide (and almost entirely postal mail based) underground network of music that was made almost expressly for the format, and was often also recorded on it, or manipulated using it (and, in some cases - Maurizio Bianchi springs to mind - some elements of all three). Experimental music (or industrial, such as it was then, in its narrower context) lends itself perfectly to the linear, analogue nature of the cassette....bound in the historical hiss of its forebears, gradually unfolding over time, into a pattern of continuous reality. Small gestures, arranged and communicated to the listener, to be consumed in the same grimy urgency as they were documented, duplicated, and disseminated. Residue is a vital component - cultural residue, technological residue, residue from the photocopied sleeves staining your fingers, residue from the ferrous oxide staining the heads on your tape recorder. Cassettes allowed things to go further, longer, and rougher - the risks associated with manufacturing and selling hundreds of vinyl records disappeared, along with the inhibitions of those creating the sounds. And yes, sometimes it meant the quality control disappeared also - but at least the price was right. And if you really didn't like it, well....put some sticky tape over the tabs, and you can record over it, can't you? How many times have you bought a crappy CD and wished you could do that....?</Andrew> <!--8/10/2006 10:23:00 PM-->
Sunday, July 30, 2006
<Andrew>
First in a series of 'whithers'....
Whither MP3 blogs....? I've been venturing to a few more of these lately, and paying more regular visits to the ones I would occasionally frequent. In some ways, they would appear to be hitting their stride, in providing a service that straddles some precarious middle-ground - and I don't just mean on the (obvious)legal/copyright side of the house either. On the one hand, these people are obviously collectors and musical enthusiasts - they've gone out and amassed this stuff for some other reason than the walls of their house were looking a bit bare, so they bought a big shelf, then piled it high with records and CD's. But on the other, they challenge the preconception of record (or any other kind of) collecting, in that they (and their friends and acquaintance is some cases) are serving up these rarities and delicacies on a huge plate, for all and sundry to enjoy. At least until the bandwidth is used up, or someone (or their legal counsel) politely asks them to cease and desist. Of course, downloading a file for your own listening enjoyment is never going to replace the sense-of-object ingrained into those with of hardened vinyl fixation. I've come to the conclusion that it's best to think of them as signposts - pointing the way to something wonderful, into new areas for you to further explore, or - likewise - pointing you away from something you'd heard about for years, but then didn't really care for. Not to mention that a good deal of the tracks that find their way to these sites, are either too obscure, too marginal, or too bound up in red tape to have obtained any kind of official re-issue. It's certainly been nice to see some recent themed examples that aren't just bucking a trend, or going out on a whim (Mein Walkman Ist Kaputt being a notable example).
Incidentally - bonus points to Dalston Oxfam Shop for taking the piss out of the entire collector/obscurity/rarity angle of the MP3 blog realm, while still making an entirely valid contribution....by posting tracks from random cassettes purchased for next to nothing from an East London charity shop (or thrift store, as they're called in these parts).
Like everything else though, it's the listener, the digger, the researcher, that will ultimately gain the most from such things. Yeah, you could go and download the lot, couldn't you? Then not listen to them, not pass judgement, or form an opinion. Not gain anything other than a slightly more filled up hard drive. Some of the sites look pretty, some don't. Some of the musical choices I adore, while others fill me with absolute disdain (though I like to think that the tastes of these individuals are, like mine, fairly militant in their purview). Even our Selectors need to be selected. Trust the DJ....? Eventually. Such trust is to be earned!
I've been pondering starting one of my own for quite a while now, but have thus far sat on the idea. Part of me has often thought that there are probably too many of the things already, but, as you probably ascertained from my statement above - with all of those conflicting opinions out there, it's unlikely that 'market saturation' (chuckle) will be reached any time soon. By coincidence, I have recently started to record some of my vinyl onto my computer - spurred by a request for a track from someone on the venerable DJ History forum. Why the delay, I don't really know - it's not as if I haven't had all of the constituent parts (a record player, a computer, and a cable to hook them together) for some time. To use another one of those phrases that always seems to make it into my blog posts, one way or another - we shall see.</Andrew> <!--7/30/2006 11:31:00 PM-->
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
<Andrew>
Computer - heal thyself....if only. Slowly but surely, it is getting on the right side of normal though. Which is probably more than I should say for myself at the moment. It's been too hot to do just about anything else, these past few days. It's at times like this that you realise it's called "unseasonal" heat for a reason - because there's no season it should belong in. I added some new links over at my del.icio.us page a few days ago - all of which are worthy of your attention. The cavernous oceans of European post-punk/new wave/industrial musical miscellany have been my main preoccupation over the past few weeks....that and the usual geographic ephemera and cultural off-cuts. There are lines that join the dots, fragments of maps and documents, slowly being pulled together. Such is my research - and its stop/start, disjointed nature. I'm not saying it's ever going to amount to anything (and many may say it's worthless on paper), but that's not the point. If the radio show does end soon, which it's looking increasingly likely it will, I intend to use the opportunity to take some other things further - further writing, further music, further research. For every great piece of music you heard, book you read, film you saw, website you visited - there's hundreds, thousands, we don't even know about yet. So I sit at my desk, perspire lightly, and pretend to be Vasco da Gama....no matter your destination, you won't get there without making a journey.</Andrew> <!--7/25/2006 09:05:00 PM-->
Sunday, July 16, 2006
<Andrew>
New hard drive soon come to solve those PC woes....or at least start some new ones (reinstallation of everything that once was, plus that data tucked away - hopefully - on the iPod). These things never seem to work 100%, but we'll see. Sigh.
If you listened to the radio show on Saturday (and if you didn't....well, I would've liked to have had you there), you will have heard my announcement regarding changes that I really need to make to how "Curious-Blue" is right now. I can't keep doing it every single weekend - that's the bottom line - and so I'm hoping that an alternating host (or show) can be found, sometime before August, otherwise I just don't think I can keep going, based upon my own current climate, and that at KAOS FM. To be honest, the station itself is a large part of the problem, as anyone who has ever visited this blog, or who knows me in the slightest, will already know. Without a clear plan for the future, and a current path consisting solely of standardisation and stagnation, KAOS is going nowhere fast. There's precious little respect evident for the volunteers, or for our right to bring an individual approach and format to our shows. And where is the consideration of the KAOS community as a whole (as opposed to just the local community in which the station physically resides....we stream the signal online, so the drawing of 'community' borders for the station is effectively irrelevant)? In these times, when the management should be seeking to inspire and innovate, they are, sadly, nitpicking and maintaining....busy building (paper) walls, instead of bridges.
Big musical/geographic/etc. write-up to come....just like that hard drive. Typing on the partly knackered ex-work laptop just isn't cutting it. Something about the angle.</Andrew> <!--7/16/2006 10:23:00 PM-->
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
<Andrew>
It's been a rough week no the computing front - my main computer decided to keel over and die in the most messy and complicated way, on July 4th. Despite the fact the whole episode has made me think my most murderous thoughts about Microsoft and Windows yet, there's a certain irony in the fact that the crash was caused by....Apple software! A failed install (complete with matching error messages) on iTunes and Quicktime, which was followed by some initial clean-up, then a reboot to wipe the slate clean for another stab. Unfortunately, the PC never came back....and in fact, it still hasn't. Although at least it recognizes the fact that it has a hard drive installed now, and that there are some of my (precious!) files on it (which were moved to the shiny, portable safety of an iPod, thanks to that lock-pick of the computer toolbox- the Knoppix live-CD distribution of Linux - if anything within Windows ever fails you, you'll be so glad that you had this on hand). Beyond that, the registry was corrupted, the disk has been flagged as bad and unstable by the BIOS, and - at the moment, it doesn't appear to want to re-install the operating system either. It's been saying "Welcome to Windows XP" while the hard disk grinds away constantly for the past 2+ hours (trained mice re-typing source code....?). Doesn't inspire confidence to say the least. But, then again, it never really did. It has crossed my mind that this could be part of an Apple conspiracy, to get people who they know are dabbling in their world, to fully indulge. While I'd usually do anything I can to avoid being so placidly compliant....it's working. It's as if they knew I'd been thinking about replacing this aging hulk with a Mac anyhow.
I'm going downstairs after this, to fashion myself a tin foil hat. Several sheets thick, too.
Picked myself up a book about Werner Herzog recently, which I've only just started to peck at. I've always been aware of the man, and his films and other work, to a certain degree, although my recent exposure to his documentary about the 1970's dictatorship of Jean Bedel Bokassa in the Central African Republic, "Echoes Of A Sombre Empire", really peaked my interest. His world view (in a truly global sense - both geographically and philosophically), and his approach to his art, and the creative process in general, is inspiring and encouraging. It helps that I've always liked my honesty served with a shot of reality/pessimism.</Andrew> <!--7/12/2006 09:27:00 PM-->
Sunday, July 02, 2006
<Andrew>
Having arrived, summer keeps persistently knocking at the door now. Needless to say I have been trying to beat the heat, and when I can't beat it, I join it. It was even cooler during a brief jaunt to California earlier this week (for work - it was as if I was there, yet wasn't) than it has been here. Seems to be the same over in England too. This global warming lark, I tell you....I think these scientists are on to something.
Still engrossed in the Cup Of Worldness 2006. Despite England having gone out in the Quarter Finals, on penalty kicks. That was of no surprise, coming as it does on the back of numerous recent World Cup exits, in the same round, by the same cruel fate. We're a last 8 team, let's face it. When we're something more than that, I think I, and the whole world even, will know. We're not there yet though. Not there yet. And how the mood on Univision quietened, upon the exit of Brazil - the batucada drummers, the carnivale dancers, even the Senadoras in their tiny tight shorts and shirts....with Argentina gone as well, it's an all-European semi-final line up. Ah well, come Tuesday when the next game is on, I'm sure they'll be going as crazy for the magic of football, just as they always can be relied upon to do. The other US coverage is so staid and biased, the British so knowing and sure of itself. The goals and the glamour - THIS is where it's at.
Not superstitious - but - a trio of bad things from this week....:
1) I found my list of ideas for things I wanted to write about here. It was on a post-it note, and never made it into my notebook. Yes, I found it....just as it was disappearing into the shredder, attached to another sheet of paper.
2) Walking home from the bus stop on Thursday, at a fair old clip too, I stepped off the sidewalk briefly, and onto the grass verge. My foot disappeared down a pothole, hidden in the foot long lawn - and the next thing I know, I slammed hard onto the gravel beside me. Cue skinless elbows, bruised knees, cursedly sore wrists and ankles, a torn and bloodstained shirt, and a smashed iPod case (thank goodness it was in a case - there'd be nothing left of it otherwise!). Ouch.
3) Going out to do the radio show yesterday, smacked my head - and I still don't know how, exactly - getting off the bus. It hurt for a while, and left me a little dazed. This may or may not have had a positive impact on the show. Not really sure. That mix from Can into This Heat was pretty nifty though, and remained 'dance music' throughout even. How I love getting away with things.
So, yes....three. That's quite enough for 2006, thank you.</Andrew> <!--7/02/2006 08:27:00 PM-->
Thursday, June 22, 2006
<Andrew>
I've had several ideas in the past couple of weeks for things to write, and so on, that I've meant to put up....but somehow I've just never managed to get around to it, so my rather lackadaisical posting/update schedule continues. I have the scribbled idea notes somewhere though. They only contain key words as opposed to full sentences, mind you - and sometimes such things decode a little differently after a time span, or gather additional meanings along the way, perhaps totally irrelevant to my original intent. Such is life. I've been ruminating on constructing some pieces based upon important records/music in my life, although I only really have one in particular in mind at the moment, there really ought to be others to accompany it. I dislike picking long-term favourites though....I'm not the sort of person that could put together a solid Top 10 list of my life so far, without it being so transient, having so many caveats, and off-shoots. Too much fine print, and potential for headaches and night sweats. Something else that will likely happen (at some point) is that this website is finally going to fork, as was the original intent when I bought two, separate domain names. The "curiousblue.com" one will continue to point to all of this stuff, and the other one ("andrewaustin.org") will be doing something else, most likely more personal, as opposed music/radio/random thoughts oriented stuff. Though, if you strip that stuff away from me, is there really anything left? At 5.XXam, on a night shift, following a previous day shift and about a day without sleep, that's just too much to ponder....</Andrew> <!--6/22/2006 05:26:00 AM-->
Saturday, June 10, 2006
<Andrew>
Just a quick post to apologise for the site having been down for the past few days - I've had to set everything up on a new server, with new (paid) hosting, after the previous host - who, in all fairness, had hosted the site for free for the past several years - went offline on June 6th, without any forewarning (to me at any rate - and I notice that many of the other sites that were hosted there are still inactive also).
The site now has much room for potential growth and expansion, or at the very least, an escalation in activity! I certainly have a lot more space and bandwidth now, but, like I said, it has come at a price....albeit a fairly small one, as it goes.
Anyhow - I need to dash now, fully in the grip of World Cup fever as I am. In fact, I can just hear Sweden vs. Trinidad & Tobago game getting going on the TV downstairs. Should be better than the England performance I crawled out of bed at 5.45am to witness....but at least they won their opening game, and that really doesn't happen very often in the World Cup.
Incidentally - I'm finding Univision's coverage of the games far preferable to that of ESPN/ABC so far. More emotionally engaging (despite the obvious language barrier), and even the colours seem brighter....</Andrew> <!--6/10/2006 09:05:00 AM-->
Monday, May 29, 2006
<Andrew>
Been laying low for a while, just going about my normal business really, then not being very well for the past week or so (having fallen victim to the particularly virulent spring cold doing the rounds at the moment). In between the hacking coughs and nose-blowing, I have been trying (and I've lost count of how many times I've tried this) to gain an appreciation for single malt Scotch - and it seems to be working more this time, although the cold could be a good part of that. And anticipation is building for the upcoming World Cup - less than 2 weeks away now. In fact, I've signed on for the BBC's online speculation game WorldCupDaq for the duration....although I'm not doing so well at the moment, with some of my shares having soared, but others (Holland? come on, I think they're going to do pretty well this time around) having plummeted since I bought them. Oh well.
And, of course, the radio show has continued, playlists are in their normal spot.
Label of the moment? DC Recordings....after the massive Padded Cell 12" earlier this year, there's now 2 new singles incoming from The Emperor Machine which sound equally fantastic. And how can any track with the title, "Seka Wants Your VCS3" be bad?</Andrew> <!--5/29/2006 09:53:00 AM-->
Thursday, May 11, 2006
<Andrew>
Well, it's late, and I'm tired....but I did want to let everyone know that today's meeting at KAOS went well, and I will be back on the air this Saturday evening! More information to follow. Extra special thanks to everyone who has sent words of support, or just got in touch to see what's up....</Andrew> <!--5/11/2006 11:20:00 PM-->
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
<Andrew>
Just a brief update on the KAOS situation - there will be a meeting taking place on Thursday, to discuss the current state of affairs. It has also been mentioned that this may possibly clear the way for me to return for the show this Saturday evening. The approach seems positive, and diplomatic, and I applaud the General Manager in particular for wiping the slate clean as it were, and removing any pre-conditions for apologies, requirements, and so on, so that an open and unclouded dialogue can hopefully take place. More information as I have it.</Andrew> <!--5/10/2006 01:32:00 AM-->
Well, there's not a whole lot more to say about the KAOS situation at this point, but I will explain what has happened this far. I was suspended at approximately 5.40pm yesterday evening, having travelled to KAOS to do my show, and spent several hours previous to that getting it ready - all of which turned out to be a waste of time. I mean, come on....a telephone call earlier in the day would have been sufficient - but then there wouldn't have been the element of surprise, and the all-important confrontation. Da-da-DAAAAAAAH!
Anyhow - there should be a meeting taking place sometime this week, between myself and the management staff to discuss the differences between us, although there already appears to be some pre-conditions attached to this on their part, which I have responded to by e-mail, as I'm not willing to comply with them.
At the moment, I'm not going to reveal the exact details of what triggered the suspension - I'll wait until after the meeting for that (should it ever take place), to save inflaming the situation even further - but here's some background on the whole situation (you lucky people....). It all began a few weeks ago, with my alleged 'breaking' (doesn't there have to be an official 'rule' in place in order for it to be broken?) of a 'rule'(although there is no 'rule book' in which this is officially stated), regarding the submission of written playlists to the KAOS Music Department staff. Never mind that I've been 'breaking' this particular 'rule' since January 2000....but perhaps that means I should be thanking them for the 6 year grace period, or something. What escalated this situation into some serious next level shizzle, was my (entirely suitable) response to a comment made by one of the student Music Dept. staff, which was obviously intended to criticise and ridicule me, and which was then distributed in a (reasonably) public forum (that being the KAOS staff and volunteer e-mail list) by the General Manager. My issue is not so much with the comment that was made - I have my own strong opinions about the KAOS management and staff, and they're as entitled to theirs, as I am to mine. Sticks and stones, and all that. No, my issue is with the fact that the General Manager felt that it was perfectly OK to just spread that 'love' all around. Oh yeah, baby....spread that love. My response to this was entirely in kind, and without malice. Of course, they didn't see the 'funny' side. Double standards, anyone? Oh, come on....have a double standard. KAOS has so many, that you owe it to yourself to take one.
If this is how I bow out from KAOS, trust me....I did it in style, and it will have been entirely worth it. Should they choose to make an enemy of me, I have the potential to assume the role of 'enemy' to the very best of my ability. You know I can do it!
But seriously, folks....I'm trying to take this in good humour, just so I can deal with what a complete and utter bunch of "we're making this up as we go along, but it's OK, because we're The Management" crap this all is. If you would miss Curious-Blue if it were to disappear from the KAOS airwaves, please call the station to let them know, and, indirectly, express your support for its beleaguered host....:
(360) 867-6895 Thanks! And don't worry, I'll be back - somehow. Maybe in some other form, and in some other way, but this is not the end....well, unless you want it to be!
Biggest disappointment about the entire thing? I was going to start the show with the Lindstrom remix of Franz Ferdinand's, "I'm Your Villain" - fresh out this week, and promo only at that. I had it air-mailed from the UK, and it showed up on my doorstep that very afternoon (along with a few other choice items, such as the new Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve EP). Gutted!</Andrew> <!--5/07/2006 07:56:00 PM-->
<Andrew>
I apologize to anyone who tuned in to hear Curious-Blue on Saturday evening, only to find me absent. I have been suspended from the KAOS airwaves, until further notice. It is entirely possible I will not return. More information, and an explanation, to follow soon.</Andrew> <!--5/07/2006 12:29:00 AM-->
Sunday, April 30, 2006
<Andrew>
Well, April is pretty much at an end - I seem to have spent a lot of it bedded down in my day to day reality, and caught up in combative thought....pondering the reasoning of things. It's OK to be opinionated and irrational, and perhaps it's actually better to take the 'battering ram' approach to contemporary culture. But is it worth the effort? And beyond that, what is any of it worth, at all. Who's listening?
The radio show has continued, of course, and as always I search for all manner of music to bring to the table, and generally keep my game up, but I wonder more and more if it is just a fruitless exercise any longer. I play my two hours of tunes, and talk about them as ever, but the phone calls, the support from within, and outside the station, appear to have diminished greatly from what they once were, so the hope and the 'rewards' seem distant of late. While I remain committed to the task (and cause) at hand, perhaps there's just a better way to do it. Perhaps it's time to even re-evaluate whether it needs to be done.
Why does an angular, experimentalist thinker play disco? What does that boil down to? Pleasure is contained in the sound, and the ideas that created it - pleasure that may manifest itself in any number of ways....dancing, tapping, nodding, sensations (hairs raising on the back of the neck, etc.). You can rule it in, or out. It's there for the taking. Or the leaving.
Very nice article on Conrad Schnitzler in the latest issue of The Wire - though I've found precious little else to recommend the rest of the magazine yet - and particularly prescient, given that some choice selections from his back catalogue have just been re-released (on Qbico and Captain Trip), as well as some archive recordings issued for the first time. The more I've found out about him, the more intrigued I've become....former Joseph Beuys student, a harbinger of krautrock and industrial electronic sound, a self-taught musician and composer working at the intersections of art and performance, pioneer cassette underground agitator, and someone who has remained committed to creating and producing their own artistic vision. No great fame or fortune, but a body of work, a widely noted influence, and at the end of the day, it puts food on his table. I'd be proud to support that - and I do.</Andrew> <!--4/30/2006 10:39:00 PM-->
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
<Andrew>
Another year older today - and it feels completely fine so far, to be honest. I'm not at the point where I'm really looking at my age and thinking, "Where did the years go?" yet. That is something I do from time to time, but age doesn't really have anything into it....
I'm taking some days off of work to relax, and contemplate things, which is actually really nice - no huge purpose or agenda, just days off, to do things, or not.
The day has been littered with surprises - opening cards from my family, then a giant hand-made one that B. bought to me this morning, along with a cup of tea in bed (does it get any better than that, I ask myself?). And when I came downstairs to get some breakfast....well, the picture shows some of what was waiting for me in the kitchen! All this, and it's not even ll.00am yet....13 hours of fun to go, and I intend to be awake (in some shape or form) for all of them!</Andrew> <!--4/19/2006 10:48:00 AM-->
Sunday, April 16, 2006
<Andrew>
Still not really feeling in the mood to be writing anything much - in fact, I've been enjoying contributing comments and occasional bits and pieces to other people's blogs more just lately (people I know, I should add - not just any old random ones). In the meantime, the front page of the site has received its customary seasonal makeover, and the radio show playlists are still being posted weekly, of course. One definite highlight from last nights show, among others, was playing "Stakker Humanoid" at 33rpm, instead of 45. Sounded amazing. I need to spread the word about that one.
Can't believe I've owned that particular record close on 16 years now. Actually, I can....I'm celebrating a birthday in the next few days, and when I relate it to my age, it makes a lot of sense.
Aside from all that, I still feel a certain amount of disdain and disenchantment for particular portions of my universe - despite their being largely out of my control - and with attitudes, leanings, and intentions therein. Sometimes I really wonder what the benefits are to being an active participant in it. There's so much negativity out there to cancel out the good inside your self, and raise awareness of your own contradictions and failings. Life can be easy, and sometimes difficult, but mostly its uneasy....so many variables. Outlets - creative, physical, or otherwise - certainly help to deal with that....channel it, filter it, tune it out. But they're not always there, in the world, and inside us. So sometimes these things just build up, looming, like an ominous wall.
Today's thing to be sure of? Steel cut oats make a good breakfast.</Andrew> <!--4/16/2006 12:10:00 PM-->
Smashed, blocked....Richardson meets Mother Nature - Uptown. All quiet inna Eastside, seen? </Andrew> <!--12/18/2006 07:08:00 PM-->
Clayton Way. The End. March 15th, 1973 - December 18th, 2006. 33 years, 9 months, and 3 days of memories.... </Andrew> <!--12/18/2006 06:44:00 PM-->
</Andrew> <!--10/01/2006 02:09:00 PM-->
Computer - heal thyself....if only. Slowly but surely, it is getting on the right side of normal though. Which is probably more than I should say for myself at the moment. It's been too hot to do just about anything else, these past few days. It's at times like this that you realise it's called "unseasonal" heat for a reason - because there's no season it should belong in. I added some new links over at my del.icio.us page a few days ago - all of which are worthy of your attention. The cavernous oceans of European post-punk/new wave/industrial musical miscellany have been my main preoccupation over the past few weeks....that and the usual geographic ephemera and cultural off-cuts. There are lines that join the dots, fragments of maps and documents, slowly being pulled together. Such is my research - and its stop/start, disjointed nature. I'm not saying it's ever going to amount to anything (and many may say it's worthless on paper), but that's not the point. If the radio show does end soon, which it's looking increasingly likely it will, I intend to use the opportunity to take some other things further - further writing, further music, further research. For every great piece of music you heard, book you read, film you saw, website you visited - there's hundreds, thousands, we don't even know about yet. So I sit at my desk, perspire lightly, and pretend to be Vasco da Gama....no matter your destination, you won't get there without making a journey. </Andrew> <!--7/25/2006 09:05:00 PM-->
Another year older today - and it feels completely fine so far, to be honest. I'm not at the point where I'm really looking at my age and thinking, "Where did the years go?" yet. That is something I do from time to time, but age doesn't really have anything into it....