motel de moka

This is another rather private list I selfishly made, for my very dear friends. And for sakes of dreams. For that they are real, and everything really happened. The best you can do is never smash them.

1. Giacinto Scelsi - Antifona “on the name of Jesus”
(Giacinto Scelsi: In Nomine Lucis / Solstice / 1998 / written in 1975)
2. Morton Feldman - Slow Waltz
(Three Voices for Joan La Barbara / New Albion / 1989)
3. Alvin Curran - Crystal Aires
(Songs and Views of the Magnetic Garden / Catalyst / 1975)
4. Alvin Lucier - Vespers
(Vespers & Other Early Works / New World Records / 2002 / written in 1969)
5. Wang Fan - Xuanzhuan De Tuoluonidi
(Jukebox Buddha / Staubgold / 2006)
6. Charles C. Oldman - Low Nicotine Aromatic Addiction
(Low nicotine aromatic addiction / Hinah)
7. Alog - A Dragon Lies Listening
(Jukebox Buddha / Staubgold / 2006)
8. Jacques Lejeune - Naissance De Blanche Neige
(Blanche Neige / Originally issued: SFP, SFP 91.043, 1975 & Nathan, NA 222, 1988 / re-issued: creel pone, 2006)

*This list is specially for the frog king.
*Image credit to: Too Long Project 
*Much thanks to friends for recommendations, especially schizodanny

Still from Vozvrashcheniye by Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003

The sea seems to attract people in a most irresistible and overwhelming manner. There is nothing like gazing into the horizon and getting lost in the immensity of the sea. I grew up very close to the sea – The North Sea was a mere couple of minutes away from our home – and spent many days along the shoreline. I favoured the sea in the autumn, unlike most people who preferably went to the beach during the summer. This preference for the autumn sea fits well with my fondness for melancholic music, black and white photography and the nostalgic and longing sound of the cello. It also fits well with my fondness for the famous print The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. A marvellous work that has symbolized our admiration for the sea ever since.

The picture above is a still that was taken from the great Russian film Vozvrashcheniye (The Return) by Andrei Zvyagintsev, easily my favourite film of the last 4 years. Vozvrashcheniye is an enigmatic drama about paternal bonds that follows two adolescent brothers and the return of their father after a 12-year absence. It is a strong psychological study that offers breathtaking visuals with epic-length shots and beautiful photography by Mikhail Krichman. The first track of the playlist below comes from the soundtrack of Vozvrashcheniye, which was released by ECM in 2005.

This playlist is my return to sea. I’m gazing over the shoulders of these two boys and try to envision the majestic serenity and hidden mysteries of the sea that lies so grandly in front of us.

1. Andrey Dergatchev - Titles - Run
   The return (ECM, 2005)
2. Aidan Baker - The Sea Swells a Bit
   The Sea Swells a Bit… (A Silent Place, 2006)
3. United Bible Studies - The Shore That Fears The Sea
   The Shore That Fears The Sea (Deserted Village, 2006)
4. Harold Budd - As Long As I Can Hold My Breath
   Avalon Sutra (Samadhi Sounds, 2004)
5. Andrew Liles - II
   The Dying Submariner (Beta-lactam Ring, 2006)
6. This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren
   It’ll End in Tears (4AD, 1984)
7. Dirty Three - The Restless Waves
   Ocean Songs (Touch & Go, 1998)
8. Richard Buckner - As the Waves Will Always Roll
   Dents and Shells (Merge, 2004)
9. Obi - After Thought
   The Magic Land Of Radio (Cooking Vinyl, 2002)

Stream playlist

So it’s summer now… well, almost… and new life has flourished once again, now in full bloom. Once again I apologize for my constant lack of posts, but I have to confess I haven’t been up to it lately, I’ve almost even dreaded getting near this WRITE POST area where the curser blinks like saying “Come on I haven’t got all day you know?” (oddly… in my head, the curser speaks to me in a thick British accent).

This last school term proved to be, rather savage plagued with sleepless nights, guilt-ridden days, apathetic showers and constant visits to the Jim (gym). Somehow I managed to do fairly good, at least in what concerns grades, sentimentally and physically… I was more than drained, exhausted… fed up, if you may.

All of my ailments were caused by the apparition of old ghosts, who apparently arose with the sole purpose of biting my ass and my heart. I think the perfect word I could use to describe my semester was “wavey”… because everything came in waves, good mood, bad mood, worse mood, the crying, the screaming, the jogging…. it all came as it pleased and mostly, it all came when it was least called for, the only constants were the deadly doses of coffee, soy milk and endless internet chats with my best friend. I have no idea how I still have a full functioning nervous system… My best friend insists on calling me “insane”, but I can’t help it… self-destruction seduces me, I find it utterly irresistible. I can’t pull back, I can’t NOT push myself to see where I break, to see how much I can take without giving in to delusions and hallucinations *sigh*.

So… as is usual for all my posts, I’m posting late at night (12.32am says my laptop), and Mandalay has been playing in the background for the better part of an hour now and I decided to finally “wrap-up” this turbulent semester, with some of my all time favorite songs, or at least, a very small portion of those songs. Some of a “laying ghosts to rest” kinda list. So hope you don’t mind me unwinding like this.

1. Mandalay - Insensible
2. Portishead - Wandering Stars
3. A Perfect Circle - Pet
4. Greenskeepers - Back in the Wild
5. The Church - Under the Milkyway Tonight
6. David Bowie - Rebel, Rebel
7. Elliot Smith - Needle in the Hay
8. Kathryn Williams - In a Broken Dream
9. Esthero - Song for Holly
10. George Michael - Brother Can You Spare a Dime
11. Miles Davis - I Thought About You
12. Janis Joplin - Son of a Preacher Man
13. Jimi Hendrix - Castles Made of Sand
14. Lamb - Heaven
15. Massive Attack - Heat Miser

Barrington Levy - here I come
Love trio - Rock the rhythm
Ted Leo & the pharmacists - the unwanted things
The Clash - bankrobber (dub version)
Don Carlos - Lazer beam
Matisyahu - Jerusalem
Willie & the brentford rockers - Armagideon version
Linval Thompson - Six Babylon
Keith Hudson - I’m alright

One for the hot days and last of the ‘three Magi’ series (who just loved to smoke all evening and follow stars afterwards) covering Roots, Dub, Ska, Dancehall, Rocksteady, et al. Note that this is not an attempt to provide the “definative” collection, this third installment per example is much pop-oriented and features non-reggae artists (The Clash, Ted Leo) exploring the genre. Rather I just wanted to provide a glimpse of the vast scope of Jamaican influenced music and share some of my favorite songs in these genres with all you fine people. The links for the two previous playlists of this endeavor will continue working for a while so if you haven’t gave them a listen you still get a chance before they’re gone for good.

Can’t barely wait for the dog days of summer.

See also:

Melchior Fiyah Sound System
Balthasar Fiyah Sound System

Photograph: Marcos Lopez.

Here is a little consolation prize for my much procrastination, a little jazz blog that has yet to materialize. This list is a romanticized history of post bebop jazz, tracking relationships between commercial recording and jazz internal drive, the birth of bebop and all subsequent forms. After the collapse of swing and large dance hall venue, Jazz became small group effort, something that was more suitable form for exploration anyway, riding on then the beginning of modern commercial recording enterprise. All of Miles Davis pre-fusion classic albums comes from this era. E.S.P. for eg. (w/ Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter. 1965) was a masterpiece, his second resurgance of cool jazz form with his famous modal composition. It was the height of modern jazz. Another giant was Jimmy Smith who single handedly created the sound for hammond and all subsequent hammond jazz, practically put Blue Note Records on the map next to then giant such as Columbia and RCA records. By late 60’s commercial jazz tried to incorporate pop soul, a much more limited form of music but in high demand. Around this time we see a lot of famous movie and show soundtrack. In the 70’s with the rise of rock and electric guitar, jazz turned fusion. This is despite electric guitar limitation in early model and simply didn’t fit well with jazz program and its huge dynamic range. Shortly after that, Jazz exploded beyond general public interest into all sort of abstract exploration and ceased to become the dominant force in popular recording.

This list comes with all my favorite musicians.

“Mood”

01. Jimmy Smith - Burning Spear (web)
(Livin it up, 1968)
02. Joe Henderson - Canyon Lady (web)
(Canyon Lady, 1973)
03. David “Fathead” Newman - 13th Floor
(Bigger & Better, 1968)
04. Jimmy Smith - I Got A Woman (web)
(Home Cookin’, 1959)
05. Miles Davis - Mood (web)
(E.S.P, 1965)
06. Andrew Hill - Siete Ocho (web)
(Judgment!, 1964)
07. Gabor Szabo - Stormy (web)
(Belsta River, 1978)

Note: The last rack rip is imperfect.

see also: wiki
image : Arriving at the horizon, Vidiot

Volando vengo…

1. Four tet - everything is alright
(Pause / 2001)
2. Titi Robin - amantito
(Ces vagues que l’amour soulève / 2005)
3. Cantoma - pandajero
(Cantoma / 2005)
4. Johannes Linstead - sueños en tus ojos
(Guitarra de fuego / 2001)
5. Remedios Silva Pisa - nací en Alamo
(Vengo OST / 2000)

volando voy.

1. Caetano Veloso - manhata
(Livro / 1999)
2. Souad Massi - Ghir enta
(Deb / 2004)
3. Manu Chao - lagrimas de oro
(clandestino / 1998)
4. Koop - Let’s elope
(Koop island blues / 2006)
5. Louise Attaque - see you later alligator
(Á plus tard cocodrile /2005)

This post is the third and final installment on how I conceive the mediterranean in terms of sound, based on my own experience living here. I wasn’t planning on creating a series of posts out of it but I just kept absorbing the music from the places and people around me and I ended up with more audio material than I expected to have at the beginning. The First installment of the series was Bon día, a ‘mediterranean’ morning playlist if you will and the most contemplative of the set, the second and most brief one was Fruit which was dominated by a certain manouche feel and this third installment is supposed to provide a musical translation on the hot HOT nights we’re having over here. It’s mostly dominated by acoustic guitars and afrolatin rhythms and its also the most easy-listening of the set, just late-night, safe inoffensive winding down music. Wont be surprised to hear my parents enjoying some of the songs on the playlist.

Mmm, before I forget, if any of you happen to want Joost invitations I happen to have a bunch of those to give away. My internet here is to slow for it and normally I’ll just use tv-links when I want to see tv series, but anyhow, if you’re interested let me know and I’ll send it your way.

Foto: Andreu Sordé.

“Day Time Generic Indie Rock List No.1”

01. Boris with Michio Kurihara - Sweet No. 1
Rainbow (Blue Chopsticks, 2006)
02. Pissed Jeans - Closet Marine
Shallow (Parts Unknown, 2005)
03. Zoobombs - Highway A Go Go
Welcome Back Zoobombs! (Emperor Norton, 1998)
04. Storm and her dirty Mouth - Rape me
Nearvana: San Francisco (4.20 Records, 2002)
05. Von Südenfed - Chicken Yaiamas
Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino, 2007)
06. Pere Ubu - Caroleen
Why I Hate Women (Smog Veil Records, 2006)
07. Minutemen - Pure Joy
What Makes a Man Start Fires? (Sst Records, 1982)
08. Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant - Specter of Serling
Sister Phantom Owl Fish (Ipecac Recordings, 2004)
09. Frigg - Piece for five
Isn’t it a Tango (99rec, 1994)
10. Uzeda - Big Lies (web)
Different Section Wires (Touch & Go Records, 1998)
11. Henry Threadgill and Make a Move - Don’t Turn Around
Everybodys Mouth’s A Book (Pi Recordings, 2001)
12. Tyondai Braxton - Great Mass
History That Has No Effect (JMZ Records, 2002)
13. Labradford - WR
Mi Media Naranja (Kranky, 1997)
14. John Fahey - The Evening Mysteries of Ferry
I Remember Blind Joe Death (Varrick, 1988)

Note: Generic Indie Rock list. Of course then the question becomes what exactly is Indie and Indie rock. And what constitute generic. As a joke this list suppose to answer that question as “well, just gimme the best thing you got”. So here it is. This is IMO approximate the leading edge currently Indie rock has to offer. As oppose to recent rush to revive every 90’s band. (Smashing Pumpkins) These songs represent major leap fordward in term of rythms, equipments, recording techniques, general composition and musicianship. They are “edgy“, if not crazy loud. They push the envelope. Enjoy.

see also: Queen of the Night, Best of Indie Albums
image: “marble)le]lograms” by spuddleyspudd