Oct 11, 2007
Songs of a Dead Dreamer
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It’s music that makes all of these distinctions blur together. It can just as easily fill these different spaces but that’s the point. Whether you want to dance to it or chill out to it, the idea is that the psychological backdrop is what becomes most important. It’s not just whether it fills a certain social function or not at a certain time. It’s variable music. That’s the whole point. In a way, the word ‘illbient’ was creating to fill the gap that I felt most music from the pop culture milieu right now which is hyper-commodified and empty. To make a caricuture of it or critique it, you have to go one step beyond it with music that’s infinitely variable.
- DJ Spooky, interview.
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“Songs of a Dead Dreamer/Fake Illbient List”
01. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid – Phase interlude
Songs of a dead dreamer (Asphodel Records, 1996)
02. Fripp & Eno – Wind on Water
Evening Star (Editions Eg Records, 1975)
03. Bill Laswell – The Elixer Of Love: Una Furtiv
Operazone: The Redesign (Douglas Music, 2000)
04. The Third Eye Foundation – I’ve Lost That Lovin Feline
Little Lost Soul (Merge Records, 2000)
05. Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi’s Dead
Bela Lugosis Dead (Phantom Sound & Vision, 1995)
06. Trent Reznor, Peter Murphy, TV On The Radio – Bela Lugosi’s Dead
(Live in DC [6-13-06] Radio Show 2)
07. Brian Eno – Deep Blue Day
Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks (Astralwerks, 1983)
08. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid – Outtro
Songs of a dead dreamer (Asphodel Records, 1996)
Note:
My pretty list. This is the flip side of loud drum, rhythm and beat machines. Ghostly, with vague melody like yesterday’s memory, the entire set is made of tracks by guys who work with very loud rock (Bill Lasswell-P-Funk, TTF-techno) . It’s strangely soothing. (well it betrays the root of my library, NYC scenes when drone, electronica and experimental rock collides in the 90′s. I toss in Third Eyes Foundation to confuse you a little)
Ordered in chronology, the gives a sketch how ambient sound evolve from Brian Eno to recent artists like DJ Spooky or the Third Eye Foundation. I particularly like how everything combined delicately between dense drum machine, extreme sound manipulation and standard electric guitar. Is this the future? (I am still not in the mood with rock.) Best ambient contribution: how should a synthetically generated sound behaves without referencing acoustic or analog source. If a sound can be sustained infinitely, how long is too long? What is the boundary of interesting drone and boring noise? .. and so on.
See also: Dark ambient (wiki) , Brian Eno
Image: James Castle. (American, 1900-1977). Untitled (Barn Interior with Fantasy World). n.d. Found paper, soot, spit and string, 16 x 18 1/2″ (41 x 47 cm). Gift of the Family of James Castle. © 2007 James Castle
I had elaborate reason for this list. (but I forgot what it was. lol. So I guess they aren’t that important.)
Download “Brian Eno – Deep Blue Day” (it’s mesmerizing)
okay video: this is the best dark ambient “video”
(surreal, erotic, rhythmical, weird)
Ouraken – Orochi (Ouraken meets Hokusai)
btw, this site has tons of interesting interview:
http://www.furious.com/perfect/interviews.html
Phew, for a minute there I was crazed with the thought you were dissapearing for a long time without leaving any notes.
Coincidentially I stole my father’s car for the weekend (really cool sound stereo) and I was listening to a mix cd a friend gave me 7 years ago with “deep blue day”. Such a great song to drive to, tho people kinda looked weird at me when I was stupidly waving around my arms like an orchestra director and bobbing my head to it at the red light.
… and 1983? didn’t realize it was that old, somehow I always related the song to the release of “the passengers” side project, around mid 90′s and even then “deep blue day” has dated much better than the soundtrack.
http://www.nin.com/components/mm/tr_pm_tv-bela.mov
theres the video of that show,
a couple others here:
http://www.metafilter.com/52670/Live-in-Washington-DC-6132006
i love this blog! whenever i want to here my own music i just come here!
bela lugosi’s dead – trent reznor and peter murphy
Love your blog. It’s always a pleasant surprise finding out what spins your wheels on a given day! Props!
I remember “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” from around 1981. My little friends considered it just about the ultimate song for frying to. But I date myself.
brill list as always sq. glad to have em back . . . elixer is gorgeous . . . proper strings.
It’s Una furtiva lagrima ( Donizetti)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Una_furtiva_lagrima
I never find out who doing the string in that laswell remix.
here is the whole piece.
btw, all about jazz hates it. lol. (unceasing beats? yeah that’s DnB … This track is my proper introduction of remix, how hip-hop can go to different structure than soul/dance combo.)
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=6018
“I never thought I would ever say this about a recording, but Operazone is a total and complete failure. It falters somewhere between smooth jazz and new age—gentle strings and unceasing beats underlie saccharine melodies and intermittent wimpy improvisations by cornet/flugelhorn player Graham Haynes and tenor saxophonist Byard Lancaster. There is absolutely no meat to this record. Opera lovers: stay far, far away; the humanity has been taken out of this music. Smooth jazz lovers: perhaps Operazone might have some appeal, but why not stay with the tried and true Kenny G. At least he’s a teeny bit controversial, if you were to judge by Pat Metheny’s recent outspoken criticisms.”
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