Glenn Branca

For the past few months I have been discovering the music and aesthetic of Glenn Branca. He is a New York based composer that rose to prominence on the strengths of his guitar symphonies which he began composing in the late 1970's. The idea of massed guitars struck a chord with me as well as Branca's reliance on the overtone series which I have been studying in school. Simply put the overtone series captures the notes that are most natural or simple to a particular struck note. These overtones are most easily seen as the harmonics on a guitar string. Branca was able to use this idea to create massive guitar works that ring with power and also have strange yet oddly compelling sound.
Two works of his that I have been most interested in thus far are his Symphony No. 3 and his Symphony No. 6 (Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven). These of course are not symphonies in the traditional sense though he does break the parts into movements. The score doesn't really progress or development but the sound does tend to increase and create more and more vibrations. These really should be heard live and loud and the CD medium probably loses a sense of this power. One of the last works Branca has completed is his Symphony No. 13 Hallucination City for 100 guitars.

A few other things that have tickled my fancy:
Stimmung by the late composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. This piece consists of just 6 vocalists and a very interesting score. It is very hypnotic and beautiful. Again this work is based on the overtone series, specifically one Bb9 chord. What Stockhausen is able to do with this simple material is astounding. Highly recommended.

Threnody by Pederecki. An amazing graphic score achieves some very haunting results. The Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has been name-checking this one pretty frequently as of late.

Four Organs by Steve Reich. A strange piece for Reich, it fuses his phasing ideas with the process music. The organs build up one huge chord over the course of 15 - 20 minutes. Fairly static but still an interesting early work of Reich's.

The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld. A classic of ambient dance music. Standard for the inevitable long come down.

!!!, Arcade Fire & LCD Soundsystem, etc.

The Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem tour made it's way to the Hollywood Bowl Thurs. Sept 20th and I have to say it was a magical night. That definitely gets bandied around too much, but on this night everything came together. We arrived and LCD had already started. They were finishing up their opening song and we quickly moved into the aisles to start dancing. It's hard to do this in a seated venue with security all around but we did manage it. The sound was great, the biggest problem being that too many Arcade Fire fans didn't want to shake it. LCD went through great versions of Tribulations, Yeah and North American Scum. It was a great show, James Murphy moving expertly to cowbell when the moment needed it and generally working the crowd up.
I went to the show mostly to see LCD Soundsystem. I had seen Arcade Fire before and considered them way too precious to actually put on more than a hipster, sit down and don't move concert. They started off poorly with the opening track on the new album Neon Bible. Black Mirror sounded muddy and vacuous. I figured that the rest of the show would progress that way. I was wrong. There were moments of transcendence as when they played songs off of their first album Funeral. Haiti came off like an old Talking Head's song with the bass line and beat to prove it. Power Out was another anthemic rocker and the closer Rebellion (Lies) was simply sublime. Los Angeles was bracing for it's first winter storm and seeing the clouds roll in overheard was a perfect natural accompaniment to what was happening on stage.

!!! played last night with the Field at the Avalon. The Field played laptop working new remixes of his album From Here We Go Sublime as well as new songs. It was a perfect opening for !!!, setting the tone for what was to come.
!!! simply brought the pain. They stretched and pulled their songs, mostly from their last album Myth Takes. The biggest highlight was the song Bend Over Beethoven. For me it's one of the weaker tracks on the album. Live they transformed it into a dance floor rave-up which changed significant parts of the song. Another highlight was Heart of Hearts in which the subdued atmosphere of it brought it into even greater heights when they ripped it open. All in all a great set. The biggest drawback was the fact that there was no encore and they played nothing from their previous album Louden Up Now. Too bad, I think everyone needed a little Pardon My Freedom.

The only recent purchase to report is a vinyl copy of Arnold Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. This probably one of the last romantic - type pieces, written in 1895. It's very different from Schoenberg's later dodecaphonic work. The swelling strings will probably relate to some listeners as cinematic, but the interior logic that Schoenberg sets up in the piece is not to be missed. He musified (not a word) every line of a poem about two lovers with assorted recurring motifs. It's amazing that he put so much effort into what most listeners will not even notice. But it was obviously very useful to him and created what amounts to a quasi modern classic.

Summer 2007

Just got through the worst heatwave I have had out here in L.A. Can't complain really, this used to be the everyday thing back on the East Coast during the summer.

Since I live so close to Amoeba and another great record / bookshop (Counterpoint) have been able to get a bunch of classical LP's for cheap. It's nice knowing that even when I have no money I can still pick up a masterpiece in pristine condition. The good thing about most classical LP's is that the owners took very good care of them.

I don't think I really have to expound much on some of these classics.

The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky: conducted by Pierre Boulez (Nonesuch)

Symphony No. 9 - Schubert: conducted by James Levine (DG)
I got into Schubert a little bit this summer, especially his String Quintet and this his last symphony subtitled 'The Great'.

Violin Concerto - Sibelius: conducted by Eugene Ormandy (Columbia)
Finally got this, Sibelius' only violin concerto. Very lyrical and romantic.

Stabat Mater - Palestrina (Argo)
Palestrina was a Renaissance composer, probably writing the pinnacle of that era's music. The music is amazingly moving and fresh, even today.

Etudes for Piano - Claude Debussy: Piano by Paul Jacobs (Nonesuch)
Very complex and thoroughly modern piano works. Not at all like Claire de Lune.

Third Symphony - Aaron Copland: conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Columbia)

String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 - Elliott Carter (Nonesuch)
Revelatory works by this hard to decipher American composer.

A Solo Requiem - Milton Babbitt / Haiku Settings - Mel Powell (Nonesuch)
Mel Powell was a long time teacher at CalArts and one of its leading lights.

Chariots of Fire - Vangelis (Polydor)
Not quite classical but indeed classic.

A few non-LP purchases also occurred. Sometimes you just have to buy on CD.

Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint - Steve Reich (Nonesuch)
I really got this album for the Electric Counterpoint composition in which Reich has upwards on 10 guitars and 2 basses being used. It's a very dense and at times beautiful woven tapestry of guitars. It does become a bit static in places though. The kind of thing I will refine in my own piece for multiple electric guitars.

Mirrored - Battles (Warp)
A great album. Powerful drums courtesy of John Stanier (formerly of Helmet) and various other members of math-rock bands (A subset of rock music that values complexity and musicianship). Many rhythmic surprises and almost kraut rock grooves from the guitars. The treated vocals are an odd and at times endearing part of the music. My personal fave track is Tonto, where the rhythm gradually slows down to a crawl by the end.

Liars - Liars (Mute)
Another compelling album from Liars. Not as effective as Drum's Not Dead, but more immediately gratifying. The first four songs show the band venturing in all different directions but each of them enjoyable. The second track, Houseclouds, probably gets the nod as the best on the album, with it's tinny drum track and great keyboard melodies.

Also took my first trip to the Hollywood Bowl recently. What an amazing place, and probably one of the best spots to see live music. We saw Beethoven's Ninth Symphony conducted by the great Michael Tilson Thomas. The acoustics weren't great, but we were fairly far from the stage. Great spot though to enjoy a picnic and the beautiful setting with music.

The Further Update

Just rounding up a few things that were added to the collection in the last couple months. Thanks to the NYC boys for hooking me up with a nice bunch of new CDs as well. Greatly appreciated.

Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Droning rock in the vein of Neu! Cryptic vocals and swirling guitars. A heady listen.

Menomena - Friend and Foe
Three dudes from Portland, OR who create beautiful little songs. Highly recommended.

Hot Chip - The Warning
Being a big fan of the DFA label I was very interested in this. Though I was not initially taken with it, the beats are slowly growing on me.

Glenn Gould - The Complete Goldberg Variations
This CD set contains both of Gould's performances of Bach's much touted work, one in 1955 the other in 1981, right before his death. This is most have for anyone who likes music. The work is sublime and Gould's playing just reinforces that.

Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
The new Bloc Party album shows the band stretching out a bit. Besides the long and boring song 'Uniform' the album is consistently good, and you can't beat the guilty pleasure, 'I Still Remember', a great unrequited love song that old Coldplays Coldplay.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Follow-up to their debut. The first single 'North American Scum' is brilliant, as is 'All My Friends'. They haven't reached the highs of their early single 'Yeah' but still is a most listen.

The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Cool, icy ambient techno from the German Kompakt label. A great late night listen, with melodic samples floating in and out of the mix.

I also had the opportunity to see the group Partch play, appropriately enough, music by Harry Partch at Redcat in Los Angeles. I had never seen or heard any music by Partch but I was very excited to see it. He is most known for writing microtonal music (notes between the notes in the equal tempered system) on instruments of his own devising. The music sounded strange on first listen but over the course the program you begin to get used to his system. The instruments, including a bass marimba-type instrument, were beautiful and sounded great. The program consisted of road music suites that Partch had composed, with lyrics and singing from the cast. The highlight of the evening for me was a setting of a Bibilical Psalm that Partch set for two string viola and intoning voice titled 'By the Rivers of Babylon'. The unearthly nature of the sound that was produced by the voice and voila can not be overstated. A wondrous moment .

Spring '07 roundup

Many, many things have drifted through my transom recently, too many to really get in depth with. So just brief outlines of what I have been listening to.

Gorecki - String Quartets, 1 & 2
From the composer of the beautiful Symphony No. 3, "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs". Quartet is a very minimal affair using much silence.

Wendy Carlos - Sonic Seasonings
Best known for the Switched on Bach series, Carlos was one of the first electronic musicians. On this 1972 release she predates Brian Eno by a few years in composing an ambient album whose concept is the four seasons. Unfortunately I don't think it works completely but is an interesting experience especially given its time period.

!!! - Myth Takes
An album I have been waiting years for. Not a perfect album but when these guys hit it right, it just kills. Stand out tracks include "Must Be the Moon", "Heart of Hearts", the titles track and "All My Heroes are Weirdos". Recommended for anyone who likes their beats fast and dirty.

The Good, the Bad, and the Queen
Damon Albarn's new band, including members of the Verve, the Clash and Fela Kuti leads one to believe that this album will just cook. The take the opposite tack and come up with a very dour, melancholy set of songs. Much of it relates to the current war in Iraq and how people are struggling along in this day and age. Though not uplifting by any means the songs are off-the-cuff and that gives it a great feel

Erik Satie - Gymnopedies
Piano works from this great late 19th and early 20th century French composer. He clearly took a different direction than the Wagnerian bombast that was happening in his milieu and created these delicate miniature works. Eno calls these proto-ambient works, as they were meant to accompany conversation and drinks in the Parisian salons of the day. These are short melodic works which also reward a detailed listen as much as they can be thought of as background music.

Black Dice - Broken Ear Record
The 2005 release from Brooklyn's masters of sonic mayhem. Another sterling collection of tracks. The sound is a little rough on the edges but tracks such as "Snarly Yow" and "Smiling Off" show the band using beats and electronics in very appetizing ways.

Ligeti: Atmospheres and more

Being at music school at CalArts means getting my mind blown on a daily basis. I am consistently amazed at the talent of the school as well all the new sounds I am hearing on my own. Most recently the most stunning thing I have heard is Gyorgy Ligeti's 'Atmospheres.' This might be familiar to many people from the Stanley Kubrick movie '2001: A Space Odyssey' but to hear it fully, with utmost concentration is to be awed at its power. Ligeti didn't concern himself with melody, rhythm or even harmony is the traditional sense. The sound is really an exploration of orchestral timbre, or more basically the sound is the sound itself. Ligeti reaches for all kinds of different sounds that are available to the orchestra and in doing so, opens up a sonic palette for everyone to experience. Even though it was composed in 1961, I can probably say this is one piece of music that will never go out of date.

I have also been concerning myself with a fair amount of computer / electronic music as of late. I recently came upon Morton Subotnick's famous electronic work, 'Silver Apples of the Moon.' This was one of the first large scale electronic works from 1967. Utilizing a modular synthesizer similar to a Moog, Subotnick weaves a dense web of clicks, sweeps, boops and whatever other onomatopoeic words you want to throw at it. Its a fascinating listen, but it suffers from being fairly academic in nature. Another interesting piece is the 'Poeme Electronique' by Edgar Varese from 1957. This was the first famous piece created under the musique concrete rubrick. In this 8 minute work, Varese creates a sonic piece using pre-recorded sounds, cut and spliced and put back together in a highly intriguing order. This really was proto-sampling. Other computer music finds include Barry Schrader's 'Lost Atlantis' which is very similar in execution to the Morton Subotnick work. The work was written in 1977 and is fairly long, 40 minutes. It has a loose story line dealing with the mythical world of Atlantis. It is broken down into 6 tracks totalling 10 movements and they each deal with a part of the story. I find it more logical than the Subotnick work as there seems to be a clear direction for the music. It is also highly listenable and does a very good job of pulling the listener into its sound world.

For the more notated music, I checked out Arvo Part and Peteris Vasks. I have heard Part's works over the years and I recently picked up his 'Fratres'. It has very beautiful, lyrical string writing. What I found to be even more exciting though is the 'Cantible for Strings' by Vasks. I had the opputunity to see this compose speak at school and I very much liked his work and this work in particular. I had not heard his name before, but he seems to be fairly popular in Europe and Eastern Europe in particular as he is Latvian. He composed under Soviet rule for much of his life and he talked about this in our composition class. He stressed that he would write much of his music as instrumental as the censors couldn't censor the music, just the words. The 'Cantible for String' is a stirring work, it reminded me of Gorecki's Third Symphony as they are both written for strings and have this undercurrent of hope running through them. For anyone who likes beautiful string writing I would urge them to seek this composer out.

Best of 2006

I'll just make this easy for myself and post an email I sent around to a few people.

Tops of the not-so-Pops:

Keith Fullerton Whitman: Lisbon
Live laptop concert at a gallery in Portugal. One single track that lasts 40 min. Nice use of time and ambience.

Liars: Drum's Not Dead
A group of free thinkers at the height of their powers. Surprisingly listenable and tuneful. Just might take a little getting used to.

TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
I listened to this so much that I wore it out and can't listen to it anymore. Incredible production and the best vocals in all of indie rock.

LCD Soundsystem: 45:33
The dance/rock symphony we've all been waiting for.

The DFA: Remixes Vol. 1
More four on the floor greatness from the DFA. The Gorillaz remix is unstoppable.

Honorable Mentions:

Secret Machines: Ten Silver Drops
Contains perhaps the greatest song title ever, 'Alone, Jealous and Stoned.' Cosmic rock with extremely catchy hooks.

Tim Hecker: Harmony in Ultraviolet
Ambient and abstract guitar beauty.

Eliane Radigue: Trilogie de la Mort
The only 'academic' composer I will subject anyone on this list to. Immense use of space and time to create a meditative environment.

A couple things I looking forward to next year are the Shins album as well as the new !!! which will probably blow all our asses out.