Playlist Week of 4-16-11

* Hespèrion XXI (Savall): Le Royaume Oublié: La Tragédie Cathare (Alia Vox 3SACD)
* Holloway/Mortensen/ter Linden: Garrison Church, Copenhagen 4-08-08 (FM 2CDR)
* Mozart: Clarinet Concerto (Academy of Ancient Music/Hogwood) (L’Oiseau-Lyre LP)
* Joe Morris/John Voigt/Tom Plsek: MVP: LSD: The Graphic Scores of Lowell Skinner Davidson (Riti CD)
* Myra Melford + Be Bread: Saalfelden, Austria 8-27-10 (FM CDR)
* Sylvie Courvoisier/Mark Feldman Quartet: Nevers, France 11-12-10 (FM CDR)
* Material: Intonarumori (Axiom/Palm CD)†/‡
* Grateful Dead: County Coliseum, El Paso, TX 11-23-73 (SBD 4CDR)
* Grateful Dead: Music Hall, Cleveland, OH 3-03-81 (SBD 3CDR)†/‡
* Grateful Dead: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL 6-22-91 (SBD 3CDR)†/‡
* Bob Dylan: Time Out Of Mind (Columbia 2LP)
* Tom Waits: Foreign Affairs (Asylum LP)
* Big Star: #1 Record (Ardent/Classic LP)
* Steely Dan: Aja (ABC/Geffen/Cisco LP)
* Phil Collins: Face Value (Atlantic/Audio Fidelity CD)
* Steve Winwood: Arc Of A Diver (Island LP)
* Tears For Fears: The Hurting (Mercury LP)
* Tears For Fears: Songs From The Big Chair (Mercury LP)
* Minutemen: Double Nickels On The Dime (SST 2LP)
* Jim O’Rourke: Insignificance (Drag City LP)
* Pernice Brothers: World Won’t End (Ashmont CD)
* Pernice Brothers: Australia 2002 (Ashmont/Spunk CDEP)
* Those Bastard Souls: Debt & Departure (V2 CD)
* Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra CD)
* Guided By Voices: Do The Collapse (TVT LP)
* Lifeguards: Waving At The Astronauts (Serious Business LP)
* Mars Classroom: The New Theory Of Everything (Happy Jack Rock Records LP)
* Radiohead: The King Of Limbs (TBD/Ticker Tape CD)
* Animal Collective: Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished (Fat Cat CD)
* Animal Collective: Campfire Songs (Paw Tracks CD)
* Animal Collective: Here Comes The Indian (Paw Tracks CD)
* Panda Bear: Person Pitch (Paw Tracks CD)
* Panda Bear: Tomboy (Paw Tracks CD)
* Broken Bells: Broken Bells (Columbia CD)
* Broken Bells: Meyrin Fields EP (Columbia CDEP)

†=iPod
‡=car

Commentary:

We so enjoyed last month’s Indeterminacies program at Zeitgesit Art Gallery, Lizzy and I decided to return on April 12 for another evening of electro-acoustic music, this time by University of North Alabama professor, Mark Snyder. An academically trained composer, classical instrumentalist—and former rock drummer—Mr. Snyder brings a wide-ranging musicality to what might be simplistically labeled “ambient music.” Lushly evocative electronic soundscapes were accompanied by long, slowly morphing, melodies played by Snyder himself on tuba, clarinet or accordion, humanizing the computer-generated textures. Reinforcing the immersive quality of the music, abstract—almost psychedelic—videos were projected against two walls of the gallery. But rather than merely creating a blissed-out, multi-media assemblage, all three elements (computer, instrument and video) were carefully arrayed to create enigmatic yet compellingly synergistic audio-visual narratives, demonstrating considerable compositional sophistication and skill. Moreover, the works were inextricably tied to their performance: a recording could not possibly capture the experience (although we did pick up the DVD, Alluvium).

Snyder himself was thoughtful and, at times, quite funny during the discussion portions (admirably led by local musician/critic, Jonathan Marx) and he was refreshingly frank regarding his musical inspirations and goals. Audience members were invited to ask questions and were effectively drawn out by Marx to describe their thoughts and feelings regarding each piece. It was fascinating to participate and listen to what people had to say—and a rare opportunity for concert attendees to express themselves and provide direct feedback to the artists. Interactivity and boundary-dissolving is a key part of what the Indeterminacies series seeks to accomplish and they succeed in creating a stimulating yet comfortable environment where the unexpected can happen. We’re definitely looking forward to next month’s program featuring Belmont University composer, Mark Volker.

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Today, of course, was Record Store Day but, sadly, I did not attend. It’s been a long week and, after ferocious storms rolled through yesterday, today was a cold, gray and rainy day and I just didn’t feel like going outside. Besides, I wasn’t really interested in any of the special, hyper-limited edition releases and figured it wasn’t worth getting up early and fighting the crowds of ravenous record collectors. Well, for me, every Tuesday is Record Store Day. That’s the day new releases come out, and I always make a point of checking out Grimey’s on my lunch hour or after work and, as regular readers of my playlist can plainly see, I buy a lot of records (this week was Panda Bear's long-awaited solo album, Tomboy, which prompted an Animal Collective orgy). Even so, Record Store Day 2011 was probably a fabulous party—despite the weather. Oh well, maybe next year.

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RE: the playlist. Lots of pop! What can I say? I needed comfort music this week.