Playlist Week of 9-22-12

* Scriabin: Complete Symphonies, etc. (selections) (Deutsches Symph-Orch/Ashkenazy) (Decca 3CD)

* Cage, et al.: John Cage Shock Vol.1 (Omega Point/EM CD)

* Cage, et al.: John Cage Shock Vol.2 (Omega Point/EM CD)

* Cage, et al.: John Cage Shock Vol.3 (Omega Point/EM CD)

* Feldman: Crippled Symmetry: At June In Buffalo (Feldman Soloists) (Frozen Reeds 2CD)†

* Herbie Nichols: The Complete Blue Note Sessions (d.2-3) (Blue Note 3CD)

* Henry Threadgill: The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings (selections) (Mosaic 8CD)

* Henry Threadgill Sextett: You Know The Number (RCA/Novus LP)

* Mary Halvorson Quintet: Bending Bridges (Firehouse 12 CD)

* Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN 9-06-12 (CDR/24bit WAV)

* John McLaughlin: Devotion (Douglas LP)

* Mahavishnu John McLaughlin: My Goals Beyond (Douglas LP)

* Mahavishnu Orchestra: Visions Of The Emerald Beyond (Columbia LP)

* Royal Band de Thiès: Kadior Demb (Terranga Beat CD)(†)

* The Pyramids: Otherworldly (Disko B CD)†

* Isaac Hayes: “Shaft” (Original Soundtrack) (Enterprise/Stax 2LP)

* Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced (Experience Hendrix/Sony LP)

* Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold As Love (Experience Hendrix/Sony LP)

* Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (Experience Hendrix/Sony 2LP)

* Jimi Hendrix: First Rays Of The New Rising Sun (Experience Hendrix/Sony 2LP)

* Yoko Ono, Kim Gordon & Thurston Moore: YOKOKIMTHURSTON (Chimera MP3)†

* Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol.2 No.1: MSG September ’90 (GDP/Rhino 2+1HDCD)

* Van Morrison: Astral Weeks (Warner Bros./Rhino LP)

* Van Morrison: Moondance (Warner Bros./Rhino LP)

* Roseanne Cash: King’s Record Shop (Columbia LP)

* Robert Pollard: Jack Sells The Cow (GBV, Inc. MP3)†

* Earth: Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II (Southern Lord 2-45RPM LP)

* OM: Advaitic Songs (Drag City 2-45RPM LP)†

* Opeth: Blackwater Park (Music For Nations/Sony CD/DVD)†

* Opeth: Deliverance (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)

* Opeth: Damnation (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†

* Katatonia: Brave Yester Days (Avantgarde 2CD)†

* Anathema: Weather Systems (The End CD)†

* Animal Collective: Centipede Hz (Domino CD)†

* Russian Circles: Empros (Sargent House CD)†

†=iPod

‡=car

Commentary:

Sorry for neglecting the blog lately—it’s been a busy couple of weeks and I just seem to get busier.

I’m still buzzing from the performance on the 6^th and last Saturday Brian and I spent all day mixing the thirty-four minutes of music. The plan is to put out a CD and pursue more performing opportunities. Why not? I think the music is good!

What little writing I’ve done has been for Spectrum Culture (blurbs for “Best Books About Music” and “Best Songs Over Ten Minutes”). Not surprisingly, I’m falling a bit behind on some record reviews due not just to my busyness but because—well let’s put it this way: I need to be more careful about what I choose to review. I have to hack out a couple of, um, challenging assessments before getting to some really juicy stuff, including a couple of fairly high-profile interviews.

Oh, and I was just asked to photograph an event next month—for money! Now, isn’t that a kick in the pants?

So, yeah, I have a lot of work to do—on top of forty-plus hours per week at my day job (and five more of commuting). There is only so much time in a day and I have to admit: I’m having a hard time balancing it all—particularly the writing part, which is a long and arduous process for me. Playing, recording and listening to music is fun; writing about it is not.

Obviously, the blog has been the first thing to go by the wayside and it will continue along like this for the time being, as I pursue these other opportunities. But I do hope to resurrect Sun Ra Sunday and write more substantive pieces on the playlist in the near future. I may not enjoy writing very much yet I still feel compelled to do it anyway—I just need to be more disciplined about it. So, please stay tuned; there’s exciting stuff ahead!

+++

About the photograph: Listening to the mix-down in high-resolution 24bit/48kHz via SanDisk Cruzer 16G thumb drive plugged into my Oppo BDP-95—sweet!