Playlist Week of 10-06-12

* Reger: The String Quartets/Clarinet Quintet (Drolc Quartet/Leister) (d.3) (DG 3CD)

* Cage: Complete Piano Music Vol.9: Etudes Australes (Schleiermacher) (MGD 3CD)

* Dusapin: Quatours à cordes & Trio (Arditti Quartet) (æon 2CD)

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

* Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus: Spirit Of Nuff..Nuff (Black Saint CD)

* Henry Threadgill: Flutistry (Black Saint CD)

* Pat Metheny Group: Pat Metheny Group (ECM LP)

* Bill Frisell: Nashville (Nonesuch CD)

* Grateful Dead: Coliseum, Greensboro, NC 4-30-81 (selections) (SBD 3CDR)

* Big Star: Keep An Eye On The Sky (selections) (Ardent/Rhino 4CD)

* Sonic Youth: Whitey Album (Blast First/Geffen CD)

* Sonic Youth: Goodbye 20^th Century (SYR 2LP)

* Sonic Youth: “J’Accuse Ted Hughes”/”Agnès B Musique” (SYR LP)

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

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

* Steven Wilson: Get All You Deserve (KScope BD/DVD/2CD)

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

* Opeth: Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner HDCD)†

* Opeth: Watershed (Roadrunner CD)†

* Opeth: Heritage (Roadrunner CD/DVD)†

* Katatonia: Dead End Kings (Peaceville CD)

* Anathema: Falling Deeper (KScope CD)†

* Anathema: We’re Here Because We’re Here (KScope CD/DVD)†

* Anathema: Weather Systems (The End CD)†

* Blut Aus Nord: 777 – The Desanctification (Debemur Morti/Caroline MP3)

* Blut Aus Nord: 777 – Cosmosophy (Debemur Morti MP3)

* Baroness: Yellow & Green (Relapse 2CD)†

* Grails: Deep Politics (Temporary Residence CD)

* Pelican: “March Into The Sea” (Hydra Head EP)

* Pelican: City Of Echoes (Hydra Head CD)

* Pelican: What We All Come To Need (Southern Lord CD)

* Pelican: Ataraxia/Taraxis (Southern Lord EP)

* Pineapple Explode: Pineapple Explode (Pineapple Explode CDR)

* Pineapple Explode: A Bushel & A Barrel (Pineapple Explode CDR)

* Pineapple Explode: Skye’s Christmas Card (World Trade Center CDR)

†=iPod

‡=car

Commentary:

Last Saturday, we went to the 2012 Circuit Benders’ Ball, an annual celebration of cracked electronics hosted by Theatre Intangible’s Tony Youngblood. This was our first time at the ball, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. According to Roth Mobot (whose late-night set we unfortunately missed) “circuit bending” is defined as “the creative recycling of common discarded technology, often children's toys, by opening the device and soldering in new connections to create unique musical and video instruments.” Of course, there was plenty of low-bitrate bleeping, buzzing and screeching going on—but the sheer variety of approaches made for a fascinating and fun evening. Mostly it was serious-looking guys crouched over modified toys, archaic synthesizers and cheap mixing boards but there were still moments of sublime music. Opener Posthaste added loud rocking drums to his pulsating drones while set closer Pimpdaddy Supreme brought over-the-top theatrics to his set, with costumes, props and nightmarish makeup added to his darkly danceable DJ/electronica act.

But by far the most impressive act (at least to me) was Nashville’s own Pineapple Explode, who brought actual musicianship and instrumental skills to bear on the proceedings. While Marcus Sisk weaved luxurious blankets of electronic sounds, Steven Roy sang in a sweet tenor, played banjo and occasionally beat on an enormous Slingerland bass drum. Demonstrating remarkable control of these humble resources, each song was emotionally riveting, even if the subject matter was indecipherable. After fifteen blissfully transcendent minutes, it was all over, leaving me wanting more—a lot more. Fortunately, they were selling hand-made CDRs and I bought them all—hey, for the ridiculously low price of a buck a piece, how could I lose? Their brief set hardly prepared me for the music found on these EPs. Pineapple Explode creates experimental avant-pop music, cinematic in scope yet deceptively simple and direct in its execution. The recordings are deliberately lo-fi yet utterly engaging, a rare feat matched only by classic-era Guided By Voices (or the inimitable Sun Ra). Meanwhile, the oblique poetry of the songs never quite resolves, leaving you floating in a tantalizingly ambiguous sea of sound. I’ve been listening to these discs over and over again, hearing new enticing things with every spin. Pineapple Explode has quickly become my new favorite band and I cannot understand why they are not signed to some label like Merge or Matador or Drag City or Thrill Jockey—they would fit right in!

So, I’m doing my part to spread the word: these guys are great! An exclusive NuVoid interview with Pineapple Explode is in the works!

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It’s “Artober” here in Nashville: SoundCrawl starts this weekend with events at the Arcade downtown and at the Brick Factory over in “The Gulch”—plus Indeterminacies continues with the legendary improvisers LaDonna Smith and Davey Williams at Zeitgeist Gallery on Thursday October 11. See you there!