I’m trying to be a better ‘music citizen’ and not rely on all-you-can-eat streaming so much. I pre-ordered this based on the two preview tracks. Proceeds from vinyl sales go to to the Trans Music Archive.
via CDM
Not shown: crappy flashing lights
Radiohead x Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
This ‘cinematic mashup’ pairing the 1922 vampire film Nosferatu with Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac albums could have been great. Unfortunately, the execution is so slapdash and careless that it feels like a missed opportunity. Rather than put any thought into which tracks might work with which scenes, the editor just runs the two albums over the film.
It’s frustrating, because there are moments where it almost works. Idioteque playing over a manhunt is a good sequence and there are moments here and there where picture and sound match up, but that is more by luck than judgement. The whole thing just felt so sloppy, with scene changes (demarcated by title cards) happening 10-15 seconds after different tracks come in. This could have been fixed so easily that it feels like a wilful act of apathy not to do it. The other infuriating decision by the editors is to add pulsing patches of colour to the black and white film, timed to the music. This adds nothing to the film, serves as a distraction, and meant I was getting a headache about two thirds of the way through the runtime.
I’ll concede that the second half of the film works a little better with Amnesiac, but that’s probably down to that record being a bit more open and ambient than Kid A. This was a crushing disappointment, seemingly tossed off with little care for either element. The company behind it is releasing more of these combinations, including mixing Buster Keaton’s The General with the music of REM, which honestly sounds pretty awful.
I saw this at the Depot in Lewes, but I believe it’s been released nationwide. I’d skip it, to be honest.
Dawn of Midi – Dysnomia
Well, it might appear that I only ever listen to music released by Erased Tapes, but that’s not true. (I also have a Radiohead playlist that I listen to when I’m writing!) I can’t deny that a lot of their releases are in areas I’m interested in - classical, electronic, minimalist, experimental-but-still-listenable.
I think I got an email newsletter from them today and looking for something led to me discovering Dawn of Midi’s Dysnomia, which is one of those acoustic records that has a very electronic feel – lots of of repetition, variation, elevation and evolution. As if that wasn’t enough, the whole album runs together like a DJ set. (If you play it using the bandcamp widget above, I’d recommend flipping back to track 1 to get the full effect.)
Dysnomia was released in 2015 and to my knowledge there hasn’t been anything else from the trio, which I sort of like as it adds to the specialness of the album. What I’ve read about the group suggests that this was meticulously created, but it feels like one long session done on the fly. I don’t usually like instrumental breakdowns in songs, band jams and there is nothing I would rather listen to less than a solo, but that feeling of improvising is capivating, even if it is a lie and the result of many, many hours of meticulous planning.
Reiches
1
Sometimes things arrive in threes. This is slightly unfortunate when it comes to Reich-related content, but I’m trying to keep the momentum up with posting these little notes, so I’ll record them here anyway.
Firstly, I listened to Steve Reich Essentials on Apple Music, which revealed a much more diverse range of compositions than I was aware of. I’m quite a fan of 20th century minimalist music and in that field Reich is a big name, mainly for his use of phasing. (My wife also loves Clapping Music, considering it one of the best things ever made by a human). The playlist had a lot of music I wasn’t familiar with and showed that Reich is not just someone who goes du-du-du-du-du-du-du and did-did-did-did-did-did.
Amongst the pieces in the playlist is Different Trains and hearing it again made me think of the Song Exploder episode dealing with the composition of the first part of that piece. It’s one of the longer episodes of that series, but is still only about 30 minutes. Most podcasts are too long, but Song Exploder is the exception. I love hearing about the creative process in all its forms. The podcast (as well as One Song) are also a potential source of stems for sampling. I always wanted to make a series called Song Imploder, which used the musical snippets from the show in order to make a musical counterpoint. Unfortunately, I am coming to terms with the truth that I am not really very gifted musically. I am slowly making my piece with this fact.
2
Another Reich, one whom I am unsure is related to the first or not, is former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich. He’s interviewed on Kara Swisher’s podcast On with Kara Swisher. (That was a horrible sentence. I’m typing through the first coffee of the day.)
I’m really trying to limit the amount of US politics I ingest at the moment. It’s difficult to ration it, though, as the news seeps through everywhere. This interview was interesting to me, though, as Reich talks about the mistakes that were made in his time in the Clinton administration and how the Democratic party lost touch with its base. I don’t know what happens next, but it feels like progressive parties (both in the UK and the US) can’t carry on along this same track.
Anyway. link to episode here.
3
Finally, we get to Robert Reich’s son, Sam Reich, who is the CEO of streaming service Dropout (formerly College Humor). He’s interviewed by Fast Company about how he acquired the company and the ethos of mutual benefit he’s tried to instil there. I find it really interesting - and encouraging - when people make successful businesses out of the simple principle that you don’t have to screw absolutely everyone you meet. He’s also quite funny and charming, which makes it an easy listen.
Sam Reich Fast Company interview
(If a podcast doesn’t have its own site, I’ll use a link to Apple podcasts, just because it seems like the standard repository. That said, I find the Apple Podcasts app to be pretty horrible. I’ve been using Pocketcasts for a while now, mainly because it allows you to play podcasts through a Sonos speaker. This used to be a premium feature, but is now free.)
Black Sabbath - Planet Caravan
Ozzy Osbourne died. Some might say it was amazing he lived as long as he did. I’m not someone who listens to a lot of rock, but in my obligatory someone died, so let’s listen to their hits session, I heard this between ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man’ and it’s much more my speed.
Rival Consoles - Soft Gradient Beckons
I haven’t really clicked with Rival Consoles latest album. It’s always a bit weird when LPs have a several tracks released before the album. Somehow, they remain ‘bitty’ in my mind. ‘Soft Gradient Beckons’ did catch on with me, though, perhaps because at it’s heart it has a repeating motif that reminded me of Alessandro Cortini’s ‘Forse’ series.
Anyway, there’s a great video for the track made by the artist/animator/printmaker Anthony Dickenson, using long rolls of paper. Video and bts linked below.
Birds Scream
Two very different pieces of music, related by an abstract thought.
(This is the Clipse Tiny Desk concert. Skip to 14:43 for ‘Birds Don’t Sing’. Squarespace doesn’t allow me to embed times YT links, which is just one of the reasons Squarespace is bad.)
And a live version of Aldous Harding’s ‘What if birds aren’t singing, they’re screaming’. Honestly, I prefer the album version, but as Clipse were live, I figured like-for-like was a good idea.
If I was any good at such things, I might try making a mashup, which shows just how old I am. Are mashups still a thing?
Reaktor Lab 20250626
I’m trying to learn how to make noises in Reaktor. I’ll post the least horrible ones here for a while.