I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: KAWABATA MAKOTO [河端一]-INUI 2 (2000).

Kawabata Makoto [河端一] is the guitarist and mastermind behind Acid Mothers Temple. The band is hugely prolific. But he still had time to record solo albums. Often times without any guitar.

This was Kawabata’s second solo LP, now available on bandcamp

INUI 2 was the first widely available solo CD by this prolific Japanese guitarist/composer/bearded guru. Known primarily for his recent work with oddballs Acid Mothers Temple, Kawabata’s career actually goes back to the late ’70s and spans many styles, including solo guitar improv, electronics, folk, and, of course, the deranged acid mayhem associated with the PSF scene. Performed entirely solo on violin, kemenje, zurna, electronics, sarangi, taiko, gong, water, bouzouki, cello, vibes, organ, and sitar, the four tracks that make up INUI 2 are perfectly executed dream-music, equal parts delicately floating and heavily droning. There’s also one all-too-short modal essay for bouzouki that is amazingly beautiful.

“Mou” (9:56) has a drone underpinning the song as he plays a quiet keyboard melody over the top.  About half way through the zurna comes in playing its somewhat harsh melody (although it is less harsh here).  This is a pretty cool chill out song.  [Instruments: Violin, kemenje, zurna, electronics].

“Meii” (11:02) is composed of slowly plucked sarangi strings.  They ring out loud and are accompanied by thumps on the taiko and occasional crashes of the gong. There is also a high pitched feedback/electronic sound that rings out form time to time.   About midway through the bowing become s a little wild and improvisational until it settles back down again.  [Instruments: Sarangi, taiko, gong, water].

“Shi” (3:47) is the ‘all too short” piece and I agree that it is too short.  It features a quietly plucked string melody on the bouzouki that is very pretty.  It has mild drones behind it.  About half way through the melody changes, a faster more deliberate style but still quiet and pleasing.  I could listen to this one for much much longer.  [Instruments: bouzouki, cello, vibe, organ].

“Kan” (14:18) starts as harsh electronic drone with occasional blips of hi frequency sounds.   It’s the first unpleasant sound on the disc.  Although after 2 and a half minutes, the string drones enter and smooth things over.  At some point a pulsing possibly, backwards recorded series of notes comes in to give the drone some drive.  [Instruments: bowed sitar, violin, electric sitar, electronics].

[READ: September 10, 2019] “Ranch Girl”

This brief story was collected in Meloy’s Half in Love.

It starts with the fatalistic sentence:

If you’re white and you’re not rich or poor but somewhere in the middle it’s hard to have worse luck than to be born a girl on a ranch.

The unnamed protagonist grew up the daughter of the foreman of the Ted Haskell Running H Ranch.  Haskell’s brand was a slanted H–she had seen it all her life and didn’t know an H was supposed to be upright until she went to school.

Her mom helped on the ranch and rode better than most hands.  But then she took an office job and got a place in town to be closer to her office.  She hadn’t been back since.

When she’s sixteen the girl goes with her friend Carla (Daughter of Mr Haskell) to The Hill.  It’s where everyone goes.  Its where the young cowboys fight–no one knows what the fights are about. If it’s a good night someone gets dragged down the asphalt and their shirt rides up.

Andy Tyler always win.  He’s the one who drags the loser down the road.  When he stops the truck he takes out a pin from a blood drive.  He reads “I gave blood today” and as he pins it on the loser’s shirt he says, “looks like you did, too.”

He then grabs a beer, inevitably rolls his truck in a ditch and gets a tow from a neighbor.  No one calls the cops.

Virginity is as important to cowboys as the rodeo so even though he asks her, she never fucks Andy Tyler.  Because when she does she wants to keep him.

Mr Haskell married an ex-hippie named Suzy.  She read tarot and told the protagonist to be interesting in your twenties because otherwise you’ll want to do it in your thirties and forties when it wreaks havoc if you are married or have kids.

The protagonist notes that in grade school its okay to do well but in high school being smart gets you in trouble. Her teachers suggest she go to college out East but she’s a ranch girl–and not a horse ranch girl, a dirty, smelly cow ranch girl.  So she decides to start doing badly so she can go to the local college which will accept anyone.

Her best friend Carla Haskell went to college and was doing great but then she dropped out to marry Dale Banning who owns half of Montana.  Mr Haskell is already adding the acreage to his own.

The story progresses quickly.  The protagonist’s dad quitting his job as foreman and moved in with his girlfriend. But the new girlfriend insisted that he have a job.  All he knew was ranching so he had to go back to Haskells at reduced pay and more hours.

The protagonist moves in with her mom but is unhappy. There’s a pretty important moment in her life that I won’t spoil.

The latest Tarot read tells her to go. Go anywhere.