SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 7: J’accuse Ted Hughes/Agnès B Musique (2008).
The first side of the disc (for it was only released on vinyl) is a ballsy blast of music. Ballsy because it was the opening track of their live set at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2000. And who opens up their set at a festival that features bands like Super Furry Animals, Sigur Rós, and Stereolab (basically a who’s who in awesome Brit-rock) with this 22 minute shriek of noise?
The set was so derisively received that the cover of the NME (hilariously reproduced on the cover of the LP) stated “Goodbye 20th Century, Goodbye Talent.”
The noise is palpable: squeals and squalls and all manner of feedback. Kim even gets a strange little spoken word section in the middle. I would think fans might have enjoyed it for 5, maybe even 10 minutes, but by 23 it’s pretty numbing. The rest of the set included instrumentals from the not yet released NYC Ghosts and Flowers. It almost seems like the set was payback for the invitation.
The B-side is an 18 minute “soundtrack” of sorts. Agnes B. is a French clothing designer and yet somehow the music feels like it could be for some scary kids’ movie. It has a number of creepy elements to it. I kept picturing people sneaking around a little cottage.
The liner notes are written in Arpitan, a steadily-declining-in-use language spoken mostly in Italy and Switzerland.
Not for the faint of heart (or the vinylphobic).
[READ: August 31, 2009] Four Letter Word
I read about this book in The Walrus and then I ordered it from Amazon.ca as it doesn’t seem to be available in the US.
The book is a collection of “love letters.” What is so very interesting about the collection is the varied nature of the letters themselves. It’s not just: “I love you XOXO” (of course). There are letters to mothers, stepmothers, mountains, and the Earth itself. There are letters of love, lust, anger and respect.
I was most attracted to the book by the great list of authors, some of whom I read religiously and many others whom I just really like (and of course a bunch who I’ve never heard of).
It’s hard to review a collection of short stories that is as varied as this, especially when the pieces are this short (as most of them are). And, I guess technically, they aren’t even short stories. They are just letters. I would never base my opinion of these authors from this work. Although some of the authors that I know well definitely retain their signature style. There were only one or two letters that I didn’t enjoy, but for the most part the entire collection is very good. And if you like any of these authors, it’s worth checking out.
I’m going to list all of the authors, mention who the letter is to, and any other salient features (without trying to give anything away–several letters have a surprise in them)! (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 5: Sonic Youth Featuring Kim Gordon/DJ Olive/Ikue Mori (2000).
The fifth SYR disc is rather different from the others in that the only SY member is Kim. This is a sort of side project for Kim, 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Silver Session for Jason Knuth (1998).
This record came about for two reasons. One was the suicide of longtime Sonic Youth fan (whom the band didn’t know) Jason Knuth. And the second was because when they tried to record vocal tracks for One Thousand Leaves, the band upstairs was so loud, it kept interfering with their recording.
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (1999). 
This SYR recording consists of Sonic Youth’s interpretations of 20th century composers’ works. Some of the composers are obscure, but a few are more or less household names: John Cage, Yoko Ono, maybe Steve Reich. I knew a few of these composers from Kronos Quartet, but for the most part the pieces are all new to me. Since I don’t know the original pieces I have no idea how faithful they are.
It took me going to Seattle to learn about 
ten. For reasons known only to my head, I was convinced that Sasha was a black woman. Little did I realize that he is not. And that he was in a band that I have a CD of called Ui. He is an excellent resource for all things music, whether I like the artist he’s talking about or not. Some entries are 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 3: Invito Al Ĉielo (1998).
This SYR release adds Jim O’Rourke to the mix (O’Rourke played with with them on A Thousand Leaves too). I’ve always been aware of O’Rourke but I’ve never really listened to any of the bands that he’s been associated with (and there’s a lot). So, I’m not sure what his actual contributions are, but he seems to be pushing the SY members into a much more noisy/abstract direction. (A few samples of Gastr Del Sol shows them to be pretty out there, so perhaps pushing SY in a direction that was not too far from where they’d go on their own. And, I rather liked the Gastr stuff, too).
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 2: Slaapkamers Met Slagroom (1997).
The second SYR release is like the other side of the coin from SYR1. The premise is the same, the players are the same, but the result is rather different.
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Washing Machine (1995).
After the short blasts and diverse collection fo songs on Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, Washing Machine sounds like almost a different band. For although there are a few shorter pieces here, they also give us the 9 minute title track and the, brace yourself, almost 20 minute “The Diamond Sea.”
SOUNDTRACK: Living with Music: A Playlist by Joshua Ferris (New York Times September 19 2007).
While searching for Joshua Ferris (see below) I came across this playlist from The New York Times. While I don’t agree with everything on the list, indeed, I haven’t heard of about half of the songs, I was delighted by several of his selections: Neutral Milk Hotel, Pearl Jam, and of course, Godspeed! You Black Emperor. I also really enjoy the unusual Pink Floyd selection, too (Meddle being a favorite album of mine).
I Just Read About That... 