September 2002 - zorn-list - mailman.xmission.com

Re: Closing of the American Mind
by Herb Levy 12 Sep '02

12 Sep '02

"Marcin Gokieli" <marcingokieli(a)go2.pl> wrote: >This book is, along with Adorno's 'Philosophy of new music' and 'Dialectic >of Enlightenment', my main ennemy among written things ('three tenors' are >the target among musical objects). Parts of the critique are interesting, >but his agressive self confidence and hate towards what he sees as popular >culture make it a monster. Yet another opinion form mr. academic teacher on >the eternal topic of "now wouldn't this world been much better had >everyone ACTED JUST LIKE ME AND AMDMIRED THOSE NICE THINGS I DO, but they >are just to silly to to that". >As for his view of rock, he treats it as something that makes life 'a >comercially confected masturabational fantasy' (my retranslation from polish >edition), no mer, no less. Needless to say, there's no single musical >argument in the chapter devoted to it, just plain 'what's that horrible >violinless thing' atittude. and >The problem is, however, that he does not say anything more interesting >about music then 'rock sucks, mozart is OK' (maybe besides his reducing >music to a kind of educational tool, which i find deeply mistaken), and it >makes the discussion with him pretty useless. And as a person who has spent >much of time on listening and creating music at times close to rock, I feel >very offended by such treatment of this kind of music. Dismissing Bloom, & Adorno, simply because they badmouth music that you like isn't too different from their dismissal of that music; you're dealing with symptoms and not causes. All of us who've been on this list for a while have seen some interesting and complex discussions that make it clear that, though we may share a general interest in one (very amorphous) area of music, we don't all agree on the details of what we do & don't like. The fact that there aren't many more such discussions is due more to restraint on the part of various list members than it is to any actual consensus of taste. Both Bloom and Adorno's writings about pop music are instances or examples of a much more nuanced discussion about how culture and history operate. In Bloom's case this is set out in earlier chapters of his book, in the case of Adorno, it pervades a large body of work written over many years. Trying to refute specific comments they've made about specific music, without dealing with these larger arguments, is pointless, no matter how frustrating you may find their musical opinions, because you haven't dealt with their main arguments. There is a LOT to criticize in Bloom and Adorno; I agree with very little that I've read by Bloom and somewhat more of what I've read by Adorno. But a critique of their work that is limited to discussing their responses to electric guitars or pop crooners, doesn't come close to addressing their overall approach. These details are matters of personal taste that have little to do with the actual shape of their arguments. Marcin's comment about "three tenors" may make this a bit more clear. Based on Bloom's and Adorno's writings, one can very safely say that they would have found this kind of marketing of "classical" music to be even more despicable than Marcin does. If you just have a knee-jerk dismissal of Bloom based on his comments about pop music, there's no clear understanding of why you may agree on other issues. It's easy for me to imagine someone agreeing with Bloom's overall argument, and differing only on details like their response to rock, TV sitcoms, or other cultural manifestations. There are people who make the same kind of arguments based on valuing a particular creative period of the past but draw their aesthetic lines at different points because of their own tastes in art. I've seen very similar arguments from people who like jazz more than Adorno did or who like rock more than Bloom did. The arguments are no more or less flawed simply because I may share more musical tastes with the author. -- Herb Levy P O Box 9369 Fort Worth, TX 76147 herb(a)eskimo.com

2 5

Re: Tibetan Chants
by Crowmeat Bob 11 Sep '02

11 Sep '02

I've seen Peter Kowald do some great throat-singing/double bass improvisation. His influence might be more eastern as well, but it sounds pretty damn cool. I imagine a recent solo record might have some of that kind of stuff on it. >From: "Zachary Steiner" <zsteiner(a)butler.edu> >To: <zorn-list(a)lists.xmission.com> >Subject: Tibetan Chants >Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 10:03:22 -0500 > >Last night I saw a group of Tibetan monks speak about non-violence. >Before they started their talk, they chanted. It was a wonderfully >intense experience. I purchased the CD of their chanting and have been >listening ever since. Are there instrumentalists that have used these >chants as a guide for improvisation? > >Thanks, >Zach > > > >_______________________________________________ >zorn-list mailing list >zorn-list(a)mailman.xmission.com >To UNSUBSCRIBE or Change Your Subscription Options, go to the webpage below >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/zorn-list _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

2 1

Zorn at Anthology
by adrian 11 Sep '02

11 Sep '02

Just a reminder to everyone. John Zorn is gonna play at Anthology Film Archives tomorrow at 8:00pm. In honor of the magnificent restoration of Harry Smith's magnum opus MAHAGONNY, John Zorn will headline a pair of shows dedicated to Smith, his films and his all-around alchemical lifestyle. The shows will feature rare films by Smith as well as interviews and documentation of the man in action. Zorn and his special guests (To Be Announced) will present new compositions and performances inspired by Smith's masterful works. Anthology Film Archives is located on 2nd Avenue and 2nd St. Tickets are $12 and they will go on sale at 6:30pm. Don't miss it!

1 0

Mr. Bungle demos
by Efrén del Valle 11 Sep '02

11 Sep '02

HI, Today I saw a pirate Cd that includes two Mr. Bungle demos, "goddammit I love America" and "the ragingwrath of the easter bunny". Since the Cd was really expensive, I'd like to know if they sounded good originally, the level of quality of the songs and all in all if it's worth the money- specially considering that I'm a huge fan of these guys. Maybe it's just for completists. Please let me know. Thanks in advance. Best, EfrÃ©n del Valle _______________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger Nueva versiÃ³n: Webcam, voz, y mucho mÃ¡s Â¡Gratis! DescÃ¡rgalo ya desde http://messenger.yahoo.es

3 2

Evan Parker's SIX OF ONE reissued on Psi/Emanem!
by Patrice L. Roussel 11 Sep '02

11 Sep '02

At least one good news today. Psi/Emanem just reissued Evan Parker's fantastic solo record SIX OF ONE. I think that this record is one of the best Parker solo records (and yes, he has many); the sound is simply astonishing. Who needs sense-deprivation tank with such record played at high volume! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Available September 22: [...] PSI 02.03 - EVAN PARKER - Six Of One (1980) Soprano saxophone solos recorded in a church. Reissue of Incus LP 39 plus a 7-minute piece from the same session. (Bar code 5030243420728) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Patrice.

1 0

Evan Parker's SIX OF ONE reissued on Psi/Emanem!
by Patrice L. Roussel 11 Sep '02

11 Sep '02

At least one good news today. Psi/Emanem just reissued Evan Parker's fantastic solo record SIX OF ONE. I think that this record is one of the best Parker solo records (and yes, he has many); the sound is simply astonishing. Who needs sense-deprivation tank with such record played at high volume! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Available September 22: [...] PSI 02.03 - EVAN PARKER - Six Of One (1980) Soprano saxophone solos recorded in a church. Reissue of Incus LP 39 plus a 7-minute piece from the same session. (Bar code 5030243420728) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Patrice.

1 0

Albert Ayler doc?
by Ken Waxman 11 Sep '02

11 Sep '02

Hi gang: Just back from the Guelph Jazz Festivals where I saw some great performnces -- Kidd Jordan/Fred Anderson/William Parker/Hamid Drake; Maybe Monday Trio; Tradition Trio; Hasidic New Wave etc. Anyways when I was talking to Alan Silva -- who played both with Ra and Ayler -- he said he was recently interviewed for a TV documentary that was being done on Ayler by a Boston(?) TV outlet. He wasn't sure about the details. Anyone know anything more? Ken Waxman ===== Ken Waxman mingusaum(a)yahoo.ca www.jazzword.com - Jazz/improv news, CD reviews and photos ______________________________________________________________________ Post your ad for free now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

3 2

KF web site totally revamped (and finally up to date)
by Patrice L. Roussel 09 Sep '02

09 Sep '02

Just to let you know that the Knitting Factory finally revamped their web site and it looks up to date. Patrice.

1 0

Lesser Angel / Electric Masada
by john schuller 09 Sep '02

09 Sep '02

Hey Zornologists, I have a BIG favor to ask of anyone who has ever put out a cd or done promo work for a cd. My label "World Misery Recordings" will release it's first album on September 11th. It is "Lesser Angel of Failure" played by myself, Eyvind Kang, Brad Mowen, Bill Horist and a few other great artists. I need to compile a list of reviewers and radio station people that are into "strange" music. Right now I have a list of 30 contacts, but I need more. I have pressed up 1,000 of these puppies and I do not want to have boxes in my closet when I am 80... So anyway - if you have read this far and can help me out with locating the proper people it would be great. I will send you out a free copy of the disc, postage paid. I have 20 copies of the Lesser Angel disc set aside for those people. ------------------------------------ Anyone in the Seattle area hear about the Electric Masada shows coming up here? Here is the snipet from www.earshot.com Saturday 11/9 & Sunday 11/10 On the Boards John Zorns Electric Masada Saturday 11/9 8pm & 10pm $22 general per show / $20 discount per show Sunday 11/10 8pm $30 general / $28 discount (two sets) The first performance outside New York of saxophonist John Zorns exciting new Masada project. Zorn likens it to the bands of Miless electric period. It features two keyboardists and an electric guitarist on out-front out-jazz. With key figures Kenny Wolleson (drums), Cyro Baptista (percussion), Trevor Dunn (bass), John Medeski and Jamie Saft (keys), and Marc Ribot (guitar). Zorn, a musical polymath, is indisputably the prime mover of the New York Downtown scene. Thanks, John Schuller www.johnschuller.com _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

1 0

Wire Audio Companion label 'reps'?
by Vincent Kargatis 09 Sep '02

09 Sep '02

I'm looking for Wire-reading volunteers to 'adopt' a label for, if you are unfamiliar, the Wire Audio Companion http://thewire.kargatron.net/. The idea being to check every new issue for reviewed/featured records by that label, then send me pointers if the label's website has audio files/streams for it. It's really not that much work for a single person doing one label, and it would really help fill out some holes in the current Companion, for which I lack the time to spend for multiple labels. Basically, you'd pick a label you like or want to support, make sure they offer audio stuff on their website at all (not much use if they don't do it), then, every issue, just collect the relevant info for the records appearing. (If you're *involved* with a label, this is directly for the label's benefit, so I'd urge you to do it yourself!) You can do a quick check in the Directory listing towards the back to see if your label even appears in that issue - if it's listed, flip through, find the records, and then check what's available at their site. If there's audio available, just grab the required info (see http://thewire.kargatron.net/contribute.html) So how about it? Any volunteers? Just oooone eensy label per person! Not so hard, and it counts towards your community service hours in the sentence handed down from that lenient judge last month. If interested, just email me with your choice - first come, first serve - I'll mark the label as yours, but also as your responsibility (meaning I might bug you if you don't send me info :). Applicable label examples: Mego and Erstwhile (see ish 222 at the site for such listings, for example). Sorry for beating this horse, but I'm insisting it keep breathing for the time being. (My, that's a pretty awful euphemism, taken literally, isn't it.) -- Vincent Kargatis np: VHF - "Ts" (Extracts)

1 0