There's a great quote from the liner notes to Alan Licht's "Evan Dando of Noise?" CD: "Finally, all I can say is the one thing that consistently attracts me in music (and other things) is mystery. That's what connects Xenakis' soundscapes, Derek Bailey's improvisations, the Beach Boys' harmonies, John Fahey's tunes for me. There's something emotionally ungraspable (and, ideally, uncharted by other experiences) about the power of melody and harmony as well as of 'pure' sound."
I love innovators as much as the next guy, assuming the next guy is standing next to me in the appropriate section at Amoeba. But innovation is not necessarily wild and/or noisy or self-consciously avant-garde, and there's also the possibility of just transcending the form without inventing something new - look at the oft-cited "Pet Sounds," or Sly and The Family Stone at their best (worthy of note that "On The Corner" was inspired by Stockhausen and Sly, and careful attention to Sly songs reveals some utterly unhinged guitar work that's just exceptionally well integrated into the whole of the sound), or The Rolling Stones' multiple peaks. I think AMM are great, but they've been at it for a long time & at this point they're probably better regarded as a Euro-improv equivalent to R.L. Burnside (though thankfully without the remix records) than "avant-garde." Which I guess means Ken Vandermark = Jon Spencer. There's also something to be said for players going out in the tall weeds, whether it's Monk's band on "Brilliant Corners" or any number of great Brit DIY records, typified by Essential Logic on "Aerosol Burns." Ultimately, deciding you're an avant-garde purist is as much a prison sentence as an all-Top 40 candy diet. Chris Selvig np: Otis Redding "Dock of the Bay" LP nr: Thomas McGuane "The Cadence of Grass"