Friday, November 9, 2007

creepy music/creepy art boxes

Subject: cuz its free

Sorry I never got back to you last night. Hope you enjoyed
the flicker
bout Kurt.
What do you think of the new Radiohead? and don't tell me
you haven't
heard it!

Brother
**************************
subject: re: cuz its free

> Sorry I never got back to you last night. Hope you
> enjoyed the flicker bout Kurt.

i did. it was great. he didnt say anything i didnt already
know, but it was beautiful and so great to hear his own
voice saying it. images of aberdeen and olympia and
seattle, people places and things. Didnt see his face till
the last 30 seconds. none of his music. all bands that he
liked was influenced by or got to introduce to the world.
it was really awesome.


> What do you think of the new Radiohead? and don't
> tell me you haven't heard it!

we played it yesterday during our 'crafternoon' which was
really fun, but it was my first listen and it was
background music for interaction. but now that i have it
in my head a bit i will give it a good listen and tell you
what i think...


speaking of that--the idea that it takes a bit for your
brain to register and order new sound so you can under-
stand it--we listened to this most amazing radio program
on the radiolab website
that blew my mind 7 times in the
hearing. its about music and the brain. and its fucking
fascinating. for real. listen by yourself or in a room
that you can make noises while listening cuz itll cause
them. it talks about perfect pitch and tonal languages,
it talks about sound as touch and how it works in the
brain, it talks about dissonance and how we assimilate
it, it talks about everything. its amazing. PLEASE
listen to it. if only for the editing genius of it.


so, you listen to radiolab, ill listen to radiohead and we
will get back to each other.


love
sis
**************************

subject: four limbs simultaneously



this is me playing drums.
1 2 3 4 1
hi x x x x x x x oXo x
snare x x
bass x x x x

(where oXo is hit with hi hat open.)

check out the double hit on the bass drum.

im very proud of this beat and the fact that i can do
all four limbs at once after just a couple hours practice
today.


okay. ill stop bugging you with my drum-mania now.

Love
sis

***********************

subject: re: four limbs simultaneously

Rockin! Sounds great!
I'm going to be teaching official drum lessons to Terisa
(remember her?) starting on Sunday.

If I come across any amazing teaching techniques, I'll be
sure to send them your way. Looks like you're on the right
track though!


DRUMMMMMZZ!

*************************

subject: re: four limbs simultaneously

> Rockin! Sounds great!

thanks for being enthusiastic. you are the best.

> I'm going to be teaching official drum lessons to
> Terisa (remember her?) starting on Sunday.

the one with the stellarly beautiful and magical child?
that sounds fun.

you know, you could prolly make a good amount of money
giving drum lessons, if you wanted to...


> If I come across any amazing teaching techniques,
> I'll be sure to send them your way. Looks
> like you're on the right track though!

yessssssss....
it just feels really good/right to be playing them. when
you get into the rhythm and arent thinking about it and
it flows, it feels good. like when i finally figure out
a sam beam picking pattern and can do it in real time.






speaking of him, have you heard the new iron and wine?
im totally disappointed. :( too many effects on the
vocals and too many vocal tracks layered on top of each
other. and the energy feels too light and not substantial
enough. i cant sink my teeth into most of the tracks.
there isnt breathing room. (sort of literally, you know
how he uses his breath as a percussive instrument...)


oh, and i gave Radiohead a good listen or two yesterday,
and i have to say it feels a bit derivative. nothing that
feels super new and interesting. a lot of the same sounds
and energy of kid a and eraser, nothing that blew my socks
off. And thats what they used to do to me. in fact, there
are songs on the bends and ok computer that still make me
want to scream and throw myself around. and i havent found
any of that on the new album, which is kinda sad.


> DRUMMMMMZZ!

you said it! they make me so excited! (and sore...my
shoulders are gonna be so buff soon...heh)


did i tell you im gonna try to start a band with my
housemates? ill let you know how it turns out...


anyway, have a good day, pal.

love
champ

*************************

subject: re: four limbs simultaneously

Wow. I think you've hit the nail on the head with both
those records (although I haven't really heard the I and W
one too much yet). You should write for pitchfork or
something. Do yourself a favor and go back to track 3,
"Nude".

It's a song that's been kicking around for almost 10 years
and they finally recorded it. It's one of the most
beautiful I think they've ever written. Up there with
"how to disappear completely" or "no surprises" methinks.
You know, back when they wrote songs with real chord
changes and not just Thom stream of consciousing over
some vamp.


gotta go.

keep it up. bang bang!

Seth
*************************

subject: re: four limbs simultaneously

> Wow. I think you've hit the nail on the head with
> both those records (although I haven't really
> heard the I and W one too much yet). You should
> write for pitchfork or something. Do yourself a

thats really funny to think about. the not musician of
the family...i guess my music sensibilities have gotten
a lot sharper and i can hear things in a lot

more sophisticated way nowadays. (have you listened to
that radiolab thing yet?)


> favor and go back to track 3, "Nude". It's a song
> that's been kicking around for almost 10 years
> and they finally recorded it. It' one of the most
> beautiful I think they've ever written. Up there
> with "how to disappear completely" or "no surprises"
> methinks. You know, back when they
> wrote songs with real chord changes and not just
> Thom streamn of consciousing over some vamp.

yeah, that one was the breath of fresh air on the album.
i totally agree. and that next track feels very amnesiac
and has some good energy, too...

(you sound like a good critic too, we should write joint
articles that are just us talking to each other about
music. or we should record the conversations and

put them up on justin's website...or maybe thats just
for local underground stuff...) and whats up with them
not writing real songs? It kinda drives me crazy.
their
songs used to go places. now they just hang out somewhere.
its a cool
somewhere, but its not as interesting to be
taken to a place to stand still as it is to be taken on a
journey. ah well.


im going on a 'date' to the SAM today. my first time going
there. cant wait to see the cornell boxes.


later, skater
(pow, crash!)
--raych
*********************

subject: re: four limbs simultaneously

> thats really funny to think about. the not musician of
> the family...

not anymore...

> (have you listened to
> that radiolab thing yet?)

you bet your eardrums! wow! that's good radio.

> yeah, that one was the breath of fresh air on the
> album. i totally agree. and that next track feels very
> amnesiac and has some good energy, to'o...
> (you sound like a good critic too, we should write
> joint articles that are just us talking to each other
> about music. or we should record the conversations and
> put them up on justin's website...or maybe thats just
> for local underground stuff...)

yeah. I had an idea to do that in a car with kent or brian.
it would be really fun but i don't know if anyone would
want to listen to it. but on the other hand, look at
"sound opinions"


> and whats up with them not writing real songs? it
> kinda drives me crazy. their songs used to go places.
> now they just hang out somewhere. its a cool
> somewhere, but its not as interesting to be taken to a
> place to stand still as it is to be taken on a
> journey. ah well.

couldn't agree more. they could never write another song
like paranoid android. they're just not young and
ambitious enough anymore.


> im going on a 'date' to the SAM today. my first time
> going there. cant wait to see the cornell boxes.

ooooh! a date! huh?
some grad students at the school are showing some of
cornell's films today. I'll let you know what they're like.


here's to creepy music and creepy art boxes!!

seth
**********************

1 comment:

rayvan said...

what follows is my response to jd's email to me:
_________________________________
> That radiolab thing from your
> blog was so f**king
> cool. damn. seriously.
> It's reinventing several things
> that I think about
> music and sound. damn.
> really. damn.

i know, f**king amazing, right?
that tonal language thing killed me cuz thats the exact example that i use to explain it: 'ma'. and there was so much form following function that i got tears in my eyes at a couple spots just cuz the editing genius of it made everything--all the concepts--fit together so well...it was so beautiful.

yeah, i need to listen to that over and over. one, to make sure i got every last bit of meaning out of every little thing they put in it, cuz there is so much to think about each thing in there. and two, to pick it apart and really understand the amazing editing stuff they do in order to use that knowledge asap.
__________________________________

two things more:
one, if you are really into the theory of music (not music theory) there are two books out right now that might be interesting: 'this is your brain on music: the science of a human obsession' by daniel levitin (out in paperback) and 'musicophilia' by oliver sacks (of 'awakenings' fame) new in hardcover. they both look fascinating and deal with how music affects our brains.
and two, i mean it about making radio shows. jd has already done one, a 'this anti-american life' show about adhamh's top surgery consultation and i think we should keep the ball rolling. who has a good idea what the next 'anti-american' installment should be?