Saturday, February 08, 2003
just got back from the last night of the Amplify festival at Engine27 (http://www.erstwhilerecords.com/news.asp). it's really rare that you get to see music under such astounding conditions; the afternoon at Tim Barnes', and the evening at Engine27 seemed to be so amazingly well suited to what was played there. i loved how casual and intimate the afternoon sets were. i almost feel like calling up sean meehan, and a few other people, and see if they want to play in the empty bedroom in my apartment. i'd love to see this sort of thing more often; maybe we need a loft revival?
the set at engine27 was the total opposite, the sound was so totally all emcompassing, and almost overwhelming. the thing i noticed about keith rowe and toshi nakamura's set was how transparent the sound system became. during much of the first two sets, i was marvelling at the sound system, but during the 3d one (keith and toshi) i barely even thought about the system. they are so incredible, i feel like someday someone is going to listen to all of the tapes that float around from their tours, and study them like they do tapes of Coltrane's shows, in order to really understand how their relationship grows and changes from night to night.
many, many and heartiest thanks to Jon for setting this up; plenty of people have told him that by now I'm sure, but i really mean it. Keith Rowe was right, it is a really brave and necessary thing to do in these times. So, if you see this, rock on dude.
picked up today: Taku Sugimoto Guitar Quartet
the set at engine27 was the total opposite, the sound was so totally all emcompassing, and almost overwhelming. the thing i noticed about keith rowe and toshi nakamura's set was how transparent the sound system became. during much of the first two sets, i was marvelling at the sound system, but during the 3d one (keith and toshi) i barely even thought about the system. they are so incredible, i feel like someday someone is going to listen to all of the tapes that float around from their tours, and study them like they do tapes of Coltrane's shows, in order to really understand how their relationship grows and changes from night to night.
many, many and heartiest thanks to Jon for setting this up; plenty of people have told him that by now I'm sure, but i really mean it. Keith Rowe was right, it is a really brave and necessary thing to do in these times. So, if you see this, rock on dude.
picked up today: Taku Sugimoto Guitar Quartet
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
fuck.....randy still has my copy of "Sans Soleil" and Josie has my copy of "Pickpocket." shit. oh well, i have a tape of "nosferatu" sitting around that i haven't watched, along with "the heartbreak kid" and "ivan's childhood" (the only major tarkovsky i haven't seen, wonder why not?)
complications, complications. saw Keith Rowe speak at Columbia tonight. reminded me of how difficult it must be to actually make good, interesting work.
i've fretted enough about my paper to all the friends that i've wanted to talk to about it, so there's no point in writing about it here. the lecture reminded me that it's best to go the hard way, so i'm going to interview mr. rowe on saturday, get it on tape, so that if I get to this paper at some point, i'll have this interview documented. but, from what he told me after the lecture, there *was* a good crossover. amm played at galleries that showed films (maybe at the same times as films were playing?), malcolm le grice lived with rowe for a while, along with john surnam. so, the connection is there, it just needs articulation.
the alternative paper will likely be perspecitives on bergson's views on duration. 'matter and memory' is intensely dazzling, it's the most moving philosophy i've ever read (moreso even than kirkegaard, who makes me dizzy.) rowe compared something i said (about the moral nature of improvised music) with something cornelius cardew would say, which is possibly the highest praise that any of my ideas could get. cardew fucking rules.
generally, my rule of thumb is to do more, to do, as opposed not to do, to act instead of remaining still. it's what i've taken from cassavetes. i'm realizing that it's not always the best way to proceed. but, the more to do the better! staying busy will keep me out of trouble.
movies i saw the day before yesterday: Raul Ruiz, "Love Torn in a Dream" and Darezhan Omirbaev's "The Road." The latter is one of the few examples of films that are perfectly paced. really, i wish more people would follow his lead and spend more time on less stuff. very beautiful. "love torn in a dream" was the total opposite. both had themes in common -the function of dream and fantasy in narrative- but this was much, much different. the structure is vaguely reminiscient of Italo Calvino's "If on a Winter's Night a Traveller" but the way that he's using permutations is different. what's happening, is that there are a certain number of discrete elements, which are combined in various ways to create a multiplicity of narrative. it's as dizzingly complex as "the saragossa manuscript" (but horizontally; the sarragossa manuscript has vertical complexity). pretty exhausting movie to watch though, i would have liked to see it on it's own, 4 hours of sitting on yr ass in a movie theater can be too much.
rented yesterday: "F is For Fake" by Orson Welles, but didn't watch it. just bought, cd wise:
Lionel Marchetti- Train de nuit 3"CD
Cornelius Cardew- Piano Music CD
Cornelius Cardew- Chamber Music CD
i'm an awful materialist (masquerading as an idealist.)
i've fretted enough about my paper to all the friends that i've wanted to talk to about it, so there's no point in writing about it here. the lecture reminded me that it's best to go the hard way, so i'm going to interview mr. rowe on saturday, get it on tape, so that if I get to this paper at some point, i'll have this interview documented. but, from what he told me after the lecture, there *was* a good crossover. amm played at galleries that showed films (maybe at the same times as films were playing?), malcolm le grice lived with rowe for a while, along with john surnam. so, the connection is there, it just needs articulation.
the alternative paper will likely be perspecitives on bergson's views on duration. 'matter and memory' is intensely dazzling, it's the most moving philosophy i've ever read (moreso even than kirkegaard, who makes me dizzy.) rowe compared something i said (about the moral nature of improvised music) with something cornelius cardew would say, which is possibly the highest praise that any of my ideas could get. cardew fucking rules.
generally, my rule of thumb is to do more, to do, as opposed not to do, to act instead of remaining still. it's what i've taken from cassavetes. i'm realizing that it's not always the best way to proceed. but, the more to do the better! staying busy will keep me out of trouble.
movies i saw the day before yesterday: Raul Ruiz, "Love Torn in a Dream" and Darezhan Omirbaev's "The Road." The latter is one of the few examples of films that are perfectly paced. really, i wish more people would follow his lead and spend more time on less stuff. very beautiful. "love torn in a dream" was the total opposite. both had themes in common -the function of dream and fantasy in narrative- but this was much, much different. the structure is vaguely reminiscient of Italo Calvino's "If on a Winter's Night a Traveller" but the way that he's using permutations is different. what's happening, is that there are a certain number of discrete elements, which are combined in various ways to create a multiplicity of narrative. it's as dizzingly complex as "the saragossa manuscript" (but horizontally; the sarragossa manuscript has vertical complexity). pretty exhausting movie to watch though, i would have liked to see it on it's own, 4 hours of sitting on yr ass in a movie theater can be too much.
rented yesterday: "F is For Fake" by Orson Welles, but didn't watch it. just bought, cd wise:
Lionel Marchetti- Train de nuit 3"CD
Cornelius Cardew- Piano Music CD
Cornelius Cardew- Chamber Music CD
i'm an awful materialist (masquerading as an idealist.)
