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2010-04-19T20:20:00.001-04:00

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Listening to Music With Your Whole Body

2008-03-24T00:26:00.032-04:00

As mentioned in the last post, an important part of this project is to explore how we talk about music. In addition, it is also important to discuss how we listen to music. The comments section of last week’s post provided some really interesting conversation. In particular, Karen wrote:

On one side of this dichotomy, I argue, is the experience of music (and life) through the mind. On the other is the experience of music (and life) through the body. And I believe that we in the West (Western ethnomusicologists included and academics in particular) generally favor experiencing life through the mind.

In response to this comment, I would like to point you towards the video posted above. It is called “Evelyn Glennie: How To Listen to Music With Your Whole Body.”

In this soaring demonstration, deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie leads the audience through an exploration of music not as notes on a page, but as an expression of the human experience. Playing with sensitivity and nuance informed by a soul-deep understanding of and connection to music, she talks about a music that is more than sound waves perceived by the human ear. She illustrates a richer picture that begins with listening to yourself, and includes emotion and intent as well as the complex role of physical spaces -- instrument, concert hall and even the bones and body cavities of musician and listener alike.

If you have time, please watch the video and share your thoughts.

The Terrorist of Fun

2008-03-18T23:07:00.026-04:00

I used to be fun at parties, but those days are gone.

It was a cold New Year’s New York City Eve in 2007. I was riding the rails from Brooklyn to Queens to celebrate with friends. The subway was crowded with dressed up strangers who were going to the same place, but in a different location. I hung both my hands on a strap and stood my ground and read the black marker commentary written on top of the advertisements. The windows were etched with the graffiti tags that I don’t understand. The placards above reminded me that “if I see something” I should “say something.”

It was good to be home.

The party served up a mix of hipsters, artists, educators, graduate students, thespians, pretentious assholes, writers, graphic designers, and filmmakers. They were young adults chasing their dreams while wrestling the harness of credit card debt, procreation, and some lady named Sallie Mae. They were young people that have not given into the suburbs--not yet. They like to talk, drink, smoke cigarettes, dance, smoke marijuana, and most importantly, they like to laugh. It is these eclectic drug fueled gatherings that empowers their urban dwelling. The conversations are in the deep end but remain on the surface.

In New York people don’t necessarily “talk to each other” they “talk to top each other.” This occurs in a variety of ways. One which I particularly enjoy is called “playing the dozens” or “banter.” Someone starts a thread of conversation and the group riffs off of it. Belly laughs are usually the end goal. It is a game of wit. Carried out correctly, the conversation can push the boundaries of a subject like John Coltrane pushing the boundaries of “My Favorite Things.”

As midnight approached, I found myself in a circle of several semi-intoxicated friends. The banter was flowing. Suddenly, I was interrupted by an Armenian musician who wanted to know about ethnomusicology. So, I abandoned “the banter” and shifted gears to talk to (this is the moment where I became the pretentious asshole at the party) the first person I have met who could pronounce the word ethnomusicology. I felt myself talking with my hands, rolling my eyes into my head and using words like problematic, polyphony, meta-language, intertextual, genre, classification, communitas, contextual, detextualize, social construction, folkloristic, and diasporic. It was like I was in a trance. My friends and Queens colleagues rolled their eyes at me and cleared the room as I dropped jargon like a hammer. In the empty kitchen, with my jargon, my confused and bored audience of one, I became the terrorist of fun.

This jargonization when talking about music is something that has been happening at these music listening groups since their inception. It is not unique to the transient “Hoosieratti” of Indiana. Back in Boston, there were some people who just loved to deconstruct the music put in front of them. Meanwhile, there were those who found this analysis offended their sensibilities; it sucked the life out of the experience. This worked both ways. It took people out of the conversation and experience. These two sensibilities went to war.

At the past few Community Listening Project happenings I have paid particular attention to this phenomenon. There have been references to modulation while listening to Sheena Easton’s “My Baby Takes the Morning Train.” The term duple-meter has been applied to a Metallica song. Sometimes, it is not only jargon but theoretical analysis that moves the conversation towards the cerebral. For example, while discussing an Elvis Costello cover of a Beach Boys song, a discussion ensued about Costello’s hidden agenda in aligning himself with the Beach Boys and the pop music elite. In these situations, I have seen the same rolling eyes and mutters of frustration that I saw in Boston and witnessed in that Queens apartment which I terrorized.

I would like to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with either of these approaches. While at the same time, it makes me wonder…

Are we lecturing or communicating? Who are we talking to? Are we aware of whom we are talking to in a group setting? What, if any, are the motivations of our comments? How do we meet in the middle when communicating? Are we aware of our audience? Are we just "playing the dozens?" Are we riffing off of each other? Are we talking to top each other?

Are we the terrorists of fun?

papers

2007-05-29T00:48:00.000-04:00

thank you

2007-05-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

Music Club #7 "Guilty Pleasures"

2007-04-24T09:25:00.000-04:00

Participants were asked to bring music that we feel embarassed about owning. I will just say that it was one of the most interesting sessions I have ever seen. As someone pointed out, there are multiple levels of embarassment when it comes to our musical choices. There was a lot of dancing and singing throughout the meeting. The musical selections ranged from Black Sabbath to Barbie to Britney. Everyone let loose. To protect the innocent, I will leave it at that. Thanks for coming.

JIM S. @ MC 6

2007-04-06T13:07:00.000-04:00

AARON @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:54:00.000-04:00

LISTEN

ALEXANDER @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:37:00.001-04:00

CHRIS @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

LISTEN

MARIA @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

LISTEN

JOHN R.

2007-04-03T22:34:00.002-04:00

LISTEN

KELLY @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:34:00.001-04:00

LISTEN

KRISTY @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

LISTEN

JODINE @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:32:00.001-04:00

LISTEN

JOE C @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

LISTEN

Ari @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:31:00.003-04:00

LISTEN

JEREMY @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:31:00.002-04:00

LISTEN

KATHLEEN @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:31:00.001-04:00

LISTEN

AFRA @ MC 6

2007-04-03T22:31:00.000-04:00

LISTEN

Aaron S. @ MC 6

2007-04-03T00:29:00.000-04:00

This is the latest...

JIM S.@ Meeting #6

2007-03-29T13:53:00.000-04:00

LISTEN HERE

Jeremy Stoll@ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-07T07:09:00.000-05:00

Played a song by Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamashoi
(Mr.Stoll currently has no comment regarding this musical selection)

Aaron Spector @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-07T07:07:00.000-05:00

Played a song by Devandra Banheart

Stephanie’s home is awesome. The music club clustered in a circle on the rug around a circular brass table stacked high with pumpkin pie candles, while others lounged on overstuffed leather couches. We stared at that painting over the fireplace that brought on abstract nightmares. Thank you, Stephanie. Overwhelmed by this hospitality, I decided at the last minute to play “Queen Bee” by Devendra Banhart, who had been artist-of-the-week to me. Although I received the CD, Cripple Crow, in the mail almost a year ago (the best kind of surprise gift to get from a friend), I hadn’t really listened to it until this week, when I played it non-stop. I became absorbed in its intimate and wacky sound, which made me feel like I was at a concert of songs made up one the spot whenever I put it on. Even after the fifteenth time through, it still sounded fresh. This quiet, breathy song includes lyrics like: “She's kissed everyone I've kissed, She's missed everyone I've missed, And her guess is always as good as mine, And I'm blessed, she treats me so damn kind, She's grown every seed I've grown, She's known everything I've known…” Ahhh.

Elise Anderson @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-07T07:04:00.000-05:00

Played a song by Patsy Cline "Crazy"
(Ms. Anderson currently has no comment regarding this musical selection)

Chris Mulé @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T23:06:00.000-05:00

I played a song by Joanna Newsom called "Monkey and Bear" off her latest album called Y's. As of right now, it is March 7th. The year is young but i think this will probably be the best album I have purchased this year. That's right, I said purchase. Rhapsody did not have the album so I went out to one of those brick and mortar "stores."

Newsom is a storyteller and her voice is magnetic. Her music is hypnotic. I actually mean that. This particualar song, as well as the entire album, takes you on a journey. Wonderful imagery. The song is over 8 minutes long but it really pulls you in. I played this song because I am kind of excited that I am experimenting with new music again. Popular music. Popular music that is good. Actually, I have been thinking that genres are such a drag. It is music...sound. Joanna is a genre buster...it is hard to classify her music. I like that. I have suffered from snobbery over the years and I think my ears are opening to a lot of new sounds. Finding new music is a journey and it is always interesting to see where I end up stopping for a drink. I will not pretend to know exactly what the overall theme of this song is. Can anyone tell me what the song is about exactly? Aaron gave it a good read. Here is a clip

Chui Wa @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

I played:
1. Dies irae in Mozart's Requiem,. conducted by Herbert von Karajan.
Performed by Wiener Philharmoniker and Wiener Singverein with Anna
Tomowa-Sintow, Helga Muller-Molinari, Paata Burchuladze and Vinson Cole.
2. I discovered this recording among my roommate's CD collection. I had another
Mozart's requiem with Karajan conducting, but that one sucks. This one is in no
way better (well, maybe a little bit), but with no alternative available right now
(i didn't bring any music with me from hk, except for some music my brother
downloaded to my computer before i came here), i'll think i have to stick to it
for a while...
3. I think the one conducted by Leonard Bernstein (http://youtube.com/watch?v=nl-wRbJoWVA) is
more to my taste, and really has that force and apocalyptic
feeling. I saw that DVD at borders, but someone got ahead of me and bought
it before i do...

Sorry for the babbling. Music students are usually very picky about
what they hear.

Jim Seaver @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

I played Kate Smith's 1940s Big Band version of the Stephen Foster
classic "My Old Kentucky Home." I like this song because it's the only
cheery, upbeat version of my state anthem that I've ever heard. (When
the UK marching band plays it at the beginning of football games, it's
usually somber as hell.) There's also a cool drum solo/flourish
halfway through--we don't get that at the beginning of football games
either. Perhaps the UK football team would have more winning seasons
if they had Kate Smith's voice to fill them with state pride before
every game! . . . Or maybe not. I'm thinking that a miracle might be
more helpful (although we did win a bowl game last year, much to
everyone's surprise.). Apologies for the long-winded UK football rant.
At least it's not Uighur. ;)

John Reef @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T22:49:00.000-05:00

My contribution to the evening's depravity was the third movement -- Adagio -- of
Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta . This is some of the "spookiest"
music I know -- an ominous soundscape of unusual timbral effects and uncommon
modality. (This movement plays during part of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and
Bartók himself looks as if he might not be out of place in a horror movie...
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/2943/Composers/bartok.gif )

So I decided to bring this piece sort of spur of the moment...I had spent the past
week mired in pictorial representations of the Golden Ratio in music, for a seminar
I am taking on Visualizing Music. Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta is one
of the pieces most analyzed in terms of this ratio, and during class that day we looked
at several visual examples -- without actually listening to the music, which I
immediately craved to hear. Fortuitously, I had it on my old Norton Anthology
of Western Music CDs, lying around from undergraduate days.

Perhaps my idea to listen in darkness was a bit silly, but it didn't seem to go
over too badly........

Dave Lewis @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T22:48:00.000-05:00

Dave's selection: "Texas Annie" by the Wet Spots, off _Sing Your Way To
Better Sex_, a DVD of a Wet Spots performance. The Wet Spots are Cass
King and John Woods, who went from being musicians who happened to
write a sex column together to being musicians who wrote songs about
their kinky sex lives together.

I like it when people can be lighthearted about sex, laugh about it,
and remember that, even with all the "sex is bad" schtick you get in
Sex Ed, it can still be lots of fun! So I love the Wet Spots. Also, I
think Stephanie had mentioned that the last few meetings had been
fairly "academic" and she was looking to change that - what better way
to do that than a song loosely based on "The Devil Went Down to
Georgia" about dildos??

Joe Crescente @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T22:45:00.000-05:00

Last time I played Takovo Kak Putin (He Must be Like Putin) by Poyushie
Vmeste. I played it because it contributes to our understanding of the
revival of the personality cult in Russia, is proof that it exists, and
is catchy and ridiculous at the same time. It is also significant
because people are now capitalizing on the personality cult of an
authoritarian leader at the same time that the opposite could not be
true: you could not have a song that says "he must NOT be like Putin."
The song is completely shameful and from a democratization standpoint
extremely worrying.

Maria Kennedy @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

2007-03-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

I played a song by Neko Case: track: The Virginian Album: The Virginian

Why did I play it? It could be the Soundtrack to my Life. Neko knows how
to sing it. It's from deep down in the gritty part of your soul that is raw
and melancholy and lingers by dusty roads by the river at sunset. I listen
to this music and remind myself that strong women are still torn up inside
and can sing it to an old moon with fire.

Update Coming Soon....

2007-03-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

Meeting Minutes III

2007-02-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

February 8, 2007

I am writing these notes while sitting in a café, SOMA. I like it here, but really, this place is a glorified basement with baristas. I keep waiting for one of my drunk uncles to walk down the steps and start talking to me about the glories of Off Track Betting, and what a “trifecta” means and how difficult they are to come by. As I try to focus my attention on writing this, I cannot help but focus on the layers of noise I hear. Clattering coffee machines, caffeinated intellectuals buzzed on coffee and using the word “penultimate.” The music is being pumped through a stereo somebody stole to pay off their bookie after too many days at the OTB. We are living in a “Muzak Nation” my friends. Music is selling cars and coffee these days. Part of my motivation for these little get-togethers is to try to get the music out of this coffee house basement so to speak. Music carries a lot of different meanings to a lot of people. I think it is important . This is my motivation but it most certainly does not have to be yours. I appreciate you all coming to these.

OPENING SILENCE

=Ian=
Artist: Patience and Prudence
Album: A Date with John Waters
Title: Tonight You Belong To Me

I would like to introduce our first satellite member of this group. He’s a good friend for quite a long time that I used to live with in Brooklyn. Ian is a writer who moonlights at Shakespeare & Company, a book store in Manhattan. I will quote him directly:

“You could explain to the group that I'm not a satellite member because I live in Brooklyn, but because I'm a recluse, and that I would be a satellite member even if I lived in Bloomington. Even, in fact, if I lived at 417 N. Indiana Avenue. Here's my first selection: "Tonight You Belong to Me," by Patience and Prudence, two sisters (a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old) who went top-ten with this lost classic in 1956. I first heard it a couple of years ago over the closing credits of a film called Birth (with Nicole Kidman) that I thought was really underrated. (Put it in your queue. It's mystical Zaretsky all the way. It's about a little boy who thinks he's the reincarnation of Kidman's dead husband. It's about the idea of the soul-mate.) But the song's now on Rhapsody on a compilation selected by John Waters called A Date with John Waters. (Waters shops at Shakespeare, incidentally, and he's a surprisingly nice guy. But I've never been a fan of his movies. Though my mom--bizarrely--took me, my older brother, and my little sister into Manhattan--like entering a foreign country if you were from the Bronx--to see one that he did in smell-o-vision. I think I was about eight. I didn't know what the hell was going on. They gave you a scratch-and-sniff card as you entered the theater. True story. I should tell Waters that story the next time I see him.)”

=Arianna=
Artist: Metallica w/ San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Michael Kamen cond.)
Album: S&M
Title: No Leaf Clover

Speaking of caffeine, this song manages to “pump” Arianna up. A self-proclaimed “headbanger,” this song motivates Arianna to go out and “dance in the snow.” On this track, Metallica is accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra with Michael Kamen. Our resident music theorist, John Reef, pointed out the “triple hyper-meter” found within this song. We played it back to try to experience this triple hypermeter and I emailed Jon to save me from giving a horrific explanation of it for these minutes. The response I received did not disappoint:

Chris: Hi John, could you please give a brief explanation of triple hypermeter pleas?:

John: So to define triple hypermeter (or hypermeter in general), we must first define meter. When music presents us with a stream of equidistant "pulses," our tendency as listeners is to perceive regular patterns of strong and weak downbeats. If we hear every third beat as strong, we call that triple meter; if we hear every second beat (or fourth beat) as strong, then we call it duple meter. Once we have infered a pattern of strong and weak beats, we can impose similar orderings on just the strong beats -- this is hypermeter.

If every fourth beat were strong, we could represent the meter as follows:

X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . etc (with Xs representing the strong beats).

Now if we grouped those strong beats into fours, hypermetrically, we would have:

4/4 meter---X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . etc.

hypermeter: X ----. ----. ---- . ----X-----. ----. -----. --- X etc.

This is the most common hypermetric structure in Classical-era music, and in much rock&roll.

For a brief period, the Metallica song we listened to was organized as follows:

4/4 meter X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . etc.

hypermeter: X . . X . . X . . etc.

this is triple hypermeter. Not as common. I think that Kashmir by Led Zepplin also exhibits this phenomenon, but I know other people who don't hear it that way -- check it out.....the drums and the guitars play in different time signatures

=Elise=
Artist: Tower of Power
Album: What Is Hip? The Tower of Power Anthology
Title: I Like Your Style

Prior to Elise Anderson’s interest (read obsession) with the Jyghr’s of Xiangjiang, she wanted to play jazz music. She wanted to be a baritone saxophonist, and ended up playing clarinet. She used to drive around listening to this song in Oklahoma. One day, Elise will be cruising around Xiangjiang, blasting The TOP, thinking about playing in a jazz band.

=Kristiana=
Artist: The Velvet Underground
Album: The Velvet Underground
Title: After Hours

I am not extremely familiar with The Velvet Underground. I do know that they were once managed by Andy Warhol and spent their time in NYC around the late 60’s and 70’s. Kristy talked about the VU and their mixture of art and music. I just read a bit about them on the wikipedia. I thought this was a good line:

“A famous remark, often attributed to Brian Eno, is that while only a few thousand people bought a Velvet Underground record upon their initial release, almost every single one of them was inspired to start a band.”

=Selina=
Artist:Caetana Veloso
Album: Talk to her (Hable Con Ella) soundtrack
Title: “Cucurucuru Paloma”

This song is taken from Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s film, “Talk to Her” and is an illustration of the director’s ongoing collaboration with musical director Alberto Iglesias. The soundtrack covers a wide array of genres from Spanish flamenco to Latin and classical. The consensus from the audience was that the song was a bit “blue.” This seems appropriate as the film profiles the friendship of two men who care for their girlfriends who are in deep comas. The music of Iglesias can also be found on the highly acclaimed Pedro Almodovar film, Volver. Is enough credit given to the musicians who provide the soundtrack to film? What is a soundtrack?

Soundtrack: Consists of dialogue, sound effects and music. Should reveal something about the scene that visual images don't.

=Maria=
Artist: Ted Strauss
Album: Supplement to Montage Literary Journal
Title: Montage

This piece was a supplement to a literary journal named “Montage.” It illustrates the sound aspect of poetry by a linguist named Ted Strauss. Maria was exposed to this when she was in school at McGill University. I honestly did not have to many notes on this piece so I decided to give the “information superhighway.” I found a question Mr.Strauss submitted to a listserv:

Date:  Fri, 1 Feb 2002 15:28:01 -0500

From:  "Ted Strauss" <[log in to unmask]>

Subject:  seeking phonological data for metrical stress research

Hello LINGUIST,

I am a McGill University student doing an undergraduate research project.

The aim of the project is to implement several neural network

algorithms for solving metrical stress assignment.  To claim success,

the network will need to learn at least 3 language systems, preferably

5-10.  Thus, I need to gain access to language data in IPA form which

already has stress assigned to it.  Alternatively, I can use data

which has been parsed into syllables and bears stress.  The key is to

have stressed data.  I am seeking any source which has data of these

forms.  The results, as w ell as an interactive java applet, will be

posted online and made availab le to anyone interested.  I thank you

for any help you can provide.  Sincerely, Ted Strauss

Huh?

=Gabi=
Artist: Of Montreal
Album:
Title: The Sunlandic Twins

Torn between two different types of music, Gabi played a tune from “Of Montreal.” The song brought her back to her time in Boston. Stuck in an awful job, this music functioned as an escape mechanism. I think I mentioned that this band hails from Montreal. I thought that because of their name, do you get it? These episodes of brilliance come knocking at my door daily. Unfortunately, I am wrong. The lead singer is from Athens, Georgia. These guys are extremely popular at this moment in time. When that happens, this happens.

=Aaron=
Artist: Björk Guðmundsdóttir & Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar
Album: Gling- Glo
Title: Pabbi Minn

This song was played on the record player. The “record player” is an ancient “machine” that produces analog sound by reading the grooves on a “vinyl” plate with a stylus. This album was given to Aaron as a gift. The entire album is sung by the infamous Bjork in Icelandic. It was recorded back in 1990. The English equivalent to “Gling-Glo” is “ding-dong” in reference to the sound of a bell. Aaron enjoyed the escapism he was able to find in this song. Bjork is one of my favorite artists. My friend Lina works in “PR” and used to work for Miramax back when they were producing the Lars von Trier film “Dancer in the Dark.” Lina, a fearless New Yorker, was orchestrating a photo session with Bjork. She ordered Bjork to “walk over there.” To which Bjork replied, “I don’t walk, I float.” Lina’s response? “Ok, so float over there.”

=John Reef=
Artist: Toumani Diabete’s Symmetric Orchaestra
Album: Boulevard de l'independence
Title: Taphia Niang

I am very happy to have John Reef among us. He is a music theorist in the very prestigious music department here at IU. I was lucky enough to have class with him. My favorite line of his usually occurred after he brought a profound question to the table. He would follow it up with, “so yeah…what’s up with that?” Aside from studying the text, Jon has an interest in music that may not be written but does have structure. Toumani Diabate is a world renowned “kora” player from Mali. This song caught Jon’s attention because of its influence from an array of genres. This song has a new age feel to it. For more information on what a “kora” is click here.

=Jim=
Artist: Annie Lennox
Album: Bare
Title: Pavement Cracks

Jim introduced this song as something that reminds him of how it feels when “disappointment and maturity collide.” It is definitely wintertime here in Indiana. Annie Lennox is some kind of singer/songwriter. I think we have all been there. Here are some lyrics:

The city streets are wet again with rain
But I'm walkin' just the same
Skies turn to the usual grey
When you turn to face the day
And love don't show up in the pavement cracks
All my water colours fade to black
I'm goin' nowhere and I'm ten steps back
All my dreams have fallen flat

=Ben Schreiner=
Artist: Frank Zappa
Album: Hot Rats
Title: Peaches En Regalia

A new member of the scene, Ben Schreiner brought us some great music out of the gate. Zappa’s “Hot Rats” is interesting for a variety of reasons. It consists of six tracks, five of which are instrumentals. It was Zappa's first recording project after his former band, Mothers of Invention disbanded. The album was recorded on what Zappa described as a "homemade sixteen track" recorder and is thought by some to be the first sixteen-track recording ever commercially released. For the late 1960’s this is pretty amazing being that most recordings were made with four and eight track recording devices. Zappa was also a voice of reason over the PMRC/censorship back in the 1980’s.

=Kelly=
Artist: Portishead
Album: Dummy
Title: It Could Be Sweet

Another new member of the group, Kelly brought us some Portishead. The song he played was chosen by Kelly because he felt it “addresses the potentials.” Portishead is from Bristol, England. They are known for using jazz samples and lo-fi sound elements.

=Chui Wa=
Artist: Oasis
Album: The Importance of Being Idle
Title: The Importance of Being Idle

The introduction to this song by Chi-Wa was pretty simple; she played it because “she likes to be idle.” Instead of playing the song, we downloaded the video via you tube. We all gathered around the computer that sat on the mantle of the fireplace and watched. Our obsession with screens continues.

Meeting Minutes #2

2007-02-03T22:41:00.000-05:00

January 25, 2007

On January 25th, 2007 we made an additional attempt to continue our overarching effort to make Bloomington Better. Unlike The Bush Administration, I will refrain from declaring “mission accomplished.” This will be a long war people. Sorry these notes took me longer than usual. While writing them I became obsessed with “Myspace.” It is becoming pretty standard to have a Myspace account for artists these days. If the artist mentioned below did not have a “Myspace” account I made substitutions. There are some new resources over to the left that might help you find the music you are looking for. Check out Pandora.com…very interesting.

OPENING EXERCISE: We sustained silence (a tribute to John Cage) for over three minutes in order to attune our ears to the following sounds:

Aaron
Ruben Gonzalez “De Una Manera Espantosa” from Chanchullo
While living in Tucson, Arizona, Aaron moved into a home that had once been occupied by a “pack rat.” Fortunately, this rat was packing music. Unfortunately, he passed away and Aaron took on the responsibility of selling the collection. He picked some favorites and Ruben Gonzalez was salvaged. Ruben Gonzalez came out of retirement work on the now infamous “Buena Vista Social Club.” Unfortunately, he passed away in 2003 but his music lives on.

Jeremy
Nina Nastasia “Why don’t you stay home?” from On Leaving
This was such a sweet song. Nina Nastasia has an incredibly lilting voice. I am listening to the song again that she has on her Myspace player. Check it out here. Nina Nastasia lives in New York City. This is such a simple arrangement but her voice is so sweet. I would follow it anywhere. Jeremy continues to bring excellent music from all genres. Check out Nina’s space.

Rebecca
The Derailers (w/Buck Owens) “Play Me the Waltz of the Angels” from Full Western Dress
The country tunes keep coming from Rebecca. The Derailers pay to the great Buck Owens who passed away last March. Owens was the impetus for what they call “the Bakersfield sound” in reference to Bakersfield, California. Buck Owens is also famous for co-hosting the television show “He-Haw.” Rebecca admitted to “crying her face off” when Owens died. This was certainly a big loss for American music. The Derailers feature Buck Owens on vocals on this tune.

Lauren
Tribalsita “Carnivalia” (album unknown)
Lauren came across this band while living in Madrid, Spain. The rhythm certainly makes you want to dance. So I looked up Tribalista on the myspace and this came up…she frightens me. Forget the myspace account idea.

Jim P.
Handsome Boy Modeling “The Truth” from So How’s Your Girl
Jim introduced this tune by saying that “he doesn’t know what else to say about this tune.” Thankfully, there are times when people don’t write blogs that rattle on about an auditory experience. Ironically, I have learned that this group is actually a “concept” band that comments on self-absorbed, crass, and materialistic members of society. Whatever the social commentary behind it, this song was characterized by its heavy heavy bass line and sounded great.

Jim
Andy Leftwich “Minor Swing” from The Ride
During our last meeting minutes I made a comment about Jim and his ability to always have a great line up his sleeve. The show keeps getting better because I think Jim made me laugh the entire night. He’s more Letterman than Leno. On Thursday night, he was on. He introduced his music as “some cheesy NPR background music.” Leftwich is a fiddler from Tennessee. Jim then pointed out Andy’s religious roots which he writes about in the liner notes. Interesting effect this religiosity can have on the listener. Either way, it seems that The Almighty is alright with myspace.

Elise
Artist Unknown “Chatma Nachshisi (Connected Song)”
Elise is immersed in her Uyghur community these days. Yesterday Elise showed me a video on the You Tube. While playing this video, she danced in front of the computer and smiled. I used to be involved with someone who always wanted to dance. I was constantly confronted with different dance styles from all over the universe. It was exhausting. I think if she had asked to start dancing Uyghur that would have really put an end to it. Although, I think I like the Uyghur dance for men. Elise found this song title on a blog she looks at about the Uyghur community. Next time you see Elise ask her what she is listening to on her iPod. I bet $50 that it is not The White Stripes, but it is the podcast dedicated to Uyghur news.

Maria
ZZZZ “Railroaded” from Album Unknown
Maria brought us a tune from a Chicago-based group but admitted to having an interest in the groups Alto-saxophone player, Steve Sostak. Steve has since moved on to Peru which causes Maria to peruse travel fairs to Peru on occasion. The song was pretty intense/frantic and reminded the group of the Dave Matthews Band. I read an article about the band which described the group as “collectively bending and defying genres, Chicago's ZZZZ will hit you like a double-fisted chop to the throat.”

Audrey
Natasha Baruko
My apologies. I believe that I do not have the correct information for what Audrey played for us. My notes were horrible at this point. I think I have the artist name correct and will update this as soon as I find out the correct information from Audrey.

Chris
Daniel Lanois “Transmitter” from Shine
Daniel Lanois is originally from Quebec but he has a huge impact on popular music worldwide. He produced and collaborated with U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Emmy Lou Harris, and Willie Nelson among others. His production usually places a certain “sonic stamp” on the albums he works on. I would use the work “ethereal” to describe his sound. About two years ago, Lanois started focusing more on his own music with particular attention paid to the pedal steel guitar. Lanois has been playing the pedal steel since he was 11 years old and considers it his main musical inspiration. His approach to this instrument, I believe, is not the traditional country twang and is at the foundation of this “ethereal” production aesthetic. Please check out the link above, click on the last video and stick with it. The last section displays raw footage of him and his pedal steel.

Selina
Lhasa De Sela “El Pajaro” from La Llorona
This was a beautiful song. The only thing more interesting than Selina’s choices of music is Lhasa De Sela herself. I just read a bio/interview of this musician and she is really fascinating. In talking about one of her albums she says “the music comes from a place of strength. It comes from the realization that she can live the life of a nomad and still feel at home wherever she goes, because she is at peace with the changes in herself.” I would be interested to find out where Selina is getting her music. Or was it from the collection that Aaron copped off the dead guy? Sorry about that. If anything, check out the “youtube.” Unfortunately, no “myspace.” Here is another interview on youtube. I don’t know what she said but I watched it twice.

Hsin-Wen
Tango Orkesteri Unto “Tähdet Meren Yllä (Stars Above the Sea)” from Finnish Tango
At this point in the evening, late in the evening, the ethnomusicologists made a casually late entrance. Like rock stars. Like cowboys. Like gunslingers. They showed up armed to the teeth. Hsin-wen talked about his interest in Tango music from Finland which is his subject of interest. The group he played are considered “the dream team” of Finnish Tango music.

Stephanie Fida
Pedro the Lion “Eyes on the Finish Line” from Winners Never Quit
Stephanie dedicated this tune to the “ironic twists that life throws at us.” This group is an “indie” band from Seattle, Washington and feature David Bazan and Tim Walsh. The group has recently split. Here is what Dave Bazan is up to. Check out his “space.”

Chui Wa
Luna Sea (J-Rock)
This is evidence that I should have a myspace account. Luna Sea has “space.” This is a pretty fascinating genre of music that is currently very big in Japan. It is called “J-Rock” or “Visual Rock.” It is heavily influenced by American rock. Chui Wa told us a pretty graphic story about how an audience member got extremely “excited” while at a Luna Sea show. It was enough for her to stay clear of Luna Sea concerts in the future.

Gabi
The Magnetic Fields “Underwear” from 69 Love Songs
Gabi described her attraction to this tune by the singer’s deep voice and sarcasm found in the lyrics. Those New Yorkers just love the sarcasm don’t they? TheirSpace.

Ariana
The Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” from Let It Bleed
New to the meetings, Ariana brought us back to the classic Rolling Stones tune “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” The Stones are classic…from the old school. There is NO WAY they would have a myspace account.

NEXT MEETING:

Thursday February 8^th, 2007 @7pm

Meeting Minutes #1

2007-01-19T01:02:00.000-05:00

_______________________________________________________________________

On January 11^th, 2007 we held our first Bloomington-based Music Club at 417 N. Indiana Avenue. I thank you all for coming and the contributions that y’all made. Whether it was through your words or your music I loved hearing where you were coming from. Please keep coming every other Thursday. It only gets better. Check the links if you get a moment…I hope they work. Here are the results:

OPENING EXERCISE: We sustained silence (a tribute to John Cage) for over three minutes in order to attune our ears to the following sounds:

Chris

Kaki King “…Until We Felt Red” from …Until We Felt Red

You know when you hear a lecture or read a book and it is as if the author/professor had stolen the words from the depths of your subconscious? The feeling of how refreshing it is to have someone put those thoughts so clearly in front of you? That is how I feel when I listen to Kaki King. Her creative approach to the guitar is extremely refreshing and inspiring. It makes me interested in approaching my daily life in the same way. Additionally, show me a beautiful 26 year old girl from Brooklyn who plays lap steel guitar and I will show you a happy man. I was asked to be specific about what exactly I liked about this song and found it hard to describe…still do. Describing music is a difficult dance and one that I think we will be dealing with at each and every meeting. There is no right or wrong answer. I am so glad we established this in the beginning. I welcome all of you to share music that varies from “Bach to Britney.”

Rebecca Geitz

Johnny Dilks “Growing Old”

While applying to graduate school, our own Rebecca Geitz stumbled upon a musician named Johnny Dilks on “The Myspace.” After spending time she concluded the following about the country musician, “he’s super-gorgeous but he’s got some issues.” That could possibly be the greatest introduction ever. Lucky for us Rebecca’s graduate school application found its way here. Check out Johnny’s myspace. I did. Thanks Rebecca...

Fredera

Herbie Hancock(feat.Chaka Khan)"The Essence" from Future2Future

The only issue I see with Fredera Hadley is her cell phone addiction. Spend 10 minutes in a room with Fredera and her cell phone will be buzzing. It is obvious that the world has gotten hip to the class act that is Fredera Hadley. Her musical choices seem to reflect this as well. This song demonstrates the infamous producer/pianist/legend Herbie Hancock doing his best in the world of “drum and bass.”

Maria

Over the Rhine “Ohio” from Ohio

I believe Maria brought the house down so to speak with her presentation of her local favorite Over the Rhine. Art mentioned that the song reminded him of driving across the Midwest, “miles and miles of nothing.” The lead singer just has such a sultry voice. I looked up the band on the “world wide web.” Can someone get me her number? (Elyse/Stef- if you score me a photo of the lead singer she will be on my cardboard box immediately).

Lauren

Calexico "Crystal Frontier" from Even My Sure Things
Fall Through

Speaking of driving music, Lauren brought us some music that reminded her of driving across her home state of AZ. The band is called Calexico and they seem to be sweeping the country with their Mariachi brand of rock. I love the horns and Mexican influence. We found it difficult not to get up and dance to this tune. What’s stopping you people?

Hsin wen

Lin-Sheng-Xiang “Shall We Dance Ma Please”

Listen, I am really impressed that you all showed up with your iPod or your Compact Disc recording of your favorite song that you purchased. But how many of you can show up with an album that you helped produce? Shin-Wen brought us some “new folk music” from Taiwan that he played a role in producing. The song is a reflection of the struggle of the 2^nd largest minority group of Taiwan called “Hakka.” A young man is talking to his mother about becoming a farmer and how he wants to do something for his hometown. A common term in this community is “growing trees” which refers to doing something to help your offspring.

Gabi

Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” from Tiger Man

My fabulous roommate brought us an interesting performance of Elvis Presley during his comeback years of 1968. It features The King doing his famous “Heartbreak Hotel” and stumbling over the lyrics. This recording was taken from Elvis’s “Comeback Special” that aired live on “the television.” It is known as “the sit down” segment of his comeback as opposed to his infamous “waist up” performances on The Ed Sullivan show. The pelvis of Elvis was too dangerous for the masses. This recording was an extremely raw performance of Elvis. You could hear Elvis bantering with his band over the screaming girls in the background. Tell me about it Elvis. This is how I feel every single day my man.

Jim

Red Hot Chili Peppers “This Velvet Glove” from Kalifornication

Before I moved to Bloomington I had a neighbor that lived downstairs from me in Brooklyn. Every morning at 6am sharp he would rise out of bed, scream at the top of his lungs, and then start a cigarette smoking marathon that would last for hours. In between drags of cigarettes he would belt out lyrics to classic rock bands like Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. He was truly insane and seemed bent on making me insane as well. One morning I woke up to him screaming the intro to Guns N’Roses “Welcome to the Jungle.” The exact words were, “Welcome to the Jungle baby, you’re gonna die.” I took this personally. That day I did not leave the house. Thankfully I now live underneath one of the coolest guys on the planet, Jim. Ironically, Jim sings Karaoke in his apartment on a daily basis. Thankfully I have yet to hear any G’n’R but Jim did share some Red Hot Chili Peppers with the group. He remarked on their clean and precise approach to music, and their ability to stay relevant for over 25 years. How have they pulled that off?

Karen

Eliane Elias “Running” from Around the City

This song frequently accompanies Karen during her workout routine, or as Karen put it, “groovin’ at the gym.” Eliane Elias is a singer/pianist with a sultry voice accompanied by a Bossa Nova rhythm. We questioned why someone with this much talent was not better known on the streets of Bloomington or beyond.

Selina

Nina Simone “Seems I’ll Never Tire Loving You” from Nina Simone and Piano!

Selina played a beautiful Nina Simone song that accompanied her down the infamous “aisle.” I wish I could have seen that walk but I think we all got close to that moment thanks to Nina and the look on Selina’s face when she talked about it.

Jeremy

Tilly & the Wall “Nights of the Living Dead” from Wild Like Children

This group hails from Omaha, Nebraska and exchanges tap shoes for traditional drums. Jeremy talked about his initial distaste for the band but could not resist the tap dancing drummer.

Kristiana

The Decemberists “Yankee Bayonet” from The Crane Wife

I ran into Kristy in the bookstore at the beginning of the semester. She told me she had not been reading too much for classes yet as she is trying to control her mystery novel addiction. She told me she is averaging 1.3 mystery novels a week. Or was it a 1.3 mystery novels a day? Either way, it is not surprising that she played the Portland, Oregon storytelling songs of The Decemberists. She dubbed this type of music, “geek rock.” It all makes sense.

Aaron

John Coltrane “Resolution” from A Love Supreme

Speaking of geeks, Aaron introduced this John Coltrane masterpiece by telling us how he became intimate with the melody of this song. When he was 19 years old, Aaron walked around the streets in Mexico performing a pleasant bastardization of this song’s melody on his flute. Again, another Aaron and Selina moment I would have liked to have witnessed.

Elise

Robert Shaw Singers “O Magnum Mysterium”

The title of this religious song translates to “Oh Great Mystery and Wonderful Sacrament.” Elise is recovering from her roots in religion but finds comfort in this beautiful song. I think all of us were moved. Elise commented on how meaningful these songs are to people. I think we all envy that. She wondered if one day she could suspend disbelief and just enjoy the gifts that music like this brings. Whenever I spend time listening to Elise talk about anything I always end up picturing myself in front of a classroom of (stoned) wannabe ethnomusicologists bragging to them how I used to know Elise Anderson, the famous Ethnomusicologist.

Stephanie

Marvin Gaye “His Eye is on the Sparrow” from In Loving Memory

Here we have Marvin Gaye performing a traditional gospel spiritual written by Thomas Dorsey. Fredera informed us that the title is inspired by the words of Jesus in the Book of Matthew in the Bible. It translates roughly to the notion that “if God takes care of those things, he will surely take care of others.”

Jim

Willie Nelson “Faded Love” from Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be)

Jim gave us the option of either Springsteen or country music. We chose country in the form of Willie Nelson. Jim enjoys country music and occasionally gets out to the Little Nashville Opry here Nashville, Indiana. He described his experience there as one of the only music venues where “the old chick next to you taps you on the shoulder and asks what church do you go to?” From what I know of Jim he always has good lines that crack me up. I look forward to hearing more.

Audrey

Ronny Fordatkosu "Gonjan Ganjing" (album unknown)

This traditional musician from Indonesia was introduced to Audrey during a museum opening that she attended while doing her undergraduate work.

CLOSING SONG: Fredera helped us pay tribute to The Godfather of Soul, James Brown. There will never be anyone like him.

NEXT MEETING: January 25^th, 2007 @7pm

the community listening project

Flickr

Listening to Music With Your Whole Body

The Terrorist of Fun

papers

thank you

Music Club #7 "Guilty Pleasures"

JIM S. @ MC 6

AARON @ MC 6

ALEXANDER @ MC 6

CHRIS @ MC 6

MARIA @ MC 6

JOHN R.

KELLY @ MC 6

KRISTY @ MC 6

JODINE @ MC 6

JOE C @ MC 6

Ari @ MC 6

JEREMY @ MC 6

KATHLEEN @ MC 6

AFRA @ MC 6

Aaron S. @ MC 6

JIM S.@ Meeting #6

*Jeremy Stoll@ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

*Aaron Spector @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

*Elise Anderson @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

*Chris Mulé @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

*Chui Wa @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

*Jim Seaver @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

John Reef @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

*Dave Lewis @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

Joe Crescente @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

*Maria Kennedy @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*

Update Coming Soon....

Meeting Minutes III

Meeting Minutes #2

Meeting Minutes #1

Jeremy Stoll@ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Aaron Spector @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Elise Anderson @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Chris Mulé @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Chui Wa @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Jim Seaver @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Dave Lewis @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)

Maria Kennedy @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)