Thursday, October 30, 2003

Tales from the Hermetic Theater

BTW, about that John Zorn CD, I did think it had some interesting bits. Most of the tracks are unlistenable, and this from a guy who willingly picks out minimalism's greatest hits to listen to from time to time, but the longest track was pretty good and made up for it. It was almost like a game of guess-the-object: "What household item is he using to make an awful din with now?" It might strike others as awful dull, but I look at it as changing perspectives on what qualifies as interesting sound. And it's not like that track didn't have nice violins bits, too.

Aside: I find it interesting that on the AMG page linked above, the mention Joseph Beuys as an influence. I've been reading Cat and Girl, who reference Beuys. I want the shirt that says "Don't look at me. I voted for Zombie Joseph Beuys."

And speaking about having CD's in my hot little hands, I saw a recording of the Hot Hot Heat playing their hit, Bandages, on TV. They were very energetic and getting into the song, which is good. But it wasn't as tight as what's on the album, not by a long shot. They were missing the sense of balance that good bands have. All the energy in the world doesn't do you a bit of good if it isn't focused and doesn't come out in your playing and you drown out the drummer. The album is really well produced, though.

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