The Songs
A deeply weird and haunting clusterfuck of an avant-garde record came into eMusic on Friday. It is filed under Jazz, but the only distant relation it bears to Jazz is the fact that it is completely improvised. Otherwise, it lays about thirty miles safely outside of any genre borders. It is called The Songs, and it sounds sort of like standing outside of a row of adjacent practice rooms in a conservatory: in one, a drummer is working on his fills; in the next, a couple of wobbly-voiced female singers attempt to nail the harmonies on their English madrigal, and in next two rooms, a fidgety nine-year-old restlessly plucks his violin and a high-schooler learns how to make a sound on a trumpet. Oh, and then the hippie dude wanders in from the campus green and starts hitting his damn bongoes.
What The Songs is: a collaboration recorded in 1967 by the poet Alan Sondheim and the improvisatory free-jazz collective Ritual All 770. Nurse With Wound, the freaky Krautrock/free-jazz/industrial/whatever project of Steven Stapleton, cited this album in its “list of seminal experimental recordings” in the sleeve of their first album, which solidified its status as a cult collector’s item. And, 40 years later, like a piece of recently unearthed, rotting hominid skull, here it is: a group of 60s hippies sitting around attempting to “reject the notion the notion that avant garde music was solely the realm of isolated academia” — via one long, loooong completely improvised jam session.
Sound completely excruciating? It might be, if these guys weren’t fabulous musicians on top of being stoned out of their minds. But the fact that free of the haze of psychotropics, they were probably top-shelf players gives this session a weird, appealing, loose-tightness. Everything is always falling apart, but it never does so completely — they are listening to each other, and you can tell. The session is broken up into ten digestible chunks, but I recommend putting the whole thing and, in the words of Officer Lou, proud member of the Springfield Police Dept., let the mellow yellow get you by the brain banana.
there was a clusterfuck last week on eMusic; but I’m not sure it was related to this record…
I believe the clusterfuck is still taking place. eMusic is just continuing to ignore it and let it blow over. After all, why are their customers’ feelings important in all of this?
This sounds really interesting. I remember an interview with Stapleton (Brainwashed.com I think) where he said his favourite things in music was the freak-out. Though I’ve never really gotten into the NWW, I was always inspired by that interview.
I was with you when I read “a deeply weird and haunting clusterfuck” but then I realized you were talking about some shitty jazz album — and not the way that emusic sold out to Sony, or how Emusic pretended like its existing customer base just didn’t exist, or how Emusic didn’t even survey that customer base on what changes they would prefer if this cost structure was unsustainable, and then notified them only after the changes were in place and not even through an email.
I don’t understand how you can’t see that with our downloads severely slashed no one is going to take chances on records like these. A totally off the wall weird as all hell jam session from the 60s vs. the new Destroyer album (for example.) Um, yeah, if I have to choose between them I know which one will win every damn time.
Speak for yourself. It’s already on my SFL and I know in town that who probably bought when it was issued on vinyl. Leave 17Dots to the people who do want to discuss music.
Megan is right, Televiper. Fewer downloads mean less risky purchases. Chill out, man.
Wait… I’m the one that’s supposed chill out?
Sorry, my first thought as I read this was, “Hmm, this might have been something I’d have grabbed just for the experience. But now, I’ve got to make my DL’s count. I’ve got a big ‘Saved for Later’ list, and only a few months left to make dent in it.”
This would probably sound a lot better to me if I were stoned out of my mind. Since I’m not all I’m getting is that feeling I have when I listen to stoned people making music saying “Yeah, man, yeah.”
This does sound interesting, but with my downloads cut by 40% it’s something I won’t be taking a chance on trying, though I probably would have in the past. I’ve already got too much on my save for later list that I need to download before I cancel my 3 year subscription later this month because of the clusterfuck you’ve imposed on all of your loyal customers over the past week.
I have to say, I can’t wait for the change over to happen so all the dead house beaters will finally disappear.
@SaraDevil – Or Emusic could address the issues and people would quiet down. If all the hardcore users get annoyed and leave it’ll be quieter, but Emusic will be less healthy for it.
And you have to agree that it is amusing that they are pitching some crazy experimental music while in the process of making experimenting with music on their site more expensive, no?
My personal favourite has always been yellow ledbetter and each time Pearl Jam play this song live its always somehow different… Pearl Jam Rock!