the submersible dirigible

THE PASSION caused by the great and sublime in nature, when those causes operate most powerfully, is astonishment; and astonishment is that state of the soul, in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror. In this case the mind is so entirely filled with its object, that it cannot entertain any other, nor by consequence reason on that object which employs it. Hence arises the great power of the sublime, that, far from being produced by them, it anticipates our reasonings, and hurries us on by an irresistible force. Astonishment, as I have said, is the effect of the sublime in its highest degree; the inferior effects are admiration, reverence, and respect. — On the Sublime and Beautiful, Edmund Burke

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edit: edited out the Gunn track; somehow, the audio was stretched 4x.

I tend to get a little obsessed with certain artists or labels for brief periods of time, and at the moment, it’s Pumice with his tendrils in my mind.  Henry Flynt opens the podcast with the highlight from the recent Locust reissue of his 1975 Bluegrass Jazz record, Nova’Billy.  Despite Pumice recently mocking some attempts by “lazy Americans” to categorize his music with half-brained artist comparisons, this lazy American can’t help but think of Henry Flynt’s avant and country sound-compost when listening to Neville’s tunes.  Both are outwardly rough or dingy, but have a really stunning child-like color and enthusiasm concealed beneath a static veneer.  Now, Flynt obviously comes from the 60s minimalism movement, developing a sound rooted in the Delta Blues tradition, but infused with the musical theories of revolutionary artists like La Monte Young.  Despite these obvious differences, I still hear an abundance of aesthetic similarities.  Both keep me coming back for more, with their twisted, off-balance reimaginations of their respective musical influences.

Aside from Flynt and Pumice, songwriter’s Evangelista, Grouper and Bird Microphone provide some additional highlights from the year.  JVW, M.Jarvis/A.Jarvis/Gunn provide some splendid instrumental filler for a show more or less focused on the songwriting.  Hope you enjoy.

photo courtesy of the Library of Congress public flickr collection

 

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