the submersible dirigible

While I’m certain sharing a ranked list of my favorite albums from the past year would be mostly fruitless, I’m hopeful some might revisit some of the 2007 which really struck my fancy. Every year, thanks to the wonders of the world wide web, I’m introduced to a slew of heretofore unfamiliar microcosms of the musical universe. Mapsadaisical’s recommendation of A Broken Consort — and the Sustain-Release label in general — is easily my favorite recommendation from the year. Seems mapsadaisical enjoyed Richard Skelton’s soft mossy A Broken Consort field-acoustic over the more electric, lumbering ambient beastliness of Skelton’s Harlassen recording.

Pumice is my clear favorite this year. I somehow managed to tragically and completely avoid Stefan Neville’s work until uncovering 2006’s ‘Yeahnahvienna’ late last year. ‘Pebbles’ can be an exhausting listen. Its grimey notes are grating. Lo-fi certainly isn’t new, but there’s something uniquely beautiful about Neville’s dingy diy-folk rock. Pumice is far from a simple emulation of the Mountain Goats/Neutral Milk Hotel guttural approach. PJ Harvey’s ‘White Chalk’ and Gultskra’s release share some of that tattered, dusty, yellow-wallpaper aesthetic that I find so appealing.

Lest you think I’ve chosen only the dreariest of the year’s releases, my Robert Wyatt selection should be the perfect antidote. Arve Henriksen, Skelton’s two projects, and CoH fit somewhere in the middle of this emotional spectrum. Higgs is unclassifiable as usual, releasing two albums in 2007. I preferred the gentler of the two, ‘Metempsychotic Melodies’, an album of swirling, song-oriented spazz psych, sharing much in common with his earlier 2006 release, ‘Ancestral Songs’. Big Blood is another of my recent obsessions, psych-folk very much in the spirit of weirdos like Higgs, Brad Rose, Steven R. Smith, and a continuation of the (apparently) legendary Cerberus Shoal.

Continue reading ‘2007 Was Quite Nice’

 

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Since I’ve been listening to lots of film music recently, I though it would be compile some of my favorites for this weeks show. Part/most of the reason for compiling this show is as a contribution back to the groovy Totally Rad Show. I don’t know nearly as much as Alex, Dan or Jeff about music, tv, comics or video games, but I do know quite a bit about musics. Basically, I think this show is something a film dork, and TRS regular, might really enjoy. I know at least Dan has regularly referred to film scores in his commentary, and I think Jeff has a few times as well. Alex seems pretty indifferent to music, but maybe like-minded listeners will still be enticed by what I’ve got to offer here. Anyway, this is inspired by you, TRS chaps; I hope this is a constructive contribution to the community, and everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it. Maybe a few of you will subscribe to my feed based off what you hear here, and keep listening to what I come up with in the coming weeks :-().

Before I go any further, a heroic sense of duty compels me to mention I drifted from my theme on a couple of occasions during the course of this show. Sven Libaek’s track is the first example of these departures. The Libaek track I’ve featured is actually from a Trunk Records compilation of previously unreleased or under appreciated songs by the composer. Theoretically, these songs appeared somewhere in a film, I just don’t know where. Laypersons will recognize Libaek from his inclusion on Wes Anderson’s ‘Life Aquatic’ soundtrack. He’s got a completely unique sound, unashamedly nerdy, but still jazzy and slick (like TRS — I hear geeky is the new cool).

My two selections from Delia Derbyshire (see below for more about Delia) also don’t appear in any films. Both were included in BBC TV specials though, which is sort of filmesque I suppose. Delia Derbyshire’s Dr. Who theme should be familiar enough to any sci-fi fan. The Ending Credits I’ve included from the series is easily Delia’s most accessible and recognizable work. That second track is from a TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s ‘The Prophet’, for the BBC’s Out of the Unknown series. Never read the story, but according to the documentary I’ve posted below, it’s apparently about a bunch of robots on a space station who start worshiping the vessel’s power converter. In classic Derbyshire style, the track was composed meticulously without the use of synthesizers or recognizable electronic instrument, relying instead on the principles of music concrete and tape manipulation.

There are plenty of other interesting selections I’d like to speak about at length, but I don’t want to go overboard here. I’ll post some more information about specific selections in the comments shortly, if anyone’s interested. I should also mention quickly, you’ve probably noticed some of the more famous film composers weren’t included in this show. Iconic John Williams, Ennio Morricone, etc. compositions are obviously brilliant, but everyone’s heard them a thousand times. I was looking to compile selections from less familiar soundtracks, and as always I hope my shows can expose folks to music they’ve never heard before. Hopefully I’ve selected tunes that remind some of you why listening closely and expanding your musical horizons can be so rewarding.

(image: Blood On Satan’s Claw, Trunk Records 2007. buy it.)

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