It’s almost March. Or at least it would be in a typical year, which means a new playlist is now available! It’s two hundred and twenty three songs full at the moment. I decided to keep the lengthier pieces (10+ minutes) at the end of the playlist. So if you want to really zone, take the elevator down to the bottom of the list.I want to continue to include longer compositions, but having a 45-minute composition amongst 3-4-minute pieces kind of makes you forget that you are listening to a playlist.
Longer form essay coming soon (I have some ideas floating around anyway). In the meantime...
here are some other things of interest that I came across this week:
We Buy White Albums: Artist Rutherford Chang’s record collection currently consists of 3,334 copies of the Beatle’s White Album and nothing else. Exploring my dad’s records as a child, I was hypnotized by the autographical scribbles that defaced many covers. Sequential owners would claim a record by adding their nicknames - a system of possession that seemed not to have worked too well. My favorites were ones in which additional illustrations were added in the margins. I can get a copy of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited anywhere, but I cannot find one with a Capt. America signature scrawled on it. Some people (audiophiles, yuck. jk) want the most pristine copies of vinyl they can locate, but the White Album, especially, is a blank sheet of paper that begs to be doodled on. To see more White Album doodles, visit this Dust & Grooves article. For more defaced vinyl, a book called Marred For Life by Greg Wooten collects many of these artifacts. I haven’t picked this up yet, but it has to be good, right? Here are a few photos from it:
Radio Alhara: A "Sonic Liberation Front" broadcasting from the occupied West Bank. Since 2020, the online station has sought to raise awareness about human and civil rights issues facing Palestinians under Israeli occupation and to create a sense of community through music with artists and listeners in the Middle East, North Africa, and now around the world. Recognizing one another and uniting through art is a powerful resource in preventing future atrocities and recognizing our shared humanity. I don’t need to elaborate on why this is a pressing issue. We all know what is going on even when pretending not to. I listened to “Sonic Balm with Diles Mavis” last night, and everything they played was better than anything on my playlist, so maybe just tune in here instead? From the Sonic Balm Soundcloud: "A compilation of music and field recordings with protests, speeches, chants and beats. This is a humble mix that emphasizes a call for immediate ceasefire, a call for peace, for liberation and for unity." Also consider buying one of their t-shirts. Proceeds go to the Gaza Clear Water Emergency Initiative which is "directly financing & operating a metered clean water source through an operational desalination plant in Rafah, disbursing this water to Gazans in need for free."
The Blind Boy Podcast: Billy Idol's Childhood Guitar: I first came across this podcast while listening to Yasi Salek's 24 Question Party People with Joe Talbot of IDLES. There are a lot of good "hot takes" on Blind Boy, including how the Wu Tang Clan and Margaret Thatcher created the modern ice cream cone and why disco is the real punk. This is by no means a music-only podcast. It is probably more about Irish mythology and history than anything, but he has an obsessive spirit when it comes to music. This episode stuck out because it concerns Billy Idol's 1993 concept album Cyberpunk. This is an album that I thought had been collectively forgotten.
When I was about 12, I got into White Wedding, Dancing by Myself, and Rebel Yell. Why they never played Eyes Without a Face, I will never understand. That's his best song, and I had to wait another decade before I heard it. I really, really wanted a CD with some of these hits on it, probably so I could put it on and try out my best sneer. I must have talked about it quite a bit on the bus to school because one day, this kid named Darren offered to sell me what I wanted for $10. I'm pretty sure he lifted it from his mom's CD shelf. Instead of hits, I got Cyberpunk and my first experience with musical disappointment. While I stand behind that disappointment, the production and promotion were ahead of their time. This was recorded at home on Idol's Mac 15 years before computer-based home recording became commonplace. It was promoted via the early internet and, to a lesser extent, on floppy discs, giving you a good idea of how long ago this was. Not too many people look at Billy Idol as the Godfather of bedroom computer production, but there is a good argument for placing him on that throne. For a more in-depth look into Cyber Punk, the aesthetic and reality, and also the album, listen to the episode. For even earlier Cyber Punk in music, check out the futuristic collage glam punk of Sigue Sigue Sputnik featuring Billy's Generation X bandmate Tony James.
Physical Rhythm Machine Boem BOem, Philip Vermeulen: This large-scale rhythm instrument shoots tennis balls onto two sounding boxes. It is reminiscent of the many hours I spent as a child peering through the small glass window of a racquetball court. The near-constant fortissimo of the ball striking the wall within a resonant chamber creating an unintentional collaborative rhythmic composition. This machine is slightly different in that it can be programmed to launch balls in pre-conceived patterns, either by the artist or algorithm. The iii website , where I first encountered this instrument, contains many original instruments, including a rhythmic sequencer of fluorescent lights and poured sugar drums. There are also some incredible upcoming workshops if you live in the Netherlands, including Hack Eroticism and Intro to Voice Cloning!
Fin De Fete- Linda Smith
Another Old New Album of the Week. Baltimore artist Linda Smith put out multiple cassette releases recorded on her home 4 track in the late 80s after the New York based band Woods, of which she was a member, disbanded. This two song single re-released this year comes from her 8 track era and includes a cover of the Young Marble Giants Salad Days. It's one of those covers that is somehow better than the original or at least just as good. This digital release comes ahead of a vinyl release for the albums Nothing Else Matters and So I Liked Spring, now available for pre-order. Looped laughter and 60s tambourine. 4/4 Tracks.
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