In 2011, a very good friend of mine, Siberian composer Roman Stolyar, did a live soundtrack for The Golem, one of the masterpieces of early cinema. Only The Cinema gives a great synopsis of the film, should you ever decide to watch it in its entirety.
I’m going to start doing a better job publicizing things I’m enjoying these days. Here’s a starter for those of you who are using Facebook. Obscure Music is a group dedicated to some great older tunes that didn’t get much play in the 1980s or so.
Dangerous Minds posts an article on all the interesting covers that William S. Burroughs managed to score for his books.
Paul Bowles, the legendary wandering scribe who introduced America to the pleasure of 1950s Morocco in all its splendor, mystery and decadence, is given a wonderful documentary tribute. The video is directed by Mohamed Ulad-Mohand, and is hosted by the ever-wonderful UbuWeb, which houses many of the experimental and avant-garde world’s treasures.
Bidoun Magazine, a great resource covering art, music and culture from the Middle East and the Ummah in general, contributed mightily to hosting this video.
Yes, such a thing exists, thanks to the wonders of the Internet. While digging through old links, I came across this gem, and decided to test myself. The result?:
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If I were a Dead Russian Composer, I would be Sergei Prokofyev. I was born in the late 19th century and was a child prodigy, composing at a very young age. I kept this talent up, earning myself quite a name and fully exploiting the bragging rights. I was disliked by Stalin, however, and I died the same day he did. My most famous work is “Peter and the Wolf.” Who would you be? Dead Russian Composer Personality Test |
Not bad!
I’m blessed to know quite a few friends who are quite good at writing. Here’s my dear friend, Ellen, touching her inner Neruda:
Your banks are dry and brittle
Deep grooves in the bed
Sticks and stones
Dusty alone
Lifeless leaves spread
Your wind is hot and yellow
It blows from east to west
Cloud and dirt
You sting, you hurt
In skin you press
Your vessel fallen on its side
Nothing there to slake
Hollow and hard.
Throat charred
Thirsty ache
In my flowing tears
Surging spring
My rain, my wet
Sweet sweat.
Fullness I bring
I fill your cracks
Your deep grooves
And empty spaces.
In all those places
I meander and move
I fill your clouds
And breath
And wind
With mist.
And kiss
Your death
I empty myself
To fill you up
I take your shame and shape
Redeem the rape
Become the cup
When I am present
Your wind is gentle rain
Your chalice full
Ripe for a pull
Your self I will sustain.
Invite the water
Beseech the swell
That pours you over.
No seeking cover
Drown in my well.
From now on, all future posts from these sites will go here.
Sad news. Former Troggs singer Reg Presley has passed away after suffering with cancer for a year. He was 71. The video shows Presley in his prime, singing “A Girl Like You,” which would be wonderfully covered by the late Alex Chilton some years later.
Kirill M is a Russian composer who uses an accordion to make some rather hazy sound-scapes. His work follows in the tradition of fellow Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, whose works for bayan strike a similar chord with me, and Pauline Oliveros, the American composer who seems to be Kirill’s lost soul mate.
The first track, Unfathomable, is a cloudy affair, droning listlessly in a way that would fit as part of a soundtrack to an Andrei Tarkovsky movie. Height is more claustrophobic in feel. The sound envelops you in a crushing, yet relatively pleasant, sort of way.
I’m looking forward to hearing more from this man.
You can find out more about Kirill M from his website, Bandcamp site, and at Petroglyph Music, the Norwegian net-label hosting his work.
You know the photo. It is perhaps the most iconic non-battle photo to come out of World War II. Marielena Montesino de Stuart and Carl Muscarello, the two subjects giving each other that legendary kiss, came together for a photo op on May 28, 2012. Montesino was running for Senate at the time. Muscarello had retired from the NYPD after working as a detective.
I mention the article for two reasons. The first is that Carl Muscarello bravely stopped one of two burglars from robbing him and his wife. It came as a surprise that he was a detective for NYPD. The second, and far more repugnant reason, was a feminist article decrying that kiss as sexual assault. The depths these people swim to with their garbage boggles the mind.
Thanks to Courage for America, Marielena’s site, for posting this article.
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