2011 in Music Kind of But Not Really I Should Have Waited
(edited to add: Since this is making some small amount of rounds, wanted to say given some recent acquisitions/purchases, there’s a lot from 2011 that I would want here, now that I’ve heard them. Hoping to get some of them written up, even if briefly, in the next few weeks. Will add links to this post as they’re tackled.)
It’s been a weird year in a number of ways. I have a great job, have been super busy and have been listening to more music, but not writing about it very much, and barely buying stuff, especially the last half/quarter of 2011. That means this list is even more flawed than normal. There’s a huge list, longer than the one below in all honesty, of stuff I’ve missed or that I just haven’t heard yet. The four ersts that came out later in the year, the four recent copy for your records releases, the new Graham Lambkin, pretty much every eai-ish release of 2011 that didn’t come out on a major label I pay attention to, the most recent b-boim records, and finally the recent Shiflet output. Also, lots and lots of pop-ish music I’ve ignored for no reason other than laziness and lack of attention.
That said, here are some lists. Things with numbers are in order, without numbers means it’s a grab bag, and all are idiosyncratically grouped.
Top 3 Weird Records
1. Radu Malfatti/Keith Rowe - Φ
I’ve already written a lot about this. So go here and read my thoughts. The short version is, if you have any interest in the music these two make, old, new, the extreme ends or not, you should hear this. Three discs, all essential in one way or another.
2. Joe Panzner - Clearing, Polluted
I read him back in the Stylus days and always thought “how does this guy who is roughly my age write so much more clearly and articulately about abstract music than I can?”. He put out a solo record, made some great records with Mr. Shiflet in Scenic Railroads, and then kind of disappeared. Facebook happened though! And I’ve been able to hear this record grow and change as he painstakingly mixed and mastered it into the fucking monster it is now in its final, released form. “Computer music”, sure, but careful, brutal, beautiful in turns, the best thing of this sort I’ve heard in a long time. He will deny this, or at the very least deflect praise by pointing out how he thinks others are making music he likes more, but thankfully I have no compunction about heaping praise on his head. This record is also essential, and will remain so for awhile. Listen loudly, you’ll be thankful you did.
3.Michael Pisaro - Asleep, Street, Pipes, Tones; Hearing Metal 2 & 3; Close Constellations and a Drum on the Ground
Michael Pisaro has received much deserved praise the last few years, and along with him his close collaborator Greg Stuart is getting more and more praise, all deserved as well. There’s not a lot I want to say here, except that over these four records, Pisaro along with Stuart and other collaborators, has shown a willingness to surprise. There are some familiar elements, aspects of structure that call to mind other pieces, but overall I felt these four discs served as nice counterexamples to any naysaying that Pisaro has “a sound”, one monolithic approach. I’ve said it before, both in person to Michael and Greg and to friends and online and basically at every available opportunity, but there is an appealing immediacy to Pisaro’s work, a close tie between concept and end result, the concepts live and breathe in the music, instead of being left behind by the end product, as can so often be the case with music like this.
4. Anne Guthrie - Perhaps A Favorable Organic Moment
A beautiful, intimate, exploratory suite of pieces. Highly, highly highly recommended. In all honesty, this, the Panzner and all the Pisaro works are pretty equal. Wrote a few words about this already here and here.
5. James Saunders - divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole; Droplets - Droplets; Anett Nemeth - A Pauper’s Guide to John Cage
There were two other discs in this batch that weren’t bad, but didn’t work as well for me as these three. Michael Pisaro described them as creating an environment when played all together and it’s true. All three were variations on a theme, quiet, careful, intimate. If I had to pick one track out of the whole lot, the final piece on the Droplets disc is a favorite, Nachtstuck (2007) Eva-Maria Houben
Jason Lescaleet - This Is What I Do: Volume One
I mean, of course, this record is incredible. If you have any interest in this general area just buy it already.
Richard Kamerman - ‘CHANGES. txt’ plus the Other Vultures output
Not sure the first disc, the solo Kamerman, got much attention, but it sprang to mind immediately when I put this together. A favorite for a number of reasons. 1) I seem to just like everything Richard puts out at this point, and I’m only slightly embarassed at how much of a fan I am. 2) it was on Jez Riley French’s label and while it fits in conceptually, aesthetically it seemed like a stretch, and I appreciated that but most importantly 3) it’s just a great disc. Process music with an obfuscated process, insistent, static, unpleasant in a way I find pleasing, etc. And Other Vultures? insanity from Kamerman and friend. Noise and chaos and complete and utter joy to hear.
Nick Hennies - Objects, Nick Hennies/Greg Stuart live performance in Austin
There’s a single-mindedness, an obssive quality to Nick’s work of late that I find unbelievably compelling. The disc is definitely worth hearing, but there’s something effecting about watching him perform. So my favorite Hennies moment was seeing the piece he and Greg played in Austin. After a night of mostly loud improv of various sorts that failed to move me all that much (save for Vanessa Rossetto’s piece!), Greg and Nick produced 20 some minutes of the most delicate, careful music of the night, easily the live performance highlight of the year, even if it was way way too brief.
Some Odds and Ends in the weird world :
Chondritic coming back/Steel Trap comp finally
This was a miracle. And the comp was worth it, as were the tapes. I don’t listen to this part of the weird music world much anymore, but it’s nice to know Greh seems dedicated to making Chondritic a thing again. They were always so consistent
CFYR becoming flawless
More Kamermania, seriously EVERYTHING THE MAN RELEASES IS GOLD. They’re not on my list, but both of the 3”s from this year were essential and awesome. Rough and tumble computer music, ear-cleansing stuff, totally great. And the next four releases, while I won’t hear them till the new year, look and sound from their samples to be great.
Homophoni’s entire run
Kirby’s little online empire had another ridiculous year. It’s easy to write off web releases, but you’d be missing crucial stuff if you did it in this case. Also, he was basically the reason Amplify Stone could happen. And even though I didn’t get to go, by all accounts it was the sort of event that will lead to more releases and new avenues for exploration in our little world. And even some internet grudge matches!
Nicholas Szczepanik - Ante Algo Azul; Please Stop Loving Me
I was late to the party on this, but a collection of 12 drop dead gorgeous 3”s. Beautiful shimmering drones, and the most shocking part is how for the most part they each have an identity. With this area it’s so easy to have it all become a formless thick soup of shimmer, but Nicholas is able to stretch his sound just enough while retaining a coherence that I really admire. And the full length was just a warm slab of heven.
Scenic Railroads - More Titles Than Tracks
FOR FREE I can’t even believe they just give away gold like this. A truly great collection of tracks, odds and ends, edits, etc. I got a lot of bus listening out of these. The absolute favorite, if I were forced to choose, would be Body Linguists, the August track, found here.
Non-Weird-ish
Front Bottoms - s/t
I became obsessed with this record. Not 100% sure why. It’s a simple love though. The songs are catchy, the lyrics simple but then quickly, surprisingly subtle and sly. In less than half a year this band has gotten to number four or something on last.fm in overall plays. I just find it compulsive.
Lougow - Dull Thicket, King Conversion
Best friend best person Jason Williams, of Mt. Gigantic fame, lived at a remote bnb with his darling partner and now wife and recorded what is the best thing he’s done so far. Dull Thicket is very much a Jason record, but condensed, purified. The loose shambling quality of his songs before isn’t gone, but it’s faster paced, and the shambles hold together just that bit better. It retains everything I’ve always loved, but adds in a maturity to the songwriting, and those footstompy moments that I get excited about every time. Also, Ava and Megan’s singing help make these songs. Perfect counterbalance to yelp and moan from Jason. Oh oh, and the artwork is amazing. King Conversion was out of left field. The first time Jason has made something this abstract I think, and same as with Dull Thicket, it’s recognizably him, but stretched, pulled, transformed. Loops and noise and wind and weird is how I described it initially. Both are worth hearing, and hey you can do so here!
Das Racist - Relax
Jokes, not jokes, I don’t care I just keep listening and smiling.
La Dispute - Vancouver
Embarassing a little, but so so good. mewithoutyou without God, college me in perpetual freak out mode, up front, screaming as loud as I can along.
Whirl - Distressor
iosjfpioasjhsa89pfus89pfusfusa89pfups9fu I miss My Bloody Valentine, they do too. I approve.
Krallice - Diotima / Liturgy - Aesthethica / Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
I am a smart nerd who also likes metal, of course these are the metal bands I like most. Merging into deathy on the one hand, pretentious and annoying but so so utterly appealing on the other, and then on that third hand swirly shoegaze inspired black metal, it’s like they had me in mind when they wrote the songs. I almost feel targeted.
Emperor X - Western Teleport
Chad Metheny makes lists, and then sings them, in the most appealing way possible. I listened to this obsessively before it had the unfortunate luck of being superseded by Front Bottoms, who took over my brain.
Old Things, some still old, some new
Miles Davis - The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel / John Coltrane - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
Finally listened to both of these more in depth than I ever had before this year. Pretty astonishing.
Moniek Darge - Sounds of Sacred Places
I actually haven’t heard the reissue. I scored a copy of the original LP and have listened a number of times. I’m happy someone is putting her work out into the world again. Gorgeous and like not many others.
Neutral Milk Hotel - Boxset
Nothing to say here honestly. I mean, I pretty much worshipped them in the past. They still mostly hold up, but really, I’m just happy to have it all in one place, in beautiful editions.
