The planets aligned, or the music gods are smiling on us, or whatever, because the first half of 2008 is shaping up to be one of the best for releases (at least for me):

Sun Kil Moon - April (Caldo Verde) Yet more ridiculously beautiful, dark, meditative, and obsessive music from this Mark Kozelek project. All of his music has been topping my favorite list lately. I also got his solo, acoustic Little Drummer Boy Live release recently too, and it’s superb.

Black Francis — Svn Fngrs (Cooking Vinyl) Frank or Black or whatever continues to rediscover his weirdness, in this wonderfully loud, fun, fast, and imaginative little mini-release.

Michael Nyman — Mozart 252 (MN Records) After promising to do so for nearly two years, Mr. Nyman has released these recordings of most of his Mozart-based compositions. It’s a nice collection indeed. Though some of this material has been released elsewhere (some of it many times), it’s nice to have it gathered together. Plus, these are first formal studio recordings of some pieces, such as Revisiting The Don and two pieces from his mini-TV opera Letters, Riddles, and Writs (previously only available via the film for which they were composed). This release is getting absolutely no attention, but maybe his next one to include the controversial 8 Lust Songs will get some press. Some critics have hailed that piece, based on the I sonetti lussuriosi, a set of graphic erotic texts by a Renaissance poet, as a Nyman masterpiece. The release is set for June 2, just before the Nyman Festival in London.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band — 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (Constellation) I really admire this band. They are one of the most angst filled and political bands working today, and are outspoken about that fact both in their recordings and in interviews. Their politics are not specific, but they convey a general displeasure with the state of the world and those that lead it politically, and a definite sense of lost innocence pervades every note of what they do. In any case, their epic-length, and in this case thunderous pieces, offer up only cryptic messages. In the title piece, for example, the lead singer screeches repeatedly: “I just want some action!” “No heroes on my radio!” “The hangman has a hard on!” over a blanket of noise, though it’s pretty tuneful noise.

People that can relate to their frustration will understand what they are getting at, and through this get some sense of catharsis. If you get married, get a job, get a couple kids, it’s easy to lose your political edge. A spin of a disc like this brings it right back… at least until the next diaper change pulls you back down to earth.

And, now leaving behind the independent scene…

It’s funny how opinion, including my own, has turned against major labels. When I was a kid most everything was put out by majors. It was never questioned. But the world has changed. Now I’m suspicious of things put out by majors, and any artist that signs with them now is a sell out, in some people’s minds. Yet, obviously good things are still put out by major label bands, even more recently signed ones. For example, Modest Mouse. Though, some would disagree with me, I think MM’s last three releases have been very good. All on Epic, methinks. There is at least one major label that I still hold in high regard: Nonesuch. Look at their roster. End of story. And as my pal Jay pointed out to me recently, many “indie” labels are bankrolled by major labels to keep up appearances that they actually care about music, and to get a piece of the smaller pie.

Examples of good things:

K.D. Lang — Watershed (Nonesuch) An ulta-mellow release of original material. Very nice. This is like the ultimate Sunday album (in fact, a great tune on this record is called Sunday), devoted to the joys of staying home and doing nothing but reading the paper, watching movies, and daydreaming with your lover.

R.E.M. — Accelerate (Warner) The “return to form” record from the only really huge band that I pay any attention to. That’s not really a fair way to describe it. Parts of 2001’s Reveal were good, and Up from 1998 was a solid record. I wasn’t really excited about the music on those releases though, so it’s a terrific treat to get a disc where they sound inspired again. It’s not just that the disc is largely made up of up-tempo tunes. They are really interesting, and textured, and the band sounds fantastic.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful — then ridiculously stirring — and then beautiful some more.

…he seemed to vanish. Though few could tell that actually he had never been more there.

-someone once said or thought this, or maybe they didn’t, and it doesn’t matter.

I saw this quote from one of my heros, and it to me explains why I pay so little attention to this blog of mine:

“…I’m not interested in my opinions, but I am somewhat interested in what I can uncover that is under the opinions. That’s where I like to go.” –Leonard Cohen

And what’s behind opinions isn’t for blogs, it’s for art.

So much of it…

In the comments box, in my email. Everything seems like bullshit spam. Honks on the highway. Stressed and urgent voices at work. Trying to sell me, trying to sell you, trying to pin things on me, trying to pin things on you.

To quote a favorite poet, a poem I’ve quoted many times: “& the brain of humankind seems most times a piss of swiss cheese on the plate of a begger” — Quincy Troupe, from A Surrealistic Poem to Everyone & No One in Particular

Forget your computer. My holiday tip to you my friends at year’s end: guard your mind against spam.

There are many ways. Take your pick.

Thoughts on zombies

Some day I shall post more to thee…

Well, my annual overview (um, drinking a lot) of Octoberfest beers 2007 is nearing a close. My own personal review is hardly all-encompassing, but I have to say that the Octoberfest put out each year by Sam Adams is the best out there, and probably has been for years. So, the label doesn’t lie in this case. It’s super yummy, to put it technically, and really I don’t think the recipe has been changed at all over time. Why mess with perfection: smooth, strong, and a little bit sweet. Really they should throw the rules out the window and produce the stuff year-round.

Honorable Octoberfest mentions: St. Louis-based Schlafly, Vermont’s Otter Creek, Boston-based Harpoon’s is good, and Newport, RI-based Newport Storm autumn ale was nice… I’m sure there are many others worth mentioning, but I ran out of money.

There’s certainly a strong Reich influence in this music (The Mellits Consort, Paranoid Cheese, Black Box 2007), but Marc Mellits, a relatively young composer that is growing in popularity (understandably), seems influenced by a wealth of “post-minimalist” composers (to my ears Glass, Nyman, Andriessen to name a few — and even some composers in his own generation such as Michael Gordon and Joby Talbot), in addition to rock. He brings these elements and melds them into an intoxicating and clever mix of his own: generally hard-driving, catchy, smart, frenetic, frequently beautiful and damn catchy chamber music. I think this release is even better than the all-Mellits “Tight Sweater” recording put out by the Real Quiet ensemble last year. The tunes here are more varied and often head into unpredictable directions. I recommend this about as highly as I can recommend anything.
Have a listen. (Yes, yes, I posted this review in there too. A dork I am, yes.)

For the cinematically adventurous I highly highly recommend David Lynch’s latest film (actually shot in consumer-grade digital video) and newly released on DVD, Inland Empire.

The tag line for the movie is “A Woman in Trouble” but that tells you nothing, really. It could be anybody in trouble. The story, for as long as it holds together before it lets loose into many different threads and parallel universes (essentially), is an aging actress who wins a part in a film project that could possibly be cursed. There are various other complexities involved in the story — a jealous husband, a new lover, a killer, sequences in Poland, rabbits. These are the details that interweave and are explored in addition to many others. But, it doesn’t matter, I say.

It’s a nightmare. Lynch loves to explore dreams and nightmares. But beyond that I think he is exploring very powerful ideas about spirituality. There are some spiritual thought systems that view life as a sort of dream or nightmare that must be escaped or transcended. And that generally means you’ve got to shake yourself free of your thoughts and attachments and open yourself to something larger than yourself. Along those lines, the film delivers a long seemingly complex nightmare, but in the end the main character (Laura Dern) lashes out at the “bad guy” of the dream, only to realize that it’s actually herself. This again is a very common idea in different spiritual paths, that the universe you see is a projection of your own internal thoughts. You are the hero and the villain of your own dream. Realizing that is a way to transcend earthly experience. And the film hints that a way out can be found, if you open the right door. Hints: a scene involving a lighter, or a shot straight into a T.V. sitcom stage light.

Heady stuff right?

Yet, you can see many things in this film. This is not regular cinema. It’s well beyond that. I kinda doubt if Lynch himself completely understands exactly what he has made with this film, and how it actually operates — and that’s partly because he’s such an intuitive filmmaker. He goes with his gut, and never has he followed it so far. Roger Ebert said this of the film, and I think he really nailed it: “Inland Empire opens and contracts in your imagination while you watch it — and you’re still watching it well after it’s left the screen. It’s a long but thoroughly absorbing three hours.”

This is no ordinary film. I had it in my head regularly for 2 months after I saw it. It’s that powerful. Maybe it’s not for everyone (just check out the Netflix member reviews if you want to see some very angry responses to this film — though it should be noted that the film actually received a pretty positive critical response), but if you’re open to it the rewards can be big indeed.