enchantedspring
28 posts
Latest Posts by enchantedspring
Wendy Carlos
What a beautiful concept.
‘The grave of the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke in Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow is surmounted by a stone on which is engraved a rest beneath a fermata with a triple forte noted at the bottom: A very, very loud extended silence.’
- John Biguenet, Silence (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), p.49.
THIS IS IMPORTANT ‼️‼️‼️
“Der Adler” (1991) by Udo Kier from My Own Private Idaho
Udo Kier is a German actor with a prolific number of films under his belt, particularly those dealing with vampires. Although he gravitates towards horror films, he also appears in other genres.
My Own Private Idaho is a film by Gus Van Sant. Taking inspiration from Shakespeare, it stars River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.
“Chicken in Black” (1984) by Johnny Cash
This was basically a fuck you to his record company.
“Colour Green” (full album) (2006) by Sibylle Baier
When I want something peaceful to listen to, Baier is one of the first artists I generally turn to. She is originally from Germany, but currently resides in Massachusetts. These songs had quite a delay between the time they were recorded (1970-1973) and when they were actually released ten years ago.
Perhaps the simplistic beauty of the album comes from the fact that she wasn’t writing these songs to share with the world but rather just to fulfill her own desires. Modesty can breed grandeur. If it weren’t for her son Robby’s eagerness to share her music, the world may never have gotten a taste of this masterpiece. Robby gifted a copy to Dinosaur Jr’s J. Mascis, who in turn passed it onto the label Orange Twin.
You can purchase the album here.
Baier is currently working on her second album. At least she was in 2008… Listen to one of the new songs at her official site (scroll all the way down).
“Experience” (1996) by Bisk
Hailing from Japan, this electronic project’s brainchild is Naohiro Fujikawa. You can download his latest album Twisted for free.
“Adam Gauges the Apple” (2001) by Airplanes Are Better
This song comes off the El Paso band’s EP Power. Pretty sold album all the way through. I saw the now defunct band open for Sparta years back and was instantly hooked. I would have loved to see them release more material, but this is all they put out. Jim Ward, known for Sparta and At the Drive-In, produced the album. Check out Ask An Enemy Studios which is run by band member Jaycee Salinas.
Dog Faced Hermans (1986-1995) live at Le Cafe Shakes in Lincoln, NE (1994)
The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song
Comics and music? Yes please!
If you’re a fan of country act The Carter Family, I highly recommend this book. Hell, even if you’re not a fan, it’s a nice quick read with beautiful illustrations throughout. Written and illustrated by Frank M. Young and David Lasky, it chronicles The Carter Family’s lives and includes a CD with rare radio recordings. Young and Lasky have an accompanying blog called Carter Family Comics: Don’t Forget This Blog!.
If you’re not familiar with The Carter Family, and you’re a fan of country, you need to check them out! They consisted of Sara Carter (vocals, guitar, autoharp), Alvin Pleasant Carter (vocals), and Maybelle Carter (vocals, guitar, autoharp). Maybelle created her own unique style of guitar playing which has influenced many artists to come.
And if you’ve ever heard of a little old lady named June Carter (Johnny Cash’s wife), she just happend to be Maybelle Carter’s daughter.
“After Laughter (Comes Tears)” (1964) by Wendy René (c. 1962-1967; 2010)
René sang backup for Otis Redding (who came up with her stage name) and was scheduled to fly out with him and The Bar-Kays on December 10, 1967. She decided to back out at the last minute due to her new motherhood. This would prove to be a life saving decision as that was the flight that took Redding’s life. The sole survivor of the crash was trumpeter Ben Cauley. Bassist James Alexander lucked out as he was on a separate flight. René just recently passed away of a stroke on December 16th.
“After Laughter” was sampled on Wu-Tang Clan’s “Tearz”
“Eighties” (1985) by Killing Joke (1978-1996; 2002-present)
Nirvana definitely listened to these guys:
“Come As You Are” (1991) by Nirvana (1987-1994)
“Commes C'Était la Derniere Fois” by The Young Gods (1982-present)
Swiss industrial/post-punk band that influenced many greats such as David Bowie, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails. Their band name comes from The Swans album titled Young God.
“La Fille De La Mort” live at Islington Academy on 12/15/2013
Further Reading:
Interview in Sound on Sound (1995)
Interview on Premonition Magazine (2004)
Interview with Franz Treichler on Chaos Conrol Digizine (2007)
Interview with Franz Treichler on Uber Röck (2010)
Interview with Franz Treichler on Redbull Music Academy (2015)
“Wir bauen eine neus Stadt” (1981) by Palais Schaumberg (1980-1984)
This song is from their second album Palais Schaumberg, which was released in 1981. Palais Schaumburg was an early 80’s Neue Deutche Welle (German New Wave) band from Hamburg, Germany. The band was co-founded in 1980 by Holger Hiller and Thomas Fehlmann, who met each other at the HFBK.
Listen to more here.
Further Reading:
Art-Magazin interview of Hoger Hiller in German (2013)
Article in Electronic Beats
A Guide to Neue Deutche Welle
“Tainted Love” (1964) by Gloria Jones (1950’s-present)
You’ve probably heard Soft Cell or Depeche Mode’s version(s) of this hit song. Although it didn’t receive similar success, Gloria Jones sang and recorded the original version. Jones wrote and produced for well known acts such as The Supremes and Jackson 5. She also sang backup for T. Rex and became romantically involved with Marc Bolan until his death, an unfortunate result of her driving drunk.
Further Reading:
Interview on Goldmine Magazine (2010)
Marc Bolan School of Music & Film
“Wildflower” (2012) by Roman Ruins (2007-present)
This track comes off the album Homebuilding. The brains behind this act is Graham Hill, who also drums for Beach House.
NPR probably won't be streaming this album for much longer since it came out this week. Highly recommended listening.
“Dayvan Cowboy” (2005) by Boards Of Canada (1986-present)
Boards of Canada is a duo from Edinburgh, Scotland.
“Map Ref 43 Degrees North 110 Degrees W” (1979) by Wire (1976-1980; 1985-1992; 1999-present)
“Our Lips Are Sealed” (1983) by Fun Boy Three (1981-1983)
Formed after Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding left The Specials.
“If The Kids Are United” (1978) by Sham 69 (1975-1979; 1987-present)
“Beat and the Pulse” (2011) by Austra (2009-present)
Austra is a three piece from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Even if one can’t get into their sound itself, it should come as no surprise that vocalist Katie Stelmanis is a classically trained opera singer.
Further Reading:
Bio on Domino Records
“Summertime” (2009) by Dead Prez (1996-present) & DJ Green Lantern
“Songs for Swinging Larvae” (1981) by Renaldo and the Loaf (1975-1988; 2006-present)
Pretty uncategorizable and weird….this is a short film compromised of bits and pieces from the album of the same name.
Further Reading:
Renaldo and the Loaf Official Site
Article on The Weirdest Band in the World
I just discovered an interview series called Making Music. They have a set of videos with Alan Sparhawk from the band Low. The few interviews I've seen so far are very different than most. They get into the gritty details of the songwriters methods of creating songs, gear used, and much more.