‘Ya know where Greaser’s Palace ends? That solar burst. The zoot suit Jesus returns to light. Physical atomic end. Well that’s where Todd’s record begins. Side one is pure brain rocket. Rock and roll for the skull. Todd Rundgren’s season in hell.
‘Put the record on. Internal voyage is not burnt out. Thank the stars for that. Now you got your system of brain travel, Todd got the plane. You’re gonna zoom but beware. What he does is very tricky. Mildly sinister. But I give you the satisfaction that all pain on his ticket is well spent. It beings glowing enough. Like a sacred drug. “International Feel.” Very Baudelaire. Very godhead. And when he moves to “I Know I Know” you know. For one ecstatic moment you’ve gone beyond the point of pain into the realm of pure intellect.
‘I know, here is where I got caught. Not prepared for a transition like “Neverland.” Brutally nostalgic. I got that era under my belt. All about toyland. Once you leave no turning back. Well, why did Todd pull us back? The terror of beauty makes one momentarily bitter. First star to the right and straight on till morning. “Neverland” permanently poisons and sweetens. Gives a subconscious aftertaste. Tinges the whole record with Walt Disney. Also torments and slides you into journey a little weak above the belt. As side one progresses you age. There’s hair on your fingers.
‘Tic tic. Like the crocodile alarm that pleasantly ticked away Captain Hook’s lifeline, goodie good is wearing off. The move is maniac. Screeching monotone which eliminates mouth, limb and crotch but exalts in brain power. MIT science fiction. The next religion.
‘Even more ear-itating is “Rock’n’Roll Pussy.” Autobiographic as a brainiac. “I’m in the Clique” comes back as “Shove it up your ass, I’m the clique myself.” Sexual power is moving up the spine into the skull. It’s manic it’s magnificent.
‘Am I getting abstract? It doesn’t matter. Music is pure mathematics. And what is more abstract than trigonometry? Todd is further mystery than Greek. You can’t plot out his journey so easy. Marco Polo was a natural. Electric exploitation is never predictable.
‘But beauty is just that. The flamingos that wave you into “Zen Archer” leave you breathless. Happy death. And “Zen Archer” is full of wonder. Beautiful. I’m almost embarrassed to get so worked up over its brilliance. An elegy. Very German. Who did kill Cock Robin? An expression of his guilt? It makes one dizzy. Uncomfortable. He exhibits certain powers, certain confusions. Naked emotion is very frightening. It’s extended by Dave Sanborn’s saxophone. Elegant and moving as a high and spiraling tombstone.
‘His language is getting more sophisticated as is his humor and anger. Moving in a very valiant poetry.
‘The blessings of the turtles/ the eggs lay on the lawn.
‘Obscure images in “Da Da Dali.” Very painterly. Also very Rodgers and Hart. Oh Jesus where are we on this journey; All adolescence out the window. Fags, fag hags, weaklings, minor visionaries and paranoids caught in the cyclone. For the chosen ones there is one last splash in drug soup and up the yellow brick road to Utopia.
‘That’s how it hit me. Sound you can’t describe, only experience. Side one is double dose. It takes the bull by the brain. Another point to be examined. He’s always been eclectic. Why didn’t he care? The evidence is here. Something very magical is happening. The man is magi chef. His influences are homogenizings. Like a coat of many colors. May be someone else’s paintbox but the coat is all his. A Gershwin tone some Mr. Kite solid Motown early Rundgren. Several other colors. Telescoping sounds. All manipulated by a higher force. Production itself a form to be reckoned with. The conductor is often more blessed than the orchestra.
‘There are two sides to every record. Excluding Second Winter. So turn over. This is de soul side. White boys got it you know. Especially ones from Philadelphia. “Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Feel” is eighty per cent spade. It touches. I hope Motown grabs it and pumps it Top 40. “I Don’t Want to Tie You Down” touches too. “The balance of our minds together/ The perfect give and take.” Girl and boy move to man and woman.
‘Todd does a soul medley. The way he does “Ooo Baby Baby.” I know he’s no Smokey but I’m addicted to his throat. Cracks and all. I find Todd’s voice very sexy; it makes me feel teen-age. Less than perfect but a bit boozier than last shots. The way he does “Cool Jerk” is genius. Real cartoon. Goofy and Daffy Duck are there. Roller skates, Coney Island laughter, the mad bomber. Jesus, sometimes I think he’s crazy. Certainly not an earthling. The way he transforms mundane to miracle.
‘The motherfucker is “Is It My Name?” All the animal energy is in this one. A song that self-destructs. Dirty joke…flaming guitar…the cunt…the man to kick in your brains. It’s all there. I love it. Never has he seemed more like a son of a bitch. In fact that’s another move on this album. Not only is the quality of his intellect heightened but his emotions. This is the least predictable. The one closest to sainthood and hatchet murder.
‘Moving into “Just One Victory.” A Rundgren classic. Very much a single. Though I would die to hear “International Feel” on the radio. To cruise at suicidal speed down the great highway with “I.F.” at full blast.
‘Each album he vomits like a diary. Each page closer to the stars. Process is the point. A kaleidoscoping view. Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation.’ — Patti Smith, 1973
____________
In And Out The Chakras We Go (1974)
‘Maybe some listeners thought that the sonic trip A Wizard, A True Star was a necessary exercise and that Todd Rundgren would return to the sweet pop of Something/Anything? for its follow-up. Not a chance. Its follow-up was Todd, a double album filled with detours, side roads, collisions and the occasional pop tune. Conceptually, A Wizard, A True Star may be the wilder record, but Todd is a more difficult listen, thanks to the layers of guitar solos and blind synth tunes, such as “In and Out the Chakras We Go.” Large stretches of the album are purely instrumental, foreshadowing the years of synth experiments with Utopia that were just around the corner.’ — allmusic
_____________
All the Children Sing (1978)
‘Hermit of Mink Hollow is the first record Rundgren recorded completely alone since Something/ Anything? Where that record sounded like the inner workings of a madman, with each song providing no indication what the next would sound like, Hermit is more cohesive. It also feels less brilliant, even if it is, in many ways, nearly as excellent as Rundgren’s masterwork, mainly because it doesn’t have such a wide scope. Still, the reason The Hermit of Mink Hollow is such a milestone in Rundgren’s career is because it’s a small album, filled with details, and easily the most emotional record he made.’ — allmusic
_________
Is It My Name? (1973)
‘Todd Rundgren’s album A Wizard, A True Star, and especially the first side of the vinyl recording, is an extended medley after the fashion of the Beatles’ late recordings; brief songs segue into one another, and the lyrics are frequently humorous or hallucinatory. The first side features a cover version of “Never Never Land” from the Broadway version of Peter Pan; the second side features a medley of covers of R&B; hits. The album’s length (55:56) pushed the limits of how much music could fit on a long-playing record; as a result, the sound quality is a little lower in comparison. Acknowledging that on the album’s inner sleeve, which was packed with his handwritten notes, Rundgren advised listeners to turn up the volume on their speakers, being that each side of the record is about 6 or 7 minutes longer than standard records.’ — collaged
____________
It Takes Two To Tango (1972)
‘By the time Rundgren started recording the album Something/Anything, he had already achieved commercial success as a solo artist, and a producer, and this increased his self-confidence. He had also become dissatisfied with other musicians playing on his recordings, recalling, “I’d never played drums or bass before, though I would hector those that did.” This led him to decide to record the entire album by himself using multi-tracking. Rundgren wrote the material for the album at a prolific rate. He attributed his productivity to Ritalin and cannabis, stating that the drugs “caused me to crank out songs at an incredible pace. ‘I Saw the Light’ took me all of 20 minutes.” He found some of the other songs quick to write, too, noting “they were all basically starting out with C Major 7th, and I’d start moving my hand around in predictable patterns until a song came out.”‘ — collaged
____________
Don’t You Ever Learn? (1974)
‘Todd is the fifth album and second double album by Todd Rundgren, released in February 1974. It was an expansion of his experimentation on his previous album, A Wizard, a True Star. It showed his growing interest in the synthesizer, and its ability to expand the textures of rock music. Release of the album, originally conceived as (but too long for) a single disc, was delayed by a vinyl shortage caused by the 1973 oil crisis. This was further compounded by reluctance from the record label, Bearsville, to release a new album when his song “Hello It’s Me” from Something/Anything? remained strong on the singles charts.’ — collaged
_____________
I Went to the Mirror (1972)
‘Listening to Something/Anything? is a mind-altering trip in itself, no matter how many instantly memorable, shamelessly accessible pop songs are scattered throughout the album. Each side of the double album is a concept onto itself. The first side is “a bouquet of ear-catching melodies”; side two is “the cerebral side”; on side three “the kid gets heavy”; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded with a full band including the Sales brothers. It’s an amazing journey that’s remarkably unpretentious. He may have contributed self-penned liner notes, but Rundgren peppers his writing with self-aware, self-deprecating asides, and he also indulges his bizarre sense of humor with gross-outs (“Piss Aaron”) and sheer quirkiness, such as an aural tour of the studio at the beginning of side two. Something/Anything? has a ton of loose ends throughout: plenty of studio tricks, slight songs (but no filler), snippets of dialogue, and purposely botched beginnings, but all these throwaways simply add context — they’re what makes the album into a kaleidoscopic odyssey through the mind of an insanely gifted pop music obsessive.’ — allmusic
___________
Sidewalk Cafe (1974)
‘For all the evidence of Rundgren as a hitmaker, there’s just as much to show that he has a deserved place among the avant garde, the experimentalists, the weirdos. He was never satisfied with only being a singer/songwriter who produces hits, so while he was charting, he was also messing around in the studio on his own psychedelic albums, and making a name as an adventurous producer for others. Rundgren is the sort of studio wizard who made it a pers
onal challenge to cover Beatles and Beach Boys songs as faithfully as possible.’ — Pitchfork
_________
Too Far Gone (1978)
‘After the musical gymnastics of albums like A Wizard, A True Star and Todd pushing the boundaries of rock and roll, Rundgren settled into more comfortable terrain on Hermit of Mink Hollow, and fans and critics alike gave it a thumbs-up. “I wasn’t trying to create incredibly new styles,” Rundgren said of the LP, “I was trying to come up with simple, accessible but emotionally rich songs and bring it to a logical conclusion.” As mentioned, Rundgren plays all the instruments here and does all the vocal harmonies. He makes it sound effortless as it all blends together seamlessly and stands as one of the most perfect self-assembled recordings ever made. Ten years on from his recording debut with the Nazz, Rundgren was able to condense all he had learned up to that point and mold it into a near-perfect LP.’ — UCR
_____________
Song Of The Viking (1972)
‘By the start of the ‘70s, portable multi-track technology had enabled multi-talented types like Paul McCartney and Pete Townshend to create an entire album’s worth of material unassisted. Todd Rundgren, a budding producer (whose credits included the Band’s Stage Fright and Badfinger’s Straight Up) and virtual one-man band, was not to be outdone. Late in 1971, Rundgren set up shop inside I.D. Sound, a small Los Angeles studio, and began work on his first full-fledged solo effort. Manning the controls was James Lowe, an L.A.-based engineer and frontman for ‘60s roots-rockers the Electric Prunes. “I.D. was one of the first independents in Los Angeles,” recalls Lowe, “the kind of place where you could go and really get hands-on and no one would bother you. Plus, it had the full compliment of Sennheiser and Neumann mics, and really nice homemade effects as well.” Rundgren arrived at I.D. with a large parcel of ideas -“a bouquet of ear-grabbing melodies” as he’d later call them – few of them fully formed. “Todd didn’t have any demos, because as it turns out, the album was the demo – it all went down right there,” says Lowe. “In fact, a lot of times Todd only had a rough sketch of a song, and it would just develop through the recording. It’s a great way to work – things are happening spontaneously and that’s when the real magic can happen.”’ — BMI
_____________
Black and White (1976)
‘On his album Faithful, for the first time since Something/Anything?, Rundgren allows himself to write and — more importantly — record straight-ahead pop songs. Certainly, A Wizard, A True Star, Todd and Initiation had their share of great songs, but they weren’t delivered as pop songs; they were telegraphed as art. Here, Rundgren delivers pop and rock songs with ease, letting the melodies glide to the forefront. There are embellishments, of course, but the end result is a lushness that’s apparent even on the hard rockers.’ — allmusic
_________
Breathless (1972)
‘There are a small handful of people who consider Todd Rundgren to be God. Or Godd, if you prefer. There’s a good reason: 1972’s epic Something/Anything?, one of pop rock’s most enduring and perfect double albums. It’s a record (or records, plural) where Rundgren proves, for once and for all, that he was a visionary talent, and quite capably, too, by playing every instrument on three out of the four sides, all of which are pure music nirvana with hardly any filler anywhere in sight.’ — Drowned in Sound
_____________
Everybody’s Going To Heaven / King Kong Reggae (1974)
‘I can see why this album is often written off as a pretentious mess by certain close-minded critics. It is a pretentious self-indulgent mess, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t really good in a White Album kind of way. No, it’s not that good, but this album likewise has a dizzying array of styles, from futuristic electronica, trippy psychedelia, hard rocking glam, jokey show tunes, jazz fusion, and of course soulful, well-crafted pop, prog, and many more points in between. This album is extremely long and challenging and is therefore more for hardcore Rundgren fans than beginners, but Todd takes you on a real trip that’s worth persevering through if you’re a patient listener with adventurous tastes. The hard charging fusion chug of the two-part “Everybody’s Going To Heaven/King Kong Reggae” reaches a frenzied, metallic fervor, that is until its silly but fun reggaefied fadeout.’ — sfloman.com
_____________
When The Shit Hits The Fan (1973)
‘Something/Anything? proved that Todd Rundgren could write a pop classic as gracefully as any of his peers, but buried beneath the surface were signs that he would never be satisfied as merely a pop singer/songwriter. A close listen to the album reveals the eccentricities and restless spirit that surges to the forefront on its follow-up, A Wizard, a True Star. Anyone expecting the third record of Something/Anything?, filled with variations on “I Saw the Light” and “Hello It’s Me,” will be shocked by A Wizard. As much a mind-f*ck as an album, A Wizard, a True Star rarely breaks down to full-fledged songs, especially on the first side, where songs and melodies float in and out of a hazy post-psychedelic mist. It’s one of those rare rock albums that demands full attention and, depending on your own vantage, it may even reward such close listening.’ — allmusic
___________
I Think You Know (1974)
‘Rundgren’s fifth album, Todd, was released in 1974, and on the double album he continued to experiment with synthesizers and featured The Brecker Brothers (the horn playing jazz brothers from Cheltenham) on horns and “Moogy” Klingman who Todd went on to form Utopia with. A lot of Todd fans felt he was getting increasingly more musically self-indulgent with this record, but the album has more than it’s share of Rundgren classics including: “A Dream Goes On Forever,” “I Think You Know,” the slow burning “The Last Ride,” a metal-reggae jam in “Everybody’s Gone To Heaven/King Kong Reggae,” the brilliant guitar studded “No 1. Common Lowest Denominator,” the pleading “Useless Begging,” and the anthemic “Heavy Metal Kids
.”’ — The Key
_____________
You Need Your Head (1973)
‘A Wizard, a True Star, Todd Rundgren’s masterpiece (here on in referred to by its ‘head’ acronym, “AWATS”) was a tremendously ambitious statement and a lofty epistle to dippy as it was a never-ending gallery of truly amazing sounds and astonishing music. Todd sought to construct a cosmic calling card to the universe in full blown 16-track stereo with an album about as post-psychedelic, progressive and glam all at once like nothing else. No other album sounds like “AWATS.” It turns from segments trippier than anything from 1967, campier than Sparks and as electronically progressive as anything with a smooth soul medley tossed in to complete a grand universal interface as all of Todd’s subjectivities were cast upon a grand cosmic scheme of things where buoyancy, compassion and all the Rock in his head could not clash at all but only arranged themselves into perfect interlocking-ness that explored, divined and revealed all at once. (And that’s just the first song.)’ — Julian Cope
______________
It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference (1972)
‘Q: You were smoking marijuana for the recording of 1971’s Runt: the Ballad of Todd Rundgren, taking Ritalin and peyote buttons for 1972’s Something/Anything? and on mescaline for 1973’s A Wizard, A True Star. A: Well, I know I wasn’t high on Jesus. That was still within the window of my psychedelic era – the thing about psychedelic drugs is they don’t always wear off. At least in my case, they didn’t. Every once in a while I took a trip and never came back. I’d be like, “Whoops! Mismanaged my dosage.”‘ — Todd Rundgren
________
Real Man (1975)
‘Returning to solo recording almost immediately after forming Utopia, Todd Rundgren continued with the synth-heavy prog rock he pioneered with Todd Rundgren’s Utopia on Initiation. The differences immediately resonate with “Real Man,” a terrific song that encapsulates not only his newfound fondness for electronics, but also his burgeoning spirituality and his knack for pop craft. “Real Man” is so good, it’s tempting to believe that the remainder of Initiation will follow in the same direction, resulting in an inspired, truly progressive fusion of classic Rundgren and synthesizers. As soon as the second track, an a cappella vocoder opus called “Born to Synthesize,” it’s clear that Rundgren has no intention of following that path, choosing to push the limits of synth technology and recorded music instead of constructing an album.’ — Thomas Erlewine
_____________
International Feel (1973)
‘The umbrella title “The International (In 8)” comprises all of side one in a run-on sentence of messy epiphanies hung with electronic siding while an alarming amount of portals through the twisting realms of the psychotropically cleansed mind of Todd open, close and lead to others. Side one is abstract and nimble, beginning with the sputtering of a Moog-propelled lift off that sputters and fails quickly, nose diving safely into fizziness and then into the treacle-impeding trudge of super-phased piano/keyboard chords that sound exactly the way cheap C-90 cassettes did when their slack wasn’t universally distributed and taut throughout (and moments later, either snapping or spooling out into your portable player.) The drums slowly and stridently finish a roll in under 20 seconds flat to crack open the cosmic egg that is “The International Feel” where everything gently swirls, unfolds and blossoms all around his tremulous vocals, and we’re truly in “Never Never Land” with a repeat of the incantation, “I know…I know…I know…” as though signaling that the quest for knowledge has begun. Endless volley of fully-formed-though-short-as-hell-non-vignettes continually confound expectation as they whiz by fantastically at the speed of genius.’ — Julian Cope
*
p.s. Hey. ** H, Hi. Hope you like Brainard interview. Yes, I should look into digitizing the run of Little Caesar Magazine, but I don’t even have copies of all of them. Someone probably does. The Tibor de Nagy catalog sounds nice. Ha ha, I don’t know if only liking gay male writers is a malady. Many people seem to have it, if so. Not me, but I’m … something, I don’t know. “The ups”? I don’t know what that is. What’s the context? I mean, people will say something had its ‘ups and downs’ meaning it was both good and bad. Maybe ‘ups’ as shorthand for ‘uppers’, which is the term people used to use for speedy drugs? “Ups” as in the mail delivery service? I don’t know. Yes, definitely don’t kill that guy. ** David Ehrenstein, Lovely take on theme park rides. Indeed. Like sex, ha ha. Everyone, Mr. E has recommended that you read an article/essay on Virginia Woolf that begins with the sentence ‘How much sex did Virginia Woolf want?’ Intrigued? Go here. ** James, Hi. And I didn’t even need to get a degree, that’s cool. Uh, I’ll let my next possibly under known writer be a surprise. I like blog-enclosed surprises. Oh, October 1st isn’t a bad delay at all. Hardly even a delay. Good. Yes, I saw the email. It looks great! Thank you so much! ** Nick Toti, Hi, Nick! Welcome to here, and thank you a lot for coming in. Yes, it’s curious that yesterday’s post coincided with the day when you couldn’t scroll an inch anywhere on the internet without coming across a link to some article about Banksy’s theme park thing. I’m kind of the opposite about Banksy, or semi-opposite. I’ve never liked his stuff, and even though, via my no doubt askew take on him, the theme park project seems as dumb and obvious as everything else he does, I mean, I’m such a theme park … aficionado, addict, … diehard … that I would nonetheless zoom over to the UK to see that thing, if I could. Nice to meet you! Come back! ** Mark Gluth, Hi, Mark. Yeah, in the scene from which the teaser was taken, both characters, at one point, put on headphones separately in different rooms and start listening to two different tracks by Bee Mask, and then, when they converge, the two tracks mess together to become a fucked up soundtrack. Oh, yeah, I love the script. It’s super dark and weird, and, as I told Michael, I kept getting strong Kristof vibes from it, whether that was intentional or not. You guys are going to need someone really good to play the dad, especially given that really complicated, great monologue near the end, and I know you will. “I’m kinda thinking of the film as a black version of this machine, and my next book as a light filled one.”: Wow, that’s fantastically put and very intriguing and exciting! Boomerang love, Dennis. ** Krayton, Oh, gosh, thanks, buddy. I bet people in the mid-west say ‘buddy’ a lot. I don’t know why. That’s probably off. Cool ab
out the new story! ** Styrofoamcastle, Hey, C! Yeah, I got the emails. Life/work/film stuff cranked way, way up in the last few days, but I’ll write back very soon. I’ll definitely watch that Earl Sweatshirt video as soon as I sign out of this place. I quite like Earl Sweatshirt’s stuff. Thanks, man! Love, me. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi. Oh, my pleasure. It was really great to be able to publish that in Little Caesar back when. Man, if RS don’t grab it, or even if they ‘want’ to grab it, there are many, many other great places that I can only imagine will grab hold. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. No, either those parks had nothing new planned for 2016 or what they did have planned didn’t catch my fancy. Good day to you, B! ** Chilly Jay Chill, Thanks a bunch, Jeff. Yeah, there’s this traveling, pop-up museum project called Museum of Everything that’s gradually going around the world, and it was planted in Paris for about a year and a half, and one of their shows was Jim’s ‘The Hidden World’, so I saw it in the flesh. It’s probably better as a book. It did feel like a book scattered on the walls more than a proper art show. It’s cool. Jim’s work, whether made by him or collected by him, is pretty much always great. Wow, yes, I am a fan of early Lou Christie. I think I might have a done a post on him at some point or at least had selections by him in group posts. He’s very, very uneven, but he occasionally wrote and did these really weird, eccentric pop songs that make him kind of an oddball auteur. They’re scattered over his first four or so albums, and, unfortunately, there’s not a really good comp out there that concentrates on the weird, great stuff solely. Probably the ‘Lightnin’ Strikes’ album has the most number of curious tracks on it. I should do a gig concentrating on what I think are really good tracks by him a la the Rundgren thing I did today. Yeah, maybe I will, That’s a good idea. ** Douglas Payne, Hi, Douglas! Yeah, totally, about the new Dollywood coaster, right? Also that new advanced wooden one in the Swedish park. Ghost Rider rules! You bet! How are you? You good? What’s going on? ** Postitbreakup, Hi, Josh, Me too. I’ve wanted to go to Cedar Point since I was young and before it was even the great park it is now. Congrats to you on the sex! Whoo hoo! Yes, I still eat at least one microwaved cheese quesadilla every day if I am home. If I was going to do a drug right now? MDMA. ** Brendan. Ha ha, as I no doubt have told you more than many times already, I saw Black Sabbath play at the Whisky-A-Go-Go on their first US tour, so I got damn close to Mr. Iommi, but that’s the extent of his my personal relationship, I fear. Sorry about the Giants, but if that means the Dodgers might actually, ha ha, *swallow* go all the way, my sympathies are very slightly tempered. Reading right now? Wow, that’s tough, man. I read so much these days, and I can’t single stuff out so easily. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo … Lidia Yuknavitch’s ‘The Small Backs of Children’ maybe? ** Steevee, Hi. Oh, awesome about interviewing Maddin! I’m really excited for that film. It’s in L’Etrange Festival where Zac’s and my film is premiering. I’m as bad with computer/tech stuff as you are, but I’ll pass your query along. Everyone, writer, filmmaker, d.l., and more Steevee needs some computer advice. Can anyone say something that will help him out? Here he is with his query: ‘For some reason, the version of Chrome I’m using now is incompatible with YouTube. When I try watching videos on YouTube, I get a black circle running around the screen endlessly. Safari is somewhat better – I can actually watch videos – but still fucked-up; for instance, I can’t pause.I haven’t tried Firefox yet. Does anyone out there know what might be wrong and how I might be able to fix it?’ ** Misanthrope, More sleep is more good. Gooder. Can a D- be far away? Are you willing to work for it, young man? I think they’re called fluffers. ** Right. Back in the early 70s, I was a massive fan of Todd Rundgren. There’s a poem in my book ‘The Weaklings’ where I mention my giant collection of Todd Rundgren collectibles and rarities that people probably think is a joke, but it’s not. When punk came along, I kind of faded out on Rundgren, but I remain one of those select people who think what he did in early-to-mid 70s is really brilliant. So, I got in some mood where he came to mind for some reason and mattered within my mind for the duration of the recollection which inspired me to organize this sampler of tracks by him from that period that I think are great. And that’s the entire story. See you tomorrow.
Forty or something odd years, I knew of Todd – mostly through his productions (Sparks (Halfnelson & the Dolls) but never got into his solo work. I don't know why? I never liked his hit songs. I can understand why people like him, but he always left me cold. But I have always been curious about the Wizard album as well as "Todd." So I'm going to give it a full listen and locate the albums via youTube or Apple Music. I need to explore more what I didn't listen to in the past! Izu Oshima life is still good. I never been part of a club or a commune – and now, I feel I'm part of a commune. We sort of work on our own projects here – but share clean up duties, food duties, and stuff like that. I'm not really a community type of guy, so this is a new experience for me. Especially doing these type of things in Japan. On the other hand, I'm doing a lot of writing which is great. OK, I will focus on Todd! Thanks for the blog (as usual).
dennis, i too faded out on todd, but these albums are all very dear to my heart. i might have mentioned this a long time ago, but i always wanted to send antonio a copy of wizard/true star. i just never got around to it. i think he would have dug it big time.
Hi Dennis "the ups" was in the brainard interview, and it was an indicative, faux question that I read the interview. I like the interview; reading that period is always fun — collaboration at that time feels very unrealistic, which I like to read. (but then I doubt a similar thing would happen to me/my work for the rest of my life)
Incidentally, I did not know Brainard took that much drug, but it's sort of understandable (in the context of much work), but he did not seem to like it, so I am not sure how to respond to it. drug confessions from writers and artists always sound puzzling to me.
Good news; i am making a slow progress with Jarman post, but it's very slow because I read a lot in various kinds that i haven't tried before, and obviously a job hunt and escape from this human & food crowded apartment every evening has been interrupting my work. starting today, i try to stay indoors evenings, 'cause it's difficult to get a serious work done outside and also it's very expensive (for me at least) to sit down at café.
Dennis,
I only know Todd Rundgren because of his song 'Hello it's Me' … but then, I wasn't doing much in 1972 except exploring colors and ferreting out the intricacies of my front yard! I'll listen to some of the tunes you posted on DC's on the bus this morning..
Were / are you a fan of Gabriel-era Genesis or early peter gabriel (I,II,III,IV/Security)? …that would be 1977 to 1982 for the solo albums. Or is PG a bit too filigreed for your tastes?
PS. I'm glad you liked the cover. thank you!
Xoxo
James
I always found peter gabriel enthralling due to his predilection for masks.
I recall Todd Rundgren as being "dans le vent" in the 70's. But I was elsewhere. Disco and Mahler.
I really like the same period of Rundgren: the Runt albums, A WIZARD A TRUE STAR, SOMETHING/ANYTHING & TODD. After that he kind of fades out, although I'm sure there are good songs scattered all over. What do you think of his prog band, Utopia?
This comment has been removed by the author.
Well, everything you say about your film keeps whetting my appetite. just the way you seem to have used details to complicate stuff, wow. I can't wait to see what else you guys did. Thanks about the Kristof, nah, I dont think I thought of her once during the writing. The idea of the 2 brothers in a house came from Mr Salerno. It was one of his seeds for the project. But Maybe I've just internalized her stuff to such an extent that I can't help for it to come out? Anyway, it looks like a new publisher is putting out English translations of her stuff. They did The Notebook and her last book, The Illiterate. Yeah, we need a good father, someone who can use his face to convey a range of emotions and meanings, someone who can switch gears on a dime, or make it seem so at least. And of course someone with ace verbal acting chops. It's really interesting and exciting to have this thing we made, which I feel works on it's own, but which will really only be a seed for this new thing that comes from how the actors and Michael react to the script. Anyway, have a great weekend.
Dennis,
Thought I'd say that I sent in the revised version of the piece with yr sparkling and crackling epigrams and am currently awaiting for direction/input. It'd really be a coup to put your stuff up in an arena where people might not be totally familiar or only vaguely familiar–plus more GIFs in any unusual domain is *always* good I find. How is the ramping up for the film coming along? Delivering it wide & far, or setting it up to do that? I just managed to pull together a little blurb on Straight Outta Compton to the Paris Review which I thought was kinda funny–you can see it here: http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/08/21/staff-picks-robot-maids-airships-geocities/. They wouldn't let me get too nihilistic or abstract so it's relatively straight-forward, but hopefully a lil leap forward for reconciliing the rap and lit community in general. Anyway, i'll let you know info as it trickles down to me, and thanks again for being so cooperate, cool, and full or quotables for me. We'll find a home for it somewhere regardless.
x
C.
Did you like the Xylouris White album, released last year on Other Music's label imprint? I recently got an album by George Xylouris' other band, the 10-piece Xylouris Ensemble. This is much different, not close at all to the free improv tradition Xylouris White draw from or the American folk music and blues they sometimes evoke. It's also not at all rock music. It's an odd combo of Greek and Celtic folk music, with lutes playing alongside Irish flutes and female vocals in a language I can't identify. It's very atmospheric – if I was making a film with lots of long shots of green rural landscapes, I'd use some of their music – although there's sometimes a calculated "world music" quality that becomes irritating. (Xylouris White's album topped Billboard's world music chart, which I found amusing. They don't sound like Youssou N'Dour!)
Nice to expand my Rundgren knowledge. Meat Loaf when I was young was probably my first experience of his genius, Bat Out of Hell was a crazy obsession for me when I was between the ages of seven and ten or something like that.
Thanks about the novel/RS stuff. I think Michael might have possibly told you about my situation with them/it with regards to contracts and stuff? Not to into talking about it too publicly, but yeah, hopefully it'll be sorted soon. If Michael hasn't mentioned any of it, then ignore this paragraph! Ha.
I'm beat – odd day in my world today. Again, another thing I shouldn't talk about publicly. All cool in the end though, so … I'm very tired and am typing randomness so time to crash.
Hmm I knew nothing of TR before today, but after soaking up a few of these clips I can see his appeal. I'm into the more synth-heavy, spacier side like International Feel. He seems a unique character.
Dennis,
Sorry! They got back to me with a newer draft, so I am unfortunately in need of one further clarification, if that's alright.
In our last follow-up, you discussed the emotional confusion of the .gifs and the role of web confessionals in evidencing this confusion in a very particular way (which was great, by the way). You said that due to the fact that the web confessional .gifs have been edited by others, motivation of the original web confessor was difficult to discern. And, in this way, the fictional emotional displays are just as unknowable or uncertain as "real" emotional displays in the confessionals. Is the uncertainty of motivation in the web confessionals due only to the external editing by others into .gifs, or are you remarking also on the presumably staged element of some web confessionals, like pseudo-documentary confessionals that are later proved to be false or even just the framing/scripting/set-up of the "real" confession? That is, is the inability to tell a web confessional's emotional motivation complicated not only by the external editing into a .gif, but by the very artificial construction and scripted melodrama that many confessionals operate on? Just wanted to get your clarified thoughts so i could express them accurately.
Everything else was pretty much buttoned up!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hi Dennis, I will email you when I am ready to chat along with the post. There is a professional matter that I want to discuss with you confidentially. But not so soon as I know you are very busy. And I AM SIMPLY VERY TIRED. sorry to say this. But this happens at times.
d-
definitely rundgren's best stuff.
how's tricks?
stuff's ok on my end. got my iphone back today, so i need to load it with tunes and stuff. having fun with garage band on it. gonna record some stuff maybe. back at the doctor's on buprenorphine. getting clean. also getting promoted at work next month, so shit's pretty good.
LCTG is finally seeing the light of day/dark of theatre! awesome!
hope everything is beyond rad in DC world. talk soon. love.
-me.
Dennis, Yes, sir! I want that D- like Jared from Subway wants…
Man, I tell you, I'm a bit of a music illiterate. I shall listen to these while I'm bopping around the interwebs here. I know the name very well but absolutely none of the music. There's my F- again.
I tell you, I only sleep about 4 1/2 to 5 hours a night during the week, and then I end up sleeping 12+ hours Friday through Sunday and totally fucking my weekends. I need to stop that.
Oh, those fluffers ain't got nothing on me!