‘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

 

 

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

 

 

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Burning Pyre Erotics of Aesthetics
‘Taking his lead from Susan Sontag, Burning Pyre – real name Chris Owen – plays with the notion of what the ‘erotics’ of a work of art are, and how this translates to the act of music making, and consequently its interpretation and appreciation. Concerning the act of criticism, Sontag argued that “in place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art”, that criticism should involve the writer in a task of bringing to life the ‘sensual surface’ of the artwork. What then, constitutes these ‘erotics’ on Burning Pyre’s beautiful and minimal EP? The tracks ‘Long Light’, ‘Erotics Of Aesthetics’, and ‘Hope Dutifully Resides In The Darkest Of Times’ all engage with ominous, dark tones. Yet Owen does not let his work slip simply into the realms of the ponderous and the nihilistic. Instead, he frequently employs a touch of major chord here, a warm synth there, to offer a sense of hope which stems the tide of the dark electronic waves. The overall sound of these tracks is haunting and immersive, echoing the work of Mica Levi, whose score for Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin demonstrates comparable juxtapositions.’ — Christopher Sanders

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Laura Cannell Richard the Lionheart
‘The worlds of folk and Early Music are sometimes subject to accusations of head-in-the-sand escapism, figuring as havens for those unable to cope with the complexities of modern life and musical innovations. You’d be mistaken in levelling such accusations at Laura Cannell, however. Using self-developed techniques of the “deconstructed bow” and “double-barreled recorders”, Cannell combines a background in folk and medieval traditions with an improvisatory approach to create exploratory music that expands the no-man’s land between the archaic and the innovative, transcending temporality in instantaneous compositions.’ — The Quietus

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Heitor Alvelos The Other
‘Faith is the first full-length sound release by media researcher and curator Heitor Alvelos under his own name. Heitor Alvelos has provided photography and stage visuals for Biosphere, Fennesz, BJNilsen, Rafael Toral and Philip Jeck, as well as releasing sound pieces under the aliases Autodigest, Antifluffy and Before Surgery. All sources have been gathered, recorded and produced throughout five decades, all the way back to a recording by Francisco Alvelos in 1972 that closes the release. Elsewhere, sounds have been processed to various degrees, the bookends retaining their original contexts, others mutating into deep abstraction. Overall, they flow as one single composition, evocative and foreboding in equal measures.’ — Kudos Records

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Alessandro Cortini La Sveglia
‘Alessandro Cortini is best recognized for his work with Nine Inch Nails. He’s been touring all around the world with the band for many years now. Additionally, he is the frontman for the electronic-alternative band SONONIO. “La Sveglia” is a track best described as complex, but also makes complete sense. It begins with intense keyboard smears, but shifts gears and becomes a generally lighter sound. Cortini’s musical style can be difficult to describe at times considering he is frequently experimenting with different genres. However, his style as a whole is just extremely rare to find. Meaning, most artists are unable to travel down to the deepest depths of darkness and then transition into the light with such ease. Fortunately for Cortini, Risveglio serves as an example of how great he is at accomplishing this feat.’ — mxdwn.com

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Rat Columns Fooling Around
‘Blackest Ever Black presents Fooling Around, a new E.P. from David West’s Rat Columns. The title track is nothing short of a modern rock ’n roll classic: co-written by West and Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring et al) it appeared in truncated form on Rat Columns’ album Leaf (R.I.P. Society, 2014), but this is the first time that the original, longer, and definitive version has been given the vinyl pressing it so richly deserves. Its combination of void-chasing motorik, moody jangle, West’s plaintive vocal delivery and Young’s spaced-out synth embellishments makes for a song at once elegiac and relentless: think Splendour of Fear-era Felt or David Kilgour at his dreamiest, strapped to the engine of Neu!’s ‘Für Immer’, and you’re in the zone.’ — collaged

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EEK feat. Islam Chipsy Live at TUSK Festival
‘Not only does Islam Chipsy’s debut album offer a breathtaking ride through Egypt and its flourishing Shaabi scene, but its manic, unrelenting, and downright senseless energy stands as an exotic mirror of our own wanton societies. Opener “Trinity” is awash with this energy, conveyed in the form of apoplectic 8-bit keyboards and ever-rolling drums. Once the track hits its stride — after a mere 30 seconds — it never lets up. Chipsy’s casual virtuosity goads it on and on in a delirious frenzy of trills and double stops, while the stamina of EEK’s two drummers (Islam Ta’ta’ and Khaled Mando) prevents it from collapsing in exhaustion. Their four years spent playing live in and around Cairo is evident throughout the song’s epic 10 minutes, which see them move effortlessly from one frenetic riff to the next in an unblinking and seemingly unending series of transitions. Listening to their high-pitched athleticism, it becomes all-too easy to imagine the riotous exuberance of the weddings, gigs, and gatherings at which they’ve made their name in Egypt, as well as the vibrant if not volatile atmosphere they must bring to the cities in which they perform.’ — Tiny Mix Tapes

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Blood Quartet Dragon Tree (live)
‘It begins with an echoing trumpet tone, a handful of harmonics from a Fender Jazzmaster, a shimmer of cymbal, and a scrape of a bass string … Blood Quartet are here. It was their first gig proper and the launch of the debut album, Dark Energy, and Heliogàbal in Gràcia was packed out. On other days, Rueda, Bela and Coll are well-known Bcn noisesters, Murnau B, and New York ‘No Waver’ Cunningham has long been a resident experimentalist in Barcelona. This is, as far as I know, their first collaboration. What can I tell you? It works. Awesomely well. Slow tempos, heavy riffs, splashes of distorted noise, delicate without sacrificing intensity, it was swirlingly hypnotic and … loud.’ — A Jazz Noise

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HEALTH STONEFISH
‘Though they might bristle at the obvious comparison, it’s hard not to notice the Reznorian qualities of Death Magic. With Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor married the formlessness of industrial music to radio-friendly pop melodies. The 12 tracks on Death Magic do much the same, neatly splitting the difference between exquisitely detailed bombast (more than anything they’ve done before, it’s a record that demands a huge stereo system and/or an excellent set of headphones) and something more human. While they still don’t have to worry about somehow getting accidentally swept up in the mainstream—a fate unlikely for a band still making scary songs about drugs and releasing vomit-soaked visuals—with Death Magic HEALTH wisely manage to sidestep the errors of so many other ostensibly “heavy” bands, who often chase after extremity to the point of becoming humorless cartoons. After a while, even unremitting noise and relentless nihilism becomes rote and, frankly, kind of boring. Without the occasional beam of light, it’s hard to actually appreciate how dark—or how good—a band like HEALTH can actually be.’ — T. Cole Rachel

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Florian Kupfer Headpiece
‘Explora is one of Florian Kupfer’s most accomplished EP’s to date. Tantalisingly ominous, it’s a stark contrast to the excellent ‘This Society’ EP which was showered in hope and promise, while here he’s gone down to opposite route. This does not mean however that is a depressing record, if anything it’s a pulsating and mystifying piece of work that shows an artist on his creative peak. “Headpiece” is one of his most brutal songs, covered in filthy distortion and utter dread it pushes his sound to whole new dimensions. Thunderous and earth-shattering, it builds and builds into gargantuan size while constantly growing in strength and resolve. It’s a destructive track that rinses itself of many of the usual conventions in favour of a more experimental and brash sound.’ — Alkaline

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Mike Cooper Fratello Mare
‘Fratello Mare, a reference to Folco Quilici’s classic film of the same name, is the latest tropical opus from UK born, Italian based musician Mike Cooper. It’s Cooper’s continuing ode to the Pacific, its people and the traditions that have flowed from that part of the world into seemingly endless iterations within contemporary culture. Recorded across 2014, the album dovetails neatly with his other Room40 editions White Shadows In The South Seas and the post-everything classic Rayon Hula. It expands his combining of highly personal lap steel playing, with exotic music and percussion alongside field recordings made on islands across South East Asia and the Caribbean whilst on residencies and other travels.’ — Room40

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Spencer Radcliffe Green Things
‘Spencer Radcliffe has been putting out music for a while — first as Blithe Field, then under his own name — and you can chart his progression since 2008 in a satisfying arc. His early work takes the form of spacey electroacoustic experimentation, which snaps into sharper focus after changing his name and releasing Sinking Down, his first EP that feels like a complete thought. Over the past two years, the Chicago-via-Ohio songwriter has only been getting better as he finds the common ground between his freeform flights of fancy and more traditional song structure. Those two sensibilities congealed on last year’s Brown Horse — a split with the like-minded R.L. Kelly released through Orchid Tapes — and all of his development comes to a head on Looking In, his upcoming debut full-length, out via Run For Cover in the fall.’ — Stereogum

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F ingers Tantrum Time
‘Extraordinary new LP from a group comprising Carla dal Forno (Tarcar), Samuel Karmel and Tarquin Manek (Tarcar, LST). Deeply drugged, synth-daubed death-folk and DIY electronics of the highest order: acutely psychedelic, inscrutable but emotional, sunken but prone to soaring, with flashes of horror too. Beautifully conjures the mirth and murk of childhood summers…a relatable surburban gothic…grazed knees, hide-and-seek, nettle-stings. Trampled flowerbeds and failing light. Ghouls in your neighbour’s garden. Think Nico meets Dome or Alison Statton wandering The Pickle Factory after dark. If you dream you die, you
die.’ — Blackest Ever Black

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Tarcar Fireball
‘Tarcar is the Melbourne-based duo of Carla dal Forno (Mole House, Fingers Pty Ltd) and Tarquin Manek (LST, Bum Creek, Fingers Pty Ltd). A modern-day revenge tragedy in six parts. Symmetrical, finespun, almost courtly; but quick-tempered with it, and far from blood-shy. A picture emerges: domestic disturbances, pissing on the compost heap, noise complaints from hateful neighbours. Sulking, pouting, goading – a hierarchy of needs. Cold leaves and Christmas. Body-clocks betrayed. Staying up late to collect bottles to smash in the carpark across the road. Marijuana and make-believe. Cracking this thin ice with deft stomping aplomb.’ — collaged

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p.s. Hey. ** H, Hi! Oh, no, thank you! I’m very honored by what you wrote and by the many thoughtful responses to it. I’m very happy to have been able to host it, and, yeah, I’m just very grateful! A post on Jarman’s ‘The Garden’ would be great. I think there are plenty of people who read this blog who will not be very familiar with it So, if that ends up seeming like an interesting project, I would be very pleased to host it. Oh, no, your responses over the weekend were great! I mean, that’s the most interactive and community-like that the commenting section has been in a very long time, and I was very happy to see and get to read that. A big success! Love, me. ** David Ehrenstein, I don’t know if Christophe knows Techine. I’ll definitely ask him. I think Barthes would easily win a battle with me for Antoine Monnier’s heart or whatever else, for better or worse, ha ha. ** Tosh Berman, A very bon voyage today if I catch you before you head off to the airport. I saw the photo you posted on FB of that island, and, whoa, so beautiful and intriguing. It’s going to be amazing trip. Enjoy every living second. ** Steevee, Hi. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, if the film gets it wrong, and there doesn’t seem much doubt that it will (get it wrong to some degree or other), corrections will appear widely. And it’s obviously not an act of slander or a hate crime. It seems like the anti-boycott voices have risen and are knowledgeable in many cases, and that they are swamping the boycotting calls anyway. Interesting. Oops, hope you got some sleep in the end. ** Styrofoam, Hey! Hopefully we’ll finally get to talk tonight my time. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. Thank you so much for your careful reading and amazing thoughts/response. It was really great to be able to read that. Wow, thank you. A monkey forest? In the UK? Wowzer. Sounds fun. ** Hunter, Hi. I don’t know. I think social media’s influence has caused anger and venting to be some kind of addictive drug, and actually doing level-headed work to cause change seems to be far, far less appealing. It’s a very interesting phenom, but I find it depressing. Definitely at least visit NYC and spend a few days or a week or something there minimum. You’ll find out pretty quickly if it’s useful to you. I’m doing quite well, thank you. Sciences, interesting. Yeah, I mean, other than taking a few poetry writing classes in a couple of years at a city college and during one truncated year at university, I never studied writing seriously much less majored in writing, and it didn’t stop me from writing primarily or cause any negative effect on my writing as far as I can tell. As long as you really like to write, you will, and it’ll be fine, I’m sure. My busyness is due to getting ready for the premiere of a film I collaborated on, and writing a new film, and working on my writing and on my gif-writing, and stuff like that. Good busy. Thank you, man, and have an awesome day. ** Douglas Payne, Hi, Douglas. I’m very honored by the company I’ll get to keep in your Master’s thesis. That’s really amazing, thank you so much! No, I don’t know ‘The Imposter’, but it sounds like something imperative to see. Huh. I will start tracking it down today. Thank you very much for the tip. Yeah, that’s extremely intriguing. ** James, Hi. I’ll look for your email. I had a good weekend, and you? ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hi, Jeff. Glad you liked the Menken Day. Oh, hm, no stand out favorites of Menken’s, I don’t think. I’m just sort of generally taken with what she does pretty much every time. No, for reason utterly mysterious, the festival still hasn’t made their official announcement, now five days late, and my tongue is forcibly tied until that happens. It has to happen any minute, I think. Thickening the text: that’s very interesting, and I think I understand what you mean. Actually thickening as opposed to adorning? ** Sypha, Hi. Political correctness comes from the right and noble place, but I think it’s a generalization that people find attractive because it allows for intellectual laziness. People don’t even want to think about nuances and ambiguities. They don’t want to take the time and mental energy to study the source of each instance of political incorrectness and value or judge it individually. Now that the Republicans have turned into extremists, I wonder what actual conservatism, in the classic sense of that word, is. And I think political correctness is a new form of conservatism that people think is acceptable because it’s generally practiced by self-identifying liberals. I find the faddish, knee-jerk employment of pc as a defense and offense very depressing. ** Postitbreakup, Hi, Josh. Wow, what happened in Amsterdam was so not an ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ kind of thing, ha ha. I could have handled that. Anyway, what happened is to complex and personal for me to talk about. Well, I think I only realized those three guys were huge influences after I had written a lot and started to think about where my work came from. So your not being able to identify big influences at this point is normal, and, actually, probably very healthy. Writing like Stephen King is cool. I’m personally not into his writing, but I know quite a few serious writers who admire his writing. I admire people who can write quickly. I wish I could. I’m just not a natural writer in that sense. My voice is very raw and a mess, and I have to work it extremely and intricately to get it right, but that’s just me. I think most writers whom I admire are able to write their amazing things much more easily and swiftly than I write my things. I think, yeah, you really, really need to understand that you are really, really, completely alone and safe when you write and that no one can see you write or cares what you write and how. I think that’s very important to being able to write only what gives you pleasure. That’s all it’s about, I think. Anyway, that was fascinating, what you wrote, and I’m very pleased that you shared it with me/us. ** Misanthrope, Are you now upgraded? Wait, happy birthday! Everyone, it’s the one and only Misanthrope’s 44th birthday today! Give a private or public shout of joy and well wishing on his behalf, won’t you? ** Kyler, Hi. I haven’t seen the new Woody Allen, but I always end up watching his films in some context or other, so I definitely will. I don’t like Joaquin Phoenix’s acting, no, but I don’t not see films because he’s in them, and I think I’ll get his thing/appeal one of these days. ** Okay. There’s another gig of music that I’m liking and listening to right now. I hope you’ll find something or things in there for yourselves. See you tomorrow.