Matthew Sumera's Music Studies Research

The Soundtrack to War

2011-04-02T23:59:00.002-05:00

Here's a word cloud of my chapter for the book Virtual War and Magical Death: Technologies and Imaginaries for Terror and Killing, co-edited by Neil Whitehead and Sverker Finnstrom. Just sent it off!

MRE 2011

2011-01-30T07:00:00.010-06:00

Taliban Bodies

Operation Phantom Fury

TF 22 Phantom Fury Fallujah

Generation Kill episode

Citizen Soldier: 3 Doors Down
Accelerate Your Life: Godsmack, "Awake"
Accelerate Your Life: Godsmack example 2
Marines commercial: "Leap"

Metallica: The Day That Never Comes

Martyr Machine

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Trailer

4th25 Trailer

Videos for 2009 AAA meeting

2009-12-02T14:49:00.002-06:00

Chapters finished

2009-11-25T10:25:00.003-06:00

I've sent in final revisions to my chapter, "Free Jazz. Punk Rock." It will appear in the forthcoming volume Nyuu jazu sutadizu [The New Jazz Studies], to be published in Japan. Fellow ethnomusicologist Dave Novak also has a chapter in the volume. Thanks to Dave for solid and challenging critiques and to Scott Carter, as always, for being my primary sounding board.

I've also completed my first draft of an article, "Music, Aesthetics, and the Technologies of Online War," for an upcoming Critical Interventions volume through Berghahn Books. Still some work to do, but it's nice to have the first draft out. I'll present a version of this paper at the American Anthropological Association conference next week, December 6. Looking forward to it.

My music

2009-09-30T21:00:00.005-05:00

I have a few different home recording projects linked online.

Giant Panda

Jack Krebs, guitar, bass, percussion, vocals, production
Jerry Fess, cello, percussion
Matt Sumera, drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals

Incinarator

Scott Hreha, bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards, production
Matt Sumera, drums, marimba, percussion, vocals, keyboards, production, samples

Aremus
Mostly solo stuff I've done over the years.

Book Chapter

2009-09-12T10:28:00.003-05:00

I've been asked to contribute a book chapter to Berghahn Books' "Critical Interventions" series. The issue will be devoted to "Magic and the global war." Working title for my chapter: "Mapping the Auditory Logic of War on Screen."

Music and Violence: A Working Bibliography

2009-08-31T21:08:00.019-05:00

The following bibliography reflects my own specific interests in the study of music and violence, particularly the relationships between music, war, and representation. To that end, it includes a fair amount of general literature (especially anthropological in nature) that I have found useful in thinking through these connections. It is almost exclusively a bibliography of scholarship written in English and does not include a number of excellent dissertations published in the last few years that are well worth exploring. If you have suggestions for addition, please contact me at sumera [at] wisc.edu.

Anderson, Paul. 2006. "The World Heard: Casablanca and the Music of War." Critical Inquiry 32(3): 482-515.

Araujo, Samuel, et. al. 2006. "Conflict and Violence as Theoretical Tools in Present-Day Ethnomusicology: Notes on a Dialogic Ethnography of Sound Practices in Rio de Janeiro." Ethnomusicology 50(2):287-313.

Araujo, Samuel and Grupo Musicultura. 2010. "Sound Praxis: Music, Politics, and Violence in Brazil." In John Morgan O'Connell and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco (eds.), Music and Conflict, Urbana: University of Illinois Press; p. 217-231.

Avorgbedor, Daniel. 1994. "Freedom to sing, License to Insult: The Influence of Hal Performance on Social Violence among the Anlo-Ewe," Oral Tradition 9/1: 83-112.

________. 2001. "Competition and Conflict as a Framework for Understanding Performance Culture among the Urban Anlo-Ewe." Ethnomusicology 45:260-282.

Baer, Ulrich. 2002. Spectral Evidence: The Photography of Trauma. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Baker, Catherine. 2009. "War Memory and Musical Tradition: Commemorating Croatia's Homeland War through Popular Music and Rap in Eastern Slavonia." Journal of Contemporary European Studies 17(1):35-45.

________. 2010. Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War, and Nationalism in Croatia since 1991. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Bannister, Roland. 1996. "Soldier-Musicians in an Australian Army Band: Understanding the Lived Experience of Gender." The Yearbook for Traditional Music 28:131-146.

________. 2002. "How are We to Write our Music History? Perspectives on the Historiography of Military Music." Musicology Australia 25:1-21.

Beckett, Wheeler. 1943. Music in War Plants. Washington D.C.: War Production Board, U.S.A.

Boonzajer Flaes, Robert M. 2000. Brass Unbound: Secret Children of the Colonial Brass Band. Amsterdam: Royal Tropical Institute.

Ceribasic, Naila. 2000. "Defining Women and Men in the Context of War: Images in Croatian Popular Music in the 1990s." In Pirkko Moisala and Beverly Diamond, eds. Music and Gender. Urbana and Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cloonan, Martin and Bruce Johnson. 2002. "Killing Me Soflty with His Song: An Initial Investigation into the Use of Popular Music as a Tool of Oppression." Popular Music 21(1):27-39.

________. 2008. Dark Side of the Tune: Popular Music and Violence. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.

Cook, Susan C. 1994. " 'Cursed Was She': Gender and Power in American Balladry." In Susan C. Cook and Judy S. Tsou. eds. Cecilia Reclaimed: Feminist Perspectives on Gender and Music. Urbana: University of Illinois.

Cusick, Suzanne G. 2006. "Music as Torture/Music as Weapon." Revista Transcultural de Música/Transcultural Music Review. 10:1-18.

________. 2008. “ ‘You Are in a Place That is Out of the World . . .’: Music in the Detention Camps of the ‘Global War on Terror.’ ” Journal of the Society of American Music 2(1):1-26.

Das, Veena and Arthur Klienman. 2000. “Introduction” to Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, Mamphela Ramphele, and Pamela Reynolds, eds. Violence and Subjectivity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1-18.

________. 2001. “Introduction” to Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, Margaret Lock, Mamphela Ramphele, and Pamela Reynolds, eds. Remaking a World: Violence, Social Suffering, and Recovery. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1-30.

Deaville, James. 2007. “The Sounds of American and Canadian Television News after 9/11: Entoning Horror and Grief, Fear and Anger.” In Jonathon Ritter and J. Martin Daughtry, eds. Music in the Post-9/11 World. London and New York: Routledge, 43-70.

Denisoff, R. Serge and William D. Romanowski. 1989. “The Pentagon’s Top Guns: Movies and Music.” The Journal of American Culture 12:67-78.

Elder, J.D. 1964. “Color, Music, and Conflict: A Study of Aggression in Trinidad with Reference to the Role of Traditional Music.” Ethnomusicology 8(2):128-136.

Farmer, Henry George. 1950. Military Music. New York: Chanticleer Press.

Feldman, Allen. 2000. “Violence and Vision: The Prosthetics and Aesthetics of Terror.” In Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, Mamphela Ramphele, and Pamela Reynolds, eds. Violence and Subjectivity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 46-78.

George, Kenneth M. 1996. Showing Signs of Violence: The Cultural Politics of a Twentieth-Century Headhunting Ritual. Berkeley: University of California Press. Chapters 4, 6, 7.

________. 2004. “Violence, Culture, and the Indonesian Public Sphere: Reworking the Geertzian Legacy.” In Neil Whitehead, ed. Violence. Sante Fe, NM: School of American Research Press: 25-54.

Gilbert, Shirli. 2005. Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Gilman, Lisa. 2010. "An American Soldier’s iPod: Layers of Identity and Situated Listening in Iraq." Music and Politics 4(2). Available online.

Gussow, Adam. 2002. Seems Like Murder Here: Southern Violence and the Blues Tradition. Chacago: The University of Chicago Press.

Hill, Errol. 1989. “Calypso and War.” Black American Literature Forum 23(1):61-88.

Hinton, Alex. 2004. “The Poetics of Genocidal Practice: Violence under the Khmer Rouge.” In Neil Whitehead, ed. Violence. Sante Fe, NM; Oxford: School of American Research Press: 157-184.

Hutson, C. Kirk. 1996. " 'Whackety Whack, Don’t Talk Back': The Glorification of Violence Against Females and the Subjugation of Women in Nineteenth-Century Southern Folk Music." Journal of Women’s History 8:114-42.

James, David. 1989. “The Vietnam War and American Music.” Social Text 23:122-143.

Jenkins, Jennifer. 2001. “ ‘Say it with Firecrackers’: Defining the ‘War Musical’ of the 1940s.” American Music 19(3):315-339.

Jones, John Bush. 2006. The Songs that Fought the War. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press.

Kartomi, Margaret. 2010. "Toward a Methodology of War and Peace Studies in Ethnomusicology: The Case of Aceh, 1976–2009." Ethnomusicology 54(3):452-483.

Kateb, George. 2000. "Aestheticism and Morality: Their Cooperation and Hostility." Political Theory 28(1):5-37.

Kelly, Bruce and Mark Sneel, eds. 2004. Bugle Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era. Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press.

Kleinman, Arthur, Veena Das, and Margaret Lock. 1997. “Introduction” to Arthur Kleinman, Veena Das, and Margaret Lock, eds. Social Suffering. Berkeley: University of California Press, ix-xxvii.

Kleinman, Arthur and Joan Kleinman. 1997. “The Appeal of Experience; The Dismay of Images: Cultural Appropriations of Suffering in Our Times.” in Arthur Kleinman, Veena Das, and Margaret Lock, eds. Social Suffering. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1-24.

Lewis, Jeff. 2005. Language Wars: The Role of Media and Culture in Global Terror and Political Violence. London: Pluto Press.

Longinovic, Tomislav. 2000. “Music Wars: Blood and Song at the End of Yugoslavia.” In Ronald Radano and Philip V. Bohlman, eds. Music and The Racial Imagination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 622-643.

Magrini, Tullia. 2000. "Manhood and Music in Western Crete: Contemplating Death." Ethnomusicology 44(3):429-459.

Massad, Joseph. 2003. “Liberating Songs: Palestine Put to Music.” Journal of Palestine Studies 32:21-38.

McDonald, David. 2009. "Poetics and the Performance of Violence in Israel/Palestine." Ethnomusicology 53:1(58-85).

McDowell, John Holmes. Poetry and Violence: The Ballad Tradition of Mexico's Costa Chica. Urbana and Chicago: Unviersty of Illinois Press.

________. 2007. “Corridos of 9/11: Mexican Ballads as Commemorative Practice.” In Jonathon Ritter and J. Martin Daughtry, eds. Music in the Post-9/11 World. London and New York: Routledge, 225-254.

McNeill, William H. 1995. Keeping Together in Time: Dance and Drill in Human History. Cambridg, MA: Harvard University Press.

Meintjes, Louise. 2004. “Shoot the Sergeant, Shatter the Mountain: The Production of Masculinity in Zulu Ngoma Song and Dance in post-Apartheid South Africa.” Ethnomusicological Forum 13(2):173-201.

Miller, Terry and Sean Williams. 1999. "Culture, Politics, and War." In Bruno Nettl, Ruth M Stone, James Porter, Timothy Rice, eds. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 4: Southeast Asia. London and New York: Routledgs, 87-94.

Moynihan, Michael and Didrik Soderlind. 1998. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. Los Angeles: Feral House.

Nordstrom, Carolyn and JoAnn Martin. 1992. “The Culture of Conflict: Field Reality and Theory.” In Carolyn Nordstrom and JoAnn Martin, eds. The Paths to Domination, Resistance, and Terror. Berkeley: The University of California Press, 3-17.

Ochoa, Ana María, ed. 2006. "Dossier: Música silencios y silenciamientos: música violencia y experiencia cotidiana/Dossier: Music, silences, silencings: music, violence and quotidian experience." Revista Transcultural de Música/Transcultural Music Review. 10 (December). Available online.

O'Connell, John Morgan and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco, eds. 2010. Music and Conflict. University of Illinois Press.

Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. 2002. “The Field of Meaning, Images, and Aesthetics.” In her Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: The Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 27-60.

Pettan, Svanibor. ed. 1998. Music, Politics, and War: Views from Croatia. Zagreb, Croatia: Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research.

Pieslak, Jonathon. 2007. “Sound Targets: Music and the War in Iraq.” Journal of Musicological Research 26:123-149.

________. 2009. Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Radford, Katy. 2001. “Drum Rolls and Gender Roles in Protestant Marching Bands in Belfast.” British Journal of Ethnomusicology 10(2):37-59.

Pilzer, Joshua. 2003. "Sŏdosori (Northwestern Korean Lyric Song) on the Demilitarized Zone: A Study in Music and Teleological Judgment" Ethnomusicology: 68-92.

Riches, David, ed. 1986. The Anthropology of Violence. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Ritter, Jonathon. 2002. “Siren Songs: Ritual and Revolution in the Peruvian Andes.” British Journal of Ethnomusicology 11:9-42.

________. 2007. “Terror in an Andean Key: Peasant Cosmopolitans Interpret 9/11.” In Jonathon Ritter and J. Martin Daughtry, eds. Music in the Post-9/11 World. London and New York: Routledge, 177-208.

Ritter, Jonathon and J. Martin Daughtry, eds. 2007. Music in the Post-9/11 World. London and New York: Routledge.

Robben, Antonius C. G. M. and Carolyn Nordstrom. 1995. “The Anthropology and Ethnography of Violence and Sociopolitical Conflict.” In Antonious C. G. M. Robben and Carolyn Nordstrom, eds. Fieldwork Under Fire: Contemporary Studies of Violence and Survival. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1-25.

Russolo, Luigi. 1986. The Art of Noises. New York: Pendragon Press.

Scheper-Hughes, Nancy and Philippe Bourgois. 2004. Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology. Blackwell Readers in Anthropology.

Smith, Kathleen E.R. 2003. God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. Leington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press.

Stewart, Pamela and Andrew Strathern. 2002. Violence: Theory and Ethnography. London: Continuum. Chapters 1-3.

Stokes, Martin. 1994. “Introduction: Ethnicity, Identity and Music.” In Martin Stokes, ed. Ethnicity, Identity and Music: the Musical Construction of Place, ed. Martin Stokes. Oxford: Berg, 1-28.

Strathern, Andrew and Pamela Stewart. 2006. “Introduction: Terror, the Imagination, and Cosmology.” In Andrew Strathern, Pamela Stewart, and Neil Whitehead, eds. Terror & Violence. London: Pluto Press, 1-39.

Suarez-Orozco, Marcelo and Antonius C. G. M. Robben. 2000. “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Violence and Trauma.” In Antonius C. G. M. Robben and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, eds. Culture under Siege: Collective Violence and Trauma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1-43.

Sweeny, Regina. 2001. Singing our Way to Victory: French Cultural Politics and Music During the Great War. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.

Taussig, Michale. 1987. Colonialism, Shamanism, and the Wild Man: A Study of Terror and Healing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tompkins, Dave. 2010. How to Wreck a Nice Beach. Melville Publishing House.

Urbain, Oliver, ed. 2008. Music and Conflict Transformation: Harmonies and Dissonances in Geopolitics. I. B. Tauris.

Van Alphen, Ernst. 1999. "Symptoms of Discursivity: Experience, Memory, and Trauma." In Mieke Bal, Jonathan Crewe, and Leo Spitzer, eds. Acts of Memory: Cultural Recall in the Present. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. 24-38.

van Ordern, Kate. 2005. Music, Discipline, and Arms in Early Modern France. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Virilio, Paul. 1989. War and Cinema: The Logistics of Perception. London and New York: Verso.

Whitehead, Neil. 2004. “Introduction: Cultures, Conflicts, and the Poetics of Violent Practice.” In Neil Whitehead, ed. Violence. Sante Fe, NM; Oxford: School of American Research Press. 3-24.

________. 2004. “On the Poetics of Violence.” In Neil Whitehead, ed. Violence. Sante Fe, NM; Oxford: School of American Research Press: 55-79.

________. 2006. “Afterward: The Taste of Death.” In Andrew Strathern, Pamela Stewart, and Neil Whitehead, eds. Terror & Violence. London: Pluto Press, 231-238.

Yudice, George. 2003. The Expediency of Culture: Uses of Culture in the Global Era. Durham and London: Duke University Press.

My courses: descriptions, discographies, etc.

2009-07-24T09:33:00.012-05:00

Music, Aesthetics, and War after 9/11

Fall 2010. Undergraduate/graduate seminar offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Course description (220K pdf)
Syllabus (64 K doc)

History of Punk Rock: 1967-1984

This was a three-day mini course offered through UW-Madison's student union.

Course description (44K pdf)
Discography (116K pdf)

Jazz Sounds: Bop and Beyond

This was a five week mini course offered through UW-Madison's student union. Although I can't find the course description at the moment, I've uploaded the discography, which provides a general listening guide to all periods of jazz although it is heavily geared towards later developments.

Discography (88K pdf)

The sound of Iranian Protest?

2009-06-15T11:52:00.003-05:00

According to MSNBC, Iranian protest sounds a lot like The Who, "Baba O'riley." Music starts at 6:35.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Recent Updates

2009-03-16T21:42:00.004-05:00

I successfully completed my Ph.D. preliminary exams in December 2008. Glad to have those out of the way.

In May 2008 I completed my M.A. in ethnomusciology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My thesis, titled "Hearing War, Seeing Music: Violence, Aesthetics, and Technology in Online War Music Videos," was based on a yearlong, ethnographically-informed research project on war music videos, their creators and audiences. I plan to expand on this current research for my Ph.D. dissertation.

My article, "Free Jazz/Punk Rock," will be available in the forthcoming collection titled Nyuu jazu sutadizu [The New Jazz Studies] (Tokyo: Kirara shobou), co-edited by Micahel Molasky and Toshifumi Miyawaki. My essay addresses the intersections of the two seemingly disparate genres beginning in the late 1960s.

My current project interests include online military/war music videos; audiovision and violence; avant-garde jazz and the proto-punk movement; sound studies and ethnomuiscological theory; genres of free improvisation and Noise; post-bop jazz drumming; gender and violence in American balladry; and jazz, civil rights, and the black power movements.

Music Reviews

2009-03-16T21:28:00.003-05:00

The following are published reviews.

All About Jazz:

David S. Ware Quartet — Renunciation
Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Paul Lytton — Zafiro
Drumheller — Wives

One Final Note:

Muhal Richard Abrams — "The Visibility of Thought"
Braxton / Szabados / Tarasov — "Tritone"
Anthony Braxton — "Solo (Milano) 1979, Vol. 2"
John Butcher & Gino Robair — "New Oakland Burr"
Jerome Cooper — "In Concert: From There To Hear"
Whit Dickey Quartet — "Coalescence"
Dominic Duval / Joe McPhee — "Rules Of Engagement, Vol. 2"
The Exciting Trio — "In Chicago There Is Willy"
James Finn — "Opening the Gates"
James Finn Trio — "Faith in A Seed"
Fonda / McPhee / White / Karetnick — "Heat Suite"
Masashi Harada Condanction Ensemble — "Enterprising Mass Of Cilia"
Elvin Jones — "The Truth: Heard Live At The Blue Note + Someday My Prince Will Come"
Koch-Schütz-Studer — "Life Tied"
Natasza Kurek Group — "Incantation"
Joëlle Léandre / Mark Nauseef — "Evident"
Léandre / Maneri / Marguet / Ryan — "For Flowers"
Lukas Ligeti — "Mystery System"
Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre & The Light meet Adam Lane — "Paths to Glory"
Roscoe Mitchell — "Solo 3"
Jemeel Moondoc — "Live At The Glenn Miller Café, Vol. 1 + Live At The Vision Festival"
Simon Nabatov Trio — "Autumn Music"
Kevin Norton — "Ocean Of Earth + Intuitive Structures"
Parker / Schlippenbach / Lytton — "America 2003"
Pauline Oliveros & Reynols — "The Minexcio Connection : Live! At The Rosendale Café"
Evelyn Petrova — "Year's Cycle"
Phillips / Léandre / Parker / Saitoh — "After You Gone"
Plunge — "Plunge"
Sawai / Doneda / Imai / Lê Quan / Saitoh — "Une chance pour l'ombre"
Sirone Bang Ensemble — "Configuration"
Soft Machine — "Live in Paris: May 2, 1972"
Sun Ra Arkestra — "Music For The 21st Century"
Cecil Taylor — "Algonquin"
Cecil Taylor — "Almeda + All The Notes"
Tigersmilk — "From the Bottle"
Assif Tsahar / Tatsuya Nakatani — "Come Sunday"
Bertram & Nancy Turetzky — "Music For Flute(s) And Contrabass, I"
Matt Wilson's Arts and Crafts — "Wake Up! (To What's Happening)"

Trouser Press:

Sonny Sharrock

Publications

2009-03-16T21:20:00.015-05:00

The following publications are organized chronologically.

Academic Publications

"The Soundtrack to War." Forthcoming. In Virtual War and Magical Death: Technologies and Imaginaries for Terror and Killing, ed. Neil Whitehead and Sverker Finnstrom. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Review of Jonathan Pieslak's Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War. Forthcoming. Asian Music.
"Madison." Forthcoming. The Grove Dictionary of American Music, Second Edition. Oxford University Press.
"Music, Aesthetics, and the Technologies of Online War." Forthcoming. In War, Technology, Anthropology, ed. Koen Stroeken. Oxford: Berghahn Books.
"Black Rage, White Noise: The Jazz/Punk Connection." 2010. New Horizons in Jazz Research, ed. Michael Molasky. Tokyo: Artes.
"Hearing War, Seeing Music: Violence, Aesthetics, and Technology in Online War Music Videos." 2008. M.A. Thesis. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Music Journalism

What's that sound? — Feature story about the University of Minnesota's annual Spark festival. (Winter 2009)
Wadada Leo Smith: The OFN Interview [part 2] — Second part of hour-long interview with Smith.
Dropping Acid And Speaking Esperanto, Man!: The Return Of ESP-Disk — Review of the legendary label's not so triumphant return.
Wadada Leo Smith : The OFN Interview [part 1] — Part one of an hour-long interview with trumpeter, improviser, composer Smith.
Penguin Guide to Jazz, Seventh Edition — Book review of the now standard jazz guide.
Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost — Box set review, co-written with Scott Hreha of One Final Note.
Harris Eisenstadt: The Next Wave — Profile of drummer, improviser, composer Eisenstadt.
11th Annual Guelph Jazz Festival & Colloquium — Review of 2004 season.
The Completist Syndrome, Part 2 : Bootlegs — An off the cuff look into the nature of unofficial recordings.
The Completist Syndrome, Part 1: Official Recordings — A turn towards the fetishism of music collecting.
Red Toucan : Then And Now — Red Toucan Records label retrospective.
The Roaring Silence: In Memory of Elvin Jones — Threnody for the late Elvin Jones.
Greetings: Poetry Journal — Essay review of poetry/music journal.
Mixing it up at Northrop — Feature story about the 10th anniversary of the Northrop Jazz Season. (Winter 2004)
The Healing Power of Music — Reflections on the power of Jazz as embodied by the music of Elvin Jones. Originally published in Modern Drummer magazine.

Conference Papers and Invited Talks

2009-03-16T21:14:00.013-05:00

"Music and Representation at the Violent Edge of Empire." Music, Race, Empire Research Circle. University of Wisconsin-Madison.(January 31, 2011). Madison, WI.
"Ethnomusicology and Human Rights." Invited panel respondent to "Cross-Disciplinary Conversations I. Sustained Engagement: Anthropology, Community Collaboration and Human Rights." Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting. (November 11-14, 2010). Los Angeles, CA.
"Music, Aesthetics, and the Technologies of Online War." American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting. (December 2-6, 2009). Philadelphia, PA.
"Music, Aesthetics, and the Technologies of Online War." Midwest Chapter, Society for Ethnomusicology. (May 15–16, 2009). Minneapolis, MN. [Winner of JaFran Jones Award for best student paper].
"Pitfalls in the Study of Music and Violence." Roundtable Participant. Society for Ethnomusicology. (October 25-28, 2008). Middletown, CT.
"Banal Militarism and Online Musical Culture." Society for Ethnomusicology. (October 25-28, 2007). Columbus, OH.
"Toward an Ethnomusicology of Violence." National Graduate Conference for Ethnomusicology: New Directions in Music. (July 7-9, 2006). Cambridge, U.K.
"Teenage Kicks: The Meanings of John Peel." Merging Methodologies 3. Of Global Concern: Communications and Media Research. (February 11, 2006). Madison, WI.
"Max Roach's Politics of Sound." Improvising America: KU Interdisciplinary Jazz Studies Colloquium. (March 3, 2005). Lawrence, KS.
"Lone Voices: Solo Improvisation and Vocality". 2004 Guelph Jazz Colloquium. (September 8, 2004). Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Favorite Recordings

2009-03-15T21:52:00.041-05:00

Below is a listing of recordings with special resonance for me. Conceived as nothing more than a bit of fun, this list nonetheless is an attempt at mapping one person's musical tastes and appreciations. To that end, it might prove interesting to some, ridiculous to others. Regardless, here are the recordings I find myself returning to, again and again. [last updated August 1, 2010]

Band/Artist, Recording

Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Bestial Machinery
Air, Air Time
Rashied Ali and Frank Lowe, Duo Exchange
Hossein Alizadeh, Hejrani
Turgun Alimatov, Ouzbekistan
AMM, AMMmusic 1966
AMM, Nameless Uncarved Block
AMM, Newfoundland
Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, The First Day
Anaal Nathrakh, The Codex Necro
Louis Armstrong, Complete Hot 5s and Hot 7s
Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics, Inspiration Information, Vol. 3
Albert Ayler, Spiritual Unity
Albert Ayler, Witches and Devils
Albert Ayler, Live in Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse Recordings
Bad Brains, Bad Brains
Bad Brains, I Against I
Bahauddin Qutbuddin Qawwal & Party, Flight of the Soul: Qawwali Music from Pakistan
Derek Bailey, Arcana
The Band, Music from Big Pink
Count Basie, The Complete Decca Recordings
The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
The Beatles, Abbey Road
Behemoth, Demigod
Robert Belfour, What's Wrong With You
Big Maceo, Big Maceo, Volume 1: "Flying Boogie" (1941-1945)
Big Star, #1 Record/Radio City
Bonnie "Prince" Billy, I See a Darkness
Björk, Vespertine
Black Flag, The First Four Years
Black Flag, Damaged
Blind Blake, The Best of Blind Blake
Ran Blake, The Short Life of Barbara Monk
Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
Art Blakey, Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk
Paul Bley, Closer
Paul Bley/Evan Parker/Barre Phillips, Time Will Tell
Bo Diddley, The Definitive Collection
Olivia Block, Change Ringing
Bolt Thrower, Realm of Chaos
Boris, Pink
Pierre Boulez, ...Explosante-Fixe...
David Bowie, Hunky Dory
David Bowie, Heroes
David Bowie, Low
Anthony Braxton, For Alto
Anthony Braxton, Eugene (1989)
David Thomas Broughton, The Complete Guide to Insufficiency
Peter Brotzmann, Machine Gun
Big Bill Broonzy, The Young Bill Broonzy (1928-1935)
Clifford Brown, Complete Blue Note and Pacific Jazz Recordings
Earle Brown, Earle Brown
James Brown, Star Time
James Brown, In the Jungle Groove
James Brown, Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang
Burial, Untrue
The Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady
Can, Tago Mago
Can, Monster Movie
Can, Future Days
Captain Beefheart, Trout Mask Replica
Carcass, Symphonies of Sickness
Carcass, Heartwork
Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Johnny Cash, American Recordings
Johnny Cash, The Sun Years
Johnny Cash, At San Quentin
Johnny Cash, My Mother's Hymn Book
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
Don Cherry, Complete Blue Note Recordings
Don Cherry, Mu (Parts One and Two)
The Clash, London Calling
The Claudia Quintet, For
Patsy Cline, 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection
Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
Leonard Cohen, The Best of Leonard Cohen
Ornette Coleman, Beauty is a Rare Thing (Complete Atlantic Recordings)
Willie Colon/Ruben Blades, Siembra
John Coltrane, My Favorite Things
John Coltrane, Africa/Brass
John Coltrane, Complete 1961 Live at the Village Vanguard
John Coltrane, A Love Supreme
John Coltrane, Ascension
John Coltrane, Meditations
John Coltrane, Interstellar Space
The Congos, Heart of the Congos
Sam Cooke, Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964
Chick Corea, Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Chick Corea, Return to Forever
Elvis Costello, Armed Forces
Elvis Costello, Imperial Bedroom
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Chronicle
Marilyn Crispell, Santuerio
Marilyn Crispell, Nothing ever was, anyway: Music of Annette Peacock
Sonny Criss, Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool)
Culture Musical Club, Taarab 1: The Music Of Zanzibar
The Cure, Staring at the Sea: The Singles
Andrew Cyrille, Metamusicians' Stomp
Daft Punk, Discovery
D'Angelo, Voodoo
Darkthrone, Transilvanian Hunger
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
Miles Davis, Complete Live at the Plugged Nickle
Miles Davis, Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970) - It's About That Time
Miles Davis, Bitches Brew
Miles Davis, In a Silent Way
Miles Davis, Live-Evil
Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Death, Human
Claude Debussy, Preludes, I & II (Performed by Walter Gieseking)
Dillinger Escape Plan, Calculating Infinity
Dillinger Escape Plan, Ire Works
Dinosaur Jr., You're Living All Over Me
Dirty Projectors, Rise Above
Discharge, Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing
DNA, DNA on DNA
Dr. Dre, The Chronic
Eric Dolphy, At the Five Spot, Vol. 1
Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch
Champion Jack Dupree, Blues From the Gutter
Nick Drake, Bryter Layter
Nick Drake, Pink Moon
Bob Dylan, Bringing it All Back Home
Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde
Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
Bob Dylan and the Band, The Basement Tapes
Bob Dylan, Modern Times
Snooks Eaglin, New Orleans Street Singer
Einstürzende Neubauten, Strategies Against Architecture '80-'83
Hamza El Din, Escalay (The Water Wheel)
Electric Wizard, Dopethrone
Duke Ellington, Never no Lament: Complete Blanton-Webster Band
Duke Ellington, The Far East Suite
Missy Elliott, Supa Dupa Fly
Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP
Emperor, In the Nightside Eclipse
Brian Eno, Hear Come the Warm Jets
Brian Eno, Before and After Science
Brian Eno, Another Green World
Eureka Brass Band, New Orleans Funeral & Parade
Bill Evans, Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
The Faces, A Nod is as Good as a Wink... To a Blind Horse
Art Farmer, Blame it on My Youth
Faust, Faust IV
The Feelies, Crazy Rhythms
fIREHOSE, Ragin' Full-On
Four Tet, Rounds
Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Fugazi, 13 Songs
The Ganelin Trio, Ancora Da Capo
Gang of Four, Entertainment!
Djivan Gasparyan, I Will Not Be Sad in this World
Marvin Gaye, What's Going On?
Charles Gayle, Translations
Charles Gayle, Touchin' on Trane
The Germs, M.I.A.: The Complete Anthology
Ghostface Killer, Supreme Clientele
Jimmy Giuffre, Free Fall
Godflesh, Streetcleaner
Godflesh, Pure
Blind Roosevelt Graves, Complete Recorded Works (1929-1936)
Guided By Voices, Bee Thousand
Merle Haggard, Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard
Herbie Hancock, Madien Voyage
Masashi Harada, Enterprising Mass of Cilia
Billy Hart, Enchance
Harvey Milk, Courtesy And Good Will Toward Men
P.J. Harvey, Dry
Fletcher Henderson, A Study in Frustration
Henry Cow, Unrest
Andrew Hill, Point of Departure
Roscoe Holcomb, The High Lonesome Sound
Dave Holland, Conference of the Birds
Bobby Hutcherson, Head On
Hüsker Dü, Zen Arcade
Immortal, Pure Holocaust
The Jam, All Mod Cons
Skip James, Complete Early Recordings
Keith Jarrett, The Survivors' Suite
J Dilla, Donuts
Waylon Jennings, Honky Tonk Heroes
Blind Lemon Jefferson, King of the Country Blues
Blind Lemon Jefferson, Classic Recordings of the 1920's
Jesu, Jesu
The Jesus & Mary Chain, Psychocandy
The Jesus Lizard, Liar
Blind Willie Johnson, Sweeter as the Years Go By
Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division, Closer
Joy Division, Substance
Salif Keita, Moffou
Junior Kimbrough, Most Things Haven't Worked Out
King Crimson, Red
King Crimson, Discipline
The Kinks, Face to Face
The Kinks, Something Else by the Kinks
The Kinks, The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society
Lee Konitz, Motion
Latin Playboys, Latin Playboys
La Vendetta, Amanece En El Infierno
Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti
Led Zepplin, Houses of the Holy
John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band
George Lewis, Homage to Charles Parker
Dave Liebman/Evan Parker/Tony Bianco, Relevance
György Ligeti, The Ligeti Project
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Lurker of Chalice, Lurker of Chalice
Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose
Lynyrd Skynyrd, (Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)
Madvillain, Madvillainy
Bob Marley, Songs of Freedom
Mastodon, Crack the Skye
Curtis Mayfield, Superfly
Blind Willie McTell, Pig 'n Whistle Red
Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets II
Melvins, Ozma/Gluey Porch Treatments
Metallica, Master of Puppets
Metallica . . . And Justice for All
Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman, Song X
M.I.A., Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1
M.I.A., Kala
Charles Mingus, Ah Um
Charles Mingus, Mingus at Antibes
Charles Mingus, Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
Minor Threat, Complete Discography
Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime
Minutemen, Post-Mersh Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3
Misfits, Collection
Mission of Burma, Signals, Calls, and Marches
Mission of Burma, The Obliterati
Roscoe Mitchell, Sound
Roscoe Mitchell, Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2, 3
Moby, Everything is Wrong
Moby, Play
Modern Jazz Quartet, Dedicated to Connie
The Modern Lovers, The Modern Lovers
Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk, Complete Blue Note Recordings
Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane, At Carnegie Hall
Van Morrison, Astral Weeks
Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton, Vols. 1-5
Paul Motian, Monk in Motian
Paul Motian, Trioism
Muddy Waters, The Complete Plantation Recordings
Mudhoney, Superfuzz Bigmuff
Mujician, There's No Going Back Now
Mujician, Colours Fulfilled
Sunny Murray, Sonny's Time Now
My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
My Morning Jacket, It Still Moves
Nachtmystium, Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1
Napalm Death, Scum
Napalm Death, From Enslavement to Obliteration
Napalm Death, Fear, Emptiness, Despair
Nas, Illmatic
Willie Nelson, Red Headed Stranger
Neu!, Neu!
Neurosis, Times of Grace
New Order, Substance
Joanna Newsome, Ys
The New York Art Quartet, Old Stuff
Nile, In Their Darkened Shrines
Nomeansno, Wrong
Luigi Nono, Il Canto Sospeso
Kevin Norton/Joelle Leandre/Tomas Ulrich, Ocean of Earth
N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton
Sinéad O'Connor, The Lion and the Cobra
Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Operation Ivy, Energy
Opeth, Blackwater Park
Outkast, Stankonia
Outkast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Tony Oxley Quintet, The Baptised Traveler
Agustus Pablo, King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown
Pan Sonic, Kesto (234.48:4)
Evan Parker/Alexander von Schlippenbach/Paul Lytton, America 2003
William Parker, Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy
Gram Parsons, Grievous Angel
Charley Patton, The Complete Recorded Works
Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted
Art Pepper, Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section
Pere Ubu, Terminal Tower
Pere Ubu, The Modern Dance
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Arkology
Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville
Astor Piazzolla, Tango: Zero Hour
Pig Destroyer, Prowler in the Yard
Pig Destroyer, Terrifyer
Richard Pinhas/Merzbow, Keio Line!
Pink Floyd, Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Pink Floyd, Relics
Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
Popol Vuh, Aguirre
Bud Powell, The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1
Prince, Purple Rain
Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet
Don Pullen, New Beginnings
Radian, Juxtaposition
Eliane Radigue, Eliane Radigue
Radio Birdman, The Essential Radio Birdman (1974-1978)
Raein, Il N'y A Pass De Orchestre
The Raincoats, The Raincoats
The Ramones, Ramones
Otis Redding, Otis Blue
Lou Reed, New York
R.E.M., Document
R.E.M., Automatic For The People
Marc Ribot, Shrek
Sam Rivers/Adam Rudolph/Harris Eisenstadt, Vista
Max Roach, We Insist! Freedom Now Suite
Max Roach, Percussion Bitter Sweet
Jimmie Rodgers, Essential Jimmie Rodgers
John Stevens, Chemistry
Rolling Stones, Beggars Banquet
Rolling Stones, Let it Bleed
Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers
Rolling Stones, Exile in Mainstreet
Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus
Sonny Rollins, A Night at the Village Vanguard
Roni Size/Reprazent, New Forms
The Roots, Game Theory
Rova::Orkestrova, Electric Ascension: An Interpretation of John Coltrane's Ascension
Rudimentary Peni, Cacophony
Run-DMC, Raising Hell
George Russell, Ezz-thetics
The Saints, (I'm) Stranded
Kazue Sawai/Michel Doneda/Kazuo Imai/Le Quan Ninh/Tetsu Saitoh, Une Chance Pour L'ombre
Janek Schaefer, Le Petit Theatre De Mercelis
Alexander von Schlippenbach, The Living Music
Alexander von Schlippenbach, Monk's Casino
Sebadoh, III
Sepultura, Roots
Sex Pistol, Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
Sonny Sharrock, Ask the Ages
Siege, Drop Dead
Sigur Rós, Ágætis Byrjun
Slayer, Reign in Blood
Slayer, Season in the Abyss
Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
The Slits, Cut
The Smiths, The Queen is Dead
Wadada Leo Smith, Tabligh
Wadada Leo Smith, Spiritual Dimensions
Social Distortion, Mommy's Little Monster
Son House, The Original Delta Blues
Sonic Youth, Sister
Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
Spontaneous Music Ensemble, New Distance
The Specials, The Specials
Phil Spector, Back to Mono (1958-1969)
Dusty Springfield, Dusty In Memphis
Spring Heel Jack, Amassed
Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A.
Tomasz Stanko, Leosia
Stars of the Lid, The Tired Sounds of the Stars of the Lid
Rod Stewart, Every Picture Tells a Story
Stiff Little Fingers, Inflammable Material
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kontakte für elektronische, Klänge und Schlagzeug
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Aus den sieben Tagen
The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
The Stooges, Raw Power
The Stooges, Funhouse
Subhumans, The Day the Country Died
Sunn O))), Black One
Sun Ra, Jazz in Silhouette
Sun Ra, Heliocentric Worlds Vol. I
Sun Ra, The Magic City
Swans, Cop
Swans, Children of God/World of Skin
Craig Taborn, Junk Magic
Talk Talk, Laughing Stock
Talking Heads, Remain in Light
Talking Heads, Fear of Music
Art Tatum, The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces
Art Tatum, The Complete Pablo Group Masterpieces, Vol. 8
Cecil Taylor, Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come
Cecil Taylor, In Floresence
Cecil Taylor, Dark to Themselves
Cecil Taylor, Leaf Palm Hand
Cecil Taylor, Remembrance
Cecil Taylor, Celebrated Blazons (The Feel Trio)
Television, Marquee Moon
Richard and Linda Thompson, Pour Down Like Silver
Richard and Linda Thompson, Shoot out the Lights
Justin Timberlake, FutureSex / LoveSounds
TLC, Crazysexycool
Veljo Tormis, Litany to Thunder
T-Rex, Electric Warrior
Tricky, Maxinquaye
TV On The Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain
James "Blood" Ulmer, Tales of Captain Black
James "Blood" Ulmer, Are You Glad to Be in America?
James "Blood" Ulmer, Odyssey
U2, War
Unwound, Fake Train
Urinals, Negative Capability... Check it Out
Various Artists, Anthology of Indian Classical Music: A Tribute to Alain Daniélou
Various Artists, Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974
Various Artists, Bali: Music From the Morning of the World
Various Artists, Benin: Bariba And Somba Music
Various Artists: Big Brazos--Deep River of Song
Various Artists, Bulgarie: Pirin (Anthologie De La Musique Bulgare Vol. 4)
Various Artists, Chess Blues
Various Artists, Country Southern Blues
Various Artists, El Mero Merengue - Lo Mejor del Perico Ripiao
Various Artists, Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
Various Artists, Hsaing Waing of Mayanmar
Various Artists, Improvised Music From Japan
Various Artists, Jazzactuel
Various Artists, Music of the Baganda People
Various Artists, New York Noise: Dance Music From The New York Underground 1978-1982
Various Artists, Sumatra: Batak Music
Various Artists, The Soul of Mbira: Traditions of the Shona People
Various Artists, Songs of the South
Various Artists, Soul Hits of the '70s: Didn’t it Blow Your Mind, Vol. 2
The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground
Edward Vesala, Lumi
Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
Voidvod, Nothingface
Tom Waits, Rain Dogs
Sippie Wallace, Women Be Wise
Anton Webern, Complete Works, Opp. 1-31 (Conducted by Boulez)
Ben Webster and Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson
Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
Kanye West, The College Dropout
The White Stripes, White Blood Cells
Sonny Boy Williamson, Bluebird Blues -- When the Sun Goes Down Series
Tony Williams, Emergency!
Tony Williams, (Turn it Over)
Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Wire, Pink Flag
Wire, Chairs Missing
Jimmy Witherspoon, The 'Spoon Concerts
Wolves in the Throne Room, Two Hunters
Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, In the Jungle, Babe
Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Iannis Xenakis, Electronic Music
Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
Larry Young, Unity
Neil Young, Tonight's The Night
Neil Young, Decade
Neil Young, On the Beach
John Zorn, The Big Gundown

American Anthropological Association Conference Panel

2009-03-09T09:34:00.004-05:00

I'm honored to have been asked to participate in a panel at the AAA meeting in December 2009. The panel, "Virtual War and Magical Death: Technologies and Imaginaries for Killing and Terror" is co-organized by Neil Whitehead, Sverker Finnstrom, and Koen Stroeken. Participants, presentation schedule, and paper titles include:

Robertson Allen, "Virtual Citizen-Soldiers: U.S. Army Video Game Designers go to Basic Combat Training"
Matthew Sumera, "Music, Aesthetics, and the Technologies of Online War"
R. Brian Ferguson, "Anthropology as We Know It--A Casualty of War?"
Sverker Finnstrom, "Humanitarian death? The Lord's Resistance Army (Uganda) and international interventions as magical terror"
Roberto Gonzales, " 'Forecasting' Insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan"
Jeff Sluka, "Cyber-War in the Tribal Zone: Airstrikes, Drones, and Civilian Casualties in the ‘War on Terrorism’ in Afghanistan and Pakistan"
Antonius Robben, "Chaos and the Techno-Imaginary of Combat"
Victoria Stanford, "Propaganda, Gangs and Social Cleansing in Guatemala"
Koen Stroeken, "Why kill for magic?"
Neil Whitehead, "Torture-Scape: HTS as Human Terror System - Deploying Ethnography and Torture"

Top 21-40

2009-02-02T21:05:00.001-06:00

Thought I'd continue this little exercise. Again, no "best of" or compilation albums, effectively cutting out almost all of the non-Western "traditional" discs I love and listen to frequently. Also cutting out many pre-1960s albums: no Blanton-Webster band, no Hot 5s or 7s, and no Sun or Chess Records sets. Rather, this is a list of my favorite albums, recordings conceived of as such, and thereby a more limited list of my subjective listening responses.

40. D'Angelo, Voodoo
39. Sinead O'Connor, The Lion and the Cobra
38. Johnny Cash, At San Quentin
37. Sun Ra, The Magic City
36. Nick Drake, Pink Moon
35. Brian Eno, Here Come the Warm Jets
34. Godflesh, Streetcleaner
33. The Stooges, Raw Power
32. Pink Floyd, Piper at the Gates of Dawn
31. Rod Stewart, Every Picture Tells a Story
30. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
29. Joy Divison, Closer
28. Tricky, Maxinquaye
27. Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come
26. Can, Future Days
25. Cecil Taylor, Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come
24. Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted
23. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
22. Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet
21. Albert Ayler, Spiritual Unity

Eno and Byrne

2008-08-18T10:13:00.001-05:00

I've always been a sucker for this particular collaboration--the Eno-produced Talking Heads being my absolute favorite albums be that particular band. So, it's exciting that there's a new album from the two, mellowed by age, but still beautiful. Stream for free below.

Top 20

2008-08-01T15:38:00.001-05:00

Here's my list, in response to Judy's post, following the same critieria except for the inclusion of one collection, Debussy's Preludes as performed by Walter Gieseking. I took a different tact, though, and thought about the albums with which I have the strongest emotional connection--not necessarily those I listen to the most, or, in some cases, even those I consider to be the best by certain artists--Coltrane's Meditations is a case in point. Nevertheless, as these lists are subjective anyway--and as the notion of a "best" CD, book, movie, whatever is wrought with all kinds of problems--I figured I'd bypass any attempt at objective analysis. No such thing, of course. So, what I've compiled is a list of albums that, for whatever reason, hit me hard and have done so, for the most part, for a very long time. These are the albums that I cannot imagine being without. Albums that have come to define a certain sonic circuitry to my life. As such, they all have some sort of complicated story attached, to be sure, stories that I may get around to telling at some point . . . or maybe not. Simply to say, explaining my admiration for these albums would require far more than addressing the sounds that they contain.

Stylistically, I'm not sure what keeps them all together. There's a certain shambolic tendency running throughout. Perhaps. I guess I tend to find myself drawn towards things that have only a tenuous hold. Technical proficiency, at least, is usually of little appeal. Surely many come from a certain time period, too, reflecting my coming of age in the 1980s. Were I younger or older, no doubt, the list would reflect such contingencies. There's also the sense that I'm impressionable, and certain critical writings about some of these pieces, at least, have altered my perceptions--that's certainly the case with Astral Weeks, and Lester Bangs's extraordonary essay about the album has forever defined if for me.

Anyway, I'm going on too long already. Here she is, in all her ragged glory:

20. Charles Mingus, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
19. Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You
18. Richard and Linda Thompson, Shoot Out the Lights
17. John Coltrane, Meditations
16. Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
15. The Kinks, Something Else by the Kinks
14. The Band, Music from Big Pink
13. Peter Brotzmann, Machine Gun
12. Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
11. Claude Debussy, Preludes 1 and 2 (Performed by Walter Gieseking)
10. Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch
9. The Minutemen, The Punch Line
8. Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand

7. The Congos, Heart of the Congos
6. Miles Davis, In a Silent Way
5. Pere Ubu, The Modern Dance
4. Slayer, Reign in Blood
3. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground and Nico
2. Marvin Gaye, What's Going On?
1. Van Morrison, Astral Weeks

Otomo Yoshihide

2008-06-26T23:43:00.001-05:00

Why can't I place the song he plays on guitar? I sang along while he was playing, but just can't place it. Sharrock? Help!!!!

English Rose

2008-06-24T23:49:00.000-05:00

OK, so I'm a bit of an Anglophile, nothing new to anyone who knows me. But damn if this isn't one of the greatest love songs ever.

Appears that I've found some use for this blog after all.

Wadada Leo Smith

2008-06-24T23:36:00.000-05:00

Smith with the wonderful second incarnation of his Golden Quartet. I can't think of too many better groups on the scene today. Check out my two part interview with Wadada, who gave generously of his time.

http://www.onefinalnote.com/features/2005/wadada/
http://www.onefinalnote.com/features/2005/wadada/index2.asp

Neurosis

2008-06-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

Still one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Their recorded legacy doesn't come anywhere near matching what they manage to pull off live. Here's proof. The most intense YouTube performance I've yet seen.

Brute force

2008-06-24T22:45:00.000-05:00

Sometimes only the perfect song, perfectly performed, will do. I swear, when Peter Murphy enters, I just about shit myself.

Play list: 11.07.06

2006-11-07T21:12:00.001-06:00

And so a whole month passes. He's what's been on as of late:

Bach, Goldberg Variations performed by Gould
Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
John Coltrane, First Meditations
The Smiths, The Queen is Dead

Play list: 10.03.06 (The Return of Miles)

2006-10-03T21:16:00.001-05:00

Ok, so Miles is back with a vengeance. I've spent the last few days listening to "Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X" from On The Corner, Miles's notorious funk album. While the album remains one of my least favorite from the electric period, "Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X" is an underrated gem. The over-dubbed drum parts alone are worth checking out.

Miles Davis, On The Corner
Miles Davis, Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel
Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Play list: 09.24.06

2006-09-24T11:34:00.001-05:00

Looking over these entries, it occurred to me I haven't listened to too much jazz as of late. I have no idea why, as over the past few years, I've listened to more jazz than any other genre. Perhaps I reached some sort of burn out. Anyway, here's what's been on over the past week:

Einsturzende Neubauten, Strategies Against Architecture
Bob Dylan, Modern Times
Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
David Bowie, Low

Play list: 09.18.06

2006-09-18T21:58:00.001-05:00

It's been a few weeks, but here's what's been on rotation as of late.

Bob Dylan, Modern Times
Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Melvins, Ozma
Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand

Play list: 08.27.06

2006-08-27T21:55:00.001-05:00

Every once in a great while I come across music that is truly different, genuinely extraordinary, and original. This week I discovered The Dillinger Escape Plan's Calculating Infinity, and it certainly deserves special note. While it has certain medium-tempo minor-key noodly sections that loose my interest, when it burns, it's quite exceptional. Highly recommended for those who like their music on the noisy side.

The Dillinger Escape Plan, Calculating Infinity
The Band, Music From Big Pink

Play list: 08.20.06

2006-08-20T21:22:00.001-05:00

I've been trying to think of something useful to do with this blog space, and it occurred to me that I could use it as a record of my weekly listenings--if nothing else, it'll be interesting to revisit as I continue in my grad program to see if or how my interests may change. I'm always fond of browsing such lists, so here's my contribution. As always, feel free to comment. I'll try to update every week.

Week of 08.20.06

The Jesus Lizard, Liar
Wire, Pink Flag
Sinead O'Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Pere Ubu, Terminal Tower
Anthony Braxton, Quartet (Dortmund) 1976
Julian Cope, Peggy Suicide
Daniel Carter, William Parker, Federico Ughi, The Dream

End of the semester

2006-05-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

I've reached the end of the semester and my first year as a graduate student in ethnomusicology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The semester was a good one, although things were intense at the end, writing four papers for my different seminars: Research Methods in Women's Studies, Music and Culture Workshop, Research Methods and Materials in Music, and Nietzsche and Schopenhauer's Ethical Responses to Suffering. My paper topics were all over the board: one paper on Johnny Cash and femicidal violence in American Recordings, a significant rewrite of my Max Roach's Politics of Sound, a paper on Nietzsche and music, and a final paper on music and violence. The last will hopefully function as the basis for my M.A. thesis; the paper on Johnny Cash will also be part of it.

I'm currently working on a separate self-reflexive project in which I am attempting to determine what music most resonates with me and why. Having listened to music intensely for almost all my life, I'm finally going to turn my gaze inward a bit to figure out exactly what music makes me tick. Solipsism, to be sure, but I think it worthwhile nonetheless, especially if I'm to write about music in others' lives. So I'm looking at this as a sort of musical autobiography more than anything else. I am attempting, ultimately, to be ruthlessly self-aware about my musical tastes, taking into account notions of Bourdieuian taste, the ideology of the aesthetic, and so forth. Anyway, perhaps nothing will come of it, but it will be fun nonetheless.

World music, NASA style

2006-02-26T20:39:00.001-06:00

There's some fascinating information about the Voyager mission and a Golden Record sent along "intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials."

From NASA's web site:

"The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record--a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, and printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim."

The music on the disc can be found at NASA's Voyager mission Web site

Daily dose of anarchism

2006-02-21T22:02:00.001-06:00

Just watched the Democracy Now! dramatization of readings from Howard Zinn's Voices of a People's History of the United States. Good stuff. Haven't read much Emma Goldmann lately, but worth revisiting. Check out Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty.

Listening list

2006-02-18T21:42:00.001-06:00

On rotation as of late:

Getz/Gilberto -- Getz/Gilberto
Walter Gieseking -- Debussy, Preludes
AMM -- The Inexhaustible Document
"Ugly Music for Beautiful People" Podcast -- 02/02/06 broadcast
Bad Brains -- Rock for Light
Curtis Mayfield -- Superfly
Bob Moses -- When Elephants Dream of Music

Special study music

Paul Motian -- Dance
Edward Vesala -- Lumi

Podcasts

2006-02-14T15:49:00.001-06:00

I've been enjoying two podcasts as of late, both worth checking out.

1) "D.D. Jackson's Living Jazz Podcast," available from iTunes and his Website, is an interesting approach to documenting the life of a jazz musician. In particular, check out podcast number three for intriguing comparisons between jazz and theatrical improvisation. Well worth a listen.

2) "Ugly Music for Beautiful People," perhaps a forced title, has some really interesting selections on it as well -- also available from iTunes. Ed Corcoran DJs the show and runs a blog here on Blogger. I've been introduced to a lot in only two shows, and am endlessly listening to the David Thomas Broughton song that starts the 02/02/06 show. Great stuff. Must go out and pick it up at somepoint.