I regret to say that I didn’t know much of Danish composer Vagn Holmboe’s music until very lately. Having heard enough buzz to realize that this needed to be corrected, I put a couple of recordings on my Amazon wishlist for future reference.
My brother is a big fan of Amazon. He picked out a recording of Holmboe’s 8th and 9th Symphonies to give to me for Christmas.
“I don’t know who this guy is or what his music sounds like, but he was on your ‘list, bro’,” he said as a he handed me the CD.
“Neither do I, really,” I said. “I’m excited to find out.”
My reply was met with an upraised eyebrow and a dash of good-natured ribbing. but it’s true. I’ve spent much of my writing career covering recordings of all types; yet there’s still so much music out there I haven’t heard.
One of my New Year’s resolutions, as always, is to keep seeking out music, be it new or old, that’s new to me. What’s both inspiring and humbling  is that there never seems to be a shortage of works in the ‘as yet unheard’ category that serve to inspire, inform, and touch me, year after year.
Wishing all of you much music and little drama in 2010.
Yours,
C
PS If any of you would like to share resolutions of your own, the comments section is open below.
Kay and I spent a few days with her folks down in Nashville over Christmas. Although it was the first Christmas I’ve spent away from my own family, the Mitchells made me feel more than welcome. They even tuned the piano!
Nashville caroling
They also gave us some thoughtful presents. In my stocking was Butch Baldassari’s New Classics for Bluegrass Mandolin. It is in the changer right now as I type, supplying happy memories of local color. Baldassari is quite a talent – I’m going to seek out his Bach CD next!
Another treasure they bestowed was Sharon Isbin’s new CD, signed by Isbin herself! The guitarist had visited Nashville this last fall, impressing the Mitchells both with her artistry and her willingness to take the time to talk with audience members before and after the concert.
Isbin’s new CD, Journey to the New World, is persuasive in its own right. It combines Renaissance lute works, English and American folk songs, and Mark O’Connor’s bluegrass-inflected Strings and Threads Suite. The recording supplies a musical travelogue that vividly describes the transition of American music from a primarily European-indebted art form to one populated by indigenous music-making.
At a time in which the record business is suffering, being cordial and personable goes a long way. The notion of cordiality is one that Nashville’s local record store might take under advisement. My brother-in-law Tom remembered how much fun Kay and I had on our last visit at Grimey’s, the city’s premiere independent record seller. Thoughtfully, He got me a gift certificate, thereby ensuring a return visit!
Unfortunately, the staff on hand this time out were rude, doing everything they could to make what they saw as a batch of ‘tourist’ customers feel unwelcome. After a few minutes, noise rock blared from the speakers, a not-so-subtle banishment tactic. I actually overheard one clerk say to the other, “Aren’t you done playing that? They’re leaving.”
Too bad for them; I bought exactly the amount the gift certificate was made out to and put back a healthy stack of recordings. I’ll seek them out instead at my local shop, Vintage Vinyl, where I’ve always been treated with courtesy and helpfulness by the staff, even if I don’t look like a hipster.
No one is rooting for brick-and-mortar record sellers more than I am, but you’ve got to give folks a reason to prefer in-person staff to the anonymity of Amazon.
Silber Media has long been a fine destination for ambient and experimental electronica, slowcore, avant pop, and, yes, holiday music. The imprint’s latest Christmas Compilation, White Silber: A Long Slow Xmas, is now available for free download via Archive.org. The website also has several of Silber’s comps from holidays past. Among their Christmas-themed offerings, I’m particularly fond of Winterizing; there’s also a Halloween sampler.
In terms of digital distribution, Silber has been ahead of the industry for quite a while . Obviously, one hopes that many of those who sample the label’s compilation downloads will also support Silber by purchasing their releases. Two recent recordings of note are Aarktica’s In Sea and Vlor’s Six-Winged. The former combines ambient IDM with dronecore and includes an unorthodox cover: Danzig’s “Am I Demon?” The latter is Silber’s resident supergroup, featuring over a dozen of the imprint’s artists in an eclectic melange of indie rock, slowcore, and electronica.
Ash is releasing a series of singles for each letter of the alphabet. The songs are available individually or as part of a subscription at the band’s website.
Courtesy of our friends at Sneak Attack Media, a sneak preview: we’ve got the video for “Arcadia.”
It seems hard to believe, but Jimmy LaValle has been releasing music under the Album Leaf moniker for ten years. His fifth full length recording, A Chorus of Storytellers, is set for release on the Sub Pop imprint on February 2, 2010.
Album Leaf started out as a bedroom recording venture. By now, LaValle records and mixes in locales ranging from Seattle, Washington to Reykjavik, Iceland. But the project retains an intimate ambience that combines guitar atmospherics and touches of IDM with supple chorused singing in octaves.
Alan Sparhawk (Low) returns with Retribution Gospel Choir for a second LP, appropriately titled ‘2,’ on January 26th. The band’s label Sub Pop, has released a teaser MP3 – “Hide it Away” for your listening pleasure.
Sad news this Christmas day. The New York Times has reported, and his label, Constellation Records, has confirmed that singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt has passed away at the age of 45: an apparent suicide.
Chesnutt was a talented indie folk musician who was unafraid to expose his life’s struggles. A quadriplegic, he had health problems and had previously attempted suicide. His 2009 Constellation release At the Cut referenced these themes in poignant, wryly resonant songs such as “When the Bottom Fell Out” and “Flirted with you All my Life.” Chesnutt dealt frankly with his demons; sadly, he was unable to exorcise enough of them to remain with us longer.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the holidays can be a time of comfort and joy or of isolation and adversity. If you’re feeling like it is the latter two, don’t hesitate to reach out to loved ones AND trained professionals for help.
Nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit like choral music. Kay and I were fortunate attend the Tallis Scholars’ concert at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, part of Miller Theatre’s Early Music series (full review to come).
While there’s no media on the web of the repertoire they performed at St. Mary’s, I couldn’t resist sharing this lovely performance of Palestina’s Nunc Dimittis, courtesy of YouTube.
Weezer’s long been a band with a penchant for paying homage to pop styles past; they have a particular affection for early rock ‘n roll (note early hit “Buddy Holly”). They’ve also had a string of videos that are playfully good-humored tropes on pop cultural topics ranging from Happy Days to the Muppets to viral videos. They combine 50simages with musical stylings from the decade in the video for “(If you’re wondering if I want you to) I want you to,” the lead off single for Raditude, the bands latest Interscope LP.
While “…I want you to” is certainly a highlight, it’s not the only song that’s “single-worthy” on this fine release from the band. Â ”I’m Your Daddy,” “Can’t Stop Partying,” and “Let it All Hang Out” are equally tuneful, punchy, and lithe creations. Meanwhile, a more layered, nuanced approach is taken on “Put Me Back Together” and “I Don’t Want to Let you Go.”
One expects that more videos – ripe for fame with the YouTube set – are in the offing.
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