Conlon Nancarrow

Judy and the Loadies, “I’m Not Drunk”

I am, Judy and the Loadies!

Lambchop, “Steve McQueen”

I’ve poked fun at some artists for cloying strings, but somehow Lambchop’s syrupy approach to same never bothers me. I suppose the reliably languid pace of things probably makes it feel better, but I think they’re just good at making them seem organic to the song and not just bolted on.

The Meters, “Stormy”

The Meters taking it slow on their first album, albeit without any strings involved. As always, the Meters rule, you should listen to them.

WE’RE BACK, BABY! The historical record of this blog won’t show anything, but for the record: on the 18th, I blew this damn thing up so thoroughly trying to update it that I had to re-install it from scratch, and then remember all the custom modifications I did to get a music player in here. It was a mess, but we’re back. And we have a new logo! Kick off the tunes, Plexasaurus Rex!

Conlon Nancarrow, “Study for Player Piano No. 3a”

Has anybody flipped Nancarrow into any beats? Seems like it would be a fun thing to hear.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, “Crime Pays”

What a lovely beat here. As someone who grew up listening to the radio in cars in the early 80s an awful lot, that late 70s vibe here just sparks something really primal in me.

Tame Impala, “Lucidity”

Another of my breaks with music critic orthodoxy (although I don’t really feel like I’m a real critic) is that I think Tame Impala is kind of boring. I’m not sure why that is - I like other psychedelic stuff just fine, I don’t have any problems with any elements that go into this. It just glides past my brain and nothing finds any purchase. It’s pleasant, but it’s like taking a nap.

Talib Kweli, “Guerilla Monsoon Rap”

I don’t normally list guest artists on the title line, but check it: Black Thought and Pharoahe Monch. Super nice! Kweli is at his best when he’s got other top-tier MCs to work with, part of the alchemy of Black Star.

Conlon Nancarrow, “Study For Player Piano No. 14”

As always, there’s nothing really like Nancarrow, with music that feels about as alien as possible while still seeming like there’s a plan. Even if you can’t actually put your finger on that plan.

Sleep, “From Beyond”

While doom metal in general traces back to Sabbath for inspiration, a lot of modern doom looks to Sleep’s Sleep’s Holy Mountain, along with a few other influences like the Melvins’ sludgiest work. This album really set the template though, which its ethos of staying exactly as slow and pounding as it wants to be. Much of metal had been getting faster and faster over the years, and the proof that you could be heavy while not trying to set any speed records really sunk in to a lot of bands. But even ignoring the influence, this stuff still smokes. But slowly.

This is almost the full Five Songs experience today, we’re just missing some incomprehensible metal.

Edna’s Goldfish, “World Over”

Ahh, 1998. With The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at the peak of their popularity, with “The Impression That I Get” as a pretty big hit, it’s not a surprise that there were lots of followers who got record contracts in their wake. And so, Edna’s Goldfish. Difficult not to picture my old Civic when I listen to this.

Five Songs took a little break there. Had to recharge our batteries. It’s a grind getting out here and writing nothing of consequence about music nobody has heard or cares about! Well, we’re back!

A programming note: I’m really tired of doing the “previously"s. I think they’re charming, but they’re also a hassle to put together manually. I’m going to use the tagging on this platform instead. It’ll take a while to convert all the old entries, but this will make it easier for me going forward.

Hooray, I made it the whole month without missing a day! Another meaningless milestone! Music!

Conlon Nancarrow, “Study No. 45a”

This is a pretty jaunty piece that still manages to sound really otherworldly, thanks to the alien nature of the playing. In some ways, Nancarrow presaged electronic composition, of using a tool to create music that otherwise couldn’t exist if it had to be created by human hands.

The VSS, “Effigy”

This was from a blind grab bag from Hydra Head records, and I’ll be honest, I think this is the first time I’m hearing this. Well, snap impression: in some ways, it goes pretty well with the Nancarrow piece above. Maybe I’ll listen to the rest after these five songs are over.

Back in those music salt mines, bringing you more sparkling treats!

(NB: the last track is only on Bandcamp - I didn’t upload it to Youtube, because that seemed kind of dodgy.)

Conlon Nancarrow, “Study No. 2a”

Nancarrow is one of the most avant-garde artists in my entire collection. An American who fled the US fearing persecution as a result of his activities in the Spanish Civil War, he lived in isolation in Mexico. While there, he took to composing for the player piano, which enabled him to create incredibly complex compositions that a human player wouldn’t be able to perform. Many of his compositions strike you as alien when you listen to them, because he was able to create so many layers and strange patterns within his work. A bunch of his works were collected into a single volume, Studies For Player Piano, Vols. 1-5, which is what I have. I used to play his stuff on the air at WRCT occasionally, when I felt like my audience needed to be weirded out a little bit.