Two posts in one day!
Do you remember that picture where, if you look at it one way it looks like a young woman with a feather in her hat, and if you look at it another way it looks like an old woman in a headscarf. That is how I feel about Berg’s Piano Sonata. If you listen to it one way, it is ripe Romanticism; if you listen to it the other way, it’s atonal. It is interesting to compare it with Scriabin’s “Black Mass” sonata, which is undeniably Romantic, but pushing the boundaries. It doesn’t get me nearer to an answer with the Berg, but at least it shows I am not way off beam.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Old blues - a shameful confession
This is a shameful confession but I can’t listen to old blues songs (see http://terrapinlistens2.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-pre-war-blues.html) without subconsciously imagining what they would have sounded like played by Led Zeppelin. For example, Willie Brown’s “M&O Blues” is superb, but my mind’s ear can hear John Bonham’s drums crashing in at the end of the first verse. I will persevere.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Various
Yesterday I was feeling down, but a blast of "Inside Flaming Hotz" by Carioca Funk Clube cheered me up (as it always does).
I wasn't going to listen to anything walking back from the station, but I did. This is what I enjoyed:
Blurt - "Get" and "My Mother Was A Friend Of An Enemy Of The People"
The Clash - "Clash City Rockers"
The Fall - "Christmastide" (probably the weirdest Xmas song ever recorded)
The Congos - "Feast Of The Passover".
I wasn't going to listen to anything walking back from the station, but I did. This is what I enjoyed:
Blurt - "Get" and "My Mother Was A Friend Of An Enemy Of The People"
The Clash - "Clash City Rockers"
The Fall - "Christmastide" (probably the weirdest Xmas song ever recorded)
The Congos - "Feast Of The Passover".
Thursday, 15 October 2009
The Clash - The Essential Clash
Round about the time when the Shea Stadium live album and the book came out last year, there seemed to be a bit of an anti-Clash backlash, and I started wondering whether The Clash were really as wonderful as they are cracked up to be, and as I remember them. Yes, they were. I'll say that louder. YES, THEY WERE.
It’s hard to analyse what was so great about them. Part of it was the feeling of unbounded confidence and (paradoxically for a band which was so anti-authoritarian) authority. That feeling started to trickle away after “London Calling”: for me, the watershed was “Bankrobber”. What were they doing? They weren’t gods any more. After that, they did some good songs, and a few remarkable ones (“Ghetto Defendant”, for example) but they just weren’t the same old Clash. That is why “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” (which was fairly unremarked at the time, as far as I remember) was so special: just one last flash of the old spirit.
Purists probably don’t like compilations like this, but it is a pretty good potted history (ending with Mick Jones’ departure, which is just as well). There isn’t any point whinging about the track selection, though, for example, “Armageddon Time” was surely important enough to merit inclusion. When I started to list (mentally) tracks which deserved to be here, and I realised that there weren’t any on “London Calling” that didn’t, it became clear to me that it was the band’s masterpiece.
I’m not going to attempt a track-by-track. Just a couple of comments. I had only heard “Clash City Rockers” a couple of times, and discarded it as lightweight. Big mistake, great song (the surreal take on “Oranges And Lemons” – “the bells of Prince Far-I???”). And, excited as I was by the original, I was wrong about their “Police And Thieves” (http://terrapinlistens2.blogspot.com/2009/02/lee-scratch-perry-and-various-arkology.html). And the best of their best – “Complete Control” and “White Man In Hammersmith Palais” – weren’t just great. Those songs had something – the nearest I can get is to call it a nobility - I can’t explain.
It’s hard to analyse what was so great about them. Part of it was the feeling of unbounded confidence and (paradoxically for a band which was so anti-authoritarian) authority. That feeling started to trickle away after “London Calling”: for me, the watershed was “Bankrobber”. What were they doing? They weren’t gods any more. After that, they did some good songs, and a few remarkable ones (“Ghetto Defendant”, for example) but they just weren’t the same old Clash. That is why “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” (which was fairly unremarked at the time, as far as I remember) was so special: just one last flash of the old spirit.
Purists probably don’t like compilations like this, but it is a pretty good potted history (ending with Mick Jones’ departure, which is just as well). There isn’t any point whinging about the track selection, though, for example, “Armageddon Time” was surely important enough to merit inclusion. When I started to list (mentally) tracks which deserved to be here, and I realised that there weren’t any on “London Calling” that didn’t, it became clear to me that it was the band’s masterpiece.
I’m not going to attempt a track-by-track. Just a couple of comments. I had only heard “Clash City Rockers” a couple of times, and discarded it as lightweight. Big mistake, great song (the surreal take on “Oranges And Lemons” – “the bells of Prince Far-I???”). And, excited as I was by the original, I was wrong about their “Police And Thieves” (http://terrapinlistens2.blogspot.com/2009/02/lee-scratch-perry-and-various-arkology.html). And the best of their best – “Complete Control” and “White Man In Hammersmith Palais” – weren’t just great. Those songs had something – the nearest I can get is to call it a nobility - I can’t explain.
Back again
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve posted here. We had an eventful summer when we moved house, a lot of stressful stuff, but as the song says, “All Right Now”. I didn’t listen to any music at all while all this was going on - I didn’t have time - and when I started again I didn’t really have the motivation to write about it. Until now.
No time to write this so instead of individual posts for each item, here’s a brief note.
Adam & the Ants - Prince Charming
I wanted to break my aural fast with something trashy. I started getting disappointed with this even though my expectations were low, but it somehow seemed to improve around what would have been side 2 of the album. “S.E.X”, though slow and relatively quiet, has the seedy allure of some of their early material.
Captain Beefeart & the Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
My favourite LP of all time. Listening to it for the first time in 3 years, I loved it a bit less but understood it more. It’s not as musically shambolic as it seems.
Telemann - Various
I’ve never taken Telemann seriously but I loved this.
Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits
I’ve never taken Black Sabbath seriously either. I was disappointed the first time I listened to this - even though everyone laughs at Sabbath and heavy metal in general, their music is regarded as seminal rock music. So I listened to it again, and was more impressed, especially with the stuff from the first two albums. But the best track is “Sweet Leaf”.
No Se - Bez Wdzięczności (Without Thanks)
I had to listen to this again (see http://terrapinlistens2.blogspot.com/2009/02/no-se-bez-wdziecznosci-without-thanks.html), and thought it was even better. Really ferocious.
Mozart - Symphony No 34
This is great, but I am still trying to work out what marks out Mozart’s last 6 symphonies (No 35 onwards) from the rest.
No time to write this so instead of individual posts for each item, here’s a brief note.
Adam & the Ants - Prince Charming
I wanted to break my aural fast with something trashy. I started getting disappointed with this even though my expectations were low, but it somehow seemed to improve around what would have been side 2 of the album. “S.E.X”, though slow and relatively quiet, has the seedy allure of some of their early material.
Captain Beefeart & the Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
My favourite LP of all time. Listening to it for the first time in 3 years, I loved it a bit less but understood it more. It’s not as musically shambolic as it seems.
Telemann - Various
I’ve never taken Telemann seriously but I loved this.
Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits
I’ve never taken Black Sabbath seriously either. I was disappointed the first time I listened to this - even though everyone laughs at Sabbath and heavy metal in general, their music is regarded as seminal rock music. So I listened to it again, and was more impressed, especially with the stuff from the first two albums. But the best track is “Sweet Leaf”.
No Se - Bez Wdzięczności (Without Thanks)
I had to listen to this again (see http://terrapinlistens2.blogspot.com/2009/02/no-se-bez-wdziecznosci-without-thanks.html), and thought it was even better. Really ferocious.
Mozart - Symphony No 34
This is great, but I am still trying to work out what marks out Mozart’s last 6 symphonies (No 35 onwards) from the rest.
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