Longing Beyond the Grave

image: ‘Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’

This sleepy condition is not to be confused with sleep proper.
It is the Waking Sleep that calls maidens and men to a darker, more remote purpose.
They walk with chins down and arms outstretched; a pace languid with a hunger on their lips.
Do you know any loved ones that are among the Waking Dead?
What if you are, as of now, walking with Them? Would you know? Who could wake you then?

Kelli Ali - The Savages
Rocking Horse (One Little Indian, 2008)

Haruko – Welcome to Loveland
Wild Geese (Bracken Records, 2009)

Philip Glass – In the Upper Room/Dance VIII
Glassworks (Dunvagen Music Publishers, 1987)

Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron & Fred Squire – Flaming Home
Lost Wisdom (P. W. Elverum & Sun, 2008)

Marissa Nadler – Dying Breed
Songs III: Bird on the Water (Peacefrog, 2006)

Tape - Moth Wings
Luminarium (Häpna, 2008)

Maria João Pires - Chopin: Nocturne #21 in C Minor, Bi 108 – Lento Con Gran Espressione
Chopin: The Nocturnes (Deutsche Gramophon, 1996)

Ane Brun - Laid in Earth
A Temporary Dive (DetErMine Records, 2005)

Comus – After the Dream
To Keep from Crying (Dawn Records, 1974)

::listen::

***
HKE is easing into the Halloween spirit with this set of (unorthodox) zombie-inspiring songs; haunting yet beautiful all the same. A dark necrotic fantasy; pastoral as twilight journey; cold roses & cold faces.
Here you will find: an impending apocalypse, safe houses, empty streets, dark forests and a sense of deep longing.

A Safe Stasis

‘A safe stasis…’

Being immobile for extended durations is unhealthy lest you atrophy in more ways than the physical.

But there is sometimes a logic to remaining still and listening for the birds.

***

Radiohead – Kid A
Kid A (EMI, 2004)

Sian Alice Group – Love That Moves the Sun
Troubled, Shaken, Etc. (The Social Registry, 2009)

Tycho – Cloud Generator
Sunrise Projector (Ghostly International, 2004)

Dntel – Fireworks
Life is Full of Possibilities (Plug Research, 2001)

Björk – Cocoon
Vespertine (One Little Indian, 2001)

Flying Lotus – Auntie’s Lock/Infinitum (feat. Laura Darlington)
Los Angeles (Warp Records, 2008)

The Album Leaf – Asleep
One Day I’ll Be On Time (Tigerstyle Records, 2001)

Jónsi & Alex– Happiness
Dark Was the Night (4AD, 2009)

::stream::

***

A speculative list lumbering along at its own pace without fanciful breaks or rhythms. Aurally and perhaps philosophically the list is trying to break away from the immediacy of pop-hooks, or the kind of sounds that might generate too much kinetic lust. This list wants to prolong the sensation of being still, asleep or awake. It is the simple but difficult act of listening to an extended piece of music without doing anything else. It is the music we often take for granted. With frequent shafts of light and the odd crest or two, the list actually turns out to be quite likable, despite the aforementioned anesthetizing effects it may induce. It only demands a limited threshold of pleasure, content to linger by itself and not soar off or dip too low.

MP3 Killed the Video Star

I’m assembling an R&B list. That is, R&B by way of current, post-90s Top 40 production trends. Generically lumped as “urban contemporary”, the hip-hop/R&B fusion once dominated the pop music discourse just a decade prior, arguably hitting a golden age by the earlier 2000s. When that wave subsided, “indie rock” seemingly became de jour, with all its subsidiary offshots in neo-folk, garage/punk-rock revival, and lately, electro-infusion. What they have in common, and what is taken as a starting point for anyone remotely interested in musicology, is that they are the same names for what is, essentially, pop music. More importantly, it is telling that former labels are becoming harder to pin on certain works and the artistic talent associated with the respective sound. Genre-bending is a feat best demonstrated by pop-music, and its homogenizing brilliance is something no other cultural establishment does better.

***

Girl Talk – Touch 2 Feel
Unstoppable, 2004

Discovery – I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (feat. Angel Deradoorian)
LP, 2009

Rihanna vs. Earth, Wind & Fire – Disturber (Amoraboy Mash-up)
Unreleased, 2009

Handsome Boy Modeling School – I’ve Been Thinking (feat. Cat Power)
White People, 2005

Roche feat. Pugslee Atomz & Wes Restless – Only When I Dream
Solos in Stereo II, 2008

jj – Ecstasy
jj no. 2, 2009

Sigur Ros vs. Mobb Deep – Shook (Emancipator Mash-up)
Unreleased, 2007

P. Diddy – Tell Me (feat. Christina Aguilera) [Phones Remix]
Unreleased, 2007

::stream::

***

Now, either I’m getting lazy or I’m fighting a losing battle, this playlist too is song-centric like some previous efforts. It is apt, however, that such a playlist be a collection of individually realized tracks as opposed to a more cohesive long-play. What is pop music if not the preference for immediately infectious singles in lieu of the more disciplined album? This list should ultimately sound very familiar to anyone who keeps up with radio, iTunes weekly updates, or whatever the mainstream vehicle (which I don’t, so this proved to be a challenging list to compile). Club megahits, self-Youtube’d sing-alongs, sampling culture, mash-up culture and oddball collaborations–its all there at the heart of contemporary hip-hop/R&B.

Disclaimer: Photograph of Justin Timberlake, unknown source. His sophomore LP, FutureSex/LoveSounds is still one of the most highly regarded pop gems of the past decade and a personal favourite of mine. It is, in my mind, the perfect example of a contemporary, perhaps timeless sounding record, embracing a fuller spectrum of pop sounds many are perhaps not even aware of. But for the sake of simplification, we might as well call it an “R&B album”.

these are commuting pains; this is your lozenge.

image: Mac(3)

There comes a point where everyone realizes they’ve got to grow up a bit faster than they originally wanted to.

And I think, that means moving into a state of harmony with society, which entails wearing the right attire, speaking the right lingo, being in the places you need to be even if you don’t want to.

It is uncelebratory; it is common; it can dignify and also tear a person down. Often, however, it still seems worth it despite all that’s said to the contrary.

***

The Cranberries – Animal Instinct
Bury the Hatchet (Island, 1999)

Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Merge, 1998)

The Notwist – One with the Freaks
Neon Golden (Virgin, 2002)

Some Girls – On My Own Again
Crushing Love (Koch Records, 2006)

Beck – Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind OST (2004)

Aimee Mann – This is How it Goes
Lost in Space (SuperEgo Records, 2002)

Jason Collett – We All Lose One Another
Idols of Exile (Arts & Crafts, 2005)

Doves – Pounding
The Last Broadcast (Heavenly/Capitol, 2002)

::stream::

***

A playlist that is very song-centric. Alt-rock melodies dominate, trying to approximate the tone and attitude of the 90s, or the decade I was last certifiably “young”. I think it has a good flow, with nice exuberance at the beginning, a slower tempo midway and a strong finish. Even if the artists featured aren’t technically of the 90s milieu, but whatever. Originally started out as something more ambient and peripheral, like the soundtrack for an intolerably mundane subject, using orchestral pieces. I like prefer that idea, so maybe it’ll be a future endeavour. For now, why should getting on the suit and subway be such a distasteful thing? Optimism, guitars and sitcom-friendly melodies is what I need right now.

visualization as maximalism

The more I look around me, the more people with cameras I see. Equipment ranges from the smallest, most discrete point-and-shoots, to the “prosumer” models that produce high-quality shots limited only by the user’s own limitations. Technology, that is, visual technologies are getting better at complementing and catalyzing the ongoing dialogue between what the eye captures and what the brain and heart intuit. Visual communication is dense, its potentialities often appealing to senses that need no rational explanations thereof. It is also the most immediate, with sound and text falling in tow. We aren’t always sure why something is visually striking, but we right-click “Save-As” anyway.

***

Vitalic – Polkamatic
OK Cowboy (Citizen/Pias, 2005)

M83 – Sitting
s/t (Gooom, 2001)

Ladytron – Destroy Everything You Touch
Witching Hour (Island, 2005)

Jovian – Grenadine Girl
Solos in Stereo II (Solos Records, 2008)

Digitalism – The Pulse
Idealism (Virgin/EMI, 2007)

Controller.Controller – Watch
History EP (Paper Bag Records, 2005)

Crystal Castles – Black Panther
s/t (Lies Records/Last Gang Records, 2007)

80kidz – Miss Mars
Kitsune Maison 7 (Kitsune, 2009)

::stream::

…as for the music, this set is for instant pleasure, with as little emphasis on lyrics or spoken sounds as possible. The dominant blueprint is maximalism, with little chance of some quiet, more subtle palette cleansers. Color, shape, texture and line: visual parameters translated into electronic sounds with big crescendos.

tuesday update

In retrospect I’m probably not too happy with the last entry–playlist wise I find it a little weak, creatively speaking (too much indie rock–I hate the term but its apt for rounding up baroque-pop bands).

I was trying to figure out a list for going out on the town at night, weekday style.  But, with lack of time and lack of patience, I ended up retooling perhaps my favourite list of all, thematically + sonically speaking:

‘Owl woman/stars and sons’

Now expanded with more tracks & 8tracks-support for streaming.

3/3: last call

When catching the tail-end of summer, the conventional wisdom says to end off strong.  Do all you can: taste every colour, hear every firework, walk and swim the very last drops of kinetic goodwill.  Least of all, don’t harbour your regrets: tally them up if you will, but let them go by the shore.

But where weather denies and chance is wanting, sometimes its okay to just settle for the more drawn-out, less immediate experiences. Sometimes its not okay to do less than you sought out to, but with summer, it seems we can set aside our oft-ridiculous goals and desires and just be glad.

This day, when I looked out my window I knew that summer was over.

The ‘what’s next?’ playlist:

The Fiery Furnaces – Tropical Iceland
Gallowsbird’s Bark (Rough Trade, 2003)

Rilo Kiley – With Arms Outstretched
The Execution of All Things (Saddle Creek, 2002)

Obi Best – Green and White Stripes
Capades (Social Science, 2008)

The Flaming Lips – Vein of Stars
At War with the Mystics (Warner Bros., 2006)

Broken Social Scene – Pacific Theme
You Forgot it in People (Arts & Crafts, 2003)

Emiliana Torrini – Jungle Drum
Me and Armini (Rough Trade, 2008)

Dirty Projectors & David Byrne – Knotty Pine
Dark Was the Night (4AD Records, 2008)

Noah & The Whale – Five Years Time
Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down (Vertigo, 2008)

The final entry in the /3 set, this one was actually constructed right after the first, beach-friendly playlist.  I wanted to assemble a follow-up as quickly as possible to that one, this time leaning towards softer pop sounds.  Starting with some simple sing-along tunes, then onto some slower, starry arrangements and finally onto a percussion section to stamp things out.  A selection of summer tunes that get tripped up on times-past and regrets, all the wanting to sound somewhat dignified in preparation for the restraint that is the approaching Fall season.  Kind of like chasing the after-glow/din/taste of something that still lingers.  A last call to keep the windows open before the chill and gloom sets in.

Enjoy!

2/3: roman holiday redux

image: Ayrton Senna EP

Röyksopp - Only This Moment
The Understanding (Astralwerks, 2005)

Delorean – Deli
Ayrton Senna EP (Fool House, 2009)

James Yuill – This Sweet Love (Prins Thomas Sneaky Edit)
Kitsune Maison 7 (Kitsune Music, 2008)

Misha – Summersend
Teardrop Sweetheart (Tomlab, 2007)

Rubies – Room without a Key (Version by Studio)
Yearbook 2 (Information, 2008)

Sébastien Tellier – La Ritournelle (Mr. Dan’s Magic Wand Mix)
Sexuality (Record Makers, 2008)

Sally Shapiro – Anorak Christmas
Disco Romance (Paper Bag, 2006)

The Avalanches – Electricity
Since I Left You (Modular, 2000)

Kind of a more personal list for me; it won’t really have as close an attention paid to sonic flow, thematic progression or other insipid, “conceptual” distractions.  They are tracks that happen to be summer-themed, if only because summer is the time. They are tracks that make me feel something special: the bliss that comes with being with another person that you love. For moments spent with an actual love, or a dreamed-up scenario with an equally unreal other.  They are not timeless songs; they are, after all, pop.  Like picture-ready moments that reside only in the imagination, at times showing a tendency to exist as 3-minute slices of perfection. They are maximal compositions, riding on currents of self-vindicating ecstacy.

Part 2 of 3 in the ongoing /3 series of summer-themed playlists.

1/3: i’m on a boat

Seu Jorge – Changes
The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions (Hollywood Records, 2005)

Yo La Tengo – Center of Gravity
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (Matador, 1997)

Antena – To Climb the Cliff
Camino del Sol (The Numero Group, 1982/2004)

jj – From Africa to Málaga
jj n° 2 (Sincerely Yours, 2009)

Kings of Convenience (feat. Feist) – Know-How
Riot on an Empty Street (Astralwerks, 2004)

Air – Casanova 70
Premiers Symptômes (Astralwerks, 1997)

Bikini – Jackie Kennedy
Concerning the Number 7 and Your Love EP (unreleased, 2008)

Bebel Gilberto – Mais Feliz
Tanto Tempo (Ziriguiboom, 2000)

The idea here was to create a very simple little playlist specifically with Latin sounds, but soon turned into a more general collection of tunes for sunsets.  I ended up straying far from the Meditteranean template, and then somehow got back.  The playlist isn’t going to impress any jet-setting fantasies on a sunny Balearic backdrop.  Rather, it should be OK taking trips through the backyard with your bummy friends over a Corona or something cheaper to get a hold on (Bud-Lite Lime?).  Admittedly the whole concept started off with an unlikely sleeper ballad, Yo La Tengo’s English-sung “Center of Gravity”; I love that track.  Then some electro-samba by way of Antena’s gorgeous LP, Camino del Sol.  More of the same seaswept touch by way of the French ear in Air.  Some soulful Bowie renditions by Seu Jorge.  Bebel Gilberto was a no-brainer.  jj’s excellent 2009 LP is getting much play time on my iPod.

Ultimately a series of tunes to unwind to, with the criteria of being somewhat stripped down, unfancy, and whatever I could find in my modest collection.  Latin/Pacifico by way of indie rock/electronica; whatever you want to call it–I’m getting way too wordy for these heady summer evenings.

Part 1 of 3 in the ongoing /3 series of summer-themed playlists.

Electrointrospecto: bangin’ tunes f’yr ev’ning detune

Photo: Locace

And if I drink oblivion of a day,

So shorten I the stature of my soul.

~ George Meredith, Modern Love (1862), St. 12

1. Sally Shapiro - Miracle
   Miracle (Paper Bag Records, 2009)
2. Friendly Fires - I’m Good, I’m Gone
   (unreleased, 2008)
3. Röyksopp – The Girl and the Robot (Joakim Remix)
   (unreleased, 2008)
4. Bloc Party – This Modern Love (Dave P & Adam Sparkle’s “Making Time” Mix)
   Silent Alarm Remixed (Wichita, 2005)
5. Goyte - Heart’s a Mess (Supermayer Mix)
   (unreleased, 2008)
6. Annie - Anthonio (Fred Falke Remix)
   Anthonio CD Single (Pleasure Masters, 2009)
7. Ane Brun – Headphone Silence (Henrik Schwarz Remix/Dennis Ferrer Noizy Edit)
   (unreleased, 2008)
8. The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
   (unreleased, 2008)

The Boogieperson is real, and it has many names. For our purposes, we may call it Paranoia. Though we contrive to escape it, or to otherwise rise above it, paranoia unites us in recognition of the perception that we are somehow modern. Weened on contradiction and want, we find a not inexhaustive catalogue of excuses–excuses for being unhappy, for being inconsiderate, for not-being. The modern Boogieperson passes over no one; it is reckoner and we defy it but for fleeting moments in our most bracing dreams.

And so it is that sometimes, we dream of love. A love without condition and without hope. A love pronouncing: how grand this life truly is! Yet, how petty our fears; how selfish our resolutions?
Does it ever work out?

Text based adventure in elliptical sap + experimental audio composition:

The Setup:

An electro-pop/Italo-disco set, potentially part one of two, or several.  A ‘modern’ list for some not so modern sentiments. For me, the list serves two purposes: of wanting to compose a proper dance list for some time, as well as showcasing some mostly Scandinavian acts–all fantastic and true.  

The Instructions:

Here lies a bevy of songs with the dark, unexplored potentialities of the discotheque as its thematic center. In fact, it need not be a discotheque; for you, the darkness trails your footfall be it in the basement, the sidewalks, the drugstores or the late commutes.  You are reminded daily of the modern condition: of being alone in a world vast with electronica, of signs and directives, of bodies that never quite approach.  Your every palpitation cries out for a soundtrack to the clutter; the accompanying beat that might make sense your disillusion.  To be sure, this will be an indulgent exercise, but against all probability the core of your darker being is responding to something lighter and more agreeable.