"If I am irrevocably immured in some mindset, be it historical cultural or genetic, what use is the consciousness that this is so to me? Since - if it is indeed the case - the supposed self-awareness consequent on this consciousness must also be irrevocably, indiscernibly - and hence unsusceptibly to sentient self-reconstruction - so psychically imprisoned. So my freedom and my unfreedom are experientially indistinguishable, both experiencable purely as freedom and reality."
Benjamin Boretz - "Unconnecting the Dots" from "inside in . . . / . . . outside out" Open Space Publications, 2020
Texts
Streaming
March 5, 2022
Strange Moon I - Kin of the Moon and Strange Interlude
Six New Works by (Mostly) Seattle Composers: Wayne Horvitz, Sarah
Bassingthwaighte, Nebal Maysaud, Michaud Savage, Abbey Blackwell, and James
Falzone
Kin of the Moon is Leanna Keith, flutes; Heather Bentley, viola; Kaley Lane Eaton, vox/keyboard
Strange Interlude is Lily Press, harp, and Simon Linn-Gerstein, cello
a long delayed concert
1
range of affect is narrow
composition builds a narrow range
constricted?
the purpose of minimalism
to liberate
or
to bind
to find the universe
in a prison
or monkish cell
2
a song like orchestral art song
but told from a near vernacular
3
bass line
chaconne-like
Weill-like
song-form like
phraseology
bound by all fours
4
weather: smoke
flashy element
shadow play
like
Fantasia!
who is wonder for?
we wonder at
for whom do we
wonder
at it?
is it
different from inspirational
slow
motion
in type of intent
and in tactic
portrayal or
transformation
epic piano
shade of storm
lightning erupts
from harps' upright
5
unquestioned transitions
how it is done
no fuss about it
Persephone
6
phase patterns saturate quickly
one can start over
to
re-saturate
saturation units as construction media
like as to
chords
but larger scale
irreducible but constructible objects
impervious to each other
except by order and proximity
March 7, 2022
Star Anna at The Fiddler's Inn
now
with a half a head of blue hair
big old dog
makes
an entrance
Star fills a room with her songs
an exact fit
From Recent Arrivals
Frenesi - Ray Charles [from Ray Charles in Person]
big band arrangement
with a saxophone choir as well
as the
soloists
sax
then trumpet
then baritone sax
then
another sax (alto?)
drummer takes a break
cool little tune all
told
Ray must have been giving his voice a rest
You're Not the Kind - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan]
pitch inflection by means of vowel placement
nice focus in the chest
voice
ba-dup
Say - Sun Ra [from Strange Celestial Road]
road trip tune
but neither train chug rhythm
nor highway hum
something else
rocket ride on a gravel galaxy
in the holy
wholly joyous
party bus
The First Nöel - Whitney Houston [from One Wish - The Holiday Album]
quite clearly
this party is too classy for most of us
table here
will cost you
Recorded
March 5, 2022
TWO (No. 8) - Benjamin Boretz, J.K. Randall [from Open Space 5]
what is it
in a melody
that seems to move
from note to note?
a ghost of verbal utterance
as internalized or imagined
internally?
what is it
about voices
that seems to isolate
them?
a ghost of personhood?
a voice speaks
a person utters
remains in place
emerges in a place
and remains
glow
intensifies
immovability
if we move
it is the rootedness
that moves
tendrils
once we are incontrovertibly in place
we
can reach out
Banned Rehearsal 313 - John E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt [November 28, 1992]
sticks and drum and synth
mouth harp piano
Toad Hall
patches
securely enclosed
puttering permitted
if a pitch bends
is it the same note?
hi tech Funmaker
things it might do
spinning top from Indonesia
I am invited
to take the synth
for a turn
I must have been working on
Liebeslied
electricity
peach
dance
double pipe
reed blower
timbre identifies person strongly
found a preset
not a heavy session
we stay to home
{from my journal entry of June 15, 1996:
new keyboard. it's a hitech funmaker}
Partita in D minor - Johann Sebastian Bach - Mela Tenenbaum [from Musical Evenings with The Captain, Volume 2]
intimates an underlying whole
through which we thread
and that
intimated underlying whole
is pretty darned intricate
on its
own
if it exists anywhere
outside our perceptions of
intimation
one experiences more than one hears
I can have heard something
before
but I cannot have had that experience
before
Bach the orb weaver
Liebeslied - Benjamin Boretz - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded live at University Temple United Methodist Church, February 23, 2002]
an organic metrical cross rhythm of musics
that follow each other around
the stage
as though tied together
when I first read through this piece (1984?)
my immediate thought was of
Tristan harmonies
but it probably has as much Bill Evans in there as
anything
the material is not inert
I know Ben thinks this piece should be laid to rest
but I am still quite
fond of it
it has got some of my favorite chords
in it
Halogen Blue - Ghidra (Bill Horist, Mike Peterson, Wally Shoup) [from The Sound of Speed)
barreling down a twisty mountain road
in a loaded semi
with iffy
brakes
such a relief to get onto the flat straight stretch
endzone dance
Make My Pay - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Kitchen Recordings]
the urge to share one's attitudinal thoughts
about this or that
makes some sense
if one assumes one's attitude
is either
held in common
with one's audience (solidarity)
or will otherwise
be of interest to them
What's Wanting For (Neal vocals trio) - Your Mother Should Know [May 2012]
volume stands for expression
Lilian's Pavilion - CEP (Caroline Polachek) [from Drawing the Target Around the Arrow]
heart drip beat
playing with synths
interference pattern vibrato
Banned Telepath 81 South - Steve Kennedy [February 13, 2022]
layered signals
seeking out
in cluttered drawers
glasses
in vibrating cupboards
plug in
levels clapped at
come
and go
distant plosives
sounds invented as we go
we are in
among the inner parts
of a vehicle
on the move
the surface shakes us
the music of doing work on stuff
mis-assembling parts
big fly goes bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
shelling continues in the distance
turn on the nearness
engine room doors
repair tools in use
stand back
tapping drums
best to put on the welding mask
now where did
I put that
engine cuts out
valve spouts pressure out
signals
fade
fingers wiggle
a postlude on guitar
Pavana and Galliardo, Fvb 91 and 92 - William Byrd - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
every voice amends what has been passed to it
cadences reset the board
Conceptio Tua - Peter Philips - The Tudor Consort [from Cantiones Sacrae Quinis Vocubus]
cadences here don't resolve exactly
they reconfigure memory
while
it is being loaded
they provide the point of contemplation
Sonata in G Major, Kk. 171 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
gracefully interrupted freefall water feature
Symphony in F Major, Op. 93 (#8) - Ludwig van Beethoven - Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
1
rivets go here and here
we'll have to fix that
how's that
hm
blast it with the hammer blows
careful
it will get
away from you
there now
isn't that just glorious in the morning
sunshine
let's pull it out here
where it can really stretch its
legs
2
we'll have a proper dinner now
very proper indeed
even the
napkins are starched
stiff as boards
3
the dancing
will be less proper
but not much less
4
can you believe that party
thought we'd never get out of it
laugh about it for weeks
now we're stuck
behind the pompous
it will take some doing
to get around
2 Chants Polonais, Op. 74 - Frédéric Chopin - Alfred Cortot (1939)
art of turning
cadence
and how tempo works
in a meter
with ripples on its surface
Someday Sweetheart (take 3) - Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers [from Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, Chicago Days]
violin is owning the G and D strings
leaving the door open for bass
clarinet
(I think that's what that is)
Stormy Weather - Art Tatum [from Classic Early Solos]
some notes
must be circuitously approached
with rococo flattery
Yardbird Suite - Charlie Parker [from The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes]
this
is
that
too darned fast modern jazz
of
just
give me some of that rock and roll music
the point being
that
as it entered the intellectual crowd
it became an aficionados'
music
and not a popular music
but without
(yet)
gaining the snob appeal
of European derived
long hair music
speak of the devil
music to twist your ears
a choreography of
precise gestures
as precise
as the notes
those gestures play
He's Sure the Boy I Love - The Crystals [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
great drum sound
reified cultural mindwarp
works if it feeds back
on latencies potent in the Zeitgeist
songwriters as cultural
amplifiers
Heinz Baked Beans - The Who [from The Who Sell Out]
give the boys a recording studio
and they'll make tapes
they find
funny
All the Madmen - David Bowie [from The Man Who Sold the World]
King of Hearts has a similar conceit
give me some good old
lobotomy
(Ramones?)
Eine Kleine Nichtmusic - P.D.Q. Bach [from Portrait of P.D.Q. Bach]
stylistic quod libet
over and over
the jolt of recognition
wears thin
Bleed for - The Dead Kennedys [collected from Nancy's Mix]
a new generation of snot-nosed kids gets loud
Banned Rehearsal 113 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 20, 1987]
I didn't remix the Banned Rehearsals that stemmed from Telepaths digitally
as I did for the Banned Day
I leave them
as a monument
to the low-tech past
from which we sprang
there were not so
many as all that
before our digital era
anyway
this is one
of those cases
where the sum
is greater than its parts
not
by much
but we weren't ambitious
parallel lives
boofhead clothes
Boospook gets Pachelbel along with
killed by the plague
in the grooves of this record
everything must be cleaned and separated
Lost words to the Aaronsbundlermarch
so far the balance seems way off
may need to redo
which is
what we is doin' now
is big
time
cat wrestlin.
big roar
ABORT
we will try again
we try again
oh yeah
yer are kitties
the National Anthem
wiping out on Pachelbel
thunderous cannon
A Boospook Story
the E part of this tape
is vocal about its weariness
this is when the cats are up
wreaking the havoc
cat purr and ferocious ROAR
in the
grooves rooves rooves
is the
of this record
grooves
sound of
John Cage}
March 9, 2022
Fallen - Andrew Toovey - Jacqueline Horner, Charles Mutter
blocks of affect sequestered
Banned Rehearsal 466 - Isaac E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [September 19, 1997]
my very first digital recording
door bells jingle
persons come and
go
in musical experience
number is ordered
counted
whether named or not
or partake
of orderability
violin
imitates radio
amplified ocean drum
and radio signal
short
break
this was one of a series of two-part sessions we called Complements
in which the personnel in play
was swapped out
this part has
some digital artifacts
stemming from too-high input levels
it took
me a while to learn how to work with the DAT
it's mostly my piano
playing that clips now and then
I was accustomed to high levels for
cassette tapes
wherein the distortion was often a welcome part of the
sound
Isaac lets loose some shrieks
sounds like Aaron's synth
I want to vibrate my head
no pussy-footing around in this one
our first homegrown DAT
drums and violin
excellent sound
some marvelous sounds here
amplified ocean drum!
Yowza!
rude break in the middle where we switch parties
piano sound
suffers form microphone placement
and Isaac fusses
"I want to
vibrate my head"
Isaac beginning to say DAT
second half more
troubled socially
than first half
and has some technical problems
as well
all of which
are apparently lacking
in part one}
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen - Prospect Choir
I should probably listen to Leonard's version someday
this choral
arrangement just seems misplaced
Consider the Birds 5 - Keith Eisenbrey [February 3, 2007]
5 seconds long
and the last 4.5 are silent
I count about 8
different events
Fireside Chat - Steve Layton and Improv Fridays [from Shared Circle]
voice as
and not as
instrument
two of them
and
electronic organ sound
not vying
just finding
(for)
attention
doing palaver
the fire peacefully pulses
Gradus 308 - Neal Kosály-Meyer - Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 6, 2017]
(*and may not exist)
(*or persist within acquainting)
it is a
pleasure to hear a single note
time (enough)
to acquaint therewith
is a note
or a time
a there
yes
but
its
center of gravity
does not necessarily equal its point of origin
(*)
now we are two
a g-nat
and a c-sharp
it
seemed so sudden
the duration
of experiential persistence
immeasurable
can we measure anything in our experience
we
can observe measurements
what is the interval
between observation
and experience
observation is an abstraction
from experience
a specific filter applied
between consonant and vowel
voiced and un
specificity of speech
liberated
from the bludgeon of reference
Pavana and Galliarda, Fvb 93 and 94 - William Byrd - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
in which
it may be demonstrated
that the opening gambit
is
made of parts
and joins
disjoinable
as whimmed
the art
of near repetition
99 Year Blues - Julius Daniels [from Allen Lowe's Really The Blues]
a voice
for the convicted
message
from the gone
the
taken
don't come back here
no more
rhythm
of rails
of justice
an outlier
the chords are not his usual blues
and neither is the
feel
lovely harmonics on the guitar there
New Orleans (The Rising Sun Blues) - Lead Belly [from Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Lead Belly Legacy Volume 1]
advice
probably good
do as I say
not as I done
minimal
elaboration
The Stroll - The Diamonds [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
in order to show off the duds I suppose
rock-a-my-soul
how I love
to stroll
the fade-out ends
in a spacy place
check it out
These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
clink clink clink piano part
another song
another fade
March 10, 2022
the 'z' sound
is technically voiced
but when she sings it
at
the end of a line
she loses the voiced aspect
and it becomes 'sss'
in a sound-rhyme
with the ride cymbal
Judy Garland sings as an actor
Aretha sings as a preacher
background shows
Do Re Mi - Woody Guthrie - Cisco Houston [from The Greatest Songs of Woody Guthrie]
could be about Seattle now
but we're shunning our own
without
enough do re mi
Being Here With You - Ann Peebles [from Original Funk Soul Sister, The Best of Ann Peebles]
drum and vocal
down the middle
strings and brass
answer each
other
from side to side
You'll Never Find (A Love Like Mine) - Janet Jackson [from Janet Jackson]
posit a dance
and sentiments
that might be latent
or blatant
in such a sitch
I'm Lost - X [from See How We Are]
the engineering effaces the specificity
of pitch and chord
Banned Rehearsal 314 - John E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt [December 6, 1992]
recorded at headquarters
ocarina
guitar
bug guitar
balloon
light percussion
toy piano
(needs a better
name:
keyed bell rods
cylinder chimes
clinker dinger)
fortunately
your head doesn't do that
(piccolo celeste)
the attention of toddlers is instructive
John knows O
but
fusses
when told no
life is hard
boy of many moods
we
are compelled
to find focus quickly
and hang on
can be a
frustrating listening experience
drums
and bug guitar
17 months
knows O
Toad
John learns toad
as we hear
and Bach
bell
nose
frangible drive shaft
plummeted
it's a rude business
it's hard to be told no
crank it up to finish
fuzzy dogs
(keylimba)
mommy's making macaroni
{from my journal entry of June 21, 1996:
John has several fusses then some drumming}
Adios Hermanos - Paul Simon [from The Essential Paul Simon]
message in place of song
nice backup singers though
O - Benjamin Boretz - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded live at University Temple United Methodist Church, Seattle, February 23, 2002]
I played this piece twice at this recital
back to back
right now
I'm hearing it wanting to be slower
or more immovable
makes
me want to look at it again
the closing flourish
was the seed for
my High and Inside
The Big One - Peter Fedofsky [from the City of Good Neighbors]
disaster
as blithe opportunity
or a sign
to change
cuts right off
What's Wanting For (draft) - Your Mother Should Know [May 8, 2012]
too much tinny on the vocals
piercing
the harmony part could be
less equal
guitar and drums are good
C.O.D. - Charms [from Human Error]
sorcerers of sibilance in distress
Banned Telepath 81 Tintinabulary - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Neal Kosály-Meyer
jumping steps on the Yamaha midisynth
Karen on drums
Bach exits
the rails in Lake City
armor plated
swampy murkadonia
bottom
dwellers get big
bits of Bach
break loose
and sink
to the maw
of the bottom fishes
faulty loops
peck
peck
peck fish
In Session at the Tintinabulary
March 9, 2022
Anybody's Fingerbook 3x3 (augmentational) A B C D - Keith Eisenbrey
March 11, 2022
Joshua Tree Prelude 6 - Aaron Keyt
I need to do some more metronome practice on this one yet
Rounds for Aaron (first bit) - Keith Eisenbrey
I'm going to need to record this a little bit at a time.
Postscripts
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
some doodles from 1988
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