"'When Prince Bladud had been shut up in the lofty turret for the greater part of a year, with no better prospect before his bodily eyes than a stone wall, or before his mental vision than prolonged imprisonment, he naturally began to ruminate on a plan of escape, which, after months of preparation, he managed to accomplish: considerately leaving his dinner knife in the heart of his gaoler, lest the poor fellow (who had a family) should be considered privy to his flight, and punished accordingly by the infuriated king.'"
Charles Dickens - from "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club"
Texts
Recorded
September 16, 2023
Fantasia in D minor, K. 397 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Kristian Bezuidenhout
parataxical sequence of states
too far
step back
no help
that way
if there is no firm place
retreat is empty
we'll
fence in a nice garden here
fragment cuts off at a half cadence
Der Wanderer in Der Sagemuhle - Clara Schumann - Dorothea Craxton, Hedayet Djeddikar
love the little codetta
as we close the book
where were we
just now
Largo in E-flat Major, KKIVb/5 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
a melody
is an episode
in the image of a thing
that is being
sung
Advertisement (Third Encore to Dynamic Motion) - Henry Cowell - Henry Cowell
leaps in and splashes for all it's worth
I think there must be a place in the soul - Charles Ives - Kia Sams, Russ Warner
sentimental to the core
paints
feelings of meanings
My Melancholy Baby - Ray Charles [from The Great Ray Charles]
love how the piano comes in
so that it's practically in the middle of
its verse
when it finally comes around
magnificent tempo
modulation
into the bump & grind at the end
Keeper of the Flame - Nina Simone [from High Priestess of Soul]
exotic fantasy sound
totally
charismatically
tasteless
And The Feeling Good - Sarah Vaughan [from Feelin' Good]
a music of having arrived
after long living
sung to those
who have arrived
after long living
Hard Rock Café - Carole King [from Simple Things]
does she get residuals?
every beer sold
party place
it will
fix your funk
part of the appeal
is an ability to evoke a life
that might be
somebody's
this one has a colorful arrangement
that doesn't rely
on drowning everything out in big band tutti power
Jimmy Rose He Went to Town - Mike, Peggy, and Penny Seeger [from American Folk Songs for Children]
a song doesn't need to be commercially sized
to be a song among songs
Born in Puerto Rico - Paul Simon [from Songs from The Capeman]
a photograph that reveals a past in a place
Compass 2 from Compass (2001) - Jarrad Powell [from Natural Selection]
bowing bells and gongs
glassy shimmer
hard and brittle
delicate sharpness
rolling vowels in the abstract
Cannonball - Brandi Carlile [from The Story]
... and the Belly Flops
but seriously:
in the business of sharing ones suffering
for
credibility
but that's unfair
this is a strong song
local talent did well here
Another Day - Smokestack and The Foothill Fury - [from River Rats and Pipelines]
the hollow jug
bass rhythm
is at an interesting conflict with the
guitar
as though behind
but exactly so
as though
and
it may be
the playing of it
demands that apparent lag
Gaze - Nat Evans [from Coyoteways]
the wind is stilled at dawn
the sun stares
meditative
blank
impersonal
we are turned to it
as on a spit
Pitch Collection 3 - Sascia Pellegrini [from Antoneide]
among these trombone sounds
appear several trombone sound locations
and a multitude of conversational paths
cairned by the pitches of
the trombone sounds
becomes a flock of trombone-playing geese
passing over
in a vast texture
it is more difficult
for a change of a small
parameter
to make a difference that seems to matter
Intermezzo in A minor, Op. 4 #3 - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
balanced phrase periods
but not sequenced
in groups of binary
formations
more in the way of a Rondeau
Baby (take 1) - Little Richard [from Here's Little Richard]
great sax solo
Baby, Ain't That Fine - Bob Dylan [from A Tree With Roots]
an accidental recording
of some seemingly drunken dudes
playing
music for their amusement
nothing wrong with that
what skews the
whole experience
is the knowledge
that it is Bob Dylan
and
it comes with all the baggage of Bob Dylanhood
My Opening Farewell - Bonnie Raitt [from Sweet Forgiveness]
cinematographically scripted memory
moves fast
chattering as it goes
news of the day
gossip of
gossip
As The Rhyme Goes On - Eric B. & Rakim [from Paid in Full]
the purpose of the incessant talk
is to hypnotize
disrupt sense
alter consciousness
Gangsta's Fairytale 2 - Ice Cube [from The Predator]
a cluttered mind
cluttering minds
Until The End - Curtains for You [from Heaven's Waiting]
churchy organ
ukulele
simple vocal
quite nice message rhyme
buried in nonsense rhyme
September 18, 2023
Jemkow - Black Plastic Clouds [from Electroplate]
stoked for the party
Garage - Keith Eisenbrey [December 17, 2017]
closing car doors underground
the sizes of things
are shown to be not irregular
always measured
against a drum track
with a steady pulse
however
when the
pulse remains
but the drum track changes
or is something else at a
certain point
the regularity of measured sizes
may be compromised
Honey Hush - Jerry Lee Lewis [from Rare and Rockin']
licks and interjections
more or less forgot to worry about words
Emily - Bill Evans [from California, Here I Come]
melody is a clearly discernable thread to follow
everything else is
designed to ensure its clear discernibility
Soon - Total Experience Gospel Choir, Pat Wright [from Bits and Pieces]
a show-off number with quick articulations and ricochet call and response
I Wish You Love - Glenn Tate [from Some of My Favorite Love Songs]
as a song might be in Hallmarkland
No Gardens Here - The Hope [from In The Deep]
route 75
the long way south
sketches on the bus
fellow
passengers
holding still
Kaplnka-1 - Stanislav Surin
like a nursery song
eruptions of expression
the swelling heart
Song 4 - Sarah Pasillas [recorded live at The Victory Lounge, Seattle, April 27, 2017]
platformer stanzas
pitch = passion
Conversation Piece - Davide Bowie [from Toy]
working in a limited pitch region
for the contrast
when the stanza
moves elsewhere
Early Morning Cold Taxi - The Who [from The Who Sell Out]
the petty indignities of the fast life
same situation over and over
and the stupid tacked on ad
Symphony in C minor (#5), first movement - Ludwig van Beethoven [from 100 Greatest Classics]
with repeat
thank you
each new thing
is a growth from the
old
though
one is left wondering about the oboe solo
skeleton key or door to elseness?
Irresistable (West Side Connection) - Mariah Carey [from Charmbracelet]
weaving voices around the sound
arachnid
Scribes Eye - Head for the Hills [from Robber's Roost]
entitlement rap
A Much Married Woman, Chapter 4 - Nancy Cole Silverman - Adam Verner
western success boosterism
our gloriously off-colored past
lullabies to the little ones
safely in the past
Banned Rehearsal 948 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt [December 18, 2017]
a deliberately attenuated sequence of items
call attention to themselves
begins to hide behind the other sounds
timbre as used in
orchestrations
is a marker
for an object in physical space
a
piano
a viola
a drum
et cetera
objects in space
to that extent
they move us away from conceptual music
the
music that creates its own geometry in virtual space
pitch and sequence
point toward this virtuality
now the attenuate sequence
has
a gaudy hat
the paces at which various agendas leave an audible trace in
the signal
do not line up
they interpermeate shiftingly
a
mature geology
Low Desert Signal - Doug Haire [from Western Stoner]
kitchen sounds and chitter chatter critters
wind and water and flame
some bird bangs his head on a post
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - The Philadelphia Brass Ensemble [from Festival of Carols in Brass]
with a beery lilt
Brel Yvane - Bulgarian State Radio & TV Female Vocal Choir, Philip Koutev [from Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares]
robust temperament
skittery frenetic
That's What Love's All About - Back Burner [from Simmer On]
string band advice column
Her Love Is Killing Me - Freddie and The Screamers [from I Ain't Crazy]
some guys go to bars
to get their bellyachin' done
hence the blues
instructions on how to complain about life
Sticky Notes - Mud on my Bra [from Sunset Tavern]
has a charming DIY brilliance to it
Sewing Machine Water Train - Tom Varner [from Sound Vespers]
something went gloaurp
more than one something
train whistle
whale song
swarm song
boom boom BOOM!
gluaorp!
The Gnome - Pink Floyd [from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (digital)]
psychedelic pop music gets no better ever
The Hardest Time - Los Lobos [from By The Light of the Moon]
portrait poem
someday long ago
How The Mighty Have Fallen - The Tripwires [from Makes You Look Around]
telling someone's life story
as an accusation
how does it feel
Convermash - Bruce Hamilton, Paul Muller, Jérôme Poirier, Jude Cowan, Chris Vaisvil, Roger Sundström [from Mash Hits Vol. 1]
making tracks to share
Song 4 - Sun Dummy [recorded live at The Victory Lounge, Seattle, April 27, 2017]
works
transportation provided
Hvinskyn - Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir - Halla Lovísa Loftsdóttir [from Strengur]
the spirit
coming from whence
going to hither
passes by
a visitation
in passing
not gently
24 Preludes - Lockrem Johnson - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded 2006-2022]
stretch out
snap back
undulate
pull
overlap
press
tickle
march out
listen hush
mock battle
strive upward
keep it together
behold
marvel
weave
evoke
stir slow
call forth
announce
watch
guard
stretch
luxuriate
linger
needle
grumble
bring forth
knead
force back
drift down
march back
flow
caricature
dance
whirl
frighten
In God's Country - U2 [from The Joshua Tree]
the song starts strong and then evaporates
Song 13 - The Humidiflyers [from Humidiflyers 2002]
clear the slate
slow it down for testimony
Moon Rising - Goat [from Live at Sonarchy]
gentle pulse washed by broader waves
a rhythm like an incense
heady and infectious
a ground of being
from within which
this music becomes possible
set it
forget it
the crowd
vanishes
we are left
with little else
but pulse
so
washed
Red Hot Kinda Love - Christina Aguilera [from Lotus]
top of the world
the song that gets sung
is heavily encrusted
with jewels and fashion
Problems - Alone in Dead Bars [recorded live at The Victory Lounge, Seattle, April 27, 2017]
a song is a paragraph's worth of saying
Seen, Unseen - James Falzone [form So Far Still]
the singularity of the device is questioned
from this place
figuration magic
Good Morning Good Morning - The Beatles [from Anthology]
a song about sudden boredom
and bewilderment
without the titular
hook
writing arrangements of simple melodies
is a time-honored pastime
of heavy hitters in the old days
Start! - The Jam [from The Sound of The Jam]
disconnected statements
it doesn't matter if
for disconnected
urbanist attitude
'Twas the Night Before Christmas - The Capitol Steps [from O Christmas Bush]
by homeland security
elf kaida
Lullaby - Byron Au Yong [from Yiju]
close vocals layered with moving around noises
an image of a family
space
idealized enfolding
rapturous
clangorous
D-List (I'm On the) - The Snubs [from Witness Protection Program]
up tempo mouthy
with a key lift
Grande Fantasia with 6 Variations - Amélie-Julie Candeilee - Seattle Baroque Orchestra
from the age of flourishments embellishments and gaudy politesse
the
privileged were getting nervous
and must be stroked
with
delightful entertainments
composed as showcases
for skill display
Wales Visitation - Allen Ginsberg [from Holy Soul Jelly Roll]
angelic as light bulbs
nameless as the vast, babble to Vastness!
a
solid mass of heaven
tongued with cloud hang
vegetable tremble
the great secret
is no secret
Home for the Holidays - London Symphony Orchestra [from Songs for the Holidays]
implies that where one resides the rest of the year isn't home?
Capriccio in A minor (#24) - Nicolo Paganini - Salvatore Accordo [from Masters of the Bow]
the theme that launched a thousand variations
with some if its own
Pianos and Bricks (Dorian Wood) - Prom Queen [from Covers]
stanza two begins
with the last word of stanza 1
romance > love
many sharp objects
Khegirnanna - $.99 Dreams [from Brood of Bau]
internal exotic
invented other
bass line conforms all
to a
cycle of two pitch places
lets go
and it all drifts away
Stuck - Chastity Belt [from I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone]
what does it mean to express oneself?
pushing the internals out into the
social sphere
must arise from an urge to do so
the more specific
the identity
of what is inside
the more specific must be
the
face of the urge
Skittering - Tom Swafford [from Rough Spaces]
muse
demon
urge
demiurge
inkling
yen
rib-poke
whim
the word for the origin of an idea
to do
expressing of oneself
whether that origin is within us
or arrives
from elsewhere
(as inspiration)
an indeterminable fact
lurking within our figures of speech
where does language come from
The One I Love - REM [from Document]
this one goes out
is expressed
as a song artifact
That's My N**** fo' Real - Young Zee [from 8 Mile]
strut brag
balls out
The City of Good Neighbors - Peter Fedofsky [from The City of Good Neighbors]
chromatic descent
keeps the ambitus narrow
a closely defined
location
low skies
For Hummingbird Heron & Honeybee - St. Paul de Vence [from St. Paul de Vence]
quite a fine study in vocal harmonies
the string band comes in gently
but brings it down to an earth
from which it can't self-extract
Avenged Seven-Minute Abs - Gaytheist [from Let's Jam Again Soon]
set to loud and close
Morse code guitar
wind up for the big punch
pummel and pummel
Cuff It - Beyoncé [from Renaissance]
pop music industry
sells the expressions of beautiful women's desires
for sex
for socially dancing to
Young Fresh Fellows Update Theme - The Young Fresh Fellows [from Refreshments]
cock of the walk
pizza and cheese curls
Swamp Entrance - Pete Comley, Dave Fuglewicz [from Lost City Music Volume 2]
forgotten sci fi film
Lost City Soundtrack
Indiana should be here
any minute now
I'm sure of it
I wasn't going to listen to this
track by track
but I changed my mind
the tracking is entirely
after fact
but
it was a creative decision on Pete's part
so
I'm interested in those sorts of decisions
Sonarchy - Seattle Phonographer's Union [from Seattle Phonographer's Union]
a phonographer takes careful phonographs of sounds in the wild
Seattle
is a spacey place
its place is the spacey place
a particular
flavor of spacey
that of the light in late November
a spaciness
that reaches inside
ominous space
beetling o'er
campfires
are a favorite subject
and a conversation among topics
as many
ideas about phonography
as there are of them
plethora of imaged
places
a roundness in the mix
The Lighthouse - Low Hums [from Low Hums LP]
the lonely outpost
outcast loner post
keeps the Eddystone
Borg Pillow - CEP [from Drawing the Target Around the Arrow]
one starts by collecting a repertoire of assemblages
and of the
activities of assembling
id est
composition
connnectifying
drawing lines around
in the rhythm of a headache throb
tides
and ripplets
baby ripples
Fifteen Moments from The Time of Rivers - Tom Baker [from Deeply Lodged]
this is the sound of people making the magic happen
this too
these
all
open formed
even when sequenced
it matters
that
their order matters not
that ghastly light
it orders that their
matter orders not
recording
has begotten the notion
of a
sound itself
as the locus of an artifact's identity
rather than
the intent
being the sound itself
don't hide
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson [from Bad]
extreme separation
his vocals dance in their own voice
voice body
in how it moves
those robot backup vocals are freaking me out
from a more distant nearness
mythic warrior testimony
the
sincerity of heroic sentiment
in times of war
old civil war wounds
Lord Daniel - Mary Lomax [from The Art of Field Recording Volume 1]
the mythic moment melodified over
as it begins the envelope of story
between the moments of beginning and ending disasters
Severed Head - Ian Bell, John Teske [from Embers of Discontent (original mix)]
got lost thinking about discontent in America as I hear it in our music at the ages
Coco Flush - Charms [from Human Error]
industrial spacey
over the sci fi edge
down in trenches
galley slaves
Aloft - Lori Goldston [from High and Low]
draw the bow
drawn by a bow
by a bow
by a bow
by
a bow
by a bow
by a bow
by a bow
by a bow
by a
bow
by a bow
drawn bow
drawn bow
drawn bow
drawn
bow
drawn bow
drawn by a bow
drawn bow
drawn by a bow
drawn bow
draw bow
draw bow
draw bow
draw
In Session at The Tintinabulary
September 17, 2023
Stonefield - Keith Eisenbrey
continuing my Sunday discipline of arranging old shape-note tunes for keyboard or what-not
September 19, 2023
Invention in F Major - Gavin Borchert
September 20, 2023
Invention in G minor - Gavin Borchert
four more to go in this set of 30
September 22, 2023
Patti's Parlour Pieces (#23) - Ken Benshoof
I think I finally got this one sounding pretty good
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 3: 1982-1983
I have started sharing collections of my compositions in albums on Bandcamp. These document the beginnings of the activity, in words and music, of thinking about thinking about music.
Keith Eisenbrey 2: 1981-1982
These are two electronic works completed at the end of my undergraduate days and in the year that followed.
Keith Eisenbrey 1: 1979-1981
These are the keyboard works I composed while an undergrad at the UW.
All are free for download.
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
listening journal doodles from 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment