"There are twin Gates of Sleep. One, they say, is made
of horn, and lets
true visions pass through easily.
The other gleams with complex work in
ivory,
but through it shades send lying visions to the light.
Anchises
and the Sibyl brought Aeneas
to this gate and sent him through."
Vergil - "The Aeneid" (translated by Shadi Bartsch)
Texts
From Recent Arrivals
April 1, 2022
Particles of the Infinite Pt. V - Alex Anthony Faide, Alessandro Inolti [from Particles of the Infinite]
this vehicle has a loud engine
moves right along
buckle up
once outside
the
perfumed fronds
brush so lightly
drugged so gently
"poppies, poppies, poppies . . ."
Remembrance - Motoko Honda
the figurations surrounding the melody
seem to imitate an orchestra
as it
might be arranged for song production
(no that's not right)
it becomes the
flesh of its chords
which proceed like chord changes do
as a cyclic pattern
rather than
like a contrapuntally charged tonal progression
the chords change
but don't move or transform
remain
in some sense
atomic
Jibing - Amy Denio [from Chapel Sessions]
loop based I think
an increasing inhabitation
of muttering Amys
Prayer Variations - Alison Yun-Fei Jiang - Pathos Trio [from When Dark Sounds Collide: New Music for Percussion and Piano]
here we are floating
or
we were
perhaps sinking
there may be urgency
in our
fleeing
hiding
breaking through
floating once more
Recorded
Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, FVB 101 - William Byrd - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
ut and la are mordented
on their first appearances
up and down
in slow waves
of ut to la
et la to ut
cross ripples
from the edges of the pitch pool
reflect
the upper
and lower
depths
Alma Redemptoris Mater - Peter Philips - The Tudor Consort, Peter Walls [from Cantiones Sacrae Quinis Vocubus]
it brings us along
as it moves through its moving alongness
each line
a
station
moving
contemplation
Sonata in C minor, Kk. 174 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
brickwork
puzzle
mosaic
a size
is a size
until the back half
generates its own
back half
stranding a front half
in the vanishing chamber
11 Bagatelles, Op. 119 - Ludwig van Beethoven - Stephen Kovacevich
re-inventing the old ways
to seek where they might go next
between Chopin type
preludes
and Schumann type character pieces
and Beethoven type variations
they
interlock
outside their perimeters
children's stories
Waltz in F Major, Op. 34 #3 - Frédéric Chopin - Alfred Cortot (1943)
weightless
fleet
take a bow
Original Jelly Roll Blues (take 1) - Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers [from Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, Chicago Days]
keep your ear on the tune
don't let it sneak up behind you
Carelessly - Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson [from Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia]
the first bars
are in a quicker harmonic tempo
than that
in which
the song
proper
lives
Max Making Wax - Charlie Parker [from The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes]
moving too fast to stop now
spit it out
Teenage Letter - Jerry Lee Lewis [from Rare and Rockin']
Jerry and Jelly
share nominative syllable count
backseat makeout
pressure
tactics
Hello Little Girl - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 1]
these older guys
sure do spend a lot of time
on little girls
pretty good (my playing)
it could use a more varied touch in places
especially
the beginning
The World is a Ghetto - War [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
composed throughout
moves are earned
prepared
followed up
Holidays in the Sun - The Sex Pistols [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
drum strikes
crunch
like marching boots
attitude
as marketable commodity
typecasting
Someone Like You / Walkin' Cane - The Knitters [from Poor Little Critter on the Road]
it's difficult to lampoon country music
it has such a deficit of irony in
general
that the lampooning
is swallowed up
without so much as a twinge
absorbed
fireside hootenanny singalongs
to the cemetery
walkin'
from the
boneyard
dancing
March 27, 2022
Banned Rehearsal 114 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Julie F, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 21, 1987]
in the mix
it is as though
we were all in the room
together
though
we were
actually separated
along the coast
and by time
Karen and I
made our tape
quite
late in the evening
do you like my party hat?
much better balanced than 113
some talk about smoking
percussive guitar and
catalog work
nice vocal solo with mbiru Keith!
actually one of the most
enjoyable telepath tapes
as a mix
in a while
sleepy again
going to town
on
fishwhistle
rhythm of speech
underneath
Morris the Cat
enough cross-talking
to
make it really quite beautiful
layered}
Soul Driver - Bruce Springsteen [from Human Touch]
interesting mix for Bruce
each instrument track remains clearly itself
they
don't meld into a mush
like they often do
similar vocal delivery to Star Anna
Weary American Country Blues
Banned Rehearsal 470 - Isaac E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [October 25, 1997]
some kitcheny rattle rhythms
Uncle W snoring melodiously
in the easy chair
bells need shaking
chatter among the guitars
Uncle W has stopped snoring
picked it up again
elaborate preparations
and fine chatter
a new phase
celebrated by truly tinkly bells
ah yes
Uncle W has awakened at last
conversation picks up
still gotta shake things though
that task never really
ends
this
may yet be cooking
going on
chemical processes
application of heat
agitating
stirring
kneading
ingredient economy
open plan improvising
some Vegas crooner
from radio land
I don't think we're in the kitchen anymore
though still the shaker shakes
Aaron finds wolves in his synthesizer
we have entered Uncle W's snore
we search out its cavernous sinuses
for the Chamber of Resonance
we'll have to go by plane
ride the wind
will wake up
when supper is ready
messages from
journey
to the center
of the slumber
explorers of the past
the past passed
dragon rumors persist
tap the metal walls
our lights search the shape of our containers
quiet drum beat
friendly
in one space
made of inter-rotating
distinct
spaces
distinct
in that
they have
distinct methods
of distinguishing
their shape
to themselves
we may have found
snore central
the much renowned
Chamber of Resonance
in the center
of Uncle W's
capacious
schnozz
still get radio in here
who knew?
{from my journal entry of September 16, 2005:
sound (tech) is pretty good in this one
I wonder if we had moved the
microphones by this [time]?
focused murmurs
we speak as though into cans}
Grandmother Cedar Tree - Johnny Moses [from When Humans Thought They Were People]
inter-generational care
socialization
Consider the Birds, Mix 2 - Keith Eisenbrey [February 3, 2007]
from multiple locations
within an interior
critters
tap and hoot
a texture
that undulates
in numerous
familial
interactions
there is no single path of
attention
it desires
a field of communications
in action
sparks
move along the
paths
they make themselves
node to node
Overture - Tyrannosaurus Grace [from Much More Than A Story]
going prog
light show ready
March 29, 2022
Maple Leaf 170326 - Keith Eisenbrey [March 26, 2017]
five years and three days ago
in our yard
we had loaned it
to an urban farm
co-op
the year before
so I placed the device
next to the remains of some kale
if one knows what to listen for
I can be heard in the kitchen
making coffee
we
are a block or so from a 4-lane highway
so there is plenty of traffic sound
crows song birds air traffic a seagull
crows caw in groups of evenly separated
calls
the count varies
but amounts to a kind of spaced out mathematics
are
there local dialects of crow caw lingo?
some human person sings something
while they walk by
full voice
I think some bird or other
must be on the
ground
very near the device
though it might be a squirrel
short sharp chirps
interesting chatter among yard kind
very quick
hummingbird?
a mob of
something chirpy
erupts in the distance
crows can be quite stern
there's me tromping out to put a stop to it
Infrathin Condition 8 - Doug Haire [from Infrathin Conditions]
the unimaginable magnitude of perception
Ut, me, re, Fvb 102 - William Byrd - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
and chains thereof
ascending
with mordents
given how few
these days
speak
tonal
as it were
do any
still
really
speak tetrachordal?
multiple
ever
shifting frames
of functionality
implying
who knows what
economies of thought
Fischer-Dieskau at his most egregious
over acting
and over-engineered
they sat
the flautist right next to me
did Bach's orchestras use transverse flutes?
a
woman's desires
(as opposed to
her father
and her marriage prospects)
treated
as humor fodder
all the Dad hears
is tootling
default legato strings
Take Me to the Water - Rev. E. D. Campbell [from Goodbye, Babylon]
recording of a performed baptism
sounds like a holler
but it's a chant
shaman-adjacent
an honest attempt
to understand
and echo
what was
presumed
to have been meant
by John the Baptist
If I Had Possession over Judgment Day - Robert Johnson [from The Complete Recordings]
his intro riffs
are more like checking his tuning
than anything more
compositional
he matches his vocal delivery
to different positions
on the
figures
on the guitar
includes instructions
for the party game
doesn't matter
who's in the chair
it's got to be a Walker
Sweet and Easy to Love - Roy Orbison [from Sun Records Definitive Hits]
bop de wadda wadda wah
sweeter than easy
does Roy know what they're saying
behind him?
Where Have You Been All My Life - The Beatles [from First Live Recordings, Volume 1]
recorded with what?
even then
vocal amplification couldn't keep up
Tramp - Otis Redding and Carla Thomas [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
any big show
needed a comedy number
smack down
rhythm play
also
allows the man
to brag in public
Could It Be I'm Falling In Love - The Spinners [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
the opening figures
in the bells
and then
the strings
each
rise
in an
imitation
of the inflection
of inquiry
the whole thing sits up high there
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
covered by a sheen
from head to toe
the difference between the verse and the chorus
registers
as a small change
in
the ongoing texture
constant in all possible other ways
March 30, 2022
Banned Sectional 6 AK NWM - Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 21, 1987]
pipe organ and piano
in a big space
so tempting
a large scale painting in oils
and a small ink drawing
chat
color
and figuration
on each other's duds
there's
the big Bundler
after which
we calm down for a bit
in pairing piano and organ
the piano's sound
all emanates
from a specific place
from an object
in a room
its size
as a sound
within the space
is limited
and fixed
the organ's sounds
come into our space
and inhabit that space with us
this aspect of organ sound
is almost impossible to capture in a recording
with the result
that
the perceived sound
shrinks abysmally
as though
we were hearing it
the wrong way
down a telescope
the piano sound
keeps more of its presence on recordings
generally
but little of its resonance can be heard
through even the organ's shrunken sound
neither comes off particularly well
they do manage to
find some nice conjoined places
especially toward the end
despite the systemic
challenges
rhyme games
word play
like
what bebop was
to the tin pan alley
word play
as to
tin pan alley
tunes
Velvet Rope - Janet Jackson [from The Velvet Rope]
at home
within a complex social/rhythmic environment
it works
if you can
create multiples as needed
PC KEE 020303 - Pete Comley, Keith Eisenbrey [March 3, 2002]
Pete had asked me to bring my Silvertone hollow body and Sunn Stinger over to play
while he spun vinyl
through boxes and devices
unnamable
everything
was
recorded
and mixed
on-line
without microphones
another channel in his mix
it
was an unusual experience for me
having no idea
whether what I was doing
would
make a sound
out there
it's hard to believe
it was 20 years ago
sounds of history
sound effects
birds
and music of various varieties
a sound poem
of the randomishly curated past
somehow my electric guitar stylings
fit right in
with this
psychedelic junkheap
of sound
should I be unsurprised?
switch toggling rhythm
effects play
pile off the road
on the high side
a weapon of destruction
a silent movie
without the movie
it will be on your conscience
it happens all too often
in Volkswagon engines
unmerchantable wood
everything must go
March 31, 2022
Postcard - Curtains For You [from Heaven's Waiting]
it ends in the air
though without an anticipated cadence
more like
an
anticipated fade-out
What's Wanting For (Karen and Neal duet) (final) - Your Mother Should Know [March 20, 2012]
this version is a bit of a mess
the two vocal conceptions don't gel
Earplug Girl - Alone in Dead Bars [recorded live at Victory Lounge, Seattle, on July 15, 2017]
a loud song
about a loud band
and a girl
the wettest last day ever
and so viola
low tech
and hi tech
admonishments
string tones
pots and pans tones
electronically processed tones
each
quite distinct
though our activities
are each scribbly
in nature
or perhaps
doodly
is more accurate
there is intent
pots and pans
give way
to kora
which
sounds a bit like a viola
but held
more inside itself
beware the mermaids should they sing
the various tones or timbres in play
find modes of connecting
amongst themselves
Fantasia, Fvb. 103 - William Byrd - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
by then it was clear
that the rhythmic outlines of one's subjects were
composable
so as
to have effect
upon
or within
the textural design of the
whole
similarly as to their pitch structures
My Daddy's Got a Brand New Way to Love - Alberta Hunter, Price Goodson, Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters [from Allen Lowe's Turn Me Loose White Man]
"My Boy"
in the older
night time
America
kept the London Bridge
from falling
down
Little Red Caboose - The Pickar Family [from Evans 78s]
song as a carrier wave
for light verse
newspapers had recipes
and these also
Placetas - Chano Pozo and Orchestra [from Allen Lowe's Turn Me Loose White Man]
did aspects of African drumming
transfer more intactly
to the Caribbean
than
to the Southern USofA
or did they just survive longer?
I may have a tin ear for
this
but there is a distinct similarity here
to what I have heard
of the music
of Burundi
(which is not a great deal)
Rock-A-Billy - Guy Mitchell [a Rescued Record]
a history of sorts
Billy as in hillbilly
I don't think guy is one
In Session at the Tintinabulary
March 28, 2022
Banned Telepath 84 Lost Again - Steve Kennedy
Banned Telepath 84 Tintinabulary - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey
March 30, 2022
Rounds for Aaron (fourth bit) - Keith Eisenbrey
Joshua Tree Prelude 7 - Aaron Keyt
April 1, 2022
Rounds for Aaron (last bit) - Keith Eisenbrey
I still need to put all these together
Banned Telepath 84 Toad Hall - Aaron Keyt
Banned Rehearsal 1048 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt
The Telepaths 84 assembled
Postscripts
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
more doodles from 1988
