Playlist

Preface

"Lust for life meets fear of death and they tangle.
The logic admits it doesn't consider itself accountable.
Its logic is by no stretch constructive despite the endless constructs."

George Quasha, from Flying Spirit Pencil

Texts

Recorded

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

October 26, 2026

Don't Let Me Down (with Billy Preston) - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]

hook chorus
and verses
are not obviously connected
poetically/thematically
encouraging the listener
to invent the motion between them

Eroica - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

in solution
subdued lighting
controlled temperature
delicate balance 

does the image of musical energy
adhere to the laws of thermodynamics?
if energy within a tonal system
is imagined to increase
is it imagined
that the energy came from somewhere?
might this be
how a motion
is said
to be earned?
that effort was expended
and work was done?

Pussy Footing Around - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

a male demand

Mendelssohns Wasserfahrt und Der Jäger Abschied, S. 548: I. Wasserfahrt (After, Op. 50 No. 4) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

with each iteration
an increase of expanse

Papillate for Piano in C Major - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

a tender prayer

Matchbox - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

George taking care of business

Radiante - Steve Layton [from Trouble In Mind]

scanning beams cleanse the space
periodic episodes
a field of vibrations among resonance locations
energy flows into the system from an outside source
we submerge our attention bodily
as we might in a bath

This Time Yesterday - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

harmonic friction within the first two chord regions

Mendelssohns Wasserfahrt und Der Jäger Abschied, S. 548: II. Der Jäger Abschied (After, Op. 50 No. 2) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

setting off
prepared for mighty deeds of valor
visage of quiet confidence
no peril unmet without victory

Papillons (excerpts), Op. 2, #s 4, 6, 7, and 1 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

some pretty muscular papillons in this batch
fragmentary rethinkings

The Ballad of John and Yoko - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

being John of the Beatles
went to his head

Morgenpfeifer - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

what is it I think I'm doing?
I think
I'm thinking about
what I'm doing
listening
and observing my listening
and commenting
on both my listening and my observing 

what is it you think you're doing?
this music takes place
in a cushioned echospace

Are We Slipping Away - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

these songs are conversation snippets
from within meaningful relationships

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

October 27, 2026

Grosses Septett, S. 493 (After Hummel, Op. 74) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

1
a tonality in action
another at play
solid
by the book formal structure 

2
finger business
keeps reminding its wandering mind
to get back to it 

3
a chaste demeanor
and giggling titter
a sneak in the dark
harmless fun on a dare 

4
up hill we press
downhill we coast
enjoy our ride into the village
oh boy a fancy fugue
such dramatics

Intermezzi (excerpt), Op. 4 #4 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

blocklike patterns of sturdy figures

Old Brown Shoe - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]

among my favorite Beatles songs
great energy
vocals are slightly low in the mix
(and off to one side)

Circular Thinking - Steve Layton [from The Month of Endings]

adding elements in front of each added element receding
some elements come then go
across a field of more constant elements
are they eating them?
does the sense of a tonic swallow its prolongations back into itself?
Uroboros scratching its head again in thought

I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm) - Homer Banks [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

a gospel of hope

Romance "O pourquoi donc", S. 169 - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

this is a sad story
with a beautiful sad princess
in a castle
miles from anyone interesting 

this is that song

Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 3, Scherzino - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

a depiction of an album leaf
its character

I Feel Fine - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

massive track sequestration

The King of Nothing - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

an exhibit
so lifelike too
is this music a special effect?
it was just then

What You Did To Me Last Night - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

a work of fiction

Glanes de Woronince, S. 249: I. Ballade ukraine. Dumka - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

a music proceeding on several planes of register
how Webernian! 

the figuration conjurer 

this is a remarkable piece
check it out

Rondo in B-flat Major -  Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

like tickles
fragment ending

Across The Universe - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]

head hippie talking
groove on it

Shaman Sunrise - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

the planet of clean channels
where sax can rip it up

Got to Make You Mine - Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

courtship serenade

Glanes de Woronince, S. 249: II. Mélodies polonaises - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

redefining what it means to play well
as a posture

Allegro in A-flat Major - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

the melody moves the key along

dinner time

more nimbly than you do

She's A Woman - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

another winner

Gevurah - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

a kind of messy organum
as imagined by Satie

Come On Dance With Me - Rufus Thomas [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

drum beat
with some sock hop pep to it

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

Glanes de Woronince, S. 249: III. Complainte. Dumka - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

how could one not trust a face so sincere?

Allegro in B minor, Op. 8 (2) - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

besetting it with questions and harangues
fountain from within fountain of imitation
spilling over

Let It Be - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]

gospel to the rafters

Cracked Glass Landscape - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

this music is on a stand for display from all sides
it changes in the natural lighting

imagining how the world might sound
if we saw through our ears like bats
but passively
by acoustic feel 

mi re do
intoned into a complicating chamber

I Got To Go for That - Rufus Thomas [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

roses are red type verse structure
off the shelf madlib rhyme cues

Marche héroïque, S. 510 - Franz Liszt - Michael Kaykov

o quite!
so handsome! 

the very type of valor
Lancelotique

Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (fragment) - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

a desperate search broken off just past the hinge

Bad Boy - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

self portrait 

get that haircut off your head

Incantation (Anne-Marie Albiach) - Steve Layton [from The Month of Endings]

to incant is to pray in a lifted voice
to effect it
make it so

Spin It - Deanie Parker [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

show me all sides of it
do it
advertising the fun of dance

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

October 28, 2026

Leyer und Schwerdt, S. 452 "Heroide nach Carl Maria von Weber" - Franz Liszt - Michael Kaykov

the public face of music is widely varied in the profundity department
this music is all spectacle
the closest it gets to profundity
is providing an apt depiction
of a noble aspiration
none of which touches on the skills of those engaged

Piano Sonata in F-minor (excerpt) - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

Eusebius and Florestan have it out with the downbeat

You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]

the boys cutting up

Ekphora - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

a drum like a soft timp tap
a jangle like a hefty triangle
a throb below
and a hymn rides up top 

pianistic sounds take the stage
the news is sad
and settles through those gathered

Nobody Wants to Get Old - Deanie Parker & Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

poetry of private concerns

Schlummerlied mit Arabesken, S. 454 - Franz Liszt - Michael Kaykov

quite the ardent lullaby in its later periods
takes you with it

Allegro il più possibile in G minor - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

not a specific tempo
but an image of one
rife with ambiguities
a modulation of many turnings

Yes It Is - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

so sincere it borders on parody

Spiral Grow - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

electric guitar in an electric space
it can shout all it wants

Such a Feeling - Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

these songs address us personally
they use that trick to pull you into their story

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

Marche héroïque, S. 510 - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

the only way to study any culture
especially ones own
is to observe it at ground level
or as near to it as can be managed
we discover styles of all sorts across the humanities
our manners and mindsets
habits and hangups 
report on what is observed
be aware of ones own predilections
its OK to confess them
any artifact is just that
a unique item to observe 

our destiny!
onward!

Gesänge der Frühe (excerpt), Op. 133 #1 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

a hymn in open intervals
goes deep in canon

I'm Down - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]

clowning
but having fun
Paul gets to do voices

A Bad Feeling - Steve Layton [from The Month of Endings]

a sound at the pit of one's stomach
visceral misgivings
gut hunches
intuition in general
this is what that look sounds like
objectified
you are a sound
you are organized
therefore
you are music
seems too broad and off-topic

Never Say No To The One You Love - Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

under a presumed context
limiting its application as a rule

Wagner - Tannhauser: Overture, S. 442/R. 275 - Franz Liszt - Steven Mayer

another hymn in open intervals
the gradual opening of further realms
above a tale of heroic virtue rewarded orgiastically
which
come to think of it
is where this all started
speak of the devil!
this is like a backward look
at what is about to come
in miniature
a prologue that mirrors the action of the drama proper
a thrill a minute!
rest assured we'll have a noble ending
all moral and proper
like good patriots 

pianistically intense
out bombasts the original

Piano Concerto in D Minor, Anh:B5 (Arr. J. Beenhouwer for Piano & Orchestra) - Robert Schumann - Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Christoph Poppen, Florian Uhlig

wild and reckless
had possibilities
rather passionate

Ripe Olive Sun - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

these sounds are clean and without blemish
utopia dreamy

Looks Like Another Hot Summer - Steve Cropper & Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos] 

street corner jive
life in an idyllic moment

3 Etudes de concert, S. 144: No. 1 in A-Flat Major "Il lamento" - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

an ornate book cover caressed lovingly
each mark of its ornately calligraphed passion
traced wholly

Introduction & Allegro in D Minor, Op. 134 - Robert Schumann - Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Christoph Poppen, Florian Uhlig

one of those slow Schumann introductions that takes you're breath away
the allegro comes out from within it
they are parts of a whole 

a little something for Clara to play
Scumann's superior piano concerto

When The Drugs Kicked In - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

the crowded language of consciousness
fills awareness
confounds counting

Give You All The Love I Got - Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

love and understanding
hour by the hour

3 Etudes de concert, S. 144: No. 2 in F Minor "La leggierezza" - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

one by one the fae awaken
drama ensues

Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3: Ouvertüre - Robert Schumann - Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Daniel Harding

dire as all get out
then sweet as home made pie
mixed signals
but possibly heroic

Disturbance - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

symphonic mass
alone on stage
empty hall
dark lobby

It's Up To You - Carla Thomas [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

a poetry that keeps to an image of the life being lived
permanent high school Romantic drama

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

October 29, 2026

3 Etudes de concert, S. 144: No. 3a in D-Flat Major. 2 Short Cadenzas and "Un sospiro" (With Cadenza and Revised Coda) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard

melody sails atop a sea of tender tumult
firm in its passage

Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3 Pt. I: Szene im Garten - Robert Schumann - Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Daniel Harding, Christian Gerhaher,  Christiane Karg, Alastair Miles

image of the saintly woman
who redeems
in the face
of having been wronged 

in seduction lies salvation

Ancestors - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

energy field map responding to stimulus

Let's Be Sure - Carla Thomas [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

the poetic conceits of these songs are uncomplicated
and instantly relatable
the musical structures are block-like
and plain as day

Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses, S173/R14: No. 8, Miserere, d'apres Palestrina - Franz Liszt - Philip Thomson

antique syllables
and their numinous extensions

For The Coming Solstice - Steve Layton [from The Month of Endings]

vats glowing soft and blue
liquid futures wait their turn

Oo-We Baby What You Do To Me - Booker T. Jones [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

a song serviceable to an ordinary situation

Dry Falls State Park, Washington

Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3 Pt. II: Gretchen vor dem Bild der Mater Dolorosa - Robert Schumann - Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Daniel Harding, Christian Gerhaher,  Christiane Karg, Alastair Miles

the song depicts her inner state
(troubled)

Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses, S173/R14: No. 9, Andante lagrimoso - Franz Liszt - Philip Thomson

the contemplation of spiritual matters
depicted by the contemplation of tonal matters

Ring of Bronze - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]

announcement!
harken!
words in narrow confines

Coming Together - Homer Banks [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

field testing production concepts
industrial drafts

Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3 Pt. III: Szene im Dom - Robert Schumann - Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Daniel Harding, Christian Gerhaher,  Christiane Karg, Alastair Miles 

treating Goethe's verse drama
as a libretto for an opera
that needs no stage to get in its way
the action
is all in the play of the dialog
how the verse types interact with each other

Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses, S173/R14: No. 10, Cantique d'amour - Franz Liszt - Philip Thomson

all figurations lead to melody
its support and inflection

Pollinators - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]

we think of them that way
but they're just trying to make a living 

pollination is a burden placed upon them

It's Over - Homer Banks [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

record labels and greeting card companies
share a cultural niche

Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3 Pt. IV - Robert Schumann - Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Daniel Harding, Christian Gerhaher,  Christiane Karg, Alastair Miles 

for artists of that time and place
Goethe's Faust was simply too large an idea for a single stage to hold
they pounced on it with a boggling creative ferocity

this music is a close reading of the poem
if it comes across as though it might be stage-able
that is because the poem
also
might be
but need not be

In Session at The Tintinabulary

doodle

October 26, 2026

Gradus 440 - Neal Kosály-Meyer

a new pitch!
the lowest G-sharp
thrust into existence
hurled into resonance
flung into the sea of partials
{see doodle}

October 29, 2026

Detritus 3 - Keith Eisenbrey

Keith Eisenbrey · 03 Detritus 3 241209 [261029]

October 30, 2026

Detritus 4 - Keith Eisenbrey

Keith Eisenbrey · 04 Detritus 4 241216 [261030]

Postscripts

Drops

Keith Eisenbrey 35
Sabbatical Improvisations 2014-2015

Another album of solo improvisations for you.

recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream.

Playlist

Preface

"[Benjamin Franklin's] penchant for bending the rules when occasion indicated...was esteemed a charming foible. When one opponent, a Frenchman, checked his king, Franklin illegally ignored the check and moved another piece. Called on the violation, Franklin declared, 'I see he is in check, but I shall not defend him. If he was a good king, like yours, he would deserve the protection of his subjects; but he is a tyrant and has cost them already more than he is worth. Take him, if you please. I can do without him, and will fight out the rest of the battle en républicain.'"

H. W. Brands, from The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin 

Texts

Live

July 18, 2026

Finnegans Wake, Part 2, Chapter 3 - James Joyce - Neal Kosály-Meyer

Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle

circumcentric megacycles

it was long after once

breast bare to the brine bath
he is consistently blown to adams

the sinner the badder
for bubblin' through the medium
of Gaulic Mooseopotamia 

old volcanos
makes coroners of us all 

this most unmentionablest of men
blastfumed
ah pause 

/// 

infernal machine
here comes emptybody
courting daylight
and saving darkness 

language pouring into thunder
sut down and shet up  

giant crash in Eden
and soon to bett
and drums o' bliss
every Tom thick and heavy
hip hop Horatio
his mother was a glue pot
the streets spin tales
shave on the furst of his face 

knock knock
who's without 

deluded in the high places 

foots like a glove 

bind your heads goin out
lead us not into refornication
silence 

///
the trim grimtale
nothing more is told
until now 

the man of centuries
leave the letter
that never begins to go

mister monster
in the chair
poor Erin boys go brawl
guards of Finland 

the murder of investment
once again
Wittingtom
a penance for your thoughts 

takes up the communion of sense
like his bosom fiend
Erin gone broke
after the deadbeats
the bustle of Bakerloo 

mind your pews and queues 

a strange man
wearing a barrel 

the abnihilization
of the hurdily gurdily
shut 'em up
on
all
around 

/// 

vice verse
sounding
in all Confusalem 

his round house
of seven faces 

reading
in a suppressed book 

the tale unravels around the language
erupting from within it 

the coach
with the six insides
until Arthur comes again 

anybody's beastness
as usual 

thunderburst
ravishment
the keen
of old bards 

pink ponk 

the punch of quorum
on the mug of truth 

all the boots
in the straights
hide seek
highed sink
count
the hemidemisemicolons

Recorded

July 19, 2026

Nocturne in A-flat Major (#4) - John Field - Benjamin Frith

such a music
lives in the beauty of its tone
and the fluidity of its tune
lyrical loveliness essence
and
that it hints
toward depth of feeling

Album d'un voyageur, S. 156/R. 8, Book I, "Impressions et Poesies": IV. Vallee d'Obermann - Franz Liszt - Ashley Wass

such a music
lives in the elegance and sophistication of its gesture
its passion
is its sensibility
drama essence 

it transforms itself in plain sight

Gesänge der Frühe, Op. 133 - Robert Schumann - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded August 11 and September 12, 2007]

1
firm determination 

2
decorated by threads of a different meter 

3
heroic 

4
peril and plea and peace 

5
a hymn of thanks 

these pieces are partly out of my reach technically
but I think I play with some understanding of their workings 

wonderful pieces!

6 Romances sans paroles - Cecile Chaminade - Mark Viner

Lisztian in its drama language

Norwegian Peasant Dances, Op. 72: No. 1, Gibøen's Wedding March - Edvard Grieg - Håkon Austbø

such a music
lives in its clever inventiveness
quaintness essence

Sonata No. 10, Op. 70 - Alexander Scriabin - Dmitri Alexeev

this music
asks us questions
for which there are not certain answers 

it lives
in the charms it casts
enchantment essence 

an entirely new way
to think fluently in music
the technical particulars
are of less import
than the doors it opens

St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five [from Hot Fives and Sevens]

concerning what comes to us all

July 20, 2026

Of Thee I Sing (Incomplete) - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin]

not a moment of her voice
is uninvested with an idea

I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology]

some live performance
with a great deal of cymbal in the mix

Roses of Yesterday - Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]

so he can rhyme
discloses
and roses
across multiple lines intervening

The Old Rugged Cross [from New Orleans Traditional Jazz Legends 3]

hymn tunes
in the later 19th Century
tended towards a lot of sweetness
and risk coming across as sentimental drinking songs

Boy Glory - Goodness [from Goodness 1995-1998]

analytical talk with oneself
to understand ones past

Who Would Imagine a King -Whitney Houston [from One Wish: The Holiday Album]

so sweet and softened
one wanders why Christ
would even need to be born

Beat Goes On (Feat. Kanye West) - Madonna [from Hard Candy]

circular lines
encouraging self talk

Back from the Dead - Spinning Whips [from Sentimental Groover]

a music made of parts
(guitar drums et cetera)
one person one part
segregated responsibility
inner part adds found stage dialog
(from a movie or tv show)

Party of One - Brandi Carlile [from By The Way, I Forgive You]

lazy pedaling on the piano
signifies sincerity
add strings to signify swelling feelings
must have been the finale on tour
an orchestra fills the stage

Soundscroll X: Tandâalis (Stone Drone) - S. Eric Scribner [from Ussers of Sleep]

it opens nearly inaudible
crosses the line between
in long shallow curves
we descend into their space
the layers
of all
that's under us

Turn Out The Stars - Bill Evans [from Another Time: The Hilversam Concert]

these parts
are having a good time
hanging out
supporting each other

Shut It Tight - T. Bone Burnett [from Proof Through The Night]

old timey tune feel
complete with string band and fiddle

Blow Away The Morning Dew (Morris) - King's Singers [from My Spirit Sang All Day]

pastoral sentimental
social music

Jean de Nivelle (c. 1610) - The Baltimore Consort [from La Rocque'n'Roll]

effective accompaniment
of low stringed pluckers
and on a large drum
played softly

Gave It a Name - Bruce Springsteen [from Tracks]

repeat it three times
so it knows its the name of the song
not an unattractive idea for a song

Melodia na Neblina - Frieze of Life [from Nuclear Frog Pond]

concerto thinking
(instrument groupings adjacent and talking)

Radio - Beyoncé [from I Am...Sasha Fierce]

selling equipment
selling selling

Mean Kind of Love - Star Anna [from Go To Hell]

lost in the subrural wastes

They Can't Keep the Sun from Rising - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]

the convenient they

For a Moment the World Changed - Steve Layton [from No Mind]

throbs of various pitches and rates
collide in partials space
new
and more interior
world

Try Being Lonely - Dolly Parton [from Just Because I'm a Woman]

sung with space between words
clearly articulated
to expressive effect

Something Better Change - The Stranglers [from Nancy's Mix]

threat to the breezes

Ghione Dos - Bulgarian State Radio & TV Female Vocal Choir [from Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares 2]

weaponized vocal projection

Hungarian Dance 2 - Johannes Brahms - Itzhak Perlman [from The Art of Itzhak Perlman]

popular tavern fare at the time

Gotta Make It to Heaven - 50 Cent [from Get Rich or Die Tryin']

grinding rough edges
life rail

Shatterbound - The True Bugs [from 25 Songs]

weary
down pressed
lines

End of the World - Cumulus [from I Never Meant It To Be Like This]

young folks in dialog with each other
in song form

Cease Fire - Christina Aguilera [from Lotus]

a plea
then
shows the plush lining

I'm a Regular - Your Mother Should Know [from Dirt Cult Records: You Don't Have To Be Cool]

one of Neal's songs that Dead Bars picked up

July 21, 2026

Do Something To Me - ? and The Mysterians [from The Best of ? and The Mysterians]

open with the hook-title
begging for sex
perseveres for 2'37" 

9-9 - REM [from Murmur]

broad meter
with few words
plastered toward the downbeat
chorus fills the bar with sung sound
a simple effective distinction

Rebel Without a Pause - Public Enemy [from It Takes a Nation to Hold Us Back]

the lines pop out of the downbeat
breath intake

Eva Ziegler - Switzerland [from The World Sings Goodnight]

a song to lull
and calm
and regulate

Walkabout [from Jack Straw Cultural Center, Blind Youth Audio Project 2003]

this sounds like an activity
that Suzie Kozawa
{who was involved in this project}
might have cooked up
wandering the studio space
with noise makers
is what it sounds like

Hunger: The Journey of Tamsen Donner (continued) - Tom Baker - Maria Mannisto, Jesse Canterbury, Greg Campbell, Brian Cobb, Tom Baker

musical cues
for kinds of page turns
the broad distances
must first be considered
scrap book song entries 

oops!
an anachronism:
It Is Well With My Soul
is from the 1870s
wouldn't have been sung
in the 1840s anywhere

The Limp - Cornelius Dufallo, Patrick Derivaz  [from Bass Violin]

we are underwater in the tidal zone
crabs emerge
feed and dance
flounder shapes hover low
birds outstretched above

Track 8 [from Unknown Christmas Album]

fulfilling a desire
to sentimentalize away
any thought

Diabelli Recomposed (continued) - Various [streamed May 11, 2023]

25
big floppy notes
blunt but tender 

26
on Broadway
(movie version) 

27
we are oh so correct
oh so mechanical
and dreamy 

28
oh dear
as done by Sir Andrew
as a whole stage show
Diabelli! 

29
at melodramatic peril
mustachios twirl
damsels recoil 

30
as a bit of intricate jewelry 

31
a new scene
silly shadows
chase hordes of tall round hats
and billy clubs 

32
it got lost in a mirror 

33
as a character piece
Diabelli voice-acted

Stimmung 1968 (end) - Karlheinz Stockhausen

patterns of joining and leaving
disjoining
rejoining
regrouping
in patterns
entering ones own sci fi future world
another self-mythology
within which
patterns
sounds
and wordbitsounds  shift
between
each other 

all  those days of the week:
is this just an advertisement
for his later operatic boondoggle? 

even breathing
brought
under compositional control

Pfritz - J. K. Randall, Kevin Shopland, Marjorie Tichenor [from Inter/Play]

flute muscles and sax muscles
sounded serious
so we enter the improvisational space
those
are all abbreviations 

I remember listening to these tapes
30 plus years ago
but my sense of what they were ever intended to be
has shifted 

the demand
of the not playing your game
to be allowed
to not play your game
as an equal
that is
all this music
doesn't play music's game
and yet
it regards itself
with equal seriousness 

interestingly
contraposed to Stimmung 

those musicians
were behaving as instructed
these
are simply behaving 

OK
let's hear it for the Communist Manifesto 

oh wow man 

let the beat evacuate itself
in the wander lands 

the costume
the cast
small p production
Sargeant
Sardines
Sartines
I need some amplification here 

he speaks in a vacuum
point nine
one point two
one point two 

Phoelix the Cat
ripped by Williams

Wack It - Marley Marl [from In Control Volume 1]

the image of command and control
dance call

Daughter - Pearl Jam [from Rearviewmirror]

the full presence of the production
enters in stages
exits similarly
but more lingeringly
long fade

Colors: Stainless Steel Grey - Brad Hawkins, Jesse Canterbury [from Brad Hawkins, Jesse Canterbury]

a swatch of it

Frenetic Interlude #2-Various - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]

game show timer track

Divine/Mimosa - Swearin' [from Swearin']

this music goes places
and earns its stanzas
and its re-arrivals

The Moon - Whitney Ballen [from You're a Shooting Star, I'm a Sinking Ship]

this music
exists
in a genre-space
a set
of culture conversations
among musics
sharing common enough concepts

I Would Like to Be the Air - Megan Ihnen [from Sleep Songs - Wordless Lullabies from The Sleepless, volume 2]

overdubbing the loop way
but keeping the distinction of spaces plain

July 22, 2026

Kraanerg (continued) - Iannis Xenakis - Callithumpian Ensemble, Stephen Drury

pitch masses shift heavily
woozily
a certain quantity of the sounds in this music
come across
as the sounds
of the world happening
as they might be depicted  by instruments
Petrushka's barrel organ squeaks
come to mind
as another example
of a similar effect
the result
is a temptation
to treat the music as a narrative
depicting a story
but
the big breaks inside of this portion
suggest a more monumental concept
though still
essentially
depictic 

an air of harsh elements
no obvious sense of humor
or sense of community
it isn't playing around
extremes are sought

All I Want Is You - U2 [from Rattle and Hum]

to fill a stadium
or a fungible recording
with song
may harm the song 

when every song
must bloat 

to fill up to the net weight required
in largely the same way
the process
can bulldoze the song
so produced 

this one wanders off at the end
letting the strings pick up the parade manure

Music from MA - Jocelyn Chang, Michael Leese, Tony Steve

I remember that Michael was big on the use of harps
these folks make pretty sounds
much gentler than Xenakis
they are in the room for each other
bends here toward a Lou Harrison vibe
flute harp and light percussion
blocks and bells being graceful and lithe
playing with a clear attempt
to be musical
and make musics 

somebody picked up a didgeridu
in the interval
now they're making an eerie atmosphere
harp has gone missing
whoops it's back
I guess we're done

Bring Me The Disco King - David Bowie [from Reality]

life on the runway
at the bleeding edge of commercially enlightened taste
technical perfection
repeated lines
weaving among the vocals
and groups of vocals

I Wish You Well - Mariah Carey [from E=MC2]

Mariah occupying both solo and backup
(as does Bowie)
though Mariah can sing higher notes 

clutchy embrace

Jewels N' Drugs (feat. T.I., Too $hort & Twista) - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]

miles beneath the surface
where greed lives
and lust dances to flashing lights

Herbie Blood Sharrock - Bret Harte [from Dubble Thud]

a tempo is established
by invariance
it counts for you
so's you don't have to 

we'll bliss out now
each in our own manner

Sweet Sensation - Carla Thomas [from Written in their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

this is a sharp song
performed exactly
worth the price of the whole collection

Limbo (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival) - Wayne Shorter [from The Classic Blue Note Recordings]

moves right in
to fascinate
allows little room
to breathe
ample room
for the guitar
to make the rounds
of each table
the keys
will just have to stay in place 

pretty darned nice sounding  also 

we'll take our bows now
and bid fare thee wells to all

Juice Party - U-Men

the legend exceeds its basis I'm sure

Good News - Aretha Franklin [from So Damn Happy]

never left the church
preacher extraordinaire

Winter Warn - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Lone Buffalo]

local wisdom passed along
in the Winter it gets cold
and it is long

Barks and Bites - Choke The Pope [from Who Cares]

this fellow is very articulate
concerning the exact degree
of his self alienation

Romulus Hunt (continued) - Carly Simon - Nashville Opera, Dean Williamson

the avante life
torn
tween dance and sports
and Dad and Mom
trying to set up his folks' rapprochement
he doesn't want them
at the track meet

Ruby, My Dear - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]

got lost in his fingers

Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns N' Roses [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]

articulate

Long Ago and Far Away - Glenn Tate [from Days of Wine and Roses]

we'll wash you
in candle-lit memories

A Stocking Full of Chaw - Swingset Showdown [from Cymbal of Appreciation EP]

a rude awakening

Idiot Orange - Red Ribbon [from Dark Party]

a political message?
as though personal though
cryptic

July 23, 2026

Study #4 in C-sharp minor - Jeremiah Lawson - Jeremiah Lawson

figures in eight-syllable groups

The Jolly Green Giant - The Kingsmen [from The Very Best of the Kingsmen]

complete with a Keytish list of vegetables

Three Readings - Tildy Bayar [from Open Space 12]

sound and spoken language
works
if spoken language accepts
that its sound
is limited
by its words
in ways
that sound sound
refuses 

objects of spoken language
before they are statements

Powow at Crawford - Doug Haire [from The Crawford Opera]

muffled sounds
beneath an audibly present surface

Super Wizard - Ancient Warlocks [from Ancient Warlocks]

a hero
on his comic book pages
a made up world

Darling Lorraine - Paul Simon [from In The Blue Light]

moments in invented lives

Serenade #2 for 11 Players - George Perle - Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose

an expressionist:
expressions every last interval
each gesture significant
in all directions 

keeping track of which directions
is
thankfully
not my problem

En Reve - Norbert Moret - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, Anne-Sophie Mutter

evocativism:
a scene we witness
suddenly gets all concertoish
per the contract
this piece works best
when it isn't being a concerto 

an illustrator
a set designer

Mistica - Tania León - Cristina Valdés [streamed May 5, 2021]

lots of story before the piece
stubborn
impatient
dreamy
in turns

Ugly Beauty - Greg Sinibaldi, Jesse Canterbury [from Ascendant]

we vibrate our needs
into a liquid echo space

lonely saxophones
drifting in the dreamy

The Haunting - Slothrust [from The Pact]

trapped in a living

String Quartet No. 2 - György Ligeti - La Salle Quartet

these sounds arise in an alienated space
muttering crowds
whispers and poison
oppression
sullen obedience
always watched
it is unclear
for whose benefit
this is intended
is it fun to play? 

string quartets are serious business
and must be approached
with all due severity 

suddenly
it's the opening of Nielsen's Fifth Symphony
out on a line
to dry
in the breeze

The Rose - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]

gravel beach surf
dark wharf underbelly
of city life

Under the Rainbow - Mathew Rosenblum [from Circadian Rhythms]

flute battles with media sound bits
selected for their instant recognizability
within the context of its popular culture
the battle settles into grudging allowance

Too Close - Dawn Clement [from Tempest/Cobalt]

open harmonies
sunfilled wishes
of freedom flying

Gérard - Participants [from Waterloo Region Contemporary Music Sessions 2018]

a marked avoidance of melody
as an overt gesture
these are sounds
until they begin to march

O God Our Help in Ages Past - Alan Hovhaness - The Choirs and Orchestra of St. John's Cathedral, Denver, Donald Pearson

shaped like a choir anthem
each verse a different setting than the last
ABA
so it is easily understood
with optional unearned Amen

Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car - Billy Ocean [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]

Go Dog Go pick up lines
to dance to 

A Waltzer in the House - Milton Babbitt [from Erik Carlson - Slowly Expanding Milton Babbitt Album]

voice and vibraphone
take us through a twisted copse

Somebody Said What Now - Holly Palmer [from I Confess]

recriminations and rumors
jealous thoughts

Garbageman - Steve Kennedy, Lisa Puteska [from Untitled Album]

being told off at length
through an obfuscating duplication of voice

In Session at The Tintinabulary

July 19, 2026

Farnham - Keith Eisenbrey

Keith Eisenbrey · 159 Farnham 260719 [260719]

this is the 159th setting I have made
from the tunes found in an 1846 shape note song book
and completes the second large grouping of those tunes
grouped by their sharing the ability
to accommodate quatrains of 8 6 8 and 6 syllables 
(Common Meter, or C.M.) 

next up is Short Meter
or S.M.
or quatrains of 6 6 8 and 6 syllables 

I have been writing these
one for each Sunday morning
since July of 2023
and am about 3/8 of the way through the book

Postscripts

Drops

Music of Aaron Keyt - Part 3

This third collection of the music of my long-time collaborator Aaron Keyt is composed of two sets of short pieces: Hedgehogs (2014) and Music for Wallace (2016). The recordings were made at my home in 2020/2021.

recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream.

Playlist

Preface

George Cruikshank, from The Comick Almanac 1st Series 1833-1843

Texts

Recorded

May 23, 2026

Estrellita - Manuel Ponce - Itzhak Perlman[from The Art of Itzhak Perlman]

operetta swoon song

Waiting Game - Goodness [from Goodness 1995-1998]

room filling sound
drives out troubles
or at least
extra-generational static

Eddystone Lite - Scurvy Bastards [from Piranthology]

this song often made an appearance
(modestly bowdlerised)
during Wit's End
evening singalongs
at Peggy Bardarson's
4th of July
birthday party

Song from The Voices on Earth 1 - S. Eric Scribner [from Soundforms/Multiples]

looped whale song vibe
then an electric guitar
improvising an intimate conversational
atop
soon joined by gentle brush strokes
of other instruments
and objects
no ingredient
is generic
as such

Bloody Mary - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]

singing to the extent necessary
to fulfill the vocal track focus
of a dance number

Just Fine - Your Mother Should Know [recorded live at The Skylark, Seattle, March 1, 2018]

a Dead Bars cover
the mundane troubles of adulting

"Mrs. Ramsay Rose. Lily Rose." - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey #8: 2001-2002]

figurations
are means of defining pitch space
its bounds and features 

letting out my inner Ken Benshoof
Diapsalmata Book 3

Sonata in C Major, Kk. 326 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder

while I'm here
I'll just spruce the place up a bit 

such elegant staircase lines
dusting them is a dance

May 25, 2026

Kreisleriana, Op. 15 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig

harmonies spill out from melodic fountains
figuration regimes
stand for personification
characterization 

what it means
for a bunch of pieces
to work together
as a set 

that they talk across the gaps to each other
that they don't overpower each other 

in this case
though they exist
as a sequence of individual pieces
they come across
as a sequence of figuration regimes
that happen to be assembled
into piece shaped bunches

Ungarische Nationalmelodien, S. 243b: No. 2, Animato - Franz Liszt - Carlo Grante

a quick study of metrical accentuation

2 Preludes, Op. 67 - Alexander Scriabin - John Ogdon

these tonalities are glimpsed through foliage

Basin Street Blues - Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra [from Hot Fives and Sevens]

somebody scored a celeste!
delightful

Of Thee I Sing (Stereo LP Take) - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin]

fancy vocal tricks
on 'from', 'of', etc.
the little forgotten words

Prelude to a Kiss - Ella Fitzgerald [from Love Songs: The Best of the Verve Song Book]

nothing fancy
nothing much

Why Don't We Do It In The Road - The Beatles [from The Beatles (White Album)]

a lark

Seaside Bar Song - Bruce Springsteen [from Tracks]

50s Day across the land 

intro goes on too long

Physical Attraction - Madonna [from Madonna]

normalizing impulse indulgement

it isn't important to the song
that any place within it
be in any particular relation
to other places within it
its internal experience
is structurally uniform

The Strange Case of Frank Cash and the Morning Paper - T Bone Burnett [from The Talking Animals]

the man with the monotonous sneer moralizes

May 26, 2026

Sometimes I Feel Like a Moanin' Dove - Robert Shaw Festival Singers [from Amazing Grace]

dulcimeric drone
for the melody to reflect itself in

Medicine Tree - Tingstad & Rumbel [from American Acoustic]

flirting
with bringing in
the rest of Pink Floyd
but we won't
quite

Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Aretha Franklin [from So Damn Happy]

sister to sister

Product of Broad Gales and Dim Cradles - Christian Asplund [from Viola]

drifting slowly
a leaf
in heavy air
caught in tangles
we find
the contact point
of bow and string
that of finger to string
heard indirectly
in the pitch

Don't Hold Back - Smokestack and The Foothill Fury [from High Roads & Hard Shoulders]

prelude to a proposal
declaration of feelings and intent

Requiem - Strung Out [from Black Out The Sky]

the malevolent world out there

Red Sky - Steve Layton [from Red Sky]

sounds dire
(must be the morning warning)

Sunshine Special - Frenchy's String Band [from Turn Me Loose White Man]

this beat is aware of its weight
it indicates no tempo
outside of itself

Vanessa, Act 2 - Samuel Barber - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Eleanor Steber, Nicolai Gedda, Rosalind Elias, Giorgio Tozzi, Regina Resnik

these people are fettered and feverish
this dancing lesson waltz is clever
not just noir
but aware somehow
of its own camp melodramatics

Nardis (Live) - Bill Evans [from Another Time: The Hilversam Concert]

descending from street to cool
now we're on the avenue 

where it's happening 

the time is not your concern
our time is 

intense drum solo

Monkey - Echo & The Bunnymen [from Nancy's Mix]

even if it became a song
by a well-known band
it was  song first
an idea

Turn You Inside Out - REM [from Green]

threaten and withhold
power tease

The Times They Are a-Changin' - Nina Simone [from A Single Woman]

just that one verse
no others

Tenderly - Glenn Tate [from Days of Wine and Roses]

performative romance
so everybody plays nice
and tips well

Bed That I Made - Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs [from Crooked Path]

verses to the Ellensburg skies

I Know What I Need - Red Ribbon [recorded live at The Comet, Seattle, March 5, 2013]

one does ones best
to make a credible sound
with ones equipment
and what the venue can provide
broad stokes necessary
to cut through the social static
and convey a thought 

miniature henges won't do

Your Body - Christina Aguilera [from Lotus]

the body of the other
dis-em-souled

time to wink to your dance partner

Work / Architecture / Unity / And / The - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey #8: 2001-2002]

yet another Diapsalmata volume
executive summary
as though each bit
were a part of the whole 

question of its own singular identity
as a group of similars
by the thinnest of pretenses

Candy Man Blues - Mississippi John Hurt [from Turn Me Loose White Man]

American huckster charm

Psalm 23 - Allen Hovhannes - The Choirs and Orchestra of St. John's Cathedral, Denver, Donald Pearson

opens with a thought about a tonality
orchestra comes in
and any thoughts of further development
are obliterated 

an effect can't compete
with a thought about tonality 

even if
it expresses something
about the text 

each successive bit
is blind
to its fellows 

gratuitous manifold amen

Just Because I'm a Woman - Dolly Parton [from Just Because I'm a Woman]

plea for parity

Give Paris One More chance - Jonathan Richman [from Jonathan Sings!]

travel brochure

May 27, 2026

Going Under - Patti Smith [from Dream of Life]

in pop-adjacent parlance
piano signifies poetic sincerity
quiet intimacy
the single spotlight

Bogalusa Strut [from New Orleans Traditional Jazz Legends Vol. 3]

historical re-enactment
professionally accomplished
hey
a gig's a gig
imitation

Cantique de Noel - Whitney Houston [from One Wish: The Holiday Album]

a vocal star
is a token
of industrial branding

The Star - Goat [from Special Agent]

ultra cool
deadly glance

Song 04 - Dead Bars [recorded live at The Comet, Seattle, March 5, 2013]

what might be told
to the next barstool
told
here
to all the barstools 

bully pulpit

Joey - Timothy Root [from Constance and The Waiting]

struggles forward
an awkward mechanism
encased
in an armored weapon
even the irregular
becomes regular
if repeated regularly

I've Seen What Loneliness Can Do - Homer Banks [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]

the musical thought
in front of the sellable recording

Breathless - Jerry Lee Lewis [a Rescued Record]

comes on pretty strong

I'll Be Back - ? and the Mysterians [from The Best of ? and the Mysterians]

unfancy dance
with spinning lights

Production Line Blues - Dan Sedia [recorded live at Bard College, March 18, 1983]

climbs back into the beat
one step up

Keep Your Eyes on The Prize - Marley Marl [from In Control Volume 1]

how to compete
leadership lecture

Plaisir d'amour - King's Singers [from Chanson d'amour]

wawawawawawa bit
a spot color in the arrangement

Dialogue -Frieze of Life [from Nuclear Frog Pond]

registers
in dialogue with each other
a short study

Atmospheric/Tom (via Kalen) - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]

skittery bugs
nervous as squirrels

Song 04 - Canals of Venice [recorded live at The Coment, Seattle, March 5, 2013]

Rob has such a particular voice ping
that the process of finding a sound
with which to effectively support it
is full of not quites

Quiet Joys of Brotherhood - Seastar [from Sinners and Angels]

unaccompanied
power alto
hymn

Lamb of God - Keith Eisenbrey - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey #8: 2001-2002]

an early experiment 

in mod-17 serial thinking
composed from syllable count out

My Bucket's Got a Hole In It - Sonny Burgess [from Sun Records Definitive Hits]

innuendo is fine
if it's humorous
and you commit to the bit 

good old boy hoedown

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - The Jimi Hendrix Experience [from Electric Ladyland]

composed doorway passage
pulls in quick
so be prepped
it ain't pop
it's a strutter's wet dream

BP BLP;  BWLP - Benjamin Boretz, Ross Rabin, J. K. Randall, Marjorie Tichenor [from Inter/Play]

at first we can hardly move
for imputed impetuosity
and impertinacity
we're shy
after all till
we tip over
into communality
at which pass
we prepare our corner nests
and turn to face
our facing faces
our sound
is no longer
mine
a meeting of muses' musings
in the muse lounge
or
later 

over coffee and omelettes
at the muse diner 

it approaches us
eyes meet
down to the mess of it 

 let's whop up something to eat shall we? 

we'll be taking this apart
for a while
banging and ratchet wrenching

we're getting a transmission in
from a few dimensions over 

it breathes deep and slow
and we are birds now
and caw as crows

time to re-enter the day to day

Circle of Power - Soundgarden [from Ultramega OK]

a magic symbol
in and of itself
is without power

Louis Cort U.S.A. (Cajun French) [from The World Sings Goodnight]

the production of the album
does less service to this
than it might have

William Tell Overture - Brave Combo [from Box of Ghosts]

I guess they're having fun making the audience smile
pop light classic

Notebook A: 2. Symphonies - J. K. Randall [from Open Space 22]

a list of them
by incipit
in relational order

Where Are We Now? - David Bowie [from The Next Day]

fingers are crossed
just in case
the moment you know
you know

Perpetual Motion 1 - Tom Swafford [from Violin Improvisations]

simulacra of notes
in a frantic flux

The Nether-edge - PJ Harvey [from I Inside The Old Year Dying]

has been to poetry class 

legend hero meter

Come Sunday - Duke Ellington and his Orchestra [from Ken Burns Jazz]

is that a viola?
or a muted violin
on the lower strings?
{NB:
Ray Nance is credited with violin,
so I guess it's the latter}

May 28, 2026

Long Distance Operator - The Band [from Music from Big Pink]

retelling a Chuck Berry story
in order to veer from it 

a fragment
just a few verses

No Art In The West - The PKs 

even young children say
with drum solo
to cap it off

Love Rescue Me - U2 [from Rattle and Hum]

porch ready song
see how nice it can be
if it doesn't go all stadium
and how weak it becomes
the moment it strays 

hide behind the sha la las

Senza Tetto, Senza Cuna - The Black Cat Orchestra [from Dante's Inferno Live Score]

street fair
busking band
pass the hat

Track 14 - Eckstein Middle School Students [from Mach 6]

one of those
military history buff
tone-poem marches

Forever and Always - Taylor Swift [from Fearless]

the poem describes a betrayal
which it harps on
in permanent umbrage

Coterie - Learning Team [from Aporia Coda]

emerges onto a small stage
from a strum
voice has a Sting-like texture to it

Sugartooth - Brandi Carlile [from By The Way, I Forgive You]

celebrating a lost soul
jump back in
with the song title
now and then
so the kids will know
what to look for
on the streamings

Rothwell - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [December 17, 2023]

a demonstration
of what composition with pitches
might do
if
it could get away with it

To Aunt Rose - Allen Ginsberg [from Holy Soul, Jelly Roll]

a loving portrait

We'll Never Know - The Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]

composed with dance
as an integral part of its doing

Uptown Girl - Billy Joel [from The Essential Billy Joel]

it's a New York thing
portraying a singer

Minstrels - Canadian Brass - [from More Greatest Hits]

drollery and puppets
and a bit of song

Another Lover/Where Are You - Janet Jackson [from Janet]

dreamy smooth production
like a baby's bottom

P.I.M.P. - 50 Cent [from Get Rich or Die Tryin']

community leader
sign on the office door

Moonlight Water - True Bugs [from 25 Songs]

my adventure at sea

Katie's Farm - Swamp Meat [from Elephant Graveyard]

vocals squeezed
up to the ceiling
and walls
by the mass
of guitar amp output

Improvisation #2 - Taylor Ho Bynum, Mark Dresser [from THB Bootlegs vol. 4]

this music
has bodies attached
to the making
of the sounds 

and also
attached
 to our methodology
of taking those sounds in 

double bass
is a magic resonance box 

speaks quiet
but with puissant presence

Chamber Music IX: Northen Light - Steve Peters [from Chamber Music]

depth of field
textures of near and far

"A" Blues - Scrapper Blackwell [from The Art of Field Recording]

partition of the guitar strings
by touch

Lester Left Town - Wayne Shorter [from The Classic Blue Note Recordings]

an ample space
to spread ones wings
but
you gotta move at a clip
to avoid the drag
so step light

Atlas Eclipticalis with Winter Music 831211 830 PM (continued) - John Cage - The New Performance Group, John Cage

these events
are atomic sounds
self-constellating paths
will be traced
distinctions will be made

if I should find myself
tracing a path
ought I
to stop
out of principal?
if so,
how? 

and
in tracing a path
one might personify  

that is
imagine a being
that is
this episode of events 

events might share
terms of time-extent
and become a partition
and
are personified 

we grant them
the eloquence of puppets 

the cat wants to chew on my journal

Keep Me as the Apple of an Eye - Cambridge Singers [from Brother Sun, Sister Moon]

words lifted
but only with approved melodies
and approved locution

Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber, Pt. 2 / Conclusion - Wu-Tang Clan [from Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)]

set up a scene
and play out the act 

brag of badassness 

these tracks have a bunch of accreted parts

Public Service Announcement - Jay-Z [from The Black Album]

I am what I am

Thanks 4 Nothin' - Mariah Carey [from E=MC2]

her vocals
are layered into the song
from the booth

Seven Auras - Joey Largent [from Earth Drones]

reed arithmetic
create a drumming
by exciting a space
with specifically intonated wave sheets
like swords
through a magician's magic closet 

usher in the heavy pipes 

these events can't be counted

May 29, 2026

Banned Rehearsal 1090 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer]

a growing glowing
melody
is an earmind focus
a tier apart
from language 

a cycling figure
allows itself to be used
to index
the location and contour
of any other figure 

a pianissimo
and a hush
passed by

In Session at The Tintinabulary

May 24, 2026

Atwater - Keith Eisenbrey

Keith Eisenbrey · 151 Atwater 260524 [260524]

a fun little tune in B-flat

May 25, 2026

Gradus 434 - Neal Kosály-Meyer

now the notes are numbered
and there are many 

music parts
drift
in slumber 

nonstandard notations
no tenths of innings here 

shh
these notes may be dreaming 

working out their passage
in darkness 

analysis
of the way
a music
implies
a syntax
is
to argue
from the assumption
of a syntax 

if we observe
smoke billows
rising
in a strangely organized way
we surmise
a hidden
or occult force
such as
an engraved head
with pursed lips
blowing 

this
does not proceed
like a sequence
of figuration regimes
though sometimes
it is that
///
{see enclosed figure}

Postscripts

Drops

Keith Eisenbrey 32: Sabbatical Improvisations (part 3) 2014

In 2013 I had reached an inflection point in my big project, Études d'exécution imminent, and took a sabbatical (indifferently observed) from composing written-down music. I filled the time with various forms of improvisation, both "in-the-moment" composing, and sometimes puttering about with multi-tracking and other digitally applied effects. Here is the third bunch of them.

recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream