"From here they faintly heard the angry growls
of lions yanking at their
chains and roaring late at night,
and bristly boars and bears raging in
pens, and huge
howling shapes of wolves - human once, but
altered
from their form by the cruel goddess's
magic herbs. They wore the face
and fur of beasts."
Vergil - "The Aeneid" (translated by Shadi Bartsch)
Texts
From Recent Arrivals
April 2, 2022
Gerald McBoing Boing - Gail Kubik - Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose
a light folk-like tale
in Seussian rhyme
the music is lightweight neoclassical
appropriate for family concerts
to show off the percussion section
for the kiddos
goes rather on and on
with the percussion stuff
April 3, 2022
Times Five - Earle Brown - Harro Ruijsenaars, Earle Brown, Govert Jurriaanse, Teresia Tieu, Emile Elsen, Arthur Moore, Jarino Walta
sitting on a bench in a park
with an amusingly active critter base
including
mono-pitched flying bugs
buzzing by
or
perhaps
a series
of such benches
each
with its
own population
of critter chatter
we observe it
but
its business
is all
with itself
not with us
Black Catbird - The Garifuna Collective [from Shika Shika: A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean]
those black catbirds
get a nice little beat going
bird calls
set to Latin beats
kind of a gas actually
Lightning River - Daniel Husser [from 1 Month Challenge]
baritone
has a nice knotwood tone
April 8, 2022
Chez Moi - Blossom Dearie [from My Gentleman Friend]
take turns type collaboration
vocal
two solos
then another
vocal
chord change construction
underlines the poetic structure
connects
each line of stanza
to
the corresponding line
in the
other stanzas
not unsubtly done
for the most part
It's Too Late - Carole King [from Tapestry]
verse chorus
verse chorus
instrumental solos (3 of)
verse
chorus
instrumental chorus riff coda
Caroline Shut Up - Caroline Polachek [from Pang]
distinctive rhythm connections
line to line
Recorded
April 2, 2022
You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover - Bo Diddley [colected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Bo and the Beat]
your radio is turned up too low
Prelude in F Major - Lockrem Johnson - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded March 18, 2022]
It might be interesting to try this one
at a significantly increased
tempo
at least for some of it
{NB: I did, see below}
Letter to Hermione - David Bowie [from Space Oddity]
going for a sophisticated pop star sound
songwritery stuff
Little Queen - Heart [from Greatest Hits]
drum licks and lyrics
join forces
tightly
momentarily
here's where the lights change for the stage show
long 70s fade
The Peacock's Tale - Orbaneja [from Orbaneja]
has prog-fusion thing going
what sublevel of status
does this hang
around in?
that is
to what milieu is this music native?
drummer nerds?
tech heads?
Cleano - Woody Guthrie and Friends [from Woody's Grow Big Songs]
Woody's vocal
was recorded with an older form of audio fidelity
than the new tracks
it's almost like a CGI Woody Guthrie
playing hologram sounds
Butterfly - Mariah Carey [from Butterfly]
performative femininity
tribute
her vocal dips into an alto
register
at structurally significant points
Gradus 6 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 4, 2002]
hammering the strings
as though
they
were an old metal milk
can
full of voices
not
the strings themselves
but
the sound of their vibration
is the milk can
face it
those notes will fight it out
to the bitter end
after which
bitter end
we have some quiet
peace
but they still
poke poke poke
experimental music
the music is the purpose of the
music
not
our need to express ourselves
through music
but
music's need to express itself
to itself
Arm Twister - The Tripwires [from Makes You Look Around]
a taunt
most of the sound is low in pitch
bass
drums
lower guitar strings
the vocalist
sings in a high(ish)
baritone range
but the instruments don't get in the way
someone
got
some come-uppance
What's Wanting For (Karen vocal, Neal harmony) - Your Mother Should Know [May 20, 2012]
of course
Neal wasn't singing harmony
while listening to what
Karen was doing
Karen's vocal came later
Track 1 - Arbor Towers [recorded live at Victory Lounge on July 15, 2017]
opens with a bit of sound check sound
and checking of tuning
and
fingers
dirtroad Americana
baritone vocal sound
spirited
drumming
Banned Rehearsal 1046 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Neal Kosály-Meyer [February 28, 2022]
across the telepathic timewarp
we manage
an image of intimately
inter-heard ensemble
cross fertilized timbre composition
benefits of improvising
separately
include:
the preclusion of
direct imitation
the impossibility of playing along with
falling
into common grooves
each strand retains its internal integrity
correspondences are generated by happenstance alone
highlighting
unstated commonality
retaining individuality
it is wonderful
how our sounds
ever
so
intertransform each other
the voices are neither equal
nor fully segregated
into particular
functions
Iste Est Johannes - Peter Philips - The Tudor Consort, Peter Walls [from Cantiones Sacrae Quinis Vocubus]
a homogeneous style
allows
the illusion of common purpose
common mind
subsumption of the individual
into the
congregation
Sonata in A minor, Kk. 175 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
a well oiled machine
all the parts
thoughts
disparate
are machined to fit
music invented the programmable loom
the
robot spider
the homogeneity
is at a deeper level
than right
at the surface
Sonata in C minor, Op. 111 - Ludwig van Beethoven - Vladimir Feltsman
so many untaken paths
swept away
the theme of the second movement
never stabilizes
in pitch
nor phrase
it circles
endlessly
a great deal of energy is expended
but
upon pulling back
we
find ourselves
still floating free of ground
substance
thrice transformed
and more
solidity confuted
Waltz in A-flat Major, Op. 42 - Frédéric Chopin - Alfred Cortot (1943)
it all went by in such a whirl
Original Jelly Roll Blues (take 2) - Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers [from Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, Chicago Days]
the constant circus
of activity to entertain
no gaps
this has room to breathe
to consider words
Lover Man - Charlie Parker [from The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes]
and time to spread out a long line expansive
April 5, 2022
December 1952 - Earle Brown - David Tudor
disconnected gestures
impacts enshrined
in their own craters
not entirely disconnected though
craters encroach upon each other
why disconnected
no immediately rationalizable clues
phrase
rhythms adjacent
isolated
perhaps better
data points
pointillism
was the radical du jour
all squishy emotions
eschewed violently
Overture and Rock Island - Meredith Wilson [from The Music Man, Original Cast Recording]
social music
as a category
was part of my piano lessons
from
early on
and that one
I was
from early on
least comfy
with
the first
may have been a selection of songs
from The
Music Man
which was far more recent at the time
You Made Me Love You - Aretha Franklin [from The Electrifying Aretha Franklin]
two verses
clean lines
no padding
that captures how I'm hearing it pretty well
I love the extraordinarily
Picardian third that ends it
bereft of all happy associations
Ballade for viola, wind orchestra, and percussion - Frank Martin - Menuhin Festival Orchestra, Edmond deStoutz, Yehudi Menuhin
we are in an uncomfortable space
we make our way carefully
testing
each position
before trusting
wary
even on this track
with our comrades
the hour even
may not protect us
What In The World - David Bowie [from Low]
ambiguous personal attribution
that is
who is speaking
any
particular line
is not always clear
connect the dots
to make your own story line
Should I stay Or Should I Go - The Clash [from Combat Rock]
an age old complaint trope
you're a tease
a cliché
somewhat
long in the tooth
composed of short bursts
of a few beats
each tied to the 4 4 beat
holding still
conflicts with occupying space
we try so hard
to do well by ourselves
a creative process
when you are young and immortal
join forces
with like minds
collaborate regularly
stick it out
through
everything
through aging
through family complications
through separations
through doldrums
through excitements
through it all
just stick it out
with luck
you'll be
ripe
before death and dissolution
so
stick it out
each collaboration
is a microcosm of the whole
or
of a part
of the whole
payoff
when you get old
the communication with the whole
is
an indelible part of you
judgment
as in
is it good
no
no music is good
category problem
actually a meta-category problem
one retreat
list blatant attributes
two retreat
respond
emotionally
three retreat
dissect
four retreat
bloviate
or attempt to discapture
or to discaption
or
to discapulate
or to unbind
or to address directly
talk back
music back
draw back
patience
if it can't be
paraphrased
can an echo of it be traced
in language
or any
other mode of intercourse
we all have so much music to shed
slough
off
mold
this spaces out playfully toward the end of it
pedal tone and poke tones
Aaron vocalizes
we find a note
Right Here - the Young Fresh Fellows [from It's Low Beat Time]
the fellows
were
I believe
the first Seattle-local rock band
I heard live
retreat six
history
Banned Rehearsal 471 - Isaac E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [November 1, 1997]
retreat seven
describe the nearest similar experience
we are
waiting
children are impatient
with waiting
it's cramped
and we adjust to find space
Isaac is quite a fuss
we drift
so near to speech
alone out here
flowers open
as they
often do
observe
wait
the clock ticks slowly here
an
outpost
aside of music proper
or im
repository of loose
sound fragments
settles to the floor
what the vacuum
might
suck up
Keith vocalizes
there are radiocrickets
a storm has
brewn
the crickets
are not much disturbed
nor by the banjo
Hal's Fault - Dubious Duo [from Children of Siberia]
vigorous conjoined furiosity
a hedge
once in the field
pay
mind to the billygoat
might ignore you
might not
rooster can
be ornery too
and noisy about it
Consider the Birds 12 - Keith Eisenbrey [February 3, 2007]
groups of five adjacent sound bursts
occasionally overlapping
or
seeming to
fluty sounds
and xylophone
occasionally
Strangest Things - Karin Blaine [from Modern Day Living]
one of my many musical cousins
doing her guitar plucking she-minstrel
thing
direct address to her people of shared experience
Sound Check - Your Mother Should Know [recorded live at Victory Lounge, March 27, 2017]
Karen was there with just her tambourine
maybe one drum
recorded
too hot
overwhelmed my device
Awakening - Amy Denio [from Chapel Sessions]
vocal percussion
bootstrap loops
but with limited iterations
sometimes none
keeping tight formations
Heaven and Earth, Fvb 105 - Francis Tregian - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
not even heaven and earth can be sung
without ample decoration
places to stand become friendly
every journey
starts from the same
music
any statement
fits
within a common web of thought
there is nothing outside to intrude
a self-contained universe
our God thinking
fits together
like the music does
even our responses
are programmed
within the selfcontainment
this music
can imagine no music
outside of itself
April 7, 2022
Come Let Us Eat Together - Rev. E.D. Campbell and his Congregation [from Allen Lowe's Turn Me Loose White Man]
entering a space held open by charisma
the reverend
is the door
man
the congregation
must will themselves
to go through
and stay through
in that lifted state
posits
a parallel
between
that willingness
and the
humility
to allow the Spirit in
Stones in My Passway - Robert Johnson [from The Complete Recordings]
freely skipping beats
in the latter third of the verse
a hurry-up
Ha Ha This a Way - Lead Belly [from Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 1]
a cheery song
with child abandonment
beating
and education
a memoir
brash and bright
the old 20s
updated
for the new
post-war party age
That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly
intro prelude
guitar figure
(like Robert Johnson)
finds the
groove and pitch
Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby - The Beatles [form First Live Recordings, Vol. 2]
a shake it up dance
with breaks
to organize it into verses
Everybody Loves a Winner - William Bell [a Rescued Record]
a slow blues
with arrangement complications
nice voice and vocals
vinyl noise is honest
Trippin' in Court - Cheech and Chong [from Cheech and Chong]
cultures clash
under the gavel
Tentative Decisions - Talking Heads [from Talking Heads: 77]
analyzing statements
by laying them out
on the songwriting slab
wear your scrubs
put the phrases
that make up the statement
into the boxes provided
Mansion on the Hill - Bruce Springsteen [from Nebraska]
small town
country ballad
why didn't he call the album New Jersey
oh
corn fields
wanted the distance
and the wide open
a list of ifs
I'm not sure
we really want
the world
to
stop turning
For Pete's Sake - Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth [from Mecca and the Soul Brother]
competitive talking points
for fancy rhymes
and dancing meter play
B.I.G. (Interlude) - The Notorious B.I.G. [from Life After Death]
a whole explanation
in under a minute
(if I could follow it)
Banned Rehearsal 633 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 8, 2002]
we take our places
we poke
to see what might wake
the piano
is twitching
the small wood frog
stays in sight
the cornet
yawns and stretches
the small wood frog
found its drum
friends
conversational
combo sound
drums keys cornet
it was a lovely day
today the listening day
the window is
open
and birds are chirping in the trees
we find musicky places to
hang
regrouping work
we succumb to atmospherics
the cornet
has fallen asleep
snoring quietly in a corner
brushes with drums
spare percussion enters the fold
piano mutters
more snore
did cornet step outside
piano sends a ping
we all
stopped
the piano pings low
where did cornet go
so
quiet
here the ping drops
door opens
air traffic
drum
solo
with creak of door hinge
all pianissimo
conversation
picks up slow
as slow conversation
the banned is sedatory
and deeply so
evening bells and drums
to end it
peace
abides
bits of what is to come
form
the percussionists and timpani tuning
it has been many years now
since I experienced
a Symphony
Hall Intermission
I appreciate
that Chris has provided this fine
album
of unsung sounds
brass gets lippy
I understand that
Deutsche Grammophone got all huffy
about his album cover
I can't
imagine they were damaged
in any way
and there's the applause
and the A natural
from oboe and all assembled
Banned Rehearsal 814 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [May 11, 2012]
words appear in the back corner
otherwise
percussion putter patter
and a duck call
snare simmer
bigger drums
in the
corner
with the words
other putters
elsewhere
we are a
sound polisher
fill with sounds and grit
turn it on and let it tumble
till the
sounds are polished Neal
must have been practicing
for reading for the second
time
our sounds need extravagant polishing
and subtle grit
a scholar
in
the corner
making rubbings
on the soundstones
we subside
into the sedatory
moods of night
Finnegans Slumber
a lengthy twilight
on a long horizon
April 8, 2022
Gone Home - Anxious Arms [from Never Was]
solid fours vocal barely audible over the amps and drums for the moshing more than for the song as such
Banned Telepath 83 McGrath AK - Aaron Keyt [March 14, 2022]
it is either a bunch of Iditarod dogs howling or it's Aaron imitating such
In Session at the Tintinabulary
April 5, 2022
Rounds for Aaron - Keith Eisenbrey
assembled from takes made over the last few weeks my 2021 composition, being parts 15 and 16 (simultaneously and intercomposed) of Études d'exécution imminent
April 6, 2022
Joshua Tree Prelude 8 - Aaron Keyt
Anybody's Fingerbook 5x5 (transpositional) C D A - Keith Eisenbrey
April 8, 2022
Joshua Tree Prelude 9 - Aaron Keyt
Prelude in G minor - Lockrem Johnson
Prelude in F Major - Lockrem Johnson
Anybody's Fingerbook 5x5 (transpositional) D A B - Keith Eisenbrey
Prelude in B minor - Keith Eisenbrey*
Postscripts
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
more doodles from 1988
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