"'We took them out of the smoke,
since they're no longer gleaming
as
once they were when Odysseus left for Troy
but are all tarnished now
where
the breath of fire has touched them.
Furthermore,
some god has put a greater fear in my breast:
that when you're full
of wine
and have some fracas going on among you,
you'll injure one
another
and cause aspersions to be cast upon your feast
and on your
wooing,
for iron draws a man to it all on its own.'"
Homer - from "The Odyssey", translated by Charles Stein
Texts
Recorded
December 10, 2023
Étude in C minor, Op. 10 #12 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
such passion can't resolve
only subside
one could also read this (Revolutionary Étude)
as the guillotining étude
the crowd frenzy
followed by a head hitting the basket
cinematic gore
Another Good Cow Puncher - Charles Ives - Kia Sams, Russ Warner
did Ives travel West as a young man?
Well You Needn't (alternate take) - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Blue Note Recordings]
the left hand finds a chromatic path
slowly
stepwise
Rip It Up (take 3) - Little Richard [from Here's Little Richard]
down to the Union Hall
Rock Rip Shake Rock
happy soul
I'll Never Stand In Your Way - Ray Charles [from Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music]
the art
of not over singing
a letter
to be reread
I Can't Come In With a Broken Heart - Bob Dylan [from A Tree With Roots]
a somewhat desperate attempt
to internalize a continent's music
Wave - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan with Michel LeGrand]
to display her range
and accurate landings
any old where
and
to sell it
I'm not convinced by that clarinet though
if that's what it is
Dreamland - Joni Mitchell [from Don Juan's Reckless Daughter]
claimed the beach
and all the concessions
journal entry song
on the arm of her Marlboro Man
Celestial Love - Sun Ra [from Celestial Love]
the outlook shifts every few measures
just a bit
modest
but
telling parallax
chord colors adjust as we dance
Too Dizzy - David Bowie [from Never Let Me Down]
stanzas begin and persist in a narrow place
until the last line
escaping out the pressure valve
guys into ponies
and presumably purses
for running them
or
something
the story may have lost me somewhere
Shoplifting Clothes - Paul Simon [from Songs from The Capeman]
the sexy bass voice of commerce
tempting
would you like to buy her
a diamond
Chorale - Greg Sinibaldi [from Frieze of Life]
we have been brought to this place
escorted by the bass and drums
where the winds are our acolytes
Last to Die - Bruce Springsteen [from Magic]
war betrays youth
how much armor does one man need?
Wicked Game (Chris Isaak) - Prom Queen [from Covers]
lines that veer
if divided into tiny word sets
The Drop - Steve Layton [from No Answer]
maintenance machines
scouring the nanoways
Totem 45 - Sascia Pellegrini [from Totem IV]
auras interact
as they pass near each other
this
is that
sound
turned way up
a breaking city
war zone activated
ravenous beast
Toccata in C Major, Op. 7 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
clear the decks
there's some fingers gonna wiggle here
and they
need room
hiding supplemental melodies
within a figuration thicket
see there
that's why you've got to stand back
here we go again
Where My House Lives - Willie Nelson [from . . . And Then I Wrote]
behind the hokey
is the reality of economic separation
by forced
continental jobs seeking
Bandwagon - REM [from Dead Letter Office]
the words keep on starting over
scooping up from below
repetition
because there's only so much content that can be used
per song
too much
and the multitudes will be confused
and unable to
find the record for purchase
Magic City Wholesale - Waxahatchee [from American Weekend]
word by word rhyme lists
smile at everyone
formulaic fun
Come Pick Me Up - Star Anna [from Soundtrack]
perverse desire
from inside the party
of the perverse part
Como Yo - Christina Aguilera [from Aguilera]
tactic:
open with a portion of the upcoming groove
that would be
readily understood
as fitting
into an on-the-beat
sort of
place
but reveal
that that was mistaken
by completing the
groove
in an other on-the-beat
sort of place
(demonstrating
how assembled this is)
snap to fit
Im Bad wol wir recht frolich sein - Ludwig Senfl - Tielman Susato Krummhorn Gesellschaft [from The Glory of the Krummhorn]
domestic nursery song (?)
given the full learned treatment
Misanthrope - Black Plastic Clouds [from Electroplate]
quasi doppio tempo
keep the greater beat
cut the internal
subdivisions out
yell and yawp
Delicate - Taylor Swift [from Reputation]
the difficulties
of trusting anyone
while living a public life
microscope of which
is
an extended adolescent
self-consciousness
but now alienated from self
in the shape of cinematic drama
the sounds can be seen doing this
in our hearing
characters
elements
objects
puppets
what happens
stays happened
a disassembled
ensemble composition
Operating Room Interview - Boogie Down Productions [from Criminal Minded]
publicity is performance
Altas Aventuras - Camarones Orquestra Guitarristica [from Live in Natal]
soundtrack ready
Two Trees - Lures [from There's No Pressure]
sounds like a children's book
until the singer comes in
sounding
like an adult
who lives in a children's book neighborhood
Hyphae - Benton Roark [from Music from The Apocrypha Chronicles]
peaceful
Leave Me Alone - Michael Jackson [from Bad]
clenched tight
spring steel
Jealous - Beyoncé [from Beyoncé]
the main vocal thread
is a talking to
or a narration
the
others
are marginal comments
Rx for Recipe -Amy Denio [from The Big Embrace]
a big pinch of surfers
travel scrapbook
Something's Wrong - Emily Stranger [from Labor of Love]
journal entry
overshared on the socials
as a song
The Cross (2020 Remaster) - Prince [from Sign O' The Times]
an interesting Christology
I'm not sure
if it needed any more than
that acoustic guitar
and his voice
especially the sitar back there
sneaked in from Help
Track 8 - Curtains For You [recorded live at The High Dive, Seattle, April 6, 2012]
quite a nice rhythm section back there
the keys dance on their floor
What Am I To Do - Shelby Earl [from The Man Who Made Himself A Name]
Orion in June
Taos (Duet) - Steve Peters [from With My Back To The World]
gentle syllable to syllable
Thursdays Tape (Part 1) - Barrytown Orchestra (Tildy Bayar, Wayne Berman, Benjamin Boretz, Markus Olin-Fahle, Marco Ramirez)
gently begun
sounds like music shifting in its chair
music shifts
in its shifting chair
poking inquiries
from the many corners
negotiating by ear
all the perils
of social interaction
sharing good
piling on
not so much
seems unlikely in
this crowd anyhow
music
as a utopian clot of times
a path
forward
for the non-homogenous
or a-homogenous
(ahem)
in the same house together
something is simmering on the stove
somebodies are having a raspberry contest
in the back of the
kitchen
ever on the verge
of settling back
to hear nothing
happening
except
settling back to hear it
to be furthered
Greed - Karin Blaine [from Modern Day Living]
so many preachers in the family
The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done (The Great Historical Bum) - Caitlin Belem Romtvedt, David Romtvedt, Joe Seamons [from Roll Columbia]
condensed history of American Exceptionalism
from the worker's point of
view
with anti-Hitler message tag verse
Strengur - Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir - Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir, Kent Olofsson [from Strengur]
upon what terms does this entreat my engagement?
1. curiosity:
what is this brave new world
what are these brave new strangers?
2. gatekeeping:
what do I get out of this?
3. interest:
I sought it out
so owe it my attentions
4. snobbery:
I'm so cool to be listening to this
5. lust:
it's so
voluptuous
6. surveillance:
keeping tabs on the world
outside my doors
Monster - Tyrannosaurus Grace [from Much More Than A Story]
two syllables at a
time developing into extended groupings
but not
far extended
ends of lines
get special treatment
Don't Worry - Chastity Belt [from I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone]
bedroom mope
Melting Down - Tom Swafford [from Rough Spans]
contemplations in wax
Snowy Summer - Specyphi [from Nine Songs]
overwhelming sameness of weight and delivery
factory output
day
and night
Choist - Gaytheist [from Let's Jam Again Soon]
enabling testosteronic anger vibes
Old Dog Tray - Robin Holcomb [from One Way Or Another]
let's revisit old Americana shall we?
Your Fabulous Friends - Shannon Stephens [from Pull It Together]
guitar doing a hi-hat gesture
open shut
open shut
Valley Hum - CEP [from Drawing The Target Around The Arrow]
playing with pitch bend
Be A Fool - Mikey and Matty [from And It Came To Pass/Not to Stay]
the words between the blue lines
we have become our jail bars
embracing clockwork precision
machine
enforced
promotion of self
is the product
ooga chaka
ooga chaka
Brain is for Lovers - Bad Cop/Bad Cop [from Warriors]
from the other side of a passage
Nocturne - Eric Flesher
fireflies and phosphoresence
Hippie in My House - Rachel Harrington [from Makin' Our House a Honkytonk]
try to clean him up some
this land is your land too
Mette's Tune - Tomten [from Cremation Songs]
prelude brings us into the space of this
it is its immediate appearance
not its textual payload
Ode to the Sun - Carson Farley
complete with signage
Superbronco - Yuni in Taxco [from Prizes]
see what I can
do over and over
a juggling act
polyphony
pervades every thought
thinking pink
thinking floyd
Sun Scenario - Ephrata [from Ephrata]
glorious day
refreshing aural rinse
crescendo
Sinfonia 4 (clavichord) - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey
one cannot help
but talk with ones hands
the language of hands
needs no truth
chords come in threes
developmental quartad
The Night Has No Eyes - Chris Brokaw
I am smaller than my guitar
even when there are two of me
Sinfonia 4 (piano) - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey
but the piano
says different things
with my hands
Ever Feel So Down - Song Sparrow Research [from Song Sparrow Research]
whence this desire for such soft sounds?
naugahyde pop
C.O.D. (Human Error Pre-Order) - Charms
worth the pre-order
for the ability
to refer to the track
as
above
which amuses me
The Sun of Righteousness On Me - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey
more a proof of concept
than a performance I like
I do like the
piece though
trying to out-austere old Sam Wesley
Fever Swimmer - Brendan Byrnes [from Micropangea]
fun with synthtoys
for big boys
music to display
a bespoke
tuning
Sandworm - Emma Danner
as though sung through a pre-digital telephone
autumn depressional
All The Stupid Days - The No-Ones
small volcano on parade
beneath the cellar floor
in the massed
guitar room
Uderfrykte - The Ancients [recorded live at The Rat and Raven, Seattle, August 9, 2012]
theme songs
for their favorite
late-night
schlock
anime
adventure fantasy
team
credit are
apportioned
One on One (midi) - Benjamin Boretz
midi sings a robot tune
but it's an actual thing being sung
robot
or not
bot or not
dynamic presence
elastic space
running cables
snaking node paths
Invention in A minor (2a from 19 Inventions) - Gavin Borchert - Keith Eisenbrey
such lovely lines!
Hold Tight Geraldine - Andrew James Robison [recorded live at The Rat and Raven, Seattle, August 9, 2012]
downbeats release to the back
downbeat beat
full of word
back of beat beat
more clipped
Guitar Sonata in D minor, Movements III and IV - Jeremiah Lawson [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, July 7, 2017]
treating American hymnody with love and respect
with figuration
variations
from all over the guitar pickers map
Watch's End - Alex Anthony Faide
big synthy chords
fading into and out from each other
gooily
and then
the ubiquitous steady pulse
drum machined tracks
to resolve it
into familiar territory
where we remain stuck
even after it all fades to off
Track 9 - Nancy Cole Silverman - Adam Verner [from A Much Married Woman]
they jabbered on
drinks for the house!
Out - Jay Hamilton [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, July 7, 2017]
crowded commands muttered
begin
turn again
close
if
none
then motor suggestions
overhead (a bang!)
||applause||
comments and questions are entertained
still coping with the box
not Swan Lake
both accident and on purpose
some discussion
of when it begins and ends
In Session at The Tintinabulary
December 8, 2023
Sinfonia 9 (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey
I made a few changes from an earlier version while it was in clavichord workshop, but now it's done.
December 9, 2023
Sinfonia 9 (clavichord) - Keith Eisenbrey
It is a much different piece when played on clavichord than when the robot harpsichord is set off.
December 10, 2023
Winchelsea - Keith Eisenbrey
another arrangement of a tune from a shape-note songbook promulgated during the Tyler Administration.
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 8: 2001-2002
A serendipitous mash-up and more mod-17 shenanigans.
Keith Eisenbrey 7: 1995-2001
During our years of chaos (parenting), keeping my hand in the game writing short pieces - and one big break-through.
Keith Eisenbrey 6: 1988-1994
Working with narrative forms, both explicit and implicit, playing games with memory, and finding ways to set texts.
Keith Eisenbrey 5: 1984-1988
My first years back in the Puget Sound area, working with the experience of repetition and with relationships between the vertical and horizontal pitch realms.
Keith Eisenbrey 4: 1983-1984
Finishes up the music I wrote while I was in New York (state) under the ostensible supervision of the academic world.
Keith Eisenbrey 3: 1982-1983
Written in Red Hook, NY, and Malabar, FL, as I was beginning to think about thinking about music.
Keith Eisenbrey 2: 1981-1982
What occupied my time toward at the end of my undergrad days and in the year before I went east for a while.
Keith Eisenbrey 1: 1979-1981
Keyboard works I composed while an undergrad at the UW.
All are free for download.
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
listening journal doodles from 2014
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