"The dark grotto was laid open to its core
as if the earth had cracked
under some force,
gaping to the heart of Hell, the pallid lands
loathed
by the gods; as if the vast abyss below
were visible, and ghosts trembled
at the light."
Vergil - "The Aeneid" (translated by Shadi Bartsch)
Texts
Live
May 12, 2022
Cedar / The End of the Line
Kaley Lane Eaton
with
Chris Icasiano, Kayce Guthmiller, Sarah Pizzichemi, Tom Baker, Heather
Bentley, Leanna Keith, Ha Yang Kim
Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle
the stage is connected
with cables
microphones
plugs
and lights
the orchestra waits behind the piano
small drum
kit to the right
a complex of music stands and 3 microphones on the left
in front of them
a single chair and one mic
orchestra comes
forward to play
chords hang around
and breathe gently
song
as decorated
or furnished space
low center of gravity
pulling everything downward
and in-world
relies for meaning
on its lyrics ?
for which the music is a presentation ?
a colorful
one
an enabler
or carrier
not a question of whether music
should be more or other than that
but whether it can be or no
a
generational thing ?
Kaley assembled a magnificent crew
I was frankly puzzled
which is
to say
that my listening head was asking myself a lot of questions
about how the verbal component
hangs with the non-verbal component
but upon reflection since that time
I may be finding a head space
that makes sense for me
concerning what she is doing
what
might that head space be
the relations pertaining among
her comfort
with the vernacular-derived chordal-cyclicity she is doing
and
her
comfort with the gloriously oddball accretions her band adds upon it
she
quipped at one point
that all her compositions are in A Major
I
humbly suggest in that regard
she talk to Neal Kosály-Meyer
who
spent ten plus years playing nothing but A naturals
I admire both her
engagement (total)
and her integrity
which is to say that
onstage
she is never anyone but herself
there is no act
no projected persona
that isn't
clearly
just her
From Recent Arrivals
May 7, 2022
6 or 7 Miles After - Jostaberry [from Hello Turbine]
a beat that cycles
but
of which the circling point
moves
around
like spinning spokes
post-Eno
post-Barrett
it
does melt down into a four count regularity at some point
Rich Girl - Nina Simone [from Baltimore]
big orchestra production
drums
two percussionists
bass
guitar
strings
backup singers
a taunt and advice
Chronology - Ornette Coleman [from The Shape of Jazz to Come]
not fitted to the beat
but fitting it on the fly
like Ozone the
super
spinning ice
Jump for Joy - Peggy Lee [from Jump for Joy]
another big orchestra production
all the Vegas show biz glitz
that
can be got
Bambi - Prince [from Prince]
solid sound
not compressed out of countenance
that is
well
engineered
a quality product
Recorded
Sung Song - Robert Morris - Heather Gardner [from Robert Morris at 70]
soprano
and the space around their voice
gong
and the space
around its space
clapping sounds
and the sound around its space
not
clearly
the same spaces
not
clearly
not the same spaces
gong and clapping connect across the long lines
among which
they space themselves
by means of that long
lined sung space
and the similarity of their apparent punctuational
function within the rhetorical space
whistle sound
and its space
then connect to each
by the same means
and count
and
gong
pitched
one iteration
clap
unpitched
two
iterations
then sung and clapped simultaneously
so simple
so
clear
Consider the Birds 33 - Keith Eisenbrey [February 3, 2007]
if a bird chorus sound could be sliced thin
for microscopic survey
and each slice separated
slices not corresponding to the sound of
any one bird
but to some systematically sampled selection of the whole
those slices
might sound like these
Makin' Our House a Honkytonk - Rachel Harrington [from Makin' Our House a Honkytonk]
honkytonk; n. 1. a dancing and drinking establishment
2. a social space
in which the dancing and its music and the drinking all act as social
lubrication and are so socially coded
Regular - Your Mother Should Know [recorded live at Victory Lounge, Seattle, March 27, 2017]
dive bar music is both lubricant and badge
its art is only what is
necessary
to be a sufficient badge
and a sufficient lubricant
Now You Know - Doug Kolmar [from So Said Life]
life's lessons
at the further end of adulthood
let the party begin
gets a tad didactic
Praeludium, Fvb 115 - John Bull - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
prelude
an establishing progression
or series
as anchor
a ground
a foundation
Tibi Lau, Tibi Gloria - Peter Philips - The Tudor Consort, Peter Walls [from Cantiones Sacrae Quinis Vocubus]
composed echo
virtual cathedral
as praeludium
within actual
cathedral
the inner life
the disparate figures are delineated
as figures like the others
by
virtue of being directly repeated
if you hear it twice
it's a
thing
its cycling
defines it
likewise
with the larger
segments that repeat
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 20 #3 - Franz Joseph Haydn - The Kodály Quartet
1
musical head rhyme memory key
2
menuet theme uses an end rhyme for its initial presentation
3
well-voice-led homophony with internal polyphony
the sort of
movement that kept Beethoven up at nights
internal peace
4
tonal dramatics
opening figure has similarities to opening of 1
and then
is also an initial-presentation-of-the-menuet's end rhyme
figure
exit muttering
stage left
Waltz in G minor, Op. 69 #2 - Frédéric Chopin - Alfred Cortot (1943)
regular waltz
becomes fitted with new joinings
that turn in midair
fluidly
May 8, 2022
Hyena Stomp (take 3) - Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers [from Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, Chicago Days]
laugh solo
with exact vowels
mostly heh and hah
as might to
rhyme
with hep and hop
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off - Billie Holiday [from Lady Day, The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia]
many of the same considerations
in improvised accompaniment used here
were also considerations
in baroque continuo improvisation
Bird's Nest - Charlie Parker [from The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes]
the drum intro isn't enough
for us to get our bearing
before we
are swept away
I like his piano player
Erroll Garner I think
Ah-Leu-Cha - Miles Davis [from 'Round About Midnight]
quick 8 bar cycle
punctuated by drum breaks
also 8 bars
1
the orchestra disappears into singularities
points forming a
thin bright texture
its edges are exact
given to sudden attacks
or birdquick movements the
vegetation has sharp thorns
and
would rather you step back
for all of that
it proceeds clearly in
a symphonic movement mindset
2
a movement need not contrast affectually
as is the convention
it might be
a different walk through the same landscape
3
or
the between moments
are articulation points
generated from some internal process
but not the only such in an
active state
4
or
chapters at different events of the same story
in the
same voice
or
the same location in different weathers
or
the same weather at different locations
an increase in air
pressure
a different constriction
gestures are its bricks
pitch its mortar
every note
is ever so evidently
produced
made
physically
people's bodies are
involved
5
begins at night
nearer dawn than mid
but not much nearer
turmoil and alarms
another bureaucratic nightmare process
are we all rolling downhill
in all of which senses
this is a
Romantic Symphony
Just You, Just Me - Thelonious Monk [from Standards]
two or three notes at a time
not much more
as accompaniment to the
first sax solo
"The Gold it's in the . . ." - Pink Floyd [from Obscured By Clouds]
the music is a transport
decked out with decals
by guitar man
with some lyrics along for the ride
We Are Hungry Men - David Bowie [from Starting Point]
the legacy of Malthus
with bad accents
and too much message
Bo Diddley - Moe Tucker [from I Feel So Far Away]
recasting the BD beat
as a march
The Skaters Waltz - Émile Waldteufel [from 100 Greatest Classics, Volume 5]
goes to great lengths to not confuse the dancers
92 = (30, 32, 139) + (108c, 108d) - Anthony Braxton - The New York Composer's Orchestra [from First Program in Standard Time]
as I understand Braxton's naming scheme
this would be a combination of
six separate compositions
played variously
in sequence
or
simultaneously
loves the big instrumental choirs
playing in
rhythmic unison
E.S.P. - Shonen Knife [from Brand New Knife]
the song goes around and around
in various loops
count is
important
so it will ship easily
Gradus 9 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [April 2, 2002]
 |
| my journal entry for Gradus 9 |
Waiting Room - The Tom Baker Quartet [from Look What I Found]
impulses circulate
nervously
dendritic
Solo for Sliding Trombone - John Cage - Stuart Dempster [recorded live at the Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, May 25, 2012]
as I recall
Stu made as nearly no sound as possible
for a good
while
then
some canid yelps and grumbles
with what might one fill
an otherwise empty container
whatever the
choice
the person of the one doing the filling of it
will pervade
it
to the extent
that one
is engaged
in the activity
of filling it
in Stu's case
that would be
nearly
totally
pervasive
Albright & Kalm - 5-Track [from Trio]
fully realized melodic sensibility
within a rootsy rock vibe
nice
guitars
Banned Telepath 84 Lost Again - Steve Kennedy [March 28, 2022]
imbuing sounds with superball bounce
hurl them to the pavement
and
watch 'em go
tap tap tiny taps
a loop device has a mind of its own
provides commentary
pulls sounds aside
and shares them in
another room
white noise cycle
change up
guitar away
drums and friends arrive
new party
let's play Fibber McGee
guitar returns
what's going on
Praeludium Dor. Fvb 116 - John Bull - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
up 4 steps
then back down 2 steps
the fancy way
in ornate
costumery
then it gets complicated
studious thinking
when it comes down to it
4 syllables
4
notes
Little Queen of Spades (DAL 395-1) - Robert Johnson [from The Complete Recordings]
the melody differs from other of his blues melodies
only insofar as it
is necessary
to articulate the different lyrics
it is not
important to him
that every music be as distinct
as we might think
or desire
In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down - Lead Belly [from Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Lead Belly Legacy Volume 1]
a rubric
for publication of private troubles
a message board
Drown In My Own Tears - Ray Charles [from Ray Charles]
count to 4 slow
eight times
for the payoff
tag on ending
I Told You So - Aretha Franklin [from The Electrifying Aretha Franklin]
shoulda listened to her the first time dude
Prelude in G minor - Lockrem Johnson - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded at the Tintinabulary, Seattle, on April 8, 2022]
pretty good I think
might have gauged the decrescendo better
but
other than that acceptable
raunchy pickup song
or a leer among the guys
Wink Dinkerson - Cheech & Chong [from Cheech & Chong]
communication issues on several levels
finish with a fart joke
Complete Control - The Clash [from The Clash]
home built rod
doesn't go fast
but has cool details
hidden
compartments
within any empire
there are those disaffected from without
and
those disaffected from within
Alligator Wine - Screamin' Jay Hawkins [from Frenzy]
is it my coffin
that's going to sneeze
or my carpet
monkey
laugh
Assembly Rechoired 19 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [March 28, 1987]
pluckers
small ones
lap dulcimer and bug guitar
moved to the
slide whistle
all switch around
readjust posture
guiro and
vocalizations
in syllables without consonants
soft bugle blats
excites the guiro
whistles rattles and hoots
the dulcimer persists
sans 'ts'
hound whimper
flute
and toy piano
probably still the jaymar
now a ruin
typical
quiet Seattle evening at home
May 11, 2022
Let's Get Away From It All - Morgana King [from This Is Always]
witty alliteration signals sophistication
echoed in the small club
soft touch
combo
Banned Rehearsal 476 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [December 20, 1997]
arching your back at the top of your voice
avoid sacrilegious excitement
be invited
be unaware of your own presence
bury the sound
I've only this little gown
do not inflate
do not torment
yourself
on a stage sounds are made and words are spoken
the walls
sit in the audience seats
with their microphones
accepting it all
an amplified sound
will be stained with its amplification
even at several removes of further amplification
||: He is Eric
Satie :||
and will return from the dead to enforce it
my work is pure photometrics
I rise at 7:18 inspired
my servant takes my temperature
and gives me a new one
piano works with a figure
smelt in the trombone
the consequences are serious
there are students who never see their teacher
we would be going nowhere
we get quiet
no more baldness
we begin again with noise
spoken words
spoken to no-one in particular
create a virtual stage
and a presumptive audience
different than the sounds with which it finds itself
a recognizable style of music
can have a similar effect
we settle back down again
drifting into a space alone with itself
low tone on piano
violin
something in a bowl
jabs of sudden sounds
interspersed whistle and percussion
violin morphs from door hinge to donkey
then settles between them
ends as an old saw
{from my journal entry of October 25, 2005:
Aaron and Neal chatter soundlessly
Aaron listally
listly
instructions
words distract from sound
it takes great
concentration
to not hear words as words
tea is Eric Satie
he is
at the very end gets somewhere
low piano
violin
and percussion}
Gap 8 - J. K. Randall [from Open Space 21]
solid poetry
tiny stitches
coded patterns
if a tone sits
still
it sits still
deal wid' it
Consider the Birds 20 - Keith Eisenbrey [February 3, 2007]
regular enough to come across as regular
though every pulse is unique
and there are passing waves of other regularities
mostly two
pulses
in a tight group
occasionally three
for a while
in a pattern of 5 pulses
if two are sounds
then next three
are silent
Echoes - Yuni in Taxco [from Prizes]
riding in the backseat
family car
nowhere in particular vibe
the vocal has an effect applied to it
which obscures the words
forwarding the round and round cyclicity
going through a tunnel
now
You Ruined It When You Hugged Me Back - Your Mother Should Know [recorded live at Victory Lounge, Seattle, on March 27, 2017]
not about sophistication at all
nor tidiness
proximate harmony
Potential vs Eventual pt. 1 - noisepoetnobody [from Potential vs Eventual]
droids making droids
industrial layers
no outside to it
minding its remorseless task
Praeludium Fvb. 117 - Traditional - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
a bit of fancy to check the tuning
Tin Roof Blues - Sol Hoopi, Leon Roppolo, Paul Mares, George Brunies, Ben Pollack [from Allen Lowe's Really The Blues]
a baroque aria fully embellished
not that the baroque folks invented the
blues
but
that they share certain salient characteristics
continuo
solid rhythm section
with composed harmony
filled in on the
spot
and singer
embellishing a simple tune
that is
they put themselves together
in similar ways
in the wild
Peaceful Valley - Buddy Spencer Trio [from Evans 78s]
has a distinctly songwritten feel to it
fancy chords
sophisticated
sentimental rural
country life without farm work
Shorty's Got to Go - Bill Johnson and His Musical Notes [from Allen Lowe's That Devilin' Tune]
tell a story with commentary
in importuning sleeve pulling rhythm
perfectly enjoyable
for no other reason than that Elvis is all in
Matchbox - The Beatles [from First Live Recordings, Volume 2]
this blues is not as baroque in feel
but the guitar solo is essentially
an elaborate embellishment
Prelude in F Major - Lockrem Johnson - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded March 18, 2022]
not yet
I just don't like this slow tempo
too lugubrious
it
needs a lighthearted lilt
Girl Don't Take You Love - Michael Jackson [from Got To Be There]
words of a man
in a boy
did it ever stop being an act
Echo Sonata for Two Unfriendly Groups of Instruments - P.D.Q. Bach [from Portrait of P.D.Q. Bach]
surely he was tired of his own jokes by then
trapped by success
Gardening at Night - REM [collected from Nancy's Mix]
descending melodically
a short distance
at different rates
with different steps
but always between the same two notes
In Session at the Tintinabulary
May 9, 2022
Assembly Rechoired 61 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey
Karen and I took a nice walk
with air traffic
ground traffic
footsteps
birds
and one young person
coasting a
noise-vehicle
past us
down the path
in the park
and
yelling about it
May 12, 2022
Joshua Tree Prelude 13 - Aaron Keyt
Prelude in A Major - Keith Eisenbrey
Prelude in B-flat Major - Ken Benshoof
I'll give this one another attempt
just to get the last dyad exactly
simultaneous
otherwise this sounds like what I hear the prelude doing
Postscripts
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
more listening journal doodles from 1988
