Tim Hecker

I may be a bit late to this party, but I've really been getting into Tim Hecker lately.  The latest, Ravedeath 1972, is pretty damn dense and hypnotic.  People who seem to know what they're talking about say it's nearly as good as his masterwork, Harmony in Ultraviolet.  Also well worth a listen is a live show from Montreal earlier this month.

Hecker has talked about how this album is about "digital garbage", and there is a rough darkness in the raw materials that make up the music, so it seems strange that the final product has a depth that matches some of the best minimalist orchestral classical music: not that I'm putting him on that level, but Hecker's work at its best reminds me of Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 Op. 36 . . . which, if you haven't heard, you need to download and listen to right away.

Avant-Hillbilly: Henry Flynt

Wow! How have I missed this guy all these years? Equally well known as a philosopher and musician, Flynt is a self-taught, outsider genius in both fields.

Aesthetically/philosophically, he was primarily known for his anti-art stance, an aesthetic which filtered down to art punks here and in Europe (art strike, anyone?).

Musically, he moved in the Fluxus orbit in the 60's, though he was not aligned with them on a theoretical level. He was also friends with, among others, LaMont Young, an association which shows on these two gems.

Flynt is a minimalist in the classical sense. What makes him interesting is that he uses American Hillbilly vernacular as the language of his minimalism. Like most minimalists, he relies heavily on repetition. Unlike most minimalists, his musical gestures are bluegrass tropes. You Are My Everlovin'/ Celestial Power is a raga-based (and heavily Indian influenced) solo violin exploration, a completely tranced out little treat. New American Ethnic Music Volume 2: Spin Dizzy is a collection of shorter pieces spanning the years 1968 - 83. There are solos and duets, fiddles and guitars, and tons of fun.

If you could imagine a musical crossbreeding that screams NO COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL, a combination of bluegrass and twentieth century avant-garde art music would have to be at the top of the list. For that reason alone, Henry Flynt is worth a listen. Myself, I've been pumping Spin Dizzy in the car for the better part of a month.

As per usual, the peerless Bigfatsatanist is responsible for these wonderful sides.

Damn Modernists!

Ayn Rand and Sun Ra? How about Samuel Beckett and Morton Feldman? I indulged in both today, though not at the same time - I've been reading Beckett's Malone Dies on my lunch breaks, and today I listened to Feldman's For Samuel Beckett on the way home. Definitely not for the emotionally fragile: Feldman's FSB is one of his more texturally itchy works, and Beckett's modernism stretched into novel length is relentless. But what can I say? I'm a fan of both.

Feldman is the only minimalist that I listen to much. I like the concrete plasticity of his work - you can almost reach out and feel the texture of his compositions. As for Beckett, he is still one of the most austere and uncompromising proponents of other in the history of Western Literature.

That said, I wouldn't recommend either one of these works as entry points into either artist's world. For Beckett, it would be good to start with his short story collection More Pricks Than Kicks, and then pick up his two famous dramas, Waiting for Godot and Endgame. As for Feldman, Rothko Chapel is breathtaking.

Incidentally, Beckett and Feldman were friends towards the end of each other's lives. Feldman was a huge admirer of Beckett's, and Beckett became a fan of Feldman's as well . . . though Beckett didn't even hear any of Feldman's music until after he provided the libretto for Feldman's Neither.





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Last night, I wound down by reading Karl Marx while listening to Hoagy Carmichael. I'm not even going to try to make sense of that.