WARMER MIXTAPES #830 | by John Kiran Leonard [Kiran Leonard/Beat Nurse/Pend Oreille/Akrotiri Poacher]
I'm studying Spanish, Music and Maths at College, so I spend most of my time grappling with that. When I have time left over, I record Music in a room in my house. We live in the middle of nowhere, so one advantage is that I can Drum really loud at any time of the day as nobody is asleep in my house.
These are 10 songs/pieces, laid out chronologically from when I first heard them, and it's meant to chart out the growth of my interest in Music through select pieces. They are not necessarily my absolute favourites (though some of them are), but they're all important and influential to me in different ways. I think that the entries gradually get shorter and shorter as you go down the list, but that's not because I ran out of Energy, but because I have more to say about pieces that have been with me for longer.
These are 10 songs/pieces, laid out chronologically from when I first heard them, and it's meant to chart out the growth of my interest in Music through select pieces. They are not necessarily my absolute favourites (though some of them are), but they're all important and influential to me in different ways. I think that the entries gradually get shorter and shorter as you go down the list, but that's not because I ran out of Energy, but because I have more to say about pieces that have been with me for longer.
1. The B-52's | Rock Lobster
When I was young my grandmother lived in Lancaster (she now lives in Nerja, on the Mediterranean Coast, because the Rain had begun to depress her and her partner, a great deal) and it was a 70 minute drive from my door to hers. When we travelled my mum used to play mix CDs of Music to keep me and my sister entertained. There was one with lots of different songs on it and then one CD dedicated entirely to the B-52's. The CD was mostly cuts from their first two records (S/T and Wild Planet), as well as a couple from Cosmic Thing, and basically she took out all the ones about shagging like Strobe Light and put on the Playful ones. If you think about it, the B-52's make perfect Listening material for children - they're Upbeat, their Lyrics are hilarious, their Music is Entertaining. On the CD there was Planet Claire, the Party Mix Version of 52 Girls (we always liked the bit where they went Betty And Brenda), Dance This Mess Around, Dirty Back Road, 6060-842, Give Me Back My Man, Love Shack, Roam and, of course, Rock Lobster, which remains one of the Best Songs I've Ever Heard in my Entire Life Ever. When you're young it's entertaining only in the way that lines like he was in a jam/with a giant clam can be, but in hindsight this song had a vast, Subconscious influence on me. Even the Layout of the group is Totally Unique. You've got 3 Lead Singers, one Male, two Female. You've got a superb Guitarist in Ricky Wilson (more on him later), and one of the Female Singers (Kate) played two Keyboards, removing the necessity for a Bass Guitar. On top of this, you have a great Drummer in Keith Strickland. The Voices are utterly ridiculous, and I loved them when I was a kid, but now that I'm older, I've also noticed that they are Fascinating Harmonically. Particularly like the noise that (I think it's) Cindy makes after Fred Schneider goes chased by a catfish at 6:05. Listen to that Noise. The one that goes uh-WAAAAHHHuhh-uhh-uhhh, and the last three uhs are actually in tune almost. That Absolutely Rocks my Shit. That is seriously an Excellent Vocal Noise. Ricky Wilson is also probably up there with the Most Underrated Guitarists in Pop Music. Perhaps this is a bit of a cliché choice, but that Riff from 5:22 onwards, coupled with a cool Rhythm... It Kicks Ass. It goes hard like nothing else I can think of. He used to play with his D and G Strings missing and tune his low E down to a C, so you've got this Baritone-esque Sound. And his Riffs! Oh, my Good Christ. He was Inventive, he was Brilliant, I adore him. This track (and I am, of course, referring to the Album Version; why would you limit the experience of Rock Lobster to a mere 4 and a half minute Radio Edit?) goes on for nearly 7 minutes. It's a Perfectly Executed, Beautifully Structured piece of Music that never bores me; it will never bore me. I have Loved this song to Death since I was 6 and as I grow older and notice more of its Genius Idiosyncracies I only grow to Love it even more.
2. The Mars Volta | Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus
I listened mostly to the B-52's and Radiohead until I was about 9 and then I found The Mars Volta. I remember distinctly my brother Max introducing me to Frances The Mute, probably the First Record I Truly Loved from Start to Finish. We were sitting in the back of my dad's Land Rover and he'd just got this big clunky white iPod that was about five times the Thickness of what mine is now and held about a third of the Music. He showed me Hella's Homeboy EP (which scared the shit out of me, because there's a woman swearing a lot at the beginning of it, then 11 minutes of Zach Hill going kakakakaaakhakaggkahgkahbkaghka) and the Locust who also scared the crap out of me and the Mars Volta. The Mars Volta had the most Lasting Effect. Frances The Mute has 5 tracks, and they're all great (especially the 32-minute Closer Cassandra Gemini), but its Opener has always been my favourite. I mean, there are a number of things about Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus that are just Fucking Amazing if you haven't been exposed to anything of its kind. Firstly, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, who remains one of my All Time Favourite Guitarists, has never sounded as good as he does on this record, and the Solo that takes up the bulk of the Middle Section of this song remains one of my All Time Favourite Guitar Solos. It builds Beautifully and it's Highly Inventive. I like the way the track is Produced; I like all the Odd Delay effects that Pitter-Patter through the piece the whole way through. I was particularly interested in the 3-minute Sound Collage at the End; it was probably the First Time I'd ever listened to Musique Concrete (well, Musique Concrete with a slight Artistic License). The Mars Volta at this time was such a good BAND as well. Jon Theodore, man! How Can Two Arms Drum Like That!? Let me just take a moment to emphasise one of my Favourite Rhythms Ever which dominates the Middle Section of the piece; you've got (in quavers) a 9-12-8 Rhythm. But I mean, that's just fucked up! It should be 12-12-8 at least, just to line up properly! But those 3 Omitted Measures in the first phrase... Just the Best Thing to Have Ever Happened in The History Of Music!!! I Fucking Love Stuff Like That. Juan Alderete is a Phenomenally Gifted Bassist, too. And Cedric Bixler-Zavala's Extremely Cryptic Lyrics were also probably my First Exposure to any Form of Surreal Literature, and for about 4 years I pretty much Exclusively Wrote Lines in the Vein of My, my, my nails peeled back... As the taxidermist ruined... Goose stepped on freckling impatience!... (but I'm not saying it was any good). The track is so Shamelessly BOMBASTIC, it's a Huge Sprawling (13-minute) Fun piece of Music to Listen To. Come to think of it, this track basically introduced me to Unorthodox Time Signatures, Theatrical Instrumental Solos and Passages, Experimentation Music Structures and Musique Concrete, which are Cornerstones to my Compositional Process even Today.
3. Boards Of Canada | Corsair
My brother was also Instrumental in introducing me to Electronic, particularly Ambient Music. Before he loaded the contents of his iPod onto my Hard Drive in c. 2006, my two sole experiences of Electronic Music had been putting on Radioactivity by Kraftwerk on a CD player when I was a kid and just hearing a minute of clicking and these Cold German Voices singing about Radiation, and also watching Music TV channels in the morning before I went to School - in other words, Insomnia by Faithless, World Hold On by Bob Sinclair, Another Chance by Roger Sanchez. So when I first heard what was mostly artists on Warp; Aphex Twin, (Chris) Clark, Autechre (though it took a while to get into them), and particularly Boards Of Canada, it was a Total Relevation. Aphex was the first to hit me properly (Drukqs was an Instant Favourite). I decided BOC were my Favourite Artist on Warp when I listened to their first 3 records on Loop for 5 hours and halted Time (depends on who you ask). Corsair is not my favourite Boards Of Canada song, though it is beautiful, but I've chosen it because it bridges together my growing interest in both Electronic Beat Music and Ambient Music when I was around 11. I was also introduced to Brian Eno's early work, his Ambient series and work with Harold Budd and Laraaji. The Vast Majority of my early released material (2008-10) was Electronic, and heavily inspired by Boards Of Canada in particular, and thus the inclusion of one of their songs is important in this pseudo-essay, for not only were they a key influence in my Electronic Music, but their Eery Melodic Lines are Influential in the Harmony of the Music I currently Write. What also makes them worth including is their Impact on a number of Genres, and that the release of their Debut record marks one of the Most Distinctive Watersheds in Music that I can think of, with the exception of perhaps the release of Meet The Beatles!. So much Electronic Music before them was far more Mechanical and Metronomical, and yet nowadays so much Music bears the influence of that Debut record. It's in the Avant-Garde Sunny Pop of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Clams Casino's Hip Hop Production, the work of Brainfeeder artists like Teebs, Flying Lotus, Samiyam. Corsair is hardly an embodiment of the group's scope, simply being an Ambient Soundscape, but it's a Beautiful and Reflective one, and has long been a favourite of mine.
4. The Mothers Of Invention | What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?
Frank Zappa is the Man. He is a Master of both the Orchestral Overture and the wailing Guitar Solo, the Musique Concrete Soundscape and the Jazz Ensemble Arrangement. When I first heard We're Only In It For The Money when I was 13 it was utterly Jaw-Dropping, and the beginning of an extensive Album-Hoard where I pretty much collected his entire Discography up until 1982 (I don't like any of his records after that except The Yellow Shark). I've listened to more Frank Zappa than is Healthy or Necessary; I didn't really listen to anyone else for about 2 years. I can't think of a Musician who altered the way I write Music in such a Dramatic way; all I did during that time was try to Write Music like him. There are so many facets to his Music, and phases in his career that I feel close to. I Love his work with the first incarnation of The Mothers Of Invention the most. The first ones I heard by them were Freak Out! and the aforementioned WOIIFTM. Soon after I got a plain White T-Shirt and wrote Help, I'm a rock! on it in thick sharpie and my mum was pissed at me. The Music on Uncle Meat and his attitude to combining Classical Discipline to Rock Music was a big deal for me, and it encouraged me to develop my Musical Theory skills. I like his mid 70s Rock Star mode and Apostrophe. I like all the different incarnations of his Backing bands; I like Napoleon Murphy Brock and George Duke's Live Chemistry and Terry Bozzio's Drumming and Patrick O'Hearn's Bass Playing. Ultimately, it's his Collage of Different Forms of Music that influenced me the most, and the sheer Inventiveness of his compositions made Music seem Fun to me in a way that it had not before. Anybody Who Is Reading that is Young and Interested in Different Music, Frank Zappa is a great place to Start, because his Discography is so Vast and (up until 1982) so consistently good that it's like a Rabbit Hole from which it takes 2+ years to escape. I collected everything that I could, but I never found an album of his better then We're Only In It For The Money, and indeed I haven't found a record by anyone that I love more since I first heard it. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? is my favourite on that album for a lot of reasons. I like the Words and the Message, and I like the 7/8 Rhythm that comes in, right in the Middle. But fuck it, really, I've just chosen this song to represent the whole record. I had never heard an album so perfectly Cohesive, and with Recurring Themes throughout, like a Symphony, not even with the Beatles. It still slaughters me whenever I listen to because it's so Perfect. That record, and Brian Wilson's Smile, were the two records that influenced Bowler Hat Soup the most.
5. Sufjan Stevens | The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!
Under a heavy Zappa/Mars Volta influence I made a Prog/Jazz sort of an album called The Big Fish and put it out in June 2011, but the record I put out after that, Bowler Hat Soup (which I initially released as a Free Download in January 2012), was More Influenced by Songwriters than Composers. I was introduced to Come On! Feel the Illinoise!, a Phenomenal Record, by my friend Ben (who also plays Drums with me in my group). Although I personally prefer Stevens' album Michigan, Illinois was my first of his, and this song in particular was very inspiring to me. Put simply, The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us! is Beautiful Musically; it is Fundamentally a Modest Acoustic Guitar-led song, but with Extraordinary Instrumental Accompaniment. The breadth of Musical Textures in his Music was an influence on both The Big Fish and Bowler Hat Soup, and also his use of Percussion. I probably would have used an Ensemble of Clarinettists if I knew any well enough, but instead I mostly used the Melodica, because I could play it, and also the Euphonium, which is played by my friend Seth. I also like how Sufjan plays most of the Instruments on his records and that they sound like they were recorded in his Front Room (I don't think they were, but they might have been). He makes America seem like a Vast Decentralised Web of Small Towns and Adolescents with Low Self-Esteem, but not in a bad way (I guess it is). Really, the influence of this song was a Deciding Factor in Re-Evaluating my attitude towards Writing. On Bowler Hat Soup, the Main Difference is that it is Composition led by Songwriting, as opposed to Songwriting led by Composition. It's about Words and Pretty Melodies as opposed to Bone-Crushing Solos and Time Signature Abuse (though I find Ample Space for that too). Elements of Written Music are present, but the Underlying Constant on Bowler Hat Soup is Song and the Written Word; there are No Instrumentals, but 3/5 of The Big Fish is Word-Less. I like his words also, and they're about as far away from Cedric Bixler-Zavala as you can get. They're Plain, but very Poignant. Another one of my Favourite Lyricists is Joanna Newsom, who I would have totally put on this list with a separate track, but I wanted to keep it to 10 and couldn't decide which track to use anyway. Ys is one of the Best Records of All Time. Van Dyke Parks' Arrangements, her Lyrics, her Melodies, Jim O'Rourke and Steve Albini's Engineering... God damn. A particular standout for me at the moment is Monkey And Bear, which manages to use beautifully Florid Language whilst telling a Coherent Story with an Unmatched Skill. I Love her maybe even a little bit more than I love Stevens, though if I gave it more Deliberation I guess it would be a tie. Both of them heavily influenced the Music on Bowler Hat Soup.
6. Godspeed You Black Emperor! | Storm
I saw the Album Cover for Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven before I heard it and I liked A Silver Mt. Zion before I liked Godspeed You! Black Emperor. One of the tracks off Lift Your Skinny Fists..., Sleep, introduced me to using a Screwdriver on the Guitar as opposed to a Bottleneck, which is a great effect. You get a much Whinier and Expressive Sound, I think; I use it all the way through The Big Fish and on Smilin' Morn off Bowler Hat Soup. I got this album off Mediafire before I bought it on CD. I lost the CD eventually, which I was sad about because Constellation package their records so beautifully. You open the Cardboard Gatefold up and there's this beautiful sheet with the 4 tracks and their respective Movements illustrated in Blocks that changed their Thickness to correspond with the Dynamic at a Particular Point in the piece. It's something that I did with a couple of my albums before I recorded them. The opener is Storm, which is not a complicated piece of Music, but it's Thick and Glorious. the first 6 minutes is just this cycle of Chords that elevates and elevates. I like the Horns that come in at around 04:35 and you've got this great Syncopation after a minute of Incessant (though not Fastidious) Percussive Pounding. The Section after that has been described by someone (I can't remember who now) as like a Variation on Amazing Grace, which I kind of get. I think they were a nonet when they recorded this album, and the Instrumentation and Role of the Musicians is so Staunchly Democratic, Nobody in Particular Stands Out, except maybe Sophie Trudeau, who has a fucking gorgeous Volin Tone (which I recognise in the Dense Godspeed recordings due to its appearance on the much Thinner textures on ASMZ's first record He Has Left Us Alone...). the Final Section of the piece is a piece for Piano and (I assume) Cassette Recordings. I don't know what the Voice in the Background is saying. The whole thing is 22 and a half minutes long, I think, but it doesn't ever get Boring, and I can gladly sit through the whole thing without it becoming Tedious in the slightest. That's the same with a lot of their pieces. I've attempted some Compositions in their vein (I put out an album in 2009 that was two 30-minute tracks, but that was more Mike Oldfield than Godspeed), but it's not the Scope of their works that has influenced me, but mostly the Guitar work of Efrim Menuck and David Bryant (Mike Moya was a third guitarist, but he's only on a few releases). Though I also like their Calculated and Extended Crescendos, which I use less in recordings, but a lot in Improvisations that I do, both as a Solo Artist and in a Group. In Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Music, Dynamics, Calculated and Precise, are Everything, and sometimes it's not about the high Lead Sections or the Bass and Drums underneath, but the strange Middle pitches that arise, deeper in the Mix, that give the piece a Murkier and more Interesting Atmosphere. When GY!BE reformed in '11 I went to see them at the Academy in Manchester. They came on and did 10 minutes of Drone Improvisation and then the Lights went out and the projectors at the back jumped into action and they started playing Storm. It was Loud and it was fucking Awesome. I think it's sad that Independent Music started as a place for people who didn't fit in to go to, but now you have to be Cool and Fashion-conscious to even get ahead in that sphere. Pop's a Nihilistic Medium, and there just aren't that many people expressing themselves anymore (and I don't mean Politically exactly; I do kind of, but I'm no Phil Ochs). Anyway, it really sucks, which is one of the reasons I'm glad Godspeed made another album.
7. The Tammys | Egyptian Shumba
If Brian Wilson wrote two of the three Completely Perfect Pop Songs That Have Ever Been Written, this is the third one. A friend introduced me to this song in early 2011; she uses the site RateYourMusic a lot (which I'm on and I Love, but I'm not a part of the RYM community per se) and that song is huge on that site; I think they've voted it the best single of 1963 or at least in the top 5. The Tammys were... I think two of them were sisters, and a friend, and they made this Vocal Trio that collaborated with Lou Christie on 4 or 5 7" records I think. I feel like Egyptian Shumba in the same way that John Peel felt about Teenage Kicks; I wouldn't change a nanosecond of it, even the Ridiculously Uneven (Typical of the Era) Stereo Panning. The Awesome Pulsating Drum Beat and the Syncopated Right Hand of the Piano, and the Vaguely Arabic Flute Opening, and the Whirring Slide Guitar, and the bit in the Middle where the Flute plays a Different Melodic Line and there's a Tom and Cymbal Unison Rhythm. The Texture thickens throughout and the Recapitulation of the First Verse at the End then sounds so Monumental and Joyous. All the other Girl Group recordings that I've heard from the early 60s (and I am certainly no expert) sound utterly tame compared to this. It's an Unhinged piece of Music even by Today's standards. The hook (Arh, Aow, Aow, she did the Shumba!) is accented by the Three Opening Screams that come out like Sharp Barks. They scared the shit out of me when I first heard it. The Voices overall are Amazing; I still can't listen to the bit in the middle where they go I Hear The Drum Beats In My Sleep, Oh without either Completely Seizing Up or Shaking All Over. Every other Pop recording I can think of Pales in Comparison when held up with Egyptian Shumba. I Adore it More Than Any of My Possessions or Past Experiences. I can Happily listen to it 20 or 30 times in a row and still beat the shit out of my Desk in Unison with the aforementioned Rhythmic Break down in the Middle, and Pretend that I have the Vocal Range and Timbre of Three Californian Girls in their mid-Twenties. It's the kind of Ridiculous, Surreal Optimism that Still Attracts me to the Music of The B-52's. I could have Drawn Influence from it directly into my Music, but Even Vague Attempts to Imitate it Would Be Utterly Futile, Pointless and Embarrassing. It's a Ferociously Fun, Irreplicable and Unique Record, and listening to it should be Compulsory in All Public and Private Educational Facilities (as well as Prisons and Shopping Centres).
8. Death Grips | Full Moon (Death Classic)
When I started Writing the Music for Grapefruit, my next LP, probably in mid-2011, I began to lean toward slightly Heavier Music as opposed to the American Songwriters (Wilson, Stevens, Newsom, Merritt, Parks) that I'd listened to a lot whilst writing Bowler Hat Soup. I've written all of it and am in the process of recording it, and it hasn't resulted in a Slayer album, but the Ethos of records by bands like Death Grips, Swans, Harry Pussy and Shellac have been Really Influential. There's an Aggression that you find in Death Grips' Music that I envy, but don't feel like I can Replicate Truthfully. What I ultimately draw from a record like Full Moon (Death Classic) is the Pertinence and Power of Strong Rhythm. And I don't mean in the sense that Egyptian Shumba has a Strong Rhythm... I mean in the way that when you listen to Zach Hill Drum, it's like being punched on both sides of your head really quickly. But it also works on, say, Swans' first record Filth, and the Drumming on that feels like being punched on both sides of your head too, but really, really slowly. Full Moon isn't even my favourite Death Grips song by a long shot, but it's the best recorded Studio example of Zach Hill's Frenetic Style of Drumming with the group, whereas a Stronger effort has been made to Downplay what could be Perceived as Muddying the Texture of their pieces. I guess Takyon off their Debut Full-Length mixtape Exmilitary, and The Fever are also great examples of this Aggression. Stefan Burnett (MC Ride)'s lyrics and his delivery are just as Brutal. I fucking Love their track Hacker; every single line in that track is a Hook. His lyrics are hugely thought-provoking, and read back like extremely Cathartic, Mesmerising Poetry. The Various Melodies that String Together a 17-minute Joanna Newsom are Satisfying in the Long Run, but Aggressive Music has this Immediacy that is more like a Physical Pleasure to it rather than an Emotional one, even though it can engage both parts of the Body equally. But i think that's building a Reputation for Grapefruit being some ball busting record or something - it doesn't sound like Death Grips (though I wish it did), but... I don't know, there's more Noise on it, I suppose. It's like the heaviest parts on Bowler Hat Soup (like, say, Oakland Highball or the opening 40 seconds of The Battle Of Hoopla Bay), but way Thicker and Dissonant. Which I guess still isn't Hardcore, but I'm always going to sound like fucking Wet Wet Wet in comparison to Death Grips, aren't I.
9. Bill Orcutt | Lip Rich
The amazing and aforementioned Harry Pussy were a Noise Rock Trio from Miami in the 90s. The term Noise Rock, however, sort of brings about a Subconscious Comparison with a band like Lightning Bolt (who, for the record, I think are great), but whilst that group will (occasionally) abandon Melody it will Always have a Strong Rhythm to keep it together. With Harry Pussy,Rhythm was more or less out of the question as well, which leaves you with Freeform Noise, basically. The Main Guitarist of that group, Bill Orcutt, had this Blistering Distinct Style of Atonal playing on a 4-String Electric Guitar which maybe bares resemblance to Glenn Branca or Arto Lindsay of DNA, but not really anything else that I can think of. Lots of bent Notes and vague Hints of Melodic passages occasionally, but often full blown Unrelenting Dissonance. Adris Hoyos was the Drummer and Vocalist who could be heard screaming away through Harry Pussy's limited back catalog (as far as I can gather, it was either Improvisation or roughly a dozen songs, and they would often play the same song two times in the same set) if not rendered completely Inaudible by the Relentless Bashing of their Drum kit. Anyway, they made a few EPs in the 90s and did loads of shows across America and then broke up in the late 90s when the relationship between Orcutt and Hoyos fell apart. I don't know what Adris does now, but Bill got a job doing Consultancy or something in Miami and then returned in 2009 on an Acoustic Guitar. His Debut Solo LP was called A New Way To Pay Old Debts and this is the first track off of it. Lip Rich is the best example of Orcutt's Acoustic Blues style that I can think of... He claimed in an interview that he thought it was necessary to try and play the Blues and not sound like Robert Johnson. He certainly succeeded because he sounds like no other Guitarist on Earth Today. I Shamelessly Try to Mimic his various Passages and Chords but never quite Succeed. I like how he'll often sit on the same phrase and repeat it, stopping at Different Places but always going back to the same Starting Point, which apparently is inspired by people who have Vocal Tics. This is how I improvise now - I can't be satisfied unless I try to play like him. If there ever was a man who was the Real Shit, let it be known that it is he.
10. Arnold Schoenberg | Verklärte Nacht (Performed by Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Bruno Maderna)
I'm not particularly familiar with Classical Music, nor is much of it from before 1850 of much interest to me. Much of the Classical Music I enjoy is 20th Century, particularly Charles Ives, Alexander Scriabin, Morton Feldman, Harry Partch & Igor Stravinsky. I'm not fond of Serialism, but Transfigured Night by Schoenberg, one of his earliest works, is a favourite at the moment. What's interesting about it is the time it was written (1899); just before Schoenberg began to utilise the Twelve-Tone Technique. Therefore, at this point, he was pushing Tonality as far as it would go before it became completely devoid of Key, so what you get is some really interesting Chordal Passages and a piece of Amazing Expression. It's a piece I'm very new to (I only came across it a month or so ago) but I've quickly become attached to it. Even though stylistically much of Classical Music I find a little unexciting, when it affects me it's a huge deal. One element of it that does interest me, however, is the skill of Writing pieces that often dwarf pieces of Popular Music in Length - for instance, Transfigured Night is a single 28-minute movement - whilst being able to keep the pieces interesting. On top of this, much Classical Music makes little use of Repetition, certainly in comparison with Pop Music, which I've always found interesting and also bewildering. How you sustain 28 minutes of a more or less continuous stream of different idea without really cycling around the same Chords such as in a Verse-Chorus-Verse Structure? It seems like a Fundamental problem, and I guess it's merely the result of Talent, an understanding of Counterpoint, and so on and so forth, but I don't know. This piece, and Ives' first Orchestral set, and Scriabin's first Symphony I also have a lot of Love for. There's Primal Expression, which you get from a good Swans or Bill Orcutt track, and there's more Highbrow Expression, which despite being far more subdued in terms of its Volume can be just as Devastating chordally. My favourite bit of Transfigured Night might be at the end - you've got these quick Ascending and Descending Arpeggios in the second Violin and plucked chords in the Bass. It's a wonderful piece, and Highbrow as opposed to Primal. The effects Transfigured Night gives me compared to the effects Waka Flocka Flame's Hard In Da Paint gives me are so Different, but so Similar at the same time. It's what makes interested in Trying to Combine both Forms of Musical Expression.
