Today's listening

Public Image Ltd: The Flowers of Romance (WB) on vinyl

I'm currently on my second spin of this record, which I'd never heard in full before. I suppose it's notorious in the PIL catalog. It was recorded after the departure of bassist Jah Wobble, but before PIL would take a more commercial direction. That's relative of course, John Lydon was never destined to be a traditional pop star. 

I'm only modestly interested in in PIL. Their first LP has a few banger tracks, particularly "Annalisa"; "Fodderstomp" is also wonderfully abrasive. I remember really liking the opening track of this record ("Four Enclosed Walls") from my college radio days, and it's even possible I spun it once myself. Highly spare, it's mostly a heavy drum beat accompanying John's wailing vocals, with some occasional backwards instruments and other assorted sounds. I enjoy its starkness. It sounds deliberate, like they're leaning into the idea of no bass and fewer instruments in general.

Most of the rest of the album doesn't live up to the promise of that track. There was a single generated from this, "Flower of Romance", which amazingly charted in the UK. I'm reading the mix is different than the LP version. It's still an oddity, a drone piece with a Middle Eastern sound to it. 

Maybe it's not fair, but I think what this record could have been rather than what it is. There are too many tracks that sound like studio screwing around, and deserved more attention and development. Time is money though, especially in the studio. "Banging the Door" is the only other cut that I find really sounds completed, and it's the fullest production of the bunch: voice and drums, bass, synth drone, synth effects, and probably other things mixed in. 

What's clear was that this wasn't a sustainable direction for the band. Soon no original members save Lydon would remain. Is this the logical end of earlier PIL records or a side avenue? Am I going to have to buy a copy of their second album now and decide? I don't have to buy it of course. At least my curiosity about this one is sated.

The copy, used from Jerry's Records, is very clean. I'm guessing it didn't get too many plays before I purchased it.

Today's listening, etc

How's it going? I guess I write that any time I return after an extended absence.

After many delays for no particularly good reason, I have finally released the third Thoth Trio studio album Three. It's available on my Bandcamp page (benopie.bandcamp.com, naturally). I'd rather put copies in hands in person for those who still buy CDs, but you do have the added advantage on that site of being able to stream and download the pieces. 

The sessions were held over two days. We recorded nineteen works, eighteen of which I plan to issue. Nothing was played twice with the possible exception of one false start. I intend to release the other half of the session later this year, and there's talk of a possible Thoth Trio LP in the future.

Also scheduled for full release this Friday is the new Microwaves LP, Temporal Shifter. It's available at https://decoherence.bandcamp.com/album/temporal-shifter. Like a previous LP, I appear on one cut and will appear at their release show this coming Friday. I mean, eight full albums (or is it nine? or more?) plus several EPs. They hit hard, and aren't easy. (I guess I'm saying it anyway, but I'm trying to avoid the word "weird".) But I like a nice challenge and find it fun to play with them.

As for some recent listening:

I recently sprung for the recent four-CD set of William Basinski's Disintegration Loops. CD set: relatively cheap; LP set: not so much. The CD format is really the appropriate one for these works considering their length. I admit I like it better when the loops disintegrate relatively quickly, which even then takes a long time. 

On the same shopping trip: an old copy (not the more recent double LP version on Mondo) of Ennio Morricone's The Big Gundown. I've written before that it's Morricone's crime, horror, and giallo scores that are my favorites. It's still a very good work, albeit perhaps not as memorable as some of the portions of his Serge Leone scores. 

But tonight:

Tui St. George Tucker: Indian Summer (Three Microtonal Anitphons on Psalm Texts) on Opus One

This came up at Jerry's Records from what I believe was one of two major collections of new music and jazz they had then recently purchased. Whoever owned it must have had a breakout section for Opus One Records in his collection (is there little doubt it's a he?), because there's a sticker with the catalog number on the plastic outersleeve. I also left the price sticker that I paid: $5.

Seeing this: Opus One? Sure I'll check it out. The word "microtonal" in the title? And $5? Guaranteed sale for me. Plus, a female composer completely unknown to me. There are few recordings available and even the webpage under her name hasn't been supported. I had to think of her name as I reached for this on the shelf..."there was a 'St." in her name, right?"

Who was TSGT? All the discogs page reads was that she was an "American composer and recorder player and instrument developer." There is a Wikipedia page that provides more details. It sounds as though I should try to seek out some of these other recordings of her music.

What of this work? It is indeed microtonal, sounding like it's written for quarter-tones. It's set for seven instrumentalists and two baritone voices. The entire piece takes place over a pedal tone, the same perfect fifth through the entire work. The use of quarter tones is clearly intentional, which can be a challenge with microtonal music: does it sound "correct" or is it just out of tune? TSGT uses those "in-between" notes more as passing tones; ultimately, resolutions are made in consonance with the pedal tone. "Antiphonal" is an appropriate term, as melodies are echoed from a lead instrument or voice among the other instruments. Despite the quarter-tone nature of the composition, it evokes Medieval music. The lead instrumental voice through much of the work is the bassoon, further bringing to mind so-called "Early Music".

It's not what I would describe as exciting music, it has a coolness to it. But then I've recently spent hours revisiting Disintegration Loops, for which I would say something similar.

Interesting what turns up...and what I might have ignored if the right record label and word on the cover hadn't caught my attention.