VOTD 6/27/2023

Spider John Koerner with Willie and the Bumblebees, also featuring Tom Olson: Music is Just a Bunch of Notes (Sweet Jane Ltd.)

Purchased at an export shop in Portland, OR

For the two-three people who check this blog regularly, you would have noticed my output of writing has gone from less regular to non-existent for over a week. I've been away from home, visiting family in Portland OR and vacationing on the coast. Unlike a generation that seems to want to publicize every movement they make and each meal they eat, I'd prefer to not tell people that my house will largely be empty for an extended period of time.

There's a fun export shop in Portland named Cargo, on the eastern side of the Willamette River. It's largely Asian goods, much of it clothing, Manga books, Chinese propaganda, the like. I didn't know they also carried a number of boxes of used records. I find looking through collections such as those more frustrating than ever. Everyone thinks they have treasures and charge too much money.

This record stood out. I'm always on the lookout for vinyl weirdness, and this immediately checked a lot of boxes. Handmade cover: check. Unusual location (Minneapolis): check. Strange title: yup. Three pages, copied from typewritten originals, with needlessly extensive liner notes: indeed. Price: $8. Sold. 

Music is Just a Bunch of Notes dates to 1972, which itself seems strange. Bona fide artist-run labels would be common in under a decade, but not so at this time. Thinking as I do, December 1972 was when the first record produced by The Residents/Ralph Records was issued. 

This record isn't nearly as weird (not even trying to be). It's largely charming, lo-fi folk-rock. Think lower-end The Band, that might put you in the right territory When I say lo-fi, it's not that it's grungy or murky. All the band cuts (voice, guitar, bass, piano, drums, often augmented by horns and strings) were recorded live. The voice is audible but a touch low in the blend, and more importantly could used  better microphone. The record is also underproduced to the point of making the silent time between tracks entirely too long, long enough that I wondered if i should pick up the needle and move forward.

Where it goes into stranger areas are the spoken word pieces, with Tom Olson affecting an exaggerated Minnesotan accent. In one, he depicts sitting at a red light hoping not to run out of gas (he does), in another he's on a boat that won't stop. Is he funny? Not even remotely, but that adds to the "just what is this?" weirdness vibe. 

I should be more specific about the cover. It's rubber stamped with magic marker accents. The image below is taken from discogs.com, but mine looks different. 

Here's an example of the specificity from the notes: "The room measured 15' x 30' with 11' ceilings and had plaster walls, skylights, and an attached six by four hallway/alcove. The control room was an 8' x 8' x 8' frame construction covered with wallboard, insulated and set in one corner of the room." Etc etc etc. More often I find records having too little data, but this is ridiculous. He lists all of the recording gear, microphones, mastering, budget, wholesale and retail costs. If this session was of major historical significance, this could be valuable information. Even then I would guess it's too much, and it's not a session of major historical significance.