Tag: Music

To many people in many cultures, music is an important part of their way of life. Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as “the harmony of the spheres” and “it is music to my ears” point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, “There is no noise, only sound.” Musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez summarizes the relativist, post-modern viewpoint: “The border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus … By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be.”

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Alan Lomax’s historical recordings to go online

Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960.
Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960.

Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his career documenting folk music traditions from around the world. Now thousands of the songs and interviews he recorded are available for free online, many for the first time. It’s part of what Lomax envisioned for the collection — long before the age of the Internet.

Lomax recorded a staggering amount of folk music. He worked from the 1930s to the ’90s, and traveled from the Deep South to the mountains of West Virginia, all the way to Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. When it came time to bring all of those hours of sound into the digital era, the people in charge of the Lomax archive weren’t quite sure how to tackle the problem.

“We err on the side of doing the maximum amount possible,” says Don Fleming, executive director of the Association for Cultural Equity, the nonprofit organization Lomax founded in New York in the ’80s. Fleming and a small staff made up mostly of volunteers have digitized and posted some 17,000 sound recordings.

“For the first time, everything that we’ve digitized of Alan’s field recording trips are online, on our website,” says Fleming. “It’s every take, all the way through. False takes, interviews, music.”

“Alan would have been thrilled to death. He would’ve just been so excited,” says Anna Lomax Wood, Lomax’s daughter and president of the Association for Cultural Equity. “He would try everything. Alan was a person who looked to all the gambits you could. But the goal was always the same.”

Throughout his career, Lomax was always using the latest technology to record folk music in the field and then share it with anyone who was interested. When he started working with his father, John Lomax, in the ’30s, that meant recording on metal cylinders. Later, Alan Lomax hauled giant tape recorders powered by car batteries out to backwoods shacks and remote villages.

Lomax wrote and hosted radio and TV shows, and he spent the last 20 years of his career experimenting with computers to create something he called the Global Jukebox. He had big plans for the project. In a 1991 interview with CBS, he said, “The modern computer with all its various gadgets and wonderful electronic facilities now makes it possible to preserve and reinvigorate all the cultural richness of mankind.”

He imagined a tool that would integrate thousands of sound recordings, films, videotapes and photographs made by himself and others. He hoped the Global Jukebox would make it easy to compare music across different cultures and continents using a complex analytical system he devised — kind of like Pandora for grad students. But the basic idea was simple: Make it all available to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Lomax was forced to stop working when his health declined in the ’90s, and he left the Global Jukebox unfinished. Now that his archives are online, the organization he founded is turning its attention to that job.

The Association for Cultural Equity is housed in a rundown building near the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan. Most of Lomax’s original recordings and notes are now stored at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. But Fleming says the New York offices still exude the DIY vibe they had when Lomax was working there — right down to the collection of castoff chairs and desks, none of which seem to match.

“There was never any money in it for Alan,” says Fleming. “Alan scraped by the whole time, and left with no money. He did it out of the passion he had for it, and found ways to fund projects that were closest to his heart.”

Money is still tight. But that never stopped Alan Lomax, and it hasn’t deterred Anna Lomax Wood, either.

“He believed that all cultures should be looked at on an even playing field,” she says. “Not that they’re all alike. But they should be given the same dignity, or they had the same dignity and worth as any other.”

Almost 10 years after his death, his heirs are still trying to make his vision a reality — one recording at a time.

Courtesy NPR

Image Shirley Collins/Courtesy of Alan Lomax Archive

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SXSW 2011 festival

SXSW Music, Film, Interactive festival, March 11–20, 2011“But will they have free drinks?” That cry will be heard throughout Austin during the SXSW festival, from March 11 through 20. But of course we all have our different reasons for attending. Filmmakers, technology geeks, and live music enthusiasts alike can get their mojo on.

Wednesday through Saturday, the Austin Convention Center will house the 29th annual Flatstock poster show and the Texas Guitar Show. Flatstock has the latest in screen-printed poster designs, and promises to have a “portable” printer on-hand to show you how it’s done. Both shows are free to the public.

Interactive design firm Frog Design will host its annual SXSW kickoff party March 8. Industry peers will gather for a night of revelry and conversation.

And, oh, the music! I will be attending mostly day shows. Wednesday the 16th… Neo soul boys Fitz & The Tantrums will play a free show in the Waterloo Records parking lot. Texas’ own Bad Sports will play a day show at Trailer Space Records. Two interesting bands feature at Red River Street goth club Elysium: tough and tight garage rockers The Woggles, and Japanese punk crazies Peelander-Z. San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees will be at Spiderhouse on the drag. Draft beer emporium The Ginger Man will have three great Texas bands: Ugly Beats, Thunderchiefs, and Eve & the Exiles. On the east side, newly-opened pub The Grackle will host “Gracklefest”—four days of free shows. Do not miss Flesh Lights, an Austin trio led by that young bolt of lightning Max Vandever. Two more must-see Austin bands OBN IIIs and my soccer mate Alfonso’s band, Manikin, will be at Beerland. Thursday the 17h… Poet, survivor, lover Kacy Crowley will open for The Sour Notes at Betsy’s Bar downtown. Soul shouters Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears will dominate another free parking lot show at Waterloo, and then later at the Mohawk. I love the twee-ness that is The Carrots, and they’ll appear at the east side’s Baby Blue Studios. For $10 you can see former 13th Floor Elevators legend Roky Erickson and pals including Peter Buck from R.E.M. at Threadgills. For me a SXSW highlight will be UK band Pete And The Pirates at British pub Dog & Duck. On the same stage are The Minus Five, featuring former members of R.E.M. and The Dream Syndicate. Friday the 18th… Last year I spent some time on the beautiful grounds of the French Legation Museum. This year electroclash hell-raisers !!!, Cults, and tUnE-yArDs are my picks. The Shangri-la is a cherished east side neighborhood spot, and local boys done good The Hex Dispensers will be a good reason to stop by. Two festivals ago, I witnessed Gentlemen Jesse And His Men perform a scorching set in a record store parking lot. This time, the men will be outside at the Mohawk—not to be missed. South Congress Avenue shouldn’t be left out, and tiny outsider art gallery Yard Dog will somehow manage to find space for former X frontwoman Exene Cervenka to perform. Two excellent indie rock bands—Okkervil River, and Surfer Blood—perform at Flamingo Cantina. If you remember 1980s punk rockers ALL, their former singer is now fronting a band called Drag The River, and will be performing a few shows around town: at Hole in the Wall, Liberty, and Barbarella. Saturday the 19th… “Gracklefest” continues with Peelander-Z, 8-bit electro nerds Anamanaguchi, and my friends Cody, Zach, Nick, and Weston from Austin punk rockers Lost Controls. Rainey Street is fast becoming an alternative for dining and entertainment, and Okkervil River and Tapes ‘n Tapes will grace Lustre Pearl’s patio stage. Sunday the 20th… The last day of the festival goes out with a bang at the Side Bar. Flesh Lights, former Guided By Voices guitarist Doug Gillard, and two garage bands, Austin’s Ugly Beats and Pittsburgh’s Cynics will bring the house down.

For the most accurate, complete, and up-to-date SXSW music listings, I urge you to visit Showlist Austin.

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The Black Keys rock ’n’ roll marriage

The Black Keys drummer Pat CarneyThe Black Keys are a rock duo from Akron, Ohio, and recently won two Grammy Awards, including the best alternative music album prize for their latest album, “Brothers.” I was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, a former industrial town on the bank of the Ohio River. It’s at the southern tip of the state, bordering on Kentucky and West Virginia. I never actually lived in Ohio—my father relocated our family to Chicago, and my mother returned to her Ohio hometown to finish the final trimester of her pregnancy with me. But feel an affinity with the state. It’s not a glamorous place, and I follow with interest the careers of Ohio artists and applaud any artist able to earn a name for themselves.

I remember clearly when the Black Keys’ first album was released, 2002’s “The Big Come Up.” At the time, drummer Patrick Carney was married to his teenaged sweetheart, Denise Grollmus. Grollmus is an excellent writer, and detailed in a post for Salon her love affair and ultimate painful divorce. It’s a moving story, and humanizes her relationship with a rising rock star through reminiscences of the Black Key’s first appearance on “Conan,” and she describes a poster for a band she and Carney formed before the Black Keys.

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R.I.V. (Rest in vinyl)

And VinylyRather than having your ashes hidden away in a jar in the cupboard, why not have them pressed into the grooves of a vinyl LP? That’s precisely what UK company And Vinyly is offering. Who wouldn’t want a custom vinyl recording of their own voice, their favorite tunes or their last will and testament? I can’t think of anyone. Perhaps my wife wouldn’t.

The company was founded by techno musician Jason Leach, influenced by two events. After his mother was hired by a funeral parlor in England, he viewed an American tv program where someone launched fireworks filled with their beloved’s ashes.

But how to get the ashes in the record? The process involves sprinkling ashes onto the raw piece of vinyl (known as a “biscuit”) before it is pressed by metal plates. The basic package costs £2,000 (today about US $3,100) and includes standard artwork—a black sleeve with the legend, “Rest In Vinyl,” with the deceased’s name and birth-death dates, as in the image above—and up to 30 ash-flecked discs with whatever sounds you choose, lasting a maximum of 24 minutes. Leach’s company offers premium services such as custom sleeve artwork, a portrait painted by UK National Portrait Gallery artist James Hague, using your ashes mixed into the paint, and custom songwriting by Leach himself (called “Bespook Music”).

The hardest part is choosing the audio for your LP. Leach says: “It’s difficult to think of what to put on your record because you want it to be the best album you can imagine.”

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50 years of Doc Martens

Dr. MartensDr. Martens—the English makers of boots and shoes—turns 50 this year. DMs, Docs, Doctor Martens… however one calls them, the familiar “Bouncing Soles” tag at the back and distinctive yellow stitching serve as a social signifier; for many it goes hand-in-hand with rebellion. And music. Doc’s first boots became a working-class essential to a counter-culture back in the 1960s. (Fact: The first eight-eye boot was issued the 1st of April, 1960, hence the style number 1460.)

The list of D.M. devotees covers a broad spectrum of musical and fashion trends, says Martin Roach, D.M.’s de facto historian: “mods, glams, punks, ska, psycho-hillbillies, Goths, nu-metal, hardcore, straight-edge, grunge, Britpop, and on and on.” So to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Dr. Martens asked 10 artists to record their version of a classic track from acts such as the Human League, Buzzcocks, and the Pogues, that represents the spirit of the people who’ve worn DMs; directors produced accompanying videos to boot (click here to view them).

Since the late-’80s, I’ve owned several pair, from boots to loafers, even D.M. sandals. They always feel good and last a long time. Happy Birthday, Dr. Martens! My feet love ya…

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Historic Harvard organ moves to Austin

Harvard pipe organOn May 3, staff from the C.B. Fisk Company—the famed mechanical action pipe organ manufacturer of Gloucester, Massachusetts—dismantled the pipe organ at Harvard University’s Appleton Chapel. A delegation from Redeemer Presbyterian church in Austin traveled to Massachusetts for the instrument’s farewell recital, which has served Harvard since 1967 and will begin service in Redeemer’s new sanctuary.

In 1965, when plans for the organ began, Harvard entrusted the design, construction, and voicing of the organ to one of its own, Charles Brenton Fisk (’45). His study of early American and European instruments helped him and his company to set a new course for American organbuilding.

No official date has been set for the organ’s première at its new Austin homesite… so pipe organ fanatics will have to stay tuned!

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Past Perfect vintage music

Past Perfect vintage musicIt may seem odd to write about music in these pages but I just received a distressing e-mail newsletter from a British record label called Past Perfect that specializes in restoring 20th-century (primarily jazz) recordings, whose very fine engineers utilize the latest audio restoration technology. In a word, the sound is incredible, considering the sources are from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s.

The distressing part is that Past Perfect’s chairman has had an unhappy birthday due to the recent lack of orders! To help keep them going, I urge you to browse their site and sample some of the many riches found there, from Fred Astaire, Benny Goodman, and Noel Coward, to flappers, World War II, and film music. Each holiday season my family and I enjoy their Christmas songs CD. While a great starting place for the uninitiated is the Past Perfect music sampler, they’ll gladly ship a pre-loaded “Vintage Collection” iPod (starting at roughly $419.00). And most of its catalogue is available for download from either Past Perfect or from the popular eMusic site.

I’ve bunged in my support by ordering some CDs and downloading several eMusic tracks. Don your spats and topper, tuck in with a P.G. Wodehouse novel, and pop Past Perfect’s music on the Victrola. Now where did I set down my g & t?