Friday, April 17, 2009

Moebius, Conny Plank, Mayo Thompson - Ludwig's Law


Another 1983 album at Mediafire.

Collaborative album of Dieter Moebius (of Cluster), Conrad Plank, and Mayo Thompson (of the Red Crayola). Basically, it's a long stream-of-consciousness philosophical rants set to bouncing electronics. The monologues steer from deeply insightful moments to random babbling about Karl Popper. As entertaining as the album art when you catch it.

Sky Records rejected the album back in 1983. It took 15 years to get a proper release through Drag City Records. More on the history of the album.

Discogs Info

Tracks:
1 Scientists (0:39)
2 Das Apartment (4:30)
3 The Truth? (5:14)
4 Ludwig's Law (4:21)
5 42 (3:44)
6 Farmer Gabriel (4:51)
7 Gestalt (4:44)
8 Taras Bulba (5:06)
9 Boy Boy Boy (3:16)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Blaine L. Reininger and Michael Belfer - Night Air Plus (2002)


Night Air on Sharebee

Night Air follows Reininger's and Belfer's personal journeys stranded in one of Europe's capitals. This sentiment is best captured in Birthday Song, where Reininger sings "There's Nothing, Nobody Home / Nowhere to Go, Nowhere to See."

Reininger, along with his other American band mates in Tuxedomoon, fled San Francisco in search of the Europe they admired. Everything turned out differently from what they hoped: they found themselves stuck in gray Brussels with little money, erratic touring schedules, expired visas, and many drugs.

Dissatisfied with working conditions, Reininger shortly left Tuxedomoon. A fortunate encounter with old friend and musician Michael Belfer set Reininger to begin work on the next "solo" album. Together they weave a tense mixture of light and dark textures: glimmers of optimism poking through the loneliness and cynicism. Before everything becomes too serious, Reininger's characteristic humor highlights the absurdity of the situation. Its beautiful melodies and haunting imagery will accompany you after listening.

This reissue includes the epic Crash from Tuxedomoon's What Use? 7" single. It also includes an alternate mix by The Residents.

You owe it to yourself to hop on over to Blaine's excellent Mundo Blaineo site for all things Reininger and Tuxedomoon. Also, check out the video for "Mystery And Confusion" on YouTube.

Release Info

Label: Les Disques Du Crépuscule (Les Temps Modernes)
Release: 1983 (2002 remaster)
Type: Album
Genre: 80s, ambient, electronic, experimental, rock, new wave, synth-pop
Length: 44:11 (1:14:11)

Alain Goutier - Bass and fretless bass
Blaine L. Reininger - vocals, violins, keyboards, piano, percussion, lyrics
Michael Belfer - guitar, electric guitar, lyrics
Steven Brown - organ, saxophone, and synths
Winston Tong - Backing vocals on (2)
Marc Hollander - Clarinets on (5)

Realized 1983 at Daylight Recording Studios, Brussels.

Track Listing
01. Night Air (4:01)
02. Birthday Song (4:10)
03. Beak People (4:47)
04. Mystery And Confusion (4:15)
05. Intermission (2:06)
06. Ash And Bone (6:19)
07. L'Entree De L'Hierophante (3:26)
08. Un Café Au Lait For Mr. Mxyzptlk (5:22)
09. Miraculous Absence (3:47)
10. El Mensajero Divino (5:36)

2002 Remaster Bonus Tracks
11. Mystery And Confusion (7" Mix) (4:01)
12. Bizarre Bizarre (3:58)
13. Windy Outside (6:42)
14. Broken Fingers (4:57)
15. Crash (5:29)
16. Crash (Remix) (4:38) / Remix - The Residents

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Vivian Girls



The Vivian Girls are a garage-rock, lo-fi sort of pop-punk girl-harmony outfit from Brooklyn. They appear generic at first - aggressively generic. Their self-titled album, released in 2008, works using a similar aesthetic logic to Henry Darger, the outsider artist after whose virtuous hermaphroditic preteens they named themselves. Clocking in at just over 20 minutes long, the album, in the most tried-and-true chord progressions and song structures and instruments and lyrics and all, follows the archetypal narrative of any pop album: a love affair. Like Darger drawings, the craft is minimal and derived from magazines, but the emphasis is on a story whose very predictability is its uniqueness. You have to listen to the whole album in order, and though you may find yourself preferring different songs depending on where you are in your own narrative, it's a useful tool for putting yourself in glib perspective.
That said, my favorite song on it has always been "No". It's the concentrated version of the whole album - one minute and twenty seconds; Verse, chorus (with backups), verse, chorus, bridge (my favorite), solo, verse, chorus, verse, end; a gender-neutral voice; lyrics: one word. It affirms the observation I once made that I would enjoy listening to recordings of toddlers having tantrums.



download (sendspace)


1. All The Time
2. Such A Joke
3. Wild Eyes
4. Going Insane
5. Tell The World
6. Where Do You Run To
7. Damaged
8. No
9. Never See Me Again
10. I Believe In Nothing

Darger: