The name Desert Fires paints images of a…
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Sarah Lipstate is a Brooklyn-based guitarist and filmmaker. She creates sounds and images, and records under the name Noveller. Desert Fires, Noveller’s full-length follow-up to 2009’s No Fun Records’ debut, Red Rainbows, is one of three Noveller releases I enjoyed in 2010 and one of the very few compact discs I purchased this year. I purchased it because I had to have it; and, though this summer heard talk of an LP release, as far as I know, the LP never came to be—a shame because Lipstate’s music craves the sound and feel of vinyl.
I’ve been living with Rega’s new RP-1 turntable ($445) for several weeks now. I love it. (I’ll go into more detail in the February and March 2011 installments of “The Entry Level.”) Not only that, I don’t miss my shiny, tricked-out P3-24 at all. In some ways, I prefer the RP-1. That’s right. The RP-1 not only replaces Rega’s fine P1, but effectively eliminates the P2, and, in some ways, rivals the P3-24.
Some people—people who hadn’t even seen or heard the RP-1—were quick to criticize its price. A fifty dollar increase over the P1 was just too much, they said. In…
Well, that (also) certainly was something!
To refresh memories: In my August 2010 column I asked readers to submit lists of those albums or tracks that contained their personal "mystic chords of memory." My own list was:
1) Linda Ronstadt: "Long, Long Time" (by Gary B. White); from Silk Purse (1970) and The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt (CD, Rhino 76109).
2) Roberta Flack: "Jesse" (by Janis Ian); from Killing Me Softly (1973; CD, Atlantic SD 19154).
3) Gordon Lightfoot: "If You Could Read My Mind," from If You Could Read My Mind (1970; CD, Reprise 6392-2) and…
TWELVE
From: Dennis Wenner
From: Dennis Wenner
1) Elgar: Nimrod from Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra, Op. 36 ("Enigma"), Pierre Monteux.
The "burning bush" of music—three minutes of inspirational music that can last a lifetime.
2) Beethoven: 6th Symphony, 4th movement, Norrington.
This movement follows the "storm," and reminds us there is light following the storm.
3) Enya: "On Your Shore" from Watermark speaks to the mystical power of love.
4) Joni Mitchell: "A Case of You" from Blue speaks to love and its power over us.
5) Jennifer Warnes: "…
SIX
From: Neal Miller
From: Neal Miller
Hi John,
These are my favorites that bring back the best memories for me.
Here goes:
1) Steely Dan: Aja.
This one jumps out because at first I really could not stand it—it felt kind of jarring and almost atonal to me, so I put it away. After hearing "Black Cow" on the radio some months later, and realizing that it came from Aja, I gave it another spin, and the light went on! It's been one of my favorites ever since.
2) Doobie Brothers: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.
Not only was the rock and roll great, more…
John Marks' Personal "hors de concours" award for best entry that broke the rules.
Special Award for Best Poetry Bob Bray
Dear Mr. Marks,
Here are my five "aural madeleines" for the contest:
1) Gloomy Sunday (sung by Billie Holliday).
2) Dvorak: "New World" Symphony (by I think the Columbia Symphony Orchestra).
3) Give a Little Bit by Supertramp.
4) Wagner: "Wotan's Farewell" from Die Walküre.
5) Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
Now I know what you said about annotations! But please take a look at the…
Finally, John Marks' Personal "hors de concours" award for best mystic chord pick that did not actually enter:
Special Award for the Most Poignant Single Pick James Pritchett
Someone who did not actually enter the contest got the biggest "Mystic Chords" emotional reaction from me.
There is a YouTube video of Peter, Paul and Mary singing Gordon Lightfoot's Early Morning Rain. It's a great performance of a great song. You must hear it.
YouTube member "jstrytllr" (James Pritchett) posted this recollection:
"Standing at the end of the flight line at Cam Ranh…
There is something about the performance of music that is in the nature of a spectator sport. By this I do not mean big-arena stagecraft and lights and fireworks and dance routines. I mean the actual making of the music.
To see Eric Johnson's fingers flying over his Fender Stratocaster as he hits "Cliffs of Dover" out of the park one more time is to enjoy something that is every bit as much an athletic performance and a spectator sport as baseball is. There is a thrill to watching people do difficult things exceptionally well, things that most of us can only take random sidelong swipes…
The Posies: Blood/Candy
Rykodisc RCD 11094 (LP). 2010. Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, prods., engs.; Paco Loco, Scott Greiner, others, engs.; Greg Calbi, mastering. AAA? TT: 42:39
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Rykodisc RCD 11094 (LP). 2010. Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, prods., engs.; Paco Loco, Scott Greiner, others, engs.; Greg Calbi, mastering. AAA? TT: 42:39
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Having a long career in the temporal world of indie rock, as the Posies have, has its drawbacks. Before I wrote this review, someone sent me a quote about Blood/Candy from the all-powerful world of Internet music criticism, where speed trumps knowledge. "A collection that's thankfully a world away from their largely charmless and invariably dull nineties output for Geffen…
As with so many other things, from cell phones to soy milk, the idea of a portable MP3 player was something I at first disdained, only to later embrace with the fervor of any reformed sinner. But not so the idea of a high-fidelity iPod dock: Given that I now carry around several hundred high-resolution AIFF files on my own Apple iPod Touch, the usefulness of a compatible transport seemed obvious from the start. Look at it this way: In 1970, whenever I bought a music recording, I could enjoy it on any player, in any room in the house. In 2010, why shouldn't I enjoy at least that degree of…