the wit and wisdom of Lloyd Barrett
N4rgh1l3 made a short video piece to be included in the surface mapping at the State Library of Queensland launch of Game On.
It didn’t really work in the environment due to changing projector perspective, too much lighting etc… So Andrew set about virtualising it.
Hey funsters - long time no chat. Well haven’t heaps to say except check out my Myspace for two new tracks. These were constructed from a jam between Briony Luttrell, Andrew Thomson and myself. Pretty interesting I reckon. With the addition of Dani Kirby we will be scoring the film Merry Go Round at GOMA on the 27th November. God knows how it is going to go… Fun hopefully. Though I hear from friends who have played that the audiences aren’t exactly taking to the idea of local artists soundtracking silent films. I can kinda see their point… if you don’t like the music that will ultimately colour your appreciation of the film, many of which are incredibly rare. So we’re gonna try for an artistic and interesting version of a live score for Merry Go Round but if you would prefer Pipe Organ music my suggestion is rather than fruit to throw at us, bring an iPod or other MP3 player. We seriously won’t mind.
Here is a picture I made called Flock of Hammers. It’s not the Coil symbol, but it is made out of shredded Mc Hammers. I CAN touch this yes I CAN! 
I like “Live” albums, often more than studio albums. And i’m not entirely sure why. My initial argument might be that I get to check out the artist/musician in a raw environment without the support of studio techniques. However most people are aware that “Live” albums are rarely ever actually Live. (Check out these forums for some virtually endless commentary about dodgy old “Live” albums.)
So a band might record an album - but the sound for the different parts might come from multiple shows - or god forbid - be overdubbed in a studio later. In a way - the artiface of a “Live” album hinges just as much on production as a studio album. I think this is very interesting and problematic at the same time. Blindingly hot “Live” albums obviously underline the mystique of the artist as virtuoso genius but they also provide a completely false picture of what performing live is actually like. For the young performer/artist - this can be disheartening when the reality of shit foldback, microphone feedback and nerves combine to turn your dream gig into a nightmare you just want over with.
Recently I witnessed a glorious thing that restored my faith in live performance. The band in question is Pink Floyd. Loved them as a kid and still pay a fair percentage of their discography as I can think of few other bands that manage to straddle the rock / psych / electro-acoustic fields as consistently. Albums like “Wish You Were Here” are full of pretty dull tunes livened up by really interesting production and this is key for me. My interest in experimental audio definately came from being obsessed with the sound collages presented in PF’s monolithic albums of the mid to late 70s. I’ve listened to their “Live” albums and seen their video releases. Live at Pompeii is still a classic but each and everyone of their official “Live” releases is so incredibly competent (and rather lifeless) that it is difficult to believe that these are real musicians playing an actual gig. So I recently chanced upon a torrent of Pink Floyd performing the Wall live sometime in the 80s. I read that this was filmed properly and was to be an official document but the band refused to release it due to quality issues. So i’m up for a bit of bootleg action if i’m not staring at some blurry distant pixels interrupted by someone’s head and the distorted holler of the guy standing next to the camera operator. This is a full production of the album turned into a kind of theatrical event. Way more elaborate than Delicate Sound of Thunder or Pulse with regards to sets and staging. And you know what - despite Roger Waters ambition they just don’t quite cut it!
Aside from the usual issues of microphone feedback and cutouts (which Gilmour seems to suffer the most from here) the band for the most part sounds like it is struggling to stay together and play in time despite obvious backing tracks occasionally being brought into the mix that cover more than just the sound effects. There are numerous flubbed notes - every one of Gilmour’s preorganised licks works OK but when he improvises it sounds not at all unlike that guy who used to post YouTube videos of classic rock solos overdubbed to sound dreadful (can someone remind me of his name or link me - i can’t find them anymore) The keyboardists manage to pump out some very hit and miss sounds. When they hit they definately add balls to the very clinical sound of some of The Wall tracks but when they don’t - they sound like someone just hit random on a synth patch and leant on their keyboard. On their hit, “Another Brick In the Wall”, Roger gets to repeatedly fuck up the classic bassline (presumably because his attention was on the crazy props being carted around) in a ludicrously extended ending that goes absolutely nowhere and ends with the drummer just keeping the beat until he gives up. They sound like a band that is not quite together and barely practised having quite the bad night. But I found it riveting and great even more because of this fact.
To further highlight the dichotomy between tampered with live recordings and the real deal: I tried to find you guys a sweet clip on Youtube to demonstrate, however every one i’ve found (so far) has the overdubbed sound of their officially released “Is There Anybody Out There” live version. Totally different and completely cleaned up. Anyway - next time I play live - i’m not gonna be so precious about shit not working / me fucking up because, well, it happens to the Floyd for god’s sake!
Andrew Thomson and I just recently reignited our Narghile project with a gig at the Globe Theatre in Brisbane. Current working methods:
This was our first gig and there were some technical issues (Andrew’s laptop decided not to wake up after we’d meticulously setup and soundchecked) so there are some hiccups but for a first go I think this worked quite well.
The bootleg YouTube videos are below - shot by a borrowed JVC 3-chip camera next to our gear (for super mouse clicking additions) Feel free to comment and offer us gigs!
I’ve just added something to ARCHIVE.ORG
A little piece for Earth Hour. Not that I would call myself some kind of activist but, yeah, i vote Green generally, give money to WWF (no not the wrestling dudes!) and OXFAM and feel guilty about how much power all these computers suck down! Plus I think despite how cheesy the idea of having a battery powered jam at this particular time is, any excuse is a good one and this one just happens to be better than most! I’m interested to hear from any other musos who spent the hour making / recording sound.
So rant time! Let me put it plain and simple to y’all. I consider myself a fan of David Lynch. Eraserhead is in my top ten all time favs. I watched the entire first run of Twin Peaks without missing a single episode in high school - both seasons are fantastic and despite the irritating James on the road storyline (very daytime US soap) I think the last dozen or so episodes are about my favourites.
Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart are old friends and Dune is one of my favourite Sci-Fi films (though I would’ve loved to have seen Jodorowsky, Giger, Moebius and Dan O’Bannon make it - that’s gotta be about the most disappointing production decision EVER!) I even have time for Elephant Man and A Straight Story. But i’m not sure about his recent stuff and I don’t think it is just the “like your old stuff better than your new stuff” syndrome.
After attempting to watch Inland Empire for the fourth time - I have to say it is the setting. The Lynch I love makes movies about the outskirts and backwaters. Strange places with stranger people - lost in time half dreamt. Since Lost Highway he has focused on Hollywood and Los Angeles and this just isn’t to my taste. In many ways I can see why he may have chosen this path. He has mined and perfected the quirky yokels aesthetic with a twisted beauty that I can experientially relate to. The ratio of surreal, dreamlike conversations i’ve had spirals downward the further I move away from the oversaturated “Outback” towards the city wreathed in shadow.
I’m sure you are all familiar with the adage that Hollywood is a place where “Dreams are made”. Maybe that is why films like Mulholland Drive leave me agitated and bored. We aren’t seeing the mystery in what we might consider to be mundane reality - because the Hollywood machine is not about reality so for Lynch I can see the draw but think there is no line to cross over. No Glastonbury Grove that leads to the Black Lodge. Everything is surface.
Having said that, I think the movie improves when it heads to Europe and, as with most Lynch, Inland Empire has some brilliant sonics. While I don’t necessarily pay his move to Digital aesthetically - I certainly applaud the experimentation. I also really like how he has edited deleted scenes into an equally confounding “feature” on the region1 extras disc. Certainly much more interesting than just putting a bunch of extra crap on because that is what is expected these days.
Well i’ve managed to find myself super-busy this semester. 5 subjects (lecturing and tutoring) plus one supervision. And then there is the play - “Thieves Like Us” which I am scoring with Dani Kirby. Those of you in Sydney and Wooloongong might see an advertisement for it sometime soon - with our special kind of melancholy theme music. After recording and editing this together I was thinking about a moody, dreamy tv show with computer hacking. Set somewhere in the NorthWest of America, about kids with little to do but hack, game, hang out, ride BMXs and smoke dope. Maybe like a River’s Edge version of Hackers. I’d like to see that show!
More when ever.
][oyd
Well a new year and a new place to live. I’ve moved away from the intense buzzing of West End into the relative quiet of suburban Albion. Yeah, I dig William Blake but that isn’t why i’ve moved here. It’s called peace of mind. No longer do I need to be woken at all hours of the morning by bottle fights, screaming and people urinating outside my window. Nothing against the increasingly insular West End experimental scene - it ain’t you guys. But I’ve got peace now - and i’m using it working on Hermit Works which will be a series of cassette releases for Barnacle Rodeo. Drone and Fuzz - all long noodley tracks.
In other notes:
1) Humming through Schizophonic Air, part of my Sound Creatures a-life compositional work with Paul Forbes Mitchell is going to be made available through Alias Frequencies very soon!
2) I gave up on the MMO thing and have taken up reading again - hooray! High Rise by J.G. Ballard and Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse are the recent reads.
3) The Myspace will be updated with some new tunes soon.
4) I’m working on the score / sound design for a play about 80s hackers. I’m curious, if there are any 80s hackers out there, what was your music of choice? I’d hate to just assume Severed Heads / Cabaret Voltaire type electronica!
So now I’ll leave you with something maybe interesting…
take care
][oyd
So every year it gets so humid here in Brisbane that I feel zero urge to make music or art and succumb to the need to sit in front of a fan and play computer games. MMORPG’s are great for the Holiday Season. Last christmas I gave Guild Wars my heart. The year before that it was World of Warcraft. This year i’m hooking up with an old friend - Lord British of Ultima fame.
The Lord is now a General and Richard Garriott has released a quite addictive MMORPG that is essentially Starship Troopers online. Lots of alien killing funs. My phone is off the hook!
General British supervising some kind of boxing match.
My avatar - Luther Blissett - no time for detournements when the bugs come to take our internets!
My other toon - Schpongle - in a festy mood!
In other news - Joe Musgrove and I will have some new stuff coming soon. A free to grab recording of our live set at the Other Film Festival drunkenly soundtracking Dirk DeBruyn - and perhaps something made available through Half Theory and similar avenues. More details soon.
