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The Medicine Sessions Is A Wonderful Music And Spoken Word Event

| Everything about music | March 29, 2013

medicine sessions irish music event

One of our mutantspace members set up the wonderful Medicine Sessions last year in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. It’s been a wonderful success, with all manner of musicians and poets lightening up that part of the country, and I really hope it continues to go from strength to strength. So here’s a tribute to the event by Vicky, the wonderful organiser, promoter, programmer and doer. And no matter what she says to create space out of nothing, to keep going no matter what requires gumption, passion, care and a huge heart.

One year, hundreds of audience members through the doors, genres including blues, folk, classical, electro, avant garde, experimental, jazz, rock and roll, trad, pop, singer songwriter and grunge, spoken words in the form of street, beat, contemporary, monologue and conversational and a platform for 26 performers (some with repeat visits) and a donation bucket that has raised approximately €1,200 for performers. The Medicine Sessions has exceeded expectations in its first year of life. From the tentative baby steps this time last year, to the now, steady confident stomps, it is starting to play with all its best friends in the playground of original music platforms.

To be honest, The Medicine Sessions has been easier to set up than I expected, if anyone is contemplating organising something similar, I would say do it! If you have a modicum of common sense and the ability to always treat performers considerately, then you have the ability to organise a new music event. Bands are not as untouchable as you’d first think, the amount of talent out there and particularly in Cork, is astounding and every single performer we’ve had through the door has been completely delightful! No bolshy egos, no demanding silliness, just really sound people who want to share bits of their souls with others. We have been particularly blessed with the venue we have too, which has gone a long way to creating a great night. The Red House Inn has buckets of history and charisma, the right amount of shabbiness, dodgy smell and proper country pub welcome.

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The Urchin Collective Music Launch Kicks Off @ Bewleys Cafe On 8th March

| Everything about music | March 2, 2013

Pearse McGloughlin irish musician

fia rua irish musician

Enda Reilly irish musician

justin grounds irish musician

Sweeney Lee irish musician

Pearse McGloughlin, one of our skills exchange members, sent me in this info on a new music collective he’s involved with in Dublin. Many of the musicians working with him on the project are familiar to me and all are outstanding musicians in their own right. It’s wonderful to see more collective projects happening and if you happen to be in Dublin next Thursday 8th March be sure to check them out and say hello.

So here’s the blurb:

Urchin Collective is a movement of independent musicians based in Ireland operating in the genres of avant garde electronica, folk, Irish language, trad, alternative and indie.
Inspired by the work of other Irish and international collectives such as Community Music and Blocks Recording Club, in the next year we will release a sampler of our music and present several curated events.

The first of these shows will take place at Bewley’s Theatre Café on 8th March and will feature Enda Reilly, Fia Rua, Justin Grounds and
Pearse McGloughlin. Doors are at 8.00pm and admission is €12 (€10 for advance reservation from urchinmusiccollective@gmail.com).
We have words.
We have spirit.
Come join us.

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New Albums From Deetrich, Noiseaux, The Saw Doctors, DJ Beenie And The Staves

| Everything about music | November 27, 2012

Deetrich tug of war album review

One of our skills exchange members – whose business is music – has sent on some album reviews for your reading pleasure. So we have new albums from the likes of Deetrich, The Staves, The Saw Doctors, Noiseaux and DJ Beenie.

1. Deetrich/ Tug Of War
Reekus Records
Tug of War is the new album released on Reekus Records by Deetrich. The ten track album which includes the new single “I’m Alive” displays the range of Deetrich’s haunting vocals. Her unique voice is the perfect instrument to weave the tales that this record provides. The quietly uplifting track “No Job, No Money” is a strong start to the album which continues with good song-writing throughout, in particular the quirky and elegant “Can’t Sleep at Night” and cavernous sounds in “Maybe It’s Time”. The soulful yet subtle production allows Deetrich’s voice to shine throughout and is indeed a quality album from start to finish.

the staves Dead & Born & Grown album review

2. The Staves/Dead & Born & Grown
Atlantic Records
Three piece family outfit The Staves recently released their stunning album ‘Dead & Born & Grown’. Little musical delicacies like this creep in upon us only every once in a while. Pitch perfect, lush harmonies and simplified compositions make this album utterly sublime and non invasive on the ears. When you press the play button the world lies still for a moment. One should find themselves aglow in the sounds of intertwined harmonies that have been specifically made to make you stand still and reconnect with yourself. This is an album that reaches in and pulls on the heart strings. It emphasises the sometimes lost elements of life that you may have forgotten about.
One word: Wonderful.

The Saw Doctors 25.25 album review

3. The Saw Doctors/ 25.25
Shamtown Records
One of Ireland great musical institutions of this fair Isle; The Saw Doctors, have reached a mile stone this year. I guess its a done deal once Uncle Gaybo sits you on his couch to speak about the years of music and all that has come and gone, as they appeared earlier this year on RTE’s For One Night Only, a National recognition that every Irish Artist seeks. But with these veterans of the Irish Music Scene, there is still much to come. Their synonymous rehashed ‘best of’ album ‘25.25’ superbly showcases the bands utmost best hits and some hidden gems. An absolute must for dedicated Doc fans and for new fan alike. The perfect Christmas gift this year.

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Printer Orchestra Plays Bob Dylan On Old Printers, Fax Machines And Hard Drives

| Everything about music | November 8, 2012

Printer Orchestra times are a changin' by bob dylan

Printer Orchestra isthisgood

printer orchestra Chris Cairns scrapheap

‘Printer Orchestra’ is a pretty special version of Bob Dylan’s iconic song ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’. For a start it’s played by machines and not your run of the mill electronic music technology. Nope. This cover is played by old photocopiers, modems, scanners, fax machines and hard drives. Pretty incredible.

Director Chris Cairns in association with Isthisgood soldered, reprogrammed, hacked and rewired 97 old printers destined for the landfill. They even custom-designed their own circuit board that could control all of the printers from one main computer. The result is a computer orchestra that’s alot of fun, ingenious and great to listen too. It’s not the first time it’s been done but it has to be one of the best examples of the form out there.

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Polly Barrett, Joe Power And The Buachaills At The Medicine Sessions This August

| Everything about music | August 30, 2012

The Medicine Sessions music spoken word waterford

The Medicine Sessions is a music and spoken word night run in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland, once a month by one of our skills exchange members. It’s a wonderful addition to the culture of the South East and many people have passed its doors since it opened earlier this year. Like she does every month, Vicky, the producer of this fantastic night, has sent us an update on how it went. So here you go.

Summer arrived. Just for one day, coinciding with an Olympian clash of gold from a woman Celt, with the whole nation watching. Afterwards, in the calm, inebriation of the sun, people meandered round the streets, or laid themselves out like corpses in their gardens, their faces cast to the unfamiliar burning orb in the sky. With the sun and historical victory, came laziness, aided by beer and white wine.

As I opened up the Medicine room for the night, I noted the atmosphere and mildly panicked that this might be the first month of failure when it came to garnering a crowd. But, although slow to gain momentum, by ten o’clock, the room filled and I felt the tension lift from me as I hit the stairs down to the bar to retrieve more chairs.

Polly Barrett fitted the sunny end of the day perfectly, her delightful, cheery personality casting its own light over the darkening Medicine room. Her natural honey voice, tripped over the heads and hearts of the audience as she sang of quiet love affairs, dreaming and the fleeting friendships formed whilst busking. Polly has a beautiful stage presence, confident and genuine and she is full of good natured wit, a fact that glimmers through her lyrics along with a sharp enthusiasm for life. She is the sort of performer who seems to be exactly the same on stage, as off. Everything is there to see and hear and the bare boned picking and strumming on her lovely Martin guitar, complimented her performance completely.

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The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band’s Film, ‘The Adventures Of The Son Of Exploding Sausage’

| Everything about music | August 22, 2012

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's 'The Adventures Of The Son Of Exploding Sausage' film

If you’re a Bonzo Dog Doo – Dah Band fan, oreven know about them, have a vague interest, then you’ll love this film, ‘The Adventures Of The Son Of Exploding Sausage’, a rarely seen Bonzo Dog Band film from 1969. In keeping with its psychedelic, dada influences the film has absolutely no narrative other than it involves a day in the country, some kids and a farm. The British Film Institute desribed it thus:

The Bonzo Dog Band drive into the country in a truck, unload their equipment in some woods only to find some of it taken away by some children. They eat and play at a party, and the Bonzos play a number of instrumentals in a stable yard, including `Rockaliser Baby’, `We are Normal’ and `Quiet Walks and Summer Talks’. At the end they are driven away in a white car. Note: No words are sung. Featured alongside the Bonzo Dog Band are the children Amanda, Jennifer and Ashley Lees, Edward Roebuck, and Olivia Smith.

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Bob Dylan Performs ‘Hurricane’ For First Time In this Rare TV Footage

| Everything about music | August 18, 2012

hurricane bob dylan rare debut performance

This is a wonderful rare piece of footage of Bob Dylan doing a live debut performance of ‘Hurricane’ – two months before it was actually released – on a TV show back in 1975. Many of you probably know what the song is all about – the wrongful imprisonment of boxer Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter – but check out this first ever public hearing of it.
Jacques Levy, the songs co – writer had this to say about the song:

Bob wasn’t sure that he could write a song [about Carter]…. He was just filled with all these feelings about Hurricane. He couldn’t make the first step. I think the first step was putting the song in a total storytelling mode. I don’t remember whose idea it was to do that. But really, the beginning of the song is like stage directions, like what you would read in a script: ‘Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night…. Here comes the story of the Hurricane.’ Boom! Titles. You know, Bob loves movies, and he can write these movies that take place in eight to ten minutes, yet seem as full or fuller than regular movies.

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An Intimate Portrait Of Charlie Mingus On The Night Before His Eviction

| Everything about music | August 3, 2012

charlie mingus

Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968 a documentary film by Thomas Reichman that follows jazz musician Charles Mingus and his five year old daughter on the night before his eviction from his New York apartment for not paying the rent. As Mingus sifts through his belongings he riffs on a variety of subjects; society, women, music, his daughter, politics and the country as a whole.

Its a quiet drama laden with pathos. Mingus plays a few bars on the piano, shoots a bullet into the ceiling, gives his daughter a sip of wine and recites his own version of the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag–the white flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of America. When they say “black” or “negro,” it means you’re not an American. I pledge allegiance to your flag. Not that I have to, but just for the hell of it I pledge allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. The white flag, with no stripes, no stars. It is a prestige badge worn by a profitable minority.

The documentary is intercut with footage of Mingus and his sextet performing at Lennie’s-on-the-Turnpike – a small club in Massachusetts – features Mingus on bass, Dannie Richmond on drums, Charles McPherson on alto saxophone, John Gilmore on tenor saxophone, Lonnie Hillyer on trumpet and Walter Bishop, Jr. on piano.

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Jack White On Inspiration And The Benefits Of Limitations

| Everything about music | July 25, 2012

jack white on inspiration

Here’s a great short film clip of Jack White talking about inspiration, the rewards of having limitations and the act of creativity. We too often think that for creativity to flourish we need to have everything in place, planned, ready, perfect. The truth more than often alot more prosaic.  Hard work and limitations are all we need. That is where the magic happens.

Inspiration and work ethic — they ride right next to each other…. Not every day you’re gonna wake up and the clouds are gonna part and rays from heaven are gonna come down and you’re gonna write a song from it. Sometimes, you just get in there and just force yourself to work, and maybe something good will come out.

Any thoughts on the matter?

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‘Screaming Jay Hawkins: I Put A Spell On Me’ Is A Wonderful Film On A Rock N Roll Legend

| Everything about music | July 24, 2012

screamin jay hawkins: I Put A Spell On Me documentary

‘Screamin Jay Hawkins: I Put A Spell On Me’ is a wonderful homage to a man who was a true rock n roll legend. The documentary film, made by Greek director Nicholas Triandafyllidis, was commissioned by Hawkins and centres around his tour of Greece in 1999 – a tour that proved to be his last – and his life in the music industry.

Hawkins died of a heart attack in Paris, at the age of 70, four months after the concert footage was shot and Triandafyllidis completed the film with a little help from Jay’s friends: Jim Jarmusch (director of Mystery Train), Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon (The Animals), Rudi Protrudi, Diamanda Galas, Arthur Brown (The Crazy Word of Arthur Brown), Andre Williams and others.

I actually first saw Hawkins in ‘Mystery Train’ by Jim Jarmusch in which he played the night clerk in a seedy hotel in Memphis. It was an extraordinary performance. Shortly after that I went and bought a Hawkins album and got to listen to his fantastic classic hit single ‘I Put A Spell On You’ for the first time. It was to be a song that sold 18 million records from which he got nada. Either way I was sold on Hawkins and his skulls.

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Henry Rollins Explains How He Joined The Iconic American Punk Band Black Flag

| Everything about music | July 16, 2012

henry rollins joins black flag

Here we have Henry Rollins telling us what brought him from icecream server to the frontman of the iconic American punk band, Black Flag. In a nutshell it went kind of like this:

In 1981 he was a college dropout assistant managing a Häagen Dazs in Washington, D.C.
Then, after to being to a Black Flag gig in New York – during which he climbed onstage and sung a song with them — he was asked by the band if he wanted to audition for lead singer of the the band. He got the job and quit selling icecream.

In this clip he talks about how lucky he feels and how little he had to lose: if he didn’t give it a shot, he’d find himself looking down the barrel of a long, hard existence on his feet, answering to customers all day, every day. If he gave it a shot and didn’t make it, he’d at worst feel humiliated, but, as he puts it, ‘humiliation and young people kind of go together.’

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A Great Live Performance Of ‘The Piano Has Been Drinking’ By Tom Waits Live On TV In 1977

| Everything about music | July 13, 2012

the piano has been drinking by tom waits

I love Tom Wait’s. I also love ‘The Piano Has Benn Drinking’ which I’ve only ever had on a live album. So, when I found this clip of Wait’s playing the song on a very strange American TV show, from 1977, called ‘Fernwood Tonight’ I thought I’d share it with you.

The show was only on air a while and was set in a fictional town called Fernwood, Ohio. The two hosts are fictional characters and most of their guests were too however on occasion the shows writers would weave a real-life character, like Waits, into the fictional fabric of the show. Having said that Waits has been weaving fiction into his character for years and in this clip he really goes for it. And is very funny.

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This Letter Written By Mozart Is Pretty Crude And Full Of Humour

| Everything about music | July 10, 2012

mozart letter to marianne

Mozart is well known to have had a foul mouth and good humour and the letters he sent to his family were the same. They really are something to behold. Take the letter below for instance. Mozart wrote it to his 19 year old cousin (and probable love interest) Marianne, also known as ‘Betsie’ (little cousin), in November 1777. At that point the shit loving scatalogical genius Mozart was 21.

Note: The term ‘spuni cuni fait’ was used in many of Mozart’s letters. Its meaning is unknown.

Mannheim, 5 November, 1777

Dearest cozz buzz!

I have received reprieved your highly esteemed writing biting, and I have noted doted that my uncle garfuncle, my aunt slant, and you too, are all well mell. We, too, thank god, are in good fettle kettle. Today I got a letter setter from my Papa Haha safely into my paws claws. I hope you too have gotten rotten my note quote that I wrote to you from Mannheim. So much the better, better the much so! But now for some thing more sensuble.

So sorry to hear that Herr Abbate Salate has had another stroke choke. But I hope with the help of God fraud the consequences will not be dire mire. You are writing fighting that you keep your criminal promise which you gave me before my departure from Augspurg, and will do it soon moon. Well, I will most likely find that regretable. You write further, indeed you let it all out, you expose yourself, you indicate to me, you bring me the news, you announce onto me, you state in broad daylight, you demand, you desire, you wish you want, you like, you command that I, too, should send you my Portrait. Eh bien, I shall mail fail it for sure. Oui, by the love of my skin, I shit on your nose, so it runs down your chin.

apropós. do you also have the spuni cuni fait?—what?—whether you still love me?—I believe it! so much the better, better the much so! Yes, that’s the way of the world, I’m told, one has the purse, the other has the gold; whom do you side with?—with me, n’est-ce pas?—I believe it! Now things are even worse, apropós.

Wouldn’t you like to visit Herr Gold-smith again?—but what for?—what?—nothing!—just to inquire, I guess, about the Spuni Cuni fait, nothing else, nothing else?—well, well, all right. Long live all those who, who—who—who—how does it go on?—I now wish you a good night, shit in your bed with all your might, sleep with peace on your mind, and try to kiss your own behind; I now go off to never-never land and sleep as much as I can stand. Tomorrow we’ll speak freak sensubly with each other. Things I must you tell a lot of, believe it you hardly can, but hear tomorrow it already will you, be well in the meantime. Oh my ass burns like fire! what on earth is the meaning of this!—maybe muck wants to come out? yes, yes, muck, I know you, see you, taste you—and—what’s this—is it possible? Ye Gods!—Oh ear of mine, are you deceiving me?—No, it’s true—what a long and melancholic sound!—today is the write I fifth this letter. Yesterday I talked with the stern Frau Churfustin, and tomorrow, on the 6th, I will give a performance in her chambers, as the Furstin-Chur said to me herself. Now for something real sensuble!

A letter or letters addressed to me will come into your hands, and I must beg of you—where?—well a fox is no hare—yes there!—Now, where was I?—oh yes, now, I remember: letters, letters will come—but what kind of letters?—well now, letters for me, of course, I want to make sure that you send these to me; I will let you know where I’ll be going from Mannheim. Now, Numero 2: I’m asking you, why not?—I’m asking you, dearest numbskull, why not?—if you are writing anyway to Madame Tavernier in Munich, please include regards from me to the Mademoiselles Freysinger, why not?—Curious! why not?—and to the Younger, I mean Frauline Josepha, tell her I’ll send my sincere apologies, why not?—why should I not apologize?—Curious!—I don’t know why not?—I want to apologize that I haven’t yet sent her the sonata that I promised, but I will send it as soon as possible, why not?—what—why not?—why shouldn’t I send it?—why should I not transmit it?—why not?—Curious! I wouldn’t know why not?—well, then you’ll do me this favor;—why not?—why shouldn’t you do this for me?—why not?, it’s so strange! After all, I’ll do it to you too, if you want me to, why not?—why shouldn’t I do it to you?—curious! why not?—I wouldn’t know why not?—and don’t forget to send my Regards to the Papa and Mama of the 2 young ladies, for it is terrible to be letting and forgetting one’s father and mother. Later, when the sonata is finished,—I will send you the same, and a letter to boot; and you will be so kind as to forward the same to Munich.

And now I must close and that makes me morose. Dear Herr Uncle, shall we go quickly to the Holy Cross Covent and see whether anybody is still up?—we won’t stay long, just ring the bell, that’s all. Now I must relate to you a sad story that happened just this minute. As I am in the middle of my best writing, I hear a noise in the street. I stop writing—get up, go to the window—and—the noise is gone—I sit down again, start writing once more—I have barely written ten words when I hear the noise again—I rise—but as I rise, I can still hear something but very faint—it smells like something burning—wherever I go it stinks, when I look out the window, the smell goes away, when I turn my head back to the room, the smell comes back—finally My Mama says to me: I bet you let one go?—I don’t think so, Mama. yes, yes, I’m quite certain, I put it to the test, stick my finger in my ass, then put it to my nose, and—there is the proof! Mama was right!

Now farwell, I kiss you 10000 times and I remain as always your

Old young Sauschwanz
Wolfgang Amadé Rosenkranz
From us two Travelers a thousand
Regards to my uncle and aunt.
To every good friend I send
My greet feet; addio nitwit.
Love true true true until the grave,
If I live that long and do behave.

 

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‘When You’re Strange’ A Wonderful Documentary On The Doors

| Everything about music | July 4, 2012

doors film documentary when you're strange

Jim Morrison died 41 years ago yesterday so I thought I’d post up this documentary about The Doors, ‘When You’re Strange’ by Tom DiCillo and narrated by Johnny Depp. Whether you are or not a Doors fan they are, and always will be a permanent fixture in the firmanent of rock and cultural history.

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Peefeeyatko Is A Wonderful Film Documentary On Frank Zappas Music

| Everything about music | June 20, 2012

frank zappa Peefeeyatko documentary

Frank Zappa opens up about work and music in this documentary, ‘Peefeeyatko’, a film made in the last years of his life by filmmaker and composer Henning Lohner. It takes us inside Zappa’s secluded world to watch and listen as he creates symphonic compositions on an early digital synthesizer called a Synclavier.

The film was made shortly after Zappa was diagnosed with cancer but that didn’t stop Lohner, a long time friend, from making a memorable film full of eccentric scenes from monster movies spliced in with footage of the Zappa working and talking. Throughout the film Zappa talks about his wide range of musical tastes; from rhythm and blues to French experimental composition by Edgard Verèse and includes interviews with his fellow avant garde composers John Cage, Pierre Boulez, Iannis Xenakis and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
In describing his eclectic taste Zappa has this to say:

The easiest way to sum up the aesthetic would be: anything, anytime, anyplace for no reason at all. And I think with an aesthetic like that you can have pretty good latitude for being creative.

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