Patti Smith, Verlaine weren't genuine enough, or weren't in the room? Oh well.
Just came across this pitch to Whiney G., for long-gone Paper Thin Walls, which was text x streaming, quite the thing in '07:
re: mixtape possibilities for year-end special issue coverage
Wed, 31 Oct 2007Ends up being surprisingly hard to pick the order of preference. But
in terms of the vibe, the degree to which I think I know how to
describe it adequately(at least as I begin writing this), the musical
excellence on first listen (the chances of it grabbing the jaded
webears right off, or at least during first listen, cos I doubt most
things get more than one chance at most, in terms of attention to the
whole playing time), I guess first choice is Robert Wyatt's "Cancion
de Julieta." It's built on, travels on an upright bass riff, which
carefully adjusts itself, then tilts forward, like a rocking horse
that almost gets stuck on a surreal extention of a bent (fifth?) some
blues note or I should say blooooues note, groaning a little,
deliberately distended, before the last note, before the rocking horse
pilgrim tilts back into place. And Wyatt sings the same note, same
phrase, much higher like a little old man with a hole in his head and
the air pushing out and in, which is true of course, like a little old
man in a poem or a play, under the radar o trying to be that way, in
his mask (from Comicopera, and Wyatt explains he means it in the very
old school sense, the other side of tragedy, but useful, a working
piece of uniform), his parody, with the well-timed well-pulled tear in
his blues, giving just enough pause to the listener (and even a
sympathetic listener can stop listening if the music seems too
familiar, like this track never does; I keep listening to hear what
happens next, even though I "basically" or schematically know, but
it's the feeling of the listening experience that matters here, like
it always should). Also, it's not just a mask etc in the defensive
sense, or defensive in the wait for 'em to come at you sense; the
little old rocking horse rider isn't just finding away to keep his
place, he's somehow pushing forward, each repetition of the basic riff
brings some other sounds too, which suggest he's breaking into
something, pushing forward, into wreckage, the hull of a galleon maybe
(kind of an underwater moonlit quality). The bass player is also using
his bow, and overdubbing violins, scrabbling at the push, in the
push.(Wyatt also plays some kind of keyboard, percussion, pocket
trumpet, all in the arc and pull and push of the sway of the note).
"Un mar de sue-eh-eh, no. Un mar de tierra blanca," so not just
aquatic and doesn't just sound aquatic, but like he's entering the
water, rocking back and forth and forward. Sleepwalker? They can do a
lot. Not exactly sure all I'd say about this, but something where
listeners might be led toward making their own connections, if they
want, to any possible deeper waters. It's just the damndest track, is
all, first listen every listen. When you ask for these, you'll mention
the need for the artist to answer a few questions, right? I'm little
insecure about Wyatt doing this, but judging by the amount and variety
and quality of interviews, documentary material etc online, he's
fairly into doing media, or anyway he does it.
didn't happen, pitch failed.
― dow, Wednesday, 15 May 2024 21:11 (five days ago) link