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The View from These United States

24 Feb

The weekly babbling brook of consciousness — music, videos, writings, projects, and people — that keep TUS tapping out tunes of their own.

This week, J. Tom on how various art forms express the inexpressible.

David Denby’s article on silent cinema in this week’s New Yorker is one of the best pieces on film I’ve read in a long time. In it, he quotes Béla Balázs:

The gestures of visual man [i.e., the film actor] are not intended to convey concepts which can be expressed in words, but such inner experiences, such non-rational emotions which would still remain unexpressed when everything that can be told has been told.

Somewhat ironically, on the other side of the spectrum, these “non-rational emotions” are the same ideals that can be expressed through pure sound…music. To quote Aaron Copland:

The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, ‘Is there a meaning to music?’ My answer would be, ‘Yes.’ And ‘Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?’ My answer to that would be, ‘No.’

So, as a tribute to two masters of expressing the ineffable…one of my favorite scenes from Buster Keaton’s incomparable “The General” (pay particular attention to the bit starting at 1:20)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEDMO8iwLsM]

The View from These United States: Mark Your Calendars (06/12/2012)

17 Feb

The weekly babbling brook of consciousness — music, videos, writings, projects,

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and people — that keep the lads at TUS tapping out tunes of their own.

This week, Jesse breaks the news on the upcoming album!?!?!?!

been 20 whole months since we last shared a new TUS album with ya – seemed like it was high time to change that. so here’s a new album. well, you know, not the WHOLE thing. but a lil snippet from it, a teaser, if you will. there’ll be lots more stories, singles, videos — maybe even a high-stakes nation-wide treasure hunt?? — in the months to come. all leading up to (and beyond!) June 12, 2012. it’s sorta like our Reverse Mayan Numerolo… oh, nevermind. watch the video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QPjuKgby34]

The View from These United States

9 Feb

The weekly babbling brook of consciousness — music, videos, writings, projects, and people — that keep the lads at TUS tapping out tunes of their own.

This week, Justin talks about one of his greatest influences, the Canadian producer/guitarist/songwriter Daniel Lanois.

Daniel Lanois‘ records have always been a source of inspiration for me. The Joshua Tree was one of the first CDs I ever purchased (with saved up allowance) and I’m pretty sure it’s one of the many things that made me pick up a guitar

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in the first place. He’s not only recorded and produced some of U2’s best work, but also Dylan, Peter Gabriel, and Willie Nelson to mention a few, as well as his own wonderful albums and collaborations with Brian Eno. I just read his book Soul Mining. If you’re interested at all in inspiration and where it comes from, the art of recording music, or fascinating stories from a life spent working with great artists and searching for the soul in everything, pick it up.

He also released a film recently called Here Is What Is. Trailer below…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJu-79KpaQ&w=420&h=315]

The View from These United States

3 Feb

The weekly babbling brook of consciousness — music, videos, writings, projects, and people — that keep the lads at TUS tapping out tunes of their own.

 

This week, J. Tom Hnatow’s thoughts on authenticity in music…

It seems somehow appropriate that folklorist Alan Lomax’s birthday and the release of the record by endlessly buzzed-about singer Lana Del Rey occurred on exactly the same day this week. These seemingly disparate occurrences warrant a discussion on “authenticity” in the continuum of music.

It is only with the invention of recorded media that the distinction between “performer” and “performance” becomes relevant. A performer might play a character or persona onstage – but pre-phonograph, the performer is tied to that performance. Once they stop performing…the performance ceases to exist.

With the invention of recording technology, things get a bit fuzzier. A performer was able to be separated from a recording, both in space and time. Most of us have never even met or seen a performance of the artists whose music we love. We can have favorite artists who were long dead before we were even born.

As a result, our perceptions of who the artist was – or should be – get strangely warped. For example, as Hilary Moore writes in “Inside British Jazz” – The “trad” British Jazz bands of the 50s, as a result of only knowing their beloved 1920s and 30s New Orleans Jazz through poorly recorded 78 records, would faithfully imitate the ‘distorted instrumental balance and faulty intonation’ of the music in their own performances.

In America, the Folk Revival of the 1950s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_folk_music_revival) learned much of their music from Alan Lomax’s field recordings of the 30s and 40s. As a result, their view of what Folk music was “authentic” generally included only acoustic instruments, since it was mostly recorded pre-electric guitars. Big Bill Broonzy, one of the many blues artists recorded by Lomax, was an accomplished composer, had recorded electric guitar as early as 1942, and had a small jazz/blues combo of his own. But when he realized that the (very profitable) Folk Revival wanted a solo acoustic bluesman…he became one.

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According to music historian Robert Palmer, Broonzy “…played the role of the folk bluesman fresh from the cotton fields to the hilt.”

Is there ultimately much of a difference between Broozy re-branding himself as an acoustic guitar slinging bluesman and Elizabeth Grant, a.k.a. Lana Del Rey rebranding herself as a major label artist? Why is pop music a medium where “authenticity” seems to matter so much to the consumer? As Sasha Frere-Jones points out, “no movie review begins, “Meryl Streep, despite not being a Prime Minister, is reasonably convincing in ‘The Iron Lady.’”

Big Bill Broonzy “Key to the Hightway”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN_f0WVsHuw]

Lana Del Rey “Video Games”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO1OV5B_JDw]

As nostalgia theorist Fred Davis observes, it is only the passage of time that transformed ‘the tinny, Victrola-squelched jazz band sounds of the 20s’ from signifying ‘the tawdry and dissolute’ to evoking a bygone spirit of sprightly merriment, as in Woody Allen’s movies. (Simon Reynolds, Retromania)

In 50 years, once all the arguments are forgotten and all that remains is the music…who can say what will be said of current artists like Lana Del Rey? When asked about his “authenticity”, Broonzy’s standard reply was: “I guess all songs is folk songs. I never heard no horse sing ’em.” Ironically, the quote is also attributed to Louis Armstrong and Woody Guthrie.

The View from These United States

27 Jan

The weekly babbling brook of consciousness — music, videos, writings, projects, and people — that keep the lads at TUS tapping out tunes of their own.

This week, Jesse’s picks….

Dismantling Detroit

This is a visually stunning portrait of urban decay in the middle of America. Is it just cause I grew up in these kinds of midwestern rust belt towns and cities that this doesn’t actually strike me as purely depressing? There’s grim humor, industriousness, a re-using of the physical and psychological environments. I dunno – maybe I just love Detroit and all the amazing people and music a place like this creates.

Adam Acuragi, Like a Fire That Consumes All Before It…

Adam Arcuragi’s one of the best songwriters out there. Singer, too. Pure and raw, tupelo honey. He did this album with Duane Lundy at Shangri-La in Lexington, where we just finished our next album, too. He’s out touring around right now – look him up – their live show takes it to a whole next level.

FIRST LISTEN ON NPR