words words words
Finished book (or whatever it is) on Sunday morning. 60,000 words that no one will most likely ever read. Punching final period with weary finger I thought of all the music I listened to while typing or transcribing it. Whole thing written in two basic methods--sitting down (usually early in the morning, sometimes late at night) with several cups of black coffee and just going, only starting point being the most recent paragraph, or transcriptions of words scribbled into small breastpocket flip-cover notebooks. This process usually done late at night. Notebooks filled up anywhere and everywhere: the car, school, kitchen table, front stoop, middle of the woods, rest stop bathroom. Nothing's been edited or revised. What I must do is go through fixing dates and chronology for continuity purposes. Maybe more excerpts in the future, but right now I want to talk (type) music--
Like I said, I listened to a lot of music while writing over the past several months, mostly the following, which is basically a list of all I've listened to in 2013 with any frequency:
J.S. Bach - Mass in B minor, Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Vaughan, Richard Wagner - Die Walkure, Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 9
Well that's the "new" stuff anyway.
All this got me thinking about different years and albums that could serve as soundtracks. I initially began with tracks but quickly axed that idea, instead focusing on the major records that still put me back into a given period. I decided to start in 2006 as its when I first spent a great deal of time alone with music. No limit really on amounts, just things I listened to a lot that were relatively new to me at that time, hence Dakrthrone, Emperor, Yes, Black Sabbath and others maybe obvious things are excluded.
2006 - Sitting alone in my single room in a Back Bay brownstone, door leading to fire escape opening letting night air, night sounds, filter in to blend with the sounds of Anglagard - Epilog; Amon Duul II - Yeti, Wolf City; Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord; Camel - The Snow Goose, Mirage; Kebnekajse - Resa Mot Okant Mal; Bo Hansson - Sagan Om Ringen; Comus - First Utterance; and later in the year Pentagram - First Daze Here
2007 - Living in a studio with Jacqueline and no internet connection for the entire first half of the year meant we listened to a whole lot of the same stuff as the previous year. Moving deeper into Jamaica Plain from Mission Hill and leeching internet off neighbors I soon rekindled and strengthened my love of heavy metal--Manilla Road - Crystal Logic; Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire, King of the Dead; Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus; Dark Quarterer - s/t; Sarcofagus - Motorbirds; Pagan Altar - Volume 1, Tyrant - Hold Back the Lightning 7"; Gotham City - Black Writs, s/t 7"; Jonah Quizz demo
2008 - Closing out year in Jamaica Plain and becoming increasingly sickened by world around me, a feeling only heightened by move back to Fall River and job in a small company failing in beautiful microcosm of economy. Doom and Death metal reigns largely supreme, though in early 2008 I Rushed myself out--Rush - Fly by Night, Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres; Solstice - New Dark Age; Reverend Bizarre - Crush the Insects, Return to the Rectory; Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness; Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian; Voivod - Dimension Hatross; J.S. Bach - Cello Suites
2009 - Coming to terms with being "that guy"--a realization reached after many a drunken conversation regarding baseball field metaphor, and especially one morning after sitting in the car wearing olive green jeans, white hi-top sneakers, an oversized pull over sweater (brown) and with Anekdoten on the car stereo. Tunes--While Heaven Wept - Sorrow for the Angels, Of Empires Forlorn; Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium; Solefald - Linear Scaffold; Faust - IV; Anekdoten - Vermod; Marillion - Script for a Jester's Tear (one memorable time listened to in the middle of the day awkwardly loud due to broken stereo with windows wide open in first floor Fall River apartment).
2010 - Largely unemployed for first part of the year until begin substitute teaching at middle school down the street. Shattered toe. Start teaching middle school English. The following listened to in Fall River but fully absorbed on many a car ride to and from school--Frank Zappa - Hot Rats, Apostrophe, Grand Wazoo, Over-Nite Sensation; Peter Gabriel - I, III; Cocteau Twins - Treasure (listened to on drive to pick wedding flowers); Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
2011 - Comfortable with teaching during cold winter after introducing them to Poe. At same time I finally take a bite out of two long avoided artists, same process follows in spring with entire genre, and summer with more artists. Roughly chronological--Kate Bush - Hounds of Love, The Dreaming; Captain Beefheart - Lick My Decals Off Baby, Trout Mask Replica, Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), Doc at the Radar Station; Slapp Happy - Slapp Happy or Slapp Happy; Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music; Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch; Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity; Igor Stravinski - Rites of Spring; Bela Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra; Tom Waits - Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones
2012 - Really come to love students in classes, Alice grows up fast, move to new house and new grade. Selection reflect Alice influence--Autechre - Amber; Steve Reich - Drumming, Music for Mallet Instruments, Music for Six Pianos; Lee "Scratch" Perry/Upsetters - Roast Fish Collie Weed and Cornbread, Super Ape; Congos - Heart of the Congos; King Tubby - Dub from the Roots; J.S. Bach - St. Matthew's Passion; Mozart - Requiem; Franz Liszt - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Piano Sonata; Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream; Charles Mingus - Mingus-Ah-Um; Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works; Yabby You - Conquering Lion, Jesus Dread; Ozric Tentacles - Erpland, Live Underslunky
Words words words. All of it.
Like I said, I listened to a lot of music while writing over the past several months, mostly the following, which is basically a list of all I've listened to in 2013 with any frequency:
J.S. Bach - Mass in B minor, Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Vaughan, Richard Wagner - Die Walkure, Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 9
Well that's the "new" stuff anyway.
All this got me thinking about different years and albums that could serve as soundtracks. I initially began with tracks but quickly axed that idea, instead focusing on the major records that still put me back into a given period. I decided to start in 2006 as its when I first spent a great deal of time alone with music. No limit really on amounts, just things I listened to a lot that were relatively new to me at that time, hence Dakrthrone, Emperor, Yes, Black Sabbath and others maybe obvious things are excluded.
2006 - Sitting alone in my single room in a Back Bay brownstone, door leading to fire escape opening letting night air, night sounds, filter in to blend with the sounds of Anglagard - Epilog; Amon Duul II - Yeti, Wolf City; Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord; Camel - The Snow Goose, Mirage; Kebnekajse - Resa Mot Okant Mal; Bo Hansson - Sagan Om Ringen; Comus - First Utterance; and later in the year Pentagram - First Daze Here
2007 - Living in a studio with Jacqueline and no internet connection for the entire first half of the year meant we listened to a whole lot of the same stuff as the previous year. Moving deeper into Jamaica Plain from Mission Hill and leeching internet off neighbors I soon rekindled and strengthened my love of heavy metal--Manilla Road - Crystal Logic; Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire, King of the Dead; Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus; Dark Quarterer - s/t; Sarcofagus - Motorbirds; Pagan Altar - Volume 1, Tyrant - Hold Back the Lightning 7"; Gotham City - Black Writs, s/t 7"; Jonah Quizz demo
2008 - Closing out year in Jamaica Plain and becoming increasingly sickened by world around me, a feeling only heightened by move back to Fall River and job in a small company failing in beautiful microcosm of economy. Doom and Death metal reigns largely supreme, though in early 2008 I Rushed myself out--Rush - Fly by Night, Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres; Solstice - New Dark Age; Reverend Bizarre - Crush the Insects, Return to the Rectory; Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness; Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian; Voivod - Dimension Hatross; J.S. Bach - Cello Suites
2009 - Coming to terms with being "that guy"--a realization reached after many a drunken conversation regarding baseball field metaphor, and especially one morning after sitting in the car wearing olive green jeans, white hi-top sneakers, an oversized pull over sweater (brown) and with Anekdoten on the car stereo. Tunes--While Heaven Wept - Sorrow for the Angels, Of Empires Forlorn; Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium; Solefald - Linear Scaffold; Faust - IV; Anekdoten - Vermod; Marillion - Script for a Jester's Tear (one memorable time listened to in the middle of the day awkwardly loud due to broken stereo with windows wide open in first floor Fall River apartment).
2010 - Largely unemployed for first part of the year until begin substitute teaching at middle school down the street. Shattered toe. Start teaching middle school English. The following listened to in Fall River but fully absorbed on many a car ride to and from school--Frank Zappa - Hot Rats, Apostrophe, Grand Wazoo, Over-Nite Sensation; Peter Gabriel - I, III; Cocteau Twins - Treasure (listened to on drive to pick wedding flowers); Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
2011 - Comfortable with teaching during cold winter after introducing them to Poe. At same time I finally take a bite out of two long avoided artists, same process follows in spring with entire genre, and summer with more artists. Roughly chronological--Kate Bush - Hounds of Love, The Dreaming; Captain Beefheart - Lick My Decals Off Baby, Trout Mask Replica, Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), Doc at the Radar Station; Slapp Happy - Slapp Happy or Slapp Happy; Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music; Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch; Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity; Igor Stravinski - Rites of Spring; Bela Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra; Tom Waits - Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones
2012 - Really come to love students in classes, Alice grows up fast, move to new house and new grade. Selection reflect Alice influence--Autechre - Amber; Steve Reich - Drumming, Music for Mallet Instruments, Music for Six Pianos; Lee "Scratch" Perry/Upsetters - Roast Fish Collie Weed and Cornbread, Super Ape; Congos - Heart of the Congos; King Tubby - Dub from the Roots; J.S. Bach - St. Matthew's Passion; Mozart - Requiem; Franz Liszt - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Piano Sonata; Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream; Charles Mingus - Mingus-Ah-Um; Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works; Yabby You - Conquering Lion, Jesus Dread; Ozric Tentacles - Erpland, Live Underslunky
Words words words. All of it.