Kid Q
AV Clubber 
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 9, 2015 15:01:07 GMT -5
In 1979, The experimental musical group Nurse With Wound (Steven Stapleton, John Fothergill, Heman Pathak) released their debut album A Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella. The record is notable for being the starting point of the storied project's career and also for the list of musical influences they included on the record's sleeve. This list has become a legendary guide, in record collecting circles, to the discovery of outsider music produced pre-1980's. "The List" is an excellent guide to those seeking to expand their knowledge of such musical genres as, experimental, krautrock, free-jazz, psychedelic, musique concrete among other forms of avant garde music. As a fan of outsider music, I have always had an interest in hearing as many of the artists included on the list, but have never really made much of a dent in the pursuit. The list is daunting due to the large number of obscure small-scale recording artists cited, and the lack of specific recordings which led to their inclusion as influences on the band, so I've always put off working through it. The recent Record Club selection of Can's Soundtracks (Can is one of the more well known entries) here on the TI reignited the spark of interest in seeking out works by as many bands as possible on the list, so I thought why not start up a listening group for the list here? Here is my plan. I will be going through the list in alphabetical order by posting links to copies of a recording by each band when available. Since the list does not cite which records by the artists were foundational, I will pick them based on the general consensus of record collectors and critics as to which releases best represent the artist in question and their inclusion. I might also just pick ones I enjoy most, as well, just because. My plan is to cover at least two entries a month from the list, maybe more depending on my mood and time constraints. To those of you with adventurous musical tastes, I hope you join me on this journey through the strange and wild listening experience the list will provide. For those who are interested, here is link to the Wikipedia article on the List. The first post, for Agitation Free's Malesch, will be up later today. |
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 9, 2015 15:33:13 GMT -5
1. Agitation Free-Malesch Genre(s): Krautrock, PsychedelicYear: 1972
Label: Music Factory Track List:"You Play for Us Today" – 6:14"Sahara City" – 7:50"Ala Tul" – 4:54"Pulse" – 4:51"Khan el Khalili" – 6:11"Malesch" – 7:59"Rücksturz" – 1:58
Agitation Free were an experimental, psychedelic, krautrock band founded in 1967. Malesch is their debut album. It is heavily influenced by their travels through the middle east. The record is mainly instrumental, but is punctuated by occasional vocal/spoken interludes. The record is a great balance of psych rock and experimental interludes. Many of the tracks begin with slow abstract sounds and progress into sterling psych-jams. "Khan el Khalili" is a particular favorite of mine in this vein. Malesch is a great trippy record and an essential piece of the early krautrock puzzle.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lord Lucan on May 10, 2015 7:07:43 GMT -5
Sounds interesting, Kid Q. Didn't know of it or them. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 10, 2015 9:31:35 GMT -5
Great idea for a thread, Kid Q. For folks following along, WFMU's blog posted a bunch of mp3s (still active) of the more obscure and difficult-to-find bands in their series on the NWW List from years back: Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5 |
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 10, 2015 12:46:20 GMT -5
Great idea for a thread, Kid Q. For folks following along, WFMU's blog posted a bunch of mp3s (still active) of the more obscure and difficult-to-find bands in their series on the NWW List from years back: Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5This series of posts is a great resource in delving into the list. I know I'll be using some of the links eventually. Thanks for posting it. |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563 
|
Post by repulsionist on May 11, 2015 11:07:03 GMT -5
Nice one, Kid Q. This will take us down many a rabbit hole. Cool idea. I've never toured the list. I'll listen to Maelsch today. Cannot wait to discuss Algarnas Tradgard. I found them on my own, and it's a nice coincidence to find them on this list. |
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 11, 2015 12:50:43 GMT -5
repulsionist Looking forward to hearing your opinion on Malesch. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit and it is good not too difficult first entry in exploring the list. I haven't heard Algarnas Tradgard, but now that I know you endorse the music, I look forward to hearing it.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on May 11, 2015 13:24:45 GMT -5
Listening results: Liked the hushed words that begin the record with what sounded like an exchange between traveller met on the road and what the band had to offer. Makes the rest of the record feel like stories retold from an exciting adventure. "Ala Tull" and "Khan El Khalili" are the longest trips on the record. What came up: What I've read about Krautrock posits its eruption in Germany as a striving to recast the recent, horrible past by making things bold, new and exciting at the present and into the future. Using that rubric as measure: Krautrock surely got waaaay the heck out there into the future, or ever-existing present in the form of a hylozoic ecstasy. By that I mean, some of the music I've experienced via Krautrock is just plain weird, but compelling because of its intellectual basis, "We shall make things weird and new for their own sake, but use our very solid understanding of music and its theoretical foundations to do so." As in, the most indelible works of the Krautrock phenomenon continue to reward because the method applied is interesting to dissect the mechanics of what they were doing. To that end, this record certainly steps into the "other" of North African music, and, apparently, Cypriot music - but, so too is the music hemmed by its noodle rock "journey", most closely and widely associated with The Grateful Dead, who are mentioned more than a few times by reviewers of Maelsch. So that answers the why and what that Krautrock did...what did NWW expect to accomplish by gathering these like minds willing to endorse such a list? A more bizzare, cryptic music even further out than what Krautrock got to? Apparently, yes is the answer. NWW is one of those "nightmare fuel" bands whose works rarely invite repeat listening, for my interests at least. But, I want to take a quick sortie through the List with everyone to see where it takes me. Thanks for doing this, Kid Q. |
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 12, 2015 14:06:04 GMT -5
repulsionist Great thoughts on what Krautrock was intended to do in terms of historical and social context. The idea of artists moving forward to cleanse the palette of a shared national nightmare is comforting and inspiring. Your words are making me feel like I need to step up my game on here. I think you have the right idea of what NWW wanted to do with the list and how they sought sonic experimentation of all forms to build and ferment there own unique sound. I agree with you on the one time only listening experience of many of their recordings, though there are some exceptions to that rule. I have a particular fondness for Alas the Madonna Does Not Function and Who Can I Turn to Stereo. The former might just be due to the time I had very enjoyable three way while listening to it, but the latter I just find to be a pretty great record.. I am sure there are others that might warrant repeat listening, but I haven't heard everything from them (now just him). Anywho, glad you are along for the ride and look forward to hearing your thoughts on upcoming entries.
|
|
|
|
Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on May 13, 2015 4:28:34 GMT -5
I was also fond of Malesch—I used to be in a Middle Eastern music ensemble and it does share something with the loose-rhythmed, meandering and surprisingly baritone sound of oud music.
|
|
Post-Lupin
Prolific Poster 
Immanentizing the Eschaton
Posts: 5,673
|
Post by Post-Lupin on May 13, 2015 16:03:58 GMT -5
Must get on this.
Must also reread that copy of Julian Cope's Krautrocksampler that Copey gave me years ago...
|
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 13, 2015 16:33:06 GMT -5
Post-Lupin I would like to get a copy of that. It is now on my list.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on May 16, 2015 22:01:42 GMT -5
Thanks for starting this thread, Kid Q! I don't think I'd heard of The List before, but it seems pretty awesome, and I'm looking forward to delving into it. I've listened to Malesch a couple of times this weekend, and I liked it quite a bit. I haven't listened to a lot of krautrock outside of a few of the best-known groups in the genre, but this certainly compared favorably with the krautrock that I have heard. Honestly, I'd say I liked Malesch at least as much as, say krautrock classics such as Neu!'s self-titled debut. It also reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd's Meddle (although I believe that album postdates Malesch), which is possibly my favorite psych rock album. |
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 17, 2015 0:53:40 GMT -5
Roy Batty's Pet Dove Glad you enjoy the record. It is pretty great. Also, I'm glad you will be checking out more of the list with us. The next entry is not as easy going as this one. Much more noisy and abstract.
|
|
Kid Q
AV Clubber
bruised and cruised
Posts: 1,182
|
Post by Kid Q on May 17, 2015 17:31:17 GMT -5
Will doing the next post in a couple of days. In the meantime, here is one of my favorite short tracks from Nurse with Wound. It never fails to make me smile.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on May 18, 2015 10:58:26 GMT -5
Kid Q, nice of you to start the convo re: "What NWW floats your boat?" I was first exposed to NWW in the early 90s. A primary-through-secondary school friend had matriculated at Georgia Tech. I was at UF. He, occasionally, sent me mixtapes. One of the mixtapes had some Coil tracks and NWW tracks from Spiral Insana. The back-to-back weird and utter unease that some of Spiral Insana contains is admirable, and bears repeat listenings, but, damn, it can take a toll. A later mixtape had some memorable tracks from The Sylvie and Babs Hi-Fi Companion, which I ended up loving. I still have Thunder Perfect Mind and The Sylvie and Babs Hi-Fi Companion. Hardly ever do I take out the Mind for a perusal. Only rarely do I want to peek into Sylvie and Babs' world, because that record is the one where I hear the sense of absurd, sense of humor most easily. The other stuff I have absorbed from their 30-odd releases has that provocative, button-pushing, "No, I'm really fucking with you." attitude that only sounds like, even feels like, a painful prank that leaves the pranked party confounded, confused, and possibly very afraid. I'm gonna go on record, heh, as saying that the underlying mechanics of NWW is most easily reflected in (I'll post a link when I find it again) anecdote from Fothergill or Stapleton; the anecdote being that they were asked to leave a few record shops in the 70s for removing records from one sleeve and placing them in another.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jun 26, 2015 15:15:59 GMT -5
Hey, gang. It's been a while since Kid Q has visited here. I wanted to continue the tour through the list. Here's the next installment, Pekka Airaksinen's One Point Music. |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jun 29, 2015 11:54:19 GMT -5
Of course I hope that all is well with Kid Q. I am listening to the Sperm donor's record right now. I read up about Pekka last night (each word is a different link of reference). Seems this record was a grail because of its lack of availability up until 2011 when some archival label did right by Pekka and reissued this work. I guess the magic of this record is how an individual sought to understand the grand weirdness of what they had heard and how it applied to their ever-changing world view. This is a work of true and keen experimentation, and other folks in the links above have communicated what's important about Pekka's work than I am capable of at the moment. |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 7, 2015 12:31:43 GMT -5
*crickets* I want you all to know that I am dangerously close to doing productive work due to paucity of replies.
|
|
|
|
Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on Jul 8, 2015 7:32:59 GMT -5
Just listened to One Point Music—I liked it well enough, but the background in articles (particularly the the One Point Music one) made me appreciate it a lot more and helped me contextualize it. It sounded to me like a nice, primitive electronic thing from the seventioes, which is fun enough in itself, but knowing something about the context it was made—and just how adventurous and how much of an independent, almost-in-the-Finnish-wilderness project it was (a DIY LP, much less) made me appreciate it a lot more. Plus it was recorded in a sauna!
Edit: Having relistened to it with the knowledge of how handmade it all was I can really hear it, but it adds, oddly enough, a sort of folksy charm, which is pretty rare in kosmische stuff.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 8, 2015 12:59:35 GMT -5
Open query: Should we simply choose a single entry from each letter of the alphabet, or make it through the entire list?
Next entry: Joe Potts' Airway - A batch of weirdness from Los Angeles ca. 1977. Here's what I've found on YouTube.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 9, 2015 10:06:33 GMT -5
Re. Airway and the work of Joe Potts. This is the kind of stuff I was into as a twentysomething when in the mood to actively irritate. Even trying to appreciate this as sonic experimentation and culture jamming, I find it difficult to designate this work as valuable to me. Verdict: Sucks, but thank you Airway and Joe Potts for helping form the contrast against which I adjudge something good or bad.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 13, 2015 13:22:49 GMT -5
So, is this a 'B' or an 'A'? According to the list, it's an 'A'. Albrecht/d is a work/happening from Joseph Bueys, an artist whose star began to rise with the spreading of the Fluxus gospel. I'll post what's immediately available on YouTube. |
|
|
|
Post by Lord Lucan on Jul 13, 2015 13:51:34 GMT -5
Re. Airway and the work of Joe Potts. This is the kind of stuff I was into as a twentysomething when in the mood to actively irritate. Even trying to appreciate this as sonic experimentation and culture jamming, I find it difficult to designate this work as valuable to me. Verdict: Sucks, but thank you Airway and Joe Potts for helping form the contrast against which I adjudge something good or bad. I find it sort of soothing, actually. I don't think I'd want to hear it for any extended length of time, but short of that I think I like it. |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 13, 2015 14:02:22 GMT -5
First thoughts that pop up with this recording is "White Urban Gamelan". When I first heard the Monty Python chorus I thought I'd stumbled on to a group of friends reciting a film moment in reverie. I can suppose that this is true, can I not? Certainly, according to Bueys who refined his artistic approach to view himself as shaman. Post-Lupin, I think Bueys' approach isn't so distant from your own Guttershaman distillations wrt to RAW's Reality Is What You Can Get Away With.... but I may misapprehend some of your site's posts. Relatedly, ...and how this guy got away with "I Love America and America Loves Me" without getting lynched by a group of angry socialites is surprising, because that installation has to be one of the boldest pisstakes I've come across recently. What I got out of it: America is feral. If you can stick it out with a wild animal for a few days, you've got America down. America loves you. I'm gonna go on to say that the assembling of this list speaks to a need in creating a music that breaks the listener and creator from their sleep cycle. NWW seeks to enlighten their audience. Here's a verbose, and rich, explanation of what Bueys seeks to accomplish in his work (explaining his first big performance, "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare", about twenty years later). |
|
Post-Lupin
Prolific Poster
Immanentizing the Eschaton
Posts: 5,673
|
Post by Post-Lupin on Jul 14, 2015 7:29:11 GMT -5
First thoughts that pop up with this recording is "White Urban Gamelan". When I first heard the Monty Python chorus I thought I'd stumbled on to a group of friends reciting a film moment in reverie. I can suppose that this is true, can I not? Certainly, according to Bueys who refined his artistic approach to view himself as shaman. Post-Lupin, I think Bueys' approach isn't so distant from your own Guttershaman distillations wrt to RAW's Reality Is What You Can Get Away With.... but I may misapprehend some of your site's posts. Relatedly, ...and how this guy got away with "I Love America and America Loves Me" without getting lynched by a group of angry socialites is surprising, because that installation has to be one of the boldest pisstakes I've come across recently. What I got out of it: America is feral. If you can stick it out with a wild animal for a few days, you've got America down. America loves you. I'm gonna go on to say that the assembling of this list speaks to a need in creating a music that breaks the listener and creator from their sleep cycle. NWW seeks to enlighten their audience. Here's a verbose, and rich, explanation of what Bueys seeks to accomplish in his work (explaining his first big performance, "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare", about twenty years later). Must delve deep into Bueys soon! |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 14, 2015 13:57:38 GMT -5
I'm just gonna blast through the list when I can. Whomever wants can drop in and leave comments when they like.
Alcatraz (German Krautrock), apparently considered even weirder after their first record. I happen to like this stuff a lot; really out there prog/fusion/krautrock. If that doesn't pique the interest of the sometimes readers here, I'll just keep plugging through the list 'til I find the philosopher's stone of the list. You know, the one where everyone encountering the object remarks that this work really struck a chord, usw.
Something NWW had access to...
Unavailable at the time the NWW list was crafted; however, indicative of how these guys played their "own" game.
Their political record:
Their later, even more "interesting" record - almost straight-played hard rock; very cool:
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 15, 2015 9:54:17 GMT -5
The next 'A' - Älgarnas Trädgård. I post their first album in its entirety. This one is Swedish Krautrock.
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 15, 2015 10:53:53 GMT -5
Personal History re. Älgarnas Trädgård - Found this on CD ca. 2003 in Cincinnati, OH. It was in the bargain bin. Title alone influenced the purchase. Had no clue. Listened and immediately connected. This is some "out there" stuff. Nordic folk; psychedelic studio tricks; world music instruments; Krautrock/space music chassis. Really dug it. I actually listen to parts of this record about every 2-4 months. Something about its "otherness" keeps me engaged; also, how I found it endears the work - to be sure.
Connection to the NWW List - Clearly the guys involved in NWW were serious vinyl collectors. They searched and searched through stacks upon stacks of records for their "gold". This is another record that simply wasn't in wide release in the 70s. To find it, after reading about it in whatever preceded the magazine Record Collector, must have been quite a thrill. From this entry, I empathize with what NWW was doing; raiding crates for treasures they'd read about with almost-trainspotting-grade devotion. I did the same quite frequently throughout my 20s and 30s. Doesn't improve my overall experience with NWW, but it allows me an enhanced understanding of their aim to art.
EDIT: I don't know what those reading might do wrt researching this band, but the immediate information appearing in most reviews are:
The band name = Garden of Elks
The album name = The future is a hovering ship anchored to the past
|
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Jul 16, 2015 11:49:52 GMT -5
Next entry: Alternative TV. I label this band as a group straddling punk and post-punk. The album I've chosen to represent what NWW might have heard and responded to is The Image Has Cracked. Though the band itself has a history with prominent outsiders Throbbing Gristle, their music provokes from a strictly political base: Disturb the status quo. What's happening to us in our Britain? Not anything I like, so speak up. If I can foment dissent, I entreat my peers to do the same. Kinda like with Cameron now. The Big Reveal: I only knew of this band and heard their singles in passing. I have no attachment/personal history with the music presented. Frankly, I munged this band and the differently named Television Personalities. I've enjoyed listening to the record posted. EDIT: I did happen to discover a personal history after hearing "Viva La Rock'n'Roll". I've only known that song as performed by Savage Republic. |
|
