Comments for Cocktails and Records

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Cocktails

Cocktails — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:38:27 +0000

Hi Keith, thanks for stopping by – have a good week too.

Hoops, I hadn’t thought to look for Steve Reich on Spotify. I really have to make more use of that service… unfortunately they don’t have any Necks records, but they do have Terry Riley and Sparks… But yes, it is easy to get swamped by music. I already am. And don’t even mention all the books that I want to read!!

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Hoops Hooley

Hoops Hooley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:59:25 +0000

Thanks for this: really liking this Steve Reich stuff. Despite its unremitting percussiveness (is that a word? percussivity??), I’m finding it strangely calming.

Once again I am reminded how woefully inadequate my music collection is. Thanks to Spotify, it’s not costing me anything to do a quick crash course–there’s loads of Steve Reich on Spotify–and I’m always happy to have suggestions on how to broaden my interests, but when am I going to have time to listen to ALL THIS MUSIC??? (*looks again in post for lottery cheque/redundancy payout*)

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Keith

Keith — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:29:22 +0000

Hey there. Nice post. Happy Sunday. Hope you’ve been enjoying the weekend. Take care. Have a great week ahead. Cheers!

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Cocktails

Cocktails — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:57:54 +0000

Hello Spud, thanks for stopping by. It’s funny that everyone usually associates Reich with Philip Glass and Michael Nyman (and I can obviously understand why), but I’ve never really listened that much to the other two. I am just taken with Steve! Like you, the understated subtlety of his work gets me everytime. There are so many ways of listening to it, but mostly I just get swept away by its hypnotic nature.

I’ve never listened to Terry Riley. Perhaps I should – I’ll keep an eye out for him.

And I recommend to you, The Necks, if you haven’t discovered them before. They’re an Australian trio who usually fall into the jazz category but their 30- 40 minute long tracks have the same building, shimmering, mind bending effect as the best of Reich’s work. And again, they are amazing live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0uCGDCNKno&feature=related

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by spud

spud — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:03:49 +0000

I like this music. Glass and Nyman are probably the bigger draws for this sort of thing because they often manage to make all the slowly mutating loops sound epic or romantic. But I prefer the relative understatedness of this Reich piece. It’s not pulling faces. Less is more sometimes – like those mesmerisingly weird 60s things he did with tape loops of voices going out of sync on reel-to-reels running at slightly different speeds. Or only having percussion in ‘Drumming’.

Tried any Terry Riley? I’ve got boot sale and junk shop secondhand vinyls of ‘In C’ and ‘Rainbow In Curved Air’ (total expenditure:£6) and particularly like ‘In C’. I’d recommend it – but get the original, not the re-recording with electronic instruments. You don’t need electronic texture to make that music hypnotic. It’s all in the patterns.

I get where Mondo’s coming from with Fripp and Eno. Way back when, that was probably my way into this kind of music, along with the keyboard tape loop sections in Soft Machine’s ‘Out-Bloody-Rageous’.

Re ponciness: was it not the O’Jays who proclaimed their love of music, any kind of music just as long as it’s groovy? Ramones one day, Reich the next. It’s like brown rice and bacon sarnies. Life’s better with both.

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Cocktails

Cocktails — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:35:46 +0000

It’s like every day brings up a new Mondo fact – you don’t sing, you used to collect Michael Nyman soundtracks?! Well, I wasn’t expecting that! I have a copy of Drowning by Numbers, which I really like and must dig out sometime…

Thanks for the links too – will check out the bass solo later

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Mondo

Mondo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:42 +0000

Good stuff – I like both. They remind me of the EG records, and Philip Glass, Michael Nyman soundtracks I used to collect in the 80s.

Jeff Beck, I don’t know that much really his first two albums with Rod and Ron are fab blues funk – his mid seventies pair with George Martin Blow By Blow and Wired are worth grabbing – if only for this track
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXrpIEGq6AA

This is from Ronnie Scott’s, what you want is the bass solo that starts at 1:27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC02wGj5gPw

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:56:43 +0000

Mmm, think I’m going to have to let you down gently here Mondo. Steve Reich does very little guitar work. In fact, I can’t think of any other guitar based pieces! Most of his compositions centre around vocal samples, marimbas, piano, violin and percussion, lots of percussion. It’s all very much based on repetition and very subtle rhythmic variation.

This is pretty indicative:

Music for 18 Musicians, pulse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiV9f1_PFHE&feature=related
(touch of the Sterolab vocals there!)

City Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY5_cwN1i74&feature=related

No, haven’t seen the Jeff Beck DVD – I’ve never really been that much of a Beck fan. Should I be?

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Planet Mondo

Planet Mondo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:54:28 +0000

Incredible! As a complete guitar geek – there’s a huge Reich shaped hole in my collection. Where would you recommned I start? It reminds of some Penguin Cafe albums or Eno and Fripp’s No Pussyfooting album

Have you checked out the Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s DVD? Incredible, mainly for the twenty something bass player who spends the gig looking entirely amazed at her own glowing bass lines

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:33:53 +0000

It was amazing, ISBW, but probably not quite as good as the gig at the Barbican – but that was with Coldcut, DJ Spooky and Konono N°1 so was more of a one-off ‘event’.

As for the Poncey Stick, I relish it! In fact, I am beginning to realise that I am exactly the sort of tiresomely pseudo-intellectual, poncey BBC4 watching, Jeremy Clarkson hating, London-based middle class music snob that the rest of the country despises. I am, as I am sure many Daily Mail readers believe, exactly what is wrong with this country.

Comment on Song of the Week: Electric Counterpoint by ishouldbeworking

ishouldbeworking — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:34:33 +0000

Oh, you lucky, lucky woman. I’d have LOVED to go to that. It sounded absolutely brilliant. I got hit with the Poncey Stick for even suggesting it.

Comment on The fan by ishouldbeworking

ishouldbeworking — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:52:43 +0000

Bloody hell, Mondo’s description of his mate’s stalking experience reminds me that I got off lightly (or have done so far. You never know who’s watching.).

Comment on The fan by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:29:33 +0000

Piley, I’ve gathered through the podcasts that you’ve got a pretty good autograph collection! You definitely have to post something about it. The world of autograph collecting is completely foreign to me – not just the chasing people up the street variety, but the organised convention side too. I was really suprised by that article in the last Word mag about Doctor Who autos. It would just never enter my mind to get the autograph of someone who was on screen for a couple of minutes in one episode. Clearly it’s addictive though for some people!

Comment on The fan by Piley

Piley — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:07:06 +0000

oh dear… this hits a nerve!! As Mondo mentions I am very interested n autographs! But I run my a very strict code of conduct, and no matter if it’s an autograph i want or no, will never approach people in the street, whilst eating etc etc. In fact ANY time they are ‘off duty’. Most of my collection i’ve got from writing to people over the last 20 odd years, and meeting celebs at collector events. All of which is ‘fair game’ Especially when they are charging you 15 or 20 quid for the auto!

Comment on The fan by Cocktails

Cocktails — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:35:10 +0000

It’s also probably because you’ve got better things to do with your life, Keith, than hanging around cold dark streets asking soap stars for their signatures!

Comment on The fan by Keith

Keith — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:48:53 +0000

I’ve never done anything like this. That’s probably because I’ve never been in an area where there are any sort of celebs, including minor ones.

Comment on The fan by Cocktails

Cocktails — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:43:10 +0000

nice story, BLTP – June Brown and you on a bale of straw! Was her nephews band any good, any one we might know?

Comment on The fan by bltp

bltp — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:35:44 +0000

I’ve had drink with June Brown sat on bale of straw at Glasto she was there to support her nephew who was playing, she was really nice we got he glass of wine and she made everyone shut up and listen to her nephew. I’ve got the odd book signed and that’s about it.

Comment on The fan by Cocktails

Cocktails — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:09:55 +0000

Ok, when I wrote this post I was thinking of more innocent autograph hunting – of the loitering around the stage entrance / red carpet variety NOT posting animal body parts in the mail. Or indeed nutters stalking readers of this blog (what’s that about ISBW?!)

So have you met Cliff then F-C? What colour is he in real life?!

Comment on The fan by Five-Centres

Five-Centres — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:49:28 +0000

It’s par for the course for celebs. Why anyone wants anyone to sign something is a mystery, but there’s a massive market for it and I have been guilty of it myself too, but only a few: Cilla, Brucie, Cliff and er, Lindsay Coulson (for a friend).