Various - "L'Italia E Nel Mondo" 2 x Vinyl, Compilation, Deluxe Gatefold Sleeve (Modern Silence)

The Futurist mastered various forms of the visual medium of sculptures, painting, drawing, as well as photography, film, writing and of course, and not least, music. I have always been a fan of Luigi Russolo's Art of Noise pieces such as "ll Risveglio di una Citta." Russolo made these beautiful works of sculptures that are also noise machines in the year 1912 or so. These early recordings are the foundation of experimental music. It fits in the world equally with John Cage's more noisy compositions as well as the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS). So, this alone is worth getting the album. The other pieces of interest are Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's selection of him reciting his very verbal poetry. What is disappointing about this package is that Discogs list the tracks, and they are wrong. If you go to the Forced Exposure website, you will get the proper artists. I would have preferred the Discogs listing than the record I have now. What's missing is Luigi Grandi and others. The correct list of artists is Antonio Russolo, Rodolfo De Angelis, Alexandr Mossolov Eiar Orchestra Victor De Sabata, Arthur Honegger, Dixon Cowell, Julius Ehrlich, Paul Whiteman, Walter Ruttmann, and George Antheil. As well as Marinetti and Luigi Russolo. 

All of the above are great, but The Italian Futurists influence most of these artists, but not part of the Italian art/political group. Whatever happened to the original (if even that is so) list of artists is a mystery.  The original listing of tracks would have offered a more accurate representation of Futurist music. Although technically the label Modern Silence is a bootleg company that focuses on the avant-garde, it is still an excellent record label with fantastic packaging. For instance, "L'Italia E Nel Mondo" album design is an Italian wrapped newspaper full of text from the Futurists.  The album is a limited edition, and still, a great purchase. 

The Weirdos - "Destroy All Music" Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Green Vinyl, 2007 (Bomp)

Being a music fan in Los Angeles in the late 1970s was a lot of fun.  At the time we had DEVO, The Screamers, X, LAFMS, and a variety of other artists doing recordings and shows.  My favorite band was The Screamers, and perhaps because they are the most 'rare' of those bands, in that they never released a proper studio recording.  As a live show, they were as great as great can be.  Another band that I enjoyed live was The Weirdos.  I'm not sure of where they came from.  At one time I thought or heard that they were from Cal-Arts, but I'm not too sure about that.  They had a strong visual sensibility, not unlike The Screamers, but more rooted in the tradition of rock n' roll.  To me, they weren't really a "Punk" band, but a well-crafted band who could write songs, and this album clearly shows that aspect of their work/talent. 

"Destroy All Music" is a compilation of recordings that The Weirdos made in the late 1970s.  The first side consists of demos, and "Destroy All Music" EP, and side two is their fantastic "Who? What? When? Where? Why?" six-song 12" EP.   I like side one, but it's side two that shows off the strength of The Weirdos.  I suspect that they shared an aesthetic and love of music with the British band Clash, especially on their first album.  It's rootsy but with classic songwriting touches, I think mostly due to the talent and skill of Cliff Roman with the brothers Dix and John Denney.  The Weirdos are not as brilliant as The Screamers or DEVO (at their height in the mid-70s), but they can deliver a classic garage rock sound that is very much of that era.   "Who? What? When? Where? Why?" is very much wonderful in its recording, and it is a series of moments that showed promise and even perfection. 

Tom Recchion - "Chaotica" CD, Album, 1996 (Birdman Records)

I treasure Tom Recchion's sensibility.  I tend not to separate his graphic arts work from his work as an artist and composer.  He takes second-hand information, in this case, music from another era, that held promise to the American imagination, which was exotica.   Recchion makes the old recordings and transforms them into new music, but not erasing the music's original purpose.  To transform the listener into another world.  As Exotica music is a tour of the outside world, "Chaotica" is a journey into the inner world.  Exotica brings relaxation, "Chaotica" brings relaxation but with an emotional edge. 

There were no overdubs or edits made during the recording.  Recchion used pre-recorded tape-loops and then improvised over the music using keyboards and various digital and analog effects.  "Chaotica" is a relative of Musique Concréte, but with a refined delicacy.   A great album from a brilliant artist. 

Tom Recchion - "Proscenium" Vinyl LP, Limited Edition with Vinyl 7" 45 rpm (Elevator Bath)

Tom Recchion's "Proscenium" is like going into a room, and there is nothing there, but this eerie, beautiful sound, that is hard to distinguish from something natural in the air, or man (person) made.  All I know is I can sit at a table in this room and do some writing or something creative.   The music (sound) is demanding, so you can't read a book there, but you can think through the levels of aural pleasure that is this album.

I'm not sure how Tom made this record.  I once in awhile hear what sounds like a piano, but is it him playing or just a sample?  Listening to the album becomes a mental exercise where you describe smoke that lingers in the air, which is the graphic on the cover by the way.  Or is it a spirit of some sort?  Or both?   Music that is abstract becomes a sound sculpture. I can almost see it, but not really.  Although I feel I can walk right through it.  Artists like Brian Eno has done ambient music - sometimes for a specific space and time - "Music for Airports" for example.  "Proscenium" is a work that gives me a sense of place, but not time.  I sense not a large space, but a room.  It's interesting to read the titles which is "Entrance Music No. 1" or "Exit Music No. 1."  There is also "The Mesmerized Chair" and of course, "The Haunted Laboratory."  I don't have to know the titles, but it's interesting that they do convey a space or studio of some sort.  Space is vague, but the emotions are not.  It's a very warm album, and I feel good being contained by its sense of seduction.   I have this album on vinyl as well as an MP3 (code comes with the album), and I often listen to it while writing.   I like it because it doesn't free up my brain/mind but puts me in a room that I can focus in.  In a practical way, I can recommend this music if you're a writer and need time to reflect on your thoughts.  Or it can be music that you enter in, but you can stay inside for hours.

I didn't know this, till I started writing this piece, but the proscenium is a theatrical term meaning "an arch framing the opening between the stage and the auditorium in some theaters."  It's a great album. I keep hearing new things in it, and it maybe just my ears playing tricks on me, but the vinyl listening experience is different from the MP3.  The medium alters same music, but space.  It never ends.   I like that.