An anthology of articles on the evolution of minimal music in New York in 1972-1982, written by Tom Johnson, which originally appeared in the Village Voice. Published originally by Apollohuis, in Eindhoven, Holland, and now available as a free download.
Documentary which looks at how a radical generation of musicians created a new German musical identity out of the cultural ruins of war.
Between 1968 and 1977 bands like Neu!, Can, Faust and Kraftwerk would look beyond western rock and roll to create some of the most original and uncompromising music ever heard. They shared one common goal - a forward-looking desire to transcend Germany's gruesome past - but that didn't stop the music press in war-obsessed Britain from calling them Krautrock.
Music with Roots in the Aether, an artwork by Robert Ashley, is comprised of seven two-hour programs featuring noted American experimental composers, created during the 1970's.
Each program is two hours long and consists of one part Landscape / Interview (one hour) and one part live performance (one hour).
Below are excerpts from the 1991 VHS compilation of experimental animated shorts Tony Vegas' Animated Acidburn Flashback Tabu.
Further examining the medium of film itself, Colorfilm is a work Lawder made while trying to make a minimalist, "pure color" film. Using spliced-together strips of colored film leader in white, yellow, blue, red, green, etc., Lawder ran the film through a projector and found the results to be quite boring. While he was running the film, though, he noticed how beautiful the colored strips of film looked as they ran through the projector. So, he turned a camera on the projector and filmed the colored film gorgeously winding its way through the projector's machinery." - Noel Black, Colorado Springs Independent
Music by The Mothers of Invention.
Travess Smalley is an artist who lives in New York City. He is currently showing work in Art Since the Summer of '69's show "Objects, Furniture and Patterns", and is part of internet collectives Loshadka and Computers Club. He is also one half of the design duo Poster Company. He is an intern at Rhizome.
20 Jazz Funk Greats strength is in their rampant use of cosmic and cryptic verbs. "Jacky Daw" by Pumajaw presents a combination of CAN grooves and pagan howls.
Kingdom's own mp3 blog Patent Leather Daddy has had its share of amazing mixes and posts this year (hello Latin Freestyle & Gym Jams). But he also made a phenomenal mix for discobelle.net. The last 15 minutes give me goosebumps.
Further listening: Lower End Spasm - BOK BOK b2b KINGDOM - Night Slugs Show - Sub FM 27 . 06 . 09 and Nguzunguzu's Mix for Discobelle
Synergy's Larry Fast is best known on Rhizome as the music in Ron Hayes Delta Videos. I found this song on Momus's livejournal, Click Opera, before finding Aesoteric Sounds had uploaded a vinyl copy of the full album.
Crystal Vibrations consistently posts rare and ethereal new age and meditation music from gem spas and yogi shops around the world.
Sounds of Our Time, a compilation by Hammer. Ghana club music from 2004, quite relevant to English and American dance music in 2009.
Found on Travis Hallenbeck's tumblr, Mondshine is an electronic musician from the 80's. You can find Clara Mondshine's discography on Mutant Sounds, the godmother of all mp3 blogs.
Further Listening: Doris Norton - Personal Computer
Produced by the Artists' Television Network, the Live! Show ran in 1979 and from 1982-1983 on Manhattan’s Cable channel J. A weekly program overseen by Jaime Davidovich, the Live! Show was a variety show, featuring performances and videos by a host of New York downtown artists. Below you will find the second episode, which aired on December 28, 1979, with appearances by Jaime Davidovich, Carole Ann Klonarides, John Sanborn, Kit Fitzgerald, Lucio Pozzi, Tomiyo Sasaki, Stuart Sherman, The Social Climbers, and Youth in Asia. A playlist of other episodes may be found here.
TV Party, hosted by Glenn O'Brien, ran from 1978 to 1982 on public access cable TV in New York City. A documentary about the show came out a few years ago, which renewed interest in the show and cemented its legacy. Below is an excerpt from the larger essay "THE TV PARTY STORY", where O'Brien reflects on the concept behind TV Party.
TV Party wasn't based on the Johnny Carson type talk show as much as it was based on Hugh Hefner's shows. Hef's Playboy's Penthouse premiered in 1960 and Playboy After Dark appeared in 1969. The format of both shows was a sophisticated cocktail party, not a desk and sofa set up. It was a fantasy of being at a super-hip, super exclusive jet set party. Hef wore a tux and there were always vixens aplenty on set as well as groovy guests like Sara Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Lenny Bruce.
I loved the concept, compared to the stiff format of the Tonight Show. TV Party was Playboy Penthouse twenty years later and with no money. But TV Party was meant to be much more than a regular old talk show. It was meant to be art and it was also meant to be a political party. That's why you see all of those pictures of Lenin and Engels and Marx and Stalin and Mao hanging on the walls. We were doing "socialist realist TV."
"TV Party is the show that's a cocktail party but which could also be a political party." That was the slogan. My idea was that socialism meant going out every night, and that social action started with socializing. I think we were trying to inject a sort of tribal element into things. That's what happens ...
John R Math