listening to repeating

I’m happy to announce that during the next academic year (2010-11), I’ll be designing and teaching courses in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) at the University of Washington, Bothell.

The first course I’m teaching, “Technologies of Expression: Sound Reproduction Studies,” is a 200-level course scheduled for Autumn 2010.  It’s part of the new Media and Communication Studies emphasis in IAS.  More below.

Course Description

Since the 1850s, sound reproduction technologies have changed over time.  As some were rendered obsolete, others became cutting edge.  In one sense, this course is an opportunity for students to trace the history of those technological shifts by attending to everything from the phonograph and magnetic tape to the turntable and the computer.  Yet in another sense, the course is a chance to explore how those technologies are culturally embedded.  For example, how have artists and writers integrated sound reproduction technologies into their work, and to what effects on other media, such as print?  Through advertisements and film, how were certain technologies marketed, to whom, and for what purposes?  And when, where, and for whom does a sound seem pleasant, a recording appear high fidelity, or an environment feel noisy?

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Mostly Dimes is playing a show with some good friends in Seattle this Saturday, April 3rd.

The line-up goes like so: Final Spins + Mostly Dimes + Like Lightning + Lonesome Shack.

The show’s at the Comet Tavern.

Seven dollars, 21+

If you are in town, then I hope to see you there!

The KEXP “Civil Rights” documentary on Curtis Mayfield’s classic, “People Get Ready,” is now in the archives, should you wish to give it a listen.  Below is a description, and there are more documentaries, including one on James Brown, coming soon!

“People Get Ready” was a song Curtis Mayfield wrote for the Impressions. And it would become one of Martin Luther King’s favorites and a standard used for demonstrations during the civil rights struggles in the 1960′s. Throngs of famous people would later record the song, including Bob Dylan, U2 and Aretha Franklin. Curtis shared a philosophy with Martin Luther King, Jr. – that what really mattered about people was not “the color of their skin but the content of their character”. And this song’s lyrics have the stamp of sincerity, intelligence and soul shared by both great men.

Image care of Hooves on the Turf

“Hatari” by tUnE-YarDs (from the album, BiRd-BrAiNs)

Well, the entire album is fantastic, but this song is a real gem.  Just when the vocal inflection nears too much performance for me, a wonderful lo-fi switch is flipped.  And I’m generally a sucker for both musical minimalism and the incorporation of anything “found” into a song.  tUnE-YarDs does all of these things quite well, on top of listing influences like Bertholt Brecht, Ruth Garbus, Charlie Chaplin, and cassette tape mixes.  So I’m sold.  I’m looking forward to seeing her play at some point soon.

Until then, here’s a video of her at the Secret Garden.

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Jewellery by Micachu (and the Shapes)

England’s Mica Levi makes a lot of her own instruments, and she likes to experiment with atonal sound.  I also get the idea that she’s a bit nerdy.  According to her bio, she studied violin, viola and composition at the Purcell School before being offered a scholarship to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Whatever her ed, unlike a lot of other “pop” records (e.g., by Girls, Phoenix, Bat for Lashes, and Dirty Projectors)  that came out during this notably poppy year, I actually got into this one, probably because I feel like Micachu is doing something smart that’s going to stick around for a long long while.  As strange as it seems, this record reminded me a lot of Pere Ubu when I first heard it (and it still does).  Throw some William S. Burroughs, Laurie Anderson, Wire, The Slits, and The Microphones in there, too.  As with those acts, I didn’t know what to do with the sounds at first.  I just knew that Jewellery grabbed my attention, made me curious, and kept me wanting to listen to the entire album over and over again.  Indeed, this one’s a keeper on so many levels. One of my favorite records of the Oughts.

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The Animal Collective documentary for KEXP‘s Psychedelics series is now archived online.  Transmit it.  Participating in this was a lot of fun.  Hope you enjoy it, too.  Here’s a snippet description written by Michele Myers, who produces the KEXP documentaries:

“And our final episode was on Animal Collective. This is a band who people react to. Some people herald them as the most brilliant group in today’s alternative scene. Others just don’t seem to get it. I have to admit I was among those who didn’t get it. When I first heard Animal Collective I thought they sounded a lot like a group of kindergarteners sitting in a cardboard box humming and pounding on the sides. In this doc I actually find a clip that sounds EXACTLY like that. But I also talk to academics who say that Animal Collective embrace the spirit of punk. And the band themselves get to speak up as well. And some of the music is actually very sophisticated. What do you think?”