like nothing else
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977-), Enigma (2019); Spektral Quartet (Clara Lyon [violin], Maeve Feinberg [violin], Doyle Armbrust [viola], Russell Rolen [cello]), 2021
Movt. I
Movt. II
Movt. III
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lagniappe
reading table
When I consider
how in this world
all is falling blossom—
what then must become
of this self?—Saigyō (1118-1190), translated from the Japanese by Meredith McKinney
voices I miss
Lester Bowie (1941-1999, trumpet, MCOTD Hall of Fame) and Brazz Brothers, live, Norway (Ålesund), 1992
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of Morocco
Maalem Mohamed Guinia (1951-2015, voice, gimbri [aka gumbri]), live, Morocco (Marrakech), 2014
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
What is the self-sufficient self, if not the self that exaggerates its own resources?
—Leon Wieseltier, “‘The Wise, Too, Shed Tears,'” Liberties (Summer 2021)
sounds of Turkey
Slow.
Quiet.
Beautiful.
What better way to begin the week?
Özgür Baba (voice, cura), Gökçe Es (voice, monochord, shruti box, rainstick), live, Turkey (Bodrum), 2020
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, outside Chicago (Dean Nature Sanctuary, Oak Brook)
sounds of England
These three sisters, it seems, could sing the phone book (remember the “phone book”?), and it would sound wonderful.
The Staves, live (“Nothing’s Gonna Happen,” “Good Woman,” “Satisfied,” “Waiting on Me to Change”), England (Watford), published 9/1/21
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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reading table
What, in this moment, is lacking?
Zen master Rinzai (aka Linji Yixuan), unknown – 866
sounds of Chicago
Matthew Shipp (1960-, piano), live (performance begins at 9:30), Chicago, 8/28/21
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lagniappe
random sights
a while ago, Maine (Monhegan Island)
sounds of Dublin
Xenia Pestova Bennett (toy piano, desk bells, music boxes) and Ed Bennett (electronics, music boxes), live, Dublin, 9/1/21
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill. (Frank Lloyd Wright, Laura Gale House, 1909)
*****
reading table
Midsummer
by William Bronk (1918-1999; MCOTD Hall of Fame; Poetry, May, 1955)
A green world, a scene of green, deep
with light blues, the greens made deep
by those blues. One thinks how
in certain pictures, envied landscapes are seen
(through a window, maybe) far behind the serene
sitter’s face, the serene pose, as though
in some impossible mirror, face to back,
human serenity gazed at a green world
which gazed at this face.
And see now,
here is that place, those greens
are here, deep with those blues. The air
we breathe is freshly sweet, and warm, as though
with berries. We are here. We are here.
Set this down too, as much
as if an atrocity had happened and been seen.
The earth is beautiful beyond all change.
passings
Lee “Scratch” Perry, producer, March 30, 1936 – August 29, 2021
With Junior Murvin, The Heptones, The Congos, The Upsetters, “Play On Mr. Music,” live, Jamaica (Roots Rock Reggae [1977])
*****
Producer/co-writer: Junior Murvin, “Police and Thieves” (J. Murvin, L. Perry), 1976
*****
Producer: The Upsetters, Black Board Jungle, 1973
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
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reading table
. . . all thens are lost in a now without a time.
—William Bronk (1918-1999, MCOTD Hall of Fame), from “Referral” (Some Words, 1992, 1998)
How about something you’ve (probably) never heard before?
Lee Hyla (1952-2014), Pre-Pulse Suspended, 1984 (We Speak Etruscan, 1996)
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Chicago
sounds of New York
Brandon Lopez (bass), Mat Maneri (viola), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), live, New York, 8/26/21
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
music clip of the day 