Carmina Burana - Carl Orff (1937)

if you think the obsession in music with "fucking bitches" started with gangsta rap, then please take a seat.



that's a page from a 12th century text called Carmina Burana, or "Songs from Benediktbeurn," written entirely in Medieval Latin. created by a couple clergy students, the manuscripts concerns itself with themes of the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of Spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling, and, of course, lust. if the drawing above doesn't demonstrate how loopy in love with decadence and sex were the minds of these kids, then give me a moment.

give me 800 years.

in 1937 Germany, the Frankfurt Opera premiered a piece composed by Carl Orff called Carmina Burana, a "scenic cantata" that used various parts of the original medieval text as its libretto. Orff's full Latin title was Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis, or "Songs of Beurn: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magic images."

i don't know about the premiere, but the first time time i saw a performance of Carmina Burana, all the magic images were in my head. the melodies are so catchy, it hurts. the instrumentation is glittery, the rhythms are like running through a meadow. angels and demons fly out of the soloists' throats. most importantly, this is without a doubt one of the most epic collections of music ever created. and it's raunchy, too.

the best example i'll give are the lyrics from the "Tempus est iocundum." i won't say it explicitly, but the chorus appears to be quite the ejection of excitement...

Tempus es iocundum,	This is the joyful time,
o virgines,	O maidens,
modo congaudete	rejoice with them,
vos iuvenes.	young men!
(Baritone)
Oh, oh, oh,	Oh! Oh! Oh!
totus floreo,	I am bursting out all over!
iam amore virginali	I am burning all over with first love!
totus ardeo, novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.	New, new love is what I am dying of!
(Women)
Mea me confortat	I am heartened
promissio,	by my promise,
mea me deportat	I am downcast by my refusal
(Soprano and boys)
Oh, oh, oh	Oh! Oh! Oh!
totus floreo	I am bursting out all over!
iam amore virginali	I am burning all over with first love!
totus ardeo, novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.	New, new love is what I am dying of!
(Men)
Tempore brumali	In the winter
vir patiens,	man is patient,
animo vernali	the breath of spring
lasciviens.	makes him lust.
(Baritone)
Oh, oh, oh,	Oh! Oh! Oh!
totus floreo,	I am bursting out all over!
iam amore virginali	I am burning all over with first love!
totus ardeo, novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.	New, new love is what I am dying of!
(Women)
Mea mecum ludit	My virginity
virginitas,	makes me frisky,
mea me detrudit	my simplicity
simplicitas.	holds me back.
(Soprano and Boys)
Oh, oh, oh,	Oh! Oh! Oh!
totus floreo,	I am bursting out all over!
iam amore virginali	I am burning all over with first love!
totus ardeo, novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.	New, new love is what I am dying of!
(Chorus)
Veni, domicella,	Come, my mistress,
cum gaudio,	with joy,
veni, veni, pulchra,	come, come, my pretty,
iam pereo.	I am dying!
(Baritone, Boys and Chorus)
Oh, oh, oh,	Oh! Oh! Oh!
totus floreo,	I am bursting out all over!
iam amore virginali	I am burning all over with first love!
totus ardeo, novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.	New, new love is what I am dying of!

then the next song, "Dulcissime," which consists of two lines of lyrics:

Dulcissime,	Sweetest one! Ah!
totam tibi subdo me!	I give myself to you totally!

wow. absolute orgasm. and it's not just the words. from the rapid, haphazard choral excitement of the piece right before, this is just one female vocalist moaning for 34 seconds.

you already know the most famous piece from this work, "O Fortuna." it's that incredibly epic song reminiscent of horses charging, planets crashing, slow-motion, and unstoppable glory in all its forms. check out these lyrics though:

O Fortuna	O Fortune,
velut luna	like the moon
statu variabilis,	you are changeable,
semper crescis	ever waxing
aut decrescis;	and waning;
vita detestabilis	hateful life
nunc obdurat	first oppresses
et tunc curat	and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem,	as fancy takes it;
egestatem,	poverty
potestatem	and power
dissolvit ut glaciem.	it melts them like ice.
Sors immanis	Fate - monstrous
et inanis,	and empty,
rota tu volubilis,	you whirling wheel,
status malus,	you are malevolent,
vana salus	well-being is vain
semper dissolubilis,	and always fades to nothing,
obumbrata	shadowed
et velata	and veiled
michi quoque niteris;	you plague me too;
nunc per ludum	now through the game
dorsum nudum	I bring my bare back
fero tui sceleris.	to your villainy.
Sors salutis	Fate is against me
et virtutis	in health
michi nunc contraria,	and virtue,
est affectus	driven on
et defectus	and weighted down,
semper in angaria.	always enslaved.
Hac in hora	So at this hour
sine mora	without delay
corde pulsum tangite;	pluck the vibrating strings;
quod per sortem	since Fate
sternit fortem,	strikes down the strong man,
mecum omnes plangite!	everyone weep with me!

these are the words that Orff's masterpiece starts AND ends with. essentially, even though much of the cantata has lyrics about love and drinking and growing and youthfulness and growing old and everything else you can think of, the composer realizes and makes you realize that all that is simply life. and it can be summed up with a fearful, epic, monolithic, tumbling, black, monstrous ode to Fortune and her fateful wheel that spins us around. and so, in an effort to replicate life, Orff ends Carmina Burana the way it starts.



birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death birth youth bloom love sex death.

"Life ain't nothin' but bitches and money." -- Ice Cube, from "Gangsta Gangsta" on N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton.

download or watch.

Spacemen 3 - Taking Drugs to Make Music To Take Drugs To (original release: 1990)

This album makes me feel good.

Enough rock.

Enough feedback.

Hard enough.

Soft enough.

Slow enough.

Long enough.

Monolithic drums.

Dry feedback from the same riff over and over.

Spaced out, drowning vocals.

And textures.

I constantly find myself turning to this album especially when I can't listen to anything else.

In a way, I guess you can call this one of my comfort albums; an album you can turn to any time and feel fine.

Shania Twain- You're Still the One (live circa 2002)

I think this song speaks for itself.

Help - Thee Oh Sees (2009)

okay. i admit it. i'm obsessed with this album, not just the album art:



originally, i simply wrote, "another quick, short post. what i imagine when i think about good and fun psychedelic rock: a purple smiling bat that can magically make rainbow arcs squiggle."

i tried to reduce my love for this album to its album art. let me try again: in less than a month, this has become one of my favorite albums of the year.

it's grungy. it's one of the dirtiest albums i've listened to in a long time. the drums are simple, but they provide a perfect backbone to the swampy, distorted humming of the guitar. i can't tell if the vocals have tons of effects put on them, or this guy just sings like a maniac, but i'm at last sure the reverb is out of control. it's like he's singing for a football stadium inside a garage. which brings me to my next point.

it's psychedelic. this guy sings like a retarded angel shaman, or something. i don't know how else to describe it. his voice is high-pitched and harmonious and wonderful, but it's also kind of whiny and just plain weird. beyond the vocals, this will FEEL just like good old rock & roll, nothing psychedelic at all. and yet, there is something in the sound that i think you will find makes it teem with rainbow sparkles and talking purple bats coming out of walls.

it's fun. all i want to do when i listen to this record is get off my goddamn chair and jump around. it's not particularly danceable, it's not what you'd call headbanging music, but i can't stop myself from dancing and headbanging to it.

ambiguous descriptions of a few tracks (which can all be listened to fully and freely here):

electric guitar and bass guitar wind, wind, wind, wind in the first three seconds and then, suddenly, the album blasts off with "Enemy Destruct." drums splashing, maybe some tambourine, and the singing comes in, trippy, like we just got dropped off on the peak of an acid trip.

the second song, "Ruby Go Home," is my favorite on the album, but i don't know why. it starts off relatively simply, with some basic guitar riff, basic drum thrashing, etc etc. the verse involves all sorts of nonsense and the phrase "ruby go home!" the chorus involves a bunch of oh!s and "ruby go home!" the bridge involves repetition of "ruby go home!" there's nothing inherently special about this song. but the band sinks into this moment, this glowing red moment, and they just feel it. they sit there and rock and rock and rock. the moment doesn't end. the guitarist starts fucking around a little bit, nothing fancy, nothing to suck us out of the moment, nothing extraordinary, just more rocking out. and it's catchy, too.

what the hell is that sound at the beginning of "Meat Step Lively?" i have no fucking clue, but it sounds like a baby guitar crying. more rocking out, more living in the moment. except halfway through this one, a wind instrument comes out of nowhere. somebody's blowing on a flute or something, transforming what just sounded like acid-tripped-out Kinks into the pop version of King Crimson or something.

the sixth track, "Can You See," definitely reminds me of something i've heard before. the way it swings back and forth like a pendulum. no, more like a crowd at a show. it's like swaying, not swinging. the bass does it. do do do.......do...do do do......do... and so on.

unfortunately, (for me) the album sort of tapers off towards the middle after an explosive first half, barring one song:

"Destroyed Fortress Reappears" is my second favorite song on the album. this is where the vocal reverbs go nuts. for five minutes he just chants like a high priest over this snare drum march and simple bass/guitar strumming, highlighted with this awfully catchy hook every so often.

i'll admit. the first time i listened to this record i was baked out of mind. i was sitting on a couch in my friend's apartment in the mission, facing one of two tower speakers bellowing out the cool tunes. i really couldn't speak, but i periodically checked with other people to make sure they thought the music we were listening to was as good as i kept thinking. i think i downloaded it the next day.

then a few weeks later, a couple days ago, i went to a bar to see them live for $7. seven bucks! well, not counting beers. but the show was outstanding. short, maybe. but they've only got two albums and each one is full of 1-3min tracks. i expected people to enjoy the show but not rock the fuck out like they did. we were practically moshing. they played "Ruby Go Home" thank god. and i'm pretty damn sure they played it twice as long, illustrating my point that the band has found an inescapably savory moment in that song.

this is good fucking rock & roll, plain and simple.

listen to whole thing here.

Fishmans-Long Season

Last night, i went to a farwell party put on for me, by my music club I am a part of over here in Japan. My good friend who is in the club who speaks very decent english, gave me this cd as a thank you/goodbye present. As she gave it to me, she mentioned that the members of the band used to go to our college, and were a part of the same circle we were all in. I also recieved another cd by a more current group that had recently graduated.

Anyways, this cd is excellent from the first listen. even though I hate it I will go for it: if Can made a band Air, had a japanese girl singer at times, and were super mellow and driving. Its a stretch I know, and rather pointless, but go for that idea, maybe. This mini-lp, as its called, is one 35.2 minute track split up into five parts, but never truly stops. Its got great mellow but moving basslines, upbeat up simple drumming, athmospheric singing at times, sweepingly simple accordians, and tactfull guitars. There are also some bells and pianos in there. and some quiet spoken words. The layers pile up at times, but its great. A guitar part that is minmally used in part one is brought to the front more, in part 5, and a little in almost every part actually. besides that, its a fun ride. long delays on the vocals, and lost of echo on everything. this album will fill the entire room. its got that warm feeling to it.


i'd recommend listening to it at night in the car. or on the cpu while working or surfing the inetrnet. but then again, thats how I listen to all of my music, so who knows when you will like it best. I feel as if the album could be twice as long and just as interesting, but thats just me. I love the cover of the album, and that they dont look so serious, and that they are in the woods.

music love from a friend in japan. please enjoy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?wdj30mynemw

Gangsta Gangsta - N.W.A. (1988)

"We don't Just Say No, we too busy saying YEAH." -- Ice Cube

If Ice Cube's not a role model, I don't know who the hell is.

Belle and Sebastian

its summertime here in japan. the rain has for the most part stopped. the humidity is.... well slightly less than its soup-iness of months past. and its time to listen to belle and sebastian again.

i have a love hate relationship with this band. I am sorry to admit that, but i can only listen to this band when i really feel like being a bright sun-shinny individual. other times, i just find the stuart's voice annoying and it silly pop music. i know this is truly telling you more about me than the music, but I cannot describe how good it feels to walk to school, in the warm sun, and to hear this band in my ears. I just randomly started thinking about this band on the way to school. some song of 'the life pursuit' and i hadn't listened to it in about 7 months. and it felt so fresh and new and warm and happy and oh my goodness it felt so good.



me: "i really feel like listening to the life pursuit today"
tori (smirking and with great half serious disdain):" its ALWAYS the life pursuit in my car..."

what else needs to be said. its making me dream of love and beautiful girls. for some reason this music and them are one in the same in my mind. thank you summer. thank you stuart.

Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees (1977)

i know it's all about Michael Jackson right now, but here's a dance song i guarantee you haven't forgotten:



before The Field, before Daft Punk, before Michael Jackson, these guys mastered the art of repetition.

lay down a bass drum, thump it, 1. 2. 3. 4. add some hi-hat to the mix for some extra clicks. next, slurp out an irresistible bassline, sidewinding around the four-on-the-floor kicks. it's getting real dancey. then you hit the synths, caressing the keys, remembering this isn't about dominating the song, just keeping it rolling, keeping it fresh. maybe some strings here and there. finally, lay down the vocal track, smooth, funky, rocking, spiraling, spinning, dizzy, and real cool. nothing wild, just simple, to the point, sweet, and beautiful.

then the genius.

repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat.

anybody who writes a good dance song knows that the key is simplicity and repetition. listen to "Thriller." listen to "One More Time." listen to "Stayin' Alive." ah, you've heard 'em all before...


download or buy

Merriweather Post Pavilion Art

I am in love with color, and lots of it, solely because of Animal collective and their recent album, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

first there is the eye tantalizing cover


then their is their first video for 'My Girls'



and then there is the first single for 'Summertime Clothes'. I could stare at this for hours.



and then there is the video for 'Summertime Clothes' with many dancers, balls of light, excellent textiles, and of course colorful light!





I must admit, that the sounds and colors of this album are so complementing. a full frontal on your ears and eyes. if only I could get to one of their shows these days :(

"New Animals From The Air"-Eluvium

what can I say, inspiration always comes when I am at a computer lab trying to get homework done with my mp3 player on.

The opening track to his album is like the gong they hit at the begining of mediation sessions for me. It takes me in, it sits me down, it makes me close my eyes, it makes me take deep breaths, it makes me relax. Its a slow yet decisive song that is soft on the ears, heavy on the loops and layers, yet is as warm as a blanket for me. I often go to sleep to this song. I often put this song on before I start a paper. I put this song on when I need to relax. I put this song on a lot.

To be honest, it might seem like this song is one long loop, repeated for almost 11 minutes. And I know its pretty close to that. But I think that this song is not about trying to make a catchy loop, a good chorus, or even to be ground breaking. This song for me, is trying to get at your emotions. Its trying to still you, its trying to move you, its trying to change you. Its beckoning you to dive into this beautiful, foggy album. I think the record jacket speaks for itself, and this song.

Now I must admit, that this might be a hard one to grasp during the summer, when the sun is out, and people are showing off their skin. This is the kind of song that I listen to when I need to get something done. This is teh type of song you listen to when, like the record jacket, you are wandering throught he fog. When I need to relax, when I need to work, when I need to sleep. If you find yourself, awake at 3 am, and you need to sleep, try it. Its a lullabye. When you need to work, and you need to focus, this is your adderall.

mp3 download from record label: http://temporaryresidence.com/mp3s/eluvium_newanimals.mp3

Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush (1978)

When Kate Bush was 18 years old, she caught the last 10 minutes of the 1970 film version of Wuthering Heights, and immediately afterwords read the entire book. Then, in a fit of creative passion, wrote this song in just a few hours one night, while watching moonlight stream in through her open bedroom window.

There's something so endearingly girlish about this, that, combined with the infectiously catchy melody and Kate Bush's particularly distinctive high voice, makes this song so delicious.



Apparently, Kate was really adamant about this song being the first single off her first album, The Kick Inside, despite the fact that her record label (who signed her because David Gilmour thought she ruled) wanted to use a different song. She held her ground and, of course, she was right and "Wuthering Heights" was huge.

The way the melody lilts and soars and dips and twirls and the silly bookish drama of the lyrics just... sounds like the way it feels to be a girl caught up in the romantic fancy of a sweeping love story.



I've never read Wuthering Heights, but now I kind of want to.

Animal Collective- Winters Love (live circa 2009)

quick personal animal collective recap: I first started to hear about this band after freshman year of college. It truly was from my friend Mark Quines, contributor to this blog, who had an advance copy of Strawberry Jam (2007). I return to santa cruz at at the first time I see my good friend Josh at his then new house, RIP 504 Palm Street, and he was discussing how his whole house had taken a field trip to see them just a week or two before. Josh was so down, and I was curious cause I just kept hearing about them, yet I had heard noithing. Next week, he slams me a CDR with Sung Tongs, Feels, and Strawberry Jam. Im short, it wasnt love at first listen at all, but i quickly grew attached to Banshee Beat, Leaf House, and Fireworks. Fast forward to my interesting psycaledic trip, and it was the NPR live bootleg that helped calm my soul. I cant tell you how important this band is to listen to on a bootleg. I oftentimes find myself listening not to the albums, but to the bootlegs, so they truly have a special place in my heart.

Live Situation: So i had tickets to see this band in LA, and then one of the guys got sick, so after driving down on a friday, the show was later postoponed, I couldnt make the postponded show, and I requested a refund 3 minutes to late for ticketmaster. In short, I still want to see them live, and the live shows are important, if not crucial I think, to listening to this band. In the past two years, with the band's main guitarist taking a break, the band has been trying to fill in the Gap with whatever they feel like, welcome Merriweather Post Pavillion. So, for old songs, they have been remaking and reinventing them to play live.

Winters Love: This song is originally from Sung Tongs, yet has been recreated, reworked for the 2009 tour. The bootleg I have is from the Bowery Ballrom performance on 2009/01/21. The only similarity between the original and this one is the 10 second smaple they put from the original. It might be in teh same Key, yet it is sung almost entiretly without lyrics, and with Noah just, seemingly, improvising and letting sweet, beautiful noise emit from his mouth. Its slow, its atmospheric, its relaxing, its chill, it was perfect for my walk up to campus in 60% humidity with a bottle of cold green tea. This song fits best within the encorce, following the encorce break after brothersport, and before Comfy in Nautica. I'd recommend listening to the whole bootleg of course, but at least from brothersport to the end. Noah's vocals drift into the opening, calling, voices of Comfy. For me, Its pretty beautiful.



bootleg: http://www.archive.org/details/acollective2009-01-21.nyctaper.Neumann_KM150.16bit