#ours bowery electric

[jimmygneccoofficial]

For all of our friends out there…as we make this announcement we send our love to Los Angeles during this trying time. We pray for your safety and mourn your losses.

Ours will be performing a NYC residency this year and playing exclusively at The Bowery Electric. We will not be doing any other shows in the US until further notice. We love NYC and feel it’s important to share that feeling with you all and hope that you will come in from all over the world to experience these shows in such a personal and intimate setting. We will be keeping tickets at $20 in advance so that they are affordable and in hopes that you join us as many times as possible. We also have so much new music to share that we will be changing the set list each show while keeping a few staples in there for you as well. We look forward to getting back to our roots in this residency style approach as we share our love and appreciation for NYC and invite you to come and feel the magic of one of the most inspiring cities on earth. Let’s keep art, and music strong in the culture of this great city and not forget why it has been so great to begin with. From the Bronx, to Harlem and Broadway, down to the Village and the Lower East Side, and over to Brooklyn, the city that never sleeps should never lose its creative heartbeat. Come and see why NYC is part of our DNA as artists, musicians, and lovers. Make it your destination for inspiration this year and come experience live music. We all need it now and maybe more than ever. We will be announcing our openers for each show soon.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT https://www.ours.net/ourspages/shows/

[sugolara]

𝐋𝐲𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬

Feat. yandere! Izuku Midoriya x fem! reader

A series

cw: yandere themes, violence, suicidal thoughts, blood, gore, manipulation, stalking, kidnapping, quirkless! au, weapons, murder, angst, mental health, slow updates

˗ˏˋ+ ´ˎ˗ “All I‘ve ever asked was to have your heart, but you refused to even let me in. I destroyed myself, I let you destroy me for you. I was there when you had no one else, I took care of you, did everything for you, ruined my life for you. So the least you can do is let me have my way with you. I’ll jump through loops and loops to just be with you, so please, please let me have your heart.

I love you.

I love you, [̴̵̸̶̶̴̸̸̶̸̶̷̵̴̷̵̸̷̵̵̴̧̧̡̡̧̨̧̡̧̨̨̛̛̛̛͓̣̦͓͓͖̝͔̥͍̭͙̤͇̰̦͖̞̩̩̲̟̞̯͍͍̝̩̭̹̦̳̼̩͕̦̱̪̺̼͓̣̻͕̜̲̬̺̯͇̟̪̟͕͎̦͈̭̪̝̩͈̯̭̱̳̤̫̰͍̝̫͇̠̯̜̞͖̫̿̅̔̏͋̎͂̍̓̏͂̔̀̇͛̂̐̏́̔̀̈́͂̒̿̍̃̀͆͋͗̿̐͛́͊̂̂̈́͛̌͊̂̓̈́̀̓̈́͌͌͂̓́̃̎͐̌̃̄͒̽̎̿͗̄̃͊͑̍͗͛͌̒̆̓͂̅͋̂͛͗̔̌̊̈́̀̓̒̎̽͆̏̂̀̉̆͊̀̈́͘̚̚͘͘̕̕̕͘̕͘͜͜͜͜͝͝͝ͅp̸̵̵̸̸̷̷̸̷̵̵̴̴̵̴̴̷̸̢̧̡̧̧̧̛̛̛̦̣̞͈̥̭͎̣͍̟͓͚̲̝̙̪̹͎̳̬̺̟̹̹̥̦͍̬̙͙̩̰͖̙̫̫͔̦̭̩͉͓͎͍̣͓̦̬̞͕̻̺̩̲̭̣̪̘̬͍̹̣͇̬̹̩̩̙͉̪͕̯͔͔͈̙͔̺̑͋̋̌̎͛̓͌̔̋̑͗͂̈́̽̋̊̅͌͑̂̀͗̈́̌͆͒̇̑̽͒̏́́̒̒̽̋̋̌̏͌̈́͗̀͑̂͐̈́͐̂̓̒̿̃̋̇̊͗̈́̎͋͐̎̾̓͗̐̀̒̆̀͋͒̀͆͐̾́͛͆͗́́̿́̓̆́̎̑̽̊̿̀̽̊͊̚̚̚̚̚͘̚͜͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅǝ̴̶̵̶̶̶̶̷̶̵̷̵̷̵̴̨̨̢̧̨̰̜̱̫̞̟̘̣̙̲̞̞̬͙̲̱͓̘̺̬̦̭̘̠͖͕̣̱̠͇̩̭͇̥̤̬̜͕͖̰̜͉̺̠͕̟̳̭̹̯̣̭͈̯̫͚͙̦͇͂̋̄͒́̒́̐̀͐̀̂͒̂̾̂͌̀͛̂͌̒̎͒̏̏͂̉̈́̿̌̏̋̐̅̍̿̄̋̓͒̄̈́́̌̀͒̅̓̅̈́͋̏͂̈́̿̅͌̓̅̑̔̌͐́̀́̐͒̃͑̆͋̔̂̆̕͘̚͜͜͜͜͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅʇ̴̷̴̸̷̦̟͙͙̤̤̬̠̻̹̫̹̳̥͈̫̾͐̿̇̄̈́͋̆̑͌̐̚͘͘̚͜ɔ̴̶̴̸̵̵̴̶̴̵̵̸̷̶̢̨̢̢̙̱̬̘̫̣̺͙̰̙͍̻̞̫͈͓̱̺̺̜̫̭̬̜̣̭̦͕̝͔͉̠̳̣̳̠̤̤̜͕̬̱͍͖̻̘̭̯̭̺̪̰̝͖͇̹̺̦͕̦͖̳̘͕̘͓̻̱̃̎̄͒͆̑̋͆͑͆͂̅̄͒͋̓̀̏̊̀̇́̀̾̿̄̂͒̍̌́͊̈́̑̍̂̏̂̽̊͊̾͒̀̅͆̈́͋͆͛̏̑̒̾̌́̿̀́̈́̍̍̏͆̊̈́͋̀̽̂̏́͆̽̀̏̉͋͘͘̕̚͘̚͜͝͝͝͝ͅͅɐ̸̷̷̵̶̸̷̸̶̶̴̶̸̨̢̡̢̧̛̛̻̹̥̠̠̦̝̰͔̘̬̳̥̞̥̼̜̥̭̺̦̻̱̹̙̤̟̰͉͙̹͕̯͖̫̈́̎̌͒́̈́́̏̀̒̇͊̇̓͗̆̇̋̊̈́́͋͊̌͋̓̾̃͑̐̿̒͆͋̾͆̍͋̊̒̈́͌̓͆̔̎́͂́̂̑̈́̓͆̀͑̇̚͘͘̚̕͜͜͜͝͝͠͠͝p̴̷̶̷̴̷̶̢̢̧̢̢̡̧̛̛͈̼̪̜̰̥̦͇̤̘͍͕̟̻̥̤̭̥͍̝͖̪̪̠͕̞̼͈͗̀̓̓̐̃́͊̌̔̅͊͛̂̍͋̓̀̃̃̀͛̓̓͊̍̄͛̑̉̓̚͘͜͜͝ͅͅͅǝ̵̷̷̴̴̶̷̶̷̢̺̪͈̥̯̥̘̣͈̘̳̼͉̭̻̜͍̤͚̺̳̯̻̫̺̜̱̥͇̎̑̿͗̽͂̆̆̈́̋͋́͋͑͛͋̌͋̾́̓͌̆̐̾͂̂̊̏̽̕̕̚̚̕͜͝͝͝ɹ̴̵̴̵̸̵̷̶̸̴̷̶̶̷̵̷̷̴̵̧̡̨̧̢̧̛̛̛͕̱͍̣͕̦̻̼̯̹͍̙̥̜̰̱̜͚̺̲͚͖̞̜̲̱̪͖͓̯̳͕̪̹͖̩͔͍̹̙͍̭͉͍̙̭̦̭̼̟͎̬̠̫̣͙̜̥̘̣͖͙̱̦̩͎̟̫̦͕̟̞̼͚̝̰̟̥͎̣̼͈͕̦̠͎̲̫̙̍̓̊̈́̐̃̇̀́̅̉̇̿̄͗͊̈́̎̄̅̿́̆̅͂̊̑͐̎̽̉̒̅͆̇͑̒̍̆̐͆͒̍͌̇̌̒̄͛̇͌̀́̆̊̈́͂̀̏̾͋̈́̀̉̍̌̾̊̈́̌͊͌̀̌̆̇̃̃͐͑̃̆͐͆͊̽̎̅͐̾̎͐̐͂͌̆̂̅͗̆͘̚̕͘̚͜͜͜͠͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅ. ”

D̴̦̟͙̹͈̲̻̆̈́̄̏̆͘ͅȍ̴͇̐͂͘͝ ̸͖͕͖̙̻̗͇́̆̓͊̊̀͝n̷̞̼̪̈́ó̴͙͎̼͓͖̘̦̠̱̿͗̐̌͑͠ͅt̵̜͈̰̝̰̳͓̝̗̋̃̉̏̀͒͘̕ ̵̫̻̦̑̋f̵̻̳̼̽͗̀̓̋̀̏̔͠o̷͔̼͠r̴̬̙͙̖͈̖̼͐͘͜͝ğ̵̩͈͔̉̋̆̂͌́͋͠ȩ̷̯̼̗͈͔͓͌̅̿t̷̻͕̭͖̤̫̑̈́̑̅͌̆́ ̷̡̧̣̮͈̋͒͐́̄͊̕̕ḿ̴̡͔̳͈͙̞̈́͂̿̊͜͝e̵͍̬̥͕̻̼͎̊͆̔.̶͖̗̼̬͖̼̼̞͖́̉̃͋̀̽

ON HOLD [till I figure out the plot]

playlist!

✿ Flesh and Bone - Brendan Benson ✿ Treehouse - Alex G ✿ Special Death - Mirah ✿ Empty Words - Bowery Electric ✿ Your face - Wisp ✿ 4:00 A.M - Taeko Onuki ✿ Me and the Devil - Soap&Skin ✿ You're Gonna Miss Me - Connie Francis ✿ Let Go - Ark Patrol ✿ (You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am - Nancy Wilson ✿ The Devil Within - Digital Daggers ✿ (I Don’t Think We Should) Take It Slow - LSD and the Search for God ✿ Beach Walk - Whitewoods ✿ Never Land [A Fragment] - The Sisters Of Mercy ✿ The Killing Moon - Echo And The Bunnymen ✿ Soulvaki Space Station - Slowdive ✿ Sing - Slowdive ✿ Miranda - Slowdive ✿ Melon Yellow - Slowdive ✿ Nausea - Craft Spells ✿ Various Types of Ads - Rory in early 20s ✿ Here She Comes - Slowdive ✿ Crazy For You - Slowdive ✿ A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut - Have A Nice Life ✿ Soundtrack for Your Backseat - sundiver ca ✿ Marigold - Nirvana ✿ Beat - Bowery Electric ✿ Salad Days - Mac DeMarco ✿ Sony - VHS ✿ Full Moon - The Black Ghosts ✿ Floating World - Bowery Electric ✿ Anemone - The Brian Jonestown Massacre ✿ "annihilate the sparrow, that stealer of speed, and our harvest will abound; we will watch our wealth flood in." - Red Sparowes ✿ There Are Some Remedies Worse Than Disease - This Will Destroy You ✿ You Are Here with Me (In This Sequence of Dreams) - Woods of Ypres ✿ A message of avarice rained down and carried us away into false dreams of endless riches. - Red Sparowes ✿ Maniac - John Maus ✿ oh my god - teen suicide ✿ everything is fine - teen suicide ✿ The Equalizer - Clinic ✿ Metal Heart - Cat Power ✿ millions starved and we became skinnier, while our leaders became fatter and fatter. - Red Sparowes ✿ Exquisite Tension - You'll Never Get To Heaven ✿ Audio 002 - Next To Blue ✿ as the light fades - a vow ✿ Tonight You Belong To Me - Patience & Prudence ✿ December Nostalgic - Rasmus H Thomsen ✿ Black Light - Bowery Electric ✿ Alice - Cocteau Twins ✿ Two of Hearts - Stacey Q

table of contents:

Lotus Flower

Yellow Tulip

Belladonna

Single Dahlia

Bells-of-Ireland

A Halloween Special

Begonia

Geranium

Clematis

Hibiscus

A Christmas Special

Holly

Grass

Coriander

Monkshood

A Valentine Special

Ì̶̢̩̬̩̝̱̝̙̺̉̿̋̒͌͝'̶̛̞͕̂̽͐͒̓͋̐̅̚͜l̵̘̙͗̇́̐̎͒̄͘l��̱̣́͊̔̀̽̿̚͜ ̸̧̡̜̯̖̠͉̥̰̖͋́̓͘n̸̪̻̤̙̫͙͂͗ḙ̸̺̥̭̏̽͌̎̈́͝͠v̴̧̙͔̮̙̰̲̄͘ê̷͈̓ŗ̸̛͈̜̟̙͚̤͙͉̯͌̔̑̽͠ ̵̜̰̬̹͊͌͂̌͗͋͠f̴̮͇̦͂̃͌̔͌̎̐̚ȯ̶̡͔r̴͔̼̖͐̅͒̑̕͝ġ̵́͌͑̈́̌̄ͅé̶̘͉̠̭͚͌̋̎̊̀̄̚͝͠ṭ̵̻̅̇͑̈́̆̽͊̇ ̸̫̳͎̗͙̅́̒͐̉̏͒͘y̷̪̝̔͛̓̕͠͠o̵̞̱̻̟̹͝ú̸̧̪̘͓̙̪̖̔͜.̶̮̭͓͍̝̗̍

[tilynation]

The Alcott

Taylor’s feature on The National’s “The Alcott” was released on April 28, 2023.

The Song is About Two Lovers Reconnecting

The Lyrics Were Painted on the Sidewalk in Select Spots in NYC as Part of Promo for the Song

In late May 2023, fans began noticing the lyrics to the song in select spots in NYC. The four known locations are very interesting - outside Taylor’s old Cornelia Street townhouse, Electric Lady Studios (where Taylor has recorded many songs, including several songs on Reputation and Lover), Washington Square Park (a popular park near Cornelia Street), and Katz’s Deli in the East Village.

Are these the places the lovers returned to (metaphorically or physically) trying to relive a moment in time?

Cornelia Street

The Cornelia Street townhouse was a big part of the Tily Autumn of 2016.

Collage credit to @periwinkle-musings

Katz’s Deli

Why Katz’s Deli? It’s one of Lily’s favorite places and only a few blocks from her Avenue B East Village apartment.

“Golden Notebook” and “Golden Thinking”

Matt wrote a vocal and Taylor rewrote the lyrics, according to Aaron Dessner’s interview with Vulture. Matt seemed to imply to Apple Music that he wrote the verses and Taylor wrote the chorus. Either way, both agree Taylor played a big part in the lyrics. Which leads to, who came up with all the “golden” references in the song? It’s certainly interesting considering the “Dress” lyrics, Lily’s wrist tattoo of the word “golden” in Latin, and the golden tattoo both Tily girls wore during the Tily Autumn of 2016 when the “London lover” came into existence.

Coney Island

The other song Taylor did with The National is “Coney Island,” with its references to “Delicate” (where Taylor wore the golden tattoo in the “Making of a Song” video, with its “Dive bar on the East side, where you at?” lyrics (from the same interview Lily mentioned Katz’s Deli above - link), and where Taylor famously spread her legs on the Cadillac Fleetwood in the music video - all Lily connections to me), lyrical reference to the Bowery Hotel (“Were you waiting at our old spot, in the tree line by the gold clock” - also mentioned in Lily’s interview above and where Taylor and Lily were papped leaving in October 2016), and the person who Taylor did not make her centerfold (a model reference).

Credit to @fleur-de-puissance for giving me this tip about The Alcott!

[foxes-that-run]

2020 Haylor Timeline

Timeline Tag, or years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

21 January - Andrea treated for brain tumor and chemo

29 January - Harry shoots the watermelon sugar MV in Malibu. The director later says “The production process was fast! We shot in a location in Malibu. It was a private beach at this amazing house. Harry actually owns a watermelon farm in a secret location that we can’t disclose. So the day before the shoot we went with our whole crew, make-up artists, set decorators, focus pullers you name it! We all rolled up our sleeves, got stuck in and did the biggest harvest anyone in the USA has ever seen!”

31 January - Miss Americana documentary released.

2 February - Harry at Glenne Christiaansen's (Jeff's GF) birthday in Los Angeles. Huge whale cake that gets on his face.

3 February - Harry arrives London

14 February - Harry played Two Ghosts on Radio 2, the only time since 2018, anniversary of Style MV release. He also covered Joni Mitchell Big Yellow Taxi.  Taylor also in London for NME awards, Joe goes with her. She says hello to every one there including Matty Healy. Harry is robbed at knifepoint.

18 February - Harry at Brit awards, went to same after party as Kendall

23 February - Harry's Tiny Desk Concert recorded in LA, the Lover CD Is in the background. Taylor was there in October.

24 February - Taylor and Joe in London for his birthday, arrived under umbrellas carrying a dictionary, Ed laughing.

26 February - Harry on today show in colour block cardigan. Xander watches with Jeff rumour he then visited Xander Ritz in phlli.

28 February - Harry's Sirius XM Secret Session for Fine Line. Harry tells a story about wawa with Xander. Seen with Xander in ny

29 February Roman Farrow said he’s a swiftie and has framed a letter she wrote him after Catch & Kill https://x.com/RonanFarrow/status/1233562581094293504

1 March - Harry SNL after party

2 March - Harry's last pre-pandemic show is at the Bowery Ballroom. Replaces the Beachwood cafe with Bowery ballroom in falling.

5 March - When Howard Stern asked Harry about marriage his response was "People’s relationships are different now, everyone’s open 👀 and people have different things."

6 March - Taylor released the man BTS where she said “this is a family show”

13 March - US Travel ban (except UK), California Shelter in place orders. 17 March UK Travel ban. 16 March Taylor posts asking fans to cancel plans and stay home, shares photo so Meredith

17 March UK travel ban

18 March - Harry driving in La with Xander

25 March - Announced HSLOT rescheduled to 2021

27 March - Harry releases “at home with Harry styles” pandemic playlist with Zane Lowe. ‘This will be our year’ is #13, 27 songs. Includes blue nile, later mentioned on TTPD

March - June Taylor and Harry stuck in LA for 3 months. Harry told Zane Lowe he was in LA, stayed home for 6 weeks then booked and went to Shangri-la studio to record. LNT, Daylight, keep driving and Sushi. (24 Mins)

2 April - Harry seen riding a motorcycle beside Kendall Jenner and Fai Khadra.

5 April Harry seen in la and again

11 April - Harry drives his mercedes convertible in Beverly Hills same as Taylor had in Begin Again

17 April - 2020 Lover Fest tour postponed to 2021, later cancelled. Told Zane Folklore started then. Joe IG photo of Benjamin

18 April - Taylor soon you'll get better

29 April - Joe instagram photos

19 May Taylor releases City of Lover

21 May - Harry rode electric bike LA

25 May - date Too Much Sauce leak recorded. Still in LA

31 May - Taylor records video in Long Pond about home studio. Joe school thing

22 June - rumours Harry messaging Daisy Lowe.

29 June - Harry seen in London

9 July - Harry Styles Sleep story

18 July - Harry back in uk, drove to Italy and back with Tomo Campbell, he talks about this in the Zane interview. Driving moustache photo in HH CD

Over the summer Styles took a road trip with his artist friend Tomo Campbell through France and Italy, setting off at four in the morning and spending the night in Geneva, where they jumped in the lake “to wake ourselves up.” At the end of the trip Styles drove home alone, accompanied by an upbeat playlist that included “Aretha Franklin, Parliament, and a lot of Stevie Wonder. It was really fun for me,” he says. “I don’t travel like that a lot. I’m usually in such a rush, but there was a stillness to it. I love the feeling of nobody knowing where I am, that kind of escape…and freedom.” Harry for Vogue

20 July folklore announced 17 hours before its release. William Bowery is credited for Exile and Betty. Released on 1D's 10 year anniversary. In the Zane interview, Taylor says they continued working on Evermore.

31 July - Harry with a fan in Italy in an outfit in his later post about making Harry’s House. Also driving a tractor in Italy.

13 August - Harry followed Yan Yan on IG and liked some posts

17 August Harry in Studio in Bath. Recorded Daylight, Sushi, Keep Driving and Late night talking in this period.

3 September - Taylor posts about iHeartAwards from home

? September - Long Pond was recorded with Joe as WB and Tis the Damn Season written, Doretha already written.

6 September - Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudekis at beach in Malibu with Nanny and kids. In the 2022 Nanny tell all the Nanny said they were happy then but Olivia told Harry it had been over for a while when it had not been.

11 September, Olivia Wilde met and cast Harry in Don't worry Darling, filming began October.

16 September - Taylor performed Betty in person at ACM awards in Nashville.

18 September Harry in London

22 September - Harry driving car and boat in Italy filming golden

27 September Harry in LA

6 October - Harry dinner with mystery girl

25 October - OW carrying Bode bag later thought about Harry

26 October - DWD starts filming

28 October - Harry signs a record and a fan posts a letter than his car broke down and he fed their fish. Deux moi said it was a cover because his friend with benefits was house sitting. The friend with benefits is thought to be Nicole branch.

5 November - DWD halts production due to COVID on set. In tell all the Nanny said Olivia moved out down the street 'that is how she left us' because of COVID on set which was true. Jason Sudukis also later says to GQ they broke up in November

11 November - Harry films Valiant Roar scene in DWD, which includes Dita Von Teese who later repeats the Scene in the Bejeweled Music Video. Also described in Rolling Stone article with OW and possibly referred to in loml as valiant roar. Date odly specified in DWD BTS, also dinner party scene, OW wears Harry's pink beanie in the BTS during dinner party scene.

12 November Deux Moi posts that a “one direction heartthrob” and “a list singer” used the same private chef

13 November - Harry on cover of Vogue, after this the Peace ring only appeared occasionally

25 November long pond sessions on Disney + Joe announced as William Bowery

26 November Harry returns to la to film DWD, California maybe written here

3 December - DWD filming palm springs. Fan says they served Harry and OW at Apple Pan

11 December evermore released, taylor’s zane lowe interview, at 49:34 she pauses a lot and struggles to talk about Joe being William Bowery.

19 December Harry jingle ball seems flat

30 December - 7 photos of Joe and Taylor thought to be taken 31 December 2016 hack/leak. Only 7 photos?? She is wearing a pink wig while he shaves. OW wearing necklace she later says was a gift from Harry.

Continue to 2021

[icantalk710]

Our future selves are free

Your future self will love me

Had fun seeing Faded Paper Figures at the Bowery Electric with a friend, nice little intimate show 🎶

[bruce-adams]

Bowery Electric past & present

You might be aware that kranky is reissuing the debut album by Bowery Electric as a double LP. The reissue will contain the group's first release, a double 7-inch EP called "Drop." That double 7", released in 1994, caught our attention and motivated mr. kranky to call the group. As I wrote in You're With Stupid, bassist Martha Schwendener was listening to Flying Saucer Attack when the call came in. You can't make this stuff up.

What you might not know is that Lawrence Chandler, who sang, played guitar, and programmed rhythm tracks for Bowery Electric, continues to make music under his own name. The Tuning of the World is his exploration of long duration, recorded with tuned sine wave generators. For anyone conversant with these things, Lawrence describes it as "a 24-­hour, 24-part sustained tone piece in 12-tone equal temperament in all 24 major and minor keys using the circle of fifths to organize the 12 chromatic pitches in a sequence of perfect fifths." For the rest of us, it's a reminder that Lawrence is well-versed in the creation of time expansion and focused attention. Ride those tones.

[billscheft]

RIP Andy Paley, who was one of those people great musicians know, and who I had the great pleasure of meeting and re-meeting 4 times: 1) In the summer of 1982, when he subbed on bass for my brother Tom's band, the Rising Storm, who had suddenly all but one reunited when their 1967 album "Calm Before" became a collector's item (and 23 years later, the inspiration for my second novel, Time Won't Let Me, featuring the fictional-then-real band, The Truants), 2) In the late 1990s, when he appeared on the Letterman show backing up and co-writing/producing for a pretty good earned named Brian Wilson, 3) After the show ended in 2015 and Paul Shaffer gave me his email and we exchanged deep cuts of old bands and older jokes, 4) Outside the Bowery Electric just a few months ago, when he was co-writing songs with Tom "Sponge Bob" Kenney and producing/directing/lead axeing his live band. Our last exchange, in which he glossed over throat cancer, went like this: Me: "Hey, I rented 'Rock and Roll High School' last week. So, I owe you $1.50 (he and his brother did a cover of Richie Valens 'Little Darlin' for the soundtrack).... Andy: "$1.50, split 43 ways...." Ave atque vale.

[sorrymomband]

our concert at the bowery electric (12.4.21)

[path-of-my-childhood]

The Story Behind Every Song on folklore - According to Aaron Dessner

By: Brady Gerber for Vulture Date: July 27th 2020

The National multi-instrumentalist spoke to Vulture over the phone from upstate New York a few hours after the surprise release of Swift’s eighth studio album. (“A pretty wild ride,” he admits, sounding tired yet happy.) He was clear that he can’t speak on behalf of Swift’s lyrics, much like he can’t for The National frontman Matt Berninger’s either, or the thinking behind Jack Antonoff’s songs. (Here’s a cheat sheet: Jack’s songs soar, Aaron’s glide.) But Dessner was game to speak to his specific contributions, influences, and own interpretations of each song on folklore, a record you can sum up by two words that came up often during our conversation: nostalgic and wry.

“the 1″

“the 1” and “hoax,” the first song and the last song, were the last songs we did. The album was sort of finished before that. We thought it was complete, but Taylor then went back into the folder of ideas that I had shared. I think in a way, she didn’t realize she was writing for this album or a future something. She wrote “the 1,” and then she wrote “hoax” a couple of hours later and sent them in the middle of the night. When I woke up in the morning, I wrote her before she woke up in LA and said, “These have to be on the record.” She woke up and said, “I agree” [laughs] These are the bookends, you know?

It’s clear that “the 1” is not written from her perspective. It’s written from another friend’s perspective. There’s an emotional wryness and rawness, while also to this kind of wink in her eyes. There’s a little bit of her sense of humor in there, in addition to this kind of sadness that exists both underneath and on the surface. I enjoy that about her writing.

The song began from the voice memo she sent me, and then I worked on the music some and we tracked her vocals, and then my brother added orchestration. There are a few other little bits, but basically that was one of the very last things we did.

“cardigan“

That’s the first song we wrote [in early May]. After Taylor asked if I would be interested in writing with her remotely and working on songs, I said, “Are you interested in a certain kind of sound?” She said, “I’m just interested in what you do and what you’re up to. Just send anything, literally anything, it could be the weirdest thing you’ve ever done,” so I sent a folder of stuff I had done that I was really excited about recently. “cardigan” was one of those sketches; it was originally called “Maple.” It was basically exactly what it is on the record, except we added orchestration later that my brother wrote.

I sent [the file] at 9 p.m., and around 2 a.m. or something, there was “cardigan,” fully written. That’s when I realized something crazy was happening. She just dialed directly into the heart of the music and wrote an incredible song and fully conceived of it and then kept going. It harkens back to lessons learned, or experiences in your youth, in a really beautiful way and this sense of longing and sadness, but ultimately, it’s cathartic. I thought it was a perfect match for the music, and how her voice feels. It was kind of a guide. It had these lower register parts, and I think we both realized that this was a bit of a lightning rod for a lot of the rest of the record.

The National’s Influence On Swift

She said that she’s a fan of the emotion that’s conveyed in our music. She doesn’t often get to work with music that is so raw and emotional, or melodic and emotional, at the same time. When I sent her the folder, that was one of the main feelings. She said, “What the fuck? How do you just have that?” [laughs] I was humbled and honored because she just said, “It’s a gift, and I want to write to all of this.” She didn’t write to all of it, but a lot of it, and relatively quickly.

She is a fan of the band, and she’s a fan of Big Red Machine. She’s well aware of the sentiment of it and what I do, but she didn’t ask for a certain kind of thing. I know that the film [I Am Easy To Find] has really affected her, and she’s very much in love with that film and the record. Maybe it’s subconsciously been an influence.

“the last great american dynasty”

I wrote that after we’d been working for a while. It was an attempt to write something attractive, more uptempo and kind of pushing. I also was interested in this almost In Rainbows-style latticework of electric guitars. They come in and sort of pull you along, kind of reminiscent of Big Red Machine. It was very much in this sound world that I’ve been playing around with, and she immediately clicked with that. Initially I was imagining these dreamlike distant electric guitars and electronics but with an element of folk. There’s a lot going on in that sense. I sent it before I went on a run, and when I got back from the run, that song was there [laughs].

She told me the story behind it, which sort of recounts the narrative of Rebekah Harkness, whom people actually called Betty. She was married to the heir of Standard Oil fortune, married into the Harkness family, and they bought this house in Rhode Island up on a cliff. It’s kind of the story of this woman and the outrageous parties she threw. She was infamous for not fitting in, entirely, in society; that story, at the end, becomes personal. Eventually, Taylor bought that house. I think that is symptomatic of folklore, this type of narrative song. We didn’t do very much to that either.

“exile” (ft. Bon Iver)

Taylor and William Bowery, the singer-songwriter, wrote that song initially together and sent it to me as a sort of a rough demo where Taylor was singing both the male and female parts. It’s supposed to be a dialogue between two lovers. I interpreted that and built the song, played the piano, and built around that template. We recorded Taylor’s vocals with her singing her parts but also the male parts.

We talked a lot about who she thought would be perfect to sing, and we kept coming back to Justin [Vernon]. Obviously, he’s a dear friend of mine and collaborator. I said, “Well, if he’s inspired by the song, he’ll do it, and if not, he won’t.” I sent it to him and said, “No pressure at all, literally no pressure, but how do you feel about this?” He said, “Wow.” He wrote some parts into it also, and we went back and forth a little bit, but it felt like an incredibly natural and safe collaboration between friends. It didn’t feel like getting a guest star or whatever. It was just like, well, we’re working on something, and obviously he’s crazy talented, but it just felt right. I think they both put so much raw emotion into it. It’s like a surface bubbling. It’s believable, you know? You believe that they’re having this intense dialogue.

With other people I had to be secretive, but with Justin, because he was going to sing, I actually did send him a version of the song with her vocals and told him what I was up to. He was like, “Whoa! Awesome!” But he’s been involved in so many big collaborative things that he wasn’t interested in it from that point of view. It’s more because he loved the song and he thought he could do something with it that would add something.

“my tears ricochet”

This is one of my absolute favorite songs on the record. I think it’s a brilliant composition, and Taylor’s words, the way her voice sounds and how this song feels, are, to me, one of the critical pieces. It’s lodged in my brain. That’s also very important to Taylor and Jack. It’s like a beacon for this record.

“mirrorball”

“mirrorball” is, to me, a hazy sort of beautiful. It almost reminds me of ‘90s-era Cardigans, or something like Mazzy Star. It has this kind of glow and haze. It feels really good before “seven,” which becomes very wistful and nostalgic. There are just such iconic images in the lyrics [“Spinning in my highest heels”], which aren’t coming to me at the moment because my brain is not working [laughs].

How Jack Antonoff’s Folklore Songs Differ From Dessner’s

I think we have different styles, and we weren’t making them together or in the same room. We both could probably come closer together in a sense that weirdly works. It’s like an archipelago, and each song is an island, but it’s all related. Taylor obviously binds it all together. And I think Jack, if he was working with orchestrations, there’s an emotional quality to his songs that’s clearly in the same world as mine.

We actually didn’t have a moodboard for the album at all. I don’t think that way. I don’t really know if she does either. I don’t think Jack... well, Jack might, but when I say the Cardigans or Mazzy Star, those aren’t Jack’s words about “mirrorball,” it’s just what calls to mind for me. Mainly she talked about emotion and to lean into it, the nostalgia and wistfulness, and the kind of raw, meditative emotion that I often kind of inhabit that I think felt very much where her heart was. We didn’t shy away from that.

“seven”

This is the second song we wrote. It’s kind of looking back at childhood and those childhood feelings, recounting memories and memorializing them. It’s this beautiful folk song. It has one of the most important lines on the record: “And just like a folk song, our love will be passed on.” That’s what this album is doing. It’s passing down. It’s memorializing love, childhood, and memories. It’s a folkloric way of processing.

“august”

This is maybe the closest thing to a pop song. It gets loud. It has this shimmering summer haze to it. It’s kind of like coming out of “seven” where you have this image of her in the swing and she’s seven years old, and then in “august” I think it feels like fast-forwarding to now. That’s an interesting contrast. I think it’s just a breezy, sort of intoxicating feeling.

“this is me trying”

“this is me trying,” to me, relates to the entire album. Maybe I’m reading into it too much from my own perspective, but [I think of] the whole album as an exercise and working through these stories, whether personal or old through someone else’s perspective. It’s connecting a lot of things. But I love the feeling in it and the production that Jack did. It has this lazy swagger.

“illicit affairs���

This feels like one of the real folk songs on the record, a sharp-witted narrative folk song. It just shows her versatility and her power as a songwriter, the sharpness of her writing. It’s a great song.

“invisible string”

That was another one where it was music that I’d been playing for a couple of months and sort of humming along to her. It felt like one of the songs that pulls you along. Just playing it on one guitar, it has this emotional locomotion in it, a meditative finger-picking pattern that I really gravitate to. It’s played on this rubber bridge that my friend put on [the guitar] and it deadens the strings so that it sounds old. The core of it sounds like a folk song.

It’s also kind of a sneaky pop song, because of the beat that comes in. She knew that there was something coming because she said, “You know, I love this and I’m hearing something already.” And then she said, “This will change the story,” this beautiful and direct kind of recounting of a relationship in its origin.

“mad woman”

That might be the most scathing song on folklore. It has a darkness that I think is cathartic, sort of witch-hunting and gaslighting and maybe bullying. Sometimes you become the person people try to pin you into a corner to be, which is not really fair. But again, don’t quote me on that [laughs], I just have my own interpretation. It’s one of the biggest releases on the album to me. It has this very sharp tone to it, but sort of in gothic folklore. It’s this record’s goth song.

“epiphany”

For “epiphany,” she did have this idea of a beautiful drone, or a very cinematic sort of widescreen song, where it’s not a lot of accents but more like a sea to bathe in. A stillness, in a sense. I first made this crazy drone which starts the song, and it’s there the whole time. It’s lots of different instruments played and then slowed down and reversed. It created this giant stack of harmony, which is so giant that it was kind of hard to manage, sonically, but it was very beautiful to get lost in. And then I played the piano to it, and it almost felt classical or something, those suspended chords.

I think she just heard it, and instantly, this song came to her, which is really an important one. It’s partially the story of her grandfather, who was a soldier, and partially then a story about a nurse in modern times. I don’t know if this is how she did it, but to me, it’s like a nurse, doctor, or medical professional, where med school doesn’t fully prepare you for seeing someone pass away or just the difficult emotional things that you’ll encounter in your job. In the past, heroes were just soldiers. Now they’re also medical professionals. To me, that’s the underlying mission of the song. There are some things that you see that are hard to talk about. You can’t talk about it. You just bear witness to them. But there’s something else incredibly soothing and comforting about this song. To me, it’s this Icelandic kind of feel, almost classical. My brother did really beautiful orchestration of it.

“betty”

This one Taylor and William wrote, and then both Jack and I worked on it. We all kind of passed it around. This is the one where Taylor wanted a reference. She wanted it to have an early Bob Dylan, sort of a Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan feel. We pushed it a little more towards John Wesley Harding, since it has some drums. It’s this epic narrative folk song where it tells us a long story and connects back to “cardigan.” It starts to connect dots and I think it’s a beautifully written folk song.

Is ‘betty” queer canon? I can’t speak to what it’s about. I have my own ideas. I also know where Taylor’s heart is, and I think that’s great anytime a song takes on greater meaning for anyone.

Is William Bowery secretly Joe Alwyn? I don’t know. We’re close, but she won’t tell me that. I think it’s actually someone else, but it’s good to have some mysteries.

“peace”

I wrote this, and Justin provided the pulse. We trade ideas all the time and he made a folder, and there was a pulse in there that I wrote these basslines to. In the other parts of the composition, I did it to Justin’s pulse. Taylor heard this sketch and she wrote the song. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell, in a way - there’s this really powerful and emotional love song, even the impressionistic, almost jazz-like bridge, and she weaves it perfectly together. This is one of my favorites, for sure. But the truth is that the music, that way of playing with harmonized basslines, is something that probably comes a little bit from me being inspired by how Justin does that sometimes. There’s probably a connection there. We didn’t talk too much about it [laughs].

“hoax”

This is a big departure. I think she said to me, “Don’t try to give it any other space other than what feels natural to you.” If you leave me in a room with a piano, I might play something like this. I take a lot of comfort in this. I think I imagined her playing this and singing it. After writing all these songs, this one felt the most emotional and, in a way, the rawest. It is one of my favorites. There’s sadness, but it’s a kind of hopeful sadness. It’s a recognition that you take on the burden of your partners, your loved ones, and their ups and downs. That’s both “peace” and “hoax” to me. That’s part of how I feel about those songs because I think that’s life. There’s a reality, the gravity or an understanding of the human condition.

Does Taylor Explain Her Lyrics?

She would always talk about it. The narrative is essential, and kind of what it’s all about. We’d always talk about that upfront and saying that would guide me with the music. But again, she is operating at many levels where there are connections between all of these songs, or many of them are interrelated in the characters that reappear. There are threads. I think that sometimes she would point it out entirely, but I would start to see these patterns. It’s cool when you see someone’s mind working.

“the lakes”

That’s a Jack song. It’s a beautiful kind of garden, or like you’re lost in a beautiful garden. There’s a kind of Greek poetry to it. Tragic poetry, I guess.

The Meaning Of Folklore

We didn’t talk about it at first. It was only after writing six or seven songs, basically when I thought my writing was done, when we got on the phone and said, “OK, I think we’re making an album. I have these six other ideas that I love with Jack [Antonoff] that we’ve already done, and I think what we’ve done fits really well with them.” It’s sort of these narratives, these folkloric songs, with characters that interweave and are written from different perspectives. She had a vision, and it was connecting back in some way to the folk tradition, but obviously not entirely sonically. It’s more about the narrative aspect of it.

I think it’s this sort of nostalgia and wistfulness that is in a lot of the songs. A lot of them have this kind of longing for looking back on things that have happened in your life, in your friend’s life, or another loved one’s life, and the kind of storytelling around that. That was clear to her. But then we kept going, and more and more songs happened.

It was a very organic process where [meaning] wasn’t something that we really discussed. It just kind of would happen where she would dive back into the folder and find other things that were inspiring. Or she and William Bowery would write “exile,” and then that happened. There were different stages of the process.

Okay, but is it A24-core? [Laughs.] Good comparison. 

[jasm1ne-1vy]

This is what i listened to for the first two months of 2021. I will start putting them here instead😋



03/01- Goosebumps by Boyscott. So good! it’s chill and sounds nice but still makes me bop my head like crazy. My fav song from this album is Nova Scotia 500.

03/02- Sorry, Mom by Destroy Boys. It’s fun and cool ig. 7/10 girl band

03/03- The Jins by The Jins. 8/10

03/04- Circles by Mac Miller. 8/10

03/05- 4 Your Eyez Only by J. Cole. 10/10 fav song: Ville Mentality.

03/06- Future Teenage Cave Artist by Deerhoof. definitely experimental and groovy.. 7/10

03/07- Blue Suicide by Coma Cinema. nice and chill... 7/10

03/08- Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. lots of noise... it’s definitely something. listen when u want to feel like the only person alive and powerful... 7/10

03/09- By the Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers. awesome 9/10.

03/10- Tungsten by Healy. 10/10 chill and a good vibe. love it.

03/11- Beat by Bowery Electric. ehh. very chill not much lyrics nice beat ig. 5/10

03/12- Brick Body Kids Still Daydream by Open Mike Eagle. Very nice i liked it 8/10

03/13- EP! by JPEGMAFIA. it was okay. 6/10. hip hop eccentric?

03/14- The Bedroom Loop Collection by Sweatcult. 9/10. incredible.

03/15- Aestheticadelica by Bloodbath64 / TV Girl. i love to girl so 8/10

03/16- Blue by Joni Mitchell. 7/10. chill and relaxing. her voice is pleasing.

03/17- Twenty Twenty by Djo. underrated def 9/10. never heard of the artist until today but i’m glad i know now...

03/18- Below the Heavens by Blu and Exile. Nice rap album but it’s good rap. 7/10

03/19- Dummy by Portishead. chill good songs love it. 7/10

03/20- Chemtrails Over The Country Club by Lana Del Ray. nice chill slow songs. fav song is Tulsa Jesus Freak. 7/10

03/21- Pod by The Breeders. nice alt rock. 7/10

03/22- Is This It by The Strokes. 8/10. i like it

03/23- I’m Sure by Harmless. 8/10. nice chill vibes

03/24- Wonderer by Sunbeam Sound Machine. IM OBSESSED. it’s so good omg. 10/10

03/25- High Society by Enon. funky i like it. it’s good and fun to listen to. 8/10

03/26-Bloodsport by Sneaker Pimps. 7/10 fav song is Kiro TV, Small Town Witch. it’s a fun album

03/27- Lazy Ways/Beach Party by Marine Girls. cute songs love them. 9/10 nice and chill too

03/28- Puberty 2 by Mitski. it was calm like most of her music. I liked it. 7/10

03/29- Live through this by Hole. 7/10 niceeeee. love the vibes ofc

03/30- Deep Divine by Pretty Sick. never heard of it but i’m glad i did bc i love it. 8/10

03/31- Hell Can Wait by Vince Staples. 6/10. it was alr not my type kinda repetitive

04/01- Underwater Pipe Dreams by Inner Wave. i love it! 9/10 bangers after bangers. chill vibes.

04/02- Coloring Book by Chance the Rapper. 7/10 it started off good but some of the songs aren’t really my taste. but the first couple songs really had me hype, i enjoyed it.

04/03- Fuck Your Expectations PT. 1 by AG Club. 6/10 it was alr. rap

04/04- My Head is a Moshpit by Verzache. 7/10 i like it it’s different

04/05- Street Desires by Gap Girls. never heard of em but glad i found them. i love this album all songs are good. genre is like Dream pop classic. 8/10

04/06- Invitation to Her’s by Her’s. I love them. this was good nice slow chill songs for the most part. 8/10

04/07- Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones by The Neighborhood. i kinda cheated today since i’ve listened to most of the songs on this album but i still love it so i decided to listen to each song. 9/10 ofc. the nbhd is so good. my fav song is cherry flavoured.

04/08- Deathconsciousness by Have A Nice Life. 7/10. it was good love the vibes.

04/09- Fearless (Taylor’s version) by Taylor Swift. TAYLORBSWIFT. that’s all i have to say. 9/10. even though i’m kinda heartless and could care less abt boys, this album (Taylor in general) makes me feel like a hopeless, lovesick teen girl.

04/10- Blonde Tongues by Blonde Tongues. it was chill low key vibes. nice. 7/10

04/11- Super Trouper by ABBA. 7/10. good, classic ofc.

04/12- noOffense.mp3 by poptropicaslutz! 8/10. it was only 3 songs but i enjoyed them all. it’s hyper pop and i like the genre. reminds me of mgk, lil peep ish, etc

04/13- our little angel by ROLE MODEL. i liked it, upbeat cute songs. a song u can dance around in ur room. 8/10

04/14- Small Car Big Wheels by Enjoy. i love it. funky upbeat songs that make me happy. 8/10. bedroom pop?

04/15- Next Thing by Frankie Cosmos. 6/10. nice songs soft voice, i like the vibes.

04/16- The Family Jewels by MARINA. i love marina she’s a queen. 9/10 so iconic. too much fav songs but i’d have to go w Oh No! because that it the first song i was obsessed with once i heard it on Just dance 2014 or sumn

04/17- BO Y by Deaton Chris Anthony. 4/10. i thought it would’ve been good bc the first couple songs were nice but then i was like wtf... but hey maybe it’s just not my type of music.

04/18- I Can’t Handle Change by Roar. 6/10. it’s ok i guess some of the songs aren’t my type.. it’s still good. nice and short album. fav song Christmas Kids

04/19- Shawcross by Good Morning. average, short album so i didn’t really notice it or find a good ear opening song. 6/10

04/20- Manila Ice by Eyedress. i love it. chill vibes. variety. 8/10.

04/21- You Are Going to Hate This by The Frights. chill 7/10

04/22- 9mm by P.H.F. it’s nice . 7/10. sounds like a lot of other music so not that shocked but it wasn’t bad

04/23- Chase Atlantic by Chase Atlantic. 8/10. hot vibes.

04/24- The Symposium by The Symposium. 9/10. I LOVE THÉ SONGS SO CUTE AND CALM

04/25- Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa. ok Dula peep🤩. fav song is levitating w dababy duh that’s the only reason i listened to the whole album. 8/10.

04/26- Be the Cowboy by Mitski. it was nice 7/10

04/27- Blank Blank by Dababy. 7/10. some bops

04/28- Party Favors by Sir Chloe. i wasnt really feeling it 5/10 but maybe it was bc i wanted to listen to hype songs

04/29- Light & Magic by Ladytron. 6/10z futuristic vibes. fav song seventeen. i like the vibe.

04/30- Starboy by the Weeknd. 7/10. oldie but goodie

05/01- Let’s Skip to the Wedding by Eyedress. 9/10. i love it. good chill songs.

05/02- 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole. 8/10. Good vibes. deep

05/03- Honeyweed by Summer Salt. 8/10. cute songs i enjoyed them

05/04- 40oz. To Freedom by Sublime. 8/10. love the groovy vibes

05/05- Virtue by The Voidz. 7/10. good i like it

05/06- In Rainbows by Radiohead. wow. that was incredible 10/10

05/07- Pablo Honey by Radiohead. jesus christ.. 9/10 i’m obsessed.

05/08- The Bends by Radiohead. 8/10. i lovebthem

05/09- Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple. 7/10

05/10- Jack Johnson and Friends: Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George by Jack Johnson. 7/10. cute wholesome songs. my childhood.

05/11- Apollo XXI by Steve Lacy. 9/10 ofc. i’ve heard the album before so i’m kinda cheating but it’s too good not to rate.

05/12- Case Study 01 by Daniel Caesar. 9/10. incredible

05/13- Songs about Jane by Maroon 5. 10/10 love it! obsessed even if it’s from a while ago

05/14- The Off-Season by J. Cole. 7/10. it’s eh good.

05/15- skipped i was busy

05/16- Suburban Light by The Clientele. 9/10. pretty good glad i chose it.

05/17- Return of Saturn by No Doubt. it’s good i enjoyed it. 8/10

05/18- Jinx by Crumb. 10/10 i love this mysterious vibe wow it’s good. slow chill songs

[taylorswifthongkong]

Aaron Dessner confirms: folklore is Taylor Swift’s goth record. Or, at least, it’s her most gothic record. It’s also a few other things, depending on your mood: an unofficial Big Red MachineDessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon started Big Red Machine in 2008 as a loose musical collaboration. They released their official self-titled debut LP in 2018, and this year released “No Time For Love Like Now” with Michael Stipe. collaboration (Big RED Machine); a spiritual companion to The National’s 2019 album I Am Easy To Find, specifically its accompanying Mike Mills film, also shot in black-and-white and emphasizing a more natural setting; or just Swift’s attempt at a headphone record, one that, even if you don’t buy into the Taylor Swift mythology, rewards multiple listens as you pick up on all the intricacies of each song and realize wow, this is where the In Rainbows influence comes in. Dessner is the one to thank for all these little details.

The National multi-instrumentalist spoke to Vulture over the phone from upstate New York a few hours after the surprise release of Swift’s eighth studio album. (“A pretty wild ride,” he admits, sounding tired yet happy.) He was clear that he can’t speak on behalf of Swift’s lyrics, much like he can’t for The National frontman Matt Berninger’s either, or the thinking behind Jack Antonoff’s songs. (Here’s a cheat sheet: Jack’s songs soar, Aaron’s glide.) But Dessner was game to speak to his specific contributions, influences, and own interpretations of each song on folklore, a record you can sum up by two words that came up often during our conversation: nostalgic and wry.

“the 1″

“the 1” and “hoax,” the first song and the last song, were the last songs we did. The album was sort of finished before that. We thought it was complete, but Taylor then went back into the folder of ideasMany of Dessner’s songs started from him sending files of sketches from a folder of ideas to Swift, who then replied with updated files of her ideas and additions. Swift also would start some songs by sending voice memos to Dessner, who would then flesh them out or write music to it. Dessner would also send files to his brother, Bryce, and other collaborators to flesh out the music; he sums up the process as “sending files around.” that I had shared. I think in a way, she didn’t realize she was writing for this album or a future something. She wrote “the 1,” and then she wrote “hoax” a couple of hours later and sent them in the middle of the night. When I woke up in the morning, I wrote her before she woke up in LA and said, “These have to be on the record.” She woke up and said, “I agree” [laughs] These are the bookends, you know?

It’s clear that “the 1” is not written from her perspective. It’s written from another friend’s perspective. There’s an emotional wryness and rawness, while also to this kind of wink in her eyes. There’s a little bit of her sense of humor in there, in addition to this kind of sadness that exists both underneath and on the surface. I enjoy that about her writing.

The song [began from] the voice memo she sent me, and then I worked on the music some and we tracked her vocals, and then my brotherOn bringing in fellow The National member, Bryce Dessner: “My brother lives in France and that’s where he and his family were in lockdown. I would send songs to Bryce for him to add orchestration, and then he would send them back. He would compose to them and then I would have people record them over here remotely.” added orchestration. There are a few other little bits, but basically that was one of the very last things we did.

THE MEANING OF FOLKLORE

We didn’t talk about it at first. It was only after writing six or seven songs, basically when I thought my writing was done, when we got on the phone and said, “OK, I think we’re making an album. I have these six other ideas that I love with Jack [Antonoff] that we’ve already done, and I think what we’ve done fits really well with them.” It’s sort of these narratives, these folkloric songs, with characters that interweave and are written from different perspectives. She had a vision, and it was connecting back in some way to the folk tradition, but obviously not entirely sonically. It’s more about the narrative aspect of it.

I think it’s this sort of nostalgia and wistfulness that is in a lot of the songs. A lot of them have this kind of longing for looking back on things that have happened in your life, in your friend’s life, or another loved one’s life, and the kind of storytelling around that. That was clear to her. But then we kept going, and more and more songs happened.

It was a very organic process where [meaning] wasn’t something that we really discussed. It just kind of would happen where she would dive back into the folder and find other things that were inspiring. Or she and William BoweryDessner explains of the one unknown name who pops up in the folklore credits: “William Bowery is who she wrote ‘exile’ with, and ‘betty.’ He’s a singer-songwriter.” would write “exile,” and then that happened. There were different stages of the process.

Okay, but is it A24-core? [Laughs.] Good comparison.

“cardigan’”

That’s the first song we wrote [in early May]. After Taylor asked if I would be interested in writing with her remotelyOn folklore being recorded somewhat on-the-fly: “I prefer records when they have an element where the paint is still wet. We’re allowing some paint to be human and raw, so [collaborations were] not hired out too much. That was important to me, and that was important to her, too. That is definitely different from her past records.” and working on songs, I said, “Are you interested in a certain kind of sound?” She said, “I’m just interested in what you do and what you’re up to. Just send anything, literally anything, it could be the weirdest thing you’ve ever done,” so I sent a folder of stuff I had done that I was really excited about recently. “cardigan” was one of those sketches; it was originally called “Maple.” It was basically exactly what it is on the record, except we added orchestration later that my brother wrote.

I sent [the file] at 9 p.m., and around 2 a.m. or something, there was “cardigan,” fully written. That’s when I realized something crazy was happening. She just dialed directly into the heart of the music and wrote an incredible song and fully conceived of it and then kept going. It harkens back to lessons learned, or experiences in your youth, in a really beautiful way and this sense of longing and sadness, but ultimately, it’s cathartic. I thought it was a perfect match for the music, and how her voice feels. It was kind of a guide. It had these lower register parts, and I think we both realized that this was a bit of a lightning rod for a lot of the rest of the record.

THE NATIONAL’S INFLUENCE ON SWIFT:

She said that she’s a fan of the emotion that’s conveyed in our music. She doesn’t often get to work with music that is so raw and emotional, or melodic and emotional, at the same time. When I sent her the folder, that was one of the main feelings. She said, “What the fuck? How do you just have that?” [laughs] I was humbled and honored because she just said, “It’s a gift, and I want to write to all of this.” She didn’t write to all of it, but a lot of it, and relatively quickly.

She is a fan of the band, and she’s a fan of Big Red Machine. She’s well aware of the sentiment of it and what I do, but she didn’t ask for a certain kind of thing. I know that the film [I Am Easy To Find] has really affected her, and she’s very much in love with that film and the record. Maybe it’s subconsciously been an influence.

“the last great american dynasty”

I wrote that after we’d been working for a while. It was an attempt to write something attractive, more uptempo and kind of pushing. I also was interested in this almost In Rainbows-style latticework of electric guitars. They come in and sort of pull you along, kind of reminiscent of Big Red Machine. It was very much in this sound world that I’ve been playing around with, and she immediately clicked with that. Initially I was imagining these dreamlike distant electric guitars and electronics but with an element of folk. There’s a lot going on in that sense. I sent it before I went on a run, and when I got back from the run, that song was thereJust how fast of a songwriter is Taylor? Dessner marvels, “It’s almost like a song would come out like a lightning bolt. It’s exhilarating. The shared focus, the clarity of her ideas, and the way she structures things, it’s all there. But I think she works really hard when she’s working, and then she tweaks. She keeps going, so sometimes things would evolve or change. By the time she actually sings it, she’s really inside of it. She doesn’t do very many vocal takes before she nails it.” [laughs].

She told me the story behind it, which sort of recounts the narrative of Rebekah Harkness, whom people actually called Betty. She was married to the heir of Standard Oil fortune, married into the Harkness family, and they bought this house in Rhode Island up on a cliff. It’s kind of the story of this woman and the outrageous parties she threw. She was infamous for not fitting in, entirely, in society; that story, at the end, becomes personal. Eventually, Taylor bought that house. I think that is symptomatic of folklore, this type of narrative song. We didn’t do very much to that either.

“exile” (ft. Bon Iver)

Taylor and William Bowery, the singer-songwriter, wrote that song initially together and sent it to me as a sort of a rough demo where Taylor was singing both the male and female parts. It’s supposed to be a dialogue between two lovers. I interpreted that and built the song, played the piano, and built around that template. We recorded Taylor’s vocals with her singing her parts but also the male parts.

We talked a lot about who she thought would be perfect to sing, and we kept coming back to Justin [Vernon]. Obviously, he’s a dear friend of mine and collaboratorSo, is folklore secretly a new Big Red Machine album? Dessner coyly offers, “I mean, you might not be far off the truth there, but I think I won’t say more.”. I said, “Well, if he’s inspired by the song, he’ll do it, and if not, he won’t.” I sent it to him and said, “No pressure at all, literally no pressure, but how do you feel about this?” He said, “Wow.” He wrote some parts into it also, and we went back and forth a little bit, but it felt like an incredibly natural and safe collaboration between friends. It didn’t feel like getting a guest star or whatever. It was just like, well, we’re working on something, and obviously he’s crazy talented, but it just felt right. I think they both put so much raw emotion into it. It’s like a surface bubbling. It’s believable, you know? You believe that they’re having this intense dialogue.

With other people I had to be secretive, but with Justin, because he was going to sing, I actually did send him a version of the song with her vocals and told him what I was up to. He was like, “Whoa! Awesome!” But he’s been involved in so many big collaborative things that he wasn’t interested in it from that point of view. It’s more because he loved the song and he thought he could do something with it that would add something.

“my tears ricochet”

This is one of my absolute favorite songs on the record. I think it’s a brilliant composition, and Taylor’s words, the way her voice sounds and how this song feels, are, to me, one of the critical pieces. It’s lodged in my brain. That’s also very important to Taylor and Jack. It’s like a beacon for this record.

“mirrorball”

“mirrorball” is, to me, a hazy sort of beautiful. It almost reminds me of ‘90s-era Cardigans, or something like Mazzy Star. It has this kind of glow and haze. It feels really good before “seven,” which becomes very wistful and nostalgic. There are just such iconic images in the lyrics [“Spinning in my highest heels”], which aren’t coming to me at the moment because my brain is not working [laughs].

HOW JACK ANTONOFF’S FOLKORE SONGS DIFFER FROM DESSNER’S

I think we have different styles, and we weren’t making them together or in the same room. We both could probably come closer together in a sense that weirdly works. It’s like an archipelago, and each song is an island, but it’s all related. Taylor obviously binds it all together. And I think Jack, if he was working with orchestrations, there’s an emotional quality to his songs that’s clearly in the same world as mine.

We actually didn’t have a moodboard for the album at all. I don’t think that way. I don’t really know if she does either. I don’t think Jack … well, Jack might, but when I say the Cardigans or Mazzy Star, those aren’t Jack’s words about “mirrorball,” it’s just what calls to mind for me. Mainly she talked about emotion and to lean into it, the nostalgia and wistfulness, and the kind of raw, meditative emotion that I often kind of inhabit that I think felt very much where her heart was. We didn’t shy away from that.

“seven”

This is the second song we wrote. It’s kind of looking back at childhood and those childhood feelings, recounting memories and memorializing them. It’s this beautiful folk song. It has one of the most important lines on the record: “And just like a folk song, our love will be passed on.” That’s what this album is doing. It’s passing down. It’s memorializing love, childhood, and memories. It’s a folkloric way of processing.

“august”

This is maybe the closest thing to a pop song. It gets loud. It has this shimmering summer haze to it. It’s kind of like coming out of “seven” where you have this image of her in the swing and she’s seven years old, and then in “august” I think it feels like fast-forwarding to now. That’s an interesting contrast. I think it’s just a breezy, sort of intoxicating feeling.

“this is me trying”

“this is me trying,” to me, relates to the entire album. Maybe I’m reading into it too much from my own perspective, but [I think of] the whole album as an exercise and working through these stories, whether personal or old through someone else’s perspective. It’s connecting a lot of things. But I love the feeling in it and the production that Jack did. It has this lazy swagger.

“illicit affairs”

This feels like one of the real folk songs on the record, a sharp-witted narrative folk song. It just shows her versatility and her power as a songwriter, the sharpness of her writing. It’s a great song.

“invisible string”

That was another one where it was music that I’d been playing for a couple of months and sort of humming along to her. It felt like one of the songs that pulls you along. Just playing it on one guitar, it has this emotional locomotion in it, a meditative finger-picking pattern that I really gravitate to. It’s played on this rubber bridge that my friend put on [the guitar] and it deadens the strings so that it sounds old. The core of it sounds like a folk song.

It’s also kind of a sneaky pop song, because of the beat that comes in. She knew that there was something coming because she said, “You know, I love this and I’m hearing something already.” And then she said, “This will change the story,” this beautiful and direct kind of recounting of a relationship in its origin.

“mad woman”

That might be the most scathing song on folklore. It has a darkness that I think is cathartic, sort of witch-hunting and gaslighting and maybe bullying. Sometimes you become the person people try to pin you into a corner to be, which is not really fair. But again, don’t quote me on that [laughs], I just have my own interpretation. It’s one of the biggest releases on the album to me. It has this very sharp tone to it, but sort of in gothic folklore. It’s this record’s goth song.

“epiphany”

For “epiphany,” she did have this idea of a beautiful drone, or a very cinematic sort of widescreen song, where it’s not a lot of accents but more like a sea to bathe in. A stillness, in a sense. I first made this crazy drone which starts the song, and it’s there the whole time. It’s lots of different instruments played and then slowed down and reversed. It created this giant stack of harmony, which is so giant that it was kind of hard to manage, sonically, but it was very beautiful to get lost in. And then I played the piano to it, and it almost felt classical or something, those suspended chords.

I think she just heard it, and instantly, this song came to her, which is really an important one. It’s partially the story of her grandfather, who was a soldier, and partially then a story about a nurse in modern times. I don’t know if this is how she did it, but to me, it’s like a nurse, doctor, or medical professional, where med school doesn’t fully prepare you for seeing someone pass away or just the difficult emotional things that you’ll encounter in your job. In the past, heroes were just soldiers. Now they’re also medical professionals. To me, that’s the underlying mission of the song. There are some things that you see that are hard to talk about. You can’t talk about it. You just bear witness to them. But there’s something else incredibly soothing and comforting about this song. To me, it’s this Icelandic kind of feel, almost classical. My brother did really beautiful orchestration of it.

“betty”

This one Taylor and William wrote, and then both Jack and I worked on it. We all kind of passed it around. This is the one where Taylor wanted a reference. She wanted it to have an early Bob Dylan, sort of a Freewheelin’ Bob DylanBob Dylan’s second LP, released in 1963, features some of his most stripped-down acoustic folk songs, with plenty of harmonica. To this day, its lyrics still cause debate. The album’s famous cover, shot in New York on Jones St., is one block away from Cornelia Street. feel. We pushed it a little more towards John Wesley Harding, since it has some drums. It’s this epic narrative folk song where it tells us a long story and connects back to “cardigan.” It starts to connect dots and I think it’s a beautifully written folk song.

Is ‘betty” queer canon?

I can’t speak to what it’s about. I have my own ideas. I also know where Taylor’s heart is, and I think that’s great anytime a song takes on greater meaning for anyone.

Is William Bowery secretly Joe Alwyn?

I don’t know. We’re close, but she won’t tell me that. I think it’s actually someone else, but it’s good to have some mysteries.

“peace”

I wrote this, and Justin provided the pulse. We trade ideas all the time and he made a folder, and there was a pulse in there that I wrote these basslines to. In the other parts of the composition, I did it to Justin’s pulse. Taylor heard this sketch and she wrote the song. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell, in a way — there’s this really powerful and emotional love song, even the impressionistic, almost jazz-like bridge, and she weaves it perfectly together. This is one of my favorites, for sure. But the truth is that the music, that way of playing with harmonized basslines, is something that probably comes a little bit from me being inspired by how Justin does that sometimes. There’s probably a connection there. We didn’t talk too much about it [laughs].

“hoax”

This is a big departure. I think she said to me, “Don’t try to give it any other space other than what feels natural to you.” If you leave me in a room with a piano, I might play something like this. I take a lot of comfort in this. I think I imagined her playing this and singing it. After writing all these songs, this one felt the most emotional and, in a way, the rawest. It is one of my favorites. There’s sadness, but it’s a kind of hopeful sadness. It’s a recognition that you take on the burden of your partners, your loved ones, and their ups and downs. That’s both “peace” and “hoax” to me. That’s part of how I feel about those songs because I think that’s life. There’s a reality, the gravity or an understanding of the human condition.

DOES TAYLOR EXPLAIN HER LYRICS?

She would always talk about it. The narrative is essential, and kind of what it’s all about. We’d always talk about that upfront and saying that would guide me with the music. But again, she is operating at many levels where there are connections between all of these songs, or many of them are interrelated in the characters that reappear. There are threads. I think that sometimes she would point it out entirely, but I would start to see these patterns. It’s cool when you see someone’s mind working.

“the lakes”

That’s a Jack song. It’s a beautiful kind of garden, or like you’re lost in a beautiful garden. There’s a kind of Greek poetry to it. Tragic poetry, I guess.

source

[reaganyouth]

EAST COAST TOUR with our friends @fatchance_nj 9/23 - Bowery Electric - NYC* 9/24 - Sammy's Patio - Revere MA* 9/25 - Chamber 43 - New Brunswick NJ* 9/26 - Norfolk Taphouse - Norfolk VA* 9/28 - Wonderland - Richmond VA* 9/29 - The Stoop - Columbus OH 9/30 - The Foundry - Lakewood OH 10/1 - PJ's Lager House - Detroit MI 10/2 - The Blind Pig - Ann Arbor MI 10/3 - Beat Kitchen - Chicago IL * w/ Fat Chance Tix on sale NOW (!n b!0) (at Manhattan, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTmNL8priu8/?utm_medium=tumblr

[lawitch]

Our cover of ‘Garbageman’ by The Cramps for Bowery Electric’s Halloween show is up now. 🐆🖤🗑

WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/UhWCj6ZGcnw

[erikbradley]

Venues

58 Coles 88 Palace

Amnesia Rockfest Music Festival

Baby’s All Right Bell House Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn Steel Bowery Ballroom Brewery Ommegang Cake Shop Cameo Gallery Corcho Wine Room Crocodile Rock Electric Factory Festival Pier Fillmore Forest Hills Stadium Funhouse Good Units Governors Ball Music Festival Groove on Grove Hammerstein Ballroom Harrah’s Resort House of Blues House of Vans Irving Plaza Lamp Post Le Poisson Rouge Maxwells Mercury Lounge Music Hall of Williamsburg Nassau Coliseum The National Observatory Osheaga Music Festival Our Wicked Lady Palisades Pearl Studio Penn State University Pier 1 Pier 40 Playstation Theater Pop14 Event Space Private Event Riot Fest Toronto Roseland Ballroom Rough Trade Rutgers University Santos Party House Seed Gallery Sinclair Starland Ballroom Stone Pony Summerstage Terminal 5 Tower Theater Troubadour Union Transfer Upstate Concert Hall Webster Hall Vans Warped Tour

[jgthirlwell]

2019 year in review

This year I also invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2019

JG Thirlwell

Composer Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer

www.foetus.org

30 Albums of 2019 (although not all of them came out in 2019) Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble Where Future Unfolds (International Anthem) Le Grand Sbam Vaisseau Monde (Dur et Doux Caravaggio Caravaggio 2 & Turn Up (La Buissonne) Swans Leaving Meaning (Young God Records) 13 Million Year Old Ghost (Chaykin) Ben Frost Dark Cycles 1 & 2 (Invada) Sote Parallel Persia / Sacred Horror In Design (Diagonal) 33EMYBW Arthropods (SVBKVLT) Anna Meredith Fibs (Moshi Moshi) Kelly Moran Ultraviolet (Warp) Thom Yorke Anima  (XL) Hildur Guðnadóttir Joker Soundtrack (Water Tower Music) Lingua Ignota Caligula (Profound Lore) Igorr Savage Synusoid (Metal Blade) Oli XL  Rogue intruder Soul Enhancer (Blo-onm) Red Fang Murder The Mountains (Relapse) Michael Kiwanuka Kiwanuka (Polydor) Richard Dawson 2020 (Weird World) Idiot Flesh Fancy / The Nothing Show / Tales Of Instant Knowledge and Sure Death (YouTube) Ikarus Echo / Mosaiasmic (Ronin Rhythm Records) Poil Sus / Mula Poil (Dur et Doux) Orange Goblin A Eulogy For The Damned (Candlelight) Nivhek After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house (Yellow Electric) Ni Pantophobie (Due et Doux) Andrew WK You’re Not Alone (Sony) Rustin Man Drift Code (Domino) Kishi Bashi Omoiyari (Joful Noise) Liturgy HAQQ (YLYLCYN) Croatian Amor Isa (Posh Isolation) Schnellertollermeier Rights / X /  Zorn einen ehmer üttert stem!! (Cuneiform) Scandinavian Star Solas (Posh Isolation) Synth Sisters Euphoria (EM records) JPEGMAFIA Veteran + All My Heroes Are Cornballs (EQT)

Notable Concerts I went to dozens of concerts and events in 2019. Here are some of the most notable. All in NYC except where noted.

Jan 8  Matt Marks Tribute at  Protoype Festival. Roulette Jan 19  Lemon Twigs MHOW Jan 26  Julia Wolfe /  NY Philharmonic Fire In My Mouth Lincoln Center Feb 16  Lucretia Dalt Issue Project Room Feb 23  Willliam Basinski  Ambient Church Mar 13  Lou Reed Drones St John The Divine Mar 18  This Heat LPR + July 31 at Elsewhere Mar 20  Oran Ambarchi  Fridman Gallery Mar 28  Fire! at Zurcher April 11  Aphex Twin Avant Gardner May 4  Zombi El Cortez May 11  Lawrence English Knockdown Center May 13  The Who + Orchestra Madison Square Garedn May 15  Alva Noto Metropolitan Museum June 11  Andrew Cyrille Marathon Roulette June 13  Christeene / Nastie Band Brooklyn Bazaar June 26  Simon Hanes National Sawdust July 27  Nick Zinner 41 Strings Rockefeller Center July 30  Flaming Lips / Lennon Claypool Delirium Capitol Theater Portchester Aug 2-4  Bang On  A Can LOUD Festival Mass MOCA Notth Adams Aug 27  Pharmakon St Vitus Sep 5  JD Emmanuel Issue / First Unitarian Church Sep 18  Lingua Ignota St Vitus Set 21  King Crimson  Radio City Oct 10  Melvins Warsaw Oct 19  Helm Cafe Oto Nov 1  Marc Almond Brooklyn Bazaar Nov 6  JPEGMAFIA Bowery Ballroom Nov 23  Caterina Barbieri Unsound Fest, Knockdown Center Nov 30  Knower Bowery Ballroom

Film & TV These films were flawed but resonated with me.

Chernobyl Ozark Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Joker Midsommar The Irishman Uncut Gems

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Matt Johnson

The The https://www.thethe.com/

Looking back on 2019 I decided to list a handful of political / alternative news websites rather than films, albums or books. In the UK the corporate media stooped to shocking new lows during our recent General Election campaign. Such dirty tactics are to be expected of conglomerates owned by the likes of Rupert Murdoch and his fellow right wing billionaires but this time around, previously ‘liberal’ outlets such as the BBC and Guardian also fully participated in the outrageous lies, smears and character assassination against the leader of the opposition Labour Party. The British population were now being forced fed the Establishment’s propaganda du jour from every possible direction. Personally I try to gather my information from as many alternative outlets as possible to contrast with the 24 hour corporate brainwashing we’re subjected to these days. I’ve listed just five sites from the dozens I regularly visit and although I certainly don’t agree with everything expressed on these sites I do feel that it essential that in supposed free and democratic societies we are at least exposed to a variety of viewpoints and opinions - rather than being trapped inside social media echo chambers in an Internet that is increasingly controlled and censored by sophisticated algorithms and where politically correct digital lynch mobs accuse anyone with an opinion that contradicts the official narrative of being a Russian agent! Anyway, a Happy New Year to you all and here’s hoping 2020 sets the new decade off in roaring style!

https://www.medialens.org/

https://www.truthdig.com/author/chris_hedges/

https://www.corbettreport.com/

https://thesaker.is/

https://thoughtmaybe.com/about/

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Tristan Perich

Composer www.tristanperich.com

Here is a rather random selection of 10 of my favorite tracks of 2019, mostly courtesy Spotify recommendations over the year...

Full playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6OUSFLqLsAwhRQRF44yxWN?si=r33XRUuGR_iIOZHg4thuyA

Lechuga Zafiro: Para Abajo feat Matmos & Seba TC https://open.spotify.com/track/2xMnSTIBNZ8AT6w6TdZyU9

Kelpe: A Year and a Day https://open.spotify.com/track/4ANoLzEjtGOBl5qCvEiLov

Shida Shahabi: All In Circles https://open.spotify.com/track/5qMnq88JPMJQ81x5szpN3t

The Vernon Spring: Strength of a Young Man https://open.spotify.com/track/0zQUqR1UcXoPRSrTt0WuPs

Dessert: Thunderbird https://open.spotify.com/track/5rAguSvXxyo5zBq9a5RQWd

Yves V w/ Icona Pop: We Got That Cool (Robert Falcon & Jordan Jay Remix) https://open.spotify.com/track/1lEtudJvZNiibWzXc5m4mh

Selena Gomez: Look At Her Now https://open.spotify.com/track/4yI3HpbSFSgFZtJP2kDe5m

Masahiro Sugaya: Umi No Sunatsubu https://open.spotify.com/track/43egCanD1UNNvoCo2K4veC

Konradsen: Baby Hallelujah https://open.spotify.com/track/6TBnYhxTzSiiVmMBjpZ3gH

Slow Magic: Girls (DJ Clap Remix) https://open.spotify.com/track/31Sdj7aF1h4emCJtkxdy1A

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James Ilgenfritz

Composer https://infrequentseams.com/

James Ilgenfritz's favorite witnessed events, by month:

Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future (January, Guggenheim) Anaïs Maviel: who is this ritual for and from? (February, Roulette) Roscoe MItchell, SPACE, Wavefield Ensemble (March, Park Avenue Armory) Blank Forms: Nadah El Shazly (April, Brooklyn Music School) Barre Phillips Solo (May, Zurcher Gallery) Heiner Goebbels: Everything That Happened And Would Happen (June, Park Avenue Armory) Zodiac Saxophone Quartet: Charles Waters, Ras Moshe Burnett, Claire Daly, Lee Odom (July, Scholes St) Tie: Judith Berkson: Partial Memories & Juho Laitinen: Robert Ashley's The Wolfman (August, Ostrava Days, Czech Republic) Zeena Parkins / William Winant / Ikue Mori (September, The Stone) Vinnie Golia / Bobby Bradford Quartet (October, Edgefest in Ann Arbor) LA Philharmonic: Wubbels, Macklay, Sabat, Smith, Perich (Los Angeles, November) Art Ensemble Of Chicago (December, Washington, DC)

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Carl Michael Von Hausswolff

Artist / Composer

https://cmvonhausswolff.net/

10 special artists of 2019 in no specific order: • Hildur Guðnadóttir - her film music • sunn o))) - their Life Metal and Pyroclasts albums • Ilpo Väisänen - his concert in Stockholm • Cindy van Acker - her choreographic work • Jónsi & Alex - their old Riceboy Sleeps album and 2019 tour • Swans - their leaving meaning album • Flowers Must Die - their Där Blommor Dör album • Bigert & Bergström - their climate awareness art • Vanessa Sinclair & Carl Abrahamsson - all their work during 2019 • Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Tim Story - their Lunz 3 album

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Ryan Martin

Label Boss, Dais Records

www.daisrecords.com

Richard Youngs & Raül Refree "All Hands Around the Monument" Sarah Davachi "Pale Bloom" James Hoff "HOBO UFO (v. Chernobyl)" Wojciech Rusin ‎"The Funnel" Caterina Barbieri "Ecstatic Computation" Solange "When I Get Home" Kali Malone "The Sacrificial Code" Deathprod "Occulting Disk" Vatican Shadow "Kuwaiti Airforce" Ben Vida "Reducing The Tempo To Zero" JPEGMAFIA "All My Heroes Are Cornballs" Dean Hurley "Anthology Resource Vol. II: Philosophy of Beyond" Sean McCann "Puck" Oren Ambarchi "Simian Angel" Tyler, The Creator "IGOR" Helm "Chemical Flowers" JAB "Erg Herbe" Emptyset "Blossoms" E-Saggila "My World, My Way" Jacob Kirkegaard "Black Metal Square" Boy Harsher "Careful"

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Weasel Walter

Composer/performer / label head https://weaselwalter.bandcamp.com/

2019 was far from my favorite year. Regardless, I managed to release not one, but two new double albums by The Flying Luttenbachers (as well as two European tours with the unit) in addition to the usual slew of improvised music gigs and releases, and co-ordinating and producing an archival release of vintage NYC weirdness (Ozone). I also rocked Mexico City with Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, played a ridiculous gig with Encenathrakh, and disbanded Cellular Chaos (for now, at least).

When I become obsessed (or re-obsessed with something), it usually leads to a ton of proselytizing Facebook status posts. Combing my 2019 posts, it seems that my musical obsessions this year weren't very highbrow. Ha ha ha. Yes, I'm super into Xenakis, Cecil Taylor and whatever else, but dumber music can supply great creature comfort, and I guess I needed that in large amounts, so that's what it was. Sometimes badass modernists have to take time out to stay in bed all day and read comics because it's a hard cold world out there.

Weasel Walter top 10 musical obsessions of 2019 1. Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1980-1985 era) 2. Redd Kross 3. The Saints "I'm Stranded" 4. Jane Aire and the Belvederes 5. Miles Davis 1972-1975 6. Khanate "Things Viral 7. Mandy Zone & Ozone "Live at Max's Kansas City 1981" 8. Mayhem "Grand Declaration of War" 9. Comedy Bang Bang Episode #554 w/ Middleditch, Sanz 10. Weezer "Pinkerton"

Weasel Walter worst thing about 2019

1. Windows 10

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C.Spencer Yeh

Composer / Performer https://twitter.com/cspenceryeh?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Ten live music highlights of 2019 - The Brandon Lopez Trio (Lopez/Steve Baczkowski/Gerald Cleaver) at Fridman Gallery, June 18 - DeForrest Brown Jr., Pennies From Heaven series at CONTROL, January 15 - Charmaine Lee, Nothing Changes at Saint Vitus, January 30 - Bloodyminded at Apartment 202, December 14 - Longmont Potion Castle live QnA, Spectacle Theater, March 23 - Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society, Roulette, July 1 - Helm, Elsewhere, September 21 - Korn, Radiohead, Red Light District, October 26 - Mdou Moctar, Max Fish, September 1 - Mayo Thompson plays "Corky's Debt to His Father," Le Poisson Rouge, December 8

Speed round – five various still on the mind at the end of 2019 - Charlotte Moorman / Nam June Paik long sleeve t-shirt, Boot Boyz - Acacia leaf omelet and shrimp in sour curry, Jitlada, Los Angeles - Lynnée Denise, presentation for Omniaudience (Side Two) presented by Triple Canopy/Nikita Gale/Hammer Museum at Coaxial Arts, May 4 - PARASITE (2019) - ANIARA (2018)

Also, Spectacle Theater turns ten in 2020 and you should really come visit us.

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DJ Food

Artist / composer / DJ / curator

www.djfood.org

Music / podcasts: Pye Corner Audio - Hollow Earth LP (Ghost Box) Various - Corroded Circuits EP 12" (Downfall Recordings) Chris Moss Acid - Heavy Machine 12" (Balkan Vinyl) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishes LP (Flightless) Pictogram - Trace Elements cassette (Miracle Pond) Vanishing Twin - The Age of Immunology LP (Fire Records) Big Mouth podcast (various) (Acast) Beans - Triptych LP (Gamma Proforma) Roisin Murphy - Incapable single (Skint) Ebony Steel Band - Pan Machine LP (Om Swagger) People Like Us - The Mirror LP (Discrepant) Coastal County - Coastal County LP (Lomas) Adam Buxton podcast (various) (Acast) Ghost Funk Orchestra - A Song For Paul LP (Karma Chief) Jon Brooks - Emotional Freedom Techniques LP (Cafe Kaput) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Organ Farmer (from Infest the Rat's Nest LP) (Flightless) Jane Weaver - Fenella LP (Fire Records) Polypores - Brainflowers cassette (Miracle Pond)

Design / packaging: Pepe Deluxé - The Surrealist Woman lathe cut 7" (Catskills) Various - Science & Technology ERR Rec Library Vol.2 (ERR Records) DJ Pierre presents ACID 88 vol. III LP (Afro Acid) Mark Ayres plays Wendy Carlos - Kubrick 7" (Silva Screen) Tomorrow Syndicate - Citizen Input 10" (Polytechnic Youth) The Utopia Strong - S/T LP (Rocket Recordings) Jarvis - Sunday Service LP (ACE records) Andy Votel - Histoire D'Horreur cassette (Hypocrite?) Sculpture - Projected Music 5" zoetrope picture disc (Psyché Tropes) Lapalux - Amnioverse LP (Brainfeeder) Hieroglyphic Being - Synth Expressionism / Rhythmic Cubism LP (On The Corner Records)

Film / TV: Sculpture - Meeting Our Associates (Plastic Infinite) This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC) Avengers: Endgame (Disney/Marvel) Imaginary Landscapes - Sam Campbell (Vinyl Factory) What We Do In The Shadows (BBC2) The Mandalorian (Disney+)

Books / Comics / Magazines: Beastie Boys Book - Mike Diamond & Adam Horowitz (Spiegel & Grau) Cosmic Comics - A Kevin O'Neill Miscellany (Hibernia Books) Electronic Sound magazine (Pam Com. Ltd) Moebius - 40 Days In The Desert (expanded edition) (Moebius Productions) Rock Graphic Originals  - Peter Golding w. Barry Miles (Thames & Hudson) 2000AD / Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) Silver Surfer Black - Donny Cates/Tradd Moore (Marvel) Help - Simon Amstell (Square Peg) The Scarfolk Annual - Richard Littler (William Collins) Wrappers Delight - Jonny Trunk (Fuel)

Gigs / Events: Vanishing Twin @ Prince of Wales Pub, Brighton Stereolab @ Concorde 2, Brighton People's Vote March 23rd March, London Wobbly Sounds book launch @ Spiritland, London Confidence Man @ The Electric, Brixton, London Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival, Moseley, Birmingham Bluedot Festival, Jodrell Bank, Manchester HaHa Sounds Collective play David Axelrod's Earth Rot @ Tate Exchange, London School of Hypnosis play In C @ Cafe Oto, London Palace Electrics, Antenna Studios, London The Delaware Road, New Zealand Farm, Salisbury Breaking Convention closing party, Greenwich, London Jonny Trunk & Martin Green's Hidden Library @ Spiritland, Southbank, London Negativland / People Like Us @ Cafe Oto, London HaHa Sound Collective plays the David Axelrod songbook @ The Church of Sound, London, Sculpture, Janek Schaefer, Mariam Rezaei + the 26 turntable ensemble @ The Old Baths, Hackney, London Vanishing Twin & Jane Weaver's Fenella @ Studio 9294, Hackney Wick, London

Exhibitions: Sister Corita Kent @ House of Illustration, London, Augustinbe Kofie @ Stolen Space, London, Victor Vasarely @ Pompidou Centre, Paris, Mary Quant @ V&A Museum, London, Stanley Kubrick @ The Design Museum, London, Tim Hunkin's Novelty Automation Museum, London, Keith Haring retrospective @Tate, Liverpool, Nam June Paik, Tate Modern, London, Takis @ Tate Modern, London, Shepard Fairy @ Stolen Space, London, Damien Hirst 'Mandalas' at the White Cube, London, Bridget Riley @ The Hayward, London, Museum of Neo-liberalism, Lewisham, London.

[spectacletheater]

And just in time to promote How the Sky Will Melt for tomorrow + Cat Effekt and the Motern series for Saturday + Automobilux etc, here's the latest Spectacle Radio on video (without the video). 

Spectacle Radio ep.54 :: 05.13.20 :: What's buggin' you Nino? Motern Media Movie Orchestra - Monsters, Marriage, and Murder in Manchvegas // Ennio Morricone - H2S Main Titles // (Cat Effeckt) // Hal Hartley - Opening credits from Amateur // Bombs Aren't Cool // J.R. Bookwalter - Left For Dead (The Dead Next Door) // Matthew Wade - (How the Sky Will Melt) // Motern Media Movie Orchestra - Incidental Music #4 (Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You) // David Shea - Enter the Dragon (Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y) // (Cat Effekt) // Ran Slavin - Distant Lights (Insomniac City) // Bowery Electric - Fear of Flying (Automobilux) // Patrick McGuinn - End Titles from Desert Spirits // (A Day on GOD Island) // Marc Strange - (Isabel) // (Project Nightmare) // Aleksandr Zatsepin - Planet sheleziaka (Mystery of the Third Planet) // Giullermo Portabales - El Carretero (Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y) // (How to Shoot a Crime) (Alma Punk) // Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (Double Take) // Strangers in the Night (Kin-Dza-Dza) // Lee Dowell - Black Belt (Teenage Gang Debs) // (Onibaba) // Aleksandr Zatsepin - Following govorun (Mystery of the Third Planet) // Pierre Clementi - menacing opera (Clash)

liner notes:-About half of the tracks in the first block were recorded by the the directors themselves!-This includes Matt Farley's delightful scores for the films he makes with Charles Roxburgh. Because I'm a little late to this party, I had to feature cuts from two of the films we've shown already BUT you can catch two more of their films this Saturday, May 16.-H2S is a totally bizarre and messy film, but Morricone delivers some really notable postmodern dissonance AND a great love theme we'll get around to playing eventually.-The words in Russian seem to be about running up and down the street.-Bombs Aren't Cool was a music video film creation of a bunch of Sounth Bronx teens and filmmaker Joan Jubela. From the archives of the XFR Collective, and their Earth Day program-J.R. Bookwalter created his own score for The Dead Next Door on an 80s Amiga. There's also a great Akron-based new wave band that we'll include sometime.-Matthew Wade's scores for his own films are all great, and How the Sky Will Melt is no exception. Catch it this Friday, May 15!-Automobilux is a feature experimental film by Spectacle's own Garret Linn, and 90s shoegaze great Bowery Electric provided the whole soundtrack. Coming soon.-A Day on GOD Island is essentially a vacation home video by Sogo Ishii, but Balinese landscapes set to gamelan is very soothing.-Northern gothic canadian thriller Isabel features songs written and played by the lead actor.-Mystery of the Third Planet showed in our series on Soviet childrens' programming a few years ago.-If you missed Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y, it's fortunately streaming free on the director's site.-How to Shoot a Crime was part of our series of Chris Kraus' films in early 2013.-Black Belt was an original 60s pop number, with its own dance(!!), from Teenage Gang Debs, which we showed back in April-Clash was our feature presentation following the radio show, kicking off the new show + film format.

(This week's image is the Magic Wink system from Matthew Wade's How the Sky Will Melt, the ideal format for experiencing the show)