Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Going to PopAsheville
This weekend I will be at POPAsheville
in Asheville, N.C., appearing on a music business panel Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. As the "pop" part of the name suggests, this isn't a country, bluegrass or old-timey mountain music fest, but a two-night (Jan. 19-20), three-club showcase for more than 30 of western North Carolina's accomplished alt-rock acts, many of which can be heard streamed on the POPAsheville MySpace page. In advance of the fest, I taped an interview to discuss my book, "A Brief History of Rock, Off the Record" with the very sharp Kim Clark of regional public radio station 88.7/WNCW, with frequencies in Boone (92.3), Greenville (97.3) and Charlotte (97.3). The interview should air locally Thursday, Kim says. I should have podcast info then, as well.
FINDS: Holger Czukay's "Good Morning Story" (Tone Casualties, 1999). This is the Can man's eighth of 13 solo CD's, recorded in his home studio between 1991-1999. Some tracks feature guest appearances by other members of Can, the most original and entertaining "krautrock" band ever. The album moves from relatively cohesive songs with spoken word to the 22:30 sound collage, "Mirage," at the end. I've been listening to this on my extended commuter bus rides. What I like about "Good Morning Story" so far is that it draws in everything audible outside the headphones—road bumps, highway noises, bus engine grind, nearby cell phone conversations—and gives it a musical, or at least compositional context. It makes order, even creates sweetness, out of otherwise annoying sounds: Found music to the max.
--Wayne Robins
If the blog link is down, try http://www.myspace.com/popasheville
Google News
in Asheville, N.C., appearing on a music business panel Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. As the "pop" part of the name suggests, this isn't a country, bluegrass or old-timey mountain music fest, but a two-night (Jan. 19-20), three-club showcase for more than 30 of western North Carolina's accomplished alt-rock acts, many of which can be heard streamed on the POPAsheville MySpace page. In advance of the fest, I taped an interview to discuss my book, "A Brief History of Rock, Off the Record" with the very sharp Kim Clark of regional public radio station 88.7/WNCW, with frequencies in Boone (92.3), Greenville (97.3) and Charlotte (97.3). The interview should air locally Thursday, Kim says. I should have podcast info then, as well.
FINDS: Holger Czukay's "Good Morning Story" (Tone Casualties, 1999). This is the Can man's eighth of 13 solo CD's, recorded in his home studio between 1991-1999. Some tracks feature guest appearances by other members of Can, the most original and entertaining "krautrock" band ever. The album moves from relatively cohesive songs with spoken word to the 22:30 sound collage, "Mirage," at the end. I've been listening to this on my extended commuter bus rides. What I like about "Good Morning Story" so far is that it draws in everything audible outside the headphones—road bumps, highway noises, bus engine grind, nearby cell phone conversations—and gives it a musical, or at least compositional context. It makes order, even creates sweetness, out of otherwise annoying sounds: Found music to the max.
--Wayne Robins
If the blog link is down, try http://www.myspace.com/popasheville
Google News
