The Next Chapter

Morning earworm: Honey Sweating, Polytown. I couldn't even begin to describe this - fallout from some odd listening over the weekend. Found some cool new stuff, which led associatively to some cool old stuff, bringing all manner of inspiration - one can ask for little more.

Music, I think, is no different than any other specialized craft or trade. There are some things that everyone can do, and times when you need to call in an expert - lol. Part of my job as an "expert" is researching and learning deeper and further afield than the average lay person, finding and exploring the exotic, unusual, and sometimes just plain weird which goes unnoticed by the mainstream. Some of this is exactly that - research. You hear something cool, and ask Who is that? What else have they done? The aforementioned Polytown was that sort of find. A mid-nineties project done by David Torn with Mick Karn and Terry Bozzio. I've long been a fan of Torn, and was familiar with Bozzio's work with Jeff Beck and Frank Zappa; Karn was an unknown to me, so a little digging was done. Turns out he was the bassist with Japan, a moderately successful art-pop act from the eighties. Naturally, I had to check them out - it is some pretty cool and cutting-edge stuff, especially for eighties pop. The band also featured vocalist David Sylvian, who has gone on to a respectable solo career, and keyboardist Richard Barbieri, another favorite of mine from his subsequent work with Porcupine Tree. After awhile it almost becomes a six-degrees type game, because it seems like everybody has played with everybody else somewhere along the way.

To completely change the subject, this is a little odd. After 2½ years at the other venue, this is going to take a bit of getting used to - but I'll manage :D There are a couple of major advantages to being here which immediately present themselves - I don't need to be quite as discreet, and I can now post links. Who know, you might even be able to hear some of these earworms for yourself before long, and find out just what I've been babbling about all this time.

Listening is a craft.
Hearing is an art.