Paris Transatlantic Spring 2012 issue online

[Dan Warburton]

http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magaz ... t.html#top
Resisted the temptation to post tomorrow - I'm foolish enough as it is. Enjoy, folks.

[jon abbey]

what is the point of slamming Michael Pisaro in that Beuger 'review'? when was the last Michael Pisaro you even heard? have you heard any of the last five Gravity Waves (003-007)? I really doubt it, or I don't think you'd be casually lumping him in there for no reason. I know, I know, "cat amongst the pigeons", talk about tactics that have grown tired a long time ago.

anyway, that was the first thing I saw on a quick skim, looking forward to the rest.

[Dan Warburton]

Oh, I wouldn't call "surely somewhat overhyped" slamming, myself, Jon - and to the best of my knowledge I've only missed out on five Pisaro discs in the past four years, so you know where you can put your rather insultingly phrased second question there - if I was criticising anything it was the Beuger disc. And I wouldn't call even that slamming. And why are you so goddamn sensitive? It wasn't even a release on your label Or are you now the official guardian / watchdog / spokesperson of all things Wandelweiser worldwide? These cats paying you protection money?

[leroysghost]

"jazz" is no longer part of Jean-Luc Guionnet's repertoire.

[jon abbey]

nah, I just hate that kind of drive-by overarching review, it's Ben Watson-esque. one could argue that this specific release doesn't even reflect on Antoine Beuger's work much (he didn't hear it until after it came out), let alone all of Wandelweiser.

and my first draft of that post was way more insulting, I toned it way down. it's great that you did one of the first pieces about Wandelweiser back in the day (seriously), but clearly you're not interested in or connecting to that area anymore, and your criticisms (the same exact ones you've posted here before) are very superficial.

and the Pisaro question was a genuine question: if you haven't heard any Pisaro since the AT one and the Erst at the end of 2010 (as is my guess), then you don't really know what he's been doing recently, and it's certainly not more of the same (the only one someone could possibly say that about is Hearing Metal 2, definitely not GW 003-004 or 006-007). if the five you've missed include those four, then you should either rectify that or back down from your "overhype" claims about discs that sell maybe 200 copies worldwide and get ignored by most writers.

and it's not "insulting" to ask you if you've heard someone's work or not: if you're making a blanket statement about a musician who has nothing to do with the record you're reviewing, it's a legitimate question to ask what exactly you're talking about. why so defensive about a legitimate question?

and I was posting like this about music I cared about well before I ran Erstwhile, this is who I am, as you should know very well by now.

[Dan Warburton]

Oh, I do - forgive me, I'm about to do something a little more important right now, i.e. have dinner. Will be back to battle sometime later

[jon abbey]

"jazz" is no longer part of Jean-Luc Guionnet's repertoire.

no, still there:

http://www.jeanlucguionnet.eu/spip.php?rubrique12

[barry]

and whats so odd about my guitar notes dan?

[Jesse]

*Trucks sound the same the world over," LOL.

[Dan Warburton]

and whats so odd about my guitar notes dan?

I assume Barry, that your tongue is as firmly in your cheek as mine was while writing, but beginning with that "and" I wonder.. in which case
1 unusual; strange He's wearing very odd clothes; a very odd young man.
2 (of a number) that cannot be divided exactly by 2 5 and 7 are odd (numbers).
3 not one of a pair, set etc an odd shoe.
4 occasional; free at odd moments.

I was thinking more of the fourth definition.
What's funny is I didn't say anywhere in that review that I didn't like the album - just that I wanted to like it more. What is there not to like? It's beautifully recorded, well played and pleasant to listen to. But as Jon points out, yes, my tastes in music have moved on from where they were a decade ago, and I rarely find myself as moved as I used to be by what I hear. As I said in an email to Simon Reynell just yesterday, I'd say that's 75% my fault, listener fatigue, which is one of the reasons why I'll be pulling the plug on PT at the end of the year. Some discs need some time to work their magic - it took me quite a while to appreciate the Sugimoto Pisaro disc on Erstwhile - and time is something I never have much of (though as one wag objected in an email I received recently, "you still find time to watch a movie every night!" - well, yeah, even without the neighbours' TVs upstairs and downstairs to contend with, I'd have a hard time persuading wife and teenage son to sit down and listen to this kind of music after dinner..). Anyway, to each his/her own. There's a nice review of Michael Pisaro by Marc Medwin just a few scrolls down from my drive-by blanket.

[jon abbey]

There's a nice review of Michael Pisaro by Marc Medwin just a few scrolls down from my drive-by blanket.

yep, Marc still has quite a bit of enthusiasm for this area, I always like to read his perspective.

Dan, you seem much less jaded with films, understandably so.

and I certainly don't mean to imply that that disc is beyond criticism, I know Jason Brogan isn't a fan and Richard Pinnell, maybe the biggest Wandelsupporter around, has some mixed feelings about it too, although amusingly for entirely opposite reasons to Dan:

http://www.thewatchfulear.com/?p=6759

[barry]

tongue in cheek for sure dan. to argue even that point would be pointless. (there is quite a bit of guitar playing on the recording) but as you say... to each his own. i just wonder why you felt the need to include the disc at all in PT as its very clear you no longer feel this music what so ever. i do find it vering amusing and interesting that this recording has been both blasted AND praised for the the very same reasons. while it is certainly a Wandelweiser piece, this recording strays very far from the Wandelweiser asthetic.

[Dan Warburton]

amusing and interesting that this recording has been both blasted AND praised for the the very same reasons

Good sign, if you ask me.

while it is certainly a Wandelweiser piece, this recording strays very far from the Wandelweiser asthetic.

Wonder if you'd care to elaborate on that, Barry - what do you mean by "the Wandelweiser aesthetic" here? Presumably the recording's openness to noises from the world beyond? (In which case I don't find it all that different from other "noisy" Wandelweisers like the Werder on Cathnor - which, fwiw, I liked far less than yours..) Or is there a right and wrong way to record this kind of music? Curious.

its very clear you no longer feel this music what so ever

I'll forgive your missing apostrophe - heat of passion omission, I suppose - but if I'm being taken to task for "blanket statements" I'm in good company with your "whatsoever". I wouldn't say that simply reading my reviews puts you in a position to say what kind of music I like. I listen to a hell of a lot more than I write about, and often don't review the discs I enjoy the most. Anyway, let's not go round and round the houses on this point - tell me about that Wandelweiser aesthetic!

[jon abbey]

I wouldn't say that simply reading my reviews puts you in a position to say what kind of music I like. I listen to a hell of a lot more than I write about, and often don't review the discs I enjoy the most.

that might be the strangest two sentences I've ever read from you, Dan. why would you possibly not review the discs you enjoy the most in a publication that you yourself run?

I think it makes a lot less sense to talk about an overarching "Wandelweiser aesthetic" (although I'm guilty myself sometimes also) than it did 5 or 10 years ago, as the primary composers have moved in fairly different directions. I'm pretty sure no one would mistake a Pisaro recording for a Werder one, and you could say the same about the others to a lesser degree.

[Dan Warburton]

that might be the strangest two sentences I've ever read from you, Dan. why would you possibly not review the discs you enjoy the most in a publication that you yourself run?

Because, when it comes to something like The Room, I really don't know what to say. Whereas with other favourite musicians - Misha, Mota, Goldstein, you know who I like - I find myself saying the same bloody thing every time (which means it's probably time to shut up). I spend a long time deciding what to write about each issue, trying to be fair to everyone who sends stuff my way, and that means also writing about things I don't really like much.
Agree with your remarks on Wandelweiser aesthetic there.

[jon abbey]

ok, that makes sense, thanks.

[barry]

Ok maybe I should have said "presumed" aesthetic or meaning " the way these pieces are generally recorded or performed, ie: in a quiet space played very quietly" how's that.? Anyway, what I aw getting at was that this performance / recording goes against what one would normally expect when confronted with a Beuger piece.

[barry]

And as far as the rest, I think the one and only thing your "review" was clear on was your feeling about the state of the music.

[Dan Warburton]

Ok maybe I should have said "presumed" aesthetic or meaning " the way these pieces are generally recorded or performed, ie: in a quiet space played very quietly" how's that.?

If you were recording a piece of Webern chamber music or a madrigal by William Byrd you'd do it "in a quiet space", wouldn't you? I don't see any specific Wandelweiser aesthetic when it comes to recording. In fact I don't see any real overriding Wandelweiser aesthetic any more, as Jon hinted at in his post above. Maybe ten years ago there was one, not now.

Anyway, what I aw getting at was that this performance / recording goes against what one would normally expect when confronted with a Beuger piece.

Don't flatter yourself, Barry - it sounded pleasantly mainstream to me.

And as far as the rest, I think the one and only thing your "review" was clear on was your feeling about the state of the music.

Ouch, those quotation marks.. sounds like you're still seething with anger.. not very Wandelweiser! Come to Paris, I'll buy you a pint.

[barry]

wow, i guess you won Dan. i'm now so "enraged" i just can't go on.