I have sort of specifically never given much of a shit about philosophy or philosophers before, but I do like a photo that can make me feel alive.
In poking through my iTunes for some late night time experimental electronic tunages, I discovered the Matmos Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth of a Beast record, all songs on which are “dedicated” to a certain famous-not-famous queer person. I recognized most of the names (including Valerie Solanas, William S Burroughs, Darby Crash), but not the dedicatee of the first track, ”Roses and Teeth for Ludwig Wittgenstein”.
From here I rabbit-holed on Wittgenstein—not a German king as I suspected but in fact a Jewish early 20th C philosopher—and, voila, discovered the striking image above. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but this photo blows me away in both Wittgenstein’s strikingly-attractive, ultra-modern proto-hipster look and in the way the photographer managed to capture him so perfectly and non-Germanly looking into the camera, as if he’s talking to you about his work (while knowing you aren’t getting it, though you should). Really fucking amazing, this photo.
As an aside, I’ve now listened to this whole Matmos record too and have been reminded of the challenging relationship I’ve had with these artists as a band that strikes a weird balance between “great, interesting, inspired!” and “pretentious, clinical, non-musical, boring”. The Ludwig track alas falls into the latter category but there are three great numbers listed below worth mentioning (in a feat remarkably appropriate for the man himself, the William Burroughs track manages to be both “interesting, inspired” and “pretentious, boring”):
Benjamin: i am listening to Laughing Stock right now for the first time ever. it makes me think of laurie anderson, minus laurie anderson’s singing
Jayson: haha, you hate Laurie Anderson too, so I knew that was a bad sign
Benjamin: this record feels futuristically boring
Benjamin: like, “portending a future where we happily accept music to aggressively blend into the background to be loud enough to hear but too empty to digest”. like, it’s not ambient music—there are distinct sounds, and tones here — a palette of sonic experiences ok but this music feels extra meaningless in the way that its empty but “flavored” sounds are meant to connote some kind of actual meaning
Jayson: I’m not listening, but that does kinda sound like Laurie Anderson, at least her actual musical backing
Benjamin: in a more favorable comparison, it also vaguely connotes robert wyatt solo works but whereas robert wyatt always infused his music, however slow or winding or slight it was, with a human personality, these tunes sound like the soulless of constructions of brilliant, empty humans after having become enslaved by the robots we created
Benjamin: point: i guess i don’t really like talk talk.
After a number of unexpected delays, summer is finally here in New York. The onset of summer in NYC is I think one of the single most overpowering sensations I’ve experienced, an oozing mess of orgiastic possibility of ideas, trips, games, rap music, car rides, and more. Everything and everything.
The seasonal counterpoint to Joanna Newsom’s forever winter, Wilco’s Summer Teeth is the sort of exhuberant day, crickets at night sunblast that for me has only ever been able to exist as warm weather tune-age. “I’m Always in Love” might not be the best song on the record, but it’s probably the most summery, and one of my faves.
Burn the warmth into my heart until it sears over the scars of winter.
Just heard this warm, guitary version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Television (from their stellar live record Blow Up) for the first time today and was fascinated by the way it pre-visions the later, much more famous and much more insipid cover by Guns N Roses from Use Your Illusion II.
Two notes:
First, I find myself impressed both by the quality of this version of the song and by the fact that I seem to have reached a point in my life where I’m basically unable to hear this song in any form whatsover. I’m not sure if there have just been too many covers (there have been), if Axl and Co just overexposed it (they did), or if the song just lends itself to a kind of nauseating melodrama that my brain and heart abhors, but regardless, I can’t avoid cringing any time it comes on and I see no end to that feeling.
Secondly, I am reminded in listening to Blow Up that at its heart, Television was not a proto-punk band but truly a proto-indierock guitar-jam band. This was always suggested by the winding gems of its debut, most notably in the ten minute title track, but on Blow Up what might have been once perceived as lengthy, spiraly compositions are now seen as vessels for full-blown improviso-jams, including fifteen minute blast-off versions of “Marquee Moon” and “Little Johnny Jewel”. It’s awesome but also hilariously unpunk (in the mainstream understanding of the word). But I guess it’s also appropriate then, that image and attitude have always meant more for punk than anything else, and probably there wasn’t anything in New York much more punk than dating Patti Smith or chilling with Richard Hell (a former Television member).
I like the gently-awkward sonic segue that comes from my iTunes when I play the new Arcade Fire record by typing “Arcade” into the search bar. The storm rising after the calm effect of “The Suburbs (Continued)” giving way to the drummer boy snare of the Husker Du’s “Something I Lost Today” (off Zen Arcade) is oddly magical.
"A monk asked Master Sho of Kokei, ‘When things come from the four
directions and eight dimensions, what then?’
Sho said, ‘Hit the Middle.’
The monk immediately bowed."
