My new colleague Daniel will be on Air America tonight at 9PM EST.
Directly from his mouth, he says he will be on, “arguing that opening a new investigation into 9-11 is not that great an idea, as the system is starting to meltdown anyway and it is more important to build the alternative culture than expend negative energy that feeds the power structure.”
If you are into such topics, check it out.
I was flipping through Music Downtown by Kyle Gann and came across a section detailing the “feud” between guitar composers Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca. Fortunately, the section focused less on gossipy pieces of hearsay and instead concentrated on some of the major influences for these guys, specifically Branca.
I’ve since tried to track these books down, but can’t locate them. If anyone out there can find copies of the following, please send them to me. C’mon, get me weird presents:
Kayser, Hans Akroasis: The Theory of World Harmonics
Rudyhar, Dane The Magic of Tone and the Art of Music
While you’re at it, I wouldn’t mind this as well:
Godwin, Malcolm & Godwin, Joscelyn Music, Mysticism and Magic: A Sourcebook
Thanks.
L.A. friends,
I’ve just completed a web site and marketing campaign for the MTV Movie Awards. Because of this, I’ve been rewarded with passes to screenings of Pineapple Express and Kung Fu Panda this Friday. If you want to go and stare at famous people I don’t know are famous, hit me up. I think Pineapple Express is about weed, and the other is some animated film with the voice of that funny fat guy. Google it.
Months after first reading about it, I have finally gotten my beta invite to Twine. This “web app,” for lack of a better term, has been called the beginning of “Web 3.0,” which is a huge turnoff, as the evolving state of technology doesn’t fit into easily defined eras. However, as a former student of linguistics and a current devourer of all new web technologies, I got sucked in by its description as a “semantic web search” app. Along with Twitter, this is the only new service I have any interest of in at the moment. We’ll see how it goes…
I haven’t said much about my fantasy baseball team. A few weeks back, I missed the opportunity to announce that the Monsters had taken sole possession of first place. Nothing has changed since then; the SLM remain atop the heap.
Also, here is the current lineup. There were a few trades and some cuts/adds since the first time I mentioned this fantasy league behemoth.
C Joe Mauer
1B Ryan Howard
2B Brian Roberts
3B Miguel Cabrera
SS Cristian Guzmán
OF Grady Sizemore
OF Kosuke Fukudome
OF Lance Berkman
Util Kevin Youkilis
BN Billy Butler
BN Édgar Rentería
SP Zack Greinke
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP James Shields
SP Josh Beckett
SP C.C. Sabathia
SP Adam Wainwright
RP Billy Wagner
RP Kevin Gregg
RP Joba Chamberlain
RP Max Scherzer
Greinke, Scherzer, Butler, and Guzman were all claimed off of waivers. Obviously, I have an over-abundance of pitching at the moment, but am quietly working to bring in another solid utility player.
Things are looking good. This team is built to last, and to finish strong.
My label, Trademark Recordings, is proud to announce the release of our newest album, the debut ep from Akasa. Akasa’s mastermind is Josh Benedict, with assistance from Camerin Kelly on vocals. Accurate comparisons would put it in the same “metalgaze” ballpark inhabited by the likes of Jesu and Nadja. But there are also subtle traces of M83, Talk Talk, Bauhaus, and 70s prog-rock in general. It’s definitely one of my favorite releases on the label so far. As with most things I like in life, it falls under both the “epic” and “devastating” categories. It’s available as a digital album now on iTunes, with a CD release to follow in the month of June. Check it out and if you like it, let your friends know. Hopefully there will be some lives shows this summer and fall for west coast residents.
I’m well aware that in certain circles – infinitesimally small circles – I’m a character of note. I’ve done several things in my life, both personal and professional, that have attracted an audience, many of whom I now know.
Throughout my life I’ve been bombarded with ideas. Many of these ideas I just forget almost as soon as they occur; I’m sure most humans experience this on a daily basis, too. Other thoughts, for better or for worse, are expounded upon and become some kind of entity: a piece of music (or an entire band), a web site, a few pieces of printed paper, a loose-knit organization.
As a harsh critic of my own output, both artistic and commercial, I’ve never understood why I start and finish something, or why I don’t share certain things, or why I don’t publicly call attention to more of the things I do. The act of creating is a force I’ll probably never understand. The only person who seemed to describe it accurately was James Joyce. I’m too lazy to wiki the exact quote, but it had something to do with him being in a fugue state while writing.
However, I understand the act of ending things much better. Destruction is easier to comprehend than creation. In my case, I usually stop doing something because I’m bored of doing it, it isn’t turning out the way I like, I don’t have the same passion I had for it as I did when I started, I hate what it has become, or I simply want to fuck with the people who are fans of it.
Many times in my life when I’ve given up on something, it has negatively impacted people I know emotionally. Ending bands, ending “businesses,” ending relationships, ending blogs, whatever. In some cases, the finality has burdened me with a certain sense of guilt while at the same time feeling like a great, big exhalation.
There are things I’m currently involved with creating that I no longer care about. In the coming weeks and months, it will be obvious what these things are. In advance, I’m confident that these things are worthless and don’t really care if it hurts anyone, as to me they are just ways to pass the time, inside jokes between me and myself that I no longer find amusing.
This, my least read blog (according to Google Analytics), will become the focus of my attention. I’ve always tried to compartmentalize the different parts of my life. I try to keep my humorous writings, false writings, music writings, satirical writings, filthy writings, angry writings, and serious writings separate, as I think most people tend to take my writings at face value and confuse what I’m saying with who I am. I no longer have the time or energy to consider my audience in such a way.
I’ve owned thomasmahoney.net for several years and have done nothing with it. I’d like that to change, and have this blog be the centerpiece of it. I’ve learned that the promises I make usually hold no weight, none more so than the promises I make to myself. So I don’t consider this a promise to the future; it’s simply a warning to a crumbling present and boring past.
In other words, when certain things now alive become ghosts, don’t haunt me with, “why?” If you can’t figure it out from this post, then you’ll never understand. And as always, it isn’t my job to make you understand the way I operate. In an era of, “the way things should be” this is simply, “the way things are.”
It’s time to focus.
- The Management
P.S. If this comes off as overwrought or too serious, here’s a good old-fashioned “go fuck yourself!” to spice it up a little! God, y’all too serious most of the time!