On the playlist, or what’s the thread here?

I had a lot of stuff I was auditioning to write about on this site a month back, but I had to do a purge and get some new stuff on the playlist.

Sometimes I’ll write these entries and wonder how I can put Kylie Minogue next to Karlheinz Stockhausen on a playlist, beyond the compulsion to alphabetize. Is there some tenuous thread in my subconscious to link the two? No. The point is there is no link. It’s easier to gauge the complexity of Stockhausen’s phrases next to the simplicity of Kylie’s hooks, as much as it’s easier to see the crudeness of Stockhausen’s electronics next to arsenal of effects employed by Kylie’s producers.

Yin. Yang. Something to that effect.

  • Camper Van Beethoven, II & III Damn these CVB reissues have a lot of tracks.
  • Cocteau Twins, Blue Bell Knoll Cocteau Twins are so up my alley, I wonder how much differently I would have turned out had I listened to them back in the day. Probably not much.
  • Emerson String Quartet, American Originals: Charles Ives, Samuel Barber Barber’s Adagio for Strings has so eclipsed the parent string quartet from whence it came, finding a recording of the whole quartet poses some challenges.
  • Ex-Boyfriends, In With The songwriting on the first album was catchier, but the playing on this one has more finesse.
  • Joan Tower, Island Preludes/Silver Ladders/Music for Cello and Orchestra/Sequoia I owned this album on cassette at the turn of the ’90s, and I recently found the original Meet the Composer/Nonesuch CD in the used bin of Waterloo Records.
  • Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tierkreis (Schlagwerk Nordwest) Stockhausen has such a cult of personality that when I finally listened to this work, I thought, "Huh, this is kind of fruity."
  • Kevin Volans, Hunting: Gathering (Duke Quartet) Kronos Quartet may have commissioned Volans’ first two quartets, but the Duke performance is really kicking.
  • Kylie Minogue, X I recently rediscovered Fever during my workouts, and as overly compressed as X may be, oh dear, am I liking it.
  • Osvaldo Golijov, Oceana Finally! The follow-up to Spiritchaser Dead Can Dance never recorded!
  • Shiina Ringo, demo tapes What would Shiina’s demos sound like if the latest versions of Cakewalk SONAR, Propellerhead Reason and Ableton Live were available back in 1995?
  • Steve Reich, Music for 18 Musicians (Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble) I’ve only so far heard this piece played by Reich’s own ensemble, but the GVSUNME performance is pretty punchy.
  • the brilliant green, "Enemy" I’m still wondering whether the brilliant green still matters.
  • Tobias Picker, Symphony No. 2/String Quartet No. 1 I bought this cassette around the same time as the Tower, so it’s serendipity to have also found the same CD at the same time as well.
  • Tomosaka Rie, Escalation and Sakasama I hope Murasaki ends up on the Evil Sharing Networks at some point — I want to see how the rest of the album stacks up to Shiina Ringo’s contributions.
  • UA, turbo I finally got around to getting this album, which I’ve long perceived my least favorite of UA’s pop era. I think I need to revise that opinion.
  • Witold Lutoslawski, String Quartet (Kronos Quartet) Another purchase on cassette I found on CD.
  • Yorico, "Kokoro no Kagi" and "Hoshi ni Negai wo" I’m beginning to wonder if Yorico is becoming more Onitsuka Chihiro than Onitsuka herself.
  • ZAZEN BOYS, "I Don’t Wanna Be With You" D00d, ur freekin me owt.