Busy week. Currently listening to George Lewis. And wanting this new book of Prabhakar Barwe's writings.

The Country and the City

Mike Dibb's 1979 TV special on Raymond Williams' classic book. For all you Stephen Duck fans.

Finland från söder till norr

Osmo Thiel, Finland from South to North (1966)

Weavings and Mendings / Ann Southam

Slightly warmer today... time for new music! A friend introduced me to Ann Southam recently. So good! Southam was a Canadian experimental music maker who penned a lot of works for modern dance in the Toronto area in the 70s and afterwards. "In the very workings of music," she said, "there's a reflection of the work women traditionally do, like weaving and mending and washing dishes -- the kind of work you have to do over again." You can hear it happen in these slowly unraveling threads of sound -- something for fans of Laurie Spiegel and Maggi Payne and other minimal new age fire. I also like that she composed a piece about Ontario's "good witch of plum hollow" and improvised background bloops and bleeps for Sean O'Huigin's experimental poetry. Beautiful weavings and mendings, check it out.

Marisol Escobar

Not pop, not op, it's Marisol! Cool, incredibly awkward interview here.

Happy Valentine's

A year ago, Joyce and I went to see Yo La Tengo right before Valentine's Day. I like Yo La Tengo and was excited about the show, but it ended up being memorable for other reasons.

It was on the next day, the day after the show, that Joyce took a pregnancy test and found out that we were having a baby. But on the night of the show we both somehow magically knew already. It was extremely icy and slippery in the parking lot outside, and I just remember holding each other's hand really tight to make sure she didn't fall. It is one of my favorite memories. Yo La played a really lovey dovey set and everything was alright.

It has been an amazing year and our boy Sinjin is now 4 months old. He and Joyce fill my heart with pride and love. Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Inquiring Nuns

1968 documentary. Two young nuns roam Chicago asking people "Are you happy?" Love the simple churchy theme song by Philip Glass.

Randall McClellan

Inspired by Indian ragas and forms, these performances were given in Northampton and Amherst Massachusetts and throughout New England, New York and Quebec Province between 1977 and 1983 in semi-darkened spaces that allowed listeners to relax on carpeting while being enveloped by sound.

So dope. Relax on the carpeting.

To Leave To Love

Someone is selling vintage Sister Corita prints on Ebay. We snagged this one, but there are other cool ones for super cheap. Don't sleep! Been thinking about Corita because my wife just got me this awesome book. So many great pictures, but these cardboard boxes make me really happy for some reason...

Darcy Lange

A while ago a friend told me about Darcy Lange because he knew I was a Kes fan and Lange's work reminded him of Ken Loach. Lange is a video artist whose piece "Work Studies in Schools" has been showing in various places lately. From 1975-77 Lange visited schools in Birmingham and Oxfordshire and filmed classroom activities, then turned the camera around to film the teachers and students reacting to their own images onscreen. You can watch a lot of these videos here. Some magical moments, especially in Mrs. Schalgosky's art class. On a desk in one of the photos above, you can see a pamphlet called 'Explorations in Worship.'











Lange has also been deeply involved in Maori land rights in New Zealand, where he was born and where I believe he now lives. The interesting thing here is how his music-making enters in. Lange is a dedicated flamenco guitarist, and his mixed-media performances line up with his political activism in various ways. He was a student of the famous Gypsy flamenco guitarist Diego del Gastor. I love these pictures of Lange performing with his partner Maria Snijders. In a book I'm reading (er, where all these photos come from) the artist Dan Graham likens flamenco to New York punk rock in its outlier perspective and political snarl. Punk flamenco -- I like that!

Wood Assemblage

'Wood Assemblage' (1962), another great Richard Myers film. Elementary school kids construct hilltop statues out of scrap wood. The dandelions in the grass are so nice!