Leonard Cohen – “Old Ideas” (2012)
Neil McCormick’s Jan. 27th review of the new Leonard Cohen album (coming out tomorrow), from The Telegraph…
“He wants to write a love song/ An anthem of forgiving/ A manual for living with defeat/ A cry above the suffering/ A sacrifice recovering/ But that isn’t what I need him to complete,” whispers Leonard Cohen on the opening track of Old Ideas, his first album of original songs in seven years, and only his 12th studio album since 1967.
Writing in the third person about his struggles with his muse, Cohen slyly describes himself as “a lazy bastard living in a suit” but his legendarily slow working methods have less to do with sloth than depth, precision and judgment, the exacting standards of poetic genius.
The song that emerges from this particular struggle is “Going Home,” an elegiac act of surrender, in which there is little doubt about the final destination. As the angelic Webb Sisters add heavenly sighs, Cohen’s weary Read the rest of this entry »
Clare Fischer (1928-2012)
Pianist and composer Clare Fischer, responsible for adding orchestral arrangements to many Prince songs over the years, has sadly passed away at the age of 83. Supposedly Prince and Fischer never met and Prince refused to even look at a picture of Fischer for fear of breaking the “spell” they created together.
David Fricke – “Material: Bustin’ Out in a Material World” (1981)
A Nov. 28, 1981 Melody Maker article on Bill Laswell’s avant-rock band Material by none other than David Fricke…
“We completely confuse people and they think that’s one of the most wonderful things about us. We move ahead. Fuck them if they’re still in the same space where we were yesterday.”
– Michael Beinhorn
It seems like only yesterday. In fact, it’s last April. AtNew York’s now-defunct Hurrah, where a sparse but self-consciously hip crowd drifts through the smoke and shadows like beatnik ghosts, a Massacre is in session. Avant-garde guitar strategist Fred Frith is firing on all six strings, slicing the murky air in front of the stage with sharp metallic chords and steely leads of alien composition. Beneath and behind him, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher – banging away with a vengeance and wisdom beyond his 18 years – hold tight to a gripping beat that for the most part seems 4/4 only by association.
Laswell, whose bass seems to speak in tongues, and (for the time being) Maher are actually two-thirds of another ensemble,New Yorkfusion mavericks Material. Frith is a long-time friend and collaborator with Material. Together, they moonlight as Massacre. Tonight, they encore with a radically customized version of “Apache”. Only a few days later, Material proper opens for James Blood Ulmer at the cavernousManhattandisco Bonds. A group of musicians under that name play musical structures written for and associated with that name. Read the rest of this entry »
The Beat Patrol 