Stephen McClurg's Blog, page 24

Show: Exprov 9

I’m looking forward to heading back to East Village Arts in Birmingham this Saturday and playing a duo with Taylor Rouss. I believe the instrumentation will be tabletop electric acoustic bass guitar and sax. I can’t wait to hear Clifford McPeek perform!

New Video: Serenity Dagger: One World or None

I had worked with parameters for an improvisation on the Korg Volca Sample 2 going into reverb and distortion. The March Birmingham Noize Night got cancelled due to storms. I’m not sure when I can reschedule, so I wanted to try and record a version of it, so I can focus a little easier on some other upcoming projects.

Hopefully I’ll get to do a version of it live!

There is also a Serenity Dagger ep on Bandcamp that I made with Scott Bazar.

New Music: Junk Jrawer: Volume Two

More ambient/improv/noise from various Gulf Coast musicians and artists. Volume Two is available (free!) from Make World Gooder Tapes. One of my favorite things for this one was setting up a keyboard to play a basketball dribble.

New Music: Junk Jrawer

Over at Make World Gooder Tapes, you can check out the newest ambient/improv/noise release from a new collective of mostly old friends called Junk Jrawer. I did a lot of sound design and sculpting, some guitar and fretless bass, percussion, piano, etc.

Marginalia #27

Probably not even good by most standards, but I still found it entertaining. Rooney is a makeup artist who has taken a young woman captive. This feels like Lynch’s early short “The Grandmother” combined with an after school special on insanity. Like a student film with a few striking visuals.

I saw Dune a lot when I was growing up. It felt like visiting an alien world because I never grasped what was going on. I love many of the visuals–Giedi Prime, the stillsuits, the sand worms!

This was my first viewing after reading the books and that significantly alters the viewing experience. It shouldn’t be a prerequisite for an adaptation, but it pays dividends here.

Plenty of issues, so I understand why many don’t like it. Lynch can’t direct large scale action sequences. Too many clunky voiceovers. Even so, I think I like it more than I used to.

Great jazz record featuring Charles Mingus on bass and released on his label. Thad Jones is new to me, but I’m definitely going to check out more.

I love archival recordings of all kinds and this was an interesting find and an unexpected joy.

I mean you can gather what’s going on by the title and two subtitles. I didn’t think I’d like it either, but I’ve been listening to it off and on for a week.

I reviewed Abruptio over at Horror DNA.

Over at Tidal I have a new playlist–Musicalia #18: The top hat wore an octopus.

Here’s how the AI wanted to close out this edition:

Marginalia has always been a fascinating aspect of literature. These scribbles, scribblings, and notes that line the margins of old texts have evolved from mere inscriptions to a form of art in themselves. Marginalia often contains intricate and detailed designs that elevate the humble book into a canvas for artistic expression.

The 27th edition of Marginalia delves into the world of artistic annotations. Whether it’s small sketches, fanciful drawings, or intricate decorations, these annotations provide an added aspect of personality to a book, giving readers a glimpse into the mind of the creator. From medieval illuminated manuscripts to modern day comics, marginalia has been a means for artists to inject their personal narrative into their work.

Some marginalia may seem random or meaningless at first glance, but the more you inspect them, the more their intended meaning is revealed. They often contain hidden messages, codes, and symbols that offer a window into the creator’s psyche. They give us a chance to see the intersection of art and literature.

One of the most iconic examples of artistic marginalia is the drawing that Leonardo da Vinci included in his sketchbooks. These drawings are not just artworks in themselves but also offer practical insight into the mind of a true genius. Another notable example is the annotations made by J.R.R. Tolkien in his personal copy of The Lord of the Rings. His drawings were essential to his writing process, allowing him to visualize his imagined worlds and develop his stories more fully.

Marginalia may often be overlooked or discarded, but they are an integral part of our shared cultural history. They give us glimpses into the everyday lives of people across time, and add a unique layer of depth and meaning to the texts they adorn. Next time you come across an old book, take a closer look at the edges of the page – there might be a story waiting there for you to discover.

At Horror DNA: Abruptio Review

Lots of puppets, but I wanted more free jazz. I reviewed Abruptio over at Horror DNA!

Marginalia #26

I’ve read bits and pieces from this over the years and saw the anthology film based on it years ago, but I had always intended on going back and reading it. I’ve been enjoying a variety of yokai art lately, so it was nice to have folktale companions to some of those images. The new edition has Hearn’s writing about insects which fit in the book well, as many of the ideas around the insects he chose also had spiritual connections.

A new translation of the Schulz stories I’ve read. I came to Schulz through the Quay Brothers adaptation of “Street of Crocodiles” and have come to love the bizarre literary world that birthed the filmic one. The piles of adjectives in the first story put me off, though this is also a technique that I believe Schulz was known for. For whatever reason, that discomfort fell away and I enjoyed these translations, which opened the stories up in a different way than previous readings. Also contains a newly found early story of Schulz’s!

I’ve criminally underlistened to Braxton’s catalog and am working on that. So much great music and so many interesting approaches. I was lucky enough to see him perform a solo set a few years back and it’s an easy top five shows for me.

Massively inspirational.

Fantastic group of improvs from the trio of Sandy Ewen, Weasel Walter, and Damon Smith. Powerhouses. Excellent. I haven’t heard Smith play 7-string upright, samples, or field recordings much, which he does here. Great artwork by Ewen.

I’ve been listening to it all week after buying it from Sandy just after her solo and duo sets last week.

A friend and I have been listening through Sepultura’s catalog in chronological order. I was a big fan in high school and haven’t heard some of this in decades.

I told my friend that some of the early stuff sounded like black metal, and he related a story that Max, the guitarist and singer, was constantly having black metal artists ask how he got his sound. He never tuned his guitar! They were like 15, and when he went to overdub, he didn’t realize it was out of tune–on some tracks more than others!

Great driving music. Some of the first death metal I ever heard. I like Benton’s music now more than I did as a teen.

I played on an improvised ambient/noise track that went up recently. You can hear it at Make World Gooder Tapes.

New playlist: McClurg’s Musicalia #17: Coffee and hot dogs!

New Music: Throuple Dacryops +1

I just noticed this one this week. This is a long single piece built out of improvisations from multiple musicians. Kind of ambient, kind of improvisational tones and sounds. I played bass with effects and electronics. You can listen to and download “Life Is a Highway” at Make World Gooder Tapes.

Musicalia #16 and Shows!

For a bit of marginalia, I thought I’d mention Vampiric Coffin’s newly released Give Your Blood To The Night ep! Grimy Mississippi black metal on Grime Stone Records!

I’ve got a new review over at Horror DNA!

TONIGHT! Excited about this show tonight! I’m opening and followed by a great lineup! I’ll be doing an improvised set on tabletop acoustic bass guitar + effects + objects. TOMORROW! Looking forward to this! OG Thunderthumbs will be there laying down the low end for Future Hate, so I’ll be enjoying the show. (I sub when the OG bassman can’t make it.)SUNDAY! Sunday will be the premiere of Serenity Dagger as a live entity. Korg Volca Sample + effects!

New playlist: McClurg’s Musicalia #16: Brought to you by the letters M and Nickel.

At Horror DNA: Candy Land Review

My review for Candy Land (2023) is over at Horror DNA!