Sunday, November 11, 2007


two of my latest obsessions. annie clark and alex ross. they are here related because, aside from my obsession with both, in looking at annie clarks blog i was reminded that i am supposed to include photos on this blog of mine. so i started with a quick phone pic of the book im consumed by: "the rest is noise; listening to the twentieth century". its a history of 20th century 'classical' music written by a guy who writes for the new yorker so it is not written by an academic. his writing is flawless and flows. great read.

annie clark plays under the nom de plume "st. vincent". she has made a remarkable cd but it is this bare version of the song 'paris is burning' that i keep returning to.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are 6 holds on the library for the Alex Ross book. I am #7 :)

The St Vincent kicks serious butt. I love her pedal board, and dual mics. I love her chord inversions and finger picking. I love the way she closes her eyes and goes there. I like the bit of folly in her chord melody.

Reminds a bit of Jeff Buckley in regards to melodic approach, chord voicings, arrangement, indepedance.
Real good. Never heard of her.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vsa_xWLOghg

Never realized you haven't put pics up on your blog.

Respect and kindness,
Mike

Anonymous said...

Okay, Eric... this might sound like an incredibly dumb ass question and/or lame question to you and everyone else on here but... this is a question I've pondered for many a year! I've been an huge fan of yours and JA for many, many, many years now (since the Triple X-era at least) and I swear this has always been something that I've always wondered but never really knew and I thought, well, what better way to find out than through EA himself!? Do you pronounce your last name "A" very (long A sound) or "a" very (not accentuate the A)? I swear I know that might sound incredibly stupid (esp. after all these years) but every time I've ever mentioned your name or whatever, 50% of the time I would say it (or think it) one way and 50% the other way... and well, I figured it's time to find this out once and for all! lol! ?

-ea. said...

jerry- it is avery with one great big A; as in ay-ver-y.

Jared said...

Eric, are you a fan of Radiohead? Have you heard their new album? I think it's a great album and they continue to be innovative and fresh sounding. Just wondering about your thoughts on the band. I always thought Thom York would be a fan of polarbear if he's heard it. Do you know if he's a fan of your work?

Also, any update on the release date of Help Wanted? I'm really looking forward to hearing it.

Did you get a chance to catch some waves recently? There's been some big swells recently.

well take care

J.

defgav said...

Cool that you're into St. Vincent. There're soundboard mp3s of a show of hers up here featuring a nice cover of "Dig a Pony".

Chris Cassidy said...

Hey Eric. Wanted to share this short video i put together for the Alex Ross book. I have been shooting a ton of these 'book videos' for the web. (shot Stephen King last week!) but, i spent most of a day and night with Alex. really great guy. Great book.
enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILqT8ZqJqRA

Anonymous said...

Fascinating. I'll pick it up. A title that argues a closer gap between the old and new worlds is an imperative. Interesting guy.

Great vid! Congrats.

Best,

SR

Anonymous said...

Ea-
I thought wow what are the chances you like alex ross also, then I figured out its not the same alex ross. Here is a link to the A.Ross I'm obsessed with.
http://www.featureinc.com/artists_bios/ross.html

Hope all is well in the studio
Ryan

Anonymous said...

I love jeff buckley, sketches for the drunk or howerver it is spelled is really really good, but so tragic that he died when he didnt even reach his prime, kinda like kurt cobain, and otis redding and buddy holly and jesus.

Yep, i went there.

Paris is buring is great! But im really into Back to the Old house by The Smiths, i have that son on loop all day.

Any new Help Wanted News? song list etc etc, cover? anything, even useless stuff

Anonymous said...

hi eric,

i just heard a song of yours on a dangerbird compilation. it came with this months issue of Harp magazine.

i love it! i like the synth in that track too. do you know when the entire album will be released? seriously, great work!

curt

ps: where did you record this album?

Anonymous said...

by the way, the song i'm refering to is; All Remote, No Control

JM said...

Hi, Eric

I just listened to All Remote, No Control.

I'll just tell you the same I told the guys at xiola.org: I can't believe you keep writing stuff I like. It's been 21-22 years. Fucking incredible.

Thanks, man. I'll be getting your album.

Take care,
JM

Anonymous said...

Hey,

I stumbled upon amazing music from a band that existed for a mere 2 years and only put out one album, i cant stop listening.

Band - Young Marble Giants
Album - Colossal Youth

Your Thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Whoa! This looks as though it's starting to turn into a Q & A section or something! Maybe you should just devote a section of your site here to a Q & A section eh? lol Anyway, "my own" question was how much did you take part in the writing of Whores - JA Bio? I recently finished reading the Jane's Addiction Biography entitled Whores and it was a great read! I was wondering how much of a part you played or how much you were involved in the writing of the book? The book was an absolutely fantastic and exciting read from cover to cover! It's got to be a strange experience to go out and about in public and maybe pass by a book store in a mall or somewhere and see a book sitting there on the shelf in part about you! That must be f***ing awesome!

matt volpe said...

Hey EA,

Cool sounding book, have to pick that one up. I just read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Awesome read and a riveting account to Chris McCandless. Have to to respect that kind of passion that kid had, he obviously took things too far, but an incredible sounding odessey nonetheless. Thanks for turning me onto St. Vincent aka Annie Clark, really beautiful song. She seems way talented as well on the guitar and vocals, I have to check out the album. Hope all is well with you.

Best, Matt

matt volpe said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Eric!

Best,Matt

Brian Smith McCallum said...

EA

Rest is Noise. Hmmm . . . intrigued. Added to my queue @ public library. Endorsed by Bjork and a benchmark of 20th century culture and history. Thanks for the YouTube clip of St. Vincent. Always on the ear for new music (new for me, at least).

Changing subjects . . . you mentioned in a previous post a gent named Kevin Haskins. The drummer from Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, and others? Did you tour w/ him while in Jane's and then also play bass with him in a resurrected Bauhaus?

Anonymous said...

close: Eric toured along with Haskins with Peter Murphy (not Bauhaus). 2002, I believe. And Jane's did play some shows with Love & Rockets circa '87/'88.

btw, these comments are marked by time only, not date. Really a bit useless. Anyway you could fix that, Eric?

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