Atlanta Diary Pt. 1

Back in the (wilted) Phoenix Megalop, taking yet another mini-vacation before the pre-tour insanity revs into fifth. I'm parked before C2's Mac, and organic saladstuffs are being spun to the sounds of Italian movie themes. The sixteen-year-old cat with the acute sinus disorder yalps for a taste of ginger dressing; Morricone launches into "L'Uccello Dalle Plume di Cristallo," and all is well...

Last night we caught the final area showing of Mary Harron's The Notorious Bettie Page; Gretchen Moll completely nailed the characterization. Syn and I were the only two souls in the theatre (the once-opulent, still semi-impressive Garden Hills Cinema on Peachtree), and it was a delight to have the film to ourselves.

We have tix this afternoon for An Inconvenient Truth (bought them yesterday to avoid the queue crush); afterwards, a gallery opening and further ruminations.

Hanging with Graham Moore (from the Blossoming Noise imprint) Saturday eve - first we've seen of him since his accident on the morning of April 9...

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TLASILA tour sked update: we'll be performing in NYC on September 11-12; should be no trouble getting into the city on those dates! In an unanticipated development, we found we'll be dipping South at the end of the trek. Richmond, Norfolk, maybe Raleigh, with a final date in Atlanta (September 18?). We'll have more info soon.

Delivered our track to Ecstatic Peace for their forthcoming Tarantula Hill benefit comp; if you listen closely to the cut (recorded live at the manse on September 11, 2004 - numerology alert!) you'll hear the actual voices of actual Balto locals. Our homage to the Live at the Roxy WC2 alb from '77... (Wizened) Wheels within (charred) wheels.

Best,

TS

Comments

Anonymous said…
hi tom,
haven't been keeping up with your blog as much as i usually do (and somehow find myself able to while in the midst of an end-of-the-semester-crunch), but i recently went back and would like to
1) offer my condolences in regards to your father's health
2) admit that i unabashedly dig your blog no matter how inconsistent updates may be (it's life! who cares?)
3) cross my fingers that the shave will make it out to Colorado someday. I know the denver/boulder area is a mere blip on tour schedules- but i seem to be confined there (originally from DC/Balto) at least until my degree is rendered sufficiently complete.
anywho, good luck with tour etc- & if you have a moment, I was wondering what you might think about this review No Future Festival?
ommyth said…
Thanks for your kind words, Issac. Much obliged. My dad is often cogent, but the Alzheimer's clouds more and more of his memory, compounding his other health problems. It's a dreadful mess. But, y'know, he's often present and fully aware, and retains a tremendous sense of humor... I'm pleased you've enjoyed the blog - I'll be able to post a lot more often now that my own semester has ended... I'd love to take TLASILA out west; a tour looks most likely in 2007... Your No Future Fest review was very-well wrought. Nice work. Not certain if I would have enjoyed myself much (I've been over noise for a very long time now - its "premier" performers remind me of sad punk diehards), but no matter. As a document and critical analysis of the event, your post was most impressive.

Alright, it's off to the pool. Digging Ecuador v. Poland - I love the World Cup!

Best,

Tom
Anonymous said…
oh my, slight misunderstanding. i did not write the review, but was more interested in hearing what you might make of the events described. I had a hunch (from reading the blog and listening to so much shave) that you were in fact 'over noise' as you put it (a migration I myself am currently experiencing)- but for some reason the violent (to say the least), neo-aktionist events described in the article still managed to confound my habitually critical 'eye'. i'm realizing now that i actually have a lot of questions i've been meaning to ask you... simply put- it (the review)raised a bunch of questions for me about how/if criticism of new music & art is (or should be) carried out. and what you see as the role of discrimination. does it become (has it always been?) a wholly individual affair left to the whims of nothing but ones 'taste'? ...i don't want to traipse too ignorantly into the area of prophecy, but concerning the 'moribund' state of music, (as i believe you've said before), do you still see there being 'fertile ground'? perhaps alessandro bosetti has a clue when he talks about not striving to invent new sound forms anymore, ('progressive' avant-something's rallying call), but rather in 'allowing tones to be plain and poignant as they are'. a dash of asceticism to keep everything in check? i fear im rambling...
ommyth said…
Hey Issac,

Sorry about the mistaken ID... You pose excellent questions, and I'll respond to them at length ASAP. Kinda busy here until Sun/Mon, but I'll post after I return to HQ.

Cheers,

TS

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