As the compact disc approaches its obsolescence as a consumer item, the promise of “perfect sound forever” eclipsed in the blink of two decades, its shimmery surface and palm-sized economy have never been more purposeful as an artistic medium.
A collusion of folk, blues, ethnic and modern classical methods, Fahey’s music suggests both the trickster and the shaman, and has attracted a cult of musician followers over the years, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime.
IMPALA EARDRUMS : A RADIUM SAMPLER, 2008
Credit: Art director, graphic design, photography
Artwork:As Impala Murder…,2008, salt water on car door, 39.5″ x 37″
Utilizing multiple electric guitars and a single chord, 1977’s “Guitar Trio” is composer Rhys Chatham’s signature work, and a euphoric, minimal-punk classic. It’s an inspired amalgamation — the droning, shimmering harmonics of John Cale and Tony Conrad fused with the power and fury of the Ramones
Melissa St. Pierre “Fig. VIII”
From the CD Specimens, TOE-CD-814
Release date: June 17, 2008
2008 GRAMMY AWARD WINNER
Woody Guthrie, The Live Wire, 2008
Credit: Photographer
In 2001, The Woody Guthrie Archives received 2 spools of wire recordings from a live Woody Guthrie performance held in Newark, New Jersey in 1949.
From the vibrant Southern quasi-capital of Durham emerge Megafaun, wearing earnestness across the chest and abstraction along the sleeves. They pour forth dulcet harmonies, as seeking vocals tug banjo lines up the Appalachian mountains;