bright confusion spring edition of things I've been listening to lately... maybe you can find something for yourself in these?
1. Morton Feldman - Rothko Chapel
Tense and mysterious and dark and lovely like watching a black linen sheet billow slowly in the wind from 3 inches away. Or maybe like looking at a Rothko painting.
2. Broadcast - Spell Blanket
2xLP collection of demos for what would have been their next record. Sounds done to me. Incredibly diverse, touching on basically everything I like about the band. If you skipped this a few years ago because it seemed like it would just be bits and bobs I think you should take a peek.
3. Magic Tuber String and - When Sorrows Encompass Me 'Round
Like being secretly dosed at a family reunion (good version). Genuinely psychedelic in performance. Fuckin toasted.
4. Nathan Salsburg - Landwerk No. 3
A fav guitarist and idea-haver. I have listened to this hundreds of times since it came out. Loops of crackling old 78s and the most delicate kinds of repetitive electric guitar. Very inspiring and deep sounds.
5. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Happy Today
One of the best bands I've ever seen, no question. There are plenty of things like it, but, uh, not really. I recently had the opportunity to speak to each of them about this music and about improvisation generally and it really filled my cup.
6. Ernst Reijseger - Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Jenny and I saw this Herzog film in an imax recently and walked back to our car with tears still streaming. Maybe one of the most beautiful films in existence. The music is perfect.
7. Robyn Hitchcock - Spooked
He has so many records that might be his "best". This is one of them. David Rawlings and Gillian Welch are the band.
8. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
Neil might be the only folkie who does self-aware nostalgia in a way I can dig, and some kind of troggs tapes magic fairy dust application is the only thing I can guess that keeps this from feeling like a James Taylor record. You could say that about a lot of his records, I guess. "One of These Days" hitting especially hard on this revisit. Some of these tunes make me laugh a lot. I'll take it.
9. EB
These are things I've been listening to lately...
1. The Wisdom of Harry - Stars Of Super 8
Wonky-ish uk trip hop vibes. like a less menacing and more homemade 'Real Life' era Magazine. Spy music. It often takes strange left turns into downer Sparklehorse-style folk tunes. Somebody involved was in an early Creation Recs band I can't remember the name of, which is why I bought it. Recommend.
2. Various - Red Xerox: Chicago Youth Beat 2020-2025
Compilations of current music...an underrated thing. Every song is great for one reason or another. The zine inside details each band. Could go on and on about it.
3. Roland Kayn - Infra
Absolutely alien music. I kind of go crazy when I hear it. Sometimes it's very scary. I love it.
4. Slapp Happy - Sort Of
I'm always on this one. Lyrics range from existential melting daydreams to a cool vacation song for king tut. Faust is the backing band. Someone once told me this made them feel like a cool recent divorcee, which is how we should be describing music.
5. Rob Jo Star Band - s/t
Very jagged and French. I've been getting back into rock music. I like to imagine the synth, which is too loud in a good way, is played by some kind of impish animal. It helps.
6. Hoyt Axton - My Griffin Is Gone
I also listen to this all the time. One zillion blessings to Hoyt.
7. Cibo Matto -Viva! La Woman
Might be the coolest shit of all time.
8. Index For Working Musik - Bunker Intimations II
It has touched my heart. Like the inside of a really dark old house during the daytime, and you're trying to find the light switch, or at least you were, but now, mostly, you're just looking around. What is this place?
9. bonus wisdom of harry insert art.
Ok I'm going to bed now. Good night.
lil heads up, next technicolor band show is w/ knight of spacious pedal steel @lukefromnashville
we'll join forces for a bit too.
worth your time!
Love,
DB
Two duo shows comin up!
Aja, Caleb, DB.
Here are some pics of us and other things too!
Thurs, March 26 @ Back Door
Duo w/ Aja Essex
(plus Jennifer Femme + Stereo Mapping)
Show at 7:30, on first
Wed, April 1 @ Blockhouse
Duo w/ Caleb Hickman
(plus DRM)
Show at 8pm, on first
@aja.essex@unclecaleb@blockhousebloom@bckdoor
Art party 3.6.26:
Jenny organized a massive group show.
I made a piece that involves a tent.
It'll be up at @backspacebloomington for all of March. Party time Friday, March 6th.
Playing solo tomorrow on Saturday's Child on @wfhb 11am est. Tune in, stream live,or turn up irl at the Monroe County History Center.
Here's a shot of chainsmoke thin shoeless joe unmedicated db from the neverending tour after I first moved to Bloomington. Excited to put new songs into the atmosphere. Ghosts, plants, love, evil, political charlatans will be addressed directly.
WFHB welcomes David Brown to Saturday's Child on Saturday, February 14, from 11am to noon. Join us as we experience the meaningfully meandering melodies of this talented writer and multi-instrumentalist, also known for his work with Technicolor Band, who writes small songs about love, death, little insects, and big skies. Listen on air, or with our audience in the Monroe County History Center in downtown Bloomington. That’s David Brown on Saturday's Child, free of charge, Saturday, February 14, at 11am on WFHB.
Photo by Jenny Christie
A snow-covered-barely-moving-mostly-comfort-jams edition of Things I've Been Listening to Lately
1. Various - All The Lonely People
Amazingly strange comp of Beatles covers. Mix of left field picks. Somehow multiple versions of "And I Love Her" + "Across The Universe" works great. A child sings "The Long and Winding Road" and makes me wanna cry even though it's likely the only Fabs tune I genuinely dislike. Liner notes are great and include an explication of George's kind eyes.
2. Jocy de Oliveira - Raga na Amazonia
Picked up after seeing the classic hype sticker + nice price combo at Landlocked. Brazilian electroacoustic music recorded between 1987 and 1993. Very good for staring at the wall or floor. "O Contar De Uma Raga" is especially beautiful.
3. Bert Jansch - Rosemary Lane
Whichever Bert record I'm listening to is my favorite. Cool textured cover. "Bird Song" feeling particularly important to me right now.
4. Tim Buckley - Happy Sad
All timer. Nothing like it. Grooves without drums. Perfect band. Swooping. Big time longings. Thom Yorke owes him the world.
5. Lucrecia Dalt & Aaron Dilloway - Lucy & Aaron
Absolutely fucking toasted. I listened over and over when it came out and I'm back in the zone now. Hard to describe but luckily you can listen.
6. Kieren Hebden & Steve Reid - The Exchange Session Vol 2
Electronics and percussion, longform improv. It's one of the first records like this I ever got into and still holds up. Vol 1 is great, but less abstract.
7. Tony Conrad & Faust - Outside The Dream Syndicate
The three Rs: repetition repetition repetition. Lots of people think they make music like this but they simply do not. This is that true blue doom ass royalty shit, my friends.
8. Maka Takagi & Hiroshi Suzuki - floracomposia
On rec from deep homie Aja E. Listen over and over.
9. Bill Orcutt - How To Rescue Things
Jagged telecaster brain scrapes over the most sugary sweet RCA schlock strings. My two favorite vibes together at last. Lots of energy but will have you laying around like Charlie Bucket's grandparents.
My @musicintransitofficial session is on their YouTube channel now. I sing three songs on a city bus with my now crooked voice and then do one one guitar improvisation with my trusty electric guitar.
A record of songs is a brewin but I might have to be arm-twisted to actually record it 🌼
Hi friends. Issue No. 4 of Tracing The Lines is out now.
Had a great time working on this and once again encountering & learning from some of my favorite people. Designed by Jeremiah Chiu. Compiled and edited by me.
Get one on International Anthem's Bandcamp or inquire at your favorite record shop. If they don't have one send them my way 💙
