This Heat - "Horizontal Hold"
(Piano Records, 1979 [recorded between 1976-78]; issued / reissued by ~7 other labels)
Well, it took me 170-something posts to finally dip into the '70s. I remember reading an early-'90s interview with Piotr Fijalkowski, singer of the great band Adorable, in which he said that music from before 1980 (he then specified pre-Echo & The Bunnymen) was worthless to him, and for the most part I have to agree. Most of the songs I've posted on this site simply couldn't have existed pre-1980, yet your typical casual music fan will always aver that the '60s were by far the best decade for music, dude. I first heard this song on a mix tape made for me by, I kid you not, a girl whom I had lent a Plexi promo poster. I only knew this girl, Suzy Grimes, online, and for some reason just had to show her this amazing poster. By 1999 I resorted to threatening legal action if she didn't send it back, so she did, and included a mix tape. If you don't know what the title of this song means, you've never owned a VCR. I didn't know what to title this post, since the song is an instrumental, so I chose a strange n' unsettling lyric that popped into my head and seems to fit "Horizontal Hold"'s feel. It's from The Church's breezy jangle-pop classic "Already Yesterday."
Joy in repetition... All Music Guide gives the LP 4.5 stars and says "Their angular juxtapositions of abrasive guitar, driving rhythms, and noise loops on the opening cut, 'Horizontal Hold,' preempt much later activity in the electronica and drum'n'bass scenes." Okay, I think we can all agree with that. The reviewer then goes off into some pretty ludicrous hyperbole, such as "There are very few records that can be considered truly important, landmark works of art that produce blueprints for an entire genre. In the case of this album, it's clear that this seminal work was integral in shaping the genres of post-punk, avant rock, and post-rock and like all great influential albums it seemed it had to wait two decades before its contents could truly be fathomed. In short, This Heat is essential." Oh.
Trouser Press gives a much more level-headed summary: "This Heat covers two years of the band's history, with both live and studio cuts. They use guitar, clarinet, drums and keyboards, permuted with loops, phasing and overdubs, breaking down patterns into only faintly connected musical moments that include artificial skips and looped end-grooves. Though insolent and withdrawn, the music is adventurous and, in its own peculiar way, engrossing."
The most recent review on rateyourmusic.com at the time I began writing this post consists simply of this sentence: "This album is more revolutionary and significant to the aesthetic evolution of music than the complete works of Stravinsky and Stockhausen combined." Ohhh. Well that explains everything. All in favor of lifetime internet bans for trollers please contact me.
On Thursday I finally started reading The Hunger Games, and I believe it's gonna be too bleak / barbaric for me to finish. The writing is very succinct and Raymond Carver-esque, so I'm writing this paragraph in RC's style. I planted my huckleberry tree and the saddest thing happened right when I was crouching down finishing up: A dragonfly that had no abdomen at all landed on a branch a few inches in front of my eyes. I guess it had been bitten off moments before by a bird or anole. So it could still fly around, but had no ability to digest food, hence it only had a few minutes or hours to live. But it sure seemed calm and content on that little branch. Man, the world sucks. Also planted a Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Vase.' I unfortunately missed one of the best live bands of this era, White Hills, at Siberia in New Orleans. (I saw them at that same club a year ago almost to the day.) I skipped this show because a fairly lame band called Sleepy Sun was headlining, and another lame one, Dirty Ghosts, was on the bill.
Worst new trend: People vying for the title of longest video on YouTube, e.g. this one.
Current crush: Rebecca Blumhagen of the show The Girl's Guide To Depravity.
Since I have amassed a backlog of great or interesting links, I'll just use this post as a clearinghouse for them:
Criminal probe spotlights tree poisoning to make way for billboards
Why is Tom Cruise such a dick? - "Only five of the characteristics are needed to complete this diagnosis, and Cruise meets all nine."
Man claims attack by mountain lion, saved by bear
Death row chef shares last meal requests on Final 24 Hours
The 10 creepiest things about Zach Morris
What happens in an internet minute?
What would Lincoln say about today's GOP?
Rajon Rondo, magnificent weirdo, makes every tip-off a show
Planets with similar climates: Brise-Glace - "Neither Yield Nor Reap" (1994), Bathyscaphe - "Brise Glace" (2004), Blind Idiot God - "Subterranean Flight" (1987), Glenn Branca - "The Ascension" (1981), Trans Am - "American Kooter" (1995), Simple Minds - "Sound In 70 Cities" (1981), Neu! - "Negativland" (1972), Unwound - "Side Effects Of Being Tired" (1997).
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