The Space Sessions of Summer
“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability.”― H.P. Lovecraft
Today I am celebrating the release of a new record on my label, Birdman: Space Mirror, the sophomore effort by Detroit art rock band Infinite River. The band is basically a trio, featuring Gretchen Gonzales (of Slumber Party, Universal Eyes), Warren Dafever (His Name Is Alive) and Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras, Sponge)….with Sparks member Steve Nistor guesting on drums. If their first record Prequel introduced their ambient sound…this one goes full-on Spacemen 3 drone…with even some evening raga alaps thrown in.
The band just returned from a short West Coast run, ending at Thee Stork Club in Oakland where they played with Wolf Eyes and Bill Orcutt to a fiendishly packed room. Being a band that is always evolving, they showcased their newer songs which are leaning more towards a Krautrock vibe with the harder edge of British progressive thrown in—a sound they have already got down on tape and will be record #3 at some point in the future. But their swan song from their first Covid-inspired alone-in-the-universe chapter, Space Mirror, is a thing of beauty. Very excited about the sunrise and moonrise ambience that this trio has put together.
I have a spare copy of the vinyl for the first person who e-mails me directly about it!
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60 years ago TODAY James Meredith graduated from Ole Miss. Meredith was the first African American to enroll in the university, after he sued the school over its racist admissions policies. The case made national headlines with Robert Kennedy getting involved in supporting Meredith (there is a great documentary…unfortunately behind a fire wall…about the morning Meredith went to the college for the first time). There were riots, deaths, death threats to Meredith with all eyes of the nation watching the craziness unfold in Mississippi, where the (Democratic) Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett literally blocked the entrance when Meredith approached declaring that "no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your governor” (he lasted as Governor for just one more year).
Meredith majored in political science, and his triumphant graduation from that department was captured on video. He has spent (and is still at it at 90 years old) his life fighting for civil rights.
If you ever find yourself in Oxford, Mississippi, it is well worth the time to visit Ole Miss and the James Meredith statue erected on campus showing him walking to class that first tumultuous day. Given the tumultuous times we are living in today…as we are a truly divided country, Meredith’s journey is an inspiration: change is possible.
Shabbes!
The sunset of Sonic Youth: An oral history of the band's final U.S. show
My friend Ethan Miller, through his label Silver Current, just released “the last concert” performed by Sonic Youth. There were a few concerts after…but this was the last one before Kim caught Thurston cheating and they performed simply to fulfill some contracts. The concert comes packaged in an old Trademark of Quality bootleg look and it sounds fantastic…and the setlist really bookends their career, leaning heavy on an early bit of genius Bad Moon Rising and the final studio record, The Eternal. This article, an oral history of the downfall, is a perfect compendium. Yes.
‘The Flaming Lips Day’ declared in S.F. ahead of Stern Grove concert
I remember walking into Revolver Records on Clement Street the day after the Lips had done an in-store there in 1985. Their first EP was still displayed on the wall. The band had traveled all the way from Oklahoma for one gig….their first outside of their state. And San Francisco has loved them ever since. Flaming Lips day THIS WEEKEND, with a huge concert at the Grove….preceded by their films being shown at The Four Star. Oh yeah.
Definitely my favorite headline of the week. It is right out of a Boris Karloff movie: “The vast majority of the remains appear to have been gathered without consent from the individuals or their families, by researchers preying on people who were hospitalized, poor, or lacked immediate relatives to identify or bury them. In other cases, collectors, anthropologists and scientists dug up burial grounds and looted graves.” (the above photo was sourced by me, not from the article).
Quiet, Please: Gordon Hempton On The Search For Silence In A Noisy World
For their 50th anniversary, The Sun is republishing old interviews and stories. They just pulled out this one. And it is one of my favorites. We need more silence (says the person who posts so much music “stuff”). A sensational weekend read.
LINDOKUHLE SOBEKWA WINS 2023 FNB ART PRIZE
“The Katlehong-born documentary photographer joins the ranks of previous winners such as Dada Khanyisa, Wycliffe Mundopa, Lady Skollie, and Bronwyn Katz. Sobekwa uses the camera to consider historical perspectives on the present - exposing questions, and reflecting on present times and experiences in order to bring to the fore a realistic reality where both conflict and tender moments occur, according to the judging panel.”
Happy ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Day
My friend Nicki Green let me know that today is Texas Chainsaw Massacre day…the day (50 years ago!) that Sally and Franklin and their friends come in horrifying contact with Leatherface and his family. One of the greatest horror films of all-time. Happy Chainsaw day. Bloody GREAT!
The Tale Of Custard The Dragon
By: Ogden Nash
Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little gray mouse, she called her Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.
Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs,
Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon.
Belinda giggled till she shook the house,
And Blink said Week! , which is giggling for a mouse,
Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age,
When Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
Meowch! cried Ink, and Ooh! cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.
Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,
His beard was black, one leg was wood;
It was clear that the pirate meant no good.
Belinda paled, and she cried, Help! Help!
But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household,
And little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed.
But up jumped Custard, snorting like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon,
With a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm.
The pirate gaped at Belinda's dragon,
And gulped some grog from his pocket flagon,
He fired two bullets but they didn't hit,
And Custard gobbled him, every bit.
Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourned for his pirate victim
Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate
Around the dragon that ate the pyrate.
But presently up spoke little dog Mustard,
I'd been twice as brave if I hadn't been flustered.
And up spoke Ink and up spoke Blink,
We'd have been three times as brave, we think,
And Custard said, I quite agree
That everybody is braver than me.
Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With her little black kitten and her little gray mouse,
And her little yellow dog and her little red wagon,
And her realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chase lions down the stairs,
Mustard is as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage.
Photos by Lindokuhle Sobekwa:
