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MUSEODD

                                                April 1997
Musical odyssey: a history of my ears

"Puff the Magic Dragon" (Judy Collins)

Older brothers => WBAI          => Cassette recording
               => Record collection

Pink Floyd's "Time" when "dark side" was released.

Frank Heller's version of "Rocky Racoon"
Mother Mallard live on the Free Music Store
Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" when it was first released.

(embarrassing fact: First reaction to Sun Ra.)     MISSING_THE_SUN



Focus on:

Leonard Cohen
Judy Collins
Buffy Saint Marie  ((??))
Phil Ochs

But also:
The Who, esp. Live at Leeds
Creedence Clearwater
Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys
Jeferson Airplane and early Starship
Hot Tuna
Jimi Hendrix
Loving Spoonful
Beatles - John Lennon's solo

The Velvet Underground.

Disco loathing.

Patti Smith (started with Horses in 76, though I think that
record was out a few years earlier? weird).  Don't think I
saw her play until a few years later, but then I saw her
play half dozen times... including a show with Richard Hell
at CBGB's second avenue.

   First concert going: Hot Tuna, David Bowie (Low), others?

Lou Reed.  David Bowie.

Late 70's, punk in the village voice.
"God Saves the Queen" on WBAI, and then the Good City Rock show

Talking Heads
Ramones
Sex Pistols
Blondie
Richard Hell and the Voidoids
Devo

Then switched from WBAI to college radio.  And WLIR turned
into a "cool" commerical station... "The Next 25 years of
Rock and Roll".  The show "Radio, radio" which used
the Elvis Costello song as it's theme.

Brief flirtation with hardcore... the Dead Kennedy's.
Side trips into the newly revived King Crimson.

Heard a number of random things I thought were good, but
didn't follow up for a long time.  Took me forever to find
out who did "Bella Lugosi's Dead" (Bauhaus!).

Off the scene in Idaho for a few years in the early 80s, but
still, via Mix tapes, and connections with girlfriend at
Princeton:  picked up on some thing's that were happening.
Impressed by the politically incorrectness of Crass.
Interested by Philip Glass (gift from g.f.).
Saw the Hunger about this time, and was once again impressed with "Bella".

Out of boredom with Idaho went to see Journey in concert
(walked out halfway through).

Later, in CA, back into college radio listening, KFJC, KZSU...
Got into things like the Replacements around then.
Found out about the new and weirdproved Tom Waits from housemates.
Papa Sunny Aide (sp?) African music.

Local live bands, recruited to play at my house: one of the
best, The Havering.  Other's I heard and liked around the
area Merv Spiegel and the Penguins.  Walkabout (???).  The
Youngsters.

Got on the net (not yet called the Internet) also, got
interested in the idea of industrial music.

Started buying it at random at Wreckless on Haight Street.
Nine Inch Nails, Cabaret Volataire, Neon Judgement.
Throbbing Gristle.

(embarassing fact: when I first listened to Throbbing
Gristle, my first reaction was disappointment that it didn't
sound more like the Neon Judgement or Nine Inch Nails).

Got into Beladonna's show on KFJC.                BELADONNA

  Sharkbait
  Clock DVA
  Switchblade Symphony

(embarassing fact: I could've sworn "Clock DVA" was called
"Cluck DNA" when I first heard them.)

Club going in the 80s... really liked The Underground.

Got into raves, impressed with the listenability of
techno/house despite it's LCD slant.

At this point, became a DJ at KZSU.  Previously, you have to
understand that compared to your average slob, I was
actually someone who knew a lot about music, someone known
for weird taste in music.  I know people who were impressed
that I was into the Replacements around the time of Pleased
to Meet Me...  but that's really late in their career!  I
sat there listening to things like "On the Bus" played over
and over on KFJC and remained unimpressed. It actually took
me a *long* time to get it...

And then, the acoustic firehose of KZSU blasting through my
ears.

By the time I was ready to take a break from this, along
with deepening my knowledge of things I was already
interested in, I also picked up some new interests.  World
music.  Avant-garde classical (post cage).  And "jazz" and
improvised music.

An aha experience: Before Xmas, noticing some cool things
scheduled at Radio Valencia, like Miya Masaoka: these things
I missed. Going to NY for Xmas, looking to see what's
around... best stuff looked like Knitting Factory things,
like Ellliot Sharp.  But why not just go to Radio Valencia
in SF?

Return'd... to go to The Dark Circle Lounge.  Splatter Trio.   DANGER

(I'd also started developing an interest in gothic music,
which I'd never particularly thought of as distinct from
punk or industrial... and also started getting interested in
the revived goth scene, post- "Drug #6").

(Suspect that I like goth stuff in part because I spent
a few years in the early 80s effectively off-line, hiding
out in Idaho: didn't have a chance to burn out on it.
The corollary: I don't really know that much about it...)

(Embarassaing fact: I once ran up to Lucretia to find out
what she was playing, and she looked at me blankly and said
"it's the Sisters" -- Sister's of Mercy, "Vision Thing" I'd
played this on the air, forgot to write it down, and I'd
been wondering what it was on my show tape therever after.)

If things had broken differently with my personal life,
might I have wound up with different musical tastes?  A goth
girl friend rather than an improv head, what would that have
done?

Simple summary: Folk -> rock -> punk -> industrial -> improv

And whither now?
What new sounds await?

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