1. Belong – October Language [Carpark Records #31]

It’s not easy, but I’m pretty certain I can say with confidence that this is the best album I’ve heard all year long. I picked this up at Other Music based solely on a little description accompanying the CDs – I hadn’t heard anything about this release before then. One might describe it simply as “noisy ambient” – think the amplified sound of crashing waves, sculpted white noise, etc. It’s relaxing music; loud even on low volumes. It’s a shame that more people haven’t heard this album.

From the Carpark website:

Following in the tradition of bands like My Bloody Valentine and Gas, guitars, synths and other musical sources are wrenched from their typical tones, revealing themselves in bright shards of distortion. Melodies are similarly enveloped in a sort of aural atrophy, forever repeating their blurring calls. At the end, all that remains is a noise so potent it leaves the sonic equivalent of the sun’s imprint on a retina.

2. The Rest (in no particular order)

WZT Hearts – Heat Chief
Belle And Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
Kangding Ray – Stabil
Sandro Perri – Plays Polmo Polpo
Machinefabriek – Marjin

Rooter: Web-Based Compact Disc Cataloger, the open source PHP/MySQL project that has set the Internet ablaze [more info here], has not been mentioned much lately at CCROW Networks. I released the project on SourceForge.net when the code reached a stable point and haven’t touched it since. According to SF.net, 146 have downloaded the software (that’s right, SF has deposited 146 X $0 dollars directly into my off-shore bank account). In other words, it’s ridiculously popular – almost as popular as MS Office Suite, if my math is correct.

Every so often, I get ideas on how I might improve Rooter. I just checked the Rooter project page and saw that “duologic” created, Mooter: Web-Based Movie Cataloger. Get it? Mooter instead of Rooter? AWESOME.

Mooter’s minimal and direct project description reads:

Same as Rooter(http://rooter.sourceforge.net/), but than for Movies.

DuoLogic goes on to explain his intentions within the blazing hot Rooter forums:

Hello.
I like Rooter very much, nice clean code.
But I accualy was looking for aan movie cataloger.
So I made one with the source code from Rooter.

And just like that, Mooter was born and the rest is history.

Contemporary piano and digital music. This is how it’s done. Sugarcoated with superb visuals synced real-time to the performers actions. I can’t think of any better pairing for such a feat than Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto).

Compare this DVD showcasing various performances of the Insen tour in Europe to Kraftwerk’s recent “Minimum-Maximum” DVD (see below), which sadly, quickly put me to sleep. “Minimum-Maximum” feels so synthetic/repetitive and dated (in my opinion, just about all of the reworked tracks lack the charm the originals had).

This is the forefront of modern music, and the Insen Live DVD serves as a wonderful document. It is no surprise Raster-Noton is behind such a release. Furthermore, the packaging (which the image above gives no justice) is simply amazing.

Probably my favorite Oval recording. Just a short ~25 minute EP. Released in 1999, this still sounds fresher than most modern computer music albums.

From Allmusic.com:

Like many other electronic projects, Oval is difficult to describe. Markus Popp has had a hand in loads of interesting projects, from the minimalist/experimental Microstoria to the Jim O’Rourke and David Grubbs combo Gastr del Sol. On Szenariodisk, Popp puts his many hats to work in creating a cerebral, complex result. One hears echoes of the click-oriented compositions of Nobukazu Takemura combined with electronic-sounding feedback, vaguely vocal-sounding samples, and a plain old synthesizer. The music is extremely contemplative; it’s too detailed to be background sound and requires focused attention to be fully appreciated. The track listing is a bit misleading, as it seems that five of the songs are comprised of two tracks each and the final track consists of only one section. It is nearly impossible to discern any type of link between the two-part tracks. Most tracks have some type of clicking in the background; this is especially true of “Episonik,” the first track, as well as “Kardio V.” The clicks provide a vague sense of rhythm in an otherwise timeless space. The second half of “Episonik” is essentially washed-out electronic distortion punctuated by bells that ring every five seconds or so. Perhaps the best piece on the album is “Par,” which has an identifiable melody poised far behind waves of synthesized noise. This sheds some light on what might be an essential element of Popp’s aesthetic: taking what could be an easily hummable melody and rearranging it to be barely recognizable. Nonetheless, Popp loses none of the melodic beauty behind his songs; rather, he constructs something equally as beautiful.

I have three quick recommendations for those looking for something new.

First, there’s Tim Hecker‘s latest “Harmony In Ultraviolet” off Kranky. Without a doubt, this album is going to be on many “end of the year” lists. I feel it’s also among his best work, although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything he’s created (particularly the noisier “My Love Is Rotten To The Core”).

Second, I have to recommend Chris Clark‘s “Body Riddle” on Warp, which happens to serve as a great compliment to Hecker’s album. Again, I’ve been a fan of each of his releases (my first introduction was when I bought the “Clarence Park” LP just because the cover art), but I feel this is one of his strongest albums. My only qualm is the packaging is pretty weak. I’d been listening to the EP “Throttle Furniture” in great anticipation of the full length, and it does not disappoint.

Finally, as a bonus recommendation to those who enjoy singing on their albums: Sandro Perri’s “Plays Polmo Polpo“. Anything this man does is awesome. That’s all that needs to be said.

In light of the previous devastating post, I provide the following to calm emotions and ease temperaments:

Above: Raw sausage patty just prior to being placed on grill. A tiny fraction of the copious amounts of sausage products grilled and consumed over the course of three days by the creators of ccrow.net and michaeljardin.com.

Above: Creepy shot of grill featuring what appears to be the burning face of Jason (of Friday the 13th fame), Casey Jones (of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame), or perhaps Jesus, through a re-incarnation of Jason or Casey.

Definitely an awesome read. I’m too tired right now to write anything better than the amazon.com summary I lethargically replicate below:

In this fanciful volume, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (O.M.A.), both analyzes and celebrates New York City. By suggesting the city as the site for an infinite variety of human activities and events–both real and imagined–the essence of the metropolitan lifestyle, its “culture of congestion” and its architecture are revealed in a brilliant new light. “Manhattan,” Koolhaas writes, “is the 20th century’s Rosetta stone . . . occupied by architectural mutations (Central Park, the Skyscraper), utopian fragments (Rockefeller Center, the U.N. Building), and irrational phenomena (Radio City Music Hall).” Filled with fascinating facts, as well as photographs, postcards, maps, watercolors, and drawings, the vibrancy of Koolhaas’s poignant exploration of Gotham equals the heady, frenetic energy of the city itself. Anyone who loves New York will want to own this book.

Obviously, the last statement really isn’t true and just thrown in to get people to buy the book. Rem Koolhaas’ flowery writing style and humor isn’t for everyone.

I’m particularly interested in Chapter 9: Composition and Methodology. Topics in this chapter include:

9.1 Guido’s Method 285
9.2 Methodology and Composition 288
9.3 Musimat: A Simple Programming Language for Music 290
9.4 Program for Guido’s Method 291
9.5 Other Music Representation Systems 292
9.6 Delegating Choice 293
9.7 Randomness 299
9.8 Chaos and Determinism 304
9.9 Combinatorics 306
9.10 Atonality 311
9.11 Composing Functions 317
9.12 Traversing and Manipulating Musical Materials 319
9.13 Stochastic Techniques 332
9.14 Probability 333
9.15 Information Theory and the Mathematics of Expectation 343
9.16 Music, Information, and Expectation 347
9.17 Form in Unpredictability 350
9.18 Monte Carlo Methods 360
9.19 Markov Chains 363
9.20 Causality and Composition 371
9.21 Learning 372
9.22 Music and Connectionism 376
9.23 Representing Musical Knowledge 390
9.24 Next-Generation Musikalische Würfelspiel 400
9.25 Calculating Beauty 406

The entire table of contents is listed here: http://musimathics.com/ (although the website looks like it’s been around since 1992, the book was recently published). I’ll likely end up purchasing Volume II, though there seems to be a fairly large overlap with other books/manuals I’ve read.

Well, there you have it. The wait is over. The binary string in the last post was used just to throw off the geeky readers out there. If you are a nerd, let this be a lesson.

Anyway, it’s a great album, despite the departure of Johnny Dark (who, in my opinion, really made “Last Exit” the album it was). They somehow gracefully circumnavigated the “sophomore slump” that strikes all lesser groups. I’ve probably listened to “In The Morning”, “Like A Child” and “FM” more times than I’d like to admit, and they just don’t get old. The album is solid straight through. Amazing.

I couldn’t make a concert last week in New York City, but Kathy did and got the band members to sign their CD for me:

Can you guess guess the album and group? HINT: 1001101011010110111001. The answer will be revealed tomorrow in an anti-climatic fashion.

As of earlier this week, Grigori Perelman was one of the few awarded the 2006 Fields medal and declined to accept it. Naturally, as a result, the Internet is buzzing with people trying to find Perelman desktop wallpaper. Many sites have sprouted up over night charging hefty fees for such prized downloads. Perelman wouldn’t like this, so in honor of the man himself, we undercut those other sleazy sites and present the following downloads for free – only available to the loyal fans of ccrow.net (and any other autonomous webbots, etc., that happen upon this site). We believe everyone has the right to have the hottest desktop around.*

1280×1024 Resolution

1600×1200 Resolution

*ccrow.net is not liable for any actions, violent or other, inflicted onto others and/or yourself resulting from Perelman’s prolonged stare.

I bought this album a month or so back. It’s awesome…kind of a mix between Fennesz, Mountains, Tim Hecker, Belong…the sound completely fills the room. Think more lo-fi, less contemporary/digital. Not only is the music top form, the packaging is incredible – the artwork matches the sound perfectly. The yellow ribbon attaches to a pouch containing cut up photographs. I haven’t come across much press on the album, so I figure, “why not help spread the word?” Another fine release off Keith Fullerton Whitman’s Entschuldigen label.

I’ve been reading a lot about Gödel lately, specifically in the following books:

“Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid”, by Douglas Hofstadter

“Mathematical Mysteries: The Beauty and Magic of Numbers”, by Calvin C. Clawson

“Godel’s Proof”, by Ernest Nagel, James R. Newman

I recommend them all, in particularly G.E.B.

Not to end on a morbid note, but Kurt Gödel‘s grave is easy to find in Princeton:

Within feet is John Von Neumann‘s grave: