Quick Links: The website wordcount.org tracks the popularity of English word usage. As of today, “ambient” ranks at 22,001, “disquiet” comes in at 21053, and “electronica” doesn’t make the top 86,800, the number of words in wordcount’s database. There’s also a list of query entries, but they’re too obscene to detail here. … Schematic Records musician Richard Devine set his equipment on fire during a showcase at the recent Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, Calif. (link). (Thanks to the Warp Records email newsletter.) … Check out the Noise Shirt, “which has a microphone that measures the surrounding environments noise level and displays it as a vertical 5 step equalizer bar with the LEDs.” (Thanks to Engadget.) … Christian Doppler lost out to Charles Darwin when Los Angeles-based songwriter Timothy Sellers was selecting notable figures in science for his album 26 Scientists: Volume 1, Anning to Malthus, according to an article last Tuesday in the New York Times (“When You Wish Upon an Atom: The Songs of Science“). Sellers’ backing band, collectively known as Artichoke, includes a theremin player, the band’s only science professional (he’s an engineer). … Following on the remix projects of the Atlantic and Verve record labels, Motown has announced Motown Remixed, which features DJ Z-Trip, Jazzy Jeff, Mocean Worker and others remixing boomer classics. Several streams are available: two full tracks, Z-Trip doing the Jackson 5‘s “I Want You Back” (WMA, Real) and Marvin Gaye‘s “Let’s Get It On” revisited by Paul Simpson and Miles Dalto (WMA, Real), plus a video documentary featuring some of the contributors (WMA, Quicktime, Real). More details at motownremixed.com, including additional streams and interviews. … New Releases: Among the CDs released this coming week are Meat Beat Manifesto‘s At the Center (Thirsty Ear), featuring Jack Dangers, Dave King (drums), Peter Gordon (flute) and Craig Taborn (various keyboards, including grand piano and Hammond B3), and Four Tet‘s Everything Ecstatic (Domino). More new releases at brainwashed.com/releases. … Quote of the Week: “[W]hat we’ve done has always somewhat depended on whatever technology was around at the time.” That’s Brian Eno speaking to the St. Petersburg Times (the one in Russia) about his work with Robert Fripp (“Another Day with Eno“). The article focuses on his collaboration with Algerian-born, Paris-based singer Rachid Taha, and mentions that Eno’s been working with Paul Simon.
Current Activities
• October 13, 2016: This day marks the start of the 250th weekly Disquiet Junto project. • November 16, 2016: I'll be sharing the mic at Adobe Books in San Francisco with my fellow 33 1/3 author Evie Nagy for an evening hosted, from 7pm to 10pm, by Marc Kate (facebook.com). • December 1, 2016: A likely speaking engagement. Details to come. • December 13, 2016: This day marks the 20th anniversary of Disquiet.com. • January 5, 2017: This day marks the 5th anniversary of the Disquiet Junto. • Ongoing: The Disquiet Junto series of weekly communal music projects explore constraints as a springboard for creativity and productivity. There is a new project each Thursday afternoon (California time), and it is due the following Monday at 11:59pm: disquiet.com/junto. • My book on Aphex Twin's landmark 1994 album, Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, published as part of the 33 1/3 series, an imprint of Bloomsbury, is now in its second printing. It can be purchased at amazon.com, among other places.